The virus has killed at least 971 677 people since the outbreak emerged in China late last year, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP. More than 31.6 million cases have been confirmed.
The United States is the worst-hit country with 200 818 deaths, followed by Brazil with 138 108, India with 90 020, Mexico with 73 348 and the United Kingdom with 41 825.
Europe cases top five million
Europe has recorded more than five million infections, according to official sources, with a total of 5 000 421 cases now registered.
More than half of these were in Russia, followed by Spain, France and the United Kingdom.More than 380 000 new cases were reported in the past week, the highest number in the region since the start of the pandemic.
US-China spat
US President Donald Trump casts blame for the pandemic on China in an address before the United Nations, whose chief warns against a new “Cold War” between the two world powers.
Trump attacks Beijing and the UN for not stopping the disease and even uses the loaded term “China virus”.
China’s ambassador to the UN, Zhang Jun, tells reporters that Trump’s tone was “incompatible with the general atmosphere” of the world body.
“If we do have to hold anyone accountable, it should be the United States held accountable for losing so many lives with their irresponsible behaviour”, he says.
Stricter measures for Paris
The French government prepares to announce stricter measures for Paris, where infections have exploded since an end to lockdown.Ministers will hold two meetings – including one of the defence council – during the day to analyse the worsening situation.
Anti-flu drug
The maker of anti-influenza drug Avigan says it will apply for the medication to be approved for treating coronavirus patients after trials show it can shorten recovery time.
Manufacturer Fujifilm Toyama Chemical says its phase three trial in Japan, which began in March, is now complete.
The successful applicant will take responsibility for the overall financial functioning of the business and play a key role in ensuring that the organisation operates within its budgets. Specific duties include:
• Planning, implementation and management of the company’s financial strategy (in collaboration with the CEO and senior management team) • Implementation and maintenance of policies and procedures • Oversee company’s fiscal activity, including budgeting, forecasting, reporting and auditing • Identify and address financial risks and opportunities • Advise on long-term business and financial planning • Analyse company’s liabilities and investments • Ensure compliance with all financial regulations and legislation • Personnel management (provide leadership and direction to the finance and accounting team)
Requirements:
• Qualified Chartered Accountant (other post-graduate qualification e.g. MBA will be beneficial) • Proven experience as financial analyst / financial manager • Professional knowledge of corporate financial law / corporate governance and risk management practices • Excellent knowledge of data analysis and forecasting methods • Ability to strategize and solve problems • Strong leadership and organisational skills • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills • Ability to work under pressure
Solutions Architect & DevOps Specialist: Manufacturing Service Bus in East London | Other General Employment | Job Mail | 4958552
This site uses cookies. By browsing this site, you agree to our use of cookies. Read more about our use of personal information on our Privacy Policy. x
Developing and operating IT applications which support the production flow within the factories. One of the key projects is the “MO IoT Platform”, a shopfloor IT data ingestion and analytics platform. This platform is confirmed for all major MO production plants worldwide as well as for some additional plants at Daimler Trucks.
The Job Requirements:
IT Knowledge:
Deep knowledge and experience in software design, platform design and application operations.
Very good knowledge in recent IT base technology and trends (Docker, Ansible, ElasticSearch, Kafka, MQTT brokers, REST APIs)
Experience with test automation and CI/CD build/deploy pipelines
Experience with Server to Server and Client to Server communication interfaces (REST, MQ, MQTT, Kafka)
Good IT base knowledge (Linux, XML, JSON, data modeling, handling large amounts of data)
Client Web Application development (Switch, React, MaterialUI)
A will to share experience and work on detailed documentation
Administration/Configuration/Management of Web- and Application Servers
Personal skills:
Outputs:
Close collaboration with the CoC members in architectural enhancements of the MO IoT Platform.
Enhancement of and integration in the overall end-to-end CI/CD process chain, bringing the platform to the “true North Star” level.
Packaging, Distribution, Operations and maintenance of key components within the MO IoT Platform, such as:
Supporting the overall DevOps process chain with test automation (in Junit, Jmeter,), configuration and deployment management (Jenkins/Bamboo, Ansible).
Working on the evolution of the “next generation plant IoT platform” together with the CoC in Sindelfingen (moving towards a kubernetes cluster).
Development and Support of a “web toolkit” to provide an easy-entry for new IoT/Analytics use cases (e.g. Switch GUI with ElasticSearch integration, OIDC support, etc.)
Evaluation and consideration of an API management tool
Rahul Tewatia (Rajasthan Royals official Twitter account)
India’s Rahul Tewatia smashed five sixes in one over as Rajasthan Royals completed the Indian Premier League’s highest-ever run-chase against Kings XI Punjab on Sunday.
Tewatia, a leg-spin bowler and left-hand batsman, hit the ball over the fence seven times as he made 53 off 31 balls as Steve Smith’s Royals, set 224 to win, reached 226 with four wickets and three balls to spare in Sharjah.
Smith hit a quickfire 50 and Sanju Samson top-scored with 85 before Tewatia took the Royals to within one run of Kings XI’s 223 for two.
“I was not hitting the ball well initially, I saw in the dug-out, everybody was curious as they know that I can hit the ball long,” said Tewatia, who was promoted to number four but struggled at first, scoring eight from 19 balls before he cut loose.
“It was a matter of one six. After that, I got going. I hit five in an over and it was amazing.”
Tewatia, who has played seven first-class matches, hit West Indies quick Sheldon Cottrell for five sixes – four in a row – in the 18th over to turn the tables at the Sharjah cricket ground, which has short boundaries.
Tewatia finally fell to paceman Mohammed Shami on the last ball of the 19th over but Jofra Archer, unbeaten on 13, and Tom Curran, who hit the winning boundary, saw the Royals home. The previous best chase of 215 was also by the Royals, against the Deccan Chargers in 2008.
Tewatia’s innings eclipsed Kings XI opener Mayank Agarwal’s maiden IPL century in a 183-run opening partnership with skipper KL Rahul, who made 69.
Agarwal smashed 106 in 50 deliveries, hitting 10 fours and seven sixes.
Royals were jolted early in their chase when opener Jos Buttler fell for four in his first IPL outing of the season following his quarantine time.
An eye-catching outfield save by Kings XI’s Nicholas Pooran to stop a six from Samson stood out in the run fest.
Pooran defied gravity to reach a big hit from Samson going for rope, flicking the ball back inside the playing area while still in mid air.
FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATOR (DURBANVILLE) in Western Cape | Other Finance/Accounting | Job Mail | 4916166
This site uses cookies. By browsing this site, you agree to our use of cookies. Read more about our use of personal information on our Privacy Policy. x
Locum Post Basic Assistant in Kwazulu-Natal | Pharmacist | Job Mail | 4970072
This site uses cookies. By browsing this site, you agree to our use of cookies. Read more about our use of personal information on our Privacy Policy. x
Siya Kolisi (captain) of the Stormers challenged by Andre Warner of the Lions during the SuperFan Saturday match between Emirates Lions and DHL Stormers at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on September 26, 2020 in Pretoria, South Africa. (Photo by Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images)
Power trumped guile as the Stormers kept the Lions at bay to record a 34-21 win in the two sides’ Super Fan Saturday meeting at Loftus on Saturday night.
In a match where both sides used the final half-hour to field new combinations, the Capetonians’ starting forwards laid the foundation, delivering a typically robust performance.
Frans Malherbe, subject to ridicule from some quarters on social media for packing a few extra kilos after lockdown, only played 34 minutes initially but produced an exemplary scrumming performance.
He then came on late again to stabilise things.
It was his influence that went a long way to throwing the Lions off their stride, who normally pride themselves on holding their own at that set-piece, as well inspiring his teammates in the pack – notably No 8 Juarno Augustus and lock JD Schickerling – who were anyway expected to shade the tight exchanges.
Ironically, the Lions’ early try was an indication of how they would initially struggle to obtain front-foot ball, with scrumhalf Andre Warner doing well to keep his head from a disintegrating scrum and allowing flyhalf and skipper Elton Jantjies to launch a splendid cross-kick for Courtnall Skosan on the wing.
But that lead didn’t last long as the Stormers turned on the screws, simply not allowing their opponents to gain any foothold.
Their defence was also outstanding at times.
They were also helped by the Lions’ astonishing penalty count of 11, which came to a head with lock Marvin Orie’s yellow card for repeated team infringements.
Centre Dan du Plessis pounced on a bullet of a Damian Willemse pass to score the Stormers’ first try, which was followed by hooker Scarra Ntubeni’s score from a maul.
Seemingly weary from their opponents’ physicality, the Lions allowed two soft tries for skipper Siya Kolisi, who produced a disdainful hand-off on Warner to score on the half-time hooter, before new Stormers recruit Warrick Gelant, full of enterprise at fullback, skilfully ran at two front-rowers to scythe through a seemingly non-existent gap.
There was a momentum shift once the Lions brought on their “second XV” and the Stormers sacrificed their powerful Bok-laden combo for a more nimble one.
Tries for wing Jamba Ulengo and flanker MJ Pelser put the Gautengers back in contention but were thwarted by a large deficit as well as the ball-poaching skills of replacement opensider Nama Xaba.
The Stormers eventually sealed their win with a late try for halfback Paul de Wet.
Point scorers:
Lions
Tries: Courtnall Skosan, Jamba Ulengo, MJ Pelser
Conversions: Gianni Lombard (2), Elton Jantjies
Stormers
Tries: Dan du Plessis, Scarra Ntubeni, Siya Kolisi, Warrick Gelant, Paul de Wet
President Cyril Ramaphosa has sanctioned defence minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula for giving an ANC delegation a ‘lift’ to Zimbabwe on an airforce jet.
Ramaphosa said her salary for the next three months would be paid to the Solidarity Fund.
He said it was an “error of judgment” for the ANC delegation to be given a lift on an airforce jet.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has cracked the whip, reprimanding and docking three months salary from defence minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula pver the ANC junket to Harare on an airforce jet earlier this month.
In a statement late on Saturday, the presidency said that starting from November, Mapisa-Nqakula’s salary for the next three months would be paid to the Solidarity Fund.
“The President has further sanctioned the Minister by imposing a salary sacrifice on the Minister’s salary for three months, starting from 1 November 2020. Her salary for the three months should be paid into the Solidarity Fund, which was established to support the country’s response to the coronavirus pandemic,” the statement noted.
Ramaphosa took it a step further, indicating why he has taken tough action against the minister for her “error in judgment”.
“He (Ramaphosa) found that the Minister did not ‘act … in the best interest of good governance’ as required by the Executive Members Code, failed to adhere to legal prescripts warranting care in use of state resources (and) acted ‘in a way that is inconsistent with [her] position’ as required by the Code,” the statement noted.
An ANC delegation led by party secretary-general Ace Magashule flew to Zimbabwe on the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) dime, for a meeting with the ruling ZanuPF.
“The President furthermore directed the Minister to make sure that the ANC reimburses the state for the costs of the flight to Harare and to report to him once that has been done,” the presidency said in its statement.
Ramaphosa’s office said he considered two reports from Mapisa-Nqakula on the matter and found that it was “an error of judgment to use the plane to convey a political party delegation”.
“The President said that this error of judgment was not in keeping with the responsibilities of a Minister of Cabinet”.
Ramaphosa wrote to Mapisa-Nqakula reprimanding her saying that while he appreciated that the ANC had committed to pay back the cost of the flight, it was still an error of judgment which he took seriously.
“In his letter of reprimand to the Minister, President Ramaphosa said he appreciated that the ANC had committed to reimburse state resources spent in excess of those the Minister would have incurred for her approved travel to meet her Zimbabwean counterpart. However, the sanction imposed on the Minister demonstrated the seriousness with which the President viewed the Minister’s error of judgment, given her high position in government”.
The controversial flight is subject to two complaints before the public protector.
The DA has meanwhile estimated that the ANC would have to pay around R260 000 for the flight with the delegation including Magashule, Mapisa-Nqakula, Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu, Nomvula Mokonyane, Enoch Godongwana, Tony Yengeni and Dakota Legoete.
The City of Cape Town’s residents reportedly experienced tremors on Saturday night after, according to the US Geological Survey, a slight earthquake was felt in certain parts of the city.
The US Geological Survey issued an advisory on Saturday night, in which it warned to exercise caution in the coming hours “after a magnitude 6.2 offshore earthquake struck at approximately 19.10 (local time) on 26 September”.
A few hours after the advisory, several residents reported experiencing a tremors.
Ward Councillor Angus McKenzie also stated that he experienced a tremor at his house, which lasted for about 10 seconds.
The City’s Disaster Risk Management noted reports from numerous suburbs of a tremor that was experienced, however, the City said was not in a position to provide comment until it was confirmed by the South African Council for Geoscience.
The Disaster Risk Management – in a statement on Saturday – did confirm that at this stage the tremor did not appear to cause any impact on infrastructure of public safety.
I felt like an earthquake in Cape Town just now. Almost fell off my bed, it was that strong !!
As masks are becoming mandatory all over the world, authorities have asked people to use homemade cloth masks instead of single-use surgical and N95 masks that are needed by medical staff.
Face coverings from all materials and shapes are being used. And while all face coverings offer a measure of protection against large and small respiratory droplets, a team of researchers from the University of Cincinnati wanted to examine the efficacy of different household fabrics.
The study, which was recently published in the journal PLOS ONE, wanted to determine what practices would be most effective in practice. The researchers examined cotton, polyester and silk by their resistance to the penetration of small and aerosolised water drops.
They also investigated the breathability of the fabrics, and how they would fare if they were washed repeatedly. In the laboratory, they used the materials as an overlaying barrier for respirators, as well as face coverings. The team then looked at the penetration and absorption of droplets – and observed that silk faired the best, both as a barrier and in terms of breathability.
“Cotton traps moisture like a sponge. But silk is breathable. It’s thinner than cotton and dries really fast,” said Patrick Guerra, an assistant professor of biology at UC’s College of Arts and Sciences.
It’s not only the fact that silk is dense and breathable that made the researchers take note.
Silk contains elements of copper from silk moths, which could contribute to fighting bacteria and viruses. Studies have shown that copper can kill bacteria and has antiviral properties.
Death and disease have been one of the hallmarks of 2020, and Covid-19’s global impact will be felt for years, maybe even decades to come.
In one of the many ways it has changed our lives, it might also have shifted the trajectory of human life expectancy around the world according to research published in PLOS ONE.
In real life, as of 22 September 2020, there have almost been one million global deaths in total as a result of Covid-19, with the US in the lead followed by Brazil, India, Mexico and the UK.
South Africa has had almost 16 000 deaths, although global totals are expected to be higher due to limited testing and reporting, unknown factors surrounding asymptomatic spread, and the fact that countries have different methods and criteria for counting Covid-19 deaths.
“Previous epidemics such as the 1918 influenza pandemic and the 2014 Ebola virus outbreak resulted in a drop in life expectancy at birth of as many as 11.8 years and 1.6–5.6 years in the USA and Liberia, respectively,” explain the researchers.
“In severely affected countries, an unprecedented surge in mortality from Covid-19 may result in significant years of life lost.” This is especially true when you think of the number of other life-threatening diseases that have taken a backseat in the pandemic, and might contribute to the decline in life expectancy.
Unfortunately, figuring out by how much the current pandemic will shorten our lives isn’t easy. While it disproportionately affects older sections of the population, people of all ages are affected.
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has effectively disbanded government’s chief scientific advisory committee on Covid-19.
News24 has seen a letter sent to members of the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Covid-19 on Friday, dated 21 September, in which Mkhize expressed his “gratitude and appreciation” for the commitment and dedication of members.
“Your contribution has led to the containment of Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa and the reduction of mortality of the citizens of South Africa. The new members of the MAC will assume duty soon,” the letter reads.
The committee is chaired by Professor Salim Abdool Karim and was established early during the outbreak of Covid-19 in April to advise Mkhize.
Karim’s status as chairperson is unclear.
While it appears the entire 50-member MAC has been affected, at the time of writing News24 had confirmed that 14 members of the MAC had received letters, including South Africa’s Covid-19 vaccine trial leading researcher Professor Shabir Madhi, and CEO of the South African Medical Research Council Professor Glenda Gray.
The Gauteng provincial command council has noted a decline in new Covid-19 infections, but warned that the risk of transmitting the virus is still high as restrictions have been eased.
The country moved to Level 1 lockdown from Sunday at midnight.
“There has been a gradual but steady decline in [the] number of new infections and hospitalisations.
“Government and social partners continue to work hard to improve the capacity of the health care system to cope with the demand for hospital care now and post Covid-19,” the command council said in an update on Friday.
Despite this progress, residents of South Africa’s economic hub were reminded that the fight against the virus is far from over and the risk of transmission following the easing of restrictions still remains high.
The command council said: “There is still no vaccine, the only way we can contain the spread of Covid-19 is through non-pharmaceutical interventions. We all have to play our part to protect ourselves and those around us.”
France and the UK recorded their highest daily Covid-19 cases since the global outbreak began, and the EU warned that some of its countries now have worse outbreaks than they had in March.
Stella Kyriakides, the EU’s health commissioner Stella Kyriakides warned on Thursday that in “some member states, the situation is now even worse than during the peak in March.”
Taken together, the developments point to the feared second wave of the pandemic having arrived in Europe.
There are differences from the first wave in spring. While infections have increased, the number of deaths has not risen so sharply.
Also, the ability of officials to test and keep track of the number of infections has increased, meaning that the daily figures are now a better reflection of how the virus is spreading.
In the first wave, testing systems were only able to capture a small portion of those infected.
British grocery chains Tesco and Morrisons have started rationing essential items over fears that stricter lockdown measures will send shoppers into a panic.
Supermarkets limited sales of certain goods earlier in the pandemic, and Morrisons became the first major grocer to reintroduce these measures when it said on Thursday that customers could only buy three of certain products. These included pasta, soup, hand wash, and hand sanitiser, as well as multipacks of toilet paper and kitchen roll.
One checkout worker at Morrisons who wished to remain anonymous said customers had been stocking up on canned food and toilet roll. They described their store was “worse than a bad Christmas, it was horrible.”
Tesco imposed its own three-item limits on Friday morning for flour, dried pasta, toilet rolls, baby wipes, and anti-bacterial wipes, the grocer confirmed to Business Insider. The limit extends to a small number of products online, such as rice and canned vegetables, it added.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced stricter lockdown measures on Tuesday, including a 10 p.m. curfew for pubs and restaurants, and extending the use of face masks. Officer workers were also told to work from home wherever possible.
Social media users began posting images of empty shelves on Monday, when rumours of the stricter measures began to emerge, and toilet paper sales rose 23% in the week to Tuesday, The Guardian reported.
HEALTH TIPS (as recommended by the NICD and WHO)
• Maintain physical distancing – stay at least one metre away from somebody who is coughing or sneezing
• Practise frequent hand-washing, especially after direct contact with ill people or their environment
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth, as your hands touch many surfaces and could potentially transfer the virus
• Practise respiratory hygiene – cover your mouth with your bent elbow or tissue when you cough or sneeze. Remember to dispose the tissue immediately after use.
