Innehållsförteckning för 2024-11-25 från Mercury

The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) has lifted trade restrictions it imposed on diamonds from the Central African Republic (CAR) 11 years ago following recommendations from a review mission headed by South Africa in September this year. The embargo by the global certification mechanism geared to prevent trade in conflict diamonds restricted CAR’s ability to export diamonds. KPCS fully suspended CAR in 2013 due to the African country’s political instability and security challenges. However, following a Review Mission led by South Africa, the KPCS has decided to lift all restrictions on CAR's diamond trade. “The lifting of the diamond trade restrictions on the Central African Republic represents a significant step towards the country’s rebuilding process,” said Nosi Mzamo, CEO of the State Diamond Trader. The lifting of the embargo “opens…

IN TODAY’S fast-paced world, stress has become an almost unavoidable part of life. Whether it’s work pressures, family obligations or the constant demands of modern living, stress can affect mental and physical health. While a certain level of stress can be beneficial, chronic stress can lead to serious health complications if left unmanaged. Fortunately, there are simple, affordable and science-based strategies to help reduce stress, says Dr Leana Wen, a CNN wellness expert and emergency physician. Understanding stress and its impact When we experience stress, our bodies trigger a fight-or-flight response. Hormones like adrenaline and cortisol, are released, causing physiological changes such as a faster heart rate, increased blood pressure and elevated blood sugar levels. In the short term, the response can be helpful, allowing us to perform better in…

I read an interesting opinion piece in The Witness recently regarding the injustice against LSEN (Learners with Special Education Needs) and was so moved by the topic that I decided to give the issue some teeth and pursue it in the public domain. Pipe Dream or Reality was penned by Mr Jordan Erradu, a former LSEN school principal with 37 years experience and several degrees, including a Master's in Inclusive Education. It's a cri de cœur from a man who has spent a lifetime with these kids. For far too long, pupils in this category have been marginalised and negated by education authorities, stakeholders and broader society. Down syndrome, autism, ADHD and dyslexia form part of the LSEN sphere. These are congenital intellectual and physical impairments; whether it is…

All around our fabulous globe, things tend to ramp up around this week of the year. I am going to suggest that as much as we ramp up, we be sure to give ourselves time and space to ramp down. May we learn to take charge of our own pace, try not to let the seasonal frenzy sweep us off our feet into debt with its ultra-strong practiced and tested undercurrents. Set the limits of your spending before you hit the malls. Decide before the shopping begins how you want your finances to reflect this season come January and February when credit cards must be paid. Less is more, it really is. Reflect on previous seasons. Try to recall who gave who, what. You are unlikely to recall very much.…

CORRECTIONAL Services Minister Pieter Groenewald has ordered commissioner Makgothi Thobakgale to institute an audit into the R37 million spent on hotel accommodation for dozens of officials over the past five years. This comes after it emerged that the department spent a whopping R8.2m on hotel accommodation for four officials who were transferred from the department’s head office to the Eastern Cape between 2021 to date. This was brought to light by DA MP Janho Engelbrecht when he quizzed Groenewald on why the department opted to accommodate the officials in hotels instead of utilising available state housing in prison complexes. Engelbrecht also enquired whether the department had conducted a detailed cost-benefit analysis to compare the costs of furnishing state houses and relocating officials versus accommodating them in hotels for extended periods.…

IN a judgment that may be significant across the country, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has ruled that building requirements, including plans, do apply for structures built on community-owned land. In the matter, the SCA has given a contractor an opportunity to remedy a breach concerning building permits before the Port St John’s municipality can consider demolition of a tourist facility on land belonging to the Caguba community. According to court papers, the construction had been carried out without submitting building plans for municipal approval. The contractor argued that the property fell under traditional jurisdiction, exempting it from municipal oversight. Port St Johns is a small rural village in the Wild Coast, Eastern Cape. The Caguba Community Property Association acquired land pursuant to a land claim. In February 2008,…

As the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children Campaign kicks off today, there are nagging questions on whether South Africa is achieving the goals set out to eradicate gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF). This year’s campaign, according to the government, has the theme: “30 Years of Advancing Collective Action to End Violence Against Women and Children” and aims to address the “root causes of GBVF, promoting positive masculinity, promoting gender equity, and creating economic opportunities for women and children”. But the government needs to be frank about how much has been achieved in the past 30 years. Startling findings from the first South African National Gender-Based Violence Study undertaken by the Human Sciences Research Council reveal just how far the country has to go to…

US President-elect Donald Trump’s hardline immigration proposals –including a controversial mass deportation plan – could prove economically damaging, analysts say, with US sectors that rely heavily on foreign workers like agriculture and construction especially hard hit. US authorities estimate that there are around 11 million unauthorised people living in the US, the vast majority of whom come from Mexico. Around 8.3 million unauthorised people were in the labour force in 2022, according to a recent estimate from the Pew Research Center. That was equivalent to just under 5% of the overall workforce. “Today our cities are flooded with illegal aliens,” Trump said on the campaign trail earlier this year, adding: “Americans are being squeezed out of the labour force and their jobs are taken.” The reality, however, is more complex;…

Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s legal team has requested a 15-day postponement for the start of his testimony in his ongoing criminal trial, reports said yesterday. The team argued that despite its best efforts, it would not be ready by December 2. The request followed an earlier one by the team for a 10-week delay, which the court rejected, saying that Netanyahu had already been given five months to prepare for the trial. The International Criminal Court’s recent issuance of an arrest warrant for Netanyahu on charges of “crimes against humanity and war crimes” had complicated matters, the team said. The trial concerns accusations of accepting bribes, fraud and breach of trust. | IANS…

Lucknow: Indian Muslim protesters clashed with police yesterday with at least three people killed in riots sparked by a survey investigating if a 17th-century mosque was built on a Hindu temple. Police said that 16 police officers were “seriously injured” during the clashes. Hindu activist groups have laid claim to several mosques they say were built over Hindu temples during the Muslim Mughal empire centuries ago. Street battles broke out when a team of surveyors entered the Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal on orders from a local court. | AFP…

Speaking ahead of a two Test match series against Sri Lanka on home soil, Proteas fast bowler Kagiso Rabada expressed his confidence saying that South Africa has what it takes to go all the way and win the Test Championship. The first of two Test matches will get underway at the Kingsmead Stadium in Durban on Wednesday, followed by the second Test at St Georges Park less than a week later. South Africa’s Test Championship hopes will rest solely on them, and their route to the final is fairly straight forward, as nothing but victories in all their remaining fixtures will confirm their qualification, irrespective of what happens elsewhere. They will come up against a Sri Lankan side that has been in good form, and they return to the shores…

OUR protest on May 27, in front of the City Hall steps was against the ANC for our agonising 30 long years wait for land claims restitution in the eThekwini Municipality. ANC speaker Thabani Nyawose did not welcome us, accept our petition or respond to it. Instead, he sent one of his clerks, Mr Zungu, to collect it. What an insult to us. Finally on September 23, we met with the so-called Speaker’s Rapid Response head, Reggie Cele, who was rude and unhelpful and with the real estate department’s - Fathima Khan. We have had absolutely no feedback from either Cele, Khan or the speaker himself. After our claimed lands were stolen during the riots in Inanda, the Indians had to flee to Phoenix. Our claimed lands are being stolen…

It is probably good for the economy that the inflation rate has dramatically decreased from 3.8% in September 2024 to 2.8% in October 2024. For government pensioners, however, this is appallingly bad news. I am writing especially about pensioners who receive pensions of R20 000 or less per month. This inflation rate must be questioned. How on earth could the inflation rate drop from 5.5% in November 2023 to the 2.8% presented to us now? This is while the price of a food basket is rising daily. Some vegetables have recently increased by 40% in three months. There is a snake in the grass some where. Perhaps an economist can explain this puzzle to us. Government pensioners’ pension increases are calculated at a rate of 75% of the consumer price…

The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) decision to issue arrest warrants against the Israeli prime minister, his former defence minister and a Hamas military leader has been described as a symbolic decision without practical implications. The ICC’s chief prosecutor Karim Khan last week issued arrest warrants against Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant and Hamas military leader Ibrahim al Masri on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Netanyahu’s office has responded to the issuing of the arrest warrants, saying “Israel rejects with disgust the absurd and false actions levelled against it by the ICC”. Khan announced that the ICC judges had accepted his request to issue the arrest warrants against the three men for their complicity in the current war that began on October 7, 2023 when Hamas attacked southern…

A coalition of civic groups, including the South African People’s Tribunal on AgroToxins (SAPToA), has launched a petition demanding urgent action to address the rising public health crisis caused by pesticide poisoning in South Africa. The petition, which has garnered support from affected communities and environmental groups, calls for a radical overhaul in the country’s pesticide regulation system, which they claim has failed to protect both farm workers and consumers from harmful agrochemicals. The petition comes in the wake of a series of tragic incidents, including the deaths of six children in October 2024, following pesticide poisoning in Naledi, Soweto. The Department of Health confirmed that the deaths in the Naledi incident were caused by the highly hazardous pesticide Terbufos, which is used in agriculture but was reportedly being sold…

Solutions to gender-based violence must address the web of factors that allow it to thrive As a woman living in South Africa, my daily routine is dictated by more than just work, social gatherings, or errands. It is also significantly dictated by fear; fear of, “will I make it home?” As a result, I am not the dictator of my life; instead, the world around me shaped and dominated by men dictates how I must live. For instance, before I leave the house, I must make sure that my location is turned on, check in with at least two or more people, giving them details about where I am going, who I am meeting, and what I am wearing. This information serves as a distress signal in case something happens,…

The world approved a bitterly negotiated climate deal yesterday, but poorer nations most at the mercy of worsening disasters dismissed a $300 billion a year pledge from wealthy historic polluters as insultingly low. After two weeks of chaotic bargaining and sleepless nights, nearly 200 nations pushed through the contentious finance pact in the early hours in a sports stadium in Azerbaijan. But the applause had barely subsided when India delivered a full-throated rejection of the “abysmally poor” deal, kicking off a firestorm of criticism from across the developing world. “It’s a paltry sum,” thundered India’s delegate Chandni Raina. “This document is little more than an optical illusion. This, in our opinion, will not address the enormity of the challenge we all face.” Sierra Leone’s climate minister Jiwoh Abdulai said it…

UK religious leaders joined forces yesterday to say they are “deeply concerned” by draft legislation to legalise assisted dying that MPs will vote on this week. Two new polls ahead of Friday’s parliamentary vote showed a majority of Britons support changing the assisted dying laws. The House of Commons will get a free vote on Labour MP Kim Leadbeater’s private member’s bill, allowing them to vote with their conscience. If approved, the legislation, which would only affect England and Wales, will advance to further votes in both chambers of parliament. The issue – last voted on in 2015, when MPs overwhelmingly rejected changing the law – has sparked concern from religious groups and other opponents about its implications. A joint letter signed by 29 faith leaders warned that a “right…

BEIJING: Local authorities in China are stepping up safety management and police patrols following several high-profile mass killings, as the central government calls for enhanced public security, media reports said yesterday. In the eastern city of Wuxi, where a 21-year-old student’s stabbing spree left eight people dead and 17 injured on 16 November, local officials convened last week to discuss measures to maintain social stability. These safety initiatives come nearly two weeks after the deadliest mass attack in China in a decade on November 11, when a man reportedly upset over his divorce drove into a crowd in the southern city of Zhuhai, killing 35 people. | Reuters…

SYDNEY: A climate change protest off the coast of Australia’s New South Wales State forced an inbound ship to turn back from the country’s largest terminal for coal exports yesterday, the port operator said. New South Wales police said 170 protesters were arrested yesterday for refusing to move from the shipping channel near the Port of Newcastle. The climate activist group Rising Tide, which organised the 50-hour protest that started on Friday, said the vessel forced to turn around was a coal ship. Climate change is a divisive issue in Australia, the world’s second-biggest exporter of thermal coal and the largest exporter of coking coal. | Reuters…

Renad Ataullah is a ten-year-old cooking sensation from Deir Al Balah, Gaza, who has shot to Instagram fame with over 450 000 Instagram followers, which sounds like every teenager’s dream these days. However, unlike the vast majority of Instagrammers who garner millions of views with make-up and dancing tutorials, Renad’s videos are unique. With her infectious smile and resilient spirit, Renad has captured the hearts of a worldwide audience. The main focus of her videos shows how she prepares delicious meals for her family using basic and limited ingredients amidst the ongoing aggression in Gaza. Renad should have been in the fifth grade. Her videos, although entertaining and cheerful, have a dark and terrible significance behind them — a genocide. This war, an infant-a mere year old, has caused…

OH BOY, this was almost embarrassing. A score of 45-12 to the Springboks against Wales makes one begin to wonder about the value of such a contest. Wales simply weren’t in the game as the Boks swamped them with a combination of skills and sheer physicality. But what an end to a highly successful overseas tour that confirms the Boks as world leaders and coach Rassie as a rugby genius. The damsels of the Pub With No Name were of course overjoyed and the night reverberated to the strumming at their knickers in anticipation of supplying elastic for a fashioning of catapults for the time-honoured celebratory feu de joie in which the street lights are shot out. Morningside was again a place of joy in the half-dark. The match highlighted…

Posts that cannot be filled, increasing surgical and clinical backlogs, longer waiting times for patients, fewer ambulances and medicine shortages are among the challenges facing the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health as a result of budget cuts. Labour unions in the health sector said the cuts are overloading staff with work, putting patient care at risk and could render the department unable to fulfil its mandate. Staff shortages, concerns about challenges in the procuring of medical supplies as a direct result of the budget cuts are just some of the concerns they raised. Billions of rand have been cut from the provincial budget over the past few years, leading to severe budget reductions in various departments. The strain of these cuts has been particularly palpable in the Departments of Health and…

In the Michael Jackson HIStory Show, the spirit of the ‘King of Pop’ comes alive with electrifying energy, dazzling special effects and the unmatched talent of Garth Field. A Cape Town native with a passion for performance, Field, was hand picked in 2023 by renowned tribute producer Johnny Van Grinsven, who saw in him the perfect combination of skill, charisma and drive to take on the role of a lifetime. The organiser said: “Fans in South Africa can witness Garth’s talent firsthand in a tribute that is more than just a concert—it’s an unforgettable experience.” “Following its 2024 debut in South Africa and a tour across New Zealand, Australia, and Canada, The Michael Jackson HIStory Show is back on home turf, and it’s bringing even more magic.” The show has…

South Africa’s high commissioner to India, professor Anil Sooklal, was officially pronounced in the position last week with a letter of credence being presented to the Indian government in New Delhi. Sooklal is the former Ambassador at Large for Asia and BRICS at the Department of International Relations and Cooperation and the country’s former BRICS Sherpa and IBSA (India-Brazil-South Africa) Sherpa. Sooklal told The Mercury that his mandate from President Cyril Ramaphosa is to strengthen and expand relations with India. “This is a country with whom we have very strong historical and friendly relations and a history that binds us in our common struggle for freedom. “We have the common factor of the indentured Indian community which is an integral part of South Africa today…I am a part of that…

The Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak has extended to the uPongolo Local Municipality in northern KwaZulu-Natal. The Department of Agriculture said outbreaks in all other previously affected provinces have been resolved and officially closed with the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), and focused efforts are ongoing to manage and contain the disease in KZN and the Eastern Cape. In KZN, the FMD outbreak has extended to the uPongolo Local Municipality and as a result, the boundaries of the existing disease management area (DMA) are under review and will be expanded to include newly affected areas and identified risk zones. “Since the outbreak began in May 2021, the KZN province has reported 155 cases as part of the SAT 2 FMD event. “Of these, 17 outbreaks have been resolved…

ON DECEMBER 1, South Africa assumes the Presidency of the G20 for the year 2025 culminating in a Summit hosted by President Cyril Ramaphosa in November next year. The baton was handed to Ramaphosa at last week’s G20 Summit 2024 in Rio De Janeiro hosted by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil between 18-19 November. Whatever any concrete takeaways from the Rio G20 Leaders’ Summit beyond the usual rhetoric of aspirations, the themes of the Rio Summit, “Building a Just World and a Sustainable Planet” and that of Johannesburg 2025 ‘Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability’ uncannily resemble each other. There are those who scoff at the G20 proceedings as passé – ostensibly established to include 19 of the world’s top industrialised and emerging economies, plus the European and African…

The Israeli military issued new evacuation orders to residents in areas of an eastern Gaza City suburb, setting off a new wave of displacement yesterday, and a Gaza hospital director was injured in an Israeli drone attack, Palestinian medics said. The new orders for the Shejaia suburb posted by the Israeli army spokesperson on X on Saturday night were blamed on Palestinian militants firing rockets from that heavily built-up district in the north of the Gaza Strip. “For your safety, you must evacuate immediately to the south,” the military’s post said. The rocket volley on Saturday was claimed by Hamas’ armed wing, which said it had targeted an Israeli army base over the border. Footage circulated on social and Palestinian media, which Reuters could not immediately verify, showed residents leaving…

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a summons to Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, indicted on US bribery allegations related to a bombshell federal indictment against him, a court filing showed. The SEC is suing the head of the Adani Group and his nephew Sagar Adani, alleging they engaged in hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes to help an Adani company while “falsely touting the company’s compliance with antibribery principles and laws in connection with a $750 million bond offering.” The summons requires an answer within 21 days, according to the filing dated Wednesday in federal court in the Eastern District of New York. The SEC suit seeks unspecified monetary penalties and restrictions on the Adanis from serving as officers of listed companies. The group has denied…

Jerusalem: Israel yesterday condemned the murder of an Israeli-Moldovan rabbi in the United Arab Emirates, calling it anti-Semitic “terrorism” and vowing to ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice. The body of Tzvi Kogan, who had been missing since Thursday, was found by security services in the Gulf Arab state, officials said. Kogan was a representative of the Chabad Hasidic movement, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish group known for its outreach efforts worldwide. The United Arab Emirates has yet to confirm his death. Meanwhile, in Jordan yesterday, a man was killed after opening fire on and wounding three members of the security forces near the Israeli embassy in Amman. | AFP…

MANILA: The Philippines’ security council would verify an alleged assassination threat by Vice-President Sara Duterte against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, a top official said yesterday, describing it as a “matter of national security”. Duterte said she had spoken with an assassin and instructed them to kill Marcos, his wife, and the speaker of the Philippine House if she were to be killed. National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano said the government considers all threats to the president as “serious”, vowing to closely work with law enforcement and intelligence communities to investigate the threat and possible perpetrators. | Reuters…