Innehållsförteckning för 2023-01-11 från Cape Argus

If love and laughter coupled with a bit of drama are on your bucket list for 2023, you are in for a treat as the popular Afrikaans play Tien Duisend Ton makes its return to the stage after a three-year break. It premiered at Woordfees in Stellenbosch in March of 2019. Later that year it opened at the Aardklop in Potchefstroom and now it’s headed to the Market Theatre for a limited season, from January 20 until February 5. Based on the British playwright Duncan Macmillan’s production Lungs, Tien Duisend Ton is translated into Afrikaans. Directed by Nico Scheepers, it stars Albert Pretorius and Cintaine Schutte. “I got the idea from the script. At the time I hadn’t seen the play,” Scheepers told IOL Entertainment. “I was already a…

THE Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) said yesterday that it would impose two R7.5 million fines on former Steinhoff CEO Markus Jooste for his failures and “transgressions” at Steinhoff. In addition, the JSE would be barring Jooste from serving as a director for 20 years. However, according to the JSE’s statement, Jooste has challenged their findings. “Jooste informed the JSE that he does not agree with the JSE’s decision and findings and that he intended exercising his rights to challenge the JSE’s decision in terms of the provisions of the Financial Sector Regulation Act (FSRA).” The JSE said that “on December 14, 2022, Jooste applied to the Financial Services Tribunal for an order suspending the decisions of the JSE. On that same day, Jooste also applied for the reconsideration of the…

Cape Town, start your engines! The ink on the new Killarney International Raceway lease agreement is dry and the Western Province Motor Club’s (WPMC) chequered flag is all set to unfurl. Details of the new lease agreement include the retention of racing as the predominant use of the site. The lease agreement allows WPMC to plan for investment in its infrastructure and events in a bid to further boost the local economy. WPMC plans to expand its membership base by improving and extending Killarney’s facilities, not least by building a dedicated spinning and drifting facility. It also expects to draw on Cape Town’s tourism offerings and branding to attract international competitors. Economic growth Mayco member James Vos called it “yet another milestone boost for economic growth, jobs”. Vos said: “Motorsport…

With more than 2 million followers, Fikile Mbalula tops the list as one of the government’s leading Twitter account holders. The second most popular departmental account is that of the SAPS at 1 million followers, up from 889 000 in 2021. According to Decode Communication’s annual report on SA government leaders on Twitter, the government has significantly improved its use of the social media platform. Decode revealed that the government’s Twitter usage grew from 67% in 2021 to 72% last year. “Mbalula is followed by President Cyril Ramaphosa, whose account has a healthy following of 2.5 million, up from 2.1 million the previous year – a whopping 20.25% growth,” said Decode CEO Lorato Tshenkeng. He said although all top 10 government Twitter accounts showed growth in…

Faf du Plessis will be returning to Super Kings yellow tonight for the first time since he left the Indian Premier League franchise a couple of seasons ago. Du Plessis captains Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL now, but it is with the Chennai Super Kings that he forged his reputation as a T20 superstar. With the launch of the new SA20 that got under way at Newlands last night, there wasn’t much hesitation from the IPL franchise to get Du Plessis back among their ranks. The former Proteas skipper will lead the Joburg Super Kings into battle in the inaugural tournament, and his knowledge of how the franchise operates will play a big role helping them hit the ground running in their opening match against Durban Super Giants at…

Ruan Nortje has had a difficult introduction to the Bulls captaincy, and after two consecutive South African derby defeats, he may have felt that the situation couldn’t get any worse. But it did last week ahead of the United Rugby Championship (URC) clash against the Dragons. It would not have been easy to try to pick up the morale of the team after losing to the Stormers and Sharks to end 2022, but then the Pretoria side faced an arduous trip to Wales to take on the Dragons. And once they arrived in Newport, director of rugby Jake White was laid low by a stomach issue that eventually became so serious that he needed an operation on his return to South Africa on Sunday. Thankfully, the former Springbok coach is…

The City of Cape Town announced the closure of Llandudno Beach on Monday until further notice. The City said in a statement that the closure of the beach was a precautionary measure for the safety of all. “There was an overflow from a sewer pump station after an ultrasonic level sensor became faulty due to a power surge caused by load shedding. “This sensor has been replaced. The overflow has stopped. “This sensor helps to measure the sump (storage) levels at the pump station so that pumps can be switched on or off automatically to help manage the flow of sewage through this site. The City continues to monitor this situation,” it said. Various departments within the City were activated to respond to the incident. According to the City, its…

“WE are ashamed,” said the family of one of the men arrested for purchasing stolen goods belonging to relief organisation Gift of the Givers (GOTG). GOTG founder Dr Imtiaz Sooliman met the family of the 38-year-old man who had purchased some of the stolen goods, taken from its two-storey Penlyn Estate offices on Monday. GOTG project manager Ali Sablay said seven suspects could be seen in security footage obtained, getting out of a white Quantum at 3.20am on Monday, minutes before the scheduled load shedding at 4am until 6am. The suspects ransacked its offices during load shedding. “The items retrieved were the frame, microwave, PC monitors. The TV has been found in Grassy Park police station, we have to go pick it up there. A lot of boxes of clothing…

In A move seen as global recognition of South Africa’s contribution to torture prevention, South African Human Rights Commissioner Chris Nissen has been elected to the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT). As the commissioner responsible for civil and political rights at the SAHRC, Nissen has for the last three years been at the forefront of the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) for torture prevention. The NPM carries out its mandate through a system of regular visits to what Nissen refers to as “places of deprivation of liberty.” These include prisons and police cells in order to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Speaking to the Cape Argus about the NPM’s work, Nissen said it involved inspecting places of detention such as child and youth…

Rheinmetall Denel Munition (RDM) has won a triple-digit million-euro contract for an explosives factory in Hungary. This contract comes immediately after RDM scored a deal to supply an unnamed Nato country with 155mm ammunition valued in the “mid three million digit Euro range”. In the latest deal, Hungary is building an explosives plant to produce RDX (Research Department eXplosive), and in line with the deal, RDM will supply the necessary plant technology. The contract specifies that a new plant will be built and operated by a joint venture consisting of Rheinmetall and N7 Holding, a state-owned Hungarian enterprise. Rheinmetall Denel Munition (Pty) Ltd (RDM) is jointly owned by Rheinmetall Waffe Munition GmbH of Germany and Denel (Pty) Ltd South Africa. Denel is a…

Premier League clubs Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur or Liverpool are being targeted by Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) over a potential acquisition, Bloomberg News reported this week. QSI chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi recently held talks with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy over a possible purchase of a stake in the club, the report said on Monday, citing a person with knowledge of the matter. QSI is considering either a total takeover or a stake in United or Liverpool, according to the report. In an emailed response, Spurs said “there is no truth in reports that a meeting took place regarding the sale of equity in the club”. United’s US owners, the Glazer family, have been looking at options for the 20-time English top-flight champions, including a new investment or a potential sale. In…

The SA20 is being billed as the future of South African cricket, and on the evidence of last night’s opener at a heaving Newlands, Dewald Brevis will be the poster boy. Brevis lit up the grand old ground with a sparkling 70 not out (41 balls, 4x4, 5x6) to ease MI Cape Town to a rousing eight-wicket victory over the Paarl Royals. However, it was not just the Brevis show, after England’s superstar fast bowler Jofra Archer had everyone salivating earlier in the afternoon. This is what this brand-new tournament had promised: a world-class fast bowler operating at full tilt. And the MI Cape Town superstar did not disappoint as he whistled past Paarl Royals’ Wihan Lubbe’s outside edge. The SA20 had lift-off, and a packed Newlands was buzzing. They…

THE resettlement of close to 1 500 fire victims has hit a snag as the City blames the national government’s grant cuts for its failure to provide the shack dwellers with starter kits to rebuild their homes. Touring through four of the areas affected by devastating fires over the past few weeks, Human Settlements Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi yesterday hinted that her department would provide the starter kits. Kubayi, alongside human settlements Mayco member Malusi Booi, inspected the informal settlements and spoke to some of the fire victims about planned interventions. It was during these inspections that the residents, especially in Town Two, Khayelitsha, aired their frustrations. On December 30, 233 people were displaced in Du Noon when a fire ravaged 106 structures while three people died and four were…

A week into their long journey in the Cape2Rio sailing race, the crews – including the Alexforbes ArchAngel crew from Masiphumelele, Khayelitsha, Grassy Park and Athlone in Cape Town – updated their supporters on how they were faring on the gruelling sea odyssey. This is the 50th anniversary of the race between the Royal Cape Yacht Club (RCYC) and the Iate Clube do Rio De Janeiro, and it started on January 2 with 16 crews competing in the 3 300 nautical mile and 22-day long race. The Alexforbes Archangels vessel, with six young sailors trained by the RCYC Sailing Academy, made history as the first complete crew from marginalised communities to compete. On board was skipper Sibusiso Sizatu, 30, first mate Daniel Agulhas, 29, Renaldo Mohale, 29, Thando Mntambo,…

THE spread of Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease (RHD) is continuing in the Western, Eastern and Northern Cape provinces and there have been approximately 250 deaths of wild rabbits and hares in the Western Cape alone since the disease broke out in November. Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) spokesperson Reggie Ngcobo said private companies had been contacted regarding importation of vaccine and his department was working to import monovalent RHDV2 vaccine for use in South Africa, the strain confirmed in the country. “The paperwork is being processed by the relevant bodies and the vaccine may be imported once all necessary protocols are approved,” Ngcobo said. The vaccine will be imported by the relevant vaccine manufacturers through Sahpra and Act 36 approval as there was currently no treatment in…

Premier League leaders Arsenal booked an FA Cup fourth round clash with Manchester City after they beat third-tier Oxford United 3-0 on Monday night, thanks to second-half goals from Mohamed Elneny and Eddie Nketiah. Oxford more then held their own in the first half, giving Arsenal a few worrying moments while restricting their illustrious opponents to half chances. Once the deadlock was broken by Elneny, with a bullet header from a Fabio Vieira free-kick in the 63rd minute, Arsenal were too strong for Oxford. It was the Egyptian’s first goal for his club since May 2021. Nketiah made sure of the win seven minutes later from another Vieira assist, before he netted his fifth goal in his last five games in all competitions for the Gunners 14 minutes from time…

Gareth Bale retires from football with his place as one of Britain’s greatest players secure after a spectacular career at home and abroad. The Welshman was once the world’s most expensive player when he moved to Real Madrid from Tottenham Hotspur in 2013, and went on to win the Uefa Champions League five times with the Spanish giants. However, he will be most fondly remembered and loved in his homeland for his achievements in dragging Wales from the wilderness of international football to two European Championships and a first World Cup since 1958. At the peak of his powers, Bale inspired Wales to the semi-finals of Euro 2016 in their first major international tournament for 58 years. The 33-year-old leaves the stage with a record 111 caps for Wales and…

Lionel Messi is expected to make his first appearance for Paris Saint-Germain since his Fifa World Cup triumph in a Ligue 1 encounter at home against Angers today, as the Qatar-owned club look to tie the Argentine superstar down to a new contract. The 35-year-old took part in training with his teammates yesterday, a little over three weeks after inspiring Argentina to victory over France on penalties in an epic World Cup final in Qatar. He was granted a two-week holiday back in his home country following the tournament, before returning to Paris and being given a guard of honour at PSG’s training ground last Wednesday. The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner, who scored 12 goals in 19 games this season for his club prior to the World Cup, did not…