Table of contents for 2022-01-03 in Star

Shingai Darangwa shingai.darangwa@inl.co.za AS AMAPIANO continued to dominate this year, the genre’s top production duos have come to the forefront to lead the charge. Below we look at five of the best amapiano duos out there. Scorpion Kings There’s no other place to start than with the Scorpion Kings. The duo comprises arguably the two best amapiano producers around, DJ Maphorisa and Kabza De Small. Together, they’ve formed an integral part in the genre booming across the globe over the past year, by relentlessly churning out hit after hit. It’s difficult to imagine where amapiano would be without these two giants. Felo Le Tee Though they’ve been around for a while, Felo Le Tee have only started to find their way into the mainstream this year. The duo have achieved…

It has been a decade-long journey for Ranveer Singh in the world of Hindi cinema. But Bollywood’s livewire star says it has been a fulfilling one for him and he is was a different person. Ranveer made his acting debut with Band Baaja Baaraat in 2010, after which he starred in a slew of blockbusters such as Bajirao Mastani, Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela, Padmaavat, Dil Dhadakne Do, Simmba, Gully Boy and 83. He says: “I’ve completed a decade and this journey has been beyond my wildest imagination. I’m so grateful I even got a chance to become an actor and filled with gratitude every day. It’s surreal for me to think that I’m living my dream, I’m so grateful for the opportunities, I value them tremendously. “And what a journey…

Kenneth Mokgatlhe Today is exactly 1 441 days since the Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture was proclaimed in January 2018; the final submission of the findings is set for the end of February 2022. The Zondo Commission, as it came to be known, was overtly used as a political weapon against those who had political power during Jacob Zuma’s tenure. Those who are currently wielding political power are accusing their own cadres of having defrauded the state during Zuma’s presidency of both country and the governing party. The two factions of the ANC accept that the party is corrupt beyond repair, but neither faction wants to take responsibility, so it has become a blame game. The commission came about as a result of the public protector’s investigations…

Chris Chivers Two years before Archbishop Desmond Tutu – who was then a dean – wrote his famous open letter to Prime Minister John Vorster against the evils of apartheid, writer Alan Paton published his 1974 biography of Archbishop Geoffrey Clayton titled Apartheid and the Archbishop. Clayton was the last archbishop of Cape Town to be buried at St George’s Cathedral following his death in 1957. Tutu’s funeral on Saturday closed a distinguished chapter in the struggle he pursued, particularly South Africa's freedom and the leadership he portrayed. He will be remembered as the man who will forever epitomise the role of Archbishop of Cape Town. It is now hard to imagine two more contrasting figures than the portly Clayton and the slight yet sprightly Tutu. But some of the…

The world ushered in 2022 on Saturday with scaled-back celebrations due to new restrictions aimed at slowing soaring Covid cases – although hope remained for a better new year. New York revived its New Year’s Eve ball drop in Times Square in limited form, Paris nixed its fireworks show over rising Omicron cases and London’s pyrotechnic display was broadcast on TV to discourage crowds. The past 12 months saw a new US president and a fresh Adele album, the first spectator-free Olympics, and dreams of democracy from Afghanistan to Sudan and Hong Kong crushed by authoritarian regimes. But the pandemic, now entering its third year, still dominated. More than 5.4 million people have died since the coronavirus was first reported in central China in December 2019. Countless more have been…

Australia will push for an Ashes series whitewash against England to boost their chances of making the final of the 2021-23 ICC World Test Championship (WTC), spin spearhead Nathan Lyon said yesterday. The home side have already claimed an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-Test series, and the importance of maintaining their winning streak was not lost on Lyon. “I’ve never ever considered (a match) dead rubber when you wear the baggy green and go out and represent Australia in a Test match,” off-spinner Lyon said ahead of the fourth Test due to begin at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Wednesday. “So, there’s no dead rubbers, firstly because it’s (the) Test championship, but another one, we want to go 5-0 up. “Obviously, the Ashes for me is the pinnacle, but…

Brighton & Hove Albion earned a hard-fought 3-2 victory at Everton in the Premier League yesterday, with Alexis Mac Allister scoring twice and Dan Burn grabbing a third. Brighton took an early lead at Goodison Park after midfielder Mac Allister scored in the third minute, finishing off a brilliant team move with a first-time shot past Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. Burn netted the second goal in the 21st minute after the centre-back, unmarked at the back post, nodded in Enock Mwepu’s flick-on from a free-kick. Everton were awarded a lifeline four minutes later when a foul by Mwepu on Anthony Gordon led to a penalty, but Dominic Calvert-Lewin clipped the crossbar from the spot in his first appearance since August following an injury lay-off. Gordon finally pulled one back for…

Debashine Thangevelo debashine.thangevelo@inl.co.za As we step into 2022, let’s look at the shows that left us completely mesmerised in a year where we yo-yoed between different Covid-19 lockdown levels and waves. These shows immunised us against serious boredom-meets-cabin fever and, in some instances, left us gasping. Squid Game A global phenomenon, this K-drama not only enjoyed critical acclaim but went on to surpass Bridgerton to become the most-watched series for Netflix. The nine-part series centres on Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), who lives with his elderly mother. Although divorced, he is a devoted father to his daughter. Unfortunately, his gambling addiction leaves him in a tricky spot with a local loan shark. But there is a silver lining, or so he thinks when a stranger invites him to play a game…

MWANGI GITHAHU mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za IN THE early hours of yesterday, the ashes of the Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu were interred in front of the high altar of St George's Cathedral in Cape Town. Tutu died on December 26 last year aged 90 and his funeral was held on New Year’s Day. The ashes are interred under a memorial stone, which gave a timeline of Tutu’s life from his birth year of 1931 and December 2021 when he took his last breath. It also included the decade of 1986 to 1996 when he was the Archbishop of Cape Town. According to a statement released by the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, the family held a private service to inter the arch’s ashes. Makgoba, who led the service, laid the…

Itumeleng Mafisa AS WORKERS prepare to return to work following the Christmas holidays the Public Servants Association (PSA) has threatened to take employers to court should their employees be told they will be forced to vaccinate. This comes after a number of institutions and businesses had told workers that they had to be vaccinated for the Covid-19 virus by the end of the month. PSA spokesperson Reuben Maleka said the PSA would go as far as the Constitutional Court if workers are forced to vaccinate when they go back to work. Maleka said the PSA had noted that some workers had been intimidated by employers to get vaccinated but said the PSA was ready to take the matter to court. Maleka said vaccination was not a problem for workers alone.…

Lehlohonolo Mashigo lehlohonolo.mashigo@inl.co.za MORE deaths on the roads have been reported for this year’s New Year weekend as travellers return from after the festive season. An ER24 statement reported the death of six people, four of whom were children, in the worst of the weekend’s accidents. A bakkie and truck collided on the N1 south in Mokopane approximately 55km outside Polokwane on New Year’s eve. Medical staff found that two adults and four children had succumbed to their injuries. Two more people died in Limpopo with a further three sustaining critical injuries when two cars collided on the N1 south near Mookgophong, Limpopo. On the same day, four people were killed while two others were critically injured when their vehicle rolled on the N3 in Heidelberg, according to Russel Meiring,…

Cometh Dube-Makholwa | Midrand WATCHING the memorial services of Archbishop Desmond Tutu was for me a sombre moment of deep reflection on the meaning of life and death. It dawned on me that no matter how we choose to live our lives, as atheists or Christians, there are three very important religious rites that we go through. Soon after birth, baptism; next is marriage; and last is burial after death. Atheists have no say in whether or not they want to be baptised because as infants, it is parents who take that decision. But, come death, we all have to be buried by a priest, even those who have lived their lives stubbornly denying God’s existence, some starting to repent when starring death in the face.…

Anita Nkonki anita.nkonki@inl.co.za RENOWNED singer and record producer Zakhele Madida, fondly known as Zakes Bantwini, has finally dropped the music video to his most-loved hit single, Osama – and his fans could not stop talking about it across social media platforms. It is being hailed as a masterpiece, based on its quality and the people who are featured in the video. The release instantly started trending, particularly with its inclusion of acting legend John Kani. The video begins with a depiction of Bantwini as a young man, who goes to a sacred place to seek advice from his father – played by Kani – who encourages him to believe in himself and remember who he is. “Son it is well. It has always been well. You have a purpose.…

Rafieka Williams rafieka.williams@inl.co.za Doctors are giving speech therapy to a baby following a complex procedure for a rare foetal abnormality which involved having a tumour in her mouth. Doctors at Tygerberg Hospital had to deliver the baby of Kiara Jackson prematurely in order to perform the ex utero intrapartum treatment procedure. The danger posed by the tumour was that it could obstruct the airway of the foetus, resulting in too much fluid surrounding the foetus in the womb, which could lead to early labour or heart failure. When Jackson was 35 weeks pregnant, doctors delivered the baby half way to perform the procedure to create an airway in order to insert tubes for the baby to breathe. Following the creation of the airway, they completed a Caesarean section, followed by…

Despite veteran actress and comedienne Betty White’s death, the star-studded film event that was planned to mark her 100th birthday will still be released as planned. People magazine had confirmed that White died on Friday at age 99, just two weeks before she would have celebrated her centennial year. The producers of the movie special Betty White: 100 Years Young said they “will go forward” with plans to release the film on what would have been her 100th birthday on January 17. “Our hearts mourn with the passing of Betty White. During the many years we worked with her, we developed a great love and admiration for Betty as a person, and as an accomplished entertainer,” Steve Boettcher and Mike Trinklein said. “We are thankful for the many decades…

George RR Martin has seen a rough cut of the Game of Thrones spin-off House of the Dragon and “loved it”. The 73-year-old author wrote the A Song of Ice and Fire series of books that the HBO fantasy drama was based on, and has now teased the upcoming spin-off series – which tells the story of the Targaryen family – is set to be “amazing”. On his website he reflected on House of the Dragon being named IMDb’s “most anticipated new show” of 2022, he wrote: “Don’t tell anyone… I’ve seen a rough cut of the first episode. And loved it. It’s dark, it’s powerful, it’s visceral… just the way I like my epic fantasy. (sic)” George went on to praise executive producers Ryan J Condal and Miguel Sapochnik.…

Sonri Naidoo In a roadblock yesterday between Musina and the Beitbridge border post in Limpopo, 197 undocumented nationals were arrested and deported to Zimbabwe, Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has confirmed. The roadblock formed part of an operation in which law enforcement agencies such as the SAPS and the SANDF, the Department of Home Affairs and the SA Revenue Service conduct roadblocks near the Beitbridge border post to check that all those passing through it are documented and have all the necessary permits and passports. “We are building firewalls around the border to ensure that undocumented nationals do not enter the country, and that they are sent back,” said Motsoaledi. “We have noticed that one documented national travels in a car filled with undocumented nationals. The undocumented persons then jump…

Twelve people were crushed to death in a stampede at an Indian religious shrine in the early hours of Saturday as tens of thousands of pilgrims massed to offer prayers, officials said. The disaster unfolded in darkness at around 3am local time on the packed route to the Vaishno Devi shrine in Indian-administered Kashmir, visited by millions every year as one of Hinduism’s most revered sites. “People fell over each other … It was difficult to figure out whose leg or arms were tangled with whose,” survivor Ravinder said. “I helped pick up eight bodies by the time ambulances arrived after about half an hour. I feel lucky to be alive,” he said. Video footage showed terrified pilgrims clinging on to metal rafters to escape the rush and the blue…

HERMAN GIBBS Hours after South Africans said their final goodbyes to Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, SA Football Association (Safa) president Danny Jordaan had cause to reflect on the bid to host the 2010 Fifa World Cup. On Saturday, the nation held the funeral to bid farewell to Tutu, one of the symbols of the struggle against the apartheid regime and a voice of unity in democratic South Africa. He died last Sunday at the age of 90. Jordaan recalled how Tutu was once called on to join the 2010 bid committee’s presentation in the Caribbean, after then SA president Nelson Mandela was unable to make the trip. In a tribute to the late ‘Arch’, Jordaan said: “South Africa said goodbye to the last great hero of the Struggle against…

Arsenal assistant manager Albert Stuivenberg and goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale called for more consistency in the use of pitchside VAR monitor checks for penalties after their 2-1 Premier League home defeat by Manchester City on Saturday. Arsenal took the lead through Bukayo Saka and the visitors equalised with a penalty when Granit Xhaka was adjudged to have fouled City’s Bernardo Silva in the box, after a VAR review. A stoppage-time goal from Rodri sealed the result. Stuivenberg said Arsenal, who played the last half an hour with 10 men after defender Gabriel was sent off, were denied a “clear penalty” when City goalkeeper Ederson challenged Martin Odegaard in the first half. But referee Stuart Attwell did not review the incident on the VAR monitor. “I think (it) is a clear penalty…

QATARI Nasser al-Attiyah won the first special stage of the Dakar Rally yesterday to extend his race lead after victory in the prologue. The 51-year-old, looking to win the race for a fourth time, finished the stage 12 minutes and seven seconds quicker than nine-time world rally champion Sebastien Loeb. “It feels steady. We’ll do our best, but today was a good stage for us. This is no time to race conservatively,” said Toyota’s Al-Attiyah, a former Olympic shooting medallist. The 333km loop around northern Saudi Arabia saw several competitors suffer navigational difficulties, resulting in large time gaps. Record 14-time Dakar winner Stephane Peterhansel, nicknamed ‘Monsieur Dakar’, lost a lot of time after losing a wheel of his Audi. The Frenchman could now decide to withdraw from the race after…