Table of contents for 2023-04-24 in Cape Times

COPPER mining company Copper 360 Limited is the latest company to list on the Alternative Exchange (AltX Board), making it the second company to list on the JSE this year. It comes to the market at a time copper prices have risen by around 10% since the start of this year. Demand for copper is high, the market for renew- able energy expands amid the transition away from fossil fuels. The mining company was formed in November 2022, after a reverse take-over of copper producer Big Tree Copper, and copper mining company SHiP Copper. The company has a focus on producing premium copper that will yield a high cash margin. Copper 360 operations are based in the Northern Cape and its mining rights cover 19 000 hectares to the…

Father wants answers about how his son’s charred remains ended up in Bester’s bed THE father of the man whose charred body was discovered in convicted murderer and rapist Thabo Bester’s prison cell, said the family would meet with authorities today to get answers on the murder and cover-up of his son’s death. Batho Mpholo, 51, said he was informed on Friday after DNA tests revealed that the body found in Mangaung Correctional Centre cell 35 was that of his 32-year-old missing son, Katlego Bereng. “I felt dead for a moment when I heard that he died, and it felt like a dream. I couldn't believe that it's him. I was shocked and heartbroken. We need answers, we are not happy about how he died. “My analysis of this…

THE search for a 56-year-old solo sailor has ended in cheer after reports that he has reached his destination. Emmanuel Dailler was suspected to have been missing at sea after the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) raised the alarm last week that he was overdue for his arrival in Martinique in the Caribbean. NSRI spokesperson, Craig Lambinon, yesterday said that Dailler, a French national who set sail aboard a white mono-hull sailing yacht from the Hout Bay Yacht Club on March 2, arrived safely. “He has informed his family that he is safe. “The NSRI, maritime authorities, French authorities and the maritime community at large had been monitoring to hear any news of the whereabouts of Mr Dailler's progress after he left Hout Bay Yacht Club at the beginning of…

ACCUSED murderer and alleged underworld kingpin, Nafiz Modack, along with 14 co-accused, will head to the Western Cape High Court next month to face a mountain of criminal charges, including the murder of late top cop, Charl Kinnear. Modack, alongside Zane Kilian, Ziyaad Poole, Moegamat Toufeek Brown, Riyaat Gesant, Fagmeed Kelly, Mario Petersen, Jacques Cronje, Petrus Visser, Jannick Adonis, Amaal Jantjies, Ashley Tabisher, Yaaseen Modack, Mogamat Adiel Mukudam and Ricardo Anthony Morgan, is accused of conducting criminal activities under what the State described as the “Modack Enterprise”, conducting operations from December 2017 until January 2021. National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson, Eric Ntabazalila, said the matter was transferred to the Western Cape High Court where the accused would make their first appearance on May 5, 2023. Kinnears widow, Nicolette Kinnear, said:…

THE scourge of gender-based violence (GBV) has once again been thrust into the spotlight after a Philippi woman was raped at a crèche in Browns Farm last week, while another woman was sexually assaulted inside a local church in Khayelitsha earlier this month. Both incidents were reported to the police. They come in the light of the recent crime statistics released in February, that showed that an alarming 15 000 sexual assaults were reported to the police. Of these assaults, more than 5 000 were rape incidents that took place at the residence of the perpetrator or victim. In Philippi, the victim, whose name has been withheld, was allegedly accosted by the suspect while on her way to the crèche in Browns Farm on Monday last week. It…

Men still dominate decision-making in every sphere of human activity THE rhetoric and narrative remain nauseatingly aspirational. The remedial pledges are equally so. The reality is that by every study, survey or measure, the progress towards gender equality, empowerment and balance is painstakingly, if not criminally, slow and cynical. The truth is that the women of our world overwhelmingly also bear the brunt of misogyny, coercive control, manslamming, gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) and other forms of discrimination and abuse – a continuum of the same gender paradigm. The tenth edition of the Gender Balance Index (GBI) 2023, launched last week in London by the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF), the independent global forum for central banking, economic policy and public investment, makes awkward reading for both men…

Lille: Eleven people were injured, four seriously, after a car ploughed into a crowd at an international kite-flying festival in northern France. The accident was caused by a disabled driver, 76, who “confused the accelerator and brake pedals”, the prosecutor’s office said. The accident happened in the early evening at the seaside town of Berck-sur-Mer where hundreds of thousands of people gather each year for the festival. Four women, including two pensioners aged 75 and 82, are being treated for life-threatening head injuries in intensive care. The lightly injured driver faces a possible charge of causing injuries unintentionally. | AFP…

Tel Aviv: Tens of thousands of Israelis packed Tel Aviv streets for the 16th consecutive week to protest against government judicial reforms they see as an attack on democracy. The weekly protests have continued despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on March 27 announcing a “pause” to allow for talks on the reforms. The reforms are moving through parliament and have split the nation. Saturday’s demonstration came ahead of another mass protest planned for the coastal city yesterday. This was to coincide with a Netanyahu speech to the general assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America. | AFP…

Ten civilians and three soldiers were killed and 88 jihadists “neutralised” in multiple incidents across Mali, the government said, in a wave of bloodshed it described as a resurgence of “terrorist incidents”. Early on Saturday, suspected jihadists attacked the Sevare airport area in the central Mopti region, detonating car bombs that killed 10 civilians and injured 61 others. The blasts destroyed some houses in the airport’s surrounds, which are home to a Malian military camp, the government said. “The attackers were routed and 28 terrorists neutralised.” An elected official said Senegalese soldiers from the UN’s peacekeeping mission in Mali, Minusma, were involved in the fighting. Two local elected officials and a diplomatic source referred to the base as a “Russian” camp. Last year Mali’s junta began working with Russian military…

Lisbon: Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is again at odds with Europe over Ukraine while pressing his first European tour since resuming office in January. The veteran left-winger is seeking to revive his country’s diplomatic ties after four years of relative isolation under his far-right predecessor Jair Bolsonaro, but tensions have been on display with the West over Ukraine. On Saturday, Lula again called for a “negotiated” settlement between Kyiv and Moscow more than a year after the Russian invasion. The Brazilian leader has angered Ukraine by saying Kyiv shares blame for the war. | AFP…

THE ANC wants the parliamentary budget office to be given more time to do its research on the establishment of an oversight committee on the presidency. The party flatly refused the notion that the sub-committee on rules should take a decision on the formation of the oversight committee. This, after the Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture made a number of recommendations relating to parliamentary procedure and oversight duties. It found that weaknesses in parliamentary oversight and executive accountability had contributed to corruption and maladministration. It recommended that reforms be considered to improve parliamentary procedures. These included the appointment of the opposition parties as chairpersons of committees, following up on House resolutions, selection of office bearers to state organs, and the establishment of a portfolio committee on the…

The current drop in child vaccinations is the largest South Africa has seen since the early 2000s. This is according to the UN Children’s Fund’s (Unicef) “State of the World’s Children 2023: For Every Child, Vaccination” report. The report found that there was general reluctance for vaccination in Africa. There are currently 103 433 unvaccinated children in South Africa and a 30% decline in confidence in childhood vaccines in South Africa due to Covid-19. The report further noted that people under age 35 were more likely than people older than 65 to lose confidence in the importance of vaccines after the start of the pandemic. “Among the 10 countries with the highest gaps in vaccination coverage between rich and poor, seven were in sub-Saharan Africa.” Regarding vaccine hesitancy, the report…

A WHEEL rim and tyre left lying in the emergency lane on the N1 Western Bypass during peak-hour traffic will cost the Road Accident Fund (RAF) dearly. The driver of a Harley Davidson motorcycle hit the objects and died. The man is only identified by his initials in the South Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg, judgment because his widow and two children are claiming loss of support from the RAF. For the widow and children to succeed in their claim, they had to prove that the death of the man – the breadwinner – was due to the negligence or another unlawful act of the driver of an insured vehicle or its owner. The identity of the person who discarded the wheel and rim in the emergency lane is unknown. But…

THE Oudtshoorn municipality has been called on to take action following the recovery of the body of a three-year-old from a water canal in Dysselsdorp last week. The water canal has reportedly claimed the lives of three children, according to residents who have raised concerns that it was not fenced. Children from informal settlements adjacent to the water canal are said to play around the area. In May 2021, nine-year-old Rudicia Gelant drowned and was found almost 15km from where she went missing. She is believed to have been playing near the canal. This while four-year-old Christopher Solomons from Oudtshoorn drowned after falling in the canal in November 2022. Last week, the body of three-year-old Jayden Ewerts was retrieved from the canal, a few days after he was reported missing.…

IN THE recent debate about African spirituality, the significance of the term “Camagu” within the Xhosa practices of culture and spirituality came under the spotlight as some contributors struggled to understand the reasons for the use of the word during family rituals. Professor Nokuzola Mndende’s contribution was insightful, saying: “It is an exclusively Xhosa term that is frequently used in all situations in which ancestors are involved. It unites the physical and the spiritual worlds. It cannot be translated directly and should rather be understood as an utterance appearing in all ritual speeches in the Xhosa world view.” While I agree with most of her assertions, I offer a linguistic perspective showing that “Camagu” is not an exclusively isiXhosa term. My perspective is informed by my experience as the former…

Rabat: Moroccan police have seized 5.4 tons of cannabis resin stashed in a truck headed for Spain, as well as 60kg of cocaine packed in frozen tuna, security officials said. Security and customs officers seized the cannabis resin in the northern port of Tangier “on board an international freight truck”, the General Directorate of National Security said. The resin blocks were pressed into plates slotted into specially fitted cavities, including in the truck’s chassis. The Moroccan driver was arrested. In a separate operation, also in Tangier, 60kg of cocaine was seized inside a refrigerated container. The cocaine was packed in tuna marked as coming from Ecuador and destined for Spain. | AFP…

US troops swooped in on helicopters to evacuate embassy staff from Sudan’s battle-torn capital as other nations sought to help their citizens flee deadly fighting between rival generals. France and Türkiye yesterday also launched evacuation operations from the chaos-torn nation, where ongoing fighting has entered its second week. Ferocious battles between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary group – which has seen fighting with tanks in densely populated Khartoum and air strikes launched by fighter jets – have killed more than 400 people and left thousands wounded. Just over 100 US special operations troops took part in the rescue to extract fewer than 100 people, which saw three Chinook helicopters fly from Djibouti, staying on the ground in Khartoum for less than an hour. France’s foreign ministry said yesterday a…

Ukraine yesterday condemned comments from China’s ambassador to France, who questioned the sovereignty of post-Soviet countries. Speaking on the LCI news channel, ambassador Lu Shaye suggested countries that emerged after the fall of the Soviet Union “don’t have effective status under international law because there is not an international agreement confirming their status as sovereign nations”. The comments cast doubt not just on Ukraine, which Russia invaded last February, but all former Soviet republics which emerged as independent nations after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, including many members of the EU. Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhaylo Podolyak replied yesterday that the status of post-Soviet countries was “enshrined in international law”. “It is strange to hear an absurd version of the ‘history of Crimea’ from a representative of…

Bogotá: A Venezuelan opposition coalition has voiced its approval of an international summit in Colombia this week to discuss their deadlocked negotiations with President Nicolas Maduro’s government. Venezuela’s opposition, backed by many countries, including the US, did not recognise Maduro’s 2018 re-election in a vote widely dismissed as fraudulent. The next year, Washington ramped up sanctions against Caracas, first imposed in 2015 over the brutal repression of anti-government protests. Last month, a Venezuelan official said free presidential elections in 2024 were dependent on the lifting of sanctions. Representatives of the Unitary Platform coalition met with Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who is acting as a mediator between Venezuela’s government and the opposition. Officials from about 20 countries, including the US, are expected to meet in Bogota tomorrow in an attempt to…

FAMILY and friends are still paying tribute to late former SACP central committee member Chris Matlhako following his passing last week. Many of them expressed their condolences on social media, especially Facebook, with fond memories of the man who throughout his life struggled for the interests of children in high schools and students at institutions of higher learning. Facebook continues to be flooded with messages of condolences including from political rivals. The former SACP second deputy secretary was described as a politically tolerant individual as some of his friends are members of the PAC and Azapo. Matlhako was also fondly remembered for his running battles with police at the University of the Western Cape while students were protesting against financial exclusions. He advocated for more student admissions at the university,…

CLOSING arguments in the inquiry into the death of Imam Abdullah Haron are set to be heard in the Western Cape High Court today. Haron, an anti-apartheid activist, died while he was in police custody in September 1969, and an inquest was re-opened 53 years later. Evidence was submitted by a number of witnesses between November 7 and 16 last year, including the investigating officer, Daniel Petersen, who was assigned to the matter during 2020. Petersen told the court that his sleuth work included finding out that no original documents existed for Haron’s case. It is the family’s argument that Haron had suffered at the hands of officers of the Security Branch, while being in solitary confinement, and the 27 visible body bruises he had suffered resulted in his ultimate…

PLEAS have been growing louder for South African companies to join international communities in granting women menstrual leave have been brought back into the spotlight once more. As of February 16, the Spanish parliament joined a handful of countries, such as Japan, Indonesia, Taiwan and Vietnam, which approved legislation entitling the relevant workers, who have medical approval, to menstrual leave. The decision by Spain meant that the country became the first European country to join the list of a few other countries that legally recognise menstrual leave in some form or way. In the Spanish context, the state’s social security system will be responsible for funding the leave entitlement. In Africa, Zambia was at the forefront, becoming the first African country to implement such a policy in 2017. Senior employment…

NON-PROFIT human rights organisation, the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (Seri), says it is concerned that the City considered its intervention in eviction action a delay tactic. This comes after Seri joined the litigation fray when it filed opposing papers against the City’s high court application for evictions at various “tent city sites” in the Cape Town CBD. The application is part of the City’s plans to carry out a planned operation of serving eviction notices to homeless people. But the matter has now been postponed to October after Seri joined the case last week with its “eleventh-hour application”. Last Wednesday, Seri appeared in the Western Cape High Court on behalf of occupiers of the Cape Town inner city, to oppose their eviction. “The occupiers approached Seri to oppose…

Two suspects believed to be participants in the Cape Town SPAR Women’s 10km Challenge were arrested after allegedly cutting open fellow race contenders’ bags and stealing their cellphones. The City yesterday said that, as with all public events, criminals use every opportunity available to them, and the Spar Women's Challenge was no exception. “Metro police on patrol were approached by some of the race contenders, informing them of two female contestants who were allegedly cutting open fellow race contenders’ bags and stealing cellphones. “More than eight persons then reported their phones having been stolen,” the City said. Armed with descriptions of the culprits, law enforcement officers scoured the area until two suspects had been identified and taken in for questioning. “In their possession, officers found three different IDs, two wallets,…

ZUBIN POTOK: Serbs in northern Kosovo boycotted local elections yesterday in protest that their demands for more autonomy have not been met, in another sign that a peace deal signed between Kosovo and Serbia last month is not working. The main political party in Serb-dominated northern Kosovo, Serbian List, on Friday called on the Serb community not to vote yesterday. Serbia and Kosovo Serbs are demanding an association of Kosovo Serb municipalities, in line with a decade-old EU-brokered deal with the Kosovo government in Pristina, before voting. Fearing possible violence, Nato troops from Latvia and Italy, part of a 3 000 strong peacekeeping force in Kosovo, patrolled voting areas. | reuters…

Singapore: The family of a Singaporean man due to be hanged next week for being in possession of over 1kg of cannabis yesterday pleaded for clemency from the authorities. Tangaraju Suppiah, 46, was sentenced to death in 2018 for conspiring to smuggle the drugs, and the Court of Appeal has upheld his sentence, scheduled to be carried out on Wednesday. “We don’t think my brother’s had a fair trial,” his sister Leelavathy Suppiah said. It will be Singapore’s first execution in six months. Tangaraju was convicted in 2017 of “engaging in a conspiracy to traffic” 1 017.9g of cannabis, twice the minimum amount that merits the death sentence under the city-state’s tough drug laws. | AFP…

A top Mexican immigration official has been charged over the deaths of 40 migrants in a fire at a detention centre last month. Salvador Gonzalez Guerrero, head of the National Institute of Migration (INM) in the northern state of Chihuahua, was charged with homicide, injury and unlawful exercise of public service, the federal judiciary council said. The magistrate ordered that Gonzalez Guerrero be remanded in custody. According to Mexican authorities, the fire in Ciudad Juarez, on the border with the US city of El Paso, started when a migrant set fire to the mattress in his cell. He was being held with 67 other men, and torched the matress to protest against his possible deportation. Security camera footage showed that once the fire broke out, neither immigration nor security personnel…

Indian police yesterday arrested a firebrand Sikh separatist after a month-long manhunt that sparked protests and vandalism among the diaspora in Britain, Canada and the US. Amritpal Singh rose to fame in the northern state of Punjab calling for a separate Sikh homeland known as Khalistan, the struggle for which sparked deadly violence in India in the 1980s and 1990s. Police said they arrested Singh at about 6.45am local time, having surrounded a village following intelligence that he was there in a gurdwara, or Sikh temple. “Once he got the message that he had no escape route and was surrounded, he was arrested,” senior police official Sukhchain Singh Gill said. Singh, 30, styles himself on Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, a figurehead of the Khalistan movement who was killed when the Indian…

MANCHESTER United beat Brighton on penalties at Wembley last night to set up an FA Cup final against treble-chasing Manchester City. Victor Lindelof scored the decisive spot-kick as Erik ten Hag’s team won 7-6, following a miss by Solly March, staying on course for a domestic cup double. The semi-final finished 0-0 after extra-time, with neither side showing the cutting edge required to break the deadlock. Ten Hag made three changes from his team’s Europa League horror show in Sevilla in midweek. Luke Shaw came in at centre-back for the suspended Harry Maguire, with Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes replacing Jadon Sancho and Marcel Sabitzer. United have already won League Cup this season to end a six-year trophy drought and are in a strong position to finish in the top…