Innholdsfortegnelse for 2025-01-30 i Mercury

A person with integrity tells the truth when it might seem more convenient not to. He or she shows kindness and good manners to all people everywhere whether he or she will see them again or not. He or she is respectful to all people no matter who they meet: young or old, male or female, poor or rich, homeless refugee or elected official. He or she respects people of every faith background and those who claim none. He or she embraces and shows interest in people from every nationality, every ethnic and language group. He or she looks down on no one, looks eye-to-eye with all, and looks up to all who have lived and loved with increasingly pure courage. Integrity pivots on self-respect which is a prerequisite for…

Are we alone? Twinkle, twinkle little star, How I wonder what you are; Up in the sky so high above, Like a diamond in the sky. Are you a star gazer like me? And have you looked up at the night sky recently and watched the planets on parade? At least five are clearly visible to the naked eye. Did it then occur to you that of the eight planets in our solar system, only Earth is habitable? They look beautiful but they are all lifeless. But we shouldn’t feel discouraged. Our knowledge of the universe has expanded exponentially in recent times. No more do we sing the nursery rhyme and wonder what they are. Astronomers like Copernicus, Galileo, Einstein and Stephen Hawking have unearthed much of the mysteries of…

ETHEKWINI Municipality executive committee member, councillor Nkosenhle Madlala, has become the latest KwaZulu-Natal politician to defend the existence of Ithala SOC Limited (Ithala Bank). Madlala, who is also the deputy secretary of the ANC in eThekwini Region, said the threat to close Ithala Bank “is a continuation of monopoly capital’s pushback against the transformation agenda.” Ithala is facing a provisional liquidation application which has been brought by the SA Reserve Bank’s Prudential Authority (PA). The financial institution has come face to face with the PA over claims of alleged insolvency and non-compliance. Madlala’s comment comes in the wake of an announcement by the municipality that the troubles facing Ithala have led to the postponement of a partnership agreement with Ithala Development Finance Corporation (IDFC) that would have seen Small, Medium…

DEFENCE experts believe the lack of deployment of fighting army helicopters significantly contributed to the inadequate cover provided to South African soldiers deployed in a peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It has emerged that South Africa's signature attack helicopter, the Rooivalk, was not part of the deployment in the DRC. The SANDF argued that countries that were part of the mission had to bring different resources. A (“military photographer”) Andre Venter revealed that three Rooivalk helicopters that were in the DRC are now back in South Africa. They last flew 2022. He posted on Facebook that three South African Air Force (SAAF) Rooivalk attack helicopters serving with the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC have been flown back to South Africa after years of inactivity. “The…

Businesses in South Africa continue showing signs of a turnaround after the composite leading business cycle indicator rose for the third month in a row in November, giving hope that the economy would rebound following a 0.3% slump in the third quarter. The South African Reserve Bank said this week that the business cycle indicator rose by 0.6% month-over-month in November, from 1.1% in the previous month. The largest positive contributors were the accelerated six-month smoothed growth rate in the number of new passenger vehicles sold and an improvement in the RMB/BER Business Confidence Index. Aggregate domestic new vehicle sales in November, at 48 585 units, reflected an increase of 3 658 units, or a gain of 8.1% from November 2023. The Automotive Business Council said a second consecutive increase…

A former senior Western Cape municipality clerk will serve four years behind bars after he was convicted in the Bellville Specialised Commercial Crimes Court of fraud amounting to over R1.3 million. Having pleaded guilty to 435 charges of fraud, Pieter Jacobus Adams, 57, was sentenced to 10 years, of which six years were suspended for five years. Adams defrauded the municipality of R1 310 507. Hawks spokesperson Siyabulela Vukubi said in addition to the prison sentence, Adams’s Municipal Workers Retirement Fund benefit was confiscated. “The confiscation order in terms of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act for the full pension fund benefit amount of R510 106.31 held in the Municipal Workers Retirement Fund will be deposited with Bergrivier Municipality. “Adams was employed by the Bergrivier Municipality in Piketberg as a…

THE ANC continues to prove why the so-called renewal of the organisation, championed by its President Cyril Ramaphosa, is a failed strategy that its critics correctly argue is being used to target those not belonging to the “right” faction. If not, why would it only summon a handful of its members to answer over their alleged involvement in state capture when there is documented evidence emanating from the Zondo Commission implicating a long list of heavyweights? ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula defended the decision to not haul party chairperson and Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe before the Integrity Commission because he had already provided his side of the story to allegations relating to the Bosasa-sponsored security upgrades at his residences. His silence was, however, loud on why…

Shipping firms may need to pay a fee to use the Baltic Sea, one of the world’s busiest shipping routes, to cover the high costs of protecting undersea cables, Estonia’s defence minister said yesterday following a spate of breaches. Nato said last week it would deploy frigates, patrol aircraft and drones in the Baltic Sea after a series of incidents where ships have damaged power and communications cables with their anchors in acts of suspected sabotage. In addition to the patrols, Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur said countries were weighing other measures to protect the cables, including installing sensors to detect anchors dragged across the sea floor or constructing casings or walls around the cables. But this will come at a cost, and whether countries or cable operators end up paying…

MOSCOW: African Union Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security Bankole Adeoye has called on M23 rebels in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to lay down their arms and engage in dialogue to peacefully resolve the conflict. On Monday, a rebel alliance, which includes members of the M23 movement, said it had seized North Kivu province’s Goma, the largest city in eastern DRC. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Rwanda to withdraw its troops. “Bankole Adeoye condemns violence by M23 and all other negative forces, and calls for full respect of DRC’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity. He urges M23 to lay down arms, honour the August 2024 Ceasefire Agreement, and prioritise dialogue for a peaceful solution,” the AU said on X. |…

Manchester United and Tottenham are among the sides aiming to ensure direct passage to the Europa League last 16 in today’s league phase finale, with nine places in the knockout stages up for grabs. The struggling English giants are labouring in the bottom half of the Premier League table, but do sit in the top eight of the Europa League. Only the top eight progress automatically into the last 16, while ninth to 24th have to endure the rigours of a two-legged play-off round next month. United boss Ruben Amorim is desperate to have two free midweeks for extra time on the training field to try and imbed his ideas after a turbulent first two months in charge. The Red Devils have played 17 games in 64 days since Amorim…

Proteas Under-19 captain Kayla Reyneke has opened up about how special it felt to lead the national side at such a prestigious tournament as the T20 World Cup, capped off with her team’s undefeated streak. The Proteas and India were the first two sides to qualify for the semis, after finishing on top of their respective Super 6 groups. The last Super 6 match against the USA was abandoned and both teams shared a point each. South Africa finished the Super 6 stage atop the group with seven points and have not lost a game in the World Cup so far. Reyneke will now lead the team in what is expected to be an epic battle against one of the world’s most cricket-crazy nations and SA’s natural rivals on the…

The World Health Organization has been given the proverbial upper cut by President Trump, and boy, are we happy about this. Tedros Ghebreyesus, who heads up this highly controversial cabal of globalist doomsday prophets, must be having sleepless nights as he was probably hoping and wishing for much needed funding from the world's largest economy, the USA. The way we have been lied to by the WHO and by every other player such as Bill Gates, Anthony Fauci and Bog Pharma, has been despicable, to say the least! Hundreds if not millions of people have lined up to take the Covid shot, not knowing how it would destroy their health in the long run. Joe Biden, by recently pardoning Fauci, has done the world a massive disservice by letting this…

WHILE South Africa currently faces a youth unemployment rate of approximately 45%, data from Finscope indicates that a considerable 30% of SMMEs owners are 35 years or younger, underpinning the role that the youth play in building a resilient economy and creating jobs, regardless of numerous socio-economic challenges and risks. The youth of South Africa are well-positioned to excel as entrepreneurs and business leaders despite these challenges. Being young offers the freedom to take risks without significant financial responsibilities, encouraging young people to learn from mistakes and recover quickly. Embracing failure as part of the journey builds resilience in our youth, and failing early inadvertently accelerates their long-term success, with each learning curve providing a stepping stone towards their entrepreneurial goals. Young entrepreneurs also possess the energy needed for the…

A Dutch-Thai couple who were robbed of €9 000 (about R176 000), their passports and jewellery in the Cape Town CBD are pleading with authorities to help them return home as they find themselves stranded in the country. The couple, who asked for their names to be withheld, are staying at a guest house in Stellenbosch. The 71-year-old man from Amsterdam and his partner, 57, from Thailand, had been in Cape Town for just three days when they were robbed while sightseeing on Monday. The couple said they were unable to find a Thai Embassy or authorities to help them and had been told they must go to Pretoria to get new passports. The man, who spoke in Dutch with The Mercury’s sister newspaper Cape Argus, said he was pleading…

Mpumalanga police have confirmed the arrest of two suspects linked to the torching of 50 Putco buses in the Nkangala District on Monday night. According to the provincial police spokesperson, Brigadier Donald Mdhluli, the suspects were arrested on Tuesday night after a group of armed assailants in a minibus and a sedan set fire to buses in several depots in the province. The attackers opened fire at the first depot targeted. Several employees were injured – a security guard was shot and others were assaulted, including one who was struck on the head with a chair. Mdhluli said one of the detained suspects was found in possession of a cellphone belonging to one of the victims. The violence spread to other depots, police said. “We are investigating various charges, including…

UMKHONTO weSizwe Party (MKP) leader in KwaZulu-Natal Willies Mchunu has called on party members to support party MP Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla when she appears today at the Durban Magistrate’s Court to face charges related to her alleged involvement in the July 2021 riots. While some members of the public took to social media to call for Zuma-Sambudla to face the music for her alleged role in instigating the violence that was linked to the imprisonment of her father, Jacob Zuma, Mchunu, the MKP convenor, said she deserved support. “There is no way we cannot support her since she is our MP and the leader of our national high command,” he said. In July 2021, the country was hit by violent protests and looting following the arrest of MKP leader Zuma who…

A PHONE vibration drew my attention to an incoming message – a friend had sent a message with an attachment and a note reading, “This is so sad and needs to stop! The message was followed by some crying emojis. Curious, I opened the attachment. It was a photo of some of the carnage in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – to be precise, the photo of corpses of those killed in the DRC’s never-ending war, piled like some waste from a city garbage truck. My heart bled for the children and women of DRC, the main victims of this horrendous war. The war in the DRC, which has killed over six million people over decades, stands as a stark reminder of the continent’s internal and external challenges. Despite…

Mona Ibrahim has already buried two of her children. In the span of just two months, the Sudanese mother watched helplessly as severe malnutrition killed her 10-year-old daughter, Rania, and her eight-month-old son, Montasir, in the famine-stricken Zamzam displacement camp. “I could only hold them as they faded away,” Ibrahim, 40, sitting outside her straw-and-plastic shelter near North Darfur state’s besieged capital El-Fasher. Rania was the first to succumb. In El-Fasher’s only functioning hospital, understaffed and unequipped, she died in November just three days after being admitted with acute diarrhoea. Montasir followed weeks later, his tiny body bloated from severe malnutrition. El-Fasher, under paramilitary siege since May, is only one grim battlefield in the 21-month war between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). In July, a UN-backed…

The Palestinian health ministry said yesterday that Israeli forces killed two people in separate overnight raids in the occupied West Bank, including one in Jenin, where the Israeli military is conducting a major offensive. The Ramallah-based ministry said that a 25-year-old man it identified as Osama Abu al-Hija was killed late on Tuesday in Jenin “as a result of an Israeli air strike”. The Israeli military launched an intensive military assault in the Jenin area, now in its eighth day to root out Palestinian militant groups. The Israeli military said it had “eliminated over 15 terrorists” and arrested 40 wanted individuals during the offensive. Abu al-Hija is the 16th person killed during the operation which has caused many residents of Jenin refugee camp, the focus of the operation, to flee…

NAIROBI: African leaders emphasised the need for unity and a co-ordinated approach to make the AU a more responsive and impactful organisation capable of unlocking Africa’s full potential and addressing the continent’s challenges, including conflicts and terrorism, the Kenyan presidency noted. African leaders convened in Nairobi at the Retreat of the Extended Bureau on the Implementation of Institutional Reforms of the AU, chaired by Kenyan President William Ruto, to outline a comprehensive reform agenda for the AU, the Kenyan presidency said. “A fit-for-purpose AU is a necessary imperative at this point in time if the Union has to play the role of speaking for 1.4 billion Africans,” President Ruto stated at a press conference following the discussions. | Sputnik…

The African Guarantee Fund (AGF) has launched its Mission 300 Local Currency Guarantee Facility, an initiative aims to mobilise $5 billion (about R92bn) to support energy access projects across Africa. This initiative will facilitate financing for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) within the Distributed Renewable Energy (DRE) sector through strategic partnerships, innovative financing mechanisms, and capacity-building efforts, heralding a new era of energy access across the continent. The unveiling of this facility is part of a broader, ambitious initiative led by the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) and the World Bank Group, aiming to provide electricity to 300 million Africans by 2030. Currently, Africa grapples with an alarming energy access challenge, with approximately 600 million people lacking electricity as of 2023, necessitating an estimated annual investment of nearly $25bn to…

Kimchi has been a staple of Korean cuisine for generations, with mentions of the dish dating back centuries. This fermented side dish of vegetables and spices is served alongside nearly every meal in Korean households and in other parts of the world. If you’ve seen kimchi in a jar, it might be hard to pinpoint the individual ingredients as it’s packed tight with vegetables immersed in a vibrant red briny paste. But the soul of the dish is the humble cabbage. In fact, it is a fermented vegetable dish traditionally made with napa cabbage, Korean radish, garlic, ginger and chilli peppers. The vegetables are salted and brined, then fermented with a lactic acid bacteria culture. The fermentation process gives kimchi its unique flavour. Kimchi has a sour, salty, savoury and…

The DA in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) has written to the chairperson of the Select Committee on Security and Justice, Ms J Mananiso, to request the urgent summoning of KZN Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi to testify before Parliament. This comes in the wake of explosive allegations made by Lt-Gen Mkhwanazi, who has exposed a plot aimed at silencing him and his investigative team as they uncover rogue elements operating in the SAPS national office. In a television interview, the commissioner said the smear campaign against him originates from within the organisation, and alleged that there were attempts to derail his efforts to combat corruption and criminal activity. Despite these challenges, Lt-Gen Mkhwanazi has assured the public that policing efforts in KwaZulu-Natal remain unaffected, vowing to stand firm…

GRRR! XL bullies are getting their own back on the cops. The ban in England and Wales on dogs of the XL bullie breed is costing police forces millions of pounds in veterinary bills and kennelling, service chiefs have warned. The National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) says the ban on the breed is placing a “huge burden on policing”. Kennel spaces are “reaching capacity” and costs are “increasing by the day”, the NPCC says. It warns that veterinary bills and the cost of kennelling are expected “to rise to as much as £25 million” for the period between the introduction of the ban in February 2024 and April this year. It would be a 500% increase in police costs from 2018, when veterinary bills and kennelling cost £4 million. The…

THE Special Investigating Unit (SIU) wants to recover R33.4 million paid to the Cuban government by the Department of Defence for the procurement of the drug Interferon alfa-2b during the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic five years ago. Briefing the standing committee on public accounts yesterday, SIU chief operating officer Leonard Lekgetho said an allegation was made during an investigation into the procurement of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) that the department procured 930 units of Interferon alfa-2b and paid R217m to Cuba. The drug was to be used as an immune booster for soldiers during the Covid-19 pandemic. The SIU said it probed the allegations of unlawful and improper conduct of officials that were involved in the procurement of the drug supplied in April 2020. Lekgetho said the department’s Military…

The cost of an average food basket in South Africa increased by R50.32 from last month and R108.84 year-on-year. This was according to the January 2025 Household Affordability Index which is compiled monthly by the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice & Dignity Group (PMBEJD). The price of an average food basket in the first month of this year was R5 433.70. In December last year, the food basket cost R5 383.38 and a year ago it cost R5 324.86. In January, of the 44 foods tracked in the basket, the PMBEJD said that 31 foods rose in price and 12 decreased. “Foods in the basket which increased in price in January 2025 by 5% or more, include: potatoes (7%), onions (5%), and chicken livers (5%),” the group stated. Foods in the…

JOE SLOVO was one of the unique, and outstanding people from the white community who sacrificed his life in the Struggle for freedom, democracy, and liberation of South Africa. He was a member of the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA) later renamed South African Communist Party (SACP). It was not out of disgruntlement based on nationality (Jewish) and poorness (class) that made him join the Struggle. It was because he belonged to the informed, concerned and committed white minority group, Jews. His commitment to the Struggle manifested itself when he had to “do his articles and practised as a lawyer in defending his comrades against the state”. Therefore, being who he was and a communist, it is not surprising that he was in the list of people who suffered…

Russian President Vladimir Putin said this week that his country could hold peace talks with Ukraine, but ruled out speaking directly with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, whom he called “illegitimate”. The Ukrainian leader responded by saying that Putin was “afraid” of negotiations, and was using “cynical tricks” to prolong the nearly three-year conflict. US President Donald Trump, who assumed office on January 20, has put pressure on both sides to end the fighting, threatening tougher sanctions on Russia while claiming that Zelenskiy is ready to negotiate a “deal”. Putin said: “If (Zelenskiy) wants to participate in the negotiations, I will allocate people to take part.” He called the Ukrainian leader “illegitimate” because his presidential term expired during martial law. “If there is a desire to negotiate and find a compromise, let…

SYDNEY: Australian police said yesterday they had foiled a planned anti-semitic attack after discovering a caravan containing explosives, in an escalation of threats against the Jewish community that authorities called terrorism. The caravan was discovered on January 19 in Dural, a suburb some 36kms north-west of the centre of Sydney, New South Wales Deputy Police Commissioner David Hudson told a news conference. “That caravan contained an amount of explosives and some indication that those explosives might be used in some form of anti-semitic attack,” he said. The threat had been fully contained and there was no further threat to the Jewish community, he added. Hudson said arrests had been made. New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said over 100 officers were investigating the incident, under a joint counter-terrorism operation.…

ANKARA: Türkiye removed another elected pro-Kurdish provincial mayor yesterday over convictions on terrorism-related offences, the interior ministry said, temporarily appointing a state official in her place amid a widening opposition crackdown. The ministry said the local governor replaced Sofya Alagas, a member of the pro-Kurdish DEM party and mayor of the south-eastern province of Siirt because of a prior conviction for “membership in the PKK/KCK armed terrorist organisation”, and added these were “temporary measures”. Dozens of pro-Kurdish mayors from DEM and its predecessor parties have been removed from their posts on similar charges in the past, while many of the party’s mayors and local administrators have also been detained. | Reuters…