Table of contents for 2024-05-29 in Star

ACTRESS Linda Mtoba’s roles in The River series and the movie One Night kwa Mxolisi have won her widespread recognition. This praise saw her landing her first lead role last month as the star of BET Africa’s new daily drama, Queendom. On the local series, which celebrates the strength, resilience and power of women who shape their destinies, Mtoba plays Ntandokayise Mthombeni. Queendom has been hailed for offering a refreshingly authentic portrayal of women in black communities. Mtoba said South African women, in particular, play a pivotal role in their communities and families. “It’s not just about running the household, it’s about owning property, making financial decisions and shaping the future for themselves and their loved ones,” she explained. And with an increasing number of women acquiring more stature in…

AfriForum says it will discuss the possibility of turning to the Constitutional Court after it failed in its Supreme Court of Appeal application over a complaint of hate speech against the EFF for singing the song Dubula ibhunu. Justice Halima Saldulker dismissed the appeal lodged after AfriForum’s complaint was dismissed in the Equality Court. The literal English translation of the Struggle song is “Kill the Boer, kill the farmer”. AfriForum said the judgment had “let farmers down (and) emphasises the importance of taking safety into one’s own hands”. The hate speech complaint by AfriForum centred, in the main, on the song, which was sung by EFF’s president, Julius Malema, and Mbuyiseni Ndlozi. AfriForum pointed to six occasions on which Malema had chanted the song, albeit that on some occasions he…

ATTEMPTS by Rise Mzansi to dissuade the public from voting for rival party ActionSA through negative SMSes, is nothing more than “old politics” masked as new leaders. Yesterday, scores of South Africans woke up to SMSes saying: “Don’t vote for ActionSA: they are partners with the DA in the MPC. A vote for ActionSA is a vote for the DA. We need new leaders. Vote Rise Mzansi.” ActionSA national chairperson Michael Beaumont said Rise Mzansi’s series of paid attack SMSes was a “clumsy attempt” to manufacture reasons why people should not vote for them. “Rise Mzansi has attempted to contrast itself by dishonestly telling South Africans we need new leaders but instead of bringing something new to the table, the antics come from the playbook of the old leadership of…

Disunity is a danger that the peoples of Earth can no longer endure. Civilisation has evolved to a point where the unity of humanity has become a paramount necessity. No matter where in the world we live, we all feel the impact of the global conflicts, wars and turbulences. Thus, the coming together of the peoples of the world in a harmonious relationship is the most crucial need of today. The Bahá’í International Community states: “Everywhere the signs multiply that the Earth’s peoples yearn for an end to conflict, suffering and ruin from which no land is any longer immune. The rising impulses for change must be seized upon and channelled into overcoming the remaining barriers that block realisation of the age-old dream of global peace.” We observed World Day…

Recent reports on vote rigging have left many asking chilling questions about the democratic process before the general elections. South Africans will be going out in numbers today to vote for the future of the country. South Africa has a robust democratic system, and free and fair elections are a cornerstone of its democracy. The country has a reputation for conducting credible, transparent and inclusive elections, with the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) overseeing the process. The IEC is widely respected for its independence, impartiality and professionalism in managing elections. South Africa has a high voter registration rate, with more than 75% of eligible citizens registered to vote. On Monday and Tuesday, during the special votes, 1.6 million voters cast their votes. The country has a vibrant multiparty system,…

Vatican City: Pope Francis issued an extraordinary apology yesterday for using a vulgar gay slur in a closed-door meeting with Italian bishops. The pontiff, 87, had expressed his opposition to homosexual men entering training colleges for priests, even if they declared they would be celibate. According to Italian newspapers, Francis said there was already too much “frociaggine” in seminaries, using a Roman term that translates as “faggotry”. “The pope never intended to offend or express himself in homophobic terms and he extends his apologies to those who felt offended,” the Vatican said. | AFP…

NEW YORK: Donald Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche urged jurors yesterday to look past the salacious details in his criminal hush money trial and focus on the paperwork at the heart of the case as he urged them to find the former president not guilty of criminal behaviour. Blanche said prosecutors had failed to prove that Trump, the 2024 Republican candidate for president, illegally falsified documents to cover up a hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels to advance his 2016 presidential campaign. Jurors could begin deliberations as soon as today. Trump denies wrongdoing. | Reuters…

SOUTH Africa were handed a 3-0 series whitewash by West Indies last week in Jamaica. As much as it is never ideal to lose matches going into World Cups, the series saw an inexperienced SA side take on a seasoned West Indies outfit in their own backyard. Apart from Quinton de Kock and Rassie van der Dussen, there wasn’t any real experience in the 15-man squad as most of the players were touring the Caribbean for the first time. As a result, four debutants in Ryan Rickelton, Ottneil Baartman, Nqabayomzi Peter and Patrick Kruger were handed their maiden T20I caps in Kingston. “(My) assessment of the series? Obviously it was a tough one. Both teams (were) missing some key players,” Proteas white-ball coach Rob Walter said yesterday. “It was still…

It might not be everyone’s dream to rub elbows with Kim Kardashian but some of us are out there living our best lives with international A-listers. Case in point: Boity Thulo is absolutely killing it abroad, mingling with the crème de la crème, including the one and only Kim K. Thulo attended The Lion King’s 30th anniversary celebrations, a star-studded event because, let’s be real, The Lion King is nothing short of iconic. The legendary Lebo M, who played a huge role in the film’s success, even blessed the audience with a performance. The rapper took to Instagram to give us all a peek at her fabulous night with some photos from the event and, of course, didn’t miss the chance to snap a pic with the reality TV star.…

THE three men arrested for the shooting of 5-year-old Ditebogo Junior Phalane from Soshanguve during a hijacking of his father’s car, have abandoned their bid to be released on bail. All three men yesterday informed the court that they would be abandoning their bail bid as they had other pending matters against them, which they would also be appearing for this year. National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana, speaking after the men appeared in the Pretoria North Magistrate’s Court yesterday, said the men had been positively linked to the shooting of the young boy on May 10. The trio, Elia Moeko, 36, Ali Sithole, 30, and Nido Gumbe, 29, would face charges of murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances, she said. Gumbe, a Mozambican national, would also face a…

2 tbsp butter, plus extra for greasing the tin 2 tbsp olive oil 1 large onion, finely chopped Handful fresh thyme sprigs 2-3 rosemary stalks 4 cloves garlic, minced 350g arborio rice 1 litre mushroom or vegetable stock 3 tbsp olive oil 500g mixed cultivated mushrooms, sliced 2xl eggs 80g parmesan cheese, grated, plus extra for serving 150g smooth ricotta cheese Salt and pepper, to taste Heat olive oil and butter in a medium Dutch oven or deep frying pan. Cook the onion with the thyme and rosemary until tender. Do not brown. Add the garlic and cook for one minute until fragrant. Stir in the rice and coat it well in the olive oil and butter. Toast the rice for a minute until the edges are translucent. Add the…

The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has slammed claims that gospel singer Betusile Mcinga is an official working for the commission, as depicted on social media. Mcinga caught the media attention after he was seen wearing ANC regalia while in another photo he posed in IEC gear. In a statement shared on social media, the commission verified the veracity of the claims, further urging the public to verify before spreading misinformation. “We are aware of photos circulating on social media that falsely depict gospel singer Betusile Mcinga as an employee of the Electoral Commission (IEC), while he is shown wearing a political party shirt. We can confirm that Betusile Mcinga does not work for the IEC. We urge the public to verify information before sharing it to prevent…

The hour of reckoning is upon us. This is a crucial election. The way we cast our vote will decide the fate of the country for the next five years. The choice is simple. Should we give the ANC another five years? Does it deserve it? Forget all the election rhetoric. Look at the governing party’s track record. Could you send your child to a public school? If you are sick, where would you prefer to go – to RK Khan or St Augustine’s? Then look back at Eskom which left us in darkness for several years. Is it really out of the woods? Think of Transnet. Why are trucks clogging the roads? Because Transnet cannot run our trains. What happened to SAA, once the pride of Africa? Think of…

We are not blind to the shortcomings of our ANC government; they are too glaring to ignore. But we stand with it because no other political party has proved to have the comprehension of running a country like South Africa, a sub- Saharan African country that has an extremely diverse population. All the others have proved to be divisive in their approach to campaigning, targeting specific groupings based on race, class, tribe, religion, province/location and so on. Let’s maintain the stability of this land, as coalitions would mess with that. Vote for the ANC. Then as responsible citizens, keep it accountable after the elections.…

Israeli strikes on a tent camp in an evacuation area west of Rafah killed at least 21 yesterday, Gaza health authorities said, and tanks advanced to the centre of the southern Gaza city for the first time after a night of heavy bombardment. Two days after an Israeli airstrike on another camp stirred global condemnation, Gaza emergency services said four tank shells hit a cluster of tents in Al-Mawasi, a coastal area that Israel had advised civilians in Rafah to move to for safety. At least 12 of the dead were women, according to medical officials in the Hamas militant-run Palestinian enclave. An Israeli military spokesperson said: “As of this time, we are not aware of this incident.” In central Rafah, tanks and armoured vehicles mounted with machineguns were spotted…

ATHENS: Greek authorities confiscated more than 109kg of cocaine hidden in a container with frozen squid aboard a vessel inspected at the port of Piraeus, police sources said yesterday. The container was shipped from Peru and its destination was Croatia, an official said. Police were probing possible links with an operation last week where they dismantled an international criminal group trafficking cocaine in shipping containers from Latin America to Europe. Balkan traffickers have helped turn Europe into the world’s No 1 cocaine market. | Reuters…

Natasha Thahane’s name is being strewn across social media after her soccer star baby daddy Thembinkosi Lorch’s recent live stream. In the video which is currently trending on X, Lorch can be seen partying at a pub with two unknown women. He takes turns holding each woman while dancing in front of the camera. The Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder and Thahane had secretly dated since 2021. They went on to have a son together and eventually called it quits in February. At the time, the Blood and Water star wrote: “A brief update: Thembinkosi Lorch and I have mutually decided to part ways romantically. “Despite the change in our relationship, we will remain friends and co-parents.” She added that she was looking forward to this new chapter in her life. Despite…

A number of flu strains currently circulating are causing severe health complications in some patients. This was, however, being confused with a Covid-19 variant which had been in circulation with “low levels of transmissibility and severity”, the National Health Department said. “About 8 to 10% of patients hospitalised for pneumonia and 25% of patients with flu-like illness (fever and cough) will test positive for flu during the flu season in South Africa,” department spokesperson Foster Mohale said. “According to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) surveillance data, the numbers of flu cases and positivity rates are increasing rapidly, but the transmission and impact remain at a moderate level of activity for both outpatient and hospitalised cases. This means that while there is a lot of flu circulating, it is…

A HANDFUL of companies control as much as 80% of what we consume. We moan. We grumble. We curse the government. Yet we have the power to bring this inflationary nonsense to a grinding halt. Self-sufficiency and the will to survive will mean going back to basics by growing some of the food that we consume on our own terms. Stop supporting supermarkets that are controlled by massive distribution networks, in the process making super profits at our expense. Independent small producers must be embraced and supported. Stop the corporates dead in their tracks. Destroy their trajectory of demolishing beleaguered consumers across the globe. Spiralling price increases on basic foods is a worldwide phenomenon. It is insidious and has a massive negative impact on all of us. It is destroying…

What a dignified way to close the first chapter of our democracy! Progress was made and mistakes were made. But the most important thing is that, as South Africans, we were able to rise above all the debilitating challenges to emerge victorious and united – think of the July 2021 riots. As political parties held their closing election rallies as a last attempt to woo voters, uppermost in my mind was the fact that, as we go to the polls today, some or most of them will be disappointed. All of us are beginning to doubt if the vision of most opposition parties is achievable – that of unseating the ANC government. Gradually, I think they have accepted the inevitable. My wish, though, is that the ANC finds itself in…

Critical theory argues that “in human affairs all facts are socially constructed, humanly determined and interpreted and, hence, the subject of change through human means” (R Gibson 1986). What we have constructed can be unconstructed. As people, we need to learn to unlearn certain things to learn new things. If we intend to realise decolonisation, we need to employ decoloniality. The decolonial approach refers to the methods that seek to disrupt the settler’s colonial logic of doing things; and promotes the use of indigenous knowledge systems in solving problems. To promote social cohesion and nation building, the Department of Basic Education has taken a courageous step and introduced progressive circular 4 of 2023. It requires the recital of the preamble of the Constitution and singing of the South African and…

SYDNEY: Papua New Guinea ordered thousands of residents to evacuate from the path of a still-active landslide yesterday after parts of a mountain collapsed burying at least 2 000 people, according to government estimates. Officials said the odds of finding survivors were slim, even as relief teams have trickled into the difficult-to-access northern Enga region since Friday. Heavy equipment and aid have been slow to arrive because of the terrain and tribal unrest in the remote area. Residents have been using shovels and their bare hands to search for survivors. The UN said yesterday six bodies had been recovered. The affected population was about 7 849. | Reuters…

Copenhagen: Measles cases are surging across Europe for a second straight year and will soon exceed the already-high number recorded in 2023, the World Health Organization warned yesterday. It called on countries to boost vaccinations. A total of 56 634 cases of measles and four deaths were registered in the first three months of the year in 45 of the 53 countries in the WHO European region. That is just 5 000 cases fewer than for the whole of 2023 (61 070 cases and 13 deaths in 41 countries); and 60 times more than in 2022. Outbreaks had been reported in 27 of 33 countries where it is considered eliminated. | AFP…

Tshegofatso Mabasa has ample belief in his qualities, so much so that he’s always known that it was only a matter of time before he was living up to expectations at Orlando Pirates. Mabasa finished as the DStv Premiership’s top goalscorer this season, finding the net 16 times between spells at Pirates and Moroka Swallows. The 27-year-old was on loan at Swallows for the first half of the season, scoring six goals, before returning to Pirates in January where he scored the rest. Mabasa’s return to Pirates has also seen him score three goals and register two assists in the Nedbank Cup, in which the Sea Robbers face Mamelodi Sundowns in the final at Mbombela Stadium on Saturday. For his contribution in the Cup, the Botshabelo-born striker has been nominated…

Former Springbok captain and No 8 Bob Skinstad believes that Evan Roos’ confrontational style is “not a problem in the long run” for him to become a stalwart in the national team. Following Duane Vermeulen’s retirement and Jasper Wiese’s six-match suspension for foul play, the South African No 8 jersey is up for grabs for the opening Tests of the year against Wales and Ireland. And while Japan-based Kwagga Smith said at the weekend that he has recovered from a serious groin injury and is fit to play, Skinstad feels that Roos has done enough for the Stormers to warrant strong consideration from Bok boss Rassie Erasmus. The world champions kick off their year against Wales in London on June 22, followed by Tests against Ireland in Pretoria and Durban…