Innholdsfortegnelse for 2022-05-17 i Pretoria News

Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker have legally tied the knot. After their practice wedding in Las Vegas last month, the Poosh founder and the Blink-182 drummer officially got hitched in Santa Barbara on Sunday, with a few close friends and family by their side. Kardashian and Barker are still planning a “big wedding” in Italy “very soon”. A source told People: “They had to legally get married first ahead of their big Italian wedding, which is happening very soon. All the details are set and the whole family, including all the kids, are very excited.” In photos and footage obtained by E! News, the newlyweds were seen driving away in a convertible with a “Just Married” sign on the back. According to a source, the 43-year-old reality star’s grandmother, Mary…

COMMISSIONER of police in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela, said she has learnt with “great shock” about an incident in which an 82-year-old woman was arrested on allegations of dealing in dagga. “The female suspect appeared in the Nkomazi Magistrate’s Court on Friday,” according to Mpumalanga police spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala. “According to the information at the police’s disposal, members at Tonga were busy with their duties of patrolling on Thursday morning at Magudu in Nkomazi, near the borderline between the Kingdom of eSwatini and South Africa, when they spotted a minibus with some commuters.” The vehicle was halted, and police officers conducted a search on the minibus as well as its occupants. “It was then that the old woman was allegedly found wrapped with dagga around her body.…

When one of the contenders for the Eastern Cape ANC chairperson position, Babalo Madikizela, was reminded of the 2017 provincial conference, which was dubbed the festival of chairs, he was quick to dub the 2022 one as “the festival of ideas”. The “festival of chairs” was when the 2017 conference degraded into chaos, with delegates throwing chairs at each other. “Festival of chairs” was not the desired outcome the ANC expected. Many people were hurt physically and emotionally. Some, members and supporters, were disappointed and the cherry on top was the reputation of the ANC. It was gravely tarnished. This was the result of greedy members who dragged the ANC’s name through the mud. This is because they use the organisation for a living, and corruptly enrich themselves. Some still…

The Roman Catholic archbishop in Jerusalem yesterday strongly criticised Israel’s “police invasion” last week of a Christian hospital ahead of the funeral of slain Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh. An organisation representing 12 Christian denominations also condemned the Israeli riot police charge, describing the actions as a violation of freedom of religion. The veteran journalist was shot dead during an Israeli army raid in the West Bank. Palestinians and the TV network said Israeli troops killed her, while Israel said Palestinian gunfire may be to blame. Anger over her death was compounded on Friday when baton-wielding Israeli police in annexed east Jerusalem beat pall- bearers carrying Abu Akleh’s coffin, covered by a Palestinian flag. The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, yesterday condemned “Israel’s police invasion and disproportionate use…

An investigation into the weekend shooting of more than a dozen people at a western New York supermarket turned yesterday to whether authorities missed telltale signs and red flags left by the teenage gunman prior to his racist killing spree. Authorities said Payton Gendron, 18, carried out an act of “racially motivated violent extremism” when he opened fire with a semi-automatic rifle on Saturday at the Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo, where 11 of the 13 wounded were black. “The evidence that we have uncovered so far makes no mistake this is an absolute racist hate crime that will be prosecuted as a hate crime,” Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia told reporters on Sunday. Besides seeking a clearer understanding of the motives for Gendron’s attack, authorities will focus on what…

KATHMANDU: A total of 22 climbers, including four Chinese, scaled Mt Qomolangma from the Nepali side yesterday along with Nepali mountain guide Mingma Gyalje Sherpa who did not use supplemental oxygen this time. Dawa Futi Sherpa, manager of the Imagine Nepal Trek and Expedition which organised the expedition, said Chinese climbers Liu Wenwei, Hai Qiannan, Feng Jianfei and Zhan Xiongchang reached the top of the peak that straddles Nepal and China with 18 other team members. Dawa wrote on Facebook that in addition to the Chinese, Abdul Muhammad from Pakistan, Anna Surysheva from Russia and Nathan Peter Longman from Australia, and 15 Nepali guides summitted. | Xinhua…

HAVANA: Cuba has become the first Latin American country to celebrate LGBTQI+ history month, with advocates hoping the milestone spurs other nations to mark old wins and prevent new discrimination. Dozens of events are scheduled throughout May, said founder Raul Perez Monzon, a historian and assistant professor at the University of Havana. Lectures, panel discussions and workshops will “promote inclusion” and “reflect on issues in our country,” Perez said. “LGBTQ+ History Month is intended to help eliminate many years of discrimin-ation. LGBTQ+ people have been afraid to call attention to themselves for fear of consequences.” | Reuters…

Novak Djokovic said his seven-year-old son Stefan had won his first tournament on the same day the Serb lifted his first crown in more than six months at the Italian Open, describing their success as a “sunshine double”. Djokovic beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-0, 7-6 (7/5) to triumph in Rome on Sunday, ensuring a perfect week for the world No 1 before the French Open, but the 20-time Grand Slam winner was equally pleased for his son. “The journey started successfully. My son won a tournament today. A sunshine double,” Djokovic said, adding that his son’s victory at the small club tournament would stick in his memory. “I wanted him to enjoy it on the court ... He was on cloud nine with the family, my parents, my wife’s parents, everybody…

When will people stop getting their partners’ names tattooed on their bodies? Surely, by now, you should realise that no matter how strong your bond is at the time when that person’s name is inked into your skin forever, it simply isn’t a great idea. Don’t get me wrong, I fully understand the sentimentality of it all. The expression of undying love. The commitment to the eternal love affair. But let’s be honest, the ink of a tattoo is forever, and there are some marriages that are over before the ink on the marital contracts have dried. While many lovebirds do it, celebs are especially fond of it and not shy to show them off, either. We’ve all seen how often celebs fall in and out of love. And while…

Twitter users have for a long time mocked former finance minister Tito Mboweni’s cooking skills. It’s no secret that Mboweni loves to be in the kitchen, but his dishes are not always appetising for many. Since 2019, he has been known as the “minister of cooking”, as he shared his recipes and showed off his cooking skills on social media. Mostly, Mboweni is teased about the amount of garlic he uses, and not chopping the vegetables finely enough, which could ruin the presentation of the meal. His favourite ingredients? Onions, red and yellow peppers, carrots, curry, and copious amounts of garlic. Recently he whipped up a lamb stew but tweeps were not impressed – it was ruined by the number of tomatoes and how they were chopped. One of the…

THE ANC in Mpumalanga is facing accusations that its processes, if any, allow foreign nationals to easily join the party without being vetted. This follows the withdrawal of the membership of Philemon Lukhele, an ANC member implicated in the kidnapping, rape and murder of Hillary Gardee. On Sunday night, the ANC announced that Lukhele, who is in jail, was an illegitimate member of the party as he was a citizen of Swaziland. ANC members close to the matter revealed that the ANC in Mpumalanga was known for allowing foreign nationals to occupy leadership positions. “You don’t have to look far. The first place is the ANC-run government in the province. A cnumber of heads of departments are foreign nationals. “There was even an MEC accused of being a Mozambican…

FIELD workers in the Pretoria area who were part of the 2022 Census are still waiting to be paid. Their contracts with Statistics SA ended on April 14, but close to 100 of them told the Pretoria News they were yet to be paid their outstanding salaries for February, March and April. Several workers representing the affected group said they had attempted to take their plight to the CCMA. The workers said, however, that they were informed that each had to lodge a complaint, something they battled to do because they did not have the means to travel. One of the field workers from Pretoria, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of victimisation, said although some workers had received their payments for some of the months, others were still…

The hearing of the City of Tshwane’s application for leave to appeal against the March 18 judgment overturning the awarding of a R4 billion fleet management tender was yesterday postponed by the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, to Thursday. This was after Xmoor Transport (Pty) Ltd, one of the service providers that opposed JL Excavators (Pty) Ltd’s initial legal challenge against the tender in question, indicated it only learnt about the hearing yesterday morning. JL Excavators had approached the court on the grounds that the City had flouted tender procurement regulations. The multimillion-rand tender SSO4, which was advertised in March last year, was awarded in August 2021. The contract focused on the corporate hire of construction vehicles, yellow plant equipment, refuse removal vehicles, specialised equipment and machines for the city. In…

CONSERVATION organisations such as Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife have to be well funded to enable them to carry out their mandate, especially fighting the scourge of rhino poaching. A well co-ordinated response involving all role-players in the conservation sector has to be implemented without delay to reduce the increasing incidents of rhino poaching in our game reserves. The latest figures have shown an upward trajectory in rhino poaching in KwaZulu-Natal, reinforcing the view that such intervention measures are long overdue. According to the KZN MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Ravi Pillay, since the beginning of the year, 106 rhinos have already been poached. In 2020, 93 rhinos were poached in KZN parks, while 102 were targeted last year. If these alarming figures are anything to go by, the…

Former Somali leader Hassan Sheikh Mohamud won the presidency again in voting by parliamentarians on Sunday in an airport hangar protected by blast walls from Islamist insurgents whom he must now fight for a second time. The 66-year-old, who ruled from 2012 to 2017, reversed the previous election to defeat incumbent President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed by 214-110 votes in a third-round runoff whose result was confirmed around midnight. “We have to move ahead, we do not need grudges. No avenging,” Mohamud said in his acceptance speech from the airport compound in the capital Mogadishu patrolled by AU peacekeepers. Supporters defied a curfew to pour onto the streets of Mogadishu, cheering and firing guns into the air. The former education campaigner and peace activist faces a daunting task in the nation…

Vatican City: Pope Francis has quipped that a shot of tequila would help him with a painful knee that has forced the 85-year-old Argentinian to use a wheelchair. “You know what I need for my leg? A little tequila!” Francis joked with a group of Mexican priests in a video posted on TikTok that went viral yesterday. The pontiff was doing the rounds of St Peter’s Square in the Vatican in his pope-mobile after the general audience recently when he stopped to say hello to the group of newly ordained priests, one of whom asked him about his knee. “Very capricious,” replies a smiling Francis, who has had to cancel some audiences. | AFP…

Surabaya: At least 14 people were killed and more than a dozen injured when a bus carrying domestic tourists crashed into an advertising sign in Indonesia’s East Java province early yesterday, police said. The bus, which was carrying 31 passengers, the driver and a crew member, hit the pole and then rolled over on a toll road connecting the town of Mojokerto to the country’s second city, Surabaya. The victims were from Benowo, a village near Surabaya, and were returning home after a long weekend at popular holiday destination Dieng Plateau, about 400 kilometres away in Central Java, local official Ridwan Mubarun told Indonesian television station Metro TV. | AFP…

Baghdad: Another sandstorm that descended yesterday on Iraq sent at least 2 000 people to hospital with breathing problems and led to the closure of airports, schools and public offices across the country. It is the eighth duststorm since mid-April to hit Iraq, which has been battered by soil degradation, intense droughts and low rainfall. The last one earlier this month led to the death of one person while 5 000 had to be hospitalised. Yesterday, a thick cloud of dust enveloped the capital Baghdad in an orange glow, correspondents said. Last month, an environment ministry official warned that Iraq could face “272 days of dust” a year over the next two decades. | AFP…

Liverpool are still assessing the fitness of Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk ahead of tonight’s Premier League trip to Southampton where they could close the gap on leaders Manchester City to one point, manager Jurgen Klopp said yesterday. Forward Salah and defender Van Dijk were substituted during Saturday’s FA Cup final against Chelsea, which Liverpool won on penalties to lift their second trophy of the season. “The process is not finished yet because we only played the 120 minutes two days ago ... We have a lot of decisions,” Klopp said. “Those extra 30 minutes made a big difference ... We will have to make changes, I don’t know how many.” Klopp added that defensive midfielder Fabinho, who missed the win over Chelsea with a hamstring injury, will remain…

The football gods showed they favoured Orlando Pirates after Gambian referee Bakary Gassama overturned his decision to award Libyan club Al Ahli Tripoli a penalty in Sunday’s Caf Confederation Cup semi-final second-leg match at Orlando Stadium. The 5 000 strong crowd, mostly Pirates supporters, who had braved Sunday evening’s foul weather, were stunned into silence when Gassama pointed to the “spot” after seeing a handball infringement in the Buccaneers penalty area by central defender Happy Jele. When consulting the pitch-side VAR monitor, the video footage showed the ball ricocheted sharply off Jele’s boot and onto his hand. It was not a hand-to-ball sequence, and Gassama ruled “no penalty” much to the disgust of the protesting Libyan visitors. Just two days earlier, Gassama was in the news after he awarded a…

Richards Bay FC secured promotion to the DStv Premiership for the first time in the club’s history after playing out to a goalless draw in their final match of the season and were crowned GladAfrica Championship winners of the 2021/22 season on Sunday. In the midst of all the celebrations at the King Zwelithini Stadium, the Richards Bay FC owner, Sfiso ‘Jomo’ Biyela, took time to address the club’s supporters and assured those present that the club was not up for sale at any price. “This club is not for sale, this is my club and there’s no offer on earth that I could possibly consider. Therefore, to anyone that’s even dreaming about making an offer for this club, I can assure you now that you’re are wasting your time,”…

AUDIT firm KPMG South Africa has been roped in to clean up the struggling Ubank’s balance sheet as the bank’s capital resources are on the brink of drying up. The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) yesterday placed the Ubank under curatorship with immediate effect while the finance minister appointed KPMG as the curator. Ubank Group Limited is owned by Teba Fund Trust and administered by the National Union of Mineworkers to service the unserved and underserved market. It operates in the microfinance sector which mainly targets lower- income blue-collar workers in the mining industry, with more than 4.7 million active accounts. SARB governor Lesetja Kganyago said Ubank has had significant challenges over the years. He said the SARB’s Prudential Authority had been monitoring corporate governance concerns at Ubank…

THE Boxer Superstore company has been ordered by the court to pay damages to a shopper, injured when she slipped and fell on cake flour that had spilt on the floor. Caymore Pete turned to the Eastern Cape High Court, suing the store chain for damages, claiming it was negligent as it failed to clean up the flour on the floor in time so as not to cause a danger to shoppers. Pete said she was doing shopping for her grandmother in September 2020 when she slipped and fell. Boxer stores denied any responsibility and told the court that Pete simply did not look where she was walking. Pete testified that on the day of the incident, the store was very busy, as it was during the social grants payment…

A woman who argued she was entitled to R2 million from the Road Accident Fund (RAF) because her partner whom she had intended to marry was killed in a car accident has been turned down by the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria. The woman, who cannot be named so as not to identify her daughter, met her partner two years before he was killed in a car accident. Before his death, he took care of her as well as her teenage daughter. According to her, there was a legal duty on him to support her and her child, whom he had accepted and treated as his own. Thus, she reasoned, she could claim from the RAF for loss of support. The woman claimed they were engaged to be married at the…

President Cyril Ramaphosa announced many months before he even received the Zondo Commission report that he would enthusiastically implement the commission’s findings. Of course, at the time of his announcement, Ramaphosa knew that he had Justice Zondo by the proverbial balls. Justice Zondo desperately wanted to ascend to the soon-to-be vacant position of chief justice at all costs, and Ramaphosa could make his dream come true, subject to certain conditions. Zondo had to exonerate Ramaphosa in his report, even if some prominent ANC officials were sacrificed or thrown under the bus. For good measure, Justice Zondo also unquestionably crossed the line of judicial ethics by wading into a tussle with Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu over a newspaper opinion piece she published about a captured or untransformed judiciary. Justice Zondo sought…

Ukrainian troops have pushed Russian forces back from the north- eastern city of Kharkiv and some have advanced as far as the border with Russia, Ukrainian officials said yesterday. The developments, if confirmed, would signal a further shift in momentum in favour of Ukraine nearly three months into a conflict that began when Russia sent tens of thousands of troops over the border into Ukraine on February 24. Sweden meanwhile was to take a formal decision to apply to join Nato following a similar move by Finland – a change in the Nordic countries’ long-standing policy of neutrality brought on by the Russian invasion and concern about President Vladimir Putin’s wider ambitions. “Europe, Sweden and the Swedish people are living now in a new and dangerous reality,” Swedish Prime Minister…

Around 40 people, many of them civilian volunteers with the army, had been killed in suspected jihadist attacks in Burkina Faso, local sources and security officials said yesterday. In the northern region of Sahel, around 25 people were killed in two assaults on Saturday, including 13 members of the Volunteers for the Defence of the Fatherland (VDP), a leader of the force said. In Kompienga, near Burkina’s south-eastern border with Togo and Benin, about 15 civilians were killed on Saturday when their convoy was attacked while under VDP escort, a security source said. A local inhabitant said three volunteers also died in this attack, and called for help for the wounded, which he said numbered nearly a dozen. In another raid on Saturday, assailants attacked police and gendarmes’ posts in…

PYONGYANG: North Korea’s Kim Jong Un criticised “irresponsible” officials over the country’s pandemic response and ordered the army to help distribute medicine, state media said yesterday, as Seoul offered Covid-19 aid. More than 1 million people have been ill with what Pyongyang calls “fever”, despite Kim ordering nationwide lockdowns to slow the spread of disease through the unvaccinated population. In a sign of how serious the situation may be, Kim “strongly criticised” healthcare officials for “a botched response to epidemic prevention” and ordered the army to work “on immediately stabilising the supply of medicines in Pyongyang”, where Omicron was detected last week in North Korea’s first reported Covid-19 cases. North Korea has one of the world’s worst healthcare systems, with poorly-equipped hospitals and no Covid drugs, experts say. Kim’s public…

Beijing: China has come to India’s defence after the G7’s criticism over the decision to regulate the export of wheat, saying that blaming developing countries like India won’t solve the global food crisis. Last week, the Indian government amended the export policy of wheat by putting its export under the “prohibited” category. The order that was rolled out by the Ministry of Commerce stated that the government has banned the wheat exports with “immediate effect”. But what came as surprise was the Chinese state media’s defence of India after criticism from Group of Seven (G7) nations. | ANI…

The Stormers, Sharks and Bulls have everything to play for in the final round of United Rugby Championship matches this weekend. The three South African franchises booked their spots in the playoffs with home victories in the penultimate round of regular-season action, setting up what should make for thrilling action abroad given the permutations. Having already secured a place in the quarter-finals, the goal for the Sharks, Bulls and Stormers now shifts to finishing in the top four and earning hosting rights to a home playoff. The Sharks will face Ulster in Belfast, while the Bulls clash with Ospreys in Swansea on Friday. On Saturday, the Dragons host the Lions in Newport before the Stormers take on Scarlets in Llanelli. In-form Leinster have a tally of 62 points after bagging…

Egyptian football legend Mohamed Aboutrika has called on Al Ahly to withdraw from their Caf Champions League final clash against Wydad AC, which is scheduled for the Stade Mohammed V in Morocco in two weeks’ time. The decision to stage the upcoming final in Morocco has been met with controversy. Not only will it mark the second consecutive year that the final of the competition will be held in Morocco, but it also gives Wydad home ground advantage over Pitso Mosimane’s side, who are bidding to win the tournament for a third consecutive time. Both Al Ahly and Wydad booked their places in the final last weekend. Mosimane’s team recorded a 6-2 aggregate win over ES Setif, while Wydad beat Petro de Luanda 4-2 on aggregate. “Congratulations to Al Ahly…