Innehållsförteckning för 2025-01-06 från Cape Argus

RESIDENTS in Mitchell’s Plain have started an online petition calling for bail to be refused for a woman accused of murdering her boyfriend. This, as they highlight the reality of gender-based violence (GBV) against men. Derryn Stevens, 24, made an appearance in the Mitchell’s Plain Magistrate’s Court on Friday, where she is facing a charge of murder for the killing of Denver Pitts, 38. Family members held a protest outside of court, calling for bail to be refused. Stevens is expected back in the dock on January 23 for a formal bail application. The online petition, titled #Team Denver Pitts – Justice for Denver, is set to reach 200 people and has reached 130 so far. The State is set to prove that Stevens allegedly stabbed Pitts to death…

WHEN a book doesn’t pique your interest immediately, it often becomes a struggle to stay engaged, flipping back and forth through the chapters just to keep up. But Tasha Coryell’s thriller is a book that makes you want to finish the 316 pages in one sitting. Love Letters to a Serial Killer had me on tenterhooks from the very first page – the heading “Undisclosed Location” was already a mystery. The novel screams, “Do not skip this beginning!” The real twist is in who the true killer turns out to be. Don’t be fooled by the pretty pink cover and the promise of an unconventional love story; instead, be prepared to look over your shoulder once in a while. I was curious about Hannah, the main character, who seems lost…

Over the past few years, Test cricket has lived in an uncomfortable space in South Africa. Due to the International Cricket Council’s scheduling and Cricket SA’s decision to prioritise its domestic SA20 League, there has been a feeling that the longest format of the game may be on its last legs. But all this has changed over the past six months. Test cricket is alive and kicking and has captured the imagination of the South African public again. And this is due to Temba Bavuma’s Test side having qualified for the World Test Championship Final at Lord’s later this year. Within the overall global Test landscape and all the factors that are weighted against the Proteas, this is a monumental achievement. The support for the Proteas was further exemplified when…

HONG KONG: China said yesterday it would launch 15 measures to bolster the development of its western provinces with the construction of logistical infrastructure such as ports and aviation hubs. The General Administration of Customs said the measures would enhance the integration of rail, air, river and sea links in China’s west. The measures are to include enhancing international aviation hubs in cities including Chengdu, Chongqing, Kunming, Xi’an and Urumqi, while developing bonded zones, and integrating these with other transport links. | Reuters…

THREE knife-wielding suspects who were captured robbing an e-hailing driver have been arrested and will make their first appearance in the Athlone Magistrate’s Court. Nearly two weeks after the robbery of driver Ali Zaib, police confirmed the suspects from Hanover Park are in custody amid an outcry on social media. The incident on Christmas Eve in Rylands left the 36-year-old Pakistani father of five traumatised as initially, he did not see the first teen boy as a possible threat. In the viral clip, the suspects are seen pouncing on Zaib’s vehicle, with one immediately threatening him with a knife. The scared driver is heard telling the robbers to take what they want and even hands over the access code to his cellphone. At the time, Zaib said he had gone…

A WELL-loved security guard has been hailed a hero after he was shot and killed while responding to a home invasion in Bergvliet. Police confirmed they have yet to make an arrest for the murder of Alexander “Chris” Bottomley from Pro-Sec Technologies Security Company. Bottomley had been responding to a panic alarm and saved the lives of three family members on Friday. Police said Bottomley was shot as he entered the residence. SAPS spokesperson, Joseph Swartbooi, said: “Kirstenhof detectives are hard at work pursuing leads in a bid to apprehend the suspect who is responsible for the death of a 54-year-old man on January 3, 2025, in Princess Road, Bergvliet. “At around 4:30am, the owner of the premises was woken by a noise in the house, upon which she…

Two novels. Two Kates – Furnivall and Mosse, two protagonists with the same name – Gilles, and a similar distinguishing feature! A strange coincidence in The Crash by Kate Furnivall and The Map of Bones by Kate Mosse The Crash by Kate Furnivall and The Map of Bones by Kate Mosse, set centuries apart but the stories could not be more different. Both these novelists are powerful and popular writers and if I was to recommend holiday reading then these two are on my list. Vital, vivid and easy reads, they are stories of value that will touch you. The Crash Kate Furnivall Loot.co.za R 299 Hodder & Stoughton Kate Furnivall offers a steam train of a read in The Crash. What if something happened that allowed you to…

The year 2024 in South Africa was marked by national government elections, with the manifestos of various political organisations featuring similar commitments, such as, inter alia, tackling unemployment, enhancing education, strengthening social security, and addressing poverty. For instance, addressing the unemployment crisis is the top priority in the ANC manifesto’s six priorities, the DA’s rescue plan manifesto, and the IFP’s 13-point plan, to name just a few. This focus was predicated on factors such as the first-quarter 2024 unemployment rate, which stood at 32.9%, up from 32.1% under the ANC-led government. Evidently, South African politicians utilise the social welfare crisis in their speeches to garner votes from the marginalised. As a result, 100 days after the formation of the Government of National Unity (GNU) and the end of 2024, the…

FORMER French president Nicolas Sarkozy, already convicted twice in separate cases since leaving office, today goes on trial charged with accepting illegal campaign financing in an alleged pact with the late Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi. The career of Sarkozy has been shadowed by legal troubles since he lost the 2012 presidential election. But he remains an influential figure for many on the right and is also known to regularly meet President Emmanuel Macron. The fiercely ambitious and energetic politician, 69, who is married to the model and singer Carla Bruni and while in power from 2007-2012 liked to be known as the “hyper-president”, has been convicted in two cases, charged in another and is being investigated in connection with two more. Sarkozy will be in the dock at the Paris…

South African cricket is set for more cricket fever as the country’s premier T20 competition, the SA20 makes its return on Thursday. While the Proteas have carried South Africa on the festive mood into the new year after confirmation of their place in this year’s World Test Championship final, the conclusion of the ongoing New Year's Test match will only lead to more exciting and entertaining cricket from all parts of the country as some of the best in the world will take to the field for some white ball cricket. The Sunrisers Eastern Cape have done a little bit more than set the benchmark with their back-to-back wins of the first two editions of the competitions, and the honours will be on the rest of the sides to attempt…

THREE men aged between 20 and 22 have been arrested in connection with the grisly murder of 17-year-old Koketso Ramahlo, whose partially burnt body was discovered in a street near her home on Friday. The suspects will appear in court tomorrow to face murder charges, according to SAPS district spokesperson, Marinda Austin. Koketso’s family is still reeling in shock, saying they were unsure if she had gone out with her boyfriend on the night of her murder. Her mother, Nkhenthani Ramahlo, was too distraught to speak to the media but a close family friend, Julia Mkhari, spoke on her behalf. “The pain she is enduring is palpable, and I am deeply affected by it as well,” Mkhari said. She said Koketso left with her friends on December 31 to celebrate…

The Proof of My Innocence Jonathan Coe Loot.co.za (R 289) Europa Editions POST-university life does not suit Phyl. Time passes slowly living back home with her parents, working a zero-hour contract serving Japanese food to holidaymakers at Heathrow’s Terminal 5. As for her budding plans of becoming a writer, those are going nowhere. That is, until family friend Chris comes to stay. He’s been on the path to uncover a sinister think-tank, founded at Cambridge University in the 1980s, that’s been scheming to push the British government in a more extreme direction. One that’s finally poised to put their plans into action. But speaking truth to power can be dangerous – and power will stop at nothing to stay on top. As Britain finds itself under the leadership of a…

A Whistling of Birds Isobel Dixon Loot.co.za R254 Human & Rousseau THIS is the highly accomplished and lyrical poet Isobel Dixon’s fifth collection of verses. Compared subtly on the back cover to DH Lawrence’s iconic Birds, Beasts and Flowers, Dixon observes nature in all its forms in a way that is at once complex and offers a unique sense of vulnerability. Here is a different take on the natural world whether it is observing a snake slaking its “serpent thirst” “in the cup of the concrete dam” to a “festival of frogs out of the mud” to the exquisite ode “Also Hummingbirds” in memoriam of Danie van Niekerk to the poet’s Self Portrait in Sweet Woodruff: ...“let me lie in the undergrowth feel sorrow pass from me into the earth”...…

MY Person of the Year is the South African. That person who, forever must be resilient, understanding, forgiving, go the extra mile and accept that whatever is happening to them is for their good, no matter how bad what is happening to them might be. For too long the South African individual has had to put up with the government’s ineptitude, ministers’ egos, councillors’ failures and civil servants' arrogance. They have been standing in queues since April 27, 1994. The queue is the only thing we all have in common. Associated with the queue is the South African’s ability to wait. We queue at clinics, hospitals, Home Affairs, banks, Sassa offices, soup kitchens and taxi ranks. In these queues, we wait. And when the cubicle in front of us closes…

TRIPOLI: Hundreds protested in Lebanon’s second city Tripoli yesterday, demanding that authorities release Islamists detained during the civil war in neighbouring Syria, an AFP journalist said. The prisoners include Lebanese who had gone to fight with rebels and jihadists against the forces of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad during the conflict, which began in 2011, and were arrested upon their return to Lebanon. “We want to increase pressure on the Lebanese authorities to release all Islamist detainees,” said protester Ahmad al-Shimali. | AFP…