(55%) More than half of working South Africans earn less than R10,000 a month - those earning 50 000 -100 000 per month grew with 24.5%

Image by: Siphiwe Sibeko / Reuters 

The average South African's disposable income had declined for the first time since January.

BankservAfrica head of corporate reputation Michael Rubenstein said the average disposable salary came in at R12,224 in August.

It was slightly lower than July but remained 6.1 percent up on a year ago.

"The BDSI shows that real salary increases are once again becoming constrained," he said.

It was time to tighten the belt even more.

Economist Mike Schüssler said the total value of salaries saw an increase of just over seven percent to R44.8 billion.

According to the BDSI the number of people receiving between R50,000 and R100,000 in disposable income per month grew by 24.5 percent year-on-year.

The next highest category, between R25,000 and R50,000, grew by 18 percent.

People receiving less than R4000 in their bank account grew by 10.8 percent.

However, the largest category, those earning between R4000 and R10,000, declined by nearly 2.5 percent year-on-year.

Schüssler said people earning between R4000 and R10,000 per month now made up 2.6 percent of the total, while those earning between R10,000 and R25,000 made up 35.3 percent of the sample in the BDSI.

Those earning between R25,000 and R50,000 was estimated to be 8.1 percent and those taking home over R50,000 up to R100,000 1.5 percent of the total BDSI. People earning below R4000 reflected just over 13 percent.

"More people are earning higher salaries, while the bottom end of the middle class -- those earning between R4000 and R10,000, is de-populating," he said.

"It is also quite clear that the growth in the number of accounts receiving over R10,000 is growing in double digits."

He said that although the BDSI did not include people earning over R100,000, it was interesting to note that this category had grown by 27.2 percent in August year-on-year.

"The trend of more people entering the higher income brackets is partly due to above-inflation increases within these categories," Schüssler said.

Boko Haram fighters 'surrender' as alleged chief killed

The military says Mohammed Bashir was an imposter posing as Boko Haram's leader Abubakar Shekau

More than 260 Islamist militants have surrendered in north-eastern Nigeria, the military has said.

Soldiers had also killed a man who featured in Boko Haram's propaganda videos pretending to be the group's leader Abubakar Shekau, it added.

Last year, the military said that Shekau may have been killed, without providing any proof. 

Boko Haram has suffered heavy losses in recent weeks in battles in its stronghold of north-eastern Nigeria. 

The military said that 135 Boko Haram members surrendered with their weapons in Biu, Borno state, on Tuesday - and that 133 others surrendered elsewhere in north-eastern Nigeria.

'Eccentric character'

The BBC's Will Ross in Lagos says that the claims are impossible to verify.

However, if they are true, it could be a major turning point for the army's campaign against Boko Haram militants, our correspondent adds.

The kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls in April sparked a worldwide campaign for their release

The government is under pressure to secure the release of schoolgirls abducted in April

General Chris Olukolade of the Nigerian military said that a man named Mohammed Bashir was among those killed in the latest offensive against Boko Haram last week. 

Bashir "had been acting or posing in videos as the deceased Abubakar Shekau, the eccentric character known as leader of the group", he said.

'Foreign-backed'

Gen Olukolade did not give further details.

In a statement in August 2013, the military said intelligence reports indicated that Shekau "may have died" in a shoot-out with government forces at a Boko Haram camp in the vast Sambisa Forest, along Nigeria's border with Cameroon, about two months earlier. 

Boko Haram's insurgency has caused much destruction in north and central Nigeria

But Nigerian journalist Ahmad Salkida, who has good contacts in Boko Haram, says on on his Twitter account that he has it "on authority that Shekau is well and alive".

He said he met Shekau during a failed attempt to negotiate the release of 200 schoolgirls who were abducted by Boko Haram in April.

Who are Boko Haram?

• Founded in 2002
• Initially focused on opposing Western education - Boko Haram means "Western education is forbidden" in the Hausa language
• Launched military operations in 2009 to create an Islamic state
• Thousands killed, mostly in north-eastern Nigeria - but also attacks on police and UN headquarters in capital, Abuja
• Some three million people affected
• Declared terrorist group by US in 2013

Who are Boko Haram?

Profile: Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau

Since the abduction, which caused international outrage, a man purporting to be Shekau has appeared in videos, taunting the military and declaring the establishment of a caliphate in areas controlled by Boko Haram. 

Speaking at the United Nations Security Council meeting, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan urged the council to find more ways to combat the militant threat.

"Evidence has shown that Boko Haram is sourced largely from outside our country," he said.

"Only by united action and firm resolve can we check this urgent threat to humanity and also build the enduring structures that will resist their re-emergence."

"Boko Haram" means "Western education is forbidden" in Arabic, and the group frequently attacks schools and colleges, which it sees as a symbol of Western culture.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch says more than 2,000 civilians have been killed in the region this year.

World Health Organisation: Ebola vaccine could be ready by year-end

(AFP)

Dakar - The World Health Organisation says a vaccine might be available in large enough quantities by the end of the year to help control West Africa's Ebola outbreak.

There is currently no licensed treatment or vaccine for Ebola, although scientists are testing two vaccines.

Ebola is believed to have sickened more than 5 800 people in five West African countries. This outbreak is the first to hit urban areas and it has been difficult to control by the traditional methods of isolating sick people and monitoring everyone they came in contact with.

Previously experts had said a drug or vaccine was unlikely to be ready in time to help in this outbreak. On Wednesday, WHO said projected year-end quantities of vaccines could be large enough to have some impact.

Reeva's mother writes book "Oscar Pistorius Trial"

Cape Town - Reeva Steenkamp's mother has written a memoir which has been described by its publisher as the only true insider's account of the "most dramatic trial of the 21^st century".

Die Burger reported on Friday that June Steenkamp's book Reeva: A Mother's Story will be published in November.

The publisher, UK-based Little, Brown Book Group, released the cover this week, saying Steenkamp will be in the UK for the launch.

'Painfully honest and unflinching'

The book will describe the events after Steenkamp received a phone call early on 14 February 2013 to say that her daughter had been shot dead by her boyfriend, paralympian Oscar Pistorius.

Pistorius was found not guilty of her premeditated murder, but guilty of culpable homicide after a lengthy trial.

"In this painfully honest and unflinching account of Reeva's life, she will talk about what really went on in her mind as she sat in the packed Pretoria court room day after day and how she is coping in the aftermath of the verdict," the publisher said on its website.

June Steenkamp will also describe what Reeva was like and her thoughts about the verdict.

In an interview shortly afterwards, June and her husband, Barry, expressed their disappointment that Pistorius had been found not guilty of murder, saying his culpable homicide conviction was not right.

Meanwhile, Pistorius's agent this week denied reports that Pistorius was planning to write a book to give his side of the story, saying there were no firm plans for a book at the moment.

Sentence - 13 October 2014

Fightings in Parliament

• Fights between members of Ukraine's opposition and the police broke out in Kiev as several hundred people protested against a bill on minority languages. YouTube/RT Source:

TB Joshua replies: Joshua read to the church a letter which he said was addressed to him by a Boko Haram member, confessing how he had attempted to plant a bomb inside the church.

 

First of all, Church Media Magazine send their condolences to those souls who perished after the incident, more especially with plus minus 67 South Africans involved.We say may this be a reason for churches to unite than ever before, and to God be the Glory.

The prophet made it clear that the collapse of the six-storey building at around 11.45am on Friday which led to the death of no fewer than 16 persons was a Boko Haram attack.

Joshua buttressed his claim by showing to his congregation on the Emmanuel TV the chronology of events shortly before and after the accident as captured by the church’s CCTV.

He said, “I received a phone call immediately I got here, just 10 minutes later when I was in the church, that there was a jet hovering over the mountain where I had just left. They said it was hovering at a close range. Before I knew it, I received another phone call that the same jet was now at the church hovering over the building, passing it four times at a very close range before the building collapsed.”

Joshua read to the church a letter which he said was addressed to him by a Boko Haram member, confessing how he had attempted to plant a bomb inside the church.

Joshua said his church was being attacked to scare away members.

“This environment at Ikotun Egbe, we have never witnessed an accident of a building collapse. This is a very stable terrain. I have been here for the past 30 years. I am pregnant with words, but we have left the security agencies to do their job. Let us believe and educate our people and be alive.”

Assuring his congregation that God would bring the perpetrators of the attack to book, Joshua said that the decision of the insurgents to focus on his church might be the end of the Boko Haram’s activities in the country.

He said,“I know you will ask why the church? It is because of the spiritual blessings that God has bestowed upon us. A big head wears a large hat.

“Don’t forget about the Ebola issue too, it was God that rescued the church. Probably they would have dropped an Ebola patient inside the church, so that they would said, ‘there is an Ebola patient in the church, don’t go there.’

“They are trying to scare you from coming to church. Don’t be scared, you are not the target, I’m the target. I know my time has not yet come. I have not yet finished my job.

“I want to assure you that our God will get back at them and you will know when he gets back to them. May be this would be the end of the whole thing.”

Media Statement from KwaZulu Natal Media Centre Corporate Communication South African Police Service

 

On Tuesday, 16 September 2014, members from the Durban Flying Squad Narcotics Team arrested a 33-year-old man for dealing in drugs in Chatsworth area. The members received information of alleged drug dealing in Silver Heights in Chatsworth. On arrival they saw a suspicious-looking suspect and they approached him. The suspect was searched and was found in possession of 32 straws of heroin, R960 in cash and a two-way radio. It is alleged that dealers and their runners are using private two-way radio communication to alert each other about police operations in the area.

The arrested suspect will be charged for possession of drugs and is expected to appear in the Chatsworth Magistrates’ Court soon. During the follow up investigation at the scene, members found another packet containing 19 pieces of cocaine with the street value of R1900.  

-End-

Media Enquiries:

Captain Zwane

Mobile:  071 683 6525

KwaZulu-Natal: Media Centre
South African Police Service
Corporate Communication
Tel: 031 325 6083/6084/6085
Fax: 031 325 6087
E-mail: kzn.mediacentre@saps.gov.za

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SAPoliceService
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SAPoliceService
Website: www.saps.gov.za

US deploys 3 000 as Ebola crisis worsens

A nurse disinfecting a doctor's protective gear at the French NGO Medecins Sans Frontieres ELWA hospital in Monrovia. (Zoom Dosso, AFP)

Washington - The United States announced on Tuesday it will send 3 000 troops to help tackle the Ebola outbreak as part of a ramped-up plan, including a major deployment in Liberia, the country where the epidemic is spiralling fastest out of control.

The US response to the crisis, to be formally unveiled later by President Barack Obama, includes plans to build 17 treatment centres, train thousands of healthcare workers and establish a military control centre for co-ordination, US officials told reporters.

"The goal here is to search American expertise, including our military, logistics and command and control expertise, to try and control this outbreak at its source in west Africa," Lisa Monaco, Obama's White House counter-terrorism adviser, told MSNBC television on Tuesday ahead of the announcement.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said it needs foreign medical teams with 500-600 experts as well as at least 10 000 local health workers. The figures may rise if the number of cases increases, as is widely expected.

So far Cuba and China have said they will send medical staff to Sierra Leone. Cuba will deploy 165 people in October while China is sending a mobile laboratory with 59 staff to speed up testing for the disease. It already has 115 staff and a Chinese-funded hospital there.

But Liberia is where the disease appears to be running amok. The WHO has not issued any estimate of cases or deaths in the country since 5 Sept and its director-general, Margaret Chan, has said there was not a single bed available for Ebola patients there.

Liberia, a nation founded by descendants of freed American slaves, appealed for US help last week.

One UN official in the country has said her colleagues had resorted to telling locals to use plastic bags to fend off the killer virus, due to a lack of other protective equipment.

Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), the charity that has been leading the fight against Ebola, said it was overwhelmed and repeated its call for an immediate and massive deployment.

"We are honestly at a loss as to how a single, private NGO is providing the bulk of isolation units and beds," MSF's international president, Joanne Liu, said in a speech to the United Nations in Geneva, adding that the charity was having to turn away sick people in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia.

"Highly infectious people are forced to return home, only to infect others and continue the spread of this deadly virus. All for a lack of international response," she said.

Co-ordinate effort

Obama, who has called the epidemic a national security crisis, has faced criticism for not doing more to stem the outbreak. The WHO said last week Ebola had killed more than 2 400 people out of 4 784 cases in west Africa.

US officials stressed it was very unlikely the Ebola crisis could come to the United States. Measures were being taken to screen passengers flying out of the region, they said, and protocols were in place to isolate and treat anyone who arrived in the United States showing symptoms of the disease.

The president will visit the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta on Tuesday to show his commitment. The stepped-up effort he will announce includes 3 000 military troops and a joint forces command centre in Monrovia to coordinate efforts with the US government and other international partners.

The plan will "ensure that the entire international response effort is more effective and helps to ... turn the tide in this crisis," a senior administration official told reporters on Monday, ahead of the president's trip.

"The significant expansion that the president will detail ... really represents ... areas where the US military will bring unique capabilities that we believe will improve the effectiveness of the entire global response," he said.

The treatment centres will have 100 beds each and be built as soon as possible, another official said.

The US plan also focuses on training. A site will be established where military medical personnel will teach some 500 healthcare workers per week for six months or longer how to provide care to Ebola patients, officials said.

The Obama administration has requested an additional $88m from Congress to fight Ebola, including $58m to speed production of Mapp Biopharmaceutical Inc's experimental antiviral drug ZMapp and two Ebola vaccine candidates.

Officials said the US Department of Defence had sought to reallocate $500m in funds from fiscal 2014 to help cover the costs of the humanitarian mission.

The US Agency for International Development will also support a program to distribute protection kits with sanitisers and medical supplies to 400 000 vulnerable households in Liberia.  

SA, Mpuma, ready for Moz Ebola threat

Medical workers of the John Fitzgerald Kennedy hospital of Monrovia wearing a protective suit work at the high-risk area of the hospital, the surgical section where Ebola patients are being treated. (AFP)

Mbombela - While neighbouring Mozambique is on a list of 15 countries at risk of animal-to-human transmission of Ebola, South Africa is not.

This follows a study by the University of Oxford in England whose list also includes Nigeria, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Angola, Togo, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Burundi, Equatorial Guinea, Madagascar and Malawi.

"The reason South Africa is not on the Oxford list is because the country is extremely ready. Every port of entry into the country is on high alert. The border officials are equipped to detect anything and everything and deal with it," said national health spokesperson Joe Maila on Friday.

Maila said Mpumalanga, which borders Mozambique, was also ready to deal with any incident.

"We have already identified 11 hospitals throughout the country, including Rob Ferreira Hospital [in Mbombela] and have prepared them to deal with any kind of a  haemorrhaging fever,” Maila said.

There are five known strains of Ebola. The one that has currently broken out in West Africa is named Zaire and is considered the most virulent.

The other strains, named Sudan, Taï Forest and Bundibugyo, have caused contained outbreaks in Ivory Coast, Sudan, and Uganda in the past.

According to the World Health Organisation, the Reston species had not caused any known outbreaks.

Media have reported that until this year’s epidemic, Ebola did not exist in West Africa. Now with a death toll exceeding 2 000 people, mostly in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, scientists still don’t fully understand how Ebola arrived from Central Africa, where outbreaks of this strain of the virus had occurred in the past.

Oxford University's journal eLife explains that the virus could have spread through fruit bats that transmitted it to other animals through dense forest including 22 countries.

“Our map shows the likely ‘reservoir’ of Ebola virus in animal populations, and this is larger than has been previously appreciated,” said the study’s author Nick Golding, a researcher at Oxford University’s department of zoology. 

“This does not mean that transmission to humans is inevitable in these areas; only that all the environmental and epidemiological conditions suitable for an outbreak occur there." 

Mayweather v Pacquiao possible? - Asked if a fight with Pacquiao would be realistic, Mayweather was as evasive as he was in the ring with Maidana. "What is realistic is I am 47-0," he said.

Floyd Mayweather (AFP)

Las Vegas - Floyd Mayweather may have boxed himself into a corner by outboxing Marcos Maidana in their rematch.

And it might open the door - if just a crack - for the fight with Manny Pacquiao that boxing fans have been craving for years.

"If the Pacquiao fight happens, it happens," Mayweather said on Saturday night after disposing of Maidana for the second time in four months. "You can ask the same questions and get the same answers. I call my own shots."

That Mayweather is even acknowledging the possibility of a fight with Pacquiao is significant, since his previous stance had been to ignore his Filipino rival. But it may be that Mayweather has little choice but to turn to Pacquiao for a huge money fight as the careers of both fighters draw to an end.

A lot of that will depend on the pay-per-view numbers for the second Maidana fight. What they say about Mayweather's drawing power likely will determine his next steps.

The first fight didn't sell well on Showtime - at least by the lofty standards of the pay-per-view king - and with the promotion for the second clouded by Mayweather's comments on Ray Rice and domestic violence, the general feeling among boxing executives is that the rematch may have done even worse.

Add the fact that Mayweather didn't win any fans by mostly playing defence against Maidana and it's hard to see how that will change for his next bout, which likely will take place next May.

"We're not sure what the game plan is," Mayweather said. "I'll probably fight in May. I may not fight until September."

Mayweather's most probable opponent for a fight in May would be Britain's Amir Khan, who took himself out of contention for Saturday's fight because he wouldn't be able to train properly while observing Ramadan. But while Khan would help boost sales overseas, he has lost two of his last five fights and is not popular enough in the U.S. to help sell pay-per-view.

Mayweather's continued refusal to fight Pacquiao or any other fighters promoted by Bob Arum limits the pool of possible opponents. That's why Maidana got a rematch despite no real outcry by boxing fans for it but it may be beginning to cost Mayweather where it really hurts - in his wallet.

Mayweather's $32 million payday for Maidana brought his earnings in the past year to $100 million in three fights, but he has only two fights left on a six-bout deal he signed with Showtime. The network would like to see him fight someone who might help him sell more PPVs, and Mayweather himself would earn more money from his cut of the revenue if he boosted sales.

Mayweather had little trouble against Maidana in their rematch, moving from side to side and frustrating the Argentine while winning many of the early rounds. But the crowd at the MGM Grand booed at times because Mayweather wouldn't engage in the brawl that Maidana desperately needed.

In the end, two ringside judges scored it 116-111 for Mayweather, while the third had it 115-112.

"I felt sharper in the first fight, my rhythm was off," said Mayweather who was roughed up by Maidana in May on his way to a majority decision. "I got hit with some shots tonight I shouldn't have gotten hit with. But that comes with the sport."

Mayweather was in control of the bout until the eighth round, when he claimed Maidana bit him on the hand in a clinch after first trying to hit him below the belt. He said he couldn't use his left hand the rest of the right because it went numb.

Maidana denied biting Mayweather, and said Mayweather was sticking his glove in his eye in the exchange.

"How can he say I bit the glove with my mouthpiece?" Maidana asked. "I'm not a dog."

Mayweather said before the fight that his last two fights will take place next year, and that he would retire with a 49-0 mark. Many in boxing, however, believe Mayweather would go for a 50th win to surpass the unbeaten mark of 49-0 held by the late heavyweight Rocky Marciano.

That could mean a megafight with Pacquiao in the spring of 2016, perhaps to open a new arena being built by the MGM on the Las Vegas Strip.

Asked if a fight with Pacquiao would be realistic, Mayweather was as evasive as he was in the ring with Maidana.

"What is realistic is I am 47-0," he said.

• Read more on

State urged to appeal Pistorius ruling

Oscar Pistorius leaves the North Gauteng High Court after being found guilty of culpable homicide. (Jerome Delay, AP)

Oscar Pistorius's escape from a murder charge might be short-lived as a growing number of legal experts believe the State will appeal Judge Thokozile Masipa’s judgment.

According to the Sunday Times, Advocate Mannie Witz, a leading criminal law expert, said the State needs to appeal the conviction, stating that Masipa’s judgment needs to be considered by a senior bench to provide clarity for South African courts.

He said only the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein could provide this.

Culpable homicide conviction

Masipa on Friday ruled that Pistorius, who shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp through a locked toilet door of his Pretoria home on 14 February last year, was not guilty of murder but guilty of culpable homicide.

James Grant, professor of criminal law at the University of the Witwatersrand, said he thought State prosecutor Gerrie Nel would appeal as “Nel is under a duty to see that justice is done”.

The National Prosecuting Authority has said it would only announce its intentions regarding an appeal after Pistorius has been sentenced.

However, the Sunday Times reports that the prospect of such action is already being discussed. According to a senior member of the prosecuting team, Nel immediately raised the possibility with the team. “He is studying case law as we speak,” said the source.

In terms of section 310 of the Criminal Procedure Act, the State can appeal a not-guilty verdict “on any question of the law”, reports the Sunday Times.

Parents interviewed

In an NBC interview on Friday, Steenkamp’s parents said they believed Pistorius’s conviction of culpable homicide was not the right one, reported Sapa.

"I just don't feel that this is... right. They believe his story and I don't believe that story. That's the difference," said Reeva's mother June Steenkamp.

"I really don't care what happens to Oscar. It's not going to change anything because my daughter is never coming back. He's still living and breathing you know, and she is gone forever."

She said there were so many mistakes made and the athlete's story "did not add up".

Disbelief

Steenkamp's father, Barry, said there was disbelief, not only in their minds but "everyone in the world".

June Steenkamp said many people wanted to know what had happened.

"She [Reeva] died a horrible death. A horrible, painful, terrible death and she suffered," she said.

"He shot through the door and I can't believe that they believe that it was an accident."

NBC reported that the Steenkamps want to talk to Pistorius.

They said they did not want revenge but just the truth to come out.

Judge Masipa's security stepped up - Oscar trial

Judge Thokozile Masipa delivers her judgment in the Oscar Pistorius murder trial. (Phill Magakoe/Independent Newspapers/Pool)

Johannesburg - Security has been stepped up outside Judge Thokozile Masipa's home following her judgment in the Oscar Pistorius murder trial.

City Press reported on Sunday that police officers from the police's Tactical Response Team, also known as the amaBerete, have been stationed outside her home.

The team escorts her wherever she goes, and checks on her every hour, according to the newspaper.

Masipa has come under fire for her judgment, in which she found Pistorius not guilty of murdering his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in February 2013, but guilty of culpable homicide.

She also found him guilty of one charge of contravening the Firearms Act, but acquitted him on two other charges.

Criticism

Legal experts have questioned her verdict, saying she was far too lenient.

The National Prosecuting Authority is likely to apply for leave to appeal against the ruling, once sentencing has taken place in October. NPA officials were said to be "gobsmacked" by the ruling, according to City Press.

Steenkamp's parents told NBC that they believe the judge got it wrong, and Pistorius should have been found guilty of murder, as his version of events did not add up.

The family is set to continue its multi-million rand civil claim against Pistorius, which has been on hold for the duration of the trial, City Press reports. 

US tycoon Donald Trump tweeted that Masipa was a "total moron", saying she said Pistorius did not act like a killer.

According to City Press, the criticism has bordered on hate speech, defamation, and even contempt of court.

Trump insults Masipa - calling her total moron

Donald J. Trump        ✔ @realDonaldTrump

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The judge in the Oscar Pistorious case is a total moron. She said he didn't act like a killer. This is another O.J. disaster!

1:13 PM - 12 Sep 2014

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The American business magnate, Donald Trump, on Friday voiced his opinion on the Oscar Pistorius ruling.

The real estate tycoon referred to Judge Thokozile Masipa as a "total moron" after Pistorius was found guilty of culpable homicide for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Pistorius was found not guilty of premeditated murder. He was also found not guilty of firing a shot through an open sunroof and for the illegal possession of ammunition, but was found guilty of firing a shot in a Johannesburg restaurant in 2013.

Judge Thokozile Masipa handed down her judgment in the North Gauteng High Court on Friday, News24 reported.

Trump was not happy with this ruling and tweeted; “The judge in the Oscar Pistorious case is a total moron. She said he didn't act like a killer. This is another O.J. disaster!”

Another famous face took to Twitter to highlight the similarities between the Oscar Pistorius case and that of retired American football player O.J. Simpson.

Trevor Noah, well-known South African comedian, tweeted; “O. J. Pistorius”.