Tuesday, August 18 2020
THE BIG ISSUES
LEADING THE AGENDA
‘You do not want your visit to your grandparents to lead to grief’
NDZ dishes out advice to youngsters and explains the what, where, when and why of alert level 2
Mawande AmaShabalala
Political journalist
2 min read
Hlophe attacks Mogoeng’s ‘lack of integrity’ in spat with deputy
Cape judge president accuses chief justice of breaching ‘judicial ethics’ after he recommended impeachment probe
By Franny Rabkin
4 min read
Test of patience: teachers twiddle thumbs as they ‘lie and rot’ at home
Educators who have applied to work from home are left idle and frustrated by delays and red tape
Prega Govender
Journalist
4 min read
SMART NEWS
IN ONE TAKE
News FREE
‘Our hearts are broken’: friends mourn families after lodge fire
A weekend getaway has left three families and a Kalahari lodge owner devastated after nine people died
Iavan Pijoos
Journalist
2 min read
Wits scientists pour cold water on climate link to Covid
Connecting the spread of the virus to winter is flawed and ignores some basic facts, say researchers
Tanya Farber
Senior science reporter
3 min read
Virus leaves Africa between a lock and a hard reality of other diseases
Scientists acknowledge steps to contain virus, but say deaths from other diseases could exceed those saved
Claire Keeton
Senior features writer
3 min read
Sport FREE
Yet more off-field drama at Cricket SA as boss Nenzani quits
This comes after an embattled CSA endured a string of spectacular implosions on the pitch and behind the scenes
By Bareng-Batho Kortjaas And Khanyiso Tshwaku
2 min read
IDEAS
FEEDING YOUR MIND
EDITORIAL | Online election could catapult embattled DA offline
Mbali Ntuli has highlighted the potential for vote-rigging in a virtual election that must be beyond reproach
Sunday Times Daily
Editorial
3 min read
Ideas FREE
A small Big Man in pointy shoes is foiled by relentless politeness
This is what happens when South African entitlement made flesh meets grace at the end of a very long queue
Tom Eaton
Columnist
4 min read
Ideas FREE
It was a bind getting there, but Brad’s win is a victory for the underdogs
Brad Binder’s MotoGP triumph on Women’s Day is a reminder of Africa’s potential, despite its challenges
By Galachani Gulatino
3 min read
WORLD
THE NEWS YOU DON'T NORMALLY GET TO HEAR
Covid-19’s shining light faces dark days after ...
Questions abound about outbreak in New Zealand, which has had no local transmissions for months
By Praveen Menon
3 min read
LIFE
ALL THE OTHER THINGS THAT MATTER
It’s all doom and gloss in the afterlife
‘Fight Club’ writer’s latest book gives us a darker twist on the resurrection story
Yolisa Mkele
Journalist
2 min read
Lifestyle FREE
The hilarious art of spotting the tiresome ‘mansplainer’
Women have long suffered men explaining their own experiences to them. A new book has an overdue laugh at it
Claire Keeton
Senior features writer
3 min read
The beautiful books are not yet read: the millennial checklist
An entirely ‘objective’ list of books every millennial should read before they reach boomer age
Yolisa Mkele
Journalist
1 min read
Fake it ’til you make it, then whip it off without a hassle
Gone are the days when beards were the privilege of a few. Now anyone can go large with facial hair
Yolisa Mkele
Journalist
3 min read
Blast from the past: Sunette slays ghosts to spear silver
Today in SA sports history: August 18
David Isaacson
Sports reporter
4 min read
SNAPSHOT
TOPS MODELS Liquor stores throughout SA expect bottlenecks after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced level 2 of lockdown.
Image: Esa Alexander
Image: Esa Alexander
6 things you need to know
Snow, rain, wind, cold for SA this week
Cold weather is on the cards for most provinces this week as a cold front hit SA on Monday, the SA Weather Service has warned. However, this was “typical of late winter”. By Wednesday most of the cold weather should be gone, “with only some light residual showers lingering along parts of the Eastern Cape coast”. Weather service forecaster Bransby Bulo said the cold front was expected to hit the Western Cape late on Monday afternoon. There is an 80% chance of rain in the province. By Tuesday the front would reach the southern parts of Gauteng. A 30% chance of showers was expected for Vereeniging and Johannesburg. Snowfall was expected in the high-lying areas of the Western Cape and Eastern Cape. Snowfall could be expected in the Drakensberg mountains in Lesotho.
Girl gets birth certificate for R8m inheritance
Home affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi personally handed over documents on Monday to the mother of an eight-year-old girl from rural KwaZulu-Natal who faced losing out on an R8m foreign inheritance because department officials had, for nine months, refused to comply with a court order. Within hours of TimesliVE highlighting the girl’s plight on Friday, the minister intervened and said the order would be complied with immediately and the relevant officials disciplined. On Monday, her mother’s attorney, Sihle Mdludla, confirmed that all the necessary documents had been handed over. They were being couriered to Germany on Tuesday and would be there in time for a court hearing to determine the inheritance matter on August 24.
Fuel price expected to drop slightly: AA
Fuel prices are showing slight reductions at mid-month, amid a tug-of-war between international oil prices and the rand-US dollar exchange rate. This is according to the Automobile Association, which was commenting on unaudited mid-month fuel price data released by the Central Energy Fund. Petrol appears to be set for a decrease of about R0.09 a litre, with diesel coming down by about R0.07, and illuminating paraffin by R0.12. “Oil prices have slipped a little, with the landed price of fuels in SA showing a slight reduction in the first half of August. Over the past six weeks oil has traded in a fairly narrow band, indicating that a more reliable plateau has been reached, absent any unexpected shocks,” says the AA. However, it notes that the rand had lost ground against the US dollar since the start of the month, with the average rate rising from just over R16.80 to the dollar to nearer R17.40 - which "spells trouble for South African fuel users if it continues".
Soya claim puts vegans on horns of a dilemma
Vegans should stop drinking soya milk in order to save the rainforest, the Sustainable Food Trust has said. A report from the trust argues milk from cows - especially cows traditionally grazed on grass - is much better for a sustainable planet.The global consumption of soya products has been rising, but many are produced on deforested land, with the Amazon rainforest suffering great losses due to soya production. However, the report adds that livestock is frequently fed soya, and accounts for a large part of the profitability of the "unsustainable" soya industry. The authors calculate about 85 litres of milk is produced in the UK for every kilo of soya bean meal consumed by dairy cows. In contrast, no more than 7.5 litres of soya drink are produced from a kilo of whole soya beans. – © Telegraph Media Group Limited (2019)
Netflix hit gives Princess Anne a reboot
Few could deny that the popularity of the princess royal has had a resurgence in recent months. Royal observers might put it down to her unparalleled work ethic and dislike of the limelight, in sharp contrast with the recent behaviour of certain members of the younger generation. Others might suggest it is connected to the increased publicity surrounding her 70th birthday. But Peter Morgan, the creator of The Crown, the Netflix drama, believes the star of the queen's daughter has risen thanks to her portrayal on the hit show, claiming that she was previously "overlooked". A teenage Princess Anne, played by Erin Doherty, was introduced in the third series. "So many people asked me, after she first appeared, to put more of her in there. Anne's often overlooked. But Erin's portrayal means that everybody has fallen in love with her. Google searches about her went through the roof, she's now one of the most popular royals." – © Telegraph Media Group Limited (2019)
It isn’t called Furnace Creek for nothing
A thermometer at Death Valley's Furnace Creek in the Southern California desert has soared to 54.4°C, the highest global temperature in more than a century, the US National Weather Service said. "If verified, this will be the hottest temperature officially verified since July of 1913," NWS Las Vegas, which owns the automated observation system, said of the reading, emphasising that it was preliminary. The National Weather Service's automated weather station close to the Furnace Creek visitors' centre near the border with Nevada hit the extreme high on Sunday afternoon. Death Valley's all-time record high, according to the World Meteorological Organisation, is 56.7°C, taken on July 10 1913 at Greenland Ranch. - Reuters
