Indice dei contenuti per 2021-09-28 in Star

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za EVERGRANDE, a big debt-saddled property developer in China, the banning of cryptocurrency transactions and growing power cuts in the world’s second biggest economy are causing jitters in international markets, analysts said yesterday. Evergrande warned last week it could not meet interest repayments on its $300 billion (R4.5 trillion) debt. Meanwhile, on Friday, China’s central bank announced all transactions and mining of crypto-currencies were illegal – the country is one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency markets and the Bitcoin price slid by more than $2 000 on Friday after the announcement. The Bitcoin price was trading 1 percent higher at $43 642.60 yesterday afternoon. Also on Friday there were reports that power rationing and forced halts to factory production in…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za THE RAND opened the week on a backfoot yesterday as it weakened to a one-month low, tracking above R15 to the dollar, its weakest level in a month battered by seismic events in China, the looming US tapering and rising oil prices. Investors have been worried about a halt in China’s economic growth and state authoritarianism, heightening regulatory restrictions on consumer and tech businesses. Oil prices rose for a fifth straight day yesterday with Brent heading for $80 (R1 193) a barrel, with forecasts indicating it could reach $90 a barrel by year-end, amid supply concerns as demand picks up. On these concerns, the rand weakened to touch R15.08 to the dollar earlier in the day, but pulled back to R14.97 by 5pm. FXTM’s senior research analyst…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za BUSINESS Leadership South Africa (BLSA) has slammed the Independent Communications Authority (Icasa) for plans to terminate the emergency spectrum at the end of November, saying it will harm the economy. In her weekly newsletter BLSA chief executive Busi Mavuso said that despite warnings of the damage to the economy and the fight against the pandemic, Icasa was pressing ahead with a plan to terminate access to emergency spectrum at end-November. “This will make it harder for workers to connect from home, leaving businesses with a difficult choice – either force workers back into the office, put them on leave or make them redundant. The move by Icasa has particularly hit the business process outsourcing sector, the one area of the economy that has managed to grow…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za Property investors would have shuddered as the value of most of their properties were written down by billions of rand through the Covid-19 pandemic, putting the balance sheets of their REIT investments, struggling to collect rents, under more pressure. Declining property valuations have been a feature of the results of many of the REITS reporting their financial results in the past year, and although the write-downs have not led to bankruptcies, with loan-to-values generally healthy, property analysts say the bottom has not yet been reached on property valuations. Not all REITS are similarly affected though, cautions Reitway Global’s chief executive Greg Rawlins, who said that, for example, the limited self storage and logistics focused companies in South Africa were following global trends and growing in value and…

Kedibone Modise kedibone.modise@inl.co.za Celebrated South African contemporary artists Thabo Motseki and Molefe Thwala are seeking answers to some of the questions of identity while unpacking issues of spirituality through their artworks. In their latest two-man exhibition, Identity Redefined, they reveal how their art aided in finding their identities. Motseki’s body of work is an ongoing exploration of defining his identity. Through his artworks, the Free-State born creative pays tribute to women in his family who have played a significant role in his life. “My work carries themes of defending, celebrating and embracing women. I portray women in my work and represent my mother. Women are vital in my work, for I never had a father,” said Motseki. He said the incorporation of maps and smudged fingerprints helped him gain…

Viwe Ndongeni-Ntlebi viwe.ndongeni@inl.co.za If you pee during your shower, chances are you are not alone. A lot of people have done it but may be reluctant to admit to it. It seems harmless, and for some it is to save water by not having to flush the toilet, but a doctor has warned people against urinating in the shower. TikTok users were thrown off when Dr Alicia Jeffrey-Thomas, a doctor of physical therapy at Boston Urology, posted a video titled: “Why you shouldn’t pee in the shower”. In the video, which gained over 29 000 likes, the self-proclaimed ‘TikTok’s Pelvic Floor PT’ outlined that the sound of the running water could cause you problems. “If you pee in the shower or turn on the tap and then sit on the…

Zintle Mahlati zintle.mahlati@inl.co.za HITTING the campaign trail in the Joburg CBD yesterday, DA leader John Steenhuisen said the party wants to avoid the uncomfortable government it endured, following the local government elections in 2016. Steenhuisen and the party’s Joburg mayoral candidate, Dr Mpho Phalatse, interacted with business owners at the popular Maboneng precinct. Phalatse said if the DA manages to garner enough votes to secure the city, it will take governing back to basics. With a heavy pitch to voters on delivering on basic services, such as water and electricity, Phalatse said they were pushing hard for voters to give the DA a majority. The DA, like the ANC, did not secure a majority in the 2016 local government elections. It received 38.37% , 104 seats. The DA was…

Peter Bachtis | Benoni LET’S get serious please! The rampaging looters, criminally minded opportunists, and entitled thieves are roaming our streets after their destructive behaviour a few months ago. Insurance companies feel the pain of having to fork out billions in compensation, while our inept cops have no clue what to do. The politicians expressed shock and horror, but no meaningful action has been seen. It was like loud, smelly flatulence, intense for a few seconds; without long-lasting after-effects. So too, those who hold well-paid political office and make lots of noise. Similar to farting in the middle of a cyclone, a case of BS baffles the brains of all the ANC sheep. The president of inaction and minister of “cops” must answer to those of us who…

Herman Gibbs Kaizer Chiefs continue to plumb the depths of desperation after unfathomable poor performances, but coach Stuart Baxter felt satisfied that Sunday's goalless draw against lowly Marumo Gallants marked an improvement - however slight. Baxter's comment was measured against the team's 4-1 thrashing a week earlier when they hosted Royal AM at the FNB Stadium. “I think we’ve played more like the way we can play if we’re going to start winning games the longer the game goes on," said Baxter, who has come under fire from Chiefs fans for the team's dismal performances this season. "Our possession got sharper, our backline was higher and braver. We got balls into their box, and we were threatening whereas for long periods against Royal, we were not threatening. "I think, at…

The Free State Knights, featuring a host of players with international experience, go into this week’s Pool B round of fixtures in the CSA T20 Challenge as clear favourites to top the group. Adding to the advantage for the side coached by Allan Donald, is that they’re playing at home, at the Mangaung Oval, the largest playing surface in the country. Donald acknowledged that he’s had a difficult time finalising his squad, such is the depth of talent available to him. “We can’t be more prepared than we are right now,” he said. “It’s going to be very tough in terms of selection. I take my hat off to all the players that have worked so hard to get themselves into a position to challenge for a spot…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za AS SOUTH Africa celebrated World Tourism Day yesterday, local pundits have begun to be optimistic about the sector’s prospects as the country officially “exited” the third wave of Covid-19 pandemic. The tourism sector is without a doubt one of the industries that has been hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic for a long and devastating 18 months. The Bureau for Economic Research (BER) yesterday said tourist accommodation statistics had been showing a gradual recovery since February, but the headwinds caused by lockdown restrictions and civil unrest had a severe impact on the hospitality industry. However, hope rose on Sunday when the National Institute of Communicable Diseases announced that South Africa had officially exited its third wave of Covid-19 infections, with the number of fully vaccinated people approaching…

Shivani Singh and Min Zhang WIDENING power shortages in China have halted production at numerous factories, including many supplying Apple and Tesla, while some shops in the north east operated by candlelight and malls shut earlier as the economic toll of the squeeze mounted. Rationing has been implemented during peak hours in many parts of north-eastern China since last week, and residents of cities, including Changchun, said cuts were occurring sooner and lasting for longer, state media reported. Yesterday, State Grid Corporation pledged to ensure basic power supply and avoid electricity cuts. China’s power crunch, caused by tight coal supplies and toughening emissions standards, has hurt production in industries across several regions and is dragging on the country’s economic growth outlook, analysts said. The power squeeze is unnerving Chinese…

Given Majola given.majola@inl.co.za SOUTH Africa’s National Treasury says South Africa’s recent Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) commitments under the Paris Climate Agreement requires the country significantly reduces its energy emissions including greenhouse emissions from the transport sector, which accounts for around 11 percent of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions. “The carbon tax on emissions from fuel (the carbon fuel levy) is an important policy tool to internalise the costs of emissions into fuel prices and encourage changes in the behaviour of fuel users towards energy efficient, lower carbon fuels, alternate electric vehicles, use of public transport and alternate transportation modes,” said the Treasury. Treasury added that on an international scale, South Africa was somewhere in the middle regarding the size of its levies. “Aside from the levies, the price of…

Kedibone Modise Contemporary dance artist Kristi-Leigh Gresse says winning the 2021 Standard Bank Young Artist award in the Dancer category is a great honour for her and the dance fraternity. Gresse joins a prestigious list of artists who have been recognised since the first SBYA award in 1981, and the alumni of the programme have shaped South Africa’s arts landscape, while also boosting the creative economy. Each year, the announcement of the recipients is highly anticipated across the country’s arts sector and this year was no different when the big reveal was done earlier this month. “When I received the call to inform me that I was a Standard Bank Young Artist for Dance 2021 I was speechless,” said the multi-award winning dancer. “Then when the public announcement happened there…

Viwe Ndongeni-Ntlebi viwe.ndongeni@inl.co.za Luthando was just five-years-old when his mother, Lindiwe Sibiya, found him coughing up blood in his sleep. Following blood tests, the Sibiya’s found out that Luthando was suffering from a rare blood disorder, aplastic anaemia. According to the Leukaemia Foundation, aplastic anaemia occurs when one’s bone marrow fails to produce enough blood cells. If left untreated, this blood disorder can be fatal, and in some instances, a blood stem cell transplant is the only viable treatment option for patients with severe aplastic anaemia. Sibiya says Luthando seemed healthy when he went to bed that night. When the blood wouldn’t stop, she called an ambulance, and he was admitted to hospital. Since then, their lives have changed forever. September is World Childhood Cancer Awareness month. During this month,…

Zelda Venter zelda.venter@inl.co.za THE pastor at God Is Love Ministries in Bronkhorstspruit, William Emeka, has been sentenced by the North Gauteng High Court to 37 years’ imprisonment on charges which include multiple counts of rape and sexual assault involving five members of his congregation. The court ordered that the name of the 48-year-old Congolese be added to the National Register for Sexual Offenders. He was also declared unfit to possess a firearm. Emeka was last week convicted on 19 counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault, being illegally in the country, and possession of or using a falsified permanent residence permit. The five members of his flock fell victim to his sexual abuse between 2015 and 2018 in and around Bronkhorstspruit. The pastor was arrested in 2018 and remained…

Baldwin Ndaba baldwin.ndaba@inl.co.za EFF LEADER Julius Malema has vowed to challenge any move to disqualify his party from participating in the upcoming local government elections. Malema made the pledge after the DA laid a formal complaint to the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) yesterday, claiming the EFF undermined Covid-19 regulations during its manifesto launch on Sunday, which attracted more than 15 000 people. The DA urged the IEC and Minister of Police Bheki Cele to act against the EFF for contravening the National Disaster Management Act, which under lockdown level 5 means all public and outdoor gatherings must have a maximum attendance of 500 people. DA chief whip Natasha Mazzone said all South Africans have been forced to live by the ANC’s senseless lockdown rules. However, there cannot…

MEMBERS of the LGBTQIA+ community took to the streets of Soweto for the 17th annual Soweto Pride event and march at Dorothy Nyembe Park on Saturday. Tickets to this year’s Soweto Pride sold out days after it was announced that the event would be held with the support of the City of Johannesburg. According to reports, Justice Minister Ronald Lamola said the government was concerned about violence against the LGBTQIA+ community. He called on society to come together and end the abuse. According to Mamba Online, a South African gay news and lifestyle website, dozens of LGBTQIA+ and allied people walked through the community on Saturday morning, chanting and cheering for equality and dignity. A marching band added to the festivities with the sound of horns and drums, said reports.…

JOSE Mourinho blamed the referee and VAR for Roma’s 3-2 defeat to rivals Lazio in Serie A on Sunday, saying his side were dominant despite the result. It was the Portuguese manager’s second loss since taking charge of the Italian side in the close season, and Lazio led from the 10th minute until the final whistle. However, Mourinho was unhappy about a potential foul in the build-up to Lazio’s second goal, scored by former Roma winger Pedro after 19 minutes, and felt Lucas Leiva should have received a second booking after seeing Roma captain Lorenzo Pellegrini sent off against Udinese on Thursday. “Italian football has improved a lot. But unfortunately, the referee and VAR were not at the right level for this fantastic match,” Mourinho told DAZN. “On the 2-0…

Herman Gibbs THE darlings of South African football - Banyana Banyana - will return to local action after defeating the giants of African women's football Nigeria in their own backyard just over a week ago. Banyana Banyana will run out in Nelson Mandela Bay today against Malawi to mark the start of the 2021 Cosafa Women’s Championship. The team will be chasing an unprecedented fifth title in a row. The tournament ends on October 9. Banyana Banyana are one of 12 teams taking part and will campaign in Group A along with Malawi, Angola and Mozambique. There are three groups of four teams each and the winners will advance to the semi-finals, where they will be joined by the best-placed runner-up, who will play the Group A winner. Most of…

Fifty-five percent of the world’s population lives in urban areas. According to researchers, this will increase to 70 percent or about 2.5 billion people by 2050. Almost 90% of this increase will take place in Asia and Africa. But many cities are not just growing, but also trying to reconfigure themselves to meet the demands of the future. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are emerging as important tools to cope with the growth and changes of cities, often transforming them into smart cities. AI, an important driver of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), is thus transforming not only the business world, but also our cities and the way we live, work and socialise. Transport Autonomous or self-driving cars are on the streets of many cities. Modern technology, such as…

Cape Town City Ballet’s production of Veronica Paeper’s Carmen returns to Artscape due to popular demand. The classical show runs from Tuesday, September 28, until Saturday, October 2. Inspired by Prosper Mérimée’s romantic novel of 1845, Carmen is the ultimate tale of love, passion, betrayal and revenge. Accompanied by Georges Bizet’s dramatic, famous score, Carmen will be performed to a recording by the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra. The ballet tells a story of a fiery gypsy girl named Carmen who mesmerises and seduces a young soldier, Don Jose. He gives up everything for her, abandoning his childhood sweetheart and deserts his military duties. However, Carmen’s free spirit will not be tamed and her unfaithfulness to him leads to tragic results. “I was delighted when Debbie Turner invited me to re-produce…

Lehlohonolo Mashigo lehlohonolo.mashigo@inl.co.za IN AN effort to fight crime, SAPS has launched a Country in Blue operational concept. This idea is aimed at increasing police visibility across the country, this will see all operational police vehicles on the road having their emergency warning blue lights switched on from sunset to sunrise, 6pm to 6am. There will also be additional operational vehicles. National Police Commissioner General Khehla Sitole said the concept was one of several crime-combating strategies to maximise police visibility. “Our slogan is squeezing the space for criminals through a declaration of a psychological war,” Sitole said. Police Minister Bheki Cele called for better collaboration between communities and the police. “More boots and blue lights on the ground not only mean police officers are visible at all times to deter…

ROSEMARY Ndlovu, the former cop accused of ordering hits on relatives and a boyfriend for insurance payouts, spent time in the dock yesterday denying all the shocking allegations she faced. The most vehement of her denials concerned the killing of Brilliant Mashego, her sister’s son. Mashego was attacked and killed in the vicinity of an Engen filling station in Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga, in January 2018. Testifying in her trial yesterday, Ndlovu admitted to leaving Mashego quite late at night at the Engen station. But she insisted Mashego asked to be left there. “He got off, not that I dropped him there,” she said. Prosecutor Riana Williams put it to Ndlovu that “the deceased was found where you left him”. She replied she had warned Mashego against getting off in that area.…

DEAF South Africans are less concerned with hearing than they are about being heard. During the government’s hard lockdowns in 2020, many deaf South Africans had a deeper sense of isolation. They were unable to access the public services and counselling of pre-Covid times. Deaf school learners particularly were at a disadvantage. Online learning was not an option. When schools reopened, the masks teachers were obliged to wear made it impossible for deaf children to read their lips or facial expressions. Consequently, some learners stayed at home. This raises a concern about their future prospects, and their rights as children. The coronavirus amplified the issue of a lack of communication facilities for the deaf without which deaf people are excluded from the public sphere and important conversations. Many small…

THERE was a time when a reunion between Lionel Messi and Pep Guardiola looked distinctly possible, but tonight they will be on opposite sides again when Paris Saint-Germain play Manchester City in the Champions League. Had it not been for Jack Grealish, perhaps things would have turned out differently. City announced the £100million signing of Grealish from Aston Villa on August 5, the same day Barcelona revealed Messi would not be staying at the Camp Nou. A year ago, when Messi tried to force his departure from Catalonia, City appeared the most likely destination. In the end Barcelona prevented the six-time Ballon d’Or winner from leaving then and 12 months later Messi was prepared to stay put until it became clear the financial mess at the Camp Nou meant he…

Wynona Louw wynona.louw@inl.co.za The Springbok Sevens team clinched their first World Series title since 2018 after defeating Great Britain 24-12 on Sunday to win the Edmonton title in Canada. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this series featured only two tournaments instead of 10. Earlier this month, World Rugby also announced the cancellation of the Singapore and Cape Town tournaments. A host of the world’s Sevens heavyweights like Olympic champions Fiji, Australia and New Zealand did not send teams to the event because of travel restrictions. South Africa were one of the 12 men’s teams, with six of those sides having featured at the Tokyo Olympics. Last weekend, the Blitzboks also claimed the tournament title in Vancouver. In the final of the Edmonton event, Muller du Plessis and Siviwe Soyizwapi…

Eshlin Vedan eshlin.vedan@inl.co.za While Mamelodi Sundowns will certainly be the favourites to down Golden Arrows when the two team’s meet in their MTN8 semi-final second leg clash at the Lucas “Masterpieces” Moripe Stadium this afternoon, co-coach Manqoba Mngqithi has warned his troops against complacency. The two team’s played out to a 1-1 draw in the first leg at Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium last month. Not only do Sundowns have a better team on paper, but they will also have home ground advantage. “We are playing an organised team that scores goals and has attacking players in form. Knox Mutizwa is scoring goals and Nduduzo Sibiya is showing his magic. “He is the one player who can give Arrows so much. Sometimes he does not work hard but he is…

A gutted European squad backed captain Padraig Harrington and slump-ridden star Rory McIlroy on Sunday after taking the most lopsided beating in the Ryder Cup’s modern era from the US. The Americans’ 19-9 triumph at Whistling Straits was the largest margin of victory since the US v Europe format was adopted in 1979, the Europeans never winning a session in taking an emotional defeat. “I’ve only lost one other one and it’s dismal,” Europe talisman Ian Poulter said. “We’ve got a great team this week, and we were outplayed. Every session was difficult. “They did their job and they made it painful for us today and this one’s going to hurt for a bit. But you know what? “It’s things like that this make you stronger going forward.” Harrington found…