Indholdsfortegnelse for 2025-02-14 i Cape Argus

Whether you’re planning a romantic evening with your partner, a fun night out with friends or simply treating yourself, the Valentine’s Sunset Concert on the Lawn is just up Cupid’s alley. The concert is shaping up to be an absolute vibe, featuring some of Mzansi’s top talent. Emo Adams is set to bring his usual energy and feel-good tunes while Loukmaan Adams’ smooth vocals will have you swaying in no time. Alistair Izobell, a veteran of the South African music scene, will bring his own magic to the stage with a performance. His versatility is evident in his discography, which includes albums like Cape Town Blue – The Many Faces of Alistair Izobell (2005) and So in Love with You (1998). Completing the line-up is the Sean D Band, who…

A North West-based 64-year-old woman is languishing in abject poverty and demanding answers from First National Bank (FNB) after scammers allegedly transferred her R2 million pension without her knowledge. Speaking to IOL, Keneilwe (not her real name but her full details have been given to FNB) said when she resigned after working as a professional nurse for more than three decades, she had hoped that she would invest some of her money into a transport business. At the time of her resignation, the mother of four told IOL that she was involved in a romantic relationship with a man in his 40s, who had introduced himself as “Prince Jomo Kenyatta” – insisting that he was named after Jomo Kenyatta, the first president of independent Kenya. Since last year, IOL has…

ALLEGED underworld kingpin Nafiz Modack has accused high ranking police officials of colluding with his slain rival Mark Lifman to carry out a hit on him. Taking the stand for a second day in the Western Cape High Court yesterday, Modack claimed he also knew slain Hard Livings gang boss Rashied Staggie would be killed as he was warned by a friend who claimed he was close to top cops. This comes amid the testimony by his former friend, Mohamed Hanware, who testified as a State witness. Hanware testified via an online meeting from the Middle East and was first named in the mammoth underworld trial early last year. The contention between the two former friends relates to claims by Modack that he paid Hanware R40 000 to bribe slain…

MORE than 1 000 elderly persons queued since 3am outside the Wynberg SASSA office yesterday in a bid to have their names recorded for the transition from the gold card to the black Postbank card, some close to the age of 90 years old. For 84-year-old Sheila Adams, dizzy spells and fatigue was what she had to endure standing in the queue for hours. “I think what us elderly people must go through is not a nice thing,” she said. “People came here and did not prepare to bring a chair and began sitting on the pavements and I am also not feeling well, I feel dizzy after standing for so long. “I have been here since 6:15am and my daughter brought me and if it was not for my…

If the Proteas are to be a successful bowling unit in the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan and the UAE, their pace bowlers will have to pull a rabbit out of a hat – as the conditions clearly favour the batters. Despite two losses against New Zealand and Pakistan in the Tri-Nation series – which is understandable, given that they played a younger team – the Proteas looked solid as a batting unit, with stand-out performances by Matthew Breetzke. Captain Temba Bavuma said it felt good to put up a decent knock “after some time”, scoring 82 off 96 balls (13x4) on Wednesday night at the National Stadium in Karachi before he was run out. The Proteas put up 352/5, but the target was successfully hunted down by Pakistan,…

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk said Everton’s 98th-minute equaliser to salvage a 2-2 draw was hard to take as the final Merseyside derby at Goodison Park ended in a flurry of red cards on Wednesday night. James Tarkowski struck a stunning equaliser deep into stoppage time to spark jubilant scenes among the Toffees’ support, some of whom spilled onto the pitch. Everton’s Abdoulaye Doucoure then sparked a melee by celebrating in front of the Liverpool fans at fulltime. Doucoure and Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones were sent off, before Reds manager Arne Slot and his assistant Sipke Hulshoff were also shown red cards for their protests towards referee Michael Oliver. A draw edges Liverpool seven points clear at the top of the Premier League, while Everton move 10 points above the…

If they haven’t done so with a string of unpopular executive orders in the past month, which have had a tremendous impact on the globe’s geo-political stability, the Americans really peeved off the world – well, the rugby one at least – when they decided this week to sanction the scrum in their league. Major League Rugby (MLR) made the rather odd choice of tinkering with the laws, trialling new decrees in an attempt to limit the set-piece in their upcoming season. Knock the ball on or forward pass into touch? Line-out option only. Do the same when over the tryline? Drop-out. Failure to use it or lose it? Free-kick; and the same result if a team fail to take advantage of their maul. The decision to do so by…

While they struggled in certain aspects of the game in the North-South Derby, the Stormers showed plenty of fight against the Bulls last weekend to make their hosts of this weekend take note of them. Independent Media Sport looks at five areas of their game the Cape side had to tidy up before facing the Lions at Ellis Park on Saturday (2.30pm start).... Solidifying their scrums The possible return of Neethling Fouché and Ali Vermaak should stabilise their scrums, especially after being overshadowed by the Bulls for a big part of the North-South Derby. Fouché would’ve started against the Bulls, but a head knock ruled him out. So, it will be interesting if the Stormers will parachute the tighthead into the No 3 jersey in place of Frans Malherbe. They…

The internet’s ability to uncover lookalikes knows no bounds, and the latest sensation capturing attention worldwide is Yilong Ma, a man whose resemblance to tech mogul Elon Musk is nothing short of astonishing. Once again, the realm of social media is abuzz with videos and images of Ma, sparking a blend of amusement and intrigue among viewers as they contemplate whether he is a genuine doppelgänger or a cleverly orchestrated AI trick. Ma, who has amassed an impressive following of over 1 million on TikTok and more than 400,000 on Instagram, has become a prominent figure in the digital landscape, often dressing in a suit that mirrors Musk’s style and sporting a hairstyle to match the billionaire himself. One of the video clips that sky-rocketed his popularity features…

A CONVICTED attempted murderer has been acquitted in the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), after the judge found the court proceedings were a failure of justice as the presiding magistrate’s open-mindedness had been “compromised”. Siyanbonga Ngcobo was convicted and sentenced in the KwaZulu-Natal Regional Court where he was sentenced to five years behind bars for a charge related to a shooting incident that took place in September 2019, in the vicinity of Shoprite at Montclair. After his conviction, Ngcobo appealed to both the trial court and the high court against his conviction and sentencing, which was refused by both forums. During January last year, the SCA granted him special leave to appeal against his conviction. SCA acting judge Nkosinathi Chili acquitted Ngcobo after he found the trial court misdirected itself…

An investigation by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) found that traditional pit toilets remain a grim reality in 427 schools in the Eastern Cape. The SAHRC said this dual failure continues to put the lives and dignity of South Africa’s youngest learners at risk. The province recently recorded the deaths of three children due to unsafe sanitation facilities, one at a traditional pit toilet at Luna Primary School in Mbizana, and two at VIP toilets at Mcgwagule Primary School in Vaalbank and Little Champions Daycare in Mdantsane. The commission said while the Sanitation Appropriate For Education (SAFE) programme has replaced many traditional pit toilets, these replacements were frequently non-compliant with critical and safety standards outlined in the 2016 Water Research Commission (WRC) guidelines. Features such as smaller pedestals,…

At least one win in the next two local derbies will keep the Stormers within touching distance of the United Rugby Championship playoffs. Going all out at Ellis Park against the Lions tomorrow afternoon (2.30pm kickoff) is crucial for the Cape side as they aim to turn their fortunes around in the tournament off the back of two tough losses. Still in 10th place on the URC log, it’s far from over for the inaugural champions in the tournament. But failing to get at least a single win when they face the Lions and Bulls (March 1) over the next few weeks could see their chances for a knockout spot dwindle. While revenge will be on the cards when they go to Loftus in March after a narrow 33-32 loss…

Jasprit Bumrah’s absence from India’s Champions Trophy team will be an opportunity for “world-class” Mohammed Shami and other fast bowlers, coach Gautam Gambhir has said. Bumrah was ruled out of the 50-over tournament starting on February 19 in Pakistan and Dubai in a big blow to India’s chances of landing the title. India – ranked No 1 in ODI cricket – hammered England by 142 runs in the final match on Wednesday to sweep the series 3-0 in a perfect tune-up for the Champions Trophy. But Bumrah’s lower back injury remained the talking point after India’s triumph in Ahmedabad. “If he’s injured, he’s injured. Whether it’s me, whether it’s the captain, we can’t do much about it,” Gambhir told reporters. “Obviously, we know that he’s an important factor. But as…

Kaizer Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi entered Nedbank’s auditorium yesterday with a serious look, wearing his trademark baseball cap, club’s tracksuit and sunglasses. An external observer would be forgiven for thinking he didn’t want to be there. Such has been the tough start he’s had at the club, he’s had to defend himself. Chiefs are enduring a 10-year trophy drought, and Nabi is regarded as their messiah. But he’s yet to live up to that billing as his team have blown hot and cold. And so, given the fact that this was a press conference for the Nedbank Cup competition, media hounds were expected to pin him down on whether he’ll win the trophy. But he handled the flurry of questions that were thrown at him with aplomb. The Tunisian dropped…

POLICE together with the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) are investigating a case of rape involving two police officers accused of kidnapping and raping a woman on a farm after offering to give her a lift to her boyfriend’s home in Moorreesburg. It’s alleged the two police officers raped her five times and forced her to perform oral sex. It is the fourth case involving rape allegations against police officers in the province in recent months. The incident is believed to have taken place on February 8 just after 10.30pm in the vicinity of a gravel road in Moorreesburg while the woman was travelling from a farm. It’s alleged the victim was on her way to her boyfriend’s residence when she was apparently offered a lift by the two police…

AN IMMIGRATION expert has warned Afrikaners not to jump to US President Donald Trump’s offer for them to move to America on refugee status, as life might be more difficult in a country where citizens have demonstrated hostility towards foreigners. Visa Immigration SA managing director, Ross Viljoen, was reacting to Trump’s executive order opening a floodgate for Afrikaners, aggrieved by their government passing transformation policies, to migrate to the US. Trump’s controversial executive order on “Addressing Egregious Actions of the Republic of South Africa” says the “US Department of State is coordinating with the Department of Homeland Security to promote and prioritise humanitarian relief, including consideration of eligibility for admission and resettlement to the United States for Afrikaners in South Africa who are victims of unjust racial discrimination”. The recently…

PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa yesterday called on the nation to be united after South Africa’s new expropriation policy and foreign policy came under attack from the administration of US President Donald Trump. In his reply to the State of the Nation Address (SONA) debate, Ramaphosa said South Africans should not allow others to define or divide them. “In times like this we need to stand united as a nation, particularly now when we are facing harsh global wind,” he said. “We will not be diverted from the path that we have set out. I would like to repeat that we will not be bullied by anyone in the country or outside from our intent to work together,” he said. Responding to criticism from the opposition against the deployment of SANDF to…

A MAN who was a substance addict and the source of heartache and physical discomfort to his loved ones, had his sentence reviewed in the Western Cape High Court after he was incorrectly convicted for contravening the conditions of a protection order. Due to the technicality, Judge Daniel Thulare found that the man – on one of the charges he faced – was convicted and sentenced according to an incorrectly cited and non-existent Act. The matter was discovered during quality assurance by another magistrate. The married mechanical engineer and father of three children faced two counts. The first related to an alleged contravention of a protection order, during which the second count arose, which was malicious damage to property, wherein the accused damaged the latch and lock of the door…

Despite dominating the Stormers in the scrums, the Bulls are not getting carried away – and are wary of the Sharks pack in Saturday’s United Rugby Championship showdown in Pretoria (5pm start). The starting front row of Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Johan Grobbelaar and Wilco Louw won a few early penalties in the set-piece, and they continued the onslaught when another Springbok in Gerhard Steenekamp replaced Wessels in the 26th minute. Louw in particular made it a tough afternoon for Stormers No 1 Sti Sithole, but Steenekamp also largely got the edge over Bok stalwart Frans Malherbe. “I think it was a good performance,” Steenekamp said in a typically understated fashion this week. “I still think there are a few things that we can be better at. But as a forward pack,…

Manchester City will look to shake off their habit of throwing away leads when they host Newcastle United in the Premier League tomorrow amid the fight for European qualifying berths. Pep Guardiola’s side have developed a worrying habit of late-game collapses that threatens to define their season, the most recent being Wednesday’s 3-2 Champions League loss to Real Madrid in their playoff first leg at the Etihad Stadium. “I think every mistake that we do ends up in a goal in this season, and from games that we are almost winning, we concede from nowhere,” City midfielder Mateo Kovacic told Sky Sports. “It’s tough, because it’s never happened here. (But) we look to change the season in a good way, because there are still a lot of games to play.”…

Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro says every competition is important, and his side are running their own race as they prepare to face Baroka FC in the Nedbank Cup round of 16 at the Orlando Stadium tomorrow (3pm kick-off). The Buccaneers have been in a heated league battle that has hit a few stumbling blocks along the way, and as they shift their focus to defend their cup crown, their chase for the domestic treble still has a pulse. Riveiro has already won the MTN8 competition earlier this season, and he is in search of a historic hat-trick of wins in the Nedbank Cup. The Spanish mentor has had to juggle between domestic and continental football, and as fixtures come thick and fast, he has welcomed the pressure and expectations…