Day: September 8, 2024

The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC) has congratulated the Springboks on their 18-12 triumph against the All Blacks.

‘Congratulations Bokke! Mzansi is very proud!’ the department said in social media post on X.

Saturday’s win at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town is a second consecutive win for the Springboks against New Zealand in the 2024 Castle Lager Rugby Championship.

‘The Boks outscored New Zealand by two tries to zero, clear proof of their eventual dominance, but they will be the first to admit that it was not the way they planned to execute the game plan. Like at Emirates Airline Park last weekend, the All Blacks led at the break, this time 9-3, but they could not maintain that, while a second yellow card by the visitors late in the game cost them dearly,’ SA Rugby said in a match report.

The win saw the Boks clinch the Freedom Cup for the first time since 2009.

‘It was also the Boks’ fourth win in a row over the Kiwis, the first time they achieved this in the professional era, and as a re
sult, they won back the Freedom Cup for the first time since 2009.’

Meanwhile, the Springbok Women were also in action on Saturday, winning their match against the Barbarians Women’s side in Cape Town.

The Springbok Women claimed a 59-17 victory over their opponents.

In Friday’s match against Uganda, the men’s national football side Bafana Bafana drew 2-2 with their counterparts in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier at Orlando Stadium.

‘Uganda had thought that they were on the cusp of a famous victory in South Africa, but debutant Thalente Mbatha had other ideas and snatched the precious equaliser deep in the referee’s optional time to ensure a sharing of the spoils,’ said the South African Football Association (SAFA) in a statement.

In a post of X, DSAC Minister, Gayton McKenzie commended the team for their fighting spirit.

‘Thanks for the great fight back Bafana Bafana ! You didn’t leave us heartbroken,’ said the Minister adding that the team’s performance ‘made us jump for joy’.

Sourc
e: South African Government News Agency

Since hitting northern Vietnam on Saturday afternoon, Typhoon Yagi has resulted in nine deaths and 186 injuries, according to the country’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on Sunday morning.

The fatalities caused by the typhoon, the most powerful storm to strike the region in the past 30 years, include three from the coastal province of Quang Ninh, one from the northern province of Hai Duong, one from the port city of Hai Phong, and four from the northern province of Hoa Binh.

Among the injured, 157 are from Quang Ninh, 13 from Hai Phong, 10 from Hanoi, five from Hai Duong, and one from Hoa Binh.

As of Sunday morning, 25 unmanned vessels, mainly fishing boats, in Quang Ninh were sunk by large waves and strong winds.

Many areas in Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Thai Binh, Hai Duong and Hanoi have faced blackouts as the typhoon damaged some transformers and transmission lines.

The typhoon has also wrecked nearly 3,300 houses, 121,500 hectares of rice and other crops, more than 5,000 hectares of frui
t trees, and over 1,000 aquaculture cages in the northern region, the ministry said.

Natural disasters, mainly storms, landslides and floods, had left 111 people dead and missing in the Southeast Asian country since early this year until Aug. 5, the highest number reported for the same period in five years, according to the National Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control. Enditem

Source: The Namibia News Agency

Warner Bros. Pictures’ comedy horror film “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” dominated the North American box office with an estimated three-day cume of 110 million U.S. dollars on its opening weekend, data from the measurement firm Comscore showed on Sunday.

It’s the second biggest opening weekend ever in North America in the month of September. The film also took in over 35.4 million dollars internationally for a global debut of 145.5 million dollars.

Directed by Tim Burton, the sequel to 1988’s box office hit “Beetlejuice” stars Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Catherine O’Hara reprising their roles alongside new cast members.

The film has earned an approval rating of 77 percent based on 243 reviews to date on the review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, and a “B+” on an “A+” to “F” scale from audiences polled by the market research firm CinemaScore.

In second place, Marvel Studios’ superhero film “Deadpool and Wolverine” showed staying power, pulling in 7.2 million dollars on its seventh weekend for a N
orth American cume of 614 million dollars.

Historical biopic “Reagan,” released by independent distributor ShowBiz Direct, landed in third place with 5.2 million dollars on its second weekend for a North American total of 18.5 million dollars through Sunday. Enditem

Source: The Namibia News Agency

The U.S.-British coalition launched late Saturday three air strikes on the eastern Ibb governorate in southern Yemen, Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported Sunday.

The airstrikes, which targeted the Maytham area east of the Ibb governorate, came about two hours after Yemen’s Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said they had shot down a U.S. MQ-9 drone over the northeastern Marib province.

The drone was “carrying out hostile acts” when it was intercepted, marking the eighth of its kind shot down by the armed group “in victory for the oppressed Palestinian people and in response to the American-British aggression against Yemen,” Sarea added.

The U.S. side has yet to confirm either the airstrikes or the drone incident.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Central Command said Friday on X that its forces had destroyed two Houthi anti-ship cruise missiles, a Houthi ground control station, and an uncrewed Houthi boat in the Red Sea in the past 24 hours.

Since November last year, the Houthis have targeted Israeli-linked ships to
show solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

In response, the U.S.-British naval coalition has conducted regular air raids and missile strikes against Houthi targets to deter the group since January. Enditem

Source: The Namibia News Agency

South Africa is contributing to a situational analysis on vulture conservation across the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region which will inform a SADC Vulture Strategy.

In a statement on Saturday, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment (DFFE) said the initiative is part of the Second State of Protected and Conserved Areas (SOPACA) Report, demonstrating the collaborative efforts of multiple stakeholders working together to ensure the survival of vulture species and the continued provision of their essential ecosystem services.

‘The goal is to reduce and ultimately stop the intentional poisoning of vultures and to work alongside traditional medicine practitioners to promote sustainable practices that will aid in the conservation of these vital species.

‘Education efforts aimed at communities will continue, highlighting the critical ecosystem services and health benefits provided by vultures while fostering a deeper understanding of their cultural significance,’ it said.

T
he department’s comments come as South Africa joined the global community in commemorating International Vulture Awareness Day (IVAD). The day is observed annually on the first Saturday of September.

IVAD seeks to raise awareness about the vital role vultures play in ecosystems and the urgent need for their conservation.

According to the DFFE, vultures are ecologically significant birds that are facing numerous threats, putting several species at risk of extinction.

‘In recognition of their critical role in maintaining healthy ecosystems, International Vulture Awareness Day serves as a coordinated global effort to spotlight the conservation of vultures and the crucial work being done to protect them.’

Decline in vulture population

The African continent is home to 11 of the 15 species of Old-World vultures, with South Africa hosting nine species, seven of which are currently threatened with extinction.

These include the Bearded Vulture and Cape Vulture, which nest on cliffs, as well as tree-nesting speci
es like the Hooded Vulture, White-backed Vulture, Lappet-faced Vulture, White-headed Vulture, and Palm-nut Vulture.

‘Notably, the White-headed, Hooded, and White-backed Vultures are listed as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Vultures are indispensable to the environment, acting as nature’s cleanup crew by swiftly and efficiently disposing of carcasses. This service prevents the spread of disease and contributes to the overall health of

ecosystems.

‘However, over the past 30 years, African vultures have seen a dramatic decline due to factors such as poisoning, collisions with energy infrastructure, illegal harvesting for traditional medicine, and habitat loss.

The decline and threats faced by vultures vary across the continent. In Southern and East Africa, vultures often die after consuming carcasses intentionally poisoned by poachers targeting wildlife like rhinos and elephants or by those involved in human-wildlife conflict
.

In Southern Africa, vultures are also deliberately killed for use in traditional medicine and as a result of direct persecution, often linked to the illegal wildlife trade.

‘Research indicates that the situation is critical, with vulture populations declining rapidly across Africa. The loss of vultures could lead to serious ecological and public health consequences, such as the spread of disease from unprocessed carcasses and increased human-wildlife conflict, including the rise in stray dog populations and associated rabies cases.

Additionally, the consumption of poisoned vulture body parts in traditional medicine poses a significant, yet underreported, threat to human health.’

National Vulture Task Force

In response to this crisis, the department established a National Vulture Task Force (NVTF), which developed a Multi-Species Biodiversity Management Plan (BMP) published for implementation in March 2023.

The BMP aligns with the recently published White Paper on Conservation and Sustainable Use of So
uth Africa’s Biodiversity and emphasises the shared responsibility of conservation among various stakeholders, including traditional leaders, health practitioners, communities, and civil society.

Source: South African Government News Agency