African discus record holder Elizna Naude and Surita Febbraio, South African record holder in the 400m hurdles, won gold medals at the 14th African Athletics Championships in Brazzaville, Congo, on Friday. Naude recorded a distance of 57,50m and Febbraio covered the distance in 55,13 seconds, her fastest of 2004.
A sensational try deep into extra time by captain and eighth man Pietie Loots handed the Bulldogs a dramatic Currie Cup first division 14-13 win over the Falcons at the Absa Stadium on Friday night. At half-time the teams were level at 6-6 with the Falcons having made most of the play.
Seven Major champions, including Tiger Woods, Ernie Els and Vijay Singh, are all battling for the Open Championship after an action-charged second round in Troon on Friday. Els and Singh are four-under for the tournament and only three back from the second-round leader, American Skip Kendall.
Lance Armstrong is not generally known for his generosity when it comes to his rivals. But on Friday’s 12th stage of the Tour de France the American gave with one hand and took away with the other as he took a big step towards securing a record sixth victory in the race.
The United States military has denied any knowledge of the discovery by Iraqi police of a second body in the Tigris River near the northern city of Mosul. Iraqi reports indicate that the man, described as a Westerner wearing an orange jumpsuit, was found with his throat slit.
The president of the Africa Business Roundtable, Nigeria’s Bamanga Tukur, on Friday urged countries in West Africa to take every step to ensure the region adopts a common currency, the eco, by next July. Speaking in Abuja, he said the first step will be to surmount challenges that have stood against their bid for a united and stronger region.
New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark has rejected an informal apology by Israel for the disruption in diplomatic relations caused by the actions of two alleged Israeli spies. Clark said she has no doubt the two men jailed in Auckland on Thursday for conspiring to illegally obtain New Zealand passports are Israeli spies.
A suspected car thief in the United States has filed a -million claim with the city of Los Angeles after allegedly being assaulted during his arrest. Stanley Miller claims that the beating caused severe injuries and left him with brain damage. City police dispute Miller’s claims, saying that his injuries were minor scrapes and bruises.
The Sudanese government said on Friday it will try anyone who violates human rights in Darfur, where 17 months of fighting involving African rebels, Arab militiamen and government troops has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced more than a million.
Militia chief scorns slaughter charge
South African Minister of Health, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, has launched a stinging response to comments made by United Nations special envoy on HIV/Aids in Africa, Stephen Lewis. Lewis told the 15th International Aids Conference in Thailand that South Africa is not doing enough to treat and prevent the disease.
Mother-to-child HIV policy unchanged