Table of contents for 2022-02-14 in Cape Times

Tawanda Karombo THUNGELA Resources shares leapt 11.8 percent to close at R120 on Friday after an impressive trading update that reflected “blow-out earnings” for the full year to the end of December. Formerly owned by Anglo American under its thermal coal business unit, Thungela was a top performer on the JSE on Friday, scaling to its highest share price. This came as investors cheered the group’s earnings, with market watchers saying its valuation has shot up to more than $1 billion (R15.2bn) from an initial valuation of $253 million when it was bundled off Anglo American last year. The company advised shareholders via a trading update that per share earnings for the year period to December 31, 2021 are expected to be between R60.32 and R61.27. This…

Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za THE elbowing out of taxi moguls Santaco as the preferred bidders for fledging airline Mango has raised more questions than answers, which some analysts have argued is a systematic elimination of competition for SAA, which has yet to confirm a collaboration. There are also questions surrounding the R820 million price tag for an airline that has no tangible assets. Business rescue practitioners (BRP) led by Sipho Sono informed Santaco that their bid for Mango was unsuccessful, in spite of the transport organisation being cash-flush. “The BRP of Mango evaluated all expressions of interest received in relation to the proposed transaction, in accordance with the evaluation criteria and principles set out in the Bid Process letter. “After careful consideration, we regret to inform you that Santaco Services…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za SOUTH Africa’s ongoing electricity supply challenges could ease slightly as the government’s proposed amendments to the energy policy strip Eskom of its dominant position in the market. The Cabinet on Friday approved the publication of the Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill aimed to broaden the national regulatory framework for the electricity supply industry. The bill is envisaged to align the country with the international best practice in energy by enabling the trading and reselling of electricity among private players. This will relieve Eskom of the burden of being the only electricity supplier and take away its monopoly in this crucial industry to economic growth. The regulations also make provisions for the functions of a transmission system operator, and for a licensing framework for power generation, transmission, distribution and…

Chevon Booysen Chevon.booysen@inl.co.za A THREE-hour wait for an ambulance is just one of the many challenges Touws River residents have to battle, as they face severely limited medical services in the town. Situated in the Breede Valley Municipality just off the N1, with a population of about 10 000, Touws River is serviced by one clinic which operates from Monday to Friday between 7.30am and 4pm, while chronic patients use transport services to hospitals in Laingsburg, about an hour away, and Cape Town, about two hours away. Deputy chairperson for the health committee in Touws River, Zelna Fink, said the situation was dire. “This has been going on for years and we have been struggling to get the necessary and much-needed medical services in our town. “While we commend the…

From page 1 were yet to be made. A few hours later, at about 10am, the body of a 26-year-old woman was found with multiple wounds in a canal along Jakes Gerwel Drive in Langa. Enraged residents searched for a man she was allegedly last seen with, assaulted him and set him alight at the Sanitizer informal settlement. “It is believed that the man was accused by community members for the woman’s rape and murder and was set alight during a vigilante murder. Both murder cases are under investigation and arrests are yet to be made,” said Traut. A community activist, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisal, said they were “utterly” shocked and unhappy about the spike of violent crimes in the area. “Langa has never…

Okuhle Hlati okhule.hlati@inl.co.za ADVOCACY groups have expressed outrage after the bodies of two naked women were found dumped in canals in different townships at the weekend. Gugulethu residents woke at 7am to the grim discovery of the body of a 40-year-old woman in a canal on the corners of NY44 and NY45. Her grieving family members found her clothes scattered near the scene. It is believed that she was dragged out of her house, then raped and murdered. Police spokesperson Andrè Traut said that the motive for the murder was yet to be established and arrests…

Barbie Sandler | Constantia ONE reads things in the paper that you just want to laugh out loud about – (like) the disgraceful MPs and community leaders who came rushing to get their photos in the paper when four young boys died when an embankment they were playing on caved in. They made promises that have never been kept. Lindiwe Sisulu’s spokesperson Steve Motale made this statement: “The commitments made by Ms Sisulu were when she was Minister of Human Settlements. She is unfortunately not in that portfolio any more.” So in other words she can’t help. What? The problem is that a year went by when nothing was done. None of the promises materialised over a long period of time. So don’t start making pathetic excuses…

Stan Sandler | Constantia NO matter what plans the president has to overcome unemployment, inequality and poverty, such plans will always be misplaced and bound to fail. The factors about which the government remains myopic are that unless it fosters a stable family unit, with responsible family planning, it will always be on the back foot playing catch-up. The Cape Times, in its headline article on Friday, interviewed three single moms, who between them had seven children. Each mom presumably receives the national grant of R450 a month per child up to six biological children per mom – an incentive indeed to reproduce without much thought given to the quality of each child’s upbringing. What chance do these children have other than growing up without a stable family…

Siphokazi Vuso siphokazi.vuso@inl.co.za THE Beaufort West Municipality has dismissed allegations that a contract worker who slipped and drowned in a manhole while fixing the town’s sewer line was not wearing personal protective equipment (PPE). The contract worker, believed to be from the Eastern Cape, had slipped, bumped his head and died last Thursday morning. “The incident happened while a team of workers were busy clearing a sewer line that was blocked by a large rock that was dumped into the pipe. “Occasionally a contractor from George is used when the municipality requires a higher pressure jetting machine. “The worker slipped while inside the manhole, bumped his head and was overtaken by the sewage inside the manhole. “It took another worker a few attempts to recover the other person. “The effort…

PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa’s admission in the State of the Nation address that it is up to the private sector, and not government, to create jobs also highlighted the challenges faced by the former in reviving the economy. The truth of the matter is that Eskom is the greatest inhibitor to job creation, investment and economic growth. There is hardly room to tout for international investment or indeed domestic investment if the power supplier is not stable. So if the private sector is to create these much-needed jobs, the government must do its part by at least ensuring that Eskom can provide a reliable source of energy. As billions of rand are poured into the state-owned enterprise so that it can self-correct, ongoing power cuts keep stifling any progress or investor…

Geneva: Swiss voters appeared set yesterday to back a near-total ban of advertising for tobacco products but were expected to reject a blanket ban on animal testing. Soon after polls closed, projections from the gfs.bern polling institute indicated that about 57% of voters had backed the ban. It remained unclear, however, whether the initiative to ban all advertising for the hazardous products wherever minors might see it would secure support from enough of Switzerland’s 26 cantons to land the double majority needed to pass. An initiative to ban animal testing for medical research was expected to be rejected by 79% of voters. | AFP…

Islamabad: An angry mob stoned to death a mentally ill man in Pakistan, authorities said yesterday, in the country’s latest case of blasphemy-related violence. Dozens of people have been arrested over the lynching, which happened on Saturday evening in a remote village in Punjab province, after it was alleged that the victim had burned some pages of the Qur’an, according to Tahir Ashrafi, the prime minister’s special representative on religious harmony. The killing came just over two months after a Sri Lankan factory manager was beaten to death and set ablaze by a mob over blasphemy in Sialkot city, also in Punjab. | AFP…

Tunisia’s president cemented his grip over the judiciary yesterday with a decree that lets him dismiss judges or block their promotion, helping consolidate his power after he seized executive authority last summer in a move his foes call a coup. President Kais Saied outraged his opponents and alarmed democratic foreign allies with his announcement last week that he was dissolving the Supreme Judicial Council, a body that guaranteed judicial independence. Several thousand people took to the streets of the capital Tunis yesterday to protest against the measures. “Shut down the coup … take your hands off the judiciary,” some chanted as they gathered in central Tunis. The protest was organised by the moderate Islamist Ennahda, the biggest party in the suspended parliament that has emerged as Saied’s most vocal opponent,…

Hong Kong reported 1 347 new daily Covid-19 infections yesterday, down from the previous day’s record, but the spread, with 2 000 more suspected cases, threatens the city’s overstretched health-care system, authorities said. The surge in coronavirus cases, the biggest test yet for Hong Kong’s “dynamic zero-Covid” strategy, comes a day after the government said China would help the city with testing, treatment and quarantine capacity. Authorities warned food supplies into the city may be disrupted, after some cross-border truck drivers tested positive for coronavirus, but said they were doing everything to get the situation back to normal “as soon as possible”. Hong Kong imports 90% of its food, with the mainland its most important source, especially for fresh food. Consumers have felt shortages of some imported goods,…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za THE take-over battle for Royal Bafokeng Patinum (RBPlat) gathered momentum on Friday, after the board’s approval of Impala Platinum Holdings’s bid. RBPlat’s independent board on Friday advised their shareholders to accept a mandatory more than R40 billion offer from Impala, after Impala announced in December that it had already acquired 35.2 percent of RBPlat. But a Takeover Regulation Panel (TRP) probe and other negotiations following a R17bn bid by Northam Platinum Holdings to acquire just over a third of RBPlat, might still see RBPlat shareholders need to decide between two mandatory offers. Implat’s announced in November that it wished to acquire all of RBPlat’s shares. Its mandatory offer is pitched at 0.22 Implats shares for every RBPlat share held. RBPlat on Friday issued an offeree response circular…

MASHUDU SAIDIKE mashudu.sadike@inl.co.za WEEKS after a crocodile devoured Humbulani Mudzanani, 25, of Mulenzhe village in Dididi outside Thohoyandou in Limpopo while taking a bath in the crocodile-infested Nandoni Dam, residents in Sekhukhune are living in fear for their lives after a crocodile was spotted in a pond. The villagers of Leeufontein RDP section in Sekhukhune are jittery after they spotted the crocodile inside a small body of water in the yard of a residential area. The pond covers five metres of the section, and following heavy rains, some of the yards are still flooded. The dangerous reptile was seen by one of the house owners . Sekhukhune District spokesperson Moloko Moloto said the reptile had already eaten ducks and chickens in the area. “People are being cautioned that this…

From page 1 education and training system, with a focus on capacity building, investing in skills infrastructure, research and innovation. The Saus said it was extremely disappointed that more money had gone missing as there were huge financial gaps that needed to be filled in terms of student funding shortages. Saus national spokesperson Asive Dlanjwa said: “There has been underfunding of many programmes and the NSF is one of the institutions that we are hoping could fund the gaps. The critical gaps we are dealing with are missing middle students and postgraduate students who are unable to access funding. “The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (Nsfas) had a shortfall of R9.5 billion to fund Nsfas students this year. “This is why the academic year started late. Imagine what that R5…

Nicola Daniels nicola.daniels@inl.co.za THE R5 billion that has not been accounted for in the National Skills Fund (NSF) has robbed millions of young people of opportunities as it was meant for student funding shortages and skills infrastructure development at the country’s tertiary institutions. This is according to the South African Union of Students (Saus) following the auditor-general of South Africa’s (AGSA) report that the money could not be properly accounted for over two financial years. A forensic company has been appointed to conduct a “full-scale” investigation into the financial affairs of the NSF, Higher Education Minister Dr Blade Nzimande announced at the weekend. Nzimande also appointed a Ministerial Task Team (MTT) to conduct a “strategic review” of the NSF, “its general operations, its efficiency and relevance” with regards to the…

FAROUK ARAIE | Benoni IT IS almost a certainty that the Supreme Court of Appeal President, Justice Mandisa Maya, will be our next Chief Justice. A gender-diverse bench reflects a bias-free judiciary. Since democracy, we have had a woman commissioner of police, women premiers, women judges of distinction, women in senior and pivotal Cabinet positions, and in the corridors of Parliament. In long-established democracies, women have made inroads as judges during the past few decades. In our Rainbow Nation, women judges have significantly impacted our court’s jurisprudence. Unless the transformation routes involve women in top judicial posts, they will remain “recipients” of change, rather than becoming “agents” of change. The judiciary will not be trusted if it is viewed as a bastion of male dominance, oblivious to changes…

Lavona Rolls | Maitland WHAT is it that the City, whoever is responsible for the repair and maintenance and especially the replacement of sewer drain covers, think they are doing? Why are they closing up sewer drains with rubble instead of replacing the drain covers? I have seen it happening elsewhere. This seems to be the way out. Now one can understand why there are so many sewer blockages that result in an unhealthy situation and no one takes responsibility. My sewer drain that is shared by the City because of where it is situated needed a drain cover. One year on I am still waiting. All came to look and no replacement of the drain cover happened . The last lookers who came had rubble…

MOHAMED SAEED | Pietermaritzburg IT IS upsetting to read in the mass media and see visual clips of young Muslim female students being victimised, locked outside college gates and excluded from classes in Karnataka, India, for wearing a cloak and a headscarf commonly known as hijab. Making such derogatory and offensive remarks against people is definitely against the constitution of India, which promises equality to all. A country that advocates diversity, inclusiveness, pluralism, rights such as religious freedom and supports female education, to dehumanise Muslim women in such a manner must be condemned and stopped. Such unacceptable action by educational institutions violates international human rights laws that guarantee the right to religious beliefs and expression, and to education without injustice. Similarly, forcing women to dress in a manner…

Nicola Daniels nicola.daniels@inl.co.za A BOY, 15, died in hospital after he was shot during a clash between rival gangs in Bramble Road, Bonteheuwel, at the weekend. The provincial health department said an ambulance responded to the incident and transported the teenager to hospital where he died. “The Western Cape’s EMS responded to an incident which involved a 15-year-old male, who sustained a fatal gunshot head wound in Bramble Street, Bonteheuwel, on Saturday at 7.21pm. An ambulance was dispatched and transported the patient to Groote Schuur Hospital. “Unfortunately, the he died at Groote Schuur Hospital. “The body was transported to Salt River Mortuary,” provincial health spokesperson Deanna February said. The health department extended its condolences to the boy’s family, she said. According to police, they suspect the shooting was gang related,…

Okuhle Hlati okhule.hlati@inl.co.za ANC COUNCILLORS in the City, who conducted an oversight visit to the crumbling Zenzile Street bridge in Kuyasa, Khayelitsha, have rubbished the municipality’s claims that windblown sand and a sewage spill had damaged the new infrastructure. The R4.6 million project connecting the two communities was handed over in December. However, last week community leaders noticed that some parts of the bridge had collapsed, posing a safety hazard to motorists and pedestrians. Mayco member for transport and urban mobility, Rob Quintas, said a number of inspections were undertaken, the first being on February 7 after they were alerted. “Unfortunately, a blockage in an underground sewer resulted in a spill from a manhole which has run down to a low point in the road. “A combination of windblown sand…

Sona: a stark reminder of the sombre reality of present-day South Africa IT COULDN’T have been a more dramatic coincidence, intended or otherwise. That President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Thursday should have been held on the eve of the 32nd anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s rally address on the day of his release from Victor Verster Prison on February 11, 1990, after 27 years of incarceration by the apartheid regime. The sole standout similarity between the two speeches is the fact that they were both delivered from a podium at the historic Cape Town City Hall – one, the first speech by an iconic free man, and the other by a president desperately trying to re-establish the relevance of the governing ANC to South Africans, many…

Baghdad: Iraq’s supreme court yesterday ruled out a bid by veteran politician Hoshyar Zebari to run for president after a complaint filed against him over corruption charges. Zebari, 68, who served as foreign minister for a decade after the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein, was “suspended” from the race on February 6, on the eve of the scheduled date for a presidential vote in parliament in which he was the favourite. MPs submitted a complaint against him before the supreme court, on the grounds that his participation would be “unconstitutional” because of outstanding corruption charges and on the basis of reputation. | AFP…

Paris: Police said they arrested 97 people who defied a ban on a Canada-style protest convoy over coronavirus regulations to try block traffic in the capital, with 81 still in custody yesterday. Thousands of protesters from across France attempted to block traffic in the capital on Saturday in a self-proclaimed “freedom convoy” of cars, trucks and campervans. Hundreds continued on to Brussels yesterday. In Paris, over 100 vehicles converged on the Champs-Elysees Avenue, where police used tear gas to disperse protesters. Dozens remained on the avenue and in the nearby Bois de Boulogne forest park until early yesterday. | AFP…

The US said the diplomatic path remained open to end a stand-off with Moscow over Ukraine but said the risk of Russian military action was high enough to warrant pulling US embassy staff out of Kyiv. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was speaking after talks on Saturday with Japanese and South Korean counterparts, following Washington’s warning that Russia’s military, which has more than 100 000 troops massed near Ukraine, could invade at any moment. Moscow, which has repeatedly denied it plans to invade and said it is responding to aggression by Nato allies, has dismissed those warnings as “hysteria”. “The diplomatic path remains open. The way for Moscow to show that it wants to pursue that path is simple. It should de-escalate, rather than escalate,” Blinken said after…

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis yesterday led crowds in St Peter’s Square in silent prayer for Ukraine, appealing to the consciences of politicians to seek peace. “The news from Ukraine is very worrying,” said Francis, who has made many appeals for peace in Ukraine and last month led an international day of prayer for peace. Francis spoke a day after US President Joe Biden told Russia’s Vladimir Putin in an hour-long call that the West would respond decisively to any invasion of Ukraine, adding such a step would produce widespread suffering and isolate Moscow. | Reuters…

Mihlali Baleka mihlali.baleka@inl.co.za MAMELODI Sundowns might be cruising in the inside lane to the league title, but that does not mean that there are matches they are willing to yield to their opposition. Tonight’s clash at the Old Peter Mokaba, where they will endeavour to outclass Baroka FC, is one of those encounters. After a long break due to the Africa Cup of Nations, the second half of the DStv Premiership campaign will begin in earnest this week. Sundowns will be playing in their second league game of the year after hosting Chippa United. That was one of the Brazilians’ three games in a space of a week after beating Richards Bay and Al Hilal in the Nedbank Cup last 32 and the Champions League away in KwaMashu and at…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za THE GOVERNMENT has given the business sector much-needed certainty of getting the economy going again by setting a final 1-month deadline for ending all restrictive Covid-19 regulations. This comes as President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a radical policy shift to put the private sector at the centre of economic recovery and enable business to thrive by cutting red tape. On Friday the Cabinet announced that it had approved the final extension of the National State of Disaster to March 15 as some of the key departments dealing with Covid-19 had not yet concluded their analyses. Ramaphosa already indicated in his State of the Nation address (Sona) on Thursday that the national disaster would end once measures to manage the Covid-19 response were in place. South Africa has seen…

Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za PLAYERS in the cannabis industry were misty-eyed at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s pronouncements on fast-tracking the growth and processing of the plant to make it a major job-creating sector in the economy. But the president said further engagement was necessary to tighten regulatory loose-ends and propel the sector on to the main-stage. In his State of the Nation address (Sona), Ramaphosa told the nation that hemp and cannabis production could create about 130 000 new jobs. He said that the government would review the policy and regulatory framework for a number of processes which would come as “sweet news” for the people of the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. This for industrial hemp and cannabis to realise “huge” potential for investment and job creation. The president said these…

Okuhle Hlati okhule.hlati@inl.co.za UNIVERSITIES in the Western Cape say they’re ready to kick off the academic year today, with UCT particularly excited as teaching and learning will take place in-person at all faculties. Learning for millions of tertiary students has been conducted online for the past two years, owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. Last week institutions concluded their orientation and registration. “This new year is particularly significant, as UCT begins the return to on-campus face-to-face engagement after two years of unprecedented disruption to learning and teaching. “Hundreds of the university staff, across all faculties and support departments, have been working flat out to make this new term, and face-to-face learning, a possibility within the continuing public health requirements that are essential to keep us safe,” said UCT spokesperson Nombuso Shabalala.…

From page 1 “In the last elections, in 2019, we promised that we would spare no effort to renew the ANC, to end state capture, crime and corruption, create jobs and work to meet the needs of our people,” Ramaphosa had said. “To ensure alignment and co-ordination between national, provincial, and local government, we will accelerate the implementation of the District Development Model. “Through this model, we will establish 44 district councils and eight metros as the central points for economic development, job creation, investment and the reduction of poverty and inequality. “The challenges facing young people in our country are formidable. “Youth also have lower participation rates in elections and the affairs of communities. We must create more jobs for them as first-time entrants into the job market,” read…

Siphokazi Vuso and Mashudu Sadike ANC ALLIANCE partners Cosatu and the SACP have slammed President Cyril Ramaphosa’s change of tune, saying his assertions that the government did not create jobs, as this was a primary responsibility of the private sector, was an admission of defeat. In his State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Thursday, Ramaphosa appeared to have abandoned plans in the ANC manifesto ahead of the November local government elections, when he said the key task of government was to create the conditions that would enable the private sector – both big and small – to emerge, to grow, to access new markets, to create new products, and to hire more employees. “We all know that the government does not create jobs. Business creates jobs. Around 80% of…

Harry Friedland | Sea Point THE new minimum wage of R23/hour comes into effect in March. That’s nice for those who already have jobs. But it does nothing for the more than 50% of employable South Africans who don’t have jobs. I’ll bet that they would be prepared to work for half that amount, just to earn something. Unfortunately, the unholy Tripartite Alliance which married the ANC to Cosatu “for better or for worse, until death us do part” to ensure the ascension of the ANC to power in 1994 – that alliance is now killing the ANC. It was intended precisely to avoid the kind of factionalism which eats at the foundations of the party right now, because the pie is too small, and the knives are too many,…

MICHAEL BAGRAIM | Highlands Estate YOUR February 7 edition, “Social media users find Clifton hero who used pink buoy to save man” refers: Well done to Mr Jamieson for his heroic effort with his friend. Often, we see something going wrong and we always shout that “they” must do something. On this occasion, Mr Jamieson took matters into his own hands and acted immediately. This meant a life could be saved. Great accolades need to go to the man who acted with immediate effect and without thinking of his own safety.…

Sarah Williams | Claremont WHAT is marine sciences and why is it important? Marine sciences is the study of a combination of marine life, the marine environment, and the ways in which they interact with each other. There are four main sections to marine sciences: oceanography, marine biology, humans and the ocean, and ecology. Oceanography teaches you more about the physical and biological phenomena and properties of the sea. It covers topics from the origin of planet Earth to the variability of animal distribution and cyclones. Marine biology is the scientific study of organisms in the sea, and the biology of marine life. It discusses different life patterns, fundamental biological processes and the way organisms adapt to their environment. Humans and the ocean is a section in which you…

Staff writer THE Coega Development Corporation (CDC) is busy comparing costs to repair the fire-damaged buildings at Parliament, as it assesses the residual strength of the ravaged structure. Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) Minister Patricia de Lille yesterday said in a statement that the Bid Evaluation Committee recommended Coega be appointed for the job. In consultation with the National Treasury, the DPWI appointed the Coega on Friday. “The scope of work for the assessment by Coega includes assessment of the fire damaged buildings in the parliamentary precinct to pronounce on the extent of the damage; provide professional advice on the safety of the structures and provide measures to temporarily make the structure safe to allow the investigations to proceed unhindered. “Following the submission of the initial assessment report,…

Staff writer THE Delft Community Policing Forum (CPF) has called for a cash reward to be offered for information on the killing of its deputy chairperson Jamiel Spanenberg on Saturday morning. The 50-year-old was shot and killed in what was suspected to be a robbery at his truck in Mozart Street, Delft South. Police spokesperson Andre Traut said the circumstances were being investigated. “At around 10.20am, the man, 50, was shot and killed next to his truck in Mozart Street Delft South in what appears to be an armed robbery. “The suspect fled with the victim’s licensed firearm and is yet to be arrested,” said Traut. Delft CPF chairperson Reginald Maart said a reward would give residents a sense that something concrete was being done, and help in bringing the…

JAMMU and Kashmir and Ladakh (JKL) were, are and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India. This includes parts of Indian territory in the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, under illegal and forcible occupation of Pakistan (ie Pakistan occupied JK-PoJKL) since 1947. Since then, the people of PoJKL have suffered human rights violations, extre- mism and economic backwardness. In an attempt to monopolise control, Pakistan has systematically altered PoJKL’s demography using violence, enforced disappearances, murders, detentions, custodial deaths and torture of civil rights activists and local politicians over seven decades. A Human Rights Watch report titled, “With friends like these … ” has well documented the human rights abuses in PoJKL: “(It) is a land of strict curbs on political pluralism, freedom of…

Jakarta: At least 10 Indonesians died after tidal waves swept away a group of people meditating on a beach in the early hours of yesterday, police said. The group of 23 people was holding hands and meditating on Payangan beach, East Java province, shortly after midnight. “They were too close to the sea and could not save themselves when the tidal waves came and swept them away,” said local police chief Hery Purnomo. Ten bodies had been retrieved from the ocean and 12 people were rescued alive. A man, 40, was still unaccounted for. A spiritual guru, who led the ritual, survived and will be questioned. | AFP…

DAMASCUS: After her son was killed fighting for the Syrian government in 2013, the state began paying Amouna al-Berri a monthly salary which easily covered all her household expenses. Today, the “martyrs salary” – given to families of people who have died for Damascus in the 11-year long war – barely pays for her diabetes medicine. Like many Syrians, Berri says getting by is harder today than at any point during the conflict, even though it has been several years since the last major battles and President Bashar al-Assad is firmly in control of most of the country. “It was easier in the war. Things weren’t as expensive as now,” said Berri, 50, at her home on the outskirts of Damascus, where she has lived since fleeing fighting in Aleppo…

Canadian police cleared protesters and vehicles that had blocked a vital trade route on the border with the US, making some arrests, but the bridge was not yet open to traffic yesterday. The officers moved in after a tense stand-off between Canadian police and demonstrators since Friday when a court order and threats of arrest failed to end the blockade of the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ontario, which entered its sixth day yesterday. “Enforcement actions continue at the demonstration area, with arrests being made. Vehicles being towed. Please continue avoiding the area,” Windsor Police said in a Twitter post early yesterday, without saying how many people had been arrested. Police stepped up their presence with more than 50 vehicles, including cruisers, buses and an armoured car yesterday, as the number…

MANILA: The son and namesake of late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos strengthened his lead over his closest rival ahead of the presidential election on May 9, results of a new poll released yesterday showed. Ferdinand Marcos jr garnered a 44-point lead over Philippine Vice-President Leni Robredo in the January 19-24 survey by independent pollster Pulse Asia, an 11-point increase compared with the previous poll in early December. A total of 2 400 respondents were asked to pick their first choice for president and vice-president, with 60% expressing preference for Marcos, while 16% chose Robredo. Boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao and Manila city mayor Francisco Domagoso trailed, each getting 8%. Marcos’ running mate, Sara Duterte-Carpio, the daughter of incumbent President Rodrigo Duterte, remained the top choice for vice-president. As frontrunner, Marcos…