Between a dithering African National Congress and a blustering Democratic Alliance mayor Helen Zille, social cohesion in Cape Town is a distant dream, writes Richard Calland. The incident last Saturday when Zille was chased away from a meeting in Crossroads has provided a serious distraction.
It’s what most South African soccer followers will see as a dream Absa Cup final on May 20 — but there was plenty of drama as Orlando Pirates beat Classic 2-1 at Loftus Versfeld on Sunday afternoon to qualify for a match-up against arch-foes Kaizer Chiefs. The shocks and shenanigans began even before the kick-off.
South Africa successfully avoided the follow-on after tea on the fourth day of the second Castle Lager Test at Newlands on Sunday, and a draw now looks a certainty. When bad light stopped play an hour-and-a-half after tea, South Africa had 427 for five, and still trailed New Zealand by 166.
A South African-chartered plane that went missing in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was found crashed on the mountains bordering Uganda on Sunday. ”The bodies have been recovered … They were all South Africans,” a spokesperson for the South African Civil Aviation Authority said.
A tropical cyclone packing winds up to 240kph battered Burma on Saturday, ripping roofs off dozens of buildings near the country’s biggest city, knocking out electricity and forcing tourists to flee coastal flooding, officials said. There were scattered reports of injuries and deaths, but the government refused to provide any details.
Marc Emery is not your average international drug kingpin. The man described by the American Drug Enforcement Agency as Canada’s biggest trafficker and self-styled ”Prince of Pot”, who faces the death penalty if convicted in the United States, freely admits to having made millions from marijuana.
Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, who fell out of a palm tree and was later involved in a jet-ski crash while vacationing in Fiji, has been airlifted to a hospital in New Zealand, local media reported on Sunday. No further details on the 62-year-old rocker’s condition were immediately available.
Jean Hugo held his nerve to cap a brilliant fortnight with back-to-back wins at the inaugural SAA Pro-Am Invitational at Paarl Golf Club on Saturday, just a week after breaking a six-year title drought at Arabella. Hugo held off a valiant challenge from overnight leader Chris Swanepoel and his former caddy, Gerlou Roux.
Wayne Rooney’s World Cup dream suffered a potentially shattering blow on Saturday when Manchester United confirmed the striker will be out of action for six weeks after breaking his foot in the Premiership clash with Chelsea. A statement released by Old Trafford said Rooney had broken the ”fourth metatarsal on his right foot”.
The ACT Brumbies overwhelmed the Queensland Reds 36-0 on Saturday in Canberra, Australia, all but clinching a semifinal berth in rugby’s Super 14 competition. All Blacks hooker Andrew Hore scored three tries for the Wellington Hurricanes’ 35-10 win over the Waikato Chiefs in Wellington, New Zealand.