Table of contents for 2022-11-29 in Cape Times

HUGE GROUP said yesterday that despite global and local economic conditions deteriorating significantly, it had grown value of its portfolio and was positioning itself to be a leading provider in the mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) market. In its results for the six months ended August 31, 2022, the JSE-listed technology investment group whose subsidiaries operate in the telecommunications, media, technology, and software industries, said its net asset value over the past six months had increased from 897 cents per share to 939c per share. Huge Group has nine principal investments, which contribute to the portfolio’s total value, which is in excess of R1.5 billion. “We believe that this value is realis- able, and although we are cognisant of calls to unlock this value through disposals,…

THE hopes of Chris Hani’s Polish killer Janusz Walus to return to Poland following his release on parole were dashed after Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi announced that he had granted an exemption for Walus to remain in the country and to serve his parole here. In a statement issued yesterday afternoon, the minister said the exemption contained a condition that Walus may not use any travel document and/or passport issued by the Embassy of the Republic of Poland to return to the country of his origin. The minister granted him an exemption in terms of the Immigration Act which affords him the rights of permanent residence in South Africa for the parole period and subsequent parole conditions which are yet to be announced by Justice and Correctional Services Minister…

Commuters who depended on the MyCiTi bus along the airport route will have to find alternative transport as the service will be terminated from December 1. There has been a lack of demand for the airport service, which has not recovered since the lifting of the Covid-19 restrictions, the City said on yesterday. In October, the 114 (Platform 8 Civic Centre-Queens Beach) and 115 (Sea Point-Civic Centre) routes were also suspended. According to City mayoral committee (Mayco) member for Urban Mobility, Rob Quintas, the 50.5% increase in diesel price from January to November has necessitated an intervention. A decision has been made that the fleet be redeployed to higher demand routes, including those connecting Atlantis to Table View, Century City and the CBD. “The City’s Urban Mobility Directorate is continuously…

Despite their silence and the lip-service of men in Africa, patriarchy reigns A DAY before the start of the annual 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, African education experts spoke about the critical challenge of keeping girls in the sciences and getting more women into academia. Over the next two weeks, one will be implored to empower and uplift girls and women to bring about a more equitable world. Yet in higher education, throughout Africa, men still call the shots. This global campaign kicks off on November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs until December 10, Human Rights Day. That this message comes ceaselessly, year in and year out, suggests that the campaign has failed. Men in power don’t seem to want…

Palestinian flags are flying everywhere in Qatar but Israeli fans are staying low-key as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict makes its presence felt at the first World Cup on Arab soil. Despite moves by some Arab countries, not including Qatar, to normalise relations with Israel, the Palestinian cause is being embraced by many Arab fans and some officials. Terse interactions between Arab supporters and Israeli media have gone viral, including footage of a Saudi fan berating an Israeli TV reporter – viewed more than 5.2 million times on Twitter. “There is only Palestine, there is no Israel … you are not welcome here,” the fan shouts at Moav Vardi, a reporter for Israel’s public broadcaster Kan. The Arab fans flooding Qatar have been refusing to speak with Israel media, while some yell…

Seoul: South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said yesterday that his country would land a spacecraft on the moon in 2032 and begin exploring lunar resources under its plan for a “future space economy”. South Korea aims to land a spacecraft on Mars in 2045, when the nation will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Liberation Day, Yoon said. South Korea would develop a home-grown rocket within five years for the moon mission, Yoon said. An aerospace agency similar to the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration would be established, Yoon’s office said. | IANS…

WASHINGTON: Two seriously injured people trapped inside a small plane that crashed into high-voltage power lines near Washington, DC and caused mass outages have been rescued, authorities said yesterday. The aircraft crashed in misty and wet conditions in Montgomery Village, Maryland, on Sunday. It became caught up in live power lines about 30m from the ground. Crews had been able to electrically ground the plane and it had been secured nearly 45 minutes later, with both patients coming down. Most power in the county had been restored. Crews were still working to remove the plane from the power lines, the officials said. | Reuters…

SAN FRANCISCO: Spending on Cyber Monday, the biggest US online shopping day, is set to hit a record $11.2 billion (R191.6bn), says a report, as discounts on everything from clothes to TVs drive shoppers to click “add to cart” even amid high inflation. The Adobe Analytics report predicts spending on Cyber Monday to rise 5.2%. Cyber Monday sales fell 1.4% last year as retailers spread out promotional deals from early October. But big single day shopping events appear to be back in vogue. US shoppers spent $9.12bn online on Black Friday. Amid rain, brick-and-mortar stores and malls saw thinner crowds. | Reuters…

The Sharks have swiftly and decisively acted on their humiliating 35-0 defeat to Cardiff on Sunday night by sacking coach Sean Everitt with immediate effect. CEO Ed Coetzee said immediately after that match had ended, that action would be taken and 24 hours later Everitt parted ways with the union he served for 15 years in various roles before succeeding Robert du Preez as head coach in 2020. “This tough decision has been made in the best interests of the team moving forward,” Coetzee said on Monday night. “Our director of rugby, Neil Powell, will oversee the remainder of the United Rugby Championship campaign, as well as our first foray in the Champions Cup, which kicks off on December 10. “Neil will be ably supported by the rest of…

INVICTA Holdings, the investment holding and management company, lifted headline earnings per share 43% for the six months to September 30, but withheld the dividend because of the share buybacks through the period. Chief executive Steven Joffe said they were “very pleased as the group had produced a solid performance in all our operations”. He said in a telephone interview that with much of the group now focused on parts sales, and after having made sufficient provisions for unforeseen challenges, and considering the business now derived more than 40% of profit from outside Africa, they were in a good position for the second half. The group had also traded well since the end of the interim reporting period. He said they planned to declare a dividend for the second half…

A MAN who worked as a packer is due to receive about R1.5 million in damages after he suffered injuries when he returned from work and was accidentally pushed out of a crowded train. Sello Thaha suffered severe injuries to his back and neck, and as a result lost his job as he could no longer lift heavy crates. Thaha turned to the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria to claim damages from the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa). He said Prasa had a duty to ensure the safety of its and not to allow trains to move while the doors were open. Prasa, on the other hand, argued that Thaha should also be held accountable because he should not have boarded an overcrowded train. The court earlier ruled that…

EVIDENCE leaders in the section 194 inquiry established to determine Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s fitness to hold public office once again came under fire from Advocate Dali Mpofu SC, who wants them removed from the committee, citing a lack of fairness. Representing Mkhwebane, Mpofu lodged another appeal yesterday - this time not only gunning for Advocate Nazreen Bawa, but also her colleague Advocate Ncumisa Mayosi. At the heart of Mkhwebane’s grievances against the two is the publishing of the incorrect legal fees of mostly black legal representatives by evidence leaders during the proceedings. Mpofu said if the evidence leaders continued to maintain their positions at the hearing, it would be impossible for the standards set out in the rules and the Constitution to be upheld. “The Public Protector herself is…

THE National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) opened more than 100 new investigations in connection with Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) cases as of the end of October. This was revealed by acting National Director of Public Prosecutions, Rodney de Kock when the NPA briefed the justice and correctional services portfolio committee recently. De Kock said there had been substantial progress in the management of TRC cases since they last briefed the committee in June. “We have increased dedicated capacity both in terms of investigators and prosecutors. We also had engagements with the families,” he said. De Kock said 38 new investigations were opened between September and April 2022. He said an additional 32 investigations were opened between May and October 2022. “In September 2021, 59 TRC matters were under investigation. As…

Black Friday marks the official start of the festive season shopping frenzy in South Africa, and consumers would do well to be cautious in their spending habits to ensure that they don’t go into the red. This year’s festive season period has come at a bad time for consumers. Interest rates went up last week, which is the worst news for home and vehicle owners. Inflation is at an all-time high and food prices, especially basic items consumed by the poor, have increased dramatically. The cost of basic municipal services such as water, electricity and refuse removal have become unaffordable, even for the middle class. According to the Pietermaritzburg economic justice and dignity (PMBEJD) household affordability index, “the average cost of core foods in a household basket (foods which are…

Police yesterday stopped and searched people at the sites of weekend protests in Shanghai and Beijing, after crowds there and in other Chinese cities demonstrated against stringent Covid-19 measures disrupting lives three years into the pandemic. From the streets of several Chinese cities to dozens of university campuses, protesters made a show of civil disobedience unprecedented since leader Xi Jinping assumed power a decade ago. “What we object to is these restrictions on people’s rights in the name of virus prevention, and the restrictions on individual freedom and people’s livelihoods,” said Jason Sun, a university student in Shanghai. There was no sign of new protests yesterday in Beijing or Shanghai, but dozens of police were in the areas where the demonstrations took place. Police have been asking people for their…

Hawaii’s Mauna Loa, the largest active volcano in the world, has erupted for the first time in nearly 40 years, US authorities said, as emergency crews went on alert yesterday. Flows of lava remained “contained” within the summit caldera of Mauna Loa, but the eruption could pose a threat to nearby residents should conditions change, the US Geological Survey (USGS) reported yesterday after the eruption inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. While the eruption on the main island of the remote US state in the Pacific remains confined within the basin at the top of the volcano, called the caldera, “if the eruptive vents migrate outside its walls, lava flows may move rapidly downslope,” according to the USGS. Yesterday the USGS volcano monitoring office tweeted: “Lava does seem to have flowed…

LOS ANGELES: Bob Dylan has offered his “deepest regrets” to fans over an “error in judgement” in using a machine to sign copies of his new book. The 81-year-old star was caught up in a furore after $600 (R10 277) limited edition copies of his tome The Philosophy of Modern Song were advertised as “hand-signed” but were later found to have been autographed using an “autopen” which replicated his scrawl. Publishing company Simon and Schuster have offered a refund. Dylan said: “In 2019 I had a bad case of vertigo and it continued into the pandemic years … we could not find a safe and workable way to complete what I needed to do while the virus was raging. So, during the pandemic, it was impossible to sign anything…

Yaoundé: At least 15 people died when a landslide engulfed members of a funeral party in the Cameroonian capital of Yaounde, the local governor said yesterday. The victims had gathered in marquees at the top of a hill for a memorial service on Sunday when the ground collapsed. At least one of the tents and the people beneath it were swept away. A dozen members of the fire brigade were shovelling away a huge mound of reddish soil at the foot of the hill to search for victims. The disaster took place in Yaounde’s working-class district of Damas, on its eastern outskirts. Landslides occur frequently in Cameroon. | AFP…

THE City has been criticised for rejecting a request to approve the relocation of illegal occupants on the Central Line in Langa, on a temporary, emergency basis. The request was made by the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) and the Housing Development Agency (HDA). The HDA said it submitted the request for the City to lodge Section 68 for approval by the City council in June. The City sought a legal opinion on the matter but came back to say the proposed development did not qualify for consideration for a declaration under Section 68 of the by-law, according to the HDA. “The proposal that has been put to the City provides no indication that the relocation is of a temporary nature; and that the unlawful occupants of the…

KHAYELITSHA residents have called on the judiciary to ensure that courts are not user-friendly to criminals who commit offences such as murder, rape and grievous bodily harm, after it emerged that Sakhumzi Ntintili – who is accused of killing his ex-girlfriend – had previous murder charges against him. The body of 31-year-old Thandazwa Booi was found under Ntintili’s bed on November 6, in Island informal settlement, Khayelitsha. Ntintili had been on the run for about a week when he was later arrested for murder. Police spokesperson FC van Wyk said post-mortem results confirmed that the mother of one was strangled. A 36-year-old suspect was arrested for the murder. Residents and Booi’s family members held a demonstration outside the Khayelitsha Magistrate’s Court yesterday, after Ntintili made a brief appearance during…

STELLENBOSCH hospitality group, Ma-Afrika Hotels, has lodged an application for leave to appeal to the Constitutional Court against an eviction order. The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) earlier this month granted an order to evict Ma-Afrika Hotels from an erf in Stellenbosch, following Ma-Afrika’s failure to pay rental and other related charges allegedly owed to the Trustees of the Venezia Trust in terms of a lease agreement. Ma-Afrika Hotels said Covid-19 imposed restrictions and the lockdown made it impossible for them to have paid rent. The application for leave to appeal has suspended the eviction order pending the outcome of the Constitutional Court hearing. Ma-Afrika has instructed advocate Jeremy Gauntlett, SC, KC, as leading silk together with advocate G Elliott, SC, and advocate G Samkange, instructed by Thomson Wilks Attorneys…

AS THE enrolment of students within the public university sector was projected to remain high at 1.1 million for the 2023 academic year, plans were under way to increase student accommodation capacity. First-time enrolments were expected to tally 196 324 nationally, with 66 073 of these within scarce skills areas. According to the Department of Higher Education and Training’s (DHET) Dr Thandi Lewin, the Central Application Clearing House (CACH) would continue in 2023 as a self service. “There is high competition for spaces in universities. Meeting the minimum requirements does not mean a space for everyone that applies. CACH is for students who have applied for a space at a university and have been declined. The system will be implemented through the CAS Pilot in collaboration with the Central Application…

MEDIA reporting under the apartheid system had gaps because of bias. Same applies to the recording and teaching of history at that time. Unless an issue hit the headlines, it took the progressive newspapers like The World and the international community for society in general to know. This is why the likes of Sydney Kentridge are not really known. He was one of the many white people who sacrificed their privileges of being white and risked their lives against the injustice prevailing in South Africa. Whether South Africans, especially the former oppressed and freedom fighters, honoured him or not, the world would honour him in one way or another. When he started to be involved in fighting for justice for people who were not given it, it was when it…

Somali security forces yesterday ended an hours-long siege by al-Qaeda- linked insurgents who killed at least eight civilians after storming a hotel in the capital Mogadishu, the police said. Al-Shabaab militants attacked the Villa Rose, a hotel popular with politicians and government officials, in a hail of bullets and explosions on Sunday. Around 21 hours later, police spokesperson Sadik Dudishe told reporters that “the clearance operation in the Villa Rose hotel has ended”. The jihadists “killed eight civilians who stayed in the hotel and the security forces succeeded in rescuing about 60 civilians, no one among the civilians was wounded,” he added. One member of the security forces also died in the attack, he said. “There were about six attackers involved, five were shot and killed by the security forces…

Nigeria’s electoral authority said one of its offices and its voting materials were torched on Sunday in the country’s volatile south-east, in a fresh attack occurring ahead of a presidential ballot several months away. In February, Nigerians will elect a successor to President Muhammadu Buhari, who is stepping down after two terms in office. Concerns have grown over recent attacks on the offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec), particularly in the south-east. Inec said the commision’s office for the Izzi area in Ebonyi state was set on fire. The losses included 340 ballot boxes, 130 voting cubicles, 14 electric power generators, and also quantities of Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs). It was the third attack on an Inec office in three weeks following similar attacks in south-western Ogun and…

Geneva: Monkeypox is to be renamed mpox in English, the World Health Organization said yesterday in a bid to avoid stigmatisation stemming from the existing name. Monkeypox received its name because the virus was originally identified in monkeys kept for research in Denmark in 1958, but the disease is found in a number of animals and mostly in rodents. The disease was first discovered in humans in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with the spread among humans since then mainly limited to certain West and Central African countries where it is endemic. But in May, cases of the disease, which causes fever, muscular aches and skin lesions, began spreading around the world. | AFP…

Islamabad: Pakistan’s Taliban said yesterday they had called off a shaky ceasefire agreed with the government and ordered fighters to stage attacks across the country. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a separate entity to the Taliban in Afghanistan, have been behind violent attacks and hundreds of deaths across Pakistan since 2007. The TTP held sway over vast tracts of Pakistan’s tribal belt, imposing a radical version of Islamic law. Its fighters were driven out of Pakistan into Afghanistan from 2010 but have been emboldened by the Afghan Taliban’s return to power. The TTP agreed a ceasefire with the Pakistan government in June but both sides claim the truce was ignored. | AFP…

Dean Elgar hopes that Lungi Ngidi’s recent outing for his province, the Multiply Titans, will stand him in good stead for the series against Australia, despite Ngidi looking far from his best. The 26-year-old fast bowler got through 22 overs of work across two innings at the Wanderers, 17 of which were delivered in the first innings, in the Titans’ 10-wicket victory over their provincial neighbours the DP World Lions. Ngidi, who took one wicket in the match, looked very rusty in the first innings, bowling his overs across five different spells in which he struggled with his consistency in terms of line and length. “He’s had a long lay-off from the (T20) World Cup,” said Elgar, who spent much of the time watching Ngidi bowl from his fielding position…

Mohammed Kudus netted twice as Ghana edged out South Korea 3-2 in a dramatic and fluctuating World Cup Group H game yesterday to stay in contention for the next round. Ghana led 2-0 at halftime but allowed South Korea back into the match as Cho Gue-sung netted twice in three minutes to level at 2-2, only for Kudus to earn Ghana victory in a heart-stopping contest at the Education City Stadium. Ghana, who lost their opening group game 3-2 to Portugal, moved on to three points in the group, with the Koreans on one after two games. Ghana saw off early Korean pressure to go 2-0 ahead as centre back Mohammed Salisu’s scrambled goal in the 24th minute was followed 10 minutes later by a glancing header from Kudus. Both…