Table of contents for 2022-01-06 in Star

Bang Showbiz Cher lives “a very strange life”. The 75-year-old singer – who is one of the best-selling artists of all time – has revealed that she communicates with people from “every walk of life” in an effort to stay grounded. The I Got You Babe hitmaker explained: “I have to keep in touch with people because I live a very strange life and if I don’t communicate with people who come from every walk of life, I will have no idea what’s going on. “I’m usually on the road, travelling, in a group that’s always together, unless I go out of my way, or if I see people on the street and talk to them.” Recalling a recent encounter with some fans, Cher said: “I was coming out of…

Deputy president says party has no divisions and will ‘stick together’ no matter what MASHUDU SADIKE mashudu.sadike@inl.co.za WHILE the ANC continues to be gripped by factional battles and divisions, its deputy president, David Mabuza, says the party has no divisions and will never have another splinter group. Mabuza was addressing journalists outside the Jack Botes Hall in Polokwane, Limpopo, following his meeting with traditional leaders in the build-up to the party’s 110th anniversary to be hosted at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday. Mabuza said the ANC would do everything in its power to avoid a splinter group within the ANC’s ranks. His sentiments reflect those that were shared in 2017 at the party's national elective conference where the unity narrative was upheld. His comments also follow assertions by…

Anita Nkonki anita.nkonki@inl.co.za THERE is no doubt that influencers and celebrities do not have it easy on social media, with every move or change in their lives always being under surveillance. With all the derogatory remarks they are often subjected to, some choose to turn a blind eye, while others hit back. Award-winning influencer and content creator Mihlali Ndamase found herself having to defend her name over disturbing comments about her body. This stemmed from a post where the star shared pictures showing off her bikini outfit next to a pool. A Twitter account named Nubian Queen insinuated that the influencer had undergone surgery to alter her body. “These people hit the gym for a couple of days, make noise about it then go for surgeries then come back with…

The pledge by the UK, China, Russia, France and the US to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons provides a glimmer of hope for humanity, providing the five powers cease to intervene in the affairs of sovereign nations. The alarming aspect is that four of the most belligerent and arrogant nuclear nations were not on board. India has 156 nuclear weapons, Pakistan 65, Israel 90 and North Korea 45. The four nations have been rehearsing nuclear attacks. They are also developing electro magnetic weapons. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse could drag the entire world into nuclear Armageddon. All the world’s nuclear powers are rehearsing nuclear chess by trading nuclear insults. The shadow of nuclear Armageddon looms over their fragile lines of control. It is the equivalent of nuclear…

How can the anti-corruption enforcement institutional framework be made stronger? How can it be improved to better realise corruption prevention, and effective investigation and prosecution? There are three main points which need to be highlighted in answer to these questions. First, the need for a proper diagnosis: South Africa has been cautioned on the danger of the fifteenth agency, it has to think about that option very carefully. Second, on the question as to what is needed: is that a new agency or a new modus operandi? Thirdly what lessons may be leveraged from what has been shepherded in by Western anti-corruption agencies which has led to increased enforcement and prevention-focused compliance? What lessons can South Africa glean from these best practices? It is useful to situate this discussion within…

Indian police are investigating an online Bulli Bai app that shared images of Muslim women for an “auction” in a case of alleged hate crime against minority groups. Police said an 18-year-old woman and two men in their early twenties had been detained in connection with the app. Bulli Bai is a derogatory term to describe Muslim women. Investigations are also continuing in the “Sulli Deals” mobile app, which surfaced in July using photos of Muslim women without their consent to “auction” them on the app. |…

ZELDA VENTER zelda.venter@inl.co.za WHILE it has been about eight months since judgment was reserved in the application by “Please Call Me” inventor Nkosana Makate to get what he claimed was owed to him, Makate said he was still waiting patiently for the verdict. Speaking to The Star’s sister paper, the Pretoria News this week, Makate said he understood the delay by Judge Wendy Hughes to deliver the judgment, as she had meanwhile been appointed to the Supreme Court of Appeal and was thus obviously extremely busy. “I have been patient and will continue to be so. I understand that Judge Hughes, after hearing my matter, was also promoted to the SCA and that this might impact on the delay in the judgment. But I am patient and will continue to…

Tarryn-Leigh Solomons tarryn-leigh.solomons@inl.co.za The Mace, an important symbol that signifies the authority and sitting of the National Assembly, was not destroyed in the two-day fire that gutted some parts of Parliament. The Presiding Officers, National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and National Council of Provinces chairperson Amos Masondo, received the Mace which is carried into the Chamber by the Serjeant-at-Arms and announces the arrival of the Speaker. Parliamentary spokesperson Moloto Mothapo said the Mace had not been damaged. “The Presiding Officers confirm that efforts to save the Mace were successful yesterday after two days of the fire. It has been retrieved from its safe storage without any damage,” Mothapo said. Further assurance was also given that the State of the Nation Address and the Budget Speech, among others, would go ahead…

Sonri Naidoo sonri.naidoo@inl.co.za RONNY Jokonya, also known as Ronny J-Drizz, is a multifaceted South African electronic dance music (EDM) DJ, producer, songwriter, television composer and radio host. He first developed his interest in music production in 2005, when he began deejaying at home. The Zimbabwe-born DJ started his journey in EDM production in 2008 while pursuing other interests in the music industry. Ronny J-Drizz has worked with and created instrumentals for some of South Africa’s top acts including singer and songwriter Lady Zamar, award-winning hip hop artist Gigi LaMayne, the Soweto Gospel Choir, and actress, singer, television presenter and model Thembi Seete. “With over 12 years of experience in the entertainment industry, my professionalism is unmatched and my passion for music and engineering flows into every aspect of the work…

BEVERLEY T MUTANDIRO | Human Rights Activist IT’S SAD having an unfaithful government that provides false hope and empty promises to its nation and isn’t trusted because of its intolerant style of leadership. President Emmerson Mnangagwa has made many promises since 2017, such as improving human rights and granting free expression. However, he has continued to be involved in unleashing gross human rights violations against Movement for Democratic Change Alliance opposition activists other government critics. There is no rule of law. Human rights activists continue to flee to neighbouring countries. Mnangagwa should stop acting like a clueless, corrupt and careless leader and prioritise reform and fulfil his promise about human rights violations rather than intensifying the situation.…

Bongani Kona Mandla Langa and Mphuthumi Ntabeni’s new novels, “The Lost Language of the Soul” and “The Wanderers”, intersect in their reflections on the lives of Umkhonto we Sizwe freedom fighters. NOVELIST, poet and short story writer Mandla Langa’s latest book, The Lost Language of the Soul, is a coming-of-age tale set in Zambia and apartheid South Africa in the late 1980s. The novel chronicles the odyssey of Joseph Mabaso, the son of an Umkhonto we Sizwe soldier who goes in search of his mother after her disappearance from their home in Lusaka. The search takes Langa’s teenage protagonist through towns and borders until he ends up in South Africa. History is also at the heart of Mphuthumi Ntabeni’s fiction. He won the University of Johannesburg Debut Prize in 2019…

Asian financial hub Hong Kong banned flights from eight nations yesterday as part of strict new virus curbs, with Omicron outbreaks spiralling out of control from Europe to the US. The new coronavirus variant is spreading rapidly across continents, leaving governments rushing to roll out vaccine boosters and bolster health-care systems as infection numbers reach new highs. Britain, the US, France and Australia have all announced record case numbers in recent days, while China has imposed lockdowns in two cities and rolled out mass testing for millions as it doubles down on its “zero Covid” policy ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics. Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said the city was shuttering bars and gyms and cancelling evening restaurant dining after Omicron was detected in the international business hub. The…

Oluthando Keteyi Local DJ Prince Kaybee has shared the first glimpse of the child he welcomed late last year. In October, the award-winning producer and his partner radio presenter Zola Mhlongo had a baby. Prince Kaybee shared a snap of his bundle of joy being held by his mother. The Charlotte hitmaker simply captioned his post with a red heart emoji. Mhlongo also shared another picture from their family Christmas celebration. The picture has Zola and their bundle surrounded by Prince Kaybee’s mother and other family members. The DJ has always kept a low-profile around his relationship, especially after last year’s cheating scandal. He did not even post any snaps of his partner’s maternity shoot. Mhlongo is the one who broke the news on social media, with a picture that…

Itumeleng Mafisa The spokesperson of the Jacob Zuma Foundation, Mzwanele Manyi, has hit back at media personality Eusebius McKaiser, who described him as a “pliable buffoon”. McKaiser described Manyi as a “pliable buffoon” after he, Manyi, was implicated in the State Capture report in which he is accused of channelling funds into the now-defunct newspaper The New Age. McKaiser took to Twitter comparing Themba Maseko, who was also a director-general at the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS), to Manyi, saying: “By contrast, an honest person like Themba Maseko was hounded out of his job for resisting the Guptas, only to be replaced by the pliable buffoon, Mzwanele Manyi.” Manyi said the McKaiser was a “colonial clerk” who did not know what he was talking about. He said he was…

Chulumanco Mahamba chulumanco.mahamba@inl.co.za FOLLOWING almost 50 days of anguish, the family of the 11-year-old girl learner who was kidnapped at gunpoint in Mayfair in November have been reunited with their child. Police spokesperson Lieutenant- Colonel Robert Netshiunda confirmed to The Star yesterday that the girl, who was kidnapped at EP Baumann Primary School in Mayfair last year, had been found, about 48 days after she was kidnapped on November 17. Netshiunda later confirmed that members of the Crime Intelligence Anti-Kidnapping Task Team, assisted by the Johannesburg Flying Squad, rescued Maha Qassim on Tuesday evening during an intelligence-led operation. “Members of the Crime Intelligence Anti-Kidnapping Task Team, assisted by the Johannesburg Flying Squad, pounced on a house in Devland, Soweto, around midnight. The girl was rescued unharmed and was taken to…

After having a dreamy Christmas in her ravishing white-themed decor Shauwn “MaMkhize” Mkhize has struck again with the most luxurious new year holiday. The well-known, flamboyant businesswoman jetted off days ago to explore the beauty and nature of Namibia. Since then she has been keeping her followers in the loop on her Instagram account. From walking in deserts, horse and hot air balloon riding, the star shared all the moments with her followers. MaMkhize expressed how the vacation was a much-needed time away after the long and dreadful year that it was for everyone. She shared pictures and videos exploring different locations while dazzling in her outfits. She took to Instagram to send her love to her followers as they started the new year. “May 2022 be filled with opportunities,…

WHAT madness! R1.2 million to sit next to the president and R1m for a seat next to the deputy president at the gala dinner? Who do they think they are? Which fool would throw way so much money, unless to take a photograph to show their grandchildren or to gain favour for some lucrative government deal? Would they be so charitable and make a generous donation to the poor? President Cyril Ramaphosa has been a disappointment. After nine wasted years under Jacob Zuma, we expected a dramatic change of leadership for the better. Here was a golden opportunity to rid the country of corrupt government officials who were enriching themselves at the expense of the people and the country. But he dithered, vacillated, and procrastinated till he couldn’t take the…

Brigitte Macron, Michelle Obama and Jacinda Ardern are among some of the world’s most powerful women who have fallen victim to a growing trend: disinformation about their sex or sexuality to mock or, worse, humiliate them. For months messages have appeared on social media claiming that Macron is a transgender woman originally named Jean-Michel. The fake news flared up in December, only a few months before presidential elections in April. New Zealand’s prime minister Ardern and former US first lady Obama were also the target of false rumours, in 2018 and 2017, that they were born as men. The rumours spread like wildfire on social media. It doesn’t matter that virtually nobody believes that Macron is a transgender woman; the lies open the door to insults, scorn and even cyber-harassment.…

Doctors in Ethiopia’s war-hit Tigray region say patients are needlessly dying of treatable conditions because a de facto blockade is preventing medicines and other life-saving supplies from reaching stricken hospitals. A dire shortage of oxygen, intravenous fluids and other critical equipment had made surgery and essential procedures almost impossible over the past six months, according to doctors from Tigray’s biggest hospital. “As a result, children who needed shunt surgeries are left to die, those with treatable cancers are denied their rights and those with fractures are forced to wait while being immobilised,” said a statement from doctors at Ayder Referral Hospital dated January 4. Thousands of people have died in Ethiopia’s 14-month-long war and parts of Tigray are experiencing famine conditions. The region is also under a communications blackout…