Indice dei contenuti per 2021-07-26 in Mercury

Sibusiso Mboto and Chulumanco Mahamba Communities should band together and explore ways to accommodate stranded pupils whose schools were vandalised during the unrest, or risk having a lost generation of young people. This was the advice offered yesterday by National Association of School Governing Bodies general secretary Matakanye Matakanye, as pupils are expected to return to school today for the third term. He said the organisation was concerned about the welfare of pupils whose schools were vandalised and looted in the unrest two weeks ago. “We are concerned about what will happen this week, because tens of hundreds of pupils will have no accommodation. “Our appeal, though, is that we explore using structures that already exist in our communities such as halls, and where possible church buildings, because the country’s…

A bar in London is serving up drinks to a new breed of booze hounds, offering “puptails” such as a Bloodhound Mary or Barkarita to dogs brought along by their owners for a drink. “When you are a dog carer, dog parent, you do feel quite bad if you leave them alone,” said Jamie Swan, who opened the After Bark bar and café last month. It serves plant-based refreshments and snacks to those for whom man’s best friend can also be a drinking partner. The dog drinks skip the alcohol, but the canines can enjoy a “Howlapaw Sling” of raw carrot juice or a “Great Expawlor” tray full of shots of apple and raw beet juices. Owners and their pets can also share Lick & Mix treats. “You can have…

“RETURN to no person evil for evil,” words penned by an ancient saint, are as cutting and relevant as they ever were. “Cutting” because they can stop evil in its tracks; halt its progression. Relevant because we all – at least anyone with a smidgen of insight and a dash of humility – will admit we are faced with evil options (self-centredness, self-gratifying motives, win-at-all costs attitudes, dog-eat-dog philosophies) with regularity. To be so is so “normalised” it’s even taught in leadership schools and business schools. Retaliation and vengeance may be common, even instinctive, but are usually unhelpful if any healing is to occur. They are agents of escalation. Refusing to honour evil with a return act of evil is likely to be an agent of de-escalation. “Return to…

LUMKA MSWELI | Port Shepstone I WRITE this letter at a time when parts of the country is still reeling from the recent unrest and looting which took place in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. Though it was shocking to see the images of terror, I couldn’t help but feel unsurprised because lawlessness and chaos is an everyday circumstance for me. I deemed it important to write about this because I don’t want South Africa to see lawlessness as this huge outburst of chaos and destruction as we saw on TV and in the media these past two weeks. As a South African I face this violence every day on a micro-scale. I live in what can be classified as a small town. I’ve been living in my home which…

ZELDA VENTER zelda.venter@inl.co.za AFTER having eviction proceedings hanging over her head for more than a decade, an 84-year-old woman and her disabled son can now breathe a sigh of relief as the law came to her aid to ensure that she may continue to stay in the house which she has occupied since she was 11 years old. Clara Phillips moved to a farm at Somerset West in the Western Cape when she was a child. Her father worked for the then farm owner. Phillips has resided in the house on the property since 1947, when she lived with her parents. The property formed part of a much larger farm at the time. When she married her late husband, who was employed on the farm, she continued to occupy the…

Thami Magubane thami.magubane@inl.co.za THE KWAZULU-Natal government has warned that it will take time for the province to recover from the economic damage brought on by the violence and looting that left several people dead and properties destroyed. This, as economists warn that businesses destroyed by looting cannot wait for the national government to help them rebuild and there is a real possibility that many of these may not recover. Giving an update on the damage, Premier Sihle Zikalala said at the weekend that it would take some time before the province recovered from the damage. “The impact has been worst in rural towns, for SMMEs and on individual business owners, but the destruction has been felt across our economy. The road to full recovery will be long and hard and…

| Mercury Reporter The Moti Cares Foundation visited facilities that care for vulnerable groups such as children and the elderly at the weekend as part of its drive to provide 2 million meals in KwaZulu-Natal. This comes after the unrest two weeks ago that left many citizens facing food shortages. Moved by a plea on its Facebook page, the foundation visited the Cheshire Homes Durban school on Saturday. Cheshire Homes Durban is a special needs school in Chatsworth for children living with disabilities, and volunteers distributed dhal, rice and Nutriwell boxes donated by the foundation, the Sihle Zikalala Development Trust and various corporate partners. “We have been so touched by the reception we have received from various communities over the past few days, but perhaps one of our most…

THANDISIZWE MGUDLWA PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa would do well to integrate all intellectuals – black and white – in the rebuilding of the country. The problem of not using experts from a diverse political, social and economic spectrum is a challenge across mostly the developing world and at times this can also be found in highly advanced democracies. Reasons would vary from one country to the next. Post-colonial Africa is also guilty for the marginalisation of its intellectuals, especially those who are not supporters of the governing former liberation movement. For whatever reason, the suppression and marginalisation of black intellectuals in post-colonial Africa by black governments has hardly been identified as one of the factors why the continent remains the poorest in the world, even though it is the richest…

More than 22 000 Afghan families have fled from their homes to escape fighting in the former Taliban bastion of Kandahar, officials said yesterday, as authorities arrested four suspected insurgents over this week’s rocket attack on Kabul. Since early May, violence has surged across several provinces including in Kandahar after the insurgents launched a sweeping offensive just days after the US-led foreign forces began their final withdrawal. The Taliban’s deadly assault has seen the insurgents capture scores of districts, border crossings and encircle several provincial capitals. “The fighting has displaced 22 000 families in the past one month in Kandahar,” said Dost Mohammad Daryab, head of the provincial refugee department. Yesterday, fighting continued on the outskirts of Kandahar city. “The negligence of some security forces, especially the police, has made…

BRITISH Home Secretary Priti Patel is being partly blamed by her cabinet colleagues for empty supermarket shelves across Britain due to her UK immigration policies. The post-Brexit arrangements set by Patel’s Home Office left hauliers, suppliers and other staffers from the food chains struggling to get the necessary permission to work in the UK. Industry insiders said that warehouses have been operating with 80% staff capacity due to strict visa rules. Government sources have denied that Patel had been targeted by the cabinet. A Downing Street spokesperson said the government had announced measures to help tackle the truck driver shortage. The country has also been hit by a so-called “pingdemic” wave as many food industry workers went into-self isolation over contact with Covid-19-positive people. The British Retail Consortium has called…

ROME: Mass protests against so-called green passes took place all across Italy this weekend. Several thousand people took to the streets in Rome and in Turin, as well as in many other cities, to denounce the government’s measures. Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi said that starting from August 6, people will be allowed into cafes, gyms and open-air shows only if they have a green pass proving that they have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, have tested negative for the virus in the past 48 hours or have just recovered from the infection. Those who oppose the measure insist that it violates the country’s constitution. | Sputnik…

HERMAN GIBBS herman.gibbs@gmail.com France’s over-age players swung the game dramatically in their team’s favour yesterday when they spearheaded a 4-3 win over the South Africa Under-23 side in the Toyko Olympics Group football at the Saitama Stadium, Japan. France’s captain Andre-Pierre Gignac, the side’s lone striker in a 4-2-3-1 formation, scored a hat-trick. Thauvin was at the heart of France’s gallant fightback in the dying stages when Teji Savanier snatched the dramatic matchwinner in injury-time. It was heartbreak for SA who, right until the end, appeared to have done enough to secure their first win in Tokyo after leading for most of the way, but France staged a come-from-behind victory with two goals in four minutes at the death. It was a devastating result for the South Africans after a…

Karen Singh karen.singh@inl.co.za THE chill experienced across the country since last week Thursday was “the exception rather than the rule”, according to Climatology Professor Francois Engelbrecht of the Global Change Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand. Engelbrecht said the extreme weather was the result of a cold front that swept cold air from the high latitudes of the Southern Ocean deep into the interior. He said last Friday the South African Weather Service (Saws) released some statistics from weather stations where records had been broken in terms of the lowest minimum temperatures, a consequence of the cold front’s effect. “Almost no part of South Africa escaped the cold weather. At Makhanda (Grahamstown), a new record was set in terms of the lowest maximum temperature measured: 6.8°C (length of record:…

DUNCAN DU BOIS | Bluff on November 18, 1956, Soviet communist boss Nikita Krushchev boasted that it would not be necessary for communism to invade the US because America would succumb to it without a shot being fired. Sixty-five years later it seems Kruschev’s boast is materialising under the Biden administration. “Marxism in small doses” has long been the strategy by which countries are subverted. Since the accession of the Biden administration to power that process has seen a remarkable acceleration. Yet, ironically it seems to have escaped the scrutiny of the mass media which never missed an opportunity to rubbish the Trump administration. Sowing division in society is a primary aspect of Marxist strategy. Since the arrival of the Manchurian president in office, he has promoted discord…

ALAN JEFFREY | Pinetown I WOULD totally agree that the plight of the poor in our country is the biggest challenge that must be addressed by the ANC government and that the legacy of apartheid obviously played a huge part in the history of this situation. However, it is an outrageous charge to lay responsibility for this totally on the door of ”white privilege”. We were well on our way to creating a more just and equal society under our first two presidents, both statesmanlike men of wisdom and integrity who any South African could respect and honour. Then came Jacob Zuma under whose leadership vast sums of money were looted and drained from this country, much of it now sitting in the Middle East and in the…

NARENDH GANESH | Durban North THE recent unrest, coupled with acts of criminality and violence, must be unequivocally condemned in no uncertain terms, irrespective of who the perpetrators were. No civil society can tolerate or excuse such acts that diminish the value of good and decent living. However, the call by certain religious leaders and the SA National Civic Organisation (Sanco) to remind South Africa that “black lives matter”, is both heretical as well as hypocritical. This kind of rhetoric is exactly the reason why we will never leave the starting blocks of social cohesion in this country. The recent events have steeped this country deeper into the quagmire of racism, creating a powder keg that is bound to explode into mayhem and destruction. Why not a…

Sihle Mavuso sihle.mavuso@inl.co.za AS the two factions fighting over the estate of the late King Goodwill Zwelithini, and ultimately the throne, continue to file their affidavits ahead of oral arguments in court. Queen Sibongile and her two daughters have fired a salvo at Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, saying he has no legal standing on issues of the monarchy. Dlamini-Zulu’s salvo is contained in a response to Buthelezi before the Pietermaritzburg High Court where the queen is fighting to inherit 50% of the estate of the late king on the basis that, as his first wife, they were married in community of property and in a civil rites marriage. Princess Ntandoyenkosi and Princess Ntombizosuthu Duma-Zulu who, separately, allege that the will of the king cannot stand as they claim to have…

Sakhiseni Nxumalo sakhiseni.nxumalo@inl.co.za A TAXI boss was killed and two tow truck operators were left seriously injured yesterday in Everest Heights, in Verulam, north of Durban. Reaction Unit South Africa (Rusa) said according to residents who contacted the private security company, the incident took place just after 2.30pm on Olivine Road. KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbele confirmed the incident and said one of the victims said he was standing on the road with the taxi boss when a suspect, who was walking down the road, suddenly drew a firearm and shot at the three of them. Mbele said the taxi boss was shot in the head. She said another victim was shot in the left upper arm and the third victim sustained a laceration to the waist. “The…

Relief that ‘enemy within’ failed to stoke full-scale civil war PERHAPS South Africans can get some consolation from the fact that the looting and riots that dogged KwaZulu-Natal and pockets of Gauteng two weeks ago which claimed at least 337 lives are not unique to them or the country. That is of little comfort to the relatives of those who perished, those whose businesses were looted and torched; and for those who as a result have lost their jobs and had their livelihoods disrupted. Lest government propagandists or their detractors are too complacent for their own convenience, the latest Global Peace Index (GPI) 2021, published by the Sydney-based Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) and which covers 99.7% of the world’s population, conjures up a sobering scenario. Civil unrest and…

South Africans are still recovering from the shock and horror of the inhumaneness between fellow South Africans and the destruction of property, lives and livelihoods. I join conscious driven citizens in condemning the loss of human life and belongings and the rising racial tensions. I pray that the law enforcement agencies will arrest all those who violated the law in all its forms and hold offenders accountable for their crimes. Regrettably, some individuals and politicians are digging up existing barriers by using inflammatory language to stimulate more hate between human beings. They want fellow human beings to turn on each other for reasons best known to themselves. As citizens of this beautiful country, we must not fall into the trap set by these unscrupulous personalities. Instead, we must promote…

The Biden administration has already spent at least $2 billion (R29.6bn) to halt construction of the southern border wall, despite the ongoing migrant crisis, a report by Republicans on a Senate subcommittee revealed. A report published last week by the minority staff of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee’s Government Operations and Border Management Subcommittee found that efforts to halt or cancel wall construction projects at the Defense Department have cost between $1.8bn and $2bn since President Joe Biden’s inauguration, and the administration is spending about $3 million every day to continue the freeze. And the vast part of that money is used to “guard steel, concrete, and other materials in the desert”. “It is absolutely absurd that Americans are paying contractors to guard metal gates that President Biden…

NEW YORK: US pizza chain Domino’s has announced it was providing “free pizzas for life” to Indian weightlifter Chanu Mirabai after she expressed her desire to eat pizza after winning the silver medal in the 49kg weightlifting category. After having been on a strict diet during the training, she was asked what she would like to eat after winning the medal. Mirabai said: “I will go and have a pizza. It has been a long time since I ate it.” Domino’s India tweeted: “We couldn’t be happier to treat you to free Domino’s pizza for life” – and delivered a pizza to the Olympic medallist’s home. | Sputnik…

OSLO: An “unusually large meteor” briefly lit up southern Norway yesterday, creating a spectacular sound and light display as it rumbled across the sky, and a bit of it may have hit Earth, possibly not far from the capital, Oslo, experts said. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage. Video circulating on social media shows at least one bright flash lighting up a marina at Holmestrand, south of Oslo. Preliminary data suggested a meteorite may have hit Earth in a large wooded area, called Finnemarka, just 60km west of Oslo, the Norwegian meteor network said. The meteor travelled at 15-20km a second and lit up the night sky for about five to six seconds. | Reuters…

armchair view by Mike Greenaway mike.greenaway@inl.co.za There will always be disappointment when the Springboks lose a match, but there needs to be measured perspective on the first Test loss to the British & Irish Lions on Saturday. Quite frankly, the Lions were always favourites to win this match because they were much better prepared. It was former England centre Brad Barritt who pointed out that the Lions players had been playing a year of Test match rugby when most of the South Africans had been locked into one long Currie Cup. The Boks were always going to be underdone going into the first Test and this was exacerbated by Covid-related disruptions over the last few weeks. Almost half of the match 23 that lost to the Lions had tested…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za South Africa’s stunted economy has received a much-needed boost as the government announced the easing of lockdown restrictions, the ramping up of Covid-19 vaccinations and the reinstatement of social support grants. President Cyril Ramaphosa last night announced that the government had decided to place the country on alert level 3 from adjusted alert level 4. This as the country has officially passed the peak of the third wave of Covid-19 infections. Ramaphosa said the overall decline of new cases meant that it was possible to gradually ease some of the restrictions on gatherings, movement and the sale of alcohol. South Africa recorded a total of 9 718 new Covid-19 cases and 287 deaths, with Gauteng still leading the pack followed closely by the Western Cape. The…

Thobile Mazibuko thobile.mazibuko@inl.co.za American skateboarding shoe manufacturer Vans and Patta, an Amsterdam streetwear brand, has joined forces to drop another collection for the cool kids. The Vault by Vans x Patta collection titled “Mean Eyed Cats”, originated as a token of appreciation of Patta’s connection with Beams in Japan, is back with another range. First introduced in 2015, the “Mean Eyed Cats” makes a huge comeback, representing timeless Vans silhouettes such as the Old Skool and Sk8-Hi. The sneaker is executed in true Patta fashion with detailing on the taping and upper part of the shoe. It has the Patta script logo on the upper and comes with custom Patta branded laces. Part of the range is a three-piece series of graphic T-shirts and a collaborative pair of…

Mercury Reporters PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa announced several measures to support the recovery of the economy and provide relief to the poor and vulnerable, amid the Covid-19 pandemic and the unrest that hit KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Gauteng two weeks ago. Announcing the move to level 3 of the lockdown, which included the lifting of the alcohol ban, the easing of restrictions on gatherings, and allowing restaurants, gyms and taverns to be opened, Ramaphosa said the R350 Social Relief of Distress Grant would be reinstated and provided monthly until the end of March next year. He said this was made possible by the slight improvement seen in revenue collection, and added that the grant would now also be for unemployed caregivers, who currently receive a Child Support Grant. Ramaphosa said, in…

FAROUK ARAIE | Johannesburg THE claim by former Proteas spin bowler, Paul Adams, that he was called “brown sh*t”, must be investigated, and the guilty party permanently banned from cricket. They are an affront to human rights, said the UN high commissioner for human rights, Navi Pillay, at a panel discussion on racism in sports. Such deplorable acts of bigotry and prejudice have no place in the 21st century. It is time to kick bigotry out of cricket, now. Zero tolerance of racial discrimination and racism must be adopted and ruthlessly implemented. Any transgressor must be banned from participating in sports, either as a player or as a spectator. South Africa still confronts a great racial divide, and there is an urgent need to close that tragic gap…

| Kin Hubbard HOW about a picnic at Stinky Bay, Crazy Mary's Hole or Nuncle Dicks? You won’t find these spots on the map of the English coastline but you pretty soon will. Ordnance Survey, the official British mapping agency, is about to release a mapping tool, according to the BBC, by which one can overlay the place names used by local people for landmarks, which do not appear on the official maps. This is to avoid confusion in rescue missions. Back in South Africa, there are quite a number of quaint place names, though recorded on the road signs. Gert se Gat, on a secondary route from Franschhoek to Cape Town, has always intrigued me as to its origin. In the Northern Cape are Hotazel (Hot as hell)…

Zelda Venter zelda.venter@inl.co.za “THEY have taken the best part of my life away. They robbed me of a chance to grow old with my Freddie. Before I die I just want to know why they did this.” These are the words of Maria Colitz, one of the many family members who are closely following the Life Esidimeni inquest that kicked off via virtual proceedings in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria last week. Her husband is among the 144 mental health-care patients who died five years ago after they were hastily moved from the Life Esidimeni care facility to NGOs that were ill equipped to deal with them. Colitz and the other families want to know how their loved ones died. They also want those whose actions led to their deaths…

Warring taxi bodies are holding informal talks in an attempt to find an interim solution to the ongoing conflict. The conflict has left at least 24 people dead, 29 injured and scores of minibus passengers stranded. At the centre of the conflict is the minibus taxi route between Bellville and Mbekweni, Paarl, which both the Paarl Alliance Taxi Association (Pata), affiliated to the Congress of Democratic Taxi Associations (Codeta) and the Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (Cata) Boland claim they have the right to run. Efforts by Transport MEC Daylin Mitchell, Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula and other provincial officials to find a solution failed as the parties could not reach an agreement. On Friday, Mitchell announced that he was closing the contentious route for two months as of today. Two…

Sakhiseni Nxumalo sakhiseni.nxumalo@inl.co.za VICTIMS are hoping for justice after eight suspects were arrested in connection with the Phoenix murders. The police said one suspect had appeared in court and his case remanded to August 16. More than 22 people died, more than 20 vehicles were torched, and scores were left injured during the violence which has been linked to racial tension and profiling. National police spokesperson Colonel Brenda Muridili said the other suspects were expected to appear in court today. She said some of the suspects were allegedly connected to more than one murder case. Muridili said other suspects would be charged with attempted murder, malicious damage to property, and defeating the ends of justice. She said there could be more arrests because a dedicated team of detectives was working…

THE Mossel Bay man who was filmed playing the accordion outside the Life Bay View Private Hospital in a bid to comfort his wife, who is battling Covid-19, says he will play again and again – until she is discharged. A video of Lukas du Preez playing the accordion for his wife Marinda went viral last week. The 66-year-old said the performance was his way of reaching out to his wife, to whom he has been married for 44 years. “We’ve been apart for almost three weeks, and it is the longest time we have ever been apart. “It’s difficult not to see her and visit her, and even talking on the telephone exhausts her. Last week, out of desperation, I took the little accordion and I stood outside her…

IN THE wake of civil unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, experts have weighed in on the factors of poverty, unemployment and inequality and how so many people were able to mobilise and loot shops and destroy infrastructure. As these issues are repeatedly discussed, it would be easy to become desensitised or lack empathy when it comes to the plight of millions of South Africans. More attention needs to be paid to this triple threat that not only affects the poorest of the poor but all citizens. To ignore the socio-economic factors, to show a lack of empathy and understanding of the challenges faced by many, will only allow the seeds of division to be sowed. In the wake of tribalism, racism and destruction, a deeper understanding is needed of the…

Hundreds of protesters rallied in the Tunisian capital and other cities yesterday demanding that the government step down after a spike in Covid-19 cases has aggravated the country’s economic troubles. In Tunis, police used pepper spray against protesters who threw stones and shouted slogans demanding that Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi quit and parliament be dissolved. Witnesses said rallies numbering several hundred also gathered in the cities of Gafsa, Sidi Bouzid, Monastir and Nabeul. Demonstrators in Sousse tried to storm the local headquarters of the biggest party in parliament, the moderate Islamist Ennahda. In Touzeur, protesters set fire to the Ennahda headquarters. The protests raise pressure on a fragile government that is enmeshed in a political struggle with President Kais Saied, who is trying to avert a looming fiscal crisis amid…

China’s commercial hub Shanghai and neighbouring coastal regions cancelled all flights, slowed or suspended subway trains and shuttered businesses as Typhoon In-fa made landfall yesterday, bringing flooding and felling about 1 000 trees. The typhoon landed in the Putuo district of the city of Zhoushan, a major port in the east coast province of Zhejiang, state broadcaster CCTV said, citing the China Meteorological Administration. The storm hit as central China was still reeling from record flooding that killed at least 63, cut off power and forced the relocation of more than 1 million people. After flooding 6km of roads in Zhoushan with seawater and felling about 1 000 trees in Shanghai yesterday afternoon, the typhoon was due to make a second landfall on the coast between Zhejiang’s Jiaxing city and…

Papeete: French President Emmanuel Macron faced pressure to apologise for the devastating impact of decades of nuclear testing as he kicked off his first official trip to French Polynesia. During his four-day visit, Macron plans to address the legacy of nuclear testing from 1966 to 1996 as France developed atomic weapons, as well as discuss the South Pacific territory’s strategic role and the existential risk of rising seas posed by global warming. Residents in the sprawling archipelago of more than 100 islands located midway between Mexico and Australia are hoping Macron apologises and confirms compensation for radiation victims. Macron will be “encouraging several concrete steps” regarding the legacy of nuclear tests, with the opening up of state archives and individual compensation, a French official said. French officials denied any cover-up…

Athens: A young endangered monk seal who became the mascot of a Greek island in a marine protected area after surviving a cyclone and endearing himself to locals has been killed, sparking an uproar. Kostis, who was named after the fisherman who saved him as Cyclone Zorbas lashed the Aegean Sea in 2018, was “deliberately killed” off the coast of Alonissos island, the MOm NGO for the protection of the Mediterranean monk seal said. The island is part of the Alonissos and Northern Sporades marine park, Greece’s first such park where sea life is protected by law. The NGO had taken Kostis under its wing after his rescue. | AFP…

Wynona Louw wynona.louw@inl.co.za Springbok loosehead prop Ox Nche says the front row’s substitution at half-time in their 22-17 defeat to the British & Irish Lions in the first Test of the Series wasn’t pre-planned. When Bok coach Jacques Nienaber named his side to tackle the Lions in the Series-opener at Cape Town Stadium, the front row was the standout selection. While most would have expected Frans Malherbe and Steven Kitshoff to fill the starting prop roles, Trevor Nyakane and Nche got the nod with Bongi Mbonambi starting at hooker. The trio produced an excellent first-half display against a tough Lions scrum, however, the entire front row was replaced during the half-time break. Nche, playing in only his third Test, was the standout Bok on the day. Apart from his strong…

Ashfak Mohamed ashfak.mohamed@inl.co.za SHE had just smashed the Olympic record in the 100m breaststroke, but Tatjana Schoenmaker was not getting carried away with her performance and medal prospects at the Tokyo Olympics yesterday. The 24-year-old from Pretoria produced the race of her life to set a new Olympic mark of 1:04.82, which eclipsed American Lilly King’s previous standard by 0.11 seconds, to win her heat and advance to the semi-finals, which took place at 3.56am today, with the final tomorrow at 4.17am. The 200m competition kicks off on Wednesday, with Schoenmaker’s heat at 12.45pm, with the semi-finals on Thursday (4.54am-5.01am), and the final on Friday (3.41am). In fact, Schoenmaker was so reluctant to talk up her chances of grabbing a medal in the 100m that she said she just wants…