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Transcription

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★★
Pravin’s SABC face-off
Gordhan in breakfast TV egg dance to keep promise of Gupta-free briefing
QAANITAH HUNTER
FINANCE Minister Pravin Gordhan
has faced off the SABC and delivered
on his promise not to participate in a
post-Budget breakfast meeting
under the banner of the Gupta family’s The New Age newspaper.
The Times understands the SABC
had threatened to take the Treasury
to court if it were prevented from
broadcasting the breakfast, after
Gordhan’s insistence that the
Guptas play no part in it.
The breakfasts, broadcast by the
SABC, have in past years become a
money-spinner for The New Age.
Ministers, and President Jacob
Zuma, who is a personal friend of
the Guptas, have featured in the
programme.
The Sunday Times said Gordhan’s stand highlighted the family’s controversial relationship
with the ANC, amid rumblings in
the party and its allies of ‘‘corporate capture’’ of the state by powerful business interests.
After Gordhan presented the
national Budget on Wednesday,
Treasury director-general Lungisa
Fuzile engineered a compromise
between the SABC and e.tv.
Under this arrangement, Gordhan
was to be interviewed on both channels early yesterday morning.
SABC chief operating officer
Hlaudi Motsoeneng and acting
group CEO Jimi Matthews had
argued that the SABC had the
exclusive rights to broadcast the
event.
Gordhan was first interviewed
yesterday by Leanne Manas on
SABC’s Morning Live. Viewers
were invited to submit questions
and comments.
At about 6.50am, Gordhan met
eNCA anchor Dan Moyane and the
SABC spoke to Deputy Finance
Minister Mcebisi Jonas.
By 7.15am Gordhan and Moyane
had joined the guests at the breakfast to continue the broadcast.
During the breakfast briefing,
TOKYO
LINES UP
LONG SHOT
Fifa presidential
candidate Tokyo
Sexwale talks to
journalists in Zurich
yesterday. The poll
among five
candidates to
head up world
football’s controlling
body takes place in
the Swiss city
tomorrow and
experts say
Sexwale stands
very little chance
of winning
Picture: ARND
WIEGMANN/
REUTERS
the finance minister spoke out
strongly against corruption and
warned that if it were not tackled,
South Africa was at a risk of becoming a “kleptocracy”.
He said business ethics had to
improve.
“There are many parts of transacting between the government
and business that have gone
seriously wrong and if we don’t
stop it we’re going to become a
kleptocracy. The government and
the private sector must change the
ethical system.”
Gordhan is trying to restore
government policy credibility in an
economy hard hit by falling commodity prices, the worst drought in
more than a century and sliding
‘
Government and
the private sector
must change the
ethical system in
this country
investor confidence.
He later told SAfm radio that
money was not the problem — but
how it is spent was.
“There is far too much corruption,” he said.
ý Ratings agency Moody’s Investors’ Service yesterday welcomed
ý Continued on Page 2
2 The Times Friday February 26 | 2016
NEWS
‘Kidnapper’
told Hawks
Zephany
was hers
PHILANI NOMBEMBE
CARBON-DATED: A man inspects the charred interior of the science faculty building after students set fire to it at the Mahikeng campus of the North West
University this week
Picture: SIMPHIWE NKWALI
Campuses in f lames as
student anger escalates
Mahikeng campus shut ‘indefinitely’, UFS students say they won’t quit
JAN BORNMAN and NEO GOBA
THERE seems to be no end in
sight to the student uprising on
campuses around the country.
Protest action continued yesterday at the University of the
Free State after students rejected
the university’s response to demands
that
vice-chancellor
Jonathan Jansen step down and
that transformation at UFS be
fast-tracked.
The university said it would
review the demands.
This prompted students to
make their way to the university’s
main building to remove a statue
of Marthinus Steyn.
They were stopped when police
dispersed them with stun
grenades. Students were chased
into residences by private security guards shouting: “We’ve been
too soft on you.”
Student Representative Council
president Lindokuhle Ntuli said if
the demands weren’t met they
would continue the protest.
Twenty-one students were arrested for malicious damage to
property
and
contravening a
court order after they were
caught damaging the statue,
said the Free
State
police’s
Constable
Wendy Nkadi.
Meanwhile, students at the
North West University’s Mahikeng campus were told to go
home as the institution shut down
the campus “indefinitely” in the
wake of violent protests.
Students torched the university’s science centre and a BMW car
on Wednesday night.
‘
Students claim that the fires
were set in retaliation for the fatal
shooting of a student by private
security guards during protest
action that day.
However, university spokesman Koos Degenaar disputed the
claim.
“We have not
received any formal
statement
from the police
station that a student was killed.”
Degenaar said the trouble on
the campus was started by students who were angered by the
university’s decision to dissolve
the SRC and replace it with a new
council. “We had an inauguration
of the new SRC and students opposed to that then started disrupting the event.”
Police spokesman Brigadier
No amount of
anger should
drive students to
burn universities
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Pravin stands
his ground
ý From Page 1
Gordhan’s planned tax increases,
saying they were well targeted.
The JSE closed higher yesterday,
in line with firmer European bourses as the market favourably revised
its view of the Budget.
Gordhan’s Budget was aimed at
warding off a downgrading of South
Africa’s sovereign debt to junk status, which would greatly increase
the cost of government borrowing
and be a blow to the ANC ahead of
the local government elections. —
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
Sourced from: South African Astronomical Observatory
SUBSCRIPTION
HELP US GET IT RIGHT
Leonard Hlathi said police had
received reports of shooting but
he was not aware of any deaths.
President Jacob Zuma strongly
condemned the recent violence
and destruction of property on
campuses.
Zuma appealed yesterday to
student protesters to act with utmost restraint. “The burning of
university buildings at a time
when we are prioritising the education of our youth is inexplicable and can never be condoned.
“No amount of anger should
drive students to burn their own
university and deny themselves
and others education,” he said.
The SA Human Rights Commission announced yesterday it would
investigate reports of racism between students and workers of the
universities of the Free State and
Pretoria. — Additional reporting
by Graeme Hosken
THE woman accused of
kidnapping baby Zephany
Nurse was calm and
composed when police first
confronted her at her home
last year.
She insisted the baby was
her biological child and had
no objection to DNA samples
taken.
But her composure
crumbled when she was told
Zephany — the child she had
raised as her daughter for 18
years — was to be taken to a
place of safety.
This is according to Hawks
Detective Warrant Officer
Petro Coetzee, who went to
the 50-year-old suspect’s
Lavender Hill, Cape Town,
home to execute a search
warrant on February 25 last
year.
Coetzee was giving
evidence in the trial, in which
the woman has pleaded not
guilty to kidnapping, fraud
and contravention of sections
of the Children’s Act.
“[She] told us [Zephany]
was her child and that [her
husband] was the father,”
Coetzee said. “DNA swabs
were taken and she had no
objection.”
Coetzee said the woman
was “calm and composed”
until she was told Zephany
would be removed. “[She]
showed emotion for the first
time.”
According to the state, the
woman snatched Zephany at
Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape
Town, on April 30 1997.
The defence will present its
case on Monday.
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NEWS
Friday February 26 | 2016
The Times
Botox, diets, gem
facials for Oscars
HOGGING THE LIMELIGHT
THE stars on the red carpet
at the Oscars appear to be
genetically blessed, exuding
a flawless, natural beauty
— but the reality is anything
but.
Beneath the glamour,
these celebrities are the
product of punishing diets,
Botox and an army of
professional stylists.
Getting the frock right can
make a career. A dress
designed specially by Prada
for Lupita Nyong’o at the
2014 Oscars turned her into a
fashion icon, opening the
way to major advertising
contracts.
On the other hand, a
fashion faux pas can make
you the laughing stock of
online gossip forums.
Stylist Penny Lovell, who
has worked with Rose Byrne
of X-Men fame and Taylor
Schilling from Orange Is The
New Black, said picking the
right dress is as much about
actresses looking great as
feeling good.
For a custom-made Oscars
dress, said Lovell,
discussions with the star
should start in November,
with a complex design
requiring “between two and
four fittings”.
Among her all-time
favourite designs is the Dior
gown by John Galliano, worn
by Nicole Kidman in 1997. It
fused chartreuse Chinesestyle embroidery with
timeless elegance.
“That was sensational; it
changed a lot of things. At
the time it was considered
very risky,” Lovell said.
Having a great figure
helps, and many stars move
‘
Getting the dress
right can make a
career. Just ask
Lupita Nyong’o
from sensible eating to a
strict diet six weeks ahead of
the big night.
Personal trainer Valerie
Waters advocates cutting
starches and going for
salmon, asparagus and
chicken salad.
Waters has coached
Courtney Love and Jennifer
Garner, charging up to $350
(nearly R5 500) an hour.
Alcohol and desserts are
strictly off limits. Stars know
they will be photographed
from every angle and their
coaches don’t let up an inch
in the gym.
Undergoing a facelift,
breast enhancement or any
other procedure that might
leave scars and bruises for
weeks is out of the question
ahead of Oscars night. The
Hollywood great and good
instead opt for smaller
cosmetic treatments
— injections for luscious lips,
wrinkle-fillers and Botox.
Cosmetic surgeon Ashkan
Ghavami — who charges
between $500 and $2 000 for
an injection — said he aims
to give his clients a “young
and refreshed” look without
overdoing it to the extent
that they have trouble
smiling.
If there were an Oscar for
most extravagant treatment,
it surely would have gone to
Black Swan actress Mila
Kunis who, according to the
celebrity press, had a facial
using precious stones ahead
of the Golden Globes in 2011
for the princely sum of
$7 000. — AFP
INVITATION TO ALL QUALIFIED SOUTH
AFRICAN EDUCATORS SEEKING
EMPLOYMENT IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Fashion designer Pam Hogg attends Wednesday night’s Brit Awards in London with a
scantily dressed friend, the model Sadie Pinn. It was the second time in days that Pinn had
been seen in public in the see-through catsuit Picture: LUCA TEUCHMANN/WIREIMAGE
AKA, Riky Rick, Zahara tipped for Metros
AZIZZAR MOSUPI
LOCAL celebrities looked
into their crystal balls and
made predictions on who
could walk away with a
coveted Metro FM Music
Award in the most
contested categories this
weekend. Here are their
winners.
AKA is pegged as the
most likely to walk away
with the best hit single and
best remix award for smash
hit Baddest, according to
Universal Music marketing
manager (Local Urban
division), Tumi Voster.
Best hip-hop album is
tipped to go to Boss Zonke
hitmaker, Riky Rick for
Family Values. “His album
is a combination of both
underground and
commercial … It has depth
but also lightness, so it’s not
one-dimensional,” says SA
Idols judge Somizi Mhlongo.
Soul singer Nathi’s
Buyelekhaya and Black
Coffee’s Pieces of Me go
head to head for best male,
with Zahara’s Country Girl
and Maleh’s You Make My
Heart Go duking it out
among the celebs for best
female.
The song of the year is
considered a tough race
between Black Coffee’s We
Dance Again and Nathi’s
Nomvula.
The awards, taking place
at the ICC Centre in Durban
on Saturday, have been
dubbed the Platinum
Edition. A R100 000 cash
prize for the winners of
each category has been
added this year. Metro FM’s
Bonang Matheba and Moeti
“Mo Flava” Tsiki are
hosting the awards.
BBC ‘fear’ covered Savile’s tracks
AN INQUIRY into sexual
abuse at the BBC by late
presenter Jimmy Savile
yesterday found a culture
of “fear” surrounding
whistleblowing helped him
hide his crimes for
decades.
The report found Savile
had abused 72 people —
both male and female and
nearly half aged under 16
— in studios, dressing
rooms, lifts and canteens
between 1959 and 2006.
Savile was one of
Britain’s top celebrities
from the 1960s until his
death at 84 in 2011.
He was famous for his
shock of white hair,
outlandish clothes and
fundraising for charity.
He used his position as
host of some of the BBC’s
most popular
programmes, including
music chart show Top Of
The Pops, to meet young
fans and abuse them.
3
The allegations
prompted police to launch
Operation Yewtree, an
investigation into Savile
and other celebrities.
Yesterday’s 793-page
report is only the latest to
highlight the scale of
abuse committed by
Savile, which is thought to
total hundreds of victims.
Janet Smith, the former
judge who led the inquiry,
said the presenter had
been “shameless”. — AFP
The Department of Basic Education would like to invite all
¿ temporary employment in public ordinary schools in South Africa to
Interested educators must complete the “Unemployed Educators”
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the completed form and all necessary documents to:
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4 The Times Friday February 26 | 2016
Gigaba: Too
many still
without IDs
NEWS
COURT DRAMA
BABALO NDENZE
SOUTH Africans without IDs could
die without officially having ever
existed, said Home Affairs
minister Malusi Gigaba.
He added that there are 200 000
uncollected IDs and 5 000
uncollected green barcoded IDs.
Gigaba said: “Ideally, we would
like to know who is in the country,
where they live, what their ID or
passport numbers are, what their
visa card number is, where they
obtained it and other details.”
He said South Africa attracts
large volumes of “mixed migration
flows”, thus increasing the number
of undocumented persons residing
in the country.
“There are many security risks
that pertain to the police and other
institutions, but there are also
socioeconomic risks.
“For example, when a person
with no ID passes away, they will
be laid to rest without them ever
having been to known to exist,
except among their group of
friends or family.”
He said burials could only be
performed after a death certificate
is issued.
“It becomes difficult when we
have to issue a handwritten
certificate.”
He noted that many people tried
to use fraudulent baptismal
certificates as proof of citizenship.
A man who allegedly stabbed a police officer near the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court yesterday is taken away by paramedics after being shot by another
officer. A case of attempted murder is being investigated against the man
Picture: ESA ALEXANDER
Small relief
in jobless rate
BIANCA CAPAZORIO
UNEMPLOYMENT eased
slightly in the last quarter
of 2015 but the impact of the
drought on jobs is starting
to emerge after 37 000 jobs
were lost in agriculture.
This had a knock-on effect on employment in the
manufacturing
sector,
which lost 36 000 jobs, mostly in the food-processing industry.
Releasing the Statistics in
the SA quarterly labour
force survey yesterday,
statistician-general
Pali
Lehola said that unemployment had eased by one percentage point to 24.5% in the
final quarter of last year.
This meant that 190 000
more South Africans were
employed compared to the
previous quarter.
The finance and trade industries showed the most
employment growth, with
113 000 and 80 000 jobs
added respectively.
Lehola said the decline in
the agricultural sector was
mostly driven by a down-
turn in the manufacture of
food
products,
grain
milling, starches and starch
products and animal feeds.
The biggest job losses in
agriculture were seen in the
Western Cape, where 31 000
jobs were lost, and Limpopo, where 19 000 jobs
were shed.
Free State lost 1 000 jobs
and Mpumalanga shed
4 000.
‘
34.9% of the
country’s
youth are
unemployed
These numbers were offset by slight growth in agricultural job creation in the
Northern Cape (9 000),
KwaZulu-Natal
(6 000),
North West (2 000), Eastern
Cape (1 000) and Gauteng
(1 000).
KwaZulu-Natal, Mpuma-
langa, the North West,
Limpopo and Free State
were all declared drought
disaster areas in November
last year.
According to the statistics, the agricultural sector
accounts for 5.4% of total
jobs and contributes 2.2% to
the GDP.
Lehola said in Brazil and
India the employment rate
was assisted by the agriculture industry, which accounted for 14.4% of jobs in
Brazil and 51.1% of jobs in
India.
Meanwhile, the youth unemployment rate continued
to exceed the national rate,
with 34.9% of the country’s
youth unemployed in the
quarter.
The unemployment rate
among
graduates
was
recorded at 5.1%, compared
to 28.5% for those who have
not completed matric.
Unemployment remained
highest among black South
Africans at 27.6%, compared
to 6.9% for whites, 10.9% for
Indian and 21.6% for
coloureds.
SA could export red meat to Asia
SOUTH Africa is in talks
with Asian nations about
exporting red-meat
products to the region,
with the trade potentially
reaching R10-billion
annually, Deputy
Agriculture Minister
Bheki Cele said.
Thailand and China’s
special administrative
region of Hong Kong are
among areas that have
approached South Africa
for meat, he said in
Somerset West near Cape
Town yesterday.
Should South Africa
conclude meat-export
pacts, it would need 488
inspectors to examine the
veterinary and
phytosanitary
requirements, with the
national Treasury
agreeing to allocate about
R600-million towards their
training.
“Once these people are
trained, we will be able to
unlock the R10-billion
business,” Cele said.
— Bloomberg
NEWS
Friday February 26 | 2016
Kids trudge
for hours to
get to school
SIPHO MASOMBUKA
MORE than half a million pupils
spend more than an hour walking
to school, the majority of them in
rural areas.
This is according to the National
Household Travel Survey. Statistics show that of a total of 599 000
pupils who spend more than an
hour walking to school, 450 000
were in rural areas.
At 9.9%, KwaZulu-Natal had the
most pupils enduring a long walk to
school, followed
by Eastern Cape
at
6.5%,
and
Limpopo at 5.0%.
At 1.7%, Western Cape had the
fewest number of
pupils
who
walked for more
than an hour for
education, followed by Northern
Cape at 2.6% and Free State at 3.4%.
The report notes that at 5.9%,
black pupils “were more likely to
walk all the way for more than an
hour to their educational institutions compared to other learners
[from other races]”.
White pupils were less likely to
walk long distances to school at
0.4%, followed by Indians/Asians at
‘
1.3%, and coloureds at 1.4%.
Pupils who are likely to be subjected to long walks to school are
from poor families, with 46% of
them from families with an average
household income of R854 a month
and 35.6% from families where social grants are the only income.
By walking the long distances,
the pupils were more likely to be
knocked down by motorists.
The report notes that of 534
pedestrian deaths in 2013, 20% were
younger than 18 years of age.
The
report
shows
that,
of
14.2 million
households, 22%
either
walked,
cycled or used
animal-drawn
carts to travel,
the majority in
the
Northern
Cape at 14.3%. Gauteng has the
least number of people who use
non-motorised transport, at 1%.
Nationally, more than threequarters of households indicated
their main mode of travel was public transport (76%). Taxis ferried
51% of people — more people than
any other mode of transport — and
buses and trains carried 18.1% and
7.6% of people respectively.
Walking so far
means pupils are
at risk of being
knocked down
The Times
MIXED
MASALA:
Libby Appleby
and Tafadzwa
Madzimbamuto
with their
one-year-old
identical twins
Jasmine and
Amelia
Picture: SWNS
Black and white twins from same egg
TWINS born in the UK are
thought to be the country’s first
“black and white” twins — despite coming from the same egg.
Libby Appleby, 37, was told her
babies would look so similar they
would need to be “marked with
ink” to tell them apart.
But she was surprised when
Amelia was born with dark skin,
black hair and brown eyes, and
her sister Jasmine with fair skin,
blue eyes and light curls.
“We get a lot of funny looks
when we tell people the girls are
actually identical,” she said.
Despite their different skin
tones, they are genetically identical and are thought to be the
first of their kind in the country.
Appleby said: “When they
were born, we were flabbergasted. They look like they’re different races. Amelia is the spitting image of her dad, while Jasmine is a mini version of me.”
Appleby, of County Durham,
said strangers assume the twins
— who have just celebrated their
first birthday — are step-sisters.
The mom and her partner of
three years, 40-year-old electrical
engineer Tafadzwa Madzimbamuto, found out she was pregnant in June 2014.
Three months later, they were
told they were expecting twins
and medics at University of
Durham Hospital warned they
would be difficult to tell apart.
Appleby said medics “gasped”
when they delivered the girls —
who are monozygotic — formed
in the same embryo but developed in separate sacs.
She added: “We put them next
to each other in a cot and couldn’t
believe how different they were.
“Doctors told us the chances of
mixed race [identical] twins are
one in a million. We were thrilled
they were so unique.”
A sample of Appleby’s placenta
confirmed the twins are 100%
genetically identical, despite
them looking nothing alike.
Dr Claire Steves, from the Department of Twin Research, said
multiple genes control skin
colour and although identical
twins are very likely to share
them completely, it is not definite. — © The Daily Telegraph
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6 The Times Friday February 26 | 2016
BUSINESS/WORLD
Turnaround in the post
R650m from the state puts Post Office in position to raise more money
THE Post Office plans to raise
further cash from banks and other
financial institutions after receiving a R650-million cash injection
from the government.
The cash-strapped service is
targeting a return to profit by
2018.
“The capital injection will put
us in a position to also raise additional funds,” said recently appointed CEO Mark Barnes.
“But our immediate priority will
be to pay our creditors.”
Barnes, the chairman of Johan-
nesburg-based investment company Purple Group and former CEO
of Brait, was appointed to run the
Post Office last month to turn
around the state-owned company
and end a succession of strikes
that have brought the service to a
standstill.
The company is targeting a
rapid return to profit after a loss of
R1.5-billion in the year through
March and a further R1-billion of
losses in the first 10 months of the
current fiscal year, Barnes said.
After repaying creditors, the
Post Office will seek to reorganise
the way it gets post to and from its
more than 1 500 outlets and strike
a deal with labour unions.
Barnes will also have to respond to an order from South
Africa’s ombudsman to recover at
least R22-million it paid as part of
a lease for its headquarters after
an investigation found the bidding process wasn’t fair.
“The organisation has wasted a
lot of money over the years, about
R2.7-billion just on labour brokers. But it also shows me that
there is potential to make money,” he said.
The cash injection was announced by Finance Minister
Pravin Gordhan in his Budget
speech on Wednesday.
ý Airline FlySafair said yesterday it was interested in buying
rival low-cost airline Mango from
the government.
“We would buy Mango,
although obviously it would need
to be at the right price‚” CEO
Elmar
Conradie
said.
—
Bloomberg, Reuters
Heavily guarded Zuma
in Burundi peace drive
A DELEGATION of five African want real negotiations that would
heads of state arrived in Bujumbura bring peace.
The opposition was angered by the
yesterday at the start of a two-day
visit to push for talks to end president’s apparent attempt to
choose who should participate when
Burundi’s deep political crisis.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon was in he said the dialogue would include
Burundi a few days ago as part of all Burundians “except those
growing international efforts to bring engaged in acts of destabilisation”.
Previous talks have failed, with
an end to 10 months of deadly turmoil
the Burundian government refusing
in the central African country.
The AU agreed to send the del- to sit down with some of its
egation — headed by President Ja- opponents, whom it accuses of
cob Zuma, and including the leaders involvement in a failed coup in May,
and months of vioof Ethiopia, Gabon,
lence
including
Mauritania
and
Arrived with
grenade and rocket
Senegal — during its
more than 50
attacks.
January
summit,
“The heads of state
when
Burundi
soldiers
and
six
are coming to consult
aggressively rejectthe government and
ed a plan to deploy
machine-gun
other stakeholders on
5 000 peacekeepers
mounted trucks the revival of an
to the country.
inclusive dialogue,”
Zuma arrived yesterday with a bodyguard of more said an African diplomat in Bujumthan 50 soldiers and at least six bura who did not want to be named.
“The issue of deploying a peacemachine-gun-mounted army trucks
for his 10-minute drive to the city keeping force in Burundi is not on
the agenda,” the diplomat added.
centre.
CNARED
chairman
Leonard
Ban, on his first visit since the
crisis erupted, met President Pierre Nyangoma welcomed the delegaNkurunziza on Tuesday and said he tion’s visit but held out little hope of
had won a guarantee that “inclusive a breakthrough.
“Nkurunziza is a die-hard, and
dialogue” would begin between the
without strong pressure and real
government and its opponents.
But the main umbrella opposition sanctions he will never agree to the
group, CNARED, whose leaders are meaningful negotiations that are the
in exile, dismissed it as a “false only way out of this crisis,” he said.
opening”, saying Nkurunziza did not — AFP
TOP BRASS: President Jacob Zuma pays respects at the grave of
Burundi’s former president Melchior Ndadaye in Bujumbura
yesterday, during a visit for peace talks in the strife-torn country with
other African leaders
Picture: ELMOND JIYANE, GCIS
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BILLIONAIRE investor Warren
Buffett considers himself a teacher,
spreading his wisdom beyond Wall
Street with wit and charm.
For decades, the Berkshire Hathaway chairman has published annual letters to shareholders and his
next one this weekend will again
include colourful phrases.
Gems from the past:
ý A take on the “bird in the hand”
phrase referred to how it was frustrating to wait for higher interest
rates and preferable to find ways to
invest: “A girl in a convertible is
worth five in the phone book.”
ý “You learn who has been swimming naked when the tide goes out
— and what we are witnessing at
some financial institutions is an
ugly sight.” — Bloomberg
‘Apple making
spy-proof phone’
‘
By order of Enviroserv Polymer Solutions (PTY) Ltd
How Buffett
adds colour
to his letters
www.Go-Dove.com/southafrica
THE showdown between Apple and
US law enforcement over encryption, no matter the outcome, will
accelerate tech companies’ efforts
to engineer safeguards against government intrusion.
An emerging industry is already
marketing super-secure phones
and mobile applications.
Apple is said to be developing
security measures to make it even
harder for the government to break
into iPhones, the New York Times
reported, citing people close to the
company and security experts.
“Apple engineers have already
begun developing new security
measures that would make it
impossible for the government to
break into a locked iPhone using
methods similar to those now at the
centre of a court fight in California,” the newspaper said.
An Apple executive, who
declined to be named, said the company will strengthen its encryption
if it wins its court battle with the
federal government, which last
week secured a court order that
Apple engineers help extract data
from a phone associated with the
perpetrators of the mass shootings
in San Bernardino.
An Apple spokesman declined to
comment publicly. — Reuters
Al-Shabab ‘kills about
200’ Kenyan soldiers
AS MANY as 200 soldiers were killed in
an attack on a Kenyan military camp in
Somalia by al-Shabab Islamists last
month, Somali President Hassan Sheikh
Mohamud told a television station. Kenya
rejects the figure.
Kenyan authorities have refused to
give a death toll following the January 15
raid, which targeted troops of the African
Union Mission, near the southern Somali
town of El Adde.
“When about 200 soldiers who came to
help your country are killed in one
morning, it is not something trivial,”
Mohamud told Somali TV. Kenya sent
soldiers into Somalia in 2011. — Reuters
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8 The Times Friday February 26 | 2016
OPINIONANDLETTERS
FISH EYE LENS
‘Revolutionaries’
taking a leaf out
of old folks’ book
E
VERY generation blames the one
before it and claims that its own is “the
real revolution”. Today in South Africa
we are confronted by the politics of the
new revolutionaries.
They seek to change the sociopolitical
landscape, infusing it with their own DNA to
create a world that conforms to their ideology.
Just like the generation before them, they
think that only their revolution can set us free.
The continuing protests at our institutions of
higher learning are but one of the indications
of the politics of the new revolutionaries.
How the government and civil society —
including parents — react will shape the
future.
We have been in this space before. We have
seen institutions of learning torched and
schooling disrupted to achieve a wider goal.
Back in 1976, students
There is a
were misunderstood and
labelled “the lost
belief that
generation” by their
parents. The government authorities
of the day set the police on
them.
respond only
As if in a terrible dream,
to violence
we see the same script
being played out today in
our schools and
universities.
Students have again taken to the streets and
a number of universities have been forced to
close.
The situation is getting worse every day.
Whereas the class of 1976 had to deal with an
illegitimate government, our students today
have open platforms on which to raise their
grievances, and this government is open to
dialogue.
Burning property can never be excused but
the sad truth is that arson is part of our politics
because of the belief that the government and
others in authority respond only to violence.
We have failed to teach our youngsters to
protest within the law. Political leaders keep
quiet when their allies go on the rampage.
But we are quick to condemn students when
they follow in our footsteps.
An honest assessment of what is troubling
the young today is but the first step in finding a
solution.
Let’s give leadership to this revolution.
WHAT’S TRENDING AT
http://timeslive.co.za
NEWS: Human Rights
Commission praises interventions
SAHRC applauded “efforts and
initiatives that Free State and
Pretoria universities are taking to
address racism on their campuses‚
and other issues‚ including language
policies and transformation”.
A Chinese tourist at Centara Ras Fushi Resort in the Maldives. The tropical islands are one of the most popular holiday destinations for
Chinese travellers, after Thailand’s Phuket and South Korea’s Jeju Island
Picture: GIULIO DI STURCO/GETTY IMAGES
Right signal,
wrong lever
PRAVIN Gordhan’s
announcement that the
government was mulling plans
to merge, reconfigure or close
poorly performing state-owned
entities is bold but inadequate.
President Jacob Zuma
missed an opportunity during
the State of the Nation address
to apply Gordhan’s perspective
to all organs of state.
A capable state is not
synonymous with a bloated
state. What is required is
fewer but better strategic
levers of power.
Stop tinkering with cosmetic
reforms when the crises call
for bold structural reforms.
— Mzukisi Gaba, Cape Town
THE Budget symbolised a
patient emerging from a
casualty ward still suffering
from severe anaemia.
Gordhan failed to prescribe
the harsh remedy needed.
He knows radical treatment
is necessary, but with the
Bolsheviks controlling the
ANC there is little chance of
improving our lot and we now
await the verdict of the rating
agencies. — Ted O’Connor,
Albertskroon
MULTIMEDIA: Watch: ‘I am not
black, you are not white,’ video
slams racial labels
A video uploaded to Youtube by
poet Prince EA has gone viral. The
visuals show a group of people
mouthing a poem which questions
why racial labels exist and it
explains how it has divided people
the world over.
SMS COMMENTS
ENTERTAINMENT: Celebs:
Kanye West goes on Twitter
rant, backtracks and says he
wants to spread positivity
Kanye West (right) has apologised
for his latest Twitter rant, in which
he blasted music producer Bob
Ezrin as an ‘‘idiot’’.
ý YES. He presented a good
horse, but are there efficient,
effective and honest jockeys to
ride it? Every cent must be
correctly spent with controls in
place. — Baba Saloojee
Should Gordhan have
cut even deeper?
ý NO. He should get rid of all
those deputy ministers. They cost
us a fortune and do nothing.
— Taxed
ý BLESS you, poor South
Mayhem is not the solution
WHILE I acknowledge that
students have the right to
demonstrate, I condemn the
idea that protests should be
violent.
Why would you go all out to
be violent when you can
peacefully submit your
memorandum of complaints?
The truth is whenever
people decide to embark on
violent protests attention is
shifted from addressing their
grievances to crimes they
commit in the process.
Their problems remain
unresolved and these protests
become a never-ending story.
You cannot solve one
problem by creating another.
After all, protests are
inspired by the need for a
solution, not by imprisonment,
injury or destruction.
The students must learn to
address their challenges
peacefully so that they can
return to classes soon and
help build the country.
— Malphia Honwane,
Gottenburg eManyeleti
PROFESSOR Jonathan Jansen
says every citizen has the
right to protest.
Does this mean anywhere or
anyhow, including dancing on
tables during a university
council meeting, where
lectures are taking place and
at sports venues where
matches are to be played?
Does the right to protest
include an unlimited right to
disrupt the lawful activities of
others in pursuit of protest?
As usual Jansen is being too
politically correct as he
unconditionally condemns all
adverse responses to the
intrusive and often disgusting
behaviour of the protesters.
— Philip van der Watt, Somerset
West
Explain ‘transformation’. I’m listening
PANASHE Chigumadzi
(“Your wisdom sucks, old
people,” Wednesday), I am
an “old” person who tries to
“listen” by keeping in touch
with everything that is going
on in our country. On
reading your article, I
realised that you were
pointing fingers at black
elders, which is something
rather unusual.
With me being an “oldie”
and you being a bright young
Africans, I wish you hunger and
prolonged poverty — you deserve
it. At least your heroes — Jacob
Zuma, his puppets, their friends
and families — are smiling all the
way to the bank. — Bryan
Nyaniso Makha
On ‘Parastatals face
bullet’:
ý WHY worry about state
entities that have been looted, ransacked and run into the ground?
It’s been a glorious free-for-all for
the last 21 years. — Ruth Liberty
WAS Panashe Chigumadzi’s
piece printed with the
purpose of incensing
readers?
Your paper seems to be
sailing pretty close to the
wind of unlawful incitement.
Or was it printed to
“balance” out the editorial
column — “Student and
Varsity Leaders Must Wrest
Agenda from Thugs” — by
kowtowing to those very
thugs? — Peter Smulik, Cape
Town
On ‘An assault on
transformation’:
On ‘Sanral has new
e-toll tactics’:
ý DESPITE the racial turmoil, I
believe there are always good
people with whom we can forge
ties and build bridges.
— Aaron Phiri
ý THIS should be tested in court.
No cars will be bought and sold,
and the industry will collapse in
Gauteng. — Lee Unmoved
woman, would you “unpack”
the word “transformation”
for me? Please give me a list
of everything that YOU
reckon would be necessary
to heal our country.
The word
“transformation” is flung
around day after day but
what does it mean in
practical terms? — Maureen
Spiro
ý NO MATTER how provocative
or disruptive the protest was,
nobody has the right to assault
another human being. All those
who were involved in violence
should be prosecuted. — Nicky
Sithole Nicholson
ý THE government implements
the most expensive toll collection
mechanism to line a few pockets,
and we are expected to sit back
and take it? — Trishen Foolchand
Each SMS costs R1.50
HOW TO CONTACT US: WRITE TO: PO BOX 1742, SAXONWOLD 2132 SMS: 33971 EMAIL: [email protected] FAX: 011-280-5150/1
The editor reserves the right to edit and reject letters. Pseudonyms may be used, but must be clearly marked as such.
BIG READS
Friday February 26 | 2016
The Times
9
Once more into the wind
Headwinds, tailwinds and ill winds. They don’t all need to blow us over
I
WAS walking the other day
when I saw, up ahead, an old,
thin man. He had the kind of
thinness that makes you
worry for him. He had thin legs
and thin shanks and thin
shoulders. Underneath his clothes
I imagine he looks like a length of
driftwood that has taken its
beating in the ocean for 50 years
and then washed up on a distant
beach and been worn for another
decade or so by wind and salt and
sand and then finished off by the
sun. He was a piece of wood once
strong but the world has worn it
down, and the world isn’t done
with him yet.
He wore a suit that once fitted
him better, the kind of suits that
old men wear to visit the bank and
the post office and that make my
heart ache with love for old people.
He looked as though he might
have headed out that morning
wearing a hat, but any hat was
long gone in the wind. He wouldn’t
have had a spare hand to keep it on
his head, because he was using
both to hold very tightly to the
stone pillar outside the bank.
The wind doesn’t blow very
often in my neighbourhood — not
the way it blows in the rest of Cape
Town — but when it does it comes
hard down the main road and it
seems to funnel and concentrate in
the delta where the road splits in
two, with the bank on the corner.
It’s always windiest there, like the
area at the north corner of the
Flatiron Building, where 23rd
Street meets Broadway, the
windiest corner of New York.
On YouTube you can see footage
from 1903 of pedestrians fighting
the wind at the Flatiron. Obviously
they had invented this thing called
a movie camera and were casting
around for something interesting
to film and someone said: “What
about the Flatiron? People’s hats
are always blowing off there.”
In the footage men and women,
all now long dead, struggle along
clutching their hats, their skirts
and coats whipping. There’s a
gratifying moment when one
WILL OREMUS
FOR years people have
clamoured for Facebook to add a
“dislike” button alongside its
iconic like button. That was never
going to happen. Instead, in
October the company began
testing a suite of six emoji
complements to the like button:
“love,” “haha,” “yay,” “wow,”
“sad,” and “angry”.
On Wednesday it rolled out the
new buttons to Facebook users
worldwide, minus one: “yay.”
(“Yay” missed the cut, Facebook
product manager Sammi Krug
told me, because the company’s
testing revealed that people
found it vague.)
Facebook explained the new
feature, called Reactions, in a
blog post.
“We’ve been listening to people
and know that there should be
more ways to express how
something makes you feel.
“That’s why today we are
launching Reactions, an
extension of the like button, to
give you more ways to share your
reaction to a post in a quick and
WILD IS THE WIND: ‘These are windy times in South Africa, we have to hold tight and keep our heads’
gentleman notices the camera,
tragically loosening his grip on his
hat which whips away in the wind
like a magic trick. One minute it’s
there, the next it isn’t, and he does
a cartoon-like two-handed grab at
his bare head then goes chasing
after it, exiting screen left.
That’s what the corner outside
the bank is like, and as I
approached I could see the old,
thin man was having a hard time of
it. He wanted to round the corner
and turn right up Regent Road but
that was tacking into the teeth of
the wind, and he was clinging to
the pillar like Odysseus tied to his
mast. If he loosened his grip he
might blow away like that longgone New Yorker’s hat.
One passer-by stopped and
offered assistance but was waved
away with a smile, and then
another passer-by, and then the
beefy bald guy who runs the shop
selling bodybuilding supplements.
Just as I drew level, the security
guard from the bank asked the old,
thin man if he could help him.
“No, no, thank you,” said the old,
thin man pleasantly and patiently,
still clinging tight. “I’ll just wait for
it to stop.”
It reminded me of when I was in
Dublin, at Merrion Square,
opposite the Georgian house
where Oscar Wilde grew up.
There’s a small park in the centre
with a weird jade and granite
statue of Oscar reclining louche
upon a rock, and I was waiting to
photograph it. Pictures of statues
are the worst holiday pictures,
other than pictures of buildings
and arm’s-length photos of your
own stupid face, but I didn’t know
that then. There was some sun but
there was mostly clouds. Oscar
would be lit for a second in a band
of gold, a crown of glory, but before
I could focus all would be plunged
into Dublin grey again. I’d been
‘
He was a piece of
wood once strong
but the world has
worn it down, and
the world isn’t
done with him yet
Facebook plans to push all your buttons
easy way.”
But, like almost everything
Facebook does, there is a double
purpose at work here — and that
second purpose involves data.
Specifically, Facebook is now
going to be able to collect and
profit from a whole lot more of it.
In a January Slate cover story, I
looked behind the scenes at how
Facebook’s news feed algorithm
works; how it decides what you
see at the top of your feed every
time you log in; and why the
company keeps tweaking it.
In short, Facebook has come to
believe that the key to its longterm success lies in gathering
ever more and ever richer data on
how its users react.
The company can use that data
to personalise each user’s feed to
her liking, so that it never
becomes so stale, repetitive, or
overwhelming that she’s tempted
to look elsewhere.
Much of the same data goes
into the software Facebook uses
to decide which ads its users see
in their feeds.
The like button, from the
beginning, has been a key source
of that data. When you like
something in your feed, you’re
implicitly telling Facebook to
show you more of it. But if the
like button is your only option,
you’re not telling it much about
‘
The company can
use that data to
personalise
each user’s feed
how you feel about a post.
In contrast, giving users six
reaction options means that
Facebook can start to gather
much more nuanced data on how
users are reacting. It can begin to
differentiate between posts that
users are enjoying, posts they
find fascinating, posts that make
them happy, and posts that make
them sad.
Facebook says that it isn’t
using the data from new
reactions in that way — yet. But
that will soon change, according
to Facebook’s Krug.
“Initially, just as we do when
someone likes a post, if someone
uses a Reaction, we will infer
they want to see more of that
type of post. We hope to learn
how the different Reactions
should be weighted,” he revealed.
How might that work? Krug
declined to get specific, saying
the company’s goal for now was
just to learn about how people
use the new buttons so it can
improve the feature over time.
But I have some educated
guesses. Here’s one idea:
Facebook’s own research has
shown that its news feed
algorithm can make its users
happy or sad by showing them a
greater proportion of positive or
negative posts.
Picture: ESA ALEXANDER
standing there for nearly half an
hour when an old fellow wandered
past and wondered what the hell I
was doing.
“Waiting for the light,” I replied.
“Ho ho ho,” he wheezed,
continuing on his way. “You’ll
grow old waiting for the light in
Dublin!”
I thought this week about the
difference between old men in safe,
rainy Dublin and old, thin men in
South Africa. The chap clinging to
the pillar outside the bank has
seen plenty of strong winds in his
time, headwinds and tailwinds
alike. These are windy times in
South Africa again, and the winds
are strong, and when it’s gusting
we have to hold tight and keep our
heads. Sooner or later the wind
will drop again, and we’ll be able to
carry on up the street.
The company hopes to figure
out the optimum mix of happy,
sad, amazing, funny and
infuriating posts to keep users
coming back every day.
Think of it as a modern-day
spin on what media editors have
always aimed to offer: a mix of
hard news, human interest, and
entertainment on their front
pages or in their newscasts.
Over time Facebook could even
adjust that mix for each user. So
people looking to be amused
would find their news feeds
packed with funny posts.
Those who come looking to be
informed, challenged, or
provoked would find their feeds
peppered with news stories and
controversial opinions.
Reactions data could be just as
potent when applied to
Facebook’s advertising
algorithms.
Advertisers have always been
keen to understand how people
react to ads. Reaction buttons,
applied to Facebook’s massive
audience, could amount to a
valuable analytics tool. — for
them. — Slate.com.
10 The Times Friday February 26 | 2016
YOUR WORLD OF ANIMALS
THE HARDER THEY FALL: Workers try to push a tranquillised black rhino to the ground in Klerksdorp,
in North West, to dehorn it as an anti-poaching measure
Picture: SIPHIWE SIBEKO/REUTERS
DOING SWIMMINGLY: A baby hippo with its mother in their enclosure at Prague Zoo, Czech
Republic. The infant was born on January 28
Picture: DAVID W CERNY/REUTERS
FOAL PLAY: A traditional
horse fight staged by the
Miao ethnic minority in
Rongshui county, China
Picture: REUTERS
SLEEPY TIME: A monkey is prepared for contraceptive surgery in
Hong Kong
Picture: ISAAC LAWRENCE/AFP
WATER TOPPED UP: A Cadillac CT6 on display inside a fish tank in
a mall in Shanghai, China
Picture: AFP
P.O.W: A lion in a zoo in Taiz, Yemen. A food blockade by militiamen
means the animals are starving
Picture: MAHYOUB/REUTERS
FRANCE
SOUTH SUDAN
CHINA
US
INDIA
Flash from galaxy billions
of light years away
UN chief visits to try to
revive push for peace
Beijing beats New York
as billionaire capital
Bird brain? Dodos were
not so dumb after all
No-selfie zones
declared after deaths
FOR nine years astronomers have
been trying to pinpoint the origins
of mysterious radio flashes that
erupt briefly and violently.
On Wednesday a team said it
had traced one such flash to a
galaxy about six billion light years
from Earth. Invisible to the human
eye, fast radio bursts are radiowave flashes that last a fraction of
a second and emit as much energy
in a millisecond as the sun in about
10 000 years. Scientists do not
know what causes them. — AFP
UN SECRETARY-General Ban Kimoon arrived in Juba yesterday to
try to revive a shaky peace deal
that has so far failed to end South
Sudan’s two-year civil war.
Ban was driven to see President
Salva Kiir whose dispute with rival
Riek Machar triggered civil war in
December 2013.
Fighting has continued despite
an August peace deal with at least
18 killed in the latest incident in
the northeastern town of Malakal
last week. — AFP
BEIJING has surpassed New York
City to become the “world’s
billionaire capital” with 100
resident billionaires to the US’s 95.
The number of billionaires rose
by 32 from last year. New York’s
tally rose by just four, said the
Hurun Report, a China-based
publisher. Moscow came third,
with 66 billionaires.
Despite its slowdown and falling
stock markets, China minted more
new billionaires than any other
country last year. — AFP
THE dodo is an extinct flightless
bird whose name has become
synonymous with stupidity.
But it turns out that the dodo
was no bird brain, but instead a
reasonably brainy bird.
Scientists said they figured out
the dodo’s brain size and structure
based on an analysis of a wellpreserved skull from a museum
collection. Research suggests the
dodo boasted at least the same
intelligence as pigeons and doves.
— Reuters
WITH 19 of the 49 selfie-linked
deaths worldwide since 2014,
Mumbai has now declared 16
no-selfie zones. Risky areas are offlimits, Skynews reported, and
those entering may be fined 1 200
rupees (about R270).
This month a student drowned in
a reservoir — with a friend who
tried to save him. A woman fell and
drowned in the sea while taking a
selfie. And last month a teenager
died while taking a selfie in front of
a moving train. — Staff reporter
12 The Times Friday February 26 | 2016
THE BIG WEEKEND
OSCAR TIME
TRADING PLACES
‘We’re lost for words’
Split screen
controversy
All the usual bets are off at this year’s awards, writes Tymon Smith
AUDIENCES around the globe
will be glued to their screens
this Sunday to watch the
Oscars.
The glitzy event landed itself
in hot water this year for a lack
of racial diversity.
Over the 87 years of the
Oscars 37 out of 2 947 awards
handed out went to people of
colour, with 14 of those going to
actors and actresses.
Halle Berry is the only black
female to have won an Oscar for
a leading role.
Four black actors have won
Oscars in the best actor
category.
This year comedian Chris
Rock hosts the awards. Some
believe he’ll use the platform to
highlight the lack of diversity in
the awards.
But whether or not anything
changes in Hollywood will only
be seen after the awards.
— Rea Khoabane
NORMALLY Oscar predictions
are made easier by looking at the
awards that precede them but this
year the guilds, Golden Globes
and Baftas have been far more
divergent in their tastes than
usual. Here’s a look at the major
categories, who the frontrunners
are and who we’d like to win.
BEST PICTURE
Nominees: The Big Short, Bridge of
Spies, Brooklyn, Mad Max: Fury
Road, The Martian, The
Revenant, Room, Spotlight.
Frontrunner: The Revenant
Watch out for: Spotlight
Come on and give it to: The Big
Short
BEST DIRECTOR
Nominees: The Big Short, Mad
Max: Fury Road, The Revenant,
Room, Spotlight
OH OSCAR!
Frontrunner: George Miller for
Mad Max: Fury Road
Watch out for: Alejandro
Gonzalez Inarritu for The
Revenant
CLOSE QUARTERS: Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay in ‘Room’, which
premieres this week
Come on and give it to: Adam
McKay for The Big Short
Brie Larson (Room), Jennifer
Lawrence (Joy), Charlotte
Rampling (45 Years), Saoirse
Ronan (Brooklyn)
BEST ACTOR
Nominees: Bryan Cranston
(Trumbo), Matt Damon (The
Martian), Leonardo DiCaprio
(The Revenant), Michael
Fassbender (Steve Jobs), Eddie
Redmayne (The Danish Girl)
Frontrunner: Brie Larson
Watch out for: Saoirse Ronan
Come on and give it to: Cate
Blanchett
Frontrunner: Leonardo DiCaprio
Watch out for: Michael Fassbender
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Come on and give it to: Bryan
Cranston
Nominees: Christian Bale (The Big
Short), Tom Hardy (The
Revenant), Mark Ruffalo
(Spotlight), Mark Rylance (Bridge
of Spies), Sylvester Stallone
(Creed)
BEST ACTRESS
Nominees: Cate Blanchett (Carol),
TOP NOMINATED: Tom
Hardy and Cate
Blanchett
SERIES
You can’t make this stuff up
THERE’S no shortage of real-life
crime shows out there. Most of it
is awful US tabloid TV, like Blood
Relatives, I (Almost) Got Away
With It and Wives with Knives.
Stuffed with clunky
re-enactments, interminable
waffle from self-styled criminal
behaviour analysts and syrupy
voice-overs for the hard of
thinking, they barely justify the
claim that they are documentary
programmes.
What a welcome surprise then
to stumble across The Murder
Detectives (BBC Brit, Channel
120 DStv), a gripping threeparter built around the
apparently motiveless and fatal
stabbing in March 2014 of a
19-year-old Bristol student,
Nicholas Robinson. Like
Netflix’s Making a Murderer, it is
superb “long-form” television;
unlike Making a Murderer,
however, it feels like a scripted
drama, a police procedural along
the lines of Silent Witness or
Waking the Dead.
There is, however, nothing of
“glamour” or artifice here. No
dysfunctional cops with messy
back-stories, no sexy
pathologists, no laconic
detectives acting on whims. In
fact, the cops here couldn’t be
more unlike those found on cop
TV shows.
Their work is hard, thorough,
routinely boring, banal and
exhausting. Their biggest ally is
technology. We open with
Robinson’s taped call to a police
hotline: “Oh, f***ing hell, I’ve
been stabbed really bad.” A few
garbled curses later he dies.
And so starts DCI Andy
Bevan’s investigation. It involves
watching hours and hours of
CCTV footage, ploughing
through cellphone records,
meticulous laboratory work,
relentless searching for clues.
It’s slow, grinding stuff. And all
of it was made available to
award-winning director David
Nath and his team, along with
access to daily police briefings,
conferences and suspect
interviews. No aspect, it would
appear, of this 18-month saga,
which ended with a conviction,
was left unrecorded.
The style of this fascinating
series is quite filmic, from closeups of exhausted cops’ faces to
the gritty feel of Bristol’s back
streets. Tension quickly builds,
thanks to superb editing and an
excellent score, and at times you
have to remind yourself that this
is all real, that there’s a very
human tragedy at the heart of all
this.
The second episode of The
Murder Detectives is screened
tonight, and it concludes next
Friday. — Andrew Donaldson
Frontrunner: Sylvester Stallone
Watch out for: Tom Hardy
Come on, give it to: Mark Rylance
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Nominees: Jennifer Jason Leigh
(The Hateful Eight), Rooney Mara
(Carol), Rachel McAdams
(Spotlight), Alicia Vikander (The
Danish Girl), Kate Winslet (Steve
Jobs)
Frontrunner: Kate Winslet
Watch out for: Alicia Vikander
ý Time magazine published a
damning report on diversity in
Hollywood:
In the 414 studied films and
series, only a third of speaking
characters were female and
only 28.3% were from minority
groups. Characters 40 years or
older skew heavily male: 74.3%
male to 25.7% female.
ý Just 2% of speaking
characters were lesbian-, gay-,
bisexual-, transgenderidentified.
ý Directors overall were 87%
white. TV directors — 90.4%
white — were the least diverse.
ý In film the gender gap is
greatest:
Only 3.4% of the films studied
were directed by women and
there were only two black
women directors.
Come on and give it to: Jennifer
Jason Leigh
Stuntmen want recognition
WHILE the focus on the
Oscars has all been
about the lack of
recognition for black
ON THE
actors and directors,
RADAR
there’s another group of
dissatisfied movie workers who
are also demanding recognition
from the Academy.
This week more than 100 stunt
performers rallied outside the
Academy’s offices in Beverly Hills,
demanding that they be accorded a
category.
They handed over a petition of
50 000 signatures, but so far it’s
been a 25-year uphill battle for
Hollywood’s deathdefying workers.
ý Ava DuVerney didn’t
get an Oscar nod last
year for Selma, but that
hasn’t stopped the
director from directing an
adaptation of the 1963 children’s
classic Wrinkle in Time for Disney.
ý Ahead of his expected and
much-anticipated Oscar win you
can remind yourself of how far
Leonardo DiCaprio has come with
a screening of the 1993 classic
What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? at
the Bioscope at 7pm this Sunday.
www.thebioscope.co.za
ALSO OPENING
SOLACE
A dark and corny serial-killer thriller
delivered with enough conviction by a
strong enough cast that the movie’s hokey
premise — that a murderer is targeting
terminally ill individuals and “killing them
with kindness” — actually starts to sound
like a real psychological conundrum.
— Peter Debruge, variety.com
BOX POPS
WENTWORTH
EXCELLENT Australian prison
drama series focusing on Bea
Smith (Danielle Cormack), a
woman convicted of the
attempted murder of her husband.
(M-Net Edge, Channel 102 DStv)
VIKINGS
RAGNAR Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel), Norse scourge of England
and France, and his band of
warriors return for an epic,
20-episode fourth season.
(M-Net Edge, Channel 102 DStv)
ROOM
An unexpectedly life-affirming parable
of parenthood wrapped in the clothing
of a modern-day horror story. — Mark
Kermode, theguardian.com
GRIMSBY
Sacha Baron Cohen turns his attentions back to England, satirising the
establishment’s contempt for what
Nobby (his character in the film) himself proudly calls ‘‘scum” with ribald
glee. — Robbie Collin, The Telegraph
ANOMALISA
Charlie Kaufman’s gift for quotidian
horror remains startling; he’s a whiz at
minor miseries. — Manohla Dargis,
New York Times
14 The Times Friday February 26 | 2016
THE BIG WEEKEND
DON’T MISS
MUSIC
Ultra
The year’s biggest electronic
dance music festival
featuring: Skrillex, Tiesto,
Black Coffee, Robin Schulz and
more.
When: Until tomorrow, noon.
Where: Nasrec Expo Centre,
R1 000-R5 000,
www.ultrasouthafrica.com
Jozi Traffic Light Party
Join DJs Lindi Lush, Ami-Lectrix
at this gay-friendly bash.
When: Tomorrow, 8pm.
Where: Babylon the Bar, R50-R80,
082-976-7997,
Sibongile Mngoma Live
The jazz songstress will be
wooing the crowds.
When: Tomorrow, 8.30pm.
Where: Niki’s Jazz Restaurant,
R100, 082-448-6376.
LIFESTYLE
Joburg Prawn Festival
Delicious prawns drizzled with a
little horseracing.
When: Tomorrow, 11am.
Where: Turffontein Racecourse,
free, 011-681-1702.
Home Makers Expo 2016
Get some nifty ideas.
When: Until Sunday, 10am.
Where: Ticketpro Dome, R60R100, www.ticketprodome.co.za
TURNING THE TABLES: Ultra, the year’s biggest electronic dance music festival featuring Black Coffee, Skrillex and more
Beeld Holiday Show
Stock up on supplies for that
dream vacation.
When: Today, 9am.
Where: Gallagher Convention
Centre, R40-R70,
www.webtickets.co.za.
COMEDY
PERFORMANCE
Blacks Only
The annual comedy mega festival
is back once more.
When: Tomorrow, 8pm.
Where: Emperors Palace, R250R380, www.computicket.com.
Ma Diva Magic
Early evening magic.
When: Monday, 7pm.
Where: Auto and General
Theatre, R130,
www.strictlytickets.com.
PISCES (February 20 - March 20)
Pisceans are famous for their ability to
think outside the box. You aren’t very
conventional. You are imaginative. Yet you
are also delicate and respectful. If someone else appears to value an arrangement or a
situation, you would not want to be seen as
questioning this or casting too many aspersions.
Yet this weekend you may need to consider
whether you are supporting what someone else
truly supports or if they are just supporting it
because they feel it is something that you support.
If you want good news, let me give you your indepth March forecast. Call MTN 083-900-8535
or Vodacom 079-008-4033.
ARIES (March 21 - April 20)
We admire people for their skills or for the
amount of information they have learned
yet we often overlook the importance of
their experience. When you have learned
something through trial and error, you have seen
the importance of listening before you talk and
being sensitive to the nuance of many a subtle
situation. That’s when you end up with impressive
life skills of tremendous value. For many a reason
you should give yourself credit for what you
already know and are capable of this weekend.
Looking forward to the month ahead? You will be
soon. Let me tell you why. Call MTN 083-9008535 or Vodacom 079-008-4033.
TAURUS (April 21 - May 21)
“Taureans,” they say, “are stubborn.” They
say this as if it were a criticism. It is high
praise. The world needs more people who
are as loyal, determined, diligent and
consistent as you. How else will anything ever get
done? Once you have made a commitment you see
it through. That’s wonderful, apart from one thing.
Once in a while, you decide something can’t
happen, the odds are against it and you will be
wasting your time. This weekend you may see a
reason to believe in what you had lost faith in. I
have just recorded your light-shedding, heartwarming March forecast. Call MTN 083-9008535 or Vodacom 079-008-4033.
GEMINI (May 22 - June 22)
Do you remember the final scene in Monty
Python’s “Life of Brian”? There is our hero,
played by Eric Idle, strung up in the desert,
singing a merry tune about how we should
“Always Look on the Bright Side of Life”. Now,
what’s that supposed to suggest? That there is
positivity even in the most negative situation? Or
that all optimists are idiots? No matter how
tempted you become to succumb to that latter
YOUR
STARS
Jonathan Cainer
Hi Jonathan, Recently I stumbled across an article that suggested people born in a valley
would have a restricted view of the sky which would affect the ascendant-descendant lines
in their birth charts. Can this be true? What about people born underground? JG
Dear JG, Height affects our view of the horizon. Conventional horoscope calculations don’t
take this into account. I vividly recall waiting to see a solstice sunrise one year and realising
my view was being impeded by a row of trees. But your second question answers your first!
Notional positions are quite sufficient for astrological work.
view this weekend, the bright side really will be the
right side. Give it your attention and your faith. It’s
time to embrace the future. I explain how in your
March forecast. Call MTN 083-900-8535 or
Vodacom 079-008-4033.
CANCER (June 23 - July 23)
Not all battles are fought out in the open.
Nor do they all involve advances and
retreats, weapons and shields. Some are
conducted much more subtly. When intelligence strategies are applied, amazing advances can occur without the opposition even
realising that they are being defeated. Someone, of
late, has begun to imagine that they have the better
of you in a particular power struggle. This weekend, though, tables are turned and new priorities
are established. These work in your favour. The
planets are on your side. Find out how to make
the most of March. Call MTN 083-900-8535 or
Vodacom 079-008-4033.
LEO (July 24 - August 23)
If we come to this planet for a purpose,
why do we not all agree about what that
purpose is? Why are some of us so sure
while others are so uncertain? Perhaps
the only purpose is to find a purpose. There are
times when even the most ambitious lose interest
in their aspirations and even the most driven start
to lack faith in their destination. Your doubts lately
have been partly fuelled by an apparent inability to
attain the support and progress you crave. This
weekend you start to make reassuring gains.
You’ve got so much to look forward to in March.
Let me tell you more. Call MTN 083-900-8535
or Vodacom 079-008-4033.
VIRGO (August 24 - September 23)
Where there is peace there may well be
prosperity. Yet wealth in itself is no
indication of calm and contentment. Love
is not the only thing that money cannot
buy. It cannot purchase intelligence, discretion,
kindness or compassion. If someone is poor in
financial terms yet blessed with plenty of the
above, can we not argue that essentially they are
rich? Your story this weekend is about comparative
values. Only one prize is worth winning. All else is
hollow. When you hear your March forecast it
will change everything for the better. Call MTN
083-900-8535 or Vodacom 079-008-4033.
LIBRA (September 24 - October 23)
We worry lest people will judge us. We are
concerned about how we may come
across. We modify our behaviour to suit
some idealistic notion of how a particular
type of person might behave. We figure that, if we
want to create a good impression, we had best put
on a good act. Yet people have impressive inner
radar. They can soon detect even the slightest
suggestion of insincerity. Wear your heart on your
sleeve this weekend and you will convey the right
message in the right way to the right person.
Please keep reading. I have great news for you
about March. Give me a call: MTN 083-9008535 or Vodacom 079-008-4033.
SCORPIO (October 24 - November 22)
If, as they say, it is “better to be safe than
sorry,” then is that statement universally
true or might there be times when it is
better to risk the possibility that you will
Picture: SIZWE NDINGANE
Dance Umbrella 2016
Check out some of the best
dancing talent our country has to
offer.
When: Until Sunday, show times
vary.
Where: The Soweto Theatre, R100,
011-930-7461.
end up feeling sorry than to miss an opportunity
that might pass you by if you play it too safe? There
are reasons now to check and double-check even
the most apparently obvious facts. You have an
opportunity. You can see it. It will wait for you this
weekend while you make sure that every aspect of
it is watertight. Seize your chance to understand
what’s happening. Make March great. Call MTN
083-900-8535 or Vodacom 079-008-4033.
SAGITTARIUS (November 23 - December 21)
Much, in the end, comes down to taste.
We like what we like and we bridle against
whatever grates on us. We may attempt
to construct a justification for our stance
but in essence our preferences and prejudices are
visceral. Stick this weekend with what suits you
but remember that stress and tension are not your
favourite things. No matter what you suspect this
may help you to accomplish, if you give in to it, you
are better off changing plans to help keep pressure
at bay. Your in-depth new March forecast has
news you must hear. Call MTN 083-900-8535 or
Vodacom 079-008-4033.
CAPRICORN (December 22 - January 20)
Ancient Eastern spiritual teachers describe a process called karma. Though
some experts can make it sound complicated, the idea is simple. You get back
what you give out. Sometimes this happens almost
instantly and sometimes it can take an apparent
age before the consequences of an action make
their way back to the person who performed it. We
do not need to subscribe to the religions that
believe this to see that the notion is based on pretty
obvious phenomena. Let it guide you this weekend.
Make the most of March. You’ll find your monthahead forecast inspiring. Call MTN 083-9008535 or Vodacom 079-008-4033.
AQUARIUS (January 21 - February 19)
You are soft and sweet-natured, kind,
caring, gentle and sensitive. And er … yes,
this is the Aquarian forecast. There has not
been a mix-up. Yet people so rarely speak
about these qualities in you that we could be
forgiven for imagining that perhaps they don’t exist.
Even the most naturally expressive Aquarians feel
slightly ashamed of their own niceness lest they
challenge the reputation of their sign. This weekend,
though, your ability to be sweet unlocks a treasure
trove of positive possibility. I want to tell you why
March has so many opportunities. Call MTN 083900-8535 or Vodacom 079-008-4033.
Calls cost R10 per minute at all times.
Only on network calls are accepted.
For TV schedules, go to www.timeslive.co.za/entertainment/tvguide
PUZZLES
SPOT THE DIFFERENCE | Find five differences in these pictures of
Friday February 26 | 2016
The Times
THE TIMES CROSSWORD
15
© The Times, London
Manny Pacquiao training at a gym in General Santos City, Philippines
ACROSS
1 Creature’s blemish doctor fixed (8)
9 Tin soldier, inside always, reflected
torch again (8)
10 Extractor beginning to grab tooth
(4)
11 A boundless Cumbrian, suffering
puncture, needs rescue service (3,9)
13 Corporation representative visits
republic (6)
14 Scotch and pop needed through
part of book (8)
15 Loftiness shown by kid during a
month of blossoming? (7)
16 Various jumpers at seaside perhaps
taken, facing East (7)
Pictures: AFP
20 Pad to be carried by journalist? It’s
not important (2,6)
22 Company money not initially left
with reserve (6)
23 Possibly a rich furniture collector
owns this? (7,5)
25 Travelling west, gypsies trap game
(1-3)
26 A reduction in police force that’s
hard to swallow? (4,4)
27 Cycling track hidden over amidst
rock (8)
SOLUTIONS
8
3
1
2
9
7
5
6
4
6
7
5
1
8
4
3
9
2
2 7 1
9 6 5
4 8 9
3 5 7
5 4 2
6 1 3
1 9 4
7 2 8
8 3 6
4 9
2 4
3 7
9 8
6 1
8 2
7 6
5 3
1 5
3 Arsenal coach upset, close to sack
according to home stand? (8,4)
4 Crofter’s principal ram occupying
street, hairy in the extreme (8)
5 Without introduction, pluck favourite
musical instrument (7)
6 Parisian who fills up top convertible
(6)
7 Lifted new artwork using bold type (4)
8 Organ to remain clear when setting up
religious service (8)
12 A grouse that’s on woodcutter’s
menu? (2,3,2,5)
15 City official following procedure evacuated nightspot (8)
17 Accepted price ruling (2,6)
18 Pulse illuminated, training in health
centre (5,3)
19 Heard greengrocer’s suggestion to
build up muscle? (7)
21 Plain fish containing bones (6)
24 Cold part of cage which animals
inhabit (4)
SUDOKU |
3
1
2
6
7
5
8
4
9
Fill in all the squares in the grid so that each
row, column and each of the 3x3 squares contains all the digits
from 1 to 9. © Puzzles by Pappocom
5
8
6
4
3
9
2
1
7
HARD
THE PAJAMA DIARIES
BJ WATLING
DOWN
2 Regulars in lab coat intended rejecting
scholarly life (8)
Solution, tips and computer program at www.sudoku.com
WILDCARD
5-1: Multiple bet on Jaguares,
Sharks, Bulls and Lions to win
as Super rugby 2016 kicks off.
THE BIG GAME
A silver cup is up for grabs
MARK GLEESON
MANCHESTER City left no
ambiguity out on the field in
midweek in the Uefa Champions
League, efficiently restoring their
confidence after a run of three
successive defeats.
Now, once again, they look like
favourites to win the League Cup
on Sunday.
While their win at Dynamo Kiev
did entail a lengthy return trip
from the Ukraine, they will still go
into the final fresher than
opponents Liverpool, who have
limited time to recover after last
night’s Uefa Europa League clash.
Sunday’s Capital One final
match at Wembley is the match of
the weekend and will decide the
first piece of silverware of the
English season. It also just might
be both clubs’ only chance for a
reward.
This is particularly true for
Liverpool who have been unable to
achieve much consistency since
the arrival of coach Jurgen Klopp.
Manchester City are still
Premier League title contenders
and have one foot solidly in the
next round of the Uefa Champions
League. But it has been something
of a slippery slope for them of late,
with three successive losses and
the controversy over fielding a
weakened side in the FA Cup last
Sunday when Chelsea beat them
5-1.
managed to pick up only two
points.
ý M4 Valencia v Athletic Bilbao:
Things seem to be finally coming
right for Gary Neville in his tenure
as manager of Valencia. Two
successive league wins plus
progress in the Uefa Europa
League gives Valencia the hope
that they can win this game and
move into the top half of the La
Liga standings. Athletic Bilbao
have won two of their last three
away matches and a win would
further boost their standing.
Let’s look at other matches:
ý M1 Lamontville Golden Arrows
v Platinum Stars
Stars continue to be a bogey team
to many of the sides in the local
league, taking points off leaders
Mamelodi Sundowns in their last
outing. Stars have stealthily moved
up to fifth place in the PSL
standings after a run of six
unbeaten matches.
ý M2 Manchester United v Arsenal:
The last two trips the Gunners
have made to Old Trafford have
been infinitely more successful
than their appearances there from
2007 to 2013, which included an 8-2
thumping early in the 2011-2012
season.
ý M3 Tottenham Hotspur v
Swansea City:
After three successive cup games,
Spurs return to league action and
are fancied to extend their winning
streak to six matches. They are
ON THE MONEY
Try this four-way multiple at 13-2
MIKE MAKAAB
AFTER their FA Cup debacle last
Sunday, when they fielded an
under-strength team and received
a 5-1 thrashing from Chelsea at
Stamford Bridge, Manchester City
bounced back to winning ways in
the Champions League midweek,
travelling to Dynamo Kiev and
winning in impressive fashion.
This Sunday afternoon is the
League Cup (Capital One Cup) final
and City must start firm favourites
to beat Liverpool at Wembley.
But, this is cup football and
anything can happen on the day,
plus Liverpool have dominated
results in the last 10 meetings
between these teams, winning five
and drawing three with only two
losses.
In league action in the
Premiership in England, the big
match is Manchester United versus
Arsenal at Old Trafford. The titlechasing Gunners were beaten 0-2
at home in midweek by Barcelona
(or should we say by Lionel Messi,
who scored both goals in the last 20
minutes of that encounter) and will
have to regroup and focus on their
next 90 minutes of football.
This is a tough one to predict, so
we will turn our attention to other
games in the EPL and see if we can
make some money. My suggested
multiple bet is:
ý Log-leaders Leicester City at
home to beat struggling Norwich
City at odds of 5-10;
ý The win and draw result for
Chelsea away at in-form
Southampton at 4-10;
ý Tottenham Hotspur to maintain
their league challenge and beat
Swansea City at White Hart Lane
at 5-10;
ý Watford to beat visiting
Bournemouth at generous odds of
14-10. This multiple should give you
MIKE’S BEST BET: R432 permutation
for the Soccer 10 pool Saturday 27
February (S10 V3): M1 = 1; M2 = 2, 3;
M3 = 1, 2, 3; M4 = 2, 3; M5 = 1;
M6 = 1, 2, 3; M7 = 1, 2; M8 = 1;
M9 = 1, 2, 3; M10 = 1.
a return of approximately 13-2, if it
comes off.
In Europe, my top bet is
Borussia Dortmund to beat
Hoffenheim in Dortmund, at odds
of 2-10. My value bet is Roma to
make it six wins from six in the
league for new manager Luciano
Spalletti when they travel to
Empoli — Roma are 9-10 to win.
My bankers in the Soccer 10 pool
are: Orlando Pirates (home) to
beat under-pressure Bloemfontein
Celtic, Watford, West Ham United
and Leicester City.
ý All odds quoted are supplied by
Betting World and are subject to
change. For latest prices see
www.bettingworld.co.za
currently second in the standings,
two points behind leaders
Leicester. Swansea had a couple of
positive results after the
appointment of Francesco
Guidolin as manager, but in their
last three league outings they have
ý M6 Deportivo La Coruna v Granada
Deportivo were up among the
early season frontrunners in
La Liga, but have now dropped to
10th spot after a run of 11 matches
without a victory. Seven of those
games have been draws.
Granada are rock bottom after
four successive defeats, although
three of the losses have been by
only one goal.
MARK’S BEST BET: R162 permutation
for Soccer 6 Pool Sunday 28 February
(S6 V2 P1): M1 = 1, 2, 3; M2 = 1, 2, 3;
M3 = 1; M4 = 1; M5 = 1, 2, 3; M6 = 1.
THE ODDS
Friday February 26 | 2016
The Times
17
AT THE RACES
Forsake the folly of
youth with Abashiri
IF YOU’RE easily upset by vile,
racist, derogatory and sexist
words stop reading now. My
intention is not to offend, but
duty calls and I must discuss
tomorrow’s Guineas Day and
Prawn Festival at Turffontein.
That sounds innocent:
precocious three-year-old
horses being tested head-tohead for the benefit of racing
fans stuffing themselves
with piles of succulent
prawns at a tasty price.
But dig deeper and
you find a horrid
layer of bigotry.
The prawn’s a
good place to start.
I once thought it
was just a poncy
foodie word for a
shrimp, but an
Australian
enlightened me on another
meaning: a shapely woman
with an ugly mug. “Eat the
bod, chuck away the head,
mate,” he explained,
shamelessly.
I did warn you.
In the brilliant movie District
9 alien invaders are referred to
as Prawns. Alien Species Wiki
informs us: “Prawns, also known
as Poleepkwa, are a spacefaring,
sapient species of bipedal
insectoids whose ship landed on
Earth in the late 20th century.
Prawns is the derogatory
term ... given to them by people of
Johannesburg due to their
resemblance to the Parktown
prawn pest.”
Not nice.
So, what are these “guineas”
associated with young horses?
They’re a form of currency that
horse-racing prizes were once
paid in. The guinea was a gold
coin minted in Britain between
the 17th and 20th centuries —
worth between 21 and 25 shillings
depending on the gold price —
and distinct from the 20-shilling
pound.
The name came from Africa’s
Guinea Coast, the source of the
THE
GEEGEES
MIKE MOON
COIN IT: Abashiri and jockey Karl
Zechner are fancied to win the
R1-million Gauteng Guineas at
Turffontein tomorrow
Picture:
PHUMELELA
SELECTIONS: Race 7 (Fillies
Guineas): 1 Negroamaro,
11 Alexa, 8 Lala, 2 She’s A
Dragon Race 8 (Gauteng
Guineas): 1 Abashiri, 2 Brazuca,
10 Lunar Approach, 7 Muwaary
gold. But this African connection
is where we run into trouble with
the word “guinea”, for it is the
worst racial epithet one can use
for an Italian. The very un-PC
implication is “a touch of the
tarbrush”.
I’m sorry. Really.
Let’s concentrate on racing.
Guineas races are difficult to
assess. Being young and erratic,
three-year-olds at this stage of
the season “could be anything”,
as the saying goes. There’s some
form, but often the early flashy
types don’t progress while
nondescripts suddenly emerge to
become champions — as Louis
The King did in this very race a
few years ago.
Think of these sophomores as
hormonally challenged students
— witty, clever, excitable, lazy,
confused and destructive.
The kids in the students’ union
who had talent but they turned
out differently from how you
would have imagined.
Okay, so I’m an ageist.
The best youngsters in the
country won’t line up tomorrow
— colt Noah From Goa and filly
Silver Mountain, who are resting
up after hard racing during the
Cape summer season.
In the male division, the
R1-million Grade 2 Gauteng
Guineas over 1600m, Brazuca
looks a worthy favourite at 28-10,
having finished less than a length
behind Noah From Goa in the
recent Cape Guineas.
However, it’s no secret that
trainer Mike Azzie regards his
charge Abashiri as one of the
best horses he’s handled in a
distinguished career.
And with him having a better
draw and a better price (9-2) than
Brazuca I incline towards
Abashiri.
But anything could surprise.
Watch out for New Predator
(11-2), Muwaary (10-1) and Lunar
Approach (25-1).
At the risk of being sexist, too,
the Fillies Guineas looks even
more baffling.
Kings look out of their depth against Sharks
MIKE MAKAAB
ON THE rugby front my
suggested R240 Rugby 5
permutation last weekend in The
Odds was successful, with three
winners collecting just over
R2 000.
This week’s pool includes the
new-format Super rugby fixtures.
In the match between the Kings
and the visiting Sharks, I do like
the Sharks to win by 13 points or
more. The other local game
between the Stormers and Bulls
in Cape Town should be tight and
here I like the home win. But I’m
not sure about the margin.
In the Six Nations games in the
pool, I think Scotland will travel
to Italy and win, while England,
at home, should overcome
Ireland. But both promise to be
tough games.
SELECTIONS: R240 permutation
for the Rugby 5 Pool 1 on
Saturday 27 February:
M1 = 4, 5; M2 = 1, 4, 5; M3 = 4, 5;
M4 = 1, 2; M5 = 1, 2.
Rich pickings for punters
THERE are great opportunities
for horseracing and soccer fans to
win big with TAB this weekend.
The SA Triple Crown for threeyear-olds, Africa’s richest series
of races, gets into top gear at
Turffontein tomorrow with the
running of the alternative first
leg, the R1-million Betting World
Gauteng Guineas over 1 600m.
The other first leg, the Grand
Parade Cape Guineas, was won by
Noah From Goa at Kenilworth in
December.
Predictably enough, Noah From
Goa is sitting out tomorrow’s
contest but will contest the
second leg of the Triple Crown —
the R2-million SA Classic at
Turffontein in early April.
The R2-million SA Derby on
Champions Day at Turffontein on
April 27 is the final leg.
The Pick 6 pool on tomorrow’s
Turffontein meeting kicks off
with a R1-million carry over and
that should result in a total pool
of about R4-million.
Brazuca is 28-10 favourite with
Betting World for tomorrow’s big
race, with Abashiri and
Champagne Haze joint second
favourites at 9-2 ahead of New
Predator (11-2) and Suyoof (7-1).
Tomorrow’s Soccer 13 pool
starts with a carry over of more
than R6-million and can generate
a mega total pool of R32-million!
18 The Times Friday February 26 | 2016
SPORT
Mulenga looks to put his career back onside
TSHEPANG MAILWANE
Classified: 011 280 3147
[email protected]
Legals: 011 280 5553
[email protected]
2290
Legal Services
my family I am seeing a psychologist and I am working hard
with a personal trainer to be fit.
“I need to make the best of
what’s left of my career.”
Mulenga, who was on trial at
Orlando Pirates recently, is hoping to make his debut for bottomof-the-table Swallows when they
take on promotion hopefuls
Milano United at Dobsonville
Stadium on Sunday at 3.30pm.
Swallows have lost six match-
es in a row, while Milano are on a
high after their win over Royal
Eagles moved them into fourth
place, seven points behind leaders Baroka FC with 10 matches
left to go.
“I hope I can play. I feel I can
do 60 to 70 minutes,” said Mulenga.
“Maybe we can try to win six
or seven games and we can survive. We just need to change our
attitude and fight for the team.”
Legal Notices
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THERE’S no denying that Clifford Mulenga is a talented player, but he has often been let
down by a lack of consistency
and discipline off the pitch.
National First Division club
Moroka Swallows, who need all
the help they can get right now,
have given the Zambian a
chance to resurrect his career.
“I feel like it’s an opportunity
to help Swallows stay in the first
division and a chance for me to
get my form back.
“Everywhere I go my reputation follows me and clubs do
not want to sign me.
“People say I am a womaniser
and a substance abuser, which is
not true.
“Yes, in the past I have broken
club protocol by going on drinking sprees and people used that
to punish me. But for the sake of
INSTANT CASH $
LOANS AGAINST
Cars, Gold, Diamonds.
In fact almost anything
of value.
WE PAY MORE
#274 Louis Botha Ave,
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From 5 March - 8 March
Contact 083 634 1778
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Johannesburg 011 391 1086
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Anyone / company with
objections to its
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the address below.
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0861 002472
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028THF
Liquidation
& Distribution
MR TEE: Donald
Trump hits a
ceremonial tee
shot on the first
hole at Trump
National in Doral,
Florida
Picture: DAVID
WALTERS/MIAMI
HERALD/MCT VIA
GETTY IMAGES
11170
LIQUIDATION AND
DISTRIBUTION ACCOUNT
IN DECEASED ESTATES
LYING FOR INSPECTION
In terms of section 35 (5) of
the administration of estates
Act No. 66 of 1965, notice is
hereby given that copies of
the liquidation and distribution account (first and final,
unless otherwise stated) in
the estates specified below
will be open for the inspection of all persons with an
interest therein for a period of
21 days (or shorter or longer
if specially stated) from the
date specified or from the
date of publication hereof,
whichever may be the later,
and at the offices of the
Masters of the High Court
and Magistrates as stated.
should no objection thereto
be lodged with the Master
concerned during the specified period, the executors will
proceed to make payment in
accordance with accounts.
Province: Western Cape
Estate Number: 27252/2014
Surname: Mattison
First names: James Harold
Keith
South African ID Number:
4106185107183
Last Address:
18 Evergreen Lane,
Constantia, Western Cape
Province
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BROEKMANNS
3rd Floor, The Piazza on
Church Square, 39 Adderley
Street, Cape Town, 80001
Email: steve@
broekmanns.co.za
Tel: 021 465-7474
028Q1N
Trump the bogey man
of the game of golf
JAMES CORRIGAN
THERE was a time when the
game of golf would head to
Doral in Florida in fear of the
course, aka the Blue Monster.
Not this year. It is the Hullaballoo Monster — aka Donald
Trump — causing all the trepidation.
Will Trump, as Doral’s owner, turn up at the WGC Cadillac
Championship next week?
If he does then Rory McIlroy,
Jordan Spieth and Co may as
well don curly wigs, red noses
and big bow ties because it will
become an utter circus. In
short, one of the sport’s biggest
tournaments will be turned
into nothing more than the latest staging point on Trump’s
election trail.
Never mind all the extra publicity, the PGA Tour would far
rather the billionaire stay
away. Last December, after his
declaration
that
Muslims
should be banned from entering the US, the Tour announced
it would be reviewing its future
association with Trump and
Doral immediately after the
conclusion of this World Golf
Championship.
In response, Trump made a
thinly veiled threat to sue,
pointing out there was a 10year contract in place.
Trump is bound to go much,
much further if he does rise to
his pulpit at Doral, because if
the last few months have told
us anything it is that he much
prefers to bite his rivals than
he does his tongue.
As the Newsweek writer Eamon Lynch put it: “For the PGA
‘
It’s like date
night with the
person you are
divorcing
Tour, next week is the equivalent of a date night with someone you’ve already served
divorce papers on.”
But maybe there is some
hope for the PGA Tour. When
talking about his extensive golf
portfolio last week, Trump
said: “I don’t care about that
stuff any more. It is like small
potatoes, right? I’ll let my kids
run it, have fun with it. I don’t
care about it. I care about making America great again.”
It is perhaps as much as the
game could possibly hope — he
has bigger to fish to fry. The
world’s loss could just turn out
to be golf’s huge gain. — © The
Daily Telegraph
Two women umpires to take to the field in World T20
Sunita Parbhoo on 011 280 3147
Email: [email protected]
THE International Cricket
Council has for the first time
included two women in its list
of umpires for the World T20
in India next month.
New Zealander Kathleen
Cross will make history when
she officiates at the PakistanBangladesh women’s tie in the
southern city of Chennai along
with India’s Anil Chaudhary
on March 16, the ICC said
yesterday.
Two days later Claire
Polosak from Australia will
stand in the New ZealandIreland women’s match in the
northern city of Mohali along
with India’s Vineet Kulkarni.
Cross, who has officiated in
Women’s World Cup
qualifiers, became the first
woman to be named in an ICC
umpires’ panel in 2014.
The pair will be part of a 31strong team officiating in the
World T20 which runs from
March 8 to April 3. — AFP
SPORT
Briefs
Aussie slum ban
angers Rio officials
THE Australian Olympic
Committee has upset Rio
officials by imposing a ban on
their athletes going to the city’s
favelas during this year’s
Olympic Games over security
fears. Team chef de mission
Kitty Chiller said the urban
slums would be off-limits to its
450 athletes, a move that
prompted Rio mayor Eduardo
Paes to reportedly claim “the
Australian committee has been
a source of aggressions to
Brazil”. Chiller defended the
decision on Wednesday, and
said the team looked forward to
the games. — AFP
Schweinsteiger
ready for Euro 2016
GERMANY captain Bastian
Schweinsteiger says there is
zero chance of him missing
Euro 2016, which starts on June
10, in France as the Manchester
United star recovers from a
knee ligament injury.
The 31-year-old has been
sidelined since the start of
January, but expects to be able
to begin running again in the
coming days at United.
“Unless the European
championships is suddenly
brought forward to the start of
March, then it looks good,”
Schweinsteiger told German
daily Bild. — AFP
Friday February 26 | 2016
The Times
19
Bullf ighter butterf lies
CHUMANI BAMBANI
THERE are butterflies in the bellies of the Stormers ahead of their
Super Rugby clash against the
Bulls at Newlands tomorrow as
both sides “begin new eras”.
Robbie Fleck, who had a number of memorable matches as a
player and assistant coach of the
Cape side, will take charge of his
first Super Rugby match as head
coach.
Apart from being humbled and
excited about the occasion of the
most hyped-up South African derby this weekend, the Stormers
coach admits to a swarm of butterflies having found home in his
stomach.
“It’s a massive honour for me.
It’s really humbling to be involved
in this sort of match. I can only
draw confidence from our preparation, how hard we have worked
and where we are — that gives me
comfort,” Fleck said yesterday.
“Obviously there are a few butterflies in the stomach, and
there’s a fair bit of expectation out
there. That is only natural because we know we play for a great
franchise, the players understand
it and we are all excited.
“Instead of trying to run away
from it, I’m really looking forward
to getting the season off [to a
start] and it’s even better that it’s
against the Bulls.”
While the Bulls will have as
many as six debutants for the
season opener, the Stormers will
by no means undermine their opponents.
Fleck has selected three players
who are yet to be tested at Super
Rugby level — flyhalf Robert du
Preez and replacements JD
Schickerling and Leolin Zas. The
rest of his squad is vastly experienced, with two Springboks,
Siya Kolisi and co-captain Frans
Malherbe, sitting on the bench.
“Frans is coming back from an
ankle injury which he sustained
two weeks ago and the feeling is
that he hasn’t had any game time
building up to this game. It’s the
right move to bring him off the
bench,” Fleck said.
“Siya has also been injured a
long time … that is the exact same
reason why we are not starting
him.”
Fleck believes that the loss of
‘
It’s really
humbling to be
involved in this
sort of match
Bulls flyhalf Handre Pollard to a
knee injury for the entire season
will give the Pretoria side added
motivation to do well.
“Pollard is a big loss but losing a
player like that can galvanise a
side. We all know that Pollard is a
quality player, so he is a loss.
Having said that, they are playing
an all-round game and they will
still be a formidable team,” said
Fleck.
His opposite number, Bulls
coach Nollis Marais, wants to put
the Pollard loss behind them.
“I think we should not focus on
Handre anymore, he’s not going
to be part of our season,” Marais
said. “Although he is a big loss for
us, I think [starting No10] Francois [Brummer] and [back-up]
Tian [Schoeman] are good rugby
players and we should give them
the space to flourish in that position.”
ý See TV highlights below for the
weekend’s Super rugby fixtures
Pakistan gets a
T20 green light
PAKISTAN yesterday gave
permission for the country’s
cricket team to play in next
month’s World Twenty20 in
India after fears that they
might withdraw due to
alleged security threats.
The Pakistan Cricket Board
chairman Shaharyar Khan
earlier this month raised
doubts over the team’s
participation, saying there were
specific threats from Hindu
activists, who forced the
cancellation of a meeting
between cricket officials from
both countries in Mumbai last
October. But the PCB said
yesterday it had received the
green light after seeking extra
security measures. — AFP
Fraudsters cash in on
counterfeit tickets
ATTRACTING a sellout crowd
to the Wanderers Stadium is a
sure money-spinner, but it has
in turn provided cover for
cricket’s dark underbelly.
One person was arrested and
charged with fraud for selling
counterfeit tickets at last
Sunday’s T20 clash between
South Africa and England at
the Bullring. The problem, it
would appear, is confined to
Johannesburg and, apart from
the sale of counterfeit tickets,
scalpers have also been cashing
in when the “sold out” signs go
up outside the Wanderers.
— Liam del Carme
LIFT AND MISS: Springbok lock forward Eben Etzebeth gets high with a little help from a friend during the Stormers training session at Newlands yesterday
Picture: ZIYAAD DOUGLAS/GALLO IMAGES
Naas on what the new Super rugby format has in store
FORMER Springbok flyhalf and
captain Naas Botha spoke to Liam
del Carme about the five burning
questions ahead of the new Super
rugby competition.
The new bonus points system
“I have always been in favour of a
system where a team gets a bonus
point when they score four tries
and one for each try they score
thereafter. That seems fair.
Argentina and Japan potentially
fielding their national teams
“I don’t think the Sunwolves will
field a team remotely close to their
national team. I spoke to (former
Pumas coach) Jimmy Stonehouse,
who is coaching over there and he
reckons at least four of the top clubs
have not made their players avail-
WTA Qatar Total Open semifinals 1&2 from
4.50pm on SS7
Saturday
Golf: PGA Tour The Honda Classic Day 3 from
8pm on SS1; Ladies PGA Tour Honda LPGA
Thailand Day 3 from 8am on SS6; European
Tour Perth International Day 3 from 7am on SS7;
Sunshine Tour: Eye of Africa PGA Championship Day 3 from 12pm on SS7
Rugby: Vodacom Super Rugby Round 1 - Sunwolves v Emirates Lions from 5.45am, Crusaders v Chiefs from 8.25am, Waratahs v Reds,
Force v Rebels from 12.45pm, Southern Kings v
Cell C Sharks from 2.55pm, DHL Stormers v
Vodacom Bulls from 5.05pm, all on SS1; Six
Nations: Round 3 - Italy v Scotland from 4.10pm,
England v Ireland from 6.35pm, both on SS6;
Top 14 Round 16 - Racing 92 v Castres
Olympique from 9.35pm on SS6
Soccer: Absa Premiership - University of Pretoria v Chippa United from 3.30pm on SABC1,
Orlando Pirates v Bloemfontein Celtic from
8.15pm on SS4; English Premier League - West
Ham United v Sunderland from 2pm, Leicester
City v Norwich City from 4.45pm, West
Bromwich Albion v Crystal Palace from 7pm, all
on SS3, Southampton v Chelsea from 4.50pm
on SS5, Stoke City v Aston Villa from 4.55pm on
SS8; Spanish La Liga - Real Madrid v Atletico
Madrid from 4.30pm on SS7, Sporting Gijon v
Espanyol from 7.10pm on SS5, Getafe v Celta
Vigo from 7.10pm on SS7, Real Betis v Rayo
Vallecano from 9.25pm on SS5, Real Sociedad v
Malaga from 11pm on SS3; English Football
The Championship - Wolverhampton Wanderers v Derby County from 2.45pm on SS5; Or-
able for the Sunwolves. That is a pity
because I really wanted to see how
they go. As for the Jaguares, I think
their inclusion will be good for their
rugby. Whether they will help make
the competition better we’ll have to
wait and see.
The convoluted new format
“It isn’t a very good format. To
make it fair on everybody they
should have divided the 18 teams
into two sections of nine. You can
play everyone in your section home
and away. What is the difference if
we have 15 weeks of league play or
17? The competition has to remain
fair. Can we say this one is?”
Best SA prospect
“ “I think the Sharks with the
Stormers will be our flag bearers.”
TV HIGHLIGHTS
Today
Golf: European Tour Perth International Day 2
from 7am on SS7; Ladies PGA Tour Honda
LPGA Thailand Day 2 from 8am on SS6; PGA
Tour The Honda Classic Day 2 from 9pm on
SS6
Rugby: Vodacom Super Rugby Round 1 - Blues
v Highlanders from 8am, Brumbies v Hurricanes from 10.35am, Toyota Cheetahs v
Jaguares from 6.30pm all on SS1; Six Nations:
Round 3 - Wales v France from 9.50pm on
SS1
Soccer: Spanish La Liga - Eibar v Las Palmas
from 9.30pm on SS3; English Championship Hull City v Sheffield Wednesday from 9.40pm
on SS5
Tennis: ATP World Tour 500 Dubai Tennis Championships Semifinals 1 & 2 from 2.55pm on SS6;
ange CAF Champions League - Mamelodi Sundowns v Chicken Inn from 8pm on SS9
Tennis: ATP World Tour 500 Dubai Tennis Championships Final from 4.55pm on SS2; ATP World
Tour 500 Abierto Mexicano Semifinal 2 from
6am on SS5,
Sunday
Basketball: NBA - Atlanta Hawks v Charlotte
Hornets from 10.20pm on SS6
Boxing: English Distribution LLC WBO Junior
Welterweight Title - Terence Crawford v Hank
Lundy (12 Rounds) between 4-8am on SS7
Cricket: Momentum One Day Cup Final - Cape
Cobras v bizhub Highveld Lions from 9.30am on
SS2
Golf: European Tour Perth International Day 4
from 7am on SS6; Ladies PGA Tour Honda
LPGA Thailand Day 4 from 8am on SS7; Sun-
shine Tour: Eye of Africa PGA Championship
Day 4 from 12pm on SS7; PGA Tour The Honda
Classic Day 4 from 8pm on SS1
Rugby: Aviva Premiership Rugby Round 14 Exeter Chiefs v Bath Rugby from 2.55pm, Wasps
v Harlequins from 5.10pm, both on SS1; Top 14
Round 16 - Toulouse v Montpellier from 5.05pm
on SS6
Soccer: Absa Premiership - Golden Arrows v
Platinum Stars from 3.30pm on SS4 and SABC1;
English Premier League - Man Utd v Arsenal
from 3pm on SS3, Tottenham Hotspur v
Swansea City from 3.55pm on SS5; Capital One
Cup Final - Liverpool v Man City from 6pm on
SS3; Spanish La Liga - Valencia v Athletic Bilbao
from 4.55pm on SS7, Deportivo La Coruna v
Granada from 7.10pm on SS7, Barcelona v
Sevilla from 9.25pm on SS3
9 771996 551005
04016
Stumped by scandal
Tsotsobe trains amid allegations
and denials of match-fixing
TELFORD VICE
LONWABO Tsotsobe, the latest
cricketer implicated in the ongoing
investigations into match-fixing
during last year’s Ram Slam T20
competition, is still training with
the Lions, coach Geoff Toyana has
confirmed.
Tsotsobe, who has not played
since December 4, protested his
innocence in an interview with an
Indian cricket website published
yesterday.
Toyana declined to
comment when asked
why Thami Tsolekile
was not practising
with the Lions. Calls
to Tsolekile’s cellphone number went
unanswered.
Both Tsolekile and
Tsotsobe have been
linked to the scandal in media
reports, though no evidence has
been brought against them publicly
as Cricket SA has declined to give
details of their investigation.
Former South Africa, Titans and
Lions player Gulam Bodi was
banned from cricket for 20 years
after admitting to his involvement
in match-fixing.
Lions CE Greg Fredericks said
yesterday that “we know absolutely nothing, but besides Bodi nobody
has been suspended”.
Meanwhile, Toyana hopes there’s
nothing crooked in left-arm spinner
‘
Aaron Phangiso’s bowling action
being declared suspect after the
One-Day Cup semifinal against the
Warriors at the Wanderers on
Wednesday.
Phangiso has 14 days to have his
action tested. The results will be
sent to a specialist approved by the
International Cricket Council,
which will have another 14 days to
decide
whether
Phangiso
“chucks”— which could see him
banned from bowling.
That would complicate Phangiso’s participation
in
the
World T20 in India,
which
starts
on
March 8. South Africa
play their first match
on March 18.
“Phangi has played
international cricket
for three years, and
for this to come up now is really
baffling,” Toyana said yesterday.
“When the match officials called
me to talk about his bowling action
I was really surprised. I’m just hoping there’s nothing behind it.”
If Phangiso was tested as late as
possible, on March 16, his fate
would only be decided by March 24
— after South Africa’s first two
group matches.
In any event, ICC sources said
yesterday the event technical committee would likely allow South
Africa to replace Phangiso if he was
banned during the tournament.
NEW SIGNING
CRAIG RAY
LAST night, Lood de Jager
became the first lock since
Hennie Bekker in 1983 to be
crowned the South African
Rugby Player of the Year.
The 23-year-old Springbok is
also the youngest player to win
the award since 22-year-old
Bryan Habana claimed the
gong in 2005.
De Jager, who plays for the
Cheetahs, is only the third lock
to win the award since its
inception in 1977 — following
Moaner van Heerden (1977)
and Bekker.
De Jager edged out Damian
de Allende, Eben Etzebeth,
Schalk Burger and Jaco Kriel
for the top award.
“Personally I had an
unbelievable year with the
Springboks, although it was a
bit up and down for the team,”
said De Jager.
Another
problem:
Phangiso’s
action
‘suspect’
TIYANI WA KA MABASA
BLOEMFONTEIN Celtic’s crisis
meeting about the team’s poor run
has left them ready to take out their
frustrations on Orlando Pirates tomorrow — so claims the club’s
midfielder Musa Nyatama.
“It’s been a frustrating time for
us, but we will go all out against
OTHER WINNERS:
Murtaza Ahmadi, a five-year-old fan of FC Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, in
Kabul, Afghanistan. Yesterday, courtesy of Unicef, he received a jersey
signed by the Argentinian striker
Picture: MAHDY MEHRAEEN/EPA
Celtic to take frustrations out on Pirates
Pirates,” he promised.
Phunya Sele Sele’s technical
team, players, management and
some supporters met on Monday
for a “heart-to-heart” meeting. This
was on the back of the club winning
Lood locks
onto SA’s
top rugby
award
just one of their last 15 matches.
Celtic are 12th on the log.
“We all promised to up our game,
to give 120%. Who thought Pirates
would be beaten by Free State Stars
the other day? Pirates are beatable
so anything is possible,” he said.
Pirates may have lost 1-0 against
Free State Stars nine days ago, but
their last match was a moraleboosting 3-1 win over Mpumalanga
Black Aces five days ago. And Bucs
ý Players’ Player of the Year Award: Jaco
Kriel
ý Currie Cup Premier Division Player of
the Year: Jaco Kriel
ý Team of the Year: Golden Lions
ý Coach of the Year: Johan Ackermann
ý Super Rugby Player of the Year:
Damian de Allende
ý Young Player of the Year: Jesse Kriel
ý SA Under-20 Player of the Year: Warrick
Gelant
ý Springbok Sevens Player of the Year:
Werner Kok
coach Eric Tinkler says “you are
only as good as your last game”.
“What is important is we are
distancing ourselves from the
teams at the bottom, which was our
first objective and now it is time to
try to secure our position in the top
eight,” Nyatama said.
ý See Page 19 for the weekend’s TV
highlights
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