Table of contents for 2021-07-05 in Cape Times

Nicola Daniels and Lisa Isaacs THE approval of the CoronaVac vaccine by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) has been welcomed by the national Department of Health. The department said it presented a turning point and much-needed relief for the country’s vaccination roll-out programme. Sahpra at the weekend announced it had authorised the CoronaVac vaccine, manufactured by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac Life Sciences Co and imported by Curanto Pharma, with conditions. In response to the announcement, the health department said it would implement an expanded and multipronged vaccination programme to reach as many people as possible. “This will enable the government to initiate procurement processes to secure more vaccines,” the department said. The authorisation was based on the safety, quality and efficacy data submitted by Curanto Pharma to Sahpra…

Okuhle Hlati okhule.hlati@inl.co.za HOUSING lobby groups have expressed disappointment at the SABC’s victory to continue with the auction of its Rocklands Villas property in Sea Point. The cash-strapped public broadcaster saw delays in its attempts to sell the property in May after the Department of Human Settlements and the Housing Development Agency (HDA) obtained an interdict in the Western Cape High Court. In court papers, the department and the HDA argued that the auction and sale were in conflict with the government’s mandate to redress spatial segregation and associated inequitable access to land by the poor. The SABC argued that the application was brought on the basis of an alleged breach of the “State Owned Enterprises’ Non-Core Property Disposal Policy, and Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment Guidelines of 2008”, and…

Q: The CCP has presided over a notably successful foreign policy that has seen the emergence of the Belt and Road Initiative and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. What have been the greatest benefits of these initiatives for your country? A: The Belt and Road initiative is a major strategic decision made by China to actively respond to the complex and severe international economic situation and the profound adjustment of the global economic structure on the basis of overall consideration of domestic and international situations. It is committed to realising cross-border connectivity all over the world, which is consistent with the focus of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), namely practical co-operation, advancing trade and investment liberalisation and facilitation based on connectivity, and narrowing the economic development gap between countries…

At least 45 people were killed and 50 injured yesterday when a Philippines military aircraft carrying troops crashed and burst into flames after missing the runway in the country’s south, officials said. Nearly 100 people, most of them recent army graduates, were on the C-130 Hercules transport plane which was trying to land on Jolo island in Sulu province around midday. President Rodrigo Duterte’s office said it was “deeply saddened” by the event and was “praying for the safe recovery of the passengers.” Some of the soldiers were seen jumping out of the plane before it hit the ground and exploded into flames, said Major-General William Gonzales, commander of the Joint Task Force-Sulu. It was one of the country’s deadliest military aviation accidents. “This is a sad day but we…

Empty oxygen cylinders are piling up almost as fast as bodies in the city of Khulna, which has become Bangladesh’s coronavirus hot spot in a dire new surge. The government has ordered a strict week-long nationwide lockdown in a bid to halt the spread of Covid-19, but Khulna’s hospitals cannot cope. Neither can relatives of the dead. Mohammad Siddik leaned against empty cylinders under a hospital porch, tearfully telling relatives in phone calls that his 50-year-old brother had died. The 42-year-old businessman brought his brother to hospital as his condition deteriorated. But there was no bed and no oxygen, he said. The south-western district bordering India’s West Bengal state has seen a sharp rise in coronavirus infections blamed on the more contagious Delta variant, which was first detected in India.…

PARIS: Marine Le Pen has been re-elected as head of France’s National Rally opposition party for a fourth term, taking 98.35% of the votes in an uncontested race. The remaining ballots were either blank or spoiled. Le Pen, 52, has been leader of the party since 2011. It was rebranded in 2018, and previously went by the name National Front, which Le Pen’s father, Jean-Marie Le Pen founded in 1972. Le Pen Sr and his daughter had a very public falling out, with Marine taking the party from a far-right political force known for controversial statements about Jews, the Holocaust, and foreigners, to a more traditional conservatism, French nationalism and anti-globalism. The party’s central flanks continue to be anti-immigration. An Ipsos poll conducted last week found that if elections were…

DUBAI: Aid agencies have distributed a strawberry-flavoured tablet for children living with HIV in six African countries, the first generic paediatric version of a key anti-retroviral, global health agency Unitaid said yesterday. Unitaid and Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) funding procured 100 000 packs of the dolutegravir formulation across Nigeria, Malawi, Uganda, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Benin, Unitaid said. Some 1.8 million children worldwide live with HIV, but only half receive any treatment, often hard to administer due to the bitter taste or incorrectly dosed by crushing adult pills. Some 100 000 children die of Aids annually.…

Wynona Louw wynona.louw@inl.co.za The Springboks will be hoping for good news on star lock Eben Etzebeth’s injury situation after he left the field in their first Test against Georgia on Friday. Etzebeth, who started in the second row alongside Franco Mostert, went off at half-time with a rib injury. Speaking during a virtual press conference yesterday, forwards coach Deon Davids provided an update on the injury Etzebeth picked up in the 40-9 victory at Loftus Versfeld. "Eben Etzebeth got a rib injury on Friday ... he was assessed and he was quite fine this morning,” Davids said. “The medical staff is still busy looking at him for a day or two. The head coach (Jacques Nienaber) will then make a decision in terms of his availability for this weekend. We…

Eshlin Vedan eshlin.vedan@inl.co.za While it is the off-season for PSL clubs, the technical teams will all be busy trying to identify new talent to bolster their squad ahead of the new season. While there’ll be several transfers that will happen this off-season, there will be some that will overshadow others. The following are five transfers that could be set to become official soon. Darren Keet (Cape Town City) Cape Town City’s defending was one of the worst in the Premiership last season. City conceded 40 goals with only basement club Black Leopards (47) conceding more. At 31-years-old, Darren Keet is at the peak of his powers as a goalkeeper and will fancy a return to top-flight football after last being on the books of Cape Umoya United. Keet will…

Zanele Mvana zanele.mvana@inl.co.za THE rain over the weekend was not kind to residents living in informal settlements, and humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers had to step in to help. In Gugulethu, Lotus Park informal settlement resident Nomalizo Ganya, 35, said she had had to leave her shack. “I haven’t been able to sleep since last Wednesday due to the heavy rainfall and wind. My children and I were very scared as we could see there was water coming inside our home. When we woke up the next day we were shocked to see that our home was filled with water, our couches were wet, as well as the food in the cupboard,” she said. Ganya said she had to leave her home and go to her brother. Gift of…

Nicola Daniels nicola.daniels@inl.co.za THE growing trend of “curbside taxi ranks” is more complex than it appears, major associations in the City said. This comes after Goodwood and Kensington residents became the latest to complain about an informal rank that sprang up late last year on the corners of Voortrekker Road and Jakes Gerwel Drive In response to the complaints, the City said its Transport Enforcement unit had been deployed 16 times to the Goodwood area since November last year, issuing a total of 3 001 fines and impounding a total of 124 taxis, without success. Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (Cata) general-secretary Mandla Hermanus said more ranks were needed. “Informal ranks are a common thing. Ranks are very few and far between. There is one at Bellville and Parow, then there are…

Lisa Isaacs lisa.isaacs@inl.co.za ONLY the full restriction on the sale of alcohol has a significant impact on the weekly number of unnatural deaths in the country, while partial restrictions are largely ineffective, new research has found. Researchers from the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) and UCT’s Centre for Actuarial Research (CARe) recently published new data on the effects of alcohol restrictions and the curfew on the number of unnatural deaths in South Africa. The study used data from January 2020 to mid-April 2021 and was sourced from the weekly mortality surveillance data prepared by the SAMRC-UCT collaboration. The study found that the impact on the weekly number of unnatural deaths is only statistically significant if the restriction on the sale of alcohol is complete, while partial restrictions on the…

Mushtak Parker CONOR Murray’s 2021 British and Irish Lions, like their predecessors after 1994 when South Africa finally embraced democracy, can look forward to the Test series against the Springboks with a clear conscience. They will be facing a World Cup-winning Springbok team captained for the first time by a black South African icon, Siya Kolisi, literally the rags-to-riches kaalvoet klonkie from the Eastern Cape who became a national hero when he lifted the coveted William Webb Ellis Trophy in Japan in November 2019. How times have changed – a Springbok team chosen on merit instead of race or colour and supported by the whole nation. Lions head coach Warren Gatland no doubt is preoccupied with plotting revenge for the 2009 Test series defeat against the Boks. The only potential…

Rescue workers have saved 19 people after a large landslide in the Japanese city of Atami, Shizuoka prefecture, while two people were confirmed dead, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said yesterday. “To date, the death of two people has been confirmed, another two are injured. Several people are missing. Nineteen people have been saved. Damage was caused to 130 houses,” the prime minister said. There was an increasing risk of flooding and landslides in other regions due to continuous rains, Suga said. “Please, keep a close watch on weather forecast updates and information about evacuation recommendations in order to avoid approaching dangerous areas and to be able to ensure your own safety fast,” he said. The landslide was caused by heavy rains along the Pacific coast of Japan on…

The US’s pillaging of eastern Syria appears to be continuing unabated, with the Syrian Arab News Agency reporting yesterday that over 45 vehicles loaded with wheat and oil have left the Rmelan area in north-eastern Hasakah province, heading for the unofficial al-Waleed border crossing with Iraq. The convoy of vehicles included 45 trucks and a tanker. At the same time, a separate convoy of 27 vehicles loaded with supplies and equipment came through the same crossing and made their way to Rmelan to support the US forces stationed there. The news comes less than 24 hours after a separate incident during which 37 tankers carrying oil illegally pumped from the Syrian region of Jazira and several trucks and refrigerators carrying unknown cargoes made their way for the al-Waleed crossing.…

beirut: Lebanon’s medicine importers yesterday said that they had run out of hundreds of essential drugs and warned of further shortages if the cash-strapped central bank did not unblock funds. Lebanese are grappling with a raft of shortages, from petrol to medication, as the caretaker government discusses lifting subsidies it can no longer afford amid what the World Bank says is one of the world’s worst financial crises since the 1850s. The local currency has lost more than 90 percent of its value on the black market, but the central bank had been providing importers with dollars at the much more favourable official rate to cover a large part of the cost of imported drugs.…

NEW DELHI: At least six people were injured due to an explosion in a chemical factory in Palghar district in the Indian western state of Maharashtra, while about 30 workers managed to escape the blast, national media reported yesterday. The blast took place at the weekend in the air handling unit at the plant of Bharat Chemicals company, which produces paracetamol and other chemicals, The Times of India reported. There is no clear information on what caused the blast. The police classified it as an accident, according to the newspaper.…

Morgan Bolton morgan.bolton@inl.co.za The Sharks and Bulls shouldn’t expect the same British & Irish Lions team that dismantled the Sigma Lions on Saturday night, that much coach Warren Gatland revealed. The tourists handsomely beat their counterparts 56-14 at Emirates Airline Park with a team packed with Test-match hopefuls, and Gatland revealed after the match that his selections will have a different look to it when they play the Sharks. “I think the players that haven’t started will start on Wednesday,” said Gatland. “We’ve got a day off (on Sunday) - the non-23 had a tough hit out (on Saturday) with some fitness and skill work, so we are trying to get everyone on the same kind of cycle. We will probably name the squad to the team (on Sunday). “Monday…

Mihlali Baleka mihlali.baleka@inl.co.za As if the year couldn’t get better for Veli Mothwa. Fresh from being nominated as one of the best three goalkeepers in the Premiership last season, Mothwa was appointed as Bafana Bafana captain for the Cosafa Cup. Mothwa became a professional with Baroka FC in 2013. But due to limited game time he left the club in 2016 to join Gqeberha-based side Chippa United, where he failed to make a single appearance for the Chilli Boys in his first two seasons. His fortunes changed two seasons ago after the departure of Patrick Tignyemb. He played 21 matches as Chippa avoided relegation on the last day of the season. Last term, Mothwa’s outstanding goalkeeping earned him the No 1 jersey and captaincy role. But in December last…

Mihlali Baleka mihlali.baleka@inl.co.za Arthur Zwane has embraced his role of moulding youngsters at Kaizer Chiefs, so much so that emotions overwhelmed him when spoke about his journey and his proteges after they inspired the senior team to their first ever CAF Champions League final this month. “As you know our slogan is ‘Love and Peace’,” he said. “And that’s what we should be practising as coaches and players. “Ever since I’ve been here - I’ve been here for 21 years - that’s what the team taught me: To love the players, myself, the fans and everyone.” He added: “God is amazing. “He does things in a mysterious way. Here we are today - myself, (Nkosingiphile) Ngcobo and other development players - having taken the team to the Champions League final.…

Viwe Ndongeni-Ntlebi viwe.ndongeni@inl.co.za With the government’s lockdown restrictions, many South Africans are at home practising physical distancing to help curb the coronavirus pandemic. For many people in non-essential service, a supermarket trip for supplies has become one of their only interactions with the outside world. With so many people spending time at home, it’s only right for it to be cosy and comfortable this winter. Tim Harris, founder of Tim Harris Design, furniture and graphic design, shares some stylish suggestions: Go natural Natural materials like wood add warmth and cosiness to a home in the colder months, thanks to their rich tones. They’re available in a wide variety of finishes, there’s bound to be something that suits your space. Light up your life Lighting makes a massive difference to a…

Okuhle Hlati okhule.hlati@inl.co.za PARENTS for Equal Education SA (Peesa), with the support of the ANC in the province, has vowed to explore all legal avenues after their application at the Constitutional Court over unplaced learners was dismissed. In the notice of motion, the parties stated that they wanted the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) to file an affidavit on a bi-monthly basis regarding the steps taken to ensure places were available for learners at public schools for the 2022 academic year. This comes as a number of learners have remained unplaced for more than a school term. Peesa founder Vanessa le Roux said she was not surprised that the DA rejoiced in the “violation of the rights of black learners, as they were being themselves”. “The fact is that these…

Siphokazi Vuso siphokazi.vuso@inl.co.za THE “Cape Comet”, Kommetdieding, which came from the outside 18 draw to win the 125th edition of the Vodacom Durban July on Saturday, has been hailed for making history. The Durban July was hosted behind closed doors for the second year in succession due to the global coronavirus pandemic. The win gave trainer Michelle Rix a Vodacom Durban July title on her debut at the event, making her the second female trainer after Candice Bass-Robinson to scoop the title. In another record, the horse’s owner, Ashwin Reynolds, became the first black owner to win the country’s biggest horse race. Rix, who trained the three-year-old with her father, Harold Crawford, asked jockey Gavin Lerena to shed four kilograms to meet his eventual race weight of 54kg. An emotional…

Zanele Mvana zanele.mvana@inl.co.za A DELFT family is at their wits’ end, saying there’s been no progress in establishing responsibility after mother-of-two Phumla Bhambatha lost her eyesight, allegedly due to a botched operation. Bhambatha, 46, and her husband, Mzikabawo, said they had lost all hope of getting answers from Groote Schuur Hospital. Bhambatha said her nightmare started in 2007 after she went to the hospital while experiencing recurring headaches. “When I told the doctors that I had a terrible headache they said my left eye needed to be operated on soon or else it would result in me being blind. I then decided to do the operation,” she said. Bhambatha said once the operation was done, she was shocked that she could only see with her right eye. “I asked…

Chevon Booysen chevon.booysen@inl.co.za WHILE public comments on the proposed new gambling bill are being considered, the Western Cape High Court recently declared clauses in the current bill null for a year while a new policy is put in place. Tsogo Holdings had applied to the court for relief for the amendment of its Caledon and Mykonos casino licences so that these casinos would be permitted to operate in the Cape Metropole. However, in response to the enquiry, the Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board said it was not competent to consider an application for the relocation of casino operator licences in the Western Cape, with further aversions that the relief sought could lead to “cannibalism in the industry” as this would affect GrandWest Casino located in the metropole. “Furthermore, according…

THE political suppression of apartheid-era cases is another painful reminder to families of freedom fighters that the battle to find the truth and for justice to prevail is far from over. A recent Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) rebuke of the Executive and the National Prosecuting Authority for its failure to act highlights the inability to deal decisively with these cases. Following the rebuke, Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola said that 114 Truth and Reconiciliation Commission (TRC) cases were being considered for investigation by the Hawks. Lamola said 55 TRC cases have been referred to the Directors of Public Prosecutions (DPP) offices in the jurisdictions where the crimes were committed as at May 25, 2021. “These cases are all being investigated by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation…

Ethiopia’s Tigray region wants a full withdrawal of troops from Eritrea and the neighbouring state of Amhara before it can engage in any talks with the federal government about a ceasefire, it said in a statement yesterday. The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the regional authority driven out last year by Ethiopian forces and troops from neighbouring Eritrea, returned to the region’s capital Mekelle last week to cheering crowds. Their return was followed by a unilateral declaration of a ceasefire by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government, a move dismissed by TPLF spokesperson Getachew Reda as a “joke”. A statement from “The Government of Tigray”, released yesterday by Getachew, said it would accept a ceasefire in principle if there were ironclad guarantees of no further invasions but a series of other…

London: Ace footballer David Beckham took to social media to wish wife Victoria on their marriage anniversary yesterday. Uploading pictures of himself with Victoria and their children, wearing colour co-ordinated outfits, he captioned the image: “22 years later, still matching outfits. Happy anniversary love u so much and thank you for giving me our amazing kids so we can all wear the same.” Victoria met David when she was part of the popular girl band Spice Girls, before she decided to take up fashion designing. They have four children.…

| Reuters YANGON: Myanmar security forces killed at least 25 people in a confrontation with opponents of the military junta at the town of Depayin in the centre of the South-east Asian nation, reports said yesterday. Armed terrorists had ambushed security forces, killing one of them and wounding six. The attackers retreated after retaliation by security forces. Youths from a local People’s Defence Force tried to confront the junta, but with makeshift weapons, they were forced back. Violence since a February coup has driven more than 230 000 people from their homes, the UN says. More than 880 people have been killed.…

HONG KONG: The Hong Kong police said yesterday that its national security department (NSD) had taken over a case in which a police officer was assaulted on Hennessy Road in Causeway Bay. On Thursday, an attacker used a knife to wound a male police officer and then committed suicide. The police classified it as attempted murder and suicide. The police said initial investigations revealed that this was a lone wolf-style act of domestic terrorism in which the attacker was believed to be radicalised by fake information, but added that other possibilities could not be ruled out.…

Formula One leader Max Verstappen led from start to finish as he won the Austrian Grand Prix for Red Bull in front of an orange army of fans, powering 32 points clear of Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton in the championship yesterday. Seven-time world champion Hamilton was a distant fourth, behind Finnish teammate Valtteri Bottas in second and McLaren's Lando Norris in third. It was the fifth win in a row for Red Bull. Verstappen, who started from pole position for the third straight race and has now won on three successive weekends, also set the fastest lap to take his tally to 182 points after nine rounds. Hamilton has 150 and Red Bull are 44 points clear of Mercedes in the constructors' standings. "The car was on rails," said Verstappen of…