Mercury2022-04-01的目錄

FINANCIALLY-constrained consumers will continue paying higher prices for goods for a little longer as producer prices at the factory gate quickened more than expected in February due to geopolitical tension. Data from Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) yesterday showed that annual headline producer price inflation (PPI) accelerated by 10.5 percent in February from a year before. This PPI reading was above market expectations of a 10 percent rise, and was the highest since the 10.8 percent increase experienced in December. Stats SA said the increase in producer prices was driven by elevated prices of coke, petroleum, chemical, rubber and plastic products which rose by 22.6 percent year-on-year, with petrol and diesel prices up more than 30 percent on an annual basis. This primarily reflected the…

THE GOVERNMENT will sell millions of barrels of strategic crude oil reserves to the market in a bid to recoup the R6 billion tax revenue it sacrificed to mitigate rising fuel prices. This sale of strategic oil reserves is the first since the government controversially sold 10 million barrels of oil reserves to private companies at heavily discounted prices between December 2015 and January 2016. The government yesterday announced a temporary reduction in the fuel price to help struggling motorists amid another expected record hike in April. This comes as the escalation in global oil prices due to the global economic recovery and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has placed significant pressure on domestic fuel prices. The latest data from the Central Energy Fund shows South Africa…

THE PRICE of 33 out of a basket of 44 basic foods increased by 10.6 percent year-on-year in March, according to the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice & Dignity Group (PMBEJD), which monitors the prices of foods typically bought by lower income families. PMBEJD programme co-ordinator Mervyn Abrahams said the most significant increases were for cake flour, cooking oil, eggs, tea, and bread and also included maize meal, rice and white sugar. The average increase is almost double the inflation rate of 5.7 percent. The March 2022 Household Affordability Index, which tracks food price data from 44 supermarkets and 30 butcheries in lower income areas of Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town, Pietermaritzburg and Springbok in the Northern Cape, showed that the Johannesburg basket increased by R86.64 (2 percent) from February,…

FRUSTRATED motorists have been given a lifeline as Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula has gazetted an extension for driver’s licences that expired in the period between March 2020 and yesterday. Yesterday had initially been the deadline for drivers to renew their licences. But according to the gazette, all learner licences, driving licence cards, temporary driving licences and professional driving permits that expired during the period are deemed to be valid and their validity has been extended for a further grace period ending on April 15. This comes after the Automobile Association (AA) and the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) called for an extension of the deadline citing the problems with driving licence testing centres and the online booking system. Currently the driver’s licence backlog is about 500 000. Thando…

The Constitutional Court in Seoul upheld a ban on tattooing yesterday, confirming South Korea as the only developed country that permits no one but medical professionals to perform the procedure. Tattoo artists derided the decision, calling it backward and lacking cultural understanding. Despite the decades-old ban, South Korea has nearly 50 000 tattoo artists, who risk police raids and prosecution for practising their trade. Violating the ban is punishable by fines of up to 50 million won (about R598 000) and prison terms – usually two years, though the law provides for as much as life. Tattooist associations have initiated a series of court actions since 2017 challenging the law, saying it breaches their freedom of expression and right to engage in an occupation. In a 5-4 vote, the Constitutional…

When the Taliban rode into Kabul seven months ago, brandishing their guns and firing shots into the air in a show of force and triumph, you could have been forgiven for thinking that they were the liberators of Afghanistan. Sadly they were not. As it often happens in a violent regime change, one oppressor replaces another. The Taliban has been branded as an extremist militant, political movement by the West. Known as the Jihadists, they are ultra conservative, steeped in fundamental Islam and male chauvinism. For as soon as they had taken over the country, they stamped their authority on the people with military rule and a strict code of conservative religious conduct. Sharia law was imposed and women’s freedom was curtailed. Besides teachers, nurses and doctors, women are barred…

I am travelling internationally for the first time since late in March of 2020. This means that I have not been to an airport since then either. Despite a long history of international travel, I will admit I am feeling rather nervous. Have I covered every detail required for access to my international destination? Do I have hard copies of all documents required? Will I be delayed, denied, derailed by some circumstance common to recent travel-story travesties? Perhaps the worst thing I have done in the recent weeks regarding my up-and-coming trip to Chile is “follow” a website of travel travesties reporting the worst of travel dilemmas. This is not a good idea – especially when planning a long-distance teaching trip that necessitates tight timing. I am fully aware that…

WHILE most children change their career aspirations as they grow older, Kelebohile Mothoa’s desire to become a pilot never left her. The 21-year-old student pilot first heard about the career when career counsellors visited her primary school when she was just 8. She said while her friends and peers changed their minds about careers over the years, her dream to become a pilot remained strong. Mothoa is currently a student pilot at Bluechip Flight School at the Wonderboom National Airport in Pretoria. Mothoa said she had endured a lot of hardships, and had to sacrifice time with friends to study. “I finished my theory last year and this year and next year I will be doing my practicals to get my private pilot licence. “After that I will spend…

Vandalism of municipal infrastructure has prompted the eThekwini Municipality to rope in the State Security Agency (SSA) in a bid to track down those responsible for the damage which costs the city millions of rand in repairs and affects service delivery. This week mayor Mxolisi Kaunda said the municipality had called on the SSA for help. The SSA has the overall responsibility for civilian intelligence operations. The municipality has to pay millions of rand to fix infrastructure that has been deliberately sabotaged. In some cases, residents are left without water or electricity because of the vandalism. Kaunda, in an exco meeting on Tuesday, said it was important to bring in additional resources because of the impact vandalism had. He said the city believed some of the challenges the municipality experienced…

There have been mixed reactions from religious organisations and the hospitality industry to the latest proposed Covid-19 amendments. The amendments, published on March 29, are out for public comment until 5pm today. According to the proposed regulations, 50% of the capacity of the venue is allowed for all gatherings, including faith-based or religious, social, political and cultural, gatherings at restaurants, bars, shebeens and taverns; gatherings at conferencing, exhibitions, dining, gyms, fitness centres, casinos and entertainment facilities; gatherings at venues hosting auctions, including agricultural auctions, on condition that people are: Fully vaccinated and in possession of a valid vaccination certificate. Or unvaccinated but in possession of a valid certificate of a negative Covid-19 test obtained not more than 72 hours before the date of the gathering. Alternatively, gatherings are permitted for…

In early March the UN’s General Assembly voted on a resolution demanding that Russia immediately stop its military operations in Ukraine. Out of 193 member states, 141 voted in support of the resolution, five voted against, 35 abstained and 12 didn’t vote at all. Of the 54 African member states, Eritrea voted against the resolution, 16 African countries, including South Africa, abstained, while nine other countries did not vote at all. In all, about half (26) of the 54 member states in Africa chose the path of neutrality in some form. So why did African countries not vote overwhelmingly to support the resolution? The decision of several African countries to stay neutral and avoid condemning Russia for its invasion of Ukraine was made on issues relating directly to the conflict,…

LONDON: Afghanistan’s economy risks falling into a “death spiral” without urgent aid, with some Afghans already forced to sell their children and body parts to survive, UN chief Antonio Guterres said yesterday. The UN is seeking a record $4.4 billion (R64bn) in funding for the conflict-wracked country this year but so far has reached less than 13% of its goal. At a virtual conference of donors co-hosted with Britain, Germany and Qatar, Western nations in particular were urged not to abandon the Afghan people, even as attention has turned to Ukraine and elsewhere. “Wealthy powerful countries cannot ignore the consequences of their decisions on the most vulnerable,” Guterres said, after US-led forces withdrew from Afghanistan last year. The UN secretary-general and others painted a desperate picture of starvation, penury and…

Yangon: Ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi returned for hearings in a junta court yesterday after being quarantined when Covid-19 was detected among her staff, a source said. The 76-year-old’s civilian government was removed in a coup last year that triggered mass protests, and she faces a raft of charges that could see her sentenced to more than 150 years in jail. She’s currently on trial for alleged corruption, breaching Myanmar’s official secrets act and pressuring the election commission.…

Nigeria’s inspector-general of police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba, says the police force has acquired five additional high-powered unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to improve surveillance operations to checkmate criminal activities in Nigeria in line with his vision to boost technology-driven policing. The police said it wanted to integrate the use of innovative technology and ultimately enhance its intelligence gathering and operational capabilities. According to a statement released by Olumuyiwa Adejobi, acting force public relations officer, Abuja, the drones will assist the police in monitoring active crime scenes, in co-ordinating response operations, and provide aerial support to responding officers. “The UAVs include an ALTI Transition, capable of covering up to 150km in a single flight with high endurance of up to 14 hours, and an Elistair Orion fixed-wing aircraft ……

The Hague: Dutch police have arrested a man in connection with the gunning down of two men in a busy McDonald’s restaurant, confirming a possible targeted assassination. The 32-year-old man handed himself over to police in Deventer, about 32km from Zwolle, where the shooting ocurred the day before. Dutch media reports identified the deceased as two brothers, aged 57 and 62. Huseyin and Ali Torunlar were two local businessmen involved in the hospitality industry and had Turkish-Dutch background, Dutch newspapers reported. Police have not yet officially confirmed the men’s identities.…

IRAN has once again denied women entry to a football stadium to watch an international match, leaving hundreds of ticketed fans locked out, Iranian media said on Wednesday. The World Cup qualifier against Lebanon on Tuesday, won 2-0 by Iran, was played at the Imam Reza stadium in the northeastern city of Mashhad. “About 2 000 Iranian women, who had bought tickets for the Iran-Lebanon match, were present in the perimeter of Imam Reza stadium, but could not enter the stadium,” ISNA news agency said. Iran’s team captain Alireza Jahanbakhsh joined in criticism of the lockout. “I don’t think anything would have happened if women had come to the stadium, and this could promote our culture,” he said, quoted on IRIB state television. Mohsen Davari, governor of Mashhad, told IRIB:…

SAFARI Investments RSA, the JSE-listed real estate investment trust (Reit) with a portfolio of premium retail assets in semi-urban areas, said yesterday that it had performed in line with guidance for the period up to February 28. The company, which owns seven retail centres and a day hospital in SA, and a mixed use development in Namibia, said yesterday in a pre-close operational update for the year to end-March 31, the strategy to focus on food-anchored convenience shopping centres in mainly semi-urban areas had proven to be a key factor in the defensive nature of its portfolio. “Improvements were evident in all key trading metrics of the portfolio. In particular increased tenant turnover and trading densities are encouraging and bear testament to the resilience and dominance of Safari’s centres.” Tenant…

WORKFORCE, the JSE-listed labour services group that provides staffing, outsourcing, and training services to companies, has opted not to declare a dividend for 2021 due to the weak economic circumstances. The company said at the release of results for the year to December 31, 2022, that it was concerned about the potential effects of the war in Ukraine on the global economy. “The Russian invasion of Ukraine is likely to strike a devastating blow to global growth if the war is permitted to escalate and if no negotiated settlement is reached soon. “Although it is too early to tell with any certainty what impact this will have on Workforce, the following could potentially be impacted: the fuel price, and this will negatively impact industries and businesses downstream. “There are certain…

President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed a seasoned police officer, Lieutenant-General Sehlahle Fannie Masemola, as the new national police commissioner following the axing of Khehla Sitole. Sitole officially stepped down as national commissioner yesterday following a mutual agreement he reached with Ramaphosa after his involvement in a fierce battle with Police Minister Bheki Cele. The mutual agreement also came after a series of adverse court judgments against Sitole, especially on the illegal procurement of grabbers before the ANC’s national conference in December 2017. While Sitole was at the helm, Masemola was his deputy. Announcing his decision to appoint Masemola, Ramaphosa said he had initiated a process for the appointment of a new national commissioner of police, including appointing a selection panel to advise him on the appointment of a suitable…

THE hand-wringing over South Africa’s unemployment “ticking time bomb” (The Mercury’s front-page headline of March 31) overlooks the most basic cause of this tragic situation: socialism is the parent of unemployment. Thanks to its promotion of disinvestment, sanctions and economic sabotage, the ANC inherited an economy in 1994 which already had four million unemployed. Ever since then the figure has ballooned to way beyond 10 million. Besides fundamental incompetence exhibited at every aspect of governance, deliberate marginalisation of the only sector that creates employment – private enterprise – has been core ANC policy. Driven by inflexible labour laws, enforced demographic representivity, radical economic transformation and now outright “majority rule”, as KwaZulu-Natal Commissar Sihle Zikalala prescribes, the economic state of the country adheres historically to the textbook of socialist ruin. The…

The usual practice of newspapers is not to unnecessarily prolong an argument between writers on a common subject for too long as readers become bored. Can’t blame them. The issue of the film itself and the giant review in a local newspaper of The Kashmir Files is, in similar fashion, destined to disappear from the public eye very soon. Unfortunately the irreparable damage to the spectator will already have been done. The intention with which the film was made will have already succeeded. In spite of scholars, leaders, politicians – many Hindu, many Muslim, and even some Western observers and historians – expressing totally different viewpoints and reports on this single, serious episode of the exodus of the Kashmiri Pandits, local die-hards will refuse to try to understand that…

WHILE watching the hit Netflix show Sex Education, I realised that sexual education in this country is lacking dramatically. Like the school in the show, our schools are still preaching abstinence and have a very closed-minded point of view. Being a teenager in high school, I have found that schools just avoid the conversation about sex, focus only on the dangers or give wrong information. Sometimes, teachers may even skip over content because they feel uncomfortable saying it. Our country has hidden away from the conversation on sex for a long time, and made it taboo, but because of our high HIV rates, we should be stating the importance of protection. This topic has been widely spoken about, but we have done barely anything about this problem. Another major point…

A STUDENT at Rhodes University who was permanently barred from the institution after she was found guilty of kidnapping and assault during student protests in 2016 over the perceived “rape culture” on campus, has been thrown a lifeline. The Supreme Court of Appeal this week overturned the finding of misconduct against Yolanda Dyantyi and the subsequent sanction barring her from the university. Five judges ordered that the university had to consider the matter again. If it decided to reinstate the charges, the court ordered that the disciplinary hearing had to start afresh before another proctor (the official who handled the hearing on behalf of the university). The legal issues before the court arose as Dyantyi’s attorney could not be present throughout her disciplinary hearing due to other commitments. While dates…

A former Eskom employee and a service provider have been sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment in the Palm Ridge Commercial Crimes Court. Former Eskom financial controller Mosai Barnard Moraka and Eskom service provider Victor Vilosi Tshabalala were convicted on 53 counts of fraud and theft which cost the power utility R35 million. The court further ordered the duo to forfeit their respective properties to the State which were placed under a preservation order in November 2021. Their estates will be sold and proceeds paid directly to Eskom. Eskom Group chief executive André de Ruyter welcomed the sentence and said this was another milestone in the power utility’s efforts to weed out corruption within its ranks. “This is only one of the many cases of corruption that Eskom is pursuing involving…

IN A human rights-affirming decision, the Supreme Court of Appeal ruled on Tuesday that the disciplinary process that permanently excluded Yolanda Dyantyi from Rhodes University in 2017 was flawed and had been procedurally unfair after the university proctor heading the process had denied her a postponement when her legal counsel had not been available to attend. The hearing had continued in her and her legal counsel’s absence – and despite protestations from academics and human rights activist like myself – found her guilty and permanently expelled her from the institution in a disciplinary hearing on charges of kidnapping, assault, insubordination and defamation for leading a protest action aimed at calling for systemic change to the institutionalised rape culture on campus and the perpetual violence against vulnerable and minority groups, mostly…

The UN relief agency yesterday appealed for $1.7 billion (about R25bn) to address the humanitarian needs of 6.8 million most vulnerable South Sudanese in 2022. The UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) called on donors to fund the South Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan for 2022/2023 to help the affected populations with urgent life-saving assistance and protection. Sara Beysolow Nyanti, the humanitarian co-ordinator for South Sudan, said some 8.9 million people in South Sudan are estimated to have significant humanitarian needs in 2022. “The cumulative and compounding effects of years of climate-related shocks such as flooding and drought, conflict and subnational violence have destroyed people’s homes and livelihoods, robbing them of the future they deserve,” Nyanti said. The UN agency said that there were more than…

LOS ANGELES: Chris Rock is “still processing” what happened between him and Will Smith at the Oscars. The 57-year-old comic was smacked in the face by the King Richard star for making a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, during Sunday’s ceremony. In his first public appearance since the altercation, Chris admitted he was still coming to terms with what happened and wasn’t ready to speak about it yet. Entering the stage at Boston’s Wilbur Theatre to a standing ovation on Wednesday, an emotional Rock said: “Sit down I have jokes to tell, and now you’re making me misty eyed”. After asking the crowd how their weekends had been, he said: “I have a whole show… that I wrote before the weekend, so, if you came here for that…

ANKARA: Turkish police have detained seven Syrian Islamic State (IS) suspects in Adana province. Yesterday, after the police examined the digital documents seized in previous operations, they determined that seven suspects were residing in Adana, the local DHA news agency reported. The anti-terror teams launched raids to detain the foreign nationals, who allegedly operated on behalf of the group. In a separate operation, on Tuesday, Turkish security forces detained four Syrian IS suspects in the Kayseri province over information that they had carried out armed activities in Syria and Iraq.…

BARCELONA broke the women’s attendance record as 91 553 fans watched them come from behind to beat bitter rivals Real Madrid 5-2 at Camp Nou on Wednesday and reach the Champions League semi-finals with an 8-3 aggregate win. The new record surpassed both the previous club mark of 60 739 fans set in 2019 at Atletico Madrid's Metropolitano stadium, where the hosts beat Barca 2-0 in a league match, and the official attendance record for a women's game. That was set at the 1999 World Cup final between the United States and China, when 90 195 fans were in attendance at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. All 99 354 tickets for Wednesday’s match had been sold out since January after a huge engagement campaign by the club. Yet expectations that…

THE offshore fishing has been amazing. Some gigantic couta have been landed and some beasts are still out there. The north coast and the far north have been heavily fished over the past couple of weeks. Sodwana and Cape Vidal have been full up and for good reason. The couta have been the main attraction to the spots up north but there have been some frantic billfish bites as well. Live bait has been the most successful method for the couta although some have claimed the shiny walla-walla to be the best of the best. Either way you slice it, the down rigged baits have been the most productive. Durban has seen a lot of bigger tuna this past week. These have been caught on all types of methods. Trolling…

ANALYSTS have remained divided about the potential impact of the proposed labour migration policy on the economy and job creation in South Africa. This comes as the government in February unveiled South Africa’s National Labour Migration Policy for public comment and engagement. The Employment Services Amendment Bill proposes a framework that will enable the Minister of Labour to regulate the extent to which employers can employ foreign nationals in their establishments. If passed into law, employers would be compelled to implement quotas on the number of documented foreign nationals who can be employed in sectors like agriculture, hospitality and tourism, and construction. Talita Laubscher, a partner at Bowmans’ employment and benefits practice, yesterday said the proposed legislation was not really a new thing. Laubscher, however, said the definition of the…

FOR MANY YEARS, the mining industry has been increasingly aware of the need to comply with environmental, social and governance standards and targets, primarily to address its impact on the environment and communities. This is succinctly articulated in a 2017 academic paper, “Mining industry and sustainable development: time for change”: “Mining is the human activity that has been more disturbing to the environment and is linked to large social impacts and inequalities.” Importantly, “Mining activities are very diverse and may have different ecological footprints. Past mining activities left such imprints in the environment, but two issues, in particular, are of major and worldwide importance: mine tailings and acid mine drainage.” Understanding these realities and the increasing demands from local communities has required that we do things differently. The unavoidable effect…

EThekwini Municipality will enlist the assistance of the SAPS as it seeks to deal with vigilante business formations that have in the past disrupted some of the projects run by the city. This was revealed by eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda during an executive committee (exco) meeting yesterday, where he declared the municipality’s intention to tackle the invasion of construction sites by business forums that seek to win contracts by using force. Kaunda was responding to concerns from DA exco member Nicole Graham about how the multibillion-rand development project in Ntshongweni would continue without interruption by business forums. In the past, a number of projects under the municipality have been halted by business forum members. One such grouping, called Delangokubona, caused havoc at many sites around Durban. Graham said the city…

Zulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini has instructed his lawyers to oppose moves by Prince Simakade Zulu to halt his ascendancy to the throne. This is after it emerged that the prince wrote to President Cyril Ramaphosa this week, asking him to halt the coronation. In a letter sent to the king’s law firm and the State Attorney in Durban late on Monday, Prince Simakade said he intended to launch a court action to review and set aside the decision by Ramaphosa to recognise Misuzulu as king, as the process of identifying him was procedurally and substantively flawed. The letter came just days after the prince’s lawyers had also asked to be provided with the reasons that had prompted Ramaphosa to determine that King Misuzulu was the heir to the throne.…

If there are any of you who watched a recent debate in Parliament on YouTube, the actions by the Speaker – our ex minister of defence – were pathetic to say the least, this was our ex minister of defence doing her best. There was one particular individual speaking on behalf of the ANC blaming today’s woes on the past. The woman in question said absolutely nothing about what the ANC has not done in 28 years nor mentioned any ministers that have been fingered in the Zondo commission for corruption. Her reading off script and being unable to pronounce words was a problem. If this is the calibre of leaders in the ANC, this country indeed has a problem bigger than most people realise. This Parliament of ours is…

TOURISM is a strong card if we’re going to make an economic recovery after the Covid nightmare. Everything is more or less in place. At Tembe Elephant Park, for instance, they have cameras at the waterholes, sending images to wealthy Americans of what goes on. Pre-Covid they used to fly their chartered aircraft direct to the Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife airstrip. It’s all waiting. But now there’s a kerfuffle. Ezemvelo no longer artificially open the mouth of St Lucia estuary so that the lake can return to its natural dynamics. They recently won a court case against sugar farmers who say their lands are being flooded as a result. Also on the floodplain are marginal subsistence farmers who are now also being flooded. It’s a dispute that’s been going on as…

THE Proteas’ women’s team have been left to ponder how they failed to give their best in the biggest game of their lives in yesterday’s World Cup semi-final in Christchurch, New Zealand. It will be scant consolation that they were outplayed by an opponent whose own performance is peaking at the most critical time. This was a team that was supposed to be playing for the nation. For every gogo, single mother and little girl, a column on these pages stated in the build-up to this much-anticipated clash. Maybe the responsibility of being pioneers – no South African women’s cricket team has qualified for a World Cup final before – was just too much. The quest will of course now continue, but when the dust has settled, which may take…

israeli forces killed at least two Palestinians yesterday, the Palestinian health ministry said, in clashes that erupted during a raid in the occupied West Bank that followed deadly Arab attacks in Israel. In a separate incident, a Palestinian stabbed a passenger on an Israeli bus near a Jewish settlement in the West Bank and was shot dead by another passenger, the Israeli military said. The national ambulance service said the man who was stabbed had suffered moderate wounds. Earlier, the Israeli military said its forces and border police entered the refugee camp in the city of Jenin to “apprehend terrorist suspects”. “During the operation, terrorists opened fire at our forces. Israeli troops returned fire that struck the gunmen. An Israeli soldier was slightly wounded.” The Palestinian Health Ministry said two…

UKRAINIAN forces were preparing for new Russian attacks in the south-east region where Moscow’s guns were now trained after its assault on the capital Kyiv was repelled, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said yesterday. Five weeks into an invasion that has blasted cities into wastelands and created more than 4 million refugees, US and European officials said Russian president Vladimir Putin was being misled by his generals about the dire performance of Russia’s military. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it was bringing a convoy of aid to reach the besieged Black Sea port of Mariupol, where tens of thousands of people have been trapped for weeks under bombardment without food, water or heat. In a video address, Zelenskiy said Russian troop movements away from Kyiv and the northern…

Stockholm: A Supreme Court justice in Sweden has been fined for shoplifting a Christmas ham and meatballs among other items, the prosecutor in the case said yesterday. The 67-year-old justice was caught by staff at a supermarket in Stockholm a week before Christmas. “I have issued a fine regarding the crime, petty theft, previously known as shoplifting,” chief public prosecutor Per Nichols told AFP. The judge resigned from her post – when reports emerged that she was being investigated – after having served two decades on the bench. The judge denied any intention to steal the groceries, and was issued a fine of 50 000 Swedish kronor (about R78 500), Nichols added.…

THE dream is over. The Proteas have been knocked out of the Women’s World Cup. Their objective of becoming the first South African team to reach a World Cup final lay in tatters on the Hagley Oval outfield yesterday. It will instead be traditional rivals England, who trounced South Africa by 137 runs in this second semi-final, and Australia that will once again contest the showpiece on Sunday. The major disappointment for the Proteas will be that they comfortably kept their worst performance of the tournament for the knockout stages. “Obviously it's a very sad changing room, different to all of our games that we've been playing," said captain Sune Luus. “It's going to be a hard pill to swallow this one, especially just in the way we…

SECOND placed Royal AM will go into their league clash against TS Galaxy tomorrow with confidence after coach John Maduka and forward Mxolisi Macuphu were honoured with the coach of the month and player of the month awards by the PSL at a press conference in Durban yesterday afternoon. Royal AM have been the league’s biggest surprise package this season. The Durban club are on course to qualify for the CAF Champions League in what is their first season in the South African top flight. Maduka told IOL Sport that the team is focused on ending the season on a high rather than Champions League qualification. “We’ve got a plan and want to finish as high as possible this season. We don’t really want to deviate and think about the…