Índice para 2022-12-14 em Mercury

OPPOSITION parties have slammed the ANC’s decision to vote against the Section 89 independent panel report in Parliament, and have vowed to step up the fight to hold President Cyril Ramaphosa accountable over the Phala Phala scandal. The parties have also accused the ANC of failing to protect the Constitution, saying their vote on the Phala Phala report has shattered any myth of Ramaphosa’s ANC renewal and new dawn. The ANC used its majority in the House yesterday to vote against the adoption of the Section 89 independent panel report on the Phala Phala scandal. In total 214 voted no, 148 voted yes while two people indicated they were abstaining from the vote, with Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula saying that the motion for the impeachment process would not continue. The notable…

RULES are rules. Animal control officials in Southern California have granted permission for a little girl to keep a unicorn at home, provided she follows strict guidelines. Los Angeles County Animal Care and Control this week shared a letter it received from a child named Madeline, according to Associated Press. She wrote: “Dear LA County, I would like your approval if I can have a unicorn in my backyard if I can find one. Please send me a letter in response.” Director Marcia Mayeda replied with a letter, along with a pre-approved unicorn licence, a heart-shape licence tag and a plush toy unicorn – until Madeline finds a real one. The licensing letter had five conditions: The unicorn must be cared for in compliance with all animal caretaking regulations set…

THE IFP calls on all road users to exercise caution and put road safety first this festive season. The holidays have barely begun, yet we are already seeing almost daily reports of horror crashes across the country. Just last week, a crash in Mpumalanga, between Morgenzon and Amersfoort, resulted in the loss of nine lives. This past weekend, a pedestrian was struck down by a car on the R21 North in Gauteng and died. A family of four was also involved in a head-on collision near Bloemfontein, but thankfully, all survived. In addition, on the N2 near Mandeni, a driver had to have a leg amputated due to a single-vehicle collision into a guardrail. These are just a few of the many accidents reported over the past few days,…

Last Thursday, Mohsen Shekari, 23, was executed after being convicted of “attacking” a member of the Iranian security forces. On December 12, a second protester, Majidreza Rahnavard, was executed after a sham trial, denied access to a lawyer and severely tortured. Iranian activists estimate many more are facing a similar fate. To date, the UN estimates more than 450 people have been killed and 1 400 arrested, including journalists. Not only the Iranian people, but every free and democratic country is protesting the brutal and draconian rule of the Ayatollahs trying to suppress human rights. Two woman LGBTQI+ activists were sentenced to death for “corruption on Earth”, and an estimated 4 000 to 6 000 gays have been executed since the Islamic revolution in 1979. Reports of close co-operation between…

A man, believed to be in his thirties, who was entrapped in a truck during a multi-vehicle collision on the M7 Durban-bound near the N2 bridge was declared dead at the scene after emergency services worked for hours to free him from the wreckage yesterday. In an update on the horrific accident, ALS Paramedics Medical Services director Garrith Jamieson, said the man, who was a passenger in the truck, was severely entrapped and once paramedics were able to assess him they found that he had sustained fatal injuries. “There was nothing more paramedics could do for him and he was declared deceased on the scene,” he said. Jamieson said it is believed that a horse and trailer truck and three vehicles collided in the accident. He said the truck overturned…

Last week was a busy week for African scholars in international relations. On Friday, no less than two seminars were held in Joburg; one of which included myself as a keynote speaker, whereas the other had myself and other colleagues as respondents to the deputy minister of international relations and co-operation at the Centre for Africa-China Studies, University of Johannesburg. The day before also saw the Institute for Global Dialogue (IGD) host a public dialogue. All of this flurry of academic features was in preparation for the US-Africa Summit, which started yesterday and ends tomorrow. A common critique throughout these seminars and discussions among academics and practitioners was the role and importance of Africa in the international arena and global market, if so many countries wanted to meet with its…

Floods caused by heavy rains swept across parts of DR Congo’s capital, Kinshasa yesterday, in one case killing at least nine people when their home collapsed. At least 50 people have been killed. Major roads in the centre of Kinshasa, a city of some 15 million people, were submerged. A landslide took place in the hilly Mont-Ngafula district, cutting off a key supply route linking the capital with the Atlantic Ocean port of Matadi. Floods also inundated streets in the up-market government district of Gombe, which houses ministries and embassies. Located on the Congo River, Kinshasa has seen a huge population influx in recent years. Many dwellings are shanty houses built on flood-prone slopes and the city suffers from inadequate drainage and sewerage. In 2019, around 40 people died in…

LONDON: UK rail workers yesterday began a two-day national strike, kicking off a month of walkouts involving nurses to passport control workers that could spell Christmas misery for millions. Rush hour commuters faced a battle to get to work as thousands of members of the country’s biggest rail union, the RMT, launched their latest stoppage over a below-inflation pay offer. Braving the ice and snow that has already hit travellers, picketers appeared at railway stations. Postal workers are on a two-day strike from today, nurses are set to walk out for the first time in their union’s 106-year history tomorrow over pay, and rail workers will hold another two-day strike from Friday. | AFP…

London: Researchers have made a breakthrough in the quest to unlock a “near-limitless, safe, clean” source of energy – they have got more energy out of a nuclear fusion reaction than they put in. Nuclear fusion involves smashing together light elements such as hydrogen to form heavier elements, releasing a huge burst of energy in the process. The approach has been hailed as having huge potential as a sustainable, low-carbon energy source. Since such research began in the 1950s, researchers have been unable to demonstrate a positive energy gain, known as ignition. Now they have managed to release 2.5MJ of energy after using just 2.1MJ to heat the fuel with lasers. | IANS…

ZEDA Limited, an integrated mobility solutions provider, listed its shares yesterday on the main board of the JSE after unbundling from Barloworld in November. Zeda’s shares yesterday traded at the start of the day at R18, but by 4pm were at R16.69, 7.28% lower. In an interview, Zeda’s CEO, Ramasela Ganda, said: “I’m very emotional … Today is a day of mixed emotion. Leaving Barloworld after so many years, it’s tough, but also it’s exciting. The possibility that lies ahead of us and that people can now invest directly in Zeda.” She said Zeda was led by an experienced management team who were committed and worked very hard through the unbundling process, but at the same time, delivering exceptional returns. “To do what we’ve done in a short period, recovering…

THE ANC in eThekwini says the municipality will be without a deputy mayor until next year as it negotiates with its coalition partners to find a suitable replacement following the removal of deputy mayor Philani Mavundla yesterday. The candidate selected for the post will, however, not carry the same power as Mavundla did as the ANC said in giving Mavundla the deputy mayor position as well as the chairmanship of the Human Settlement and Infrastructure(HSI) services committee, they had given “everything away”. ANC councillor Nkosenhle Madlala said linking the two positions was an “accident of history” that the party intended to correct. It emerged that this is not the only change the ANC is contemplating. The entire chairmanship and the allocation of portfolios in the council could be reassessed…

To be in authority you have responsibilities towards yourself and to those around you. In our country, this is only a pipe dream. Too many things in our country have gone wrong. The trust in our country’s various systems, such as our president, law and order, Eskom, Sars, banking system (VBS Bank), Prasa, education and transport, is gone. What we are experiencing now could never have been predicted by leaders such as Nelson Mandela and Steve Biko. Constantly blaming past atrocities means that we, as a nation, are not moving forward. We are all stuck in a rut of unforgiveness. To the general public, it seems our authorities don’t know what they are doing. Biko said to be self-reliant, don’t depend on the white apartheid regime. He knew something that…

AS OUR country faces load shedding, Minister Patricia de Lille has revealed that her department has spent almost R800 000 on diesel to run generators at ministers’ houses. This is over and above the money spent on ostensibly replacing 13 redundant generators on behalf of said ministers, while a further four new generators are in the procurement stage. Nobody needs to be reminded of the dire impact of load shedding on the lives of ordinary South Africans. And while taxpayers sit in the dark, their hard-earned taxes are being used to fund a darkness-free existence for the very Cabinet responsible for the Eskom crisis. At a time when South Africa lurches from one crisis to another, De Lille’s approach means that she is not only shielding the relevant ministers from…

ANC presidential candidate Zweli Mkhize is expected to intensify his campaign this week after recent rallies saw him endorsed by party members in Mangaung and Soweto. Mkhize and incumbent Cyril Ramaphosa are the front runners in what is expected to be a close race when delegates gather for the party’s elective conference at Nasrec on Friday. ANC sources said that when the nominations list was announced by the head of the party’s electoral committee, Kgalema Motlanthe, last month, it appeared that Ramaphosa was leading the process with 2 037 branch nominations with Mkhize garnering 916 nominations, but the Phala Phala scandal would mean this was now a misleading tally. A section 89 independent panel report handed to Parliament Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa Nqakula last month found that there was prima…

Despite some of the R350 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant beneficiaries still waiting for their money since April and other challenges that had marred the disbursement, the country is shifting closer to the realisation of a basic income grant (BIG). The Department of Social Development launched a second report for basic income support yesterday which found the SRD grant can be adopted permanently without sacrificing economic growth. The research was commissioned by the department in partnership with the International Labour Organization (ILO) and utilised different models to consider the economic, fiscal, and social impacts of making the SRD grant permanent. Social Development Acting Director-General Linton Mchunu said: “Before, the discussion was whether we should bring a basic income grant and that was in the first report launched last year,…

LAST WEEK, People’s Liberation Army soldiers approached the notional border in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh in far north-eastern India claimed by China, leading to a face-off and “minor injuries to few personnel from both sides”, the Indian army said yesterday. It said both sides quickly withdrew from the area and local commanders met to discuss the dispute. Appearing before the Indian parliament yesterday Defence Minister Rajnath Singh accused Chinese troops of crossing into Indian territory and “disrupting the status quo unilaterally”. Singh said the two sides were engaged in hand-to-hand combat and no Indians were killed or badly hurt. Asked about India’s allegations, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said he had no details. He said in general the border situation was “stable”. “The two…

Ugandan authorities have charged two US foster parents with com- mitting “aggravated torture” against their 10-year-old son, police said yesterday. The couple, both 32 years old, were charged and remanded to Luzira Prison, a maximum security facility on the outskirts of the capital Kampala, police said in a statement. The charges allege that the couple “constantly tortured” the boy between 2020 and 2022, with neighbours sounding the alarm for the child, who attended a school for children with special needs in Kampala. When police raided the house, they found CCTV evidence showing that the child was forced to squat in an “awkward position”, served only cold food and made to sleep on a “wooden platform, without a mattress or bedding,” the statement said. The boy was one of three children…

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu pledged yesterday to balance religious and secular interests as he tries to form a new government with nationalist and ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties. Netanyahu has come under fire from outgoing Prime Minister Yair Lapid and anti-corruption groups, warning that demands from his future partners will erode Israel’s democracy. Agreements have been reached with factions that call for ending a ban on Jewish prayer at a site in Jerusalem’s Old City. Netanyahu is still in talks with ultra-Orthodox groups. Netanyahu has until December 21 to finalise a government. | Reuters…

Look for the spark; it lies within, deep within. It is not somewhere “out there” as an empowering truth hiding in a new or old book you are yet to discover. It is not in some Powerpoint presentation from a speaker you are yet to hear or on a social-media platform, seeking to solve therapeutic issues. The spark is deep within you. It is where the spirit meets the soul, where thinking, planning and longings intersect. It’s where the desire for worship and the need for vulnerability and transparency merge. The deep place is not easily identified or accessed. Also, it will not be found in a hurry. It will not race nor be rushed, but while it is raced, rushed, scheduled, it is unlikely to turn from spark to…

Much of what we believe today has its origin in religion, but people have forgotten historical context. For example, humans, to some degree, are alien to Earth as part of our creation is from elsewhere. The Abrahamic tradition of Judaism, Christianity and Islam clarifies that Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden and sent to wander the Earth and atone for a prescribed time. What is not common knowledge is that, before human arrival, other creations inhabited Earth. They defied the Creator and after that creation was vanquished, humans were sent to inhabit earth. After the Creator replaced the previous creation, angels were instructed to visit Earth to collect “sounding clay” of various shades from which the original human prototype was fashioned. This is the reason why…

Most members of the UN are guilty of human-rights violations, yet some powerful members single out Qatar for human-rights abuses. This is hypocrisy in full motion. The 2022 World Cup propelled a tiny wealthy nation into another political dimension. The suffering of displaced people in the Middle East was given a global platform. The peaceful nature of the Islamic religion was witnessed by a global audience, whose immense reaction was awe inspiring. A progressive Muslim country staged the biggest sporting event with astounding success. Religion and tolerance gained new momentum, as the victor and the vanquished celebrated a sporting event that had humanity watching every moment of this global spectacle free of violence and intolerance. Qatar 2022 was a shining example of Islam, an image that will remain embedded for…

KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube has made a bold undertaking to close all mass care centres within seven days and relocate all flood victims to new accommodation before Christmas. She said this while addressing the media in the Durban CBD yesterday where she welcomed 531 flood victims to their new accommodation on Russell Street. They KZN Department of Human Settlements and Public Works said yesterday that it planned to provide permanent housing for all displaced flood victims, but said this process would take time and the department was working as fast as possible. Dube-Ncube said the 1 046 families who were in mass care centres were being placed in accommodation. Yesterday, 531 of them were placed at the Astra building in the CBD. She added that the government had been…

Celebrating 25th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic ties between China and SA January 1, 2023 marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of South Africa. On this festive occasion, on behalf of the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Durban, I would like to express my highest respect and heartfelt thanks to those friends from all walks of life in KwaZulu-Natal province (KZN) who have contributed to the establishment of diplomatic relations and the development of friendly co-operation between China and South Africa! The people of China and South Africa share a profound friendship. In the last century, China firmly supported the just struggle of the South African people against apartheid, established and maintained friendly…

Russia and Ukraine pounded each other’s forces in heavy fighting in the eastern region of Donetsk yesterday as Kyiv’s allies meeting in Paris pledged just over 1 billion euros (roughly R18bn) to help Ukrainians survive the freezing winter. Russian forces are battling to take full control of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, two of four territories the Kremlin claims to have annexed in votes rejected by most countries as illegal. Moscow is also attacking Ukraine’s energy infrastructure with waves of missile and drone strikes, at times cutting off electricity for millions of civilians enduring Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II. Air raid sirens wailed across the country yesterday afternoon, but there were no immediate reports of new attacks. In Paris, about 70 countries and institutions pledged payments of just…

Washington: Another Covid-19 winter surge is brewing in the US as the key indicators – cases, hospitalisations and deaths – are all increasing, straining hospitals with record number of patients infected by respiratory diseases. The country averaged about 65 569 new cases each day in the week ending December 7, a 49.6% surge from the previous week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An average of more than 4 800 virus-positive Americans were admitted to hospitals each day in the week ending December 6, a 13.8% increase over the week before. Daily Covid-19 deaths were also rising. | IANS…

Lamongan: A bombmaker in the Bali blasts that killed more than 200 people 20 years ago apologised yesterday after his early release from prison stoked the anger of the Australian government, survivors and families of the dead. Umar Patek also vowed to show his “loyalty” to Indonesia. Patek was a member of an Al-Qaeda-linked group that detonated bombs at a bar and nightclub on the Indonesian resort island in 2002, killing 202 people, including 88 Australians. He was freed from prison in the East Java city of Surabaya last week after serving half of his term. Patek was found to have made the bombs used in the assault on Bali. | AFP…