SPAIN beat Portugal 3-1 in the Meridian Cup under-17 soccer competition semifinal at the Athlone Stadium in Cape Town on Thursday. Portugal made and squandered several chances early on, and then Spain gradually took the initiative before half time. Portugal opened the scoring nevertheless in the 39th minute off a Luis Lourenco penalty kick awarded […]

TWO Eritrean warplanes bombed the northern Ethiopian town of Adigrat on Friday, the Ethiopian government said in a communique. “The intended target was the fuel depot and its surroundings,” the communique said, without saying whether any bombs struck the depot or whether there were casualties. The alleged strike, which could not be confirmed by other […]

THREE Kenyan legislators and a leading environmental activist have appeared in court on charges of inciting violence. James Orengo of the Ford-Kenya party, Njehu Gatabaki of the Social Democratic Party and Green Belt Movement activist John Makanga appeared before Nairobi principal magistrate, Jane Ondieki after being arrested after three days of riots by students from […]

Jonathan Jones on an unlikely affair between Kenneth Tynan and Louise Brooks – and the widow who told their story in a screenplay Martin Scorsese is best known for his films about the violently deranged and delusional, about boxing, vigilantism and the mafia. Now he is set to tackle a story about a British theatre […]

Cameron Duodu: LETTER FROM THE NORTH When Aids began to take its appalling toll on humankind, we were all scared as hell of it, of course. We listened with rapt attention to what the scientists had to say, for if anyone was going to save us from it, it was the scientists who had discovered […]

SEVEN people were rescued by the Durban Fire Brigade on Thursday night, after a torrential downpour flooded the city, Radio 702 reports. The seven people were rescued in the Reservoir Hills area after 120mm of rain fell on the city in three hours. Fire chief Mark te Water said: “So far we are working on […]

THIRTY-FIVE Rwandan war crimes suspects including a prominent politician were released from the central prison of Byumba on Friday after authorities determined that their cases should not proceed to trial. Among those freed were 23 Rwandans who were never formally charged, seven who were charged without evidence and five who suffered from terminal illnesses, according […]

South African banks last year earned R8,7-billion from bank charges. One bank increased its charges by up to 67% last month. Surely South African regulators should follow the United Kingdom’s example in cracking down on high bank charges. Phillip Inman reports from London British high street banks are under the cosh once again. After years […]

President Nelson Mandela’s former home in Soweto was among 29 edifices declared national monuments on Thursday.

THE Canadian High Commissioner to South Africa, James Bartelman, was beaten and robbed of R1000 at a Sea Point hotel on Friday morning. Police said Bartelman (60) suffered a fracture to his nose after being assaulted with a stun device. The attack ended his plans to attend the opening of Parliament and he is returning […]