Innholdsfortegnelse for 2023-02-02 i Pretoria News

THREE suspects have been shot dead, while two were critically injured during a high-speed chase and a shoot-out with several law enforcement units. Hawks spokesperson, Colonel Katlego Mogale, said the shootout came after a tip-off was received about suspects who were allegedly involved in shopping mall robberies, courier robberies and other serious violent crimes. “It is alleged that the suspects had just committed a shopping mall robbery near Carnival City where they overpowered the security guards. “A lookout was issued for a silver Volkswagen Touareg and a blue BMW allegedly involved in the robbery. “The vehicle (VW Touareg) was picked up on the R21 highway northbound. An operational plan was executed in an attempt to stop the suspects’ vehicle. The suspects tried to evade police and a high-speed chase ensued,”…

The overzealous conduct of police in arresting a Congolese national on unsubstantiated charges of being unlawfully in the country and fraud, will cost the taxpayer dearly. The court ordered the police to pay him R300 000 in damages. Geophonse Mabiala, who hails from Brazzaville, turned to the Western Cape High Court after he was unlawfully arrested and detained for a week. He arrived in South Africa in 2004 and he held a lawful asylum-seeker permit to remain in the country. He worked as a firefighter and also studied in South Africa. In June 2013 he went to a public service kiosk at the Cape Town Station, manned by the SAPS, to make an affidavit before a commissioner of oaths so that he could lawfully exchange the SIM card on his…

The daily load shedding impact on our small business has caused instability and disruption to our productivity and operations. Our company, Ntsikie Real Estate, is a 100% black, female-owned real estate agency, whose core business is selling and leasing out properties in Gauteng. I started this business after being in the property industry in Cape Town for some time. I realised that I needed to grow. I returned to Gauteng, armed with a love for the property industry ,and started my own business because there are too few black owners in this sector. I also wanted young people to become players in real estate. We mentor and train interns from intern agents to full status and, finally, to principalship. This is important because they will become players in the industry,…

Myanmar’s junta extended the country’s state of emergency by another six months, the acting president said at a leadership meeting yesterday, as people marked the anniversary of a 2021 military coup with a “silent protest”. Junta leader General Min Aung Hlaing, in a meeting this week with the army-backed National Defence and Security Council (NDSC), also said elections must be held “as the people desire”. “Although according to the section 425 of the constitution, (a state of emergency) can only be granted two times, the current situation is under unusual circumstances and it is suitable to extend it one more time of six months,” Acting President Myint Swe said. The Southeast Asian country’s top generals led a putsch in February 2021 after five years of tense power-sharing under a quasi-civilian…

JERUSALEM: Chadian President Mahamat Deby said he would inaugurate an embassy in Israel today that would build on bilateral relations established five years ago. Deby announced the plan yesterday as he began a visit to Israel. An Israeli official said the Muslim-majority African country’s embassy would be in the Tel Aviv area. Long cool to Israel in protest at its occupation of Palestinian territory in a 1967 war, N’Djamena reversed course in 2018 when Deby’s father, the late Chadian President Idriss Deby, visited Jerusalem in 2018 and was hosted by Netanyahu. Chad’s strategic location amid Islamist insurgencies makes it of special interest to Israel. | Reuters…

LAGOS: Nigeria’s human rights commission has appointed a special panel whose role will include investigating a report that the military ran a secret abortion programme in its fight against Islamist insurgents in the north-east. The Nigerian military said it would not carry out an investigation because the report was not true. The National Human Rights Commission, which is appointed by the government, said that it would launch the special panel next week in Abuja. It was not clear how long the investigation would last and what the panel would do with its findings. | Reuters…

New York: Indian-American Republican leader Nikki Haley plans to announce the launch of her 2024 presidential campaign by February 15, according to a report. Haley, 51, who served as South Carolina governor for six years, will formally declare her candidacy for the White House at an event in Charleston, South Carolina, on February 15, with an invitation soon going out to her supporters, the Post and Courier reported. Haley, who will join former US president Donald Trump in the race, had earlier said she would not challenge if he ran again. She has said that the US cannot have a second term under Joe Biden as president and that she can be the “new leader” who can take the country in a new direction. Haley, who served as ambassador to…

AFTER decades in the doldrums, Newcastle’s progress to their first League Cup final in 47 years underlined the Saudi-funded club’s emergence as a serious threat to the English football establishment. Sean Longstaff’s double sealed a 2-1 win against Southampton in Tuesday’s semi-final second leg at a raucous St James’ Park, sending the Magpies to their first domestic final this century after a 3-1 victory on aggregate. Revitalised by the astute leadership of Eddie Howe and the financial muscle of a Saudi-backed ownership group, a club once regarded as the laughing stock of the Premier League can finally hold their heads high. Newcastle sit third in the Premier League and look to be on the cusp of a golden era as serial trophy contenders. “It is amazing. If you’d have said…

PREMIER League clubs spent a record £815-million (over R17-billion) in a frantic January transfer window - nearly double the previous highest figure, according to sports finance experts Deloitte. Deals came thick and fast in the final hours of the window on Tuesday, with big-spending Chelsea setting a new British record in signing Argentina's World Cup winner Enzo Fernandez from Benfica for €121m. The gross spend was 90% higher than the previous record (£430m in 2018) and almost triple the previous January window. Clubs from the English top flight also set a record for net transfer expenditure during a January window of £720m. Combined with the record £1.9-billion spend during the summer transfer window, Premier League clubs have splurged £2.8b during the 2022/23 season, a new all-time high. Deadline-day expenditure by…

The cost of everything is going up at a rapid rate. Here are tips to get the most out of your products. Lipstick Scrape out the last bits of lipstick stuck in the bottom of the tube and mix it with petroleum jelly. And voilà: a tinted lip balm. Pink or red-toned lipsticks can easily double up as blush to create a dewy effect. Simply use your fingers to dab colour onto your cheeks. Very dark lipsticks that are not quite working on your lips can transform into a cream eyeshadow to get that wet look effect. Eyeshadow There’s always that one cracked shimmer eyeshadow you refuse to get rid of. Remove it from the holder, crush it into a fine powder, then mix with a clear nail varnish to…

South Africans are dealing with a double blow of a lack of water and electricity since power utility Eskom implemented load shedding stage 5 and 6 this week. The utilities urged consumers to use the resources (water and electricity) sparingly – a plea that left many people and businesses frustrated. Rand Water said it was battling to maintain supply to certain parts of Johannesburg and Pretoria during the power cuts. In Pretoria, residents took to the streets unhappy with lack of water after restrictions were imposed early this week. But by yesterday the City of Tshwane said the situation was improving. Johannesburg Water spokesperson Puleng Mopeli said they were making substantial headway towards restoring water supply in areas affected by the power failure on Sunday. She said by yesterday…

THERE will be no job losses in the water and sanitation sector despite a countrywide reconfiguration of the role and functions of water boards. This was the commitment of the Minister of Water and Sanitation Senzo Mnchunu soon after the implementation of the plan, in his bid to help rural communities to access clean water. Mchunu made the initial announcement before a virtual water and sanitation portfolio committee meeting on Tuesday, to respond to the resolutions of the National Assembly on several issues in the water and sanitation value chain. He said the reconfiguration of water boards was meant to give adequate support to the under-capacitated Water Services Authorities to meet the ever-increasing demand for services by communities, and ensure adequate capacity with quality and skilled engineers. Mchunu said the…

ADDITIONAL Covid-19 vaccine booster doses are available at all active vaccination sites. Earlier this month Dr Joe Phaahla, the Minister of Health, said the government had been inundated with requests from vaccinated members of the public, especially the most vulnerable, wanting to enhance their protection. This means adults aged 50 and older will be eligible for a total of five vaccine doses. Those aged between 18 and 49 years will be eligible to receive another dose to make a total of four doses of either the J&J or Pfizer vaccine. According to the Department of Health, the waiting period between the last dose and this additional dose should be at least six months. “All adults 18 and older who are registered on the Electronic Vaccination Data System as being immuno-compromised…

Pope Francis said it was “tragic” that Africa still suffered from various forms of exploitation. “Get your hands off the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), get your hands off Africa! Stop choking Africa: it is not a mine to be exploited or a land to be devalued. Let Africa be the protagonist of its own destiny,” he continued, adding that the DRC and Africa deserved to be “respected and listened to”, become more valued internationally, and “have more weight and representation among nations”. He made the comments yesterday during his visit to the DRC where the celebration of the Holy Mass took place at Ndola Airport. On the first full day of his trip, his third to sub-Saharan Africa as pope, Francis presided at the open air Mass for a…

News that the US could soon send rockets nearly doubling the firing range of Ukrainian forces gave Kyiv a big lift yesterday, even as its troops were being pushed back by a relentless Russian winter offensive in the east. In the capital Kyiv, authorities raided the home of one of Ukraine’s most prominent billionaires and a former interior minister, the boldest moves so far in a war-time anti-corruption campaign launched last week by President Volodymyr Zelensky. Two US officials said a new $2 billion (about R34bn) package of military aid to be announced as soon as this week would, for the first time, include Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bombs, a new weapon designed by Boeing. The cheap gliding missiles can strike targets more than 150km away, a dramatic increase over the…

PORT VILA: An underwater volcano off the archipelago nation of Vanuatu erupted yesterday, sending a cloud of ash 100 metres into the air and prompting officials to warn residents to stay away. Locals on Epi island, part of the small South Pacific nation to the east of Australia, reported seeing the eruption early yesterday, with some posting pictures of a large column of sulfurous smoke on social media. Vanuatu’s Meteorology and Geo-hazards Department said there was no indication of a tsunami but warned islanders to stay alert for a possible large earthquake linked to the volcanic eruption that might trigger destructive waves. | Washington Post…

London: Owners of luxury flats in London yesterday won a legal battle to force the adjacent Tate Modern gallery to stop visitors peeping into their homes from a public viewing platform. The Supreme Court announced that by a majority of three to two judges it had agreed their appeal due to “intense visual intrusion”, after they lost at earlier hearings. The Tate Modern is a popular free gallery showing contemporary art in a former power station on the south bank of The River Thames. In 2016 it opened an extension called the Blavatnik Building, which includes a viewing gallery on the top 10th floor. | AFP…

WOMEN’S World Cup co-hosts Australia and New Zealand have written to Fifa seeking urgent clarification after reports that Saudi Arabia’s tourism authority has signed a sponsorship deal for the global soccer showpiece. Football Australia (FA) expects global governing body Fifa to confirm that Visit Saudi will join international brands such as Adidas, Coca-Cola and Visa as major sponsors of the 32-team tournament which kicks off in July, the Guardian reported. FA said it understood Fifa had entered into a “destination partnership agreement” for the World Cup and had written to Fifa seeking clarity on the situation. “We are very disappointed that Football Australia were not consulted on this matter prior to any decision being made,” FA said in a statement yesterday. New Zealand Football added in a separate statement:…

AN EMPLOYEE of the Ekurhuleni Municipality has been arrested for allegedly driving a municipal vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) spokesperson Lieutenant Kelebogile Thepa said the 36-year-old employee did not stop at a stop sign and police officers pulled him over, wanting to offer their help. “On Monday, at about 6pm, the Ekurhuleni Metro Police officers arrested a male municipal employee, 36, for reckless and negligent driving, coupled with operating a motor vehicle on a public road while under the influence of an intoxicating substance.” The driver had failed to stop at a stop sign in Nhlengethwa Street in Kwa-Thema, she said. “The officers stopped the driver, curious to see if the employee needed assistance, as there could have been an emergency.” She…

THE Phokeng Regional Court has sentenced Thabo Ernest Nkoane to life imprisonment for murdering his mother, Peggy Nkoane, and burning her remains inside their home. The victim was a primary school teacher. The murder took place at Buanja Lefaragatlha village, near Phokeng, North West, on December 22, 2017. “Nkoane murdered his mother by chopping her into pieces before burning her remains,” said NPA North West spokesperson Henry Mamothame. He said neighbours and friends of the victim were surprised by her prolonged absence from work and church. They were also shocked by the smoke that came out of the tiled roof of the house on the day she was murdered. Mamothame said the matter was reported to police, who discovered the woman’s burnt remains on December 26, 2017. Nkoane was arrested…

THE National Freedom Party (NFP), a splinter party of the IFP which was formed in 2011 by the late former deputy minister Zanele KaMagwaza Msibi, says it has resolved to work with the ANC and the EFF in hung municipalities. The NFP said the IFP’s style of governance “inspires no confidence” and all municipalities their opponent governs have “collapsed”. On Wednesday, the party held an impromptu press conference in Durban to take a position after a fallout between the IFP and the EFF meant that there would be a change of leadership in some municipalities. The party’s secretary-general, Canaan Mdletshe, said the people could be better served by the ANC-EFF-NFP alliance as opposed to the IFP. The NFP has several councillors in a number of municipalities. However, some of them…

NO TICKET, no claim. This was the verdict of the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, in a damages claim by a train commuter against the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) after he was pushed off a moving train and injured himself. Mamelodi resident Gabriel Bhiya instituted a damages claim against the rail agency, arguing it had a duty towards him to ensure his safety while he was a paying commuter travelling on its trains. Bhiya testified that he was a regular commuter on a morning train from his home in Mamelodi East to Midstream, Centurion, where he was employed. In October 2016 he was in possession of a ticket when he boarded the train at the station at Mamelodi on his way to work, he said. At one stage he…

Institutional capacity and integrity are essential to good governance What happens when those responsible for managing universities cannot trust each other to act with integrity? In a nutshell, as I discuss in my new book, Corrupted: A study of chronic dysfunction in South African universities, dysfunction is the consequence. This is the situation playing out in some South African universities – sometimes with fatal results. In early January, a protection officer who was guarding Fort Hare University vice-chancellor Professor Sakhela Buhlungu was shot dead in an apparent assassination attempt. The shooting has been linked to ongoing investigations into corruption at the university. This appears to be just one example of how eroded trust has led to conflict among university managers that has spilled into the public domain. The principal conclusion…

Half a million workers went on strike in Britain yesterday, calling for higher wages in the largest such walkout in over a decade, closing schools and severely disrupting transport. As Europe battles a cost-of-living crisis, Britain’s umbrella labour organisation the Trades Union Congress called it the “biggest day of strike action since 2011”. The latest strikes come a day after more than 1.27 million took to the streets in France, increasing pressure on the French government over pension reform plans. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has called for pay rises to be “reasonable” and affordable”, warning that big pay rises would jeopardise attempts to tame inflation. But unions have accused millionaire Sunak of being out of touch with the challenges faced by ordinary working people struggling to make ends meet…

Police in Pakistan had detained 23 people in connection with a blast at a mosque inside a police headquarters that killed 101 people, a senior official who asked not to be named said yesterday. Authorities were also probing the possibility that people inside the compound helped to co-ordinate the attack, the official said. A suicide bomber slipped undetected into a highly sensitive compound in north-west Peshawar and detonated explosives among a row of worshippers in the compound’s mosque on Monday, causing a wall to collapse and crush officers. “The attacker and facilitators might have links outside Pakistan,” official said. He said some of the 23 detained were from the city and nearby former tribal areas that border Afghanistan. Low-level militancy has been steadily rising in the areas near Peshawar that…

Geneva: Eight humanoid robots will be the star attractions when the UN hosts its first summit since the start of the pandemic on the benefits of artificial intelligence, it said yesterday. The AI for Good Global Summit will return to Geneva on July 6 and 7 after a three-year Covid-imposed break, the UN said. It will showcase how artificial intelligence and other new technologies can help reach the UN’s sustainable development goals. Eight humanoid social robots and more than 20 specialised robots will be brought together under the same roof to showcase capabilities ranging from fighting fires and delivering aid to providing health care and farming sustainably, it said. | AFP…

MOSCOW: Jailed Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny said yesterday he had been moved to a harsher “cell-type” regime of solitary confinement for the next six months where he would be denied visits. “I haven’t had any visits for eight months and yesterday I was told that I’d be transferred to a cell-type facility for the maximum possible term of six months,” Navalny, 46, said via a Twitter feed maintained by his associates. “No visits are allowed there. This means more than a year without a visit.” His supporters say his health has deteriorated after time in solitary confinement. | Reuters…

PROTEAS women’s coach Hilton Moreeng is adamant that he has “the strongest 15 available for selection” and that he firmly believes that “it’s the best” combination to win the Women’s T20 World Cup. The home team, who are set to play the opening game of the tournament against Sri Lanka at Newlands next Friday, have been submerged in chaos after Dane van Niekerk was omitted from the 15-player T20 World Cup squad. The former captain was overlooked due to not meeting the national team’s fitness requirements, which includes running a two-kilometre time trial in under 9mins 30secs. The fall-out has been immense with Van Niekerk “absolutely broken”, while her wife and teammate Marizanne Kapp has requested “compassionate leave” and will therefore miss the Tri-Series T20 final against India in East…

Remember when South Africans clubbed together to ensure that Olympic medallists Tatjana Schoenmaker and Bianca Buitendag would receive a decent bonus for their exploits at Tokyo 2020? At the time, Sascoc revealed that they did not have enough resources to afford a bonus for multiple medallist Schoeman and silver medallist Buitendag for their exploits in the swimming pool and in surfing, respectively. They did not have the money, they said, to honour the two Olympians. So, there we were, the SA public trying to generate some cash to honour the two women. Similar issues haunt our athletes when they endeavour to represent the nation at local and international events in athletics. Hockey finds itself begging for aid every time an Olympics comes along. It should, therefore, make all of us…

JOSE Riveiro has assembled a competitive squad at Orlando Pirates, so much so that he wants his players to test themselves against the best at all times. Having endured a three-game losing streak after the resumption of the season, Pirates have turned the tide in recent weeks, winning their last games on the bounce. That feat has seen their chase for a second-place finish back on the cards as they trail runaway leaders and rivals Mamelodi Sundowns by 24 points. But the Sea Robbers are not content with their performance, as they want to steadily improve for the rest of the campaign and going into next season. That’s why Riveiro argues that they will get better if they play against teams such as the Brazilians who visit them at…