Table of contents for 2021-11-15 in Cape Times

Lisa Isaacs lisa.isaacs@inl.co.za CIVIL society has welcomed the Constitutional Court decision to dismiss coal mining company Uthaka Energy’s application for leave to appeal a High Court interdict preventing it from commencing mining at the proposed Yzermyn coal mine in Mpumalanga. The apex court’s decision leaves intact a Pretoria High Court interdict granted earlier this year, which prevents Uthaka Energy, formerly Atha Africa Ventures, from conducting any mining activities, save for survey pegging of the surface infrastructure boundary and wetlands demarcation pegging of the approved plan until court applications to set aside the approvals for the mine have been decided. The Constitutional Court this month refused the application for leave to appeal, with costs. It concluded that the application should be dismissed “as it is not in the interests of justice…

Tarryn-Leigh Solomons and Lisa Isaacs THE non-payment of salaries to ANC staff is embarrassing, says Cosatu. The union federation has continued to throw its weight behind disgruntled ANC staff who will take their frustrations to the streets today as they embark on a nationwide picket. This comes as staff have not been paid their August, September and October salaries. Nationally, about 247 staff members are affected. Prior to the build-up to the local government elections, workers had insisted they would not participate in election campaigning, but that changed about two days after they made the announcement. They then committed to setting aside their frustrations and make a contribution towards winning the support of voters. Yesterday the party’s staff representative, Mvusi Mdlala, said salary payments for August, September and October were…

Rodney Mazinter | Camps Bay WHY is there so much excitement bordering on hysteria about vaccination against Covid-19 when vaccination against viral killers has been successfully used for over 100 years and saved countless lives, made the world a healthier place and eradicated or brought under control such diseases as polio, smallpox, measles, mumps, yellow fever, chicken pox, rabies and many others, and has made the flu manageable? Why are otherwise intelligent people listening to demented activists who have no qualifications, and not to doctors and scientists with many years of study and training behind them? The vast majority of these anti-vaxxers themselves have been administered one or more vaccines from the list above, some legislated and compulsory, and have never had to worry about themselves or their…

J M Chipkin | Bantry Bay ESKOM is ruining this country with rolling blackouts. What is difficult to understand is why the ANC, which saw for at least 15 years that Eskom, SAA and other SOEs were failing to progress and were costing the country billions, did nothing at all. This is when it would have made sense to sell off and privatise these loss-making enterprises. Five or six years ago, Emirates expressed interest in SAA and (Dudu) Myeni (former SAA board chairperson) did not bother to show up in Paris for the meeting. Jacob Zuma and Myeni were so busy stripping the airline of its assets that they did not want a scrutiny of the books. That was then. This is now, with load shedding costing…

Siphokazi Vuso siphokazi.vuso@inl.co.za A NEWLY-elected ANC councillor in the Beaufort West municipality said he was the victim of a scam after he was charged with theft and had to appear in the Murraysburg Magistrate’s Court on Thursday. Councillor Ralph Skuza, said to be a well-known car operator in Murraysburg, has been accused of scamming a resident into giving him R85 000 in exchange for a car of his choice in 2017. The resident claimed he never heard from Skuza again and opened a case with the police. National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Anelisa Ngcakani said the trial started on November 11 and was postponed to November 18. A community activist who spoke on condition of anonymity said Skuza should step down. “We as the community in Murraysburg just want to…

WHEN Futbol Club Barcelona (Barca), one of the world’s most iconic football clubs, can no longer afford to re-sign the services of its equally iconic football genius, Lionel Messi, then you know that there is something fundamentally wrong with the finances of the elite clubs. Never mind the struggle for survival of the lesser clubs in the EPL, La Liga and Serie A – the top three leagues in the world. Messi’s departure in August 2021 after 18 glorious years at the club, despite his offer to reduce his salary by 50% and his reluctance to leave, was unsustainable due to “structural and financial obstacles” under La Liga’s player salary limit. A world still preoccupied with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the call to climate action at COP26…

YEMEN’S warring sides clashed south of the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah at the weekend, after Iranian-backed Houthi fighters moved into territory ceded by forces allied to a Saudi-led coalition, military sources and witnesses said. Yemeni forces backed by the United Arab Emirates had on Friday announced they were redeploying from around Yemen’s main port in the west, a move which a UN monitoring mission and the government said they had no advance notice of. The Saudi-backed government and the Iran-aligned Houthis, who hold Hodeidah city, had in 2018 agreed to a UN-sponsored pact for a truce in Hodeidah that has largely held. Coalition warplanes launched air strikes on the Al Faza area south of Hodeidah as Houthi fighters battled UAE-backed forces until midnight, two military sources and residents…

TRIPOLI: The second son of ousted and killed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, has applied for registration as a candidate for the presidential election scheduled for next month. Gaddafi registered as a presidential candidate in a department of the High National Election Commission in the south-western city of Sabha, according to a video report on Twitter. Representatives of Gaddafi said last year that he would run for the Libyan presidency. The 49-year-old was released from jail in 2017 after being jailed in 2011.…

Argentinians voted yesterday in mid-term elections that will establish the power balance in Congress, with the ruling Peronist party battling to avoid damaging losses that could erase its majority in the Senate held for almost 40 years. The vote sees half the seats in the lower Chamber of Deputies up for grabs and a third in the Senate, with voters focused on rampant inflation running above 50% and high poverty levels arising from the Covid-19 pandemic. The Peronist coalition of left-leaning President Alberto Fernandez faces a trial by fire as it looks to reverse a crushing defeat in a September primary ballot, that if repeated could hobble the ruling party in the next two years. “Fernandez would have to conduct the second half of his term with little political power,…

JALALABAD: Security personnel have rescued a child from kidnappers in the eastern Nangarhar province and arrested six alleged kidnappers, Mohammad Bashir, the head of the provincial office of the General Directorate of Intelligence, said yesterday. A group of kidnappers abducted the child from Daka village in Momandara district of Nangarhar province months ago, and finally the security personnel were able to rescue the child and arrested the six kidnappers. The rescued child had been returned to her family safe and sound recently, Bashir said. He noted that security forces would continue to crack down on criminals.…

Belgium coach Roberto Martinez says he hopes Eden Hazard is able to stay fit and play more regularly for his club as he outlined his plans ahead of next year’s World Cup. Hazard captained the side as Belgium qualified for Qatar 2022 with a 3-1 victory over Estonia in their penultimate qualifier in Brussels on Saturday. But the 30-year-old attacker has struggled to get game time at Real Madrid, even after recovering from a series of long-standing injuries, and this has been a source of concern in Belgium. “I especially hope that Eden Hazard remains fully fit. ;And that every player at his club can show the best of himself, because the competition for places in the squad is huge,” said Martinez. Hazard is one of the golden generation who…

Mitchell Marsh smashed an unbeaten 77 as Australia hammered New Zealand by eight wickets to clinch their maiden T20 World Cup title yesterday. Chasing 173 for victory, Australia depended on a 92-run second-wicket stand between David Warner, who made 53, and Marsh to achieve their target Dubai. Warner became Trent Boult’s second wicket but Marsh kept up the charge to power Australia home. Glenn Maxwell, who made 28, joined Marsh, who hit six fours and four sixes in his 50-ball knock, to put on 66 runs and hit the winning boundary. Skipper Kane Williamson hit a valiant 85 in New Zealand’s 172/4 after being invited to bat first. Australia fast bowler Josh Hazlewood returned figures of 3/16 and leg-spinner Adam Zampa had 1/26. Australia suffered an early blow in their…

Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za LOGISTICS SOE Transnet narrowed its losses in the six months to September, aided by a further easing of lockdown restrictions, though there are still telling effects from the July looting and unrest, a devastating cyber-attack later in that month and disruptions associated with fuel theft from its pipelines for which it had to pay over the barrel. The group posted a net loss of R104 million, narrowing down from a net loss of R3 billion in the same period a year earlier, while revenue increased by 11.3 percent from R32bn to R35.6bn. “With the financial performance for the six months to September 2021 as well as expected continued recovery for the six months thereafter, we expect the busi- ness and financial performance for the…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za Trade among African countries is expected to surge in the coming 12 months as lockdown restrictions continue to be eased, ushering in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement in earnest. AfCFTA will take centre stage at the week-long Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2021) taking place in Durban from today. The IATF2021 is poised to boost commerce across Africa, with $40 billion (R613bn) of trade and investment deals set to be concluded at the event. The fair will also provide an opportunity for the more than 80 South African companies to interact and connect with companies and business people from the rest of the continent. Trade, Industry and Competition Deputy Minister Nomalungelo Gina on Friday said initiatives such as the IATF should boost the objectives of…

Chevon Booysen chevon.booysen@inl.co.za A WOMAN who lost a High Court bid to set aside a bank’s repossession of her parents’ property will forge forward with legal action in an appeal. Lynn Akers, the daughter of Roland Carelse, wanted the court to overturn a judgment granted in favour of Standard Bank against her parents who had defaulted on their home loan. The Port Owen property had been sold about 13 years ago and it is Aker’s argument that this was an “unlawful sale of execution” done without the knowledge of her parents. According to court documents, Carelse and his late wife obtained a home loan for a vacant plot from Standard Bank. Judge Daniel Thulare, handed down judgment in the matter last month. “The couple fell into arrears with the bond…

Okuhle Hlati okhule.hlati@inl.co.za THE news that progress has been made in getting the long-awaited MyCiTi N2 Express a step-closer to being reinstated has been widely welcomed. The embattled MyCiTi N2 Express has been at a standstill since May 2019 when the City failed to reach an agreement over its operation before the contract with the N2 Express Joint Venture (JV) Vehicle Operating Company shareholders, including the Golden Arrow Bus Service (Gabs), Codeta and Route 6 Taxi Association, lapsed. While the City has not stated a time frame on when it expects the bus service, which provides more than 200 000 passenger trips a month, to be fully operational. In September it said Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain residents could expect to see buses on the road by the first quarter of…

Siphokazi Vuso and Tarryn-Leigh Solomons THE ANC has suffered its first major blow in hung municipalities after opposition parties formed a coalition to remove it from power in the Cederberg Municipality. The DA concluded a coalition with the Cederberg First Residents Association and the Freedom Front Plus last week – to govern the municipality previously run by the ANC. The Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) announced that there were 15 hung councils in the Western Cape and the agreement between the parties in Cederberg Municipality became the first coalition agreement in the province. The ANC won four seats, the Cederberg First Residents Association won three seats, the DA won two and one each went to the Patriotic Alliance (PA) and Freedom Front Plus. Cederberg First Residents Association’s mayor-elect Dr Ruben…

Kevin Meineke | HOUT BAY IN TERMS of climate, South Africa is in the region of 65% desert or semi-desert. Due to their very nature, such areas receive large amounts of daily sunshine. As SA faces the ongoing debacle and debate over electricity production, with various groups suggesting that nuclear power is the way to go, others still favour the use of fossil fuel, while a third say that wind and, or solar energy must be the future. Surely, with SA’s large dry regions, solar power should be used to feed energy into the system? Why do we not see thousands of solar collectors in eg the Great Karoo with its abundance of sunshine? Why are universities not given the task to come up with new or…

Judy Bresler | Durban IT WAS with much sadness that I learnt the Spes Bona Girl Students Residence is to be handed over to UCT at the end of the year. The reason given is the lack of numbers over the past two years because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Spes Bona has a proud history. It was opened in 1910 under the chairmanship of Mrs John X Merriman, and initially houses were rented in the Gardens to house the students. The numbers grew so quickly that a company was formed to raise money to build a permanent residence which was opened in 1915. It is worth noting that the money raised to build the residence was repaid within a shorter time than envisioned. The residence is in Hof…

Andile Tshona THERE is a common denominator between the recent local government elections and the Climate Change Summit held in Glasgow (COP26). Both occurrences delivered promises and intentions to improve the lives of the people for better. But pundits from both political and environmental fields have cautioned that it is actions that count and will make a difference, as people affected by lackluster service delivery and climate change impacts have had enough of mere promises. During the local government elections politicians criss-crossed the country, making pronouncements that they will take steps to correct the current wrongs and introduce measures to improve service delivery at the local sphere of government. They all promised one thing, a better life for all, but differed on the how part of their promises. Elsewhere in…

Odwa Mkentane odwa.mkentane@inl.co.za A TWENTY-eight-year-old police officer was among four people to have been shot and killed at the weekend. The officer was killed in Langa while with his friends in a minibus taxi on Saturday night. Police spokesperson Andre Traut said two passengers in the back of the taxi escaped the attack unscathed. “At around 8:45 pm two men were shot and killed in a taxi in Jungle Walk. One of the victims was identified as a 28-year-old constable stationed at Delft police station who was off duty at the time of the incident. “The motive for the attack is yet to be determined and the suspects are yet to be apprehended,” Traut said. He said investigators were also deployed to Mfuleni where a double murder took place.…

WITH a fourth wave predicted to hit the country by the middle of next month, it is inevitable that a stricter lockdown will be enforced. This will be a bitter pill to swallow for many South Africans already feeling the economic impact of the restrictions, and will affect how people socialise over the festive season. Health Minister Joe Phaahla, recognising the imminent threat of the next wave, has urged citizens to get vaccinated. At least 23 million Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered to about 15 million South Africans. With a surge in infections being inevitable, especially as people move to different parts of the country during the festive season, Phaahla has expressed concern over the low vaccination turnout, especially among those between the ages of 18 and 34. The…

Warsaw: Dozens of migrants have been detained after crossing into Poland from Belarus, Warsaw said yesterday, warning of a possible larger breakthrough ahead of an EU meeting to widen sanctions on Belarus. Police said on Twitter 50 migrants had crossed the heavily guarded EU and Nato border near the village of Starzyna “by force” on Saturday. They were all later detained, the border guard said, adding that they could see signs across the barbed wire on the Belarusian side of “a bigger attempt at crossing the border”. Thousands of migrants from the Middle East are camped out on the EU-Belarus border, creating a stand-off between the EU and US on one side and Belarus and its ally Russia on the other. Western countries accuse Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s regime of…

LONDON: Queen Elizabeth II had sprained her back and would miss a Remembrance Sunday service to commemorate those who died in Britain’s wars, Buckingham Palace said – just hours before the monarch was due to make her first public appearance since spending the night in hospital last month. The palace said the queen, who is 95, was “disappointed” to miss the ceremony, where she was expected to lead the nation in paying tribute. The queen is the head of the country’s military and the annual event is one of the most significant in the royal calendar. Prince Charles, heir to the throne, would lay a wreath of poppies on her majesty’s behalf, and Prince William and Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, would attend the event. In her almost…

SOFIA: Three men died when a fire broke out in a Covid-19 ward of a hospital in the southern Bulgarian city of Sliven yesterday, officials said. The fire, which was quickly put out and affected one room. Six patients in adjacent rooms were moved to other wards of the hospital, the head of the regional fire safety department Vladimir Demirev said. Two of the men were found dead by firefighters. The other patient suffered heavy burns and was transported to another hospital where he later died. The fire is being investigated, but a cigarette lit by a patient was the most probable cause of the fire, the health ministry said.…

BEIJING: Racism has an impact on the health of marginalised racial and ethnic groups in the US, according to a recent article published on the website of the University of Houston. “The US has the worst index of health and social problems as a function of income inequality,” said the article. Citing a new study conducted by a clinical professor of population health at the university, the article said racism “contributes to and perpetuates” economic and financial inequality. Such inequality “diminishes prospects for population health improvement among marginalised racial and ethnic groups,” read the article.…

Mike Greenaway mike.greenaway@inl.co.za IF there was even an inkling of doubt that there will be a strong smell of retribution in the Twickenham air when the Springboks and England reconvene this Saturday for the first time since the 2019 World Cup final, it was squashed by Eddie Jones before the dew had settled on his team’s win over Australia. The Wallabies had been beaten 32-15 and it was the eighth consecutive win for Jones’ England over the team he coached to the 2003 World Cup final, where he also lost. In no uncertain terms, Jones told reporters that he wanted “a South African scalp.” “They are the World Cup champions and we are not,” Jones said in his inimitable way. “It is going to be a very important Test–…

South Korea move into the second half of Asia’s preliminaries for next year’s World Cup tomorrow’s with captain Son Heung-min looking to shake off his side’s scoring struggles when they take on Iraq in Doha. Paulo Bento’s team are well on their way to maintaining the country's record of qualifying for every World Cup since 1986, despite an inability to turn their dominance into goals. Thursday’s win over the United Arab Emirates was by a narrow 1-0 margin despite a strong showing by Son and company, with the Tottenham Hotspur striker one of three players to hit the woodwork as the Koreans consolidated their hold on second place in Group A. “We’re obviously not trying to win every match 1-0,” Son said before his team’s departure for the meeting with…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za IRONGATE Group, formerly Investec Australia Property Fund (IAP), has spurned a revised offer from Australia- based asset management firm 360 Capital Group. Irongate had wind of IAP’s intentions in July already, when it warned in a letter to shareholders against appointing two 360 Capital’s directors to the IAP board at the annual meeting that month, and stating in the letter: “The board is concerned … 360 Capital Group could seek to gain effective control of IAP below its fundamental value.” Shareholders heeded the call evidently, as the two directors did not receive enough votes for their appointment at the IAP annual meeting. 360 Capital Group already holds about 19.11 percent of IAP shares. IAP said on Friday that it had received a…

Staff writer AFRICA’S death rates from Covid-19 infections were significantly higher in patients with diabetes, according to a preliminary analysis by the World Health Organization (WHO). Ahead of World Diabetes Day yesterday, the WHO noted that the continent’s sharp increase in diabetes was clashing with the Covid-19 pandemic and poor access to vaccines. “Covid-19 is delivering a clear message: fighting the diabetes epidemic in Africa is in many ways as critical as the battle against the current pandemic,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa. “The Covid-19 pandemic will eventually subside, but Africa is projected in the coming years to experience the highest increase in diabetes globally. We must act now to prevent new cases, vaccinate people who have this condition and, equally importantly, identify and support the…

Chevon Booysen chevon.booysen@inl.co.za DOUBLE-murder accused Enver Hassim has died while being detained at Pollsmoor Prison. Hassim had been pursuing a bail application following the murders of Stephen Carrington, 81, and his son Robert Carrington, 56. Hassim’s family declined to comment yesterday, while the Department of Correctional Services could not confirm the death by deadline. A Facebook post by a relative of Hassim read: “We will never understand why and how … you know Enver’s path was a tough one … he faced many challenges but he made his way through with great dignity. This is how far he wanted to go and not any further. We know his great beauty and worth. Despite what happened we never judged but never condoned either. “We loved him as always if not more.…

Francesca Villette francesca.villette@inl.co.za AS IT MIMICS a painful past when black South Africans were not allowed to participate in competitions, including for the Miss South Africa title, the government has withdrawn its support of Miss SA over its refusal to pull out of the Miss Universe pageant expected to take place in Israel next month. Current reigning Miss SA Lalela Mswane is expected to participate in the pageant, with the SA organisers repeatedly saying they are “not a political organisation” and would therefore not heed calls for a boycott. But Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Nathi Mthethwa said that during unsuccessful consultations it had been difficult to persuade the Miss SA pageant organisers to reconsider their decision to participate in Miss Universe. “What during initial consultations appeared like engaging,…

Mfezeko Bunu | KHAYELITSHA ESKOM has plunged South Africa into scary darkness. Ever since the advent of democracy in this country, we have never experienced this darkness. Eskom has a board and a chief executive who are all supposed to be equally capable, qualified and knowledgeable about the operations of this state-owned entity. But the recent blackouts or load shedding have exposed these people to be unsuitable for this entity. South Africa has never experienced blackouts to this level. What is different now at Eskom that causes so much load shedding? The chief executive André de Ruyter had a media briefing where he compared Eskom to “a dead horse”, where he continued to excoriate his predecessors. Why does de Ruyter continue to flog a dead horse, why doesn't…

Selwyn Lange | Fish Hoek I AM astounded at you and other ANC supporters calling for the heads of Eskom bosses. Apart from the fact that it will just be a further backward step, the whole blame for the Eskom debacle lies totally at the feet of ANC politicians. In brief, it was the ANC that refused Eskom the required increase to enable it to stay out of the red, and then also refused the request from Eskom to shed jobs and reduce costs. Then the real culprit: it was the ANC that commissioned the building of Medupi and Kusile and gave the contracts to totally inexperienced contractors. Hitachi had absolutely zero experience in power station build, but Charterhouse, the investment arm of the ANC invested in Hitachi…

Chevon Booysen chevon.booysen@inl.co.za A RETIRED couple are grieving the loss of two of their Beagle dogs that they allege were shot and killed by a former cop using a hunting rifle. Having recently retired to Calvinia in the Northern Cape, the couple said they were also struggling to lodge a criminal complaint, as “no one wanted to help” them. Gerrie and Anli van Deventer said they had noticed that their dogs escaped from the property after they arrived home from a quick errand last week. “We immediately then jumped in our vehicle in search of them. “At the neighbouring property we found one of the male dogs who seemed to have injured his foot and couldn’t keep up with the rest of the pack. “Then we drove to Witwalle in…

BEAUTY pageants have been held globally for over 75 years, without any hiccups. This year’s Miss Universe contest is being held in Eilat, Israel. The escalation of suffering in the war zones of this area kindles anger and hatred that is unprecedented in human history. It is no longer about beauty in a global contest; it is about the violation of human rights that makes humanity cringe. Beauty has ceased to exist in this area. The weapons of war have been beautified and sanctified by the warlords of the holy lands. War continues in the Middle East on a scale that is truly shocking. The global community looks on, while the savagery continues. The battle for the heart and soul of Palestine rages on unabated. This is the story…

‘Your pro-poor spending will never move the dial on the social status of the poor’ I AM generally not an easy-to-get-angry type of a person, but I nearly threw a cup full of coffee at my laptop screen when I was watching the delivery of the 2021 Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement by rookie Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana. Before I get to my bugbear, let me digress a little, and this is not only to Godongwana but every government official. Please leave joke-cracking to Chester Missing, Nik Rabinowitz, and the like, because when you make a speech in Parliament you are in fact not only delivering it to the few hundred Members of Parliament – at full complement, but importantly to the 55 million South Africans who by the way not…

The AU’s special envoy for the Horn of Africa, Olusegun Obasanjo, remains hopeful that dialogue can end Ethiopia’s year-long war, but warned that “such talks cannot deliver” without an immediate ceasefire. The former Nigerian president is leading an international push to end a conflict that has cost thousands of lives and displaced two million people, as fears of a rebel march on Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa prompt a flurry of diplomatic activity. Obasanjo, who left Ethiopia on Thursday after meetings with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the leadership of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front rebel group, said he was “optimistic that a peaceful resolution for the conflict can be secured”. But with fighting intensifying recently and the TPLF claiming major territorial gains, he warned that “such talks cannot deliver in…

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of an impending “climate catastrophe”, while environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg dismissed Saturday’s COP26 climate conference deal as “blah, blah, blah”. And even those who welcomed the deal in Glasgow said a huge amount of work remained to be done. Guterres acknowledged the shortcomings of the agreement, in a statement following the deal reached on Saturday evening at the Glasgow conference. “The #COP26 outcome is a compromise, reflecting the interests, contradictions and state of political will in the world today,” he tweeted. “It’s an important step, but it’s not enough.” “Our fragile planet is hanging by a thread,” he warned, adding “we are still knocking on the door of climate catastrophe.” In a follow-up tweet, the UN chief sent a message to young people, indigenous communities,…

LONDON: Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai yesterday said she was concerned that the Taliban’s block on girls’ education in Afghanistan would not be temporary, as claimed. Yousafzai, who was shot by the Pakistani Taliban in 2012 for campaigning for girls’ education, told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show that “I’m afraid that this ban that they have announced right now that they’re calling temporary might not actually be temporary.” A similar ban in 1996 “lasted for five years”, she pointed out. After seizing power in August, the hardline Islamist Taliban in September excluded girls from returning to secondary school.…

MELBOURNE: Western Australia’s emergency services issued a bushfire warning yesterday for an out of control blaze east of the state capital Perth that was threatening homes and lives. “If the way is clear, leave now for a safer place,” Emergency Western Australia told residents in and around Mokine in the Shire of Northam, 71km east of Perth. “Do not wait and see, leaving at the last minute is deadly.” Australia’s eastern states have been hit this weekend by torrential rains, with emergency services saying yesterday that flood warnings remained for parts of New South Wales and Victoria states.…

Mike Greenaway mike.greenaway@inl.co.za The Springbok women are taking a leaf out of the book of their male counterparts by finishing their games strongly and when they learn to start better, they will be a force to be reckoned with. The Bok women scored 12 points to none in the last 10 minutes of their clash with Wales at Cardiff Arms Park at the weekend, but allowing Wales to race into a 22-0 lead proved too big a hill to climb as they lost 29-19. The week before, the Bok women also outplayed France in the final quarter of that match and coach Stanley Raubenheimer feels the growth shown during the first two weeks of their end-of-year tour have been pleasing, but he is adamant that hard work awaits the team…