The Cook Islands’ main island of Rarotonga battened down on Wednesday as Cyclone Percy continued to batter the tiny South Pacific nation. The cyclone, which dropped to category four from the maximum five during the day, passed to the west of the island of Palmerston early on Wednesday.
The Burmese python is able to boost the size of its heart chambers by half in order to help it digest a big meal, thanks to a remarkable protein that expands cardiac muscle, researchers say. The reptile’s "extraordinarily rapid" increase in heart size enables it to cope with a 40-fold rise in metabolic rate during digestion.
A Norwegian couple survived unscathed when a 40-tonne tank taking part in an international military exercise in central Norway ran over and crushed their car, military sources said on Thursday. "The accident is being investigated by military police. It is too early to say how this could have happened," a military spokesperson said.
About 80% of Gauteng’s budget of R33,5-billion is earmarked for social services, the province’s finance minister, Paul Mashatile, said on Thursday. The budget will try to address discrepancies in Gauteng, which shows impressive economic growth while battling with high levels of poverty and unemployment and a lack of infrastructure.
North Korea has threatened to conduct a long-range missile test and demanded an apology from the United States for labelling the country an ”outpost of tyranny”. The threat, reported by South Korea’s Yonhap news agency, quoted the officials as saying there is ”now no binding force” for its missile test moratorium pledged in 1999.
Lamontville Golden Arrows shoved Bush Bucks closer to relegation when they trounced them 3-1 in a Castle Premiership encounter played at King Zwelithini Stadium on Wednesday afternoon. The home side led 1-0 at interval thanks to a strike by Papi Zothwane, who converted a pinpoint cross ball from Mabhuti Khanyeza in the third minute.
Moroka Swallows kept their unbeaten record intact this season at the Rand Stadium when they scored a 1-0 win over disappointing Silver Stars in a scrappy Castle Premiership clash on Wednesday. Swallows led 1-0 at half-time. To make matter worse for the Limpopo-based Premier Soccer League club, Stars missed a penalty in the 58th minute.
Minister of Sport and Recreation Makhenkesi Stofile on Wednesday said he wants to see racial transformation in sport completed by 2010. ”We would have been there if we did what we had to do since 1992,” Stofile told reporters in Cape Town, lamenting the slow pace of transformation since apartheid ended in the early 1990s.
Bloemfontein Celtic scored one of their best victories thus far when they defeated Castle Premiership leaders Orlando Pirates 1-0 in a pulsating clash played at the Free State Stadium on Wednesday night. The foundations for the win were laid by Celtic’s uncompromising defence. It was a gutsy display and the home side earned their three points the hard way.
Dynamos dropped two valuable points when they drew 0-0 against the relegation-threatened Manning Rangers in their Castle Premiership match played at Giyani Stadium on Wednesday night. Dynamos demonstrated some elements of character from the opening minutes of the encounter but the Durbanites were equal to the task.