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2012-08-23 22:33

(File)

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Sex workers part of HIV national plan

Reaching out to sexworkers as a population vulnerable to HIV is part of the country’s strategic health plan, says SA National Aids Council CEO Fareed Abdullah.

• Mugabe says census will reveal Aids toll
• US hands over Aids project to SA
• Massive Aids funding shortfalls expected
• Target on track of 15m on Aids drugs

Durban – The Treatment Action Campaign has asked the Public Protector to investigate the procurement and ongoing use of a device used to perform medical male circumcisions in KwaZulu-Natal.

“The TAC’s complaint was sent to the Public Protector on 2 August and we have received acknowledgement of receipt,” TAC provincial chairperson Patrick Mdletshe said on Thursday.

The TAC has laid a complaint about the use of the Tara Klamp (TK) which is used to perform medical circumcisions on adolescent and adult men in the province.

“The TK is a dangerous device. It has specifically not been approved by the World Health Organisation because it failed in the only clinical trial conducted to test its safety,” Mdletshe said.

The TK is a plastic device which is clamped over the foreskin of a man’s penis for seven to 10 days until the foreskin falls off. Sometimes, the device has to be surgically removed.

The TAC said the TK was used only in KwaZulu-Natal, as all the other provinces had rejected it.

Using TK cost R120 more per circumcision than the standard surgical method, Mdletshe said.

A man who did not want to be named, and who was circumcised using the TK, said that before the procedure, his penis had not been measured when it was in an erect state.

“At about 03:00 in the morning, when I get my erection, it becomes very painful as my penis size increases,” he said.

The TAC said it had expressed its concerns to the provincial government in 2010, but had said it would conduct its own investigation.

“In January 2012, we received a draft document outlining the research carried out. However the methodology of this research was so poor it provided no evidential value regarding the safety of the TK,” Mdletshe said.

Trials of the TK on adults in Orange Farm showed that it was unsafe.

The trials revealed that there was a 32% infection rate using the TK compared to the zero percent when using the forceps guided method (FGM), which was the standard surgical method.

The complication rate when using the TK was 37% compared to 3% using the FGM.

According to the TAC, no tender had been published for the procurement of the TK.

“The TK was purchased from a supplier with links to government, rather than a competitor offering a low price,” Mdletshe said.

The KwaZulu-Natal premier’s spokesperson Ndabezinhle Sibiya said the government had held several meetings with the TAC on the issue.

“The premier, Zweli Mkhize, was engaging with its stakeholders including bodies from the health professional such as the National Health and Medical Research Council and the Medicine and Control Council.

“As government, we want to ensure the programme of circumcision is carried without endangering anyone,” Sibiya said.

The government had circumcised more than 100 000 men and the process was overseen by qualified health profession, he said.

“Government will respond to the specifics of the TAC complaint in due time. We are committed to deal with the concerns raised by the TAC,” Sibiya said.

A team led by health MEC Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo had been assembled to address the TAC’s concerns, he said.

- SAPA

2012-08-23 22:32

The 16-year-old suspected of murdering a Griekwastad family is led into the town’s court where his bail application is being held. (Emile Hendricks, Volksblad)

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Kimberley – The State will seek to prove three murder charges against a 16-year-old boy accused of murdering a Northern Cape family, the Griekwastad Children’s Court heard on Thursday.

This was revealed by prosecutor Hannes (JJ) Cloete during argument in opposition to the teenager’s bail application.

Northern Cape farmer Deon Steenkamp, 44, his wife Christelle, 43, and their daughter Marthella, 14, were shot dead on their farm Naauwhoek on 6 April.

Court cases involving children are usually heard in camera, but a Media24 application to attend the proceedings was granted by Magistrate OS Mazwi, from the neighbouring town of Groblershoop.

He also agreed to allow two reporters from each newspaper present to sit in on the case, on condition they adhere to normal Child Court restrictions and in no way identify the boy, or publish information which could identify him.

Cloete told the court the Director of Public Prosecutions intended charging the boy with three counts of premeditated murder.

He said the offences were schedule six crimes, which, according to the Criminal Procedure Act, required an accused to prove exceptional circumstances existed warranting the granting of bail in the interests of justice.

There should be clear evidence to support these exceptional circumstances, Cloete argued.

The boy’s lawyer Willem Coetzee called two witnesses in support of the bail application.

The first testified that he and his family were looking after the boy.

The witness said he and the boy had an open relationship, but that he did not know the boy’s feelings about the case.

The boy was doing well at school and was in no position to interfere with the State’s case, the witness said.

He said it would be good if the boy could keep his life as close to normal by attending school again.

He had a strong support system with his family and at school.

“It’s important that he continues to finish school,” the witness said.

A social worker, with a private practice, testified that he was treating the boy. He said it would be in the boy’s best interest to keep him in a stable environment such as school, and with family support.

The State argued, during cross examination of the first witness, that it would not help anybody to shy away from the truth.

Cloete agreed that the boy would not be able to interfere with State witnesses or evidence, but said the court had an obligation to consider the boy’s fellow pupils.

The State submitted that it had a strong case against the boy, but did not give details.

Cloete said there was convincing evidence that the boy murdered the Steenkamp family in cold blood.

He submitted that the investigator in the case would testify that nobody’s safety could be guaranteed if the boy was granted bail.

It would not be in the interests of justice for him to get bail, he said.

The application continues.

2012-08-23 10:33

Google has set out to take users of its free online mapping service on an Arctic adventure with help from an Inuit community in the Canadian tundra. (AP)

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Cambridge Bay – Google set out to take users of its free online mapping service on an Arctic adventure with help from an Inuit community in the Canadian tundra.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper joined the effort as the internet titan’s Street View team arrived in the hamlet of Cambridge Bay in the Northwest Passage for one of its most remote projects to date.

“The goal of this project is to share with a global online audience the beauty of Canada’s Arctic and the culture of the Inuit people who live there,” said a Google team member.

Google spent 11 months planning the mapping endeavour with Nunavut political leaders and elders in Cambridge Bay in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.

“People are always asking how we live; how we survive,” Cambridge Bay elder Anna Nahogaloak said in a Kitikmeot Heritage Society interview.

“They’re always asking about everything,” she continued. “This will help them understand and learn more about Nunavut.”

Local knowledge

Nunavut is Canada’s northernmost territory and was officially separated from the Northwest Territory in 1999.

Nahogaloak recalled being 10 years old when her family travelled by dog sled from Brownside River in 1958 to Cambridge Bay, where they built a cabin and became part of the small community.

She recounted how many of the dogs starved along the way because game was scarce and that her father was a trapper and fisherman.

The Street View project began with a “Map Up” at which residents ranging from teens to elders worked on laptop computers to enhance the online map with local knowledge from roads and rivers to the community freezer and a stone church.

“I think that it is important for the Inuit people to contribute to the maps,” Nahogaloak said. “The land is everybody’s land. We all share it.”

Google map software supports the local Inuktitut language.

A Street View trike equipped with gear to capture 360° images was scheduled to be pedalled through the town and portions of the nearby tundra on Thursday.

Street View teams have cycled, driven and walked through cities and towns around the world capturing images to add to online maps, letting people see what it might be like to stand at a spot they are curious about.

London – Prince Harry has returned home to Britain.

The 27-year-old royal landed back in the UK shortly before 16:00 on Wednesday, hours after naked photographs of him partying in a Las Vegas hotel room on Friday were published on the internet.

The army helicopter pilot had no comments to make about the pictures, but friends say he is feeling “fairly bullish” and doesn’t regret his wild antics, though his family are said to be upset.

One source said: “He’s not eating an awful lot of humble pie as I understand.”

Another told the Daily Mirror newspaper: “Some members of the royal household are dismayed about these pictures. But Harry is like any other young man who likes to go out and party with his friends, it’s just that with him it gets more attention.

“He is just letting off steam ahead of what will be a very important next phase in his military career.”

Shocked by Harry’s antics

The incident is believed to have happened after Harry and his pals Tom ‘Skippy’ Inskip and Arthur Landon met some women in their hotel bar and invited them to their suite to play strip billiards.

Though the group had a lot of fun, even their new pals were said to be shocked by Harry’s antics.

A source told The Sun newspaper: “The prince and his gang started the night with dinner. They were then drinking in the hotel bar when they met the girls and invited them up to their room to carry on the party.

“Everyone was drunk and they were playing a game of strip pool. Before long the prince was naked.

“The girls were having fun and thought he was a nice guy but they couldn’t believe someone hadn’t stopped things going so far.”

VIDEO: YSTERbeth – Bok profile

2012-08-22 22:35

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela (File, Sapa)

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Johannesburg – Criminal charges have been dropped against two policemen involved in an altercation with Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and her bodyguards, trade union Solidarity said on Wednesday.

The charges were withdrawn by the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court.

“Solidarity will investigate the possibility of laying a charge of malicious prosecution against Madikizela-Mandela’s bodyguard Jacob Monare,” the union’s spokesperson Dirk Hermann said.

The altercation happened in 2010 when Warrant Officer Jannie Odendaal and Constable Abel Twala stopped Madikizela-Mandela’s car because it was reportedly being driven recklessly at 150km/h.

An argument ensued. Madikizela-Mandela’s bodyguards brought charges of pointing of a firearm and intimidation against the policemen. They were suspended with full benefits.

Hermann said the initial charges against Madikizela-Mandela and her bodyguards should be re-investigated.

Charges of obstruction of justice against Madikizela-Mandela, and of assault and reckless or negligent driving against Monare and the driver were dropped by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), said Hermann.

“The NPA dropped the charges against them in 2011, while Odendaal and Twala were prosecuted,” he said.

The two policemen had appeared in court on numerous occasions, but the case was postponed because the docket was not available.

The senior State prosecutor decided to withdraw the charges against them on Wednesday.

“We are now investigating the possibility of charging Monare with malicious prosecution because of the possibility of political interference,” said Hermann.

The NPA in Johannesburg could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.

Cape Town – Free Sate Cheetahs scrumhalf Sarel Pretorius says the Cheetahs’ style of play suits his game far more than at the Waratahs in Australia.

He had a troubled season at the Australian outfit in this year’s Super Rugby competition, and was dropped from their 22-man squad for the last few games of the tournament.

But “Super Sarel” – who was Super Rugby Player of the Year at the Cheetahs last year – is relishing a return stint with the Bloemfontein side.

“I feel like my old self again and it’s nice if the coaches back you. It’s nice to be back and it doesn’t even feel as though I’ve been away. It was a learning curve over there (Australia),” he told Volksblad.

He feels the No 9s are forced to play too much of a structured game in Australia.

“The Waratahs play a lot with the forwards and the scrumhalf only has to do the basic things well.

“Actually, he only needs to be a link between forwards and backs. At the Cheetahs the game plan suits me better.”

Pretorius is also up against his former Currie Cup team-mates when the Cheetahs take on Griquas in Kimberley on Saturday. He’s halfback partnership with fit-again Johan Goosen is surely an exciting prospect for many a running rugby fan.

The clash in Kimberley kicks off at 15:00 on Saturday.

Teams:

Griquas:

15. Willie le Roux, 14. Jannie Boshoff, 13. Stefan Watermeyer, 12.  Walter Venter, 11. Rocco Jansen, 10. Francois Brummer, 9. Jacques Coetzee, 8. Leon Karemaker, 7. Justin Downey, 6. Wesley Wilkins, 5. Martin Muller, 4. Ligtoring Landman, 3. Lourens Adriaanse, 2. Ryno Barnes (captain), 1. Steph Roberts

16. Matthew Dobson, 17. Janro van Niekerk, 18. Ivann Espag, 19. Frikkie Spies, 20. Chase Minnaar, 21. Marnus Hugo, 22.  Marnitz Boshoff

Free State Cheetahs:

15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Rayno Benjamin, 13 Robert Ebersohn (captain), 12 Barry Geel, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Kabamba Floors, 7 Lappies Labuschagne, 6 Frans Viljoen, 5 Andries Ferreira, 4 Izak van der Westhuizen, 3 Marcel van der Merwe, 2 Hercu Liebenberg, 1 Trevor Nyakane.

Substitutes: 16 Elandre Huggett, 17 Schalk van der Merwe, 18 Francois Uys, 19 Davon Raubenheimer, 20 Tewis du Bruyn, 21 Sias Ebersohn, 22 Nico Scheepers.

2012-08-22 22:35

Hippo (File, AFP)

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Cape Town – Residents in Zeekoevlei, in Cape Town, have been asked to keep a look-out for a renagade young hippopotamus which is popping up in gardens and roads after moving into a lake there.

City officials are hoping the 2-year-old calf will return back to its pod after appearing in an unfenced reserve following the theft of part of the boundary fence in the neighbouring water body where it lives.

“The night before last he was in peoples’ gardens, obviously there were lots of people out,” Julia Wood, manager of Biodiversity Management told AFP.

“And then last night somebody picked him up on one of the roads.”

The city will monitor the animal for two weeks but is considering capture or darting if he does not leave Zeekoevlei.

“The public is advised to be particularly cautious, as hippos are known to be extremely dangerous wild animals,” the city said in a statement, urging residents and users of the lake not to approach the animal or stop it.

“This could lead to dangerous encounters and may potentially prolong the capture operation by influencing the animal’s behaviour. Motorists in the area of Zeekoevlei should be cautious.”

The animal is believed to have followed a female hippo who gave birth. The new mother and baby returned to their usual ground but the young hippo, whose sex is unknown, remained behind.

The city has six hippos in the False Bay Nature Reserve and residents have been asked to report any sightings.

2012-08-22 10:37

A source has confirmed the launch date of the next-generation iPhone. (AP)

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Cape Town – As speculation mounts about the new iPhone, a source has apparently confirmed the device’s launch date.

TechCrunch reported that a Verizon employee indicated the next generation of Apple’s mobile phone will launch on 21 September.

While Apple fans are expecting the company to deliver an updated iPhone, Samsung has extended its lead in the smartphone market, selling 90.4 million mobile phones during the last quarter, an increase of 29.5% compared to the same three-month period a year earlier, according to market-tracker Gartner Research.

Smartphone sales have been booming and companies have targeted Asian markets that are rushing to adopt the devices.

While Apple remains popular in developed markets, it has been on a downward trend in China, analysts have said.

“Apple isn’t going to rule China, simply because of the limited models they have and the price points they target,” said TZ Wong, an analyst with IDC.

Cheap smartphones that sell for less than $200 have made up over 40% of sales in China.

“The sweet spot of affordability in China is $130 – $240,” said Michael Clendenin, managing director of Shanghai-based consultancy RedTech Advisors. “The ‘Lao Bai Xing’, or man in the street, is going to go for these mid-tier phones.”

Apple will look to existing customers to upgrade their iPhones to help boost sales as the company also fights lawsuits from Samsung and Motorola on patent infringement.

It is unclear whether Apple will name the new device the “iPhone 5″ or just “iPhone” as it did with the latest iPad.

London – England coach Andy Flower believes Kevin Pietersen must reveal the content of his controversial text messages if he wants to salvage his international career.

South Africa-born Pietersen was left out of the England side that lost their world number one Test ranking to the Proteas with a 51-run loss at Lord’s on Monday after sending what he admitted were “provocative” texts to South African players.

It has been alleged the texts contained derogatory remarks regarding England Test captain Andrew Strauss.

Although he has apologised, Pietersen’s failure to furnish the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) with the detail they want did not help his cause, as he was dropped despite a brilliant 149 in the second Test at Headingley.

He was also omitted from the squad named on Tuesday for next month’s World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka, despite being the player of the tournament when England won the tournament in the Caribbean two years ago.

“There are a number of outstanding issues to be resolved,” said Flower.

“An example of that would be finding out exactly what these text messages contained, if we do really want to move forward either way,” the former Zimbabwe batsman added.

“I’m not sure of exactly the best way to investigate it. I think it’s always nice to have a large element of up-front honesty.”

But Flower was cautious as to whether Pietersen had played his last match for his adopted country, after earlier attempting to seemingly dictate when he played for England and in what format before making himself available again for all matches.

“I would rather not speculate on that,” he said. “He (Pietersen) was speculating on it during a Test series — so I suppose there is a chance. There are certain behaviours that are unacceptable and I think we’ve seen some of that just recently.”

Flower insisted England, whose next Test series comes during a tour of India later this year, could regain their number one status even without Pietersen, whose average of nearly 50 is the mark of a truly world-class player.

“English cricket has a great history — and it has a great future,” Flower said. “It is bigger than any one player. You will always move on from anyone — whether it be a captain, a coach or a player.

“I think the most important thing is that we do the right thing for England cricket. That’s how we will make our decision.”

Meanwhile senior paceman James Anderson said the rest of the side would take their cue on the whole controversy from Strauss.

“Straussy has got so much respect as a captain and a leader,” said Anderson. “We very much respect his decisions — and we will back him to the hilt with whatever he and the ECB decide.”

And Flower was confident that although Strauss’s 100th Test had ended in defeat, he was not about to step down from the captaincy.

“He’ll come back. He’s a strong bloke and he’ll come back feeling very strong. We will definitely be plotting our challenge.

“We want to get back to number one. We’ve got a tough outing first up in India, of course — but that’ll be exciting.”