Indholdsfortegnelse for 2024-03-05 i Mercury

On February 9, X-user Robin Zaccheus shared a gross discovery he made in a slab of roasted almond chocolate. Along with a video of a worm in his chocolate and a picture of a receipt, he tweeted: “Found a worm crawling in Cadbury chocolate purchased at Ratnadeep Metro Ameerpet today. Is there a quality check for these near to expiry products? Who is responsible for public health hazards?” The tweet soon went viral with over 715k views. Zaccheus has now shared: “The Telangana State Food laboratory (India) has confirmed the Cadbury Chocolate (Roasted Almond) was ‘Unsafe to consume, they found white worms and web!” He also tagged Mondelez International, Cadbury’s parent company. Cadbury responded to his tweet: “Hi, Mondelez follows the internationally accepted HACCP (Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Points)…

THE provincial government has given the assurance that it is working to minimise the disruption to services in eThekwini Municipality while moving to prosecute those behind the incidents that have plunged the City into chaos. EThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda and KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube yesterday briefed the media on work being done to restore normality after service delivery was impacted by an ongoing municipal workers strike. The pair announced a number of measures, including bringing in contractors to do work, using skeletal staff and giving police escorts to workers attending to faults to ensure their safety. Workers led by the SA Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) have been on an unprotected strike since last week. “The violent nature of the strike has resulted in essential municipal services being severely impacted.…

All hell broke loose in the Ekurhuleni council chambers on Thursday evening. Television viewers could barely believe their eyes as they sat on the edge of their seats and watched bedlam reign in the house. Fists and chairs flew as rival gangs of councillors jostled and fought for power and positions. How undemocratic could they be? A boring news channel had suddenly erupted into a gripping drama! The shoving and pushing went on for 15 long minutes. It was shocking for councillors to behave in such a disgraceful, unruly and uncivil manner. Will the Speaker take action against the thugs who want to wrestle power by force? Will some higher authority step in, stop the chaos and bring some order and respectability to the local councils? I doubt it. It…

Violent crime has reached critical levels. Every city has become a target area. Law-abiding citizens have to endure pain, degradation and humiliation as they are bludgeoned into submission when their homes are ransacked with audacity by vicious thugs. Citizens of our rainbow nation are living under siege as crime intensifies on a daily basis. The woes and fears of citizens seem not to be going away any time soon as criminal elements are holding us to ransom. Fear and trepidation are our constant companions as we struggle to contain violent crime that confronts us all with its deadly consequences. Violence and crime in our neighbourhoods engulf us all on a daily basis from womb to tomb. These lawbreakers have brazenly displayed contempt for human life and the law. Today, we…

Two members of the SANDF have died in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The SANDF said the members were deployed to the DRC as part of the United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission (Monusco) to assist the DRC government in its efforts to bring peace, security and stability to the region. According to SANDF spokesperson Colonel Selinah Rawlins, it is alleged that one of the members used a service weapon to kill the other member before turning the gun on themselves “with fatal consequences”. “The SANDF has convened a Board of Inquiry to work with the Monusco command to investigate the incident and the circumstances that led to it,” Rawlins said. Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Thandi Modise expressed her shock at the incident. The SANDF said the members’…

The South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) has intensified calls for Public Enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan to resign over the sale of SAA to Takatso Consortium. This comes after Gordhan addressed a closed-door parliamentary meeting on the SAA deal with the consortium last week. Saftu secretary-general Zwelinzima Vavi accused Gordhan of hiding corruption. According to media reports, correspondence between Gordhan and Khayalethu Magaxa, chairperson of the parliamentary committee of public enterprises, through the Speaker of Parliament, indicate that Gordhan tried to force the committee into signing an non-disclosure agreement (NDA) before accessing the documents. Last week, Independent Media reported that the documents at the centre of the controversy which Gordhan subsequently submitted indirectly to the committee, include: the Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) appointment documents, RMB evaluation report (shortlist of…

PROVINCIAL Departments of Health have underspent their budgets by more than R3 billion in the 2022/23 financial year. Less than R1 billion in unspent funds was rolled over to the affected provinces. Only KwaZulu-Natal fully spent its budget during the financial year. This was revealed by Health Minister Joe Phaahla in reply to parliamentary questions from EFF MP Reneiloe Mashabela. Phaahla’s response showed that Gauteng led the pack having underspent its total allocated budget by R2.7 billion, of which R937 million was for the provincial equitable share and R1.7 billion for conditional grants. The breakdown of underspent budgets in other provinces is as follows: Western Cape did not spend R180 million. Northern Cape R141 million. Limpopo R103 million. Free State R85 million. Eastern Cape R62.2 million. Mpumalanga R25.3 million.…

ActionSA’s premier candidate in KwaZulu-Natal Zwakele Mncwango has accused the Amazulu Traditional Prime Minister of misleading traditional leaders by telling them that Mncwango wants the King’s legislature address to be scrapped as it is a waste of taxpayers’ money. At a press briefing yesterday, Mncwango said Thulasizwe Buthelezi, during his address at the Machobeni Royal Palace at the weekend, claimed that he had called for the scrapping of King Misuzulu KaZwelithini’s address at the opening of the KZN Legislature and “cited it as a misuse of taxpayer funds”. The king delivered the address last week, calling on all political parties to campaign in a peaceful manner and to be tolerant of one another despite ideological differences. “I want to clarify unequivocally, I never made such a statement. My position is…

WE HAVE a rich history, though part of its richness is through the hardship, suffering and pain many had to go through. How people sacrificed and suffered for this democracy varies. Some of the wonderful people who made a supreme sacrifice hail from the dominant white community group, Afrikaner, that was ruthlessly holding the reins of power. It is amazing how some Afrikaners, as individuals and as a collective, contributed to the Struggle. Marius Schoon is one of them. He followed the likes of Bram Fischer. His political involvement started with the Congress of Democrats or South African Congress of Democrats, one of the most progressive white organisations at the time. In no time, Schoon was involved at the advanced level, the armed Struggle. He was involved in a bombing…

The US Supreme Court handed Donald Trump a major victory yesterday as he campaigns to regain the presidency, overturning a judicial decision that had excluded him from Colorado’s ballot under a constitutional provision involving insurrection for inciting and supporting the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack. The justices unanimously reversed a December 19 decision by Colorado’s top court to kick Trump off the state’s Republican primary ballot today after finding that the US Constitution’s 14th Amendment disqualified him from again holding public office. Trump is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic President Joe Biden in the November 5 US election. His only remaining rival for his party’s nomination is former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley. “BIG WIN FOR AMERICA!!!” Trump wrote on his social media platform immediately after…

The signing into law of an anti-LGBTQ bill passed by Ghana’s parliament could derail the International Monetary Fund’s $3 billion (R57bn) loan package and lead to a loss of $3.8bn in World Bank financing over the next five to six years, the finance ministry said in a document yesterday. MPs last week unanimously passed the legislation that will intensify a crackdown on the rights of LGBTQ people and those accused of promoting lesbian, gay or other minority sexual or gender identities in the nation. The bill will now be presented to President Nana Akufo-Addo, who will decide whether to sign it into law. Its passing comes as Ghana tries to emerge from a deep economic crisis and debt default with the help of a $3 billion IMF loan and financing…

KyiV: Ukraine urged the West yesterday to transfer control of confiscated Russian assets to Kyiv so they could be used to rebuild the country and fund its recovery. Calls have been mounting in Washington and Europe to set up a fund for Ukraine using billions of dollars in Russia bank accounts, investments and other assets frozen by the West over Moscow’s 2022 invasion of its neighbour. “The confiscation of Russian assets should become a reliable source of support for our state and funding for our recovery,” Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said. Ukraine has warned it desperately needs more military and financial assistance. | AFP…

MUMBAI: Indian farmers are planning to escalate their protests from tomorrow by entering the capital New Delhi by bus and train, and increasing their numbers at border points blocked by tractors. Thousands of farmers began the “Delhi Chalo” (Let’s go to Delhi) march last month but were stopped by security forces 200km north of the capital with teargas and water cannon. The farmers, demanding higher prices for their crops, intensified their protest after several rounds of failed talks. Clashes between farmers and security forces have broken out. Farmers are determined to protest until their demands for higher support prices are met. | Reuters…

The Springboks’ first step to the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia starts today in Cape Town, with Bok mastermind Rassie Erasmus holding his first alignment camp with 43 players. It is also the first time the coaching additions of former All Black Tony Brown (attack) and former Irish hooker Jerry Flannery (defence) will rub shoulders with some of the reigning world champions and the newly invited crop of players as they start the planning for the 2024 international season and beyond. Erasmus, the 2019 World Cup-winning coach, returns to take the reins with double Test matches against Ireland in July, and a face-off with Portugal in Bloemfontein later this year. The Irish Tests will take place at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria and King’s Park in Durban. Later in the…

Paris Saint-Germain’s preparations for tonight’s Champions League last-16 second leg away to Real Sociedad have been overshadowed by coach Luis Enrique’s handling of star man Kylian Mbappe. PSG have suffered numerous humiliating defeats at this stage of the Champions League in recent years but they are ideally placed to advance to the quarter-finals this time after winning 2-0 at home to the Basque side in last month’s first leg. Mbappe scored the opening goal in that game but the following day the superstar striker informed PSG of his intention to leave when his contract expires at the end of the campaign. Luis Enrique might have been expected to make the most of being able to call on Mbappe until then, but instead he has made a point of reducing his…

THIS YEAR’s Budget, coming during a crucial elections period, and three decades of the ANC rule, was expected to excite keen attention from budget analysts, market watchers, and politicians, including foreign financial institutions to which both the Department of Finance and the SA Reserve Bank (SARB) endear themselves greatly. Indeed, as expected, this austerity Budget was received warmly by the so-called markets, save for murmurings of discontent from the usual quarters of society known as leftists. The rand behaved. A credible austerity Budget, so it is said, is one that elicits warm cheers from bond, forex and similar markets and, more importantly, from international financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), rating agencies etc. These institutions are…

The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the ANC yesterday debated who should make the party’s national and provincial candidate lists for the May elections, with discussions taking place over whether those implicated by the State Capture Commission report should be included or not. The Electoral Commission of South Africa has given all parties until Friday, March 8, to submit their lists of national and provincial candidates for the elections. It has been reported that the ANC Integrity Commission chaired by Reverend Frank Chikane and the ANC Veterans’ League have recommended that those implicated at the Zondo Commission be excluded from election lists, while the ANC Women’s and Youth leagues said members not formally charged should be on the election lists. ANC heavyweights Gwede Mantashe (Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy…

The United States yesterday imposed sanctions on Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa and other senior leaders, replacing a broad two-decade-old pressure campaign with targeted action. Citing a campaign of rights abuses and corruption, the US will block any US-based property and prohibit any unofficial travel to the country by the sanctioned Zimbabweans. “The changes we are making today are intended to make clear what has always been true: our sanctions are not intended to target the people of Zimbabwe,” Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said. “We are refocusing our sanctions on clear and specific targets: President Mnangagwa’s criminal network of government officials and businesspeople who are most responsible for corruption or human rights abuses against the people of Zimbabwe,” he said. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the new measures part…

Nosiviwe Noluthando Mapisa-Nqakula is a South African politician who is currently serving as the Speaker of the National Assembly since August 2021. In my opinion she is another cunning fox, holding high office. She has shamed her oath of office, by allegedly demanding and accepting sizeable cash payouts in return for “favours”, from her important office. The whistle-blower has not held back fingering and exposing this shameless pseudo politician. Cash in bags and who knows what other bribes, were made to quench the gluttony of this previously disadvantaged individual. She and her ilk have proven that morality does not exist within her political circle. Shameless and devoid of conscience, they continue to plunder this country. PETER BACHTIS | Lakefield…

PRESIDENT Joe Biden twice confused Gaza with Ukraine as he announced to the world that the US would provide desperately needed air-dropped aid to the war-ravaged Palestinian territory. “In the coming days, we’re going to join with our friends in Jordan and others who are providing airdrops of additional food and supplies,” the president said, adding that the US would “seek to open up other avenues, including possibly a marine corridor”. But Mr Biden, aged 81, twice mistakenly referred to airdrops to help Ukraine, according to Sky News, leaving it to White House officials to clarify that he was, in fact, talking about Gaza. No harm done, I suppose. But we hope that if he should order anything like bombing raids anywhere, President Biden at least gets the targets right.…

The heavy-handed tactics used by the police to arrest a couple following claims that they had abused their children – which turned out not to be true – will cost the taxpayer dearly as the Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg, found there was no need for the measures the SAPS used against the couple. The parents, who cannot be named to protect their children, were arrested at their Johannesburg home just after 7am on a Saturday morning in 2017. A large contingent of police vehicles with a large number of policemen, some in uniform and some in plain clothes, arrived at their residence. They were still in bed with their one child, who was then about 2 years old. The husband opened the door when requested to do so by the…

Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has denied allegations that she received millions in bribes when she was Minister of Defence, saying she will co-operate with any investigation into the claims. Mapisa-Nqakula said at no point had she solicited or received kickbacks when she was defence minister. She served as defence minister between 2012 and 2021. The Sunday Times reported at the weekend that Mapisa-Nqakula was allegedly given R2.3 million, stuffed in bags, by one of the contractors in the defence department. The Office of the Speaker said yesterday that Mapisa-Nqakula would welcome investigations into the claims. Mike Ramagoma, from the Speaker’s office, said Mapisa-Nqakula was concerned about the “purported affidavit” from one of the contractors of the department of defence. “The Speaker believes investigations of this nature ought to be conducted…

THE manager of the Msunduzi Municipality has vowed to challenge his suspension in court as he believed it was illegal. Lulamile Mapholoba was suspended by the council last week after it had given him notice the week before asking him to give reasons why he should not be suspended. On February 21, the Msunduzi council had met and detailed a number of allegations against the municipal manager. These included his alleged failure to act in the interests of the council, and insubordination and gross dishonesty – charges that Mapholoba denied. In his letter in response to the allegations, Mapholoba said there had been interference in his job by the mayor Mzimkhulu Thebolla and the ANC leaders in the Moses Mabhida region. He claimed the mayor had failed to act…

The six men arrested in connection with the drug trade plaguing the communities of Phoenix and Chatsworth have been granted bail ranging between R10 000 and R20 000 by the regional courts. The arrests came after a year-long investigation by the KwaZulu-Natal police. A Hawks Serious Organised Crime Investigation team alongside Crime Intelligence, Durban Metro police and Customs announced the arrest of the six suspects. Hawks’ provincial spokesperson, Simphiwe Mhlongo, said the suspects, aged 31 to 61, were arrested on Friday for dealing in drugs following an intensive investigation by their members, after a public outcry over the prevalence of drug dealing, especially in Chatsworth. Mhlongo said numerous undercover operations were conducted and the suspects were positively identified. The suspects were arrested in possession of heroin capsules and…

The right to strike is a constitutional privilege that every worker in South Africa is entitled to. It is a fundamental right fought for by many who have sacrificed their lives for the betterment of labour conditions. However, this right does not justify or excuse the recent acts of violence and vandalism carried out by eThekwini Municipality employees currently engaged in an illegal strike. Last week municipal workers, represented by the SA Municipal Workers Union (Samwu), downed tools,left refuse piling up on the streets, and blockaded roads causing traffic jams. It is essential to condemn the destructive behaviour of these workers, including the sabotage of critical infrastructure, destruction of property, and threats towards non-strikers. Such actions undermine the principles of peaceful protest and negotiation and disrupt the lives of the…

New fertility policies and better regulation of the troubled property sector will be among issues raised by delegates at China’s annual political gathering, which kicked off yesterday. With voting tightly controlled and legislation pre-approved by the ruling Communist Party, it is unlikely any of their proposals will be enacted into law. But attendees at the Two Sessions can put forward suggestions hoping they might influence legislation. Nevertheless, the delegates “play an important role in representing citizen interests on a range of politically non-sensitive issues”, Changhao Wei, an expert on China’s legislature, said. After the country’s population decline accelerated last year, China’s demographic woes are under the spotlight. Allowing single women to freeze their eggs should be explored, said Zhao Changlong, a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC),…

HERKENBOSCH: Four decades after being diagnosed with a serious heart condition and given just six months to live, Bert Janssen has set a Guinness World Record as the longest-surviving transplant patient. The Dutchman was 17 when he was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, a heart muscle disease which makes it harder for the heart to pump blood. In 1984, The Netherlands had yet to perform its first heart transplant, so cardiologist Albert Mattart referred the teenager to Harefield Hospital in England. Janssen underwent surgery that year following a car crash. The average life expectancy for heart patients after a transplant is 16 years. | Reuters…

PORT-AU-PRINCE: The US called for its citizens to leave Haiti “as soon as possible” after violence escalated over the weekend, which saw 15 000 more people flee the fighting and armed men break thousands of inmates out of Haiti’s largest prison. The US, which is home to over a million Haitians, said its embassy would be offering limited operations yesterday while Canada said it would temporarily close its embassy. This comes after Haiti’s government declared a state of emergency on Sunday evening after violent clashes in the capital damaged communications and led to a prison escape as the leader of a major gang alliance sought to oust Prime Minister Ariel Henry. | Reuters…

A Golden Arrows side who cannot seem to catch a break lately is expected to target a famous league double over Kaizer Chiefs in their next fixture. The two teams, who are both under pressure, will meet at what is expected to be an empty FNB Stadium at 7.30pm tonight, looking to turn their fortunes around. If anyone had told Abafana Bes’thende that their last meeting against Amakhosi in Hammarsdale would be the last time they earned a win on the pitch, that person would have been considered a madman at the time. Arrows began the 2023/2024 campaign in fine style as they lost just one of their opening nine league games of the season (to Mamelodi Sundowns). The club collected 20 out of a possible 27 available points,…

Suspended KwaZulu-Natal regional court president Eric Nzimande is challenging the initial complaint that was laid against him that sparked an investigation which has resulted in him facing 162 charges of misconduct. Nzimande’s disciplinary hearing, which the media has been allowed to attend, is taking place at the Point Branch Court in Durban. Nzimande has entered a plea of not guilty to charges which include that he allegedly received money from attorneys who were acting as regional magistrates in the regional division, allegedly unlawfully and wrongfully victimised or sexually harassed an acting magistrate, and allegedly requested a loan from an attorney for his daughter’s university studies. He also had been accused of contacting an accused person in a human trafficking case and of being at a casino when he should have…

I never in my wildest dreams ever imagined that I would look upon anything else in comparison that could overshadow the terribly deadly German holocaust of reportedly 6 million Jews. Well, it just did a few moments ago, when I watched more than 100 Palestinians – already emaciated from no food, no water, no medical care – being purposely, deliberately, and savagely gunned down, one at a time, by Israeli snipers, as they rushed to a truck carrying food and other forms of aid. I doubt if there could be a deeper depth of a pit that any human could ever reach. Hitler’s orders were reportedly to rail the Jews, a few thousand at a time, very quietly, peacefully and without them having any knowledge of what their destiny would…

Aaron Bushnell, a young American airman who tragically burnt himself alive in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington DC in protest against the genocide in Gaza and the military policy which made him complicit, is an indictment of the apartheid Israeli regime, the US government, their European allies, the capitalist mass media and the Zionist political movement. While some journalists tried injecting an anti-Semitic or “mental health crisis” into their reporting of the event, Bushnell’s action cannot be blamed on psychological or hatred issues. Bushnell is not the first American to self-immolate in response to the mass slaughter in Gaza. Late last year, a woman protester, carrying a Palestinian flag, also lit herself on fire, outside the Israeli consulate in Atlanta, Georgia. The extreme protests are a reaction to…

I wrote yesterday about how we are connected with people in our immediate and extended family. These connections at best nourish and inspire us. At worst, they drain us and drive us crazy. The challenge remains for each of us to take responsibility for how we connect (relate, respond, initiate) in order to have relationships that nourish both others and ourselves. I referred to “over-connected” people. This is when people are fused, joined at the hip (even though there may be oceans between), where day-to-day operation is so entwined it seems impossible to discern where one person ends and the other begins. Any urge for space will be interpreted as rejection. A kind, gentle, assertion toward appropriate separation will do both parties good. This kind of dependence can be of…

The high cost of living, spiralling unemployment and poor economic conditions are contributing to a decline in childbirth in South Africa. Research firm Eighty20 said the most recent census indicated that South Africa’s fertility rate dropped in the last 10 years. It attributed the decline to the deteriorating economic conditions in the country. Eighty20 director, Andrew Fulton, said with the uncertain job market it was not easy to take care of a baby. “The cost of living is high for the middle income sector and the poor. Our research shows that two thirds of women that have children in South Africa under the age of 2 are single mothers, and this is also the reason why the fertility rate has dropped.” Fulton added that the research indicated that 21%…

With the cost of borrowing in South Africa remaining elevated, consumers will be forced yet again to adjust their monthly budgets as the fuel price adjustments were announced yesterday. The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy has added to the cost-of-living crisis for consumers, with fuel price increases set to take place tomorrow. Motorists filling up with petrol will see an increase of R1.21 per litre for both grades of fuel, 95 and 93 ULP and LRP. Diesel (0.05% sulphur) users will see a R1.06 per litre increase and diesel (0.005% sulphur) will go up by R1.19 per litre. This means that a litre of 95 unleaded petrol will cost R23.73 at the coast and R24.45 in the inland regions, while 93 unleaded petrol will increase to R24.13. The wholesale…

A devastating indictment of a state-owned utility on the brink of implosion IT IS just as well that Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, in his National Budget presented to Parliament on February 21, did not reveal the findings and any policy response to the independent report he commissioned from the respected VGBE-led consortium to assess the state of the operations at Eskom’s coal-fired power stations. After all, he’s been sitting on the report, with the fate-tempting acronym “Opera”, since September 2023. The five-partner consortium comprises world leaders in the operation and maintenance (O&M) of coal-fired power plants. The assessment, which was commissioned in February 2023, was conducted as part of conditions attached to the R254 billion debt relief arrangement for Eskom. Some of the findings, according to the Treasury, will be…

Mediators in Cairo persisted yesterday with efforts towards a Gaza truce after Israel’s top ally the US stepped up pressure for a halt in fighting and more aid to enter the besieged Palestinian territory. Bombardments and combat killed 124 more people within 24 hours, said the health ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory. Gaza has been devastated and gripped by dire food shortages in the war sparked by Hamas’s October 7 attacks on Israel. Qatari and Egyptian mediators were meeting with US and Hamas envoys – but no Israeli delegates so far – in Cairo for a second day of talks. They are aiming for a halt in fighting before the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan starts on March 10 or 11. An Egyptian TV channel linked to the intelligence…

The Church of England’s £100 million (about R2.4 billion) fund to address its historical links to the slave trade is too small and should be expanded at least tenfold, an oversight group led by descendants of enslaved Africans said yesterday. The group, appointed by the church to provide advice on how to address its historic links to slavery, said in a report yesterday that the fund was not enough when compared with the scale of the racial disadvantage caused by its past investments. It said the Church Commissioners, who manage the Church’s £10bn investment arm today in partner- ship with others, should invest more. In response, the head of the Church Commissioners said that while they shared an “ambition” of expanding the fund to £1bn, £100m was…

Seoul: South Korea said yesterday that it would take steps to suspend the licences of striking trainee doctors who have defied orders to return to work in a stand-off over medical training reforms. About 9 000 junior doctors walked out nearly two weeks ago to protest against an increase in medical school admissions from next year, which is meant to help combat shortages and meet the demands of an ageing society. The striking trainees have defied a February 29 government deadline for them to return to work or face legal action, including possible arrest or suspension of their medical licences. Despite government appeals, the number returning to work “has been minimal”, authorities said. | AFP…

PARIS: French MPs met yesterday for a final vote to include the right to abortion in the constitution, a world first welcomed by women’s rights groups and criticised by anti-abortion groups. Abortion rights are more widely accepted in France than in the US and many other countries, with polls showing around 80% of French people back the fact that abortion is legal. The move, which has broad political support, was expected to get the three-fifths majority it needs in a special vote of the two houses of parliament yesterday. Women have had a legal right to abortion in France since a 1974 law, which many harshly criticised at the time. | AFP…

Bayern Munich’s home clash with Lazio in the Champions League today offers coach Thomas Tuchel a chance to help salvage his reputation as he makes his way out of the club. Mired in mid-table in Serie A, Lazio – who had three players sent off in Friday’s loss to Milan – are also under pressure, but take a 1-0 first-leg lead in the last-16 tie to the Allianz Arena. Hired two-thirds of the way through last season after Bayern surprisingly fired Julian Nagelsmann, Tuchel is on his way out, having struggled to keep Bayern on track for the Bundesliga title with Leverkusen comfortably in pole position. Two early German Cup exits, and elimination at the hands of eventual champions Manchester City in Europe last season, means that Tuchel’s only trophy…