Indholdsfortegnelse for 2023-11-29 i Mercury

The ANC says it will appeal the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) ruling that ordered it to pay a service provider more than R100 million as it faces a looming threat of liquidation. On Friday, the SCA upheld a decision by the Gauteng High Court which ruled against the ANC in a dispute with KwaZulu-Natal-based Ezulweni Investments which had provided the party with banners and campaign materials for the 2019 elections. Two previous lower court rulings in 2020 and 2022 granted Ezulweni permission to seize assets worth more than R102m from the ANC after the party did not pay its debt. The debt, including interest, has now risen to close to R150m. Shafique Sarlie, the attorney representing Ezulweni told a national broadcaster on Monday, that his clients were considering seizing…

BUSINESSES in the north of Durban are bearing the brunt of the load shedding schedule after eThekwini Municipality moved them from an industrial to residential zoning, leading to increased power cuts. The manager of Fragrant Orchid Trading in Glen Anil, who only gave his name as Tony, said load shedding was having a huge impact on his business. “It takes about 2-3 hours for the machines to start up when there is load shedding. So you can imagine how much time and how much money is being lost. For the business to run effectively our machines need to be running for 24 hours a day.” He said the business was running at a loss due to the recent decision to move the area from the industrial zone to residential…

An attack on Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, for what they call his interference in the political affairs of the state, is unfair. Judge Zondo wears many hats. He is not only a member of the judiciary but also a member of the community, family, church, society and so on. He is free to express his social, political, religious and economic views. Freedom of speech allows him to express his views on any matter. On the other hand, he is the chairperson of the state capture commission. He handed over a report to the president. The road to releasing the report was not easy. Judge Zondo and others who worked with him made many enemies. The commission was not an end in itself, but a means to an end. Those fingered…

A STREAKER at Disneyland in California was arrested last Sunday after he went skinny-dipping in the waters of the iconic It’s a Small World attraction. Videos on social media first show the man wearing just underwear and glasses as he strolled the attraction, according to The Huffington Post. In another clip, he’s seen taking a seat next to singing animatronic dolls as music plays near a faux Taj Mahal on the ride. “Stop, stop, you’re going to get hurt, stop, stop, I need you to stop, please, just sit down!” a cast member yells in a clip shared on Instagram. Another Instagram user wrote that the man “pushed the boat” behind them while on the ride. “We were stuck on the ride for about an hour and 15 minutes.…

Police Minister Bheki Cele says the multidisciplinary task team investigating politically-related cases in KwaZulu-Natal has made 355 arrests and at least 65 people have been found guilty. Cele said the team comprised the State Security Agency, Department of Justice and Correctional Services, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and SAPS. “A total number of 325 dockets, based on approved criteria for politically-related crime incidents, was assigned to the national task team. “These cases span the years 2011 to the present, and include attacks on sitting council members; attacks on former and candidate council members; on office-bearers of other political parties and municipal officials who end up victims or dead,” he said. The category of cases probed include murder, attempted murder, intimidation, conspiracy to commit murder, extortion, assault with intention to do…

South African National Parks (SANParks) CEO Hapiloe Sello has announced the allocation of an additional R700 million for infrastructure investment over the next three years. This allocation by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment (DFFE) is intended to improve the visitor experience at various national parks under SANParks’ management. SANParks is managing an infrastructure portfolio of approximately R16 billion. Most current infrastructure was developed in the 1970s, making it urgent for re-capitalisation. SANParks generates approximately 80% of its operating budget from its eco-tourism business. It said with various infrastructure upgrades under way, an appeal was being made for patience from visitors to affected national parks who might be affected with delays or lack of access as some facilities are undergoing a facelift. Facilities that will be impacted include…

A man is set to appear in court three years after he allegedly murdered his wife and buried her body in a shallow grave. In 2020, Fikelephi Dlomo was reported missing. She was 31 at the time. KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said the 38-year-old suspect handed himself over to police in Nsuze, accompanied by his family, on Monday. “Investigations pointed the police to the suspect’s house at Qabavu area where the police’s Search and Rescue team recovered human remains, believed to be those of Fikelephi Dlomo, from a shallow grave next to the outside pit toilet,” Netshiunda said. He said investigations so far indicate that the suspect allegedly assaulted the woman with a blunt object, probably a stick, on her head before she was buried. “The woman’s husband…

Following South Africa’s grey listing by the Financial Action Task Force there has been a spate of new legislation to tighten the anti-money laundering and terrorist financing laws. There have been amendments to both the Companies Act and the Trust Property Control Act, to introduce the concept of beneficial ownership. Registries have been created where companies are obliged to declare their beneficial ownership to the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC), and Trusts to the Master of the High Court. The concept of beneficial ownership will soon be included in tax laws through an amendment to the Tax Administration Act (TAA). Treasury has said that beneficial ownership is crucial for tax administration because it helps to ensure transparency and accountability in financial transactions. By identifying the individuals who are ultimately…

Israeli forces and Hamas fighters held their fire beyond the original deadline of a truce yesterday, extended at the last minute by at least two days to let more hostages go free. With both sides expressing hope of further extensions, mediator Qatar hosted the spy chiefs from Israel’s Mossad and the US. CIA at a meeting to “build on progress”, a source briefed on the visits told Reuters. A single column of black smoke could be seen rising above the obliterated wasteland of the northern Gaza war zone from across the fence in Israel, but for a fifth day there was no sign of jets in the sky or rumble of explosions. Both sides reported some Israeli tank fire in the Sheikh Radwan district of Gaza City in the…

Overseas workers invited to the UK to plug gaps in the health and social care sectors are being “exploited on a grand scale” with some being paid as little as £5 (R118) an hour, according to a media report. About 78 000 people got visas to come to the UK and work in social care in the year to June 2023. Most of these recruits have come from Nigeria, India and Zimbabwe and are charged thousands of pounds in unexpected fees, the Guardian newspaper reported. Ever since the Home Office added care workers to the shortage occupation list, 14% of them in England are now from non-EU countries (excluding the UK), while 7% are from the EU. An employer demanded £4 000 for “training costs” when a migrant care worker…

Beijing: At least 11 people were killed in an accident at a coal mine in northeast China’s Heilongjiang province yesterday, state media said. The incident took place at a mine outside the city of Shuangyashan in the province’s east, about 130km from the Russian border, state broadcaster CCTV said. “It was initially determined to have been caused by the impact of ground pressure,” the report said, adding that an investigation was under way. State media did not say if any others were missing or injured. Coal production represents the main industry in the far north-eastern city of Shuangyashan, where temperatures had dipped to -17°C by yesterday. | AFP…

Paris: French authorities yesterday arrested 41 people in raids against a controversial yoga sect, including its leader, the Romanian guru Gregorian Bivolaru, a source close to the case said. The sect is accused of numerous abuses under Bivolaru, who has been in the crosshairs of judicial authorities in Romania, Sweden and France in the past few years. About 175 police officers were deployed for the operation, during which 26 women were freed, the source said. The arrests follow a probe into the sect launched by Paris prosecutors in July, on suspicion of kidnapping, rape and people trafficking among others. | AFP…

CLOSING the door on load shedding is undoubtedly one of South Africa’s most urgent priorities. The load shedding crisis has had a direct impact on lower economic growth, higher levels of unemployment and a deterioration of investor confidence. Load shedding has masked some even bigger systemic issues underlying our energy crisis – the lack of reform to keep pace with international and technology trends, rapidly ageing infrastructure, especially our distribution grid, and a rapid decline in State capacity. If the systemic issues aren’t addressed, they will ultimately prolong our heavy reliance on coal power, which is at 80% despite many of our power stations being old, unreliable, and no longer economically or environmentally sustainable. As one of the most emissions- intensive economies in the world, the global decarbonisation spotlight is…

THE MARKET gave Bidvest the cold shoulder, sending its shares 10% lower, after the services, trading and distribution group delivered a voluntary trading update for the four months to October 31, 2023, saying its performance was “muted”. Yesterday the share had tanked nearly 10% to close at R244.07 on the JSE. Year-to-date the share is up 26.41%. Bidvest CEO Mpumi Madisa said: “Group performance was muted during the first four months of FY24. Whilst the expected slowdown was signalled previously, the actual volume and margin drop, particularly in the consumer-facing activities, was greater than anticipated.“ Overall, revenue growth slowed as activity, off a high base, was diluted by contracting durable consumer spend, volume reduction in some sectors and increased price competitiveness. Travel and hospitality as well as commercial demand for…

The eThekwini Municipality has defended its decision to “hand over” some of its embattled wastewater treatment plants affected by the floods to uMngeni-uThukela Water Board, saying this is not an “admission” that it is failing to deal with repairs. It said the move is about procuring extra capacity from a fellow government entity to ensure that the repairs to the wastewater treatment plants are fast-tracked. The water board has entered into an initial 12-month contract with the eThekwini metro for the operation and maintenance of some of the plants that were affected by the April 2022 floods. The agreement, the metro said in a statement during a media briefing yesterday, became effective from November 15 and will see the water board involved in the operation of 10 wastewater treatment works…

The dysfunctional state of the Beitbridge border post between South Africa and Zimbabwe, where the Border Management Authority (BMA) was hastily launched without receiving adequate funding or the transfer of relevant personnel, is emblematic of the lack of political will to tackle porous borders in South Africa. I visited the Beitbridge border post alongside ActionSA Limpopo premier candidate Kgoshi Letsiri Phaahla. I saw first-hand the dysfunctional state of the facility which, despite having recently been upgraded, remains plagued by inefficiencies and allegations of corruption. Only a few metres from the border post there are gaping holes in the fencing. This allows people to easily cross the border illegally, and for goods and drugs to be smuggled into our communities. The visit to the border post again reaffirmed to me that…

People pick on other people’s race, colour, religion and country and blame any one of those for “backing the wrong side” when, in reality, the fault lies elsewhere. There are only three types of people in the world: those who know enough to decide with full confidence which team to side with; those who don’t know enough about the subject being debated but get carried away with emotion, anger or pity; and those who don’t know and don’t want to know but are prepared to make a noise about a situation. The third type causes the most problems in the world. Two countries I thought I understood are causing me a lot of grief. India is one of them. It is a country I once loved for its promulgated secular…

Is who you are on the outside – the image you portray, the presence you are with others – in sync with who you know you are on the inside? Perhaps, like people often do, you feel weak and about to fall apart. As vulnerable as you might feel, as lacking in power and resilience as you might feel, you have come this far. You had the strength and tenacity to come this far. The good news is that you are made up of many parts, parts that can take turns running your ship. They all reside within you. Tap into your known strengths when you’re feeling down. Go to the inner you who usually feels confident and who has, in the past, got you through trying periods. Allow that…

The alleged mastermind behind an alleged multi-million rand Ponzi scheme that targeted pensioners, had allegedly devised another scam despite knowing that he was under investigation. This is according to Detective Constable Simphiwe Maphumulo of the Hillcrest police who was on Monday testifying in the bail hearing of Brandon Naicker, aka Muruvan Egambaram, and his co-accused, Abraham “Jason” Pillay, accused of running a massive R180 million Ponzi scheme. The pair have been accused of fleecing one investor for R2m and have been charged with eight counts, including theft and fraud in the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court. However, the court has heard in the bail hearing that it is just one of more than 80 cases currently being probed by detectives from the Directorate of Priority Crime Investigation (also known as the Hawks)…

The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) is now handcuffing the Senzo Meyiwa murder-accused during their transit to the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, and some of them remain in handcuffs throughout proceedings. This comes after three of the five accused were involved in a scuffle with an armed Correctional Services officer during the tea break on Monday. The court proceedings were delayed yesterday as three of the accused – Bongani Ntanzi, Mthobisi Mncube and Fisokuhle Ntuli – arrived late in court. Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya and Maphisa were present in court. It later emerged this was due to accused two, Ntanzi, objecting to being handcuffed, arguing he was not a sentenced person. It appeared accused 3, 4 and 5 – Mncube, Maphisa and Ntuli – were being handcuffed during court proceedings, while the…

Health and safety has been called into question once again in the mining sector in South Africa following the tragedy yesterday that took place at the Implats 11 Shaft operation at Impala Rustenburg in North West that left 11 mineworkers dead and 75 seriously injured. A cage carrying mineworkers to the surface fell. Implats said the cage comprised three levels, each with a capacity to carry 35 people. “Initial reports indicate there have been several serious injuries, but an accurate assessment of the full human impacts of the accident is not currently possible, given the complexity of the rescue operation. “Following the incident, the paramedics and our Proto (underground rescue) teams were immediately mobilised. They have accessed underground workings and the two upper levels of the conveyance have been cleared,”…

THE Nedbank Group’s decision to appoint former ABSA finance director Jason Quinn as its CEO-designate to succeed Mike Brown is sparking a heated debate across various sectors of society. Questions have been raised about whether the ‘green bank’ may have overlooked individuals such as Ciko Thomas or Mfundo Nkuhlu. Thomas serves as the group managing executive for retail and business banking, while Nkuhlu holds the position of chief operating officer at the bank. Buoyed by Mary Vilakazi’s recent appointment as CEO of FirstRand, some individuals expressed the hope that this “positive” trajectory would continue in other financial institutions. This debate clearly indicates that the transformation agenda in South Africa is not about to go away any time soon. The country’s rights-based approach to transformation has not always been universally embraced…

The trial of Monique Olivier, widow of a French serial killer known as the “Ogre of the Ardennes”, opened yesterday over her role in three murders dating back several decades, including the killing of a British woman whose body was found in a river in 1990. Olivier’s husband, Michel Fourniret, was charged with abduction, rape and murder in the cases but died in 2021, aged 79, before he could be brought to trial. “I will do my best,” Olivier told the lead judge in court when asked if she would answer questions. The crimes date back to 1988 in the case of Marie-Angele Domece, who disappeared aged 18 from Auxerre, and 1990 for 20-year-old British woman Joanna Parrish, whose naked body was found in central France. Olivier is charged with…

ISLAMABAD: Jailed former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan was denied an open court trial yesterday, as ordered by a high court after the government submitted reports citing threats to his life, his lawyer said. The special court hearing the case later said Khan’s trial on the charge of leaking state secrets will be held in jail premises but will be open to the media and the public. The trial in jail will begin afresh on Friday. The court has been conducting the trial in prison since Khan was indicted on the charges last month. | Reuters…

SILKYARA: Indian rescuers yesterday began bringing out the first of the 41 men trapped for 17 days behind tons of earth inside a Himalayan road tunnel after a marathon engineering operation to free them. The rescued men were draped in orange marigold flower garlands in celebration as they were greeted by state officials, government photographs showed, with a line of ambulances waiting to receive them. Crowds cheered as emergency vehicles with lights flashing readied to leave the tunnel entrance, where the workers had been trapped since a portion of the under-construction tunnel in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand collapsed on November 12. | AFP…

London: British airline Virgin Atlantic yesterday piloted the first long-haul flight powered entirely by Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), an event environmental groups labelled “greenwashing”. The Boeing 787 plane equipped with Rolls-Royce engines departed from London’s Heathrow airport, headed for New York’s JFK minus cargo and paying passengers. Virgin said it was the first time SAF had been used “in both engines, by a commercial airline, for long-haul flight”. SAFs are produced from renewable biomass and waste resources and can be used in jet fuel in modern aircraft to 50%, having been blended with kerosene. | AFP…

The pressure that comes with representing South Africa on the biggest stage is very different to other countries, purely because of how the Proteas have performed at International Cricket Council events. The recently concluded Cricket World Cup campaign in India was no different in that the South African public made their thoughts and views known through social media platforms. There is one individual who took most of the criticism and that is captain Temba Bavuma. It was not just the normal heat that a skipper has to brace themselves for after crashing out of a World Cup, instead in this instance it seemed personal. It is nothing new for Bavuma, because throughout his career, his spot in the team has always been questioned. Within the team, it is a different…

AS highly decorated as he is, Pitso Mosimane still has a dream he hankers after – to coach a national team that can win the Africa Cup of Nations and compete at the Fifa World Cup finals. And with Africa set to have nine nations (possibly 10 though a play-off) representing it at the next global showpiece in 2026, the multiple domestic and continental championship winner believes there is an opportunity for him to realise that dream. Now jobless after prematurely parting ways with Al-Wahda of the United Arab Emirates, the former Mamelodi Sundowns coach – who elevated himself to global status with a successful spell at African Club of the Century Al Ahly of Egypt – said earlier this week there is interest in his services from Asia, as…

Richards Bay’s coach Kaitano Tembo is confident they’ll put home-ground advantage against Stellenbosch in the Carling Knockout semi-final to good use, though he’s asked his troops to remain grounded. The Natal Rich Boyz have had an up-and-down first half of the season. They are rooted in the basement of the DStv Premiership, having won two games, drawn four and lost seven. However, their knockout campaign has been a different story altogether. They are in the semi-final of the new knockout cup, where they’ll host Stellies in uMlazi on Saturday. And for a team that was promoted to the top flight last season, reaching their first cup final in just their second season would be an impressive feat and a dream come true. This would be a first final…

GLOBAL decarbonisation commitments and actions by South Africa’s trade partners in their transport sectors has caused a need to transform the manufacturing of vehicle and components from internal combustion engines (ICE) to new energy vehicles (NEVs). The consequences of the global energy transition are not only felt in the energy sector, but all other sectors of the economy, and the transition to NEVs is one of the many moving pieces in South Africa’s pursuit of a just energy transition. Specifically, the EU and the UK, major importers of our vehicles, have set targets for phasing out all new sales of internal combustion engine passenger vehicles by 2035. However, impacts to outlaw the manufacturing of ICE vehicles will begin to sting the vehicle manufacturing industry even before 2035 as the operational…

DELTA Property Fund, a black-managed and substantially black-owned real estate investmen trust (Reit) with a significant sovereign underpin, says it is making steady progress in whittling down its debt through non-core asset disposals as it posted its interim results for the period ended August 3, 2023. It said yesterday that its debt of R3.1 billion, which was mainly on a month-to-month basis was renewed, positively impacted the group’s weighted average debt maturity by 73%. In addition, Delta concluded a revolving credit facility of R37.5 million with Nedbank, which would be utilised for working capital, capital expenditure and tenant installations. The board of directors had taken a decision to dispose of Delta’s minority shareholding in the Grit Real Estate Income Group to reduce debt. “To ensure a timeous disposal,…

SOUTHERN Palladium yesterday posted the appointment of mining expert Roger Baxter as the chairperson of the board, commencing on January 1, 2024. Baxter was CEO of the Minerals Council South Africa for more than eight years from May 2015. He recently retired from this position. In that role he played a key part in guiding the country’s mining sector to achieve an improved safety record with a significant focus on the implementation of mine site solutions based on the adoption of leading global safety practices. Baxter also led the complete brand rejuvenation, reputation enhancement and modernisa- tion of the Mineral Council into becoming a much more effective, strategically driven, agile, assertive and capable organisation. Baxter was the founding chairperson of the World Platinum Investment Council – a position he continues…

ArcelorMittal SA – one of the biggest employers in Newcastle in KwaZulu-Natal – announced the winding down of its long steel operations yesterday which affects both its Newcastle Works and Vereeniging Works. The company said it would be initiating a section 189 process in terms of the Labour Relations Act that would potentially affect 3 500 jobs. Section 189 sets out the legal requirements for retrenchments for companies. ArcelorMittal SA said the country’s apparent steel consumption (ASC) has decreased by 20% in the past seven years. Ferdie Alberts, representative of the Newcastle Chamber of Business, said that ArcelorMittal SA was one of the biggest employers in Newcastle. “We are going to have a whole lot of people relocating if this section 189 happens. It’s going to be a huge loss…

Get the health system working before wasting money on new and unusable clinics. Twelve state-of-the art clinics have been built in Gauteng. This in a country that has not been able to employ enough health professionals for most hospitals because it is bankrupt. What is the point of channelling so much money to many clinics that might end up becoming white elephants because with no medical staff, they will just stand there empty and unusable? Besides, we have heard how clinics fail to supply chronic treatment to patients because of the ever-present medicines stock-outs. When will the government start setting up realistic priorities for the country, instead of stumbling from one misstep to the next? A lot of money was squandered on a building project that was not well thought…

We have known for a long time that the police force has been infiltrated by crooks and criminals. What we wouldn’t know is how many police officers were criminals themselves. We thought, like any profession, you would find some, probably a minority who were not fit to wear the police uniform. But Police Minister Bheki Cele has surprised us. In answer to a question in Parliament, the police minister told the house that as many as 5 489 police officers had been charged with over 80 crimes. While 5 489 is a large number, the number of crimes (80) seems inappropriate. If we divide 5 489 by 80 we get something like 68. Could 68 police officers be involved in each of the crimes? It doesn’t make sense. Cele says…

SOCIAL Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu said her department was planning to take the proposed basic income support grant policy to Cabinet before the end of the financial year. Zulu said Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana has supported the extension of the R350 social relief of distress grant until March 2025 based on their proposed policy. “This forms the basis of what will become the Basic Income Support Grant in future,” she said. The minister was responding to parliamentary questions from DA MP Bridget Masango, who asked the date Zulu envisaged to table the proposed basic income support grant policy before the Cabinet. Zulu said they have made positive progress in the past three years on the draft policy and “rigorous” consultations were completed in the 2022/23 financial year. “The success…

THE National Department of Social Development has revealed plans to make buildings available to accommodate victims of gender-based violence (GBV). This is according to parliamentary responses from Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu to DA MP and party spokesperson for Social Development Bridget Masango. Masango pressed the department to detail the intervention and resources put in place to assist victims of GBV and the successes achieved in the fight against the scourge. The buildings plan has been welcomed by activist organisations who said there were few shelters for women exposed to gender-based violence in society but they did a lot of good work providing much-needed support to the vulnerable. Minister Zulu listed a number of her departments interventions and successes, including the provision of shelters. “A partnership has been established…

Within a period of just over a week there have been three pit bull attacks that left residents in and around Durban with serious injuries. In the most recent incident, a staff member of Gordon Road Girls' School in Windermere, believed to be in his forties, was viciously attacked yesterday outside the school while attempting to save a pupil from the two dogs. KwaZulu-Natal Education Department spokesperson Muzi Mahlambi said the incident took place at around 7.30am while a pupil together with a teacher's assistant (TA) were walking towards the school gate. Mahlambi said that suddenly two pit bull dogs were seen running towards them and a general assistant, who saw the dogs, stepped in to assist. He said the man managed to save the girl and the TA by…

THE tendencies of politicians to shoot from the hip on matters they know nothing about must fall. Take for instance the statement in July by ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula, who was adamant that load shedding would come to an end before the year was over. Mbalula made these pronouncements while addressing ANC Veterans League during its third national conference. At the time he said “we are convinced that we can put load shedding behind us by the end of December 2023 if comrades in government remain true to the Energy Action Plan adopted by the ANC NEC in February 2023”. This week, Mbalula backtracked on his claim, while Eskom officials have forecast that in the best-case scenario there will be rolling blackouts every day during December and January – except…

The UN said yesterday it is still possible to reach the “end of Aids” by 2030 – but only if communities and services on the ground are given the means. The UNAids agency said in its annual World Aids Day Report that community-led responses are unrecognised, under-resourced and in some places under attack. “The message of this report is one of active hope. Although the world is not currently on track to end Aids as a public health threat, it can get on track,” the report said. The UN first set out in 2015 the target of ending Aids as a public health threat by 2030. There are 39 million people around the world living with HIV – the virus that causes Aids. Of them, 20.8 million are in eastern…

LOS ANGELES: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, will face a trial next year after her half-sister Samantha Markle accused her of defamation. The 59-year-old author is suing the former actress for $75 000 (about R1.7m) in damages over the “malicious lies” she alleged were told about her during an interview Meghan, 42, gave alongside husband Prince Harry, 39, to Oprah Winfrey. The case was thrown out in March. But a new complaint was filed, and the trial will now take place in November 2024. Samantha wants the duchess to admit she “lied” when she claimed to Oprah that she and her half-sister had “little to no relationship” for the sake of selling a “rags-to-royalty story.” She also wants Meghan to retract her suggestion that the late Queen Elizabeth was “racist” .…

MADRID: Spain is ready to sign a deal on the post-Brexit status of Gibraltar as early as today, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said, before setting off to meet newly appointed British Foreign Minister David Cameron in Brussels. Albares said he had spoken with Cameron and both men agreed to meet in Brussels to further discuss the status of Gibraltar there. The status of Gibraltar, an enclave at the southern tip of Spain under British rule since the 18th century, and how to police the border with Spain, has been a point of contention since Britain’s 2016 vote to leave the EU. The enclave was excluded from the exit deal. | Reuters…

Banyana Banyana’s mentality and experience will be tested in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) qualifiers against Burkina Faso tomorrow and on Monday. Banyana have been the best team in Africa in recent months, setting records by winning the Nations Cup and reaching the World Cup last 16 for the first time. But now that they are top, the challenge is maintaining all that they’ve achieved and doing even better. Sure, they’ve improved already, progressing to the third round of the Olympic qualifiers after beating the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) 4-1 on aggregate last month. However, the last round of the Wafcon qualifiers should pose their biggest challenge yet, with Burkina Faso a potential banana skin. Speaking during the announcement of her 24-member squad at Safa House last…