Índice para 2022-09-08 em Mercury

SENTIMENT in the business sector in South Africa has deteriorated further and remained firm in the contraction- ary territory as the manufacturing and construction industries continue to under-perform. However, there is uncertainty over whether this signalled yet another contraction in real gross domestic product in the third quarter following dwindling economic growth performance in the second quarter. The RMB/BER Business Confidence Index released yesterday declined further from 42 points in the second quarter to 39 points in the third quarter, the lowest since the first quarter of 2021. South African business confidence has been stuck in the low 40 points since mid-2021 due to a string of shocks ranging from industrial action to crippling rotational power cuts, the war in Ukraine, and the floods in KwaZulu-Natal, one…

THE Provincial Council has laid criminal charges against eThekwini City Council over the sewage that is pouring into the harbour, and has been for months, and has closed the beaches to swimming and fishing. Has anything like this ever happened before: an elected organ of government bringing charges against another elected organ of government? The mind, señor, she boggles. You couldn’t make it up. And in such a case who appears in the dock? The mayor? The city manager? The city engineer? Si, señor, the mind she boggles! It somehow brings to mind that passage in Tom Sharpe’s wonderfully comic novel, Riotous Assembly (set in Maritzburg), when Konstabel Els and his police dog seize each other by the testicles (Els also using his teeth) and they bowl down Church Street…

The world’s three nuclear superpowers are engaged in a dangerous exercise in political brinkmanship that could spill over into the realm of an atomic holocaust. Putin is practising roulette in Ukraine, while Biden and Xi Jinping rehearse a deadly game of military chess in the South China Sea. New British Prime Minister Liz Truss is prepared to launch her nuclear weapons, in a clash that will utterly destroy the northern hemisphere. Simulated nuclear war scenarios reveal that a nuclear war involving exchange of a fraction of their nuclear arsenals could change the climate of the entire southern and northern hemispheres, changing it abruptly from its present seasonal state to a long, sunless, frozen night. War with India and Pakistan will produce the same horrific outcome. A minimum of 100 nuclear…

I am curious about the exact legal status of the king in the republic as well as that of the Ingonyama Trust and have the following queries or remarks: In terms of what provision in the 1996 Constitution is the king and/or kingdom of KwaZulu/Zululand recognised? What, if any, are his powers and obligations? Are these spelled out and do they derive from national legislation? Is the king the sole trustee of the trust? How and by who was it created and what are its powers and obligations? Is the trust obliged to submit annual financial statements and publish these for scrutiny by the intended beneficiaries? What direct or indirect financial benefit does the king and/or his family receive from the trust in addition to that granted by the province…

The ANC has postponed its nomination process for national leaders until a special national executive committee (NEC) meeting this weekend at which the party will approve a membership audit of all members and branches. The nomination process for branch members to select their preferred candidates for NEC positions was to have started yesterday, but is now likely to begin next week. In a statement, the party said treasurer-general Paul Mashatile’s press conference on nomination processes towards the 55th national elective conference had been postponed. “The NEC is expected to convene in a special session this Sunday, September 11, 2022, to adopt the final membership audit to finally pave the way for the start of the nomination processes in accordance with the newly approved ANC Electoral Guidelines. “A more comprehensive…

From August 27-28, the 8th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (Ticad 8) was held in Tunis, Tunisia. Ticad is a multilateral platform held every three years to discuss and mobilise support for Africa’s development, under the guiding principle of African ownership and international partnership, co-organised by the Japanese government, the UN, the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank and the African Union Commission (AUC). Ticad was launched in 1993. Ticad 8 was attended by 48 African countries and about 100 business people from both Japan and Africa, respective economy ministers and development financial institutions. South Africa was represented by Honourable Dr Naledi Pandor, Minister of International Relations and Co-operation. With the crises caused by the Covid-19 pandemic as a backdrop, the focus of Ticad 8 was on how…

Hundreds of environmental groups called yesterday for the issue of loss and damage finance to be on the formal agenda of the forthcoming COP27 UN climate summit in Egypt. Developing nations have for years called for funding from rich polluters to help them reduce emissions while growing their economies and adapting to the impacts of global heating. They argue that historic polluters also have a moral imperative to pay for the loss and damage, impacts being felt that countries cannot adapt to, such as Pakistan’s devastating floods, that their emissions are accelerating. At the UN climate summit, COP26 in Glasgow last year, countries representing six out of every seven people on the planet called for the establishment of a dedicated loss and damage “facility” that at-risk nations could instantly access…

British Prime Minister Liz Truss said yesterday she would set out plans to tackle soaring energy bills but would not impose a new windfall tax on energy producers. Truss, appointed prime minister this week, has promised immediate action to address one of the most daunting sets of challenges for an incoming leader in post-war history. She chaired a meeting of her new cabinet yesterday before making her parliamentary debut as Conservative Party leader, going head-to-head with opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer. “I am against a windfall tax. I believe it is the wrong thing to be putting companies off investing in the United Kingdom,” Truss told MPs. A source said that Truss was considering freezing energy bills. Former prime minister Boris Johnson announced a “temporary and targeted” windfall…

The National Freedom Party (NFP) is not losing any sleep over the decision by the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) to freeze its funding, but has conceded that power struggles are threatening to tear the party apart. NFP interim committee convener Canaan Mdletshe said they were hoping to hold an elective conference soon in order to be ready for the 2024 general elections. “There is a 50/50 chance of holding the conference in December, our target is that by April we will have elected a new leadership whose legitimacy will not be questioned,” said Mdletshe. He said the IEC decision was a wake-up call for them, adding that steps were already under way to have a conference. According to the convener, the recent developments had been disappointing. “To…

“My wife is corresponding online (emails, messages, texts) with an old boyfriend who lives quite far away, but in the same country as we do. It is someone she knew many years ago and long before we met. “She says he is struggling with things in his life and she wants to be a support to him. I am uncomfortable with this. She says his letters are confidential and that’s why she won’t show me. What should I do? She is getting more and more involved each week. We have had a very good marriage but this is making me very uneasy.” Be as direct with your wife about your unease as you are with me. If you have had a good marriage and this correspondence is making you uneasy…

Parents could learn so much if they assisted their children with homework. I now help a handful of kids at the primary-school level, and find it extremely illuminating and completely different from, for instance, the history that we were taught. Grades 6, 7, 8 and 9 expose how the Khoisan and Khoikhoi people were virtually wiped out. The textbooks in these grades clearly expose how the Boers, who came before the English, were pushed eastwards from the Cape, into the interior, where they discovered gold, and how they were then hotly pursued by the British who aptly annexed the Transvaal as well, formed a coalition with the Dutch farmers, and after a couple of hectic wars, formed the Union. The big mistake they made, as ex-president Jacob Zuma would complain:…

Gamer Gabriel Parra was ecstatic to see himself hailed as the “Venezuelan star” after scoring the fastest time in an international Formula 1 eSports racing competition in May. “The truth is that when I saw the result … it was something magical, surprising, a dream I always had as a child that came true,” said 23-year-old Parra, who lives in central-Venezuela’s Aragua state, and started playing video games at the age of 4. He is one of about 3 000 young Venezuelans competing in the multimillion-dollar “eSports” industry, a lucrative business with international signings, prizes and millions of viewers which has started to boom in the Andean nation, despite economic chaos, poor internet connection, power failures and restrictions on war games. The dream of earning a living as a professional…

Medical experts have reported an increase in Covid-19 cases, predicting that if numbers continue to rise, a sixth wave may be on the cards. This follows promising reports that there were no suggestions of a looming Covid-19 wave, with the National Institute for Communicable Diseases previously reporting that levels of the virus were at an all-time low and had remained stable for several weeks. Solidarity Doctors Network Advisory Board member Dr Angelique Coetzee said she had seen an increase in positive cases in her own surgery. “I have seen seven patients in less than 24 hours positive with various clinical pictures. “The next thing that is troubling, is that there are only two patients who never had Covid before but were vaccinated, the rest were vaccinated and had Covid before.…

Five months after several parts of the province were devastated by the floods, the eThekwini Municipality says it has made progress with rehousing flood victims but has been faced with many challenges. The municipality said an executive committee meeting held on Tuesday revealed that progress had been made in closing some mass care centres that were used to house displaced flood victims. “Initially, 120 care centres were opened to house 3 999 households. This has been reduced to 70 currently in place.” The municipality added that mass care centres were closed through various initiatives such as the material supply option, combining mass care centres that are close to each other, renovating existing government buildings and building temporary residential units (TRUs). “To fast track the process, the city is acquiring private-…

THE silly season has started in the ANC. This week, various provinces began nominating comrades to occupy the national leadership positions before the elective conference in December. In Limpopo, the leaders threw their names behind incumbent state president and party leader Cyril Ramaphosa for a second term. This, despite the Phala Phala farm robbery storm brewing around him. The province also nominated ANC Treasurer-General Paul Mashatile as deputy president. Things appear to be a little complicated in Mpumalanga, where some provincial leaders hinted that Ramaphosa should avail himself for a second term, while others mentioned the name of Deputy President David Mabuza as party leader. In KwaZulu-Natal, the leadership said it would hold a special meeting soon and make a pronouncement on the voting process for national leaders. Several other…

The UN’s nuclear watchdog said yesterday it could not guarantee the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear programme, saying there had been “no progress” in resolving questions over the past presence of nuclear material at undeclared sites. In a report, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it was “not in a position to provide assurance that Iran’s nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful”. The IAEA has been pressing Iran for answers on nuclear material at three undeclared sites. Tehran, which maintains that its nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful, is insisting that the IAEA probe be concluded in order to revive the 2015 deal on its nuclear programme with world powers. In a separate report, the IAEA also said that Iran was continuing to enrich uranium well over the limits laid down…

BEIJING: China has reopened roads leading to the epicentre of Monday’s 6.8 magnitude earthquake in the south-western province of Sichuan and traffic has resumed, state media reported yesterday, while the death toll has risen to 74. In addition, a total of 259 people were injured in the disaster and 26 remained missing as of Tuesday night. The strongest earthquake to hit the province since 2017 destroyed numerous buildings and caused severe damage to power and water infrastructure, as well as telecommunications. A total of 11 000 people were evacuated on Tuesday from Luding county, where the quake was centred. | Reuters…

THERE are growing fears among officials and councillors of the eThekwini Municipality that the recent strikes by different units that paralysed service delivery are part of a broader plan to sabotage the city. The strikes have mostly affected the Durban Solid Waste Unit (DSW) and recently spread to the electricity unit. The strikes have so far been interpreted as a push-back by city workers after the municipality took a decision to cut the overtime budget, thereby limiting the number of overtime hours that employees can work. There has also been a suggestion that new union, Municipal and Allied Trade Union of SA (Matusa), which has been fighting for recognition as a labour representative, could be behind the strikes but the union denied this. During the executive committee meeting on Tuesday,…

Shoji Morimoto has what some would see as a dream job: he gets paid to do pretty much nothing. The 38-year-old Tokyo resident charges $71 (about R1 200) per booking to accompany clients and simply exist as a companion. “Basically, I rent myself out. My job is to be wherever my clients want me to be,” Morimoto said, adding that he had handled some 4 000 sessions in the past four years. With a lanky build and average looks, Morimoto now boasts nearly a quarter of a million followers on Twitter, where he finds most of his clients. Roughly a quarter of them are repeat customers, including one who has hired him 270 times. His job has taken him to a park with a person who wanted to play on…

SEPTEMBER 5 was the 50th anniversary of the Munich Massacre as the presidents of Israel and Germany embraced significant ceremonies of remembrance. History will tell us that the massacre was an attack during the Summer Olympics, held in Munich, then West Germany, in 1972. Eight members of the Palestinian terrorist group, Black September infiltrated the Olympic village and took hostages and began a killing spree. Shortly after the hostages were taken, the group demanded the release of 235 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. In the end, 17 people were dead, including six Israeli coaches, five Israeli athletes, one police officer and five members of the terrorist group. The police killed the five Black September gunmen, but the rescue attempt failed and all of the hostages were killed. The West German…

Bumbling Boris Johnson has got the boot. In his place is a woman to lead the UK. Liz Truss won the leadership race to 10 Downing Street when she beat her bitter rival, Rishi Sunak, by an overwhelming majority of 81 326 to 60 399 votes. She becomes the third woman to take the reins of government in the UK. Strangely, all of them have been from the Conservative Party. The new prime minister comes into power at a torrid time in Britain. With surging inflation, dropping living standards, soaring energy prices and recession looming, the economy is on the brink of collapse. Could Liz Truss, a woman, lift the nation out of the gloom? Could she be another “Iron Lady” like Margaret Thatcher, or will she be a flop…

While controversial advocate Malesela Teffo is waiting to hear whether his career is over following numerous complaints against him, the EFF has described him as an embarrassment to the legal profession. Teffo opened a case of crimen injuria against party leader Julius Malema last week at the Joburg Central and Brixton police stations. Malema criticised Teffo on social media for withdrawing as counsel for some of the accused in the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial, and said he was disrespectful. In a media statement, the EFF said Teffo was “attention-seeking” in his “frivolous” case against Malema. National EFF spokesperson Sinawo Tambo branded Teffo’s opening of a criminal case, another “uncontrollable desire (by Teffo) to be in the news”. “Teffo is an embarrassment to the legal profession; he’s used the tragedy of…

ANIMAL welfare organisation Four Paws says no effort should be spared to protect KwaZulu-Natal’s lion population, warning that the situation is becoming dire. As the search for a lion that escaped from the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park continues, the organisation said greater steps should be taken to save the lions as they are part of the country’s heritage. Four Paws’ Elize Parker said they had noted the recent killings of escaped lions in KZN, calling it a worrying development that needed active participation from all quarters. In July, six lions that escaped from the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park were found and euthanised by wildlife rangers after they attacked cattle. Last month, another lion that escaped from the park was killed by community members after it killed cattle. The lions and other wildlife were escaping…

There are many ways to receive health care and support TWENTY-THREE people will die from suicide today in South Africa. Another 460 South Africans will try to end their lives today. They are from different cultural groups, different income groups, have attained different levels of education, speak different languages, range in age from childhood through to elderly, have different genders and sexual orientations. These people have very little in common except that their lives all ended due to the final symptom of an illness. People who experience thoughts of ending their lives describe this mental space as feeling “grey”. Their thoughts tend to keep returning to the futility of being alive, what a burden they are to those around them, how nothing will ever get better and that nobody can…

Russian President Vladimir Putin said yesterday it was “impossible” to isolate Moscow and vowed to cut gas and oil deliveries to countries imposing a price cap on supplies. Speaking yesterday at an economic forum, over six months after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine, Putin sought to pivot towards allies in Asia, the Middle East and Africa as his country faces a barrage of Western sanctions. “No matter how much someone would like to isolate Russia, it is impossible to do this,” Putin told the Eastern Economic Forum in Russia’s Pacific port city of Vladivostok. He said the Covid-19 pandemic has been replaced by other global challenges “threatening the whole world”, including “sanctions fever in the West”. Putin has repeatedly said that Russia’s economy is weathering the barrage of sanctions well,…

Thousands of supporters of Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro gathered early yesterday to join the far-right leader at rallies mixing Independence Day military displays with political demonstrations less than a month before a heated election. Local authorities in the capital Brasilia redoubled security on the central mall to keep Bolsonaro supporters from advancing toward the Supreme Court, as they attempted to do a year ago in a march inspired by the January 6, 2021 assault on the US Capitol. Bolsonaro told security officials to let tractor-trailer trucks driven by his supporters enter the grassy esplanade where hundreds of thousands are expected to attend his rally in the early afternoon. However, federal district Governor Ibaneis Rocha, an ally of the president, countered Bolsonaro’s instructions and maintained a ban on unauthorised vehicles…

Gaza City: The UN said yesterday it was helping connect Palestinian children in the blockaded Gaza Strip to the outside world by distributing tablets to hundreds of pupils. Children make up nearly half of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million. Most of them have never been able to leave the coastal territory, which is ruled by the Islamist movement, Hamas. About 890 tablets are being handed out this week at schools run by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. The EU-funded project to boost children’s computer skills is seen as a way to increase their chances of getting a job in the growing tech sector, locally or remotely. | AFP…