Innholdsfortegnelse for 2022-02-19 i Pretoria News Weekend

Fight Club director David Fincher has no idea why the movie’s ending was changed by Chinese censors. The 1999 movie was altered for its airing on streamer Tencent Video. The film-maker said it “made no sense” to him. He told Empire magazine: “A company licensed the film from New Regency to show it in China, with a boilerplate (contract) that states: “You have to understand cuts may be made for censorship purposes.” “No one said, ‘If we don’t like the ending, can we change it?’ So there’s now a discussion being had as to what ‘trims’ means.” The director said the altered ending was close to Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club’ novel, which sees the Narrator – played by Edward Norton in the movie – in an asylum after surviving a…

Goitsemang Tlhabye goitsemang.tlhabye@inl.co.za SCIENTISTS from the University of Pretoria have found that the presence of overzealous tourists could cause stress to penguin chicks, leaving them susceptible to disease. The findings are contained in a study titled “Urofaecal glucocorticoid metabolite concentrations in African penguin chick populations experiencing different levels of human disturbance”. The research, led by a team of scientists at the university, revealed that the close interaction of tourists with African penguin chicks could cause stress among the bird species. The scientists warned that they found that the stress to the species could result in immunosuppression, leaving them susceptible to disease, while at the same time resulting in reduced reproductivity. The African penguin is regarded as an endangered species found in South Africa and Namibia, and they are a popular…

Baldwin Ndaba baldwin.ndaba@inl.co.za THE North West government is set to spend billions of rand on the construction and reconstruction of schools and on roads destroyed in the recent floods. Premier Bushy Maape announced this during his State of the Province Address in the provincial legislature on Friday. The province also has a major pothole problem in its major cities such as Mahikeng, Potchefstroom and Klerksdorp and the rural towns like Lichtenburg, which Maape has promised to deal with. “The delivery of public and social infrastructure is one of the critical drivers of economic recovery and creation of the much needed jobs,” he said. “The total provincial infrastructure budget for the 2022/23 financial year is estimated at R4.824 billion and the province will spend in excess of R14bn on infrastructure over…

Jason Woosey jason.woosey@inl.co.za Late last year, Toyota and Lexus pulled the covers off 15 new electric car concepts to give us a taste of what’s in the pipeline. Among these was this striking Lexus sports car. However, at the time, not much information was released on any of the concept cars but now Lexus has spilt the beans on some of them, including the sports coupé that you see here. Lexus hasn’t given the vehicle a proper name yet, simply referring to it as the future Lexus Electric Sports Car, but the company has effectively confirmed that it will go into production at some point and serve as something of a spiritual successor to the LFA. But while the latter, which Jeremy Clarkson once said was the best car he’d…

As ELECTRIC vehicle sales rise, the big question for power grid operators, charging companies and governments is how to run tens of millions of vehicles without crashing networks or spending billions on grid upgrades. The answer: smart charging. Smart charging software allows EV owners to plug in during expensive peak hours, without the vehicle drawing power until cheap off-peak hours. This eases strain on the electric grid. This could prove more challenging in countries like South Africa where the power grid is teetering on the edge. But without innovations like smart charging many other countries could end up experiencing similar problems to South Africa. With millions of EV owners plugging in after work, auditing firm EY estimates Europe will have 65 million EVs by 2030 and 130 million by 2035…

Sacha van Niekerk Tom Cruise was spotted in Oribi Gorge on the south coast of KwaZulu-Natal (cruising about in his very own chopper) and Hoedspruit in Limpopo, reportedly filming for the next Mission: Impossible film. The series of American action spy films first made their way to the silver screen in 1996 with Cruise starring as “Ethan Hunt”, an agent of the Impossible Missions Force. Seven films have already been released, churning out $3.578 billion (R53.98bn) at the worldwide box office on a budget of $823 million. Location shoots for the previous movies have taken place in destinations like Paris, London, New Zealand, Norway, and the United Arab Emirates. This time around, the budget has brought them to the sunny shores of Mzansi. Twitter fan pages @TCNews62 and @Tomcruisetopp are…

Sacha van Niekerk South Africa will explore adopting remote-working and start-up visas, as per President Cyril Ramaphosa’s state of the nation address last Thursday. “The world over, the ability to attract skilled immigrants is the hallmark of a modern, thriving economy. We are, therefore, streamlining and modernising the visa application process to make it easier to travel to South Africa for tourism, business and work,” he said. In a press release shared by the City of Cape Town, James Vos, the Mayco member for Economic Growth, agreed that implementing a Remote Work Visa would be highly beneficial to various sectors of the economy. Vos highlighted the economic spin-offs of this new visa just over a year ago when Cape Town made the Big 7 Travel website’s “Best cities for remote…

Chris Richards The documentary makers were promising a corrective tell-all about Janet Jackson’s famously turbulent career, because, as the singer herself explained in the opening shots of this eponymous memoir-doc, “It’s just something that needs to be done”. Turns out “it” meant translating Jackson’s Wikipedia page into cheap reality show grammar, leaving Jackson as unknowable as she has ever been. Does any of that change the way we hear the music wafting over the castle walls? Hopefully, a little. Jackson’s public reputation has been repaired, yet not fully restored – since that fateful evening in 2004 when a few square inches of her upper body were exposed to 140 million people watching the Super Bowl half-time show. We all remember what came next: Jackson was swiftly excoriated in the media…

Hannah Elliott INVENTING Anna, the much-anticipated Netflix show about the Manhattan-based socialite grifter named Anna Delvey (aka Sorokin, aka Sorokina), is a feast for the eyes – and the credit card. Delvey was a woman of opaque European descent who swindled financiers, art patrons, Fifth Avenue grand dames, and hangers-on out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. She pulled the con by posing as a high-class “it” girl building an art foundation and social club, among other endeavours. In May 2019 she was convicted of eight white-collar felonies, including grand larceny. She earned her release in February last year, having served four years behind bars at New York City’s Rikers Island, then Albion Correctional Facility in upstate New York. Now Delvey’s escapades appear in a nine-episode show created by Shonda…

Jason Woosey jason.woosey@inl.co.za FOLLOWING hot on the heels of the more accessible Volvo XC60 B5 model announced earlier this month, Volvo Cars South Africa has launched a plug-in hybrid derivative that forms the new flagship of the MY2022 range. The Volvo XC60 T8 Recharge is powered by a 2.0-litre turbopetrol engine that produces 233kW and 400Nm, and it pairs with a 109kW electric motor that’s positioned on the rear axle. As a result, the new Volvo is capable of sprinting from 0-100km/h in 4.8 seconds, according to claims. Being a plug-in hybrid, the vehicle is fitted with an 18.8 kWh lithium-ion battery that allows for a (claimed) all-electric range of up to 81km between charges, which should cover most commutes. Like its other MY2022 Volvo XC60 siblings, the T8 Recharge…

Shifaan Ryklief shifaan.ryklief@africannewsagency.com The World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had high praise for Africa’s first mRNA vaccine technology transfer hub during his visit to South Africa last week. Tedros, who was accompanied by chief scientist at WHO Soumya Swaminathan and Belgian Minister of Development Co-operation Meryame Kitir, met with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and other senior officials to experience first hand the commitment to the initiative between the government and private sector, which includes support by South African consortium made up of Biovac, Afrigen Biologics and Vaccines, a network of universities and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In a bid to solve a number of issues surrounding access to Covid-19 vaccines as well as vaccine availability on the continent and further…

WHILE she wasn’t quite as rampant as in the second round, Paula Reto still romped home by 10 strokes after a closing one-under-par 71 in the Sunshine Ladies Tour’s SuperSport Ladies Challenge, presented by Sun International at Sun City yesterday. Her five birdies and four bogeys in the closing round at the Gary Player Country Club took her to 13-under-par for the tournament, with Casandra Alexander in second on three-under-par after a closing round of two-over-par 74. Sweden’s Linn Grant, last week’s winner of the Dimension Data Ladies Challenge, and reigning Investec South African Women’s Open champion Lee-Anne Pace shared third on two-under-par and Stacy Bregman and Romy Meekers from the Netherlands rounded out the top five on one-under. “It means a lot,” said Reto of her first professional title…

Travel on South Africa’s luxury Blue Train, which connects Cape Town to Pretoria in two days, has been suspended until further notice after several incidents including a derailment. “As a precautionary measure following the recent incidents involving the Blue Train, management has taken the decision to temporarily suspend operations while the train undergoes a thorough technical assessment,” Transnet said in a statement. It will then be put back into service, the company said, without giving a timeline. In November, the train derailed at the exit of a station located about 20 kilometres from Johannesburg. It was not carrying any passengers and the accident did not cause any injuries. Earlier this month, a wagon being repaired in a depot near Pretoria was hit by a fire. An investigation is under way…

This month's IOL Travel digital magazine is all about celebrating love in some of the most beautiful locations in the world. We have picked amazing spas, hidden gems and the most romantic locations for you to enjoy with your partner. Whether you are travelling locally or abroad, we have some great options for you to check out. Even if you don't travel for Valentine’s Weekend, you can still be inspired by the locations and types of travel we have included in the magazine, and travel later on in the year. Let the stories we have written and locations we have chosen, open your heart, broaden your mind and when you do get to travel, may your trip with your loved one fill your life with many happy stories to tell.…

Set in New York City of 1882, The Gilded Age presents the conflict between old money and new during a period of economic boom in the US. The second season of Julian Fellowes’ historical drama has been greenlit by HBO, reports Variety. The series, which premiered on January 25 on M-Net and airs every Tuesday at 8.30pm, has aired four out of nine for its first season so far. The Gilded Age follows several story- lines that are intertwined. Talking about the second season, Francesca Orsi, executive vice-president of HBO Programming, said in a statement accessed by Variety: “Julian Fellowes and the entire Gilded Age family have thoroughly captivated us with their tale of late 19th century New York City extravagance. Along with our partners at Universal Television, we…

Lutho Pasiya lutho.pasiya@inl.co.za Take a peek at Instagram, TikTok or Twitter on any given day and you will find them full of delicious creations and quite a few strange ones. Modern-day chefs, culinary artists and foodies are always looking to put their own spin on things. One is food enthusiast Michael Ligier, a YouTuber and TikToker who loves cooking up all types of food while diving deep into various types of cuisine, but he also enjoys molecular gastronomy. Molecular gastronomy is defined as “the scientific discipline concerned with the physical and chemical transformations that occur during cooking”. I was first introduced to Ligier in October last year when his invisible pizza recipe went viral online, and each day he just keeps serving food that amazes us. Some of his creations:…

Zelda Venter zelda.venter@inl.co.za THE decriminalisation of sex work in South Africa is long overdue and the fact that this is in the pipeline is a huge step in giving sex workers the protection and dignity they deserve. This is according to Connie Mathe, co-ordinator of the Asijiki Coalition for the Decriminalisation of Sex Work. Its aim is to advance the full decriminalisation of this profession. In many countries, including South Africa, sex workers are suffering gross human rights violations. The decriminalisation of sex work is therefore backed by major human rights organisations including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the South African Commission for Gender Equality. Mathe said the fact that sex work was a criminal offence had resulted in high levels of violence, lack…

Goitsemang Tlhabye goitsemang.tlhabye@inl.co.za THE families of the victims of serial killer Wellington Kachidza have urged the court to stop unnecessary delays and postponements of his case so that they can find closure. Sam Lucas Mageza, a relative of Steven Moses Mageza, one of victims of Kachidza’s killing spree in Pretoria, said they were “drained” by going to court over and over again. Mageza said the loss of his relative had hit the family badly, especially his two girls aged 6 and 7, who have to grow up without a father. He said the most painful thing was not knowing how to comfort his daughters as they were still too young to understand what had happened to their father. “The last time they kept postponing telling us that he had contracted…

Betty Moleya betty.moleya@inl.co.za NICOLINE du Toit, famously known as President Cyril Ramaphosa’s and ministerial briefings sign language interpreter, is in need of funds to assist her in her medical journey. Du Toit requires treatment after she was diagnosed with a rare type of bone marrow cancer. The sign language interpreter from Pretoria is a twin sister and a single mother of two, with a son in Grade 10 and a married daughter. She and her twin sister, Nicolette, were born to deaf parents and that is why Nicoline learnt to sign – both the sisters do not have their parent’s condition. Nicoline is a freelance sign language interpreter and only gets paid if she works. She is on the waiting period for a medical aid and meanwhile her bills are…

Alyssia Birjalal alyssia.birjalal@inl.co.za In the latest episode of Podcast and Chill with MacG, media personality Minnie Dlamini-Jones was dragged following her announcement on divorcing Quinton Jones. Earlier this week, after Dlamini-Jones’s announcement, YouTuber Slik Talk came out of hiding to add his two cents to the conversation. In the video, he claimed everyone knew Dlamini-Jones’s marriage was not going to be a success story. He also said Dlamini-Jones married Jones to “secure the bag”. The team at Podcast and Chill agreed with Slik Talk, calling him “lit” and then ended up dragging Dlamini-Jones even further. Solphenduku, MacG’s co-host, said: “I don’t know Minnie from a bar of soap or the guy she married, but it does look like she married a guy who was well off and they were tight…

Jason Woosey jason.woosey@inl.co.za Mercedes-Benz’s electric car roll-out has been nothing short of aggressive, with the rapidly expanding EV range now covering almost all ends of the market, and the company’s aggression division is not far behind with its own performance offerings. Following the debut of the Mercedes-AMG EQS late last year, the performance division has unleashed two versions of the EQE mid-size sedan. The new Mercedes-AMG EQE 43 4Matic and EQE 53 4Matic models are powered by a pair of AMG-specific electric motors, one on each angle to offer fully variable all-wheel drive. But they differ when it comes to performance, with the EQE 43 offering peak outputs of 350kW and 858Nm and the EQE 53 pushing a wholesome 505kW and 1 000Nm when fitted with the Dynamic Plus Package…

Ashfak Mohamed ashfak.mohamed@inl.co.za THE Bulls have three wins out of nine matches in the United Rugby Championship, so next Friday’s showdown with Zebre in Parma (7.30pm SA time kick-off) is a must-win game. Last weekend’s 29-22 defeat to the Sharks at Loftus Versfeld has ramped up the pressure on Jake White’s team to qualify for the play-offs. Here are five areas the Bulls must fix to beat Zebre: 1 Get rid of Italy travel blues The last time the Bulls flew to Italy, they were stunned by the unfancied Benetton in the Rainbow Cup final in Treviso last June. White’s team were overwhelmed by the physical intensity of the home side, and looked a yard off the pace. White attributed most of the problems to a disrupted build-up, where they…

Sacha van Niekerk sacha.vanniekerk@inl.co.za Travel couples are a breed of their own as far as influencers go. Whether they’re into van-life, converting minibuses into chic mobile homes and hopping from state to state or jet-setting in first class, experiencing every luxury life has to offer, one thing is for sure – they are the epitome of #couplegoals. If you’ve ever been on holiday with a significant other, you’ll know how thrilling, yet challenging the entire process can be. From having to compromise on which attractions to see first to choosing a budget that works for both parties, picking the accommodation and compromising on who gets to have the window seat, there’s no doubt that putting a travel itinerary together can be a huge ordeal, especially when you have to consider…