Table of contents for 2021-06-04 in Mercury

EDWARD WEST edward.west@inl.co.za NASPERS subsidiary Prosus fell 2.5 percent on the JSE to R1 424.33 yesterday in spite of announcing a $1.8 billion (R24.4bn) deal to acquire the online learning company Stack Overflow. The acquisition of the online learning platform for developers and technologists seemed well appreciated by analysts and social media though. But the acquisition failed to stem the downward trend of Naspers and Prosus that started in May, and in spite of generally higher stocks on the JSE that month. Anchor Capital fund management and analyst Mike Gresty said he believed Prosus’s share was down was because Hong Kong-listed Tencent, which comprises 85 percent of the net asset value of Prosus, was down 2.07 percent when the marked closed in Hong Kong, while…

EDWARD WEST edward.west@inl.co.za JUBILEE, a leader in metals processing in Africa, said yesterday that it had acquired more than 10 years of additional mine life through a new platinum group metals (PGM) feed supply agreement with a chrome-mining customer. The deal would expand its PGM operations to the Eastern Limb of the PGM-rich Bushveld Complex. “To date, Jubilee’s PGM operational footprint has been largely limited to the Western Limb of the mineral-rich Bushveld Complex, a single area of the two main PGM areas in South Africa. This new long-term supply agreement is of significant strategic value and expands our operations on to the Eastern Limb, providing a platform for further opportunities,” Jubilee chief executive Leon Coetzer said. In addition, Jubilee acquired 255 000 tons of PGM-containing chrome tailings,…

Sakhiseni Nxumalo sakhiseni.nxumalo@inl.co.za THE decision by the Department of Basic Education to cancel the 2021 mid-year examinations for Grade 12 pupils was met with mixed reaction by education stakeholders yesterday. Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga made the announcement during a presentation to the portfolio committee on Tuesday. The meeting was to discuss the impact of Covid-19 on teaching and learning. Motshekga justified the decision by saying the department wanted to give pupils time to cover the curriculum. Speaking to The Mercury yesterday, department spokesperson Hope Mokgatlhe confirmed the decision and said more time was needed for teaching. Mokgatlhe said since pupils were attending school on a rotational basis, there was less contact teaching and learning time. “So in order to try to catch up, and for them to have…

NASA yesterday announced plans to launch a pair of missions to Venus between 2028 and 2030 – its first in decades – to study the atmosphere and geologic features of Earth’s so-called sister planet and better understand why the two emerged so differently. The US space agency said it was awarding about $500 million each to develop the two missions, dubbed Davinci+ (short for Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble Gases, Chemistry and Imaging) and Veritas (an acronym for Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography and Spectroscopy). Davinci+ will measure the composition of the dense, hothouse atmosphere of Venus to further understand how it evolved, while Veritas will map the planet’s surface from orbit to help determine its geologic history. Davinci+ is also expected to return the first high-resolution images…

EBRAHIM ESSA Durban There is a serious move now by the authorities to curb bullying at schools – primary as well as secondary. I often wonder where these normally loving, innocent kids get this trait from. Surely it can’t be from our so-called adult leaders of the world that show this wonderful type of behaviour? Surely, none of these notorious events could ever affect the fertile imaginations of our youngsters? Russian Prime Minister Khrushchev warning President Kennedy to lay off Cuba in 1961 or else! Never mind that Castro had some nuclear missiles pointed at the top floor of the White House. Our own Dr Verwoerd warning Britain to stop interfering in the apartheid policies of this country, at the dire risk of the Union of South Africa waving goodbye…

Alexis Serra Plumstead Regardless of the fact that South Africa has been reduced to junk status, high unemployment and gross human suffering thanks to the thieving ANC cadres, the majority of South Africans that are suffering continue to vote in favour of a corrupt government. More and more each day, our freedom of speech, freedom of the press, right to be heard, freedom of movement, our personal safety and security is under major threat. Draconian laws are being implemented, and yet, South Africans remain complacent and apathetic. Is this as a result of the post-apartheid years of being oppressed? Helen Zille sparked the notion of a tax revolt in January 2019 for all the right reasons and the idea fizzled out. If she had to go through with the idea,…

Lee Rondganger lee.rondganger@inl.co.za For generations, visitors to the Durban Natural Science Museum have been drawn to one of its the most prized possessions – a more than 2 000-year-old Egyptian mummy that has enthralled young and old alike. According to history, the mummy was bought by the Durban Museum sometime between 1889 and 1910 from a British army officer, Major William Joseph Myers. Myers brought the mummy from Egypt when he came to South Africa at the end of the 19th century, having served in Egypt for five years. It is believed that Myers – who built up “the finest 19th century private collection of ancient Egyptian antiquities, which he bequeathed to his old school, Britain’s famous Eton College”, according to the Egyptian Society of South Africa – stole and…

Jolene Marriah-Maharaj jolene.marriah@inl.co.za Three men, one of them a foreigner, were jailed this week for an effective three-and-a-half years for possession of illegal cigarettes. The men were arrested in April last year, when the country was in level 5 of the lockdown and a ban had been placed on the sale of cigarettes. National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson in KZN, Natasha Kara said Mero Cossa, Bongani Joseph Mthembu and Zibonele Excellent Msweli were convicted in the Durban Regional Court and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment of which 18 months was wholly suspended. The trio had transported illegal cigarettes as they drove in a vehicle convoy through the Phinda Game Reserve. “The game warder at the entrance of the game reserve became suspicious when they refused to have their vehicles searched,” Kara…

Vernon Mchunu ORGANISED businesses in eThekwini have hailed the multimillion-rand rejuvenation of Durban’s inner city precinct, saying the development would become a key drawcard for tourists, business and residents. Reviving the city’s character would increase property value and improve the climate for investment, the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry said of the multifaceted facelift, that will include a new metro police satellite station, as part of the fight against crime. “We believe upgrades of this nature will indeed benefit citizens and the business community. It is imperative we reposition the inner city, to further attract tourists and residents,” said Durban Chamber of Commerce chief executive Palesa Phili. “It is essential for the city to also focus on crime and grime, infrastructure breakdown and urban decay. As organised business,…

Beijing’s vision is effective in addressing the challenges of the coronavirus Covid-19 has been around for more than a year, but the situation is still complicated and severe. The international community is looking forward to more co-operation against the virus. When President Xi Jinping was invited to attend the Global Health Summit via video link, he put forward a five-point proposal to support international co-operation against Covid-19, namely: l To put people and their lives first. l To follow science-based policies and ensure a co-ordinated and systemic response. l To stick together and promote solidarity and co-operation. l To uphold fairness and equity when striving to close the immunisation gap. l And to address both the symptoms and root causes when improving the governance system. President Xi Jinping also announced…

THE Premier Soccer League’s flagship competition, the DStv Premiership, has stood the test of time in the face of demanding challenges which it embraced with poise and patience. Just over a year ago, the PSL were stunned when Absa announced that they were pulling the plug on its sponsorship. Absa and the PSL had a fruitful relationship that included a 13-year Premiership sponsorship. The setback stung the PSL into enterprising endeavour in the search for a replacement. Two months later, the PSL announced that DStv, owned by MultiChoice, was the new headline sponsor, with a five-year contract. At the time, it was a courageous call by DStv because the Covid-19 pandemic had decimated the sports industry worldwide. The new sponsors would have seen that the pandemic was creating worldwide turmoil.…

A seven-hour breakdown of emergency phone line numbers in France was linked yesterday to up to three deaths, including that of a 63-year-old man who was unable to hail an ambulance after suffering a heart attack. Many distressed people found themselves unable to reach emergency medical, police or fire numbers, or had their calls cut off mid-conversation, for around seven hours this week. Telecom operator Orange has acknowledged responsibility for the problems, with chief executive Stephane Richard offering his “deepest apologies” after being summoned to the interior ministry to explain the breakdown. An investigation has been opened in the western Morbihan region after a man who had suffered a heart attack died in hospital in the town of Vannes after being driven there by his spouse. The patient and his…

DAMASCUS: Millions of people in northwest Syria face disaster if the UN fails to approve an extension of cross-border humanitarian operations next month, a senior UN aid official said yesterday. Some 3 million people, many displaced by fighting elsewhere in Syria during the decade-long conflict, have sought shelter near the border with Turkey, outside the President Bashar al-Assad’s control. Access for cross-border aid from Turkey was reduced last year to just one crossing point after opposition from Russia and China to renewing other crossings. A new showdown is likely next month when the operation’s mandate must be renewed. | Reuters…

OVER the next few weeks, our rugby writers will be debating their Springbok choices from No 15 to 1 for the upcoming series against the British & Irish Lions. Today we focus on No 7: You can’t really ignore Pieter-Steph du Toit when he is the reigning World Rugby Player of the Year, can you? Even though he sat out for over a year due to a serious leg injury, Du Toit has been his relentless self since returning for the Stormers a few weeks ago. He has been playing lung-busting 80-minute matches to get back to full fitness, and his non-stop combative style of play is close to where he finished the 2019 Rugby World Cup. A colossal ball-carrier, deadly defender, supreme line-out jumper and even a…

Big seas have been the issue of late. The offshore fishing has been good but safety should always be the first priority The section of KZN north of Ballito has been very productive for the guys targeting croc couta. Bigger baits have produced the bigger fish so make sure to get some decent mackerel, bonito and walla-walla in your bait box. Use the best hooks and terminal tackle. The last thing you want is to lose a new personal best because you saved R3 on some budget trebles. These bigger fish are also not stupid so make the extra effort to rig your baits properly and make sure they swim and don’t spin. The north has also seen some good early morning snoek fishing around the river mouths. Fillet baits…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za THE SOUTH African economy continued to grow at a solid pace in May despite the rate of expansion in private sector business performance slowing slightly from April’s recent peak. The IHS Markit purchasing managers index (PMI), released yesterday, edged down to 53.2 points in May from a record high of 53.7 points in April, however, this was the second-highest since November 2012. IHS Markit said surveyed businesses reported a solid increase in output in May, with the rate of growth one of the quickest recorded since data collection began in 2011. It said confidence towards future output remained robust in May, growing at the second-quickest rate since October 2014 and was the second-highest in more than three years. IHS Markit said firms were largely…

Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za A QUIET storm is brewing on the sustainability of the Health Levy, which encompasses the Sugar Tax, and the survival of the sugar industry following a report that indicates more might be lost by the sugar industry than is gained by the government shoring-up healthy living. A National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) sponsored study commissioned at the request of the portfolio committee for trade and industry highlights the devastating impact the tax has had on the sugar industry, as well as the broader economy, and on jobs. It indicates that the sugar industry is hemorrhaging more jobs, capital expenditure and opportunity cost than the state is benefitting from trying for a healthier nation. According to extracts released by SA Cane Growers Association chairperson Rex Telmange…

Sibusiso Mboto sibusiso.mboto@inl.co.za The KwaZulu-Natal business sector has urged the provincial government to fast-track the implementation of the projects that form part of its economic recovery plan to get the province back on track. The business sector was reacting after Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs MEC Ravi Pillay yesterday gave an update on the plan, which was adopted last year, to the KZN legislature. Describing the Covid-19 pandemic as the single biggest impediment to economic recovery, the MEC emphasised the importance of working closely with other partners, saying the social compact would be central to ushering in a growing and inclusive provincial economy. “Rebuilding confidence is key. Trust and accountability between the social partners is essential for sustainable confidence,” he said in reference to government, organised business, labour and…

BRRR! It’s been a brisk few days caused, of course, by icebergs drifting northward just across the horizon. You can always tell. There’s not just a freezing wind, the waves at Vetch’s beach are simply alive with penguins, come up from Antarctica, no doubt to pounce on the sardines that have arrived at Port Edward. My old mate Mike Tarr, retired sports editor of the Daily News, sees the sardines as a bright spot in an otherwise grim Covid-19 scenario. “Maybe the so-called Third Wave did something useful and helped propel these annual visitors to our shores.” Maybe indeed. These sports scribes have great perspicacity. Could the sardines’ arrival be an augury, a pointer to things to come? The Sharks making it to the Rainbow Cup play-offs in Europe? Success…

RUGEN PILLAY Durban North IN 1961, Hendrik Verwoerd declared that “Israel, like South Africa, is an apartheid state”. As an architect of apartheid, and South African prime minister at the time, he spoke from a position of some authority. In the 60 years since, the suggestion of Israeli apartheid has never gone away. In 1965, Fayez Sayegh wrote about the “practitioners of apartheid in Palestine”. In the 1970s, Edward Said characterised the Israeli-Palestinian relationship as a “specific, continuing process of dispossession, displacement, and colonial de facto apartheid”. Since the 1980s, Palestinian and Israeli scholars – like Elia Zureik, Uri Davis, Leila Farsakh, Raef Zreik, Ilan Pappé, and many others – have produced ever-deeper analysis of Israeli apartheid. Prominent South Africans – from Desmond Tutu to Ronnie Kasrils – say the…

JEREMY GORDON Sea Point WHY is the government not fast-tracking the approvals of the Russian and Chinese vaccines? How long can it take them to go through the paperwork of the trials and results where they have already completed trials? Either these trials were adequate or they were not. Our health authority should either accept or reject them. These vaccines are being used by many countries. Why is there secrecy about the lack of supply of vaccines and why are some not being used if they are available? I think the public, suffering the consequences of the slow vaccine roll-out, has a right to know.…

Mercury Reporter The 2021 Standard Bank KZN Top Business Awards will recognise and celebrate some of the best businesses operating in the province amid tough conditions. Hameed Noormahomed, Standard Bank head of business clients, client coverage, KZN said: “We see this year’s event as an opportunity to celebrate the businesses that have done phenomenally well under tough trading conditions and to encourage businesses to have the confidence to grow and build what they are doing fourfold to boost the South African economy.” The business awards look at everything a business has done, including social responsibility. Imraan Noorbhai, Standard Bank head consumer client coverage KZN said: “For us the excitement this year is about the change in the categorisation of the awards. The new categories, including among others, business innovation, entrepreneur…

Sakhiseni Nxumalo sakhiseni.nxumalo@inl.co.za Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe, has urged the Richards Bay community to protect investment company Richards Bay Minerals (RBM). Mantashe met with RBM management and the community yesterday following the assassination of one of the company’s senior managers, Nico Swart, last week. Swart was gunned down while driving to work. No arrests have been made. Yesterday’s meeting was chaired by KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala. Also present were Rio Tinto managing director, Stéphane Leblanc, KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison, Neliswa Peggy Nkonyeni, MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Ravi Pillay, and uMhlathuze Municipality mayor Mduduzi Mhlongo. Mantashe said that RBM was an important company, not only for KZN but for mining nationally. “RBM is an important stakeholder in KZN with…

Southern Africa must show the world that it can resolve what is an African problem in Cabo Delgado in northern Mozambique, and the SADC must take the lead. The SADC is ready and willing to act by deploying the SADC standby force, but it just needs to be invited to do so by the government of Mozambique. As Minister for International Relations and Co-operation Naledi Pandor has said, the SADC should lead the process and determine the nature and conditions of support from external sources such as the EU or Portugal. Minister of State Security Ayanda Dlodlo has said that Mozambique’s reticence to enlist the help of its neighbours to quash the insurgency in Cabo Delgado ran counter to SADC’s regional assessment of how best to speedily halt the violence.…

Israelis eyed the end of an era yesterday after a motley alliance of parties from across the political spectrum agreed to form a government to unseat veteran Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Opposition leader Yair Lapid announced the deal just minutes before a midnight Wednesday deadline, prompting celebrations into the early hours by the premier’s opponents and a defiant show of support by his fans. On paper, the prospective coalition commands a slender majority in parliament but a confidence vote is not expected for several days, giving Netanyahu time to woo potential defectors among the unlikely bedfellows ranged against him. With the threat of possible jail time hanging over him in his ongoing trial on corruption charges, the 71-year-old is unlikely to allow his record 12 straight years to end without…

LONDON: David Beckham has taken a 10% stake in Lunaz, a UK-based car restoration and electrification firm, as the former England soccer captain builds on diverse investments in companies related to e-sports, cannabis and now automobiles. “I was drawn to the company through their work restoring some of the most be autiful classic cars through upcycling and electrification,” Beckham, 46, said. He will join Lunaz’s founders and the Barclay, Reuben and Dellal families as a shareholder. Lunaz re-engineers and electrifies classic cars made by Rolls-Royce, Jaguar and Range Rover and Bentley. | Reuters…

Eshlin Vedan eshlin.vedan@inl.co.za AMAZULU did enough to secure their entry into next season's Caf Champions League, but their hardwork could prove worthless if Kaizer Chiefs end up winning the continental club competition. The 1-0 win for Usuthu over Swallows FC on Wednesday means that they could become the first Durban-based team to secure entry into a Caf tournament since the now defunct Manning Rangers managed to do so in the inaugural season of the Premiership back in 1996. However, AmaZulu’s adventure into Africa could be barred should Chiefs win the Champions League as South Africa are only allotted two places in the competition. If the Soweto giants win the tournament, they will gain automatic entry into the competition next season while Mamelodi Sundowns will also play as the domestic league…

SOUTH Africa’s Lloyd Harris missed out on a career-defining match with Spanish tennis legend and king of clay Rafael Nadal after he was defeated by Britain’s Cameron Norrie in a second-round French Open clash at Roland Garros yesterday. The Brit No 2, Norrie won 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 and will advance to the third round. The projected opponent is Nadal, who will play Frenchman Richard Gasquet in a second-round clash. Harris looked comfortable at the start when he raced through the first two games behind his lethal weapon, the serve. Three aces in his two opening service games unsettled Norrie, who dropped service in the third game. Norrie was unable to overcome the setback and lost the first set 6-4 after 35 minutes. Somehow Harris was unable to…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za S&P GLOBAL ratings agency yesterday warned about South Africa’s rising debt burden and substantial interest payments as risks to the country’s fiscal outlook. In a presentation during a live webinar, S&P lead analyst Ravi Bhatia said the slow progress on the roll-out of Covid-19 vaccines and structural reforms would continue to hamper progress. South Africa has inoculated less than 2 percent of the population against Covid-19 while new infections are on the rise in a number of provinces. Bhatia said this would continue to constrain medium-term economic growth and limit the government’s ability to contain the debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio, in spite of South Africa’s near-term economic performance and current account experiencing a cyclical uplift. South Africa’s gross loan debt is forecast to increase from…

Ahmore Burger-Smidt PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa has just signed the Cybercrimes Bill, which seeks to bring South Africa’s cybersecurity laws in line with the rest of the world, into law. The bill, which is now an Act of Parliament, creates offences for and criminalises, among others, the disclosure of data messages which are harmful. Examples of such data messages include: n Those which incite violence or damage to property. n Those which threaten persons with violence or damage to property. n Those which contain an intimate image. Other offences include cyberfraud, forgery, extortion and theft of incorporeal property. The unlawful and intentional access of a computer system or computer data storage medium is also considered an offence, along with the unlawful interception of, or interference with, data.…

Municipality wants priority given to previously excluded racial groups Thami Magubane thami.magubane@inl.co.za THE eThekwini Municipality wants to transform the city’s property rental sector by leasing out its prime beachfront properties to black property owners as part of the government’s policy of Radical Economic Transformation (RET). However, the decision has received a backlash from the main opposition party, which has described the directive as a means to exclude other races. Municipal spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela defended the city’s decision, saying the pace of transformation within the South African property sector was still “alarmingly slow” and characterised by “pre-democracy ownership patterns”. The municipality is proposing to rent some of its buildings in the beachfront area to be used for business activities, with some councillors saying they could be turned into restaurants to create…

MONDAY was Memorial Day, a US public holiday to recognise men and women who have lost their lives in any of the many wars. There are small-town patriotic parades and, in our part of the world, it’s when the Indianapolis 500 is held. Memorial weekend is a family weekend marking the onset of summer. Public swimming pools open for the first time in at least 6 months and there’s a general air of relaxed, patriotic celebration. My sons and I did not have a good Memorial Day. To get the family together, Nate, 19, and I drove for an hour into Indianapolis to take my other son, 23, out for lunch. I was already in a poor mood and when “the boys” began to somewhat playfully harass each other…

DR IMRAN KEEKA DA KZN Spokesperson on Education While the country’s Covid-19 vaccination programme is being rolled out, it has proved to be a very slow process with not all health-care workers and over 60s vaccinated yet – a process which must be finalised quickly. Not only is this important given the threat that the virus poses to both these groups, it is also critical in order to move on to those who are next in line – our educators and school staff. KwaZulu-Natal’s workforce in schools is second only in size to the SANDF. There are already 150 recorded cases of teachers dying as a result of the virus while 5 970 applied for concessions last year. Of those, 1 400 with comorbidities were unable to be in classrooms.…

BARBIE SANDLER | Constantia HOMELESSNESS is a blot on society. It’s dreadful to think of people who have nothing and are forced to live under a bit of plastic either in the baking heat or in the rain and cold. What is the solution? When the first lockdown came the homeless in Cape Town were moved to Strandfontein, but that was a disaster. Does anyone know why? They had shelter, toilets, showers, meals? Was it because it was too far from the city? I had heard it was because they couldn’t get drugs? One of the arguments is: “Allow people to live on the street with more dignity”, but there is no dignity on the street. There are no toilets or showers to do one’s ablutions. No where…

Se-Anne Rall se-anne.koopman@inl.co.za TWO men accused of strangling a KwaZulu-Natal farmer in April have appeared in court. Bongani Mkhwanazi and Bokang Petrose Tsatsi are accused of the murder of Neil McKay at his Winterton farm. The two, aged 18 and 23, allegedly tied McKay’s hands while he was seated in his wheelchair and ransacked his home. Provincial SAPS spokesperson Captain Nqobile Gwala said Mkhwanazi and Tsatsi allegedly stole an undisclosed amount of cash, binoculars and a speaker. “Last month, a team of dedicated detectives from Winterton SAPS managed to make a breakthrough when they arrested two suspects. Mkhwanazi was arrested in the Khethani area in Winterton, while Tsatsi was nabbed in Acaciaville in Ladysmith where he had been hiding,” she said. Gwala said Tsatsi was found in possession of the…

VERNON MCHUNU vernon.mchunu@inl.co.za THE chairperson of the Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT) – the subject of two damning forensic reports against senior executives – has flatly denied that the university is in a state of instability. Addressing a press briefing yesterday, Morailane Morailane said that the council had received a letter from Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister Blade Nzimande notifying it about an intention to institute an independent assessor to look into allegations of poor governance at MUT. Morailane said the council had, as of yesterday, responded to Nzimande, who had given the body 14 days from May 11, when the letter of intent was issued, to comment on his plan as required in terms of the Higher Education Act. He declined to divulge details on how the…

THE cash-strapped SABC wants its rival MultiChoice to pay for carrying three of its television channels despite the company’s contention that the public broadcaster already receives R569 million in advertising revenue annually. The public broadcaster wants subscription broadcasting services such as MultiChoice and StarSat to no longer be allowed to carry its public broadcasting service channels – SABC1, SABC2 and SABC3 – without entering into commercial agreements. MultiChoice is opposed to the plan and has suggested that the move might be illegal despite the SABC obtaining legal opinion supporting its stance. The SOS Support Public Broadcasting Coalition and Media Monitoring Africa have backed the public broadcaster.…

This week, on my blog www.keo.co.za, I wrote that Siya Kolisi had to be leading the Springboks into battle against the British & Irish Lions on the 24th July at Cape Town Stadium in the first of three Tests. ‘Duh’, wasn’t I stating the obvious? was the first retort. ‘Siya’s the World Cup-winning captain … why even write that?’ And then it started … ‘Ah I guess it is obvious … skin colour …’ And then it continued … ‘Ah, a black player succeeds and …’ The comments descended into a racial war of words. Somewhere in between were the rugby followers’ opinions, with those arguing why Kolisi should start and captain the Springboks and others saying pick the team first and then the captain, and questioning whether Kolisi was…

Around 400 pro-democracy supporters took to the streets of downtown Yangon yesterday to stage one of the biggest recent demonstrations against military rule in Myanmar’s commercial hub and largest city. Despite a crackdown by security forces, the military is still struggling to impose order more than four months after overthrowing Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government in a coup and arresting her and senior members of her party. Demonstrators in urban areas have had to become more nimble to avoid security forces, often using flash mobs that quickly disperse, after big rallies in the first months after the coup were frequently met with troops or police firing live rounds. Student activist Zayar Lwin pledged that protests against the coup would continue, although he said it was now harder to organise…

Accra: Nine people died in a gold mine collapse in northern Ghana this week, police said yesterday. Accidents in small-scale gold-mining are common in the West African nation and President Nana Akufo-Addo vowed a crackdown to curb its environmental damage. The latest incident in the remote mining area of Gbane, Talensi district, in the Upper East region near the border with Burkina Faso happened late on Monday during a downpour, police said. A witness said the mine caved in after rain water flooded the pit. “There are about two or more different pits underground with only one tunnel connecting as passage to them,” he said. | AFP…

KAIZER Chiefs hat-trick hero Lebogang Manyama admits he had a gut feeling that their top eight fate would be decided on the final day of the season when they clash with TS Galaxy at the Mbombela Stadium tomorrow (3pm kick-off). After a turbulent outing in domestic football, Chiefs are on course to finish in the top eight. They are ninth on the standings with 33 points, three behind their next opponents Galaxy who occupy the eighth spot. Chiefs’ top eight aspirations looked dead and buried a fortnight ago after they lost to Black Leopards who were subsequently relegated. The shock result was followed by the dismissal of coach Gavin Hunt who was in charge of the team for the past nine months. With their fate out of their…

Mike Greenaway mike.greenaway@inl.co.za IT goes without saying that the squad of Springboks that won the World Cup 18 months ago will en masse provide the core of the 45-man Bok squad announced tonight for the series against the British & Irish Lions. There are two logical reasons for this. Firstly, if ain’t broke, don’t try and fix it; and secondly, the Boks haven’t played since their day of glory in Yokohama which means there has been little opportunity for players to play their way in or out of favour. Of course, there has been a little attrition — Tendai Mtawarira, Francois Louw and Schalk Brits have retired — and there are question marks over the fitness of locks Lood de Jager and RG Snyman — but there will also be new…