Índice para 2023-05-02 em Cape Times

SOUTH African workers have not backed down from demanding a bigger slice in ongoing wage negotiations to make up for the shortfall on their paycheques on the back of escalating cost of living, elevated levels of unemployment and economic recession. The country commemorated the workers’ May Day yesterday with rallies across the country’s major cities attended by thousands of workers who have grown despondent by the prevailing economic climate. This comes as the Independent Commission on the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers recommended that all Political Office Bearers should get a 3.8% salary increase, a decision that has incensed unions. The workers unions have slammed the government’s persistence with “neo-liberal macroeconomic fiscal and monetary policies”, saying these policies have left many living lives of brute survival. The Congress of SA…

INDUSTRIALS Reit (real estate investment trust) the owner of multi-let industrial parks in the UK, saw 4.8% growth in passing rents buoyed by strong tenant demand, the London- and JSE-listed group said in its fourth-quarter trading statement on Friday. The group recently received a 168 pence (almost R38.60) cash all-share offer from Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative asset management firm with $975 billion (R17.8 trillion) of assets under management. The offer is still subject to shareholder approval. The share price closed at R37.70 on the JSE on Friday, and was 167p on the London Stock Exchange in the morning, with the premium between the Blackstone offer and the share price narrowing sharply this month after the offer was received. CEO Paul Arenson said that from January 1…

PUBLIC Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan has again used confidentiality and non-disclosure clauses as his latest explanation for not providing some information on South African Airways (SAA) aircraft. This came into play when DA MP Alf Lees sent two sets of parliamentary questions to Gordhan. Lees wanted to know whether the SA Airways has leased, purchased and/or acquired any aircraft since September, 2021. He also enquired about the details of each aircraft, the date each was received by SAA, the lessor and/or seller of each aircraft, costs of each lease, and the full terms of each lease. In his written response, Gordhan confirmed that SAA has leased six aircraft since September, 2021. He also said the aircraft lease cost was a “power by the hour agreement”. Gordhan said one Airbus…

AS workers across the world marked International Workers’ Day yesterday, workers felt the pressures of rising living costs and job losses, with unions lambasting the ruling party for “29 wasted years”, adding that the only ones who were free were the rich. Mother of two, Anthea Olifant, 32, from Manenberg has worked in the butchery industry for more than seven years. “It’s tough financially. A person can barely cope, money goes from the hand to the mouth plus rising transport costs. “That’s all you are working for. Salaries only increase by little every year and if someone leaves you have to take the pressure. “But what can you do, you have children and a family to feed.” The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) said the gains made…

Western Cape Premier Mr Alan Winde has vowed to arrest Russian President Putin if he enters the province. The premier is actually living in cuckooland. A nuclear strike by a Yars missile on Cape town by a Russian ICBM will obliterate everything in Cape Town within a radius of 50km.Within 30 minutes, destruction and possible seismic events will devastate the entire region. Premier Alan Winde, please read a copy of The Cape Times published on August 28, 1958, describing a nuclear attack on the mother city during rush hour. The destructive capacity of a single 300 kiloton attack would be monumental. The entire city and the Koeberg complex and neighbouring towns would be reduced to radio-active rubble. A destruction zone covering over 50km, including Robben Island and encompassing 20 to…

The Gen-Next Democracy Network Programme is an initiative by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations to promote democratic values among young people across the world. The programme aims to bring together young people from 75 different countries to exchange ideas, learn from each other, and create a network of young leaders committed to promoting democratic values. I had the privilege of attending the Gen Next Democracy Network programme hosted by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), and it was truly a transformative experience. The programme gave me a unique opportunity to explore the diverse cultural and political landscape of India, interact with young leaders from around the world, and gain a deeper understanding of the challenges facing democratic societies today. We had the opportunity to visit a number of…

After waiting longer than any British heir to become monarch, King Charles has quietly settled into his new role with little of the drama some commentators had expected, but with family divisions and some fundamental issues still looming. Charles, 74, who will be formally crowned on Saturday, was the oldest sovereign to take the throne in a lineage that dates back 1 000 years when he succeeded his hugely popular mother Queen Elizabeth after her death last September. She had reigned for 70 years. Since then, while the new king has given glimpses of future changes to the institution, the man who was known for his forthright defence of the environment while prince of Wales has not continued to voice the strong views that some critics believed would damage the…

Tokyo: Chinese billionaire Jack Ma yesterday took up a visiting professor position at a Japanese university, another new academic role for the founder of tech giant Alibaba. Tokyo College, part of the prestigious University of Tokyo, said Ma, 58, would “share his experience and pioneering knowledge on entrepreneurship, corporate management and innovation” in seminars for students and staff. Ma has kept a low profile since his fall from grace during a Chinese government crackdown on the tech industry over two years ago. But he recently accepted an honorary professorship from the University of Hong Kong’s business school for a three-year term. Tokyo College said Ma would “conduct joint research and projects” with faculty members, “especially in the field of sustainable agriculture and food production”. Ma was one of the most…

London: Nurses in England walked out again yesterday, with some critical services due to be hit for the first time. The industrial action is the latest stoppage in a bitter dispute with the government over pay and conditions. The 28-hour strike comes after members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) voted to reject a 5% government pay increase offer. All hospitals have been guaranteed a minimum level of cover for intensive care and trauma. But the latest strike is the first time areas such as intensive care, chemotherapy and dialysis have been hit, although some exemptions had been agreed. Doctors have also staged strikes. | AFP…

Mumbai: Fake call centres that dupe people around the world are commonly found in India, but Mumbai police said yesterday that they managed to bust one because of what the workers were having for breakfast. The centre, in a house along Rajodi Beach outside India’s financial capital, housed dozens of employees who were not allowed to leave the building to prevent them from interacting with outsiders. But police got a tip-off that someone was repeatedly ordering dozens of breakfasts from a nearby eatery – at 4am. Police raided the house, which had a floor with 60 workstations, on April 11 and arrested the owner and 47 employees. | AFP…

If Siya Kolisi’s trip home from the hospital is anything to go by, his recovery from surgery is going to rock. The Springbok captain posted a video clip of his wife Rachel driving him home yesterday morning while they sing along to Linkin Park. They look like they are loving life and the choice of song - Numb - is perfect because Kolisi remarks that the painkillers were “on full blast”. Bok fans will be pleased to see the influential skipper in high spirits as he begins his rehabilitation from the surgery on torn knee ligaments that came courtesy of an awkward step he took early in the Sharks’ match against Munster in Durban 10 days ago. A week of extensive consultation with specialists culminated in surgery on Friday and…

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti praised NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo yesterday for his insistence there was "no failure in sports" last week. After top seeded Milwaukee Bucks crashed out of the NBA play-offs at the hands of the Miami Heat, Greek player Antetokounmpo said teams can have good days and bad days but there was no such thing as failure in sport. "What this player said was spectacular, I have nothing to add, I think 100% like him," Ancelotti told reporters. "In sport you can't talk about failure, in life you can't talk about failure. Failure is only when you don't try to do something the best that you can, that is failure. "When you have a calm conscience, trying to do the best that you can, it will never…

Global miner Glencore said on Friday its proposal for Teck Resources still stands, following Canada’s largest diversified miner withdrawing its separation proposal. Teck unanimously rejected Glencore's $23 billion (R420.55bn) bid for it and said the offer was an unsolicited and opportunistic acquisition proposal from Glencore. Teck instead said it wants to continue with its own plan to split into a coal company and a metals business. On Wednesday, Teck withdrew its separation proposal hours before shareholders were scheduled to vote on it. Teck Resources chief executive Jonathan Price said: “We received very strong support from shareholders for the goal of separation, which is to unlock value through the creation of a premier, pure-play base metals company and a world-class steel-making coal company. We have also listened and heard the…

GOOD Samaritans sprang into action to save a 10-year-old and an 8-year old after they were swept out to sea in rip currents while swimming at Clifton’s 1st Beach on Sunday. The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) said it had received multiple calls from concerned residents. NSRI Bakoven duty crew launched their rescue craft Gemini Legend. The City’s water rescue network and law enforcement officers were alerted and off-duty Clifton lifeguards and Western Cape health EMS metro control also responded. At that stage the 10-year-old boy was being assisted out of the water by two unidentified Good Samaritans, with the help of other bystanders who waded into the surf, as swells reached two to three metres. This was while Alex Elcock, a resident at Clifton 1st Beach, stayed on the…

BCom student’s family devastated after death THE family of murdered third-year UWC accounting student Kamva Dasi had dreamt of seeing their son becoming one of South Africa’s prominent accountants. Dasi, 22, was shot and killed in an armed robbery in Belhar, while out with five other students on Saturday. The students had reportedly just withdrawn money when they were robbed. A scuffle broke out, resulting in the student being shot. According to the family, however, their son and the other students were visiting one of their friends when armed men stormed into the house and robbed them. When they ran out, Dasi was shot. Dasi’s grandfather Tembile Dasi, 62, said his daughter collapsed on hearing the news that her son had been killed. “Kamva was the eldest child and the…

Alan Winde, premier of the Western Cape, has issued a threat to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, that should he and his entourage set foot in the Western Cape they will be arrested and sent to the ICC. This is not an isolated incident where the Western Cape government thinks it can do as it wishes in this part of the country. Winde does not have any right to act outside what the national government decides. Instead of waiting for clear directives from the national government like all the other premiers, Winde threatens to arrest a president of an independent country. (Police Minister Bheki) Cele must instead issue an arrest warrant against Winde for inciting violence with his threats.…

THE family of a 37-year-old farmworker are reeling in shock after she was killed, allegedly by a well-known wine farmer in Riebeek West, on Friday. It is alleged that the farmer was speeding when he hit Ananda Hugo and her three-year-old daughter, Nikita. Nikita, who is said to have been on her mother’s hip at the time, was rushed to the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital. Ananda Hugo’s mother, Hazel Scholtz, said the incident had left the family feeling hopeless as Ananda was also in a critical condition, with bleeding on the brain, a broken arm, and scratches all over her body. “I don't know how to break the news to the child. The mother was the backbone of the family and she was killed. “We are distraught and…

WITH the intervention of the court, a child born nearly four years ago will, for the first time, officially have a name and legal standing in South Africa after bureaucratic red tape has denied him of this up to now. The parents of the child (not identified as he is a minor) did everything asked of them by the Department of Home Affairs to register the birth of their child. They even underwent a compulsory paternity test. Yet, they received no help in their desperate bid for their child to have an identity. The parents have been in a permanent relationship since August 2009 and moved in together at the end of 2016. While discussing marriage, they elected to wait until after birth to start the lobola negotiations. When…

Gun battles and explosions again rocked Sudan’s capital yesterday despite the latest truce formally agreed between the warring parties as the UN warned the humanitarian crisis had brought the country near its “breaking point”. The chaos and bloodshed, now in their third week, have sparked a mass exodus of tens of thousands of Sudanese to neighbouring countries including Egypt, Chad and Central African Republic. More than 500 people have been reported killed since fighting erupted on April 15 between Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Millions of Sudanese around the capital and beyond have sheltered in their homes with dwindling food and water and frequent power cuts, as fighter jets thundering through the sky on bombing raids have drawn…

Hundreds of thousands of people yesterday massed in France on Labour Day to vent their anger against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform, with unions vowing not to stop fighting even after the changes were signed into law. Unions had been hoping for a vast turnout across France for the May 1 protests to further rattle Macron, who has been greeted by pot-bashing and jeers as he toured the country seeking to defend the reforms and relaunch his second mandate. Macron last month signed a law to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, despite months of strikes against the bill. The main march in Paris kicked off along the traditional protest route of Place de la Republique to Place de la Nation. Police had been given a last-minute go-ahead…

ABERDEEN: Former US president Donald Trump arrived in Scotland yesterday for a short trip to visit his golf courses there and in Ireland. Trump, who has family roots in Lewis, an island off the north-western tip of Scotland, owns two golf courses in Scotland – one north of Aberdeen and the Turnberry resort south of Glasgow – as well as the Doonbeg golf resort in Ireland. “It’s great to be home,” Trump said after disembarking from his plane at Aberdeen airport. “This was the home of my mother.” Trump said he was travelling to “see and inspect” his properties in Scotland and Ireland. | Reuters…

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos jr agreed yesterday to new guidelines for stronger military co-operation, US officials said, underscoring a turnaround in US-Philippine relations. The guidelines focus on military co-ordination across land, sea, air, space and cyberspace, while the US administration will also transfer three C-130 aircraft and look to send additional patrol vessels to the Philippines. Biden reaffirmed a 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty that calls for the US to act in the event of an armed attack on the Philippine military. Marcos has sought warm relations with both the US and China. | Reuters…

THE GOVERNMENT has called on South Africans to use electricity sparingly, especially during periods of high energy consumption, typically from 5pm to 9pm, as part of demand-side management (DSM) initiatives. The call comes after last week’s Cabinet meeting which discussed, among others, tools to help the crisis-stricken power utility reduce power cuts. Demand-side energy management measures have proved effective in reducing peak demand and promoting energy conservation. Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said the DSM target was to save about 1 000MW of power, equivalent to about one stage of load shedding. She said the country had demonstrated this was possible during the 2010 World Cup. Lowering consumption reduced pressure on the electricity grid and saved households money, without affecting business productivity or quality of life, she said.…

FORMER Beaufort West mayor Truman Prince says he will approach the Appeal Court after the Western Cape High Court dismissed his bid to overturn a court ruling that declared his appointment as acting municipal manager in the Central Karoo District Municipality null and void. The court declared Prince’s appointment at the municipality null and void last month. Prince was appointed as the municipality’s acting manager in February, after the resignation of the previous municipal manager, Zwelithini Nyathi. The matter originally landed in court after Local Government MEC Anton Bredell indicated that Central Karoo mayor, Gayton McKenzie, “ignored” his recommendation to terminate Prince’s appointment. Bredell said Prince did not have the relevant experience at senior management level suitable to hold the position of a acting municipal manager. Prince had lodged an…

As 61 South Africans were welcomed at OR Tambo International at the weekend after their return from Sudan, 22 citizens stuck in Egypt were awaiting national clearance before they will be allowed to return home. The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) is assisting the South Africans stuck on a boat while fleeing war-torn Sudan. This comes after International Affairs and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor on Sunday welcomed back a group of 61 evacuacted South Africans. Clayson Monyela, Dirco spokesperson, said: “Our team in Cairo will intervene and assist in getting the necessary clearances required. They initially worked on their own travel arrangements and plan, without involving the government. Now that they need clearances and therefore our intervention, they’ve reached out. “We will help as we always do. We…

YOUR Tuesday edition “De Ruyter has a duty to report corruption, says Gordhan”, refers. It is all very well to try to shift the blame as Minister Gordhan has done. It should be known that any citizen of South Africa who is aware of a crime has a civic duty to report same to the SAPS. Over and above this, a minister in the government is clearly obliged to follow up, especially when it is within his portfolio. It is quite clear from all of this that Minister Gordhan has more culpability than André De Ruyter. De Ruyter was reporting to his superior who then chose to do nothing. Unfortunately, South Africa today under the current government takes no action against wrong-doing. The consequences are absolutely nil. We…

University Professor Mike Roberts said all ocean data collected would be used to check the accuracy of the largest ever computer model of the world’s oceans, that aims to predict what the Earth’s (Global) Ocean will look like until the end of the century. “The Western Indian Ocean was chosen because we have the second largest population in the world, some 60 million people, who are directly dependant on the Indian Ocean for their food security and livelihoods,” said Roberts. Instruments will collect information on currents, temperature, ocean productivity, habitats, fish and human populations. Roberts heads the UK-SA Bilateral Research Chair in Ocean Science and Marine Food Security, and the research is jointly hosted by NMU in South Africa and the University of Southampton in the UK. He said the…

ONE of the survivors of a fatal accident that claimed the lives of four people while on their way to Cape Town from a church retreat, near Swellendam, has told how he watched his life flash right before his eyes. More than 40 people were injured in the accident on Saturday, with the passengers believed to be parishioners from various churches, including St Aidan’s, St Saviour’s and St Matthew’s. The occupants were returning to Cape Town after spending five days at the Carmel Coastal Retreat near George. The bus overturned after the driver allegedly lost control of it on the N2. Beresford Williams, one of occupants of the bus, said: “It was tragic. Everything happened in a flash. We were driving home to Cape Town in high spirits, we had…

Both involve Russia, with differing responses by the Ramaphosa government The South African state is currently embroiled in two dilemmas, both of which involve its interaction with two separate international legal statutes or conventions, of which it is a member and signatory. Whether it is a coincidence or not, the tale of the two dilemmas involves Russia, either indirectly or directly. What is poignant is the differing response of the Ramaphosa government to the two dilemmas – one very compliant to the demands of the one convention for the sake of saving the economy by rooting out the laundering of money from the proceeds of corruption and crime; and the second defiant to the point of threatening to leave the other convention tasked “to bring those who commit genocide, crimes…

Russia unleashed a fresh volley of missiles on Ukraine yesterday, causing huge blazes in a city in the east, damaging dozens of homes and wounding at least 34 people. The attack on Pavlohrad, a city and railway hub, came during the second wave of nationwide missile strikes in three days, with Moscow apparently reviving its winter tactic of long-range strikes ahead of a planned Ukrainian counteroffensive. A huge crater had been blasted in the backyard of a house that was strewn with debris on Pavlohrad’s outskirts. Homes nearby were badly damaged. In the city centre, the windows of a dormitory that serves a chemical plant had been blown out. “I ran outside and saw the garage was destroyed. Everything was on fire, glass shards were everywhere. Had we been outside,…

Pathologists started autopsies yesterday on more than 100 bodies linked to a Kenyan religious cult whose leader allegedly instructed them to starve themselves to death in order to be the first to go to heaven, officials said. One hundred and nine followers of the Good News International Church, based in the Shakahola Forest in east Kenya, are known to have died. Authorities have recovered 101 bodies from shallow graves since April 21, while eight cult members were found alive but died later. So far, 44 people have been rescued. The deaths amount to one of the worst cult-related tragedies in recent history and the toll is expected to rise further, with the Kenyan Red Cross saying more than 300 people have been reported missing. Cult leader Paul Mackenzie has been…

NEW DELHI: The death toll in a building collapse in India’s western state of Maharashtra yesterday rose to eight, officials said. Ten people were injured in the incident The two-storey building collapsed on Saturday in Bhiwandi area of Thane district, about 33km northeast of Mumbai, Maharashtra. Officials rushed rescue teams to look for the trapped and pressed in heavy machinery to remove the debris and search for survivors. The search was called off yesterday. Police said they had arrested the owner of the building, which housed warehouses on the ground and first floors, and families lived onits upper floor. Fatal accidents due to failing infrastructure are common in India. | Xinhua…

Madrid: A bus carrying Moroccan seasonal workers overturned early yesterday in southern Spain, killing one person and injuring 39 others, three of them seriously, the emergency services said. The accident happened before sunrise on a road 50km from the south-western Andalusian city of Huelva, the 112 emergency services said. “One woman died, another three people were very seriously hurt, 14 sustained moderate injuries and 22 were lightly injured,” it said. The driver was lightly hurt. It was not clear what caused the accident. Spain traditionally relies on thousands of seasonal workers from abroad to pick fruit. | AFP…

Mamelodi Sundowns are the most feared team of the four semi-finalists in the CAF Champions League, if the remarks of CR Belouizdad coach Nabil Kouki are anything to go by. Speaking at Saturday's post-match presser, the Tunisian-born Kouki said he marvelled Sundowns’ excellence, who defeated the visiting Algerians 2-1 in the second leg of their quarter-final clash at Loftus Versfeld. A week ago, Kouki saw his Belouizdad charges taken to the cleaners in their Algiers backyard where they suffered a demoralising 4-1 thumping. Speaking through an interpreter Kouki said: “Sundowns are the strongest team in Africa right now. “Around the world all the coaches can see that Mamelodi Sundowns are on a higher level in Africa. The other teams are not equal.” It was wonderful praise from someone who looked…