Innholdsfortegnelse for 2022-07-18 i Cape Argus

Vuyokazi Cwele is an apprentice mechanical fitter at one of Africa’s largest ship building and repair companies, Sandock Austral Shipyards. Cwele says that mechanical fitting is perfect for people who are looking for a challenge in the workplace and describes it as one of the most challenging trades in the industry. Cwele, who studied mechanical fitting at the eThekwini FET College – Springfield takes us through a typical day at work. She says her day starts very early with what is called a toolbox talk where discussions are had about safety and work-related issues. She is then instructed and deployed to her working area by a foreman. She is working on Project Hotel, which is the construction of a new hydrographic survey vessel for the South African Navy, currently being…

Associating with the right people helped Mbali Nontobeko Mncube to achieve excellent results in her National Diploma in Business and Information Management. Mncube, 22, from Newcastle was among the first group of graduates from the Faculty of Accounting and Informatics who were honoured at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) Celebratory Autumn Graduation ceremony at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Durban International Convention Centre yesterday. She was the top student in her class, graduating cum laude, and she obtained the prestigious Dean’s Merit Award for her academic excellence. Being the best performing student has been the highlight of Mncube’s academic journey at the DUT. “During my time at DUT, I decided to dedicate myself to my studies. I eventually put my academics ahead of my social life. “I was fortunate to…

Dating reality show Love Is Blind season 2 star Jeremy Hartwell has filed a lawsuit against Netflix and the series' producers, saying the cast was mistreated while filming the show. “They intentionally underpaid the cast members, deprived them of food, water and sleep, plied them with booze and cut off their access to personal contacts and most of the outside world. “This made them hungry for social connections and altered their emotions and decision-making,” Hartwell's attorney, Chantal Payton of Payton Employment Law, PC, of Los Angeles, said in a statement given to Page Six. “The contracts required contestants to agree that if they left the show before filming was done, they would be penalised by being required to pay $50 000 (about R860 000) in ‘liquidated damages’.” “With that being…

Olympic gold medallist rower James Thompson’s family is appealing to the public to assist them in searching for Thompson’s father, Gus Thompson. Seventy-year-old Thompson was last seen on July 14 on top of Chapman’s Peak after leaving his home, a care facility near Lake Michelle in Noordhoek, according to his family. On the day he was last seen, Thompson was wearing a black puffer jacket, blue denim jeans and a pair of running shoes. Thompson’s daughter-in-law Carolyn Thompson said on learning of his disappearance the family had reported the case to Fish Hoek police, who have since been searching for him. She said: “My father-in-law has alzheimer’s, so he might not be familiar with his surroundings or know how to get back home. There have been reports of sightings but…

THE Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has granted a 36-year-old man special leave to appeal his conviction and sentence for the rape of a 23-year-old woman after he was found guilty and sentenced in the Parow Regional Court. The man was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment after the Regional Court found him guilty on four counts of rape, sexual assault, attempting to commit a sexual offence and indecent exposure. The man had previously applied to both the Parow Regional Court and the Western Cape High Court for leave to appeal. However, he was unsuccessful on both occasions until his application to the SCA. According to the SCA, the issue before the court was not considering the merits of the case on the subject of his guilt but rather whether the…

With immense sadness the nation was told of the passing of ANC struggle stalwart, Yasmin “Jessie” Duarte, an iconic symbol of true grit, a hero of the struggle to obtain equality across the world. Her courage and strength made you stand in awe. She never blinked. She gave hope to a generation of women and was instrumental in our Struggle for equality and played a crucial and pivotal role in our emancipation from racism. Women like her and many others made personal sacrifices, that enabled us to shed our chains of enslavement and thrust upon us the virtues of liberty and freedom. Sadly, we also lost many nother stalwarts during the past few years. They made the ultimate sacrifice; that is why our nation endures. Our future success is predicated…

PLANNED power cuts by South Africa’s state-owned power utility, Eskom, have left businesses and households without electricity for close to six hours daily. Eskom introduced the latest round of power cuts, commonly referred to as load shedding, in June after generation units in three power plants broke down. Then, to make matters worse, employees at several power stations downed tools. During the drawn-out industrial action, the utility increased the duration of the power cuts. In addition to frustrating households and businesses, the power cuts could be shaving billions of rand off the country’s economy daily. At The Conversation Africa, we have been working with academic experts to try to make sense of the structural and governance factors driving the power cuts and how to get the country out of this…

Gang violence killed or injured at least 234 people from July 8-12 in Haiti’s Cite Soleil, an impoverished and densely-populated neighbourhood of the capital, Port-au-Prince, the UN said on Saturday. The unrest erupted between two rival factions and the city’s ill-equipped and understaffed police failed to intervene, leaving residents trapped in their homes, unable to go out even for food and water. With many houses in the slums built of sheet metal, residents fell victim to stray bullets. Ambulances were unable to reach those in need. “Most of the victims were not directly involved in gangs, but were directly targeted by gang elements. We have also received new reports of sexual violence,” said UN human rights office spokesperson Jeremy Laurence. Earlier this week, the National Human Rights Defense Network, a…

Los Angeles: Testimony from a key prosecutor in the statutory rape case against Roman Polanski must be unsealed, more than 40 years after the fugitive director was convicted, a California court has ruled. The Chinatown and Rosemary’s Baby director was arrested in 1977 after 13-year-old Samantha Gailey accused him of plying her with drugs and champagne and forcibly sodomising her. In a plea deal Polanski accepted guilt for unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, but fled to France when he learned the judge intended to reconsider handing down a much lengthier prison sentence. |…

BUENOS AIRES: An Argentine court has acquitted former Argentine president Mauricio Macri of all charges in the submarine sinking case, a judiciary source said on Saturday. Macri was accused of the alleged surveillance of the families of the dead sailors. He was charged 2021. “(The court) dismissed charges against Macri and others involved (in the case),” the source said. The submarine ARA San Juan disappeared off the coast of Argentine in 2017 with its crew of 44. The navy later said that there had been an explosion on board. The wreckage was found a year later. |…

Lungi Ngidi 2.0. At only 26 years of age, that is quite a statement, but such has been Ngidi’s troubles that this England tour is a virtual rebirth for the hulking fast bowler. A former automatic selection for the South African senior men’s team in all formats, Ngidi has fallen down the pecking order over the past two years due to a combination of injury and illness. Now in the best physical shape he’s been in a long while, Ngidi has been tasked with leading the Proteas’ attack in the upcoming three-match one-day international series against world champions England, starting in Durham tomorrow. His good mate Kagiso Rabada has been rested for the first leg of the tour. It is a position Ngidi is familiar with, often thriving with the…

ANC deputy secretary-general Yasmin “Jessie” Duarte , 68 was buried in a special official funeral service yesterday. She passed away early yesterday after battling with cancer for eight months. She was buried at Westpark Cemetery in Johannesburg. She had been on medical leave from November last year. Duarte became actively involved in politics at a younger age and developed a reputation as an activist and an advocate for equality over the years. She worked closely with the late Struggle stalwart Albertina Sisulu to establish women’s structures in the country, while serving as the provincial secretary of the Federation of Transvaal Women, which was a United Democratic Front affiliate. At the time of her passing, Duarte had been serving as deputy secretary-general of the ANC from 2012 and was a member…

POLICE have launched an investigation into a triple murder at Site C, Khayelitsha, on Saturday. Three men aged 34, 36 and 50 were shot. Police spokesperson André Traut said no suspects had been arrested. In an unrelated incident on the same evening, two men were shot and killed in Makhaza. One victim died on the scene and the other in hospital. Police said the victims were attacked by men driving a white VW Polo; they believe the motive for the attack were linked to the drug trade in the area. Police spokesperson Wesley Twigg reported the shooting of a man, 25, and a 14-month-old baby in Vertrou Street, Crawford. The victim was apparently driving with his family when they came under attack. No suspects have been arrested. In Oudtshoorn, police…

CRYPTO developer Riccardo “FluffyPony” Spagni has been released from custody on a warning following the Cape Town Regional Court’s judgment, which acquitted him from his failure to appear for trial while he travelled from one country to another. Spagni has been charged with more than 350 counts of fraud, forgery, uttering and contraventions of the VAT Act for allegedly siphoning funds from Cape Cookies, where he worked as an information technology manager during October 2009 and June 2011. Spagni’s release was granted following three consecutive days of vigorous debate in court between the State and his team of lawyers who included advocates Ben Prinsloo and William King. At every turn the defence pushed for the court to hear submissions based on Spagni’s position in order to get him out of…

A trio of rehabilitated juvenile loggerhead turtles were the first to be released in a national collaborative release co-ordinated by the Two Oceans Aquarium Education Foundation, uShaka Sea World, and Bayworld with the goal of gathering data on the unknown life stages of sea turtles. Two Oceans Aquarium spokesperson Renée Leeuwner said the turtles were stranded and rescued from Struisbaai (Overberg region) via the Turtle Rescue Network, whereafter they were admitted to the Two Oceans’ turtle rehabilitation facility, where they underwent veterinary assessments before being released. Each turtle was fitted with a satellite tag for its movements to be tracked by researchers to enable significant scientific research opportunities and enable researchers to gather data regarding the life stages of sea turtles. Pan was released by the Two Oceans Aquarium 30…

Residents of Tulbagh in the Western Cape and Orkney in the North West were left quaking after two earthquakes this weekend. Volcano Discovery, an earthquake and volcano news portal, sent an alert that an earthquake occurred 23km north-west of Ceres on Friday at 1.26pm with a depth of 10km. The Council for Geoscience confirmed that it occurred about 39km west of the 1969 Tulbagh earthquake. Council for Geoscience spokesperson Mahlatse Mononela said both earthquakes straddled a prominent northwest-southeast fault line. Witzenberg Municipality’s Fire, Rescue and Disaster Management Services manager Annelize Lamprecht-Vertue said the earthquake was felt in the towns of Tulbagh, Wolseley and surrounds. Cape Winelands District Municipality spokesperson Jo-Anne Otto said there were no reports of damages or people affected. Although the magnitude of this tremor was still unknown,…

The Cape Argus edition of Thursday, July 14 with the headline “Bredasdorp’s business boost” refers: It is fantastic to read about the community business hub in Bredasdorp. It is also good to see that they are getting results. My suggestion is that they reach out to other small municipalities to give them the blueprint so that we can get the Cape working again. We live in a province that is innovative, active and forward thinking. I am sure organisations such as Wesgro will help. There are all sorts of ways and means of getting the economy going in the small towns. For instance, I have just spent some time on a motorbike rally to a small town. Thousands of bikers converged with their pockets full of cash to frequent…

The pendulum of destiny swings, and you’d have to say that it has tilted towards the Northern Hemisphere … for now. With 417 days to go before the Springboks must defend their Rugby World Cup crown in France – on the evidence of this past month – one could argue that it is Ireland, France and England which hold the psychological edge as we build up to the sport’s showpiece event. All three of these nations stamped their names as pre-2023 favourites this month with stellar performances of growth and evolution. Ireland, in particular, was extraordinary in their 2-1 Test series victory over the All Blacks – their first such triumph over the Kiwis. Meanwhile, Eddie Jones’s England secured a consecutive series victory over Australia. France, arguably, had the easiest…

LONDON: About 25 million children around the world missed out on routine vaccinations last year that protect against life-threatening diseases, as the effects of Covid-19 continue to disrupt health care. That is two million more children than in 2020, when the pandemic caused lockdowns, and six million more than pre-pandemic in 2019, according to new figures released by the UN Children’s Fund and the World Health Organization. Unicef described the drop as the largest backslide in childhood vaccination in a generation, taking coverage rates back to levels not seen since the early 2000s. |…

Belgian Jasper Philipsen claimed his maiden victory on the Tour de France when he won a bunch sprint in the 15th stage as overall leader Jonas Vingegaard and his team suffered a bad day yesterday. Alpecin-Deceuninck rider Philipsen timed his effort to perfection to beat compatriot Wout van Aert and Dane Mads Pedersen, who were second and third, respectively. “It’s the biggest victory you can hope for. I came close a few times last year and our ambition was to win this year. There were very few opportunities for sprinters so we had to be patient,” said Philipsen. Vingegaard retained the yellow jersey, but hit the deck and lost two of his Jumbo-Visma teammates as Steven Kruijswijk crashed out and Primoz Roglic did not take the start of the 202.5km…

Awards season is upon us and we finally get to honour and celebrate our silver-screen favourites who entertain us daily. The eagerly anticipated 16th South African Film & Television Awards (Saftas) nominations were announced last week across all its digital platforms, under the theme “Frame the Future”, which is a call for the industry to work together in crafting a new path forward. This year, 1Magic telenovela The River, Showmax’s DAM and Tali’s Baby Diary landed an impressive 11 nominations each, while Mzansi Magic’s DiepCity and Showmax’s Suidooster were right behind with 10 nominations each, and kykNET’s G.I.L received nine nods, making the MultiChoice Group dominate the nominations board. As for the SABC, it received six nods for Skeem Saam, three for 7de Laan and S3’s Murder in Paris received…

The Western Province Motor Club (WPMC) is investigating a fatal crash at its Killarney race track which claimed the life of beloved community doctor Shaheed Mugjenkar. Mugjenkar reportedly died in hospital after he crashed his vehicle participating in the WPMC drag racing championship at the Killarney track in Table View on Saturday, July 16. In a statement, the WPMC said that Mugjenkar lost control of his Opel Kadett just after the finish line. “The car veered across the drag strip and rolled several times before hitting the safety barriers, ultimately landing on its side. “Our marshals and medical personnel were immediately in attendance, and Dr Mugjenkar was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition. We were later informed by hospital staff that he succumbed to his injuries. His family…

As far as I am concerned, Boris Johnson is still the prime minister of the UK. What Johnson has done was only to tender his resignation as leader of his party. But the impression that is being given in the media is that he was fired from the government and is now sitting only after “pressure” from the media. However, the truth of the matter is that Boris Johnson has released himself as party leader because it is no longer possible for him to lead an organisation of grumpy and spoilt UK politicians who have no fear of becoming poor as a result of unemployment. And concerning the voters and parliament, Johnson has not lost any credibility and only recently came out tops during a no confidence vote. This…

“A critical, independent and investigative press is the lifeblood of any democracy. The press must be free from state interference. It must have the economic strength to stand up to the blandishments of government officials. It must have sufficient independence from vested interests to be bold and enquiring without fear or favour. It must enjoy the protection of the Constitution, so that it can protect our rights as citizens.” Nelson Mandela, February 1994. This Mandela Day, there is no better time to remember that media freedom and democracy are indivisible and inextricably linked. Yet, right now we stand on the edge of losing the protection of our rights, as the greed and power-hungry antics of a handful of corporates and financial institutions are the existentialist threat to our free press…

Israeli fighter jets struck Gaza following rocket launches from the Palestinian territory on Saturday, hours after US President Joe Biden flew from Israel to Saudi Arabia on a Middle East trip aimed at deepening Israel’s integration into the region. The Israeli military said it hit two facilities belonging to Hamas, the Islamist militant group that governs the blockaded strip. One of the targets was an underground rocket-manufacturing plant, the military said. Gaza witnesses described the two sites struck as Hamas training camps. No injuries were reported. “The military site consists of an underground complex containing raw materials used for the manufacturing of rockets,” the Israel Defence Forces said, describing the facility as “one of the most significant” of its kind in the territory. “The strike on this site will significantly…

Sudanese authorities have declared an overnight curfew in two towns in south-eastern Blue Nile state, close to the border with Ethiopia, after several days of tribal clashes that they said had left 31 people dead and 39 injured. Clashes spread in several towns from Wednesday after the killing of a farmer, before security forces made arrests and brought the situation under control, a statement from Blue Nile state’s regional government said. The statement said 16 shops had been destroyed and a night curfew was declared in the towns of Damazin and Roseires. There have been sporadic outbreaks of violence in several regions of Sudan, including eastern coastal regions and western Darfur, despite a nationwide peace deal signed by some rebel groups in 2020. The most powerful faction of the Sudan…

Paris: After registering nine cases of intimidation of journalists by army agencies in Pakistan since Shehbaz Sharif took over as prime minister in late April, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has cautioned against harassment of the media, which undermines the country’s democracy. “It is clear from the data that the armed forces have launched a major campaign to intimidate critical journalists,” said Daniel Bastard, the head of RSF’s Asia-Pacific desk. He said this kind of interference, which is intolerable, must stop to prevent the decline in press freedom in Pakistan. |…

The cream of South Africa’s schoolboy rugby talent was on show when the SA Schools team played SA Schools ‘A’ at Hamilton Rugby Ground in Green Point on Saturday. The appreciative crowd, who travelled from far and wide, were not disappointed as they witnessed a feast of tries – eight in all – as SA Schools won 57-27, scoring five tries to three. Playing in green, the victors were quick out of the blocks and in the second minute hooker Luca Bakkes forced his way over after a maul. Flyhalf Thurlon Williams kicked the resultant conversion. The SA Schools forwards were dominant in the set-pieces, while their loose forwards, spearheaded by No 8 Sibabalwe Mahashe, were always quicker to the breakdown. After a period of sustained pressure they went 12-0…