Indholdsfortegnelse for 2023-11-28 i Cape Argus

Kamo Mphela’s Dalie proves to music artists around the globe that all it takes is just one hit song to get you back on top. The acclaimed local musician broke into the music industry in 2019 as a dancer. That same year, she released her first single, Suka Emabozeni, followed by Siyavuma and Amanikiniki. After a spate of short-lived releases, the queen of amapiano dropped Dalie, and it has since continued to break streaming records. Since October, the chart-topping single which has been featured on TikTok’s Sub-Saharan Africa Top 50 Chart for three consecutive weeks now, has accumulated over 1.86 billion views and more than 120 million likes from fans across the globe. Mphela also became the first South African lead female artist in history to have a song receive…

OPPOSITION parties in the Western Cape have rejected Premier Alan Winde’s statement that the province had no formal bilateral or multilateral relations with Israel or Palestine. Responding in writing to EFF MPL Moses Klaas, who in a parliamentary question asked whether the provincial government planned to cut trade ties with Israel, Winde said: “The Western Cape government has no formal bilateral or multilateral relations with Israel or Palestine.” Klaas said Winde’s response was vague. “It’s not clear what he means when he says the province does not have any formal bilateral or multilateral relations with Israel. “Does this now mean now that they might have informal or secret relations? Because it would make sense if he just said we do not have any sort of relations with Israel. “So now…

Calls for the government to institute a commission of inquiry into the rand manipulation scandal continue to grow with the National Freedom Party (NFP) also urging President Cyril Ramaphosa to formally probe the involvement of 28 banks in the rigging of the rand between 2007 and 2023. This week, Standard Bank CEO Sim Tshabalala denied the financial institution’s involvement in the rand manipulation saga following reports that the bank, alongside Standard Chartered Bank (SCB), had participated in the rand manipulation with other local and international banks. Early this month, the UK-based Standard Chartered Bank admitted to its involvement in the manipulation of the rand and agreed to pay a penalty of R43 million for its part in the global monetary manipulation affair. There were reports that Standard Bank was also…

It is said that more than one journalist, especially Palestinian journalists, dies a day in Gaza, at times deliberately targeted by the Israeli war machine. Apartheid Israel’s genocide in Gaza and the occupation of Palestine, the original sin, has to stop. Evidence indicates that apartheid Israel’s Zionist military forces repeatedly use lethal power against Palestinians, including journalists, in violation of international law. There are explicit obligations in international law to protect journalists and humanitarian aid workers during conflicts. The safety and protection of media representatives is essential as journalists report on lived realities in real time in order to maintain true accounts and stories, and to provide transparency and accountability. The intentional and calculated killing of journalists, and as witnessed in Gaza, of their families, amounts to extrajudicial murder, a…

Fear and frustration have prompted me to write about the murder of Sergeant Riyadh Adams. As usual, all men and women in blue do what every person does when they leave for work, say goodbye to the family. But when you are a member of the SAPS, there is no guarantee that you will finish your shift alive. That Sergeant Adams was shot dead by robbers while on duty proves that the justice system has failed us, and it’s getting worse. Crime is becoming a major problem. The solution is harsher laws, but sadly nothing is happening. I find this inexcusable when the men in blue are being killed. The police are all that stand between us and lawlessness. My appeal to the SAPS is to work speedily in making…

Thank you for agreeing to this temporary “ceasefire” – or whatever term one would like to call it. It was very kind of you to agree to this humane arrangement in spite of those “inhuman animals” cowardly attacking your sacrosanct country on that fateful day. Rather most ungentlemanly of that terrorist organisation to just suddenly, without any normal, advance warning, climb over your fragile fences and attack all those civilians and kill even a few soldiers in the rush. It’s just unfortunate that your soldiers came in the way, and became part of the collateral murders. All our fault. We, on behalf of Palestinians who are still alive, must express sorrow and apologise that we had certainly jumped the gun and become unreasonably impatient with being so carefully kept in…

There has been much furore over the past couple of days on social media and around South African dinner tables about rand manipulation involving various domestic and international banks. At the back of the fine that was awarded to Standard Chartered, a UK bank, questions have arisen about the extent to which the cost of living has been impacted by the currency manipulation. What has not yet entered the fray of debate is the linkage between rand manipulation and rising levels of violence in South Africa. Experts and media reports suggest that the fixing of the rand was brought to the awareness of the public in 2015, when the Competition Commission initiated its probe. Yet, there is evidence sitting with the same commission suggesting that the currency manipulation dates from…

Kyiv: A storm has left more than 2 000 towns and villages in war-torn Ukraine without power yesterday, the government said, piling pressure on the country’s fragile power grid. The energy infrastructure has been targeted systematically by Russian forces and Kyiv has warned that Moscow is preparing fresh strikes on key facilities this winter. “In total, 2 019 settlements in 16 regions are cut off from the grid,” the interior ministry said. In the southern city of Odesa, which has been subjected to repeated Russian strikes, authorities said they had helped 1 624 people who had been trapped due to snow. | AFP…

The last time Manchester City hosted RB Leipzig is not a night Josko Gvardiol remembers with great fondness. The Croatia international was then part of a Leipzig defence torn to shreds by City’s attack as Erling Haaland plundered five goals in a 7-0 rout in the Champions League last 16 in March. Eight months later, as the two sides prepare to face each other in the penultimate round of Group G matches in the competition, Gvardiol, who is now part of City’s defence, knows he does not have to worry about a similar night of misery. At least not from the boots of Haaland. “I’m happy to be his teammate,” Gvardiol said. “It wasn’t just about Haaland, it was the first team on the pitch (last season), it was a…

Showmax has announced that season two of hit local series Adulting is set to hit local television screens in December. And while production house Tshedza Pictures confirmed that all four original lead cast members were returning for season 2, a new face will also be joining the show. Nomalanga Shozi is set to join Thembinkosi Mthembu who plays Bonga; Nhlanhla Kunene as Eric; Thabo Rammusi as Mpho; and Luthando Mthembu as Vuyani for the new Adulting season. The South African actress, television presenter, radio broadcaster, media personality and fashion icon will play the role of Botle Kompie, a lead character and Bonga’s new love interest. Hot off hosting the 2023 South African Music Awards, Shozi is set to bring an electrifying dynamic to the show’s latest season. The acclaimed personality…

Bafana lost because of a football pitch, which was to all intents and purposes unplayable. Why then should our squad put their bodies at risk, with the prospect of sustaining serious injuries? Fifa, football’s controlling body, needs to step up and impose strictly controlled standards for all international games. If a host country is incapable of presenting a high-quality pitch, then they must be barred from competing and pay a substantial fine. Excuses can’t be tolerated and Safa should also investigate before placing our players in harm’s way.…

It was with dismay and disappointment that I read an article, scribed by Zelda Venter, announcing the release of Oscar Pretorius after he has served just half of his sentence for murdering Reeva Steenkamp. Despite the fact that in the eyes of some, justice has been served, the reality is that the sentence was a slap on the wrist for Pistorius who walks out of prison a young man with his whole life ahead of him. This while Reeva’s mother is left alone in her twilight years to fend for herself after the passing of her husband and the loss of her beloved daughter. Justice? I beg to differ. To rub salt in June Steenkamp’s wounds, your writer suggests that his release was “good news“. Good news for whom? Certainly…

LAST week, amid media reports of chaos at South Africa’s ports – a lifeblood for our strained economy – President Cyril Ramaphosa, accompanied by Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan first went to Durban Port and Richards Bay. Both ports, two of the busiest in South Africa, have been battling to deliver on their primary mandate -– handling cargo. Ramaphosa promised, as he always does, that the issues affecting both ports would soon be resolved, leaving it in the hands of Gordhan and Transnet’s new management. Ramaphosa was captured interacting with ordinary workers, not just those at the ports but also in malls during his trip to KZN. Call it early campaigning for next year’s elections, or a president looking for positive social media clout, but there’s no doubt that KwaZulu-Natal…

Egyptian, Qatari and US negotiators closed in on an extension of a four-day truce in Gaza that expired yesterday Egyptian security sources said, amid rising international pressure to roll over a deal which has paused seven weeks of fighting. Palestinian group Hamas is seeking a four-day extension while Israel wants day-by-day extensions, with negotiations continuing over which Palestinian prisoners would be freed, the sources said. An Israeli official earlier reiterated Israel’s position that it would agree to an extra day of truce for each additional 10 hostages freed and to release three times the number of Palestinians each time. The number of additional days is capped at five, the official added. A Palestinian official, familiar with the truce talks, said both Hamas and Israel had shown a positive attitude to…

Paris: Six teenagers went on trial in Paris yesterday for their role in the 2020 beheading of teacher Samuel Paty, the first of two trials in a case that horrified France. The suspects arrived holding their coats over their faces at the closed-doors juvenile court, a judicial source said. The 47-year-old history and geography teacher was stabbed and then beheaded near his secondary school in a Paris suburb. His attacker, 18-year-old Chechen refugee Abdoullakh Anzorov, was shot dead at the scene by police. The young Islamist murdered Paty after messages that the teacher showed cartoons of the Prophet. | AFP…

Last week, three South African teams bounced back from tough URC tours with emphatic home wins, and Bulls flyhalf Jaco van der Walt says it must be a case of “cash in why while you can on home turf”. Early winter Europe became sizzling summer for the Bulls, Sharks, and Lions and all three turned up the heat on European teams to record scores well in excess of 50 points. “We felt the heat when we got back and clearly the visiting teams felt it even more,” Van der Walt said of Connacht, Zebre, and the Dragons, who were slaughtered by the Bulls, Lions, and Sharks. “100% you have to cash in and put away these teams,” said Van der Walt, who spent four seasons in Scotland with Edinburgh, so…

Nine months after German tourist Nick Frischke disappeared on a walking trail, a R20 000 reward continues to be offered to help find him. Frischke’s stricken mother took to social media last week, frantically making a public appeal. “It’s now over nine months and almost 40 weeks,” said Jana Frischke via her Facebook account, “Missing Nick Frischke”, of which she isan administrator. ‘“I miss my son Nick very much this time is unbearable. “Please help me. “Where is my Nick?” In June Jana visited Cape Town to hand over DNA samples to police in a bid to find out answers as to what had happened to him. The family said they are continuing to offer a R20 000 reward for any information which will lead to Frischke being found and…

SMALL businesses will have to brace for a tough festive season amid increased levels of load shedding expected into December. This as Eskom announced yesterday that Stage 4 load shedding would remain in place until Saturday because of increased demand and insufficient generating capacity. Jacques Moolman, president of the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the production lines of small businesses would be affected. “The most concerning aspect about the return to high load-shedding levels is that it compounds the current negative impacts of the logistics crisis. “We are just weeks away from what promises to be a bumper tourism season; if load shedding continues at its current level it will negatively impact particularly small businesses. “It was hoped this summer season would help many businesses recover from huge…

The DA in the City of Joburg has welcomed the Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg, judgment which yesterday upheld the ruling on the appointment of City manager Floyd Brink. The ruling was handed down by the acting judge of the High Court, Judge Steven Budlender, who upheld a previous ruling after the City filed an application for leave to appeal against the ruling of the same court that declared Brink’s appointment “unconstitutional, unlawful and invalid”. Brink was appointed in February this year under the administration of former mayor Thapelo Amad, with the DA challenging his appointment in May. Joburg caucus leader Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku recently claimed that Brink did not meet the minimum requirements of the job specifications, which mandated 10 years of senior management experience. She indicated that the party’s goal…

Economic analysts say customers prioritised on essentials instead of luxury items in this year’s Black Friday. According to them, this year’s sales indicate that their shopping focused more on stocking up groceries for the festive season holidays. In a interview with Newzroom Afrika, Massmart vice-president Katherine Madley said in previous years customers were also buying an enormous amount of items online which had to be collected at the stores. “What we are seeing this year is totally different from previous sale records. People were focusing on buying the essential goods. Customers had essentials in every trolley, and that was an indication that people were stocking up for the festive season,” said the analyst. Another analyst, Standard Bank credit cards head Tumelo Ramugongo, said this year’s customer behaviour indicated how tough…

There is one negative feature of South Africa’s democracy that indicates that internal party democracy is a sham because of the cancer of domination by one leader. This is ironic as political parties are supposed to be the main structures that promote democratic ideas. Invariably, every political party is led by these strong characters, some of whom have done so for decades. Can you imagine the United Democratic Movement without Bantu Holomisa or the EFF without Julius Malema? Even the new parties that are sprouting all over the place are not immune to this. It is difficult to think about the African Transformation Movement without thinking of Vuyolwethu Zungula. And some parties are suffering from the effects of this. Take the IFP as an example. The party is apparently going…

FOR many, the last paper of the matric exams is cause for great celebration – the end of an era and the start of new beginnings. It is the culmination of 12, perhaps even more, years of schooling, dedication and parental involvement. It is a time of joy, comfort and pride for parents and extended family. It is also a time when pens-down parties and other celebrations are commonplace. In this regard, learners need to exercise great responsibility, care and caution to avoid any circumstance that would endanger their lives and well-being. This requires maturity and not recklessness. It cannot be that all of their effort end in tragedy, as has happened in some instances. Parents and schools have the responsibility to ensure that matriculants do not place themselves in…

NEW DELHI: Indian military engineers were preparing to dig by hand yesterday to reach 41 workers trapped in a collapsed road tunnel for 16 days, a rescue operation hit by repeated setbacks. Soldiers plan to use a so-called “rat-hole mining” technique, digging by hand to clear the rocks and rubble over the remaining 9m, with temperatures plummeting in the remote mountain location in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand. Last week, engineers working to drive a metal pipe through 57m of rock and concrete ran into metal girders and construction vehicles buried in the earth, snapping a giant earth-boring auger machine. | AFP…

Moscow: Almost two million people in Russia and occupied Ukraine were left without power yesterday, after hurricane force winds and heavy rains cut electricity lines and caused widespread flooding. Huge waves crashed over beachside areas of Russia’s Black Sea coast, video from social media showed, as wind speeds reached over 140km/h in some places. At least four people were killed during the storm, local media said. Two bodies were found in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region, while a sailor was killed in the Kerch Strait between Crimea and Russia. | AFP…

A season of 21 wins in 22 races proved that Red Bull were, and will probably remain, the dominant standard-setters in Formula One after Max Verstappen’s record-breaking victory in Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. His 54th career triumph left rivals comparing the task of catching him with climbing Mount Everest. Here, we look at three things we learnt from the 2022 season. Red Bull design advantage “This car will go down in history, for a considerable period, as the most successful in Formula One history,” said Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, after completing Sunday’s race with an avalanche of records for Verstappen and his team. “To win 21 out of 22 is insanity and for Max to have led more than 1 000 laps, won 19 races,” he added,…

It IS a sad state of affairs that the South African government has not seen it fit to intervene once they were told that the country was withdrawing its bid for the Fifa Women’s World Cup in 2027. Safa’s bid committee had by this time campaigned extensively and presented a compelling case for the 2027 Women’s World Cup bid. The bid seemed to be on a winning trajectory after the euphoria generated by the performance of Banyana Banyana at the Women’s World Cup a few months ago. Safa has yet to offer greater clarification on the exact reasons for pulling out but so much can be read into their explanation that it does not see its way clear to produce a “rushed presentation”. Safa, with 2006 and 2010 World Cup…

Bruno Fernandes says Alejandro Garnacho’s wonder goal in Manchester United’s victory against Everton proved the Argentine teenager can be “something special”. Garnacho gave a glimpse of his vast potential with a brilliant overhead kick to inspire United’s 3-0 win in Sunday’s Premier League clash at Goodison Park. “It’s amazing, something out of this world, I think,” United captain Fernandes said. Garnacho marked the goal by copying former Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo’s celebration. Fernandes cautioned that it is too early to suggest the 19-year-old can emulate Ronaldo’s remarkable career, but he expects great things from his young teammate, who arrived from Atletico Madrid in 2020. | AFP…