Innholdsfortegnelse for 2023-02-12 i Sunday Independent

Thousands of Twitter users reported problems using the platform as the Elon Musk-owned social network began letting paying users post tweets as long as 4 000 characters. “Twitter may not be working as expected for some of you,” the company said in a tweet. “Sorry for the trouble. We’re aware and working to get this fixed.” Reports of Twitter troubles spiked at website Downdetector early on Wednesday afternoon in Silicon Valley, and continued for about two hours. Users’ complaints shared online included being unable to post messages, being told they had exceeded a daily limit of tweets, and inability to send direct messages. A daily limit of 2 400 tweets per day was put in place at Twitter to reduce strain on its operations, according to US media. People also…

“GREEN metals” were key buzzwords at this year’s African Mining Indaba in Cape Town this week past, but South Africa and other African countries will have to work hard to attract the significant investment that will be required to mine these minerals. “Green metals” refer to minerals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite, rare earth minerals, iron, copper, phosphate and platinum group metals, the production of which is anticipated will have to increase substantially in the next 25 years as countries and companies try to meet their decarbonisation and emissions reduction targets by 2050. For instance, SA Council for Geoscience CEO Mosa Mabuza told delegates that in the next 25 years, more copper will need to be mined to meet the needs of the global renewable energy transition than has…

While meeting up for beverages has traditionally been the preferred first date option, more GenZ and Millennials are increasingly adopting “mindful drinking”, “sober curiosity” and going on alcohol-free “dry dates”. According to a recent study by well-known dating app, Bumble, the “Dry Dating” (alcohol-free dates) trend will continue to be popular well beyond Dry January. The platform anticipated this trend will be the top dating trend this year. People are intentionally selecting sober, alcohol-free dates as more singles re-examine their relationship with alcohol. This year, daters are getting better at expressing what they want and don't want in their dating experiences, questioning the status quo, and dating on their own terms. According to a recent national poll by the app, 24% of singles who drink claim they won’t do so…

Yoh, if we thought The Real Housewives was where the jaw-dropping drama was at – especially with the Durban iteration – think again. Curiosity led me to start watching This Body Works for Me on Showmax. Also, I’ve noticed the streaming platform has put more stock into creating risqué original content. They recently announced that Sex and Pleasure would be airing early next month. Last year, Sex in Afrikaans debuted on the platform. It piqued curiosities, for sure. However, most streamers binged in private and so it didn’t make a lot of noise on social media. Sex may be a taboo subject in homes and communities but it remains a pertinent one. If Sex in Afrikaans proved anything, it is there is a healthy appetite for sex, experimentation and…

Magic Mike's Last Dance, a mostly flat, flavourless cocktail of a sequel that tries to replicate the fizz of the 2012 original by stirring together elements of a getting-her-groove-back love story with music-video-style production numbers, lessons in female empowerment delivered with all the subtlety of a TED Talk and the kind of let's-put-on-a-show energy that went out of style in 1940, has – despite those flaws – its moments. One moment, anyway. Early in the film, the title character, stripper-turned-furniture designer Mike Lane (Channing Tatum), reduced to pouring drinks at a charity fundraiser in Miami, is invited to perform a lap dance for Maxandra “Max” Mendoza (Salma Hayek Pinault), a wealthy woman who is going through an ugly divorce and needs some cheering up. Mike doesn't dance anymore, he tells…

PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa’s speech during the State of the Nation Address (Sona) has been met with criticism from various organisations including experts. Some said Ramaphosa failed to come up with solutions to the key issues facing the country and continued to make empty promises, while others said Ramaphosa used his Sona to centralise power in his office. Ramaphosa’s address came at a time when the country is in a snowballing crisis – including unemployment, corruption, load shedding, deepening economic crisis, and poverty, among other social ills. The organisations and experts said they expected Ramaphosa to come up with solutions to the problems facing the country, and a progress report since the last Sona in February 2022. During Sona in 2022, the president highlighted several issues in his address including the…

MORE trouble appears to be facing the ANC after the election of two troubled provincial structures, with one taking a strange twist after disgruntled members accused the governing party of appointing dead leaders. The fight over the outcomes of the ANC North West and Free State provincial conferences has taken new turns. In the North West, disgruntled ANC members Lebogang Medupe, Lesego Serapelwane, Puso Moeng, Sello Molefe and Itumeleng Moswane want the North West High Court in Mahikeng to declare the provincial conference held between August 12 and 14 last year unlawful, and order that it be reviewed and set aside. Further south, in the Free State, the process to take the ANC to court has been delayed after Mangaung regional spokesperson Fannie Ledimo was suspended for issuing a media…

The safety of pupils and teachers has become a concern in schools nationwide. In the last few years, there has been an alarming rise in deaths and violent attacks on teachers and learners. In January last year, a teacher in Tembisa, Gauteng, was gunned down on school premises by an unknown assailant. In the Free State, a 20-year-old pupil fatally stabbed a teacher in October. In November, the SAPS released crime statistics that showed 19 murders had been committed at educational facilities across the country. In April of the same year, reports indicated that 33 teaching staff members were seriously attacked in the Western Cape alone between 2016 and 2022. Moreover, it has barely been two months into the 2023 academic year, but at least six violent incidents have already…

WITH every day that passes, South Africans are forced to accept the reality that load shedding is not ending anytime soon. The daily scheduled power cuts have adversely affected various economic sectors, further crippling an already struggling economy. This manufactured power “saving” method has had an enormous effect on members of society: schoolchildren, entrepreneurs, hospitals and other critical sectors. A lack of new power stations and the replacing ageing infrastructure is why South Africa has experienced load shedding since 2007. Realising the need for alternative power, many companies have jumped at the opportunity to capitalise on Eskom’s failure to keep the lights on. Power4Less is one such company. Its CEO, Nafisa Fareed, who has been at the helm since 2011 says they are seeing significant growth in their business.…

IT TOOK a while but Thandiswa Mazwai is bringing her love for Azania to the Mother City. Legendary artist Mazwai announced that she’ll be performing the sold-out show A Letter To Azania at the Artscape Theatre in Cape Town on February 25. The performance is intended to invite the audience into an imagined world and, in her words, drive a revolution of “a love for the people, a love for country, and a love for justice”. The artist (popularly known as King Tha) said she felt excited to return to “her family” in Cape Town after a long absence from the city. “It has been such a long time since I have had a show in Cape Town,” she said. “This is my work’s greatest aspiration – that people come…

LAW firm ENSafrica is in trouble again, with the Legal Practice Council (LPC) being requested to probe its conduct in an ongoing fight for mining rights between two companies. Transasia Group asked the LPC to investigate ENSafrica and its legal practitioners – Senzo Mbatha and Tumi Modubu – for breach of conduct for legal practitioners. The group said ENSafrica, Mbatha and Modubu violated sections 3 and 9 of the Code of Conduct for legal practitioners, which was promulgated by the LPC in terms of Section 36(1) of the Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014. This was after ENSafrica and the two legal practitioners did not cite Transasia Group in an urgent application brought by ENSafica’s client, Umsobomvu, to compel the Mineral Resources and Energy Department to release the record of…

THE LATEST State of the Nation Address (Sona) delivered by President Cyril Ramaphosa signals a government largely devoid of solutions to the nation’s most pressing challenges. What is clear from Ramaphosa’s underwhelming address is that, as the president stated, under the current leadership we have become a nation of “hope and resilience” – rather than one of success and development. Action and results speak louder than words and the president’s address was sadly lacking in performance indicators that show the true state of the nation. Rather than take us into his confidence by confirming what most South Africans already know – that we are no better off now than before Covid-19 – the president attempted to persuade us that we are well on the way to recovery. We disagree. The…

PROTEAS Women’s wicketkeeper Sinalo Jafta has admitted that “nerves got in the way” during the team’s tense three-run defeat to Sri Lanka in their ICC T20 Women’s World Cup tournament opener at Newlands on Friday evening. The home team were the overwhelming favourites heading into the match, but were caught cold before a record crowd for a women’s cricket match in South Africa. “Nerves got in the way, if we’re being honest,” Jafta said. “I will commend Cape Town for coming through. The fans were incredible. As an athlete you live for those nerves. We haven’t played in front of such a crowd bar in India. “We can’t run away from the fact that there are going to be pressure situations. It is a World Cup, and in T20 cricket…

The artificial intelligence system scored passing or near passing results on the US medical licensing exam, according to a study published on Thursday. “Reaching the passing score for this notoriously difficult expert exam, and doing so without any human reinforcement, marks a notable milestone in clinical AI maturation,” said the authors of the study published in the journal PLOS Digital Health. “These results suggest that large language models may have the potential to assist with medical education and potentially clinical decision-making,” they said. ChatGPT, which is able to produce essays, poems and programming code within seconds, was developed by OpenAI, a Californian start-up founded in 2015 with early funding from Elon Musk, among others. Microsoft invested $1 billion in OpenAI in 2019 and just inked a new multibillion deal with…

ONE OF the first steps you may take in your journey to becoming a successful entrepreneur is learning how to draft a business plan. You could think of a business plan as your blueprint – a roadmap that will lay the foundation for you to get your venture off the ground. There are several reasons why writing a business plan should be top of your list before you take the plunge. For one, venture capitalists and small business financiers may require you to submit a business plan as part of your application for business funding. However, even if applying for a business loan is not at the top of your agenda, drafting a business plan is a crucial step in getting to know your market and will help you understand…

Whether you’ve been together for 20 years, or it might even be the person you met on a dating app and are finally meeting for the first time, going on a date with the special person in your life is always magical. Especially if it’s a Valentine’s Day date! While every date should be special, people do go out of their way to make their Valentine feel that extra loving on the day. If your partner is putting in all the effort to make the occasion special for both of you, best you dress up for the occasion. Whether it’s a breakfast date at your favourite coffee shop or if he’s trying to impress you with a romantic dinner at a fancy restaurant, here are outfit ideas to help you…

China is leading the growing international calls for the US government to immediately lift its unilateral sanctions against Syria as they are disrupting global relief efforts in the wake of the catastrophic earthquake. The earthquake also shook neighbouring Turkiye. All in all more than 20 000 people lost their lives and the number is certain to rise. Humanitarian aid to Turkiye is relatively smooth. Turkiye is a key NATO member and its military is the second largest in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation that is currently involved in a proxy war against Russia in Ukraine. The tragedy that concerns China and many governments and humanitarian organisations around the world is the plight of ordinary Syrians. Damascus has been locked in a civil war for almost 12 years. The US, which…

FORMER Transnet executive and state capture-accused Iqbal Sharma has made an offer to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) that he is available to be interviewed on the contents of his affidavit that is before the Bloemfontein High Court implicating politicians and other big business leaders in the “real” state capture. Sharma said he was not aware whether the NPA had any intention to interrogate his allegations, but he was certain that the prosecuting body had sight of the document containing not only explosive allegations but the accompanying evidence as well. “They would have had sight when we filed our papers in July 2022,” he said. “I would be keen on an interview. The entire Transnet board of 2010-2014 should be interviewed as everything in my affidavit is known by all…

Matric learners across South Africa have achieved exceptional results through the intervention of Protec, a 40-year-old NPO that provides educational support in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) skills subjects. For the academic year 2022, the results from Protec’s class include a 100% pass rate, 83% bachelor’s pass, 293 distinctions, four learners with seven distinctions, and one learner, who was considered the top learner, achieved 99% for maths and 100% for physical sciences. More than 30 000 disadvantaged learners have successfully passed through the Protec programme since 1982 and are now qualified engineers, doctors, scientists and other professionals. Protec is a national NPO established by the South African Institute of Civil Engineers in Soweto in 1982, which runs educational support programmes for disadvantaged youngsters with potential in maths and science…

IT’S often said that education is the key to success and in a country where unemployment among the youth is at its all-time high of 59.6%, getting an education gives one a fighting chance in South Africa’s unstable economy. And while the statement holds for many who hunger for education, the pupils at the Job Rathebe Junior Secondary School in Orlando East feel abandoned by the education system. So much so that a group of disgruntled students interrupted classes last year, on the first day that schools reopened for the third school term. The school governing body (SGB) and parents shut down the school affecting teaching and learning citing their dissatisfaction with the “appalling conditions” of the institution. SGB treasurer Myron Shongwe said it was within their mandate as the…

IN President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Thursday evening he announced several things regarding the energy crisis and the steps to be taken by the government in order to address the load shedding that has taken place. Some key points that he talked about were that South Africa was entering into a national state of disaster in order to address this crisis, similar to what took place during the Covid-19 pandemic. I have my concerns about this step and previously voiced concerns that it won’t do much in terms of actually bringing new generation capacity onto the grid, which is what is primarily needed in order to meet our electricity demand. And looking at how it went with the pandemic, can we really say that it…

BANYANA Banyana’s Thembi Kgatlana has raised serious concerns about the team’s preparations for the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup starting in Australia and New Zealand in July. Kgatlana feels the national women’s team should frequently be playing matches against higher-ranked teams. It should also stage camps where players can engage regularly and gel as a squad. In a straight-talking interview with the South African Football Journalists Association (Safja) recently, Kgatlana outlined her concerns. Banyana’s hierarchy will do well to ponder her remarks. According to Kgatlana, there is no justification to say Banyana stands a chance of winning matches at the World Cup because preparations, as they stand now, are inadequate. “We are still underdogs. Yes, we are not in the group of death, and I hear people saying we have…

JUST as everyone thought the dust had settled on controversies surrounding Rassie Erasmus and social media rants, the Saru director of rugby was at it again yesterday morning. This time, he took to Twitter lambasting former Springboks coach Nick Mallett, asking him not to talk “sh*8t” to people as a pundit on the TV show First Whistle. Mallett was with former Bok attack coach Swys de Bruin, former Bok hooker Hanyani Shimange and host Owen Nkumane analysing last weekend’s rugby matches. In a video posted at 4.47am yesterday, Erasmus says he “can’t sleep” because of what was said on the show by Mallett last Sunday. The World Cup-winning coach was referring to Mallett calling him (Erasmus) out, saying the latter must do his job properly as the South African Rugby…

Disneyland’s “Pirates of the Caribbean” attraction is one of the amusement park’s biggest draw cards. But after a recent incident, visitors are jokingly calling for the ride to be renamed “Splash Mountain”, the UK Independent reported. This comes after a video went viral on TikTok, showing riders stuck on the “Pirates” boat for an hour before firefighters came to their rescue. The video was posted by @justnjames_, who described the incident as “a hot mess, honestly thought we were gonna swim our way out of this”. Sharing a clip of himself and fellow passengers sitting in the water-logged boat, he wrote: “POV: You’re stuck on the pirates ride @Disneyland and your boat is literally sinking.” You’d think after the ordeal, Disneyland would apologise profusely and refund their tickets. That was…

Microsoft visited an artisanal cobalt mine in Democratic Republic of Congo in December, as part of attempts to jump-start formalisation of the little-regulated and dangerous industry that experts say is key to meeting global demand for the battery material. Congo accounts for three-quarters of the world’s mined cobalt supply. Industrial mines produce most of Congo’s cobalt, but “artisanal” miners, who dig by hand and often die when tunnels cave in, account for up to 30% of production, though that fluctuates, depending on price. In the first known visit by a Microsoft executive to an artisanal cobalt site in Congo, chief of staff for tech and corporate responsibility Michele Burlington met miners at Mutoshi, where commodities trader Trafigura had helped run a formalisation scheme that ended in 2020. Companies that use…

ECONOMISTS and business were united in their call for President Cyril Ramaphosa to “walk the talk” and guard the state’s money bags, after his announcement of a national state of disaster to deal with the ongoing energy crisis in his State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Thursday. He also took the unprecedented decision to appoint a minister of electricity dedicated to ending load shedding which is devastating the economy. NWU Business School economist Prof Raymond Parsons said the Sona confirmed the energy crisis now weighed heavily on South Africa’s economic and business prospects. As a result, the latest revised SA Reserve Bank gross domestic product growth forecasts of only 0.3% in 2023, 0.5% in 2024 and 1% in 2025 set the broad growth parameters within which South Africa in…

Whether you’re still swiping, have already found a partner, or have sworn them off forever, there’s a good chance you’ve crossed paths with dating apps. Nearly 30% of singles go looking for love, companionship or sex on apps like Tinder, Grindr and Bumble, according to new research from the Pew Research Center. The new survey, just in time for the chocolate lobby's favourite holiday, offers an interesting look into what people are actually getting out of the tools. Let’s dive into the data and see what we can learn about finding love and staying safe. Where are all the singles? More than half of all adults under 30 have used a dating app, but which ones? Tinder is the most popular -–about half of the US adults who date online…

A new documentary that focuses on the lives of iconic African queens is set to debut on Netflix on February 15. Executively produced and narrated by 52-year-old actress Jada Pinkett Smith, this four-part docu-drama will take a deep delve into the fearless warrior Queen Njinga of Angola and also features expert interviews and re-enactments. Pinkett Smith shed more light on the anticipated documentary. What was the original inspiration for African Queens: Njinga? This particular project went through many different machinations, but it started with Willow. Raising a daughter like Willow, at first, we thought, ‘Let’s go to Africa and study the queens of Africa together as mother and daughter.’ Because that terminology, queen, is tossed around a lot – but what does it take to actually be a queen? So…

Are you a South African entrepreneur between the ages of 18 and 35 with a business that has been in existence for over a year? Well, you may want to nominate your brand or one that you know of to be recognised in the Top 16 Youth-Owned Brands Awards taking place later this year. The main event is set to take place on the evening of June 15. The youth unemployment rate in South Africa continues to be a constant issue and these brands try to bridge the gap through the opportunities they have created for themselves. The future of South Africa is in the good hands of the youth that work tirelessly on their crafts while creating jobs. Founded by a seasoned marketing professional and entrepreneur, Pat Mahlangu, the…

THE legal battle over the overturning of the decision by retired correctional services national commissioner and ex-spy boss Arthur Fraser to grant former president Jacob Zuma medical parole is heading to the Constitutional Court. Makgothi Thobakgale, Fraser's successor as head of prisons, has asked the Apex court to reverse the North Gauteng High Court and the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) judgments in favour of the DA, the Helen Suzman Foundation (HSF) and AfriForum, all opposing the decision to free Zuma. Thobakgale described the SCA’s finding that Zuma had not completed his 15-month sentence for contempt of the Constitutional Court’s order, that the ex-head of state must appear before the commission of inquiry into state capture and therefore return to the Estcourt Correctional Centre as “alarmingly inhumane and insensitive”. He…

Portugal forward Felix put Chelsea ahead in his second appearance for the club, only for Italy defender Emerson to haunt his former team with an equaliser before half-time. Ninth-placed Chelsea have won just one of their past eight games in all competitions and are nine points adrift of the Premier League’s top four. Chelsea, without a win in their last seven away league games, splashed out more than £300 million (about R6.4 billion) on new signings during the January transfer window. Although Potter insists he is well aware of the pressure to get Chelsea back on track, the former Brighton boss has been unable to stop the rot. “The second half was more of a reflection of where we are in terms of integrating new players and getting players up…

As travel roared back last year after its Covid pandemic hiatus, we jumped in with a vengeance to make up for the lost time. As a result, crowds returned to big tourist destinations and bad behaviour reared its ugly head again. It’s good to reflect on our impact as travellers. Where and how we travel leaves a mark on the planet and other people. It’s our responsibility to make that mark a positive one. Here are some rules for being a more responsible traveller – beyond minimising single-use plastic waste or boycotting unethical wildlife experiences. Protect the popular places by visiting off-season The Colosseum, Yellowstone National Park, Santorini and the Great Wall of China are spectacular, but doing so during their busiest seasons can be detrimental to the places. Visiting…

Few PEOPLE get to experience a ghost flight, so when Robbie Allen shared his experience on TikTok, it immediately racked up thousands of views. One might think having an entire plane to yourself would be heaven, but for Allen, it was surreal and strange. Allen booked a flight in January last year, from Sydney to Fiji for his birthday. Once he arrived at the boarding gate, he noticed there were no other passengers waiting to board. When he was shown to his business-class seat on his Virgin Atlantic flight, he was told that he was the only person on the plane. In the video, which has gone viral, Allen says, giggling: “I like, literally have the whole plane to myself … I’m the VIP!” Initially, he had a sense of…

Travel writing in Africa is still often associated with colonial ventures of the past. But Africans have long produced captivating travel texts in oral and written forms. And today literary ezines (electronic magazines on the internet) dedicated to diverse travel writing are thriving. That said, the cultures and literature of travel from Africa have long been under-recognised by mobility studies. Exposing structures and norms that privilege white travel, as well as centring the voices of those on the move who haven’t traditionally been counted as travellers, are important aspects of “decolonising travel”. The “travelling while black” movement foregrounds racial danger and discrimination around travel, while illuminating distinctive experiences that black travel brings. With this telling phrase as its title, Kenyan writer and analyst Nanjala Nyabola’s ground-shifting book explores multiple…