Indholdsfortegnelse for 2023-06-29 i Mercury

SOUTH African small businesses can help turn the country’s unemployment status and economy around, but to achieve that, promising entrepreneurs and youth will need far more mentorship than what they are currently getting. This is according to Mitchan Adams, the founder and CEO of local venture builder Aions Creative Technology and a serial entrepreneur. Adams is no stranger to the world of small business and entrepreneurship, having previously co-founded instant EFT and online payments fintech Ozow with Lyle Eckstein and Thomas Pays. From start-up seven years ago, Ozow last year procured a $48 million (R889m) series B investment round led by Tencent. Adams and his company, Aions Creative Technology, in May, launched a micro-investment platform that will allow the person in the street to invest in rapidly growing start-ups…

ON July 1, ratepayers in eThekwini Municipality will be paying more for services as tariff increases – the highest among the main metros – come into effect. On learning that the city’s tariff increases were the highest when compared to the City of Cape Town and the City of Johannesburg, Durban ratepayers described the tariffs being charged by the municipality as “criminal”, saying there was no justification for such increases. But the municipality defended itself yesterday, saying no city had been battered by disasters like Durban had. EThekwini marginally reduced the tariff increases it had initially proposed on its draft budget following fierce objection by community members who took unprecedented action, including marching to the Durban City Hall to voice their displeasure about the increases. However water tariffs remained the…

AFRICAN Democratic Change (ADeC) expresses its deep anger and frustration at the recent closure of the Rachel Finlayson pool on Durban’s beachfront, which occurred just before the start of the June school holidays. We sympathise with the residents of Durban who were looking forward to using this facility during their holiday. The municipality’s statement that the pool is expected to reopen on June 30 is unacceptable, and we strongly condemn it. According to the city spokesperson, the closure was due to the damages caused to the fence after a member of the public drove into the pool. However, ADeC feels strongly that the municipality does not take these facilities seriously. If the authorities took these facilities seriously, they would have worked around the clock to repair the damages, and the…

The power of self-care ought to not be underestimated. In many cultures, there exists the belief that self-care is somehow selfish. Of course, the antithesis is true. To neglect self is selfish – a neglected self, even if they appear to be selflessly serving others, will spread anxiety and negativity, with unconscious abandon. Some essential elements of self-care: Rest. A healthy person will rest before they need it. Somewhere in the rhythm of a busy life, the healthy person gets the rest and recreation required for restoration before it is demanded of them. Clarity: A healthy person does all they can to minimise mixed messages, unclear expectations and confused boundaries. Lack of clarity often results in increased and unnecessary activity. Community: A healthy person finds a place in a small…

THE Pension Funds Adjudicator has set aside a decision by the Alexander Forbes Retirement Fund to allocate a larger percentage of a death benefit to a life partner, taking from a portion of what would remain for the father’s two sons. “The fund cannot merely rely on a calculator that predetermines entitlements to portions of a salary depending on a beneficiary’s status,” said adjudicator Muvhango Lukhaimane. This comes after two brothers complained about the allocation and distribution of the death benefit, in which a lump sum of R662 122.97 became available for distribution to beneficiaries after their father had died. The fund’s board resolved to allocate each of the two sons 21.5%, and the dead man’s partner, 57%. The brothers averred that the life partner did not qualify as she…

A man was seen on video carving the name of his girlfriend into the walls of the Colosseum, drawing outrage from the Italian culture minister, who said the suspect should be identified and punished. Videos showing the man in the act have been going viral since last week, according to Italy’s ANSA news agency. The unidentified tourist engraved “Ivan+Haley 23” on to the almost 2 000-year-old structure in Rome. He could face up to five years in prison and a fine of about $16 400 (about R307 000), ANSA reported. Gennaro Sangiuliano, the culture minister, tweeted that he considered it “a sign of great incivility”. He expressed hope that the man would be legally punished. Rome, home to some of the world’s most popular tourist sites, has…

Durban will become the epicentre of African horse racing on Saturday as it hosts the continent’s premier equestrian extravaganza. But concerns have been raised about the Greyville racetrack and whether it will be ready for the big race following the heavy downpour on Tuesday night. Kurt Grunewald, the senior track manager at Hollywoodbets Greyville Racecourse, said the track had not been spared the heavy rains, but he was confident that it would be ready come Saturday. “At this point in time, we should be good to go,” he said. “We can’t force anything and we are going to see what the weather throws at us. We had anticipated some coastal rain yesterday (Tuesday) of about 20-30mm, but we got much more than that. So at this point and if everything…

THE hemp and cannabis sector has welcomed recent engagements with the government in which plans were discussed to work towards realising a thriving and inclusive domestic cannabis economy. The sector is one of 14 priority sectors that have been defined in the government’s country investment strategy as holding significant potential to secure investment, job creation and support for sustainable rural livelihoods. Given the need for urgent implementation, under the auspices of the Department of Agriculture Land Reform and Rural Development, together with the Presidency, the government convened the Cannabis and Hemp Phakisa Action Lab from June 19 to 23. Legal expert and chief executive of Onlyfarms.app – a marketplace and investment platform – Shaad Vayej said the engagement was progressive and he was “impressed”. “Some key outcomes were that the…

President Cyril Ramaphosa will not be deterred by the attempted mutiny in Russia and will continue with his involvement in mediation initiatives. Ramaphosa led a group of African leaders to Ukraine and Russia where they engaged with presidents Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Vladimir Putin. At the weekend, members of the Wagner Group marched on Rostov-on-Don and were on their way to Moscow when they pulled back after the president of Belarus intervened. The paramilitary group had labelled the attempted mutiny a “march of justice”. Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, said the attempted mutiny by the Wagner soldiers would not have a bearing on the current peace initiatives. He said the focus of the president was on continuing with the peace process. Ramaphosa, alongside leaders from the Comoros, Senegal, Zambia, Uganda, Egypt and…

The EU yesterday took its first significant step towards launching a digital version of the euro, a controversial project that has been questioned by politicians and banks. From China to the US, Jamaica to Japan, more than 100 central banks worldwide are exploring or preparing to put in place digital currencies as electronic payments grow, changing the way people spend their money. The move to create a digital version of the single currency began in 2020 when European Central Bank (ECB) president Christine Lagarde suggested the idea and her Frankfurt-based body launched a public consultation. The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, published a proposal yesterday that will be the legal foundation on which the ECB could launch a digital euro. The currency would be available to individuals living in…

London: Oscar-winning Hollywood actor Kevin Spacey, 63, was due in a London court yesterday to stand trial for a dozen sexual offences which allegedly occurred more than a decade ago. The actor is facing a four-week trial at Southwark Crown Court in south London. Spacey has been on unconditional bail since first appearing in court in Britain last year. The actor’s career has been halted by large numbers of allegations of sexual offences. Last year he appeared at London’s Old Bailey court to plead not guilty to five offences against three men. They allegedly took place in 2005 and 2008 in London, and in 2013 in Gloucestershire, western England. Last year, prosecutors announced seven additional charges involving another man, taking the total number of counts Spacey faces in the UK…

New York: A 49-year-old Indian-American man was sentenced to more than three years in prison for illegally bringing hundreds of Indian nationals across the border from Canada and then to locations in the midwest and beyond, using Uber. Rajinder Pal Singh was sentenced this week at the District Court in Seattle. Singh pleaded guilty in February, admitting that he took in more than $500 000 as a key member of a smuggling ring. Acting US Attorney Tessa M Gorman said that Singh’s actions saddled those smuggled with crushing debt of as much as $70 000. Records detail how Uber trips from the border would be split between different rides. | IANS…

THE planned takeover of the Boland Rugby Union by business tycoons Johann Rupert and Patrice Motsepe has nothing to do with the Cavaliers becoming a feeder union to the Bulls and everything to do with them becoming rivals to the Stormers. Rupert and Motsepe have the controlling share at the Bulls and the immediate reaction to the news of their planned investment in Boland is that there will be a plundering of resources for the benefit of the Bulls. But a spokesperson for the duo told a media group that nothing could be further from the truth. Instead, there is a bold plan to build Boland into a franchise worthy of the United Rugby Championship, and more of a foe to the Bulls than a friend. “We specifically see a…

FROM wanting to retire last year November to winning an Indian Premier League medal with Chennai Super Kings, Sisanda Magala has an inspirational story to tell and its only the beginning. The 2022/23 domestic season opener was staged in Potchefstroom where all Division One teams gathered to contest for the Cricket South Africa T20 Challenge. Among the teams was the Joburg-based Lions, a highly successful team, and as per usual, the expectations were high. One of the reasons for the high expectations was the fact that the team had superstars in their squad and one of those superstars was fast bowler Magala. To everyone’s surprise Magala did not show up in the playing XI when the Lions started their campaign and news spread quickly that the fast bowler had fallen…

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is important at every stage of life, especially for men who are notorious for neglecting their health until there’s a crisis. To mark Men’s Health Month and Youth Month, Dr Micheal Mol discusses the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle to avoid or manage health conditions that come with age. Opening up about health-related issues can be difficult for many men. Various factors could contribute to this, including fear, uncertainty, and the perceived notion that they should “man up” – seeing vulnerability as a weakness. According to a Cleveland Clinic survey, 72% of men declared they would rather clean their homes than visit the doctor, while 65% claimed they put off visiting the doctor as long as possible. Even more alarming, 20% admitted they didn’t always…

LEADING academics have cautioned against what they called populist views which call for the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) to change its mandate, warning that such moves could see the country’s economy unravelling like Zimbabwe’s. Political economist at the University of Zululand, Professor Irrshad Kaseeram, was reacting to threats of a march to SARB offices by the ANC and its alliance partners Cosatu and the SACP. Speaking at a briefing, ANC KZN secretary Bheki Mtolo accused the bank of pushing many workers to the brink of bankruptcy over its continued increasing of interest rates in the past few cycles. He accused the bank of being irresponsible, insisting rate increases had made many consumers unable to meet their financial obligations. “During lockdown the interest rates dropped and enabled workers to have…

Given the pervasive dysfunctionalism that characterises 29 years of ANC depredation, the claim by Tahir Maepa and Siyabonga Hadebe (The Mercury, June 28) that “the lingering effects of apartheid continue to impede black advancement” is a pathetic red herring devoid of credibility. Apartheid’s legacy has not caused unemployment to triple since 1994. It has not caused municipalities to become bankrupt and incapable of service delivery. It has not caused a breakdown of law and order where 70 people are murdered each day. It has not caused the overseas flight of capital and skills. It has not caused the national debt to reach in excess of 70% of the GDP. Having 40% excess electricity capacity before 1994, the moribund, debt-ridden state of Eskom is not a legacy of apartheid. Maepa and…

For some time now it has become de rigeur in society that every “Paul, Peter, Prudence and Promise” is seen drinking from a can of caffeine-loaded, sugary energy drink. At R7 for half a litre, it’s not a bad price to put a spring in your step after a heavy night of drinking. And for the night shift worker, it is generally perceived that this is a God-sent stay-awake tonic, especially if you are moonlighting during the day. From gardeners to garage attendants, from factory workers to finance clerks, they all carry the can. Metal can collectors, too, must be doing a roaring trade. With Checkers recently launching the global hydration drink brand Prime, maybe it's time to educate the consumer about the difference between an energy drink and a…

A Bloemfontein father has come forward to claim his Powerball jackpot winnings of over R23 million. National Lottery Ithuba said the winner spent R15 on his winning ticket. Ithuba said the winner carefully manually selected his winning numbers and walked away with a total of R23 044 341.60 from the June 20, draw. Ithuba said the winner – whose identity is being kept private – is employed on a temporary basis. “I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the numbers on my ticket matched the winning combination,” the winner told Ithuba. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I am overwhelmed with gratitude. This windfall will transform not only my life but also the lives of my loved ones.” The winner said he kept his winning ticket under his mattress…

As the DA federal council on Tuesday endorsed the Western Cape Provincial Powers Bill, Police Minister Bheki Cele poured cold water on conducting a feasibility study to devolve the policing function to provincial governments. Cele made his stance known while responding to DA MP Andrew Whitfield, when he enquired whether he would devolve the policing function. Whitfield’s question came against the backdrop of the DA’s push for certain powers that reside with the national government, such as policing and railway functions, be devolved to provinces and metros. The debate on the devolution of police function has been ongoing. Cele and President Cyril Ramaphosa have repeatedly said the police service was was the national government’s competency. Unfazed by their responses, Whitfield wrote to Cele asking if he would do a feasibility…

The discipline of geography has undergone incredible changes in the past three decades. There was a stage when globalisation was all the rage, the network society and in David Harvey’s memorable phrase “time-space” compression that followed from Marx’s “annihilation of space”. But in more recent times there has been an inkling of a return to place. The outstanding geographer Tim Cresswell has written a wonderful book on a single street in Chicago. And now the brilliant local historians Ashwin Desai and Goolam Vahed have written a riveting book on Durban’s Casbah, “a place where the reel life of the cinema met the real life of the street”. Casbah normally refers to the exotic marketplaces of north Africa and the Middle East. However, as the authors demonstrate, the term had been…

WHICH is the longest river in the world, the Nile or the Amazon? The question has fuelled a heated debate for years. Now, an expedition into the South American jungle aims to settle it for good. Using boats run on solar energy and pedal power, an international team of explorers plans to set off in April next year, to the source of the Amazon in the Peruvian Andes, then travel nearly 7 000km across Colombia and Brazil to the massive river’s mouth on the Atlantic. The project’s co-ordinator, Brazilian explorer Yuri Sanada, said: “The main objective is to map the river and document the biodiversity of the surrounding ecosystems.” The team also plans to make a documentary on the expedition. The Amazon, the pulsing aorta of the world’s biggest rainforest,…

A REPORT tabled before the Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC) of the eThekwini Municipality has revealed that the metro spent close to R8.5 million over a three-year period renting toilets and showers for homeless people who were housed in shelters. The contract for this service was entered into at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. The details of the spending were revealed during MPAC discussions last week. Councillors have referred the spending to the City’s Integrity and Investigations Unit (CIIU) for investigation. While the city spent R8.5 million on the project since 2020, the report shows, an amount of R2.4m was spent between April 2022 and January 2023, meaning this contract had continued even after the government had declared an end to the state of national disaster. It also…

The three latest suspects to be arrested in connection with the audacious escape of Thabo Bester from prison have been remanded in custody after making their first appearance in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court yesterday. Bester faked his own death and escaped from the G4S operated Mangaung Correctional Centre in May last year. He was rearrested in April 2023 by Tanzanian authorities in Arusha after he fled the country with his lover, Dr Nandipha Magudumana. The G4S employees, Joel Makhetha, Moeketsi Ramolula and Thabang Mier, were all arrested on Monday at their Bloemfontein and Botshabelo homes. The latest arrests bring the number of people arrested in connection with Bester’s escape to 12, including Bester himself. National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said one suspect was arrested at his home in Botshabelo,…

Climate change and its impact on the environment a must for August summit agenda The BRICS heads of state meet in Johannesburg in South Africa on August 24. The media in South Africa and internationally has been abuzz with speculation as to what will be discussed at the summit and attendant related meetings. The big issues for the media are how the summit will deal with issues related to trade, acceptance of new members into the BRICS family, cross-border payments using own currencies, and efforts to negotiate a peace settlement in the Ukraine conflict. As South Africa is a signatory to the International Criminal Court (ICC) Rome treaty, the country in particular is under scrutiny as to how it will deal with Russian head of state Vladimir Putin who…

France braced for more angry protests yesterday after the killing of a teenager by police during a traffic stop that President Emmanuel Macron called “unforgivable”. The government said it would deploy 2 000 riot police to deal with any unrest, a day after a 17-year-old was shot in the chest by a police officer who then appeared to lie about the circumstances of the killing. The shooting had already sparked unrest in several Paris suburbs overnight. Celebrities and politicians expressed outrage and grief at the death of the teenager, with Macron calling it “inexplicable” and “unforgivable”. The teenager, named only as Nael M, was pulled over by two policemen on Tuesday for breaking traffic rules, prosecutors said. Police initially reported that one officer shot at the teenager because he was…

HundredS gathered in the Sudanese capital Khartoum yesterday to pray for peace on the first day of the Eid al-Adha Muslim holiday, but gunfire shattered the brief respite, residents said. Witnesses in the capital’s twin city of Omdurman reported air strikes and anti-aircraft fire, despite separate unilateral truces announced by the warring generals for the holiday. “The country can’t take any more of this,” Khartoum resident Kazem Abdel Baqi said. Nearly 2 800 people have been killed and more than 2.8 million displaced in the war between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy-turned rival Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Burhan had called for Sudanese “youth and all those able to defend” to take up arms with the military. His appeal echoed…

NATO will monitor the movement of the Wagner Group paramilitary organisation in Belarus to maintain the security of the member states of the alliance, Nato Secretary Jens Stoltenberg said yesterday. “It’s too early to make a final judgement about the consequences of the fact that (Wagner Group head) Yevgeny Prigozhin has moved to Belarus and that, most likely, also some of his forces will also be located in Belarus”. Wagner seized a Russian army headquarters in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don last week in a mutiny. Prigozhin and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed to de-escalate the situation and Prigozhin has been stationed in Belarus. | Sputnik…

SYDNEY: Australian researchers have developed a new drug that could help long Covid-19 symptoms including fatigue, breathlessness and brain fog, affecting between 10% and 20% of the millions infected with Covid-19. The drug, NACE2i, is a potential treatment for long Covid that will relieve those debilitating symptoms and revive immune function, said the team from QIMR Berghofer in Brisbane. The study showed that the drug prevented that and repaired damaged lung tissue. NACE2i also showed potential to protect against reinfection from any variant. The team said the drug reprogrammes the hijacked ACE2 receptor which stops the virus replicating. | IANS…

Mop-up operations are taking place across KwaZulu-Natal while damage to homes and infrastructure is being assessed after heavy rains and winds left a trail of destruction on Tuesday night. Yesterday, eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda, Human Settlements Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi and KZN Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube visited Inanda after heavy winds caused extensive damage in the area. The weather phenomenon seen in areas north of Durban has been confirmed by the SA Weather Service (Saws) as a landspout, and not a tornado, as some locals had described it. Authorities said the damage across communities was still being assessed, and information would be provided once it became available. Reports of drownings by emergency services and private security companies have also yet to be confirmed. It was reported by Robert McKenzie from Emergency Medical…

The DA has called for immediate answers from KwaZulu-Natal Education MEC Mbali Frazer following a massive R193 million funding cut for the province’s beleaguered Learner Transport Programme (LTP). The finding comes after a recent briefing by KZN’s Education and Transport departments to the national Department of Basic Education portfolio committee members, along with a presentation to the provincial Education portfolio committee. According to documents, the financial allocation has been reduced from R459m in 2022/23 to R266m for the upcoming financial year – a drop of R193m. There are currently 157 538 KZN learners who still need transport to and from school with R1.6 billion required to clear the waiting list. This additional funding is on top of the funding that was required previously. Then there are the 20 528 learners…

So yet another banking house is effectively closing its doors to the pitter-patter of human traffic in its banking hall. Nedbank, like many other banks, just decided that the best place for clients to be found is anywhere but inside the bank. About 40 years ago, I applied for a loan at NBS where I had a fixed deposit account. It was turned down for only one reason – I had another account at United Building Society (which moved to Allied and finally became Absa). So they kindly showed me the door and pointed to Absa. NBS in those days used to boast the slogan “Come in and get your slice” so, instead, I walked into the manager’s office and barked at him, “What slice are you talking about while…

THE number of rhino in the Kruger National Park has increased, and this has been attributed to security technology and the use of dogs. The park within the past financial year reported about 180 cases of rhino poaching, which is a decrease of 45% compared with previous years. Management at the park have installed several security cameras to curb poaching and 12 more installations are to be put in. Rhino and many other species, including lion, leopard, elephant and buffalo, have been in a state of decline. The park said it had installed camera systems with infrared technology which detects any movement of the animals at night. Speaking to a media contingent at the park recently, Sam Madalane, the head ranger at the park said that any suspicious activity would…

AN article by a journalist published in a Swedish magazine about the working conditions of labourers on a Western Cape wine farm, in which a picture appeared of one of the workers holding up her payslip, had dire consequences for the worker when she was fired. Claudine van Wyk, who lost her job as a result of the article, turned to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) to get her job back, with back pay. The arbitrator, however, found her dismissal to be both procedurally and substantively fair. But the Labour Court sitting in Cape Town said this was a gross misdirection by the arbitrator. The court overturned his findings and referred the matter back to the CCMA so that another arbitrator could hear the matter afresh. This…

Rampant removal of groundwater for drinking and irrigation has altered the distribution of water on Earth enough to shift the planet’s tilt, according to a sweeping new study. The finding underscores the dramatic impact that human activity can have on the planet. Humans pump most of the drinking water from natural underground reservoirs called aquifers. Researchers calculate that between 1993 and 2010, we removed a total of 2 150 gigatons of groundwater – enough to fill 860 million Olympic swimming pools. According to the new study, published on June 15 in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, moving all that water has shifted Earth’s tilt 80.01cm eastward. Many people might imagine Earth’s shape as a perfect sphere, but it’s not. It’s an oblate spheroid, with high mountains and deep ocean trenches…

Police are investigating a case of attempted murder after a Durban cop was assaulted by five men during a brazen robbery on Monday afternoon in the Phoenix area. According to provincial police spokesperson Constable Thenjiswa Ngcobo, the 39-year-old policeman was assaulted by five suspects in Brookdale Drive at around 5pm. “It is alleged that the victim was parked on the side of the road when the suspects damaged the vehicle windows before they assaulted the victim and stole his firearm. “The victim was taken to hospital for medical attention,” Ngcobo said. According to an incident report, the police officer had pulled over to take a phone call about an investigation he was working on when he was attacked. It is alleged that five men approached his vehicle, armed with hammers…

The more than 178 000 holders of Zimbabwean Exemption Permits (ZEPs), which were due to expire tomorrow, have been given a temporary lifeline by the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria. Judges ruled that the existing ZEPs should be deemed to remain valid for another year. A full Bench (three judges) remitted the matter back to the minister of home affairs for reconsideration during this time. ZEP holders will continue to enjoy the protections afforded by Immigration Directive 1 of 2021, which means that no holder of the exemption may be arrested, ordered to depart, or be detained for purposes of deportation or deported in terms of the section 34 of the Immigration Act. The holder of the exemption may be allowed to enter into or depart from South Africa provided that…

The African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) has provided more details about the killing of its uMhlathuze councillor, John Myaka, saying he was gunned down in front of congregants at his Enseleni church on Tuesday. The ACDP said Myaka, who was also a pastor, was gunned down while at the pulpit, by two armed men who entered the church in Enseleni township, near Richards Bay. According to Bishop Eric Manqele, the KZN provincial leader of the ACDP, Myaka died at the scene. “Every Tuesday, councillor Myaka, as a pastor, had church services to attend. As he was on the pulpit, two men came in and shot him dead. He died on the spot,” Manqele said. The city of uMhlathuze said it was mourning Myaka’s death, while the DA said the police…

IF INDEED Parliament has covered a lot of ground in implementing Chief Justice Raymond Zondo’s state capture recommendations, it should not take exception to his criticism that it would be found wanting when another attempt at capturing the state is made. In fact, Parliament’s tongue lashing of Justice Zondo is short-sighted at best and borders on censorship at worst. That is why their meeting with him yesterday should have preceded all this drama. After all, he chaired and subsequently produced a damning report that Parliament was sleeping behind the wheel when the Guptas literally ran the country. Expecting him to keep quiet about a process that not only has so much public interest but cost the taxpayer billions of rand is rather naive of Parliament. There was nothing stopping Justice…

Vast crowds of robed worshippers hurled pebbles in the “stoning of the devil” ritual yesterday as the biggest hajj pilgrimage since the start of the pandemic draws to a close in intense Saudi Arabian heat. From dawn in Mina, hundreds of thousands of Muslim pilgrims began pelting three concrete monoliths representing Satan, and heading to Mecca for a final “tawaf” – walking in circles around the Kaaba, the giant black cube at the Grand Mosque. More than 1.8 million people are taking part in the first unrestricted hajj since Covid struck in 2020. About 2.5 million, the most on record, joined the pilgrimage in pre-pandemic 2019. As well as crowds at every turn, the visitors have had to contend with ferocious temperatures at the hajj, which currently coincides with the…

New Delhi: Tech billionaire Elon Musk, owner of Tesla, SpaceX and Twitter, celebrated his 52nd birthday yesterday as he prepared for a cage fight with Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Musk recently tweeted that he would be “up for a cage match” with Zuckerberg, who replied: “Send me location”. Lex Fridman, a research scientist, shared pictures on Twitter of a training session with Musk and said: “I’m extremely impressed with his strength, power, and skill on the feet and on the ground. It was epic.” A video of Zuckerberg’s Jiu-Jitsu training recently went viral. | IANS…

Brasília: One of seven judges in Jair Bolsonaro’s abuse of power trial has voted to bar the former Brazilian president from running in the 2026 elections, as the country held its breath for other judges to deliver their rulings later this week. The Superior Electoral Tribunal is trying the far-right former leader over a televised meeting he held with foreign diplomats in July 2022 – three months before his election defeat to leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva – at which Bolsonaro made allegations of security flaws in Brazil’s electronic voting system. If found guilty, Bolsonaro could be sidelined from the 2026 vote. Insiders say the court is likely to convict him. | AFP…

Siena: An earthquake in the Italian region of Tuscany sparked the brief evacuation of the cathedral and closure of museums yesterday in the tourist hot spot of Siena. The 3.7 magnitude quake, with the epicentre in Poggibonsi near Siena, was also felt in Florence and Empoli, and struck after the region tested an emergency alert system. The tremor sent people rushing into the streets in Siena, famous for its artistic heritage. The cathedral was evacuated for about an hour, officials said. The quake caused bits of plaster to fall off the famous monument. Quakes in Italy in 2009 and 2016 killed about 300 people in each. | AFP…

IN 2013, Ukraine’s Sergiy Stakhovsky pulled off one of the greatest Wimbledon shocks when he demolished Roger Federer on Centre Court. Ten years on, Stakhovsky has exchanged his tennis whites for army fatigues as he fights with the Ukraine military against the Russian invaders. The sporting fallout from the conflict will likely be reflected in the tranquil surroundings of the All England Club in leafy south-west London when Wimbledon gets underway on Monday. Twelve months ago, players from Russia and close ally Belarus were banned from Wimbledon, the only one of the four grand slam events to adopt such a hard-line response to the war. They have been allowed to return this year although there is uncertainty as to how they will be greeted on court. “We cannot control it,”…

Stella Park Bowling Club is beaming with pride as two of its esteemed members, John Connellan and Glenda Matthews, have been selected to represent South Africa in the World Bowls approved Atlantic Senior Fours Championship. This prestigious event is set to take place in Cyprus in November and December. Both Connellan and Matthews were made aware of their selection while watching the live streaming of the Bowls South Africa Mixed Pairs Championship in Sasolburg when Bobby Donnelly, CEO of BSA, announced the South African Senior fours teams. Connellan will play third in the team skipped by Kenny Kyriacou and Matthews will bowl second in Sue Tarr’s team. Connellan began his bowling journey in 1980 and from the very beginning he set his sights high, aiming to achieve Zululand colours…

JERMAINE Seoposenwe firmly believes there’s no such thing as an unbeatable team and thus foresees Banyana Banyana making it past the group stages of the Fifa World Cup in Australia and New Zealand from July 20 to August 20. The Mexico-based forward is one of the senior players in Desiree Ellis’ team that will attempt to reach the knockout stages for the first time, South Africa having lost all their three matches in their maiden participation at the global showpiece back in 2019. Banyana are in Group G where they will face Sweden (July 23), Argentina (July 28) and Italy (August 2) for a place in the top two and thus earn a spot in the next round. It is a tall ask with the other teams ranked much…