Municipal officials in the uThukela district were accused at President Thabo Mbeki’s imbizo (meeting) near Ladysmith of asking for political party cards before serving residents. An estimated 8 000 people packed the tents at the Uitval sports grounds near Ladysmith to meet Mbeki and hundreds lined up to have their chance to complain.
Typhoon Krosa slammed into Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rains on Saturday forcing hundreds to evacuate and cutting power to thousands as it headed toward mainland China. In China, authorities in the eastern province of Zhejiang ordered officials back to work from their National Day vacation to prepare for the storm, the China Daily reported.
Floods and landslides triggered by a typhoon that struck Vietnam’s central coast earlier this week have claimed 23 lives and left nine others missing, disaster officials said on Saturday. Three more deaths reported in three northern provinces and confirmed reports of three people drowning in the central province of Quang Binh have raised the death toll to 23.
Key United Nations powers stepped up calls for Burma to release political prisoners after an envoy to the repressive state warned of ”serious international repercussions” from the bloody turmoil there. The United States signalled on Friday it may push for UN sanctions if the ruling junta kept up a crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.
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There’s no disguising this one. South Africa against Fiji should be a mismatch of a Rugby World Cup quarterfinal. Fiji would have to produce the perfect game to upset South Africa and advance to the semifinals. So that’s what coach Ilie Tabua is asking his squad to do. Fiji qualified for their first World Cup quarterfinal since the inaugural edition in 1987 with a 38-34 upset over Wales.
McLaren’s championship leader Lewis Hamilton took pole position on Saturday for a Chinese Grand Prix that could make him Formula One’s first rookie champion. The 22-year-old Briton will line up alongside Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen on the front row for Sunday’s race.
Hennie Otto moved into a share of the lead with Ernie Els only one behind him, in a solid second round for the South Africans at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews on Friday. Playing the Old Course under blue skies and bright sunshine, Otto posted a bogey-free 67 to share the lead with Peter O’Malley and Nick Dougherty on 11 under.
The Free State Cheetahs pulled off the double over the Blue Bulls with a near-clinical 29-17 victory at Loftus Versfeld on Friday evening. The Bulls had begun with plenty of gusto but soon found themselves running out of steam and handing the game to the Cheetahs.
Jomo Cosmos beat Bidvest Wits 2-1 in an almost farcical and drama-filled Telkom Knockout Cup last-16 match at the Bidvest Stadium on Friday night. As expected, the game started off drearily, but all hell broke loose after Cosmos went 1-0 up from an Anthony Laffor header in the 65th minute.
African diplomats presented a united front on Saturday to support Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s presence at an upcoming European Union-Africa summit despite strong European reservations. "The African Union wants all African countries to take part" in the summit in Lisbon in December, an official from the body’s headquarters in Addis Ababa said.