Staff Reporter
No image available
/ 2 December 2007

Toddlers safe after night in hijacked car

Two Pietermaritzburg toddlers were found safe on Sunday morning after spending the night in a hijacked bakkie, said KwaZulu-Natal police. Superintendent Henry Budhram said an Ashdown resident, who had heard radio broadcasts of the hijacking, went to investigate when he saw the Nissan double cab parked in Bhekezulu Road at 7am.

No image available
/ 2 December 2007

Somalia prime minister wants dialogue

Somalia’s new prime minister called on Sunday for dialogue with Islamist-led opponents to end an insurgency that a rights group says has killed nearly 6 000 civilians so far this year. In some of his first public comments on the conflict, Somalia’s new prime minister, Nur Hassan Hussein, said he was open to talks.

No image available
/ 2 December 2007

Kaka wins Ballon d’Or award

AC Milan’s Brazilian midfielder Kaka was named on Sunday as France Football‘s Player of the Year, winning the prestigious Ballon d’Or award. He succeeds Italy’s World Cup-winning captain and defender Fabio Cannavaro and comes two years after the last Brazilian winner of the trophy, Barcelona’s Ronaldinho.

No image available
/ 2 December 2007

Nationwide leases plane for London flight

Grounded carrier Nationwide has leased an aircraft from Dutch airline KLM to fly passengers to London on Sunday night, said the South African Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). However, Nationwide would have to prove that this aircraft complied with civil aviation safety requirements before it would be allowed to fly, said a CAA spokesperson.

No image available
/ 2 December 2007

Sri Lanka says 52 killed in weekend clashes

At least 52 combatants were killed and 25 wounded in fresh fighting between security forces and Tamil rebels in Sri Lanka’s embattled north during the weekend, the Defence Ministry said Sunday. With the upsurge in clashes along the de facto frontlines separating the mini-state held by the guerrillas, the military stepped up the already tight security.

No image available
/ 2 December 2007

Early poll a possibility, says Mbeki

<a href="http://www.mg.co.za/specialreport.aspx?area=ancconference_home"><img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/321750/Icon_ANCconference.gif" align=left border=0></a>President Thabo Mbeki said on Sunday that he would not rule out calling early general elections if he failed to win the leadership of the governing African National Congress (ANC) party. "I have not thought about that one [early poll]. We haven’t got there yet. I don’t know. It’s possible, it’s possible, yes indeed," he said in an interview.

No image available
/ 2 December 2007

Kiwis clinch Dubai Sevens title

South Africa were eliminated in the semifinal of the IRB Sevens World Series in Dubai on Saturday against New Zealand, who then went on to beat Fiji 31-21 in the final. New Zealand, who had earlier tackled South Africa out of contention to win their semifinal clash 12-7, ran in three converted tries in the first half of the final.