Innholdsfortegnelse for 2021-12-23 i Cape Argus

The Washington Post Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, and Kristin Davis say they are “deeply saddened” by sexual assault allegations made against Sex and the City co-star Chris Noth. In a joint statement shared on Instagram late on Monday, the trio, who respectively played Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte in the franchise, wrote: "We are deeply saddened to hear the allegations against Chris Noth. “We support the women who have come forward and shared their painful experiences. We know it must be a very difficult thing to do and we commend them for it,” added the actresses, who are reprising their characters in HBO’s Sex and the City reboot, And Just Like That. Two women recently accused Noth, who played Mr Big in the romantic series, of separate assaults that…

Kristin Engel kristin.engel@inl.co.za AFTER their initial court bid to halt seismic blasting along the Wild Coast was dismissed, the organisations behind the interdict application have filed an application for leave to appeal the judgment. Dismissing the application by Border Deep Sea Angling Association, the Kei Mouth Ski Boat Club, Natural Justice and Greenpeace Africa on December 3 and ordering the applicants to pay the legal costs of Shell and Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe, Acting Judge Avinash Govindjee would now have to decide if the applicants will be given leave to appeal. Natural Justice head of campaigns Katherine Robinson said they were appealing because this was an issue of substantial public importance and they believed there were reasonable prospects of an appeal court finding. The reasonable prospects…

Staff Reporter AN international team of astronomers led by Professor Gyula Józsa, Professor Michelle Cluver and Professor Thomas Jarrett from the Department of Astronomy at UCT have discovered a mysterious chain of hydrogen gas clouds, the size of a massive galaxy. And this is all thanks to the South African MeerKAT telescope, helping spot the accumulation of so much elemental hydrogen without associated stellar components, which is the largest yet discovered. Appearing at the edge of a relatively massive group of galaxies, there is the possibility that the cloud chain is gas stripped from group-member galaxies, but it may also be primordial and gravitationally drawn into the group through a cosmic filament pathway. Whatever the case, MeerKAT is proving to be a ground-breaking telescope, and many such discoveries should soon…

Loyiso Sidimba loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za ONE of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s aides has issued a stern warning to the ANC to fix Eskom or face the possibility of losing power in 2024. Dr Kgosientso Ramokgopa, the head of investment and infrastructure in Ramaphosa’s office and former Tshwane mayor, identified power utility Eskom’s rolling blackouts ahead of last month’s local government elections as one of the key factors in the ANC’s worst showing in polls since 1994. ”There is a genuine and urgent need for the ANC-led government to act decisively to address the structural issues afflicting Eskom in order to eliminate load shedding as a factor in the 2024 national and provincial elections,” the former Gauteng economic development, agriculture and environment MEC warned. Ramokgopa said even the party’s membership lamented the actions of…

Ashfak Mohamed ashfak.mohamed@inl.co.za YOUNG Bulls lock Janko Swanepoel is used to being the underdog, but that hasn’t stopped him from carving out an already impressive rugby career. Now 22, Swanepoel didn’t attend the two big Paarl rugby schools, Boys High and Gim, nor Boland Landbou, also near Paarl, or Paul Roos in Stellenbosch. He made his name at Stellenberg High School, situated near Durbanville in the northern suburbs, about half-an-hour’s drive from the Cape Town City Centre. Stellenberg was only established in 1986, so it doesn’t have that same rich history that many of the other top Western Cape schools can boast about. But that didn’t stop Swanepoel from forcing his way into the Western Province Schools team in 2017, and then the SA Schools side in 2019. He was…

THE Indian cricket team did the customary 'team headshots' in Johannesburg, signalling their intent as they go into the three-Test series, scheduled to commence on Boxing Day (Sunday), full of confidence. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) posted a short video yesterday of the cricketers getting their 'headshots', with players trooping in one after the other to get their profiles clicked by a photographer in personal protective equipment (PPE). The BCCI tweeted, "Team Headshots done. Just a few sleeps away from the first Test. We cannot wait." Skipper Virat Kohli, No 18, was the first to go for the 'headshots', followed by KL Rahul, wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant, Mohd Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Cheteshwar Pujara, Shardul Thakur, Mohd Siraj, Mayank Agarwal, Shreyas Iyer,…

Lutho Pasiya lutho.pasiya@inl.co.za Burger King South Africa has just launched two new burgers on their menu – the BBQ Pepper Jack and Mustard Cheese – which are made with 100% South African beef and no fillers. The beef that Burger King uses in their gourmet patties is 100% South African beef that adheres to international standards and certifications, and the processing facility is recognised by the Global Food Safety Initiative to ensure world-class health and safety standards are adhered to. If you love burgers, get ready to bow down, because Burger King has taken gourmet to a whole other level. As someone who has eaten quite a few burgers, I would say good burgers are important to me, and Burger King makes pretty good burgers. The two new gourmet burgers…

Shakirah Thebus shakirah.thebus@inl.co.za THE Cape of Good Hope SPCA is calling on animal lovers and cycle enthusiasts to assist in raising funds for animals in distress, by participating in the Cape Town Cycle Tour 2022. The tour is expected to take place on March 13, and participants can take part in the #Race2Rescue campaign. Communications, resource development and education manager Belinda Abraham said the initiative started in 2012 with a team of 22 cyclists, with the Cape of Good Hope SPCA entering a team every year since then. “If you join TEAM SPCA now, you’ll not only get to experience the spirit and excitement of South Africa’s most beautiful cycling event – you’ll be racing to the rescue of animals in distress at the same time. The SPCA spends around…

Kristin Engel kristin.engel@inl.co.za SPOTTED eagle-owlets found nested on the field next to the Tokai Pony Club Arena have recently left the nest but will remain vulnerable on the ground for the next few weeks while they grow and learn to fly. With this being the most dangerous time of a spotted eagle-owl’s life, NPO Parkscape has requested that all dog-walkers leash and control their dogs when on the field to prevent them harassing the vulnerable baby owls, particularly dog-walkers who park in Hawthorne Close. Parkscape founder Nicky Schmidt said the owlets drop from their nests and learn to fledge from the ground, where they are extremely vulnerable to predators as they are unable to fly, although the parent birds stay close by to bring the owlets food and try to…

Mwangi Githahu mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za HEART 104.9FM’s Breakfast Show host Aden Thomas yesterday broadcast an 8-minute emotional farewell, simultaneously on radio and on Facebook, to his sacked former colleague, Clarence Ford. Referring to Ford, who had been with the station for 24 years, as a “giant of the industry” and the “godfather of radio”, Thomas spoke of his incredible sadness at the news of Ford’s abrupt departure and said the news had been a “sucker punch”. “To digest the news that he was no longer going to be part of the radio landscape was just such a tough thing to deal with. I have struggled over the past couple of days. It’s not easy having to say goodbye.” He said Ford had left a legacy that nobody would…

AFTER their stunning 1-0 win over hitherto unbeaten Mamelodi Sundowns on Monday, giant-killers AmaZulu can bag another big scalp when they face Orlando Pirates at Orlando Stadium today. Pirates will also go into the match on the back of a win after they shaded Marumo Gallants 2-1 at home on Monday. The two results saw Pirates and AmaZulu move into the top three on the Premiership standings with 27 points each, behind Sundowns (43). However, Pirates have a superior goal difference and edged AmaZulu into second place. The situation could change today, depending on the result. At this stage, Benni McCarthy’s AmaZulu are favourites to win. Ahead of the Gallants fixture, Pirates were winless from two matches and they looked ordinary in their 4-1 defeat to Sundowns last…

Staff Reporter THE new schedule of the United Rugby Championship has afforded the South African franchises – the Bulls, Lions, Sharks and Stormers – another fortnight to prepare for what will be a gruelling, marathon-esque five months of tournament play. The extra time has its perks and its draw-backs. Match-fitness will be reset, but for the Lions it will afford more time for the team to conform to the philosophy of coach Ivan van Rooyen and his new coaching team. The Johannesburg-based team will now return from their hiatus on 22 January, when they face the Sharks at Ellis Park. The last time the Lions played was on 4 December when they dominated the Stormers 37-19 in Cape Town. The original matches scheduled for that day and the week before…

Kanye West has split from model Vinetria. The chart-topping rap star and Vinetria, 22, have called time on their relationship after a few months together. Kanye, 44 – who legally changed his name to Ye earlier this year – is no longer following Vinetria on Instagram and they’ve decided to end their romance, according to the New York Post’s Page Six column. Kanye’s estranged wife, Kim Kardashian West, filed for a divorce from the rap star 10 months ago, but he’s recently suggested he still loves her. During a charity concert earlier this month, he rapped: “I need you to run right back to me, more specifically Kimberly”. However, Kim – who has North, 8, Saint, 6, Chicago, 3, and Psalm, 2, with the rapper – hasn’t shown any interest…

Sisonke Mlamla sisonke.mlamla@inl.co.za TRANSPORT Minister Fikile Mbalula says the Western Cape has recorded an increase of 49.3% in road fatalities from 71 last year to 106 over the same period. Mbalula and Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) chief executive advocate Makhosini Msibi released the preliminary festive season fatalities statistics yesterday, expressing concern about the spike in crashes which have resulted in multiple fatalities. Among others, the statistics showed that road accident fatalities increased in five provinces, including the Western Cape. Northern Cape recorded an increase of 60.0% from 20 fatalities in 2020 to 32 over the same period, Mpumalanga recorded an increase of 26.4% from 87 in 2020 to 110 over the same period, North West recorded an increase of 10.9% from 55 in 2020 to 61 over the same…

Staff Reporter First-time mom Sansa the cheetah gave birth to four perfect little bundles of fur at the Cango Wildlife Ranch and Conservation Centre on November 7, and everyone there is overjoyed. Cango Wildlife Ranch and Conservation Centre tourism senior manager Tammy Moult said that their carers had already picked up that the cubs – three boys and one girl – have vastly different personalities. “Walker, the largest of the four, is busy and boisterous, while Wyatt, the smallest of the litter, thinks of nothing other than food! Wandile, uniquely dark in his colouring, is as friendly as can be. Ironically though, he isn’t a big fan of playtime and would much rather observe his siblings rough-housing from a distance. Willa, the doe-eyed princess of the litter, is the second…

IF you thought Rassie Erasmus was living his best Dezemba life, then Springbok captain Siya Kolisi is not far behind. The 30-year-old loose forward has been on a break after the Sharks beat the Bulls on 3 December, and he started off his festive season with a trip to Cape Town with wife Rachel and children and siblings – which even included beauty treatments at a spa. But then Kolisi really brought Dezemba to life with a trip to Mozambique, where the first family of South African rugby checked into the upmarket Moyeni Lodge for a holiday filled with palm trees, beach, sand, great food and drinks – truly Insta-worthy pics for Siya and Rachel’s accounts. There was also some sad news, with Siya returning to his…

AFRICAN football chief Patrice Motsepe confirmed on Tuesday that the Africa Cup of Nations will go ahead as planned in Cameroon next month despite the Omicron-variant led surge in Covid-19 cases. “I am going to watch, on the 9th of January, Cameroon and Burkina Faso (in the opening match),” Motsepe said, dispelling rumours that the already delayed continental showpiece could fall victim to the Covid-19 pandemic. South African mining tycoon Motsepe gave the green-light to Afcon, originally due to be staged in 2019, after talks with Cameroon president Paul Biya. But the 59-year-old was quick to stress the dangers presented by the new variant responsible for record daily numbers of positive cases. “Omicron is an enormous challenge,” Motsepe said, guaranteeing that nobody would be allowed to set foot in the…