Innehållsförteckning för 2021-04-30 från Mercury

Sandile Mchunu sandile.mchunu@inl.co.za TONGAAT Hulett’s share price tumbled by more than 27 percent on the JSE after the troubled sugar producer and agri-processing company said yesterday that it had amended its debt reduction milestone to prevent a default. The share plunged to a low of R7.55, ending up closing the day 22.8 percent lower at R7.99. Tongaat was rocked by an accounting scandal in 2019 and an investigation by PricewaterhouseCoopers revealed that some of its former executives were responsible for overstating assets and profits by using “undesirable accounting practices”. The group implemented a turnaround strategy under chief executive Gavin Hudson, but a huge debt of around R13bn has remained a sore thumb for the group. Tongaat said yesterday it paid debt reduction proceeds of R6.01 billion to…

VERNON MCHUNU vernon.mchunu@inl.co.za COSATU yesterday disputed the assertion that the Engen refinery was not financially viable, saying the high price the company was charging for its fuel products meant that it remained a profitable business. The labour federation was reacting to the impending shutdown of the petroleum products giant’s refinery. The company has announced a decision to close its refinery and convert the South Durban-based site into an import terminal and product storage facility. Managing director and chief executive Yusa’ Hassan said that the refinery-to-terminal (RTT) repurposing initiative was based on a strategic evaluation that confirmed the plant was no longer financially viable. Hassan, who has allayed fears of job losses, added that investments required to upgrade the refinery in line with evolving fuel quality and emissions regulations would be…

VERNON MCHUNU vernon.mchunu@inl.co.za Regent of the Zulu nation, Queen Shiyiwe Mantfombi Dlamini Zulu has died. Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, traditional prime minister to the Zulu monarch and nation, made the announcement in a statement to the media last night. “It is with the deepest shock and distress that the Royal Family announces the unexpected passing of Her Majesty Queen Shiyiwe Mantfombi Dlamini Zulu, Regent of the Zulu nation,’’ said Buthelezi. “This has taken us by surprise and left us utterly bereft. It is true that the Lord alone knows the days that He has allotted to each one of us. ’’On behalf of the Royal Family, I wish to assure the nation that while we are all rightly grief-stricken, there will be no leadership vacuum in the Zulu nation. ’’Further announcements…

A BOY, 11, recently told me he felt invisible. He said that when he was around other children, they didn’t “see” him. He said they did not ask him for his opinion or seem to consider what he wanted. The boy said that whether he was there or not made no difference to the group, to any game they might be playing or to any fun they might be having. He said he had tested his theory and might as well not be there. We had an immediate connection. I understood him because it was my frequent experience as a child. He was validated in my office, as I hope is true for all my clients. He did not feel or think himself invisible in my office. My interest in…

THE weekend beckons. Hooray, hooray for the first of May! Outdoor lovin’ starts today! Also rugger – Sharks versus Stormers in Cape Town, Bulls versus Lions in Pretoria. Outdoor lovin’? Well, that’s a slogan from the northern hemisphere, where May Day is quite a thing – Morris dancing on the village green, the maypole and so on. And, by tradition, a bit of, er, outdoor lovin’. As in Cornwall. On May Day the gals of Penzance, Being bored with the lack of romance, Joined the Workers’ Parade With their banner displayed – ‘What the Pants of Penzance need is ants!’ Yes, May Day tomorrow – Morris dancing, the maypole, outdoor lovin’ – and also the Workers’ Parade. It’s internationally a special day for organised labour as well. But May Day…

MPHAHLELA M RAMMUTLA | Pretoria Minister Thoko Didiza’ s commitment to bringing in almost 10 000 agricultural extension officers will boost the development of land reform programme beneficiaries and smallholder farmers. The minister’s intentions show the government’s commitment to rebuilding the class of black commercial farmers which was deliberately destroyed by the Native Land Act of 1913. The minister reiterated this during the Smallholder Horticulture Empowerment and Promotion approach (Shep) webinar in partnership with the Japan International Co-operation Agency. Shep is a programme geared to assisting smallholder producers to increase their income through improving their productivity, better managing group dynamics and embracing the concept of farming as a business. Producers start with a market, as opposed to starting with production and seeking markets thereafter. It is not a…

ZELDA VENTER zelda.venter@inl.co.za A WOMAN who claimed she was gang raped 40 years ago during a party at a house in Durban now wants to sue her alleged attackers for R600 000 in damages. However, in order to do so, she first has to have the law changed regarding the prescription on civil claims. The woman, 57, who cannot be identified due to the nature of the alleged crime, issued summons against two of her alleged rapists in the High Court in Durban. Besides denying knowing her, let alone raping her, they objected to her claim on grounds she should have in law launched her civil claim three years after the alleged incident, unless she could prove she was not able to do so at the time. In papers filed…

Nonhlanhla Hlatshwayo nozizwe.hlatshwayo@inl.co.za YOUNG people who rose above the challenges in their lives and received good matric results, were honoured at an event hosted by the Department of Social Development (DSD) yesterday. The department celebrated top achievers who were in temporary safe care, child youth care centres, foster care and receiving child support grants. Speaking during the event at Sibaya Casino in Durban, Social Development MEC Nonhlanhla Khoza said the department was proud of the pupils who had performed well in matric. “We have children who were raised by foster parents, those who were once in conflict with the law, those who suffered from substance abuse, those who were abandoned by their parents, and those who lost their parents to HIV/Aids and were left to be raised by their grandparents.…

Thami Magubane thami.magubane@inl.co.za THE Msunduzi Municipality has resolved to hang on to its forestry business despite concerns that it is being mismanaged. Officials said in a council meeting this week that selling the business would be ill-advised as it would mean selling the land it was on as well. That, they said, would put the land beyond the reach of the municipality should it ever need it in the future. Instead of selling it, the city has proposed that the forest should be leased out to a professional company for between 20 to 30 years. This position is in contrast with what was proposed by administrator Scelo Duma. He previously proposed that the municipality consider getting rid of the forest. The municipality is not deriving financial benefit from the forest…

A MUNICIPAL officer will spend the next four years in prison after he was sentenced for corruption and fraud at the Oudtshoorn Regional Court, the Hawks said yesterday. Frikkie van Staden, 45, a superintendent for the Oudtshoorn municipality’s road and parks department, was convicted and sentenced for fraud involving over R1.9 million, Hawks spokesperson Zinzi Hani said. She said between 2010 and 2014, Van Staden, who was responsible for the maintenance of roads among other responsibilities within the municipality, instructed his sister-in-law to register a company under her name. Van Staden took over the company’s operations to secure contracts with the municipality without his sister-in-law’s knowledge, Hani said. | African News Agency (ANA)…

Time to end the politics of aggression and let Cuba function as an independent country International outrage at the continued US blockade against Cuba are at fever pitch, as protests in more than 50 cities across the world took place on Sunday, including in Pretoria. Demonstrators have demanded an end to the cruel US economic, commercial and financial blockade against Cuba, which has denied its people basic necessities, medicine and medical equipment to fight the Covid-19 pandemic. Events took place in major US cities such as New York, Washington, Detroit, Chicago, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Oakland, San Diego, San Francisco, Tampa, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, Seattle and Indianapolis. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla has said there were 243 coercive measures applied by former US president Donald Trump, which remain in force…

The raging state of the Covid-19 pandemic in India is a wake-up call for Africa that its governments and citizens must not let their guards down, the AU’s disease control agency warned yesterday. African nations generally do not have sufficient numbers of health-care workers, hospital beds, oxygen supplies, and the continent of 1.3 billion would be even more overwhelmed than India if cases surged in a similar way, said John Nkengasong, head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. He urged Africans to wear masks and avoid large gatherings, warning: “We cannot and should not find ourselves in (India’s) scenario because of the very fragile nature of our health systems.” The AU will convene a meeting with all African ministers of health on May 8, Nkengasong said,…

Yangon: Two Myanmar air force bases came under rocket attack yesterday, the military said, as the country grapples with violence in the wake of the February 1 coup. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the generals seized power, ousting civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and unleashing a wave of near-daily street protests calling for a return to democracy. Fighting has also flared up between the military and Myanmar’s numerous ethnic rebel armies, some of which have backed the protest movement and sheltered activists on the run from the junta. Air bases in the central cities of Magway and Meiktila came under rocket fire, but no damage was done. | AFP…

ESHLIN VEDAN THERE is no doubt that the coaching tactics that AmaZulu coach Benni McCarthy is using this season are arguably some of the most innovative that we have seen in the PSL era. How else do you explain the team’s transformation from being relegation candidates for the last two decades to being title contenders within nine months of the coach’s arrival? Fresh from thrashing Cape Town City 5-1 during the week, McCarthy will need to maintain his ability to get the most out of his troops again as they prepare to face Golden Arrows tomorrow. The KwaZulu-Natal derby is arguably the most eagerly anticipated clash of the season as both teams are second and third on the Premiership standings. The game will be played Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium.…

PRODUCER prices for final manufactured goods in South Africa climbed to an almost two-year high in March, driven by food, beverages and tobacco products. Data from Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) yesterday showed that annual producer price inflation (PPI) increased by 5.2 percent in March, up from 4 percent in February. StatsSA said this was the largest annual rise in headline PPI since June 2019, when the rate was 5.8 percent, and was above market expectations of 4.5 percent. Food products, beverages and tobacco products went up by 6.8 percent year-on-year. Coke, petroleum, chemical, rubber and plastic products rose by 4.2 percent, while metals, machinery, equipment and computing equipment increased by 5.2 percent over the same period. On a monthly basis, producer prices inched…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za LONDON and JSE-listed Jubilee Metals said yesterday that it had delivered the first copper concentrate from the Jubilee Sable Refinery at Project Roan ahead of schedule. Project Roan is the first of three processing plants that Jubilee aims to construct in order to recover copper and cobalt in these facilities, with the target of 25 000 tons of copper a year. At full capacity, Project Roan is expected to recover 10 000 tons of copper equivalent a year. Chief executive Leon Coetzer said the successful delivery on time of copper concentrate from Project Roan to the fully operational Sable Refinery was the first major step in the group’s commitment to achieve its targeted production of 25 000 tons of copper a year within the…

THE RAND rose at a more than one-week high against the greenback yesterday amid a subdued dollar after the US Federal Reserve held interest rates unchanged at near zero. The Fed was steadfast in its attempt to achieve the Federal Open Market Committee’s target of maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2 percent over the long term. The rand peaked at R14.15 against the dollar during intraday trade yesterday, its highest level on a closing basis since 19 April, before closing 1 cent stronger to the dollar at R14.29 by 5pm. The dollar was put under further pressure by US President Joe Biden's proposed spending plans which raised fears over the US budget and trade deficits. The rand has gained a lot of ground against the dollar…

Thami Magubane thami.magubane@inl.co.za THE eThekwini Municipality should take punitive action against city officials who are not doing their jobs in order to ensure that the city achieves its ambition of efficient service and a clean audit. That is the view of some opposition parties in the council after the staff from the office of the auditor-general tabled the city’s 2019/20 audit outcomes yesterday. It showed that the municipality had achieved an unqualified audit with findings, the same audit finding it has received over the past three years. While the overall audit outcome was positive, the A-G raised numerous concerns. The report also covered the city’s entities and found that some had regressed. IFP councillor Mdu Nkosi said it was only the failure of the officials that stopped the city from…

Egyptian archaeologists working on the Nile Delta have uncovered dozens of rare pre-dynastic tombs dating to the period before Egypt’s pharaonic kingdoms first emerged more than 5 000 years ago. They also found tombs nearby from the later Hyksos period (1 650 to 1 500 BC), when Western Asian migrants took over the country, putting an end to Egypt’s Middle Kingdom. The tombs include 68 from the Buto period that began around 3 300 BC and five from the Naqada III period, which was just before the emergence of Egypt’s first dynasty around 3 100 BC, said the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. They also include 37 tombs from the time of the Hyksos, who first began migrating across the Sinai into Egypt around 1 800 BC. “Egyptologists are working…

THILLAY NAIDOO | Durban North MR FAROUK Araie (The Mercury, April 23) must understand that the conflict between India and Pakistan will never come to an end as it is not diplomacy that is required but religious legitimacy. No honest student of world religions will ever understand how any religion can be responsible for the births of such countries as Pakistan and Bangladesh. Even more important is the question of why Islam has a presence in the Indian sub-continent. India has had a culture of its own since many thousands of years before the birth of Islam – a culture that has produced some of the most profound religious teachings. It would be deeply appreciated if an outstanding Islamic scholar would explain what Islam says, what its contribution…

JEAN MICHEL BOUVIER | Bryanston LAST year and with much fanfare, South Africa imported Cuban doctors to help us combat the Covid-19 pandemic. That was in April, less than a month after our first lockdown when we practically had no one in ICU and only 25 deaths. The move cost us the princely sum of R400 million. Then the SANDF illegally imported dubious and unproven medication, despite a a top government advisory committee warning against its use. The defence force violated every law governing the importation and registration of medicines in South Africa. That little exercise, according to the auditor-general, cost the taxpayer a whopping R260m. The SANDF almost had a shootout when the Hawks tried to confiscate the medication. Now it has been disclosed that Minister Lindiwe…

BONGANI NKOSI bongani.nkosi@inl.co.za THE Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) wants the Constitutional Court to rul e that solidarity strikes are legally protected in the country. Formally referred to as secondary strikes, these are a form of industrial action by workers in support of a strike initiated by fellow union members in a separate company. In Amcu’s case, protected secondary strikes would enable the union to bring the gold, platinum and coal mines to their knees if one employer failed to meet workers’ demands. Amcu’s resolve to push for protection of solidarity emanated from a failed bid to achieve this in 2019. As its protected strike at Sibanye-Stillwater that year entered a fourth month, Amcu issued secondary strike notices against a number of mining groups. These included AngloGold Ashanti,…

GOITSEMANG TLHABYE goitsemang.tlhabye@inl.co.za CYBERBULLYING in South Africa is most prevalent in adolescents aged between 12 and 19. This is according to the Cyberbullying Research Centre at the CSIR which found some of the main reasons for the increasing scourge was 61% due to appearance, 25% academic achievement or intelligence, 17% race, 15% sexuality and financial status and only 11% over religion. It said that cyberbullies often picked their victims randomly because of something they did online or did not like, or a comment that was made. This sentiment also rings somewhat similar to the saddening incident that led to the suicide of Mbilwi Secondary school pupil Lufuno Mavhunga after a video of her being assaulted by a fellow pupil went viral on social media. Researcher Sipho Ngobeni said cyberbullying was…

Kailene Pillay and Zintle Mahlati AFTER two days of testimony at the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into State Capture, President Cyril Ramaphosa concluded his appearance, promising a renewed ANC. In a statement to Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, Ramaphosa said state capture undermined the integrity and capability of public institutions and deeply damaged the effectiveness of the ANC. Ramaphosa testified on Wednesday and yesterday as president of the ruling party. He will return to the commission to give testimony as president of the country at the end of May. Ramaphosa yesterday faced questions around Parliament’s oversight during the state capture years, party funding and its relation to state capture, in particular, his CR17 campaign. Ramaphosa conceded that Parliament and the ANC “dropped the ball” in not dealing swiftly with…

Sakhiseni Nxumalo sakhiseni.nxumalo@inl.co.za MEMBERS of the Black First Land First (BLF) movement are occupying a part of the Sodwana Bay Lodge in northern KwaZulu-Natal after they concluded a lease agreement with the local tribal authority. The BLF members have been at the lodge since April 16. BLF leader Andile Mngxitama said the party was granted permission to occupy a part of the lodge by the Mbila Tribal Authority, which owns the land. Mngxitama told The Mercury that the lodge owners and the authority were locked in a dispute regarding the property. He said the local community had alleged thatthey had received no benefit from the operations at the lodge. Mngxitama said BLF have concluded a 12-month lease agreement with the traditional authority to use the lodge’s facilities, including its…

Can you turn a wristwatch into an explosive, or perhaps you’re able to design some X-ray glasses to see who is carrying a concealed weapon? If so, perhaps you should apply to be the next “Q” at Britain’s MI6 foreign spy service. The head of Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service said yesterday that the spy agency was hunting for a new tech chief, “Director General Q”, known to all James Bond film fans simply as “Q”. “We’re looking for a new ‘Q’. If you want to serve your country by helping MI6 to develop the operational technology of the future, please take a look,” Richard Moore wrote on Twitter. The ad warned that the successful candidate would “not be publicly avowed”, with no mention of any ability to design watches with…

The recent fire in Cape Town once again brought to our attention the serious challenge of our times: climate change. Internationally, we have seen wild-fires in the United States, Australia, France and Chile and all of these have had climate change as a major factor. Two years ago already, journalist Marvin Charles wrote in the Cape Argus that “experts have warned that climate change and the rise of temperatures will see Cape Town experience its worst fire season.” The article, titled “Cape faces fire catastrophe as experts fear city’s worst fire season lies ahead”, quoted UCT climate scientist Peter Johnson as saying that our summers were getting drier and hotter and coupled with a lack of rain this could only create conditions for devastating wild-fires. Last week’s fire in Cape…

More than 170 prominent cultural figures from across the EU have signed a letter, calling on the bloc to make a “unilateral and open offer” to Scotland to rejoin the EU if it votes for independence in a future referendum. The letter was published across Europe yesterday. It is available online for others to co-sign. The letter asks for the recognition of the special position of Scotland, highlighting the path for the country to return as an EU member before any referendum takes place, allowing the voters to make an informed choice. The Scottish Parliament elections will take place on May 6. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has rejected calls for a second Scottish referendum. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon previously stated that “the vast majority of people in Scotland…

LONDON: Britain’s Prince William and Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, celebrated 10 years of marriage yesterday with a video of the couple and their children enjoying the countryside. They posted a video showing the couple exploring a beach and roasting marshmallows with their children George, 7, Charlotte, 5, and Louis, 3. “Thank you to everyone for the kind messages on our wedding anniversary,” William and Kate said in a tweet.” Two new photos of the couple were also released to commemorate the occasion. | Reuters…

THE offshore fishing has been on fire. The sea has been a bit cheeky for the surf launches but the effort to get out has been worth it. The North Coast and the far north have been heavily fished over the past couple of weeks. Sodwana and Cape Vidal have been full up and for good reason. The couta have been the main attraction up north but there have been some frantic billfish bites as well. Live bait has been the most successful method for the couta although some have claimed the shiny walla-walla to be the best of the best. Either way you slice it, the down rigged baits have been the most productive. Durban has seen a lot of bigger tuna this past week. These have been caught…

Sandile Mchunu sandile.mchunu@inl.co.za WHILE 65 percent of all middle managers in banking were black, surpassing the number of white middle managers for the first time in 2019, according to the 2020 Transformation in Banking Report, more needed to be done to reflect the demographics of the country, Banking Association South Africa (Basa) said yesterday. Basa said the report – produced by independent research company Intellidex, with statistics provided by the banks – reflected the progress made by banks in transforming the industry and increasing economic inclusiveness and empowerment despite the constrained economic conditions. The percentage of board directors who were black reached 44 percent in 2019. “These industry figures were achieved despite the difficult economic and business conditions that South African banks and companies have had to endure…

THE HOUSEHOLD Affordability Index reported that the average cost of household food basket in South Africa increased by 3.9 percent, or R159.37, in April to R4 198.93 compared to a month earlier – the highest level since September 2020. The index tracks food price data from 44 supermarkets and 30 butcheries, mostly in the townships of Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town, Pietermaritzburg and Springbok. In the last eight months, which is from September 2020 to April, the average cost of the household food basket was up by 8.9 percent or R342.59. In September the average cost of the household food basket was R3 856.34. The data also noted that all household food baskets in the cities surveyed showed a month-on-month increase and April was the most expensive month. “All household…

Ntombi Nkosi and Mayibongwe Maqhina THOUSANDS of people took to the streets in Joburg yesterday to protest against the conduct of some banks against black-owned businesses. TransformSA president Adil Nchabeleng said its members wanted to put an end to the corruption in the banks. “Black people have had enough, you are not going to target us any more. Banks are quick to liquidate or repossess property belonging to black people.” Nchabeleng said the latest example of some banks targeting black-owned companies could be seen in the threat to close the bank account of AYO Technology. Tahir Maepa of the Public Service and Commercial Union of South Africa said it blamed the banks for the state of the economy. “We welcome the bold steps taken by other NGOs to stand up…

DUNCAN DU BOIS | Bluff BLINDED by its ideological infatuation with Marxist Cuba, the ANC’s recent hiring of 24 Cuban engineers to assist in remedying South Africa’s deteriorating water-supply network, is ill-advised. Although hailed by the Department of Water and Sanitation as “highly qualified specialists with vast skills in areas of electrical, mechanical and civil engineering”, that description is not borne out by the backward state of water supply in Cuba itself. According to an article in the New York Times, published on February 15, more than 50% of Cuba’s water is lost as a result of antiquated pipes. For much of Cuba, running water is available for only one or two hours a day. Horse-drawn carriages ply the streets dispensing water in buckets. For most Cubans, water…

TONY BALL | Gillitts PERHAPS our ineffectual eThekwini council can momentarily stop telling us, at every opportunity, how great they are and tell the residents what exactly is going on with the debacle around the roadworks at SouthWay Mall. Is it because the contractors have not been paid or have they been paid and flown off into the distance with the money? Most citizens are tolerant of roadworks, as they realise that the result will enhance their commuting but, in this case, there has been no progress in months. It is a shocking display of incompetence and disrupts the lives of thousands of people daily. Sadly, it is what we have come to expect in this country. It is time people withheld their rates and taxes to galvanise…

EBRAHIM “EBKOYBIE” ESSA | Durban WALKING all the way from Albert Street to Sastri College at Winterton Walk, with no shelter from the weather, I got drenched and arrived about 10 minutes late at my Standard 8 (Grade 10) class. This was in 1962. Mr Fulchand, our Latin master, gaped at me in his typical Roman-Dux manner and demanded to know why I was late. “Sir, the torrent was terrible. For every yard I took forward, the wind and the rain pushed me two yards backward.” Mr Fulchand came closer and demanded: “What nonsense! Then how did you get here?” Even in those days I was cheeky and replied: “Sir, I, er, walked backwards!” As the class cried with laughter, I cried in pain as Mr Fulchand punched…

GIFT TLOU gift.tlou@inl.co.za THE Department of Tourism’s R1.2 billion equity fund meant for businesses in the sector has reportedly hit a snag. Solidarity and AfriForum approached the North Gauteng High Court over the criteria that beneficiaries needed to meet in order to benefit from the fund. On Monday, the High Court interdicted the government from distributing the fund to successful applicants. “The respondents and/or any members or officials of the respondents are interdicted and restrained from processing any application and or making any payments pursuant to any application for funding from the Tourism Equity Fund pending the determination and finalisation of Part B of this application,” the court said. In the second part of the application, the two organisations are challenging the requirement that businesses must have at least…

Tarryn-Leigh Solomons tarryn-Leigh.solomons@iinl.co.za The legal team representing National Assembly Speaker Thandi Modise has brought a discharge application in her animal cruelty trial. Modise was back in the dock yesterday at the Potchefstroom Regional Court. Modise is being privately prosecuted by AfriForum. AfriForum’s chief investigator, Andrew Leask, said the private prosecution, led by the head of AfriForum’s private prosecution unit, advocate Gerrie Nel, closed its case yesterday. The defence then brought an application to have Modise discharged in terms of Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Act. The Act deals with the right of an accused to be discharged from the offence he or she has allegedly committed where, at the close of the State’s case, there is insufficient evidence. Leask said: “The defence argued that the accused is…

The surge up the Premier Soccer League (PSL) log by AmaZulu and Lamontville Golden Arrows can only be good for South African football. For many years, the “big three” – Kaizer Chiefs, Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates – have dominated the landscape. However, currently, AmaZulu are second on the log and underlined their title credentials with a sensational 5-1 triumph over Cape Town City on Wednesday night. Arrows also fought hard to secure a 0-0 draw with log leaders Sundowns to remain in third spot on the log. AmaZulu coach Benni McCarthy, who must have savoured every moment of the win over Cape Town City (he was fired as their coach), and AmaZulu owner Sandile Zungu certainly look like they are kick-starting a revolution in South African football. The man-management…

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his fiancée Carrie Symonds are facing questions over their expensive taste in home decor. But how did “wallpaper-gate” spread into a political scandal that could yet involve the police? Johnson, Symonds and their baby son live in quarters above Number 11 Downing Street, which are more spacious than those attached to Number 10, where the prime minister’s offices are located. Most of the historic estate is maintained with public money, but every prime minister gets an annual allowance of £30 000 (R599 000) to redecorate the living space. It’s been known for months that Johnson and Symonds were busy with a luxury makeover, but questions have mounted over who was footing the bill – reportedly as high as £200 000 – in an affair…

When Linda Peter last spoke to her daughter, the brief phone call left her relieved the teenager was alive but distraught because she could not pay any ransom demanded. Peter’s 18-year-old daughter, Jennifer, was among 39 students abducted by gunmen on March 11 from a forestry college in the northwestern Nigerian state of Kaduna. The captors, who called from the teenager’s phone, threatened to kill the male captives and force females into marriage, but did not specify the ransom sum sought. “The government is not doing anything to help these children,” said Peter, a widow and mother of five who sells vegetables for a living but has not worked since her daughter was taken. “We don’t have anything,” she said. Kaduna governor Nasir El-Rufai has said the state government would…

US President Joe Biden marked his 100th day in office with a trip to Georgia yesterday, visiting former President Jimmy Carter and pitching his plans to spend trillions of dollars to rebuild the US economy. After limited time on the road due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Biden is stepping up his travel schedule after his first address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday. He had a drive-in rally near Atlanta yesterday and additional campaign-style stops are planned in Pennsylvania and Virginia in coming days. During his speech to Congress, Biden appealed to Americans to support his “blue-collar blueprint” for change, saying his administration would invest a combined $4 trillion (R57.27trn) in families and infrastructure to rebuild the middle class. Biden said his plans would add millions of well-paying…