Innehållsförteckning för 2024-01-04 från Cape Argus

There’s a spectacular moment in the last third of Michael Mann’s Ferrari when the dangerous, two-day, roughly 1 000-mile (about 1 600km) test of endurance called the Mille Miglia enters Bologna. The year is 1957, and this the first time in the film that the swarm of Ferraris, Maseratis and Alfa Romeos has been bottlenecked into a city. Now, instead of jockeying for place on country roads, where a crash will send a driver careening into a field, they’re all trying to squeeze past one another on narrow cobblestone streets, with a canyon of ancient and unforgiving brick walls towering above them. Then, with one deft movement, the camera lands on a single red Ferrari and the face of its driver, Piero Taruffi, “The Silver Fox”, played by Patrick…

Car jammers were stopped in their tracks on their way to the Winelands region of Stellenbosch. The suspects were prevented from committing their planned crime after municipal law enforcement officers received a tip-off about an incident in Bird Street on Tuesday. When the suspects spotted the officers they made a run for it, but one suspect was apprehended. Two devices, identified as car-jamming implements, were dropped by the suspect. The Stellenbosch Municipality described the vigilance of the public as playing a huge role in stopping the crime. “This would not have been possible without the vigilance of a member of the public, who immediately contacted our municipal control room as well as the additional guards assisting with parking and safety in the CBD area,” it said. A suspect was apprehended…

Western Cape Police Oversight and Community Safety MEC Reagen Allen has lauded the police for the swift arrest of two men who were implicated in the New Year’s Day triple murder in Gugulethu. The young victims aged 14 and 17 were in a car with another person who was left wounded. The suspects who were in another vehicle allegedly drove up to the car, which was parked on NY 137, and sprayed bullets at the occupants. A community member said: “They were still in school. We know that they were not gangsters or involved in criminal activities. “We don’t know why they were killed. I didn’t see the shooting but I heard lots of gunshots and when I went out to investigate the young boys had bullet wounds. At the…

A fire razed the homes of 30 families in the Barcelona informal settlement after a child allegedly threw a firecracker at an old mattress. Residents said the children were playing near a shack where the fire started at about 2pm in Gugulethu. One resident said: “I wasn’t around when the kids were playing with the crackers, I wasn’t around when the fire started. “One child who is pointed out as the main culprit is about 4 years old, even though we know there may have been older kids with him. There is nothing that we can do because they were just playing and we have no choice but to restart our lives. “The sad thing is that the City doesn’t provide building material any more. We have to find our…

Aerial resources dropped more than 4 million litres of water and flew an accumulated 1100 flight hours to bring the Castle Rock fire in Simon’s Town under control. The blaze persisted for almost a week. Working on Fire (WoF) said the Kishugu Joint Venture had a busy start to the fire season in the Western Cape and anticipated increased activity due to abnormal weather patterns influenced by El Niño. “Since the beginning of the season in December, the combined ground and aerial resources of WoF have been instrumental in combating and successfully extinguishing 36 fires. Ground crews were dispatched 118 times,” WoF said. Following a season characterised by frequent rainfall, the aerial resources in December 2023 flew for over 600 hours and executed nearly 6 000 water drops totalling…

After setting a world record for the longest beach clean up of 27 hours, environmental activist Zoe Prinsloo, 21, is back at it again and will be embarking on a coast-to-coast beach clean up this year covering the coastline of South Africa. Prinsloo founded her non-profit company Save a Fishie at the age of 16 and has been conducting regular clean-ups across beaches in Cape Town for more than five years. She has received numerous accolades, including being selected to attend the UN Youth Climate Summit in New York City in September 2019, after demonstrating commitment to addressing the climate crisis. She was named one of the Top 100 African Youth Conservation Leaders of 2021. Last year, they cleaned 111 beaches in 71 days, removing 3.6 tons of waste, which…

As the sun sets on another year, the beginning of a new chapter serves as a marker of time for us to re-examine our lives. Whether you are well-versed in wisdom or beginning the journey, know that there are insights that have stood the test of time and aim to illuminate your inner light, shining as brightly as the strongest star in the sky in 2024. In the beginning, only probabilities existed. The existence of the universe was only possible if someone observed it. Today, we are aware of the existence of the universe, which is why it exists. The universe operates on reason and every challenge is designed to serve a purpose in the overall context of life. Unforeseen challenges that arise are meant to test your willpower on…

Wandisile Simelane is the perfect Stormers project for 2024. Known for how they’ve turned careers of “rejects” at other franchises around and made them world beaters in club rugby, Cape Town can be the perfect spot for the promising Simelane to find his mojo again and rediscover his love for the game. He is only 25 years old, and his best rugby still lies ahead of him, but Simelane was shoved around for too long and did not fulfill his potential at the Lions or the Bulls. Not too long ago, John Dobson and his coaching staff turned around the fortunes of Springbok Manie Libbok, who had forgetful spells at the Bulls and Sharks. He became a World Cup winner. Loose forward Hacjivah Dayimani is another feel-good story out…

Mzansi social media users are calling for dancer and entertainer Zodwa Wabantu to be cancelled. The entertainer is trending for all the wrong reasons and according to scores of X users, she should not be booked for any future events after a video of one of her dances emerged online. In the video, a female dancer is seen lying on the floor with her feet in the air, while she inserts a bottle into her private regions. Wabantu endured the wrath of social media users when she was shown encouraging the dancer’s risqué antics in the video. In another video that trended, Wabantu is seen sitting on a stage while a man performs oral sex on her, exacerbating calls for her to be cancelled. The “inappropriate video” has left…

Former Paralympian Oscar Pistorius, who has spent more than eight years behind bars for the murder of his then-girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, will return home tomorrow. According to media reports, Pistorius will spend his time at his uncle’s luxurious three-storey mansion located in Pretoria’s exclusive Waterkloof suburb. UK publication The Mirror has reported that the mansion is heavily guarded by attack dogs and razor-wire fences. Pistorius became eligible for parole in March 2023, after serving half of his 13-year, five-month sentence. His parole was granted on November 24. He was sentenced in 2014 after being found guilty of culpable homicide after he shot and killed Steenkamp in the early hours of Valentine’s Day 2013. In 2016, High Court Judge Judge Thokozile Masipa sentenced Pistorius to six years in jail, but that…

Two families who live metres apart have lost their homes after a fire broke out in Pinelands. Ebrahiem Parker said he was at his Forest Drive home when the blaze started on Tuesday afternoon. Around the corner on Peak Drive, Hennie du Plooy received a call while on holiday with his family and heard that his house was gutted. The incident happened around 1pm and no one could say what had caused the fire. Parker said: “I was at home with my parents and children, and then we just saw smoke and then flames. “We escaped unharmed but every- thing is gone, including my wallet.” When the Cape Argus arrived at the house, the family were trying to salvage what they could. “We are waiting for the insurance company and…

The trend of teen births in the country has raised huge concern among the Health MECs of various provinces. The country recorded 1 703 births on New Year’s Day, 190 being teen moms. The youngest recorded were two 14-year-old girls from KwaZulu- Natal and the Eastern Cape. This comes after a red flag was raised with 145 Christmas babies being born to teens across the country. The National Health Department expressed concern about the increasing number of teen mothers and the potential to affect their future. In the Western Cape, 10 out of the 253 New Year’s babies were recorded to have been delivered by teen moms. The province’s Health MEC Nomafrench Mbombo highlighted the importance of the roles of fathers in the babies’ development. “As per the First…

The Cart Horse Protection Association (CHPA) has issued a stern warning that all horses must be off the road. The alert, issued on Tuesday, came after temperatures in Cape Town soared to 35°C since the start of the new year. Megan White, spokesperson for the CHPA, said: “We have got a WhatsApp group with cart horse owners and we asked them to please not work with them because it is too hot,” she said. White said that since the warning had been issued, the association’s four inspectors had been inundated with complaints of horse sightings. “It was chaos, we probably had over 50 complaints of people phoning in and letting us know where the horses were and we would get our inspectors out there,” she said. Most of the complaints…

Cape Town’s much loved jazz music festival takes place once again and returns with a shift packed with loads of exciting additions. JCQ Productions’ Craig Parks recently announced a collaboration with the brand new Karoo 62 -Escape private nature reserve in Ladismith. Craig said: “The Cape Town Jazzathon takes on a different approach over the next few years with quite a few changes to both the format of the festival, and the programmes leading up to the festival.” In a first, the Cape Town Jazzathon will host three festivals including a free Summer Showcase at the Amphitheatre, V&A Waterfront 12-14 January, a long weekend festival over the Easter period and a ticketed festival in June 2024. The latest development includes the first ever Easter Jazz Camp being held at…

MOPPING-UP operations at the Shelley Point Hotel & Spa in St Helena Bay have commenced after a devastating fire ripped through the iconic establishment on Tuesday. The blaze, which started in a kitchen on Tuesday morning, led to the complete evacuation of hotel guests and staff as firefighters from different municipalities on the West Coast banded together to battle the blaze. Carel Steenkamp, CEO of the Lone Bull group, said they were conducting assessments to determine the extent of the damages. He said the hotel, which is visited by an estimated 10 000 people each year, was first constructed in 2007. “The main block and A block was constructed in 2007 and the B block in 2009. “A full refurbishment was done in 2018/19. “ We are busy with assessments,…

The Gauteng Department of Health has reported that throughout the festive season leading up to New Year, there was a notable decrease in calls about medical matters. These calls were followed by those connected to trauma cases, accidents and suicide. When comparing the data to the previous year, the emergency case statistics show a slight decrease in call volumes. The Emergency Communication Centre received 1 929 calls within the same time period in 2022-2023. Gauteng MEC for Health and Wellness Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko expressed satisfaction with how the Gauteng Emergency Medical Service (EMS) responded. “I want to commend our dedicated health-care workers across the Gauteng health system who have been working tirelessly during this busy period,” said Nkomo-Ralehoko. Emergency cases attended to between December 15 and January 1 in 2022/2023…

Heavy rains and thunderstorms during the festive season left a trail of death and destruction in KwaZulu-Natal, according to the KZN Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), with the official death toll reaching 31. Provincial Cogta spokesperson Siboniso Mngadi said the death toll since October due to weather-related events was 40. Yesterday, the department said three people who went missing last month were still unaccounted for in the province. Cogta MEC Bongiwe Sithole-Moloi said in the latest incidents, a man was struck by lightning in Eshowe on New Year’s Eve, while a 64-year-old drowned while swimming on the beach on the South Coast. “We extend our heartfelt condolences to all the affected families who have tragically lost their loved ones during a time when many were enjoying and…

The Thabo Mbeki Foundation has rubbished fake news on social media suggesting that former president Thabo Mbeki has passed away. Some of the claims were that Mbeki was sick. The foundation confirmed that the former statesman was alive and in good health. “We categorically deny these reports and wish to assure the public that President Mbeki is in good health,” it said in a statement. This is not the first case where misinformation was reported about Mbeki’s health and wellbeing. In 2021, false reports claimed that Mbeki had died due to Covid-19 after battling the virus for almost a week. Mbeki served as the second black president of South Africa from 1999 to 2008 after taking over from Nelson Mandela. The foundation urged people to stay away from fake news…

The recent untimely and tragic death of theatre and music icon Mbongeni Ngema in a car crash adds to the despair we feel as we rue the mounting death toll on our roads each festive season. Poet John Donne once wrote: “Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.” A part of the famous quote was adopted by Ernest Hemingway as a title for one of his novels. The death of a famous artist such as Ngema diminishes us all as a nation and we mourn his death. According to a report in The Star, the passing of Ngema drew fulsome praise from many influential South Africans (“Mbongeni Ngema leaves a rich…

CAPE Town sports personality and teacher Irafaan Abrahams shared his near-death experience after being caught in a riptide in Scarborough on Tuesday. The athlete, who has been taking part in various marathons to raise funds for children’s school shoes, said he was at a point where his life flashed before his eyes, when surfer Stephen “Dassie” Guess noticed he was in distress. An overwhelmed Abrahams spoke to Independent Media just hours after the ordeal and broke into tears recalling what could have been his last few moments on Earth. “I am just so glad my children didn’t see anything, because it would’ve been an even more traumatic event then, right now I just have that feeling of blessing over me, things could’ve been so different if it wasn't for Dassie.…

In an attempt to increase youth creativity and uplift society through art within the country, the Wu Tang Cru will be representing South Africa and has been invited to participate in the UDO World Street Dance Championships later this year. On receiving the invitation, director and coach Sanusha Govender said: “We love our province dearly and are always honoured to represent KwaZulu-Natal at the interprovincial tournaments. Here, the team will earn their Protea colours in dance, which has been a goal for five years.” With expertise in visual art, education and accolades in dance, Govender and Jose Africa established Wu Tang Cru – a non-profit organisation – in 2018. Both Africa and Govender have been involved in dance since they were young. She added that along with fellow coach and…

It took only a day for the ANC leadership in KZN to respond to the emergence of the MK party as former president Jacob Zuma’s preferred party in the 2024 elections. While the MK party has existed for several months now, it was when Zuma put his political weight behind it that it became a serious factor in the pre-election season. When the MK party first emerged, the ANC sought to discredit it. Registered on September 7 as headquartered in central eThekwini, the party immediately attracted the wrath of the ANC, with its uMkhonto weSizwe Military Veterans Association describing it as an opportunity attempt to profit from uMkhonto weSizwe, born in 1961 as an armed wing of the ANC. They said the party was not formed by genuine MK guerillas…

Second Test, day 1 SOUTH AFRICA 55 all out and 62-3 Verreynne 15; Siraj 6-15, Kumar 0-2, Bumrah 2-25 and Markram 36*; Kumar 2-25, Bumrah 1-25 INDIA 153 all out Kohli 46, Sharma 39; Ngidi 3-30, Rabada 3-38, Burger 3-42 SA trail India by 36 runs ON ANY day of a Test match, questions will be posed about the legitimacy of the wicket if and when 23 wickets fall in a single day, let alone on the first day of the match – which is precisely what transpired on the opening day of the New Year’s Test at Newlands Stadium yesterday. The Indian pace attack walked away with 13 South African wickets, while the Kagiso Rabada-led pace attack of South Africa took 10 Indian wickets in similar fashion.…

Liverpool lead the way in a tantalisingly poised Premier League title race heading into 2024 with just six points separating the top five. Champions Manchester City are ominously poised to strike in the new year despite a dip in form from last season’s treble winners, while Arsenal, Aston Villa and Tottenham are also in the mix. But it has been a disastrous start for some of the other pre-season big spenders. Manchester United, Newcastle and Chelsea are mired in mid-table having lost a combined 26 games. The promoted trio of Sheffield United, Burnley and Luton occupy the bottom three spots, but Everton’s 10-point deduction has put their 70-year stay in the top flight at risk. Here, we look at five talking points from the opening half of the season. New-look…