Tabla de contenidos para 2021-10-26 en Mercury

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za JSE-LISTED tech group Altron’s share price slid 1.8 percent to R10.82 per share yesterday in intraday trading, despite it pointing to its 2.0 Strategy as starting to bear fruit for the business. Altron’s 2.0 Strategy, introduced last year, is anchored on organic growth supplemented by carefully selected acquisitions in local and international geographies. The group reported a 71 percent jump in operating profit to R173 million for the six months ending August 31. Altron’s headline earnings per share also rose by a significant 238 percent to 11 cents per share for the period. The IT services management company said cash generated from operations rose 79 percent to R527m, with revenue for the six months rising by 2 percent to R3.5…

Subrat Patnaik, Sanjana Shivdas and David Shepardson TESLA YESTERDAY neared $1 trillion (nearly R15 trillion) in market capitalisation as the company founded by Elon Musk received its biggest order of 100 000 electric rental cars for Hertz. Tesla shares were up 7.5 percent at $978, hitting a new record yesterday, following the order. Shares were also buoyed by news of the company’s Model 3 becoming the first electric vehicle to top monthly sales of new cars in Europe. The news from Hertz comes as Tesla is coping with a backlog of unfulfilled orders for its vehicles and continuing supply chain disruptions, but it does solidify the mainstream appeal of electric cars. Interim Hertz chief executive Mark Fields said the order would primarily be Model 3 vehicles.…

Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe celebrated their son Deacon’s 18th birthday together on Saturday. The pair, who were married between 1999 and 2007, shared touching Instagram tributes as they posed together with him. The Legally Blonde actress shared a snapshots of her son over the years, including one of him getting ready to blow out the candles on his birthday cake. She captioned the pictures: “One day he was trading Pokémon cards, singing Bruno Mars songs, and playing American Ninja Warrior in the backyard.The next day, he is taller than me, cooking the family steaks on the grill and making his own music with his best friends.” | Bang Showbiz…

Sihle Mavuso sihle.mavuso@inl.co.za THE only metro in KwaZulu-Natal, eThekwini Municipality, which was recently singled out as a political killings hot spot, has revealed it has spent R70 million to guard councillors who are facing threats from political assassins. Responding to media questions during an event dubbed “the hot seat”, hosted in Durban by the KZN ANC yesterday and meant to provide a platform to grill the party about the municipalities that fall under their control, eThekini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda admitted the region was the most affected by the problem. It was not immediately clear how many councillors have been provided with bodyguards as the mayoral office said it needed time to collate that information. Justifying the spending, Kaunda said they felt they had a duty to protect councillors even before…

FORMER health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize has accused the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) of rejecting out of hand his version of events regarding the R6 720 allegedly paid by Digital Vibes towards his family home’s maintenance. This is further evidence submitted by Mkhize to the Johannesburg High Court last week where he is seeking to have the damning SIU report set aside, and the findings against him declared unconstitutional and unlawful. Mkhize is accused of allegedly putting pressure on department officials to award a controversial R150 million tender to Digital Vibes, a company owned by Tahera Mather and Naadhira Mitha, who were alleged to be friends of Mkhize and his family. The R6 720 is part of the millions paid out by Digital Vibes in what the SIU believes “constituted…

| Arthur C Clarke COULD a future US president turn out to be a hippo? The US District Court for the Southern District of Ohio has recognised the right of 80 hippos to be legally considered human. It’s a complicated story involving two countries. The hippos in question are the descendants of four that Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar imported for his private zoo. After his death in 1993 they were turned loose. Four have multiplied to 80 and they are wreaking havoc in the local ecology, according to The Huffington Post. The Colombian government wants to destroy them. But this is being contested by the Animal Legal Defence Fund, arguing that sterilisation – as developed in the US – is a better and more humane option. Oddly,…

YUGEN MOODLEY | Chatsworth NOT A month goes by that Durban Solid Waste (DSW) does not face some type of protest action and we the ratepayers have to endure refuse bags on pavements for days. This is when illegal dumping is at its highest. It seems that DSW management has no control of their staff because ill-discipline seems to be the order of the day. When DSW staff trashed Durban some time back, no one got dismissed. I was told that the union is stronger than management or in control of management. If this is the case, which seems so, with the ongoing strike action etc, then management should be immediately removed and get competent management who can discipline their staff or dismiss them if necessary, for incapacity.…

Ntombi Nkosi ntombi.nkosi@inl.co.za ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa has called on councillors to steer clear of corruption and hiring their family members once they are elected into office. The president said the ANC’s thousands of candidate councillors had made a pledge that they would fight corruption. The auditor-general has flagged a number of municipalities affected by corruption. Irregular expenditure has shot up to more than R26 billion in municipalities. Ramaphosa said the ANC would not tolerate corruption and party members in councils must fight it. “I invited almost 10 000 councillor candidates from all provinces, this week, who pledged to serve their communities with dedication and dignity. I told them that they are elected to serve communities and not to steal money or corruption. When they embark on their journey they…

Thami Magubane thami.magubane@inl.co.za TOURISM KZN has fired two employees in its supply chain management (SCM) unit for allegations of tender fraud. The duo are alleged to have defrauded the entity of R500 000. The details of the alleged fraud were not immediately available yesterday but it was said they involved cover quoting. Cover quoting is the manipulation of the mandatory three-quote procurement system by a departmental official acting in collusion with a supplier, whereby multiple quotations are submitted as if they were independent quotes. The employees, it seemed, were found out between 2019-20 as the report on the matter showed an investigation had been conducted in this period. The entity made the revelations while delivering its auditor-general’s audit outcome for the 2020-21 financial year. Making its presentation before the Standing…

More intent on soothing the insecurities of the privileged AS WE all go out to vote on November 1 in the local government elections, the eight words the Democratic Alliance’s John Steenhuisen wants his party to be identified with are “a record of action” and “a promise of more”. Those are good themes for the DA and available terrain on which to battle Cyril Ramaphosa’s ANC, described by many voters as a leader of chaos and cronyism. A record of action and a promise of more also hint at the recognition of something many voters, according to Steenhuisen, should dislike about the ANC’s manifesto promises under Ramaphosa – “a party of wild, unattainable promises. A manifesto with every fantasy we can think of, ignoring the real-world constraints of resources, budgets,…

Greenhouse gas concentrations hit a record last year and the world is “way off track” on climate goals, the UN weather agency said yesterday, showing the scale of the task facing governments scrambling to avert dangerous levels of warming. A report by the World Meteorological Organization showed that carbon dioxide (CO2) levels surged to 413.2 parts per million in 2020, rising more than the average rate over the last decade despite a temporary dip in emissions during Covid-19 lockdowns. Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said that the current rate of increase in heat-trapping gases would result in temperature rises “far in excess” of the 2015 Paris Agreement target of 1.5ºC above the pre-industrial average this century. “We are way off track,” he said. “We need to revisit our industrial, energy and transport…

Stuck in Gaza for the past 15 years, Munir Hamo may soon be able to reunite with his wife and six children in Jordan. He is one of some 5 000 Palestinians who received rare Israeli approval this month to be included in the Palestinian population registry, making them eligible for official documents such as Palestinian passports. Under interim peace deals with the Palestinians in the 1990s, Israel, which captured the West Bank and Gaza in the 1967 Middle East war, controls the registry. It described the new registration approvals as a humanitarian gesture. “I haven’t seen my children in 15 years. My sons and daughter got married, and I wasn’t able to attend their weddings,” Hamo said. His long period in limbo began after he left Gaza for…

LONDON: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said yesterday it was “touch and go” whether the UN COP26 climate conference will secure the deals needed to help tackle climate change. Britain hopes the summit in Glasgow, starting on October 31, will adopt plans to help limit the rise in the average global temperature to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. “I am very worried because it might go wrong and we might not get the agreements that we need and it is touch and go … but I think it can be done,” Johnson said. Hopes of a major breakthrough deal at the talks were dealt a blow last week when the Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin would not attend the summit. |…

Zaahier Adams zaahier.adams@inl.co.za Throughout the history of the World Twenty20, no team have become champions without losing a match. This is good news and bad news for Temba Bavuma’s Proteas as they prepare to take on the West Indies at the Dubai International Stadium today. It means that stumbling over the first hurdle is not unique to the Proteas, but it is also a fact that a further defeat today could result in elimination with the tournament proper hardly five days old. Any wiggle room that might have existed was vanquished by Australia holding their nerve in the opener on Saturday in Abu Dhabi. It is imperative that they learn quickly from their woeful batting effort at the Sheikh Zayd Stadium for they do possess one of the more lethal…

eshlin.vedan@inl.co.za Cape Town City coach Eric Tinkler believes that the “underdog” tag could work to his team’s advantage ahead of their MTN 8 final showdown against Mamelodi Sundowns at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Saturday night. “We got ourselves to the final and are playing a good team in Sundowns. They are definite favourites and we will be underdogs. It’s a good position to be underdogs. We will work extremely hard in terms of our preparation and planning and I’m confident that the boys will want to go out there and put on a good performance,” said Tinkler. One area of concern for City heading into the game is their defensive form. The Citizens have conceded five goals in their last three games. They also head into…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za ESKOM’S largest coal suppliers Exxaro and Seriti Resources have agreed to invest in renewable energy projects at Eskom operations, marking progress in the race to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the production and generation of electricity. The parties said the first phase of the envisaged project pipeline was expected to see the construction of a number of solar photovoltaic facilities both on mine and at Eskom sites. They said these might be behind-the-meter solutions, that was, off-grid or wheeled solutions, or combinations of the two. The parties said they had signed a memorandum of agreement in line with enabling a just energy transition in South Africa by participating in these renewable energy projects at the mines and related Eskom sites, with the aim of creating employment and…

Philippa Larkin philippa.larkin@inl.co.za SISA NGEBULANA, the founder and chief executive of Rebosis Property Fund, said yesterday that his work was done in sorting out the financial crises at the company and he was retiring with Otis Tshabalala selected as his successor to “steer the firm’s greater future”. Ngebulana founded Rebosis in 2010, which became the first black-owned and managed property fund to list on the JSE. The announcement comes hot on the heels of the company saying last week that it would dispose of its portfolio of office assets worth R6.3 billion, which would bring down the company loan-to-value (LTV) level and optimise its balance sheet to real estate investment trust standards, closing the curtain for Ngebulana’s three-year stint since the board brought him to stabilise the company. In…

Marchelle Abrahams marchelle.abrahams@inl.co.za Springbok captain Siya Kolisi’s memoir offers readers insight into the rugby player’s upbringing and the obstacles and opportunities he was presented with. The release of his memoir Rise chronicles the rugby legend’s rise to greatness, from his humble beginnings in Zwide township in the Eastern Cape to being the first black man to lead South Africa to victory at the Rugby World Cup in 2019. The autobiography gives an intimate glimpse into his childhood and how the odds were stacked against him. In one chapter, he recalls falling in with the wrong crowd after the death of his grandmother, with his aunt taking over as caregiver. “It was at a time when I was starting to hang out with some kids a bit older than me and…

Tesla chief executive Elon Musk has trolled Apple chief executive Tim Cook on Twitter over Apple’s new $19 (R280.52) cleaning cloth. In celebration of Apple’s new store in Istanbul, Cook tweeted on Friday: “Introducing Apple Bagdat Caddesi, our beautiful new store in Istanbul. We’re glad to be a part of this vibrant community and we can’t wait to welcome customers to this spectacular new space.” Musk replied to the tweet stating “Come see the Apple Cloth TM”, reports iMore. Musk’s remark appeared to be mocking the new Apple cleaning cloth that the company now sells on its website. Alongside its new MacBook Pro (2021) and AirPods 3, Apple quietly released a new non-abrasive polishing cloth for cleaning any Apple display that costs an eye-watering $19. The “Compatibility” section of the…

THYAGARAJ MARKANDAN | Kloof IS IT possible? Is it true? Man United beaten at home, at Old Trafford? Not just beaten by one or two goals but thrashed 5 – 0? And not by any team but by their arch enemy, Liverpool? No, it cannot be. It’s unbelievable. But millions of fans around the world and all those who packed Old Trafford could not believe their eyes. So shocked and bewildered were they that many walked out of Old Trafford long before the match was over. It’s going to take a long time for this crushing defeat to sink in. Leading 4 – 0 by half time, Liverpool had a stranglehold on their victim. Ronaldo thought he could rescue United but his goal was ruled out for offside…

EBRAHIM ESSA | Durban THE Mercury (October 18) had an article: “Nobel Prize Peace criteria questioned”, on page 5. The first modern recipient to get his prize recalled should be ex-president Barack Obama, who did nothing for world peace but rather refuelled atrocities in Palestine, wiped out Libya and refurbished the Iraq War. He achieved nothing for peace in Syria and Yemen. Imagine grabbing the prize with both hands even before becoming president. And even after so many failures – to smile and never realise he was another villain. The other person who should have rather been awarded the Ignoble Prize for Genocide, is Madame Aung San Suu Kyi, who sent so may Rohingya refugees to their deaths, did nothing when their homes were destroyed and has yet…

Yogashen Pillay yogashen.pillay@inl.co.za POLICE have urged the public to be on the lookout for a missing policeman. Sergeant Simphiwe Phumlani Lucas Sibiya, 43, went missing in Mbongolwane, in Eshowe, at the weekend. Police spokesperson Captain Nqobile Gwala said Sibiya was last seen on Wednesday. “Mbongolwane SAPS are seeking assistance to find police Sergeant Sibiya who is stationed at the same police station. The officer was last seen by his mother at 10pm on Wednesday, October 20, at his homestead at Ndikilini area, Mbongolwane.” Gwala said he was due to be married on Sunday but he could not be found. “We request anyone who may have information that can assist in finding him to contact Detective Branch Commander, Warrant Officer Hadebe at 082 459 1829 or Crime Stop at 08600 10111.”…

A WITNESS in the Nathaniel Julies murder case said on the day of the fatal shooting one of the accused had assured his mother that her son was still alive, and she was extremely relieved. The witness, Maygen Brownley, who was testifying yesterday in the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court, said she was in bed when she heard a gunshot. She told the court a friend in the house told her to check what was happening outside and told her “Lockies was geskiet” (Nathaniel has been shot). Brownley said they walked towards the scene which was filled with people from the neighbourhood. “A green Polo classic arrived at the scene later in front of me. The door behind the passenger seat opened and accused number three, Vorster Netshiongolo got out of…

AS THE country heads to the polls next week to elect their local government representatives for the next five years, political parties and the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) should ensure that the elections are Covid-19 compliant. There is no doubt that next week’s polls will be the most hotly contested local government elections ever, with a record number of independent candidates and smaller political parties vying for a seat in various local municipalities. It is, therefore, very easy for political parties to get carried away and ignore life-saving Covid-19 regulations at various voting stations located in different parts of the country. While the country is on alert level 1 of the lockdown, this does not mean that Covid-19 protocols are no longer critical in the fight against the pandemic.…

Funds needed to feed millions of people in war-ravaged Yemen could run out in a matter of weeks, a senior UN official warned, calling on donors to inject more cash to avert a large-scale famine. World Food Programme (WFP) executive director David Beasley said the first half of 2022 would be “brutal” for Yemen, which has teetered on the brink of starvation after nearly seven years of war between a Saudi-led coalition and the Houthi group. “We run out (of money) in a few weeks,” Beasley said in Dubai. “I don’t see how we don’t avoid, at this stage, a famine of biblical proportions … without a massive injection of additional dollars.” The war and ensuring economic collapse as well as coalition restrictions on imports to Houthi-held areas have caused…

Actor James Michael Tyler, who played much-loved coffee shop barista Gunther on sitcom Friends, has died at the age of 59 after a battle with prostate cancer, his manager Toni Benson said in a statement on Sunday. Tyler “passed away peacefully at his home in Los Angeles”, he said. Tyler is survived by his widow, Jennifer Carno. Tyler, first cast in the series in 1994, starred in 150 episodes of Friends during the show’s10-year run – but was not given a line of dialogue in the show until he had made over 30 appearances. Tyler was first diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2018 but said in June it had spread to his bones. The official “Friends” Instagram account also posted a tribute to the star. | The Washington Post…

MOSCOW: Russia reported a record high number of daily Covid-19 cases and some central European countries imposed fresh restrictions yesterday as a new wave of the pandemic gathered pace. Authorities around the world have been sounding the alarm as infections surge, with governments in regions where vaccine uptake has been low forced to toughen up restrictions in a bid to stop the virus raging out of control. Russia yesterday reported 37 930 new Covid-19 infections in the last 24 hours, its highest single-day case tally since the start of the pandemic. President Vladimir Putin declared that October 30 to November 7 would be paid non-working days. | Reuters…

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer faced intense criticism and speculation over his future after his team’s humiliating 5-0 defeat at home by Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday. United’s worst ever defeat at home to their arch-rivals killed in 90 minutes the short-lived hype that surrounded Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to the club and the hopes of a title challenge that it raised. But it also brought into the spotlight the Norwegian’s management and coaching of the team as he approaches three years in charge of the side. While United were booed off the field at half-time, as they trailed 4-0 at the break for the first time in the Premier League era, there were no chants for Solskjaer to be fired. But social media was much less forgiving…

Herman Gibbs Banyana Banyana will pursue their dream of lifting the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations for the first time when they play Mozambique today at FNB Stadium. The match will be the second leg of their first-round fixture and was initially scheduled for the Dobsonville Stadium, Soweto, but the South African Football Association (Safa) has since announced that the match will be played at the 'Calabash'. It may turn out to be a good switch since the 'Calabash' has been a happy hunting ground for Banyana Banyana's male counterparts Bafana Bafana. In their recent World Cup qualifiers there, Bafana Bafana ran out winners against African giants Ghana and Ethiopia. Victory for Banyana Banyana today seems a mere formality after they hammered Mozambique 7-0 in Maputo. On the eve of…

Fabio Quartararo had never won a title in Moto3 or Moto2 but on Sunday the Yamaha rider became the first Frenchman to win the MotoGP world championship in spectacular and unexpected circumstances at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. Quartararo's closest title contender, Francesco Bagnaia, was in the lead and looked set to shift the title fight to Portugal when the Ducati rider crashed with five laps to go, giving the championship to the Frenchman, who finished fourth with an unassailable lead. The tears started to flow in the pit lane as 22-year-old Quartararo, the son of a locksmith and a hairdresser, let the moment sink in. El Diablo had ended nine years of Spanish dominance with two races to spare. "I have no words and I have no more liquid…

Sibusiso Mboto sibusiso.mboto@inl.co.za SOUTH Africans should brace themselves for a tough last two months of the year, with food prices set to rocket due to an increase in food production input costs, including fuel. The grim warning, which was issued by the advocacy group Pieter- maritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity (PMBEJD), comes in the wake of concerns that were also expressed by Agri SA last week about how the costs of fertiliser, herbicides, packaging, diesel, electricity and labour were making it nearly impossible for many farmers to produce food sustainably. The AA said last week that recent exchange rate and commodities data showed that fuel price hikes would reach “catastrophic proportions” in November. PMBEJD’s Julie Smith said the rise in electricity costs in June and July would see food prices…

GRIEF, in the wake of loss, is a crazy companion. It is sometimes comforting, even refreshing and, on occasions and during varied seasons, will feel as if it is ripping you apart. There are times it never lets up, never lets go, plays a twisted game of hide and seek with you. Let grief do its work. Grief, believe it or not, has your best interests at heart and will do its work to revive yours, as broken and as battered as it may feel. Painful as it might sometimes feel, let it do its beautiful work within you, allow it free range, full access, and you will become even more beautiful than you are. Your heart may be broken and your life may feel hopeless, but grief will deliver…

JUSTIN MOODLEY | Phoenix THE Proteas started their T20 Cricket World Cup (CWC) campaign on a losing streak. That was expected. They were not only beaten by Australia by five wickets, they were humiliated. The Proteas were bundled out for 118 runs, the lowest they amassed in such a prestigious and international event. I am an avid Proteas fan and did not expect such a dismal showing. Millions of fans were disappointed. Two weeks ago, The Mercury published my letter in which I questioned the exclusion of Faf du Plessis, AB de Villiers and Imran Tahir from the Proteas World Cup squad. I was very disappointed. Their absence proved my point with this defeat. I warned Cricket South Africa and the selection panel such exclusion would have a…

KEVIN GOVENDER | Shallcross IS IT a futurist’s dilemma or delight? How true was Roman historian Pliny The Elder when he proclaimed centuries ago: Africa asimper aliquid novi (Always something new out of Africa). Well, it seems marketing gurus and prodigious savants have been hard at work, coming up with innovative schemes to kick-start our economy after the global pandemic showed signs of easing. First up is a sweetheart deal, the first of its kind in South African home ownership annals. It is an offer by FNB to allow 12 people to own a home. Is this some kind of timeshare scheme? I’ve owned timeshare locally and internationally. It can be a real winner if you understand how to space, bank and trade your points. If foreigners can…

Southern African regional bloc SADC said eSwatini’s King Mswati III – Africa’s last absolute monarch – has accepted the need for a national dialogue after pro-democracy protests intensified this month. Envoys from South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and the regional group visited eSwatini on Thursday and Friday and met the king, the prime minister, civil society organisations, trade unions and others, SADC said. “King Mswati III has accepted the need for national dialogue ... I appeal for calm, restraint, respect for the rule of law and human rights on all sides to enable the process to commence,” President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a statement as chair- person of the SADC’s politics organ. The monarch plans to convene a meeting where people can express their grievances, a representative of the king said.…

Yogashen Pillay yogashen.pillay@inl.co.za KwaZulu-Natal Education MEC Kwazi Mshengu said a comprehensive plan had been put in place to manage all matric exam risks and the department had a WhatsApp number to report any irregularities. Last year, in national incidents, both maths paper 2 and physical science paper 2 were leaked. Mshengu said KZN had been beset by challenges this year, as apart from the Covid-19 pandemic, several schools were damaged and vandalised during the looting and unrest in July. “As if the difficulties visited on us by Covid-19 were not enough, the civil unrest we experienced as a country also did not help the situation, but despite all that, we are here today to report that the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education is ready for the 2021 National Senior Certificate examinations.”…

The Western Cape High Court has granted the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (Cals) and the Wise Collective permission to be friends of the court in a matter where a woman was silenced about her alleged rape experience through a gag order. The court is also expected to rule on social media posts that contain rape allegations. In 2015, a 31-year-old woman was allegedly raped by her ex-boyfriend while they were still in a relationship and spoke of the incident to close family and friends. During different gender-based violence campaigns, including the #MeToo movement in 2019, she shared her experience in a closed safe online messaging group designed to create solidarity and support for survivors of sexual assault. A screenshot of her private messages was circulated without her consent, and…

IT’S interesting that the monster, secession of our southernmost province, is rearing its ugly head again, even though it is not even a general election. The idea of people and groups wanting their own little island is nothing new. In fact, it’s as old as mankind. It’s also no coincidence that former US president Barack Obama chose a Bible term for the title of his latest best-seller Promised Land. God had promised His people a new land “overflowing with milk and honey”. Fundamentalists would want us to believe that it refers to modern Israel. However, the enemies of Israel have branded it an apartheid state. In our modern history, the Europeans, having discovered in their voyages of discovery from the 1300s to 1600s how backward Africa was, decided at the…

The detention by Sudan’s military of the country’s prime minister and a large number of his cabinet and party members early yesterday morning plunged the country’s fragile democratic transition into disarray. Days earlier, the capital, Khartoum, was swept by the biggest pro-democracy street protests since 2019, when long-time dictator Omar Hassan al-Bashir was toppled by a wave of popular discontent. Crowds swelled in the streets again yesterday in response to the detentions. Internet services were disrupted or unavailable in Khartoum and other parts of the vast north-east African country. Local news channels reported the closing of roads and bridges connecting Khartoum with the rest of Sudan by large contingents of security forces, and the suspension of flights at the airport. Since Bashir’s ousting, the country has been governed by a…

Facebook will fuel more episodes of violent unrest around the world because of the way its algorithms are designed to promote divisive content, whistle-blower Frances Haugen told the British parliament yesterday. Haugen, a former product manager on Facebook’s civic misinformation team, was appearing before a parliamentary select committee in Britain examining plans to regulate social media companies. She said the social network saw safety as a cost centre, lionised a start-up culture where cutting corners was a good thing and said it was “unquestionably” making hate worse. “The events we’re seeing around the world, things like Myanmar and Ethiopia, those are the opening chapters because engagement-based ranking does two things: one, it prioritises and amplifies divisive and polarising extreme content and two it concentrates it,” she said. She said the…

ATHENS: Fofi Gennimata, leader of Greece’s socialist opposition Movement for Change, died yesterday after a long battle with cancer. The death of Gennimata, who was to turn 57 next month, was announced by the Evangelismos hospital where she had been receiving treatment since October 12. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was shocked to learn of Gennimata’s death, and a day of national mourning was declared for tomorrow, when her funeral will be held, his office said. Mitsotakis, who arrived in Saudi Arabia yesterday for a two-day visit, will return to Greece tonight. “Fofi was a fighter, battling against her health issues with dignity. She became a symbol of courage for all women and men, sorely tested by serious illness,”he said. Gennimata had her first cancer diagnosis in 2008. Tributes from across…

Stuart Hess stuart.hess@inl.co.za The lawyer, who represented Ethy Mbhalati during the match fixing scandal in 2016, told the Social Justice and Nation Building hearings that Mbhalati’s assertion that he was forced to sign a settlement agreement, was false. David Woodhouse, from the law firm Tabacks, said Mbhalati - one of seven players sanctioned for their involvement in the match fixing scandal during the 2015/16 RamSlam competition - was fully aware at all stages about the charges which were made against him. “Mbhalati also alleged that the advice he was given wasn't good and he signed a settlement agreement in circumstances where he was not even aware of the charges. That is not correct,” said Woodhouse. Woodhouse said that his firm was approached by the SA Cricketers Association, the players union,…

Zaahier Adams and AFP West Indies coach Phil Simmons is backing his team to bounce back in their crunch T20 World Cup clash against the Proteas today. The defending champions were skittled out for a record low 55 in their opener against England on Saturday. But instead of retreating, the former West Indies all-rounder has backed his charges to hit back with a vengeance. “For me, Saturday was just about bad shot selection,"”Simmons said. “The bowling wasn’t, as we would say, extraordinary. All the guys have played against these guys (England) before, so I just put it down to bad shot selection.” “Well, the style in which we play our cricket has always been in the style in which we play our cricket. But we also got to assess…