Table of contents for 2021-05-03 in Cape Times

Sandile Mchunu sandile.mchunu@inl.co.za STEINHOFF International shareholders once again shot down some of the important resolutions during the company’s annual general meeting (AGM) on Friday afternoon by voting against three of the five resolutions. The shareholders voted against a proposal to amend the remuneration policy applicable to managing directors with 92.69 percent against while 7.31 percent voted in favour, while 83.77 percent voted against the proposal to adopt the annual accounts for the financial year to end September 2020 and 92.53 percent voted against the proposal to cast an advisory vote in respect of the remuneration report for the year to end September 2020. Peter Wakkie was re-appointed as a member of the supervisory board, with 90.56 percent of the votes backing him, while a proposal…

EDWARD WEST edward.west@inl.co.za AYO TECHNOLOGY Solutions has reached agreements with professional third parties, financial services institutions and trusts that will enable it to do business over the next few months, its board said on Friday. These arrangements form part of a seven-point plan to ensure the sustainability of the business over the next few months after the Gauteng High Court last week denied urgent relief against First National Bank’s plan to suspend banking services to AYO from today. It emerged from court proceedings that AYO had not yet fully exhausted its options with other banks, notwithstanding AYO’s testimony that it awaited feedback from some banking institutions, and that not all banks in the country offered the suite of services that AYO required. Court evidence also suggested AYO could use third…

THE performance of British American Tobacco (BATS) over the past 12 months probably has many investors up in arms, specifically those invested in unit trusts and other savings pro- ducts with significant holdings in BATS, the world’s largest tobacco company based on sales in 2019. From the outside, it seems like a horror story. The Nasdaq-listed BATS is down nearly 5 percent in dollar terms from a year ago, the stock is down by about 13 percent in British pounds on the London Stock Exchange and some 24 percent in rands on the JSE. Over three years, BATS’s share price underperformed the FTSE/JSE All Share Index by 32 percent and the JSE industrial board, as measured by the FTSE/JSE Capped Industrial 25 Index, by more than 27 percent.…

The PRICE of petrol (both 93 ULP and LRP) for May will fall by 9 cents a litre from Wednesday, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy said yesterday. The price of 95 ULP and LRP petrol will also fall by 9c litre, while diesel will ease by 31c a litre. The illuminating paraffin price would fall by 23c a litre. The main reasons for the price adjustments were a decline in the average Brent crude oil price to $64.16 from $65.14 a barrel. The vessel that had stuck in the Suez Canal causing a delay for all cargo containers, including oil tankers, was freed, easing fears regarding supply disruptions. “The markets anticipate Opec and Russia will agree to ease production cuts from May during their next meeting,”…

From page 1 This was a breeding ground for scepticism that the resolution would ever be implemented by the party. Dube said the NWC would likely attempt to “crisis manage” the issue when it meets. “The meeting will likely be a crisis management meeting, it has nothing to do with step-aside. What are the consequences of not meeting the deadline? Ace is still there. They never said if you do not step aside these are the penalties,” he explained. Factions linked to Magashule have threatened to go to court if the step-aside resolution is implemented. Political analyst Ralph Mathekga said talks of possible court action were worrying, especially as courts would be dragged into a matter that could be resolved by the party. “It will end up in court. The…

Okuhle Hlati okhule.hlati@inl.co.za THE District Six Working Committee (D6WC) has renewed calls to speed up the restitution process following a growing trend of land occupation in the area. Since the end of March, there have been at least 75 makeshift structures and 24 tents erected across District Six. The City has since obtained an urgent interdict in the Western Cape High Court against the invasion of restitution land, which has been earmarked for beneficiaries who were forcibly removed from the area by the apartheid government. Law enforcement can now immediately remove people found to be in contravention of the order, and to demolish any incomplete and unoccupied structures. The order further restrains any person from entering the properties for the purposes of unlawfully occupying or invading, erecting, completing or…

Lisa Isaacs lisa.isaacs@inl.co.za SOUTH Africa will adopt policy decisions for the immediate halt to the sale of captive lion derivatives, the hunting of captive bred lions and tourist interactions with captive lions. Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Barbara Creecy yesterday announced the recommendations of the Ministerial High-Level Panel, appointed to review policies related to hunting, trade, captive keeping, management and handling of elephant, lion, leopard and rhinoceros. Creecy received the 25-member panel report in December, which was approved by Cabinet last week. Creecy yesterday said that the majority consensus would be implemented where the panel recommends that South Africa does not captive breed lions, keep lions in captivity, or use captive lions or their derivatives commercially. She requested the department action this accordingly and ensure that the necessary…

Sihle Mavuso sihle.mavuso@inl.co.za TENSIONS in the Zulu monarchy deepened yesterday, when a grouping of royals – led by Prince Mbonisi Zulu and Princess Thembi Ndlovu (nee Zulu) – lashed out at how the passing, and alleged poisoning, of disputed Queen Regent Mantfombi Dlamini and her succession were handled. In an impromptu press conference, held outside the main palace of Khangela in Nongoma, in northern KZN, the royals denied that they were behind the alleged poisoning of the regent. Princess Thembi lashed out and said this was painting them as “witches and anarchists” in the eyes of the public. “People think that we are murderers since the queen (Dlamini-Zulu) was said to have been poisoned. The people who were said to allegedly be behind this are my (Prince Mbonisi) and I,…

Kevin Meineke | HOUT BAY I REFER to the article “Rights group accuses Israel of apartheid against Palestine “(Cape Times, April 28.) Once again, the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the Human Rights Watch (HRW) are taking aim at Israel for alleged war crimes against humanity, claimed to have taken place in Judea, Samaria and Gaza. As I do not live in Israel, I cannot claim to have any knowledge of the truth or otherwise of such Palestinian allegations. What is for concern though, is that on June 12, 2014, Palestinians, with Hamas sympathies, abducted three Israeli teenagers at a bus stop and proceeded to murder them in cold blood. The world in general, the ICC and the HRW, in particular, were silent and have remained silent on…

Mahfooz un Nabi Khan | Pakistan THE International Day of the Red Cross and Red Crescent is celebrated worldwide on May 8 every year. The distinct feature of this movement is “armless struggle for the emancipation of the suffering humanity. The Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers in whatever capacity they are needed, and will keep themselves without weapons even if there is a security threat to them. War is not always described in terms of invasion, battle or bloodshed. It is also fought without weapons. The war against ignorance and illiteracy is waged without ammunition. Mind-set does not need arms or ammunition to combat. To help humanity both in times of conflict and peace basically requires the tool of humanitarian facilitation. The movement of The Red…

Staff writer SNIFFER dogs were the heroes of the day when they led police to hunting rifles and drugs in separate incidents at the weekend. In Worcester, a farmhouse in the Nuy Valley was targeted in the early hours of yesterday. The police’s K-9 unit responded, and the dog followed the tracks leading to a dry riverbank. “Utilising the unit’s explosives dog, the members followed tracks leading to a dry riverbank. The canine reacted to a pile of leaves and sat on it. On investigation the members discovered three hunting rifles, 15 rounds of ammunition, a tag light and a laptop concealed under the pile of leaves. “The search for the suspects continues as detectives investigate a burglary and theft case,” police spokesperson Novela Potelwa said. Separately in the Klein…

Okuhle Hlati okhule.hlati@inl.co.za SLAIN cop Mzingisi Gule’s grieving family have been left with unanswered questions following his murder two weeks ago. Gule, from Ilitha Park, Khayelitsha, was ambushed and shot three times in the head while driving in Philippi East on April 24. His body was identified at the Salt River mortuary the next day after his car was recovered in Browns Farm, Nyanga. At a memorial service at the weekend, Gule was praised for his bravery and “predatory instincts” in the fight against crime. His elder sister Sindiswa Gule said family members were still coming to terms with his murder. “We have a lot of questions, especially reasons why he was in that area. He always told us how dangerous it is there. His friend and girlfriend are also…

Ramaphosa acknowledges that millions continue to suffer from lack of basic services AS South Africa enters its 28th year of democracy following the collapse of apartheid and the country’s first non-racial elections on April 27, 1994 – Freedom Day – millions of compatriots are still crying for freedom! Freedom from poverty, corruption, violence, marginalisation, unemployment, inequality – the list gets bigger like a rainbow of hopelessness towering over the South African nation. Madiba and his departed cadres must be pondering beyond the pearly gates: “OMG, how long is our march to freedom really going to take? We left them a legacy and look at what they have done!” Anniversaries are usually a time for rejoicing and reflection. An occasion to take stock of the state of the nation and its…

Israel observed a day of mourning yesterday for 45 people crushed to death at a Jewish religious festival, with flags lowered to half-staff and questions raised about accountability for one of the country’s worst civilian disasters. In accordance with Jewish tradition, funerals were held with as little delay as possible. More than 20 of the victims of Friday’s disaster on Mount Meron were buried overnight after official identification was completed. Witnesses described a stampede and a pyramid of bodies, including several children, in a slippery metal-floored passageway at the annual pilgrimage of ultra-Orthodox faithful to the tomb of a second-century Jewish mystic, Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, in northern Israel. “We’re all heartbroken, saddened, shattered into a million pieces. There are no words to describe the feeling of the entire country,”…

India’s new Covid-19 cases dipped marginally yesterday but deaths from Covid-19 jumped by a record 3 689, with one more state going into lockdown as the nation’s creaky health-care system is unable to cope with the massive caseload. Authorities reported 392 488 new cases in the previous 24 hours, pushing total cases to 19.56 million. So far, the virus has killed 215 542 people. India reported a record 401 993 new coronavirus cases on Saturday. Indian hospitals, morgues and crematoriums have been overwhelmed as the country has reported more than 300 000 daily cases for more than 10 days straight. Many families have been left on their own to scramble for medicines and oxygen. Dozens of people have died in the last week due to…

Bangkok: Hundreds of Thai protesters hurled red paint, tomatoes and eggs at a Bangkok court yesterday, demanding the release of all political detainees, including an activist who was hospitalised after a hunger strike. The student activist Parit Chiwarak, known as “Penguin”, has been held on remand since being charged in February under Thailand’s strict royal defamation laws. He faces more than a dozen charges for his role in protests against the government of Premier Prayut Chan-O-Cha, which also called for reforms to Thailand’s unassailable monarchy. The king and his family are protected by tough lese majeste laws. | AFP…

BUJUMBURA: Burundi’s President Evariste Ndayishimiye has sacked his commerce minister because she risked “compromising the country’s economy” as sources in the ruling regime alleged she had embezzled airline funds. Sources within the ruling regime say the minister was dismissed for the illegal sale of the last plane of the now defunct Air Burundi and for allegedly embezzling funds intended to go towards Burundi Airlines. The plane, a Beechcraft 1900, had not flown in more than a decade and was sold to a South African businessman without governmental approval, the sources said. Ndayishimiye has made fighting corruption a priority. | AFP…

Manchester United’s Premier League match against Liverpool was postponed yesterday after United fans forced their way into the stadium and stormed the Old Trafford pitch to protest against the club’s owners - the Glazer family. “Following discussion between the Police, the Premier League, Trafford Council and the clubs, our match against Liverpool has been postponed due to safety and security considerations around the protest today,” United said in a statement after the game was called off. “Discussions will now take place with the Premier League on a revised date for the fixture.” Around 200 United fans took to the pitch, some letting off flares and others carrying posters calling for the Glazer family, the club’s American owners, to sell the club. A Premier League statement said: “Following the security breach…

England scrumhalf Ben Youngs has ruled himself out for the British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa this year to spend more time with his family this summer, with his wife pregnant with their third child. The 31-year-old was among more than 50 players under consideration for the tour, which will take place under strict Covid-19 protocols. Lions coach Warren Gatland is set to name a 36-man squad on Thursday afternoon. “Whether or not I would have made the final cut, I’ll never know,” Youngs told the Mail on Sunday. “I’ve got two young children, and my wife is heavily pregnant with the third. “This summer, I’ve got an opportunity to be with my family and my kids. “I have always loved the Lions. “I’ll be cheering them on,…

Mike Greenaway The Sharks will be aiming for a much-improved performance on Saturday when they host the Lions after failing to impress their coach in their fortuitous 33-30 victory over the Stormers in the Rainbow Cup opener at the Cape Town Stadium. Sean Everitt was not amused after the Stormers left the Sharks in their starting blocks to race into a 17-0 lead, and then having fought their way back into leading 33-23 , the Sharks spend the last quarter of the match hanging on for dear life. It was probably no-coincidence that when the Sharks staged their comeback, the Stormers were men down after suffering two red cards. “We are not happy with our performance but we will gladly take the result,” Everitt said. “It is the sign of…

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton won the Portuguese Grand Prix for Mercedes yesterday to stretch his Formula One lead over Red Bull's Max Verstappen to eight points after three races. Verstappen finished second at the Algarve circuit with Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas completing the podium, and taking a bonus point for the fastest lap, after starting from pole position. Verstappen's Mexican teammate Sergio Perez was fourth. The victory was a record-extending 97th of Hamilton's career, second of the year and repeated his win at the same circuit last season. "That was such a tough race, physically and mentally, just keeping everything together. It was very windy out there so it was very easy to put a foot wrong," said Hamilton, who started on the front row with Bottas. "I just didn't…

4RACING, the business brand launched on Saturday on Champion’s Day at Turffontein that aims to be the face of a transformed horse racing industry, said yesterday that it had appointed Fundi Sithebe as chief executive, effective June 1, 2021. “I am very excited to have been presented with this opportunity and I look forward to engaging with all stakeholders as 4Racing proceeds with the transforma- tion and rebuilding of the South African horse racing industry,” Sithebe said. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administra- tion degree from Midrand University and a Post Graduate Diploma in Management (Business Administration) from Wits Business School. She started her career as a management consultant at Deloitte, focusing on strategy and operations in organisational strategic projects. She was previously chief operating officer of Airports Company…

Lisa Isaacs lisa.isaacs@inl.co.za THE National Council of SPCAs (NSPCA) is reviewing information on the use of paintball guns as aversion tools to keep baboons out of urban areas, after the organisation said it received images of animals left with injuries as a result of the practice. The City on Friday said it had submitted a written request to the NSPCA to clarify reports that it no longer supported the use of paintball guns to keep baboons out of the urban areas adjacent to the troops’ natural habitat. The City said its Urban Baboon Programme service provider is using paintball guns in combination with other efforts, including education around waste management, limiting food attractants, the enclosure of vegetable gardens and composting areas, and the baboon-proofing of residences. “The NSPCA’s decision could…

Zintle Mahlati zintle.mahlati@inl.co.za DESPITE assurances from the SABC that the broadcaster has begun paying out severance packages to retrenched former employees, unions say former staffers remain concerned about delays. The SABC issued a statement at the weekend saying that rumours that it was unable to pay salaries for its employees were unfounded. “The SABC would like to categorically refute the allegation that it is not able to pay the salaries of its employees. The corporation has a comprehensive and established cash management process in place that is aligned with best practice,” said the organisation’s acting spokesperson, Mmoni Seapolelo. Concerns over the company’s cash flow stem from unions that have reported members who are concerned over the non-payment of severance packages. The SABC concluded its retrenchment process at the end of…

Zintle Mahlati zintle.mahlati@inl.co.za THE ANC national working committee (NWC) is expected to meet today and it is likely that the issue of the contentious step-aside resolution will form part of discussions. The step-aside deadline for ANC members who have been criminally charged with corruption lapsed on Friday, with no member having left office. The decision was taken by the ANC national executive committee (NEC) in March, giving a 30-day deadline to those who faced charges. Since then, lists have been compiled and submitted from provinces. The NWC meeting comes ahead of the ANC NEC meeting, which is expected to take place this weekend. Among the ANC members who face having to step aside are the party’s secretary-general Ace Magashule – who has been charged over a R255 million Free State…

AP Stemmet | Association for Monitoring and Advocacy of Government Pensions IT’S NOW now official: It has always been ANC policy “to deepen the hold of the liberation movement over the levers of state.” So has Minister Gwede Mantashe reasonably and honestly admitted before the Zondo Commission, although he tried to justify it. For all South Africans who over the past 27 years visited a government office for whatever purpose this was not news. We experienced it. Mr Enoch Godongwana was even more honest and brave enough to admit to cadre deployment. This is a man who believes the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) belongs to the government. During an interview he said: “What is undermining accountability is the creeping of patronage under the guise of deployment ……

Bill Constantine | Oranjezicht TIME after time, after time, I've read accounts in the paper of schools, libraries and other educational facilities being broken into, vandalised and valuable equipment stolen; most recently, the Vukile Tshwete Early Childhood Development Centre (“Fears over safety after Samora Machel pre-school robbed”, Cape Times, April 28). The centre’s staff members reported that the facility had been robbed and vandalised for the third time this year. The principal, Nokuzola Ncwadi, laments: “They (criminals) have stolen items such as laptops, copy machines, meter boxes and many other things.” Three occasions of break-in, vandalism and robbery at this school in just four months! Why did that happen? Here’s why: Principal Ncwadi stated that the centre did not have security personnel present throughout the day and night.…

Brian Pittman | FISH HOEK I have followed with amazement the debacle surrounding our cricket admission (or non-admission) to the ICC fold. With our present side and the administration thereof, I have no doubt that we will travel the same way as Zimbabwean cricket. For heaven’s sake, can the cricketers merely ply their trade and get on with the game instead of continued interference from the so-called “administrators” of the game, whom I understand (I refer to here to our ministers of Sport and Recreation over the past 25 years) are not actually involved in the playing of the game. Turning to the rugby field and watching the Stormers/Sharks game, how can one accept that a side playing in a supposed provincial game between these two teams accept…

ZELDA VENTER zelda.venter@inl.co.za IT was second time lucky for a former pupil at Rabonni Christian School in Brits – who was earlier acquitted for his alleged part in the brutal killing of the school’s secretary – when the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) turned down an appeal by the State for him to be convicted. The two teenagers may not be identified because they were 16 when Hester Koster was shot twice in the head at point-blank range. The former pupil, who the State wanted to face the might of the law, is only identified as P. He claimed that although he was with his friend at the time of the killing, he was forced to be there because he feared his friend who, according to him, bullied him. His…

Karen Singh karen.singh@inl.co.za The Road Freight Association (RFA) has condemned the petrol bombing of two trucks on the R59 in Johannesburg. Police spokesperson Kay Makhubele confirmed that the trucks were burnt on Saturday night. Makhubele said the suspects shot at the drivers who stopped the trucks. “It is alleged a petrol bomb was thrown and the two trucks burnt next to each other on the R59,” he said. Makhubele said no arrests have been made. The drivers had escaped uninjured. In 2019, there were a number of attacks on trucks, especially in KwaZulu-Natal. At the time, it was alleged that the attacks were being carried out by local truck drivers who claimed that foreign nationals were being given preference for jobs in the industry. “However, local truck driver organisations have…

THE theme for this year’s World Press Freedom Day celebrated today, “Information is a public good”, invites the following questions: When does information becomes journalism? And what is the relationship between journalism and press freedom? Here we explore South African newspaper history in search of answers. The first paper in (what is today part of) South Africa was The Cape Town Gazette and African Advertiser/ Kaapse Stads Courant en Afrikaansche Berighter, a bilingual weekly, first published in the Cape colony under British occupation in 1800. Although published by a private firm (whose many commercial dealings included a stake in the lucrative slave trade), the newspaper (Gazette, for short) was “under government sanction” from the start. The press and newspaper, therefore, was not “free”, a fact recognised and lamented by contemporary…

A SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying four astronauts back to Earth splashed down off Florida early yesterday in Nasa’s first nighttime ocean landing in more than 50 years. The crew reported feeling well after their arrival back on Earth following a nearly six-month mission aboard the International Space Station, Nasa said. The capsule splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico off Panama City after a six-and-a-half-hour flight from the ISS, night-vision images relayed by Nasa’s WB-57 high-altitude research aircraft showed. Teams aboard the Go Navigator recovery ship retrieved the capsule and hoisted it on to the deck. It was the first nighttime splashdown for Nasa since the Apollo 8 crew arrived in the Pacific Ocean on December 27, 1968. Commander Michael Hopkins emerged first, followed by fellow Nasa astronaut Victor…

MOSCOW: North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un’s sister, Kim Yo-jong, has warned South Korea that their recent failure to stop North Korean defectors from spreading anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets will have consequences. “We regard the manoeuvres by the human scum in the south as a serious provocation against our state and will look into an action corresponding to them,” she said. The Fighters for a Free North Korea said they had flown around 500 000 leaflets and 5 000 $1 bills into North Korea on 10 balloons even though a ban on sending leaflets across the northern border is in place in the South. | Spunik…

Tripoli: More than 600 migrants hoping to reach Europe from Libya have been stopped since Friday, the navy said, as the International Organisation for Migration warned Libya was “not a safe port”. Three groups of illegal migrants were intercepted at sea, mostly citizens from sub-Saharan African nations trying to reach Europe. International agencies have denounced the return to Libya of migrants intercepted at sea, due to the chaotic situation in the country and poor conditions in detention centres. Libya is a major route for migrants trying to reach Europe, and traffickers have thrived in the lawlessness after the 2011 overthrow of dictator Muammar Gaddafi. | AFP…

New York: US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer’s chief executive, Albert Bourla, has said that the company’s Covid-19 oral antiviral pill, which is in early-stage trials, could be ready by the end of the year. The company, which developed the first authorised Covid-19 vaccine in the US with German drugmaker BioNTech, began an early-stage clinical trial for testing a new antiviral therapy for Covid-19 in March. The drug is part of a class of medicines called protease inhibitors and works by inhibiting an enzyme the virus needs to replicate. If clinical trials go well, the drug could be distributed across the US by the end of the year, he said. | IANS…

It was a tale of two birdies for JC Ritchie yesterday as he birdied the 18th hole twice at Royal Cape Golf Cub to win the Bain’s Whisky Cape Town Open on the first play-off hole to win his eighth Sunshine Tour title. It was also his first Challenge Tour title in the event co-sanctioned by the European Tour’s second tier, as he defeated the man who led throughout, Jacques Blaauw, with a superbly taken birdie on the 18th in the playoff. That was after he made a clutch birdie in regulation play in the final hole to get himself into the playoff. “After the first nine in my first round, it’s almost difficult to believe I’ve won,” said Ritchie afterwards. He made three bogeys in his first four holes,…

Inter Milan clinched their first Serie A title in 11 years after Sassuolo drew 1-1 with second-placed Atalanta to assure Antonio Conte’s side of the league crown. Inter are 13 points clear in first place with four games remaining, and their triumph ends a run of nine consecutive title wins for Juventus. Large crowds of flag-waving fans gathered outside the iconic Duomo in Milan to celebrate a long-awaited success that has broken the domestic dominance of rivals Juve. The league title is Inter’s first since winning the Serie A, Coppa Italia and Champions League Treble in 2009/10 under Jose Mourinho, and their 19th overall. Inter have therefore overtaken AC Milan, who have 18 Serie A titles, to become the second-most successful club in league history behind Juventus, with 36 league…

US TREASURY Secretary Janet Yellen on Saturday tamped down concerns that President Joe Biden’s plans for infrastructure, jobs and families will cause inflation, saying the spending will be phased in over a decade. “It’s spread out quite evenly over eight to 10 years,” said Yellen, a former Federal Reserve chairperson. She said the Federal Reserve would monitor inflation and has the tools to address it if necessary. “I don’t believe that inflation will be an issue, but if it becomes an issue, we have tools to address it. These are historic investments that we need to make in our economy productive and fair.” Biden’s plans are paid for by a series of tax increases on the wealthiest Americans, less than 1 percent of the population, and on raising corporate…

Gerry Cupido geraldine.cupido@inl.co.za Optical eyewear has become as big a fashion statement as sunglasses. Spectacles have become so trendy that people are wearing clear, non-prescript lenses to get the look. With all the different shapes, sizes and colours available, the styling opportunities are endless. You can go from conservative to eccentric by simply changing your frames. Here are the hottest trends in optical wear this season. In the clear Transparent frames are the newest and hottest trend in eyewear. Their ability to go effortlessly from casual to formal makes them a must-have in every wardrobe. Add a little more spice with oversized frames or a hint of champagne colouring to double up on other trends. Tortoise shell This is not your grandmother’s pattern – it’s adding new hues and highlights…

From page 1 “The world is watching a catastrophe unfolding in India, a #Covid-19 tsunami has struck the country, the official figures nowhere near the real tragedy, insiders affirm. “The pictures, as graphic as they are, can never adequately convey the emotion, pain, suffering, and desperation. “Living inside a disaster is very different from observing it from a distance. If observing it from a distance is horrific, imagine living in it. Health-care workers and the population are on edge, exhausted, and burnt out. They need humanity to respond,” a post read. According to Gift of the Givers, the organisation has been in talks with the Indian government and Dirco to “intervene decisively, practically and effectively”. “The request is very simple, ‘We need oxygen and oxygen delivery devices, we have everything…

Rapula Moatshe rapula.moatshe@inl.co.za ZELDA VENTER zelda.venter@inl.co.za THE inventor of “Please Call Me”, Nkosana Makate, will be back in court this week to again face Vodacom over the offer of R47 million the cellphone giant has made to him for coming up with the concept. Makate has squared off against Vodacom on several occasions in court and the issue was on the roll in the Constitutional Court in 2016 as well. He is not accepting Vodacom’s offer, claiming that his concept is worth billions. He will turn to the North Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, tomorrow to review Vodacom’s offer. Vodacom claims that it does not owe him more than the offered R47m, as the “Please Call Me” is a free service, which does not generate an income. In applications leading up…

Staff writer ALLEGED underworld kingpin Nafiz Modack is expected back in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court today, in connection with the attempted murder of advocate William Booth. The Directorate of Priority Crime Investigations (Hawks) has excluded the murder of AGU Commander Lieutenant-Colonel Charl Kinnear as one of the reasons for Modack’s arrest last Thursday, reports have noted. The Hawks issued a statement last Thursday saying four suspects, aged between 29 and 49, were arrested after the National Task Team executed warrants of arrest in the Western Cape. The arrests followed cases of attempted murder of an advocate, the murder of a police officer, gang-related extortion, kidnapping and intimidation in the Milnerton area. The Hawks on Friday removed Kinnear’s name and only referenced the arrest in connection with the attempted murder…

Chevon Booysen chevon.booysen@inl.co.za AMID a deadly Covid-19 second wave in India, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) says it has not been alerted to any cases of South Africans desperately wanting to return home. India at the weekend recorded a record daily high of 401 993 new coronavirus cases, with more than 215 000 people dying as a result of the virus, according to Reuters. The Indian Rail Ministry yesterday confirmed it had deployed about 4 000 isolation coaches with almost 64 000 beds in order to curb rising infections, with 213 coaches having been handed over to various states for Covid care. Dirco spokesperson Lunga Ngqengelele said they had not been alerted to any individual cases yet of South Africans wanting to return from India to South…

IF YOU are going to take on someone of the calibre of Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, you’d better have your facts straight. In his quasi-intellectual opinion piece titled “Buthelezi’s ruthless power-mongering” (Cape Times, 29 April 2021), UCT student Yonela Mlambo unfortunately does not. One wonders at the audacity of this young man to make such bold statements utterly devoid of historical fact. He questions – nay, disputes – Prince Buthelezi’s position as traditional Prime Minister to the Zulu Monarch and Nation; his legacy as an opponent of apartheid; his friendship with the Indian community; his service to the Zulu King; and the fact that he was a political target. All of this is utterly bizarre. Prince Buthelezi’s legacy of service and leadership spans well over half a century. What has Mr…

Athandile Siyo athandile.siyo@inl.co.za THE family of three-year-old Alunamda Mili, who died in a shack fire, is seeking assistance from the public for his funeral. Alunamda died when a fire engulfed his family’s informal structure in Siqalo in Philippi during the early hours of Friday. His mother, Bulelwa, said she was struggling to come to terms with his death. “I left home very early in the morning to go look for work, it was just after 4am, leaving behind Alunamda and my boyfriend who had spent the night. “My boyfriend said he was going to leave shortly after I had left, and I had no problem with that because the child was still sleeping. He left and locked the child inside with a burning candle which he said he forgot to…

Athandile Siyo athandile.siyo@inl.co.za TALKS to renegotiate “unfair and outdated” working conditions between the City and the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) have hit a deadlock. This is according to Samwu regional secretary Mikel Khumalo, after firefighters on Saturday demonstrated against the disciplinary action against over 500 of them, for an unprotected strike over working hours and payment in 2019. The demonstration was under the Our Back To Work campaign, to highlight the plight of workers, including calling for the reduction of working hours. “The firefighters have not been dismissed yet, but we want a plea bargain which will be fair. “The employer’s argument is outdated and allows for long working hours and we have put forward proposals asking them to engage. They responded saying that they are not prepared…

The raging feud in the Zulu Royal family has pushed the succession battle to another level, with the courts now set to adjudicate on the matters at hand. The first wife’s decision to go to court to challenge the will of the late King Goodwill Zwelithini has deepened divisions and left the Zulu nation in limbo. It may be a while before the next king is named after the involvement of the courts. Prince MisuZulu has been touted as the next in line to be named the king, but the bitter battle would force the government not to at this stage be involved. This is not the first time in the country a royal family has been embroiled in legal disputes over the new king or queen. Other nations have…

Myanmar security forces opened fire on some of the biggest protests against military rule in days yesterday, killing at least seven people, media reported, three months after a coup plunged the country into crisis. The protests, after a spell of dwindling crowds and what appeared to be more restraint by the security forces, were coordinated with demonstrations in Myanmar communities around the world to mark what organisers called “the global Myanmar spring revolution”. “Shake the world with the voice of Myanmar people’s unity,” the organisers said in a statement. Streams of demonstrators, some led by Buddhist monks, made their way through cities and towns across the country, including the commercial hub of Yangon and the second city of Mandalay, where two people were shot and killed, the Mizzima news agency…

The UN says that tens of thousands of people had fled the northern Mozambican town of Palma following jihadist attacks late last month that left dozens dead. Of the coastal town’s 75 000 population, almost half, 30 000, “have moved” since the March 24 raid by militants, said the International Organization for Migration (IOM) chief of mission in Mozambique, Laura Tomm-Bonde. This was in addition to 23 000 who are believed to have moved to nearby Quitunda village, close to a huge gas plant being built by the French energy giant Total. The firm suspended work on the scheme after the attacks. The latest displacement takes the numbers of people uprooted from their homes in Cabo Delgado province to around 700 000, according to government and aid agency…

London: Iran’s treatment of detained dual national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe amounts to “torture”, Britain said yesterday, after she was convicted anew to a year in prison and banned from leaving the Islamic republic for 12 months. The British-Iranian woman has been held in Iran since 2016 when she was working as a project manager for the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 42, appeared in court late last month to face new charges of “propaganda against the system”, a week after she finished a five-year sentence for plotting to overthrow the regime, accusations she denies. Her husband, Richard Ratcliffe has linked his wife’s plight to a British debt dating back more than 40 years for army tanks paid for by the shah of Iran. When the shah was ousted in the 1979 revolution,…

Kabul: Fighting between Afghan government forces and the Taliban has left more than 100 insurgents dead in the past 24 hours, the defence ministry said yesterday, as the US military pressed on with its withdrawal from Afghanistan. Taliban and government forces clashed across several provinces, including in the former insurgent bastion of Kandahar where the US military had a “precision strike” on Saturday. The US military formally began withdrawing its remaining 2 500 troops from Saturday. The Taliban warned this violated last year’s accord by not finishing troop withdrawal by May 1. “This opens the way for our mujahideen to take action against invading forces.” | AFP…

Zaahier Adams MAMELODI Sundowns sent an emphatic reminder to any potential title challengers that they are not going to relinquish their Premiership crown without a fight by thumping rivals Orlando Pirates 3-0 at Orlando Stadium yesterday. Having been pushed into second place over the weekend by an energetic AmaZulu, Sundowns roared back into top spot on the league standings by trouncing the Buccaneers. After both teams were unable to create any genuine opportunities during a deary first half that saw the action confined to the middle of the field, the Brazilians turned on the style during the second period. That was primarily due to the enterprise provided by Gift Motupa, who replaced injured striker Kermit Erasmus at halftime. The opening was eventually created when Peter Shalulile volleyed a strike…

Ashfak Mohamed AFTER a far-from-perfect performance against the Lions, Bulls coach Jake White hopes to have Springboks Duane Vermeulen and Trevor Nyakane back for what he expects to be a “fired-up” Stormers side on Saturday. The Currie Cup champions scored three tries without reply in their 22-9 win over the Lions at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday night, but apart from the opening sequence that led to a touchdown, the Bulls didn’t reach great heights as they continue their journey to a multi-faceted style of play in the Rainbow Cup SA. White praised some of his experienced replacements, such as flyhalf Morné Steyn and prop Jacques van Rooyen, for bringing much-needed composure in the second half to help the Bulls close out the victory, having held on grimly to a 10-9…