Indholdsfortegnelse for 2024-09-11 i Mercury

WHEN parents are no longer partners or friends – even if they fake cordiality – the rift can be very stressful for children of all ages, and even when sons and daughters are fully-grown adults. People of all ages, even the very young age, can play it tough and give off an air of being “used to it” or declare “it’s better they are not together” or act out “it doesn’t affect me”. These lines and attitudes and behaviours are hard to believe and swallow. “Hardness” and “toughness” seeps into the nooks and crannies of a child or a teenager’s life and finds expression by holding cynical views about life, relationships and commitment. When either parent may wish to talk about the difficulties facing a son or daughter, no matter…

It's always a magically nostalgic event for me to visit the hallowed ground of my alma mater – the iconic Sastri College at Winterton Walk. It was such a nice feeling to be invited to the celebration of 130 years of the Natal Indian Congress (NIC), during the weekend. Stalwart ex-NIC member like Mr Ravi Pillay, ANC activist Mac Maharaj and finally keynote speaker, Mr Kgalema Mothlanthe – once president of the country – read out stirring speeches. Much of the courageous, some very, very sad, actions of the last 200 years were recalled, spellbinding the near full house hall. Even while listening intently to these talks, my mind could not help wandering out of this more recent attachment to the original building, across the rain-swept walkways, to the back…

Three political parties – the DA, ANC and ActionSA – are gearing up for today’s by-election in the eThekwini Municipality’s hotly contested uMhlanga ward 35. Ward 35 includes the suburbs of La Lucia, Virginia and Somerset Park. The ward, which includes uMhlanga and surrounding areas, has been overseen by a DA candidate for many years. It was left vacant after the party’s councillor, Nicole Bollman, was deployed to Parliament after the May 29 national and general elections. Municipal by-elections will also take place in Umbilo’s ward 33 with the MK Party, ANC and the DA contesting, while ward 36 in Durban North will see the ANC and the DA contest for votes. ActionSA’s ward 35 candidate Saul Basckin said he has been criss-crossing the area to woo voters. Basckin believes…

Some Mthatha organisations in the Eastern Cape led a march hoping to encourage more extortion victims to open cases while also demanding that police make swift arrests. The mass protest action to the local police station by residents on Monday was prompted by reports that a local chief had received threats from alleged extortionists who have demanded that he relinquish his position to facilitate their activities. It also comes a day after police National Commissioner Fannie Masemola visited the area to provide an update on their efforts to deal with crimes connected with extortion. The National Intervention Unit (NIU) has been deployed to the area after local businesses, including a medical practice, were forced to close their doors due to the escalating demands for “protection money”. Schools have also been…

The Pietermaritzburg High Court has ordered the immediate release of a mother who was sentenced to three years in prison for stealing two Nivea roll-ons valued at R75. Acting Judge MJ Chetty ruled that the magistrate in the Dundee Magistrate’s Court had imposed an excessively harsh punishment on the mother, who remains unnamed to protect her child. The judge said the mother posed no threat to society and thus did not warrant imprisonment. The judge also criticised the magistrate for failing to consider the care arrangements for the child during the mother’s imprisonment. When the court enquired about the whereabouts of her child while she was awaiting trial, as she had been denied bail, the mother said she had no idea. She assumed the child was staying with the neighbours.…

Pakistani police arrested several lawmakers and leaders of ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party in midnight raids a day after it held a major rally in the capital to demand his release, the party and police said on Tuesday. The former cricket star, 71, has been in jail for over a year since his ouster in 2022 after a falling-out with powerful military generals, which has spawned the worst political turmoil in decades in economically unstable 241 million people nation. A police spokesman confirmed the detention of four individuals but gave no details of charges. Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party said nearly a dozen of its parliamentarians had been picked up in Islamabad. Others had sought refuge in parliament to evade law enforcers, it said. Its lawmakers protested in a session…

Libya’s eastern-based forces have enabled a crackdown on dissidents and a spike in arbitrary detentions that has resulted in at least two deaths in custody in recent months, Amnesty International said yesterday. The energy-rich country has been wracked by unrest since the 2011 overthrow of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi in a Nato-backed uprising. It is split between a UN-recognised government in the capital Tripoli and a rival administration in the east backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar. The eastern-based Libyan Arab Armed Forces “has enabled the Internal Security Agency (ISA) to intensify its crackdown on critics and political opponents in recent months", Amnesty said in a report. The rights group said “dozens of people, including women and men in their 70s” have been subjected to “arbitrary detentions” since the start…

NAIROBI: Djibouti said it has offered a port-sharing deal with Addis Ababa, a move aimed at easing tensions between Horn of Africa rivals Ethiopia and Somalia. Relations between Mogadishu and Addis Ababa have soured dramatically since Ethiopia struck a controversial maritime deal in January with the breakaway Somali region of Somaliland. “What we have proposed to the Ethiopians is not to sell the port of Tadjoura. There has never been any question of ceding or selling the port,” he told reporters on Monday. “It is a national heritage that will never be sold off to anyone,” he said, adding that instead: “We manage (the port) together.” | AFP…

Hanoi: Tens of thousands of people were forced to flee their homes yesterday as massive floods inundated northern Vietnam in the wake of Typhoon Yagi. The death toll climbed to 82. Yagi struck on Saturday bringing winds in excess of 149km/h and a deluge of rain that has caused flooding not seen in decades. More than 59 000 people have been forced to evacuate their homes in Yen Bai province, local authorities said, after the floodwaters engulfed almost 18 000 homes. Floodwaters in Hanoi have reached levels not seen since 2008, and forecasters have warned more is expected in the city’s historic centre.…

The forthcoming white-ball series against Afghanistan and Ireland will provide Proteas coach Rob Walter with a clear path with regards to which fast bowlers he will move forward with. Walter has selected a greenhorn attack for the tour to the United Arab Emirates, allowing the likes of Marco Jansen and Gerald Coetzee to continue their strength and rehabilitation programmes, while regular spearhead Kagiso Rabada has been afforded some time to rest. Anrich Nortje, who was the Proteas’ leading wicket taker at the recent ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, is also not available after opting out of a national contract earlier this year. In their absence the most senior fast bowler will be Lungi Ngidi, who also only recently recovered from an injury to his right calf. Ngidi will be joined…

WHEN a teenager is as skilful with the bat as Dewald Brevis was during his record-breaking Under-19 World Cup campaign two years ago, it is easy to understand why his skill and potential with ball in hand was under-appreciated. While the world was in awe of the 500-plus runs the youngster scored during those six World Cup games, they forgot to take note of the 215 deliveries that he bowled in returning seven wickets while conceding a healthy 5.58 runs per over. Many failed to notice that the leg-spinner bowled 13 overs more than the now highly rated Kwena Maphaka during that World Cup, painting a vivid picture of just how reliable Brevis’ bowling was. Two years later and now on the verge of breaking into the Proteas set-up, many…

IS OLD Blighty becoming a hooligans’ paradise? Sky News cites the experience over four years of Paul Wheeler, who has a house in a quiet suburb of Kent. It backs on to a park which is filled at night with teenage mobs inflicting terror on the neighbourhood. For the past four years, Wheeler has pleaded with the council to install CCTV, but was turned down. His latest experience: a loud crash in the middle of the night jolts him awake. He goes to the window. A shadowy figure below in the park is setting fire to something. Flames rage close to his garden fence. He starts to film it all, his two children sleeping in the next room. He tells his wife to phone 999. Then a huge explosion and…

AS A teacher of the English language, it is almost mandatory for me to have a fondness for the old Bard, aka William Shakespeare. Over the years I have delighted in teaching several of his most famous dramas to reluctant students. His works can be described as magical … vaguely prophetic, as they have stood the test of time in terms of their universality and relevance to the human condition despite having being written and performed eons ago. In fact, as I ponder and frustrate myself over the situation in Gaza, one such play comes to mind: The Merchant of Venice and the misunderstood character of its central antagonist, the Jew Shylock. As the plot goes, Shylock is a persecuted Jewish money lender who enters into a contract with a…

the EThekwini Municipality has announced that it will make available 34 sites for leasing opportunities, including prime beachfront properties in order to eradicate problem buildings while bringing back tourists to the Golden Mile and the city. The municipality said the properties will include three key beachfront properties such as the legendary Mini Town, The Joint, and California Dreaming. eThekwini Municipality is challenged with hijacked buildings. Two weeks ago, Mayor Cyril Xaba and Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure Dean Macpherson revealed that they had identified 76 buildings that were derelict, abandoned and hijacked. An agreement was also announced to establish a joint technical task team between the City and the department to address a number of bad buildings. Thapelo Mmusinyane, head of Real Estate said the initiative was part of…

Rugby superstars, Siya Kolisi, Eben Etzebeth, Cheslin Kolbe, and retired Springbok, Tendai Mtawarira were unveiled by the Springboks official fuel supplier, Engen, as brand ambassadors. The four icons of the game joined forces with Engen to celebrate the rich heritage and spirit of rugby in South Africa. Engen managing director and CEO, Seelan Naidoo commended the four Springboks for bringing pride to South Africa through their contributions to the world champion Springbok rugby team, as well as their ability to inspire and connect with people across cultures and backgrounds. “As a company synonymous with high performance and reliability, Engen is incredibly honoured that Siya, Eben, Cheslin and Tendai have chosen to represent our brand to help us fuel growth and progress in communities across South Africa. “The four living legends…

A BATTLE over inheritance raged in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria when a now deceased man made four wills – the initial will in which he bequeathed all to his only two daughters and three others in which his ex-wife, whom he divorced 17 years ago, was suddenly also nominated as a beneficiary. The last will in which the ex-wife stood to gain the most was made a few days before the deceased died of cancer. It was said that at that time he was in much pain and not lucid, so much so that he could not comprehend what he was doing. One of his daughters, who was left out of the three latter wills, turned to court to have the first will in which she and her…

The Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Co-operation (Focac) was successfully held from September 4 to 6. Under the theme of “Joining Hands to Advance Modernisation and Build a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future”, China and Africa took stock of the journey of their friendship, commended the progress made in implementing the outcomes of Focac, and reached a clear political consensus on strengthening co-operation across the board. Two important documents, the Beijing Declaration and the Action Plan, were adopted unanimously. The two sides agreed to further implement the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilisation Initiative. The Summit witnessed fruitful outcomes and multiple highlights in the following three aspects. First, the Summit defines a new positioning for China-Africa relations. Thanks to nearly 70…

Ukraine struck the Moscow region yesterday in its biggest drone attack so far on the Russian capital, killing at least one woman, wrecking dozens of homes and forcing about 50 flights to be diverted from airports around Moscow. Russia, the world’s biggest nuclear power, said it had destroyed at least 20 Ukrainian attack drones as they swarmed over the Moscow region, which has a population of more than 21 million, and 124 more over eight other regions. At least one person was killed near Moscow, Russian authorities said. Three of Moscow’s four airports were closed for more than six hours and almost 50 flights were diverted. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that the drone attack was another reminder of the real nature of Ukraine's political leadership, which he said…

Polls opened yesterday in Jordan’s first parliamentary election under a new law meant to dilute the outsized impact of tribalism and bolster political parties, with Islamists expected to gain support due to anger over Israel’s war in Gaza. The 2022 electoral law is designed to pave the way for political parties to play a bigger role, though the election is still expected to keep the 138-seat parliament in the hands of tribal and pro-government factions. The new law for the first time directly allocates 41 seats for over 30 licensed and mostly pro-government parties. It also raised the quota for women’s representation to 18 from 15 seats and lowered the age for elected deputies to 25 from 30. Jordan retains a voting system that favours sparsely populated tribal and provincial…

Kyiv: British Foreign Secretary David Lammy and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who will jointly visit Kyiv this week, said yesterday they are united on the need to tackle Iran's influence in the Middle East and Ukraine. “(We are) completely aligned on the need to tackle Iran's malign activity in the region and beyond,” Lammy told reporters beside Blinken, who is visiting Britain. “We’re seeing a disturbing pattern of greater Iranian support for the Kremlin’s illegal group, and we discussed today our shared commitment to holding Tehran to account for their undermining of global stability.” Blinken said Iran's decision to supply Russia with ballistic missiles threatened European security. | Reuters…

CAXTON & CTP Publishers and Printers (Caxton) yesterday retracted statements it made in a dispute with Mpact, which it was attempting to acquire, after the JSE publicly censured the media company yesterday. Caxton is paper and plastics packaging and recycling company Mpact’s biggest shareholder, with just more than a third of its shares as at December 31. It had, at the time of the dispute in 2022, sought to take control of Mpact. “The JSE has concluded that Caxton has breached the JSE Listings Requirements by publishing certain statements in Caxton’s announcements dated August 12, 2022, and October 6, 2022, respectively. Accordingly, Caxton hereby retracts the following previously published statements,” Caxton directors said in a statement on the JSE’s news services yesterday. Statements it retracted included one made on August…

THE self-proclaimed omniscient Ebrahim Essa has repeatedly pronounced others “ignorant”, as he has in his letter, “Ignorance reigns … rogues” in The Mercury, September 4. The ignoramus is reminded that Girmitiyas experienced apartheid from two sources: the powers that be, and the Aprowallas such as he, let alone what our forebears endured at the hands of his antecedents in India. We could not afford bus fares to go and ogle at unattainable luxuries, amenities, experiences and possessions that he hankered after, in his childhood. Every penny was used for food, clothes education and items necessary for survival in our “strange, faraway places”. We did not own the property we resided on, unlike those who owned huge properties here and India, let alone attempting to smuggle gold from India to South…

In that optics always frame impressions, the lament that there is no visible improvement of conditions in eThekwini Municipality (The Mercury, September 10) could be remedied in a simple and basic way. The most glaring negative impression of eThekwini is the non-existence in most areas of street sweeping, clearance of stormwater drains, verge maintenance and the clutter of garbage that has become a standard part of its landscape. The failure of the cleansing unit and Parks and Gardens to be proactive in servicing the issues constitutes the core of the negative impression. Exacerbating that is the culture of littering and dumping that has taken root because of the absence of a regimen on the part of the municipality to perform basic cleaning and maintenance duties. Besides the elephant in…

A FORMER senior designated aviation medical examiner (Dame) for the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) has found herself in hot water after allegedly continuing to examine and issue medical certificates despite the expiration of a valid licence to do so. Dr Nhlanhla Sishaba’s designation is under scrutiny, said the SACAA, due to ongoing investigations into alleged “improper and fraudulent conduct”. According to the SACCA, the Civil Aviation Regulations (CARs) allows the Director of Civil Aviation to designate medical practitioners to conduct medical examinations on aviation personnel including pilots, air traffic controllers, cabin crew and flight engineers on her/his behalf, to ensure they meet the required standards for a valid licence. Dames are then required to submit completed medical assessments with supporting medical records to the SACAA online system…

THE widower of late submariner Lieutenant-Commander Gillian Hector has refused to be drawn into allegations that he snubbed several attempts to brief him on developments relating to the SAS Manthatisi submarine tragedy and its investigations. Hector, along with Master Warrant Officer William Masela Mathipa and Warrant Officer Mmokwapa Lucas Mojela, died on September 20 last year during a vertical transfer exercise (Vertrep) exercise, while performing one in Kommetjie. The SANDF recently said its board of inquiry found that the safety line used during the Vertrep was not conducive to carrying a lot of members at the same time and that the line to the safety harness was too long. Since the board of inquiry was launched, the line has been improved to ensure that it would not stretch and it…

PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa can no longer afford to take too long to make decisions on urgent matters. Throughout his presidency, but particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic, this trait of Ramaphosa’s leadership style has been criticised. There is a strong belief that he over-consults, and thus is slow to make decisions. The matter currently on the president’s table is that of under-fire Justice Minister Thembi Simelane, who is accused of securing a loan of R575 600, from Gundo Wealth Solutions, which was allegedly used to buy a coffee shop in Sandton during her tenure as Polokwane mayor. The company is linked to the VBS bank looting scandal. Simelane has set the record straight about the issue and has confirmed that such a loan had been repaid and money invested by the…

ISRAELI strikes blasted a huge crater in a designated safe zone in southern Gaza before dawn yesterday, setting tents ablaze and burying Palestinian families under sand. Palestinian officials said scores of people were killed or injured in the strikes, with at least 19 dead bodies brought to hospital and other victims feared lost or buried. Reuters journalists saw several bodies in the morning aftermath. Israel disputed the Palestinian casualty figures. The Israeli military said it had struck a command centre for Hamas fighters who had infiltrated the designated “humanitarian” area in al-Mawasi, a vast camp on sandy soil where the military has told hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to shelter since ordering them out of their homes. Hamas denied any fighters were present. Rescuers dug with shovels through the night,…

BEIJING: China has renewed its offer for talks with the European Commission to address economic and trade frictions to try to ease impending punitive tariffs on China-made electric vehicles. During a meeting with the EU’s director general for trade in Brussels on Monday, Vice Commerce Minister Li Fei said China was willing to engage in dialogue and consultations, his ministry said in a statement. The meeting took place before Reuters reported that the EU was expected to lower its proposed final tariffs on Tesla. It was also expected to reduce rates for other Chinese electric vehicles. | Reuters…

Moscow: Russian and Chinese warships began joint drills in the Sea of Japan on Tuesday, part of a major naval exercise that President Vladimir Putin said was the largest of its kind for three decades. Moscow and Beijing have deepened military and economic cooperation in recent years, as both countries seek to counterbalance what they see as a United States-led global order. Russia’s Ocean-2024 exercise will take place in the Pacific and Arctic as well as the Mediterranean, Caspian and Baltic Seas and is the first of its type “in the last three decades”, Putin said in a televised address.…

OF COURSE, it is all about the result. How it is achieved is merely secondary. And so the celebrations that met the final whistle of Bafana Bafana’s 3-2 defeat of South Sudan in Juba yesterday were justified. South Africa’s senior national team will be bringing home three points from their second Africa Cup of Nations qualifier, and that’s what matters, right? That it came at the death, when many of the country’s fans’ hearts were in their throats and those with high blood pressure were reaching for their medication should be neither here nor there. Or is it? There surely has to be a case for lamenting Bafana leaving things as late as they have in these two opening matches – Hugo Broos’ team needing last-minute goals to secure points…