Innholdsfortegnelse for 2022-10-03 i Pretoria News

A USUAL trip to my local gas stockist a week ago left me frustrated and disappointed. I had been used to experiencing localised gas stockouts over winter for the past few years, but my local gas stockist informed me that his supplier has told him that this would be resolved, as there will be multiple sources of supply of gas as a result of new import facilities coming online to resolve the supply issues. This year in particular, we relied heavily on gas for our cooking and heating needs, especially over winter. But this year my experience is that it has been exceptionally difficult to get gas, as a result of the continued supply issues that I was informed about from my local stockist. I even tried alternative stockists, but…

THE City of Tshwane has condemned the taxi violence in the city following the gruesome murder of the chairperson of the Centurion Taxi Association, Paul Mokoena, last week. Roads and transport MMC Dikeledi Selowa has condemned the continued killings in the Tshwane taxi industry and called on stakeholders and policing authorities to urgently address the continuing violence. “My condemnation follows the gruesome murder of the chairperson of the Centurion Taxi Association, Paul Mokoena, (last) Monday. “This horrible crime occurred while the country’s transport sector is engaged with preparations for the celebration of the October Transport Month campaign.” Selowa added that this unfortunate and uncalled for murder occurred only months after the brutal murder of the chairperson of the Atteridgeville Saulsville Taxi Owners Association, Thapedi Frank Moremi, in Atteridgeville in May.…

LED mostly by mothers, Beacon Valley residents are reclaiming their streets through a protest march over continuous and unrelenting gang violence in their community. The protest march commenced at the Beacon Valley Community Centre, yesterday and saw approximately 200 people in attendance. Resident Charmaine Marman said it was heartbreaking to see young children armed with guns. The protest march was a strong call for the end to gang violence, with those present calling for peace. “We live in fear. We have gang rivals in our area and we want that to stop. Children can’t go to schools because most of the shootings happen at the time when the kids are on their way to school or on their way back. “It’s very sad to see every day someone falls, a…

ON SATURDAY energy prices rose for millions of British households as the cost-of-living crisis continues to bite and the country faces a bitterly cold winter exacerbated by the twin threat of a resurgent Omicron infection wave, and the competing seasonal flu virus trying to reclaim its winter pathogen pole position. The reality is that for consumers all over including South Africans, 2022 continues to be an annus horribilis, forcing households to make choices, some of which could be life threatening because they can’t afford the basic necessities of food and fuel due to the dramatic rises in prices caused by the disruptions of the lingering pandemic, the Ukraine conflict and global economic shocks such as rising inflation, subdued GDP growth and the economic slowdown in China. In the UK, the…

Deadly Hurricane Ian, one of the most powerful storms to hit the US, continued dumping rain on parts of the country on Saturday, but was beginning to wind down yesterday after walloping Florida. The National Hurricane Centre said Ian made landfall on Friday afternoon near Georgetown, South Carolina, as a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds 140km/h. It was later downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone as it passed through North Carolina. As for storm-ravaged Florida, President Joe Biden said: “We’re just beginning to see the scale of the destruction.” “It’s likely to rank among the worst in the nation’s history,” he said of Ian, which barrelled into Florida’s southwest coast on Wednesday as a Category 4 storm, a tick shy of the most powerful on the Saffir-Simpson wind scale.…

The death toll of a suicide bombing on a Kabul classroom has risen to 35 and 85 wounded, the UN said at the weekend, as Shia Hazara women who bore the brunt of the attack staged a defiant protest against the “genocide” of their minority community. On Friday, a suicide attacker blew himself up in a Kabul study hall as hundreds of pupils were taking tests in preparation for university entrance exams in the city’s Dasht-e-Barchi area. The western neighbourhood is a predominantly Shia Muslim enclave and home to the minority Hazara community – a historically oppressed group that has been targeted in some of Afghanistan’s most brutal attacks in recent years. Meanwhile on Saturday, dozens of Hazara women defied a Taliban ban on rallies to protest the latest bloodshed…

Managua: The Nicaraguan foreign ministry has announced a break of diplomatic ties with the Netherlands over interference in Nicaraguan affairs by Dutch ambassador to Central America Christine Pirenne. On Friday, the Nicaraguan president, Daniel Ortega, condemned Dutch interference in the country’s affairs and said that he did not want relations with “this interventionist government” because Pirenne came to talk to Nicaraguans “as if Nicaragua were a Dutch colony”. The US ambassador, Hugo Rodriguez, and EU ambassador, Bettina Muscheidt, have also been barred entry for showing a lack of respect for the country’s sovereignty.…

BRASILIA: Brazilian leftist leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, pictured, maintained a solid lead going into the presidential race against far-right incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro and appeared within sight of an outright victory, a fresh poll showed on Saturday. Brazil’s most polarised election in decades will decide whether to return to power a former president who spent time in jail for corruption, a conviction which was later quashed, or a right-wing populist who has attacked the voting system and threatened to contest defeat. A CNT/MDA poll said Lula would win 48.3% of the votes, putting him statistically within reach of taking half of the votes, which would avoid a run-off. If no one among the 11 candidates gets more than 50% of the votes, excluding blank and spoiled ballots, the…

THE Springbok Women’s team has been given the honour of opening the World Cup in New Zealand on Saturday in their match against France and captain Nolusindiso Booi says the occasion can do wonders for the game in South Africa. The tournament opener featuring Booi and her charges promises to be the most watched women's match day in rugby's history. “One has to understand the significance of this tournament and how it can elevate the women’s game on a global scale, but even more so, how it can promote the game back home in South Africa,” Booi said from Auckland. “We have often said — and we honestly believe it — that we want to touch the lives of young girls back home, that we want to show them there…

ORLANDO Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns proved they are part and parcel of South African football royalty after going toe-to-toe on Saturday. In the previous seasons, it was quite rare to see the traditional big three, Pirates, Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs, progress to the semi-finals of MTN8. So, when Pirates and Sundowns were drawn against each other in the semis this season, the tie was dubbed a “final before the final” given their form in the Premiership. And they lived up to expectations in the first leg all right - with the only missing piece being goals, as they played put to a pulsating 0-0 draw. Sundowns came into the match as clear favourites, considering they are also the defending champions and have huge depth in their squad. But they…

Miguel Oliveira delivered a wet-weather masterclass to win the Thai MotoGP yesterday, but world champion Fabio Quartararo finished 17th and saw his lead at the top slashed to two points. Portugal's Red Bull KTM rider Oliveira took the chequered flag ahead of Australia's Jack Miller, with title contender Francesco Bagnaia of Italy third. He is now just two points behind Yamaha's Quartararo in the standings with three races left. It was a nightmare day for France's Quartararo and Spain's Aleix Espargaro - third in the title chase - hardly had a great time either. He came 11th on his Aprilia in the first MotoGP in Thailand since 2019 and is 20 points off Quartararo. The title race is too close to call. Australia is up next, in two weeks, and…

Elon Musk is doing it again – this time with a humanoid robot called Optimus. On October 1 Elon Musk unveiled what could be considered the commercial world’s first attempt to make robots mainstream. Tesla started by unveiling Bumble C, which is the first version of the bot, developed with “semi-off-the-shelves and actuators”. It served as a testing bed for Tesla’s first robot developed with in-house parts. After Bumble C, Tesla has brought on stage the first-generation Optimus robot. The robot shares some AI software and sensors with Tesla cars’ autopilot assistance features. It has a 2.3kWh battery pack, runs on a Tesla SoC, and has wi-fi and LTE connectivity. Optimus appeared on stage at a Silicon Valley event where it waved to the audience and raised its knees. Tesla…

New eThekwini municipal manager Musa Mbhele has promised to institute disciplinary action and clamp down on the actions of some workers who embark on unprotected strikes, and use municipal vehicles to block roads. This comes after protest action by Durban Solid Waste (DSW) workers in August and strikes by the city’s electricity unit and water and sanitation unit last month. It is understood that the strikes came after the city implemented a new overtime policy that imposed drastic cuts on overtime pay that workers can claim. Asked about the strike action, Mbhele in an interview posted on the eThekwini Metro’s Facebook page, said: “Some of the reasons that we heard that workers are striking include that they wanted to be paid overtime and that they are facing tough economic times.…

THE government needs to come up with a workable solution in order to prevent the looming public service strike from going ahead. It is very clear for everyone to see that any strike action is likely to have a negative impact on the country’s already crippled economic outlook. Government workers believe that the 3% increase tabled by the employer is an “insult” considering how the cost of living has rocketed in recent years. Tomorrow could prove to be a decisive day in the government workers’ wage negotiations, as some unions have threatened to go on strike if their demands are not met. The 12 unions representing those employed by the state are expected to make their stance known to the Public Service Bargaining Council. It is true that the cost…

DAKAR: France’s army has had no involvement in recent events in Burkina Faso, the French embassy in the capital Ouagadougou said on Saturday, a day after President Paul-Henri Damiba was ousted in a coup. The embassy said it was issuing its statement in response to reports circulating on social media. Burkina Faso army Captain Ibrahim Traore announced on national televison on Friday that he had ousted military leader Damiba in the second coup this year in the troubled nation. It marks the sixth military power grab in just over two years in West and Central Africa, a region that over the last decade had made strides to shed its reputation as a “coup belt”, only for persistent insecurity and corruption to open the door to military leaders. In January, Burkina…

DOHA: The government of Kuwait tendered its resignation to Emir Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah following the results of the snap parliamentary elections, the Kuna news agency reported on Saturday. On Friday, the electoral commission announced the results of Thursday’s vote, which was meant to break the gridlock between the government and the 50-member National Assembly. Only 12 lawmakers managed to retain their seats in the new parliament. Since September 2020, the oil-rich country has seen the resignation of four governments because of disputes between ministers and lawmakers. |…

NEW DELHI: Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, on Saturday launched 5G services in the country. Users will be able to enjoy 5G services in a couple of weeks. The network will not only offer faster internet speed to users but also help offer support to the federal and state governments in disaster management and agriculture, among others. Modi said that it was a historic day for 21st century India. “5G technology will revolutionise the telecom sector. 5G is a knock on the doors of a new era in the country.” He also said that the cost of internet data in India was among the lowest in the world. |…

HANDRE Pollard is almost certainly out of the Springboks’ November tour after his troublesome knee broke down just half an hour into his debut for the Leicester Tigers at the weekend. The Boks were exposed in the Rugby Championship for their lack of depth in arguably the most important position on the field, with scrumhalf Faf de Klerk at one point the cover for the position. A recurrence of the injury that kept Pollard out of the two Tests against Argentina, therefore, is not good news for coach Jacques Nienaber. On Saturday, Leicester coach Steve Borthwick brought on Pollard after half-time in the game against Saracens but 27 minutes after the 28-year-old came on, he is seen to stumble heavily, and off he went. Pollard had taken the field with…

The exciting Mexico-based Jermaine Seoposenwe will lead the Banyana Banyana attack in the historic international friendly against Fifa Women's World Cup co-hosts Australia at the Kingsmeadow Stadium in London on Saturday afternoon. It will be the first time that the national women's teams of Australia and South Africa will play each other. Australia, along with New Zealand, will host next year's Fifa Women's World Cup. The Cape Town-born Seoposenwe has proved to be a sensation in the Liga MX Femenil, the premier division of women's football in Mexico. A few days ago, she scored a brace for FC Juárez in a domestic match. Her first goal was scored nine seconds into the match and has gone down in the record books as the fastest goal scored in Mexican women's football.…

MAMELODI Sundowns had no shots on target when they faced Orlando Pirates on Saturday, but co-coach Manqoba Mngqithi insists there is no need to panic. The Brazilians faced Pirates in the first leg of the MTN8 semi-finals away at Orlando Stadium, and were clear favourites to win due to their Premiership form. The five-time defending league champions lead the standings with 19 points after nine games, while Pirates are second with 14 and have a game in hand. But it was Pirates who applied the intensity in the game up-front - they had four shots on target, while Sundowns had none. Granted Pirates have been solid this term in defence, conceding just four goals, but Sundowns’ expensive and lethal attacking unit was tipped to unlock them. However, main striker Peter…

The recent report that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has charged McKinsey South Africa with fraud, corruption and theft is set to draw the focus on the banks. Banks have recently been notorious for closing bank accounts of black companies and businessmen. How the banks treat the matter of McKinsey in the coming days or months would be telling. The McKinsey case puts a stern test on the banks’ conduct and integrity. The banking sector has been accused of bias, selective and racist conduct against black versus white companies. The Equality Court interdict concluded in June on the case of Dr Iqbal Survé’s group of companies versus Nedbank, delved into that. Dr Survé is a black industrialist, philanthropist and a media-house owner. The Sekunjalo group had turned to the Equality…

If there’s anything delicious about summer for me, it’s the refreshing fragrance of fruits, so I always invest in those fruity body spritzers just to awaken those summer senses. Success Lekabe understood the assignment and recently launched her first ever fragrance, which bursts with the aromas of coconut, vanilla and citrus. Lekabe told IOL Lifestyle: “The aromas in this fragrance are definitely my favourite. It is an alluring fragrance with notes of creamy coconut, fresh burst of citrus and radiant warmth of vanilla, a fresh and amazing combination.” Lekabe collaborated with Watkins, who also manufactured Breyton Paulse’s fragrance, Pulse. The radio presenter explained: “I was a judge at a school pageant. Breyton Paulse was there and we all know how he recently launched his perfume. I was introduced to Heste…

Thebe Magugu has emerged as one of Africa’s fastest-growing young fashion designers and celebrities around the world are loving his designs. Grammy award-winning Afrobeats star Burna Boy is the latest international celebrity to be spotted in a Magugu creation. The Nigerian superstar, who was headlining this year’s DStv Delicious Festival, was draped in a fiery red Magugu shirt and matching bomber jacket. “African Giant Burna Boy takes the Delicious Stage wearing a custom Thebe Magugu Sisterhood Bandana Technical Bomber trimmed with Dark Red Ostrich Feathers, paired with a matching Sisterhood Bandana Crepe Safari Shirt,” shared Magugu on Instagram. The It’s Plenty hitmaker also shared with his fans his performance outfit before hitting the stage, simply captioning it “A Red Show”. Boity, Rich Mnisi, Kamo Mphela, Bontle Modiselle, Shudufhadzo Musida and…

SOUTH Africa’s re-election as a member of the governing council, following a plenary vote at the 41st International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Assembly on Saturday, is not only a victory for the country but for the continent, as the position means the country will continue to lead, support, and execute the objectives and mandates set by ICAO statutes. This is according to Transport Deputy Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga who is leading the South African delegation in Montreal, Canada, where the country garnered 151 votes, the fourth highest, during part II of the voting to retain the council seat. Chikunga said: “Our contribution to the world in the sector speaks volumes, just as the voting showed. South Africa will continue playing a role that drives the advancement and the fruition of…

Through activism they must find the tools to disrupt the dominant narrative I TAKE my academic stance and inspiration from the late UCT Professor Bongani Mayosi, who said: “There is no point in publishing papers if they cannot be translated into better treatments, better survival, better quality of life and longer life for the people of South Africa.” My intention is not to present yet another conference paper that will collect dust. But rather to put forward five governance implementation questions. You see, the problem in our country is not policy. Our problem is implementation. Political commentator Justice Malala said: “We are a nation of talkers, not doers, of politicians, not entrepreneurs. We analyse problems brilliantly; we solve them poorly. We are a nation of great policies, but of little…

MALANG: A stampede at a soccer stadium in Indonesia has killed at least 125 people and injured 180 after the police sought to quell violence on the pitch, local authorities said yesterday, in one of the world’s worst stadium disasters. Officers fired tear gas in an attempt to disperse agitated supporters of the losing home side who had invaded the pitch after the final whistle in Malang, East Java, on Saturday night, the region’s police chief, Nico Afinta, told reporters. “It had gotten anarchic. They started attacking officers, they damaged cars,” Nico said, adding that the crush occurred when fans fled for an exit gate. Some local officials had put the death toll at 174, but East Java Deputy Governor Emil Dardak said the number of fatalities had subsequently been…

Russia was diplomatically isolated even more at the weekend after President Vladimir Putin annexed four Moscow-held areas of Ukraine with Kyiv condemning the move and vowing to retake the territories. Putin staged a grand ceremony in the Kremlin on Friday to celebrate the annexation, hours after shelling killed 30 people in Ukraine’s southern region of Zaporizhzhia. Washington announced “severe” new sanctions against Russian officials and the defence industry and said G7 allies support imposing “costs” on any nation that backs the annexation. US President Joe Biden condemned Putin’s ceremony in Moscow as a “sham routine” and pledged to continue backing Kyiv. Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg slammed the annexation as “illegal and illegitimate” but remained non-committal after Ukraine said it was applying to join the Western alliance. Turkey said Russia’s…

The Hague: Equatorial Guinea is in a battle with France at the UN’s top court over a confiscated Paris mansion and other assets, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) said. France’s top appeals court upheld the conviction last year of the West African nation’s vice president, Teodorin Obiang, and the confiscation of luxury properties allegedly accumulated with illegally obtained funds. One of the seized properties is a building on the upscale Avenue Foch in Paris, which the ICJ had ruled in 2020 was not diplomatic property and therefore eligible to be confiscated by France. But Equatorial Guinea has now lodged a new case to reclaim the property. |…

Sarajevo: With ethnic divisions growing deeper, Bosnia held general elections yesterday amid secession threats and fears of fresh political turmoil nearly three decades after war ravaged the Balkan nation. The country is torn between secessionist Orthodox Serbs, Catholic Croats demanding greater autonomy and Muslim Bosniaks who want a more egalitarian state. For more than two decades, the impoverished Balkan state has been governed by a dysfunctional administrative system born out of the 1995 Dayton Agreement. And while the accords may have succeeded in ending the war in the 1990s, the country has withered amid political paralysis ever since. |…

Many did not see that coming … The Emirates Lions could make a clean sweep of their European tour this week when they face Edinburgh in their third and final clash abroad in the United Rugby Championship (URC) this year. The Joburgers made it two from two on tour after they beat Cardiff 31-18 on Friday. Previously, they defeated the Ospreys in Swansea. So far this season, they have lost only to the Bulls – in the opening round of the tournament – and are now seventh in the standings on nine points. They are five points behind the early pace-setters, Leinster and the Bulls; and find themselves amongst a cluster of teams that includes Ulster (11 points), the Stormers (10 points) and the Sharks, Benetton and Ospreys – all…

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez again insisted on the idea of a European Super League when speaking at a club members assembly yesterday. In April 2021, a dozen of Europe's biggest clubs signed up to a controversial new project but it crumbled after a strong backlash from supporters and football’s governing bodies. Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus stayed on board, while other clubs abandoned ship and the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg (CJEU) is to rule over whether European football governing body Uefa is acting as a monopoly by blocking the project. "The Super League has never been closed off with a concrete format," Perez said. "We think that it could change depending on different contexts. "The objective of the Super League is to modernise football. It is essential…