Inhoudsopgave van 2021-12-08 - Mercury

Louis Vuitton has dedicated its window displays at stores across the globe to the late Virgil Abloh. Boutiques in New York, Seoul, Tokyo, Osaka, London, Moscow, Taipei, Los Angeles, Chicago, Singapore, Istanbul, Sydney, Bangkok, Milan, and Madrid are adorned with tributes to the luxury fashion brand’s late artistic director of menswear. The bright colours are a nod to “Virgil’s Sky” from his debut collection in 2019, which was Wizard of Oz-themed, while “Virgil was here” features too. Several inspirational quotes by the revolutionary designer also feature, including “Let your imagination run riot,” “Everything I do is for the 17-year-old version of myself,” and “I’m a dreamer. I think about how long my ideas can impact or bring a different voice to the rest of the world.” On Monday, Tyler, the…

DUNCAN DU BOIS | Bluff THE cartoon (The Mercury, December 7) depicting the slumbering indifference of the ANC’s national leadership to the demands and plight of the electorate is equally applicable to the coalition in power in eThekwini Municipality. Since assuming the driving seat, the same ills that prevailed before the election remain evident. The claim by the 15 single-seat parties that they will hold the ANC to account is a great sound byte but remains to be seen once the ANC has mollycoddled them with favours and the odd chairmanship. After all, politics is the art of the possible. Some of these one-man-band leaders gave their reasons for enabling the ANC to remain in power. In basing her opposition to a coalition with the DA because it…

JILL BUYS | Durban I HAVE been reading a couple of letters written by Duncan du Bois and he is obviously against vaccinating for Covid-19. I have done some fact-checking on what he presents as facts and most are untrue and social-media rumours. In The Mercury on Monday December 6, he claimed that the Italian governments had revised the figures of Covid deaths last year, from 130 000 to 3 820. This is untrue. This was a claim made by social media and Fact Check by USA Today listed it as false. Hydroxychloroquine: On researching it I found this: “The second multi- national study is, by far, the largest, with 96 032 patients, and it did a good job of controlling the differences between groups at baseline.” Use…

PAT MCKRILL | Camperdown Ramaphoria hit our country a few years back, but nothing has changed. Thieves and liars still pull the strings, fornication and corruption are national sports, the jewellery-bedecked “connected” flaunt their magically accumulated wealth, driving (on our crumbling national roads) cars that would make Earl’s Court Motor Show look like a used car lot. We point fingers in all directions, seeking all manner of excuses and reasons for the parlous state of all around us, citing apartheid, colonialism, unregistered foreigners, and latterly, as if it were a gift from above, Covid-19. The hackneyed terms used to arouse emotions among the masses; inequality, overcrowding, gender-based violence, unemployment and poverty, to name a few, and whether real or not – are ignition switches for unrest and mayhem…

Zelda Venter zelda.venter@inl.co.za THE sentencing hearing for the parents convicted of assaulting their 5-month-old daughter was postponed after the father complained about a social worker’s report regarding him. The Gauteng High Court, Pretoria earlier convicted the 22-year-old mother and 24-year-old father and called for a social worker’s report before considering their sentence. Counsel for the father told Judge Hennie de Vos that while the mother was able to look at the report regarding her and to rectify what she considered to be incorrect facts, the father never had the opportunity. The court was told the father did not agree with everything stated by the social worker in the report, nor did he agree with the findings and recommendations. It was said the father wanted to also call his own expert…

Mayibongwe Maqhina mayibongwe.maqhina@inl.co.za Parliament has condemned the alleged rape of a suspected shoplifter by a police officer in Nyanga, Western Cape, a few days ago. Police Portfolio Committee chairperson Tina Joemat-Pettersson condemned the alleged rape of the suspected shoplifter by a police constable and called for the prosecution of the alleged rapist. Provincial spokesperson Brigadier Novela Potelwa confirmed that a police officer was arrested at the weekend for allegedly raping a male victim suspected of shoplifting. Potelwa said the arrest of the constable followed an investigation by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate after allegations came to light that the officer raped the man in the police van. “Due to the seriousness of the allegations levelled against the 31-year-old police constable, an expeditious internal disciplinary process into the fitness of the…

Yogashen Pillay yogashen.pillay@inl.co.za The South African Association of Freight Forwarders (Saaff) and the Minerals Council of South Africa (Minerals Council) have raised concerns about the severe congestion at the Lebombo/Ressano Garcia border post on the Maputo Corridor between South Africa and Mozambique. The Saaff and the Minerals Council said that congestion at the Maputo Corridor has cost trucking companies R1.3bn in lost revenue so far this year. “The greatest challenge to the border crossing is the lack of 24-hour operations, resulting in crossing times increasing from an average of one hour to more than 20 hours since 2019. Covid-19 restrictions exacerbate the situation and vaccination certificates expire while they wait in the queues. Transporters confirm that border crossing times are the worst they have experienced in 15 years.” They…

The debate about mandatory vaccines has reached fever pitch as efforts to contain Covid-19 accelerate. Compelling scientific, ethical and legal arguments have been advanced around whether or not people should be forced to get vaccinated. Some countries have already introduced mandates that require people to produce proof of vaccination to access certain public places. President Cyril Ramaphosa recently announced that the government had set up a task team to advise on vaccine mandates. Vaccine mandates that have been successfully implemented have shown a marked increase in the vaccine status of employees. The private health insurer Discovery Limited is a case in point. Since introducing a mandatory vaccine policy, vaccine uptake among employees increased from 22% in September 2021 to 94% in November 2021. Several countries have introduced mandates. They include…

Seoul: The South Korean Air Force launched a surprise operation yesterday to install an anti-missile radar on a mountain in Busan city, sparking angry protests from residents concerned about potential health hazards from the radar’s electromagnetic waves. Police clashed with a group of protesters early yesterday on Mt Jang in the city, 450km southeast of Seoul, where the Air Force began installing a Green Pine land-based radar at around 6am, reports Yonhap News Agency. The Air Force has insisted that electromagnetic waves from the radar, used to detect and trace ballistic missiles, were not harmful.…

A MASSIVE fire ripped through an overcrowded prison in Burundi before dawn yesterday, killing dozens of inmates and seriously injuring many more, the country’s vice-president said. Many inmates were sleeping when the blaze that destroyed several parts of the facility in Burundi’s political capital Gitega, started, witnesses said. Vice-president Prosper Bazombanza, who visited the scene of the tragedy with several senior ministers, told reporters that 38 people were killed and 69 seriously hurt. The blaze broke out at about 4am. The interior ministry said on Twitter it was caused by an electrical short-circuit. “We started shouting that we were going to be burned alive when we saw the flames rising very high, but the police refused to open the doors of our quarters, saying ‘these are the orders we have…

ACCRA: Forbes Africa magazine has named Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo African of the Year for 2021, citing how he has raised the profile of his country in the global marketplace as one reliant on its own resources and strengths. Akufo-Addo has repositioned the country by redefining economic development, and this is resonating across Africa, the business magazine said in its latest issue on December 3. Speaking to business news network CNBC Africa after the announcement, Akufo-Addo said he was grateful that the African version of the well-known magazine had selected him for this prestigious title. “(The award) is an honour and it means the world is looking at the work we are doing here in Ghana. So it’s an inspiration for us and an encouragement for us to continue the…

Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za ESKOM needed to have a freer hand to make decisions on parts procurement, as maintenance is often bogged down just waiting for National Treasury decisions on the parts, Chief Operating Officer Jan Oberholzer said yesterday. Oberholzer said at a virtual panel discussion on “Reliability maintenance for boilers and associated power generation plant” that boiler leaks, excessive need to use the diesel of open cycle gas turbines (OCGT), an Energy Availability factor of only 64 percent rather than the ideal of 85 percent, and other unplanned maintenance and breakdowns, were throwing a spanner in the works of efficient power production. He said Eskom’s maintenance parts procurement was often bogged down by delays from the National Treasury. Generation performance from all power plants had dropped to about…

Tawanda Karombo Harare KEY ECONOMIC sectors in South Africa – including retail pharmacy, gambling and fishing rights – have remained highly concentrated, a new study by the Competition Commission shows, further flagging the failure by certain licensing processes to spread ownership across the sectors. The report, “Measuring concentration and participation in the South African economy: levels and trends”, notes that out of 144 sectors examined, about 69.5 percent were “highly concentrated”, with 40.3 percent of these classified as “highly concentrated with a presumptively dominant” firm. Only about 9.7 percent of the surveyed sectors “were found to have unconcentrated” markets. Licensed industries such as gambling, retail pharmacy and others were highly characterised by merger and acquisition activity which has only served to increase concentration in the sectors.…

Thami Magubane thami.magubane@inl.co.za THE KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education has been given a lifeline and will be able to employ the teachers and education assistants it needs and fix some of the schools that were damaged during the unrest after being allocated close to R4 billion in additional funding. Its budget has been increased from the current R53bn to R57bn. KZN Finance MEC Nomusa Dube-Ncube revealed this while tabling her adjustment budget for this financial year during a virtual sitting at the provincial legislature yesterday. The budget is a lifeline for Education and Health, the two biggest departments that have been battling following massive budget cuts announced at the start of this financial year. The health budget will increase by R2bn from R48bn to just above R50bn. The money comes…

Sibusiso Mboto sibusiso.mboto@inl.co.za QUESTIONS have been raised about the timing and intention of some ANC councillors in eThekwini Municipality in visiting former ANC president Jacob Zuma at his home in Nkandla tomorrow. News of the visit started circulating on social media on Monday evening and was confirmed to The Mercury yesterday. “Yes, it is true that we are visiting our former president. It is something that we have been considering for a while, and everything is working according to plan,” said councillor Ntando Khuzwayo. Khuzwayo said the plan was hatched over the past weekend. According to the councillor, the aims of the visit included: Getting counsel from the former president as they start their five-year terms as councillors. Giving Zuma wishes for a happy festive season. Finding out how Zuma…

| Fran Lebowitz IF IT’S true, as some medical fundis suggest, that the Covid-19 nightmare is approaching its end, you could have believed it as the Mais Que Nada Latino band belted it out non-stop, under the stars for a change, at the St Clements arts soirée. What a welcome change to be out in the fresh air under the trees again, not driven indoors by rain, to be hemmed in by Covid-19 protocols. And was this a signal from Mother Nature? As soirée maestro Dr Pieter Scholtz was winding things up with a speech of thanks and admiration, suddenly St Clements was aflutter with flying ants. There they were, though there’d been not a drop of rain. No, contrary to speculation in certain quarters, they did not…

MJ HOLLAND | Blythedal Beach THE Mercury editorial recently stated that “several hospitals have reported that the majority of hospitalised patients were unvaccinated”. Is that not clear, Mr Du Bois? Have you not seen people being intubated? The terror, their crying at regret for not being jabbed. My brother and companion are both health workers and continue to toil at EMS with dignity and courage, just getting on with it silently shaking their heads at such intransigence. Your words from the sideline are not helping at all. In fact, they are hindering. Why not volunteer as an ambulance driver and see the reality?…

THINGS you can do that usually reduce anxiety: Reconnect in person with old friends and family with whom you have really good memories and do a little re-living the past together. Try not to venture into gossip or into unresolved areas of conflict. Recalling the good times is soul soothing. Rearrange a room or two in your home. Do a little deep cleaning at the same time. Get rid of clutter and things you know you will never use again. Sometimes you have to focus on making your space as beautiful as possible. Doing so is likely to ease your mind of anxious activity. Write about your life in short vignettes, capturing moments that are important to you. Allow the vignettes to lead into each other like stepping stones across…

| Mercury Correspondent Experts insist that the cannabis industry could have massive potential to grow the economy by creating 25 000 jobs. Currently, the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development estimates that the cannabis industry is worth R28 billion. The department has set out a South African master plan on cannabis, however, legal red tape and the stigma around cannabis could cause the industry to lag behind. Legal expert Shaad Vayej said the economic growth potential for the industry could cut across sectors. The pitfalls to this master plan, he said, lie in the red tape and legal hesitancy from the government on the production of products such as hemp. Vayej said the economic potential of the industry depended on buy-in from businesses and secondary…

Bongani Nkosi bongani.nkosi@inl.co.za THE Basic Education Department’s new policy on pupil pregnancies looks set to facilitate action against statutory rape perpetrators who impregnate schoolgirls, if implemented properly. The Policy on the Prevention and Management of Learner Pregnancy in Schools details several interventions to reduce and manage pupil pregnancies. A final policy, approved by the Cabinet, was expected to shake things up in the new school year. It will also bar schools from kicking out pregnant pupils who provide medical evidence that they can attend until giving birth; allow school access of condoms to children 12 years old and above “depending on their level of inquiry or need”; and phase in comprehensive sexuality education. Official data presented in Parliament two months ago revealed that girls, aged 10 to 19, delivered 136…

Loyiso Sidimba loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za THE Public Service Commission (PSC) has announced the government will start implementing lifestyle audits for its employees from next February and has encouraged ministers, premiers, MECs and heads of departments to lead by example. The PSC yesterday released its quarterly bulletin, The Pulse of the Public Service, which stated the introduction of the lifestyle audits was part of the efforts to ensure integrity in public administration. According to the bulletin, lifestyle audits in the Public Service will commence in February 2022 and the public administration ethics, integrity and disciplinary technical assistance unit will provide technical assistance to national and provincial departments to implement the guidelines on the implementation of lifestyle audits in the public service. The unit, which is in the Department of Public Service and Administration,…

Mayibongwe Maqhina mayibongwe.maqhina@inl.co.za THE Special Investigating Unit (SIU) informed Parliament yesterday that there had been further allegations that had been reported in connection with the contract the national Health Department awarded to service provider Digital Vibes. Briefing the standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) on their investigations into personnel protective equipment (PPE) for Covid-19, SIU head Andy Mothibi said they had indicated when they finalised their report in June that should there be further claims, they would provide a report. “That investigation is still under way. Whenever the investigation is finalised, we will appropriately report,” Mothibi said. Former health minister Zweli Mkhize stepped down after being implicated in the irregular awarding of the contract to Digital Vibes that was linked to people who worked with him at the department, the…

Kailene Pillay kailene.pillay@inl.co.za Political stalwart Ebrahim Ismail Ebrahim’s final farewell at Heroes Acre in Westpark Cemetery in Johannesburg saw a rare gathering of freedom fighters and politicians including Mac Maharaj and Ronnie Kasrils yesterday. Ebrahim died on Monday morning following a two-year battle with lung cancer. He was 84. Following Muslim tradition, Ebrahim’s body was first taken to the Houghton Masjid where close family and friends read Islamic prayers as part of his final rites. Among his close allies, political activist Moe Shaik attended the morning rituals at the Masjid where he shared some fond memories of his former commander. Shaik spoke of how Ebrahim joined the liberation movement as a young activist in 1952, and participated in the Congress of the People Campaign, which drew up and adopted the…

The Mercury’s sister publication, the Pretoria News, sent the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) questions this week about allegations that the head of its Investigating Directorate (ID), advocate Hermione Cronje, had blown almost R400 million of taxpayers’ money on mainly white lawyers from Cape Town who failed to crack high-profile cases. The questions were sent following Cronje’s sudden resignation amid claims that she was running away after failing to investigate and build winnable cases for the NPA. This had reportedly led to tensions between herself and her boss, National Director of Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi. Upon receiving the questions, ID spokesperson Sindisiwe Seboka and her NPA counterpart, Mthunzi Mhaga, deferred them to the Batohi media briefing the following day. However, at the same press briefing of which she was a facilitator,…

Paris: Only 14 companies are making top-grade efforts on the climate, the organisation that scores environmental efforts by companies for investors said yesterday. The NGO Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) said only 14 out of nearly 12 000 firms that it scores received A marks in all the three areas of climate change, forests and water security in 2021. Among those were Unilever, food group Danone, cosmetics maker L’Oreal and tobacco giant Philip Morris International. The CDP ranks firms after sending them a questionaire, and the results are used by asset managers seeking to make their portfolios more green.…

The US Embassy in Tokyo has warned in a post on Twitter that it had received reports of foreigners being stopped and searched in “suspected racial profiling incidents”. The unusual tweet came a week after Japan closed its borders to nearly all travellers amid the early spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant – a particularly stringent step, compared with those taken by most other countries that imposed new restrictions. The embassy also advised US citizens to carry their immigration papers and notify consular authorities if detained. Hirokazu Matsuno, a Japanese government spokesperson, said police were not profiling. Japan closed its borders to foreigners for a month starting on November 30. The move made Japan one of the few countries – along with Morocco and Israel – to completely shut…

Mexican officials have speeded up the transfer of thousands of migrants from southern Mexico to other regions as northern border states prepare to receive asylum seekers sent back to Mexico from the US. Dozens of buses full of migrants, mostly from Central America as well as some from Cuba and Venezuela, have arrived in the city of Tapachula in Chiapas state in recent days to head to other states, a Reuters witness and an activist said. Many of the migrants had waited months in Tapachula, near the Guatemala border, to try to regularise their migration status. Many have left violent and impoverished home countries hoping eventually to seek asylum in the US. US President Joe Biden’s administration said last Thursday that it would reinstate the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), a…

Stuart Hess stuart.hess@inl.co.za ‘Bio-bubble’ requirements mean the Proteas Test squad is a big one – 21 players – but in reality there is only one major question to be asked about the composition of the starting XI for the first Test against India. Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada will start – provided they are fit. The question, for selection convener Victor Mpitsang and his panel is: Who will be the third frontline seamer in the attack? Logic dictates that the selectors back form, and there is no bowler in better form now than Duanne Olivier. He is the leading wicket-taker in the domestic Four-Day Series, with 28 wickets at an obscene average of 11.14. He’s a different bowler to the one, most South African – and even Indian – fans…

The 21-man Proteas squad to begin preparations to face India in a three-Test match series was selected yesterday. It might be a squad bigger than usual, thanks to bio-bubble requirements, but it nevertheless has a handful of interesting selections. Here, Stuart Hess, looks at five players and the reasons they were picked for the upcoming series against the second best Test team in the world currently, starting on Boxing Day. The 25-year-old has had a terrific start to the season, with two centuries that have stood out for the Imperial Lions, who top the Four-Day series log. The jury is still out on Rickelton’s ability against spin, but all he can do is put the runs on the board and hope for recognition, which has now come his way.…

Given Majola given.majola@inl.co.za THIS YEAR’S agricultural sector’s poor performance in the third quarter, which surprised on the downside with a 13.6 percent seasonally adjusted contraction quarter-on-quarter was likely to be a temporary blip, according to the sector’s economists. Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) revealed yesterday that the country’s real gross domestic product (GDP) shrunk by 1.5 percent in the third quarter, following downwardly revised growth of 1.1 percent in the second quarter. Agriculture’s poor figures were said to be expected as the third quarter was a relatively quiet period in agriculture, with much of the harvest activity distributed in other quarters of the year. This contraction was also reflected in the recent agricultural jobs data, which fell by 4 percent quarter-on-quarter in the year's third quarter (employment…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za TOMORROW sees the listing of Afine Investments on the JSE, a new real estate investment trust (Reit) that holds a portfolio of income-generating properties focused on the petroleum sector in four of the nine provinces. In South Africa, petrol service station properties are controlled by the oil companies and a small group of petrol service station property owners. High property prices, complex legal structures, environmental legislation, licensing requirements, among other challenges, create high entry barriers for the ordinary man in the street to participate in a petrol service station property as an investment opportunity. The listing is in line with international trends where investors increasingly favour specialised Reit investments over generalised Reit companies. Afine was founded by Peter Todd, with input from Mike Watters, both of whom…

Siyabonga Mkhwanazi siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za The row between the EFF and the ANC saw the governing party failing to muster the 67% threshold to pass the 18th Amendment Bill in Parliament yesterday to allow for the expropriation of land without compensation. The bill seeks to amend Section 25 of the Constitution to allow for expropriation of land without compensation. The ANC managed to get 204 of its MPs to back the bill with members of opposition parties rejecting it. The ANC required a total of 267 MPs to push through the bill. The ANC last had two-thirds majority after the 2004 elections, but in 2009 its support dropped. It continued to drop in the 2014 and 2019 elections. House chairperson Cedric Frolick made it clear before proceedings started yesterday that the bill…

A female turtle lumbers across the beach in Pakistan’s bustling port city of Karachi late at night, looking for a place to lay her eggs. Waiting for her, staff from Sindh Wildlife watch quietly as the green turtle buries a hundred or more eggs in the sand before heading back out into the Arabian Sea. Because of Covid-19 and movement restrictions, beaches around the world have been more sparsely inhabited by humans since last year. Sea turtles have taken the opportunity to return to their birthplaces in large numbers, reclaiming the now less-polluted, serene beaches to lay their eggs during the breeding season. Green turtles seen on Karachi beaches jumped to 15 000 last year from 8 000 - 8 500 in 2019, Sindh Wildlife says. Lockdowns ended by the…

FAROUK ARAIE | Johannesburg The Omicron variant has gripped the imagination of the global media and by extension, the imagination of the world, punctuated by breathless announcements. Omicron-phobia has become our new social password as mass hysteria replaces sanity and logic. We are certainly not facing an apocalypse, as the virus spreads with deniers on one side of the spectrum and alarmists on the other. The hysteria has been exacerbated by the intense media coverage, leading to an increase in anxiety disorders. A swirl of unfounded rumours spread by text messages and social media are deeply alarming. The Covid-19 virus, to quote Churchill, “is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma”. When every confused citizen with a cellphone becomes a reporter, and the most ridiculous information…

DR MAHMOUD YOUSSEF BAKER | Musgrave A FEW days ago, Mr Peter Roy, a famous American writer, published a very good article in the influential newspaper, the New York Times. The outcome of his article shows that South Africa is paying a heavy price for its discovery of the new variant of Covid-19, Omicron, and for warning the world in a timely manner about its potentially dangerous impact on people. Instead of appreciating the transparency and the great efforts of our scientists, many Western countries, including the US and UK, imposed a travel ban to and from South Africa and other African countries. The West was aware of the damaging consequences of such a ban on the battling economies of these African countries, yet they coldly took their…

Loyiso Sidimba loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za DEPUTY National Director of Public Prosecutions Rodney de Kock has been appointed to head the team of prosecutors and investigators to tackle criminal cases related to atrocities committed during apartheid. National Director of Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi said in a briefing on Monday that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) recognised and appreciated that the apartheid-era cases had taken a very long time to be addressed hence the decision to appoint De Kock to lead a specific team to deal with the outstanding matters. Batohi said the NPA would hire prosecutors on contract for three years dealing exclusively with unresolved matters relating to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). She assured the country and the families of victims that the prosecuting authority had put in place structures to…

| Karen Singh The SA Post Office (Sapo) says motorists can significantly reduce transaction times for the renewal of motor vehicle licences at post offices by registering on the National Traffic Information System (NaTIS) website. Motorists registered on the NaTIS website will receive an SMS to remind them to renew their vehicle licences, it said. “The SMS contains reference numbers that speed up the renewal transaction. It is sent the month before the licence renewal is due. Vehicle owners can also choose to receive a reminder through email,” it said. Presenting the SMS or printed renewal reminder eliminates a number of steps for the renewal transaction at a post office counter and saves a great deal of time, Sapo said. It advised that in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape,…

Sibusiso Mboto sibusiso.mboto@inl.co.za WHILE the National Economic and Labour Council has expressed support for mandatory Covid-19 vaccination, the South African National Christian Forum (SANCF) says it will maintain its opposition, saying the move infringes on the constitutional rights of people. The forum also confirmed that its initial court application to the Constitutional Court to interdict the government from implementing mandatory vaccination has been withdrawn and refiled with the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on an urgent basis. SANCF founder Bishop Marothi Mashashane said they were ready to fight for justice for all and would protect the rights of the people in the majority. “It has been said that the right of the minority cannot supersede the right of the majority, correctly so, but the question is who are the…

It is not a tool to serve a certain country’s narrow self-interest on December 9 and 10 this year, the US will host online the so-called “Summit for Democracy”. Based on its own criteria, the US has listed half the countries and regions in the world as democracies, and the rest as non-democracies. This practice in itself runs counter to the spirit of democracy and exposes the US’s true intention of weaponising democracy and using it as a tool to serve its narrow self-interest. This move of the US is driven by a typical Cold War mentality. It wilfully interferes in other countries’ internal affairs under the pretext of democracy and human rights, plays up ideological confrontation, and creates more conflicts and divisions in the world. This will seriously…

CARACAS: The Venezuelan armed forces, FANB, neutralised a total of 51 aircraft used by drug trafficking groups this year, the strategic operations command said. “The Strategic Operational Commander of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces, Domingo Antonio Hernandez Larez, announced that an aircraft from Colombia was neutralised during an attempt to enter our territory. This aircraft was operated by a Colombian terrorist group of drug traffickers and was shot down by our forces. It was the 51st (plane) in 2021,” the military said. Throughout 2021, the Venezuelan military seized 44 tons of cocaine and destroyed 60 airstrips.…

Washington: The US will impose “severe economic harm” on Russia and boost its military presence in Eastern Europe should Moscow invade Ukraine, the White House warned, laying out the high stakes on the eve of talks between Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin. Ahead of his virtual meeting with Putin, Biden also spoke with the leaders of France, Germany, Italy and Britain, after which the Western powers expressed their “determination” that Ukraine’s sovereignty be respected. The US president will also quickly inform his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky of the details of his discussion with Putin, that took place yesterday by videoconference, as tens of thousands of Russian troops were positioned near the Ukraine border, a senior US official told reporters. The official said the White House did not know if Putin…

LOS ANGELES: Drake has withdrawn his Grammy Award nominations for Certified Lover Boy. The hit record was previously nominated for the Best Rap Album gong, while Way 2 Sexy was nominated for the Best Rap Performance accolades. Drake, 35, took the decision after criticising the organisers for not nominating The Weeknd for any awards for his hit album After Hours. He had said: “I think we should stop allowing ourselves to be shocked every year by the disconnect between impactful music and these awards.”…

The United Arab Emirates is slashing its official working week to four-and-a-half days and moving its weekend to Saturday and Sunday, officials said yesterday. The “national working week” is mandatory for government bodies from January 1 and bucks the regional norm of a full day-off on Friday for Muslim prayers. While becoming the only Gulf country not to have a Friday-Saturday weekend, the resource-rich and ambitious UAE now comes into line with the non-Arab world. Under the new timetable, the public-sector weekend starts at noon on Fridays and ends on Sunday. Friday prayers at mosques will be held after 1.15pm all year round. The move is intended to “better align the UAE with global markets”, said state news agency WAM, calling the new working week the shortest in the world.…

Injuries will force Bayern Munich coach Julian Nagelsmann to make changes for tonight’s Champions League match at home to Barcelona behind closed doors. Bayern are already into the last-16 as group winners, but want a sixth win from six games in the group stages when they host Barcelona, who they trounced 3-0 at the Camp Nou in September. Barcelona are second in Group E, but need a win at the Allianz Arena, which will be void of supporters due to high numbers of Covid-19 cases in Bavaria, to guarantee a last-16 spot. Nagelsmann still plans to field “the best available” Bayern team, but at least two of his stars are carrying knocks. “Leon (Goretzka) broke off training again, he probably won’t play, Serge Gnabry as well,” Nagelsmann said yesterday. The…

Eshlin Vedan eshlin.vedan@inl.co.za AmaZulu coach Benni McCarthy has not shied away from the fact that his team risk turning into another Swallows FC if they continue with their current run of results. Usuthu will have a good opportunity to prove that they are not just draw specialists when they host seventh-place Orlando Pirates at Kings Park today. McCarthy’s charges head into the game on the back of four successive draws, with the most recent being against Royal AM, who have made a name for themselves, in their first-ever top-flight Durban derby against the league newcomers. They have also drawn nine league games so far which is the most of any team in the Premiership this season. The biggest problem for AmaZulu has been their inability to convert their opportunities.…

Mihlali Baleka mihlali.baleka@inl.co.za Kaizer Chiefs are hellbent on only honouring their matches this month when it’s safe to do so after confirming that they’ll be a 'no show' for tonight’s clash against Golden Arrows amid an outbreak of Covid-19 at the club. On Friday morning, Chiefs confirmed that they had closed the gates at their base after 31 personnel tested positive for Covid-19. As such, they had appealed to the league to postpone their matches as a safety measure. But the PSL has been quiet on the matter, despite its executive committee convening that morning. Chiefs, though, opted to forfeit their match against Cape Town City on Saturday, despite the visitors pitching up at FNB Stadium. However, with the PSL exco reconvening on Monday morning, light was expected to be…