South Africa kicked off their international season with a crushing 58-10 win over World Cup champions England in Bloemfontein at Vodacom Park on Saturday. The hosts, who ran in seven tries, led 30-3 at half-time. England, minus up to 30 of their leading players who are either injured or were involved in last weekend’s Heineken Cup final, were no match for the South Africans.
Defending double drivers’ world champion Fernando Alonso of Spain on Saturday grabbed pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix. The 25-year-old McLaren Mercedes-Benz driver, who won last year’s race for Renault, snatched the prime grid starting position with a late fast lap to outpace Lewis Hamilton.
Down on two occasions in a protracted, vacillating penalty shoot-out, a youthful Bafana Bafana team won 5-4 on penalties after a goalless and sparsely attended Cosafa Cup game against Malawi at the Somhlolo Stadium in Mbabane on Saturday afternoon. The ultimate hero of the game was goalkeeper and captain-of-the-day Moeneeb Josephs.
David Beckham has been recalled to England’s squad for their forthcoming matches against Brazil and Estonia. Beckham’s international career looked to be over when he was dropped by England coach Steve McClaren following last year’s World Cup, but the Real Madrid midfielder has earned a surprise return.
Israel seized a minister in Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh’s Cabinet on Saturday and pounded Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip as part of an expanded campaign against the ruling Islamist group. Israel renewed strikes on targets that included a guardhouse outside Haniyeh’s home.
Nigerian oil unions have suspended a two-day strike in the national oil company after the government agreed to a pay rise and other benefits, a union leader said. The strike had threatened to halt oil shipments from the world’s eighth-largest exporter and worsened fuel shortages across Nigeria.
South Africa’s Tim Clark shot a six-under-par 64 to take a one-stroke lead in the second round of the rain-hit Colonial Invitational on Friday. Much of the field was unable to finish their second round due to the heavy rain that hampered play on the first two days of the event and a 36-hole cut has yet to be established.
Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern’s long-dominant Fianna Fail party marched toward its sixth straight election victory on Friday as voters opted to stick with a popular leader who has presided over unprecedented economic success. ”It’s a great night for Fianna Fail, and it’s a great night for the party machine,” said Ahern.
A New Zealand man is now sleeping peacefully after years of living with an infestation of mites in his ear finally came to an end. Paul Balvert’s ”noisy nightmare” went undiagnosed for two years before it was discovered by a nurse at a specialist clinic.
Welcome to the Jersey shore! Have a great time, but please don’t dig too deeply in the sand in Surf City (you could get blown up), feed the seagulls in Ocean City (you could catch a disease) or draw dirty pictures in the sand in Belmar (it’s rude). And if you have tummy trouble, don’t even think of going to Sea Bright.