Innholdsfortegnelse for 2022-10-26 i Pretoria News

THE Hawks in Mpumalanga are concerned about rampant hijacking incidents in the province, which they have described as “alarming”. Hawks’ spokesperson in Mpumalanga, Captain Dineo Lucy Sekgotodi, said before any trip, motorists are advised to prepare. “Before leaving your house, ensure everything in your vehicle is in adequate condition to avoid being stuck on the road. Know the direction and destination where you are going,” she said. “Ensure that before driving off, all windows and doors are properly locked. Have the contact numbers of the police stations, emergency services, family members, neighbours, colleagues or any other numbers you can call in the case of predicaments.” The Hawks advised motorists to avoid picking up strangers on the road. “Do not pick up hitch-hikers or strangers on the road. While driving, check…

SECTION27, the Centre for Child Law and the parents of two pupils assaulted by their teachers say they are disappointed with a judgment in the matter and that it does not go far enough in effectively enforcing the ban on corporal punishment in schools. The organisations intend to appeal against Gauteng High Court, Pretoria Judge Dawie Fourie’s ruling handed down on October 13 in the case of the Centre for Child Law and The South African Council for Educators. The litigation was launched in 2020, spurred by two separate instances of corporal punishment committed by teachers. Both teachers received lenient sentences from the council, the organisations said. In the first instance of corporal punishment, a teacher was charged with hitting two Grade 2 pupils over the head with a PVC…

Decades ago, spouses under a customary marriage enjoyed no legal protection in South Africa, but things changed drastically over the years and such unions were recognised in law. A husband discovered this after he simply entered into a civil union with another woman while still being married to his first wife. The wife, who hails from rural Limpopo, had no idea her husband was married under her nose until her son by coincidence found the marriage certificate in his father’s bag. The woman turned to the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, where she was successful in an application to have her husband’s marriage to the second wife declared null and void. The applicant (who cannot be named as the matter involves their marriage) told the court that she was not going…

THE distraught family of Nkangala municipal manager (MM) Maggie Skhosana, pictured, are praying for her safe return and that of her personal assistant and driver, Gugu Mtsweni. Skhosana not only relies on her wheelchair to get around, she is reportedly diabetic and there are fears for her health without her medication. There are reports the alleged kidnappers have demanded a R5 million ransom for release of the two. Morney Vos from Mike Bolhuis Specialised Security Services is heading a specialised task team working in conjunction with the police. Vos reportedly said investigators received voice notes from both women, indicating they might be safe for now and a R5m ransom demand has been received. It is also reported that the ransom is expected to be in hard cash. Skhosana, a mother…

Sudan yesterday blocked internet access nationwide as pro-democracy activists marked the first anniversary of a coup that derailed the transition to civilian rule, with hunger and inflation throttling the country. Waving Sudanese flags, protesters defied authorities who have launched repeated deadly crackdowns on past rallies, chanting “power to the people” and demanding that “soldiers go back to the barracks”. A year ago to the day, army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan seized power and arrested the civilian leaders with whom he had agreed to share power in 2019, when mass protests compelled the army to depose one of its own, long-time autocrat Omar al-Bashir. As demonstrations gathered across the north-east African country yesterday, authorities launched a “nation-scale internet disruption,” online monitor NetBlocks said, a regular tactic when mass protests are planned.…

Qatar has been hit by an “unprecedented campaign” of criticism over the football World Cup, its ruler said yesterday, lashing out at “double standards” in a fierce rebuttal just weeks before the tournament starts. The energy-rich and conservative Islamic Gulf state has spent tens of billions of dollars on hosting the first World Cup on Arab soil, but has faced mounting attacks over its human rights record. In a rare public airing of frustration, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani said Qatar was the victim of “fabrications”, hinting at hidden motives behind the criticism. “Since we won the honour of hosting the World Cup, Qatar has been subjected to an unprecedented campaign that no (other) host country has faced,” he said in a speech to the country’s legislative council, 26 days…

Adidas has cut ties with Ye, the musician and fashion designer formerly known as Kanye West, marking the end of a partnership that made the company billions but was soured by the artist’s repeated brazen antisemitic and offensive remarks. After avoiding commenting for weeks on the status of the partnership, the German-based maker of athletic gear broke its silence yesterday, saying in a statement: “After a thorough review, the company has taken the decision to terminate the partnership with Ye immediately, end production of Yeezy branded products and stop all payments to Ye and his companies. adidas will stop the adidas Yeezy business with immediate effect.” The statement added that Adidas “does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech. Ye’s comments have been unacceptable, hateful and dangerous,…

MESSAGING app WhatsApp suffered an international outage yesterday, but it was resolved with the company saying the issue has been fixed. At around 9.50am South African time, outage reporting site Downdetector had shown over 68 000 users had reported problems with the app in the UK. Problems were reported by 19 000 people in Singapore and 15 000 in South Africa. “We know people had trouble sending messages. We have fixed the issue and apologise for any inconvenience,” a spokesperson for WhatsApp parent company Meta Platforms META.O said. The company did not disclose the reason for the outage. | Reuters…

SOUTH Africa’s business cycle index fell for the second month in a row in August as slowing global growth, and higher interest rates suppressed the leading indicator. The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) said yesterday that the composite leading business cycle indicator declined by 2.3% month-on-month in August following a 1% fall in July. It was the second consecutive month of decreases in the index and the most in 13 months, as nine of the 10 available component time series were down, while only one component increased. The SARB said the largest negative contributors were a decline in the number of residential building plans approved and a narrowing of the interest rate spread. The positive contribution came from an increase in the volume of orders in manufacturing. Investec chief economist…

Hydration is extremely important, especially during the summer, to keep the body cool and to make up for the fluid loss due to sweat, which can be excessive in the summer. Drinking water does not have to be stressful or boring. There are a number of ways to make your newest healthy habit fun. Here are some of them. Make fun ice cubes A great way to make water more fun is by making fun ice cubes. Adding berries, grapes, or any other fruit of choice to your ice will make you want to drink water more often. Although it may not affect the taste much, you have a little snack to enjoy once the ice melts. Change the temperature of the water Sometimes cold water is nice. Sometimes it…

UDM leader Bantu Holomisa has requested the Section 89 independent panel into President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm burglary to investigate allegations that a top adviser to the head of state, Bejani Chauke, illegally brought millions of dollars to South Africa. Holomisa made the request in line with the panel’s invitation for members of the National Assembly to submit any information that could be relevant to the investigation. This week, the politician submitted a letter – believed to have been written by former spy boss Arthur Fraser – as additional information to assist the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation – or the Hawks – with the Phala Phala probe. The document names one of Ramaphosa’s advisers as a person who was responsible for smuggling large sums of US dollars into…

TRADE union Solidarity has said it is going to challenge Dis-Chem in court after the pharmaceutical giant missed the October 21 deadline to indicate whether it had withdrawn its controversial ban on employing and promoting white people. Solidarity undertook to serve its first legal papers on Dis-Chem this week. The union wrote to Dis-Chem earlier this month, placing it on terms to indicate whether the controversial racial policy had been withdrawn. If not the case, Solidarity reserved the right to litigate. Dis-Chem ignored this deadline, said Dr Dirk Hermann, Solidarity’s chief executive. “The entire South Africa wants to know whether Dis-Chem has only withdrawn the controversial memorandum or the policy as well. Instead of providing certainty, Dis-Chem refuses to disclose information.” He said Dis-Chem’s statements were vague and did…

IN A bid to silence his political opponents, Tshwane mayor Randall Williams yesterday justified his international jaunt last week at the time the metro had a moratorium in place, barring spending of budget on travels and subsistence. Williams said no money was used from municipal coffers to sponsor his trip to the C40 World Mayors Summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina. “The trip was fully funded by C40 Cities and the host City of Buenos Aires. No cost was incurred by the City of Tshwane. I further ensured that there was no large delegation; it was me and one City official who attended the summit,” he said. His sponsored trip was taken some days after city manager Johann Mettler imposed a moratorium on spending the municipal budget on conferences, staff…

As the global economy slowly recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic, communities around the world are counting the extent of the social, economic and infrastructural devastation left in its wake. The pandemic’s impact has been especially devastating to the livelihoods of those already on the margins of society. It only worsened an untenable socio-economic reality for the majority of South Africans. The decimation of the informal economy as a result of Covid-19 restrictions brought about misery for many who derive their incomes and livelihoods through participation across key sectors of the informal economy. As we grapple with the social, economic and political afterlives of the pandemic, our democratic dispensation is at a crossroads. When a stronger economy, improved well-being and shared prosperity are held up as yardsticks to measure how far…

Turkey has arrested and deported hundreds of Syrian refugee men and boys this year, detaining them arbitrarily and forcing them to return to northern Syria, the New York-based Human Rights Watch said in a report released yesterday. The group, citing interviews with dozens of refugees, said Turkish officials “beat and abused most” of the refugees, before forcing them to cross the border into northern Syria at gunpoint. The allegations, which the group said were a violation of international law, were the latest sign of a surging hostility toward Syrians in Turkey, and another grim turn for a country that once opened its borders to people fleeing Syria’s war and still hosts at least 4 million refugees and asylum seekers. But over the past few years, segments of the public have…

Rishi Sunak yesterday became Britain’s third prime minister this year and the first person of colour to lead the former imperial power, vowing to mend its stricken finances after Liz Truss lasted just 49 days. Sunak was set to speak outside 10 Downing Street after his appointment by King Charles III, capping the latest extraordinary twist in UK politics following Boris Johnson’s demise in July. Departing Downing Street a little before, Truss wished Sunak “every success” and said she remained “more convinced than ever” that Britain needed to be “bold” in confronting the challenges it faced. Sunak became the ruling Conservatives’ new leader on Monday after triumphing over rival contender Penny Mordaunt, who failed to secure enough nominations from Tory MPs. It had become a two-way fight after Johnson dramatically…

Bishkek: Twenty people accused of organising riots in Kyrgyzstan over a border demarcation deal will remain in detention for two months, authorities told AFP yesterday. The detainees are part of a group that is opposing a draft government deal with neighbouring Uzbekistan, arguing Kyrgyzstan would have to hand over control of a key dam. The people detained across several towns and cities include a military general, a former member of the constitutional court, a former public prosecutor, journalists and activists. “The twenty people detained have been charged with organising riots and were placed in detention for two months,” AFP learned from a representative for the court in Bishkek. | AFP…

GENEVA: The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) urged Malaysia yesterday to stop deporting refugees back to Myanmar, saying it had received reports of hundreds of such cases over the past two months. The deportations, which included former navy officers seeking asylum, expose those sent away to danger and are a violation of the international law on non-refoulement, according to UNHCR, referring to a law that protects refugees or asylum seekers from being deported. “In the last two months alone, hundreds of Myanmar nationals are reported to have been sent back against their will by the authorities,” UNHCR spokesperson Shabia Mantoo told a Geneva press briefing. | Reuters…

Google returns 963million results when you type in the word “diet”. Banting, keto, and paleo diets are the rage as more people try extreme diets to look and feel better. These encourage consuming a lot of protein, which has a huge impact on how popular protein is. Can this macronutrient, however, aid in weight control? Sonal Ratan, a nutritionist at FutureLife, aids in our examination. Because it controls your appetite and helps to maintain lean muscle mass, protein is important for weight management. Ratan clarifies how this operates: Breakfast with protein Studies conducted by Science News, an impartial, non-partisan source of news on the most recent advancements in science, medicine, and technology founded in 1921, have demonstrated that eating breakfast helps with long-term weight management, particularly if it contains protein.…

A 24-YEAR-OLD suspect accused of killing Iris Mamotlakana Mohokare appeared in the Schweizer-Reneke Magistrate's Court on Monday, where he abandoned bail. Bongane Gregory Shebi is accused of killing a recently promoted nurse at her rented room in Ipelegeng, near Schweizer-Reneke. Mohokare was found with her throat slit two days after being promoted to the position of facility manager at Ipelegeng Clinic. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said Shebi allegedly killed her at her rented home in Ipeleng township, on October 12. Her bloodied body was discovered by her sister on October 13 with her throat cut. “The accused became a person of interest after police received information that the accused was spotted not far from where the incident took place, walking with bloodied clothes. “The police then started looking for…

ALL eyes will be on Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana when he tables the 2022 medium-term budget policy statement (MTBPS) today. Godongwana tables his budget speech amid the deadlock between the government and public service unions over the salary wage negotiation. Indications are that the government will unilaterally impose a 7.5% increase – comprising 4.5% in cash allowance and pensionable 3.5% increase – when the minister allocates R42 billion for the public service salary bill. The MPTBS takes place as the country reels from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, slow economic growth, growing unemployment and an energy crisis. Yesterday, DA MP Dion George said that the country’s economy could be rescued and placed on a path to recovery and growth. “The necessary economic reforms require bold policy choices from…

Planting trees in cities, which are said to be responsible for 75% of the world’s carbon dioxide, would go a long way in improving the quality of life for people living in polluted areas. In its efforts to improve air quality, climate resilience and biodiversity, preserve the soil and support wildlife, the City of Tshwane encourages people to plant trees to mitigate the impact of climate change. MMC for Environment and Agriculture Management Katlego Mathebe called on interested organisations to apply for free indigenous and fruit trees. Interested organisations and civic groups must be situated within the jurisdiction of the city. The applicants have been advised that the city would under no circumstances process a plant donation request for fund-raising events where plants would be sold. An organisation may only…

Ordinary, struggling people are watching the game they should be playing THREE attempts have been made to bring South Africa’s democracy in sync with the will of the people, through an electoral system providing for their direct say in choosing leaders who have no difficulty accounting to them. From the Dr Van Zyl Slabbert report of 2002 through to the Motlanthe Foundation panel’s recommendations of 2017 and the ministerial advisory committee study headed by Vally Moosa this year, the matter is yet to be put to rest. The ruling by Judge Mbuyiseli Madlanga on June 11, 2020, following legal action by the New Nation’s Movement highlighted the unfairness of party membership as a condition to elect or stand to be elected. The time for one person one vote, allowing for…

At least 16 people died after Cyclone Sitrang slammed into Bangladesh, forcing the evacuation of about a million people from their homes, officials said yesterday. Cyclones – the equivalent of hurricanes in the Atlantic or typhoons in the Pacific – are a regular menace, but scientists say climate change is making them more intense and frequent. Sitrang made landfall in southern Bangladesh late on Monday but authorities managed to get about a million people to safety before the monster weather system hit. Around 10 million people were without power in districts along the coast yesterday, while schools were shut across much of the country’s south. Government official Jebun Nahar said 16 people had died, mostly after they were hit by falling trees. “We still have not got all the…

Tehran: An Iranian man nicknamed the “dirtiest man in the world” for not taking a shower for decades has died at the age of 94, state media reported yesterday. Amou Haji, who did not wash for more than half a century and was single, died on Sunday in the village of Dejgah in the southern province of Fars, IRNA news agency reported. Haji had avoided showering over fears of “getting sick”, but for the first time a few months ago, villagers had taken him to a bathroom to wash. A short documentary film titled The Strange Life of Amou Haji was made about his life in 2013, according to Iranian media outlets. | AFP…

The Kremlin yesterday repeated its claim that Ukraine plans to use a radioactive “dirty bomb”, warning the West it was dangerous to dismiss Moscow’s position. Ukraine, the US, Britain and France have all rejected Moscow’s claims – voiced by several officials in recent days – that Kyiv could be preparing to detonate a radioactive device in Ukraine. In a briefing call with reporters, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said this was a foolish approach given the gravity of the situation. Moscow has provided no evidence for its claims. “This is an approach that is far from serious,” Peskov said of the US’s dismissal of Moscow’s claims. | Reuters…

Berlin is nearing an agreement to allow a Chinese firm to take a smaller than planned stake in a Hamburg container terminal to overcome Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s opposition to an all-out ban, a government source said. Chinese shipping giant Cosco had sought a 35% stake and the deal would have automatically gone ahead despite opposition from several German ministries if an “emergency solution” was not found this week, the source said. Under the proposed compromise, the government would greenlight a 24.9% sale to deprive China’s state-owned Cosco of any voting rights. The fate of the Tollerort terminal at Hamburg’s port has sparked fierce debate in Germany. | AFP…