Table of contents for 2023-08-17 in Cape Times

RUSSIA and South Africa were discus- sing joint projects in the energy sector, including the construction of a gas power plant and supplies of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) for new generating capacities, the Russian Energy Ministry said in a statement yesterday. Bilateral co-operation was discussed by Russian Deputy Energy Minister Sergey Mochalnikov and South African ambassador to Russia Mzuvukile Jeff Maqetuka shortly before a BRICS ministerial meeting on energy, to be held in Johannesburg on August 18. “Our countries are interested in developing mutually beneficial co-operation in the energy sector. Today, we are working out with our SApartners the possibility of building a gas power plant. We are already discussing the supply of equipment, the possibility of organising the supply of Russian LNG for effective operation of new generating…

A WEDDING venue in Wellington has to pay back a R50 000 deposit it refused to refund to a client who could not get married in May 2020 due to Covid lockdown restrictions. AHMR Hospitality (Pty) Ltd, trading as Bakenhof Winelands Venue at the time, which appealed a summary judgment against it in the Wellington Magistrate’s Court, argued that the deposit paid by Genevieve da Silva became non-refundable after 14 days. The venue relied on a clause in its contract that it argued excluded Da Silva’s entitlement to a refund, but Western Cape High Court Judge Deidre Kusevitsky this week found that the contract was impossible due to the conditions prevalent at the time. “The material terms of the agreement were inter alia that Da Silva would hire the venue…

Tough economic times have influence on maintenance THE reality of the hard economic times middle-class South Africans are experiencing is felt especially during dragged-out divorce proceedings, a judge said during an application by a wife for her soon-to-be ex-husband to up his monthly maintenance towards her and their children. The wife turned to the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, because she felt her husband was financially much stronger than her. Apart from claiming more maintenance, she also wanted her husband to contribute towards her legal costs in the divorce, which she said was at this stage standing at more than R400 000. In dealing with the application, Judge Elmarie van der Schyff said realities could not be ignored when a court considered the question of maintenance in Rule 43 (pending divorce)…

Citizens have been warned against falling victim to fraudsters who use traditional beliefs to scam people. This comes as the Southern African Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS) advised of a growing trend in which con artists abuse cultural beliefs to take advantage of the believers’ financial desperation. Head of product development at the SAFPS Nazia Karrim said the Hawks specialised 419-Scams Task Team had reported the emergence of “ancestry” scams, and approached the SAFPS to help inform the public of the threat. “The modus operandi is intricate and malicious. The victim is told to bring a set amount of cash in a bag when visiting the sangoma, which will be cleansed and blessed by the ancestors. “On arrival, the sangoma requests the victim, as part of the ritual, to drink a…

AT LEAST 64 Swellendam residents were arrested yesterday when a municipal head office along with several other buildings were torched in a community protest against municipal tariff increases and service delivery issues. Shops and other businesses in the main town as well as in Railton were also looted and damaged. All entrances and exits around the town were blocked from about 3am. Western Cape Department Transport spokesperson Jandre Bakker said the N2 was closed and traffic had to be diverted. Southern Cape police spokesperson Christopher Spies said protesters blockaded several roads as well as the N2 highway with burning tyres and other objects. “Public order police with reinforcements from neighbouring police stations were deployed to the area in an effort to quell the situation. “Police arrested 64 suspects on charges…

CHILD rapist and porn ringleader Gerhard Ackerman’s 12 life terms accompanied by Judge Mohamed Ismail’s fitting description of him sends an encouraging message that the country’s courts have had enough of violence against women and children. They go a long way in restoring faith and trust in our justice system, which at times has been criticised for favouring the perpetrators rather than the victims of violence. Ackerman, arguably one of the most notorious sex offenders in South Africa’s history, was convicted on 700 counts of rape, child pornography and human trafficking – much to the relief of his young victims and the child rights activists following this case. The pain of his crimes will take his victims and families years to heal from, something that obviously has not fully struck…

Sydney: A man in Australia who sent his faeces and urine to Hollywood actors Leonardo Di Caprio and Jared Leto was sentenced yesterday to a two-year good-behaviour bond. Veronica Grey sent parcels from post offices around the state of Western Australia in February, a court in the town of Broome heard, and was found out after one of the packages ruptured and leaked onto a postal worker. Public broadcaster ABC said Grey, who identifies as male, had placed his faeces and urine inside 23 postal satchels, sent to the recipients as “valentine confectionary (sic)”. The 49-year-old pleaded guilty to five charges of using a postal service to menace, harass or cause offence, the court said. | AFP…

Yangon: The death toll from a landslide at an unregulated jade mine in a remote part of Myanmar had hit at least 31, with eight people still missing, rescuers said yesterday. The disaster struck on Sunday outside northern Kachin’s Hpakant township, after torrential rain and floods ravaged the region over the weekend. Jade mining in Myanmar is lucrative due to high demand, but the unregulated industry is plagued with frequent worker deaths. Rescuers dug through mud to find bodies, while others were discovered floating in water. A pile of earth – left behind by mining excavations – was loosened by the rainfall and collapsed, said rescuers. | AFP…

As Iranian seizures threaten oil tankers plying the Gulf, the US is raising its military presence – a move long demanded by Gulf Arab states who accused Washington of retreating from the region. Three thousand additional US personnel on troop-landing warships have already passed through the Red Sea, and US-led maritime forces are warning ships against approaching Iranian waters. The moves follow a spate of capture and attempted capture of ships in and around the Strait of Hormuz, the U-shaped gateway to the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea that carries a fifth of world oil output. “There is a heightened threat, a heightened risk to regional mariners in terms of seizures” by Iran in the strait, said Commander Tim Hawkins, spokesperson for the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet. “Right now,…

Thailand’s Constitutional Court refused yesterday to hear a case on election winner Pita Limjaroenrat’s thwarted bid to become prime minister, clearing the way for a new leadership vote in parliament. The ruling brings Thailand a step closer to potentially ending the political deadlock that has gripped the kingdom since the general election in May. “The Constitutional Court has agreed unanimously to not accept the case for a hearing,” the court said in a statement. Yesterday afternoon, House speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha announced the next vote for prime minister was slated for August 22. Pita’s Move Forward Party (MFP) won the most seats in the May poll, riding a wave of support from young and urban Thais to end nearly a decade of army-backed rule. But the Harvard-educated 42-year-old was…

Orlando Pirates produced a flimsy performance against Chippa United at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Tuesday night as they warmed up for their CAF Champions League opener this weekend. Despite dominating, Pirates had to settle for a share of the spoils in a 1-1 stalemate. Bandile Shandu opened the scoring for the visitors in Gqeberha during the first half but Chippa managed an equaliser through Goodman Mosele just past the hour mark, and both sides spurned scoring chances later in the match. The Chilli Boys showed loads of commitment throughout and kept their challenge alive with counter-attacks which Pirates battled to contain. The Buccaneers were handed five yellow cards and led the foul count 16-13, and these statistics point to the team’s exasperating outing against an average opposition. Pirates…

VARIOUS political parties and unions have commemorated 11 years since the Marikana Massacre, which resulted in the killing of 34 miners on August 16, 2012, and 10 others in the days leading up to the day of the massacre. Some members of the Marikana Support Campaign as well as the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) gathered outside the Union Buildings as they delivered a memorandum of demands to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office. The march to the Union Buildings was fuelled by complaints that Ramaphosa had yet to apologise to the victims of Marikana, more than 10 years after the tragedy. Among the demands being made by the group is the prosecution of those responsible for the mass killings of 16 miners who had been protesting against poor wages,…

His message of hope perseverance, is the legacy he leaves behind HUNDREDS of mourners flocked to Surrey Estate yesterday to pay their last respects to District Six-born dance icon Dr Johaar Mosaval, who took his final bow from the mortal stage at 95 years. Tributes poured in for Mosaval, described as a national treasure who danced his way into the hearts of people around the world. He passed away in his sleep before 5am yesterday, family spokesperson Suleiman Mosaval confirmed. Mosaval was buried according to Muslim rites at the Constantia Muslim burial site. Suleiman, nephew of Mosaval, said the family was deeply saddened by his passing after he died of deteriorating frailty. “What a person to have lost. He was an inspiration to many and so many drew inspiration from…

The Western Cape legislature could have more than the current 42 members if a bill proposing additional seats is approved. The legislature has had the same number of seats since 1999 despite the growth of the province’s population. Now, members of the public, stakeholders and interested groups have been asked to make written submissions on a draft bill that would result in the seats being increased from the current 42. Although the number of seats to be added was still unknown, a report sketching out the financial implications of the bill makes examples on increasing the seats by six up to 30. It could cost the province’s coffers between R22.1 million and R95.6 million. According to the memorandum of the draft bill, which was introduced in the legislature in July,…

The recent taxi strike has left a Strand family frustrated and worried about their loved one, who has spent the past 10 days in Tygerberg Hospital with a bullet lodged in his shoulder without receiving help due to staff shortages. Jonaide October said his cousin Tertius October has been lying in hospital since August 6. “On August 5, a drive-by shooting occurred in Strand during which my cousin was struck by a stray bullet in his left shoulder. He was initially taken to Strand Hospital but was later referred to Tygerberg Hospital for bullet removal surgery. “He arrived at Tygerberg Hospital at 9am on (the) Sunday. However, when I checked on him around 7pm, he had not received any help or pain relief and seemed to be ignored. I…

The Giant of Africa has finally awakened THE long-standing leading reggae group Steel Pulse has a track called Black and white oppressors on its 2019 album, Mass Manipulation. August 12 was just commemorated as the 11th anniversary of the Marikana miners’ massacre, a lasting legacy of horror considering that the current president of South Africa, ANC leader Cyril Ramaphosa, was on the board of Lonrho, one of the owners of the Marikana platinum mine, who gave the go-ahead for the violent shooting of 43 miners who were protesting for decent income and work conditions in the mines. The Marikana miners’ massacre calls for a national day of commemoration, considering its historic role in the struggle against “black and white oppressors”. Black is signified by the role of Ramaphosa and other…

Lahore: Several churches were set on fire by a mob in eastern Pakistan yesterday after a Christian family were accused of blasphemy, officials said. Hundreds of people armed with sticks and rocks stormed the predominantly Christian area in Faisalabad city, police said. The attack was triggered by a group of religious zealots accusing a local Christian family of desecrating the Qur’an, said a rescue official. “Photos and video clips of burnt pages of the Qur’an were shared among the locals, which created an uproar,” Rana Imran Jamil, a spokesperson for the city’s 1 122 rescue service, said. He said four churches had been set on fire, adding that there were no reports of injuries. | AFP…

MEXICO CITY: Former Mexico City mayor Claudia Sheinbaum has grown her lead to a 13-point advantage in the contest to be the ruling party’s candidate in Mexico’s 2024 presidential election, a poll published this week in newspaper El Universal showed. With less than a month until the candidate is announced, the survey showed Sheinbaum with 35% support to be the nominee of the leftist National Regeneration Movement (Morena), followed by former foreign minister Marcelo Ebrard at 22%. Both candidates have long been favorites for the Morena ticket and ranked far ahead of the poll’s next-best placed candidates. | Reuters…

Russian drone strikes damaged grain silos and warehouses at the Ukrainian river port of Reni on the Danube, a vital wartime route for Ukrainian food exports, senior officials said yesterday. Russian strikes on port infrastructure on the Danube in recent weeks have piled pressure on Ukrainian food exports after Moscow quit a year-old deal that had allowed Kyiv to ship out grain via the Black Sea. “Russian terrorists attacked Odesa region twice last night with attack drones,” regional governor Oleh Kiper said on Telegram. “The main target is port and grain infrastructure in the south of the region.” Photos released by the governor showed the destroyed metal walls of storage facilities and piles of scattered grain and sunflowers. The strike targeted the port of Reni, the Ukrainian president’s chief of…

Seventeen troops have died in a jihadist ambush in Niger, the government said, in a reminder of the nation’s deep security crisis as its military rulers face off against neighbours determined to reverse last month’s coup. An army detachment was “the victim of a terrorist ambush near the town of Koutougou” in the Tillaberi region near Burkina Faso on Tuesday, said a defence ministry statement published later that day. It added that another 20 soldiers had been wounded, six seriously, with all the casualties evacuated to the capital Niamey. More than 100 assailants, who were travelling on motorbikes, were “neutralised” during their retreat, the army said. A jihadist insurgency has plagued Africa’s Sahel region for more than a decade, breaking out in northern Mali in 2012 before spreading to neighbouring…

Leading the Wallabies into a World Cup was the last thing on Will Skelton’s mind before Eddie Jones tapped the lock on the shoulder to offer him the job. Even by Jones’ unpredictable standards, it was one of the coach’s most left-field decisions in a squad brimming with surprises. Six days on from being unveiled as captain , Skelton understandably is still getting his head around a role that for much of the past year was shared between long-serving captain Michael Hooper and prop James Slipper. “I’ve leaned on the other boys a lot,” Skelton told reporters in Sydney. “Slips (Slipper), Whitey (Nic White), Andrew Kellaway. They’ve helped me through this week. “I’m still a bit awkward when I’m in the huddle. The boys are looking at me for that…

Michael Norman will not defend his 400 metres World Championship title in Budapest, the American said on Tuesday, days before the global showcase is set to start, deciding to focus instead on his 2024 Olympic campaign. Norman produced a memorable performance to triumph in Eugene last year after a succession of career disappointments, including a shock fifth-place finish in the Tokyo Olympic final. “Unfortunately I will not be defending my title at the 2023 World champs,” Norman said in an Instagram post. “After an extremely frustrating season, I’ve decided to step away from track for the remainder of the 2023 season in order to refocus for the 2024 Paris Olympics.” This development is a boost for South African star Wayde van Niekerk, who will be aiming to clinch his first…

A FEW hours after students from universities across the Western Cape protested at Parliament yesterday over the National Student Financial Aid Scheme’s (NSFAS’s) new direct payment system, the scheme's chief executive, Andile Nongogo, was placed on special leave. The portfolio committee on higher education has since scheduled a meeting for next month to be briefed about the student grievances and allegations levelled against Nongogo. Hundreds of students led by their Student Representative Council (SRC) marched yesterday and handed over a memorandum, expressing their dissatisfaction with continued payment of their allowances by the direct banking system. The portfolio committee’s ANC MP, Tebogo Letsie, received the memorandum on behalf of chairperson Nompendulo Mkhatshwa and committed to responding within 24 hours. This was the second time that students had marched over the same…

WHILE the Department of Employment and Labour has been applauded for recovering R84 million through workplace inspections, associations for vulnerable workers have questioned which employees benefited from the reclaimed money. The money was recovered by the department’s Inspections and Enforcement Services, as a result of non-compliance with the National Minimum Wage (NMW). Effectively, the money went to the pockets of workers who were underpaid. The findings were contained in inspector general Aggy Moiloa’s analysis report for the 2022/23 financial year, and was released this week to coincide with South Africa’s latest official unemployment rate announcement, which showed unemployment decreased to 32.6 percent, with 154 000 more people finding work in the second quarter of this year. The department's spokesperson, Teboho Thejane, said the purpose of the report was to…

3 tbs oil 2 cloves 2 all spice berries 1 piece stick cinnamon 3 green cardamom pods 1 tsp cumin seeds 1 large onion, chopped 1 tbs chopped ginger 6 cloves garlic, chopped ½ tsp ground turmeric 1 tbs ground coriander 1 heaped tsp leaf masala 1 tsp chilli powder 2 tomatoes, puréed 500g chicken breast and boneless chicken thigh pieces cubed 1 tsp garam masala 500g spinach Heat the oil in a large non-stick pan. Add the cloves, cinnamon, cardamom pods and cumin seeds and fry for about 20 seconds until aromatic. Add the onion and cook for about 10 minutes until golden brown, stirring often. Stir in the ginger and garlic and cook stirring for about 40 seconds before adding salt and the ground spices, stir for 15…

WYNBERG Boys’ High School will host a special assembly tomorrow for Ryder Kossatz, 17, who remains missing after getting lost in the surf at Llandudno beach last week. Ryder was last seen about 400m offshore near Sandy Bay on August 9. According to a witness, the teenager was caught in rip currents after being swept off rocks on the shoreline. School spokesperson RJ Theun-issen said the service was signalled by Kossatz’s peers and family. “As the family have been having their own private farewells on the beach and at home, the family were asked if the school community may have a memorial this coming Friday. “The family agreed and will be in attendance. This memorial service will help bring closure to many at Wynberg and outside Wynberg who were close…

In order to further promote economic development and to counter low levels of intra-Africa trade, Africa adopted the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA ) in Kigali on March 21, 2018. The World Bank recently described the AfCFTA as a “game-changer” that would create a single, continent-wide market that unites 54 countries with a combined population of 1.3 billion and gross domestic product of $3.4 trillion (R65 trillion). As of February 2023, 46 of the 54 signatory countries in Africa (85.2%) have deposited their instruments of AfCFTA ratification. The AfCFTA represents a comprehensive plan that seeks to create a single, liberalised market for goods, services and labour. It would reduce barriers to trade and investment and boost competition, raising the attractiveness of Africa for regional value chains and to…

BERLIN: Germany’s cabinet passed a contentious bill yesterday to legalise recreational marijuana use and cultivation, potentially giving further momentum to a worldwide trend to liberalise cannabis laws. The legislation, which still has to pass through parliament, would allow adults to possess up to 25g of the drug, grow a maximum of three plants, or acquire weed at cannabis clubs. The centre-left government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz hopes the law will curb the black market, protect consumers against contaminated marijuana and lessen the workload for the justice system. However, opposition policymakers warn that it will foment marijuana use and create even more work for authorities. | Reuters…

Hanoi: Legs in iron chains and unable to roam freely, the treatment of two elderly elephants at the Hanoi public zoo has drawn outrage in Vietnam, with animal rights groups demanding the pair be relocated. The groups are calling for the two female elephants – Thai and Banang – to be released to a national park. Yesterday morning, their legs were in chains as zoo keepers fed them. “The elephants are quite fierce. With a broken electric fence, we had to chain them,” a zoo staff member said on condition of anonymity. Zoo director Le Si Dung said the duo would “die if they are put back to nature as they do not know how to seek food or protect themselves”, the Dan Tri news site reported. |…

Helsinki: Finland’s former conservative prime minister Alexander Stubb yesterday announced his candidacy in the country’s presidential election in January to succeed Sauli Niinisto, who is stepping down after two terms. Stubb, 55, served as prime minister in 2014-2015 and has held the portfolios for finance, foreign affairs and EU affairs. He currently works as a professor at the European University Institute in Italy. “When the fatherland calls, you go,” Stubb told reporters at a press conference, referring to being asked by conservative Prime Minister Petteri Orpo and his National Coalition Party to be their candidate in the election. “I believe that one of the most important tasks for the next presidential term is to work for the preservation of the rule-based international system,” Stubb said. “The next president will step…

Gun battles between two leading armed groups in the Libyan capital Tripoli have killed 27 people and wounded 106, a toll update from the Emergency Medicine Centre said. The centre, which provides emergency services in the west of Tripoli, published the “provisional” toll on its Facebook page overnight. The clashes between the 444 Brigade and the Al-Radaa, two of the militias that have vied for power since the overthrow of dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, erupted on Monday night and raged through Tuesday. The clashes were triggered by the detention of the head of the 444 Brigade, Colonel Mahmud Hamza, by Al-Radaa on Monday, an interior ministry official said. Late on Tuesday, the social council in the suburb of Soug el-Joumaa, a stronghold of Al-Radaa, announced that an agreement had…