Table of contents for 2023-02-14 in Cape Times

THE Animal Welfare Society of South Africa (AWS) is appealing to the public to come forward with any information about a group of children who burnt a pit bull to death in Hanover Park last month. The gruesome incident was witnessed and reported by resident Fatima Du Toit who heard the dog screaming out in intense pain while she was with her grandchildren. Overcome with shock, Du Toit said when she approached the young boys, aged between 10 and 14 to stop them from what they were doing, they merely fled the scene. It is alleged that the dog was wrapped in an old blanket and then purposely set alight. AWS Philippi senior inspector Mark Levendal said they have sent out an appeal to anyone with information on the incident…

THE VISIT by Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu to the Robben Island Museum (RIM) yesterday marked a step in the process to revive all liberation routes and world heritage sites in the country. Sisulu, visiting the island for the first time since her father and Struggle stalwart Walter Sisulu’s incarceration, said the visit was also geared towards efforts at reviving the island and bringing more tourists to the iconic site. An emotional Sisulu said: “It is just a house of horrors and we should have it at the back of our minds with every decision and every step we make … our history should be the bedrock of every decision we take. “We decided to come together to revive this place, especially the political historical side and make sure to…

IGNORE the ANC government’s grand claims in the State of the Nation Address (Sona) that today our economy is larger than before the pandemic, as this will be another year of hardship. Even if the president says he has ended the economic growth freeze, many South Africans are still deep in a poverty squeeze. The president came into the chamber with great optimism. Still, he needed to do several things to ensure his optimism is more than just hot air. The first should have been to shore up the economic recovery with a significant investment package to double or triple the one-and-a-half million new jobs created between the third quarters of 2021 and 2022. The second should have been to announce clear plans to involve ordinary people in overcoming the…

Israeli MPs traded insults yesterday over government plans to overhaul the judiciary while tens of thousands of protesters gathered outside parliament as President Isaac Herzog warned the country risked tipping into “constitutional collapse”. The plans, which would give right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu greater control of appointments to the Bench and weaken the Supreme Court’s ability to strike down legislation or rule against the executive, have triggered angry protests across Israel for weeks. Yesterday, the Knesset Constitution Committee voted to send the first chapter of the plan to the plenum for a first reading, after a rowdy start to the meeting in which several MPs were thrown out forcibly. “You will burn up the country!” Idan Roll of the centrist Yesh Atid party told Simcha Rothman, the panel chairperson from…

An Italian court has declared unlawful a decree imposed by Rome’s right-wing government last year allowing only the most vulnerable migrants to disembark from a rescue ship, a charity said yesterday. The verdict relates to restrictions imposed in November on the German- flagged Humanity 1, which had picked up 179 people in distress in the Central Mediterranean, the world’s deadliest crossing. It was given permission to dock in the Sicilian port of Catania, but only for enough time to disembark its most vulnerable passengers. While 144 people were allowed off, another 35 adult male migrants were refused, leaving them stranded. Similar restrictions were imposed on the Geo Barents, run by medical charity Doctors Without Borders, while a third vessel, the Ocean Viking, decided to head to France rather than face…

LISBON: At least 4 815 children were sexually abused by members of the Portuguese Catholic Church, mostly priests, over the past 70 years, a report by the commission investigating the issue said yesterday, adding that the findings are the tip of the iceberg. The majority of the sexual abuses took place when the children were aged 10-14, with the youngest victim being just 2 years old. The Portuguese commission started its work in January 2022 after a report in France revealed about 3 000 priests and religious officials sexually abused more than 200 000 children. The abuse allegations have come from every region of the country. | Reuters…

CARACAS: credit cards are becoming increasingly useless in Venezuela because of high inflation and government restrictions, hurting people already struggling to meet daily needs on low salaries, banking industry sources said. The government imposed strict lending requirements during Venezuela’s economic collapse, allowing banks to lend a maximum of 27% of their cash flow, sending local business owners abroad to seek loans. President Nicolas Maduro loosened currency controls in 2019 and let local banks open dollar-denominated accounts, but many credit restrictions remain. Cards account for 2% of the credit portfolio of Venezuelan banks. | Reuters…

President Cyril Ramaphosa has condemned an incident where protesters targeted the private home of KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube, labelling the move as intimidatory. Yesterday, the Presidency also welcomed the investigation into the incident in which a group of people made their way to the premier’s private home at the weekend. The investigation was announced by KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison, Sipho Hlomuka, on Sunday. Hlomuka said the group had hurled insults and made intimidating gestures, causing trauma and fear for family members. The Presidency said Ramaphosa wished the premier and her family well in the aftermath of the incident and condemned the protest action in the strongest terms. “We must condemn and resist any and all attempts by anyone to render our society lawless and chaotic. “The…

IN WHAT he described as the “disaster of the century”, Turkish Consul General in Cape Town Sinan Yesildag said his home country had pinned its hopes on the search and rescue operations which were “bearing fruit”. “Too much has been lost; the death toll is increasing every day and about 7000 houses were demolished. There is massive devastation across the country. We call it the ‘disaster of the century’. We are currently living on hope. We all hope for the speedy recovery of the people injured, the reconstruction of the cities and houses demolished, and that all this will end and that life will be back to normal as soon as possible,” Yesildag said. A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck various villages and cities in both Türkiye and Syria last…

Sascha Fonseca’s spectacular camera-trap image of a snow leopard at sunset, perfectly posed against the mountains of Ladakh in northern India, has been voted the winner of Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award. A record 60 466 nature photography fans voted, and German photographer Fonseca’s World of the snow leopard emerged the firm favourite. Fonseca’s image was selected from a shortlist of 25 images chosen by the Natural History Museum from nearly 39 000 images submitted for the 58th competition. The image will be displayed in the redesigned Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition at the Natural History Museum in London until it closes on July 2 this year. Fonseca captured the image during a three-year bait-free camera-trap project high up in the Indian Himalayas. Known…

Concerns have been raised about who will really benefit from the City’s cash for power plans. The initiative was recently announced with the aim to incentivise commercial customers’ energy saving efforts. It would allow businesses and residents to be paid directly for excess power produced. However a PV system and an inverter is required, plus an Advance Metering Infrastructure fee in the range of R12 800 (current financial year). Commercial customers would be credited with 60.91c p/kWh (2022/23) plus 25c p/kWh incentive for each kWh fed into the City grid. STOP COCT founder Sandra Dickson questioned how beneficial it would really be for residents, as those who choose to participate would be charged a fixed Basic Charge Levy, plus they would still have to pay off the AMI metre, while…

MORE than 2 000 Khayelitsha school pupils have missed out on learning since last week, as taxi operators have allegedly vowed no scholar transport will operate in the area as they are cut out from contracts. Academia Primary School has been the worst affected as many children come from neighbouring communities such as Mfuleni, with some children not attending classes all of last week. According to Education MEC David Maynier, the school’s absenteeism rate was 90% yesterday. “I visited Academia Primary School, where over 50% of their learners have been prevented from going to school, due to an illegal blockade of learner transport operations by minibus taxi associations. Minibus taxi association members have been threatening and harassing our contracted drivers to prevent them from transporting learners. “The blockade affected up…

SA needs to go back to drawing board, where all things begin, and instil values As the debate continues to rage at the level of the World Economic Forum on the theme “co-operation in a fragmented world”, we in Africa, having regard to our history, ethnic and cultural diversity and geopolitical conditions, must choose now how to approach the matter. We want to suggest that as peoples of African descent we are more inclined to follow a bottom-up approach than top-down. The concept of “Ubuntu” that you find in most cultures in Africa has taught us that interdependence in human relations is an important virtue, as against the brazen spirit of independence that has always characterised relations in the West. However, to benefit from what the big role-players are busy…

Pakistan business chiefs are clamouring for the cash-strapped government to allow manufacturing materials stuck at the key port of Karachi into the country, warning that a failure to lift a ban on imports will leave millions jobless. Faced with critically low US-dollar reserves, the government has banned all but essential food and medicine imports until a lifeline bailout is agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Industries such as steel, textiles and pharmaceuticals are barely functioning, forcing thousands of factories to close and deepening unemployment. The steel industry has warned of severe supply-chain issues caused by a shortage of scrap metal, which is melted down and turned into steel bars. In the past few weeks, the bars have reached record prices. “We directly feed materials to the construction industry which…

NEW YORK; Rihanna made her long-awaited return to the stage at the Super Bowl with a career-spanning medley of pop bangers, but it was her baby bump that dominated the conversation. She appeared in the stadium midair on a floating stage, donning a clingy, all-red ensemble featuring a molded bustier, and a belt below what many viewers deduced was another mini-RiRi in the making. Representatives for the singer confirmed that she is pregnant with her second child. The 34-year-old welcomed her first child, a son, with rapper A$AP Rocky in May. | AFP…

BEIJING: China’s Foreign Ministry yesterday said the US had sent at least 10 unsanctioned balloons into Chinese airspace since last year, as the two countries feud over a Chinese airship discovered and shot down by the US military earlier this month. Hitting back at allegations that Beijing had used the balloon, discovered floating over the central US, for surveillance, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that it was common for US high-altitude balloons to fly into other countries’ airspace. Beijing has said that the balloon discovered over the US in late January was a civilian Chinese airship for scientific research. | The Washington Post…

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia will send its first ever woman astronaut on a space mission later this year, state media has reported, in the latest move to revamp the kingdom’s ultra-conservative image. Rayyana Barnawi will join fellow Saudi male astronaut Ali Al-Qarni on a mission to the International Space Station (ISS) “during the second quarter of 2023”, reports said. The astronauts “will join the crew of the AX-2 space mission” and the space flight will “launch from the USA”, the agency said. The country will be following in the footsteps of the United Arab Emirates which in 2019 became the first Arab country to send one of its citizens into space. | AFP…

Manchester City may have the threat of being stripped of league titles in the courts hanging over them, but the champions are back in the race to win another Premier League crown on the pitch. City closed to within three points of Arsenal at the top of the table after beating Aston Villa 3-1 on Sunday. The Gunners dropped points for the second consecutive game in a 1-1 draw at Brentford, but had a right to feel aggrieved as referee’s body PGMOL admitted the Bees’ equaliser was wrongly allowed to stand by the VAR officials. Here we look at three talking points from the Premier League weekend. VAR-cical scenes The PGMOL publicly apologised to both Arsenal and Brighton after a shocking Saturday for officials on the field and in the…

A R96-million tender. issued by Eskom for pipeline maintenance at its Matla power station in Kriel, Mpumalanga, has been overturned by the Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg. The court found the power utility was “selective” in its treatment of the two companies that were the front-runners. Acting Judge N Redman said the conduct of Eskom was “concerning”. Eskom invited bidders in July, 2020 for pipeline maintenance at its Kriel slurry and ash plant for 36 months. At least 12 bids were received for the multimillion-rand contract, including that of Mbali Industrial Solutions (applicant) and Thenga Holdings. Four of the bids were disqualified as they did not meet the criteria. The remaining eight were technically evaluated. The front-runner was Mbali which scored 100% in its bid, with Thenga on its heels. Mbali’s…

THE Western Cape High Court yesterday heard arguments in the application by the African Transformation Movement (ATM) to review and set aside National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula’s decision to reject its request for a secret vote on the Section 89 independent panel report. The legal counsels for Mapisa-Nqakula and ATM made their arguments before a full bench. The ATM brought its urgent application after the National Assembly decided in December to vote against the report, which found President Cyril Ramaphosa had a case to answer about the Phala Phala scandal. The decision had effectively put a stop to any possible process that may have led to an impeachment inquiry against Ramaphosa, who has since taken the report on review in the Constitutional Court. Mapisa-Nqakula stood her ground when some opposition…

TENSIONS remained high at two of the city’s largest universities as UCT and UWC students demanded registration extensions and the removal of fee blocks, among other issues. By last night UCT confirmed that classes would be online from today until further notice, while UWC said it had extended its registration period to Thursday, February 16 following meetings between students and management. Scores of students gathered on the Graça Machel lawns at UCT yesterday, as the Student Representative Council (SRC) shutdown campus calling for an emergency meeting with Council. The students demanded a policy review in which fee blocks and financial exclusion are eradicated indefinitely, fee blocks to be lifted before the commencement of the academic year and the registration period to be opened for five working days following the removal…

Blind or visually impaired persons have access to documents by using a screen reader that reads a text out loud or displays it on a special hardware braille device. However, a large body of technical and scientific material remains inaccessible to them because mathematical equations and diagrams are represented as images and not as text that a screen reader can read. This is according to Dr Rynhardt Kruger who recently obtained his doctorate in electronic engineering at Stellenbosch University (SU). For his PhD, titled Technical document accessibility, Kruger who works as a researcher and developer in voice computing at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, developed ways to make it easier for blind or visually impaired people to read non-textual graphical information in electronic documents. As someone who was…

THE ANC in the provincial legislature has accused the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) of “poor planning and lack of foresight” for overcrowding and unplaced pupils in the province. In 2022 Cabinet announced the end of the rotational school learning system, allowing the return of all pupils to classrooms. However, it has emerged Murray High School in Plettenberg Bay continued with the system throughout 2022, and three weeks into the 2023 academic year, this was persisting. According to Murray High School Governing Body (SGB) chairperson Sandiso Kabayi, some classes had (between) 60 and 70 pupils. “Things are a mess here, we have been using the Covid-19 regulations of rotational learning since they were introduced. We informed the department about the overcrowding and teacher to pupil ratio. We were informed last…

President Cyril Ramaphosa once again tried his hardest during his seventh State of the Nation address to rekindle hope in us long-suffering South Africans. He also invoked the much overused and misused aphorism that we are a resilient lot. Whether or not, or to what degree he succeeded we can’t say. Ramaphosa was correct in stating that hope had sustained us through those dark days of apartheid and that we have proven ourselves to be strong, resilient people over the years. Indeed, we need to stay strong and resolute during these trying times. But our economy and nation, still nursing the deep scars of apartheid, need much more than hope. And reliance on our being tough people has to have a limit. The president told us that he saw hope…

The toll from last week’s earthquake in Türkiye and Syria rose above 35 000 yesterday, as rescue teams started to wind down the search for survivors and the aid effort shifted to hundreds of thousands of people made homeless. Eight days after the 7.8-magnitude tremor, Turkish media reported a handful of people were still being pulled from the rubble as excavators dug through ruined cities. The confirmed death toll rose to 35 224 as officials and medics said 31 643 people had died in Türkiye and 3 581 in Syria after the February 6 earthquake, the fifth deadliest since the start of the 21st century. The UN has decried the failure to ship aid to war-torn regions of Syria and warned the toll is set to rise…

A Somali court yesterday sentenced a freelance journalist to two months in jail on security-related charges, a press association said, in a case criticised by rights campaigners and media advocacy groups. The sentencing of Abdalle Ahmed Mumin was “a pure travesty of justice”, the president of the Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) said on Twitter, vowing to appeal the ruling. Mumin, the secretary general of the SJS, was arrested in October last year on what authorities say are security-related charges. His detention came days after the government announced a crackdown on media outlets that publish what it deems propaganda for the Islamist militant group al-Shabaab. SJS and four other media advocacy groups had protested the directive, warning it clamped down on free speech. In the run-up to the sentencing, rights groups…

KYIV: Ukraine accused former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi yesterday of spreading Russian propaganda after he said he would not seek a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky if he were still head of government. Berlusconi, 86, often boasted of his friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin before Russia invaded Ukraine last year. Berlusconi said all Zelensky had to do to prevent the war in Ukraine was to “stop attacking” territory held by Russia-backed separatists in the east and that he judged the president’s behaviour “very negatively”. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry accused Berlusconi of trying to show loyalty to “the Russian dictator”, and drew parallels with the former Italian prime minister’s relationship with late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, publishing a photograph of Berlusconi kissing Gaddafi’s hand in 2010. |…

KAMPALA: A move by Uganda’s government to close the UN’s local human rights office has drawn strong criticism from opposition leaders and activists, who say it highlights the country’s worsening record on civil liberties. The government told the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights last week that it would not renew the mandate of its office. The government said the UN presence was no longer necessary because of the progress it made in developing domestic capacity to monitor human rights compliance. Critics of the government of President Yoweri Museveni, who has been in power since 1986, begged to differ. | Reuters…

Humbled by Tottenham's trashing at Leicester, Antonio Conte's future looks more uncertain than ever as the Italian leads his spluttering side into today's Champions League clash against AC Milan. Conte is back in Italy for the last-16 first leg tie just two weeks after undergoing gallbladder surgery in his homeland and his return is likely to be just as uncomfortable as his previous visit. The Tottenham boss has looked increasingly unsettled this season and, with his contract expiring at the end of the campaign, it would be little surprise if he decided to quit the Premier League club in May. Conte has expressed unhappiness at Tottenham's transfer dealings, while repeatedly making it clear he believes it is unrealistic to expect his side to compete with their big-spending Premier League rivals.…

Kaizer Chiefs coach Arthur Zwane has described Christian Saile as “a soldier of note” following his industrious performance against Maritzburg United in Friday’s Nedbank Cup clash in Durban. The Congolese striker scored a goal and had a hand in the other in the team’s morale-boosting 2-0 win. He had a telling impact in the game once it went in extra time. "(Saile) is a soldier of note, and we expect more from him," said Zwane. "He has this never-say-die attitude, and that’s what we are looking for. He never stopped running and worked hard on and off the ball. That is the reason why he ended up scoring. "I always remind him that you create your own luck and you keep on working hard. You’ll always be rewarded, and he…