Table of contents for 2023-07-17 in Cape Times

One person was killed, a child is missing and hundreds of people were left homeless after 500 shacks at the Kennedy Road informal settlement were gutted by a fire in the early hours of yesterday. The fire came just days before schools open for the third term and many of the residents said they had lost everything and were worried about how their children would go back to school. The eThekwini Municipality said 500 dwellings were destroyed during the fire in Clare Estate. “Tragically, one adult is dead and a child is missing. A search for the child is under way. Emergency and Disaster Management teams are in the area rendering assistance to affected families,” the municipality said. Sipho Mbhele, who lost his home, said it was suspected that the…

THE search for missing tuckshop owner Zoleka Gantana and her employee, Kholosa Mpunga, ended tragically after their dismembered remains were found burnt beyond recognition and dumped in a dam at the weekend. Three suspects have been arrested in connection with their deaths. They are due to make their first appearance in the East London Magistrate’s Court today facing murder, kidnapping, possession of stolen property and business robbery charges. Eastern Cape police spokesperson Thembinkosi Kinana said the suspects, aged between 44 and 50, were arrested in Peddie on Saturday. This led to the discovery of the dismembered bodies of Gantana, 57, and Mpunga, 27. “Their arrests were preceded by the recovery of the stolen vehicle belonging to Gantana, which was found stuck in the mud. Groceries were later found in one…

GLOBAL sports company Puma and Netball South Africa have unveiled the United Warriors kit that the SPAR Proteas will wear during the 2023 season, including when they compete for glory in the Netball World Cup later this month. Puma Africa marketing director Brett Bellinger said the kit featured the latest technical fabric, and the design was inspired by African art. “South Africa is a diverse country and the story of this team and this kit design is that our strength lies in our diversity. It makes us world beaters,” said Bellinger. “The kit is a call for all South Africans and all sports to unite behind the team as they embark on the opportunity to compete in a World Cup on South African soil.” Netball South Africa president Cecilia Molokwane…

DISCUSSIONS about declaring the Western Cape a state of disaster were ongoing after the recent rains affected agricultural infrastructure. Agri SA Western Cape chief executive Jannie Strydom said a survey showed that the Cederberg region was the most affected. “We had anticipated that the amount of the damage to agriculture would be substantial. “The majority of what has been affected is the access to roads to the farms. “The irrigation equipment was washed away, it’s very substantial. “The department is engaged in discussions and will apply to declare the province a disaster so that we can get assistance and funds can be allocated,” he said. Owner of Jamaka Organic Farm in Clanwilliam, Jannie Niewberg, said farmers had lost “a lot” of income due to the flood damage. “We are busy…

THE woman convicted of kidnapping Zephany Nurse and raising her as her own child is expected to be released on parole next month. The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) said the Correctional Supervision and Parole Board decided to release Lavona Solomon on parole on August 18. DCS spokesperson, Candice van Reenen, said: “The current period until the placement date will be utilised for the pre-release programmes. “Thereafter, Lavona Solomon will be admitted into the system of Community Corrections and serve the remainder of the sentence until its expiry in 2026. Solomon was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment for kidnapping baby Zephany Nurse, who was just three days old at the time, in April 1997. “Generally, the decisions of the parole board are influenced by a number of factors, including the…

Scorching weather gripped three continents yesterday, whipping up wildfires and threatening to topple temperature records as the dire consequences of global warming take shape. Predictions of historic heat hung over swathes of Asia, Europe and the US. In the Vatican, 15 000 people braved sweltering temperatures to hear Pope Francis lead prayer, using parasols and fans to keep cool. But in their black robes, priests like Francois Mbemba said they were “sweating like hell”. The 29-year-old said it felt hotter in St Peter’s Square than in his Democratic Republic of Congo diocese. In Japan, authorities issued heatstroke alerts to tens of millions of people in 20 of its 47 prefectures as near-record high temperatures scorched large areas and torrential rain pummelled other regions. National broadcaster NHK warned the heat was…

US researchers have unlocked a new frontier in the fight against ageing and age-related diseases. A study by scientists at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), has published the first chemical approach to reprogramme cells to a younger state. Previously, this was only achievable using a powerful gene therapy. The findings, published in the journal Aging-US, builds on the discovery that the expression of specific genes, called Yamanaka factors, could convert adult cells into induced pluripotent stem cells. The discovery raised the question of whether it might be possible to reverse cellular ageing without causing cells to become too young and turn cancerous. In the new study, the researchers screened for molecules that could, in combination, reverse cellular ageing and rejuvenate human cells. The team identified six…

PARIS: British-born actress and singer Jane Birkin, a 1960s wildchild who became a beloved figure in France, has died in Paris aged 76, the French Culture Ministry said yesterday. She had been found dead at her home. Birkin had a mild stroke in 2021 after suffering heart problems in previous years. Birken was best known overseas for her 1969 hit in which she and her then-lover, the late French singer and songwriter Serge Gainsbourg, sang the sexually explicit Je t’aime...moi non plus. She had lived in her adopted France since the break-up of her marriage to British composer John Barry in the late 1960s. Apart from her singing and roles in dozens of films, she was a popular figure in France for her warm nature, stalwart fight for women’s and…

MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin said Russia had a “sufficient stockpile” of cluster bombs and reserved the right to use them if such munitions, the use of which he regarded as a crime, were deployed against Russian forces in Ukraine. Ukraine said yesterday it had received cluster bombs from the US, its biggest military backer, which says the munitions are needed to compensate for shell shortages faced by Kyiv’s forces at a time when they are mounting a counter-offensive. Cluster munitions are banned in more than 100 countries because they can kill indiscriminately over a wide area. Some fail to explode and can pose a danger for decades. | Reuters…

Carlos Alcaraz defeated seven-time champion Novak Djokovic to claim his first Wimbledon title yesterday, shattering the Serb’s dream of a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam crown. World No 1 Alcaraz recovered from dropping the first set and saving a set point in the second to win 1-6, 7-6 (8/6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 after four hours and 42 minutes. It was a second major for the 20-year-old Spaniard following his US Open title last year as he became Wimbledon’s third youngest men’s champion. The result will also spark speculation over the start of a generational shift, with 36-year-old Djokovic carrying the torch of the ‘Big Three’ now that Roger Federer is retired and Rafael Nadal is sidelined, perhaps permanently. Australian Open and French Open champion Djokovic had been bidding to equal Federer’s…

ARTIFICIAL Intelligence (AI) might be the way forward for the world, but the legal world is not ready to accept information sourced through this medium as being the legal truth, as it recently emerged when lawyers were caught outsourcing cases through this medium. In a case before the Regional Court in Johannesburg, an advocate explained that his attorneys had sourced case law through the medium of ChatGTP. This was in a case where a woman wanted to sue the body corporate of the complex where she lived for defamation. The legal issue of whether a body corporate can be legally sued came to the fore when counsel acting for the body corporate raised its serious doubts about this. But counsel for the applicant said they were sure of their case…

from page 1 “Which type of refugee carries a diplomatic passport? I think our immigration laws are being flouted here, and the Department of International Relations and Co-operation (Dirco) must soon answer. A citizen’s arrest is not impossible,” Zungula said. Asked about the stance of the South African government on Khama’s stay, Dirco did not respond by deadline. In a statement released on Saturday Khama said he had decided not to attend the Sir Seretse Khama Day commemoration because he feared for his safety. He said he had received threats from the Botswana government and did not believe he would be safe if he returned to the country. “I was informed by very reliable sources here in South Africa that there was a DIS-authorised plan to carry out a hit…

More successful verdicts recorded in high-impact crime cases THE National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has maintained conviction rates with organised crime verdicts increasing by 21% and serious complex tax verdicts increasing by 20%. This is according to the NPA’s annual report for the 2022-23 financial year that was tabled in Parliament. NPA head Shamila Batohi said they had made notable progress in building a fit-for-purpose prosecuting authority. She said that apart from securing funding to fill hundreds of senior positions and recruit young law graduates to ensure the long-term human resource needs of the organisation, the entity had established numerous specialist positions to ensure effective prosecution in fields such as sexual and gender-based violence (GBV), commercial and organised crime, and environmental offences. Batohi said the NPA had successfully maintained high conviction…

A WORCESTER swimming school has been unsuccessful in the Western Cape High Court in its bid to stop a former employee from rendering swimming services within a radius of 50km for two years. Crazy Splash Swim School wanted an interdict against its former employee Talitha Nortje, from rendering swimming services within the Worcester area for two years, arguing that a restraint of trade was agreed orally in the employment contract. The school further wanted an order that Nortje refrain from advertising her swim school, or any other swim coaching by herself, on social media, including WhatsApp, Facebook, or Instagram. Nortje opposed the relief arguing that there was no restraint of trade applicable to her employment. According to court papers, Nortje had been working at the school since 2016 under a…

Of about 39 million people living with the virus globally in 2022, 2.58 million were children IS THE eradication of HIV-Aids, especially among children and adolescents, within reach? The latest data set released a few days ago by UNaids, Unicef and their partners on a disease that has plagued the world since the early 1980s and has claimed over 40.4 million lives to date suggests that progress is attainable but tempered with a fragmented reality, and in general bereft of the required strong political will and commitment and financial investment flows to end Aids as a public health threat once and for all. “A sad reality,” says Unicef, “is that a child or adolescent died every five minutes due to Aids in 2022, and approximately 274 children died every day…

Syrians who fled President Bashar al-Assad’s rule fear he may soon be able to choke off badly needed aid as Damascus acts to establish sway over UN assistance into the rebel-held northwest, the last major bastion of the Syrian opposition. A tussle at the UN Security Council over the aid operation has played to Assad’s advantage, with his ally Russia vetoing an extension of its mandate this week and paving the way for Damascus to approve one itself, but on its terms. Aid workers said the outlook for one of the world’s biggest humanitarian operations had been thrown into doubt, with Syria’s demands for “full co-operation and co-ordination” raising fears of big complications ahead for their work. “Ever since we heard about the decision, all the families in the camp…

Air strikes pummelled Khartoum yesterday, and fighting raged in Sudan’s western Darfur region, witnesses said, as a three-month war between the army and rival paramilitaries showed no signs of abating. In the capital’s east and northwest, army fighter jets “targeted bases” belonging to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which “responded with anti-aircraft weapons”, witnesses said. RSF drones targeted Khartoum’s largest military hospital. In a similar attack, on Saturday, on the same facility, five people were killed and 22 injured. The war between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy, RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, has claimed at least 3 000 lives and displaced more than 3 million people. Darfur, home to about a quarter of Sudan’s 48 million people, has had entire towns razed. | AFP…

SANA’A: a vessel chartered by the UN set sail from Djibouti at the weekend toward Yemen to transfer oil from a deteriorating tanker that poses a major environmental and humanitarian threat. The replacement vessel, Nautica, was to arrive at the site of the FSO Safer supertanker to extract the oil from the Safer, which is estimated to contain 1 million barrels of oil, has been deteriorating for years and is at risk of breaking up or exploding. A major spill from the vessel would have devastating consequences for the environment and the millions of people who live in the region. The UN has warned that a spill could have a devastating impact on the Red Sea. | Xinhua…

DAKAR: Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko led a peaceful protest banging pots and pans after authorities blocked a rally to publicly confirm he would run in next year’s presidential elections. Sonko, 49, appeared outside his home on Saturday evening to kick off the protest, banging pots. Sonko has been confined by security forces to his home in Dakar since May 28 and his nomination comes despite questions over his eligibility due to criminal convictions and prison sentences. People joined the noisy protest in several districts of the capital Dakar and major towns. Sonko has said that President Macky Sall is a corrupt, would-be dictator. | AFP…

Defending champion Jonas Vingegaard kept the overall lead of the Tour de France yesterday crossing the finish line in the second of four Alpine tests wheel-to-wheel with Tadej Pogacar. Dutch climber Wout Poels won the 15th stage, raced in the shadow of Mont Blanc. Vingegaard remains 10 seconds ahead of Pogacar. Carlos Rodriguez is more than five minutes behind in third, but the 22-year-old Spaniard, on his first Tour, tightened his grip on a podium place as Australian Jai Hindley dropped to fifth with Briton Adam Yates rising to fourth. The 179km run from Les Gets to Saint Gervais Mont Blanc was again dominated by the duel between the two favourites and by a series of falls. Pogacar twice attempted characteristic blistering late attacks. Vingegaard caught up both times and…

TTHE INTERNATIONAL Air Services Council (IASC), a juristic body established under the International Air Services Act and appointed in March last year after a year without one, following the coming to end of term of the earlier council in 2020, has whittled down a backlog of airline applications. Chairperson Nomveliso Ntanjana, former principal legal counsel at the Competition Commission said the council, comprising of herself, Nare Thupana (vice chairperson), Grant Reagon Son and Pfumelani Mbulayeni, meet on ad hoc basis. Its work includes the consideration of license and exemption applications, adjudicating on complaints and such licences and exemptions, and attending to various enquiries. The jurisdiction of the IASC includes international air services, which are also regulated through interpretation of bilateral trade agreements in aviation, by various countries with…

PEOPLE are becoming more aware of the importance of taking care of their skin and are seeking out skincare products that address their specific concerns. However, in addition to topical skincare, there is a growing trend towards taking care of the skin from the inside out by incorporating the right ingredients into your diet. We uncover the properties of natural hero ingredients with Nicole Sherwin, founder of Eco Diva Natural functional skincare and make-up. Hyaluronic Acid Hyaluronic acid possesses incredible hydration properties with the ability to attract and retain water, which makes it highly moisturising and lubricating. It maintains hydration, elasticity and cushioning. It can hold up to 1 000 times its weight in water, providing intense moisturisation and helping to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. It…

from page 1 The report also said during the financial year, 356 intimate-partner femicide convictions were secured from 386 verdict cases, representing a 92.2% conviction rate. Batohi said that the NPA’s overall performance had improved. “It was necessary to methodically revitalise the NPA to ‘future proof’ the institution and prevent a recurrence of political ‘capture’ to ensure that the NPA serves only the interests of justice and the people of South Africa. “This has taken time, perseverance and strategic reform processes under difficult circumstances,” she said. In the report, the NPA said following additional funding from the National Treasury, the prosecuting authority establishment was increased from 4 967 to 5 353. “The capacitation of specialised units, especially the Specialised Commercial Crimes Unit and the Independent Directorate, remained a priority as…

1 tbsp vegetable oil 100g boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into small pieces 1 clove garlic, finely chopped 1cm piece ginger, finely chopped 1 tbsp cornflour 600 ml hot chicken stock 100g sweetcorn 1 egg 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice shredded spring onions, to garnish dark soy sauce toasted sesame seeds, to garnish Heat the oil in a deep pan and gently cook the chicken, garlic and ginger for 3-4 minutes without colouring. Blend the cornflour with a little stock and add to the soup pan with the remaining stock and the sweetcorn. Bring to the boil, stirring continuously and simmer gently for 5-7 minutes. Beat together the egg and lemon juice and slowly trickle into the soup pan, stirring with a chopstick or fork to form egg strands. Season…

THE family of the 4-year-old Langa boy who was doused in hot water, allegedly by a neighbour, have welcomed the court’s decision to charge the accused with attempted murder instead of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm. This comes after 22-year-old Asanda Makaluza made her second court appearance in the Bishop Lavis Magistrate’s Court on Friday. Family spokesperson Mbulelo Dwane said they wanted justice to be served. “The court has changed the charge; it’s now a Schedule 5 offence. “On behalf of the family we are watching the proceedings very carefully. We note the move to keep her behind bars. We want to see her doing time in prison for what she did. “Her being kept there is good for both herself and us as the family. She…

THE Hanover Park and Philippi community police forum (CPF) has welcomed the three life sentences handed to three members of the Laughing Boys gang. According to the police, the gang members terrorised the Cape Flats, especially Hanover Park and Philippi. Police spokesperson Joseph Swartbooi said the gangsters committed “serious and violent” crimes, and were involved in dealing in drugs and in the possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition. “Detectives attached to the Anti-Gang Unit registered a project in April 2019 which focussed on the activities of this notorious gang. “During 2020, a take-down operation was conducted in which they secured the arrest of seven suspects on charges of murder and possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition. “The suspects were also charged with the Prevention of Organised Crime Act. “The…

IN THE dynamic world of South African politics, it is not uncommon to witness politicians being fired from their parties and subsequently starting new ones. This phenomenon has become a recurring theme that raises questions about the integrity and commitment of these individuals. While some argue that this promotes democracy and provides alternatives for voters, others criticise it as opportunistic and detrimental to political stability. One could argue that when politicians get fired from their parties and form new ones, it reflects the essence of democracy: giving voice to different perspectives. This is in light of the recently launched party the Alliance of Citizens for Change (ACC), which was launched at the Rocklands Civic Centre in Mitchells Plain on Saturday by the former speaker of the Western Cape legislature, Masizole…

Twitter has lost roughly half of its advertising revenue, according to owner Elon Musk, since he bought the social media platform for $44 billion last October. Musk, who has been outspoken about the difficulties facing the company, broke the figures in a tweet response to a user who was giving suggestions on financing for the platform. “We’re still negative cash flow, due to 50% drop in advertising revenue plus heavy debt load,” the billionaire tweeted at the weekend. “Need to reach positive cash flow before we have the luxury of anything else.” Insider Intelligence has reported that Twitter was set to earn less than $3bn (R54.3bn) in revenue this year, down one-third from last year. Changes instituted by Musk since his takeover of Twitter have turned off users and advertisers…

Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was discharged from hospital yesterday in “excellent condition”, a day after being admitted for dehydration, his office and the hospital said. The 73-year-old was transferred to the Sheba medical centre near Tel Aviv on Saturday with dizziness after having spent the previous day in the scorching heat of the Sea of Galilee in Israel’s north. By yesterday, he had completed a series of tests and was in “excellent” condition, doctors said. In a video message, he said he’d spent hours outdoors “in the sun, without a hat, without water”. | AFP…

Washington: A 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck off the Alaskan peninsula at the weekend, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said, briefly sparking a tsunami warning. The USGS revised the quake’s magnitude down from an initial 7.4. The shallow quake hit about 89km southwest of the small town of Sand Point. The National Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer, Alaska, cancelled an earlier tsunami advisory for south Alaska and the Alaskan peninsula. Alaska is part of the seismically active Pacific Ring of Fire. The remote state was hit by a 9.2-magnitude earthquake in March 1964. More than 250 people were killed by the quake and the tsunami. | AFP…

London: The great-great-granddaughter of a police officer who investigated the Jack the Ripper murders in 19th century London believes she has uncovered the killer’s true identity. Sarah Bax Horton has written a book One-Armed Jack: Uncovering the Real Jack the Ripper on her research into local cigar-maker Hyam Hyams, who closely matches witness descriptions of the suspect seen with the victims. The Jack the Ripper murders, which saw at least six women killed in London’s East End in 1888, remain one of Britain’s most notorious unsolved cases. Bax Horton said she had identified Hyams, an epileptic and alcoholic who was in an out of mental asylums, as the likely culprit. | AFP…