Innholdsfortegnelse for 2024-01-09 i Star

Oppenheimer was the big winner at this year’s Golden Globe Awards, taking home five prizes. The atomic bomb drama scooped the coveted Best Picture (Drama) award on Sunday, while there were also prizes in the Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor categories for Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey jr respectively, and Christopher Nolan was named Best Director. Its fifth win came in the Best Original Score category, for which Ludwig Göransson took home the prize. Lily Gladstone became the first indigenous star to win the Best Actress (Drama) prize and she celebrated her “historic” victory. Speaking on stage at Los Angeles’ Beverly Hilton Hotel, she said: “This is an historic win, it doesn’t belong to just me, I’m holding it with all my beautiful sisters in the film at the…

The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has indicated that it will appeal and challenge the dismissal of more than 400 mineworkers by the Gold One Mine in Springs, Ekurhuleni. Yesterday it was reported that the mine, which was affected by two underground sit-ins in October and December last year, had decided to cut ties with 401 miners. Speaking to The Star, NUM spokesperson Livhuwani Mammburu confirmed the news of the dismissal, saying the union is looking to challenge the decision by the mine. However, Mammburu said the union will not be representing some of the miners who held others hostage and assaulted workers underground. “We can confirm that Gold One Mine has dismissed 401 miners today.” Mammburu said it was unfortunate that only NUM has been left to pick up…

A FREIGHT company that is using a historical Indian burial site as its business premises, lost its interlocutory application to have a legal bid by a concerned citizen over the use of the site overturned, as it argued that the applicant did not have the legal standing to launch the application. From a young age, Koonendran Samie has known the Cato Manor Indian Cemetery as a cemetery and an important heritage and historical site that reflects the history and culture of the people of Indian origin. He said he had concerns over the manner in which the site was misused or neglected and had therefore, in his personal capacity and in the public interest, filed an application against Secona Freight Logistics CC. The closed corporation is occupying the land under…

Congratulations to The Star for publishing Lesego Mogotsi’s article on Wednesday, “Stop sacrificing black boys in the name of tradition”. Lesego rightly points out that 30 initiates died in the Eastern Cape during traditional rituals and circumcision. How can this happen in this day and age? Very simply, the government and local leaders turn a blind eye and protect the tradition they claim is cultural. Circumcision is not the killer; it is the person who performs it using old knives and other non-sterilised instruments. When tradition or culture kills young men, the government should step in to prevent these butchers from murdering young boys. How many more young men must be murdered by untrained, unclean traditional “surgeons”? I totally agree with Lesego when he says law enforcement “must find those…

The recent BRICS Summit in South Africa had some encouraging things to say about the country being an important and attractive investment destination. Among these was its potential for economic growth across various industrial sectors. The summit identified factors that could hamper economic development efforts, including inadequate infrastructure and interruptions to power and water supplies. Saudi Arabia’s promise of substantial financial support for infrastructure development in South Africa was a clear demonstration of the will, commitment and co-operation member states are prepared to make towards each other’s development. If foreign countries have so much interest in giving South Africa an opportunity for renewal and economic development, when the country is at the lowest state it has ever been, surely the least we can do is reciprocate. The elephant in the…

The SACP extends its warmest congratulations to the ANC, the oldest liberation organisation in Africa, on the occasion of its 112th founding anniversary on January 8, 2024. We express our profound appreciation to the ANC for spearheading our liberation Struggle following its founding in 1912. The SACP, as the second oldest political organisation in South Africa, formed nine years after the ANC, played a crucial role as a reliable partner throughout the complex, difficult and challenging journey of our liberation Struggle. Established in 1921 as the Communist Party of South Africa, committed to the liberation of the racially oppressed black majority, gender equality and the empowerment of women by dismantling patriarchal domination, the establishment of South Africa as a non-racial and non-sexist democratic republic, and ending capitalist exploitation of the…

Berlin: Furious farmers opposed to German government plans to cut tax breaks for agriculture used tractors to block roads across the country yesterday in an escalating dispute. The nationwide demonstration targeted motorway access ramps in particular, snarling traffic. Farm equipment blocked the centres of cities including Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne and Bremen, with up to 2 000 tractors at each protest. Farmers have been up in arms over government plans to withdraw certain tax breaks for the agricultural sector this year. The protests prompted the government to partially walk back the subsidy cuts last week. But farmers said the move did not go far enough. | AFP…

TOKYO: The Noto Peninsula in Japan’s Ishikawa Prefecture has recorded 1 214 tremors rated at least one on the seven-point seismic intensity scale in the week that followed a powerful earthquake that jolted the region on New Year’s Day, reports said yesterday. The Japan Meteorological Agency warned that strong tremors were expected in the week after the quake. The scale of devastation is yet unclear, primarily in the cities of Wajima and Suzu, as rescuers are unable to reach some areas due to damaged roads and communications. The situation is exacerbated by snow and cold temperatures. | Sputnik…

FINANCIAL markets locally and glo- bally recovered strongly during November and December. The announcement by the Federal Reserve (Fed) on November 14, 2023, that the Fed would probably lower its bank rate by at least three times in 2024, as well as the increase in US unemployment in November, boosted share and bond markets worldwide. South Africa followed the bullish momentum to the end of 2023. However, growing concern of the effect of high interest rates during 2023 on the US economy turned equity markets around strongly since January 2, 2024. As a result, the rand exchange rate remains under pressure, trading between R18.30/$ and R18.80/$. On the JSE, the Alai gained 5 260 points from November 13, 2023, to December 31. This is an increase of 7.3%. The…

Nicki Minaj has reintroduced herself to the rap world with the release of Pink Friday 2, her highly awaited fifth studio album. And while the internationally renowned songstress’s sequel to her debut LP Pink Friday, was released last month, it is continuing to be a musical sensation, as its popularity also intensifies on social media platforms. What makes the album even more special is that the “Barbz”, as Minaj’s loyal fans are affectionately known, had to wait more than a decade for it. The first Pink Friday, which was released in November 2010, catapulted Minaj into the spotlight with hits that included Right Thru Me, Moment 4 Life and Super Bass. It was also influenced by some of the biggest names in the rap world, as Minaj enlisted a variety…

Hotel accommodation in Mbombela has become a scarce commodity as the ANC and its legions of moneyed members start trickling into Mpumalanga for the party’s 112th celebrations. Most of the lodgings have indicated they are fully booked; finding space at short notice is almost impossible as throngs of travellers are already trickling in for the much-anticipated January 8 Statement to be addressed by party president, Cyril Ramaphosa. Most ANC national executive committee (NEC) members were already in the province from Thursday ahead of the ordinary NEC meeting and other preparatory activities to kick off a week of wreath-laying, luncheons and door-to-door campaigns. ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula said the party was ready to commence with the celebration of the party’s 112th anniversary; this year’s statement will focus mainly on crime, corruption…

AfriForum has written to the Legal Practice Council demanding that it reinstate Afrikaans exams after the council issued a notice in December that all exams would now be in English only. In the notice, published on December 13, the senior manager for education and training at the Legal Practice Council said that their exams would be offered in English only from this year onwards. The decision will affect competency-based exams for candidate attorneys and students in the conveyancing and notarial practice exams. AfriForum has slammed the decision as short-sighted and called for the inclusion of more languages, instead of the exclusion of the Afrikaans language. “The Legal Practice Council has resolved that from the first sitting of the exams in 2024, all exams will be offered in English only. “This…

SABC’s Uzalo actor and founder of NPO Nokusa Support for Disabled People from KwaDukuza has been nominated by the Foya Awards for his NPO work for the upliftment of the disabled. Actor Menzi Nxumalo has helped hundreds of people living with disabilities, including wheelchair donation programmes. Recently, the actor led a march for awareness about the needs of people with physical disabilities. During the march, people living with disabilities marched to the Durban City Hall demanding equal job opportunities and the implementation of programmes to end gender-based violence. The annual Foya Awards were launched in November 2016. They were conceived to retain, reward and recognise high-quality SMEs. According to Foya, the certificate symbolises Nxumalo’s remarkable entrepreneurial journey and the positive impact he has made on communities through innovation, services,…

RETIRED Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke has been appointed as an ad-hoc judge to join the 15 regular judges of the International Court Of Justice (ICJ) to hear South Africa’s application for Israel’s military assault on Gaza to be declared as genocide. Justice Moseneke has the superb qualities required to be our legal supremo at the ICJ. He is known to capture the people’s imagination like no other judge in our land. He has spawned a fan following that can be the envy of rock stars and screen divas alike. Justice Moseneke has presided over cases which set the architecture of safeguarding the Constitution from desecration. His legal career as an eminent jurist and a distinguished judge can be characterised as one that shows a commitment to ideals and…

MANY concerned South Africans are waiting for Fikile Mbalula to apologise to South Africans. Mbalula, described in hushed and reverent tones by some as “The SG”, is the secretary-general of the ANC. He promised us months ago that load shedding would be a thing of the past by the end of December. After a small absence on leave over the festive season, load shedding has reappeared and is starting to bite ordinary citizens, not to speak of small and large businesses, factories, and the economy generally. The government itself is talking about the end of 2025, while many experts think another five years is more realistic. This suggests Mbalula either fibbed to keep us quiet for a few months, or else did not know what he was talking about, or…

This week, the ANC blows out 112 candles on its cake. But the saccharine scent of celebration is tinged with the smoke of political realities. 2024 is an election year, and the grand old party faces a birthday bash in a political minefield. Challenges abound. From within, fissures crack along ideological lines. The EFF, led by Julius Malema, chip away at the ANC’s left flank, accusing it of betraying the revolutionary promise of liberation. Within the party’s tent, the ghost of Jacob Zuma still stirs, his loyalists a ticking time bomb in the fragile unity efforts. But to write off the ANC is to misread the script. While its electoral dominance has waned, the party’s deep roots in communities run long and strong. The Struggle narrative, deeply woven into the…

MOGADISHU: Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud officially invalidated breakaway region Somaliland’s agreement to grant landlocked Ethiopia access to the Red Sea in exchange for a stake in Ethiopian Airlines. Mohamud declared the memorandum of agreement entered into last week between Somaliland, a region of Somalia, and Ethiopia as “illegal”, saying that he’d signed a law that repealed the deal. Somalia has said the sea-access deal breaches its territorial integrity and sovereignty. The government recalled its ambassador to Ethiopia for urgent consultation. | Bloomberg…

New Delhi: India’s top court ruled yesterday that 11 murderers convicted of a gang rape that drew global outrage, but who were released early, must return to jail. Bilkis Bano and two of her children were the only survivors among a group of Muslims attacked by a Hindu mob in the western state of Gujarat in 2002 during one of India’s worst religious riots. Bilkis, now in her forties, was pregnant at the time and seven of the 14 people murdered were relatives. The 11 convicts were freed in 2022 but must now return to jail within two weeks, the Supreme Court in New Delhi ruled. | AFP…

UNCERTAINTY over policy decisions in South Africa is forecast to continue to permeate throughout the economy due to a plausible wide range of 2024 election outcomes on the back of bleak growth in 2023. These are the findings of the North West University Business School Policy Uncertainty Index (PUI) for the fourth quarter of 2023 which was released yesterday. Although remaining well in nega- tive territory, the PUI showed a welcome easing to 65.5 points in the fourth quarter from 71.8 points in the third quarter (baseline 50 points). North West University said while negative factors shaping the PUI were still strong enough to keep the index highly elevated, there were enough positive factors to slightly reduce the PUI level in the fourth quarter. The PUI highlighted…

A man alleged to have stabbed his ex-girlfriend – who had a protection order against him – 25 times has been arrested at a traditional healer’s home in the Eastern Cape after fleeing KwaZulu-Natal following the alleged murder. Information that The Star’s sister paper, the Daily News, has is that the man, 43, who is alleged to have killed Zama Girlie Mthembu, was arrested by Greenwood Park police midway through a ritual where he was topless and the murder weapon was with him, at the house of the traditional healer. Mlamuli Micheal Qaba appeared in the Durban Magistrate’s Court yesterday charged with premeditated murder. His matter was adjourned to later this month for a formal bail application. He was remanded to the Greenwood Park police station as bail investigations are…

This week, the ANC vowed, it would eventually act against defiant former president Jacob Zuma, who according to ANC secretary-general, Fikile Mbalula, had “expelled himself” when he decided to campaign for the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party after ditching the ANC for the upcoming polls. Zuma also indicated that he remains a member of the ANC. Speaking to The Star yesterday, political analyst Thobani Zikalala said that should the ANC act to expel Zuma, it would be both good and bad for the party that has been trying to renew itself for over a decade. Asked if the ANC would, as promised, this week act to discipline Zuma, Zikalala said the ANC would find disciplining their former president difficult. “I do not think the ANC will act against Zuma in a…

IT WAS a case of David vs Goliath when a Rwandese national and his wife entered the legal arena against the mighty Department of Home Affairs – and won their case. The applicant, only identified as Mr R, turned to the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, after the department refused to grant him and his wife refugee status in South Africa. The couple had to flee Rwanda as their lives were in danger there. Without even considering their reasons for fleeing to South Africa, Home Affairs officials here simply rejected their applying for refugee status as being “fraudulent and manifestly unfounded”. Desperate to be legally in South Africa, and not having money to appoint lawyers to assist them, Mr R argued his own case before Judge Stanley Nyathi. “And quite…

The provincial Anti-Corruption Unit in Limpopo has arrested a 53-year-old woman after she allegedly tried to bribe an investigating officer. Police said the woman was to appear in the Polokwane Magistrate's Court yesterday, facing charges of corruption. The woman allegedly offered the police officer “a substantial amount of money” in Polokwane last week, in a desperate bid to secure freedom for her arrested boyfriend. “The investigating officer attached to the Murder and Robbery Unit was approached by the suspect who is alleged to be the girlfriend to a male accused, who was arrested in connection with cases of theft of a State firearm and house robbery,” said Limpopo police spokesperson, Colonel Malesela Ledwaba. “The suspect offered the police member cash in exchange for the investigating officer not to oppose bail…

A MANUFACTURER of natural hair-care products last month turned to court to obtain an urgent interdict against a former employee, whom it was said had bad-mouthed the company on social media. Native Child Africa (Pty) Ltd – a small business that makes and sells natural hair-care products – turned to the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria. The business was established in 2016. The applicant promoted and sold the products over the internet and in some of the big retail stores. The applicant asked for an urgent interim interdict to be issued against Mary Akinwale, who was in its employment for about two months. This application was pending the institution of a damages claim against her. The hair-care manufacturer wanted Akinwale to also remove any defamatory posts regarding the company from…

A woman who sought to be awarded R600 000 in damages over a Facebook post had her application dismissed after the North West High Court in Mafikeng said it had no jurisdiction over the matter. Lucia Khumagadi Modirapula approached the high court claiming that Pandelani Paul Mbedzi defamed her by posting certain statements on Facebook alleging that she had contributed to the death of her own daughter and accusing her of having an affair with a man named Justice. Modirapula claimed that the statements were wrongful, defamatory and made with intention to defame and injure her reputation. As a result, she claimed an amount of R600 000 for damages for injury to her reputation. However, there was an issue with the residence of Mbedzi and the area in…

It is not surprising Oscar Pistorius’s parole has caused so much comment and controversy from both supporters and detractors of the decision. It is understandable given that he is a public figure, but what is thoroughly unacceptable is when his parole is questioned because of who he is. Hundreds, if not thousands, of prisoners are granted parole every week. And granted, while it is very difficult to determine with 100% certainty whether a prisoner is rehabilitated, it is still wrong to focus so much on Oscar. On the other hand, in the same vein, it cannot be denied by anybody that he is fully remorseful and rehabilitated – which might well be the case. Oscar must be given a chance to prove himself. It should be noted that he is…

Consider this paradox: Nigeria has achieved the largest economy in sub-Saharan Africa but 45%, or about 85 million, of its residents live without electricity. Across sub-Saharan Africa, that figure stands at 600 million. Renewable energy is part of the solution to this dilemma in Nigeria and throughout the sub-continent. But there are several hurdles to be cleared before wind, solar, hydrogen and other clean energy sources can provide the same economic benefits that natural gas – the other part of the solution – offers. One of the hurdles will be preparing domestic workforces for employment and leadership in the growing renewable energy sector. We are seeing movement in that direction. In Nigeria, for example, global renewables-promoting non-profit RMI is providing technical training in partnership with four Nigerian energy distribution companies,…

Israel killed a top commander of Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement, a security source said yesterday, as Washington’s top diplomat visits the Middle East seeking to avert a widening of the Israel-Hamas war. Israel pounded targets in the Gaza Strip, where a militant group reported fierce ground combat. The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said it had recorded 249 deaths in the previous 24 hours, dozens of whom arrived along with 99 wounded at Al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah city. Three months into its battle with Hamas militants, Israel says its focus has moved from northern Gaza to “dismantling” militants in the centre and south of the Palestinian territory. While battles rage in Gaza, the situation to Israel’s north is also causing increasing regional and global concern. Israel and Iran-backed…

Dhaka: Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday dismissed the opposition’s criticism of the country’s general election as “illegitimate” as she celebrated securing her fifth term in power. Hasina has presided over breakneck economic growth in a country once beset by grinding poverty, but her government has been accused of rampant human rights abuses and a ruthless crackdown on dissent. The opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) called a general strike and refused to participate. | AFP…

Banishing the memories of their horrid inaugural SA20 season will be just one of the Durban Super Giants’ battles as they prepare to rectify their fifth-place finish last year when their new campaign starts on Thursday. It is safe to say that they are the dark horses of the tournament. Last season, the Durban-based team peaked a little too late, leading to their early exit from the tournament. Since then, some of their players have gone on to set the T20 format alight, with middle-order batter Heinrich Klaasen undoubtedly being the pick of the batters in the world in the shortest format. Moreover, with the duo of Quinton de Kock and Kyle Mayers at the top of the order, there will be no team that will take the Giants lightly…