Innholdsfortegnelse for 2023-05-02 i Pretoria News

SOUTH African workers have not backed down from demanding a bigger slice in ongoing wage negotiations to make up for the shortfall on their paycheques on the back of escalating cost of living, elevated levels of unemployment and economic recession. The country commemorated the workers’ May Day yesterday with rallies across the country’s major cities attended by thousands of workers who have grown despondent by the prevailing economic climate. This comes as the Independent Commission on the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers recommended that all Political Office Bearers should get a 3.8% salary increase, a decision that has incensed unions. The workers unions have slammed the government’s persistence with “neo-liberal macroeconomic fiscal and monetary policies”, saying these policies have left many living lives of brute survival. The Congress of SA…

INDUSTRIALS Reit (real estate investment trust) the owner of multi-let industrial parks in the UK, saw 4.8% growth in passing rents buoyed by strong tenant demand, the London- and JSE-listed group said in its fourth-quarter trading statement on Friday. The group recently received a 168 pence (almost R38.60) cash all-share offer from Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative asset management firm with $975 billion (R17.8 trillion) of assets under management. The offer is still subject to shareholder approval. The share price closed at R37.70 on the JSE on Friday, and was 167p on the London Stock Exchange in the morning, with the premium between the Blackstone offer and the share price narrowing sharply this month after the offer was received. CEO Paul Arenson said that from January 1…

Babies and young children are vulnerable to getting the flu virus, especially as the weather gets colder before winter. With the prevalence of flu viruses expected to be higher this season according to health experts, it is important to take extra precautions to keep your little ones safe. Lizeth Kruger, Dis-Chem Baby City’s national clinic executive said that while lockdowns and mask-wearing measures taken during the Covid-19 pandemic were effective in slowing the spread of Covid-19, they also limited exposure to other common viruses, including the flu, resulting in fewer flu infections. “Cold weather marks the beginning of the cold and flu season. Given how quickly influenza may spread among toddlers and young children at school, this year we need to take extra precautions and be proactive in protecting our…

CITY of Tshwane MMC for health Rina Marx has appealed to people affected by drug abuse to make use of the services available at the 16 Community Orientated Substance Use Programme sites in the metro for rehabilitation. Marx said the programme was a collaborative initiative between the municipality and University of Pretoria (UP) to fight drug abuse. “It is through collaborations like this programme that we aim to bring about a city that is free from the burden of the abuse of drugs and substances,” she said. She said recently the City and UP representatives held productive engagements to discuss the initiatives. “Since May 2016, the City has partnered with the University of Pretoria to assist in the development and implementation of a community-based substance use intervention programme,” Marx said.…

LIMPOPO Acting Provincial Commissioner of Police, Major General Jan Scheepers, has strongly condemned an incident in which a woman, 30, allegedly stabbed and killed her partner, aged 29, on Saturday. Limpopo police said the incident took place at Morarela village in the Elandskraal policing precinct outside Marble Hall at about 10.45pm. “According to the information received, at the time of the incident, the victim had visited his partner at her home when the two became engaged in a heated argument. The suspect apparently went outside to cool down, but the victim followed her while holding a sharp object. The victim was then stabbed in the upper body following a fight between the two,” said Colonel Malesela Ledwaba. Ledwaba said the police and emergency medical services were summoned to the scene.…

The Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) has at last got a new head. Minister of Health, Dr Joe Phaahla, has appointed Dr Magome Masike as the new registrar/CEO. Masike assumed his new role with effect from yesterday. Masike takes over the reins from Dr Thabo Pinkoane who led the organisation in an acting capacity for the past eight months while the appointment process for the registrar position was under way. Masike is well-known in the medical industry, as he was a member of Executive Council for Health in the North-West province from 2010 to 2018. The HPCSA said in a statement yesterday that his achievements as a leader in the health-care industry included his leading role in the amalgamation of Tshepong and Klerksdorp public hospitals. He…

Both involve Russia, with differing responses by the Ramaphosa government The South African state is currently embroiled in two dilemmas, both of which involve its interaction with two separate international legal statutes or conventions, of which it is a member and signatory. Whether it is a coincidence or not, the tale of the two dilemmas involves Russia, either indirectly or directly. What is poignant is the differing response of the Ramaphosa government to the two dilemmas – one very compliant to the demands of the one convention for the sake of saving the economy by rooting out the laundering of money from the proceeds of corruption and crime; and the second defiant to the point of threatening to leave the other convention tasked “to bring those who commit genocide, crimes…

Russia unleashed a fresh volley of missiles on Ukraine yesterday, causing huge blazes in a city in the east, damaging dozens of homes and wounding at least 34 people. The attack on Pavlohrad, a city and railway hub, came during the second wave of nationwide missile strikes in three days, with Moscow apparently reviving its winter tactic of long-range strikes ahead of a planned Ukrainian counteroffensive. A huge crater had been blasted in the backyard of a house that was strewn with debris on Pavlohrad’s outskirts. Homes nearby were badly damaged. In the city centre, the windows of a dormitory that serves a chemical plant had been blown out. “I ran outside and saw the garage was destroyed. Everything was on fire, glass shards were everywhere. Had we been outside,…

Pathologists started autopsies yesterday on more than 100 bodies linked to a Kenyan religious cult whose leader allegedly instructed them to starve themselves to death in order to be the first to go to heaven, officials said. One hundred and nine followers of the Good News International Church, based in the Shakahola Forest in east Kenya, are known to have died. Authorities have recovered 101 bodies from shallow graves since April 21, while eight cult members were found alive but died later. So far, 44 people have been rescued. The deaths amount to one of the worst cult-related tragedies in recent history and the toll is expected to rise further, with the Kenyan Red Cross saying more than 300 people have been reported missing. Cult leader Paul Mackenzie has been…

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos jr agreed yesterday to new guidelines for stronger military co-operation, US officials said, underscoring a turnaround in US-Philippine relations. The guidelines focus on military co-ordination across land, sea, air, space and cyberspace, while the US administration will also transfer three C-130 aircraft and look to send additional patrol vessels to the Philippines. Biden reaffirmed a 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty that calls for the US to act in the event of an armed attack on the Philippine military. Marcos has sought warm relations with both the US and China. | Reuters…

Tokyo: Chinese billionaire Jack Ma yesterday took up a visiting professor position at a Japanese university, another new academic role for the founder of tech giant Alibaba. Tokyo College, part of the prestigious University of Tokyo, said Ma, 58, would “share his experience and pioneering knowledge on entrepreneurship, corporate management and innovation” in seminars for students and staff. Ma has kept a low profile since his fall from grace during a Chinese government crackdown on the tech industry over two years ago. But he recently accepted an honorary professorship from the University of Hong Kong’s business school for a three-year term. Tokyo College said Ma would “conduct joint research and projects” with faculty members, “especially in the field of sustainable agriculture and food production”. Ma was one of the most…

Mamelodi Sundowns are the most feared team of the four semi-finalists in the CAF Champions League, if the remarks of CR Belouizdad coach Nabil Kouki are anything to go by. Speaking at Saturday's post-match presser, the Tunisian-born Kouki said he marvelled Sundowns’ excellence, who defeated the visiting Algerians 2-1 in the second leg of their quarter-final clash at Loftus Versfeld. A week ago, Kouki saw his Belouizdad charges taken to the cleaners in their Algiers backyard where they suffered a demoralising 4-1 thumping. Speaking through an interpreter Kouki said: “Sundowns are the strongest team in Africa right now. “Around the world all the coaches can see that Mamelodi Sundowns are on a higher level in Africa. The other teams are not equal.” It was wonderful praise from someone who looked…

Global miner Glencore said on Friday its proposal for Teck Resources still stands, following Canada’s largest diversified miner withdrawing its separation proposal. Teck unanimously rejected Glencore's $23 billion (R420.55bn) bid for it and said the offer was an unsolicited and opportunistic acquisition proposal from Glencore. Teck instead said it wants to continue with its own plan to split into a coal company and a metals business. On Wednesday, Teck withdrew its separation proposal hours before shareholders were scheduled to vote on it. Teck Resources chief executive Jonathan Price said: “We received very strong support from shareholders for the goal of separation, which is to unlock value through the creation of a premier, pure-play base metals company and a world-class steel-making coal company. We have also listened and heard the…

A woman who is used to the good life will have to tighten her belt after she told the court she needed her estranged husband to contribute R45 000 a month to her monthly expenses, which she estimated to be R137 818.67 a month. Her application was denied. She told the Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg, that while she earned R134 621.94 a month working for an international company, after tax, pension, and medical aid contributions, she only took home R 81 647.37 a month. This, she said, left her with a significant shortfall, for which her husband had to make up in monthly maintenance to her, pending finalisation of their divorce. She did, however, admit that from April to December last year, she also made…

President Cyril Ramaphosa has called for the strengthening of the tripartite alliance, saying it was the only vehicle able to solve the problems of poverty, unemployment and inequality in the country. Even Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa was working closely with unions in the energy sector to resolve the problems of load shedding, he said. Cosatu president Zingiswa Losi came out in support of the ANC before the elections, saying they must all work together to ensure the ruling party retained power. She said this would be the most difficult elections the ANC has faced since the dawn of democracy in 1994 and the tripartite alliance had to mobilise support for the ANC. Ramaphosa, Losi and SACP general secretary Solly Mapaila were addressing the main Cosatu May Day rally in the…

The Gen-Next Democracy Network Programme is an initiative by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations to promote democratic values among young people across the world. The programme aims to bring together young people from 75 different countries to exchange ideas, learn from each other, and create a network of young leaders committed to promoting democratic values. I had the privilege of attending the Gen Next Democracy Network programme hosted by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), and it was truly a transformative experience. The programme gave me a unique opportunity to explore the diverse cultural and political landscape of India, interact with young leaders from around the world, and gain a deeper understanding of the challenges facing democratic societies today. We had the opportunity to visit a number of…

After waiting longer than any British heir to become monarch, King Charles has quietly settled into his new role with little of the drama some commentators had expected, but with family divisions and some fundamental issues still looming. Charles, 74, who will be formally crowned on Saturday, was the oldest sovereign to take the throne in a lineage that dates back 1 000 years when he succeeded his hugely popular mother Queen Elizabeth after her death last September. She had reigned for 70 years. Since then, while the new king has given glimpses of future changes to the institution, the man who was known for his forthright defence of the environment while prince of Wales has not continued to voice the strong views that some critics believed would damage the…

NEW DELHI: The death toll in a building collapse in India’s western state of Maharashtra yesterday rose to eight, officials said. Ten people were injured in the incident The two-storey building collapsed on Saturday in Bhiwandi area of Thane district, about 33km northeast of Mumbai, Maharashtra. Officials rushed rescue teams to look for the trapped and pressed in heavy machinery to remove the debris and search for survivors. The search was called off yesterday. Police said they had arrested the owner of the building, which housed warehouses on the ground and first floors, and families lived onits upper floor. Fatal accidents due to failing infrastructure are common in India. | Xinhua…

Madrid: A bus carrying Moroccan seasonal workers overturned early yesterday in southern Spain, killing one person and injuring 39 others, three of them seriously, the emergency services said. The accident happened before sunrise on a road 50km from the south-western Andalusian city of Huelva, the 112 emergency services said. “One woman died, another three people were very seriously hurt, 14 sustained moderate injuries and 22 were lightly injured,” it said. The driver was lightly hurt. It was not clear what caused the accident. Spain traditionally relies on thousands of seasonal workers from abroad to pick fruit. | AFP…

ABERDEEN: Former US president Donald Trump arrived in Scotland yesterday for a short trip to visit his golf courses there and in Ireland. Trump, who has family roots in Lewis, an island off the north-western tip of Scotland, owns two golf courses in Scotland – one north of Aberdeen and the Turnberry resort south of Glasgow – as well as the Doonbeg golf resort in Ireland. “It’s great to be home,” Trump said after disembarking from his plane at Aberdeen airport. “This was the home of my mother.” Trump said he was travelling to “see and inspect” his properties in Scotland and Ireland. | Reuters…

He once lived in tents and sold street food to pursue his cricketing dream. Now, sizzling talent Yashasvi Jaiswal is the toast of the IPL. On Sunday, the Indian 21-year-old smashed 124 off 62 balls for Rajasthan Royals in front of a huge crowd in Mumbai, the city he moved to as a child from a poor family in Uttar Pradesh. "What a story, what a special talent. Yashasvi Jaiswal is a superstar in the making," former Australia batsman and ex-IPL coach Tom Moody tweeted. "He has got real talent. The kind of domestic season he has had, he has taken that form into IPL. Good for him, good for Indian cricket and good for RR as well," India's all-format captain Rohit Sharma said. The left-hander's maiden IPL century was…

THE GOVERNMENT has called on South Africans to use electricity sparingly, especially during periods of high energy consumption, typically from 5pm to 9pm, as part of demand-side management (DSM) initiatives. The call comes after last week’s Cabinet meeting which discussed, among others, tools to help the crisis-stricken power utility reduce power cuts. Demand-side energy management measures have proved effective in reducing peak demand and promoting energy conservation. Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said the DSM target was to save about 1 000MW of power, equivalent to about one stage of load shedding. She said the country had demonstrated this was possible during the 2010 World Cup. Lowering consumption reduced pressure on the electricity grid and saved households money, without affecting business productivity or quality of life, she said.…

VOLATILITY on global and South African financial markets continued for the third consecutive week. This as it emerged that the US economy had grown by an estimated 1.1% during the first quarter of this year, much lower than the 2.6% for the fourth quarter of last year. This number brought nervousness to global stock, bond and foreign exchange markets. Expected economic growth for the first quarter had been 2%. Data on US inflation also indicates that inflationary pressures still exist that could force the US Federal Reserve (Fed) to lift interest rates even further at their meeting that starts tomorrow. These two conflicting movements strengthened volatile US and global equity and exchange rate markets. The lower economic growth rate indicates that the US economy may move into recession during the…

WITH the intervention of the court, a child born nearly four years ago will, for the first time, officially have a name and legal standing in South Africa after bureaucratic red tape has denied him of this up to now. The parents of the child (not identified as he is a minor) did everything asked of them by the Department of Home Affairs to register the birth of their child. They even underwent a compulsory paternity test. Yet, they received no help in their desperate bid for their child to have an identity. The parents have been in a permanent relationship since August 2009 and moved in together at the end of 2016. While discussing marriage, they elected to wait until after birth to start the lobola negotiations. When the…

THE City of Tshwane council has approved a report that would pave the way for the municipality to embark on a recruitment process to fill in senior management positions. Mayor Cilliers Brink said a report to start a process to fill senior management positions was essential to building a capable municipality and improving service delivery. “I would like to thank the parties in council that supported this adjustment budget and other key reports. It is important that we continue to work together to build a capital city that works for all its people,” he said. Brink said the political instability in the council had resulted in a delay of the recruitment process of Section 56 positions for the senior managers who would report directly to the city manager. “It has…

In a few months, South Africa will crown a beauty queen who will follow in Ndavi Nokeri’s footsteps and represent the country on international stages. Major changes have been made this year, as married women and those with children will be permitted to enter for the first time. It is also revealed that applicants must be at least 20 years old and under 30, as of August 13 this year. This means that an applicant can turn 30 within their year of reign (starting August 2023). There are also no height or weight specifications or requirements. Entries for the coveted title opened on April 28 and will close on Friday. Stephanie Weil, CEO of the Miss South Africa Organisation, highlighted that boundaries have been pushed this year. “This year we…

Gun battles and explosions again rocked Sudan’s capital yesterday despite the latest truce formally agreed between the warring parties as the UN warned the humanitarian crisis had brought the country near its “breaking point”. The chaos and bloodshed, now in their third week, have sparked a mass exodus of tens of thousands of Sudanese to neighbouring countries including Egypt, Chad and Central African Republic. More than 500 people have been reported killed since fighting erupted on April 15 between Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Millions of Sudanese around the capital and beyond have sheltered in their homes with dwindling food and water and frequent power cuts, as fighter jets thundering through the sky on bombing raids have drawn…

Hundreds of thousands of people yesterday massed in France on Labour Day to vent their anger against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform, with unions vowing not to stop fighting even after the changes were signed into law. Unions had been hoping for a vast turnout across France for the May 1 protests to further rattle Macron, who has been greeted by pot-bashing and jeers as he toured the country seeking to defend the reforms and relaunch his second mandate. Macron last month signed a law to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, despite months of strikes against the bill. The main march in Paris kicked off along the traditional protest route of Place de la Republique to Place de la Nation. Police had been given a last-minute go-ahead…

London: Nurses in England walked out again yesterday, with some critical services due to be hit for the first time. The industrial action is the latest stoppage in a bitter dispute with the government over pay and conditions. The 28-hour strike comes after members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) voted to reject a 5% government pay increase offer. All hospitals have been guaranteed a minimum level of cover for intensive care and trauma. But the latest strike is the first time areas such as intensive care, chemotherapy and dialysis have been hit, although some exemptions had been agreed. Doctors have also staged strikes. | AFP…

Mumbai: Fake call centres that dupe people around the world are commonly found in India, but Mumbai police said yesterday that they managed to bust one because of what the workers were having for breakfast. The centre, in a house along Rajodi Beach outside India’s financial capital, housed dozens of employees who were not allowed to leave the building to prevent them from interacting with outsiders. But police got a tip-off that someone was repeatedly ordering dozens of breakfasts from a nearby eatery – at 4am. Police raided the house, which had a floor with 60 workstations, on April 11 and arrested the owner and 47 employees. | AFP…

If Siya Kolisi’s trip home from the hospital is anything to go by, his recovery from surgery is going to rock. The Springbok captain posted a video clip of his wife Rachel driving him home yesterday morning while they sing along to Linkin Park. They look like they are loving life and the choice of song - Numb - is perfect because Kolisi remarks that the painkillers were “on full blast”. Bok fans will be pleased to see the influential skipper in high spirits as he begins his rehabilitation from the surgery on torn knee ligaments that came courtesy of an awkward step he took early in the Sharks’ match against Munster in Durban 10 days ago. A week of extensive consultation with specialists culminated in surgery on Friday and…

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti praised NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo yesterday for his insistence there was "no failure in sports" last week. After top seeded Milwaukee Bucks crashed out of the NBA play-offs at the hands of the Miami Heat, Greek player Antetokounmpo said teams can have good days and bad days but there was no such thing as failure in sport. "What this player said was spectacular, I have nothing to add, I think 100% like him," Ancelotti told reporters. "In sport you can't talk about failure, in life you can't talk about failure. Failure is only when you don't try to do something the best that you can, that is failure. "When you have a calm conscience, trying to do the best that you can, it will never…