Table of contents for 2021-07-14 in Cape Times

Sandile Mchunu sandile.mchunu@inl.co.za TONGAAT Hulett’s share price leapt by 8 percent on the JSE yesterday morning after the agriculture and agri-processing group reduced its net debt by 42 percent for the year to the end of March, despite a huge fall in earnings. The group reported net debt of R6.57 billion at the end of the period, down from R11.35bn compared to last year. Chief financial officer Rob Aitken said Tongaat was pleased with the 42 percent reduction in its debt during the financial year. “We want to continue reducing the debt in the next coming months, and we are targeting a sustainable debt level of R3bn. We hope that we would be able to slash it by a further R3bn in the next nine months-to-three-year…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za FINANCIAL services, retail and telecommunications stocks yesterday bore the brunt of the mayhem and unrest that has swept through KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng for the fourth day. Nedbank declined by 5.45 percent to R164.21, First Rand was down 5.36 percent to R53.19 a share, Standard Bank fell by 4.79 percent to R124.55 a share, while Absa fell by 0.64 percent to R581 a share. Africa’s retail giant Shoprite was down 4.07 percent to R153.15 a share, Spar was 3.77 percent lower to R175.87 and Pick n Pay weakened by 1.94 percent to R51.58 a share. Beauty and fashion retailers were not spared. Truworths fell by 5.49 percent to R57.49 a share, The Foschini Group (TFG) fell by 3.07 percent to R154.51 a share, and Woolworths fell by 3.63…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za PAN African Resources, the JSE-listed mid-tier gold producer, pushed through its degearing plan and surpassed its output target for the year ended June 2021 on the back of an improvement at the Barberton Underground Mines, the group said yesterday. Pan African said senior debt had declined by 45.5 percent to $33.8 million (R482m), from $62m at the end of June last year. The company said that in dollar terms, this represented a reduction in net senior debt of 43.6 percent rela- tive to the debt levels at December 31, 2020, of $59.9m (R880.5m at an exchange rate of rand/dollar of 14.78). “We have now largely achieved the degearing of our balance sheet, and current debt levels are very manage- able, enabling the group…

SA businesses count cost of the frenzied looting Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za South African businesses yesterday continued to count the costs of property as the frenzied looting and vandalism of shopping malls and industrial parks went up a few notches. The ongoing violent protests taking place across KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Gauteng since the weekend escalated further with the looting of distribution warehouses yesterday, with more than 700 looters arrested. Market observers have warned that the volatile situation may now lead to breakdowns of supply chains, leading to food insecurity as some customers go on panic buying amid the emptying of shelves during the unrest. Intellidex’s Peter Attard Montalto said the situation will not be solved by community engagement kumbaya, but by the breaking of a cycle of impunity…

Staff writer THE continent recently marked its worst pandemic week ever, surpassing the second wave peak. Yet as the Covid-19 cases increase sharply, there are signs of progress on vaccine deliveries to the continent, the World Health Organization (WHO) Africa said recently. Sixteen African countries are now in resurgence, with Malawi and Senegal added last week. The Delta variant has been detected in 10 of these countries. “Africa has just marked the continent’s most dire pandemic week ever. But the worst is yet to come as the fast-moving third wave continues to gain speed and new ground,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa. So far, 66 million doses have been delivered to Africa, including 40 million doses secured through bilateral deals, 25 million Covax-supplied doses and 800…

Xolile Bhengu, Karen Singh and Sibusiso Mboto Residents in several parts of Durban and Pietermaritzburg queued outside shops from the early hours of yesterday morning, anxious to get food and essentials. With shops looted and torched in several areas in both cities, residents flocked to stores that had not been affected, panic-buying whatever they could find. Glenwood and Umbilo ward councillor Mmabatho Tembe said: “Although we understand panic buying with all the uncertainty in the province at large, we are asking people to be considerate in their purchases. Old people who live alone and in old-age homes still need to buy the same milk, bread and toilet paper that people are buying in bulk.” Isipingo ward councillor Sunil Brijmohan said residents were mobilising to protect local shops to ensure…

Staff writers THE death toll from the unrest that continues to grip KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng has risen to 45, according to the premiers of the two provinces. Gauteng Premier David Makhura said 10 people were killed during stampedes at a Soweto mall on Monday, taking the province’s death toll to 19. Among those killed was a metro police officer in Ekurhuleni. More than 400 people have been arrested in the province so far. His KwaZulu-Natal counterpart, Sihle Zikalala, told a media briefing yesterday that at least 26 lives had been lost as a result of the violence and 187 people had been arrested. He said most of the deaths were the result of stampedes. The unrest which has led to the looting and torching of malls and shops erupted after…

Chevon Booysen chevon.booysen@inl.co.za THE bail application hearing for alleged underworld figure Nafiz Modack and his co-accused has been postponed for documentation purposes. Modack appeared alongside Zane Killian, Jacques Cronje, Ricardo Morgan and Ashley Tabisher at the Blue Downs Regional Court yesterday when the State was expected to reply to the bail applications. Car dealer Morgan is out on R50 000 bail. According to State prosecutor Blaine Lazarus, the “lengthy affidavits and annexures” had been supplied to defence counsel teams last Friday but due to a page-numbering issue the matter could not go ahead and was postponed to July 20 at the regional court. According to defence attorney Dirk Uys, further reason why the matter could not go ahead yesterday was due to receiving a State witness affidavit just minutes before…

Chevon Booysen chevon.booysen@inl.co.za COUPLES in long-distance relationships between South Africa and Germany are hoping to have authorities take heed of their urgent pleas to be reunited, and are citing that the separation raises a serious mental health issue. The Love Is Not Tourism Germany activist group has appealed for help from the German Embassy and expressed its frustration at the current travel bans in place. Robert and Dolores* are one such couple affected by the ban. The pair have declined to use their real names as they are trying to re-apply for Robert’s visa and fear publicly speaking about it may negatively affect the application process. Robert and Dolores, based in Germany, got hitched in January last year after three years together. They met in South Africa through their…

Mamongae Mahlare Recently Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Thoko Didiza was accompanied by media and key stakeholders on a site visit to witness first-hand the development of 3 000 hectares of sugar cane on communal land by small-scale growers. The occasion was the celebration by sugar giant Illovo Sugar SA of the culmination of its R127 million life-changing Small-Scale Grower Cane Development Project, implemented in partnership with the National Treasury Jobs Fund, that has created more than 860 sustainable jobs in KwaZulu-Natal while empowering women and youth to participate in the rural economy. The minister had wet eyes when Nomanesi Ngcobo, a small-scale grower, related how the Illovo Small-Scale Grower Project moved her from despair to an independent grower filled with hope. Ngcobo said when she…

PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa continues to send a chilling message with his persistent stance of snubbing questions during his addresses on issues of national importance, especially for a president who came into power on a ticket of accountability. This was seen again most recently when he spoke to the nation on the unrest that threatens to delay vaccination roll-out and food security. It's only when briefing on the outcomes of the ANC’s NEC meeting that he takes questions, a responsibility that is often given to the party’s secretary general. In the absence of valid reasons for this bizarre approach, it’s easy to conclude that perhaps Ramaphosa sold South Africans a false hope when he was desperate to take over the country’s top office. Can this be a sign that he is…

A Chinese man has been reunited with his kidnapped son after a 24-year search that saw him travel half a million kilometres across China on a motorbike, chasing tip-offs on the boy’s whereabouts. Guo Gangtang’s son was just two years and five months old when he was abducted from in front of the family home in eastern Shandong province, where he was playing unattended. Traffickers snatched the boy and sold him to a family in central China, the ministry of public security said yesterday. Kidnapping and child trafficking became widespread in China from the 1980s, when the draconian, one-child rule was enforced, and a cultural obsession with sons fuelled demand for abducted boys. After years of searching, police told Guo on Sunday that a DNA test had confirmed that a…

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden, under pressure from civil rights leaders, travelled to Philadelphia yesterday to issue a strong appeal for sweeping voting rights legislation that is stalled in Congress due largely to Republican opposition. A dozen Republican-controlled states have approved laws that restrict voting or change election rules in response to former president Donald Trump’s baseless claims of election fraud. Biden calls these laws “authoritarian and anti-American”. Democrats have struggled to fight the spate of restrictions that critics say are aimed at black, Hispanic and younger voters. | Reuters…

JERUSALEM: Israel wants foreign aid to Gaza disbursed through a voucher system, as a safeguard against donations being diverted to bolster the Palestinian enclave’s Hamas rulers and their arsenal, a government minister said yesterday. Humanitarian agencies put the latest reconstruction costs for the impoverished Gaza Strip at $500 million following 11 days of cross-border fighting in May. Qatar bankrolled more than $1 billion worth of construction and other projects in Gaza, some of it in cash, after a war in 2014. The payments were monitored and approved by Israel, and Doha pledged another $500 million in late May. | Reuters…

Manila: Philippine police have won a battle for the bulge after the force dropped a requirement for officers seeking promotion to meet body fat targets, an official document showed yesterday. Expanding waistlines have been a hefty problem among police in the Southeast Asian country for years. A 2019 study showed almost 35% of personnel were overweight and nearly 10 percent obese. Rules introduced at the start of the pandemic by former police chief Debold Sinas – who publicly acknowledged his own efforts to shed kilos through diet and exercise – made it compulsory for members of the force to work out daily. | AFP…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za THE WORLD Bank has warned of continued social unrest in South Africa if the government does not speed up the implementation of economic reforms to address inequality. The country has been engulfed by unprecedented unrest, accompanied by the destruction of industrial parks and shopping malls, since the arrest of former president Jacob Zuma. The 13th edition of the bank’s South Africa Economic Update released on Monday said the Covid-19 crisis was widening inequality by contribut- ing to severe and unequal job losses. The report has a special focus on South Africa’s employment performance, particularly as impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. It found that low-wage workers suffered almost four times more job losses than high-wage earners. At least 1.4 million people had lost their jobs by the end…

A trust CAN hold and distribute trust funds at any time, but this must be done in accordance with both the terms of the trust instrument and the purpose for which the trust was created. This may involve distributing the income of the trust among family members in a tax-effective way over many years, or providing capital from the trust at a time when it will most benefit the beneficiaries in the future, for example when purchasing a home. In practice, often trustees disregard the purpose for which the trust was set up, as reflected in its objective in the trust instrument, and blindly allocate all income and capital gains to beneficiaries (without making any payment to them) in an attempt to avoid or save tax. Little do they realise…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za SOUTH Africa’s mining production grew 21.9 percent year-on-year in May following the record 117.4 percent growth a month earlier, but fell by 3.5 percent month-on-month, Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) said. The year-on-year growth in mining output was propelled by platinum group metals (PGMs), gold, iron ore and manganese ore, said StatsSA. Production in May was lower than the 31.5 percent year-on-year consensus forecast by Bloomberg. In May last year, production fell 21.7 percent because of the lockdown. Bloomberg said output was up 5.6 percent during the three months to the end of May, driven by a 12.9 percent increase in PGMs, a 9.1 percent increase in gold and a 13.5 percent improvement in manganese. Mineral sales grew 88.2…

From page 1 “The situation looks like it has got out of hand and we are all concerned about what is happening, but when (the president) has been advised, he will then declare a state of emergency if the need arises, based on an assessment report,” she said. Police Minister Bheki Cele urged communities in KwaZulu-Natal, especially in Durban, to refrain from taking the law into their own hands, saying this had sparked racial tensions. This follows reports that some community members, acting to protect their properties, had started attacking other racial groups, alleging that they were behind the damage or theft of their belongings. Authorities have reported several racially motivated attacks in areas such as Phoenix, Chatsworth and parts of Pietermaritzburg. “It must be avoided at all costs…

Loyiso Sidimba loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za A SENIOR opposition MP has been told that his almost decade-long customary marriage – that he now claims never took place – is valid. The customary marriage of the MP, who turns 41 next month, entered into in July 2012, with the mother of one of his six children, was declared valid by Western Cape High Court Judge Lee Bozalek on Friday. The MP’s estranged wife commenced divorce proceedings in November 2016. The parties to the divorce cannot be identified because they have a teenage daughter born in 2007. In court papers filed by the MP, he claimed his estranged wife had made an unsuccessful attempt to force through the marriage ceremonies unilaterally. According to the MP, the issue became a huge bone of contention between the…

Staff writer THE quibbles of international sport might be the last concern on the minds of South Africans currently, but the Springboks believe firmly that they have a duty, an obligation, to do their part to put smiles on the faces of their supporters and return a measure of hope to the nation. There is no doubt that the civil unrest in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal is at the fore of the country’s collective consciousness, but Mzwandile Stick and Co are hoping that a good SA A performance against the British and Irish Lions at Cape Town Stadium tonight might help relieve some of those anxieties and bring much-needed respite from the chaos. “We are living in a very sad time currently with what we are seeing on social media, and…

Odwa Mkentane odwa.mkentane@inl.co.za THE Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA) says it is worried that the disruption to business activity and destruction of commercial property will further delay the recovery of the economy from successive lockdown restrictions and affect already fragile investor and business confidence. The loss to retailers, including the cost of damage to property and delivery vehicles, runs into millions of rand and has already severely affected their operations. “Looters are targeting retail shops including liquor stores and have stolen merchandise which includes foodstuffs, electrical products and clothing. CGCSA is particularly concerned about the potential impact of the disruptions on food security in the country and various supply chain issues. This is because factories will not be able to produce, resulting in food shortages, which will affect…

Staff writer CPUT Department of Mechanical Engineering senior lecturer Fareed Ismail’s Beleaf Aquaponics project is making a difference in the Belhar community. From Grassy Park, Ismail obtained a PhD in Mechanical Engineering at the end of June, with his research focused on how South Africa could reduce its dependency on a coal powered industry, improve outdated agricultural methods, reduce poverty and create awareness of the use of renewable energy among low-income communities. At Beleaf Aquaponics, based at the Belhar Community Centre, the excrement of fish is used to ecologically cultivate vegetables. A pump is used to convey the water with these excrements to the plants, which use this natural fertilizer to grow very fast. On top of that, the plants filter the water, so that it can be pumped…

Francesca Villette Francesca.villette@inl.co.za RECURRING power outages in Delft have reached a new low, with residents giving up hope on Eskom. Ward councillor Dineo Masiu said since May at least 10 entire streets had been affected by electricity-related issues, and in some parts of the suburb residents generally expect their power to trip at certain times of the day. Mother-of-two Natasha Haricombe lives with her sons and father in Voorbrug and said every time the electricity triped, they lost food supplies. Their electricity box became faulty last week – the second time after being off for two weeks around two months ago. She said she struggled for days to get an Eskom technician to come out, but she was contacted this week after Cape Times queries. She said the constant back…

Odwa Mkentane odwa.mkentane@inl.co.za SLAIN ANC ward 36 councillor Nokuthula Bolitye led from the front and did not impose herself to lead, but people chose her because of her “brilliant leadership skills”. That is how ANC regional chairperson Xolani Sotashe has described Bolitye, who was murdered in front of her home on Monday. The 50-year-old was seated in a minibus taxi in Gqoloma Street, Crossroads, when three unknown men approached the vehicle and fired numerous gunshots. Last year, she survived an attack when she was shot in the leg and stomach. Her teenage son was hit in the back. In that incident, two men broke into their home. Visiting her home yesterday, Sotashe said: “I was here three weeks ago to check the selection list of ANC candidates. What pains me…

Without governing party’s support, Zuma’s bid to side-step law would be comical Siseko Maposa ADVOCATE Tembeka Ngcukaitobi’s comments on Jacob Zuma will be remembered as one of the most definitive moments in articulating the legacy of the former president’s latter years. On July 6, in a case presented by Zuma’s legal team to have his Constitutional Court order of imprisonment put on hold pending the review of his sentencing application, Advocate Ngcukaitobi told Judge Mnguni of the KZN High Court that Zuma was a “repetitive, recalcitrant lawbreaker”. Advocate Ngcukaitobi’s labelling of Zuma is startling, given that Zuma devoted years of his life fighting for the establishment of democracy and constitutional rule of law in South Africa. He is now old at 79, perpetually failing to adhere to…

The Taliban do not want to battle government forces inside Afghanistan’s cities and would rather see them surrender, a senior insurgent leader said yesterday, as the militants also warned Turkey against extending its troop presence. The hardline Islamist group has swept through much of the north as foreign troops complete their withdrawal, and the government now holds little more than a constellation of provincial capitals that must largely be resupplied by air. As security deteriorates, France yesterday became the latest country to call on its citizens to leave – offering them a last flight out of Kabul, free of charge, on Saturday. “The Embassy of France formally recommends to all French citizens to take this special flight or to leave the country immediately by their own means,” the embassy said.…

Rescuers in northern India were digging through rocks and mud searching for the missing yesterday, after heavy monsoon rains triggered landslides and flash floods in two states, killing at least six people, officials said. TV footage and video on social media showed roads, cars and homes being washed away in Dharamshala in the Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh, which has been lashed by torrential rains since the weekend. One body was recovered and five people were rescued at Boh village, where one of the landslides took place, officials said. Two more bodies were found in landslides and flash floods elsewhere in the state. In the neighbouring state of Uttarakhand, officials said that three members of a family were killed when their house collapsed during a landslide on Sunday. Dharamshala is…

BUDAPEST: The ashes of Hungarian-born actress Zsa Zsa Gabor, renowned for her diamond-studded glamour, witty quips and nine marriages, were buried in Budapest yesterday – almost five years after her death. Gabor’s ashes were laid to rest in a prominent cemetery in the capital city alongside other famous Hungarian actors, writers and poets, in a ceremony where a gypsy band played and her favourite roses were on display. Born Sari Gabor into a wealthy Hungarian family, she was named Miss Hungary in the 1930s. As World War II approached, she and her sisters headed for the US, leaving behind her first husband, Burhan Belge, a Turkish diplomat. Her last husband, Frederic Prinz von Anhalt, to whom she was married from 1986 until her death aged 99 in 2016, said in…

SEATTLE: Boeing said yesterday it would cut its 787 production rate as it works through a new production-related structural defect in its troubled twin-aisle airliner programme. The company now forecasts delivering fewer than half of the lingering 100 or so 787s in its inventory this year, instead of the “vast majority” it had expected, as it continues forensic inspections and costly repairs to address quality flaws in the aircraft. Boeing said it would shift temporarily below the current rate of five jets a month. For the year so far, the company has delivered 156 jets of all types, compared with 157 for all of 2020, it said. | Reuters…

Mozambique central bank fines Standard Bank for Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za THE CENTRAL bank of Mozambique has fined Africa’s biggest lender, Standard Bank, $4.6 million (about R67m) for engaging in fraudulent activities, the Bank of Mozambique said this week. The central bank also fined two of Standard Bank’s employees about $223 000 and $101 000 each, and barred the bank from engaging in some exchange-related activities for a year, it said in a statement. Standard Bank, which is based in South Africa, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The central bank said that following on-site inspections, “infringement proceedings were brought against that bank (Standard Bank) and two of its managers … for serious breaches of a prudential and exchange rate nature”. It alleged the bank…

Sandile Mchunu sandile.mchunu@inl.co.za MPACT said yesterday it has been informed by the Competition Commission that Caxton and CTP Publishers and Printers had not been granted a merger notification that would pave a way for it to acquire Mpact. This comes after Caxton informed the commission at the end of last month that it wanted to increase its stake from 32 percent to a majority controlling stake in Africa’s largest paper and plastics packaging business. Caxton also notified the commission that it sought to obtain merger approval in terms of the Competition Act in advance of triggering the mandatory offer in order to obtain regulatory certainty and to avoid any unnecessary delays in the implementation of the mandatory offer. However, Mpact informed its shareholders yesterday that the Competition Commission had…

Sasria urges SA to be vigilant and adequately insure against civil unrest Sandile Mchunu sandile.mchunu@inl.co.za THE SOUTH African Special Risks Insurance Association (Sasria) said yesterday that South Africans need to be vigilant in safeguarding themselves and their possessions, and should ensure they have adequate cover against civil unrest. Sasria, the state-owned insurer, said an average of 2.26 protests a day have been reported in South Africa over the past seven years – for anything from labour issues to municipal services, corruption and governance – and South Africans were not strangers to protests and riots. However, the large-scale looting and burning of malls in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng has brought insurance cover to the fore once again. The insurer said although 62 percent of protests were peaceful, the recent protests in…

From page 1 SA National Taxi Council provincial chairperson Nazeem Abdurahman said contact had been made with the leadership of both Cata and Codeta. “We are expecting to meet with the first group (today).” Abdurahman said they received reports that taxi operators of other associations had to withdraw their services yesterday after they were allegedly intimidated and threatened. “There is an arbitration process that is running which is being funded by the department of transport and public works to look at both the merits and arguments of the taxi associations related to the Bellville to Paarl route that they are both claiming. That will only be due on July 28,” he said.…

Okuhle Hlati okhule.hlati@inl.co.za ALTHOUGH the vaccination roll-out programme for the Basic Education Department sector is expected to conclude today, the Department of Health has advised education staff who missed their appointments due to the violent protests and looting around the country that they will get another opportunity to be vaccinated. The roll-out programme for the sector was extended from last week until today after additional doses became available. The extension had enabled the sector to vaccinate more people but also to take corrective action at sites that experienced technical challenges resulting in delays. The initial target was to vaccinate 582 564 staff. Basic Education spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga said the department had received reports of disruptions at their vaccination sites in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal due to the unrest. “The last count…

Okuhle Hlati okhule.hlati@inl.co.za THE job of being a taxi driver in the province is risky and carries the daily threat of death due to violence that has once again rocked the industry. So said a City taxi driver, who asked to remain anonymous, following shootings across the city which claimed the lives of three people and injured six yesterday. Two men aged 39 were killed in Bulawayo road in Khayelitsha, Harare, while in Symphony Way near Blikkiesdorp the body of a 45-year-old man was found in the driver’s seat of his vehicle. Medical personnel declared him dead at the scene. In another incident, a taxi driver was shot in both legs near Sarah Baartman. About 76 murders were linked to taxi-related shootings and 46 attempted murders have been reported since…

Zanele Mvana zanele.mvana@inl.co.za WITH more cold weather and rain predicted for the Western Cape, Gugulethu residents said they were bracing themselves for more flooding in their homes, yards and streets. Residents have expressed frustration at the constant flooding, saying they reported blocked drains to authorities but little has been done to address their concerns. Resident Nobuntu Mwanda, 60, said she was unable to go to work yesterday due to the flooding. “When I woke, my yard was flooded with water. Whenever it rains the street gets flooded because of the drains that are blocked. We have been asking the City to clean out drains but they haven’t done that. “The water covered the entire front yard and I couldn’t go out of the house, I had to lay bricks and…

Siphokazi Vuso siphokazi.vuso@inl.co.za THE Overstrand Strategic Baboon Joint Task Team has said that beloved Betty’s Bay male baboon, Scarface, will not be euthanised at this stage. This followed an outcry from several activists who had feared that Scarface would be killed yesterday, following the submission of incident reports. The animal has been alleged to be raiding homes in the area. However, CapeNature confirmed yesterday that it has not received any permit application to euthanise the baboon. Overstrand Municipality said in a statement that the task team considered all the information available and concluded that the baboon in question should not be euthanised at this stage. “The Overstrand Strategic Baboon Joint Task Team met on July 13. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the report regarding the behaviour of…

THE IFP believes that the number of South African National Defence Force (SANDF) troops deployed to KwaZulu-Natal – in particular to Pietermaritzburg and surrounds – will be woefully ineffective to support the South African Police Service (SAPS) in quelling the violence, looting and destruction of property in the province. We are extremely concerned that nothing has changed overnight since the president addressed the nation. While we have issued a statement on the president’s hollow response to the violence gripping our country, it appears that the SANDF is nowhere to be found. Furthermore, the IFP strongly believes that the mere deployment of the SANDF is not enough to contain the situation, as we stand on the precipice of a national crisis. A contingent of only 2 500 troops deployed nationwide, versus…

The death toll from a fire that tore through a Covid-19 hospital in southern Iraq rose to 92, health officials said yesterday, as authorities faced accusations of negligence from grieving relatives and a doctor who works there. Twelve people were still missing, two health sources said, suggesting the toll from Monday night’s fire in Nassirya could climb higher still. More than 100 others were injured in the blaze, which an investigation showed began when sparks from faulty wiring spread to an oxygen tank that then exploded, police and civil defence authorities said. It was Iraq’s second such tragedy in three months, and yesterday the country’s president blamed corruption for both. Rescue teams were using a heavy crane to remove the charred and melted remains of the part of the city’s…

Thailand defended mixing two different Covid-19 vaccines to battle a surge in infections, after the World Health Organization’s top scientist warned it was a “dangerous trend” not backed by evidence. The kingdom is struggling to contain its latest outbreak fuelled by the highly contagious Delta variant, with cases and deaths rocketing and the health-care system stretched thin. Authorities said they would mix a first dose of the Chinese-made Sinovac jab with a second dose of AstraZeneca to try to achieve a “booster” effect in six weeks instead of 12. Thailand’s chief virologist Yong Poovorawan said this would be possible by combining an inactivated virus vaccine, Sinovac, with a viral vector vaccine such as AstraZeneca. His comments come a day after the WHO’s chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan called the strategy a…

Aden: Yemen’s currency, the riyal, has sunk to historic lows in recent days – a new threat to the war-torn country already on the brink of famine. In the government-controlled southern capital of Aden, the dollar is trading at more than 1 000 riyal, the highest rate since the war began in 2014, when Iran-backed Houthi rebels seized the northern capital of Sanaa. The currency has lost some 6% in the south in the past three weeks. Yet the riyal trades at about 600 riyals to the dollar in rebel-controlled areas of the country’s north. The Houthis have their own central bank and are bidding to strengthen financial independence. | AFP…

PARIS: France’s antitrust watchdog yesterday slapped a €500 million (R8.6 billion) fine on Alphabet’s Google for failing to comply with the regulator’s orders on how to conduct talks with the country’s news publishers in a row over copyright. The fine comes amid increasing international pressure on Google and Facebook to share more revenue with news outlets. The US tech group must now come up with proposals within the next two months on how it would compensate news agencies and other publishers for the use of their news. If it does not do that, it would face additional fines of up to €900 000 (R15.5 million) a day. | Reuters…