Table of contents for 2022-05-13 in Mercury

LONDON: Britain dropped in an annual ranking of European countries’ LGBTQ+ rights yesterday, with activists citing the exclusion of transgender people from an upcoming ban on so-called conversion therapy. Britain fell from 10th to 14th place in the “Rainbow Europe” index by advocacy group ILGA-Europe, continuing its slide from the number one spot seven years ago. The government’s policy on conversion therapy, which aims to change a person’s sexual orientation, its stance on gender recognition, and barriers to asylum for LGBTQ+ people were all cited as factors. “The UK is moving backwards,” Evelyne Paradis, ILGA-Europe’s executive director said. “(LGBTQ+) groups are in a defensive moment, trying to protect and prevent further backsliding, which is quite shocking.” Britain topped the Rainbow Europe Map in 2015. But since then, activists said the…

News reports tell us that Pope Francis is being asked by the desperate wives of Ukrainian fighters to intervene to rescue their husbands who are besieged in the Azovstal steel plant. How can the poor pope do anything to help all us irredeemable sinners while we’re still fallible, unforgiving? What does Pope Francis represent to Russians who mainly embrace the Orthodox Church? Here’s a suggestion: the Christian churches leaders, being human too, could lead peace talks by a tangible example. How? Remember “The Great Schism”? That ideological break in communion between Eastern and Western churches way back in 1054? All over theological and liturgical differences. Surely after 1 000 years, these leaders can cross this divide? If the churches can’t reconcile, how on earth can we “earthbound” nations? Are…

Let me start by saying that much nonsensical rubbish has been published on two of my favourite topics, and I felt it was time to educate members of the public – and disbelievers in particular – as to what they should be thinking. Dubious Donald knows best and you would be well advised to heed his words. Starting with Covid-19, the most outlandish figures are being bandied about as to the number of mortalities in various countries, including our own. Well, in North Korea, a greatly misunderstood bastion of democracy, Professor U Pong of the People’s University has dismissed an earlier statement that more than 300 000 have perished and revised the total to a mere 37, all of whom were octogenarians suffering from comorbidities. His predecessor, responsible for the…

THE escape of nine alleged armed robbers, thieves and attempted murderers from police custody in Mpumalanga will in no way compromise justice in the Hillary Gardee murder case. Yesterday, provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala confirmed that police had launched a manhunt for the nine suspects, who escaped from Badplaas. “Police have opened dockets of escape from custody against the nine men. They escaped at Badplaas police station on Tuesday around 5pm and only one was rearrested on Wednesday morning,” Mohlala said. He would not provide details on how they escaped. “The circumstances surrounding their escape are still being investigated but it is suspected that they cut through the roof,” he said. It is not the first time that Badplaas police station is in the news for the wrong reasons.…

The post office will no longer pay out the R350 Social Relief of Distress Grant and activists, and politicians have expressed fears that this could cause further hardship to thousands of people. South African Post Office (Sapo) spokesperson Johan Kruger said the idea behind the development was to move the payments to the point where the beneficiaries use their grant. “We found that beneficiaries come to the post office to collect and use the grant at a grocery store. This saves them time and transport money.” Kruger said beneficiaries had many choices available to them, such as having the grant paid into a bank account, receiving it through a cash send transaction at an ATM, or collecting it from a supermarket. He said the post office at this stage did…

‘Allow all members rather than delegates to vote for leadership’ THE ugly scenes and prolonged delays during the ANC conference in the Eastern Cape recently were another terrible advertising instalment of Brand ANC. What took place, including the delay of the conference due to quibbling about credentials, couldn’t have come at a worse time for the organisation. It is common cause that Brand ANC has not only lost its shine, but unfortunately has also become associated with shenanigans, including corruption, incompetence, factionalism and even senseless killings. This 110-year-old movement, which historically has been regarded as a dependable vehicle for decolonisation that gave hope to and inspired South Africans, has morphed into a tool for self-aggrandisement, at best, and an impediment to a transformative leap forward, at worst. Hadebe Hadebe, in…

Finland yesterday took a step towards fast-track membership of Nato, triggering a blunt warning from the Kremlin, as the war in Ukraine throttled supplies of Russian gas to Europe. “Finland must apply for Nato membership without delay,” President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin said in Helsinki. “Nato membership would strengthen Finland’s security,” they said. “As a member of Nato, Finland would strengthen the entire defence alliance.” But Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov warned Russia would “definitely” see Finnish membership as a threat. The Russian foreign ministry said Moscow would be “forced to take reciprocal steps, military-technical and other, to address the resulting threats to its national security”. In launching the invasion of Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin cited in part what he called the threat from Nato, which expanded…

North Korea confirmed it had Covid-19 cases for the first time yesterday and declared a “serious emergency”, with leader Kim Jong-un appearing in a mask on television for the first time to order nationwide lockdowns. Hours after the announcement – the first time the nuclear-armed country has ever admitted to a case of Covid-19 – Seoul’s military said it had detected three short-range ballistic missiles fired from near Pyongyang. Earlier yesterday, North Korea said it had moved into “maximum emergency epidemic prevention system” after patients sick with fever in Pyongyang tested positive for the “omicron BA.2 variant” of Covid-19. Kim, wearing a mask on state television for the first time, oversaw an emergency politburo meeting to discuss the outbreak and “called on all the cities and counties of the whole…

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka appointed a new prime minister yesterday, a move President Gotabaya Rajapaksa hopes will quell weeks of worsening civil unrest in which at least nine people died this week and more than 300 were injured. Ranil Wickremesinghe, a political veteran who has been prime minister of the nation five times before, faces the daunting task of leading his country through its worst economic crisis since independence. Economic mismanagement, the Covid-19 pandemic and rising energy costs following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have drained state coffers, meaning Sri Lanka is running low on fuel and medicines and facing daily blackouts. | Reuters…

At next year’s World Cup in France, the Springbok squad that was first put together by Rassie Erasmus in 2018 will have fully matured. They were a relatively young bunch in Japan three years ago but when they get to Paris in 2023 the majority of the squad will be a shade under or over 30, and a few older still. While most of them will be able to continue at the highest level for a year or two longer, this next World Cup will be the end of the road for some. MIKE GREENAWAY looks at five senior citizens who are nearing the rocking chair and who should replace them: Willie Le Roux The fullback was beleaguered by the critics last year after some hesitant performances in the Rugby…

The court has now paved the way for divorcing spouses married out of community of property and without the accrual system to be financially compensated for their contribution to the marriage. In the groundbreaking judgment, the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, this week declared section 7(3)(a) of Divorce Act 70 of 1979 unconstitutional in that it did not allow for a court to make a “redistribution order”. Shani van Niekerk of Adams & Adams Attorneys, who appeared for the Pretoria Attorneys Association – which entered the proceedings as a friend of the court – said this was a historic judgment, especially for women who earlier stood to receive nothing if they were married out of community of property. Van Niekerk explained that the practical effect of the judgment was that anyone…

RE-ELECTED ANC Eastern Cape chairperson Oscar Mabuyane has described the allegations of bribing delegates at the party’s ninth elective conference last week as baseless, saying those who chose to use money to buy votes were not members of the ANC. In an exclusive interview yesterday, Mabuyane said some of the allegations were unsubstantiated and malicious. “They have no basis to start with. As a journalist, your responsibility is to establish the validity of any information that you receive. In so doing, you have to be very objective. Having said that, I need to bring to your attention the fact that lobby groups campaigned for their preferred candidates. “We do not encourage, at all, our members to use money in influencing a specific position including campaigns. Members of the ANC must…

Some people still believe in biological evolution. Most of us, however, take that ridiculous theorem as utter nonsense. Evolution means changes to our brains and bodies to improve efficiency. A gradual development to remove the deadwood of a useless appendix. Body hair. Great to keep salons and beauticians open. Only. Wisdom teeth. When Covid has chased lots of clients back home, a painful, rotten wisdom can easily bring some sought-after cash for the poor dentist to help pay his receptionist. But not much use any more to grind the tough meat of sabre-toothed tigers. Who, themselves, have gone extinct. Poor things. Do you know they are still teaching this baloney even in Holy Trinity Colleges and Islamic Schools, although both these religions believe in Creation? Fear of the Education Department…

Expanding on the sentiments conveyed in the letter from AJ Kronigkramer (The Mercury, May 11) about the “obscenity” of spending R450 million on a Ferris wheel at the harbour entrance, I say without reserve that eThekwini Municipality has not lost the plot. The truth be known, eThekwini Municipality council has never even “had the plot”, so to speak, where real growth and beneficial tourist appeal is concerned. That pathetic little Skycar on the big white shopping basket is a prime example of a council failure. A Ferris wheel? To spend even R10 on promoting such a mindless project borders on criminality, while the essential civil infrastructural services are left to degenerate into oblivion.…

A lifelong friend wrote this. I asked for his permission to publish it. He requested anonymity: There’s a difference between being “sober” and being “in recovery”. It’s important to understand that you cannot be cured from addictions. Being sober from addictions means: Not using, abstaining from mind, mood-altering substances like alcohol, drugs, prescription meds. Abstention must be complete. The daily work and struggles revolve around doing all you can to stay in sobriety. It’s a necessary process and the tricks you learn and plans you develop are key in moving into recovery. Being in recovery is different altogether. It begins with sobriety, but recovery is about: Changing behaviour Finding peace and healing Striving to become a better human being, loving yourself Admitting responsibility and giving up the victim role Action…

Standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) chairperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa is among the quartet of errant MPs who will be reprimanded in Parliament for the late filing of their disclosure of financial interests. This comes after the joint ethics and members’ interest committee tabled a report announcing sanctions to the MPs from the IFP, ANC and EFF. Committee co-chairpersons Bekizwe Simon Nkosi and Moji Lydia Moshodi said the code of ethical conduct and disclosure of member’s interests required parliamentarians to disclose their registrable interests annually by November 30. “If a member has no registrable interests, a ‘nil’ return must be submitted,” they said. Nkosi and Moshodi said an MP breached the code if they contravened or failed to comply with the requirements of the provisions for disclosing interests. “Of the 454…

A KHAYELITSHA family say they have lost hope in the country’s justice system after the man charged with the murder of six people in the Enkanini informal settlement was released on R800 bail. Thando Shuba was arrested after the mass killing which claimed the lives of four young men and two women on March 20 while they were sitting outside a shack. His release has outraged not only residents and families but also Police Minister Bheki Cele, who said he was concerned about the issue. Among the six victims was 22-year-old Nesisa Mazibuko. Her grandmother, Vuyiswa Mazibuko, said: “This is heartbreaking and it brings a lot of questions on why a suspect would be released on bail.”…

“IF WE are to make progress in cutting unnecessary bureaucratic delays for businesses, we need dedicated capacity with the means to make changes.” This is what President Cyril Ramaphosa said when announcing the appointment of respected businessman Sipho Nkosi as leader of the Presidency’s “red tape team” during this year’s State of the Nation Address. Ramaphosa has yet to outline the terms of reference, scope and authority of the presidential red tape team. It is reasonable to expect this team’s terms of reference to have been expedited for approval by the president, when considering a number of reasons. One – the economy is, and should be, a priority for his administration. Two – a precedent was set when the president in just over a month approved the terms of reference…

The oldest underground rapid-transit system in the world, the Tube, is about to undergo its biggest expansion in decades with the opening of the super-speedy and library-hushed Elizabeth line, which promises to transform this city for commuters and visitors alike. Ready to board its first passengers on May 24, the Elizabeth line boasts sleek carriages zooming along tracks laid 10 stories below the streets, balanced on shock-absorbing, noise-muffling rubber padding, through climate-controlled tunnels, with wi-fi. The 117km east-west corridor will bring far-flung suburbs closer to the centre of London, putting another 1.5 million people within 45 minutes. Transport for London Commissioner Andy Byford called the new railway “a wonder of the world” and predicted riders “will be blown away”. The opening coincides with the Platinum Jubilee of its namesake,…

LOS ANGELES: Gwyneth Paltrow has confirmed Goop’s $120 “luxury” diapers were a stunt designed to protest against taxes. The actress’s lifestyle brand caused a stir when they claimed they’d sell disposable nappies “lined with virgin alpaca wool and fastened with amber gemstones” that would retail at “$120 (about R1 900) for 12”. But she’s now come clean and admitted the firm wanted to “shine a light on a real problem” – the fact that many families struggle to afford the necessity for their little ones because of the high tax they face. “The Diapér is a fake product meant to shine a light on a real problem,” she said. | Bang Showbiz…

LONDON: If Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion reach Britain via Ireland without travel documents, they could be caught up in a contentious new plan under which migrants who don’t meet strict asylum criteria will be flown to Rwanda for possible resettlement there, UK MPs have been told by a top immigration official. British PPM Boris Johnson announced the Rwanda plan as part of a crackdown on smuggling routes across the English Channel. Under the plan, most migrants who cross illegally will be deemed inadmissible to claim asylum because their journeys will have taken them through safe countries before reaching Britain. | The Washington Post…

TWO senior officials at director level in the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education have been sanctioned for irregularities in the procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE). One of the officials has been fired and another placed on suspension for three months without pay, owing to supply chain irregularities. Department representatives appeared before the national portfolio committee on co-operative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) on Wednesday. They said several other employees were being subjected to disciplinary action for offences linked to procurement. It announced in 2020 that it had suspended two officials at senior management level on allegations of fixing PPE tenders. KZN government department representatives had appeared before the committee to brief MPs on action taken after the office of the auditor-general highlighted concerns about how the province went about procuring…

In a letter penned shortly after the murder of Hillary Gardee, to Safiyyah my granddaughter who, I was relieved to say and I repeat here, does not have to live and experience the trauma her generation feels and experiences every day in their developmental years. I submit this letter out of exasperation at an age approaching close on 70 years and I cannot remain idle in action. Enough is enough, Mr Ramaphosa. Do the best for South Africa – either you act immediately in suspending or fire those ministers in your government who are named and implicated in the Zondo Commission report into state capture. Or you dissolve the government and call for fresh elections. We have, right now, no water and electricity in a greater part of KwaZulu-Natal. We…

I learn, with regret, that Adams bookstore is closing at the end of the month. It occurs to me that I am probably their oldest customer, having opened an account there in 1944, at the age of 16. I recall, with pleasure, many of the staff who assisted me. Mrs Bosman from whom I purchased Conway Stewart fountain pens and, also, drawing pencils and pens and sketch blocks and watercolour paper. And I recall Mrs Edna Steele and Mrs Sandy Heath, who knew my interests and sent me books on appro regularly. And, of course, I remember Mr Rabjohn, who managed the used books section, and his wonderful knowledge of literature. As I look at my library, I realise that the majority of the books came from Adams, and many…

TELL a woman she reminds you of a parasitic worm and she’ll klap you – quite justifiably, in my opinion. Yet, it seems there’s a clamour in New Zealand for parasitic worms to be named after female scientists. A dickens of a row has blown up over it, according to Sky News. A report claims the naming of the creatures is sexist. A team of scientists, led by a parasitologist, scoured studies in eight journals published between 2000 and 2020. Of the 596 parasitic worm species named after eminent scientists, only 111, or 19%, recognised women, according to New Zealand’s University of Otago. “We found a consistent gender bias among species named after eminent scientists, with male scientists being immortalised disproportionately more frequently than female scientists,” said the study. Shame…

THE SIU warns that failure of state institutions to pay them will result in the corruption-busting body running out of cash in the longer term, if not resolved. Government departments and state entities owed the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) a staggering R650 million for the investigations it conducted into their affairs as at December 2021. The interest on the debt stood at R121.2m during the same period. This emerged yesterday when the SIU briefed the justice and correctional services portfolio committee on its annual performance plan and the budget for the 2022-23 financial year. The breakdown of the amount owed is as follows: R197m public entities; R157m local government; R155m provincial governments; R141m national departments. The dozens of state institutions coughed up only R151m as at January this year. This,…

OVER the past four months, January to April, the City of Joburg’s department of development planning has issued close to 300 compliance notices to property owners who have erected illegal structures without approved building plans. The department has building inspection teams across the city whose main function is to ensure that all formal construction within the city follows the National Building Regulations and conforms to the conditions of the approved building plans. Should a property owner start building without approved plans, they will be issued with a notice informing them of their contravention. The owner must stop building immediately and submit plans to the city for approval, within 30 days. Should the owner fail to comply with the notice, rates penalties may be imposed, and the matter will be referred…

ETHEKWINI Municipality has defended the R450 million Durban Eye project, saying the development will form part of the municipality’s economic infrastructure that will draw tourists, stimulate economic growth and create jobs. During the week of the Tourism Indaba in the city, it announced that a multimillion-rand project would be built in Durban. The city already has several tourist destinations that include its own assets such as uShaka Marine World. Since the announcement, Durban residents have slammed the development, describing it as a vanity project. However, the city yesterday said the Durban Eye Company was a private initiative with the municipality only providing land for the construction of the project. It involves the development and installation of a giant Ferris wheel along the northern breakwaters on Vetches Beach in the Point…

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said yesterday that Israeli authorities were “fully responsible” for the killing of a veteran Al Jazeera reporter during clashes in the occupied West Bank and called for an international investigation. Shireen Abu Akleh suffered a gunshot wound to the head in Jenin on Wednesday. Al Jazeera and Qatar, where the news network is based, accused Israeli troops of the killing. Israel, which has voiced regret at Abu Akleh’s death, said that the fatal shot might have been fired by a Palestinian gunman. It has proposed a joint investigation with the Palestinians, asking them to provide the bullet for examination. “We rejected the joint investigation with the Israeli occupation authorities because they committed the crime and because we don’t trust them,” said Abbas during an official memorial…

ThE US will share technologies used to make Covid-19 vaccines through the World Health Organization and is working to expand rapid testing and antiviral treatments for hard-to-reach populations, President Joe Biden said yesterday. The US will contribute an additional $200 million (about R3.2 billion) to a global health fund for future pandemic preparedness at the World Bank, he said, bringing its total contribution to $450m. “We are making available health technologies that are owned by the US government, including stabilised spike protein used in many Covid-19 vaccines,” Biden said in his opening speech for the second global Covid-19 summit. The summit, jointly hosted by the US, Belize, Germany, Indonesia and Senegal, was held virtually yesterday. Biden called on world leaders to consider how their countries could contribute further to the…

KATHMANDU: A 48-year-old Nepali woman scaled Mount Everest for the 10th time yesterday, breaking her own record for the most summits of the world’s highest mountain by a female climber, her hiking company said. Lhakpa Sherpa last climbed the 8 848.86m mountain in 2018. A fellow Nepali, Kami Rita Sherpa, holds the men’s record of 26 climbs. “Lhakpa has broken her own record and become the first woman to achieve 10 summits,” said her brother, Mingma Gelu Sherpa, an official of her Seven Summit Club hiking agency. A tourism official, Bhishma Kumar Bhattarai, confirmed that she had reached the summit. Also yesterday, seven members of an “All Black Expedition” comprising climbers from the US and Kenya climbed Mount Everest, said Jeevan Ghimire of the Shangrila-Nepal Trek hiking company. Fewer than…

WASHINGTON: Scientists yesterday provided the first look at what they called the “gentle giant” lurking at the centre of the Milky Way galaxy, unveiling an image of a supermassive black hole that devours any matter wandering within its gargantuan gravitational pull. The black hole, called Sagittarius A*, or Sgr A*, is only the second one ever to be imaged. The feat was accomplished by the same Event Horizon Telescope international collaboration that in 2019 unveiled the first photo of a black hole. Black holes are extraordinarily dense objects with gravity so strong that not even light can escape, making viewing them extremely challenging. | Reuters…

THERE are four changes to the Western Province forward pack for their Currie Cup encounter with the Pumas in Nelspruit tonight. Three of those changes are in the front row and the other at lock, while the backline remains unchanged for the clash at Mbombela Stadium, which kicks off at 7pm. Jerome Paarwater & Co have gone with an all-new front row as they continue hunting only their second win. Prop Kwenxo Blose and Neethling Fouche will pack down either side of hooker Jacques van Zyl, while the other change sees Ernst van Rhynstart in the second row. Hooker HP van Schoor and wing Ebenezer Tshimanga are both set to make their senior Province debuts should they provide impact from the bench. WP, who are second from bottom…

THE fishing is starting to pick up and the excitement of the sardines possibly arriving soon has everyone giddy. The offshore fishing off Durban has been good these past weeks. The bottom fishing has begun to pick up and the couta are keeping the game fish addicts happy. The North Coast has seen a lot of wolf herring (silkies) and walla walla caught while fishing for snoek. These species are normally a pest but have become a welcome catch due to the bait shortage. They are not the greatest live bait, so your best bet is to allow them to die and then rig them. There has been snoek around most of the usual areas so make sure you have good quality sardine for fillet baits. If you prefer not…