Inhoudsopgave van 2023-08-31 - Mercury

One of the most crucial elements of a healthy lifestyle is hydration. Even if you exercise regularly, follow a healthy diet and use expensive skin-care products, your body will suffer if you don’t drink enough water. Water makes you feel less tired, helps you maintain a healthy weight and improves your appearance. We need to replace water lost through breathing, perspiration and daily activities, because our bodies are primarily composed of water. Flavouring your water to make it more appealing has become a Tiktok fad. The so-called “WaterTok” phenomenon promotes experimenting with various flavoured powders, liquids or syrups. To counteract the fact that water is a low-calorie, sugar-free beverage, several of the viral recommendations add calories, sweeteners and preservatives. Thankfully, there are healthier ways to spice up water. WaterTok suggests…

THE KwaZulu-Natal government has recorded 61 precautionary suspensions of public servants, with the process resulting in an expenditure of more than R20 million from October last year. This has been revealed by the Public Service Commission (PSC) in its provincial financial disclosures report for the 2022/23 financial year, presented to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) in the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature last week. The report indicated that KZN had 61 public servants who had been placed on suspension by various government departments, and the amount involved was R20 839 237.62. “This is the total amount involved at the time this information was received by the PSC as of October 10, 2022,” read the report. “The Public Service and Administration has noted with concern the management of discipline, especially precautionary suspension…

Are you married to a man or dating a man who could harm or kill you or someone you love? He checks on you for “your own good”. He wants to know where you are, what you are doing and who you are with. Time unaccounted for becomes fuel for accusations. You find yourself explaining or hiding everything, to avoid the endless conflicts that inevitably ensue. He tells you when you are happy, and rewrites what you feel if you dare say you are unhappy. He tries to keep you from your family, suggesting they are not good for you. He tells you when you are hungry and what you like to eat. He says he knows you better than you know yourself. He gets angry if you dare disagree.…

I am a fan of neither US President Joe Biden nor former president Donald Trump. One is erratic and the other senile. Trump’s mugshot will probably be his passport to victory in 2024. His fanatical supporters, who hover at around 80 million followers, view his mugshot as badge of honour. The American public are distrustful of both political parties. American democracy is dying. It is a fact that Joe Biden is corrupt while Trump is a serial liar. Neither of them is fit to govern the most powerful nation on Earth. The US, as a world leader, is on a steep decline. It is a pale shadow of what it was under president John F Kennedy. The American Dream has turned into a fleeting mirage as events and political mayhem…

The Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) has rightfully indicated that the introduction of the low-cost benefit option (LCBO) should complement the roll-out of the NHI by expanding private health-care coverage and making it affordable to more people. This is according to the chief executive officer of the Health Funders Association (HFA), Phumelele Makatini. She says a slimmed-down list of covered conditions focused on the most common and pressing health concerns, with a strong emphasis on preventive and primary health care, could meet most families’ health needs. The basket of services currently included in Prescribed Minimum Benefits ensures all medical scheme members have unlimited benefits for emergencies, maternity, and chronic conditions, including HIV, asthma, diabetes, and many more severe health conditions. This means that irrespective of what members claim for these…

A family in Cottonlands, Hazelmere, is mourning the death of 2-year-old Sakhumuzi Dlamini, who drowned in a pool of water while playing with his friends. Thandanani Ntuli, Sakhumuzi’s brother, said the child was left alone with their older sister as their mother was at work. “Sakhumuzi was playing outside with four other children; our sister had to go inside the house for a few minutes and when she came out, the children were no longer in the front yard. One of his friends came back alone and when my sister asked where he was, the small boy replied and said that he was down at the pool of water where they were playing,” he said. “My sister went with a neighbour to go and look and they found Sakhumuzi face-down…

Trust is a crucial factor in any healthy democracy, as citizens must have faith in their elected officials to prioritise their interests above their own. Unfortunately, recent events in South Africa have highlighted that this trust is sorely lacking in the country’s political landscape. The decision by the IFP to support former ANC Youth League leader Kholeka Gcaleka for the post of public protector of South Africa has raised many eyebrows and sparked widespread disbelief. This move comes at a time when the country is grappling with allegations of corruption and state capture against the ruling party, the ANC. The IFP’s decision has been seen by many as a missed opportunity for the opposition parties to band together and put a stop to what is seen as yet another attempt…

FORMER Joburg mayor Dr Mpho Phalatse’s resignation as DA councillor barely comes as a surprise to critics of the party who feel vindicated in their argument that space for black leaders in the official opposition party has become limited if not non-existent. Perhaps the writing has been on the wall for quite some time, after Phalatse suffered a bruising defeat to incumbent party leader John Steenhuisen during the DA federal congress. But that’s not where everything started going pear-shaped for Phalatse in the DA. Losing the mayoral chain through a motion of no confidence was the beginning of the end. Reports of a fallout with some senior party leaders, including Helen Zille, over their refusal for her to seek the support of parties the DA sees as enemy number 1…

The trial had begun in Iran of the lawyer of Mahsa Amini, the young Iranian Kurd whose death last September triggered a widespread protest movement, a media report said yesterday. Saleh Nikbakht is charged with “propaganda against the system”, the daily Etemad reported. The first hearing “was on Tuesday and he was notified of the charge of propaganda activity against the regime for having spoken to foreign and local media, concerning the Mahsa Amini affair in particular”, it said. Amini, 22, died in custody after she was arrested for allegedly violating the Islamic republic’s strict dress rules for women. Nikbakht’s lawyer urged his acquittal, saying that he “only criticised the running of the country by the authorities”. In September last year, Nikbakht indicated that the Amini family had filed a…

DAKAR: Thousands of Bangladeshi protesters marched yesterday demanding information on hundreds of people they say security forces have abducted during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s nearly 15 years in power. Opposition supporters of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its allies joined families of those missing to mark the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, many with black gags over their mouths. The government denies the allegations of disappearances and extrajudicial killings, saying some of those reported missing drowned in the Mediterranean while trying to reach Europe. | AFP…

KYIV: Ukraine drones struck targets in at least six regions deep in Russia yesterday, including an airfield where they destroyed military transport planes, in one of the broadest volleys yet of Kyiv’s campaign to turn the tables on Moscow. Russian officials described attacks on targets in the Pskov, Bryansk, Kaluga, Orlov, Ryazan and Moscow regions. The Russian foreign ministry said the attacks would “not go unpunished” and the drones could not have reached so far into Russian territory without Western help. In Pskov, in northern Russia, a huge fire erupted at a military airfield that garrisons elite paratroopers. At least four giant Il-76 transport planes were damaged. | Reuters…

Hurricane Idalia yesterday slammed into the Big Bend region of Florida, where millions of residents had evacuated or hunkered down in anticipation of a dangerous surge of tidal water, but the storm’s power ebbed as it headed toward Georgia. Drawing strength from the Gulf of Mexico’s warm waters, Idalia unleashed destructive winds and torrential downpours that were forecast to cause coastal flooding up to 5m deep along the state’s Gulf Coast. Idalia came ashore at Keaton Beach, a town of 13 000 people in Taylor County, in the centre of the Big Bend region, where the state’s northern panhandle curves into the Florida Peninsula. The storm’s most dangerous feature would be a powerful surge of wind-driven surf that is expected to flood low-lying areas along the coast, officials said. Surge…

An unbeaten 92 from Australia captain Mitchell Marsh proved to be the difference as the visitors breezed past an inexperienced Proteas team in the first T20 International at Kingsmead in Durban last night. It was business as usual for Reeza Hendricks as he looked positive upfront but chasing a mammoth 227 runs to win, he needed a lot of assistance from the other batters for South Africa to have a chance. Hendricks struck a crisp 56 off 43 balls, and throughout the innings, the right-hander timed the ball to perfection, while his batting partners struggled at the opposite end. Back in the T20I side for the first time since relinquishing the captaincy, Temba Bavuma was knocked over by Marcus Stoinis for a duck in the first over of the run-chase,…

The spirit of Napoleon Bonaparte is clearly with the Springboks as they undergo a training camp on the island of his birth, Corsica, before they head to the French mainland to defend the Webb Ellis Cup early next month. Napoleon conquered much of the known world in the first half of the 19th century and the Boks will have to do something similar to bag a successive World Cup title, given the merciless draw they face. There are no short cuts to the semi-finals for the Boks and they will have to defeat the likes of Ireland, New Zealand and France en route to the business end of the play-offs. That is why coach Jacques Nienaber said from the Mediterranean island yesterday that his team will be on a knock-out…

The Proteas – men and women – have rarely undertaken a tour to the sub-continent with spin being the chief weapon in their arsenal. But that is set to change, such is the riches that the Proteas Women’s team possess on their maiden trip to Pakistan. Left-armer Nonkululeko Mlaba is not only the current SA T20 Player of the Year but also sits in the lofty second position on the ICC T20I rankings, just below England’s superstar Sophie Ecclestone. The 23-year-old has rapidly developed into a potent threat, particularly in the shortest format, where she has claimed 28 wickets at an average of 22.35. “Lefty” – as she is known to her teammates – also boasts a miserly economy rate of 5.89. Not bad for someone who never really thought…

SOUTH African Reserve Bank (Sarb) governor Lesetja Kganyago could soon find himself having to defend the bank’s investigation into the foreign currency stolen from President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm in February 2020 before the courts, after opposition parties accused him of being involved in a cover-up. Kganyago, along with some of the Sarb’s top brass, appeared before the Standing Committee on Finance to face questions over their report, which cleared Ramaphosa of any breach of exchange control regulations over the $580 000 concealed in couches on the farm. The EFF and UDM accused the Sarb of narrowing the probe and excluding money laundering in order to clear Ramaphosa when it focused on contravention of exchange control regulations. Despite facing mounting pressure, Kganyago defended their findings, saying they could not…

The president of the Durban Chamber of Commerce, Prasheen Maharaj, must be commended for his courage in dissenting from the World Economic Forum’s decarbonisation narrative (The Mercury, August 30). He is absolutely correct in condemning the costly expenditure on so-called renewable energy sources which are unreliable and imported from China when natural energy sources are locally and abundantly available. Significantly, the renewable energy brigade has been silent on the recent discovery of a 22 trillion cubic feet gas field off the Orange basin in the Atlantic and of vast oil fields off the Namibian coast. The commitment which the Ramaphosa regime has made to being 100% decarbonised by 2050 needs to be exposed for what it is: utterly impractical nonsense. More public figures of stature like Prasheen Maharaj need to…

The definition of a democracy is that it is a government by the people through their elected representatives. This means that politicians, public servants and so on are employed by us, the people. The people contribute towards the fiscus through a variety of taxes, rates and payment for services, such as electricity. The money that goes into the fiscus is then used to cover necessary expenditure. Let’s look at rates: we pay these so that our streets and verges can be maintained and our infrastructure works. However, we constantly hear that the City does not have enough money to cover basic needs. Yet, money is spent on pure ego trips – functions to celebrate people for their contributions (what contributions?). And worst of all is the money spent on the…

Crime experts and political parties have called for drastic action to tackle crime in KwaZulu-Natal following a series of high-profile assassinations. The call comes after KZN Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube hosted a multi-stakeholder engagement to fight crime in the province. Dube-Ncube said she was disturbed by the levels of violent crime, particularly the assassinations of public representatives. She said that they would be leveraging on the expertise and innovation of the private sector for strategic alignment, including utilising existing technology such as CCTVs and drones to monitor criminal activities on highways, national roads and the central business districts. Other initiatives announced by Dube-Ncube include strengthening political commitment to make a tangible difference in altering the province’s crime landscape, emphasising the effective use of the community police forum as a pivotal link…

The book Human Rights, Religious Freedom, and Spirituality: Perspectives from the Dharmic and Indigenous Cultures’s singular achievement lies in its contributors’ ability to present various aspects of human rights, religious freedom and spirituality and to shed light cogently on the nuances that are often missed. This is an extraordinary group of renowned authors. Represented are all the Dharmic traditions – Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhi – and the traditions of several indigenous groups. Two eminent scholars I have long known and admired for their stellar accomplishments have edited the path-breaking compilation. I have enjoyed working on several projects with Professor Yashwant Pathak and Dr Adit Adityanjee and I can attest to the high quality of their scholarship. Pathak, associate dean at the college of pharmacy at a prestigious US university,…

Rebel officers in the oil-rich central African state of Gabon announced yesterday that they had seized power following disputed elections in which President Ali Bongo Ondimba, in power since 2009, had been declared victor. Bongo, 64, whose family has ruled Gabon for over 55 years, was placed under house arrest and one of his sons was arrested for treason, the coup leaders said. A worried-looking Bongo, in a video from an unidentified location, appealed to “all friends that we have all over the world … to make noise”. In a dramatic pre-dawn address, a group of officers declared “all the institutions of the republic” had been dissolved, the election results cancelled and the borders closed. “Today, the country is going through a serious institutional, political, economic and social crisis,” according…

Tokyo: Japan’s prime minister ate what he called “safe and delicious” fish from Fukushima, yesterday, days after wastewater was released from the area’s crippled nuclear plant into the Pacific. A video clip showing Fumio Kishida eating Fukushima fish comes after China banned all seafood imports from its neighbour following the discharge that began on August 24. “This is very good,” Kishida said as he chewed on a slice of flounder sashimi, calling on viewers to enjoy Japanese seafood to support the northeastern region. The clip showed the conservative leader joined by three other ministers at his office for sashimi, boiled pork, fruits, rice and vegetables from the Fukushima region. It was designed to promote products from the area 12 years after Fukushima was devastated by a huge earthquake and tsunami…

Paris: President Emmanuel Macron met leaders of all of France’s political parties yesterday, including his most bitter rivals, outside Paris in a bid to break the deadlock of a hung Parliament. Deprived of an absolute majority in the National Assembly lower house since last year’s parliamentary elections, Macron said he wanted a “frank, honest and direct discussion” aimed at “acting together” for the benefit of voters. In a letter inviting party bosses from the hard left to far-right, Macron vowed to work together on writing new laws and “if need be” organising referendums -- a rare political tool that has previously backfired. | AFP…

YENAGOA: Nigerian police raided an alleged gay wedding, which is illegal in the country, in the southern city of Warri in Delta state, and arrested 67 people, authorities said. A tip-off about the ceremony came during police interrogation at the weekend of a male cross-dresser who was dressed as a female, Delta police said yesterday. The statement didn’t say when the raid took place. Police said those arrested would be charged soon in court. Investigations revealed that a drunk guest, who was arrested during the raid, was allegedly raped by a suspect who is now at large, police said. | Reuters…

DURBAN ratepayers involved in a tariff dispute with the eThekwini Municipality have applied to the Durban High Court for an interdict to prevent the municipality from disconnecting their water and lights while the dispute is pending. The ratepayers are being led by the Westville Ratepayers’ Association (WRA), which is listed in the court papers as the applicant, while the municipality is the respondent. Following the passing of the 2023-2024 financial budget, the ratepayers raised concerns that the tariffs were too high. The WRA also raised concerns about the process that was followed and they believed that there had been poor consultation. For this and a myriad of other reasons, they declared a dispute with the municipality on June 30 and withheld the payments that were due at the end of…

The BRICS Summit in Sandton is a feather in the cap for South Africa. It went off without a hitch. Although the Muslim Lawyers’ Association and South Africa Kashmiri Action Group threatened to put a spanner in the works, they failed to get the National Prosecuting Authority to arrest Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his alleged involvement in war crimes and gross human rights violations. If they had succeeded, there would have been serious repercussions. Not only would it have caused a serious diplomatic row between South Africa as the host nation and India, but it would have thrown the summit into disarray. It would also have done irreparable harm to the unity of the BRICS nations. India would have deemed it as an act of treachery, to invite…

This is an urgent and sincere appeal for former president Jacob Zuma, who has been asked to lead a provincial cleansing ceremony, to please include our president and all the alleged corrupt politicians. I have consulted a registered sangoma who assures me it can be done daily in extreme cases. Also, can the cleansing include elimination of crime, gender-based violence and a renewal of political will to govern our country with the integrity bestowed on elected individuals. This will come with a cost, so to avoid tender fraud, an independent person should appoint the registered qualified sangoma who will conduct the ceremony and save our land.…

THE regional SA Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) in Tshwane has threatened to approach the courts in a bid to force the municipality to pay workers whose salaries were withheld last Friday on the grounds that they have been on an unprotected strike. This was revealed by the union’s acting regional secretary, Precious Theledi, in a memo to Samwu shopstewards following disappointment registered by some workers that were not paid. In the memo, Theledi said: “Samwu has noted with disdain the non-payment of salaries of its members on August 25. The City just decided not to honour its obligation of paying employees their salaries without providing reasons as to why they are doing that.” She said the union realised that employees’ salaries were withheld, and the city manager, Johann Mettler, issued…

It would give the country more political clout to help it achieve its ambitions Ethiopia’s access to the coast has occupied the minds of the country’s rulers since time immemorial. This is because being landlocked undermines Ethiopia’s ability to grow its economy, develop its military (navy force) and exert influence across the Horn of Africa. We see the preoccupation in the history of Ethiopia and Eritrea. In 1952, Eritrea, a coastal country, was controversially federated into Ethiopia. Failure to maintain the annexation led to Eritrean independence in 1993 and Ethiopia became a landlocked country once again. This was a major blow for the new administration that had taken over political power in 1991. For the new government this translated into some limitations on their economic and political goals for the…

EU regulators have recommended authorising an updated Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech which targets the dominant XBB.1.5 variant of Omicron, putting it on track to become the third adapted shot by the two companies to be approved in the bloc. The vaccine, dubbed Comirnaty, is to be used for preventing Covid-19 in adults and children with a dosage dependent on previous vaccinations. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said yesterday that its human medicines committee (CHMP) had recommended the updated vaccine for children six months through four years of age as part or all of the primary three-dose vaccination series, depending on how many prior doses they had received. It could be a single dose for those with a history of completion of a Covid-19 primary vaccination…

STOCKHOLM: Two years after iconic Swedish pop group ABBA returned with a new album, singer Agnetha Faltskog has announced she will unveil a new single as a solo artist this week. She said the single Where Do We Go From Here? would be premiering on BBC Radio 2 today. While it took ABBA nearly 40 years to return with a new album after the band split in the early 1980s, Faltskog has since produced several solo albums, the last in 2013. ABBA made a return to the stage with a London show last year in the form of projected holograms. | AFP…

Ottawa: A First Nation has found 79 suspected child grave sites and 14 potential infant grave sites at a former residential school in Saskatchewan, Canada, reports said. The report said that English River First Nation chief Jenny Wolverine called on the federal and provincial governments to provide resources for the search effort. English River started searching the site of the former Beauval Indian Residential School in August 2021, using ground-penetrating radar,the report said. In 2013, a former dormitory supervisor at Beauval Indian Residential School was convicted for assaulting young boys between 1959 and 1967. The site is the latest of several being searched. | IANS…

China and Britain made tentative steps to repair relations yesterday, with Beijing promising better ties if both showed “mutual respect” and London saying it wants to keep lines of communication open, including between the countries’ leaders. Foreign minister James Cleverly is the first senior British minister in five years to visit China, a trip he hopes will reset ties between the two countries after years of tension over security, investment and human rights. The foreign secretary has argued it would be a mistake to isolate the world’s second-largest economy or tackle climate change without its input, but some Conservative MPs say the trip looks like an expression of British weakness. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi welcomed Cleverly and said both countries should move forward, rather than retreating, particularly in working…