Stone Fruit Farmers Develop Waterwise Strategy

Stone Fruit Farmers are tackling the Western Cape drought with optimism and positivity, believing that the dire situation can be turned to their advantage.  The silver lining in the drought's cloud for fruit farmers is that the quality of fruit grown under water scarce conditions is usually very good with high sugar levels and great taste. Some growers have also reported enough water to at least see through most of the summer season.

Hortgro, the body that represents the Stone Fruit Association of South Africa, recently presented an irrigation seminar to equip producers with tools and strategies to alleviate the drought impact and also shared another strategy that has been developed by a Ceres fruit grower. These strategies involve ranking and allocating water to orchards according to profitability resulting in optimal irrigation of highly profitable orchards and the removal of unproductive orchards.

The seminar also revisited the basic principles of irrigation design and planning. Many growers brought forward their plans to remove older, less productive orchards over the next couple of years in order to stretch the water available to them as far as possible.

Fruit producers are resilient and have recently been using technology much more actively and effectively in managing their water, irrigation systems and orchards. Water has always been a limited resource and the experience honed in past seasons has helped to hone the growers' skills to make every drop count.

These strategies will be reassessed during monthly water budget meetings.

#Migos to perform live in South Africa and #EveryonesInvited by @SmirnoffSA #MigosCultureTour

In South Africa, one of the greatest things about music is that it brings people together regardless of race, gender, sexuality and demographics. Through the power of music, good drinks and good times, Smirnoff will move the next generation of South Africans to be more inclusive #EveryonesInvited.

When they came out with their good-time anthem, Versace, back in 2013, Migos took the world by storm and solidified their status as trap royalty. Their music brings people together, making the Migos Culture Tour a perfect fit with Smirnoff. Fast forward to 2017 and the BET award-winning trap trio will take to the stage in Mzansi for the first time presented by Smirnoff.   

You don't have your ticket yet? Go toticketpros.co.za to get your ticket for the concert in Durban at the International Convention Centre (ICC) on Friday, 20 October or at the Ticketpro Dome in Johannesburg on Saturday, 21 October. Whether you're a die-hard Migos fan, a trap queen, or just looking for a dope concert, #MigosCultureTour is where it's at and Everyone's Invited courtesy of Smirnoff!

South African megastars Nasty C, AKA and Riky Rick will be there to start the hype so be there when the doors open at 5pm - you don't want to miss it.

Gather your squad, grab the new Smirnoff 1818 Apple, the hottest drink out there this summer and enjoy the concert!

#WiFi WPA2 security cracked. All platforms vulnerable

An attacker could now read all information passing over any wifi network secured by WPA2, which is most routers, both public and private.

All platforms are vulnerable, but the paper notes that Android 6.0 and later - along with Linux - is a particularly easy target, an attack against these devices being described as 'trivial' ...

We discovered serious weaknesses in WPA2, a protocol that secures all modern protected Wi-Fi networks. Attackers can use this novel attack technique to read information that was previously assumed to be safely encrypted.

Android, Linux, Apple, Windows, OpenBSD, MediaTek, Linksys, and others, are all affected by some variant of the attacks.

With Android and Linux, an attacker doesn't even have to do that much work: the attacker can simply reset the encryption key.

The good news is that Vanhoef says that WPA2 can be patched to block the attack, and the patch will be backward compatible. Once a patch is available for your router, you should update the firmware without delay.

Zuma's #CabinetReshuffle - Whose in and whose out?

President Jacob Zuma on Tuesday announced six changes to his national executive.

Zuma  has reshuffled his cabinet for the second time this year. 

Blade Nzimande has been fired as Minister of Higher Education and Training Minister.

The following changes were made: 

1. Professor Hlengiwe Mkhize is the Minister of Higher Education and Training
2. Ms Ayanda Dlodlo is the Minister of Home Affairs
3. Ms Mmamaloko Kubayi is the Minister of Communications
4. Mr David Mahlobo is the Minister of Energy
5. Adv. Bongani Thomas Bongo is the Minister of State Security
6. Mr Buti Manamela is the Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training.

"I thank the former members of the National Executive for good service in their previous portfolios," Zuma said.

"I wish the members who are assuming new portfolios all the best in their new responsibilities."

#StateCapture is South Africa's 2017 word of the year

"State capture" has been named the South African Word of the Year.

The Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB), in association media research companies Focal Points and Newsclip made the announcement in a statement on Monday.

The other two contenders were "blesser" and "white monopoly capital".

"It was found that 'state capture' was used 20 231 times in over 11 000 South African newspapers. The majority of the coverage was found in daily newspapers, accounting for 68% of the total coverage mentioning 'state capture', followed by Sunday newspapers at 19%," they said.

The SA Word of the Year, they explained, was a term or expression preferred to reflect the passing year in language. 

"For the first time in history, PanSALB and its lexicography units have decided to endorse this practice which has been happening internationally."

They said that the candidates for word of the year were reviewed by the organisation and its structures and then debated their merits, choosing one that captures the philosophy, mood, or obsessions of that particular year.

"All findings are based on research conducted by Focal Points and Newsclip on factual statistics found within South African media and serve as credible sources."

They said Focal Points and Newsclip keywords were tracked for the period January 1 to October 12, 2017. 

"This media data was analysed to determine the prominence of the keywords within the media and to identify the frequency that they were used in credible print media."

They looked at occurrences (the number of times the keyword was used in the articles) and clip count (the number of articles that the keyword was mentioned in).

 The use of the word state-capture has increased significantly in 2017. 

"The concept of state-capture has been in existence, but PanSALB has seen a spike in frequency this year in the context of the Gupta email leaks and systemic political corruption." 

They emphasised that the word of the year need not have been coined within the past twelve months.

Pearl Thusi to star in international movie

Pearl Thusi has opened up another international entertainment chapter.

The decorated Quantico star is billed to appear in the upcoming international heist film, The Blue Mauritius, after she scooped a major role.

She will be starring the movie alongside the award-winning US actor Anthony Mackie who is said to be heading to South Africa for the filming of the movie.And a British director Charles Henri Belleville, is expected to direct the film. Belleville has just completed his second film with superstar, Oscar nominated actor, Tom Hardy.

The film will encompass an array of international talent from France, Brazil, Germany, Egypt, South Africa and the United States. "We're thrilled to have Pearl Thusi join our incredible cast of international movie stars.  Ms. Thusi is in a league of her own and a force in the South African television and film industry. The producers and I agreed that no one was better suited to play Makeda, a character that was written specifically to show the strength of a beautiful, powerful and determined woman," said Davis about the casting.

The Blue Mauritius is expected to be released at the end of 2018. And we cannot wait to see Pearl doing the most, as she always does.

Roger Federer breezes past Rafael Nadal to claim #ShanghaiMasters

Roger Federer eased to a straight-sets victory over his familiar rival Rafael Nadal to win the Shanghai Masters on Sunday morning.

The 36-year-old saw off the Spaniard 6-4, 6-3 as he put in yet another impressive display in China.

Nadal was unable to cope under the pressure of Federer who continues to add to his incredible year.

After so much anticipation, the final turned out to be a let down in terms of a contest as Federer just blazed his way past the World No.1.

How much do South African celebs charge for tweeting #Brands

Celebrities like Khanyi Mbau, Thando Thabethe, Boity Thulo and Lerato Kganyago are cashing in hard through the use of social mediums such as Twitter and Instagram.

Brands are willing to spend thousands to get access to celebrities' followers, and many of them are putting aside huge sums of their marketing budget to celebs with social media influence. Most of the celebs they target usually have a huge following, and they have spoken out about how much of a killing they are making from it.

Thando, who has over a million followers on social media, revealed to the Sunday World that she charges around R10 000 for a single tweet. Khanyi said, although she's very picky with who she associated herself with, she charges around R10 000 to R15 000 per post.

Lerato said her starting fee is R5000 going up, depending on the brand she's working with, while Boity charges around R60 000 for 5 tweets, and she also only works with brands that align with her beliefs. 

Karabo Mokoena Foundation will help women leave abusive relationships safely

The Karabo Mokoena Foundation, recently launched by family members and close friends of the young woman who was murdered earlier this year, aims at helping women leave an abusive relationship safely. The foundation was launched in honour of Mokoena and what she stood for.

Her family says that before her death, Mokoena was in the process of starting an organisation that would specialise in women empowerment and assist abused women and children.

It's been almost six months since she was brutally murdered and her burnt body found in Lyndhurst, Gauteng. Her ex-boyfriend Sandile Mantsoe has been accused of killing her, and his trial is set to continue in March next year.

Michelle Daka, foundation director and close friend of Mokoena, told MorningLivepresenter Leanne Manas on Wednesday that it was always her friend's dream to start the foundation.

"We just took from the footsteps that she has already left us with. Karabo was a woman of substance and she was working with a couple of foundations, including the orphanage house group," said Daka.

She said they'd managed to put together a few sponsors to donate a car. "She actually wrote it in her diary. She says one day I'm going to have the foundation and this is the name that it will have," Daka added.

The foundation will help bring sponsorship and attention to other foundations until they're in a space where they can fully manage themselves on their own, and gradually provide counselling.

© Destiny

#Muvhango's Thandaza set to leave

Muvhango actress Sindi Dlathu, who plays Thandaza Mokoena, is leaving the popular SABC2 drama series. The Citizen reports that Dlathu says her decision to leave the show is due to her wanting to grow as an actress and explore new opportunities.

"Muvhango has been more than a job to me, it has been my life for 20 years and I've loved and cherished every single moment of playing Thandaza. After 20 years, I've decided to give the Thandaza character a break in order for me to grow as an artist, venture out to explore new opportunities and discover what I can do as an actress and as a human being," she said.