Innehållsförteckning för 2024-06-06 från Mercury

IN A BID to meet the evolving needs of its consumers, increase choice and moderation, South African Breweries (SAB) has introduced a new alcohol-free beer as the brewer sees a growing market in the 0% alcohol beverages. SAB yesterday said the Corona Cero, with Vitamin D, would grow its portfolio of global brands that resonate with South Africans and meet their changing consumption needs “This alcohol-free beer broadens the consumer choice and is a pronounced expression of our commitment to ensuring moderation,” said Zoleka Lisa, vice-president of corporate affairs at SAB. “We have always maintained that beer is a beverage of moderation, and this now provides consumers with even more options. Furthermore, it encourages a culture of responsibility among South Africans, which we are deliberate in enabling at SAB.” Corona…

FOLLOWING the devastating storm that hit oThongathi on Monday, disaster management workers, non-governmental organisations and volunteers are out in large numbers providing meals, clothing and other basic necessities to bring comfort to the injured and displaced. At least 11 people died, scores were left injured and hundreds homeless as a combination of heavy winds and rains battered parts of KwaZulu-Natal. As NGOs, community members, Eskom, eThekwini Municipality and the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs try to assist with humanitarian relief and repairs to infrastructure, some of those affected are afraid to leave their damaged homes unguarded. Dorine Biyela, 65, was reluctant to leave her belongings unattended after the storm damage. While she spent the night at the Newtown Community Hall, her 14 children and grandchildren stayed at home…

In all my living years, I have never heard of a violent thunderstorm in the middle of winter. Strong winds, heavy rain, hail stones the size of golf balls, and worst of all, a tornado that ripped off the roofs of homes and left utter devastation in oThongathi. Graphic pictures in The Mercury, other newspapers and on television show the vast extent of the disaster in oThongathi. But whoever heard of a tornado in South Africa? The US is prone to tornadoes, not South Africa. The tornado struck oThongathi and four other regions with a vengeance and left death and destruction in its wake. Several traumatised families mourned the loss of their loved ones. Others stood and watched in disbelief as their homes were reduced to rubble. All their belongings…

The KZN Palestine Solidarity Forum expresses its shock and deep sorrow at the tragic demise of our Durban sister, Halima Hoosen-Preston, who was murdered on the morning of June 2. Hoosen-Preston, her husband and their two children were attacked in their home and Hoosen, her husband and their son were stabbed multiple times by a person known to them. He later claimed in a video that he had stabbed them because of her views on Israel and Palestine. He apparently also threatened to rape the young daughter. Hoosen-Preston’s husband, Shaun Preston, and son are recovering in hospital and we wish them a speedy and full recovery. The attack on the Preston family is a serious hate crime and an example of gender-based violence and femicide which has become a pandemic…

The “clack clack noise” a woman’s brand new Volkswagen Polo Vivo made when she tried to switch on the ignition for the first time was just too much for the owner and she either wanted another brand-new vehicle delivered to her or to be refunded. When this was refused by the dealership, Masego Makadu turned to the Northern Cape High Court. However, following the legal process, she discovered that it was not so simple as the court had turned down her application. Makadu’s problems started in August 2019 when she concluded an instalment sale agreement with Volkswagen Financial Services for the sale of a new Volkswagen Polo Vivo. NTT Volkswagen (Kimberley) is the dealership that assisted with the transaction and delivery of the vehicle. When Makadu attempted to start the…

Those calling for an alliance with the DA should have their membership cards revoked If the ANC enters into a grand coalition with the DA, it would kill the movement, the tripartite alliance, and the National Democratic Revolution. This is what the DA wants. They want to sever Cyril Ramaphosa’s centre-right iteration of the ANC from the alliance partners, and they are succeeding. Historically there has always been room for difference within the ANC. We have seen these contestations play out politically and in policy, but always within the parameters of the “broad church” of the ANC and the tripartite alliance. An alliance with the DA would go beyond these. It could be argued that this would be counter-revolutionary. These counter-revolutionaries are selling out the National Democratic Revolution (NDR), long…

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s National Democratic Alliance formally named him yesterday to lead a new coalition government for a third straight term, a day after it regained power with a surprisingly slim majority. Modi, a populist who has dominated Indian politics since 2014, will for the first time head a government dependent on the support of regional allies whose loyalties have wavered over time, which could complicate the new cabinet’s reform agenda. A day after the humbling election outcome for his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) became clear, Modi submitted his resignation to President Droupadi Murmu after the cabinet recommended the dissolution of parliament – the first of many formalities before Modi can form a new government. This was followed by a meeting of 15 parties in the National Democratic…

Stockholm: A Swedish rapper who was last month named the country’s hip hop artist of the year has been killed in a gang shooting in Gothenburg, Swedish police said yesterday. Masked rapper C Gambino, 26, – whose real name is Karar Ramadan and is not to be confused with American rapper Childish Gambino – was the victim of a shooting in a parking lot this week. The killing “is linked to a gang conflict”, police said, adding that the rapper “was known to police”. He had reportedly moved away from his criminal past. C Gambino’s songs attract around a million listeners on Spotify a month. Sweden has struggled to contain gang violence in recent years. | AFP…

MADRID: A unit of General Dynamics, Spain-based Santa Barbara Systems – refurbishing Leopard tanks for Ukraine – suffered a cyber attack that took its website down, a pro-Russian hackers group said. General Dynamics in Germany said the defence contractor was still analysing the cause of the website outage. The NoName hacking group claimed the distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack. DDoS attacks direct high volumes of internet traffic to targeted servers to knock them offline. The group often directs such actions against countries which support Ukraine. Spain last week pledged €1 billion (R20.6bn) in military support for Ukraine. | Reuters…

The offloading process has started at the Sharks, with a host of players leaving the franchise after the conclusion of their United Rugby Championship campaign. At their awards ceremony on Tuesday night, the Durban franchise had a special farewell for those leaving the side as they continue to make space for head coach John Plumtree to further strengthen his squad ahead of next season’s URC and Champions Cup competitions. Wings Werner Kok and Aphiwe Dyantyi, utility backs Curwin Bosch, Boeta Chamberlain, Anthony Volmink and Lionel Cronjé, lock Le Roux Roets and loose forward Sikhumbuzo Notshe were all part of the players honoured during the function. Kok is moving to Ulster in the URC, while French second-division side Brive announced Bosch was joining them earlier this week. The Bulls acquired Chamberlain’s…

Chris Smith has had to take the road less travelled to play high-level rugby, but his consistent performances make him a match-winner. And considering his personal trophy cabinet, he has a good chance of opening that door once more with the Bulls this season. Having featured for the Western Province Under-21 team after completing his schooling at SACS, Smith made his name at Varsity Cup level with Maties, and won the title in 2018 before joining the Pumas. Smith – who graduated from Stellenbosch University with a BCom Honours degree – made an impression at the Mpumalanga side, becoming the top points scorer as they won the SuperSport Rugby Challenge in 2018, where he was also the Player of the Year. He eventually joined the Bulls in 2020, and was…

HEY, they know how to live it up in Key West, Florida, in the US. They maka da music by blowing into conch shells. They also have a Conch Shell Blowing Contest every year. Should we not be looking at something similar here in Durban, to attract tourists? In Key West, a visitor from Georgia won the men’s competition by playing the Jimmy Buffet song, Fins, on a pink-lined conch shell with holes so it can be played like a flute. The women’s competition was won by a lass who came all the way from Ontario, Canada, to blow a long, loud blast on her conch that simply blew the judges away, according to The Huffington Post. A couple from Avon Lake, Ohio, performed a conch-shell-and-vocal duet parodying Elvis Presley’s…

WITH the past elections and the ongoing coalition consultations, what is an interesting reality, despite the narrative that the ANC has collapsed, is that none of the parties can do without the ANC in a coalition government. Consider the DA: it is resolute that the only party it can work with is the ANC as it cannot fathom ever working with the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) or the EFF. Indeed, the DA’s position is, and has been even before the elections, that it wants to keep the MKP and EFF outside any coalition government. Regarding the MKP, despite its rhetoric, it makes veiled references that its members are still ANC and the only problem they have with the party is that it is the “ANC of Ramaphosa”. The MKP knows…

THERE are no formulas for successful and peaceful living. But, there are usually great benefits from operating in the “opposite” spirit. Such an idea is not new, but it is uncommon. Here’s what I mean: Forgive people who do not deserve it, before they request it, because it is good for you. Don’t do it to teach a lesson, to get the upper hand, to show them who is stronger. Do it to care for your own soul. Do it to protect your peace of mind. Revenge won’t. Bitterness won’t offer you anything worth having. You might even say you are forgiving for selfish reasons. Well, go ahead. If forgiving others is selfish it’s the brand we really need in a hurting world. Everyone sends complex signals all the time.…

THE National Director of Public Prosecutions will turn to court next week to obtain an urgent order against Absa Bank, which it said had committed a criminal offence by contravening the Prevention of Organised Crime Act as it paid about R100 million over to the provisional liquidators of Tariomix – this in spite of an earlier preservation order of the funds. The preservation order was obtained in 2021 by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) where R100m in bank accounts linked to diamond dealer Louis Liebenberg was frozen following allegations of money laundering and that he was running a Ponzi scheme. The preservation order was later overturned by the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, following an application by Liebenberg. The NPA is subsequently appealing this before the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA)…

The biggest festival of democracy, the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, have concluded in our nation, the Mother of Democracy. It is natural that the fervour of the elections was echoing in my heart and mind. The multitude of faces seen in rallies and roadshows came in front of my eyes. The trust and the affection made for a humbling experience. My eyes were getting moist. I entered into a sadhana (meditative state). And then, the heated political debates, the attacks and counter- attacks, the voices and words of accusations that are so characteristic of an election vanished into a void. A sense of detachment grew within me. My mind became detached from the external world. Meditation becomes challenging amid such huge responsibilities. Amid the detachment, peace and silence, my mind…

Israel’s military pounded central Gaza with heavy air strikes yesterday as US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators planned to resume talks on a truce and hostage release deal. Tensions were high in annexed east Jerusalem where thousands of police were deployed to guard Israel’s annual “flag march” that has sparked clashes between Jews and Arabs in previous years. The bloodiest Gaza war, sparked by Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel, raged on unabated with jets bombing targets overnight and Palestinian officials reporting yet more deaths. Urban combat and shelling rocked Gaza’s southern city of Rafah near the Egyptian border, the last area hit by the Israeli ground invasion launched in northern Gaza in late October. But fighting has also flared again in central areas, where the army said “troops have…

An Italian court found American Amanda Knox guilty of slander yesterday and handed her a three-year jail sentence in a case related to the murder of her British flatmate in 2007. The sentence is covered by the time Knox spent in jail before her conviction for the killing of British student Meredith Kercher in Perugia was annulled in 2015. Knox, who was in court for the verdict, had been sentenced to three years for wrongly accusing Congolese bar owner Patrick Lumumba of killing Kercher in an earlier case. Knox spent four years in jail for the killing of Kercher. Her lawyer, Luca Luparia Donati said she planned to appeal. Knox, now aged 36, earlier accused Italian police of threats and violence as she sought to clear her name in the…

Manila: Heavy rain washed volcanic mud and debris through a village in the central Philippines yesterday, two days after a nearby volcano erupted. Mount Kanlaon on Negros island exploded on Monday evening, sending a plume of ash, rocks and gases 5km into the sky. Images posted on Facebook show a torrent of grey mud and rocks, known as cold lava flow, or lahar, roaring down a watercourse in Biaknabato village in Negros Occidental province. A bulldozer and three dump trucks were deployed to remove the lahar after it stopped flowing but Fernandez said it “might take time” to clear. There were no reports of casualties. Hundreds of people have been evacuated. | AFP…

Luxembourg: McDonald’s has lost a legal battle against an Irish fast food chain after a top EU court ruled the global chain could not exclusively call its chicken burgers “Big Mac”. The fight began in 2017 when Supermac’s of Ireland sought to have McDonald’s “Big Mac” trademark revoked in the EU, after the US giant opposed the Irish chain’s trademark application in the bloc. The EU Intellectual Property Office initially upheld Supermac’s application, but on appeal reaffirmed trademark protection for McDonald’s “Big Mac” hamburgers. But yesterday, the General Court ruled McDonald’s could not claim protection for the chicken version of its burger; but the beef one remains trademarked. | AFP…

AS THE MULTI-billion rand pet industry continues to boom in South Africa, a savvy entrepreneur saw an opportunity to start a private dog park in Rand Park Ridge in Johannesburg. Laura Hastie realised there was a gap in the market for animal lovers after her dog was attacked while being walked in a public park. Following that experience, the 33-year-old began walking her dog Lucy at different places in her area, however, she still encountered other dogs that posed a risk to herself and her furry friend. This was when she took it upon herself to create a safe, private place to walk her dog which resulted in her private dog park, Barks & Recreation. Hastie told Business Report: “The idea for Barks and Rec first started when my…

Bedwetting, or nocturnal enuresis, is a familiar yet often misunderstood challenge many families face. This involuntary urination during sleep can have deep emotional ramifications for both the child and their parents, transforming bedtimes into a period of anxiety rather than rest. It is crucial to unpack the complexities of this condition and explore constructive ways to navigate it. For children, bedwetting can be a source of immense humiliation and shame. This deeply personal issue can affect their self-esteem and sometimes lead to social withdrawal. Independent Media Lifestyle reached out to medical experts to shed light on the psychological distress that bedwetting causes for both children and parents. Dr Michael Mol, a medical doctor and Huggies DryNites Ambassador, encourages parents to create a supportive and understanding environment. He shares helpful resources…

IT’S very possible to live a happy life, you just need to possess the right mindset and put yourself in the right environment. Do things that cheer you up, and surround yourself with people with positive energy, minds and attitudes who appreciate you and never keep grudges. Take a lot of chances in life till you really find what holds your ultimate happiness. If you are a person who never takes chances, then you will have to take whatever is left when others are done choosing. Be a risk-taker – you never know what’s blocking your way to eternal happiness. Life is all about risks. A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes. To be…

While promises are made before elections, I would like to make the following statement: despite the disappointment of not making the ballot paper for the 2024 elections, I reiterate my unequivocal undertaking that I will continue in my pursuit of fairness, justice and equality for all South Africans, especially the minorities and the marginalised of our beloved country. The election is the beginning of another “struggle” over the challenges that lie ahead, which might be much more than we could imagine. For those who have come to know me, you will know that I will not remain silent – I never have – nor will I sit back and be a spectator to the injustices perpetrated by those in power, whoever they might be. I remain committed to the well-being…

World Environment Day was celebrated yesterday and this year’s theme is “Land Restoration, Desertification and Drought Resilience”. The concerns are of the utmost importance to South Africa because the country is susceptible to all three. Good waste management plays a pivotal role in mitigating desertification and drought and facilitates land restoration. The World Economic Forum describes desertification as gradual degradation of the productive soil, water, biodiversity and vegetation in an arid landscape. The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment’s National Action Programme for South Africa to Combat Desertification, Land Degradation and the Effects of Drought (2018-2030) notes that 91% of the country is drylands, making it especially vulnerable to desertification. In addition, South Africa’s annual average rainfall is just 464mm, compared to the global average of 860mm a year.…

The Gas Motor Show is expected to give eThekwini a major tourism economic boost. The spectacle of cars is expected to take place next weekend, with the municipality saying it is proud to partner with the show. Yashmeetha Ori, event organiser of the Gas Motor Show speaking at yesterday’s launch event said the show has grown into a major festival. “It’s a celebration of culture and people, food, motoring and music. We are proud of the growth of the show and the fact that we have now partnered with the eThekwini Municipality. We will be using it as a platform to promote both large and small businesses and are also promoting our local artists with the music.” Ori said that the show is exclusive to eThekwini. “We are looking forward…

INSTABILITY characterised the early stages of coalition government in local government, particularly in three metros after the most recent municipal elections in 2021. Remember the time that the Cities of Joburg, Ekurhuleni and Tshwane were marred by the chopping and changing of leadership as a result of power struggles between the parties who could not find each other as coalition partners? History has a way of repeating itself. Don’t expect the potential coalition government that runs the country to have smooth sailing. Ideologies will clash, leading to severe cracks that might result in the collapse of whatever partnerships are entered into. Some might argue that the country is in a much better position than it was at the beginning of local government coalitions in 2021. This is not to say…

US President Joe Biden yesterday began a state visit to France marking 80 years since the World War II D-Day landings, with a new war shadowing Europe as Ukraine battles Russia’s invasion. Along with French President Emmanuel Macron, British King Charles III and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Biden will today remember the heroism of the Allied troops who gave their lives in the landings on June 6, 1944, to free Europe from Nazi occupation. For King Charles, it will be his first overseas visit since his cancer diagnosis. While the sacrifice of Allied soldiers will be centre stage, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian President Sergio Mattarella will also be present as a sign of international post-World War II reconciliation. Flying aboard Air Force One, Biden touched down at…

Boeing yesterday launched its first astronauts bound for the International Space Station aboard a Starliner capsule, which joins a select club of spacecraft to carry humans beyond Earth. The third time turned out to be the charm for the aerospace giant, after two previous bids to fly with crew were aborted late into the countdown, for technical reasons. Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, both of whom have two previous spaceflights under their belts, blasted off from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, for a week’s stay at the station. Starliner is the sixth US-built spaceship to fly Nasa astronauts. Its programme has been beset by safety scares, and a successful mission will offer Boeing a reprieve from safety concerns surrounding its passenger jets. | AFP…

CANBERRA: A highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza has been found on a fourth poultry farm near Melbourne near two other properties where the virus had already been detected, the government of Australia’s Victoria state said yesterday. The H7N3 strain of the virus has been detected at the farm, it said, which is not the same as the H5N1 strain that has spread globally through bird and mammal populations and even into humans. H7N3 has now been found at three farms near the town of Meredith and an H7N9 strain has infected another farm near Terang, an hour and half’s drive east. | Reuters…

MOSCOW: Russia will send additional military supplies and instructors to Burkina Faso to help boost its defence capabilities and fight terrorism, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said yesterday. Burkina Faso, under military leadership since a 2022 coup, has played host to contingents of the Wagner mercenary force, whose founder Yevgeny Prigozhin was killed in a plane crash last August. Lavrov has made a series of visits to Africa since the start of the war in Ukraine as Russia, hit by Western sanctions, seeks new trade partners and tries to rally developing countries behind its vision of a “multipolar world” no longer dominated by the US. | Reuters…