Latest news with #Aids


Telegraph
18 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Another Freddie Mercury rumour bites the dust
In the book, the woman, known only as B, said: 'Freddie Mercury was and is my father. We had a very close and loving relationship from the moment I was born and throughout the final 15 years of his life. 'He adored me and was devoted to me. The circumstances of my birth may seem, by most people's standards, unusual and even outrageous. That should come as no surprise. It never detracted from his commitment to love and look after me. He cherished me like a treasured possession.' Mercury's worth was estimated at £40 million when he died in 1991 of pneumonia resulting from Aids. Before his death, the singer was said to have given his daughter 17 volumes of detailed personal journals, which were estimated to include 555,000 words written across 15 years. Ms Jones said Mercury had instructed his daughter 'not to read the more graphic journals' until she turned 25. There have been no previous claims of Mercury fathering a child, according to the Mail. Jim Hutton, the singer's boyfriend, wrote about their experiences together, but made no mention of any children.


The Citizen
20 hours ago
- Health
- The Citizen
Middelburg boys assemble to champion change in their communities
Middelburg boys assemble to champion change in their communities The Mpumalanga Boys' Assembly was held to promote positive behaviour among teenage boys and to raise awareness around HIV/Aids, gender-based violence and femicide. It provided a safe and supportive platform where young leaders reflected on their journeys and shared the impact of their initiatives to inspire others. The gathering took place at the Adelaide Tambo Hall in Mhluzi, Middelburg, on Wednesday, June 25. It was organised by the Mpumalanga Department of Social Development, the Mpumalanga Aids Council and various stakeholders under the theme, 'Claiming My Place in Creating a Safe and Healthy Community.' ALSO READ: Bethal handball duo score bronze in international competition The assembly forms part of the Boys Championing Change programme, which empowers young boys to become agents of change within their communities. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!


Daily Maverick
a day ago
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
Inside the political turmoil: What Whitfield's dismissal reveals about ANC dynamics
President Cyril Ramaphosa's public statement that he fired DA Deputy Department of Trade Industry and Competition minister Andrew Whitfield because he had travelled outside the country still leaves many questions unanswereed. The apparent mystery around this decision is what gives it so much power. And the DA is now in a difficult position where it cannot accept this, but cannot easily withdraw from the coalition either. There are many reasons why Whitfield's sacking is so politically potent. Among the most important is that Ramaphosa's explanation, that he 'was removed as a deputy minister because he undertook an international visit without the permission of the president' does not make sense. For a start, that trip was several months ago. What happened between then and now that took the president so long to act? If it is such a clear sacking offense, then why not act immediately? And if there was some reason for a delay, what was it about yesterday's specific date that then allowed him to act? The president says in his statement that: 'It is not common practice for the President of the Republic of South Africa to provide reasons either for the appointment or the dismissal of Members of the Executive.' Legally, there is no obligation for a president to give reasons for hirings and firings. But that does not make it democratic. Or morally correct. Or even politically wise. The president is not a god, or an absolute ruler or a king. He is accountable to the people. For him to follow the precedents of previous presidents who have also not given reasons, particularly Jacob Zuma and Thabo Mbeki, may not be wise. Both were recalled by the ANC. And while their stories are very different, both had fired someone under strange circumstances that they refused to explain, until the real reasons became obvious later. It is true, as Ramaphosa points to, that Mbeki fired Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge as deputy health minister in 2007, ostensibly because she travelled without permission. It is also true that it followed her being in a dispute with the health minister at the time, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, about the causes of HIV/Aids. 'I'll fix you' Tshabalala-Msimang's comment to Madlala-Routledge, that 'I'll fix you' was surely a bigger factor than her recent travel. In the case of Zuma, he fired Nhlanhla Nene as finance minister one night in 2015, and refused to explain why. You may well remember how that ended. The other, fairly obvious point, is that nothing stopped the Presidency from announcing the reason for Whitfield's sacking yesterday. What changed between the public statement confirming he had been removed and Friday? Why could he make public the reason on Friday, but not on Thursday? Then of course there is Whitfield's public claim that he did ask the Presidency for permission to go on this trip, and was ignored. While that may be through a simple mistake, Whitfield says he followed up every day for nine days. While Ramaphosa may feel he does not have to respond to every request from a deputy minister, it certainly gives the appearance of being incredibly rude to not reply. It may well be politically unwise for the president to stick to this claim, when it appears irrational. It gives the appearance that there is another uncomfortable political fact that he is trying to hide. It must surely be that Ramaphosa fired Whitfield for some reason of which he is ashamed. Or something he'd prefer to keep hidden. This is why this issue is unlikely to disappear quickly. For the moment, the most likely real reason is that there is a faction in the ANC demanding Ramaphosa act against the DA. Or its members. But even that is problematic. Because the message that this may send to many voters is that Ramaphosa is prepared to act against a DA member for internal ANC reasons, but not against ANC ministers who have done much worse things than Whitfield. It does not appear to make sense to act against Whitfield while allowing Nobuhle Nkabinde to remain as higher education minister when it is clear she lied about her 'independent panel' to advise her appointing chairpersons to the Sector Education and Training Authorities. And, as DA leader John Steenhuisen was quick to point out, why fire Whitfield when Ramaphosa has kept David Mahlobo as deputy minister at Water Affairs when there is clear evidence he walked out of the State Security Agency with huge amounts of cash during the State Capture era? Internal ANC politics If this is about internal ANC politics it may also be another demonstration that ANC leaders are more focused on internal factions than on winning votes. This must be one of the big lessons from this. That the ANC is still not focused on winning back the support it has lost. This may well be because many of its decision-makers are much more comfortable dealing with internal dynamics. They are doing what they know, what they have always done — rather than focusing on the hard work of actually governing well enough to win votes. Meanwhile, the DA's leadership has some difficult decisions to make. Steenhuisen's threat that Ramaphosa has '48 hours' to act against ANC ministers may well demonstrate the difficulty of his position. As former strategist Ryan Coetzee and others have pointed out, the DA simply cannot accept having its members fired without any consultation. Even though the president has confirmed the DA will get to replace Whitfield with another of its members, this effectively gives the ANC a vet on DA appointments. This they surely cannot accept. The Freedom Front Plus or the Patriotic Alliance would not accept it either. The problem for Steenhuisen, of course, is what to do now. To leave the coalition is fraught with danger. That said, his constituency might well reward him for it. Some in the ANC might celebrate the DA's departure at first, but might then find that governance becomes virtually impossible. But any decisions made by the ANC or the DA might well be based on longer-term calculations, about whether voters will punish or reward them for pulling out of the coalition. And thus this may not be the last strange and deliberately unexplained event. DM


Scottish Sun
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Brian May breaks silence on Queen bandmate Freddie Mercury's ‘secret love child' after DNA test
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) BRIAN May has broken his silence on claims his Queen bandmate Freddie Mercury had a 'secret love child'. A bombshell new book titled Love, Freddie by biographer Lesley-Ann Jones will be released later this year and tells how Freddie had a daughter in 1976 following a fling with a close friend's wife. Sign up for the Entertainment newsletter Sign up 4 Brian May's reaction to bandmate Freddie Mercury's 'secret love child' has been revealed Credit: Shutterstock 4 It's been claimed he has a daughter who was born in 1976 Credit: Redferns 4 Brian's wife Anita says he doesn't believe the claims Credit: PA Wire Now 77-year-old Brian's wife Anita Dobson has revealed his reaction to the shock news - and he doesn't believe it. Recalling the moment she heard the claims, Anita, 76, said: 'I went 'what?' I thought 'no'. And I said to Brian, 'Do you know about this?' And he said, 'Do you believe this?'' Speaking to the Mirror, Anita insisted that Freddie - who died in 1991 - was too famous for the news of a secret child to only be leaking now. She continued: 'There must be lots of people who have children that we don't know about. 'It's just because it's him. Because he's iconic. 'And the type of animal that he was, it seems inconceivable that he would have a child with someone we don't know about.' Before the iconic singer died of pneumonia caused by Aids in 1991, Freddie is said to have given his daughter 17 volumes of his personal journals. She kept them a secret for years, but recently handed them over to the author to form the basis of the book that'll be released later this year. The woman, who was born in 1976, says she always knew the legendary singer was her dad - despite being raised by a loving family. Freddie Mercury's family in bitter war with his ex who star 'left £37.5m' as they battle to get his belongings back She lives in Europe working as a medical professional with children of her own, making Freddie a post-humous granddad.


The Citizen
a day ago
- Health
- The Citizen
Tshwane's Aids Council aims to educate
Tshwane residents are being encouraged to know their HIV status. The Tshwane Metro's Aids Council (TMAC) recently held its first orientation meeting since its formation in April. The council is crucial for creating increased awareness about the prevention and treatment of HIV/Aids. It wants to ensure residents know their status and encourage others on treatment to take their ARVs and have a suppressed viral load. The first day of orientation allowed members to be educated on the work to be done by the council. Council chairperson and Mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya found it crucial to give words of encouragement to the members about the task that lies ahead. Moya said many people in the city do not know their status, and there are just as many people who are not on medication. She added that the council has terms of reference and objectives that must mirror the work done in communities to increase HIV/Aids awareness. 'For me, what is important is that we must never waste opportunity. What saddens me is that when we posted the launch of the Aids council in Tshwane on social media and shared the statistics of people living with Aids in Tshwane, people didn't know, which means we have work to do. If people are still surprised to hear that over 20% of Tshwane residents are infected, it can only tell you that no one is talking about it, not at the platforms that matter, at least. There must never be a hierarchy in this council, because each and every contribution matters,' Moya said. While the focus of June 24's meeting was orientation of members, various committees were established. The TMAC has two committees: the Programme Review Committee and the Resource Mobilisation Committee. Moya said so far, they have populated the committees with members of civil society, and what remains is for the committees to be populated by members from government departments and other sectors. Gauteng has the second highest number of people living with HIV in the country, of which 11.6% reside in Tshwane. As Chairperson of the Tshwane Metro AIDS Council, I thought it was crucial that I give words of encouragement to council members about task that lies ahead. There are many people in this city who do not know their status and there are just as many people who are not on… — Dr Nasiphi Moya (@nasiphim) June 24, 2025 Do you have more information about the story? Please send us an email to bennittb@ or phone us on 083 625 4114. For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord's websites: Rekord East For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram or TikTok. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!