Tabla de contenidos para 2023-05-29 en Mercury

SINCE the invasion of Ukraine, more than 1 000 companies have voluntarily curtailed operations in Russia to some degree – beyond the minimum legally required by international sanctions. More than 500 companies have sus- pended their business in Russia, and 523 have withdrawn completely.An additional 152 are “scaling back”, 177 are “buying time”, and for 227 companies it is “business as usual”, according to a database kept by Yale University. Dr Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Lester Crown Professor in Management Practice, and his team of research fellows and students at the Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute update the database to reflect new company announcements in as close to real-time as possible. Over the past 15 months, the cor- porate response to Russia’s war in Ukraine has seen 330 American companies announcing…

A South Korean court issued an arrest warrant yesterday for a passenger who opened an Asiana Airlines plane door minutes before it landed in Daegu, South Korea, Yonhap News Agency reported. The man, in his 30s, was detained on landing on Friday after opening the door when the A321-200 plane was about 213 metres above the ground, causing panic on board. The Daegu District Court issued the warrant for him on charges of violating the Aviation Security Act, saying there was a risk he may try to flee before trial. The warrant allows police to keep him in custody longer. He was not charged at the hearing. Officials gave the man's surname as Lee but not his full name, as is usual custom. Lee said he opened the door because…

The annual Comrades race is coming soon. How do I know this? From the annual superficial and temporary “cleaning up”, for worldwide TV viewers, of the Comrades route, mainly the R103, by the dysfunctional provincial Roads Department. This is a yearly occurrence – maybe the race organisers can be persuaded to hold the race monthly! The activities consist of attending in the main to cosmetic features in an attempt to hide the poor performance regarding the routine and special maintenance required during the rest of the year. The cosmetic activities comprise roadside vegetation clearance, improved road markings and perfunctory but not long-term repair of potholes on the road surface, and only where they can be seen by the TV cameras. No attention or even thought seems to be given to…

SOUTH Africa is not only the land of milk and honey for state capture operatives but is now becoming a fantasy destination for visiting dignitaries, emissaries, executives, high profile business people, celebrities and politicians. Even the president of the United Arab Emirates recently took over parts of the Eastern Cape when he arrived with a glittering entourage that included cooks, medics, bodyguards and a bevy of women to satisfy their every whim and fancy – all with the full knowledge of the ANC government. Not since the docking of the QE II or the landing of a planeload of Gupta wedding guests at Waterkloof Air Base have we seen such a highfalutin and pompous guest list. As if the sun and sand, our wildlife, mountains and warm waters of the…

A HUSBAND who five years ago during his divorce settlement agreed to pay his wife R100 000 a month maintenance and buy her a new car every year until her death turned to court to try to get out of the agreement, as he argued that she now had a new lover who could take care of her. The man, identified as SM as the matter concerns issues of divorce, went to the Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg, to get out of his obligations. He asked the court to declare that the settlement he had agreed to in 2017 (promising to pay her R100 000 a month until her death) actually implied that he could stop paying her maintenance when she remarried. He argued that as she now had a live-in…

Limpopo police have launched a manhunt for the suspects who allegedly stoned a man to death in Maatadi Village. Limpopo police spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba said the victim was suspected to have been involved in illegal mining in the village. “Police were called at about 8pm and found a man on the mountain with visible injuries throughout his body. “He was certified dead on the scene by medical emergency services personnel,” said Ledwaba. He said preliminary investigations revealed the victim was stoned to death. “The deceased’s identity is not yet known but investigations revealed that he is from Kwazulu-Natal.” Ledwaba said the motive for the killing is being investigated and no arrests had been made. Limpopo provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe strongly condemned the “barbaric attack”. In March…

IN A BID to mitigate against and manage the spread of cholera in the township of Hammanskraal, Gauteng Health has set up field hospitals. With more people continuing to present with symptoms in the township north of Pretoria, temporary tents have been set up by the Department of Health to attend to residents presenting with symptoms of dehydration, vomiting, and diarrhoea. Upon arrival, patients are reportedly being treated through oral hydration or intravenous hydration, with critical patients being taken to hospitals across Tshwane. The department said that as of Saturday, there were 215 people at the Jubilee District Hospital in the area, with another 23 transferred to Ga-rankuwa’s Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital. On a positive note, health officials reported that fewer residents had presented at the hospital, with 27…

Rwandan national and genocide crimes suspect, Fulgence Kayishema, who was arrested on a farm in Paarl last week, will be back in court on Friday. Kayishema appeared in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court last Friday charged with two counts of fraud and three counts of transgressing the Immigration Act He is being held at Pollsmoor Prison after the court granted the State a seven-day postponement to continue with its investigation. The State asked for more time as it seeks to add further charges against him. Kayishema, is a former senior policeman in Rwanda where he stands accused of ordering the death of 2 000 people hiding in a church during the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Kayishema, who waved a Bible around in court, is accused of having “unlawfully, falsely and with…

THE office of the public protector’s delay in releasing to the public the much-anticipated report on the Phala Phala farm scandal creates unnecessary suspicion of interference. It’s now almost 12 months since African Transformation Movement (ATM) leader Vuyolwethu Zungula turned to the public protector, asking Busisiwe Mkhwebane to investigate President Cyril Ramaphosa for possible breach of the Executive Members Ethics Act. This was after former State Security Agency director Arthur Fraser lodged a criminal complaint against Ramaphosa in connection with the theft of dollars amounting to millions of rand at his Phala Phala game farm in 2020. We now know that Sars has no record of the foreign currency being declared. The animals that were allegedly bought with the dollars are still at the farm. The ATM’s main concern though…

US President Joe Biden and Republican leader Kevin McCarthy announced a deal at the weekend to raise the debt ceiling, dragging the US back from the precipice of default with only a few days to spare. Congress will vote on the deal to extend the government’s borrowing authority on Wednesday, just shy of the June 5 “X-date” when the Treasury estimates the government will no longer be able to pay its bills, plunging the economy into turmoil. Biden said that the deal was “good news because it prevents what could have been a catastrophic default and would have led to an economic recession, retirement accounts devastated, and millions of jobs lost”. McCarthy, who spoke with Biden on Saturday to close the deal, said there was still “a lot of work…

KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy yesterday praised his country’s air defence forces after the capital Kyiv saw the largest drone attack since the beginning of the Russian invasion. Ukraine said the overnight attack was “the most important” of the invasion, with more than 40 out of 54 drones targeting the capital. It was the 14th drone attack on the Ukrainian capital this month. The Kyiv military administration said that “more than 40 Russian drones were destroyed”. Two people were killed and three others wounded as debris of the downed drones fell in several districts. | AFP…

It is not all doom and gloom for the Stormers after their heart-breaking United Rugby Championship final loss to Munster on Saturday in front of a sold-out Cape Town Stadium. Despite going down 19-14 against their fired-up Irish visitors, enough good things happened over the season for the Cape side to be optimistic about their future in the competition. Munster defended for all their worth, nullifying the Stormers’ potent attack and in doing so, secured a first title in over a decade in the competition. Although the loss left a hollow feeling that will probably be there for months, Stormers coach John Dobson and his assistants can be very pleased with the squad depth they built. This season, in the absence of guys like Deon Fourie, Evan Roos, Leolin Zas,…

Serving up lamb chops intimidates many people since they can be pricey and have a strong flavour. But if you know how to cook lamb, that juicy flavour becomes very mild, and the meat is really enjoyable. In addition, if you cook lamb at home, you will pay way less than ordering it at a fancy restaurant. Lamb is also surprisingly easy to prepare. Below, chef Mynhardt Joubert shares his roasted lamb loin chops with green asparagus and tomato and caper sauce recipe. “My earliest childhood food memories have been of fresh green asparagus and roasted lamb on the fire. And whenever I miss home I light a fire and fill the air with the smell of lamb chops simply grilled with salt and pepper and served on some blanched…

Questions have been raised about when the Section 154 intervention that was announced for eThekwini Municipality will be put into action. While the intervention was announced by the provincial Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Department on May 9, almost three weeks later the national and provincial Cogta departments remain mum about what steps have been taken to begin the process. KZN Cogta had announced that the intervention was to be led by seasoned administrators in former director-general Dr Cassius Lubisi, and former eThekwini municipal manager and experienced local government expert, Dr Michael Sutcliffe. While the pair were expected to hit the ground running, there has been no sign that they have started interacting with eThekwini’s top brass or been given any terms of reference for their task. Section 154…

AS ARCH-BREXITEER Nigel Farage slammed Britain’s Tories on Sky News the other evening for their feeble implementation of Brexit, he seemed to be wearing Union Jack socks. We didn’t get a glimpse of his underpants. Don’t mess! YOU don’t mess with the Marines. An account comes this way from Augusta, Georgia, in the US, about a shoplifter who ran out of a store when spotted, but ran into a group of four US Marines who were collecting toys for a Toys For Tots programme. The Marines grabbed him but then one of them was stabbed with a knife the shoplifter was carrying, though not seriously. The slightly wounded Marine and the shoplifter were both taken to hospital, the latter with two broken arms, a broken ankle, a broken leg, several…

I refer to the article on the front page of The Mercury, dated Friday, May 26, “ANC, DA at odds over march”. The ANC, once again, is whingeing over the fact that the DA is marching to the Durban City Hall to complain about the poor service delivery. I have only one thing to say to the ANC: Never once in 29 years have you ever responded to a compliant about the way you have, and are, destroying the country, and said: “Sorry, we can and will do better to serve the people who voted for us.” Sis, shame on you!…

EVERY person has a voice designed for full expression. Some have allowed their voice to be stolen or silenced and might find it necessary to take time to find or re-establish the voice they have chosen to deny or ignore. Thankfully, suppressing a voice seldom kills it. It can usually be found even after years of denial. Any person who refuses to hear what you have to say or who tries to silence you doesn’t love you, even if he or she proclaims otherwise. It is never a loving act, except in extremely unusual circumstances, to stop another expressing who he or she is. Likewise, it is not a loving act to withhold your contribution to the world by maintaining your silence. You were not created to be silent. You…

FEARS are mounting that life-threatening diseases such as polio, that was eradicated for decades, could return because of the immunisation gap caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The World Health Organization sounded the alarm after cases of polio, which had been eradicated in 1989, were recorded in neighbouring countries. This comes as Hammanskraal, just north of the country’s capital Pretoria, is battling a cholera outbreak with the death toll climbing past 20 as of Friday. “It is a sad state of affairs that we are catering for outbreaks of diseases (from) … the middle ages. South Africa is the richest economy on the African continent,” said Jo Barnes, senior lecturer emeritus at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at the University of Stellenbosch. The WHO said if the immunisation gap…

A Free State man who killed his ex-girlfriend’s boyfriend has been handed a life sentence. Thabo Ramantsane, 39, was convicted in the Free State High Court for the murder of 40-year-old Phako Moshoeu. NPA spokesperson Phaladi Shuping said Moshoeu and Nteseleng Shai had been sleeping at Shai’s house in Wepener when Ramantsane entered their bedroom and started stabbing both of them. “Shai managed to escape, but Moshoeu died on the scene,” said Shuping. Ramantsane received a further 15 years for Shai’s attempted murder. |…

Globally, 12 billion working days are lost in productivity every year to depression, anxiety ANOTHER unintended consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic, combined with the fallout from the Ukraine conflict with its devastating impact on food and fuel supplies and rising prices, the fragile recovery of the global economy towards pre-pandemic normality which has led to a worldwide cost-of-living crisis, is the sharp rise in mental health cases, especially for anxiety, depression and suicide. In the first year of the pandemic, the global prevalence of anxiety and depression increased by a massive 25%, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). All countries irrespective of economic status, wealth or quality of health-care ecosystems, are affected. We all know a family member, relative, neighbour or friend who is afflicted by a faceless illness,…

Turks voted yesterday in a presidential run-off that could see Tayyip Erdogan extend his rule into a third decade and persist with Türkiye’s increasingly authoritarian path, muscular foreign policy and unorthodox economic governance. Yesterday, Erdogan was leading his presidential challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu with 56.4% support, based on initial results with 35.8% of the ballot boxes opened. Erdogan, 69, defied opinion polls and came out ahead with an almost five-point lead over Kilicdaroglu in the first round on May 14. But he fell just short of the 50% needed to avoid a runoff, in a race with profound consequences for Türkiye itself and global geopolitics. His unexpectedly strong showing amid a deep cost-of living crisis, and a win in parliamentary elections for a coalition of his conservative Islamist-rooted AK Party…

French medical bodies yesterday called on authorities to punish researcher Didier Raoult for “the largest ‘unauthorised’ clinical trial ever seen” into the use of hydroxychloroquine to treat Covid-19. Raoult, the former head of a research hospital, IHU Mediterrannee, and his subordinates engaged in “systematic prescription of medications as varied as hydroxychloroquine, zinc, ivermectin and azithromycin to patients with Covid-19... without a solid pharmacological basis and lacking any proof of their effectiveness,” a group of 16 research bodies wrote on the daily Le Monde’s website. The drugs continued to be prescribed “for more than a year after their ineffectiveness had been absolutely demonstrated,” they added. Endorsement from respected tropical disease specialist Raoult had helped push hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malaria drug, into the public’s consciousness in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic,…

Saudi Arabia and the US yesterday called for the extension of a ceasefire deal that has brought some let-up in a six-week war between military factions, but little humanitarian relief for civilians in Sudan. Clashes could be heard in the capital, Khartoum, yesterday residents said. Human rights monitors reported deadly fighting in El Fashir, one of the principal cities in the western region of Darfur. The conflict between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that erupted on April 15 has left the capital reeling from heavy battles, lawlessness and a collapse in services, driving more than 1.3 million people from their homes. Violence has flared in several parts of Darfur, with hundreds of deaths near the border with Chad, with the attacks blamed on “Janjaweed” militias drawn…

Leicester were relegated from the Premier League just seven years after a spectacular title triumph as Everton prolonged their 69-year stay in the English top flight by beating Bournemouth 1-0 yesterday. Leeds United will also return to the Championship after three seasons in the Premier League as their relegation was confirmed by a 4-1 defeat to Tottenham. Abdoulaye Doucoure was Everton's hero as the French midfielder smashed home from the edge of the box on 57 minutes to spark jubilant celebrations around Goodison Park. In contrast, Leicester were crestfallen as they went down, despite their 2-1 win over West Ham. Everton began the afternoon in control of their own fate but put a raucous support of 40 000 fans at Goodison Park through the mill before securing survival. Scoring goals…

The Springboks’ preparations for the Rugby Championship will ramp up a level today when a second alignment camp in Durban gets underway and concludes on Wednesday. Coach Jacques Nienaber conducted a small camp in Durban a fortnight ago with just 15 players but this time the numbers will be swelled by eight players who have finished their commitments in Japan plus, of course, a host of Stormers from the weekend’s United Rugby Championship final. “This first camp was invaluable in getting the coaches and players on the same page in terms of our structures and systems, and this camp will give us another opportunity to get the players into the swing of things before our Pretoria training camp in June,” Nienaber said. The Boks are about five weeks away from…

The move is effective from August 1, making her the first female CEO of listed SA insurance group JEANETTE Christina Marais has been appointed as the new Group CEO of Momentum Metropolitan Holdings and Momentum Metropolitan Life. The move makes her the first woman CEO of a large, listed life insurance and asset management group in South Africa – a positive move for gender parity. Only seven of the top 100 Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed companies are led by woman CEOs, indicating minimal progress in balancing gender representation at senior management and executive positions, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) South Africa’s 2022 executive directors report. And while only 5% of companies listed on Africa’s 24 stock exchanges have a woman as CEO, those that do have a woman CEO outperform financially by…

THE African fashion industry is alive with possibilities. It is full of young, talented creatives eager to succeed. IOL Lifestyle spoke to Mimangaliso Ndiko, a 23-year-old fashion designer who founded Sixx6. Sixx6 is a high-end, sustainable ready-to-wear brand that promotes self-expression through clothing. It combines vintage corporate suiting and pre-colonial silhouette shapes. It comprises detachable components and adjustable features that increase the longevity of every garment. “Pre-colonial silhouettes were the perfect example of self-confidence, a celebration of body positivity, sex appeal and that’s what our brand stands for,” says the Gqeberha-born and bred designer. Ndiko, raised by his grandmother Pumla Ndiko, was fortunate to have someone with an open mind. His grandmother allowed him to explore the freedom to be creative at a young age: in Grade 5, he already…

PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed a three-member independent panel to enquire into the circumstances around the docking of the Russian vessel known as “Lady R” in Simon’s Town, Western Cape, in December last year. This comes after US Ambassador Reuben Brigety publicly announced he had evidence that South Africa had sold arms and ammunition to Russia when the Lady R docked. Yesterday, Ramaphosa announced that the panel would include Judge Phineas Mojapelo as chairperson, advocate Leah Gcabashe and Enver Surty. Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said the panel would finalise its investigation within six weeks of its appointment and would be expected to submit its report to the president within two weeks of concluding its work. “The panel may request an extension of this time frame should it be necessary,” Magwenya…

NEVER-ending load shedding is having a devastating impact on businesses in South Africa, especially in Durban. The frequent power outages have become a significant challenge for many businesses, both big and small. As businesses struggle to keep their doors open, the frequent power cuts have led to significant financial losses. Customers cannot access services and products, and businesses cannot operate at full capacity. This dire situation has led to many companies closing down, leaving thousands of people unemployed. The situation is especially serious in Durban, with many businesses in the central business district and surrounding areas struggling to keep up with the power cuts. The unstable power supply has resulted in high operational costs, forcing businesses to invest in alternative power sources in order to keep their enterprises going. Load…

SOUTH Africa faces many problems, and as the Reserve Bank governor said recently: “Most are self-inflicted.” There appears to be a notion that “more money” is the solution to all of the problems. That, however, is a false impression. Why are our primary education standards so shockingly unimpressive? Why is it a fact that the standards of education in Zimbabwe – with far less available public money – are so much higher than in South Africa. Are our administrative and teaching attitudes of government and average staff lacking? Are too many teachers more interested in having a “job” and in the month-end salaries? Is the personal commitment to promote quality education to the scholars lacking? Is the lack of mother tongue education a contributory factor, especially the lack of…

A DELEGATION of officials from South Africa, led by the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, has travelled to Malawi to participate in the extradition hearing of fugitives Shepherd Bushiri and his wife, Mary Bushiri. The hearing in Malawi is scheduled for tomorrow. The Ministry of Justice and Correctional Services on Friday said that senior and highly experienced prosecutors from the National Prosecuting Authority, the Investigative Directorate and investigators from the SAPS would take part in the hearing. Chrispin Phiri, the minister’s spokesperson, said the delegation’s participation in the hearing was in line with section 6 of the Extradition Act of Malawi. “In leading this delegation, the department is fulfilling its role as a central authority,” Phiri said. He said that in an extradition context, a central authority was a…

The Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) says disciplinary action must be taken against senior public service managers who engage in other remunerative work (ORW) outside the public service. Some of the managers have earned up to R2 million from the extra work. This was revealed in Parliament through a written reply by DPSA Minister Noxolo Kiviet to DA MP Dr Mimmy Gondwe’s question on the number of senior managers in the public service who engaged in ORW for the 2021/22 financial year. Kiviet said the total amount of remuneration generated from ORW by senior managers across the public service was approximately R45m. According to DPSA, of the 379 senior managers engaged in ORW for the financial year under review, only 203 (about 53%) were able to prove that…

The Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) has rebutted another attempt by a faction of the National Freedom Party (NFP) to have its electoral participation ban lifted and frozen funds amounting to millions of rand released. Lawyers for Chris Sibisi and Teddy Thwala had written to the electoral body to inform it that their expulsion had been set aside by the Pietermaritzburg High Court. As such, it was now clear who the rightful leaders of the party – founded in 2011 by the late Zanele KaMagwaza Msibi – were. However, the IEC said the ruling did not settle the leadership dispute and turned down the request. Sibisi is the party’s Member of Parliament in Cape Town while Thwala works as a researcher in the KwaZulu-Natal legislature in Pietermaritzburg. At party level,…

A 27-year-old man was handed a double life term in jail for raping his 15-year-old cousin in October 2021 in the Ezihlabeni area of Mahlabathini in KwaZulu-Natal. National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said the Ulundi Regional Court sentenced him last week. She said the girl, who was 15, went to visit her grandmother who was staying with the accused. She added that at one point the granny fell asleep and the girl went into the kitchen and was followed by her cousin, who then raped her twice. “He then threatened to kill her if she told anyone,” she said. The NPA said the girl reported the incident to her sister. The NPA said the man was sentenced to life imprisonment for each count of rape, and will…

IS THIS the best way the ANC can honour Oliver Reginald Tambo for all the sacrifices he made for 30 years in exile? If that is so, it is the funniest way of honouring a person and needs to go in Guinness World Records. This is a leader of the ANC who missed a lot in life. He was the first and only president of the ANC in exile as the president. If there is anyone who says there is a president of the ANC who worked more than Tambo, I am prepared to listen. He made the ANC respected worldwide and was allowed to address gatherings where the racist apartheid regime was not. It was the ANC under his leadership that popularised the lesser-known Nelson Mandela, who was in…

PRIME Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated India’s new parliament building yesterday, a modern complex which is part of his Hindu nationalist government’s grand plan to give a makeover to the British colonial-era architecture in the nation’s capital. The inauguration, and the ongoing revamp of the heart of New Delhi based on Indian culture, traditions, and symbols, comes a year before parliamentary elections in which Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will pitch its strong Hindu nationalist credentials, and its performance in office over the past decade, to seek a third term. Early in the morning, Modi held traditional prayers outside the complex in a ceremony that was also attended by top cabinet ministers. He then lit a traditional lamp inside parliament. Later, the prime minister entered parliament to loud cheers from guests,…

LONDON: Two Just Stop Oil protesters were charged with aggravated trespass after they briefly brought Saturday’s Rugby Premiership final at Twickenham stadium in London to a halt by hurling orange powder on the pitch during the match. Samuel Johnson, 40, from Suffolk in south-east England and Patrick Hart, 37, from Bristol were charged after taking to the pitch to throw orange powder around, police said yesterday. Just Stop Oil, which also disrupted the world snooker championship in April and the British Formula One Grand Prix last July, said the duo’s demand was to halt new licences for oil, gas and coal projects in Britain. | Reuters…

Double world champion Max Verstappen led a soggy and slippery Monaco Grand Prix from start to finish yesterday to stretch his Formula One lead to 39 points and earn Red Bull a sixth win in as many races this season. In a race livened up by a downpour after a processional 51 laps in dry conditions, Spaniard Fernando Alonso finished second for Aston Martin but a massive 27.9 seconds behind at the chequered flag. Frenchman Esteban Ocon completed the podium in third place for Renault-owned Alpine, their first of the season, with Mercedes’ seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton fourth and taking a bonus point for fastest lap. “That was a real Monaco,” Verstappen said after a 78-lap race that lasted an hour and 48 minutes. “It was incredibly slippery and…

Cape Town Spurs relied on their “bomb squad” to make the desired impact as they claimed a 1-0 win over Casric Stars in their PSL promotion-relegation playoff match in Mpumalanga yesterday. Minutes after coach Shaun Bartlett made three substitutions in quick succession, Spurs scored the eventual match-winner. After the match, Bartlett said the fresh legs off the bench made the desired impact. “This result is massive in terms of making a winning start to the playoffs because if you lose you are straight away on the back foot,” said Bartlett. “We were hoping for a second and third goal, but their defence held out. “This was a massive shift away from home by our team. I admired their fighting spirit and that allowed us to keep a lead intact. “The…