Sevilla’s Spanish international defender Antonio Puerta died on Tuesday after suffering a heart attack during a Spanish league match on Saturday, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) told Agence France-Presse. ”It’s official. Puerta has died,” an RFEF spokesperson said.
South Africa’s demand for fresh water will exceed its supply by 2025, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) warned on Tuesday. Urgent and immediate action must be taken to stave off massive social, economic and environmental damage, the conservation organisation said in a statement, released at the launch of the WWF Sanlam Living Water Partnership in Cape Town.
Public Service and Administration Minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi has rejected suggestions the government is seeking to create one public-service administration for all tiers of government. ”What the initiative seeks to do is to harmonise the conditions of service across government, so that government is able to work better,” she said on Tuesday.
Local authorities began evacuating hundreds of thousands of pilgrims from the Iraqi city of Karbala on Tuesday as a battle raged between Iraqi security forces and gunmen near two of Shi’ite Islam’s holiest shrines. A senior security source in Baghdad said 25 people had been killed, mostly police officers.
Small businesses that have applied for tax amnesty must submit the required documents by Friday, the South African Revenue Service (Sars) said on Tuesday. ”After the deadline Sars will commence with enforcement actions against taxpayers who have either not applied for amnesty or submitted an incomplete application,” a Sars spokesperson said on Tuesday.
The trial of Schabir Shaik had not yielded enough evidence to prosecute Jacob Zuma, the state contended in the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein on Tuesday. ”A more comprehensive investigation was called for,” said Wim Trengove, counsel for the state. Hence it had been necessary for the Scorpions to raid four of Zuma’s homes and his attorney Michael Hulley’s office.
Taliban insurgents will release 19 South Korean Christian volunteers they have been holding for more than a month in Afghanistan, South Korea’s presidential Blue House said on Tuesday. The announcement followed the resumption of negotiations that had been on hold for two weeks.
Manchester United striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, scorer of the winning goal in the 1999 Champions League final, retired from football aged 34 on Tuesday after a long run of knee injuries. Solskjaer confirmed his decision on the club’s website and said: ”I would like to thank the manager, the coaching and medical staff and most of all the supporters.”
More than 100 000 people have been affected by floods in Ethiopia and 17 have died of waterborne disease, the United Nations said on Tuesday. ”Approximately 103 000 people have been affected by floods,” UN humanitarian agency Ocha said in a report following days of heavy rains.
Gunmen battled Iraqi security forces on Tuesday near two of Shi’ite Islam’s holiest shrines in the city of Kerbala, where hundreds of thousands of pilgrims had gathered for a religious festival. A senior security source in Baghdad said 25 people had been killed, mostly police officers.