Monday, June 15 2020
THE BIG ISSUES
LEADING THE AGENDA
Ideas FREE
Stale old platitudes won’t stop men killing women. We need radical ideas
SA has done wonders fighting coronavirus, but it has only thrown money and excuses at its femicide crisis
Justice Malala
Columnist
4 min read
Hope in Covid hell: antibody tests near 100% accuracy
These rapid tests will be crucial in mapping community spread, and that is highly valuable in SA
Tanya Farber
Senior science reporter
5 min read
Ahead of the curve: Africa is beating the Covid-19 odds
But while the continent confounds modelling, the Africa CDC director urges countries not to drop their guard
Claire Keeton
Senior features writer
3 min read
From bed to worse: this is the mess SA is in as virus surge looms
The fight is bedevilled by PPE, bed and test problems, and meddling unions are making it worse, say officials
By Graeme Hosken and Sipokazi Fokazi
7 min read
SMART NEWS
IN ONE TAKE
Former Zuma benefactor named as ‘witch-hunt’ instigator
Durban magistrate scathing of corruption case that was also a ‘violation of women’s rights’
Tania Broughton
Journalist
4 min read
Smell a rat with that online sale? Here’s how to ensure you’re not conned
Beware! The demand for second-hand products online is uber-huge, as is the number of thieves
Wendy Knowler
Consumer journalist
5 min read
School slammed for racist, sexually explicit project
Mpumalanga school apologises for ‘offensive’ assignment that a teacher gave to a Grade 11 class
Prega Govender
Journalist
3 min read
Their joy is her joy: why this young doctor is on the Covid-19 frontline
Retshidisitswe Kotane spreads herself pretty thin in her mission to help others – and she couldn’t be happier
Leonie Wagner
Reporter
2 min read
THERE WILL BE NO TIMES SELECT ON YOUTH DAY.
IDEAS
FEEDING YOUR MIND
EDITORIAL | From the mouths of babes, indeed, but ...
It says a lot of unflattering things about SA that it is young people who have to lead the fight against discrimination
Sunday Times Daily
Editorial
2 min read
Ideas FREE
They wrote it this week: Two drooping stars, one ...
Extracts from diaries and letters written between June 15 and June 21
Robin Crouch
Journalist
10 min read
LIFE
ALL THE OTHER THINGS THAT MATTER
Can you get Covid-19 once you’ve had it? We ask the experts
While we worry about immunity and ‘immunity passports’, this is what those in the know have to say
By Sanet Oberholzer
3 min read
Rings of fire: Audi to unleash a salvo of hot new RS models
Things are about to heat up for the brand, with a barrage of high-performers coming our way
By Dennis Droppa
2 min read
Short and sharp will shunt you to shapely
It’s good for your skin, your sleep and your sex life
By Devlin Brown
2 min read
Blast from the past: Thais take a knock one night in Bangkok
Today in SA sports history: June 15
David Isaacson
Sports reporter
3 min read
SNAPSHOT
our revolution needs you A demonstrator at a Black Lives Matter protest in London.
Image: John Sibley/Reuters
Image: John Sibley/Reuters
6 things you need to know
Cellphone robbery suspect found in cave
A man suspected of robbing people of their cellphones on Signal Hill in Cape Town has been arrested after police combed the rocky terrain. Two people reported they had been robbed of high-end cellphones by a knife-wielding man on Saturday, said police. When Cape Town Central police station officers responded “the suspect had already fled into the bushy area towards the side of Camps Bay”. The officers scoured the area on foot while tracking the stolen phones. “After almost two hours, the suspect was found hiding in a makeshift cave. The two cellphones and a knife were seized.” The 35-year-old man, from Khayelitsha, was arrested on charges of aggravated robbery and possession of a dangerous weapon. He will appear in court on Monday.
Oscars bow to pressure for ‘inclusion’
The Oscars will feature 10 nominees for best picture each year and introduce new eligibility requirements in an attempt to promote “inclusion”. Until now the rules had allowed for the number of films shortlisted in a category to fluctuate each year. A task force has been created to develop the new standards for representation and inclusion by July 31. In addition to the films themselves, changes will be made to the organisation's governance in order to give it more diverse representation. - Telegraph Media Group Limited (2020)
Hospital patients forced to clean wards
Patients being turned away at the casualty unit, rubbish piling up in the passages and staff on a go-slow. This was the situation at Livingstone Hospital in Port Elizabeth on Friday as tensions lasting several weeks between unions and hospital management over the non-payment of overtime to non-clinical staff boiled over. A nurse who asked not to be named told the Weekend Post that nursing staff had now resorted to cleaning, washing dishes and serving up for patients on their own. “We have no clean linen, patients are sleeping on bare mattresses … the patients are also chipping in and are assisting in cleaning the ward themselves. Now tell me, how are patients meant to heal and get better when the conditions don’t encourage healing?” the nurse asked. She added that on Thursday kitchen staff had prepared food but had not dished up or alerted the nurses when they had finished cooking.
Archaeologist jailed for faking finds
An archaeologist who stunned the world with his “finds” that had the potential to rewrite history has been jailed for falsifying artefacts. Eliseo Gil was found guilty of fraud after doctoring 36 out of 400 items unearthed at a Roman settlement in Spain in 2006. He made a name for himself after supposedly finding a connection between early Christianity, Ancient Egyptian and northern Spanish cultures. One of his third century “discoveries” depicted the earliest image of Christ’s crucifixion. However, Gil was sentenced to over two years in prison after a judge sided with fellow archaeologists who argued that the engravings touted as “the finds of the century” were nothing more than a hoax. - Telegraph Media Group Limited (2020)
Woman hanged from tree, guardians killed
A bloody trail of footprints matching the shoes worn by their granddaughter was found at the scene of the double murder of an elderly couple in the Eastern Cape’s Mswakazi locality in Lusikisiki, on Friday. The 91-year-old man and 85-year-old woman were staying at their homestead with their 22-year-old granddaughter from their adoptive deceased daughter, said Col Sibongile Soci. “A neighbour was alarmed when she didn’t see the elderly couple outside and decided to visit their home.” She found them inside the bedroom with upper body stab wounds.” Their granddaughter’s body was found hanging any a rope from a tree. The bloody shoe prints matched takkies the young woman was wearing. An inquest and two counts of murder have been registered by police.
Sorry Churchill vanished, says Google
Google has vowed to explore why the picture of Winston Churchill disappeared from a top search results list of former UK prime ministers, during controversy over his record on racism. The search giant said the photo’s removal from its horizontal list atop search results for former UK prime ministers was due to an automatic update and “not purposeful”, but apologised “for any concern”. Churchill has become engulfed in controversy after a Black Lives Matter protest in central London last weekend led to his statue being defaced with the word “racist”. - AFP
