Table of contents for CT-2021-04-14 in Cape Times

DINEO fAKU dineo.faku@inl.co.za PRECIOUS metals and minerals once gain came through for the beleaguered mining industry as output surged and was expected to lift even further in the medium term. Data from Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) yesterday showed that production improved with export values growing 5.6 percent month-on-month in February to R53.5 billion. Analysts said that the output was 33.6 percent higher than the comparable period last year, suggesting that external conditions had become favourable in line with the global economic growth recovery. StatsSA said production in the sector rose 0.8 percent year-on-year in February, ahead of expectations as iron ore output surged. The statistics agency said that iron ore, the main ingredient in the production of stainless steel, was the largest contributor to the output with 65.7 percent growth,…

Gerry Cupido geraldine.cupido@inl.co.za On Saturday, April 10, the announcement of Dr Sindi van Zyl’s death sent ripples of sadness throughout South Africa. The medical doctor who hosted the show Sidebar with Sindi on Khaya FM, was known as the “people’s doctor”. At the beginning of this year, the mother of two, 45, was diagnosed with Covid-19. In February she was admitted to hospital due to respiratory complications. With a 285K following on Twitter, the “Duchess of Healing” was loved by all and she freely shared advice on medical issues. She was particularly passionate about mental health, pregnancy and HIV. She was well known for her bubbly personality and zest for life – expressed by her love for colourful caftans and flowing dresses. And let’s not forget her signature smoky-eye look…

okuhle Hlati okhule.hlati@inl.co.za WHILE teachers unions have hailed the newly gazetted ban on those found guilty of sexual abuse of learners from returning to the profession, they believe sexual harassment involving another employee should also be harsher. Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga recently issued new regulations for employment before teachers can be rehired. She said amended rules were to “regulate the period of prevention of re-employment of former educators dismissed or deemed dismissed for misconduct or deemed resigned”. According to the rules, teachers found guilty of serious charges – including having a sexual relationship with a learner, sexual harassment involving learners and committing an act of sexual assault on a learner, student or other employee – will be axed and banned from the profession. The penalty for sexual harassment involving…

Lisa Isaacs lisa.isaacs@inl.co.za IN YET another blow for South Africa’s efforts to achieve herd immunity by the end of the year, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize announced the voluntary suspension of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) Janssen vaccine roll-out. This was after the pharmaceutical giant yesterday made the decision to delay the roll-out of their Covid-19 vaccine in Europe. The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended a pause to the issuing of the Janssen vaccine over “potentially dangerous'” blood-clotting concerns. Of the more than 6.8 million doses of the Janssen vaccine administered in the US, the CDC and FDA were reviewing data involving six reported cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot, called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), seen in…

IT might be a proud 50 years, but a 50-year period has as many successes as it has challenges. We are proud of what has been achieved, but we are equally mindful of the mammoth task that lies ahead of us – that we must never forget that this building was once an emblem of an exclusionary regime: one that sought to divide. The words “exclusion” and “division” are the words I would like to focus on as we traverse the next 50 years. The two words must never be part of this establishment again. In fact, our aim at Artscape has been, and always will be, to be the opposite – to be as inclusive and as accessible to all as possible. Many know the history of The Nico…

Chevon Booysen chevon.booysen@inl.co.za THE State has accused Melvin Volkwyn of being a “bully” who was “trying to score points with the court” while he portrayed Davidene Lucas, mother of slain toddler Orderick, in a “bad light and as one of bad character”. Volkwyn, 42, is on trial for the murder of one-year-old Orderick, whose lifeless body was found in a drain in Eerste River. State prosecutor Mornay Julius, during his cross-examination of Volkwyn yesterday, argued Volkwyn was bringing new evidence to court which was not included in his chief testimony. Julius was referring to a number of allegations made by Volkwyn in his testimony that Lucas would “steal” money from him after he would send her on errands. Volkwyn had also testified that Lucas was “doing prostitution” when she had…

ZELDA VENTER zelda.venter@inl.co.za TICKING and hissing noises inside the car and a Bluetooth system which does not perform optimally when the vehicle travelled beyond 70km an hour are not defects enough to render the vehicle dysfunctional. This is according to five justices of the Supreme Court Of Appeal after a Pretoria woman demanded a refund for her then new Renault Kwid she had bought, as it had too many problems. The car dealership in Pretoria North where Abigail Wentzel bought her dream car in December 2017 refused to refund her for the vehicle. It said it did fix the problems she had complained about and besides, she had been driving the car all along. But the North Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, in an earlier ruling, said the dealership and Renault…

PERHAPS the situation has changed since my last observation when I noted that all the larger naval vessels were alongside in Simon’s Town. I would have thought that at least one of the ships – preferably more – would have ventured to the Mozambique Channel, if only to show support for that country’s government following the recent violent incursions. I also noted in Simon’s Town that the 77-year-old cable ship, Cable Restorer, is being scrapped. When she took a serious list late last year, seasoned salts sensed that she had passed her scrap-by date. Neither the navy nor her owner would want her sinking at the naval berth as it would have taken much ingenuity and money to raise her. Hence, her interlude last year precipitated her scrapping. The task…

IN RESPONSE to the stand-off between the police and residents of Rabie Ridge near Midrand over the occupation of land, Gauteng Human Settlements, Urban Planning and Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Lebogang Maile boasted that his department would continue its fight against “land invasion”. He welcomed the swift response by the police in pushing back against desperate residents who tried to move onto a privately owned piece of land. “Our anti-land invasions strategy we unveiled a few months ago is starting to bear fruits. We will continue to intensify our fights against land invasions,” Maile said. He made his remarks as Nyalas escorted by heavily armed police rolled into Rabie Ridge before officers fought running battles with protesting residents. Similar scenes have played themselves out in other parts of…

Ten people have been killed and 34 injured in fighting between rival ethnic communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s eastern city of Goma, a spokesperson for the provincial government said yesterday. The clashes broke out when protests against the UN’s Monusco peacekeeping mission, which some blame for failing to end the worsening insecurity and militia attacks, descended into violence. Attacks by armed militias and inter-communal violence in Congo’s restive eastern region have killed over 300 people since the start of the year as government troops and UN peacekeepers struggle to bring stability in the mineral-rich region. The governor of North Kivu province, Carly Nzanzu Kasivita, banned all public protests from Monday and called for calm. Demonstrators said they were frustrated at the failure of efforts to stop rising violence…

Strasbourg: The European Court of Human Rights yesterday condemned Turkey for the detention of journalist and novelist Ahmet Altan for his alleged involvement in a failed 2016 coup attempt. Altan, who is 71 and has worked for several Turkish newspapers and TV news programmes, wrote articles critical of the government and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2016. He was arrested in a purge of media organisations and accused of supporting the uprising by “disseminating subliminal messages to the public”. He was sentenced to life in jail for trying to overthrow the government. This was later quashed by Turkey’s top court.…

Women who lie about sexual abuse and accuse innocent men of rape and harassment should not be convicted of libel, according to a group of 35 Swedish celebrities, legal professionals and public debaters who penned an opinion piece in the newspaper Svenska Dagbladet. The signatories, including actress Lo Kauppi, journalist Sven Melander and Julian Assange accuser Anna Ardin, demanded that “defamation cases linked to MeToo be dropped”. If they had their way, the women who lied in their social media posts and came out with false accusations about sexual abuse would avoid being prosecuted. “The defamation sentences have come with high fines and suspended prison sentences. It is a strong signal to even more women to remain silent and means that our legal system, in practice, sentences women who report…

MIHLALI BALEKA AT BIDVEST STADIUM SOUTH AFRICA (0)(2) Kgatlana 51’, Salgado 57’ BOTSWANA (0)(0) Banyana Banyana reminded their counterparts why they have been crowned “the Queens of Southern Africa” for the past four years. They beat neighbours Zambia and Botswana to seal a perfect record in their international friendlies during the Fifa break. On Saturday, they beat Zambia 3-1 at Bidvest Stadium, before returning to the same venue yesterday afternoon to beat Botswana 2-0 – thanks to second-half goals from Spanish-based strike Thembi Kgatlana and Gabriela Salgado. The South Africans, who will miss…

Tomorrow’s Nedbank Cup quarter-final between Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates has been described as the “final before the final”, and Rhulani Mokwena says it is a pity there will not be spectators to witness the “spectacle”. Mokwena, the Sundowns co-coach, made the “final” reference while addressing the media ahead of tomorrow evening's Nedbank Cup shoot-out at Loftus. "With respect to the remaining teams in the competition, the Sundowns-Pirates match has been correctly referred to as a 'final before the final'. It will be a match between high-quality players," said Mokwena. "There have been matches between these two teams in the past when there was not much to write home about. It might have been because of the highly competitive nature of the teams. "This time, the teams are…

Hideki Matsuyama’s historic victory at the Masters on Sunday could be worth $20million per year in endorsements, a sports marketing expert told Sportico for a story published on Monday. Bob Dorfman told Sportico that Matsuyama, the first Japanese player to win a men’s golf major, could earn $600m in endorsements, in total, over the rest of his life. “Barring any career-ending injury or scandal, I’d say a Masters win is easily worth $600million for Matsuyama,” Dorfman of Baker Street Advertising told Sportico. “He’ll be an icon in his golf-mad country.” Matsuyama, 29, won the Masters by one stroke over Will Zalatoris. He earned $2.07m for the win. Matsuyama was also the first Japanese amateur to play at the Masters in 2011. “The Masters win is a game-changer,” Bill Sanders told…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za ESKOM is set to offload its controversial multimillion-rand residential development project in Mpumalanga before the end of September as part of raising more than R2 billion in capital. The power utility said yesterday that it would finalise the sale of Die Wilge Flats near the Kusile power station during the first half of the current financial year. It would also sell its Lephalale stands near the Medupi power station in Limpopo to raise more money. Meanwhile, Eskom said it would implement stage 2 load shedding yesterday due to a shortage of generation capacity. Yesterday, the struggling power utility said it had raised R76.1 million from the disposal of two high-rise office buildings in Kimberley and Johannesburg as part of its strategy to sell non-core immovable…

SCHRODER European Real Estate Investment Trust (Sere), which is invested in European growth cities, had collected 93 percent of rent due for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, ahead of the 89 percent collected in the previous two quarters. The property portfolio was independently valued at €274 million (about R4.7 billion) as at March 31, a 0.6 percent decrease on its December 31 valuation, the company said in an update yesterday. The valuation fell by €3.2m, or 1.2 percent net of about €1.4m of capital expenditure invested in the refurbishment of Boulogne-Billancourt over the quarter. The like-for-like valuation during the quarter was driven by the improved yield re-rating at the Berlin DIY investment, delivering a valuation increase of €1.1m, or 4 percent. The yield re-rating improved across the industrial portfolio,…

Sihle Mavuso sihle.mavuso@inl.co.za THERE was deafening silence from former president Jacob Zuma, his foundation, his supporters and legal team after he suffered another legal setback at the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA). Yesterday, the court upheld a North Gauteng High Court ruling that stripped him of state funding for his upcoming corruption trial that emanates from the arms deal of the late 1990s. The ruling came a day before the deadline issued by the Constitutional Court which had called for Zuma to make a recommendation on what sentence he should receive for defying the apex court’s ruling that he should appear before the Zondo Commission. Just like on Monday, Zuma’s lawyer, Eric Mabuza, and spokesperson, Vukile Mathabela, were not forthcoming when asked whether Zuma would change his mind and participate…

Zintle Mahlati zintle.mahlati@inl.co.za A LUNCH at former president Jacob Zuma’s Nkandla homestead and accusations over a “top six” clique at the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) dominated day two of the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) attempts to fill vacant posts at the Constitutional Court. The JSC will have to shortlist five candidates and submit the names to President Cyril Ramaphosa to make the final appointments. Yesterday, KwaZulu-Natal High Court Judge Dhayanithie Pillay faced a tough time during her interview over her key judgments. Chief Justice Mogoeng Moegeng dropped a bombshell, saying he was left puzzled by then Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan’s question to him about Pillay’s performance during the previous Concourt interviews. “During the last interviews for the Constitutional Court that you attended, and while the JSC program was running,…

Okuhle Hlati okhule.hlati@inl.co.za YET another postponement in the sentencing proceedings of Mzimhle Jikwana, convicted of kidnapping and the premeditated murder of two-year-old Oyingcwele Zokufa, has left the toddler’s family, residents and lobby groups disappointed. A number of people carrying banners in support of a harsh sentence, and in support of the Zokufa family, gathered at the Western Cape High Court yesterday, where an evidence report for sentencing was expected to be presented. However, the case was postponed to May 4 for a pre-sentence report and sentencing. Oyingcwele went missing on August 26, 2018, after Jikwana had an argument with the toddler’s aunt, who he was dating her at the time. The child’s body was found four days later in a shallow grave in bushes on the side of the…

Siphokazi Vuso siphokazi.vuso@inl.co.za THE Good party on the West Coast has called for ANC MPL Danville Smith to step down after he appeared on allegations of fraud and corruption at the Bellville Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Friday. Good Party’s Sammy Claassen said the charges relate to alleged incidents during a Mandela Day celebration that took place during Smith’s tenure as speaker of the Cederberg Municipality. This comes as ANC secretary- general Ace Magashule has requested, by tomorrow, the names of party members who have been charged with corruption or other serious crimes and those who are alleged, reported or implicated in corrupt practices. The ANC in the province yesterday said it was following that process. Claassen said Smith was the alleged “mastermind” behind the fraud and corruption while…

Bill Constantine | B/Gen USAF (Ret.) | Oranjezicht I NOTE that Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Republic of South Africa and the Kingdom of Lesotho, Ilya Rogachev, has again, strayed from his ambassadorial duties to engage in another spate of “America-bashing”, via the printed media; “Promoting democracy” is a US smokescreen to interfere (Cape Times, April 1). In his latest, “Alternative Viewpoint” piece – the third in as many months – the ambassador levels another broadside of criticism against America, this time, aimed directly at US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s recent foreign policy address. It seems the secretary of state can’t get a break from ambassador Rogachev despite, in his address, offering an honest admission of past mistakes in US foreign policy, saying: “We…

At the quiet suburban intersection in Minneapolis where Daunte Wright was shot dead, mourners expressed despair over the latest police killing of a black person to shake the US. “We hope for change, but realistically our expectations are different,” said Butchy Austin, 37, a corporate sales worker who has become a social activist since the killing of George Floyd in the city last year. A white police officer is currently on trial, accused of murdering Floyd – and Wright’s death on Sunday has further fuelled public anger over black men killed by police. “Frankly, being a person of colour is tiring,” said Austin. “We want to know that we can be safe. It’s a systematic problem, and the fight has to be to completely rebuild the system to get equality…

LIMA: Twenty-two people died and 13 others were injured when a passenger bus overturned in rainy conditions on an Andean road in Peru, police said. The accident happened in the morning near the western city of Huarez, 600km north of Lima, a police official told AFP. A local television station said most of the passengers were returning home after voting in elections on Sunday for a new president and congress. Deadly traffic accidents are frequent in Peru, particularly during the rainy season, but also due to poor road surfaces, insufficient signage and a lack of control by authorities.…

BRUSSELS: The EU has rejected any attempts to derail diplomatic efforts to revive the Iran nuclear deal currently under way in Vienna. EU Foreign Affairs spokesperson Peter Stano said the reported incident in Natanz, Iran, “could have been an act of sabotage”, but insisted there was no official attribution over who was responsible. The Natanz uranium enrichment site near Tehran was hit by a power outage on Sunday as negotiators in Vienna were seeking to re-admit the US to the 2015 pact, officially known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear ambitions, after former president Donald Trump withdrew in 2018.…

I am not a great believer in conspiracy theories. I generally like to live my life based on facts. But, I have also come to understand over the years that the cliché "where there is smoke, there is fire" usually means the kitchen is burning up. And that brings me to the omission of Kyle Verreynne for the first couple of T20 Internationals against Pakistan. Social media was in outcry after the Cape Cobras wicket/keeper batsman was left out of a virtual South Africa "A" side, dressed up as the Proteas, due to the IPL absentees and injury-enforced absence of captain Temba Bavuma and Rassie van der Dussen. I did not blindly join the choir calling for Verreynne’s inclusion in the T20 team as I believe some players are better…

AUDITOR-General Tsakani Maluleke has officially declared the SA Post Office to be commercially insolvent. Reports emerged yesterday that Maluleke conferred the struggling post office to a growing list of collapsing parastatals with irregular expenditure of over R200 million, as well as fruitless and wasteful expenditure exceeding R26m. Maluleke allegedly said that there was no evidence that officials behind the irregularities had been held to account. She was said to have been constrained by the post office’s “poor status of the accounting record” and grossly inadequate internal controls with no proper record keeping to ensure that complete, relevant, and accurate information was accessible and available. In January, former chief executive Mark Barnes accused the government of interfering with the institutions’ turnaround strategy, which had led to financial difficulties at the…

RENERGEN said yesterday it had signed a 10-year sales agreement for the supply of helium with iSi Automotive, which was the company’s first direct-to-customer helium deal. The domestic producer of natural gas and helium did not name iSi Automotive as its customer on Monday when it announced the sales agreement, citing confidentiality, but the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) informed the company that it was not technically complying with ASX guidance note 8 section 4.15. ASX advised the company to halt trading on the stock market as a result. The group said yesterday that its first helium sales agreement for the Phase 2 plant for the Virginia Gas Project was with iSi Automotive. “The 10-year sales agreement commences on the completion of construction of our plant for Phase 2 of Virginia…

Siphokazi Vuso siphokazi.vuso@inl.co.za DISGRUNTLED Grand Parade traders have vowed to seek legal opinion should the City “insist” on implementing the CBD trading plan without their support and approval. This comes after the City’s Urban Management Directorate invited the public to comment on the proposed draft informal trading plans for the CBD last month, saying that changes in trading dynamics triggered the need to review the current plans. The public participation process was open for comment from March 1 and closed on March 31. The Grand Parade informal traders have raised numerous concerns over the trading plans, including unsafe demarcations and restrictions to the proposed trading hours. In a letter to the City, dated March 26, Grand Parade Traders’ Forum (GPTF) chairperson Riedewaan Charles said that should the…

From page 1 Pillay, who is currently in an acting position at the Constitutional Court, had previously issued a judgment in 2019, in the defamation case between former president Jacob Zuma and former minister Derek Hanekom. Zuma lost the case. The JSC has received three submissions from people who objected to her possible appointment to the Constitutional Court. The complainants cited her judgment on the Zuma/Hanekom defamation case. They also questioned her relationship with Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan, and Hanekom. Pillay dismissed accusations that she had a friendship with Hanekom. And on Gordhan, she said she knew him and they have a friendship that has “drifted” over the years. “No, I am not friends with Mr Hanekom. I have known Mr Gordhan for many years and we were both…

Siyavuya Mzantsi siyavuya.mzantsi@inl.co.za THE Judicial Conduct Tribunal misdirected itself on numerous procedural and substantive issues, rendering its findings unjustified against Western Cape High Court Judge President John Hlophe. This is according to a statement issued by Hlophe’s lawyer, Barnabas Xulu, late last night in response to the tribunal’s scathing findings against Hlophe. The tribunal found him guilty of gross misconduct. His fate is to be decided by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), which has the final say on whether the ruling is accepted or dismissed. The tribunal’s report stated that Hlophe breached sections of the Constitution when he tried to influence two justices of the apex court. The ruling related to a complaint filed by 11 justices of the apex court in 2008 who claimed that Hlophe had attempted to…

Lisa Isaacs lisa.isaacs@inl.co.za IN ACCEPTING the Documentary gong at this year’s British Academy Film Awards (Baftas) a the weekend, the local film-makers of My Octopus Teacher said they would continue working hard to protect the Great African Sea Forest. The documentary has been captivating film festivals worldwide and has also been nominated for an Oscar. Directed by Cape Town film-maker and environmental journalist Pippa Ehrlich, co-directed by James Reed and produced by Craig Foster, My Octopus Teacher is also a collaboration between the Sea Change Project, Off the Fence Productions and Netflix. Nominees attended a virtual ceremony, hosted at London’s Royal Albert Hall. Accepting the award, an overwhelmed Ehrlich thanked Reed, the production team, contributors, the Sea Change Project, and Foster for sharing his story. “Craig Foster … shared his…

Athandile Siyo athandile.siyo@inl.co.za CASH-in-transit security company SBV has offered a R1 million reward for information that would lead to the arrest and prosecution of suspects who attacked their employees in Gugulethu, killing one guard. The Gugulethu Community Police Forum (CPF) has called for more policing in the area. It has since emerged that a man seen taking a security guard’s firearm was arrested and the weapon recovered. National police spokesperson Brenda Muridili said the suspects used explosives during the attack. “The suspects who were driving a Toyota Quantum approached the guards of a CIT [cash-in-transit] truck and disarmed them. Explosives were used to gain access to the safe on the vehicle. In the explosion, one of the guards was fatally injured while three others sustained injuries. “The suspects fled with an…

Staff writer TWO men convicted for shooting and killing an Elsies River woman at point-blank range have been sentenced to 25 and seven years behind bars respectively. Police spokesperson FC van Wyk said Jonathan Solomons, 32, and Johan Goliath, 37, were sentenced in the Bellville Specialised Commercial Crimes Court for murder after the case was transferred from the Goodwood Magistrate’s Court. The case dates back to 2019 when the pair knocked at 40-year-old Loretta Rubain’s door and shot her in the chest. “Rubain was lying in her room at H3 Springbok Place, Balvinie Drive, Elsies River, when she was called to the door by an unknown person. When she arrived at the front door, she was shot twice in the chest and died instantly. “The investigation was taken over by…

Siseko Maposa and Philile Dlamini THE politics of appeasement does an extraordinarily good job, in the short term, of mystifying deep-hidden quandaries. The appeaser rests on the laurels that more of the same will deliver similar results. But as times change, so do demands and the minimum satisfaction requirements of the appeased. Eventually, the tensions become vividly seen in the public theatre, threatening to reach explosive levels. Since 1994, the ANC has been on a huge drive to appease and appraise traditional leaders. The transaction is simple enough – the ANC, through national public policy, funds and secures the rights of traditional leadership. In return, traditional leadership champions the ANC government to the rural people it holds cultural authority over. In a constitutional democracy, however, one does not have…

Thousands of supporters of a Pakistan Islamist party who blocked major roads to protest against the arrest of their leader also disrupted critical oxygen supplies for Covid-19 patients, health officials said yesterday. Major intersections remained closed in Lahore after the arrest on Monday of Saad Rizvi, leader of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP). The party has led calls for the expulsion of the French ambassador, after President Emmanuel Macron’s government expressed support for a magazine’s right to republish cartoons depicting Prophet Muhammad – an act deemed blasphemous by many Muslims. A Punjab health official said the disruption of oxygen supplies during protests on Monday night had been a “crisis”, but another Punjab health offical said the situation had stabilised after roads were cleared by authorities. Pakistan is in the grip of…

KABUL: Afghan President Moham-mad Ashraf Ghani yesterday called on the Taliban outfit to halt fighting and observe ceasefire during the month of Ramadaan, the religious fasting month, to bolster peace process. “Once again I am calling upon the Taliban to give up fighting, enmity and observe permanent ceasefire which is the demand of the people of Afghanistan,” Ghani said in his message to mark the start of Ramadaan in a TV broadcast. He made the remarks amid efforts to hold a peace conference under UN auspices in Turkey. The Taliban group has to prove its willingness for achieving peace in action and not in word, the president said.…

Beijing: China yesterday hit out at Japan’s plan to release more than one million tonnes of treated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean as “extremely irresponsible”. The Japanese government insists the release from the stricken plant which has stored the large volume of water for years is safe because it has been processed to remove almost all radioactive elements and will be diluted. But the process - not likely to begin for several years - has already prompted concern from neighbouring countries and anger from fishing communities.…

World No 2 Daniil Medvedev of Russia has tested positive for Covid-19 and has been withdrawn from this week's Monte Carlo Masters, the ATP said yesterday. Medvedev, who was seeded second behind top-ranked Novak Djokovic at the ATP Masters 1 000 event on clay, has been put in isolation and is being monitored by the tournament and ATP medical teams, the men's tennis governing body said in a statement. "It's a big disappointment not to play in Monte Carlo," said the 25-year-old. "My focus is now on recovery and I look forward to getting back out on Tour as soon and as safely as possible." The ATP on Monday posted a video of Medvedev's practice session in Monte Carlo with Spaniard Rafa Nadal. The governing body did not immediately respond…