Innholdsfortegnelse for Saturday, August 29, 2020 i Pretoria News Weekend

I am innocent – Bushiri Rape accused church leader denies allegations JONISAYI MAROMO DIMPHO MAJA African News Agency (ANA) EMBATTLED leader of popular Enlightened Christian Gathering (ECG) church, self-proclaimed prophet Shepherd Bushiri, yesterday said despite the allegations of rape being investigated against him, he will be exonerated by South Africa’s justice system as he is innocent. “I am not a flight risk. I am not going anywhere. I will be here in South Africa until justice is done. I believe in the integrity of this country’s justice system. I believe in the great leadership of this government,” said the charismatic preacher. “It’s my prayer that one day all of us will be free from being extorted and blackmailed through unlawful investigations.” In a televised address to his congregants,…

Clear, dry spring weather forecast LOVELY spring weather is forecast as we move towards September 1. While this weekend we can expect maximums in the early 20s, next week will continue to be warm with fine early mornings and a moderate breeze. Some rain has been forecast in parts of the country. On average, however, it is forecast to be clear and dry in Pretoria for most of September with more rainy days expected in October. As to whether winter is behind us, the weather forecasters remain cautious as there is the chance of another cold front… and never forget that it snowed in Gauteng in September 1981.…

ACTIVIST Mandela’s doctor dies aged 62 KUBEN CHETTY, SIYABONGA MKHWANAZI and SIYAVUYA MZANTSI CHRIS COLLINGRIDGE VEJAY Ramlakan, Nelson Mandela’s doctor of almost 10 years, passed away on Thursday aged 62. A medical doctor, he served in Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), the military wing of the ANC during the Struggle against the apartheid in the 1980s, and transferred to the SANDF when MK was incorporated into it in 1994. ANC activist Derek Naidoo said everyone who was part of “Operation Butterfly”, where Ramlakan was the commander, was devastated at the news of his death. Operation Butterfly was a programme to develop a political-military underground command structure in the greater Durban area and a campaign to destabilise the border regions of South Africa. “A giant has fallen, a soldier has fallen and…

‘Alcohol sales ban rumour fake news’ SPREADING fake news is an offence, government said in relation to the rumours circulating this week that alcohol sales were to be banned again. Messages circulating on social media that President Cyril Ramaphosa would address the nation at 8pm on Tuesday saw a rush on bottle stores. A voice note suggested that the president was about to reimpose the ban, as he had done in July. The Presidency confirmed that Ramaphosa was not planning an address, nor an announcement about alcohol but even on Wednesday Makro’s online ordering site was down. It was not clear if this was linked to alcohol orders or not. Government has urged South Africans to verify information before sharing it, as spreading fake news had potential dire consequences and…

Field hospitals to go as infections decline SOUTH Africa’s field hospitals, set up as a contingency measure in the fight against Covid-19, are being dismantled as the rate of new infections continues to drop. The temporary hospitals at the Cape Town International Convention Centre and in Khayelitsha have been decommissioned. The field hospital at Nasrec in Joburg will continue to operate as the region remains the hot spot of the pandemic locally, but no new hospitals are planned in Gauteng. Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize outlined plans during a virtual meeting of the Gauteng General Practitioners Collaboration this week and said medical equipment such as ventilators would be sent to existing medical facilities once the temporary facilities had been dismantled. The Solidarity Fund delivered additional funding of R405m towards the…

Facebook users fed up FACEBOOK users have slammed the new design as confusing, threatening to leave the platform as the social network plans to implement the new user interface from September 1 for its 2.7 billion monthly active users. The classic Face-book web design with blue navigation bar will no longer be available for desktop users. Facebook users have flooded other social media platforms like Twitter, saying the new design is utterly confusing. “@Facebook Your new web interface SUCKS!!!! It doesn’t work (posting pictures makes it crash) and it’s ugly and incomprehensible. Please, please, please go back to the simpler AND SMALLER user interface. I’m gonna be stuck using mobile forever if you don’t. Couldn’t hate it more,” posted one. Another posted: “The Facebook interface is now so confusing, I…

Louisiana a ‘mess’ as Laura moves east LAKE CHARLES: Flooding and more tornadoes were possible as the leftovers of the once fearsome Category 4 Hurricane Laura moved eastward through Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama yesterday. Laura weakened to a tropical depression on Thursday, but it could intensify in destructiveness again when it moves off the mid-Atlantic coast today. One of the strongest hurricanes ever to strike the US, Laura was blamed for six deaths as it barrelled across Louisiana and parts of Texas. More than 750000 homes and businesses were without power in Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas in the storm’s wake, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks utility reports. AP…

UNITED STATES Protesters try to drown out Trump Senator says he was ‘attacked’ by crazed mob HUNDREDS of protesters gathered around the White House for what was billed as a “noise demonstration and dance party” to drown out President Donald Trump’s speech accepting the Republican presidential nomination on Thursday night (US time). President Donald Trump painted a grim picture of life in the US if his rival Joe Biden wins the White House in the November election, promising insecurity, economic decline and an end to basic rights like free speech and gun ownership. Biden, 77, has spent nearly five decades in the public eye as a moderate, and during the Democratic primary he had to fend off a number of challengers from the left. “No one will be…

Artist Banksy sponsors refugee rescue ship LONDON: Elusive street artist Banksy is supporting a refugee rescue ship in the Mediterranean Sea, German aid organisation Sea-Watch said. “A ship sponsored and painted by #Banksy, an experienced SAR crew from all over Europe – the @ MVLouiseMichel already safeguarded two operations of the #SeaWatch4 and has now rescued 89 people itself,” the organisation tweeted on Thursday. “We are excited about the pink reinforcement!” The Guardian newspaper said Banksy financed the vessel to rescue refugees trying to reach Europe from North Africa. The Louise Michel set off from a Spanish port near Valencia on August 18. It rescued 89 people in distress on Thursday. The ship is now looking for a seaport for the rescued passengers to disembark. dpa Reuters…

AUSTRALIA Country open to taking NZ gunman back AUSTRALIA’S prime minister said yesterday he was open to allowing an Australian white supremacist who killed 51 worshippers at two New Zealand mosques to serve his life sentence in his homeland, but the victims’ wishes would be paramount. A transfer would buck international convention and require changes to the laws in both countries, but proponents of the idea have called for Australia to take responsibility for imprisoning Brenton Harrison Tarrant and take the costs off New Zealanders. Tarrant, 29, was sentenced on Thursday to life in prison without parole for the March 2019 attacks in Christchurch. He is the first person to be denied the possibility of parole in New Zealand and has enhanced security in prison for his own safety. Prime…

Blues-busting choccies save the day LINDSAY SLOGROVE THANK heavens for dogs and chocolate. They’re a powerful antidote to Gloomy Gloria, who made a determined bid for Sunshine Sally’s turf this week. Too much news is a hazard of the job, and there’s a lot of horrible, disturbing, sad and bleak news out there at the moment. So to tempt Sally out from the clouds, Gloria took to the couch with five dogs and a load of chocolate, and thought about that instead. This was the Very Important Question she pondered: If you don’t eat anything else at all, is chocolate still bad and fattening? Surely that smidgeon of cocoa bean counts as a vegetable? Some have nuts, which all the health and nutrition experts urge you to eat more of.…

Fierce #girlsquads supporting heroines in happily ever after THE CHICKS’ long-awaited Gaslighter arrived this winter as the feminist battle cry we all desperately needed. The album, which documents the end of lead singer Natalie Maines’s marriage, tells a compelling story about betrayal, survival and the power of female friendships. Through the songs, we collectively bear witness to the heartaches of adult relationships, and the many cages women find themselves in – even as they strive to forge their own path. And for those who can’t get enough of Gaslighter, there is another place where you can find stories of people looking for love and intimacy, who defiantly maintain hope after surviving heartbreak and pain. That place is a romance novel. If the Chicks have left you in the mood for…

The Good Read FEATURE Cricket’s in my DNA – Govender Upcoming AGM ‘will be a hugely critical day in SA cricket history’ THERE is another “KG” making waves in cricket circles and her task is far greater than taking the new ball for the Proteas. Kugandrie Govender – Cricket SA’s first female acting chief executive – has the unenviable responsibility of steering Cricket SA’s ship out of the stormiest waters imaginable. Independent Media’s Zaahier Adams caught up with her this week in the first face-to-face interview since Covid-19 to discuss the way forward. 1. How many hours have you slept since taking the job? Hmm … probably collectively about 12 in the past week! 2. How long did you have to think before accepting it? I didn’t think about it…

NATION Emergency passport applications open RAPULA MOATSHE rapula.moatshe@inl.co.za SOUTH Africans who are still stuck abroad can now apply for emergency passports under level 2 of the lock-down to enable them to travel into the country, said Minister of Home Affairs Dr Aaron Motsoaledi yesterday. Motsoaledi was announcing the services allowed to be issued by his department under level 2 lockdown during a media briefing in Pretoria. “We received complaints (and) some of them from members of Parliament about South Africans who are abroad (and) whose passports have expired and they were asking us to extend them,” he said. Motsoaledi, however, explained that the rules governing passports were not of his department, but of the International Civil Aviation Organisation. “According to those rules a passport is never extended,” he said. He…

DECISION ANC U-turn on Gumede, deputy chair KZN branch bows to huge public outcry STAFF REPORTERS ANC provincial chairperson Sihle Zikalala has indicated the decision to have former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede step aside as an MPL was correct. The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal yesterday said Gumede and party deputy chairperson Mike Mabuyakhulu would have to step aside pending the finalisation of their criminal charges. Zikalala said this was a way of correcting itself following a huge public outcry after Gumede was deployed to the provincial legislature as MPL. Gumede is facing charges of fraud and corruption in relation to the city’s multi-million rand solid waste tender. Mabuyakhulu is also criminally charged in relation to the 2012 North Sea Jazz Festival, which did not take place although R28 million…

COURT Maximum sentence packs GBV message ZELDA VENTER AS WE are nearing the end of Women’s Month, the court made it clear that it will not tolerate femicide when it sentenced a Mabopane man to life imprisonment for slitting his former girlfriend’s throat. Gauteng High Court, Pretoria Judge Papi Masopa said the rate of femicide was extremely high in our country and a strong message should be sent to perpetrators that this would not be tolerated. The judge said Jim Dipugiso Phago, 35, deserved nothing less than the ultimate sentence. He could find no substantial and compelling circumstances to impose a lesser sentence than the maximum of life behind bars. . This follows Phago’s conviction for killing his 33-year-old ex-girlfriend, Mosidi Kopanye. She was an administration clerk at the Temba…

Nu Metro flagship cinemas to reopen POP THE popcorn, cinemas are allowed to open again. Nu Metro announced this week that its flagship cinema complexes – which include those in Pretoria – were reopening yesterday, with all the required precautionary protocols in place. This followed similar news from SterKinekor. Cinemas at this level of lockdown are only open on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays with limited show times. Both distributors will be screening the time-bending thriller, Tenet, with other advertised features including Ava, Fatima, My Spy and the animated Onward. Advance online bookings and snack orders are encouraged as venue capacity is capped, and moviegoers must wear masks, except when eating or drinking in the auditorium. STAFF REPORTER…

LAID BACK Wisdom thrown in jail while corruption runs amok JOUBERT MALHERBE CATS and dogs hey; it seems that except in a few circumstances, the two species were born to hate each other, as was brought home to me one day this week. We were taking our two dogs for a walk and as soon as I opened the gate, I spotted a black cat on the pavement on the opposite side of the road. Ziggy, the chow-husky-alsatian cross, spotted the cat as well and swung into action. He promptly slipped out of the choke chain that hung loosely around his bushy neck. My wife had taken charge of the leash of tiny Jack Russell-chihuahua cross Fudge, who yelped excitedly. Mercifully there was no traffic, so Ziggy got across okay,…

5 travel mistakes to avoid during lockdown level 2 CLINTON MOODLEY Pexels Mistake: The sanitisation process is slowly fading away It surprises me that many people are not sanitising or making use of the sanitisers provided. One should sanitise at every opportunity, whether you are entering a hotel, enjoying an activity or meandering to a charming spot in the city. Mistake: You want to do it all, even if there's HUGE crowd With more people exploring, always be mindful of the queues at a destination, if there’s a large number of people, you should leave that adventure for another day. Mistake: You are not saving for a rainy day It may be tempting to splurge on extravagant getaways in South Africa. However, these will leave you in debt and that’s…

GENDER Women’s anxiety is rocketing STAFF REPORTER FAR from a time of empowerment and celebration, Women’s Month has seen depression and anxiety rocket among women as the boundaries of an already tenuous work-life balance have become increasingly blurred under lockdown. According to a recent Ipsos poll, 40% of South African women say they are feeling anxious as a result of Covid-19, compared to 32% of men. According to Johannesburg-based business, life coach and neuro-linguistic programming practitioner Shanaaz Sukhraj, the underlying tenet of Women’s Month – “you strike a woman, you strike a rock” – is, in reality, nowhere near being internalised as women struggle to contain the guilt of floundering under added pressures. These include months of homeschooling, extra housework, worrying about their parents’ health, and diminished social interaction with…

Berlin police brace for virus protest BERLIN: Police in Berlin requested thousands of reinforcements yesterday from other parts of Germany to cope with protests this weekend by people opposed to the country’s coronavirus restrictions. Authorities in the city had banned the protests this week, citing earlier demonstrations where rules on social distancing and wearing of masks were flouted. Germany has seen a rise in infections and officials are concerned that protesters might contribute to the spread of coronavirus during their rallies and while travelling to and from the capital. AP…

UNITED STATES Lincoln’s hair, bloodied telegram on auction THIS is one macabre auction: A lock of Abraham Lincoln’s hair, wrapped in a bloodstained telegram about his 1865 assassination, is up for sale. Boston-based RR Auction said bidding has opened online for the items before a live auction scheduled for September 12 in New Hampshire. The auction house set the minimum bid at $10000 but expects the lock and telegram to fetch $75000 or more, spokesman Mike Graff said. Measuring roughly 5cm long, the lock of hair was removed during Lincoln’s postmortem examination after he was fatally shot at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, DC, by John Wilkes Booth. It was given to Dr Lyman Beecher Todd, a postmaster and a cousin of Mary Todd Lincoln, the 16th president’s widow, Graff said.…

EGYPT All-blind women’s orchestra to return to stage EGYPT’S all-blind women musicians who make up the Al Nour Wal Amal Chamber Orchestra are preparing for a return concert after nearly five months off due to the Covid-19 pandemic. According to a report by Egypt’s Nile FM, the group is training for a performance at the Manasterly Palace on the Nile in Cairo on September 20. The Al Nour Wal Amal Association is a beneficiary non-profit association founded in 1954 by a group of women volunteers. According to their website, it was the first non-governmental association in the Middle East to help visually impaired girls and women and provide them with vocational training with the aim of reintegrating them into society. All music must be memorised since it is impossible to…

CARPING POINT Booze, a lack of trust and no faith in government KEVIN RITCHIE @RitchKev FAKE news and fear are a heady mix. We saw what happened just before March 27, nary a toilet roll to be had. On Tuesday afternoon, we had the same thing all over again. Queues mysteriously forming outside bottle stores like the secret signal for an impending zombie apocalypse – “the president will speak tonight; he’s going to close the bottle stores…” Except he wasn’t. By mid-afternoon, government had been moved to issue an official statement that booze wasn’t to be banned – as Uncle Cyril had peremptorily done on July 12, without the grace of a day or two to stock the fridge. So, who started the rumour? Cynics say the booze manufacturers themselves…

EDITORIAL Ramaphosa must spring into action WHILE winter is still refusing to let go, the signs are all there that spring has arrived. Parts of our colourful land are still gripped by cold and snow, while some remain parched and barren. But look closely and you’ll see some bright, green shoots. Buds and blooms are pushing out from the ground and from trees, shrubs and flowers. The birds have begun singing more animatedly. Finally, in more ways than one, we are emerging out of a long and harsh winter as Covid-19’s grip is loosening. More and more schoolchildren are back where they are safer and need to be to prepare for the future and challenges that lie ahead. The economy is reopening in earnest as we move deeper into level…

TELEVISION Most attractive psychopaths on the small screen ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER RECENTLY, there’s been a chain of exceptional and binge-worthy TV crime dramas on our screens. And viewers can’t get enough. In an online study, “TV psychopaths people are most attracted to” by experts from “OnBuy TV and Cinema”, it revealed that the more dangerous the character, the more loved they were by fans. A survey done with 2 879 fans, including You’s Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley) and Dexter Morgan (Michael C Hall), revealed the top five actors who took up spots in the hair-raising throne. #1 Villanelle from Killing Eve After two years and 24 episodes, the fashion-stopping Russian assassin has ranked most attractive TV psychopath with 81% of votes. Whether it’s her flamboyant, show-stopping garments or her…

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED THIS FEATURE IS SPONSORED BY PSG WEALTH Email your queries to perfin@inl.co.za or fax them to 021 488 4119 HOW TO BUILD UP AN EMERGENCY FUND I am 26 and I want to start building up an emergency fund. Where do I begin? Name withheld Denise Fourie, a financial adviser at PSG Wealth Silver Lakes, George Central and Mossel Bay Diaz Wealth Management and Stockbroking, responds: Your aim should be to accumulate three to six months’ income. So, if you earn R15 000 a month, you need at least R45 000 (three months’ income) for that rainy day or emergency that may come up. This means you should save about 25% (R15 000 x 25% = R3 750) of your income in the first year to reach…

Rugby gets green light to return to action SOUTH African rugby woke up to a significant boost when the governmental green light for a return to full-contact was issued. The country’s players will relish at last being able to get fully stuck in at training, from early next week after final health checks have been completed. That means the Bulls, Lions, Sharks, Stormers, Cheetahs, Pumas and Griquas are now only a few weeks away from playing each other in a competition that SA Rugby is yet to launch. There is strong speculation that the Super Rugby franchises will first play each other in a mini competition and then a Currie Cup will follow. It is accepted that players need at least three to four weeks of contact training to get…

TV TODAY Cricket: Caribbean Premier League: Trinbago Knight Riders v Barbados Tridents, 3.30pm, SS2; Jamaica Tallawahs v St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, 8pm, SS2 Cycling: La Course By le Tour de France, 7th Edition, 10am, SS8, SS12; Tour De France, Stage 1: Nice Moyen Pays-Nice, 156km, 1.50pm, SS8, SS12 Golf: European Tour: ISPS Handa UK Championship, Day 3, 1.30pm, SS5, CSN; PGA Tour: BMW Championship, Day 3, 6pm, SS5; LPGA Your: Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, Day 3, 10pm, SS12 Motorsport: FIM Superbike World Championship, Aragon Spain, SBK Superpole, 10.50am, SS2; FIM Superbike World Championship, Aragon Spain SSP Superpole, 11.35am, SS2; FIM Superbike World Championship, Aragon Spain, SSP300 Superpole, 12.15pm, SS2l FIM Superbike World Championship, Aragon Spain, Race 1, 1.30pm, SS2; FIM Superbike World Championship, Aragon Spain, SSP Race, 3.30pm, SS13;…

‘Adjust 50-people limit to match gym size’ CHELSEA GEACH chelsea.geach@inl.co.za WHILE fitness enthusiasts rushed back to gyms and personal trainers began to work again this week, gym owners are fighting for the 50-person limit to be lifted. Under level 2 regulations, gyms can welcome clients back inside to train, but a blanket limit of 50 people applies to all clubs, regardless of their square metreage. Mark Field, managing director of Virgin Active South Africa, said the 50-person limit is nonsensical because it doesn’t allow for the massive differences in sizes of gyms – 50 people could be dangerously packed into a small gym, or spaced unnecessarily far apart in a large facility. Field was speaking in a webinar hosted by Discovery Vitality, in which doctors and leaders of the country’s…

ENTERTAINMENT SA’s second lockdown film DEBASHINE THANGEVELO WHEN lockdown came and the entertainment industry ground to a halt, South African film-maker Tim Greene decided to turn it to an opportunity to make a lockdown movie, aptly titled Cabin Fever. Greene’s move inspired Lukhanyo Bele, who launched his production company, Grounded Production, and made his own lockdown ‘dramedy’, The Ground Under. The actor and musician is no stranger to film, having made his acting debut in Shooting Stars, bagging a part in Leon Schuster’s Mama Jack as well as the Netflix feature, 6 Underground by Michael Bay. “Tim Greene created a Facebook page called Lockdown movie project 2020. He started it to keep busy and to collaborate with South African actors all over the globe. “He received an overwhelming response and…

DISABILITIES Giving women a ‘fair chance’ LIAM NGOBENI liam.ngobeni@inl.co.za WHILE August has been declared Women’s Month and boasts campaigns to raise awareness of violence against women, women with disabilities often fall outside these initiatives. This is according to Professor Juan Bornman the president of the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication who said women with disabilities were four to 10 times more susceptible to being victims of sexual and physical abuse. In a bid to mitigate the challenges women with disabilities face, the Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication at the University of Pretoria has come up with a special communication software on a computer enabled to relate what had happened, and to finally bring about justice. Bornman said the fruits of such communication aids were already evident. “In…

Survey to gauge virus impact on business THE CITY of Tshwane is working with the Capital City Business Chamber to better understand the impact of Covid-19 on local business. In a survey, the chamber asks members questions including how their business has been affected by the pandemic and lockdown with options including reduced capacity, operating remotely, reduced hours, changed product offerings, and plans which have been delayed or cancelled. It asks about revenue losses and if the business has had to lay off employees, and what the negative impact of the City of Tshwane’s reduced services has been. Respondents can indicate what government aid has been used and the strategies and future plans for the business, and how the local business community can work with the city to support economic…

ICYMI | IOL.CO.ZA QR CODES FOR INSTAGRAM If I’m going to see people, I won’t wear heavy makeup. It’s not attractive on me. When you see those pictures on my Instagram, they are usually for when I’m doing a photo shoot or an interview.KYLIE JENNER AFTER a successful launch in Japan last year, social media giant Instagram has introduced QR codes to the app. Users can now generate QR codes that will be scannable from any supporting third-party camera apps. Go to: www.iol.co.za/technology/mobile…

Polar bear kills man on Norwegian island COPENHAGEN: A polar bear killed a foreign national at a campsite in the remote Svalbard Islands yesterday, the authorities said, adding the animal was killed by onlookers. Longyearbyen is the main settlement in Norway’s Arctic Svalbard archipelago, which is more than 800km north of the Norwegian mainland. People are warned that bears roam Svalbard. An estimated 20000 to 25000 bears roam the Arctic. The victim’s identity was not immediately given. No one else was injured, but six people were hospitalised for shock. Norwegian broadcaster NRK said the victim was the fifth person to have been killed by polar bears since 1971. The incident was the first since 2011 when a British teenager was killed. AP…

JAPAN Prime minister announces resignation due to ill health JAPAN’S longest-serving prime minister, Shinzo Abe, said yesterday he intends to step down because of a chronic health problem. Abe has had ulcerative colitis since he was a teenager. Concerns about his health grew this month when he visited a Tokyo hospital two weeks in a row for unspecified health checkups. He is on new treatment requiring IV injections, he said. While there is some improvement, there is no guarantee it will cure his condition and so he decided to step down after treatment on Monday, he said. “It is gut wrenching to have to leave my job before accomplishing my goals,” Abe said, mentioning his failure to resolve the issue of Japanese abducted years ago by North Korea and a…

GERMANY Russian leader Navalny still in coma GERMAN doctors treating Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny for a suspected poisoning say the dissident is still in an induced coma but his condition is stable and his symptoms are improving. Navalny, a corruption investigator who is one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest critics, fell ill on a flight back to Moscow from Siberia about a week ago and was taken to a hospital in the Siberian city of Omsk. Last weekend, he was transferred to the Charité hospital in Berlin, where doctors found indications of “cholinesterase inhibitors” in his system. Found in some drugs, pesticides and chemical nerve agents, cholinesterase inhibitors block the breakdown of a key chemical in the body, acetycholine, that transmits signals between nerve cells. He is being…

ICYMI | IOL.CO.ZA NO HAIRCUT IN 80 YEARS Whether you agree with him or not, you always know where he stands.IVANKA TRUMP On her father, US President Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention, White House DONG HOA: While lockdowns caused men across the world to grow their hair longer than usual, none compare with Vietnam’s Nguyen Van Chien, 92, who has gone almost 80 years without a trim. He is the proud owner of five-metre long dreadlocks, owing to his religion that prescribes leaving untouched what a person is born with.…

EDITOR’S CHOICE It’s fine not to be okay Address real feelings instead of floundering in the positivity pool ALLYSON CHIU Washington Post ERIK ATTOS nappy IN THE midst of a raging pandemic and widespread social upheaval, these days it can feel as if reassuring platitudes are inescapable. “Everything will be fine.” “It could be worse.” “Look on the bright side.” But as well intentioned as those who lean on such phrases may be, experts are cautioning against going overboard with the “good vibes only” trend. Too much forced positivity is not just unhelpful, they say – it’s toxic. “While cultivating a positive mind-set is a powerful coping mechanism, toxic positivity stems from the idea that the best or only way to cope with a bad situation is to…

3 THINGS TO WATCH THIS WEEK MONDAY, AUGUST 31 Into the Arms of Danger: Lifetime at 8.05pm Two medics arrive at a car accident to transport an injured teenage girl (AlexAnn Hopkins) to the hospital. Instead of taking her to the hospital, the strangers bring her to the home of a woman whose daughter just died and offer her as a replacement. MONDAY, AUGUST 31 The Great Pottery Throw Down S3: BBC Lifestyle at 8pm The potters tackle everything from homeware to toilets before the judges decide who becomes Potter of the Week, and who must be sent home. Inspiring a new craze for creativity, it delights in showing ordinary people creating extraordinary things. SUNDAY, AUGUST 30 Ellen’s Game Of Games S3: M-Net at 7pm Ellen DeGeneres brings her mischievous…

RANDS & SENSE Women should remain calm and stay the course when investing FLORBELA YATES STUDIES have shown women behave differently to men, particularly when it comes to their financial decision-making. For years, assumptions were made around the “fight and flight” stress response discovered by Walter Canon in the 1930s, which was applied equally to men and women. But more recent research conducted by Dr Shelley Taylor spanning over 30 years clearly shows the female response is far more cerebral and aptly termed “tend and befriend”. Social bonding releases the neuropeptide or hormone oxytocin (commonly known as the “feel good” hormone), which significantly reduces and alleviates the stress response. So how does this affect how women invest? Women tend to rely a lot more on their instinct. They are more…

The Brief INFLATION RISES TO 3.2% IN JULY, UP FROM 2.2% IN JUNE STATISTICS SA reported this week that consumer price inflation increased from 2.2% year on year in June to 3.2% year on year in July. This was higher than expectations and the highest figure since the start of the lockdown. Although the SA Reserve Bank may need to revise its inflation projections upwardly, says accounting firm PwC, in the context of the inflation target range of 3% to 6%, the latest figure is “still very favourable from a monetary policy perspective”. PwC says the major driver behind the increase was the end of transport cost deflation, which had occurred “due to a favourable global energy environment”. However, there have been recent local fuel price increases largely owing to…

SOCCER If Messi wants a challenge … Manchester will be the ideal destination MARK KEOHANE CONFESSION up front. I am all Liverpool. Another confession: If the world is to see Lionel Messi’s career rejuvenation at 33 years old, it can only be with Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. When I write rejuvenation, please read it correctly; it is more a refresh than any rejuvenation because Messi’s club and international career has never been in a slump. Messi is the world’s greatest player, in this generation and also in the history of the game. Statistically one can’t argue Messi’s claim to being the greatest of all time. Subjectively, those opposed to Messi will argue things beyond statistics, like the fact that he has only ever played for Barcelona in La Liga.…

SOCCER The hunger game for Henderson’s Reds WINNING the Premier League has not quelled Liverpool’s hunger for silverware and the Reds will continue to push for trophies in the new season, captain Jordan Henderson has said. Liverpool ended their 30-year wait for a topflight title last season, finishing 18 points clear of Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. Henderson, who made 30 appearances in the league before being sidelined by a knee injury, has challenged his teammates to continue improving. “We need to go again, to be better, to keep that desire, that hunger and that competitiveness as we’ve shown over the last few years,” the England midfielder told Liverpool’s website. “Just keep going and win as many trophies as we can because we’ve proven that over the last few years we’re…