Table of contents for Wednesday, December 23, 2020 in Post

‘STORY NEEDS TO BE TOLD’ Late chief justice’s work and life honoured NADIA KHAN nadia.khan@inl.co.za TWO books about the life and legacy of South Africa’s first democratically-appointed chief justice, the late Ismail Mahomed, were launched in Joburg recently. The biography, Ismail Mahomed – Liberating the Law, was launched at the Vodaworld Dome. A day later, the commemorative monograph (specialist work of writing), Law, Morality and Justice, Essays in Honour of Chief Justice Ismail Mahomed, was also released. This was in partnership with the SA Human Rights Commission and the National Awqaf Foundation of South Africa, at Constitutional Hill. The authors and editors of both books are Mohamed Enver Surty, a former deputy minister of basic education and minister of justice, and Quraysh Patel, a retired journalist and lawyer. Surty said…

DIES AT THE AGE OF 90 Tribute to traditional dancer NADIA KHAN nadia.khan@inl.co.za KOOMARASAMI “James” Gounden, a well-known therukoothu or six-foot dancer, has died at the age of 90. The father of four and grandfather of 13 died of natural causes last week at his home in Kharwastan, Durban. Gounden’s parents, who were indentured labourers, worked on a sugar cane plantation. The family lived in Inanda and they later relocated to Northdene, where Gounden learnt therukoothu in 1970. Therukoothu, a dance form in which an artist relays a story, originated in South India. Gounden’s daughter, Radha Narainsamy, said: “My dad met his teacher while in Northdene. He used to watch therukoothu while growing up in Inanda and he became interested in learning this dance form. He performed at various temple…

‘STILL NEED TO WORK ON OUR RELATIONSHIP’ Mom finds son after 34 years CHARLENE SOMDUTH charlene.somduth@inl.co.za KOGIE Perumal has been reunited with her son after 34 years and she is hoping to see her daughter soon. In 1986, her children were toddlers when they were taken away from her by child welfare services. Perumal, 56, was a single mother living in Motala Farm (now Motala Heights) in Pinetown. She left her children in the care of her aunt while she went to work as a machine operator at a carpet manufacturing company in the area. One day, child welfare staff allegedly received an anonymous tip-off that the children were being neglected and, without informing Perumal, employees removed them from the aunt's care. Perumal said that, as far as she knew,…

COVID-19 CONCERNS SA Muslims join call to end cremations in Sri Lanka NADIA KHAN nadia.khan@inl.co.za SOUTH African organisations are supporting Muslims in Sri Lanka protesting against forced cremations during the Covid-19 pandemic. Health authorities in Buddhist-majority Sri Lanka have said all Covid-19 victims must be cremated. This includes Muslims, who traditionally bury their dead facing Mecca. According to aljazeera.com, Muslims were outraged over the forced cremation of a 20-day-old baby who succumbed to the virus. Baby Shaykh was cremated in Borella in Colombo on December 9. The child was the youngest of 15 Muslims who were cremated. His dad reportedly said he could not gather the courage to witness his infant’s body being burnt. “I told them that I cannot go into a place where they are burning my baby,”…

THEATRICAL EXPLOITS Keeping up with the Zondo inquiry players PART 1 THE year of the new normal had as much impact on the state capture inquiry as it did on everything else. From an unscheduled long break in hearings, to witness no-shows and delays, calls for recusal against a “biased” Deputy Chief Justice (DCJ), Raymond Zondo, to media exposés and public high-profile arrests. The theatrical exploits of legal professionals before the commission also made it a wonder to watch, regardless of where on the political side of the coin you fall. Justice Zondo ended the year on December 11 with the testimony of erstwhile Eskom acting chief executive Matshela Koko, who enumerated, as had several other implicated witnesses, the faults of his investigation team in uncovering evidence. Koko called it…

MINORITIES HAVE BECOME THE SCAPEGOAT The city is driving division among the people who pay their bills NICOLE GRAHAM LEON LESTRADE African News Agency (ANA) 2020 was a difficult year for South Africans across the board. Many lost their jobs and struggled to make ends meet. Durban was particularly hard hit. eThekwini – even prior to the pandemic – had the highest indigent population of any South African metropolitan municipality. In plain language, this is the poorest of South Africa’s big cities. The corruption and inefficiency that has become common in this city has destroyed many line departments. Durban Solid Waste, Water and Sanitation and the Electricity Department are on their knees, unable to do the basics. Against the backdrop of a crumbling city, the ANC has reverted to what they…

Let’s hope for the best in 2021 AS THE clock winds down to the end of yet another year, we will look back and shudder at what a dreadful year 2020 has been. We were flying high and suddenly we were brought to the ground due to Covid-19. The virus left us bewildered and helpless. Though the vaccine has given the world some hope, the pain and the suffering of the virus will linger into the new year. While some First World countries, like the US and Britain, have already started vaccinating its citizens, we – a Third World country – have to wait a while. In the meantime, Covid-19 is wreaking havoc during the second wave. All we can do is try to put the year behind us and…

Let’s fulfil Mandela’s non-racial dream I AGREE with the letter, “See what Indian citizens have to endure”, (the POST, December 16-20) by Kevin Pillay. During apartheid, many Indian and coloured families endured the same hardships as our black brothers and sisters. My family lived in Sarnia in a mud house that was also occupied by a coloured and a black family. We used to get water from a pond that was 500m from our home. My mother worked as a maid and dad as a gardener for a rich white family who lived across the old Main Road. Due to the little income, my sister had to leave school at an early age so that she could work in a sack factory to sustain our family. I recall my mother…

Well done, Team POST IT IS end of the year and, without doubt, 2020 has been a significant and exceptional year. It is the year of the virus. With the challenging year coming to a close, it was definitely a busy year, coping with stressful situations and adapting to changes not only within the organisation but the increase of the pandemic. I would like to place on record my appreciation to the POST team who must be complimented for the responsible manner in which they have been compiling and ensuring we receive our wonderful paper every Wednesday morning. The POST has, over the years, become a distinguished newspaper that undoubtedly remains the voice and heart of our community. One of the responsibilities during this holiday season for us as POST…

HOW LONG BEFORE I GET SICK? Covid-19 basics explained SANJAYA SENANAYAKE Pexels.com YOU’RE probably inundated with news and messages about the coronavirus. But how do you know if you’re consuming evidence-based information or speculation and myth? There’s a lot we don’t know but here’s what the evidence tells us about the coronavirus, called Sars-CoV-2, and the disease it causes, Covid-19. How does it spread? Covid-19 is transmitted through droplets generated via coughing and sneezing. This means it can spread during close contact between an infected and uninfected person, when it’s inhaled, or enters the body via the eyes, mouth or nose. Infection can also occur when an uninfected person touches a contaminated surface. What are the symptoms? Covid-19 causes similar symptoms to the flu. Fever is the most common symptom,…

HOME CLEANING The right way to disinfect household surfaces ElizabEth MayhEw the washington Post Pexels.com BY THIS point in the coronavirus pandemic, most of us know how to properly wash our hands – wet, lather, scrub, rinse, dry – but we may be less clear on the proper way to sanitise the various surfaces in our home. And, like many aspects of our current situation, there is a lot of misinformation and hype about which areas of our home need vigilant attention. to get the hard facts on what to worry about at home, and what not to, i turned to three experts. to begin, we need to understand that most of us will not contract Covid-19 by staying at home. Joseph Vinetz, a yale medicine infectious disease specialist, said:…

Departed Kohli wants teammates to express themselves BAIDURJO BHOSE ANI Picture Supplied DAVE HUNT BackpagePix INDIA skipper Virat Kohli left Australian shores on Tuesday morning having handed over the mantle of captaining the Test team in the remaining three games to Ajinkya Rahane. As Kohli and Anushka Sharma are expecting their first child, the batsman requested the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for paternity leave. The BCCI obliged and Kohli was set to play only the pink-ball Test. Speaking to ANI, sources in the know of developments in the team said that Kohli left for India this morning after having had a meeting with his teammates and boosted their morales after what was a demoralising loss to Tim Paine's boys in the first game of the four-match…

ANOTHER RACE-BASED SALE eThekwini auction legal, say city bosses CHANELLE LUTCHMAN chanelle.lutchman@inl.co.za INDIAN, coloured and white South Africans will not be allowed to bid for vehicles at an auction that eThekwini will hold in March next year. On sale will be vehicles that the city impounded. City bosses believe there is nothing wrong in excluding minority communities. They say they are not breaking any of their internal rules and regulations. Krish Kumar, the chief financial officer at eThekwini, said: “We (the city) made it clear to exco. The head of SCM (supply chain management) made it very clear that we will be following clearly the actual principles outlined in the PFA and the BEE code. “So whoever is classified, including females and the disadvantaged, we will ensure that they are…

INSPIRED BY ROALD DAHL Magical journey with a talking panther NADIA KHAN nadia.khan@inl.co.za Supplied TERISHA Govender takes readers on a magical journey in her recently-released book, Clobet Valley – The Durbey Dancer. Govender has also designed a free-game, Clobet Valley War of Science, which is based on the book. Govender, 32, of Durban, who publishes under the name TG SHA, said the book was about a girl, Floza, whose father fell ill. She has to find a cure and has an encounter with a talking panther. “The panther, Edor, promises to present Floza with a cure. Floza goes to the city of Durbey. “She sees this new world is modern and hi-tech, and she discovers a new race of people. “Floza sees how science and magic are used to make…

HANDS WERE TIED BEHIND HIS BACK Tongaat man found dead in river CHARLENE SOMDUTH charlene.somduth@inl.co.za THE family of Hassan Ayob, who was found dead in a river in Burbreeze, believes he was killed. The body of Ayob, 24, of Tongaat, was found with various wounds, said his cousin, who did not want to be named. Although they were told he had drowned, his family believes he was killed. The cousin said Ayob, who was unemployed and lived with his brother, had left home at around 12.30pm on December 12 to go to the shop. “When he did not return, his family became worried and searched the area for him. They eventually returned home. The following day, two boys from the neighbourhood saw a body floating in the river. “They alerted…

STALLHOLDERS DISAPPOINTED Annual souk cancelled NADIA KHAN nadia.khan@inl.co.za THE Al Ansaar's Souk Trade Fair, which usually has 300 stallholders and attracts more than 80 000 visitors annually, has been cancelled because of the Covid-19 second wave. Stallholders, who hoped that the event would go ahead from December 24 to January 3 at the Durban Exhibition Centre, will now have to depend on alternate revenue streams. This year would have been the souk’s 24th edition. Jamshid Mohamed, who has a clothing stall, said he had bought stock to the value of R500 000. He ordered the clothing earlier this year from a supplier in China, and it was shipped to Durban. “Most of the stock would have been sold at the souk. Now I have to sell it wherever I can.…

GENERATORS, CONTROL BOX AND CABLES VANDALISED South Coast guest houses hit by water crisis THANDEKA MGQIBI thandeka.mgqibi@inl.co.za ACTS of vandalism and sabotage in the Ugu District Municipality on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast are causing water outages, affecting residents and the tourism industry. Residents have taken to social media to complain. Some owners of hospitality establishments shared their concerns with the POST. B&B owners said despite the pandemic, holidaymakers were booking in the area, but they feared these water outages posed a risk to their businesses. The owner of Sea-Spray Self Catering in Margate, who declined to be named, said 30 guests had booked in last Tuesday and had it not been for her quick thinking, they would have left. “There has been no water for about four weeks. When the…

GUIDELINES FOR 2021 Three hard truths 2020 has taught us – and three ways to build a better future IAN FUHR MOTSHWARI MOFOKENG African News Agency (ANA) Archives IT’S difficult to say what the long-term repercussions of 2020 will be. My hope is that even though we are still struggling through the emotional, physical and economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and are likely to feel these effects for months, if not years to come, that this year has also shone a spotlight on some of the most critical issues we have been facing as a society. Racial polarisation and systemic racism have been a blight on South Africa for over 300 years. It’s an issue I have actively worked against for more than 40 years, and this year racism…

Action speaks louder than words IT IS with interest that I read Fatima Moola’s well-penned opinion piece “No, Indian South Africans are not being left behind” (the POST, December 11-15) online. While the opinion piece offers food for thought, some of the assertions and statistics warrant further dissection. It cites Statistics SA’s (2006 to 2015) Gini Coefficient calculation, showing the coefficient having increased for the black population while remaining constant for the coloured population and having decreased for the Indian and white population segments. The decrease in coefficient was attributed to low population share and income share. The problem of using the Gini Coefficient to reflect prosperity or inequality within a population group is that it is a relative wealth measure and not absolute. It is a simple measure, and…

Mr Reddy, you blurt silly comments The letter “Stop race classification, we are Indian” by Visvin Reddy (the POST, December 16-20) refers. We have been classed Indian since 1860. In every job application, we are deemed Indian so what nonsense do you speak of that we are Africans? You once said “if Indians do not vote ANC, we must go back to India”. Your mother then begged the Indian community to forgive you for those comments. You then mentioned that a racehorse owner should be fined R50000 for alleged racial comments. Who, or what, gives you the right to demand that? Mr Reddy, you blurt silly comments and divert the conversation with propaganda nonsense. We are educated people. Fool those who fall for your nonsense. You speak of the economy,…

Do people care about our history? DURING a recent television interview with Selvan Naidoo, an author and curator at the 1860 Heritage Centre, he said not enough had been done to showcase and remind the present generation of the trials and humiliation of iconic golfer Papwa Sewgolum. This comment got me thinking. Though Naidoo’s efforts are honourable, will such an effort really make a dent in our youth? Does anybody want to know? Does anybody care? Does anybody appreciate what our forefathers suffered? If the majority of our people really cared to delve into history, they would find that it was not only black leaders, like Oliver Tambo, Nelson Mandela, or Steve Biko, who sacrificed to finally snap the chains of tyranny. It was also Indians. There were also some…

YOU HAVE TO MAKE THE CALL 3 things to ask yourself before you see someone JULIE LEASK Pexels.com IT’S difficult to adopt hard and fast rules with the advice changing so quickly. Government departments have put out detailed guidance but that won’t cover all situations. Experts in the public sphere will give different advice. The fact is, if there’s an activity you want or need to do and you’re not sure if it’s advisable, often you’ll have to make a call. After ensuring that it doesn’t breach public orders, your decision will need to be based on your assessment of the risks and benefits. Whatever activity you’re considering, it can help to first clearly list your options. For example, if I’m talking to a friend with children, we could organise…

SHOPPING TIPS Keep safe in the supermarket LENA CIRIC Pexels.com FOR many of us, grocery shopping is when we will come into contact with the highest number of people during the pandemic. the more people we encounter, the higher the risk of virus transmission. how do we keep safe when going to the shops? to become infected, a person needs to be exposed to a certain number of virus particles, but we do not yet know exactly what this number is for sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. you can be exposed to the virus by breathing it in, or by touching something with viral particles on it, and transferring it to your mouth, nose or eyes. When an infected person coughs, they produce lots of droplets which range in…

A gourmet New Year’s Eve menu Nilesh Sewnath, aka Chef Nilo, shares recipes you could easily whip up. Follow him on on social media: Instagram: @chefnilo, Facebook: Chef Nilo, Email: chefnilo13@gmail. com MEATY MAINS Nacho Angus Burger 200g Angus beef patty (or any patty of your choice) 1 lettuce leaf 2 slices of tomato 1 slice of red onion, to garnish the bun nacho chips sour cream 2 tsp store-bought salsa 2 slices of Cheddar cheese Add the sour cream, lettuce, tomato and red onion to the bottom bun. In a pan or grill, cook the burger. Add the Cheddar cheese, nacho chips and tomato salsa. Allow the cheese to melt for about two minutes. Set it on top of the bun, and garnish. Drizzle sour cream over the nacho…

Five day TV guide WEDNESDAY 23 DECEMBER Cricket: ANZ Bank Women’s Super Smash: Wellington Blaze v Auckland Hearts, 11.05pm, CRI, GSD (12.05am); Big Bash Twenty20: Brisbane Heat v Adelaide Strikers, 10.10am, GSD, CRI Rugby: Super Rugby Special: 25 Years , Celebration — 19:00 on RUG LIVE Super Rugby Special: 25 Years , Celebration — 19:00 on GSD LIVE Soccer: Carabao Cup, Quarter-finals: Stoke City v Tottenham, 7.20pm, EPL, SSM; Everton v Manchester United, 9.50pm, EPL, SSM; Serie A: Verona v Inter Milan, 7.20pm, FTB; AC Milan v Lazio, 9.35pm, FTB; Roma v Cagliari, 9.35pm, PSL; Napoli v Torino, 9.35pm, VR3; Bologna v Atalanta, 9.35pm, VR2; Sampdoria v Sassuolo, 9.35pm, ACT; La Liga Santander: Getafe v Celta Vigo, 6pm, LIG; Real Madrid v Granada, 8.30pm, LIG, GSD; Real Betis v Cadiz,…

Fishermen in hunt as Durban coast proves productive THE festive season is in full swing and the fishing has been picking up steadily. The closure of beaches is a small price to pay for a bit for safety. The dorado and tuna are keeping the game fishermen very happy with acrobatic displays and long runs. Live bait is scarce but worth the effort. The Durban coast has been very productive this past week. The weather is starting to behave a bit so planning trips has been easier than previously. If you are able to catch some live bait you are in the game. Unfortunately this is much easier said than done. A tip for tough times is to add a bit of bait onto the bait jigs. Use either a…

Hamilton rules BBC LEWIS Hamilton, pictured, was named BBC Sports Personality of the Year on Sunday, rounding off a remarkable year in which he became Formula One world champion for a seventh time. Hamilton, 35, beat off competition from Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson and jockey Hollie Doyle, who finished second and third respectively, to collect British sport's premier annual award for a second time after winning it in 2014. Hamilton won his fourth consecutive world title this year to match Michael Schumacher's record of seven crowns. Premier League champions Liverpool were named Team of the Year and their manager Jurgen Klopp won Coach of the Year. Manchester United and England forward Marcus Rashford won the Expert Special Panel Award for his school meal campaign. | Reuters…

Weird and wonderful sums up season so far AS a whole, 2020 has been a strange year and this has extended to the Premier League. Weird and wonderful things have been happening since the start of the 2020-21 season. After losing 7-2 to Aston Villa in October, Liverpool appeared to be a shadow of the team that they were last season. The Reds have since regained their composure. As things stand, they are top of the league and will be favourites to retain their title. They showed that they have regained their confidence with a victory over Tottenham Hotspur last week and then followed that up with a 7-0 mauling of Crystal Palace on Saturday. During the past few weeks, Liverpool trailed Tottenham in the standings due to goal difference.…

LOCAL ISSUES Each story teaches a lesson NADIA KHAN nadia.khan@inl.co.za Supplied KRISH Govender, a former teacher, recently released his book, South African Short Stories for Young Readers. Govender, 50, a businessman of Musgrave, said the book was targeted at grades 6 and 7 pupils, and focused on local issues that affected South Africans. The former maths and computer science teacher, who has a Master’s degree in business science, said: “This book comprises five short contemporary stories. One is titled Young Environmentalist and it is about a group of children who form an environmental club. “Another is called Cellular Phone. It is about a high school pupil who is dependent on his phone, and his life is turned upside down when he misplaces it.” Govender said there was a lesson to…

‘HE LOST HIS LIFE AND WE LOST OUR WORLD’ Family still waiting for justice after killing JANINE MOODLEY janine.moodley@inl.co.za KEEGAN Naidoo, the Durban businessman who was shot outside an uMhlanga cocktail bar last year, would have celebrated his 41st birthday last Friday. His family instead celebrated his birthday on a group call. Naidoo’s sister, Malashnee Naidoo, who lives in Australia, said they sang the Happy Birthday song and recited a prayer. “After we did this, a rainbow appeared outside our window in Sydney. I know he was around.” Malashnee said Keegan had looked forward to his birthday every year and would spend the day at their parent’s home in uMhlanga. “He was devoted to his family. We still believe he is around and my mother still cooks for him regularly.…

UNTRADITIONAL DISPLAYS UNVEILED Nativity scene takes on a new meaning AN UNTRADITIONAL nativity scene on display in the centre of St Peter’s Square at the Vatican has been criticised by many social media users. According to the website cruxnow.com, Monsignor Timothy Verdon, director of the office of sacred art for the Archdiocese of Florence, Italy, and director of the Florence cathedral’s museum, said: “This is not the sweet, warm nostalgia that Christmas usually generates. But even in this intimate area of our religious lives, we have to grow in unexpected ways.” He said adding an astronaut was part of tradition, and that in Naples, political figures and pop stars were included. “Not only shepherds and kings go to the manger, but all humanity makes that pilgrimage in one way or…

DILEMMA FOR RELIGIOUS GROUPS Vaccine pork gelatin claim THE Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine, which is alleged to contain pork ingredients, has caused concern among Orthodox Jews and Muslims. The consumption of pork products is prohibited in both religions. In October, Indonesian diplomats and Muslim clerics reportedly went to China to secure doses of the vaccine. “While the diplomats were there to finalise deals to ensure millions of doses reached Indonesian citizens, the clerics had a much different concern – whether the Covid-19 vaccine was permissible for use under Islamic law,” reported www.businesstoday.in Pork-derived gelatin has been widely used as a stabiliser to ensure vaccines remain safe and effective during storage and transportation. While some companies had worked for years to develop pork-free vaccines, the ingredient was likely to continue to be…

Editor’s View 2021 will be challenging and rewarding THERE are many people who can’t wait to see the end of 2020, in the belief that the new year will be a better one. But, as the idiom goes, be careful what you wish for. South Africa will enter 2021 in the grip of a second Covid-19 wave. The virus has mutated and appears to be more contagious. The number of people infected with the virus is fast reaching a million. But let us put that number into perspective. In March this year, Dr Zweli Mkhize, our Health Minister, warned that 60 to 70% of our population of about 50 million people will get the virus at some point. That means a lot more people will get infected in the new…

stalwarts scared to speak about unjust laws THE story “Racist and Dangerous” (the POST, December 9-11), refers. Those anti-apartheid stalwarts, who were critical of the Park by the Pozie initiative, are themselves being “racists, destructive, decisive and dangerous”. Irrespective of who initiated the concept, the organisers were chastised instead of the primary objective being highlighted. The initiative is about the economic and intellectual marginalisation of a community, shipped by colonial capitalists about 160 years ago. I find it strange that the mouths of the group were closed when successive ANC governments passed apartheid-style laws shutting out selected minorities from participating in the economy and being denied jobs because of the race-based quota system. The group is scared to speak out against glaring unjust, divisive and dangerous laws in a country…

Counter-productive comments sparked initiative THE Park by the Pozie initiative was advertised on social media and street lamp-posts. However, the amount of traction it gained remains to be seen. Fundamentally, the intention of this initiative is to highlight the financial muscle of the Indian community in KwaZulu-Natal, which is touted to be the biggest concentration of Indians outside of India. However, this is debatable as some are saying that there are more people of Indian origin in Britain than in KZN. There has been a backlash against this initiative with assertions that the Indian community is polarising themselves against the majority. With any initiative, there are bound to be diverse viewpoints – with people for and against any plan of action. Statements posted on social media alluding to the point…

Trailblazer professor wins John Maddox Prize 2020 PROFESSOR Salim Abdool Karim, an epidemiologist and infectious diseases specialist, and Dr Anthony Fauci, a US infectious disease expert, have jointly been awarded the John Maddox Prize 2020 for standing up for science during the coronavirus pandemic. Professor Abdool Karim is a man who is passionate about science. He is strong-willed and has a singular vision of how things should be done. His contribution may prove to be the most consequential life science of the 21st century. He is inspirational, courageous and principled with intellect and an ability to communicate clearly and effectively. Both men pioneered an essential service in the face of a virus that carries a psychological and social impact every bit as significant as its physical toll. Professor Abdool Karim…

LONG RECOVERY TIME Diabetes patients at increased risk AFTER several global health studies linked diabetes with Covid-19, India’s health experts last week stressed that diabetes lowered the immunity and increased the risk of infection. The experts said Covid-19 worsened with co-morbidities. Studies indicate that people with diabetes suffer from worse outcomes, have a high risk for severity and a long recovery time. According to the doctors, when a person suffers from diabetes, it does not simply affect the body’s blood glucose levels but also compromises the insulin production levels. People with high blood sugar have a less than normal blood flow, which makes it difficult for the body to harness nutrients, natural defences meant to protect the body against several infections and promote healing. Dr Atul Luthra, the head of…

Your stars PRISCILLA GENDRON Aries (March 21 – April 19) You feel as if you have to make big decisions and they might not all flow like you want. Take a step back and ensure you are headed in the right direction with future projects. Lucky colour: brown. Taurus (April 20 – May 20) Now is the time to take a long hard look at the things that have not worked in your life, make changes that are going to benefit you in the long run and make a difference to you and your family in the long-term. It’s time to make the changes needed in your life. Lucky colour: yellow. Gemini (May 21 – June 20) It’s all about the heart for you this week and spending time with…

Nobby’s brain injury caused by heading ball A DOCTOR looking into possible links between football and dementia has said England’s World Cup-winning midfielder Nobby Stiles, who died aged 78 in October, suffered severe brain damage from repeatedly heading the ball. Stiles, who played on the World Cup winning team in 1966, had been diagnosed with dementia, as were several of his teammates including Jack and Bobby Charlton. Stiles’ family said they had donated his brain to a study led by neuropathologist Willie Stewart. “He told us the damage to my dad’s brain was very severe and could only be explained by him heading the ball over a sustained period,” Stiles’ son John told the Daily Mail. “It confirmed what he’d believed for a long time.” Stewart said “brain injury and…

Too many chiefs in cricket’s annus horribilis STUART HESS stuart.hess@inl.co.za SAMUEL SHIVAMBU BackpagePix CRICKET South Africa’s annus horribilis ended with the federation having its third acting chief executive officer at the helm in 2020. Nothing speaks more to the instability and dysfunction that has beset that organisation than that particular figure – three. Cricket SA started the year with an acting CEO in charge, in Dr Jacques Faul, a hasty appointment made by the then Board of Directors after Thabang Moroe – the incumbent since 2017 – was suspended in the wake of his disastrous decision to revoke the accreditation of five journalists in early December 2019. The fallout was dizzying. Besides Moroe’s suspension, three independent directors resigned from the board, then a non-independent director resigned in January. On the…

March D-Day for Lions tour to get thumbs up MIKE GREENAWAY mike.greenaway@inl.co.za SHAUN ROY BackpagePix IN March, the South African Rugby Union in conjunction with the British & Irish Lions will make a call on whether the much-hoped-for tour goes ahead, and at this point, only the optimistic will bet that it comes to pass. As we stand as 2020 draws to a difficult close, the Lions are due to arrive in SA midway through June and play their first match on the first weekend of July, and the realistic will be wondering what the chances are of Covid-19 no longer being a threat in SA as well as Britain and Ireland in just six months' time. Will it all have really gone away by June next year … and…