Table of contents for 2021-10-28 in Star

Sacha van Niekerk sacha.vanniekerk@inl.co.za When a baby comes home for the first time, everything feels like it has been turned on its head. This is also true for your pets, who are trying to cope with jealousy, confusion and the distress of a crying little human. To ease the transition for your pet and family, try out these helpful tips. Set up the nursery early Try setting up the nursery, as well as all the other additions that come with having a baby, like a rocking chair or play swing, a few months in advance to allow your pet to explore these new items and transformed spaces. Thereafter, make it known that those particular spaces or areas are out of bounds. Close the door of the nursery, and put up…

Ntombi Nkosi ActionSA president Herman Mashaba has urged South Africans to vote for his party on Monday if they don’t want stage 4 loadshedding. He was speaking during his campaign trail in Soweto yesterday. His comments came after Eskom announced that it would implement stage 4 load shedding. Mashaba also took a jab at the governing party, calling it an uncaring party which implements load shedding on the day that matric learners begin their final exams. “That tells you everything you need to know about the South African government. Our children deserve better,” said Mashaba. He advised South Africans to vote out the current government. “I only ask that my fellow South Africans do not wait for another two decades of abuse from this criminal syndicate masquerading as a…

JOHN Whitlock | Germiston I totally agree with Allan Wolman’s letter on Mandla Mandela’s request that Miss South Africa and other African beauty queens boycott the Miss Universe event to be held in Israel. Mandela states the reason for the request being the “occupation and the cruel treatment of Palestinians at the hands of the apartheid Israel regime”. The reason for Mandla’s anti-Semitic rant could be the fact that he converted to Islam when marrying his fourth wife in 2016, and thus upholds the Hamas Charter of 1988 that states: “The Day of Judgment will not come about until Moslems fight Jews and kill them.” In other words, the complete obliteration of the Jewish nation. Hamas also rejects a peaceful solution to the Palestinian problem by stating,…

Kriben Reddy, Despite the financial impact of Covid-19, it seems many South African consumers will still be getting some sort of bonus this year. And if they do, I’m going to be asked the inevitable question: should I use my year-end bonus to settle my car loan? My answer is generally the same: it all depends on your personal circumstances. Fact is, everyone’s financial situation is different. If you’re in the fortunate position to be getting a bonus, sit down and do the sums around a couple of different scenarios, assuming you’ll keep the car for the full term of the loan. Let’s start by understanding how a car finance loan works. As you’ll see by scanning your statements, the bank takes the bulk of the interest payment upfront,…

Former Lebanese prime minister Hassan Diab filed a lawsuit against the Lebanese state yesterday over his prosecution by Beirut blast investigator judge Tarek Bitar, ahead of a scheduled interrogation by the judge. Bitar would have to pause his prosecution of Diab, watchdog group Diab, who has been charged over the August 2020 port blast that killed more than 215 people, has missed two interrogation sessions scheduled by Bitar, who has been spurned by nearly all top officials he has tried to question. | Reuters…

ESHLIN VEDAN eshlin.vedan@inl.co.za ORLANDO Pirates will be keen to kick-start their Premiership season when they play against high-flying Royal AM at Orlando Stadium in Soweto today (5.30pm kick-off). The Sea Robbers enter the game on the back of an inspiring 1-0 CAF Confederation Cup second preliminary round aggregate win over Congo Brazzaville side Diables Noirs. By reaching the Confederation Cup play-off round, Pirates joined fellow South African team Marumo Gallants, who shockingly managed to eliminate African giants AS Vita Club in their second preliminary round tie. Gallants, like Pirates, are so far performing well in continental competition despite a slow start to their Premiership campaign. Pirates enter their game against Royal having picked up just two wins so far from their seven games. They are already nine points behind log…

A year later than planned, the countdown to the Women’s European Championship begins today when the draw for Euro 2022 takes place in Manchester. England will play host to the tournament from July 6-31, which hopes to smash attendance records for women’s football with Manchester United’s Old Trafford the setting for the opening game before a Wembley final. The hosts are hoping home advantage will help them win a major women’s international tournament for the first time. The Lionesses have fallen at the semi-final stage in each of the last two World Cups and Euro 2017. England are guaranteed to kick the tournament off at Old Trafford with organisers hoping for an attendance that will break the 41 300 record for a women’s European Championship match. Holders the Netherlands, France…

THERE is no doubt that Mohamed Salah is currently the favourite to land the Ballon d’Or this season. After his hat-trick for Liverpool against Manchester United on Sunday, the Egyptian became the all-time highest African goalscorer in the Premier League, surpassing Chelsea legend Didier Drogba. Salah is arguably the greatest African player to have played in the Premier League. The 29-year-old has already scored 10 Premier League goals this season and is on track to break his own record of 32 set in the 2017/18 season. In addition to his goals, Salah has also already contributed five assists this campaign which completely dispels the notion that he is a “greedy” and “selfish” player. For the first time since Steven Gerrard was at his peak, Liverpool have the best footballer in…

Liam Karabo Joyce liam.joyce@inl.co.za Rising gospel star Bulelani Ndebele has just released his debut album, God’s Relentless Love. The 29-year-old from Bulawayo in Zimbabwe delivers a body of work that speaks about his love for God and the birth of a new season for the star. Although he has only just released the album, it’s been a project that started back in 2005. While attending a church service, Ndebele surrendered his life to Jesus, a pivotal moment that saw him start writing gospel songs. “I realised from that day, nearly 14 years ago, until today how God’s love has been so relentless towards me, regardless of the wrongs I have done in the past and maybe yet do in the future. Hence the title of the album. In 2012, the…

Sonri Naidoo sonri.naidoo@inl.co.za THE POLICE officer who confessed to firing the bullet that killed Nathaniel Julies stated in her confession that she feared for her life after she received threats from her co-accused. Confessions from an accused of the murder of Nathaniel Julies were heard yesterday in the high court sitting at Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court. The accused said she feared for her life after she received threats from gangsters in Eldorado Park. During court proceedings yesterday, magistrate Teresa Swart at the Protea Magistrate’s Court in Soweto, took to the stand and read out accused number one Cayleen Whiteboy’s confession, which was presented to the court in March during the pretrial at the Protea Magistrate’s Court. “I was arrested a few days after Nathaniel was shot on August 26, 2020.…

Lehlohonolo Mashigo lehlohonolo.mashigo@inl.co.za AS THE festive season is set to kick into high gear soon, the Gauteng police are looking to intensify their deployments around malls following recent jewellery store robberies. Yesterday, the Oriental Plaza in Johannesburg Central was the scene of yet another brazen robbery of a jewellery store. An SAPS statement reported that the suspects made their way out of the shopping centre with an undisclosed amount of jewellery. “A shopping centre security officer as well as four shoppers sustained gunshot wounds and were taken to hospital for medical attention,” read the statement. The provincial police commissioner, Lieutenant-General Elias Mawela, has directed the district commissioners in the province to ensure that their deployments are intensified in and around shopping centres. “We will be launching our Operation Safer Festive…

WE HAVE seen some shocking research done on employees who are appointed but are not fit for purpose. Recent research from the SA Local Government Association found that 62% of councillors did not have the needed computer skills to pass crucial municipal budgets. I hazard a guess that the Western Cape does not suffer from the same shortfall. However, what is clear is that employees are appointed into positions for which they don’t have the necessary skills. It is shocking to see this, especially during a pandemic when computer skills were vital for service delivery. As the economy moves into full swing, businesses are starting to recruit staff once again. It is vital to ensure that businesses do proper interviews and conduct extensive “on-boarding” processes. We have a system of…

from Page 1 “Upon completing their preliminary examination on Monday, June 21, her doctors recommended that she be kept at the hospital for a further seven days for further observation, in accordance with the Mental Healthcare Act,” read the statement. Independent Media has, during its investigations, sent numerous queries to the various related government departments, as well as the implicated medical personnel, and the standing response has been that this statement stands. However, in an interview, Pooe said that when she examined Sithole on October 1, her findings were “quite scary” as this was a woman who appears to have been abused by the system. “Unethical processes were practised by the medical health workers, which is surprising, and even people who we were supposed to trust didn’t protect…

Dr Thabisi Hoeane | Pretoria It is, without sounding melodramatic, sensationalist nor denigrating – very frightening that South African society is so readily prepared and fickle to embrace and forget the serious problems. Let us take the PPE scandals. There were numerous stories in the media about how billions of rand have been stolen. Very few cases have come to the fore such as those of Zweli Mkhize, Bandile Masuku and a smattering of cases reported around the country. Yet we have moved on and it as if nothing ever happened. Amongst the many negative repercussion of this issue is that there are hundreds if not thousands of criminals out there who have benefited from this scam. And what this says to society is that corruption pays. Are…

Morgan Bolton morgan.bolton@inl.co.za The political motivations of Quinton de Kock aside, the fractious nature of the South African cricket fraternity was horribly exposed – again – on Tuesday ahead of the Proteas’ ICC T20 World Cup encounter against the West Indies. I cannot say that I feel or sense any unity in this Proteas team. All that I have watched recently every time I’ve switched on to view the senior national men’s team, is a collective of talented players performing seemingly with individual concerns. New captain Temba Bavuma won my respect on Tuesday night when he took on the responsibility to answer tough questions regarding his teammate De Kock’s decision. I wonder if any of his players – especially the wicketkeeper – appreciated his hecatomb. As I am gatvol of…

Willem van de Putte willem.vdputte@inl.co.za THIS year saw the sixth running of the Toyota Fortuner Challenge and without a doubt it was the toughest one yet. It might sound like the challenge is about driving a Fortuner but that only constitutes a small part of the day, with a combination of physical, mental and driving challenges put together to test competitors to the limit. After all, the winner walks away with a 2.4-litre Toyota Fortuner. The concept pairs four “heroes” and four members of the public representing four media houses. The heroes this year were Toyota Gazoo Racing SA driver Giniel de Villiers, Cheetahs player Oupa Mahoje, ex-Miss Namibia and wellness coach Steffi van Wyk-Brink and crossfit athlete and trainer Zaakirah Khalek. The contestants included commercial pilot Anneri Kemp, pharmacist…

Latte drinkers may in the future be sipping on java sourced from a petri dish rather than a plantation, say scientists behind a new technique to grow what they hope to be sustainable coffee in a lab. Researchers at the Finnish technical research institute VTT believe their coffee would avoid many of the environmental pitfalls associated with mass production. The coffee is grown from a cluster of coffee plant cells under controlled temperature, light and oxygen conditions in a bioreactor. | AFP…

HERMAN GIBBS STELLENBOSCH FC preserved their unbeaten record with a well-deserved 1-0 win over Marumo Gallants in a Premiership clash at Danie Craven Stadium yesterday. The result moved Stellenbosch from fourth to second position with 16 points on the league standings, and they are three points adrift of log leaders Mamelodi Sundowns, who have a game in hand. Stellenbosch and Sundowns are the only unbeaten teams in the league this season. For Gallants, it was a disappointment after their excellent exploits in the preliminary rounds of the Caf Confederation Cup. The defeat means that Gallants are still without a win after seven league matches and remain marooned second from bottom on the log with three points, one place above TS Galaxy. Stellenbosch wasted no time in showing they were…

RBPlat’s market capitalisation has grown by more than 200% up to June Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za Shares in Royal Bafokeng Platinum (RBPlat), the mid-tier platinum group metals (PGM) producer sky rocketed by nearly 24 percent on the JSE yesterday following Impala Platinum’s (Implats) proposed buyout of the company's issued entire share capital. Should the transaction receive the green light from regulatory bodies, and shareholders it will create a significant PGM producer in South Africa and will see the delisting of RBPlat, which is valued at R27 billion and led by chief executive Steve Phiri. RBPlat’s market capitalisation grew by more than 200 percent in the period ended June 2021 due to the high metal prices, according to the latest PricewaterhouseCoopers Mine Report. In a joint statement the companies…

Philippa Larkin philippa.larkin@inl.co.za IRONGATE Group, formerly Investec Australia Property Fund (IAP), yesterday rejected an A$1.1 billion (R12.18bn) takeover offer from fund manager 360 Capital Group, saying the offer did not “reflect the underlying value of IAP having regard to its high-quality office and industrial real estate portfolio”. On October 16, the group had received a “highly conditional” and “unsolicited” offer, which IAP’s board previously warned might make a pre- datory offer. The offer was for all shares in Irongate that 360 Capital did not already own for A$1.6047 cash per security, which was made up of a headline price of A$1.65 less the anticipated distribution of A$0.0453 per IAP security for the half-year to September 30. The proposal was conditional on ESR Real Estate (Australia) entering into an…

What business can do to give hope and opportunity THE LOOTING and riots that engulfed parts of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal in July were a tragic event that gives us all cause to reflect. The destruction of property, disruption of economic activity and, above all, loss of life have no place in our society and should never be repeated. Whatever you believe was the cause of the riots, the lack of opportunity through high unemployment, inequality, poverty and hunger was the dry powder that ignited when it caught a spark. To avoid their recurrence, govern- ment, business, labour and civil society have to work together. Business has an important role to play in this through the creation of economic opportunity, while government has to create the conditions that allow for this…

Emily Yahr This year, one celebrity couple dreamily captured the public’s imagination in a way you might not have expected, given we’re still living through a global pandemic. Yet, nearly every time a photo of this pair is released, looking almost suspiciously stunning and in love, people of the internet stop doom-scrolling so they can swoon. We’re talking about Bennifer 2.0. But for some reason, Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly are trying to convince us it’s them. Bennifer, the delightful reunion of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez 17 years after they first dated, is an elegant and inspirational tale about rediscovering your possible soul mate in your 50s. Meanwhile, Megchine Gun (what, are we supposed to call them “MeganKelly”?) is a cringe-worthy spectacle whose most notable achievement may…

NOKWANDA NCWANE nokwanda.ncwane@inl.co.za MAMELODI residents are upset about the character known as John Wick, whom they previously praised for cleaning up the township. They now say he is, in fact, a rival gangster taking out the opposition. The unknown gunman, believed to have killed close to 10 people, is linked to another murder. Phillip Given Mnguni, 35, the leader of Boko Haram gang, died in a hail of bullets on Tuesday, while driving with his partner, who was injured, on the N4 Highway near Diamond Hill toll plaza at around midday. The killing sparked a flurry of responses on social media, with “John Wick” and “Mamelodi” topping social media trends lists. In recent weeks, several high-ranking members of the Boko Haram gang, who have led a reign of terror in…

Baldwin Ndaba baldwin.ndaba@inl.co.za THE ANC has promised the electorate that they would appoint financially astute people to become mayors after local government elections on November 1. This was revealed by ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte at the ANC launch of its party’s barometer at its headquarters in Luthuli House yesterday. She said the process of interviews for the three nominated candidates for each of the 257 municipalities would begin on November 3 – a day before the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) is expected to announce the final results of the municipal elections. The party has already appointed panellists to conduct the interviews and recommend potential mayors to the top leadership of the ANC led by President Cyril Ramaphosa. The ANC also revealed those that would be appointed would then…

Farouk Araie | Benoni I WAS deeply saddened to hear of the passing way of advocate Denis Kuny, who was a most outstanding and dedicated patriot who served our country with unswerving commitment. He stands out as a legal giant among those whose contributions have served and continue to serve us in our struggle to build a nation out of scattered hopes and lofty aspirations. He was an outstanding lawyer who was at the forefront of helping the downtrodden through law. He made an immeasurable contribution in enriching our jurisprudence of human rights and fundamental right. A man of integrity, a mentor on rule of law. His wisdom will be missed. History will remember him as the most honest, ethical, respectful and compassionate lawyer…

One of the differences between Britain and America has been the notion of a generation. The British usage is generally more literal, giving rise to the “generation gap” whereas across the Atlantic it is more flexible. In particular, “the lost generation” was characterised in Britain as “disoriented, wandering, directionless”, used of the survivors of World War I. However, in America the context was literary and social, referring to writers who came of age during that war, principally Ernest Hemingway, Scott Fitzgerald and Gertrude Stein, all of whom made Paris their homes, some permanently. Not a bad place to be lost. The grim irony of the term is that it does not refer to those millions of Europeans (and many writers) who lost their lives in the terrible carnage. Since then…

Tendesayi Kufa-Chakezha, Melinda Suchard and Michelle J Groome South Africa has extended Covid-19 vaccination to adolescents aged between 12 and 17 years. In the week October 10 to 16, this age group made up 14.7% of new Covid-19 cases reported, down from a peak of about 20% in the middle of the third resurgence. As of mid-October, children aged 10-19 years made up 9.2% of all cases of Covid-19 reported since the beginning of the pandemic. Vaccination of adolescents may reduce duration of symptoms, limit transmission to others, and allow an earlier return to school and normal activities. It’s particularly important for adolescents with underlying conditions such as diabetes, cancer, HIV and obesity. Our data at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases has shown that adolescents with these underlying…

Furious Sudanese protests against a military coup entered a third day yesterday, with the prime minister returned home under guard after intense international condemnation of the army’s power grab. But the return to his residence of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok – who was detained on Monday along with his ministers and civilian members of Sudan’s ruling council – did little to appease the protests, with police firing tear gas to break them up. Demonstrations backing the planned transition to civilian rule continued despite security forces arresting several protesters and tearing down makeshift barricades, including clearing rocks and tyres blocking roads in the capital Khartoum, reports said. Workers at Sudan’s state petroleum company Sudapet said yesterday they would join a nationwide civil disobedience movement called by trade unions in response to…

DENIS ONYANGO Sundowns MIHLALI BALEKA mihlali.baleka@inl.co.za MAMELODI Sundowns and Cape Town City will be eager to win the first trophy of the season when they square off in the MTN8 final at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Saturday (6pm kick-off). Here we look at key players who will have to step up for their teams. Onyango is the most consistent goalkeeper in the top-flight. He has been a pillar of strength for Sundowns and has yet to concede a goal in six league matches this term. Onyango’s only blemishes have been in the CAF Champions League and MTN8. Onyango is a great all-round keeper, he’s exceptional in one-on-one duels, dealing with aerial threats and making fine stops, from long and close range. He’s the captain of the team, leading…

THE Premier Soccer League (PSL) yesterday announced that a total of 2 000 people would be allowed to attend the MTN8 final in Durban on Saturday, yet no tickets will be made available to the general public. The only fans at Moses Mabhida Stadium for the final between Mamelodi Sundowns and Cape Town City will be ‘chosen ones’ as determined by the PSL, MTN and the two clubs. Unless fans crack an invitation from one of these parties, they will be watching the match from the comfort of a couch. The PSL’s announcement says no tickets will be made available for sale to the general public. Attendees will be made up of tickets issued to sponsors of the league as per contractual obligations. Tickets will also go to the MTN8…

FAVOURITES England continued their march towards the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup with their second successive victory, an eight-wicket romp against Bangladesh in a Group I match in Abu Dhabi yesterday. England spinner Moeen Ali (2/18) struck in the PowerPlay and Tymal Mills (3/27) dominated the death overs to restrict Bangladesh to a below-par 124/9. Opener Jason Roy smashed 61 off 38 balls as England, bidding to become the first team to hold the 50-overs and 20-overs World Cups at the same time, chased down the target with 5.5 overs spare to to maintain their top spot in the six-team group. Earlier, Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat on what their skipper Mahmudullah described as a “belter” of a pitch at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium. Mahmudullah…