ALL Black kicking machine Andrew Mehrtens will start for New Zealand in their Rugby World Cup semi-final against France on Sunday, New Zealand media reported. Mehrtens had been in doubt since damaging his left knee at the bottom of a ruck during the All Blacks’ 30-18 quarter-final win over Scotland last weekend. But Mehrtens’ knee […]

KWAZULU-NATAL dominated the second day’s play of the four-day SuperSport Series match against Western Province at Newlands on Friday, thanks to a solid 135-run partnership from skipper Dale Benkenstein and Errol Stewart. The two took the score from 129 for three to 264 before Benkenstein was excellently caught at third-man by Ryan Joffe for 71. […]

SEVERAL mourners were reportedly injured on Sunday while fleeing from the grave of Tanzanian leader Julius Nyerere after hearing a spooky voice in the vicinity. Villagers said the voice was that of Muhunda, a well-known spirit among Nyerere’s Zanaki tribe, who has the capability of transforming into the image of any living being. Nyerere’s nephew, […]

Andrew Muchineripi Soccer A glance at the headlines says it all: “Pirates, Chiefs get ultimatum”, “Missing file: Ndhlela accused”, “We’ll expose PSL corruption – Stars”, “Motimele report not Balfour’s baby”. As if that assortment of words was not depressing enough, there was also, “Buccaneers bite the dust”. Where will the gloom and doom end, this […]

Charlene Smith Glenn van Wyk, a physical education teacher at Queens High School, was this Wednesday charged with one count of rape and two counts of statutory rape. The charges relate to an allegation of raping three 14-year-old pupils at Queens High in Jeppe, Johannesburg. After a four-hour bail application opposed by the state, Van […]

Cameron Duodu LETTER FROM THE NORTH There is a hidden agenda behind the defiant decision of the governor of Zamfara state, in northern Nigeria, Ahmad Sani, to introduce Sharia law into his state with effect from October 27. Nigeria is split almost equally between Muslims and Christians, and to have laws based on one religion […]

Getting pay-outs from the Unemployment Insurance Fund has become a nightmare for many women, writes Khadija Magardie South Africa has legislation that ensures relative job security to women whose work is temporarily or permanently interrupted by motherhood. This is extended to cover not only childbirth, but cases of miscarriage, stillbirth and even adoption. According to […]

Barry Streek The Department of Finance has rejected tax reforms proposed by the Katz commission which could have been a lifeline to the financially troubled non-profit sector, despite support from political parties and the Department of Welfare. The Katz proposals have been supported by a wide range of non-profit organisations (NPOs) and the influential South […]

PETER DICKSON, Grahamstown | Friday 1.15pm. SUPPORTERS sang and danced in Grahamstown’s historic High Street on Friday after the High Court set aside the conviction of cricket player Makhaya Ntini, who faced six years in jail for raping a domestic worker last December. In the appeal judgement, that has sent shockwaves through legal and human […]