Innholdsfortegnelse for 2022-06-24 i Mercury

As South Africa confirmed its first case of monkeypox, Health Minister Joe Phaahla said the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) was conducting online in-service training for health workers for them to be able to detect the disease so that the necessary laboratory tests can be done. During a media briefing yesterday, Phaahla said the National Health Laboratory Services CEO confirmed the first case through laboratory tests. “The patient is a 30-year-old male from Johannesburg who has no travel history, meaning that this cannot be attributed to having been acquired outside South Africa. “Working with the relevant health authorities a process of contact tracing has begun,” he said. According to the World Health Organization, global monkeypox cases are at 2 103, with one recorded death. Phaahla said: “The disease is…

A wide-reaching recommendation contained in the final report on the State Capture commission, which calls for the establishment of a permanent Anti-State Capture and Corruption Commission that will be led by a judge, has been met with fierce criticism. Political analyst Professor Sipho Seepe accused Chief Justice Raymond Zondo of overplaying his hand with what he termed a “nonsensical” recommendation. In the report Justice Zondo said: “It is recommended that a permanent commission be established, the main function of which will be to investigate, publicly expose acts of state capture and corruption in the way that this commission did over the past four years, making findings and recommendations to the president. Such a commission could be called the Anti-State Capture and Corruption Commission.” Justice Zondo said Parliament had previously failed…

Just as the Netflix algorithm generates data to determine the shows one can choose to binge watch next, doctors will soon be able to predict how tumours can behave and thus offer personalised cancer treatments. A typical Netflix-style algorithm analyses data on how frequently a type of programme or film is watched, and whether it’s liked or not. Based on the data, new films and TV series are recommended next time. An international team of researchers from the University College London (UCL) in the UK and University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego) in the US have built a similar algorithm that can one day enable doctors to look at a patient’s fully sequenced tumour and customise their treatment, the Independent reported. The study, published in the journal Nature,…

Perhaps I have become senile … but then, I was born senile. Let’s examine. Blame it on Covid-19. Blame it on the recession. Blame the recent storms, floods, fires. Blame unemployment. Blame the mad rise in food prices. No need to crane your neck and locate co-ordinates of recent war. You know where. Everybody knows about that one. Nobody heard of other areas. They made sure. Check out the latest version of Orwell’s classic and the missing millions at the New-Era Animal Farm, just for some bullish fun. Whatever the cause – a complex combination of all the above factors and more – we have a new entry into our gladiator colosseum that menacingly threatens our very existence as an orderly nation. And this is morale. Morale, or rather a…

Almost a year after parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng were gutted by the unrest that left more than 300 people dead, businesses looted and stirred racial tensions, a collection of civic groups and eminent activists from KZN want prosecutions to take place. The call to prosecute those responsible for the unrest is contained in a 29-page submission which was submitted to the SA Human Rights Commission sitting in Johannesburg this week. The commission is probing the unrest to find out what exactly happened and its causes as there are different versions from different sources. Verbally, the submission was made by ANC KZN stalwart, Ravi Pillay, the KZN MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs. The submission, titled “Towards Nation-building”, was endorsed by prominent people, including Professor Paulus Zulu, Ela…

A Durban couple who pleaded guilty to defrauding the KZN Blind and Deaf Society will remain behind bars until they are sentenced. Ruvanya Ramiah, 31, and Ayush Rambally, 32, pleaded guilty to fraud and theft respectively, in the Durban Specialised Commercial Crimes Court this week. Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, the provincial spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority, said Ramiah pleaded guilty to 354 counts of fraud, amounting to more than R12 million, while Rambally pleaded guilty to 79 counts of theft, amounting to about R1.7m. “In her plea, Ramiah stated that she was employed as a finance officer at the KwaZulu-Natal Blind and Deaf Society from March 2012 to February 2019. “Her duties included salary payments and general payments, and she had access to, and control of, the society’s banking accounts.…

Police say two brothers have been arrested for the alleged murder of a 20-year-old man in the Ndwedwe area on the North Coast. According to Prem Balram from Reaction Unit SA, they received reports of a murder at about 9am in the Iqadi area on Thursday. “According to a witness, the brothers approached the victim outside his home and questioned him with regards to a pair of jeans that he borrowed from one of them.” Balram said according to the report received, it was alleged that the victim refused to hand over the clothing until they returned a pair of takkies that he had lent them. He said the victim was allegedly stabbed, and the suspects fled on foot. Police spokesperson Constable Thenjiswa Ngcobo said when police arrived on the…

Many questions arise in relation to the cash stolen from his farm OUR rudderless President Cyril Ramaphosa has been exposed not only for his lack of leadership, but also for his gross misunderstanding of the country’s Constitution. We all know that he was a victim of alleged theft, but it is the origin of the vast amount of US dollars in his possession that has aroused suspicion of criminal wrongdoing. Additionally, Ramaphosa’s non-compliance with the Constitution and other anti-corruption laws has unleashed a chorus of condemnation and vociferous calls for him to be investigated for corruption. Ramaphosa’s failure to report the theft of large sums of money in foreign currency in accordance with the law arouses suspicion that the money he squirrelled away in furniture on his farm emanated from…

Sri Lanka’s parliament has cancelled its remaining sittings for the week to save fuel, officials said yesterday, with a disastrous economic crisis rapidly depleting the island nation’s already scarce petrol supplies. A foreign currency shortage has prevented the import of food, oil and medicines, while runaway inflation and regular blackouts have made life miserable for Sri Lanka’s 22 million population. The energy ministry said a gasoline shipment that was due had been delayed. Motorists were already waiting in line for days to top up their tanks. Neighbouring India, which has offered several credit lines for Sri Lanka to import essentials, sent a team of experts yesterday to assess the island’s deteriorating economic situation. The Indian High Commission in Colombo said New Delhi had already extended $3.5 billion worth of assistance…

WASHINGTON: The US Supreme Court yesterday struck down as unconstitutional New York state’s limits on carrying concealed handguns in public, handing a victory to gun rights advocates in a nation deeply divided over how to address firearm violence. The 6-3 ruling, with the court’s conservative justices in the majority and liberal justices in dissent, found that the state’s law, enacted in 1913, violated a person’s right to “keep and bear arms” under the US Constitution’s Second Amendment. The ruling could lead to many more people securing licences to carry concealed handguns in the state, and undermine similar restrictions in other states. | Reuters…

NEW YORK: Media mogul Rupert Murdoch and actress Jerry Hall are getting a divorce, the New York Times reported this week, citing two people familiar with the matter. Murdoch got married to Hall, 65, in a low-key ceremony in central London in March 2016. The Fox Corp chairperson and his former supermodel wife were frequent fodder for the tabloids, which chronicled their marriage at Spencer House and the festivities surrounding the elder Murdoch’s 90th birthday last year in New York. Murdoch’s divorce, his fourth, is unlikely to alter the ownership structure of businesses he holds stakes in, which include Fox Corp, the parent company of Fox News Channel, and News Corp, publisher of the Wall Street Journal. Murdoch, 91, controls News Corp and Fox Corp through a family trust…

Transgender and non-binary footballers can now decide themselves whether to play for a men’s or women’s team instead of being bound by personal identification data, the German Football Association (DFB) said yesterday. It said the ruling was included in the DFB match regulation for amateurs, the junior regulation and the futsal rulebook. “At its core this ruling says that players with a personal (gender) status that is ‘diverse’ or ‘no reference’ and players who change their gender can take their own decision whether they will be issued an eligibility to play for a men’s or women’s team,” the DFB said. “This is also the case for transgender footballers who can now change (teams) at a moment they decide or can stay on at the team they have been playing for.”…

ORLANDO Pirates is a name revered throughout the continent. The first South African club to capture the ‘star’ on top of their skull and crossbones badge. Also the first club to attain the tag of Double Treble Winners in the local game. The next club to attain both these titles in recent years is Mamelodi Sundowns, the current benchmark of the local game that has clubs like Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs scrambling this transfer window in efforts to mount any challenge for their crown next season. While the Buccaneers have made some movements in terms of exits and recruitments thus far, IOL Sport’s Smiso Msomi highlights five problem areas the club should address. Find Ncikazi Assistance First things first, the Sea Robbers must identify and pin down an individual befitting…

After two years without a live audience and cheering crowd due to Covid-19 restrictions, the Hollywoodbets Durban July as you know it is back, and if the Gallops hosted yesterday was anything to go by, this year’s events are set to dazzle. Yesterday’s event at the Hollywoodbets Greyville racecourse was the first in-person Gallops since 2019 and it gave punters, socialites, models and trainers an opportunity to see some of the main contenders for the 126th edition of Africa’s biggest horse race. A number of the race’s top candidates were present and were taken through their paces, including 2021 champion Kommetdieding and last year’s runner-up, Linebacker. Two-time champion Do It Again and one of the pre-race favourites, Jet Dark, also put in good gallops. Fashion designers got an opportunity to…

FIE! I was stunned and sickened to watch a BBC programme in which it emerged that “upskirting” is still rife in Old Blighty, in spite of the Voyeurism Act of a few months ago making it a criminal offence, punishable by up to two years in prison. Upskirting? This is a practice in which deplorable cads use their cellphones to take photographs up gals’ skirts on the streets, up flights of stairs, on public transport, in pubs and discos, just about anywhere. Even worse, according to the BBC, the upskirters share their photography on social media, with nary a prosecution in terms of the Voyeurism Act. Even worse, it seems upskirting is prevalent also in the US, where there is not even legislation to protect the poor damsels. Absolutely shocking!…

Mr Du Bois, with reference to your comment that masks are not necessary (The Mercury, June 23), please bear in mind that the nose is full of receptors and therefore it is a good idea to cover up the nose to avoid inhaling all sorts of things. There was actually a study done by some medical scientists at Wits, at the beginning of the pandemic, explaining how this worked. Yes, European countries have done away with masks, however, Germany is looking at reintroducing masks as well as changing attendance allowance, as the numbers are escalating and they fear for the winter months. Why are you so anti science? Sure, if you don’t want a jab, it is your business, but let those who base our decisions on empirical facts get…

They say that it is a great quality in a man who shares what little he has with another in a similar plight. So it is with our neighbour, Mozambique. This impoverished nation, ravaged by both man and nature, has extended a helping hand to South Africa. In a display of selfless generosity and good neighbourliness, the Mozambican government has donated food aid to the flood victims of our province, consisting of 10 tons of rice, 10 tons of maize flour, 20 tons of spaghetti and two tons of brown sugar (“Minister thanks ‘good neighbour’ for food aid”, The Mercury, June 21). The Mozambican delegation said that they could not forget when South Africa stood by them in their difficult times. It’s a wonderful gesture which will help cement…

With Mandela Day just weeks away, Chefs with Compassion (CWC) has set the target of cooking 67 000 litres of soup for the hungry. This is the third year the cooking challenge will be held with nearly 600 000 people fed as a result. CWC was founded as a food rescue organisation in Joburg in March 2020. They prepare meals from food salvaged from markets and businesses that would otherwise go to waste, and feed hungry citizens in poor areas. To reach the target, CWC is challenging home cooks, soup kitchens, corporate companies and ordinary citizens to put their hands to the plough. To participate in the challenge, home cooks are asked to contribute R100. Small- to medium-sized companies are asked to donate a participation fee of R5 000, and…

An Eastern Cape man was arrested this week after he was found in possession of suspected stolen car parts and medication with an estimated value of R1.2 million. According to police, the 51-year-old, of Kariega, was found in possession of exhaust systems, new tyres, catalytic converters, steering wheel covers and diabetes medication this week. The suspect was arrested by members of the Uitenhage SAPS on Dobson Street in Kariega. Eastern Cape police spokesperson Captain Gerda Swart said police had established that the catalytic converters were stolen during a hijacking that took place in Kwadwesi – about 15km away from Kariega, earlier this month. Swart said more arrests were likely to take place as the investigation continued. “Upon searching the premises, 74 complete cold end exhaust systems, 300 catalytic converters, 24…

An allegation of inflated pricing for a multimillion-rand water project for the City of uMhlathuze has prompted calls for a site visit which is set to include Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu next month. This is after uMhlathuze mayor Xolani Ngwezi yesterday said he would write to Mchunu about the project. It is understood that the municipality concluded a contract with Mhlathuze Water for the package plant project. Addressing a stakeholder engagement hosted by Mhlathuze Water in Richards Bay yesterday, Ngwezi said the project was set to provide water to more than 80 000 people under the municipality but expressed concern that nothing had been heard about the project. “It is unfair that we get complaints from communities when we have paid money for the project to be undertaken,…

AS THE 46th anniversary of June 16, 1976 was marked last week, blacks and whites in this country were crossing my mind as I tried to put a perspective on the meaning of this day. In my mind is a picture of where Hector Pietersen, had he lived, could be today. Featured in the frame of that picture is Seth Mazibuko who was marking his 15th birthday on the eve of the nation’s revolt against the system of black oppression. History proudly records that Mazibuko was one of the student leaders at the helm of the Soweto Students Representative Council (SSRC), one of the black consciousness organisations banned by apartheid era Justice Minister Jimmy Kruger on October 19, 1977. Not missing in the picture is Helen Zille. Born in 1951,…

US Vice-President Kamala Harris met a group of seven Democratic attorneys-general yesterday, a White House official said, to discuss the defence to a major ruling that could dramatically curtail abortion rights in the country. The conservative-majority US Supreme Court was to issue a decision in coming days to overturn Roe v Wade, which guaranteed the right to an abortion, potentially paving the way to about half of the 50 US states banning or restricting the procedure. The White House meeting included attorneys-general of Wisconsin, Nevada, Illinois, California, Delaware, New York and Washington state. State attorneys-general have considerable influence over rules, and Democrat AGs have pledged to hold the line if Roe falls. They will form the first line of defence for the Biden administration to preserve abortion rights at the…

GAYAN: Aid began arriving yesterday in a remote part of Afghanistan where a magnitude 6.1 earthquake killed 1 000 people, with Taliban officials telling the UN that the rescue operation was almost complete. It was Afghanistan’s deadliest earthquake in two decades, according to US data. More than 3 000 houses were destroyed. Poor communications and a lack of proper roads were hampering relief efforts in a country grappling with a humanitarian crisis that has worsened since the Taliban took over last year. About 1 000 people had been rescued yesterday the health ministry said, adding that aid had arrived in the area but that more was needed. | Reuters…

SEKUNJALO Investment Holdings and associated companies have welcomed Chief Justice Raymond Zondo’s recommendation that banks should be legally prevented from closing accounts as they please. Parts of Justice Zondo’s final report lambasted the banks for rushing to close bank accounts belonging to various companies belonging to the Gupta family following email leaks that suggested unlawful activities on the part of Oakbay and other Gupta-related entities. Justice Zondo said although the Guptas were implicated in state capture, their rights should be protected. “It is therefore recommended that relevant existing legislation governing banks be amended to introduce this requirement of fairness or, if warranted, a new piece of legislation to be enacted which will make this a requirement. “The bank would need to afford the client a proper opportunity to be heard…

I love the courage expressed by this reader. May doors and opportunities continue to open, quite literally and in every other way, for him: “I read your column every weekday and consider you such a sensible and empathetic person. “Today’s column – June 22 – was particularly interesting for me as I am doing a lot of things you’ve suggested. I must admit, this is a fairly recent reaction for me, but I find I’m getting more empathetic as I get older. “I’ve made a habit of greeting strangers, especially when I go shopping, and it’s amazing how many people respond to a smile and a greeting, even people whose names I don’t know. I find that even those who are looking gloomy or cross, will respond with a big…

Ebrahim Essa hit the nail on the head with his remarks when he wrote that editors should not be too limited by dictated principles from company executives (The Mercury, June 17). One only has to recall the newspapers of the apartheid era that had no compunction about challenging the government of the day in order to ensure that the readers were given the facts and not some sanitised government press release. Perhaps it is an opportune time to remind younger people of a young, junior reporter who ferreted until she got the truth about Steve Biko’s death; her name was Helen Zille, yes the same one. I fully agree that some of the media need to grow some of my namesake and not resort to being some government sycophant.…

At the start of an unofficial long weekend, which South Africans are noted for creating, the Van Reenen’s Pass was recently closed for the second time in one week. Listening to one interviewee on Sakina Kamwendo’s show on SAfm, I was incensed to learn that the two blockades that week had cost the country more than R300 million. He was at pains to point out that the N3 serves several provinces and is the main artery from the rest of Africa to the Durban harbour. According to him, this issue regarding the employment of foreigners, the ostensible raison d’être for these blockades, has been going on for over five years with no end in sight. Apart from the so-called economic sabotage, thousands of holidaymakers were stuck on the road for…

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) says it has full confidence in its teams of prosecutors who are working on the Gupta extradition. Rajesh and Atul Gupta were arrested in Dubai two weeks ago after the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) last year issued a Red Notice alert for members of the family in connection with money laundering charges. The charges relate to procurement fraud involving R24.9 million paid between November 2011 and April 2012 by the Free State Department of Agriculture to a company called Nulane Investments 204. The NPA said in a statement this week that extradition processes were complex and each one had its peculiar dynamics, depending on the country involved. “Expert prosecutors in the NPA have been dealing with extradition cases for many years. The NPA leadership…

A Gauteng-based police officer and an alleged accomplice are facing charges of kidnapping and obstructing the course of justice in connection with the abduction of a woman last month. The 31-year-old woman was seen being shoved into the boot of a vehicle. The abduction took place at Kgaphamadi village in the Hlogotlou policing area in Limpopo on May 9. “A 40-year-old police sergeant stationed at Benoni police station in Gauteng and his accomplice, aged 39, were nabbed during an operation conducted by the Limpopo tracking team, provincial organised crime and Hlogotlou detectives,” said Limpopo police spokesperson Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo. The police sergeant was arrested at work on Tuesday. His accomplice was apprehended at his hideout in Apel, Limpopo. “The team is currently following up on the information that the suspects…

THE Southern African Railway Association (Sara) has called for improved rail infrastructure and better co-operation between neighbouring southern African countries in order to boost the economies of these countries. Sara president Sizakele Mzimela, who is also the Transnet Freight Rail chief executive, was speaking at a media briefing in Durban yesterday. The event was also attended by Babe Botana, Sara’s executive director. Sara is the association of railway companies in the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Mzimela said Sara is a railway association that aimed to promote rail transport. “We know rail transport is crucial for rebuilding our economy. As we and our SADC countries’ economies have still been recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic, we look to rail transport between our countries to rebuild our economies.” In April The Mercury…

EU leaders met yesterday to discuss Ukraine’s long-sought bid to join the bloc, even as tensions between Brussels and Moscow deepened over gas supplies and Russia closed in on key cities in the embattled Donbas region. “This is a decisive moment for the European Union. A choice must be made today that will determine the future of the union, our stability, our security and our prosperity,” EU council president Charles Michel said. “We are waiting for the green light, Ukraine has earned candidate status,” the head of the Ukrainian presidency Andriy Yermak said. But joining the EU is still years away, and the potential consequences for Ukraine’s allies loomed large over the talks, and ahead of the G7 and Nato meetings in the following days. Western officials denounced Moscow’s “weaponising”…

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson defended his controversial migrant deal with Rwanda on a visit to the country yesterday, telling critics to “keep an open mind”. On the first day of a trip to Kigali, which is hosting a Commonwealth summit this week, he also heaped praise on Rwandan President Paul Kagame and the achievements of the east African country, despite widespread concerns about its human rights record. The UK-Rwanda scheme, which involves Britain deporting asylum seekers to the country located thousands of miles away, has provoked a storm of outrage. “Rwanda has undergone an absolute transformation in the last couple of decades,” said the British leader. He held talks with Kagame about the deal and other issues, including the war in Ukraine, his office said. Rights groups, church leaders…

LONDON: Two Nigerians have been charged with plotting to have a child brought into the UK in order to harvest the child’s organs, London police said yesterday. Police said they had been alerted to the alleged plan following reports made of possible offences under modern slavery legislation. Beatrice Nwanneka Ekweremadu, 55, and Ike Ekweremadu, 60, were both charged with conspiracy to arrange travel of another person with a view to exploitation, namely organ harvesting. They appeared at Uxbridge Magistrate’s Court. Police said the child had been placed in protection and would be provided additional support. | Reuters…

The freshwater fishing has been cold but good. There have been good sized specimen carp caught, plenty of bass and some giant trout. The cold water has slowed the fishing down, but it has not stopped the bass from biting. The bass still need to feed, so focus on bigger profile baits that represent a large enough food item that the bass will consider eating. This time of year jigs work well. Black and blue is the colour combination of choice. This is true for the jigs as well as the Colorado bladed spinnerbaits. Remember to slow down your retrieve and focus on any hint of a bite. The winter bite can often be very subtle. Choose your dam and go fish. The carp fishing has been steady in the…