Innehållsförteckning för 2024-01-12 från Cape Argus

Palestinians hail historic day at World Court NATIONAL pride swelled yesterday as South African lawyers took their fight to prevent further loss of life in Gaza, Palestine to the World Court. South Africa’s legal team detailed what it believed to be breaches of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention) by Israel in relation to its military aggression and human rights violations in Gaza, while highlighting this in the context of the decades-long occupation of Palestine and 16-year siege of Gaza. What has globally been described as a historic and landmark case, South Africa presented its oral arguments in front of the 15 judges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague, Netherlands. As the hearings inched closer, more nations expressed…

German software company SAP has agreed to pay around $222 million (about R4.1 billion) in damages for bribery schemes in seven countries, according to US authorities. The company signed a three-year deferred prosecution agreement to mitigate the criminal charges, the US Department of Justice said. SAP has been involved in bribery allegations of government officials in South Africa and Indonesia to get more business. In terms of the agreement, criminal charges will be removed after three years. SAP has also engaged in a civil settlement with US authorities over bribery charges with Malawi, Tanzania, Ghana, Kenya and Azerbaijan. “The company has accepted responsibility for corrupt practices that hurt honest businesses engaging in global commerce,” Jessica Aber, US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia said in a statement. Between 2013…

Local football legend Boebie Solomons is to take charge of a South African Invitational XI that will square off against the Palestine national team in Cape Town next month. The match, to be played at Athlone Stadium, will form part of the Football for Humanity event hosted in the Mother City in conjunction with Sport Stepping Stones (SSS). Solomons, who has coached a number of teams around the country, will be assisted by fellow South African greats Jomo Sono and Farouk Abrahams. “We have now reached the point where the invite for the Palestinian team has been accepted,” Solomons confirmed, adding that Fifa and Safa had given the green light. “(On Tuesday), we had a call from the president of the Palestine Football Association, Jibril Rajoub, and everything is in…

Calling all cyclists, have you got your bicycles and kit ready for the 46th Cape Town Cycle Tour? Entries are set to close on Wednesday, January 31 and participants are urged to book as soon as possible to avoid the price increase on Monday. If you’re still scrambling around to get your last-minute chains and bars sorted, don’t worry, we bring you all you need to know ahead of the anticipated race in March. David Bellairs, Cape Town Cycle Tour director, said: “Its 2024 and things are heating up here at the Cape Town cycle tour offices. We’re about two months out from this year’s edition of the Cape Town Cycle Tour and we’re looking forward to sharing the road with thousands of other cyclists for Cape town’s biggest party…

The Stormers had a few nail-biting wins in December over some strong teams – two one-pointers and a six-pointer, to be exact, that all went down to the wire. The Champions Cup victory over La Rochelle was important in the context of the tournament, and tomorrow, another must-win clash against the Sale Sharks (7.30pm kick-off) awaits at home. Rugby writer looks at five things the Stormers will have to be good at to trump the English Premiership side at the Cape Town Stadium. Breakdown protection It’s probably the biggest area they can improve on in their overall game: hitting the breakdowns a little quicker and with more accuracy. La Rochelle and the Durban-based Sharks upstaged them at the breakdown. Sale will definitely target this area of the Stormers’ game…

South Africa’s struggle against crime is facing a severe setback due to the alarming increase in the theft of state and police firearms, as recent parliamentary inquiries and responses have revealed. In a concerning disclosure, Police Minister Bheki Cele admitted to the steady loss of SAPS firearms under his leadership. According to his parliamentary response to the DA, Cele revealed that 1 725 SAPS firearms were stolen between April 2021 and July 2023, averaging 61 firearms per month. According to Okkie Terblanche, the DA spokesperson for police, the figures for the 2023/24 financial year are on track to surpass 800, the highest in more than a decade. “The fact that 1 725 firearms have been stolen means that there are potentially up to 1 725 more criminals in South Africa,…

After a sombre festive season, residents in Dunoon were given reason to smile yesterday when they received disaster relief packs. Ilitha Labantu, in partnership with the Church of the Latter Day Saints, has donated disaster relief packs to the Dunoon families whose homes burnt down before Christmas. Resident Simphiwe Thanta said they had a sombre festive season after more than 50 people were displaced from the Thembeni informal settlement in Dunoon. “This was not the first fire incident. In December 2022, our homes were razed by a blaze. And then we had this fire, it was very devastating because it seems like every year we have to buy new furniture and appliances. Most people bought uniforms and stationery during the year to stockpile for the following year and some have…

ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa said that he was not fazed by ActionSA’s attempts to investigate his party’s multi-million rand debt settlement with Ezulwini Investments. He said that the four-year R102 million debt had been settled through the treasurer-general’s office. “The settlement is fairly straightforward,” he said. The president invited anyone who wished to probe the legitimacy of the settlement to go ahead with their attempts. “Whoever wants to look at that may do so if they do wish, it’s a settlement of the debt that the ANC had,” he said. This after ActionSA national chairperson Michael Beaumont revealed that his party had written to the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) for party funding, seeking an investigation into the ANC’s settlement of debt with Ezulweni Investments. According to Beaumont,…

The Cape of Good Hope SPCA Wildlife Department discovered something different when they helped a Kalk Bay seal who was found with an unusual object around his neck. Brutus, a resident adult male seal at the Kalk Bay harbour, was discovered wearing a new neck “adornment”. Belinda Abrahams, a spokesperson for the SPCA, said that Brutus was approached while still in his morning slumber in the sun on the harbour pier. “Sensing disturbance, Brutus opened a wary eye and regarded his ‘helper’ with disdain but also seemed to understand what the objective was “He drew himself up on his fore-flippers and yawned a big yawn, exposing the entanglement that was now noted to be already cutting into his flesh,” she explained. A piece of plastic was all that could be…

South Africa is at a crossroads of a significant educational and vocational transition as it shifts from the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) to the Occupational Qualifications Sub Framework (OQSF) managed by the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO). The CEO of the QCTO, Vijayen Naidoo, has declared that the transition was imminent and that existing qualifications would not be re- registered. Long anticipated but now undeniable, the shift carries substantial implications for various industries, employers, and training providers now referred to as skills development providers. Once readily available under the NQF, qualifications soon slated for discontinuation in the OQSF framework will present a challenge for companies accustomed to providing specific training programmes. The repercussions extend beyond individual learning journeys and extend to the business world, impacting B-BBEE scorecards.…

Police are investigating an incident in which a two-year-old was allegedly raped at a hospital. The incident happened on Wednesday afternoon at Wesfleur Hospital, Atlantis. The man who is accused of the rape is not an employee at the facility. A witness, who was present when the incident took place, said: “I heard a commotion and I went to see what was going on. “I saw the suspect run out of the bathroom and the mom of the victim came out fuming. She said she just assaulted the man out of anger because he raped her daughter.” He said the suspect was then apprehended by security staff. “They called the police and then he was taken away from the hospital. “This has left everyone in shock, and people were vigilant…

The City of Cape Town has announced an independent power tender in its aim to mitigate the impact of load shedding and reduce its reliance on Eskom. It said the latest tender is in line with its plan of adding independent power to the City’s grid. Mayoral committee member for energy, Councillor Beverley van Reenen said the City intends to procure power from existing generators in line with its objective of being able to mitigate load shedding over time. She said a two-pronged procurement structure will be followed allowing bidders to supplement dispatchable/reserve power with an option self-dispatchable component (with the latter being at a lower cost than the prevailing Eskom Megaflex Tariff). Van Reenen said the maximum procured capacities envisaged (depending on the level of response and pricing),…

The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) has clarified that not all 74 000 deceased recipients were ghost accounts. This follows a story aired by the SABC in which it was stated that more than 74 000 deceased recipients were wrongly paid by Sassa. This was after a parliamentary question by Social Development Minister Lindiwe Sisulu. “As much as we are aware of some corrupt activities taking place, which our fraud and compliance unit is dealing with on a daily basis, as Sassa, we can confirm that the majority of this is not due to corruption but rather due to the timing of reporting of death by the responsible family members versus the date on which Sassa extracts payments for the affected clients,” Sassa spokesperson Paseka Letsatsi said. Letsatsi said…

A newly established initiative aimed at keeping visitors to the Table Mountain National Park has just received a R4 million boost from the provincial government. The announcement made by MEC Finance and Economic Opportunities, Mireille Wenger, comes amid a collaboration between provincial government, the City of Cape Town, SANparks and other entities. Speaking during an oversight visit yesterday, Mayco member for Safety and Security, JP Smith explained the issues with the safety of hikers and visitors to the mountain were raised in August last year. He said in October they recorded 36 incidents which included robberies and chain-snatching of mountain users on the mountain and in the CBD. “We came together to start the Table Mountain Safety Forum which includes various stakeholders but also saw additional law-enforcement officers to the…

How the West sheltered Nazi criminals WHAT happened late last year in Canada made headlines for a couple of weeks in a row, yet quickly began to fade from public discussion. We would like to elaborate on some of the issues mainstream media rarely talked about and that should not be left out of sight. On September 22, Yaroslav Hunka, an ethnic Ukrainian permanently residing in Canada, was invited to a special session of the country’s parliament attended by President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine. Chairperson of the House of Commons, Anthony Rota, introduced Hunka as a veteran “who fought Russians” during WWII and as a “Ukrainian and Canadian hero”. Those present, including the state leaders, responded with applause. An international scandal followed the next day. The chairperson failed to specify…

It was just a couple of weeks ago that Jos Buttler had the best seat in the house when Phil Salt was on a record-breaking run spree in the Caribbean. Salt blasted two consecutive T20 centuries to help England come back from 2-0 behind to level the series against the West Indies. Buttler, his opening partner, got to enjoy the fireworks from the non-striker’s end as the pair put together partnerships of 115 and 117. This evening at Boland Park (5.30pm start), Buttler will again be looking on closely. Only this time he will be hoping that it won’t be for too long as he will be behind the stumps for Paarl Royals, with Salt opening the batting for the Pretoria Capitals in the SA20. Does Buttler have any…

All-rounder Shivam Dube hit an unbeaten half-century and took a wicket to lead India to a comfortable win over Afghanistan in the first T20 international yesterday. Dube, a left-handed batsman, made 60 off 40 balls for his second T20 fifty as India chased down their victory target of 159 with 15 balls and six wickets to spare at Mohali. India lead the three-match series 1-0 as they prepare for the T20 World Cup in June. India’s bowlers, led by spinner Axar Patel, restricted Afghanistan to 158-5 despite an attacking 42 by Mohammad Nabi on a chilly winter evening. Axar and fast bowler Mukesh Kumar took two wickets each while Dube returned figures of 1-9 from his two overs of medium-pace bowling. But it was his batting that made the difference…