Table of contents for 2024-08-28 in Cape Times

THE African Transformation Movement (ATM) is forging ahead with its plans to have Parliament establish an inquiry into the allegations of rand manipulation involving national and international banks. The banks were accused of engaging in “conduct considered the most egregious in competition law”. The alleged conduct related to fixing and manipulating the rand/dollar exchange rate, which has a central and crucial role in the South African economy. The Competition Commission alleged that between 2007 and at least 2013, 28 banks from multiple jurisdictions in Europe, South Africa, Australia and the US conspired to manipulate the rand through information sharing on electronic and other platforms and through various co-ordination strategies when trading in the USD/ZAR currency pair. In its submission to National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza for a Parliamentary inquiry,…

THE BAIL application evidence of a minor in a notorious ongoing gang trial will not be accepted by the court due to him not being informed of his rights at the bail court. However, the bail application evidence of another co-accused in the same trial will be used. The then-teenager, who was 16 years old at the time of arrest and assisted by his mother in his bail proceedings, is in the dock for the criminal trial against alleged Terrible Joster leader Elton Lenting and 19 others. During the criminal trial, in which both accused face various criminal charges including murder and attempted murder, the State applied to introduce bail proceedings records from the Bellville District Court in respect of the minor and his co-accused. Western Cape High Court Judge…

THE era of gangs and some individuals becoming prominent in communities will soon end. This was according to Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, who was speaking at the City Hall during a stakeholder engagement held ahead of a new agreement reached between the DA-led local government, the Western Cape government, the City and the SAPS to enhance safety and security. A memorandum of understanding, which includes the development of plans, interventions and infrastructure, will be signed on Friday, paving the way for the collaboration work to commence in three weeks. It also includes the implementation of the Integrated Crime and Violence Prevention Strategy (ICVPS). The agreement does not involve the devolution of police powers, which the DA has been advocating for years, the police made clear. Mchunu said the latest crime…

THE 2026 local government elections cannot come soon enough for Johannesburg, for the current term has been nothing short of a disaster for South Africa’s golden city. In a not too distant past, they had the likes of Thapelo Amad and Kabelo Gwamanda, who should not have been anywhere near the mayoral chain to begin with. Just as they thought things would be better now that the ANC’s Dada Morero is at the helm, he proposes the hiring of legally documented foreign nationals to boost the Joburg Metro Police Department’s crime-fighting capacity. On Sunday, Morero suggested that hiring foreigners as metro police would help fight crime and solve the language barrier in the case of arrests, sparking outrage among jobless locals as well as the ANC and igniting calls for…

Scientists studying the new mpox strain that has spread out of the Democratic Republic of Congo say the virus is changing faster than expected, and often in areas where experts lack funding and equipment to properly track it. That means there are numerous unknowns about the virus itself, its severity and how it is transmitting, complicating the response, half a dozen scientists in Africa, Europe and the US said. Mpox has been a public health problem in parts of Africa since 1970, but received little global attention until it surged internationally in 2022, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a global health emergency. That declaration ended 10 months later. A new strain of the virus, clade Ib, has the world’s attention again after the WHO declared a new…

Emergency responders were scrambling yesterday to find out how many people remained missing after waters burst through a dam in eastern Sudan, resulting in the worst in a series of floods that have devastated a country already torn by 500 days of war. The collapse of the Arbaat Dam on Sunday killed 30 people and likely dozens more, in the latest in a series of inundations around the country as this year’s rainy season hits heavier, and in places earlier, than in past years. War-shattered Sudan is already suffering from the world’s largest hunger and displacement crises, and the flooding has impeded aid delivery already disrupted by the conflict between the army and its rival, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. A single excavator carried people and food across the water…

WINDHOEK: Namibia plans to cull 723 wild animals, including 83 elephants, and to distribute the meat to people struggling to feed themselves because of a severe drought across southern Africa, the environment ministry said. The cull will take place in parks and communal areas where authorities believe animal numbers exceed available grazing land and water supplies, it said this week. Southern Africa is facing its worst drought in decades, with Namibia having exhausted 84% of its food reserves last month, according to the UN. Nearly half of Namibia’s population is expected to experience high levels of food insecurity in the coming months. | Reuters…

Palestinian Territories: The Israeli military said it rescued an Israeli hostage in Gaza yesterday, more than 10 months after he was seized during the Hamas attacks that sparked a devastating war. Kaid Farhan Alkadi, a 52-year-old Israeli Bedouin, was abducted by Palestinian militants during the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, the military said. Israeli campaign group the Hostages and Missing Families Forum described his rescue as “miraculous”. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was “working tirelessly to bring all our hostages back”. Israeli forces have so far rescued alive eight captives since the ground military campaign in Gaza began on October 27. Seven hostages have been freed since November. | AFP…

Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali will be included in the squad to play Nottingham Forest in the League Cup second round today after completing a 10-month ban for breaching betting rules, manager Eddie Howe said yesterday. The 24-year-old Italian was banned by the Italian Football Federation in October last year, and was given a two-month suspended ban by the Football Association for contravening betting rules after his move to the Premier League. The former AC Milan player attended treatment sessions for problem gamblers and has given talks to on the dangers of gambling addiction. “He’ll definitely be in the squad providing he comes through training today,” Howe told reporters. “He’s fit. He just hasn’t had the match time, the 11v11, which players will tell you is the most important thing…

THE NOTION of a just transition has been increasingly endorsed, largely to support carbon emissions reduction targets and in recognition of potential new green employment and economic diversification opportunities. The Paris Agreement of 2015, being the first international treaty to recognise its centrality to climate action and economic prosperity, highlights the imperative of a just transition. In the case of South Africa, the creation of decent work and quality jobs in accordance with nationally defined development priorities is fundamental as we transition to a low carbon future. Since 1996, various climate change-related national policies, frameworks and legislation have been drafted to support South Africa’s climate initiatives across scales and frame the country’s transition to a low-carbon and climate-resilient country. Beyond global and domestic policy and legislative commitments, the transition to…

A-G Maluleke highlights need for competent, accountable and people of good ethical posture in municipalities Only 34 municipalities out of the 257 have obtained clean audits, according to Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke, who told Parliament yesterday of the need to urgently professionalise and build the capacity of the local government sphere. Her consolidated report on audit outcomes of local government for the 2022/23 year once again paints a bleak picture of the state of the country’s municipalities. “We are going backward in terms of the number of clean audits that are being delivered within the local government system. We are further behind than where we began with this particular administration,” she said. Maluleke also said 110 municipalities received unqualified audit opinions with findings, 90 garnered qualified audits and six obtained adverse…

Transnet Pipelines (TPL) has welcomed the 35-year sentence handed down to Shedi Mhlanga for tampering with essential infrastructure, theft of fuel and possession of stolen property, as reflecting the seriousness of the crime and its impact on the economy and society. The verdict, delivered on Monday in Pretoria, highlighted the serious consequences of crimes that threaten South Africa's critical infrastructure, TPL said. The case dates back to December 31, 2022, when TPL’s Network Operations Centre (NOC) detected a significant pressure drop on the Kendal to Waltloo pipeline around 1:55am. “Security teams were promptly deployed and they identified a suspicious fuel tanker near a known hotspot in the Boschkop area.” The driver, later identified as Mhlanga, a Zimbabwean national, attempted to flee by abandoning the moving vehicle and escaping into nearby…

After an alleged violent and illegal eviction of land occupiers – during which an elderly man was allegedly stabbed – housing and civil rights organisation Ndifuna Ukwazi (NU) has turned to the courts for an interdict against the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa). The 64-year-old man, Ali Habsy, has also since lodged a case with police, alleging that a Prasa security officer stabbed him during the eviction on Thursday. NU said their application for an urgent interdict at the Western Cape High Court was brought on due to occupiers being exposed to the elements over a weekend of heavy rain after their structures were destroyed. “(We have) urgently sought a high court interdict against Prasa following the illegal eviction on 19 and 22 August of occupiers who had been…

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sent out a global climate “SOS” at a Pacific islands summit yesterday, unveiling research that shows the region’s seas rising much more swiftly than global averages. “I am in Tonga to issue a global SOS, Save Our Seas, on rising sea levels. A worldwide catastrophe is putting this Pacific paradise in peril,” he said. Sparsely populated and with few heavy industries, the Pacific islands collectively pump out less than 0.02% of global emissions every year. But this vast arc of volcanic islands and low-lying coral atolls also inhabits a tropical corridor that is rapidly threatened by encroaching oceans. The World Meteorological Organisation has been monitoring tide gauges installed on the Pacific’s famed beaches since the early 1990s. A new report released by the top UN climate…

BRITISH Prime Minister Keir Starmer said yesterday that he would have to take unpopular decisions, raising the possibility of “painful” taxes on the wealthy and spending cuts to try to fix Britain’s myriad problems he blamed on Conservative misrule. In a speech in the rose garden of his Downing Street office, Starmer promised to end politics as usual, telling voters that Britain’s problems would only get worse before getting better. Starmer has vowed to rebuild British society, saying this month’s anti-migrant riots reflected divisions, stoked by what he described as the Conservatives’ preference for populism. He also blamed the last government for leaving him with a £22 billion black hole, forcing him to limit fuel payments to the elderly. Starmer said he could not believe he had to count…

HONG KONG: The first Hong Kong activist to defend himself in person in a landmark national security trial against 47 pro-democracy campaigners said yesterday that he had no remorse. Ng kin-wai, 28, was one of 47 activists charged in 2021 with “conspiracy to commit subversion to subvert the state power” for participating in an unofficial poll to select candidates for a 2020 legislative council election. “I will not apologise for the beliefs and values I share with my voters”, Ng told the court. The national security law Beijing imposed in 2020 specifies sentences for the offence ranging from three years to life. | Reuters…

LOS ANGELES: Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg said senior officials in the Biden administration had pressured his social media company to censor Covid-19 content during the pandemic, adding that he would push back if this were to happen again. In a letter dated August 26, Zuckerberg told the judiciary committee of the US House of Representatives that he regretted not speaking up about this as well as some decisions the Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp owner had made around removing certain content. “I believe the government pressure was wrong, and I regret we were not more outspoken about it,” he wrote. | Reuters…

Teboho Mokoena’s dream of moving abroad is not denied but delayed, and that’s why he’s relishing the opportunity of being part of Mamelodi Sundowns’ project for now. Mokoena has been one of the best players in the local top flight for the past two seasons, having been crowned the PSL Footballer of the Season two seasons ago. His exploits, for the Brazilians and Bafana Bafana, didn’t go unnoticed. As such, he’s been rumoured to be moving abroad in the past few months. Those reports linking him to north Africa, the Middle East and Europe have since been nullified, though, as he’s extended his stint with the local champions by four years. That contract extension also raised questions as to whether Mokoena has relinquished any aspirations of moving abroad, considering that…

Pick n Pay chairperson Gareth Ackerman would step down once the supermarket group’s recapitalisation was complete and the turnaround was in place, and the board would announce a successor in due course, he said at the annual meeting yesterday. He said also that long-standing board members would be replaced over the next 12 to 18 months, the gradual approach being adopted because of the “extent of the change required and the work needed to execute that change” in the turnaround of the group. At the meeting the required majority vote from shareholders on its two remuneration-related resolutions was not met, and the board intended to engage with shareholders on the resolution. “Part of looking to the future is the role of the Ackerman family. We have recognised that this was…

Deputy President Paul Mashatile said yesterday the Government of National Unity (GNU) would pay special attention to the speed of execution of policies adopted over the past 30 years. Speaking at the National Council of Province’s (NCOP) three-sphere planning session, Mashatile said they would strengthen co-ordination through a refocused Presidency as the centre of government by pulling together other critical government departments, such as Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs and the National Treasury. “Our intention is to align planning and budgeting as part of implementing the District Development Model (DDM) premised on One Plan-One Vision and this we will do to achieve maximum results in building a better life for all,” he said. Mashatile said the successful implementation of the DDM lay in the speed of execution as a modus…

A former performing arts student, who sustained devastating injuries after she fell through a skylight at the Wits Theatre during a practical tuition on the roof of the theatre, is due to receive nearly R11.3 million from the University of the Witwatersrand. The Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg, in a recent judgment, ordered Wits University pay R11 289 412 into the trust account of Michela Nordmann’s attorneys as compensation for general damages, and future and past medical costs. Nordmann was an 18-year-old student studying towards a BA degree in Dramatic Arts at Wits when she was seriously injured in May 2017 during the course of practical tuition on the roof of the Wits Theatre complex. She fell through a skylight on to a tiled floor. The details of the accident…

The Commission on Restitution of Land Rights (CRLR) says that the delay in the development of a new, more secure and efficient bulk payment processing method has led to a temporary suspension of bulk payments to land claimants. This comes after the recent blockage of the N2 in the Eastern Cape, reportedly linked to delays in financial compensation payments to claimants. “We deeply regret the inconvenience this has caused to the public and the frustration experienced by the affected communities,” the CRLR said in a statement yesterday. “National Treasury has withdrawn approval for the CRLR’s continued use of its current payment system and has mandated the development of a new, more secure and efficient bulk payment processing method. “Unfortunately, the time required to develop this new system has exceeded initial…

As the recovery phase to rebuild homes and infrastructure battered by the inclement weather in recent months continues, strong gale-force winds once again caused havoc in parts of the province yesterday. Trees were uprooted, roofs of some facilities collapsed while the main entrance of Access Park in Kenilworth had to be closed after a structure was blown over. About 14 000 customers were left without electricity supply due to faults caused by severe weather conditions across the province. This is after the South African Weather Service upgraded the Yellow Level 2 warning of damaging winds yesterday to an Orange Level 6 over the City of Cape Town, Garden Route, Overberg, Cape Winelands and the Central Karoo. The cold front is expected to extend into Friday. Eskom said the damaging winds…

150 g baby onions 30-45 ml butter A few sprigs of thyme 30 ml Huletts Brown Sugar 500 g leftover roast lamb, pulled or thinly sliced 250 ml beef or lamb stock 20 g cake flour 1 roll of puff pastry 1 large egg, lightly beaten Grease a 20 cm pie dish. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Peel the baby onions and cut the bigger ones in half or quarters, making sure to leave some whole. They should all be roughly the same size. Heat the butter and thyme over a medium heat. Once the butter is bubbling, add the onions and brown sugar. Fry the onions in the butter until they are golden brown and softened about 10-15 minutes. Add the lamb and warm it through. Pour in the…

US President Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan is embarking on several days of talks with top Chinese officials in Beijing this week, aimed at quieting tensions between the two superpowers before the November 5 election. Sullivan, China’s top diplomat Wang Yi and others met for the talks as the two countries are at odds over the Middle East and Ukraine, Chinese territorial claims from Taiwan to the South China Sea, and trade. Upon arrival in Beijing yesterday, Sullivan met first with Wang at a lush resort on the northern outskirts of the Chinese capital, where they shook hands in front of Chinese and American flags set before an artistic depiction of the Chinese landscape. In his remarks in front of journalists, Wang described China-US ties as “critical”, with…

London: Eight people were stabbed and police arrested hundreds during last weekend’s Notting Hill Carnival, one of the world’s largest street festivals held annually in west London. Updating on their policing operation late on Monday, the capital’s Metropolitan Police said five people were stabbed on the final day of the three-day celebration of British Afro-Caribbean identity. That followed three knifings on Sunday, with three of the victims of the violence over the weekend left in a life-threatening condition. Officers made at least 230 arrests on Monday, including 49 for possession of an offensive weapon, on top of scores of arrests. | AFP…

Tokyo: A strong typhoon was heading for southern Japan yesterday, bringing heavy rain and disrupting bullet trains and flights. Typhoon Shanshan was moving towards the southern Amami archipelago. Yesterday, heavy rain prompted the suspension of the bullet train between the central cities of Hamamatsu and Toyohashi, though service resumed shortly thereafter. There were also delays on other parts of the high-speed network and local trains, Central Japan Railway and West Japan Railway said. The typhoon is expected to veer towards the main southern island of Kyushu later this week. | AFP…

British Paralympian John McFall will be taking a stand for sports and space this week after becoming the first person with a physical disability to be cleared for future missions by the European Space Agency. The 43-year-old surgeon, who won a 100m bronze medal in the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, is in France to back Team GB at the Paris Games and to show how elite competitors can go on to break through ever more formidable barriers. “I think sport has been a hugely powerful vehicle for making people appreciate what anybody is capable of. But now that we have Paralympic sport on the radar much more ... it’s a really powerful platform to see what people with physical disabilities are capable of,” he said. McFall was visiting Thailand at the…

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has confirmed that the selection of Aphelele Fassi ahead of a fit Willie le Roux is the beginning of a changing of a guard that also includes the grooming of flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu. “Willie is at the stage of his career where he accepts his role in the team and the importance of transferring his knowledge to the younger guys,” Erasmus said. “It is his job to tell Aphelele how to handle situations and read the game.” The coach said that Le Roux, who turned 35 earlier this month, will still play for the Boks but on a lesser scale. “We want Willie to get him to his 100th test cap, he is on 94. “He can play for another two years but he is not…

The saying goes that “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks”, but while Jannes Kirsten has still got a few good years of rugby in him, he probably didn’t think that he would learn to play No 5 lock at the Blue Bulls in the Currie Cup this year. The 30-year-old utility forward, who normally plays blindside flank or No 4 lock, has had to manage and jump in the line-outs regularly at provincial level due to the absence of Springbok Ruan Nortjé, as well as the unavailability of United Rugby Championship (URC) stalwarts and departures of others. Kirsten had a celebrated career at Exeter Chiefs in England after leaving the Bulls in 2018 – via Toyota Verblitz in Japan – winning the Champions Cup and Premiership at Sandy…