Table of contents for 2022-06-28 in Cape Times

PUBLIC Works and Infrastructure Minister Patricia de Lille says plans are in place for the further development of Hout Bay Harbour. The harbour was part of the department’s small harbours repair and maintenance programme aimed at the redevelopment of the 13 proclaimed fishing harbours in the Western Cape. The programme was expected to be fully completed by March 2022. DA MP Samantha Graham wrote to De Lille enquiring the amount spent on the Hout Bay Harbour as part of the Small Harbours Unit initiative and the details of the expenditure. Graham also asked whether there were any plans in place for the further development of the harbour. In her response, De Lille said the total amount spent in Hout Bay as part of the small harbours unit repair and maintenance…

From page 1 and others were shouting ‘we are dying, guys’, and ‘we are suffocating’ and ‘there are people who can’t breathe’,” she told AFP. “I passed out at that moment. I was running out of breath and there was a strong smell of some type of spray in the air. We thought it was pepper spray.” Community Safety department spokesperson Unathi Binqose said the cause of death has not yet been determined. “We do not have any feedback on the cause of death at the moment. That will be revealed by the results of the post-mortems,” Binqose said. The Eastern Cape liquor board has since shut down the tavern. Its spokesperson, Mgwebi Msiya, said the board would lodge a criminal complaint against the owner once the police had finalised…

THE deaths of 21 teenagers at an East London tavern should serve as a wake-up call to authorities, regarding the awarding of liquor licences to establishments in residential areas. On Sunday, South Africans woke to shocking news that 21 teenagers died under mysterious circumstances at an East London shebeen, known as Enyobeni, in Scenery Park. The horrific scene, where the dead were all under the age of 18, was too much for Police Minister Bheki Cele to handle. He broke down in tears. While the police investigation into the cause of the deaths is ongoing, there are immediate interventions that should be implemented by the Eastern Cape Liquor Board and the police to ensure that such an unfortunate incident does not occur again. Action needs to be taken against the…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy yesterday urged world powers to do their utmost to help end Russia’s invasion by the end of the year, as G7 leaders planned new sanctions and vowed to support Kyiv “as long as it takes”. US President Joe Biden and his peers from the Group of Seven rich nations, meeting in the Bavarian Alps, pledged to tighten the economic screws on Moscow over its February 24 invasion of its neighbour. The leaders put on a show of unity over Ukraine, even as the fallout from the war intensifies with soaring energy and food prices driving up global inflation. “We will continue to provide financial, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support and stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes,” the G7 said in a statement on…

AnglophonE separatists in Cameroon have killed at least seven people and carried out scores of kidnappings since January, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said yesterday, in a further condemnation of alleged abuses by the rebels. “Armed separatist groups are kidnapping, terrorising, and killing civilians across the English-speaking regions with no apparent fear of being held to account by either their own leaders or Cameroonian law enforcement,” Ilaria Allegrozzi, the HRW’s senior central Africa researcher, said in a report. A conflict in Cameroon’s Northwest Region and Southwest Region has raged for nearly five years, pitching government forces against anglophones campaigning to secede from the majority French-speaking state. The rights watchdog said rebels had killed at least seven people, injured six more, raped a girl and kidnapped as many as 82 people since…

Rome: Italy’s second-richest man, Leonardo del Vecchio has died after building an optical empire that saw him buy up major brands like Ray-Ban, Persol and Oakley. He was one of Italy’s most successful businessmen, building an international company that helped turn eyeglasses into a coveted fashion accessory. He was worth $27 billion, according to Forbes. Born May 22, 1935 in Milan to a poor family, he spent part of his youth in an orphanage and began working as a teenager He founded his company, EssilorLuxottica, in 1961, supplying the optical industry with components. A decade later, he made the strategic decision to control all parts of the production process. He saw the advantage of partnering with fashion design brands, including Giorgio Armani, branched out into retail and snatched up…

ABIDJAN: Above-average rains last week in most of Ivory Coast’s cocoa regions were good for development of the next October-to-March main crop, but much more moisture could be damaging, farmers said yesterday. The world’s top cocoa-producing country is in its rainy season with farmers reporting heavy rain, making it hard to harvest, dry and store beans. Fears were voiced in Soubre and Abengourou, both of which had more than 99mm of rain last week, double their five-year averages. In the Daloa, Bongouanou and Yamoussoukro regions, farmers said they were happy because flowers were proliferating on trees for a strong start to the main crop in October. | Reuters…

SAFA vice-president Ria Ledwaba has claimed that the association’s president Danny Jordaan is not the right man to lead South African football forward. The 70-year-old retained his position after securing victory in the election on Saturday. Jordaan accumulated a total of 186 votes while Ledwaba received 27 and Solly Mohlabeng of Safa Gauteng managed just eight, all of which ensured a further four years of Jordaan at the helm. Following his victory, Jordaan will now serve a third term as the president of Safa, a position he has held since 2014. Ledwaba shared her post election thoughts with members of the media and expressed her displeasure at the outcome of the Safa National Elective Congress. "I don’t think he (Danny Jordaan) is good for our football. I think you cannot…

Wales assistant coach Stephen Jones says the non-achievement of the Welsh teams in the United Rugby Championship has no bearing on how the national team will perform against the Springboks in Pretoria on Saturday. Jones, who played over 100 games at flyhalf for Wales, says the Welsh players carry no baggage from their failed URC campaign into the three-Test series against the Boks. “How we went in the URC has no psychological bearing on this series, none at all,” said Jones, who was on the field for the British & Irish Lions when they lost the vital second Test to the Boks in Pretoria in 2009. “The last six games between Wales and South Africa have been very close and the majority of our guys were here with the Lions…

New Zealand’s preparations for the first Test against Ireland were thrown into disarray yesterday after head coach Ian Foster, two of his assistants and two players tested positive for Covid-19, with the visitors also hit by the virus. To help cope with the disrupted build-up New Zealander Joe Schmidt, who coached Ireland from 2013-2019, was rushed into camp to attend All Black training sessions. Ireland also suffered a setback with wing Mack Hansen testing positive, while forwards Iain Henderson and Rob Herring both picked up knocks in weekend training and underwent scans yesterday. Munster’s Niall Scannell has been added to the squad to provide additional cover at hooker and is expected to arrive today, Ireland said in a statement. Foster, forwards coach John Plumtree and defence coach Joe McLeod are…

THE Road Accident Fund (RAF) came under the spotlight yesterday when three Mpumalanga judges raised concerns about its ability to function, and asked how and when it would up its game. The president of the Mpumalanga Division of the High Court, Judge Francis Legodi, his deputy, Judge Sheila Mphahlele, and Judge Brian Mashile peppered the legal counsel acting for the RAF, Cedric Puckrin SC, with questions such as what contingency plans were in place when it fired its panel of attorneys in 2020. The judges made it clear that as things stood, the courts had to step in to ensure claims were dealt with adequately and to try to ensure that things ran smoothly. They said the courts were inundated with claims against the RAF daily, while it seemed the…

The Commission on Restitution of Land Rights is saddled with nearly 7 000 outstanding land claims that are yet to be finalised, dating back to the 1998 deadline for the submission of claims. The figure is separate from the more than 160 000 land claims that were yet to be processed when the commission was interdicted in 2019 by the Constitutional Court. This was revealed by Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Minister Thoko Didiza when she responded to parliamentary questions from EFF MP Sam Matiase. Matiase said the Constitutional Court had in a ruling, commonly known as the Land Access Movement of South Africa (Lamosa) judgment, put in abeyance the processing of claims that were lodged between 2014 and 2016 until all land claims lodged by December 1998 were…

TWO pilots were killed after their aircraft crashed in Kinkelbos in the Eastern Cape at the weekend. The men, aged 25 and 33, left Dawid Stuurman airport at about 6.15pm on Sunday, en route to East London. They turned the aircraft around at Kenton-on-Sea and headed back towards Gqeberha before crashing. Eastern Cape police spokesperson Priscilla Naidu said the aircraft was located via aerial view in bushes on a farm in Kinkelbos. “Two pilots died on impact after their light aircraft crashed on a farm in Kinkelbos (Saturday) night. At about 8.07pm, communication with the aircraft was lost and at about 10pm, SAPS Search and Rescue team including the Diving Unit and Gqeberha K9 unit were mobilised to search for the missing aircraft. The search was abandoned at 2.30am and…

ON JUNE 18, we were glued to our television sets witnessing an epic upset in a game of rugby between arch rivals, the Stormers against the Blue Bulls. It was a game where guts and glory by a Stormers team from down south triumphed over a much vaunted and much hyped team from up north, the Blue Bulls. It was what was traditionally called the North and South rivalry. What was supposed to be a memorable occasion here down south is now being used as a stick to hit out at the union’s administrators in an article by Mike Greenaway on June 21. This is grossly inappropriate and quite despicable to play domestic politics in such a manner, which detracts from the euphoria of a groundbreaking victory. The writer goes…

Several tiers of crowded stands in an improvised bullring collapsed during a bullfight in central Colombia on Sunday, leaving four people dead and hundreds injured – figures that could increase in the coming hours – as terrified spectators were trapped in the rubble. The tragedy took place in the town of El Espinal, 150km from Bogota. Footage of the collapse quickly went viral on social media. It showed dozens of people teasing and playing with a wounded bull during a popular event known as corraleja. Suddenly, three levels of stands gave way, trapping hundreds of men, women and children underneath. As people screamed, some jumped out of their seats and rushed to help, trying to heave wood and other debris aside. Hector Ortiz, 64, could not believe the scene. A…

A convicted rapist went on trial in France yesterday for the murder of a student he claims to have killed accidentally, but whom investigators believe was lured to her death. Sophie Le Tan vanished on her 20th birthday after failing to return from what was supposed to be a visit to a flat for rent outside Strasbourg on September 8, 2018. Her dismembered body was found by hikers in a forest in October 2019. Jean-Marc Reiser, now 61, who was convicted of rape in 2003, was arrested a week after she disappeared. After speaking to other students who responded to the property advert only to be stood up, investigators believe Reiser used it to lure women, waiting to see if they came alone. A search of his flat uncovered bloodstains…

Lakhimpur Kheri: A female tiger that has turned man-eater, mauled a 14-year-old boy to death in Lakhimpur Kheri district of Uttar Pradesh, officials said yesterday. The victim, Suraj Singh, had gone out to graze cattle on Sunday. His half-eaten body was later found in the forest area. Singh is the 20th victim of the tigress in the past two years. Forest officials said that three elephants have been deployed for combing the area and eight cages had been baited. Camera with sensors hadalso been put up. Dudhwa Tiger Reserve field director Sanjay Pathak said the tigress had turned into a man-eater and orders were out to tranquilise the big cat. | IANS…

The Hague: A tornado ripped through a Dutch city yesterday, killing at least one person and injuring 10 others in the first fatal twister to hit the country for three decades. The whirlwind left a trail of destruction through the south-western seaside city of Zierikzee, blowing roofs off four homes and sending debris into the air. Images on social media showed debris thrown high into the air on a column of rotating wind. Others showed a large white funnel of cloud extending from the base of a darkened sky, as people stopped their cars or left restaurant tables to watch. The Netherlands experiences several tornadoes a year, but the last fatal one was in 1992. | AFP…

from page 1 in Observatory, Cape Town, last week, will go full steam ahead while they wait on the Supreme Court of Appeal’s decision. Earlier this month, LLPT filed an urgent application for leave to appeal against Goliath’s decision. “This phase of work will result in 380 construction workers coming back to work and earning an income again, pending the final determination of the applications for leave to appeal the judgment and orders handed down by Goliath. “Those applications suspend the operation and effect of the judgment and orders. Contrary to the recent claims made by the applicants in the media, the 6 000 direct jobs and 19 000 indirect jobs that will ultimately be realised as a result of this development proceeding will not be on a…

Survivors of the Enyobeni tavern tragedy in which 21 young people died in mysterious circumstances in East London on Sunday have come forward, detailing the events that occurred hours before the bodies were discovered. While a stampede has been ruled out, the cause of death is yet to be determined with speculation that the victims – most of them teenagers, the youngest only 13 – may have been exposed to some form of poison. Police spokesperson Brigadier Tembinkosi Kinana said police received a report of the discovery of the bodies at 4am on Sunday. “The latest development now suggests that only one body remains unidentified in the local mortuary, and an appeal is made to parents or relatives who may have not seen their children since the past weekend to…

Victims of gender based violence and femicide (GBVF) in impoverished communities in the Cape, can receive support from survivors who are now working as informal paralegals, through community-based organisation, The Great People of South Africa. The paralegals help to ensure that legal processes are followed and that contact with authorities is less bruising for survivors who often experience further distress when interacting with the justice system. The organisation operates in the Khayelitsha, Nyanga, Gugulethu, Delft, Kuilsriver and Cape Flats areas, all of which have been flagged among the national GBVF hotspots. "The Great People of South Africa celebrates the great things we can do, despite the circumstances in which we find ourselves. By joining together, our members, 80% of whom are survivors of violence, abuse, and rape, can help others…

THE Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) has been urged to ensure the five appointed contractors who will revamp about 400 train coaches at a cost of R7.5 billion over five years, have the required skills and that correct procedures were followed. A number of passenger rail coaches have been destroyed in the past years as a result of arson, collisions, derailments, and vandalism. Some suffered damages such as cable cuts or components stolen. The five contractors appointed to undertake work in four regions including the Western Cape are expected to repair and rebuild. This is part of the modernisation programme of the passenger rail network which includes a rolling stock general overhaul, a rolling stock fleet renewal programme, and signalling and communications. Prasa acting chief executive David Mphelo…

President Xi Jinping lit the way at last week’s BRICS gatherings FROM June 22 to 24, BRICS co-operation once again reached a “moment of glory”. The BRICS Business Forum, the 14th BRICS Summit and the High-level Dialogue on Global Development were held in succession. President Xi Jinping and President Cyril Ramaphosa attended and addressed the events together with leaders of other countries. Bearing in mind the well-being of mankind, President Xi has focused on BRICS and gone beyond it. He has answered the question of history and the question of the times as to where the world is heading. His remarks have opened a new stage for BRICS co-operation and injected new strength into the development and progress of mankind. First, we should safeguard fairness and justice and make concerted…

A NATO summit this week is unlikely to see a breakthrough to overcome Turkey’s opposition to Sweden and Finland’s membership bids as Ankara takes an unrushed approach to negotiations, according to Turkish officials and Western diplomats. In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sweden and Finland applied for Nato membership in what would be a historic enlargement of the Western defence pact. But Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan surprised allies by opposing it last month over what he called the Nordic countries’ support for terrorist groups. Any membership bid requires approval of all 30 members of Nato, whose leaders convene in Madrid on on Wedneday and Thursday in what some had billed as a stage to seal a deal. Turkish negotiators are not concerned with deadlines imposed by foreign allies…

LONDON: The Eagles rock band have hinted that their Hyde Park concert could be their last London show. The soft rock legends headlined American Express Presents BST Hyde Park on Sunday and drummer and vocalist Don Henley, 74, said: “So, this is British summer time. In case we don’t pass this way again, I want to thank you all for embracing these songs.” The band, famous for Hotel California, celebrated five decades of their debut self-titled 1972 album, recorded at London’s Olympic Studios. Henley said it was produced during the 1972 miners’ strike: “We’d be in the middle of a take and power would go off.” | Bang Showbiz…

KARACHI: Pakistan’s aviation regulator has made masks mandatory on domestic flights given a gradual rise in the number of Covid-19 cases, it said yesterday. The order comes a day after Pakistan’s biggest city, Karachi, reported that its Covid-19 positivity ratio rose to 21% compared with a national rate of 2.8%. Pakistan has had very few Covid-19 cases over recent months and had done away with almost all precautions. But over the past 24 hours, the national Covid positivity ratio rose with 382 positive cases and two deaths. A month ago, the ratio was 0.54% with 79 positive cases. | Reuters…

LONDON: Vodafone is helping get strawberries and cream to tennis fans at Wimbledon. The telecoms giant is teaming up with Hugh Lowe Farms – who have been supplying the Grand Slam for 30 years – to aid efficient deliveries of the 1.5 million strawberries eaten annually at the event via its Internet of Things tech. Crops of the berries – which are prone to disease – have been fitted out with monitors so they can be given the best possible care. Lorries tasked with transporting the harvest will be kitted out with IoT technology to track the goods. They will also give organisers understanding of temperature and damage done with in transit.…