Table of contents for 2024-01-18 in Cape Times

THE REPAIR of South Africa’s main coal export line was proceeding “extremely well” following a collision of two trains and they were hopeful one of the lines would be operational before 12pm tonight, a spokesperson for Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) said. Transnet has been working to clear the line to Richards Bay, South Africa’s major coal export port, from Mpumalanga, since the derailment happened on Sunday. The State owned freight operator has not said what caused the derailment and was investigating, and there were no serious injuries or fatalities. A spokesperson said such was the progress, they expected to recover the line to functionality “sooner rather than later,” with most of the debris expected to be cleared over last night, weather permitting. The second line was expected to be operational…

The Gold Rhino of Mapungubwe Ballet presented by Mzansi Ballet is set to grace the Baxter Theatre next month after a hugely successful première at the South African State Theatre in Pretoria last year. The Gold Rhino of Mapungubwe Ballet, commissioned by the South African International Ballet Competition (SAIBC), is a visual masterpiece with stunning costumes and jewellery by David Tlale and a set by well-known designer, Andrew Botha. Mzansi Ballet comprises both South African and international dancers. With innovative choreography by the talented Angela Revie and input by Mdu Nhlapo, the dynamic work is a wonderful fusion of classical and afro-ballet and contemporary dance, enhanced by poetic narration in parts. The stirring score combines the work of a group of prolific artists and includes three compositions by the double…

from page 1 statistics that we see. The condition of our schools and the commitment of all involved in basic education makes it almost impossible to accept that the majority of our children have a fair chance at performing well. I empathise with them,” he said. Mudaly said available information showed that despite the disruptions in the previous years, learners continued to do well. “There were minimal interruptions this year, so it could be that learners will perform better than expected. “There were no reports of incorrect questions or leaked papers this year, so this makes us anticipate even better results than the last three years,” he added.…

While the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) was unable to answer questions on when long-distance train trips between Johannesburg and Cape Town would resume, the entity has been slammed for alleged ill-preparedness in relaunching the service. In December, the same month of the return of the long-distance trip service, a Shosholoza Meyl passenger train had to cut its trip from Joburg to Cape Town short due to “infrastructure challenges” and has not returned to service since. Prasa spokesperson Andiswa Makanda said the “service has been temporarily suspended to service the locomotives to increase availability of locomotives”. According to Makanda, customers were “made aware and arrangements have been made to refund customers who have paid”. Further enquiries were not answered by deadline yesterday. According to DA MP Chris Hunsinger, the…

‘Matriculants exhibited resilience as majority completed high school in post-Covid 19 milieu’ THE Independent Examinations Board (IEB) believes that the 98.46% matric pass rate for private schools reflects the dedication and tenacity of both pupils and the entire teaching community. The IEB results released today show a pass rate slightly higher than last year’s 98.42%. Education experts say this provides hope that a slight increase would also be seen in public schools when the results are released this afternoon. According to the academics, while there were limited disruptions such as load shedding, the 2023 National Senior Certificate (NSC) cohort was well placed to do better than the previous classes. All of the IEB NSC candidates who passed achieved good enough grades to proceed to tertiary education at one of the…

Despite the prevailing trends of deglobalisation and protectionism, China remains steadfast in its commitment to a high-standard opening-up, providing certainty and opportunities for global businesses. As the world’s second-largest economy and a major global investor magnet, China’s efforts to widen its opening-up not only propel its own high-quality development but also create extensive opportunities for the global community. China’s pursuit of high-quality development involves a concerted effort to expand institutional opening-up, encompassing rules, management and standards. Zhang Wei, the vice-president of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Co-operation, emphasises that institutional opening-up is central to China’s engagement with the world. The recent comprehensive plan to promote high-level institutional opening-up in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone aligns with international economic and trade rules, marking a crucial step…

Pakistan recalled its ambassador from Iran yesterday and blocked Tehran’s envoy from returning to Islamabad after an Iranian air strike killed two children in the west of the country a day earlier. Iranian news agency Mehrnews said the “missile and drone” attack targeted the Jaish al-Adl group’s headquarters in Pakistan, calling it “a decisive step by Iran in response to the aggression against the security of our country”. The raid came late on Tuesday after Tehran also launched attacks in Iraq and Syria against “anti-Iranian terrorist groups”. Pakistan denounced the strike, near the nations’ shared border. “The unprovoked, blatant breach of Pakistan’s sovereignty by Iran is a violation of international law and the principles of the Charter of the UN,” spokeswoman Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said yesterday. The foreign ministry recalled…

Davos: Argentina’s libertarian new President Javier Milei launched a broadside against socialism at the meeting of global political and business elites in Davos yesterday, warning it was a threat to the West. “I am here today to tell you that the West is in danger,” Milei told the World Economic Forum in his first maiden trip as president. He touted free-market capitalism as the only solution against poverty and took aim at “radical feminism”, abortion and “social justice”. Milei praised business leaders as “heroes” who should not be afraid of the “political caste” and “the parasites that live off the state”. “The state is not the solution. The state is the problem,” he said. | AFP…

from page 1 “There were parents who came with their children to beg for placement and had not applied. Some have siblings or cousins who are already in the school but I will be referring them to the district office because they did not apply. I’m also trying to sort out a case of children whose names are not appearing in the list in our system. Other parents are only collecting the reports and school stationery lists today whilst we communicated with them last week and also on Monday,” said Zweni. Meanwhile, Hanover Park residents held a picket outside protesting against gang shootings in the area where six people were shot on Saturday night and a man killed on Tuesday near Blomvlei Primary School. WCED spokesperson Bronagh Hammond said all…

2 cups cake flour 2 tbs brown sugar ½ tsp ground cinnamon ¼ tsp ground ginger A pinch of ground nutmeg 3 tbs B-well Thick & Creamy Mayonnaise 1¼ cups milk 1 tbs B-well Sandwich Spread 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 cup cooked, mashed sweet potatoes Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl and set aside. Mix the mayonnaise, milk, sandwich spread and vanilla extract in a small bowl. Add the wet ingredients and mashed sweet potatoes to the dry ingredients, stirring until well combined. Follow your waffle maker’s instructions to cook the waffles.…

WARMEST congratulations to all the matriculants who achieved the desired grades and will embark on the next course of their journey. To those who did not make it or did not get the outcomes they’d hoped for, it’s certainly not the end of the road but a setback many before you have recovered from. Learn from the experience and try again. The resilient Class of 2023 contended with frequent power cuts during their study times, which, up to now, the government has failed to prevent in key institutions such as schools, health facilities and police stations. How the ANC-led government expects some of the matriculants to entrust the party with their votes later this year, after it challenged all efforts to have schools exempt from load shedding, defies logic. We…

Climate change threatens to cause an additional 14.5 million deaths and $12.5 trillion (about R238 trillion) in economic losses worldwide by 2050, according to a World Economic Forum report. Flooding alone is estimated to cause 8.5 million deaths by 2050, posing “the highest acute risk of climate- induced mortality”, according to the study. Droughts, as the second leading cause of climate-related mortality, are forecast to claim 3.2 million lives. Heatwaves are expected to cause the highest economic losses, an estimated $7.1 trillion by 2050. The report warned that climate crisis will further exacerbate global health inequality and the most vulnerable populations will suffer the most. Regions such as Africa and southern Asia will remain particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, due to their limited resources. |…

IN A victory for at least 800 000 people in South Africa with blocked identity documents, the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria has declared this practice by the Department of Home Affairs unjust, irregular, invalid and inconsistent with the Constitution. Judge Elmarie van der Schyff said in her judgment that the blocking of IDs without notice by Home Affairs, prior investigation and appeal processes was against the Constitution. This is a reprieve for hundreds and thousands of people in the country, many of whom have been without an ID for many years. This conduct by Home Affairs was challenged by an applicant whose ID document was blocked. Lawyers for Human Rights and the Children’s Institute joined the fray as friends of the court. The LegalWise impact litigation unit, which also joined…

THE Road Freight Association and other experts have raised fears that coal exports could be impacted after two trains carrying coal collided in Elubana, near Richards Bay, on Sunday. Gavin Kelly, CEO of the association, said that coal train collisions expose vulnerabilities on the Richards Bay ore line. “The Road Freight Association (RFA) notes the collision of two coal trains on the Richards Bay ore line. Transnet reports no serious injuries or fatalities. It further notes that the cause of the incident is unknown and will be investigated. However, the event underscores the vulnerability of the multi-ore line due to the inherent risks of outdated manual systems and poor operational control.” Kelly said the derailment would take some time to clear. “There will need to be an investigation into what…

WHILE it was a smooth start to the academic year for most Western Cape schools, there were reports of overcrowding at some institutions. At others, anxious parents were seen standing at school gates in hopes of available space for their children. Learning commenced for 1.2 million pupils yesterday, including 93 000 children in Grade 1 and 98 000 in Grade 8. The department was also still scrambling to place 2 636 children and working to resolve 609 extremely late applications that were received after January 1. It had become the norm that inland public schools reopen first and those along the coast follow suit the following week, however, this academic year all schools across the country reopened on the same day. Education MEC David Maynier joined by Premier Alan Winde…

A “SHOTGUN” trial in which the entire hearing was completed on the same day saw the 3-year prison sentence of a man accused of assaulting his wife overturned. The trial was completed in one hour and 42 minutes, with the defence conducted by a candidate attorney still under training. The man, not identified to safeguard the identity of his wife, turned to the Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg to have his conviction and sentence overturned. He was sent directly to prison after the lower court had sentenced him to three years direct imprisonment. But the man complained to the high court that he had had an unfair trial as the candidate attorney appointed to handle his case simply had no experience to conduct his defence.The husband earlier appeared in the Alexandra…

Young people have legitimate grievances but haven’t coalesced into an electoral bloc Uganda is one of the youngest countries in the world, with an average age of 15.9 years. Young people aged below 30 make up about 77% of the population of 47 million people. Young people have legitimate and wide-ranging grievances, from unemployment to disenfranchisement. Opportunities remain limited, with two-thirds of Ugandans working for themselves or doing family-based agricultural work. Yet, young people in Uganda haven’t coalesced as an electoral bloc. This is despite the emergence of a presidential candidate who champions youth issues. In the presidential election in 2021, those aged between 18 and 30 made up 41% of the total voters roll of 18 million. Robert Kyagulanyi, the 41-year-old musician-turned-politician, popularly known as Bobi Wine, leads the…

A top Hamas official announced new conditions yesterday for delivering medicines to hostages held by the group in Gaza, insisting trucks carrying the drugs must not be inspected by Israel. Under a deal thrashed out by mediators Qatar and France on Tuesday, medicines along with humanitarian aid are to be supplied to civilians in Gaza in exchange for delivering drugs needed by hostages held there. Forty-five hostages are expected to receive medication. Yesterday, Musa Abu Marzuk, a senior member of the Hamas political bureau, revealed new conditions for the delivery of medicines to hostages. “For every box of medicine that goes in for them, 1 000 boxes will go in for residents of Gaza,” he said on X. Marzuk said the medicines would be supplied through a country Hamas trusts…

The US planned yesterday to put the Houthi militant group back on its global terrorism list, according to officials, after launching military attacks against the Yemen-based group in retaliation for its disruption of global trade in the Red Sea. The decision is an escalation of the Biden administration’s pressure campaign against the Iran-aligned group, which functions as the de facto government in parts of Yemen. The Houthis have fired dozens of missiles and drones at commercial ships transiting the Red Sea since Israel declared war against Hamas in Gaza and pledged to continue hitting ships there as long as Israel’s military campaign continues. The Biden administration will relist the Houthis as specially designated global terrorists, according to officials. However, it will not re-add the Houthis to its list of foreign…