Halfway through the British Open, South Africa’s Retief Goosen is staying quietly in contention to win his third tournament in a row. The quiet game is exactly what Goosen employed last month to win the United States Open at Shinnecock Hills after four consistent, if unspectacular, rounds.
Three high-ranking soccer officials appeared in the Bloemfontein District Court on Friday in connection with match-fixing charges. The three were arrested as part of Operation Dribble, a police investigation into allegations of match-rigging in South Africa’s Premier Soccer League.
Italian rider Ivan Basso of the CSC team won the 12th stage of the Tour de France, the first mountain stage held over 197,5km between Castelsarrasin and La Mongie on Friday. Lance Armstrong of the United States Postal team came in second, just one minute ahead of Frenchman Thomas Voeckler.
The angry response of Minister of Foreign Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma to the Mail & Guardian‘s report on the African Union summit last week gave a signal that the South African government is hardening its stance on Zimbabwe. Zuma denied supporting Zimbabwe’s move to stifle a report by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights critical of that country’s human rights record.
Western Province and Free State will close South Africa’s premier schools rugby tournament when they meet in the final game at Nelspruit on Saturday. Province are on course for a hat-trick over the Free Staters, who they have beaten in two Craven Week finals in two years.
On Tuesday most independent Senegalese newspapers stayed off the streets. Commercial radio stations substituted music for news bulletins and reported only items related to the imprisonment of Madiambal Diagne, publication director of independent daily Le Quotidien. Diagne has been held since July 9 for publishing articles about alleged fraud in the customs service.
The Bledisloe Cup is on the line Saturday when Australia and New Zealand meet in the first Tri-Nations match of the season. Australia are sitting pretty as the All Blacks engage in deep soul-searching to regain their mental toughness as Australian coach Eddie Jones brings out the verbals.
Peace in the Sudan is undoubtedly overdue. It is important for Sudan’s neighbouring countries. Chad, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Kenya harbour refugees from the long-running civil war. Uganda continues to encounter the terror and abductions perpetrated by the child soldiers of the Lord’s Resistance Army, which is based in southern Sudan.
Mike Roach, the man who puts Mike Tyson through his paces, reckons the former world champion still has what it takes to again be a contender in the heavyweight division. Tyson is currently honing himself for a July 30 fight against no-name British slugger Danny Williams in Louisville, Kentucky.
The first to hit the heights of the Pyrenees, Friday’s 12th stage will show just how long Australian rider Stuart O’ Grady will hang on to his overall second place in the Tour de France. O’Grady is only three minutes behind Frenchman Thomas Voeckler in the general classification.