Table of contents for 2023-07-21 in Star

Kumba Iron Ore said yesterday its earnings will decrease by 22% due to lower export prices, as it cuts its 2023 sales guidance. In a trading statement for the six months ended June 30, 2023, Kumba, majority-owned by Anglo American, said headline earnings were likely to be between R9.04 billion and R10bn, a decrease of between 14% and 22% from the previous six months ended June 30, 2022. “The decrease in earnings for the period is largely attributable to lower average realised free on board export iron ore prices and lower sales volumes, partially offset by a weaker rand/US dollar exchange rate, relative to the comparative period,” it said. The group flagged that sales for the year would be between 36 to 38 million tons (Mt) from a previous…

Some of our country’s most adored celebrities will take to the hot seat and face the Banker in Deal or No Deal – all in the name of charity. The SABC1 game show, hosted by Katlego Maboe, has been on our screens since March and has already paid out life-changing cash prizes. Now, in a twist, TV and radio presenter Zoë Brown, Uzalo actor Simphiwe Majozi, professional chef, comedian, and actress Lebogang Tlokana (aka The Funny Chef), Wiseman Mncube, and multi-platinum award-winning musician Holly Rey, will try their luck on the show in an attempt to win a large sum of money for their chosen charities. The celebrity episodes are set to air from July 24 to 28 on SABC1 at 7.30pm, repeats a day later on S3, at 5.30pm.…

From page 1 “He, therefore, denies being involved in the commission of this crime.” According to the legal counsel, Ntanzi’s version was that he was arrested on June 16, 2020, at Phase 2 in Rustenburg, where he worked at the mine. “They told him they were looking for a person whose picture they showed him on a phone, and from the photo, that person had tattoos, a gold tooth, as well as the prison gang tattoo of the 28s on his arm.” Like Sibiya, Ntanzi also alleged he was assaulted until he signed two incriminating statements where he implicated himself. He also denied being involved in the shooting of Meyiwa, said Ramosepele. Sibiya and Ntanzi are facing charges of murder, attempted murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, unlawful possession of a…

A Line in the Sand Kevin Powers Loot (R265) Sceptre As he is taking his daily swim, Arman Bajalan – formerly an interpreter in Iraq – discovers a dead body. After surviving an assassination attempt that killed his wife and child, Arman has been given lonely sanctuary in the US. Now, sure that the murder is connected to his past, he knows he’s still not safe. Seasoned detective Catherine Wheel and her fresh-off-the-beat partner have little to go on beyond a bus ticket in the man’s pocket. It leads them to Sally Ewell, a local journalist as grief-stricken as Arman by the Iraq war, who is investigating a nefarious corporation: one on the cusp of landing a multibillion-dollar government defence contract. As victims mount around Arman, taking the team down…

No One Prayed Over Their Graves Khaled Khalifa Loot (R369) Farrar Straus Giroux Translated by Leri Price As Khalifa was writing his new novel, No One Prayed Over Their Graves, during the height of the Syrian war, Aleppo suffered damage from which it has yet to recover – so it is no surprise that witnessing disasters is central in this latest work. The novel is anchored around two friends, Zakariya and Hanna, who survive a 1907 flood that wipes out their village. They have “kept each other’s secrets, swapping roles and faces when necessary” throughout their mischievous childhood. Since they came into their fathers’ fortunes, their wealth has transformed them into a pair of infamous minor gods. The loss of Hanna’s wife and child in that event sets him on…

The Traitor Beside Her Mary Anna Evans Loot (R260) Poisoned Pen Press Justine Byrne can’t trust the people working beside her. She can’t trust the women who live down the hall. She can’t even trust the man in front of her, and she just might love him. Inside the walls of Arlington Hall, a former women’s college in Virginia that has been taken over by the US Army, hundreds of men and women sit, bent over stacks of paper. Pencils in hand, they labour to decode countless pieces of communication coming from the Axis powers. Justine works among them, handling the most sensitive secrets of World War II. But she isn’t there to decipher German codes. She’s there to find a traitor. It’s difficult for Justine to imagine any of…

A ROBOTIC submarine owned by diamond giant De Beers and used by it to map the seabed in its mining operations was the subject of a legal wrangle after it ended up washed ashore on the rocks near Simon’s Town. The robotic submarine was re-floated and towed by the towing vessel called Nkwaza to Simon’s Town harbour. The owner of the towing vessel initially wanted R10 million as a “salvage reward” for towing the robotic submarine. That amount was later reduced to R7 647 231.54, which De Beers Marine refused to pay. The Western Cape High Court subsequently ordered that De Beers pay slightly more than R5.5m. De Beers, however, appealed against this ruling in the Supreme Court of Appeal. The SCA this week ordered that it…

AS SCORES of children returned to school this week, Charnel Hattingh, Fidelity ADT’s group head of marketing and communications, shares basic safety protocols for parents to keep track of. Hattingh suggests that children need to be reminded about safety protocols when arriving and leaving school. “It is extremely important that the kids know not to let anyone into the house without your permission. If you are going to be late, let children know as soon as possible and give them an idea of when they can expect you.” She also recommends drawing up a list of important telephone numbers. “This list must include emergency services, and mom and dad’s work and cellphone numbers. Save it on your child’s cellphone, and stick it on or near the landline. It’s important to…

Many years ago, a Hebrew poet wrote, “Goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life”. Goodness and mercy are closely related virtues. The same applies to guilt and shame. The two are deeply connected. What is guilt? Guilt is about what you did. On the other side of the coin, shame is about who you think you are. A perfect example of guilt and shame is the parable of the Prodigal Son. The Bible records that when he came to his senses, he said: “I will arise and go to my father, and say to him, ‘I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” He was…

AUCKLAND: At least two people and an armed attacker were killed and five people wounded in a shooting in New Zealand’s largest city of Auckland yesterday, hours ahead of the opening match of the Women’s soccer World Cup in the city. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said the soccer tournament would proceed as planned, adding the shooting appeared to be the actions of an individual. The gunman man male employed at the construction site where the shooting occurred. He had a pump-action shot gun and moved through a building site after the shooting. He contained himself within an elevator shaft and fired more shots before being found dead. | Reuters…

Geneva: Helicopters were used to evacuate over 250 people from a high-mountain station in the Swiss Alps yesterday after a cable car to the top broke down. An electrical failure was detected involving a cable car up to the popular Glacier 3000 ski resort in the Les Diablerets mountain massif in south-western Switzerland. The cable car was equipped with a special engine for such occasions, making it possible to evacuate the tourists onboard. About 270 people, most of them tourists, were taken by chairlift down to the glacier below, where they were picked up by helicopter. | AFP…

Lesedi Kapinga, who recently became a free agent, feels that he is in a “good space” despite an unsuccessful stint at Mamelodi Sundowns. The 28-year-old midfielder signed with the Chloorkop-based outfit in 2020 on a three-year contract (with a further option to extend by another two seasons). However, the Limpopo-born man did not enjoy the best of times at the Brazilians and was often restricted to the sidelines and infrequently came off the bench and the club elected to not extend his stay at the end of his three-year contract. Speaking to the media during his time with Bafana Bafana recently, Kapinga opened up about his feelings towards his time at Sundowns and highlighted some of the lessons he’d learnt. “Mentally I think it got me in a good space,…

Declan Rice made his Arsenal debut and Kai Havertz scored his first goal for the Gunners as Mikel Arteta’s side hammered the Major League Soccer All Star team 5-0 in a friendly at Audi Field in Washington, DC on Wednesday. Rice became the most expensive British player when Arsenal signed the England midfielder from West Ham United for a reported £105-million. The England international was introduced from the bench in the 65th minute to huge cheers from the overwhelmingly Arsenal supporting crowd. German Havertz, who joined Arsenal from London rivals Chelsea last month, was brought on after half-time and grabbed the fifth goal in the 89th minute. The Premier League runners-up began their pre-season tour of the US in style with Gabriel Jesus’ brilliant chip in the fifth minute. The…

Karooooo Limited remains well positioned for growth and operates in a growing and largely under-penetrated market, with strong demand from customers across diverse industries, CEO Zak Calisto said at the release of first quarter results yesterday. “Our robust and consistently profitable business model, underpinned by a strong balance sheet and healthy cash position, gives us multiple levers for expansion. “We expect our investment in marketing and sales, and the realisation of economies of scale across our business segments, to generate robust results in the future. “We remain confident in our track record of success,” he said. Much investment had gone into the business during the quarter, he said in an online interview. He said they had also made adequate provisions for the tough operating environment in South Africa. “I don’t…

SOUTH African households are worse off financially than during the first quarter of 2020, according to the latest Altron FinTech Household Resilience Index (AFHRI) released yesterday. The results indicated that during the first quarter of this year household financial resilience declined by 2.4%, compared to the fourth quarter of last year, and by 1.8% year-on-year. The index showed that after an initial strong recovery from the effects of the pandemic, which took the AFHRI to a record high in the fourth quarter of 2020, it remained stable until the fourth quarter of 2021, coinciding with the South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB) decision to start raising interest rates. According to the index, it was clear that higher interest rates have squeezed the finances of most households, with 12 of the 20…

Travis Barker’s ex-wife Shanna Moakler admits she has “personal reasons” to dislike the Kardashian family and doesn’t recognise the man her ex- husband is now that he’s married to Kourtney Kardashian. The former Miss USA didn’t detail exactly why she doesn’t like the Kardashian clan, but she insists that if they are “good” to her children with the Blink-182 rocker, Landon, 19, and Alabama, 17, that’s all that matters. Speaking to the New York Post’s Page Six column, she said: “I have my own personal reasons for not liking the Kardashians, which I won’t get into. “But as long as he’s happy [and] as long as they are good to my kids, that’s all I care about." The 48-year-old model went on to suggest that the Travis Barker she was…

Lesufi visits scene which claimed one life, with eight still in hospital, four critical At least eight of the over 40 victims of the Joburg CBD blast remain in hospital, with four said to be in critical condition. This was the latest report given yesterday by Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi, who addressed members of the media following Wednesday’s explosion in the Joburg CBD, which resulted in the death of one person. Lesufi added that reports of a gas explosion in Braamfischerville, Soweto, were not linked. He said this incident was a domestic incident which was due to a stove and not a gas leak, as suggested by reports. The majority of the victims of the explosion, including patients and vehicle owners, have been located, according to Lesufi, who noted that…

The Half Moon Mary Beth Keane Loot (R260) Michael Joseph There are two sides to every story – and every marriage in crisis… Malcolm, bartender at the Half Moon, has always dreamed of owning a bar, and when his boss finally retires, he seizes his chance. His wife, Jess, has devoted herself to her law career, but after years of trying for a baby, she’s struggling to accept the idea that motherhood might not be in her future. She finds herself slipping away from both her career and her marriage. The bar is Malcolm’s dream, and as she feels her youth start to fade, she wonders how to reshape her own life. When a blizzard hits their upstate New York town on the same day that Malcolm learns some shocking…

The Final Lap Ian Laxton Guide Book Publications Well-known South African sports commentator and journalist, Ian Laxton, has worked both locally and internationally on events ranging from track and feld meetings, road races, the Comrades Marathon to the Olympic Games. He now brings his lifetime experience of top-level athletics to his fine debut novel, The Final Lap. The narrative is centred on the highly competitive world of track athletics and the women’s mile in particular. The book is plot-driven and one finds that the path to winning international track events isn’t as obvious or linear as might seem normal. The lead character is Abby Dennison, a top South African track runner whose goal is to be the best in the world over the 1 500 metres. She is intelligent, attractive,…

Ingredients 500 - 600g frozen calamari rings 2 tsp Chilli & Garlic Seasoning 2 tbs maizena Olive oil 200g linguine (save ½ cup cooking water) 2 tsp Lemon & Black Pepper Seasoning Sauce 1 - 2 tbs butter 2 cloves garlic, finely sliced ½ cup white wine 1 x 25g Ina Paarman’s Liquid Fish Stock 1 tbs Sun-dried Tomato Pesto ± ½ cup reserved pasta water ¼ cup chopped parsley Freshly ground black pepper Method Defrost calamari in a colander. Shake to dry and spread out on absorbent kitchen towel. Decant into a mixing bowl. Mix with Chilli & Garlic Seasoning and maizena. Toss to coat. Leave to marinate for 20 minutes. In the meantime boil the pasta according to pack instructions. Drain and reserve ½ cup of the pasta…

Award-winning rapper Mthembeni “Emtee” Ndevu has left his fans concerned on social media after revealing he is receiving death threats. In a series of posts that have since been deleted on Twitter, Ndevu told his followers he has everything on record and will use it in court. “Now I’m getting death threats,” he wrote on Twitter. As he continues to be questioned about the trajectory of his career, the We Up hitmaker recently made an exciting announcement on social media, revealing that new music was on the cards. In the wordy post, he also said he was not a gangster or thief. “I’m busy working on my album. Feeling sorry for the people speaking my name loosely. Also crazy how people think Im down bad when I’m a label myself,…

I AM A 71-year-old and as such agree with John R Whitlock. I would just add one point that must be taken into consideration. My point is that whilst the vast majority of over 80-year-olds are probably either financially poor or just manage, there are some who are really wealthy. I would therefore suggest that there should be categories. 1. If you are 80 or older and your yearly income is less than a certain amount, you should get a complete rebate of your tax. 2. If you are 80 or older and your yearly income is less than a certain amount. You should get a 50% rebate of your tax. 3. If you are 80 or older and your yearly income is less than a certain amount. You should…

The northern hemisphere is in the grip of an extreme heatwave. All three continents are experiencing scorching temperatures. America, Europe and Asia are tinder dry and wildfires rage in countries like Spain and Greece. Even Canada has experienced high temperatures and wildfires. No more is it only California that struggles with heatwaves and wildfires in summer, Europe was never a hot continent. But now summers are unbearable. But while people in the northern hemisphere swelter under the intense heat, floods and storms are wreaking havoc in other parts of the world. South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan and Italy have experienced the wrath of nature. South Africa, too, hasn’t been spared. Cape Town had some heavy flooding and parts of Durban got flooded and damaged again after last year’s…

THE minister responsible for the country’s most vulnerable people – women, youth and people living with disabilities – took a hard swipe at the country’s five biggest banks this week over their monopoly and concentration of financial power. Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma admonished the banking sector when she addressed the 9th BRICS Youth Summit in Durban, where young people – the next generation of leaders from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – gathered to share ideas. The summit is part of a series of events hosted in Durban before the BRICS Summit next month in Johannesburg. As BRICS nations set themselves up as an alternative to existing international financial and political forums, a real opportunity exists to make a difference to the economic challenges in the Global South.…

JAKARTA: Indonesian authorities have arrested 12 people including a policeman and an immigration officer accused of trafficking 122 people to Cambodia to sell their kidneys, officials said yesterday. The suspects were charged with violating Indonesia’s human trafficking law and face a maximum 15 years in prison and a fine. They were accused of recruiting people from across Indonesia through social media and sending them to Cambodia for kidney transplant surgery, police said. The victims were promised 135 million rupiah (about R16 000) each. | Reuters…

BERLIN: A presumed lioness was on the loose yesterday in Berlin, with residents in some areas warned to stay indoors as scores of police tried to track the big cat down. Police, who believe the animal is an escaped pet, were first alerted at midnight by two members of the public who recorded mobile phone footage of a wild boar and a lion chasing each other. No boar carcass has been found. An operation to track it down was expanded yesterday. They would tranquilise and capture the animal and only kill her if she posed a danger to people, officials said. | Reuters…

Team: Zambia Nickname: Copper Queens Fifa Ranking: 103 Coach: Bruce Mwape How they qualified Zambia squeezed past Cosafa rivals Malawi 4-3 on aggregate to reach the second-round stage. The Tokyo Olympic campaigners went on to edge another Cosafa neighbour, Namibia, on the away-goals rule to clinch their second consecutive and third qualification ticket after a 1-1 draw on aggregate. Coach Bruce Mwape is highly optimistic heading to the World Cup, calling it “history in the making, but nothing is impossible. The results can go either way, and victory is possible”. The Copper Queens have finally cracked a Women’s World Cup ticket and they are hoping to make their mark on the biggest stage in women’s football in their debut appearance. As the winners of the Cosafa Women’s Cup, Zambia…

Politicians are one of the biggest problems when it comes to the empowerment of police and intelligence; hence, organised crime thrives in a disorganised state. According to a survey, South Africans don’t feel safe. There have been a number of mass shootings, gang and drug-related crimes, gas inhalation and blasts due to zama-zamas (illegal miners). Only 31% of South Africans feel either “mostly safe” or “completely safe” in the country, 37% feel either “barely safe” (22%) or “not safe at all” (15%). Most South Africans (32%) feel somewhat safe living in the country; this is one of the findings of the Automobile Association’s (AA) 2023 Quarter 4 State of Security Report (SoS Report) released in May. According to the statistics, 76% of all respondents reported being victims of a crime…

The South African government consulted with the International Criminal Court (ICC) and BRICS before a mutual agreement was reached with Russian President Vladimir Putin that he would not attend the group’s summit in Johannesburg next month. Putin is expected to attend the summit virtually and the Presidency said on Wednesday that the Russian Federation would be represented in person by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Professor Anil Sooklal, Ambassador at Large: Asia and BRICS, at the Department of International Relations, said South Africa would fulfil its international obligations fully and respect its international obligations, in terms of the treaties that the country had signed. The ICC, of which South Africa is a full member, issued a warrant of arrest against Putin and urged 123 countries who were signatories to the Rome…

The Whispers Ashley Audrain Loot (R400) Michael Joseph One morning on Harlow Lane, four families’ lives are changed forever. Whitney Loverly can only sit by her son’s hospital bed after he falls from his bedroom window in the middle of the night. She refuses to speak to anyone. Back at home, the Loverlys’ neighbours must reckon with their own roles in the tragedy – their selfless best friends who live across the street, the ambitious Goldsteins who desperately want a family of their own, and the quiet elderly couple who spend their days people- watching on the front porch. But what happens next, when over the course of a week, the hidden and explosive truths that connect these families must come out? Exploring envy, motherhood and the intuitions that we…

LIMPOPO MEC of Health Dr Phophi Ramathuba has been dealt another legal blow after the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria yesterday turned down her application for leave to appeal against an earlier finding that her misconduct inquiry should not continue. Last month, Judge Anthony Millar turned down her urgent court bid to interdict the Health Professions Council of SA (HPCSA) from proceeding with its misconduct inquiry against her for her remarks to a foreign patient last year. Ramathuba turned to the court at the time to urgently stop the hearing scheduled for next week (July 25-27). She wanted this order, pending a later application, to overturn the decision by the HPCSA to hold an inquiry. Unhappy with the fact that the judge ruled against her, Ramathuba yesterday asked Judge Millar for…

ANGRY residents in Soshanguve protested yesterday in frustration over a lack of water after their taps ran dry last week owing to maintenance being done by Rand Water at the Haartebeeshoek reservoir. The protesters barricaded Aubrey Matlala Street with rocks and burning tyres, interrupting vehicles and taxis transporting commuters to Soshanguve Crossing Mall. At the heart of their grievances was that Rand Water had given no deadline for completing its maintenance work. According to the City, the work was started on July 12, but the water utility was unable to indicate when it would be concluded. On Tuesday, the City cautioned residents about the low water flow affecting Soshanguve and Mabopane reservoirs. Other affected reservoirs in region 1 were Mabopane Central and Mabopane Main. According to the City, Rand Water…

DJ Uncle Waffles is fast approaching another milestone in her booming career. The Asylum album-maker recently shared on Instagram that she will be heading to The Great Hall in Brooklyn to headline her first international show. According to Waffles, this is just the first of many curated shows she has planned for the year. Along with a provocative video clip of barely clad women who are twerking while washing cars, Waffles wrote: “The year of curated shows my first international headline show. And New York, you’re first up. Let’s have fun at The Great Hall, Brooklyn …” Waffles has been making boss moves since she’s left South Africa for the US. Some of her major accomplishments include her historic performance at the Coachella festival in April. She was the…

The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has upheld, in part, an appeal concerning the value of a salvage reward involving a robotic submarine. The SCA cut a salvage award of over R5 million, claimed by marine contractor Harry Dilley (Pty) Ltd, to R80 000, for the efforts of its charter boat in the salvage operation. The matter involved De Beers Marine (Pty) Ltd, which owns an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), or robotic submarine, used to map the seabed in its mining operations. According to court papers, De Beers concluded an agreement with Harry Dilley to charter a work boat, the Nkwaza, to assist it in conducting sea trials in False Bay, to commission new equipment installed on the AUV. According to court papers, on the morning of October 27, 2017,…

I have just read an article about the concerns raised by an NGO, Doctors Without Borders, about allegations that foreigners are turned away from accessing healthcare from a Tshwane Hospital by South African protesters. I will not go into the merits or demerits of the conduct of those protesting the unfair exploitation of a healthcare system that fails to offer its own citizens an acceptable standard of healthcare because of extreme underfunding that has been going on for years, due to the poor state of the country’s financial standing and bankruptcy. The purpose of this letter is to seek advice from all those who continue to voice their concerns about foreigners being denied medical care when these very concerns have long been raised with the respective foreign…

Ideas, concretised into policy to which the various political parties subscribe, have consequences. This may seem akin to stating that the sky is blue, but it must be heard and understood. Ideas beget policies, and policies have consequences. It is time South Africans fully actualised themselves to this reality. Following the democratic elections of 1994, South Africa has been an interesting example of majoritarian democracy in action. Even though there has been no change in power since 1994 nationally, no-one would say South Africa is undemocratic. Far from it. The governing party being voted into power for consecutive general elections is a sign of democracy in action. Since the advent of the democratic order South Africans have had a choice in the type of policies that govern their lives. Even…

Tensions flared between Iraq and Sweden yesterday over a Stockholm protest in which a man stomped on the Qur’an, weeks after he had burnt pages of Islam’s holy book, sparking anger across the Muslim world. News that Swedish authorities would permit the protest to go ahead on the grounds of free speech led hundreds of Iraqi protesters to storm and torch the Swedish embassy in Baghdad in a chaotic pre-dawn attack. Iraq’s government condemned that attack, but retaliated against the protest in Sweden’s capital by expelling its ambassador, vowing to sever ties and suspending the operating licence of Swedish telecom equipment maker, Ericsson. Around the time of the protest outside the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani “instructed the Swedish ambassador in Baghdad to leave Iraqi…

Tabarka: Firefighters in Tunisia were battling a major blaze that had raged for two days in a pine forest near the border with Algeria, a civil defence official said yesterday. The official said that about 470ha of forest had already been razed and that firefighters and an army helicopter were still fighting the flames. He said a border crossing with Algeria had to close temporarily. About a dozen families had been evacuated from the area near the Mediterranean resort of Tabarka. The Malloula border crossing was closed because of thick smoke from the fire. | AFP…

South African amateur Christo Lamprecht left his mentor and former champion Louis Oosthuizen in the shade as he enjoyed a dream opening round to top the Open Championship leaderboard yesterday. The towering 22-year-old looked as cool as a cucumber around the sunny Royal Liverpool links with seven birdies and only a couple of dropped shots in a five-under-par round of 66. Oosthuizen, a surprise winner at St Andrews in 2010, has helped his compatriot Lamprecht since he was a teenager through his Louis57 Foundation, and while he struggled with a round of 74, he took great pride in his young apprentice. Lamprecht, who at 2.03m is one of the tallest players ever to play the Open, gazed at the leaderboard on the 18th green, then popped in a birdie putt…