Table of contents for 2025-01-06 in Cape Times

The festive season has been marred by tragedy on Western Cape roads, with crashes claiming 122 lives, while the Border Management Authority (BMA) has been on high alert, apprehending over 120 individuals attempting to enter the country unlawfully by Saturday. The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) also recorded 7 448 arrests on South African roads between December 1, 2024, and January 1, 2025. According to the Western Cape government, most of the fatalities were passengers, pedestrians, and drivers. Notably, 51 of the incidents involved pedestrians, and 21 were identified as hit-and-run cases. The Western Cape Metro and the N1 route account for the highest number of incidents, the majority occurring between 10pm until 1pm the next day. Provincial Mobility MEC Minister Isaac Sileku said: “No family should have to face…

Ingredients: 1 x 410 g tin cream style sweetcorn 4 eggs, beaten 3 spinach leaves, finely shredded 100 ml cake flour 1 tsp sunflower or canola oil 1 tsp paprika ¼ tsp salt Lemon juice and black pepper to taste Method: Preheat the oven to 180C and grease a muffin pan. Place all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix until well combined. Season with lemon juice and pepper. Divide mixture into muffin pan and sprinkle extra paprika on top, if preferred. Bake for 20 minutes or until set. Remove from the pan and allow to cool. Serve as part of light lunch with lemon wedges and a bean on lentil salad. Add avocado when in session.…

READING our papers in SA is not for the faint hearted. But the one thing that keeps cropping up is over indulgence of alcohol. Hospital casualties are full of stabbings, gunshot wounds, car accidents etc all due to over imbibing of alcohol. The patients are rude and disorderly to those helping them. Pilots are now seeking action on hooliganism from passengers. They drink the free alcohol in the business class lounges, get on the plane three sheets to the wind, and then want more free alcohol on board. If they don't get their own way, they start a fracas on board! GBV is rife in SA and I have no doubt a lot of it is alcohol related. Poor women and children who live in these households with alcoholics. Police…

A Gauteng family was rescued thanks to the efforts of Good Samaritans and the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI), after being swept out to sea at Sandstrand, Jongensfontein in the Western Cape. National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) station commander, Stéfan Grové, said rescue teams sprung into action following reports that a father, mother and their teenage daughter were caught in rip currents, and swept out to sea on Friday. “Two surfers also assisted by swimming out to the family. The mother was found unconscious but still breathing,” he said. Grové said the woman was loaded onto a surfboard while the daughter and father managed to hold onto the second surfboard. Once in the care of NSRI rescue swimmers, the NSRI lifeguard and the surfers, the family were kept afloat until…

As we approach the looming presidential inauguration in Mozambique, the possibility of renewed violence looms ominously over the border that South Africa shares with its neighbour. The turmoil that erupted on October 24, when Daniel Chapo of the Frelimo party was declared the winner of a deeply contested election, has spiralled into chaos, claiming nearly 300 lives and igniting fears of further bloodshed. This disturbing reality demands immediate attention from President Cyril Ramaphosa and calls for collaboration with President Filipe Nyusi of Mozambique. The ongoing violence has left countless Mozambicans disillusioned and fearful, with many blaming heavy-handed actions by security forces for unnecessary deaths. The situation is not merely a domestic issue for Mozambique; it has regional implications that South Africa cannot afford to ignore. Southern Africa can ill afford…

Israel confirmed on Saturday that negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal had resumed in Qatar, as rescuers said more than 30 people had been killed in fresh bombardment of the territory. The civil defence agency said a dawn air strike on the home of the al-Ghoula family in Gaza City killed 11 people, seven of them children. Images from the neighbourhood of Shujaiya showed residents combing through smoking rubble. Bodies including those of small children were lined up on the ground, shrouded in white sheets. As the violence raged, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz confirmed that indirect negotiations with Hamas had resumed in Qatar for the release of hostages seized in the October 2023 attacks. The minister told relatives of one of the hostages, woman soldier Liri…

MOSCOW: A Russian war correspondent was killed and four other media workers injured in a Ukrainian drone strike in the Donetsk region, Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency reported Saturday. The drone struck a car carrying Russian journalists on the Donetsk-Gorlovka highway, killing Alexander Martemyanov, a stringer for the Russian newspaper Izvestia, the report said. “After filming the aftermath of the shelling in Gorlovka, we were returning to Donetsk. On the highway, a kamikaze drone struck our car,” said RIA Novosti correspondent Maxim Romanenko, who was among the injured. | Xinhua…

The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) has urged other development finance institutions to advance infrastructure solutions that integrate climate resilience and sustainable development in Africa and other developing nations. This comes as Africa and Asia bear the brunt of climate impacts like droughts and floods, yet the financial resources required to adapt existing infrastructure are woefully insufficient. These regions are among the hardest hit by climate change. Prolonged droughts, rising sea levels, and devastating floods are wreaking havoc on economies and communities, disrupting livelihoods and threatening food security. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, Africa alone requires up to $100 billion annually by 2030 for climate adaptation, while many Asian nations face similarly staggering funding gaps. DBSA CEO, Boitumelo Mosako, said the absence of a cohesive climate finance…

Former ANC MP and now uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) leader in KwaZulu-Natal, Mervyn Dirks says he will ensure that the MKP becomes an effective opposition in the legislature in preparation to govern the province soon. Dirks was appointed as Chief Whip of the party’s parliamentary caucus in the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature. Dirks’ permanent appointment was confirmed yesterday and is effective immediately. The decision by the party comes after the dismissal of Dr Kwazi Mbanjwa amid allegations over a financial dispute that have caused significant turmoil within the party. The announcement was formalised in a letter addressed to the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature Speaker, Nontobeko Boyce, by the Secretary-General of the MKP Floyd Shivambu. Speaking to IOL on Sunday Dirks said: “There is no promotion or demotion in uMkhonto weSizwe. I have simply…

TWO ugly and painful incidents have propelled racism in our Rainbow nation into the local and global limelight. One was the disgusting SAFair altercation, the other was a racial incident at a Food Lovers Market branch, where black patrons were referred to as “baboons”. Systemic racism continues to cause incalculable harm across the nation. Racism is a painful reality in our prejudiced nation. We should start by understanding racism as a hurtful phenomenon that requires a measured response. It is often said that legal prohibitions on racist behaviour cannot eliminate the attitudes that underlie such behaviour. During times like these, we must be especially vigilant in combating the age-old viruses of hate and prejudice, which reassert themselves throughout history in times of fear. The deleterious effect of prejudice and racism…

NOT since Franklin Roosevelt’s crushing victory over President Herbert Hoover in 1932 and the eager anticipation of his New Deal policies to lift America out of its depression woes, has such anticipation heralded the inauguration of a new occupant of the White House - Donald Trump. The dramatic realignment of the US political landscape which has reduced the Democrat Party to the left coast, the north east coastal states and the interior holdouts of Minnesota, Illinois, Colorado and New Mexico, has also flipped the political compasses of some of Trump’s most hostile opponents. Pilgrimages to Trump HQ at Mar-a-Lago have been made by media moguls Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg. Also by Silicon Valley CEOs, like Tim Cook of Apple. Of equal significance have been the contacts by foreign leaders,…

Nation’s AGOA benefits and G20 presidency hang in balance as US political shift looms IT COULD not be more surreal that events in the past year will determine the outcomes in the coming year, as if the birth and immediate future of the year 2025 remains conjoined to the umbilical cord of 2024 with all its vagaries. Never mind the projections, predictions and pontifications of the self-styled soothsayers. The reality is that as nightfall follows daylight the certainty, barring a miracle, that faces the world is the pending scheduled second inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th President of the United States on Monday, January 20, 2025. Never has the ascendancy of a politician couched in the self-styled if not dubious sobriquet of “the leader of the free world” in…

NEW DELHI: Indian security forces yesterday battled with Maoist rebels in their forested heartland, police said, with at least four guerillas and one policeman killed. More than 10 000 people have died in the decades-long insurgency waged by Naxalite rebels, who say they are fighting for the rights of marginalised indigenous people in India’s resource-rich central regions. Government forces stepped up efforts last year to crush the long-running armed conflict, with some 287 rebels killed in 2024, according to government figures. Clashes broke out on Saturday in Abujhmarh district of Chhattisgarh state, a key battleground in the insurgency. | AFP…

JERUSALEM: The Israeli police on Saturday arrested two Israelis who had crossed into Syrian territory by vehicle before being detained by the Israeli army. According to Israel’s state-owned Kan TV News, the suspects were apprehended approximately 1.5km inside Syrian territory while in their vehicle. A police statement said the two individuals were taken into custody for questioning, with any legal actions to be determined based on the findings of the investigation. The police also stressed that approaching areas near the border fence is both prohibited and dangerous. | Xinhua…

Having uneven skin tone may be caused by neglecting your full body skincare routine. Skin problems are an ongoing issue with individuals. While some have acne-prone skin, others suffer from uneven skin tone. Skincare content creator Abby Rose Maureen, who has experienced both worlds, shares some of the top three causes of uneven skin tone. “Let’s be honest, when it comes to having smooth, even-toned skin, we tend to focus on our faces only. But let me tell you, taking care of the skin on your body is just as important and it doesn’t need to be a hassle,” she said. Below are her observations of what may cause uneven skin tone. Not taking care of the skin below your neck Having an extensive routine for your face shouldn’t mean…

THE ingonyama Trust has threatened to take its chairperson, King Misuzulu kaZwelithini to court after the king defied the Land Reform Minister’s directive that the board must continue with its operations. This after the Misuzulu’s Mpumalanga-based lawyer allegedly went to the Trust in Pietermaritzburg on Friday and allegedly ordered security guards to bar the suspended board members and officials from entering the offices. A reliable source within the Trust told IOL that the lawyer accompanied by a certain Trust board member arrived the offices and directed security guards to prevent board members and officials from entering. All the Trust staff are expected to show up at work on Monday to resume duties after the holidays. A senior official who spoke on condition of anonymity on Sunday said if the king…

THE ANC has challenged its members to take personal financial responsibility for attending the upcoming January 8 celebrations in Khayelitsha at the weekend in a move seen as signalling the party’s financial woes. The decision is seen as a desperate attempt to alleviate the financial burden of hosting large-scale events and bypassing the costs on to its members, the ANC is effectively admitting that it can no longer afford to foot the bill, say insiders. The party sources said the ANC's financial woes are not entirely surprising, given a history of financial mismanagement and corruption. The decision to make members pay their own way may be seen as a pragmatic move, but it also raises questions about the party's ability to deliver on its promises to its members and the…

THIS is just a suggestion to the City of Cape Town to ensure that more taxpayers have a fair chance of accessing the municipal pools, especially during the festive season. Install a Pay Station like those at the mall, and employ the current ticket salespeople to monitor sales to each client. People would then pay only for the time they spend inside the premises. This will shorten the waiting time in the lines, and, people who leave sooner than they are doing now in order to save money, will open spots for those arriving later. I am convinced that the City has the capacity to work out the details of implementation.…

FORMER president of the USA, Jimmy Carter, the longest-lived US president, will be remembered as a president who was concerned about values, human rights, and doing things that were both morally and ethically correct. His vision, mission, and philosophy were far ahead of both his predecessors and successors. For example, he installed solar panels on the White House's roof top only to have these removed by former president Ronald Reagan. He was fundamentally different from all those who occupied the Oval Office. He did not wear a red or blue cap. He was a centrist human being, which made him an admirable world icon. Not like the current incumbent Joe Biden, who fully supports the genocide in Gaza and former president George W. Bush infamous for his illegal invasion of…

Two teenagers have been arrested in connection with the murder of police Constable Callan Andrews. The Hawks said the suspects, aged 17 and 18, were arrested by the Gqeberha Serious Organised Crime Investigation of the Hawks on Saturday. Andrews, 29, attached at Gelvandale Police station was brutally murdered while on duty on December 31, 2024. “During the time of the incident, the officer was at Voisen Road Katanga, Gelvandale in Gqeberha, attending to a complaint where unknown suspects reportedly grabbed his service pistol and fatally wounded him,” said Hawks spokesperson Warrant Officer Ndiphiwe Mhlakuvana. “The police official was rushed to the nearest hospital where he was declared deceased as he succumbed to a bullet wound.” The teenagers are expected to appear in the Gelvandale Magistrate’s Court on Monday. “More arrests…

Apart from Jacob Zuma who copied from Cope, the best way to understand the intentions of Cope is reading an IsiXhosa drama book by the name of Umkhonto kaTshiwo. The book is about insecure paranoid superstitious Xhosa king Tshiwo who handed over and ordered his lieutenant Khwane to go and kill the alleged witches. Therefore, the title is named Umkhonto ka Tshiwo loosely translated as Tshiwo’s spear. In essence it means Tshiwo’s spear that was meant for his people, nation, to kill them. Cope was formed as the centrist organisation that believed in the Freedom Charter. From the beginning, it was met with resistance from the ANC about the name because Congress of the People was the name given to the ANC “sponsored” or led gathering that took place on…

TRIPOLI: The West Coast Military Zone of the Libyan Defense Ministry said Saturday it launched a large-scale anti-crime military operation. The first phase of the operation will begin in the city of Zawiya, some 45km west of the capital Tripoli, it said in a statement. The statement denied any political objectives behind the operation. The West Coast Military Zone, which has witnessed increasing fuel smuggling, drug trafficking and illegal migration, previously asked residents of Zawiya to stay away from suspicious locations and hideouts for their safety during military operations in the area. | Xinhua…

DOHA: Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, appointed by the country’s new rulers, arrived in Qatar yesterday to meet senior Qatari officials, a Qatari official told Reuters. The officials include Qatar’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Mohammed Al-Khulaifi.Syrian official news agency Sana confirmed the arrival of the Syrian delegation, which includes the country’s Defence Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra and head of intelligence Anas Khattab. The Syrian minister’s visit to Qatar is his second foreign trip less than a month since former President Bashar al-Assad was ousted by rebels on December 8. | Reuters…

South African cricket is set for more cricket fever as the country’s premier T20 competition, the SA20 makes its return on Thursday. While the Proteas have carried South Africa on the festive mood into the new year after confirmation of their place in this year’s World Test Championship final, the conclusion of the ongoing New Year's Test match will only lead to more exciting and entertaining cricket from all parts of the country as some of the best in the world will take to the field for some white ball cricket. The Sunrisers Eastern Cape have done a little bit more than set the benchmark with their back-to-back wins of the first two editions of the competitions, and the honours will be on the rest of the sides to attempt…

CAPE TOWN CITY (0) 1 Gonzalez 50 KAIZER CHIEFS 0 MUHSIN Ertugral is back – evidently a little older now with the wrinkles much more pronounced and the hair pretty grey. But the fieriness remains albeit seemingly better controlled for his touchline antics were less pronounced than they used to be. The celebration at the end of his victorious return to South African football after six years confirmed that the Turkish coach remains as passionate as ever, Ertugral meeting the final whistle with that trademark shout and double punch into the air before he hugged his players. It is a victory any coach would celebrate with such gusto – beating your former employers. And to do it just a few days after he’d joined City following the sacking of Eric…