Innholdsfortegnelse for 2023-01-05 i Pretoria News

Alec Baldwin can’t wait to meet his grandchild. The 64-year-old actor was overjoyed to hear his daughter Ireland, 27, who he shares with former wife Kim Basinger, 69, is expecting her first child after the news of her pregnancy was announced last week. Baldwin’s wife Hilaria, 38, posted a video on Instagram on Monday, in which their daughter Carmen, 9, explained to their other six kids Ireland was having a baby, which will make Alec a grandad for the first time. She captioned it: “From all these excited tiny uncles and aunties and grandpa Alec and grandma me ... We are so happy for you, Ireland and André ... can’t wait to meet the little babe.” Baldwin also shares children Rafael, 7, Leonardo, 6, Romeo, 4, Eduardo and Lucia, both…

Popularised by diet culture, there has been a flurry of information promoting sea moss as the ultimate super food, claiming that it may benefit everything from your skin to your immune system. However, how many of these benefits are backed by science, and how many of them are hoaxes? What is sea moss? does it work, is it a hoax? According to research conducted by the University of Coimbra, MARE-Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre on the health benefits of seaweed consumption, three types of seaweed – brown, red, and green algae – contain a variety of bio-active substances with unique qualities that can be used in biotechnological applications. Brown algae, scientifically known as Phaeophyceae, have been used as whole foods in Asian countries for a long time, but scientists have…

SOME Mamelodi flood victims who were forced to leave their homes and go to a local community hall after their dwellings were washed away by a raging storm in February last year, are not impressed following the government’s promise to fast-track their relocation process. About 200 shack dwellers from Mountain View, Mavuso, and Willow Farm informal settlements, were temporarily moved to the Nellmapius Community Hall in Mamelodi after a local river overflowed following heavy rains, washing away their homes on February 5, 2022. The Pretoria News recently reported that the residents were despondent after being assured that relocation would take place by December, but have since been sent from pillar to post with no one communicating. Yesterday, the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements issued a statement following a Pretoria News…

COSATU, one arm of the tripartite alliance has wished the ANC well ahead of its 111th birthday celebrations set for Mangaung this weekend. In a statement issued yesterday, the labour federation said it was looking forward to the ANC’s January 8 Statement. President Cyril Ramaphosa is set to deliver this statement on Sunday. Cosatu said it expects that the ANC will chart a new progressive path for workers. The working class could do with a solid political and economic programme to revive the country’s economic outlook, which has been plagued by negative growth and other challenges, it said. “Cosatu is looking forward to the upcoming ANC 111th anniversary celebrations and the accompanying ANC NEC statement to mark this significant milestone for the organisation ... “This anniversary comes immediately after the…

A CONSTITUTIONAL Court challenge against practice directives which place hurdles in the way of the public claiming against the Road Accident Fund (RAF), an application to have specified medical tariffs overturned, and the possibility of the fund’s executives, being personally slapped with legal costs in two cases are but a few of the vows facing the RAF this year. Apart from the plethora of claims instituted by road accident victims, which daily filled the court rolls last year, the fund also faced various legal challenges regarding its operations. And this year will be no different. The high court in Mpumalanga is expected to deliver its judgment within the first court term on whether the fund’s CEO Collins Letsoalo and some of the senior management should personally be held liable for…

FORMER world number one Daniil Medvedev locked in an all-Russian Adelaide International quarter-final with Karen Khachanov yesterday, while Aryna Sabalenka stormed back to book her place in the last eight. Medvedev, runner-up at the last two Australian Opens, blew away the new year cobwebs with a 6-0, 6-3 romp over Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic. It came a day after the 2021 US Open champion had to save nine set points against first-round opponent Lorenzo Sonego before the Italian retired hurt. “I think it was a great match. Miomir is a tough opponent, a high-ranked player so there are no easy guys left in Adelaide,” third seed Medvedev said of the 29th-ranked Serb. “I’m not sure there were any (easy opponents) from the first round, so really happy to be through, happy…

JUNIOR Pokomela, who along with fellow loose forward Hacjivah Dayimani, has been at the forefront of some of the Stormers’ sparkling performances of late, is bracing himself for a tough clash against old friends in Sunday’s United Rugby Championship (URC) clash against the Glasgow Warriors at Scotstoun Stadium, in Scotland. Pokomela spent five seasons with the Cheetahs before moving to Cape Town last year to join up with the Stormers and Western Province. His team will be opposing his former mentor Franco Smith, a one-time Cheetahs head coach on Sunday after the former Springbok centre was appointed head coach of Glasgow at the start of the season. “I’ve got nothing but massive respect for Franco. When he coached me at the Cheetahs, I played some of my best rugby under…

The health and fitness sector’s expansion has changed how people view exercise generally and its significance in daily life. The post-pandemic era has inspired many people to start practising healthy habits like frequent walking, mild exercise, yoga, pilates, strength and resistance training and much more. There has been a renewed emphasis on individual well-being. Scientific research has added to the increased awareness of and concern for health, giving many people a key place to start. Additionally, individuals from all over the world are being compelled to recognise the critical need to adopt healthy behaviours due to the rising prevalence of sedentary lives, poor diets and lifestyle diseases. Here are a few tips to start 2023 that can go a long way in picking up the necessary momentum to keep pursuits…

SCORES of security guards have been left counting their losses, after they are unable to receive their health benefits following health companies – moonlighting as health insurance – deducted more than R25 million from thousands of workers since March 2021. Union leaders say at least 30 000 workers are affected; many have been turned away from hospitals and clinics while trying to access health care, because their medical aid cards did not qualify over non-payment. The workers pay R150 monthly from their salaries under the understanding that the money will go towards their medical benefits. The National Bargaining Council for Private Security Services approved Health Insurance, administered by Affinity Health in accordance with the main collective agreement, became effective on March 1 last year. The health insurance cover is compulsory…

GAUTENG Education MEC Matome Chiloane said his department was doing its best to clear more than 4 700 appeals received for grades 1 and 8 before the commencement of the 2023 academic year. During a recent interview, Chiloane said the department had received 289 297 applications, which accounted for 99.3% of the total number of applications received by the department for the academic year ahead. He said of that number, 2 848 pupils were still to be placed in Grade 8, while there were 350 Grade 1 pupils still to be placed. Despite it being less than a week before schools are due to reopen on January 11, the MEC said he was confident that his department would be able to place all pupils, including those they had placed on…

ANC PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa will have his hands full this week as he launches his party’s 111th anniversary in a faction-riddled Free State province that has failed to hold its elective conference four times due to divisions within the party. Ramaphosa kicked off the celebrations with a wreath-laying ceremony at the party’s Fezile Dabi region at the gravesite of the Reverend Zaccheus Richard Mahabane, the third president of the ANC, in Seeisosville cemetery, Maokeng, yesterday. This is one of the events marked to drum up support for the main January 8 statement expected to take place at the Dr Petrus Molemela Stadium on Sunday. Ramaphosa later proceeded to lay wreaths at the gravesite of Dr James Sebe Moroka at the embattled Mangaung region before meeting with local ANC structures. The…

MAYBE the Proteas needed this. A decision to get their backs up, infuriate them, push them to the edge. For much of this Test series they have limped through Australia and not been up to the task, let alone the fight. Previous encounters between these two arch-rivals have seen enthralling battles with the players involved pushing their mind and bodies to extreme levels to claim the advantage. The series in South Africa was particularly enthralling when it erupted spectacularly and all lines were crossed. But this has all been rather disappointing. The Proteas have hardly fired a shot in anger and the Aussies have steam-rolled their African rivals. Yesterday, though, in this final Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground there was finally a moment of controversy that stirred up the…

WHILE hard taskmaster Arthur Zwane is at the helm at Kaizer Chiefs, there will be no room for smoking, drinking and party animals. The Chiefs coach shared his thoughts with the media about players engaging in unhealthy activities such as smoking and drinking. He also added partying and hanging out with too many friends. None of these issues has raised their head at Chiefs of late but last year former Chiefs defender Daniel Cardoso, who spent seven years with the club, said during his time at Amakhosi, players came to training reeking of alcohol. This is not likely to happen during Zwane's tenure although he felt it was necessary to air his thoughts on the matter. "I don’t like players who drink and smoke," said Zwane, who explained that…

The fashion industry is one where people can easily steal your designs, and, sometimes there isn’t much you can do about it. Local fashion designer Tshepo Mohlala was shocked when he noticed that online fashion brand Red Bubble (RB) had a lookalike of his T-shirt designs. The owner of Tshepo Jeans posted a photo on Twitter showing a T-shirt that looks like his, the only difference is that the RB was written “Tahepo,” but the design is the same, even the crown. While fellow designer Inga Gubeka of Inga Atelier expressed his disappointment, tweeps added that Tshepo’s logo was not so unique as it was taken from American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. “I hate how a person knocked off Tshepo Jeans. This is not it. I wish there was a way…

TOURISM authorities have condemned an alarming incident in which more than 20 gunmen held up a filling station that frequently serves international tourists who visit the town of Graskop in Mpumalanga. Provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala said the armed robbery took place in the early hours of Tuesday. “According to the report, a group of more than 20 armed suspects who covered their faces with balaclavas stormed into a certain filling station in Graskop, an area which is regarded as one of the tourist destinations in the province. “The report further indicates that, on that day, the said suspects posed as clients who wanted to refill at the fuel station around midnight. However, when fuel attendants offered their assistance, the suspects reportedly held them at gunpoint, tying up all…

The National Freedom Party (NFP) says it is delighted with the news that President Cyril Ramaphosa is considering a Cabinet reshuffle and is also making a call that he appoints ethical leaders whose integrity is beyond reproach. The party believes a Cabinet reshuffle is long overdue and further reveals that pervasive corruption across various departments and levels of government, continuous load shedding, the torrid state of state-owned entities, high unemployment, and the crumbling healthcare infrastructure are a few of the challenges that appear to have worsened under the current Cabinet. “President Ramaphosa needs to do an honest evaluation of the success of his current Cabinet. And when he makes his selection, he needs to put aside personal feelings around who did and did not support him. He needs to make…

The sinkhole problem in Centurion is not only threatening the lives of residents and motorists, but also businesses and jobs as road closures stagnate and diminish sales. This has become apparent as business people and residents complain about the impact of road closures and restrictions on businesses that rely on the movement of people and vehicle traffic to trade profitably. While residents raised safety concerns about the sinkhole-prone Centurion due to the underground dolomitic rock that dissolves due to water leaks and heavy rains, of concern was the negative impact on businesses in the area. Hasa Raju of Kruger Supermarket and Kitchen on Kruger Avenue, said the sinkhole in their area has affected the many businesses that operate there because as it worsened from April to late last year, the…

A school principal from Umzimkhulu, in southern KwaZulu-Natal, has appealed to KZN Education MEC Mbali Fraser to intervene following the department’s failure to pay R6 million due to him. The money has been accumulating since 2007 after Msawenkosi Tshazi was reinstated in his position at work after winning a sexual abuse complaint laid by a schoolboy against him in 2004. Tshazi was a school principal at Mfulamhle Primary School in Umzimkhulu when he was dismissed in 2004. He appealed against the decision and was found not guilty by the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC), which ordered his reinstatement in 2007. Besides the order, which was coupled with an instruction to the department to pay his annual salary as compensation for unfair dismissal, the department failed to reinstate him within 14…

Four-time champion Chris Froome’s Israeli team, Israel Premier Tech, and Uno-X of Norway complete the line-up for this year’s Tour de France after organisers issued invites as wild cards to compete yesterday. The two wild cards aside, the other 20 teams (made up of eight riders apiece) automatically qualify with the 18 from the WorldTour and the two top-ranked teams in the second tier ProTeams, which are Belgian outfit Lotto and TotalEnergies from France. “Sometimes the choice is a tough one, however this time it is not,” said race director Christian Prudhomme. “A noticeable gap has grown between the top 22 teams and the others, which is regrettable. “Israel Premier Tech won two stages on the last Tour de France. It is a team packed with experience and reinforced with…

SPAIN’S fifth-ranked Jon Rahm said this week he expects more PGA Tour players to exit for Saudi-backed LIV Golf in 2023 and anticipates a tense champions dinner at the Masters. Rahm spoke ahead of today’s start of the PGA Tournament of Champions at Kapalua, Hawaii, a select event of tournament winners of Tour Championship qualifiers. Rahm, the 2021 US Open champion, predicted more golfers will leave the PGA despite boosted prize money at selected events for the higher prize money offered by LIV Golf. “I think we all know where we stand,” Rahm said. “There are still going to be players that choose to transition to LIV is my guess. “But for a lot of us, I think we see the direction the PGA Tour is going toward. They’re making…