A Uitenhage school is losing the fight against teenage pregnancy, with 11 pupils pregnant and 15 already having given birth this year, the Herald Online reported on Wednesday. The baby boom has resulted in high absenteeism and failure rates at Nkululeko High School.
Maria Sharapova opened the defence of her United States Open crown in commanding style on Tuesday by overpowering Italy’s Roberta Vinci 6-0, 6-1 in less than an hour. There were wins also for two former New York champions, Martina Hingis and Svetlana Kuznetsova, and for Andy Roddick, among others.
The Boland Cavaliers suffered a major setback on Tuesday when seasoned flanker Henley du Plessis was ruled out of Saturday’s Currie Cup match against Western Province at Newlands with a neck injury. Du Plessis is one of the stars of the team so far, and his absence will be sorely missed.
Five-time European champions Liverpool beat Toulouse 4-0 to complete their qualification for the group stage of the Champions League on Tuesday. The Reds will be joined in Thursday’s draw for the lucrative group stage by Lazio and Rangers. Lazio won 3-1 at Dinamo Bucharest to round off a 4-2 aggregate victory.
The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) is in possession of information that could lead to a swoop on organised dog-fighting rings across the country. The Cape Times reported on Wednesday that the people being targeted in the SPCA’s crackdown are professionals.
More wildfires have broken out in Greece and others rekindled as anger rose over the government’s handling of catastrophic blazes that have laid waste to vast stretches of the Greek countryside and killed at least 64 people. The fires are dominating political debate before parliamentary elections set for September 16.
Two Chinese miners who were given up for dead after a tunnel collapse dug their way to the surface on a six-day diet of coal nuggets and urine, a local newspaper reported on Wednesday. Brothers Meng Xianchen and Meng Xianyou emerged exhausted and starving — but unscathed — from an illegal colliery on Friday.
Panama’s former dictator, Manuel Noriega, can be extradited to France for a money-laundering trial after he completes a lengthy jail sentence in Miami next month, a United States judge ruled on Tuesday. France wants to try the 73-year-old for allegedly laundering -million in drug money through French banks.
United States President George Bush on Tuesday ramped up the war of words between the US and Iran, accusing Tehran of threatening to place the Middle East under the shadow of a nuclear holocaust and revealing that he had authorised US military commanders in Iraq to ”confront Tehran’s murderous activities”.
Turkey’s foreign minister, Abdullah Gul, a practising Muslim and former Islamist, was on Tuesday sworn in as the 11th President of the staunchly secular republic in a move that will be seen as a defining moment for the country. The appointment of the 56-year-old marked a victory for the governing Muslim democrats.