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The Democratic Alliance was trailing the African National Congress in most wards as municipal election results were trickling in on Thursday morning. The African National Congress had captured 14 of the 20 counted Western Cape municipalities by 8am on Thursday.
Hospitals have been asked to cut back on surgery because of a severe blood shortage, the South African National Blood Service said on Thursday. ”South Africa is currently experiencing a severe blood shortage, particularly the ‘O’ blood type,” the service said. This blood can be used in an emergency for all other blood types.
Perhaps it stems from a premonition on the part of the Premier Soccer League (PSL) or maybe it is simply a coincidence, but the only two mid-week PSL matches feature the teams involved in a tense battle for top spot in the league. Mamelodi Sundowns face up to Santos and the Buccaneers are up against Jomo Cosmos.
Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting risks aggravating a stomach muscle strain if he plays in the remainder of the five-match one-day series in South Africa, team physiotherapist Errol Alcott has warned. Medical opinion is that Ponting will miss the game as well as Sunday’s match in Port Elizabeth.
New South Wales Waratahs will be looking to overcome a tumultuous week of suspensions as they try to get their Super 14 rugby campaign back on track against South Africa’s Coastal Sharks in Sydney on Saturday. Last season’s beaten finalists will be without banned forwards Rocky Elsom and Matt Dunning.
Appropriate for the coming spring blossoms in the United States, the government is adding a little colour to American wallets. A newly redesigned bill is going into circulation. The new , featuring shades of orange, yellow and red, will join colourised versions of the bill and the bill.
An Australian surfer accused of ”surf rage” has been banned from riding the waves at nine Sydney beaches, local media reported on Thursday. A court heard that John Dunne (34) had mounted a campaign of intimidation against other surfers who dared catch his favourite, world-renowned, breakers at North Narabeen beach.
United States President George Bush vowed to capture Osama bin Laden and Taliban leader Mullah Muhammad Omar on Wednesday during his first visit to Afghanistan since the US-led invasion. ”It’s not a matter of if they are captured and brought to justice, it’s when they are brought to justice,” the president declared.
Experts on Wednesday probed the unusual deaths of 14 birds in the southern Bahamas amid fears the deadly H5N1 bird-flu virus strain had reached the Americas. In Europe, meanwhile, Swiss officials confirmed the Alpine nation’s first case of the disease’s highly pathogenic strain that can kill humans.
South Africa’s Imperial Holdings on Thursday reported a 34% increase in headline earnings per share to 616,9 cents for the six months ended December 2005, up from 460 cents a year earlier. On a fully diluted basis, headline earnings per share (Heps) were 578,2 cents from a previous 431,4 cents.