Asia-pacific

PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA – JUNE 29: Suspended SARS Commissioner Tom Moyane is flanked by his legal team, advocate Dali Mpofu and Eric Mabuza during a break in the proceedings of the Nugent commission of inquiry on tax government and administration on June 29, 2018 in Pretoria, South Africa. Moyane’s lawyer, advocate Dali Mpofu said an inquiry into the operation of the agency should be halted pending a disciplinary hearing against his client Moyane. (Photo by Gallo Images / Sunday Times / Masi Losi) There were snide comments and accusations floating thick in the air at the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture on Monday 30 November. However sanitized the podium was, the tension was still palpable among the legal trash talk. Dali Mpofu, representing former South African Revenue Service...

2004 | Patricia de Lille takes the stand at the Durban High Court to testify against Schabir Shaik, a Durban businessman who was charged with fraud and corruption charges. (Ziyaad Douglas / Gallo) Here’s a look at what happened on this day, 30 November, throughout history. We remember the news, events, and people that influenced the course of history forever. ON THIS DAY: 30 NOVEMBER 1954 | D.F Malan retired as Prime Minister of South Africa and was succeeded by J.G Strydom. 1981 | Bulelani Ngcuka is arrested and jailed for refusing to testify in the political trial of Patrick Maqubele. 1993 | The South African government signs the Investment Incentive Agreement with the United States of America. 2004 | Patricia de Lille takes the stand at the Durban High Court to testify again...

Weather data provided by the South African Weather Service. For a detailed forecast of your province, click here. SEVERE WEATHER ALERTS IMPACT-BASED WARNINGS: Nil. FIRE DANGER WARNINGS: EXTREMELY HIGH FIRE DANGER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED OVER THE BEAUFORT WEST IN THE WESTERN CAPE AND KHAI-MA MUNICIPALITIES IN THE NORTHERN CAPE. ADVISORIES: Nil. GAUTENG: Temperature: Cloudy to partly cloudy and warm with scattered late afternoon showers and thundershowers. The expected UVB Sunburn Index: High. MPUMALANGA: Temperature: Morning fog and drizzle along the escarpment were it will be cool, otherwise partly cloudy and warm with isolated showers and thundershowers but scattered over the Highveld. LIMPOPO: Temperature: Partly cloudy and cool to warm with isolated showers and thunder...

Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi. Image via: GDE Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi has said 181 119 Grade 1 and Grade 8 learners (81.48%) have been successfully placed in schools around the province, for the 2021 academic year. Lesufi gave an update on the online school admissions process on Sunday, 29 November 2020. This means the department is slightly behind in allocating schools to learners as the admissions process got underway on 1 October 2020 and was set to conclude on Monday, 30 November. A total of 88 503 Grade 1 applicants and 92 616 Grade 8 applicants are placed. “We can confidently inform parents that out the 181,119 applications were properly placed and unfortunately, 41,146 parents have not received their placements. Of the total number that we received, we have ma...

Image via Flickr/GCIS Just a day before World Aids Day, President Cyril Ramaphosa has placed focus on the global epidemic, which seems to have taken a backseat in light of COVID-19. In his weekly newsletter, Ramaphosa has said, as another public health challenge South Africa, HIV/AIDS cannot be ignored. Ramaphosa said for three decades, the country has been engaged in an ongoing struggle against HIV and AIDS, which has cost many lives and caused great hardship and suffering. The president said the country’s treatment programme has contributed to a reduction in the number of deaths due to AIDS by 60%. He added that there had been a greater reduction in HIV-related deaths among young people. Ramaphosa attributed the feat to government’s extensive antiretroviral programme reaching millions...

Bheki Zondi, 32, pulls out his catch at the Father Albert Hanon Dam in Inchanga. Image: SANDILE NDLOVU/TimesLIVE Not far from the Valley of 1,000 Hills in KwaZulu-Natal lies a calm and clear dam that goes unnoticed by almost everyone — except the surrounding rural community who rely so heavily on it. The dam offers a literal lifeline for many. Community members line up on the banks of the dam with small hooks attached to a piece of fishing line. Earthworms are hung on the hooks to attract hungry fish. That is all they need. The water is so calm and clear that the reflections of the fishermen rest on its surface while they wait for the bait to be taken. “Ngawubamba, ngawubamba [I caught it, I caught it]”, shouts Bhekisisa Zondi, 32. He’s smiling widely, having made the catch on his...

Nolubabalo Koni says her electricity supply has been blocked because of an unpaid water bill of more than R63,000 which she disputes. Image: Mkhuseli Sizani / GroundUp bout 500 households in Missionvale in Nelson Mandela Bay have had their electricity supply blocked because the municipality says their water bills have not been paid. But the families said they have never run up bills of up to R63,000. Resident Nolubabalo Koni told GroundUp: “On November 10 I went to the shop to buy electricity but I couldn’t get it because my electricity account was blocked. The following day my husband went to city treasury. He was told he owes the municipality more than R63,300 for water and he must pay R6,000 to unblock our electricity account. “They said according to their records, our water met...

The Council for Traditional Leaders is blaming Cogta deputy minister Obed Bapela for banning traditional initiation ceremonies over Covid-19. Image: DAILY DISPATCH Tension is brewing between co-operative governance deputy minister Obed Bapela and the Congress of traditional Leaders of SA (Contralesa) over the traditional summer initiation season. The situation escalated on Tuesday to the point where Contralesa called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to fire Bapela, saying he had no regard for protocol, procedure, process and legality. On Monday, Cogta issued a statement saying the traditional initiation practices remain officially suspended in a bid to contain Covid-19. “Since alert level 5 to alert level 1, the country remains in consensus and united that the need to save lives is sac...

The N12, near the Etwatwa off-ramp, has been closed to traffic after two trucks were set alight this morning. The N12 highway between Kingsway and Holfontein has been closed to traffic as police attend to a crime scene in which two trucks were set alight on Wednesday morning. Ekurhuleni metro police department spokesperson Chief Supt Kobeli Mokheseng said members from the traffic department were also at the scene controlling traffic. "We can confirm two trucks were set alight on the N12. We have closed a portion of the road to allow police to conduct their investigations." He said the highway would be closed until further notice. It is understood the trucks had been torched before 6am near the Etwatwa off-ramp. This latest incident forms part of a national truck protest in...

Mandla Gcaba wants to retain control of Durban's buses. Image: Thembinkosi Dwayisa Powerful KwaZulu-Natal taxi boss Mandla Gcaba is locked in litigation with eThekwini municipality in a bid to maintain his stranglehold on transport in Durban and control over the bus service which, through his company Tansnat, he has run for more than a decade. The city wants to create a new entity to run the service and has put out a tender as part of the process, but Gcaba, who also owns the lion's share of the taxi business in parts of KwaZulu-Natal, has gone to court to block the municipality. Gcaba, who is Jacob Zuma's nephew, first brought an urgent court application for the review of the city's decision to issue the tender - which was struck off the roll in February when the judge ruled it w...