It was from Canton, now known as Guangzhou, that the first wave of Chinese immigrants sailed to South Africa in the 1870s. There had been Chinese in the country well before: the Dutch brought Chinese labour from their colony of Batavia as early as 1658, for example.
Chippy Shaik has for four years laid claim to a bogus doctorate that he and a cabal of internationally acclaimed South African professors fraudulently concocted, the Sunday Times reported. An extensive investigation by the newspaper found that Shaik’s 2003 PhD in mechanical engineering from the then-University of Natal was plagiarised.
Roger Federer produced an astonishing turnaround to beat Rafael Nadal for the first time on clay courts in the final of the Hamburg Masters on Sunday. His 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 win over the French Open champion underlined his belief that he has a chance of winning in Paris in three weeks’ time and to become the first player since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four Grand Slams at the same time.
Australian Suzuki rider Chris Vermeulen won his first MotoGP victory when he upstaged the favourites in a rain-hit French Grand Prix on Sunday. Vermeulen beat last year’s winner Marco Melandri of Italy on a Honda after coping perfectly with the tricky conditions on the 4,18km Le Mans circuit.
Widespread frost is expected over the central interior and Highveld of Gauteng from Tuesday until Thursday morning, the South African Weather Service said on Sunday. Very cold conditions were expected to persist over the central interior until Wednesday.
Tens of thousands of people waving red Turkish flags filled the streets of the Black Sea city of Samsun on Sunday to protest against the Islamist-rooted government ahead of a July election. ”No to Sharia [Islamic law]”, ”Turkey is secular and will remain secular”, the crowd chanted in the main square.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday threatened stronger Israeli military action in the Gaza Strip unless Hamas ceased its rocket attacks on southern Israel. ”If the measured steps we are taking, in the political and military sphere, do not bring about the desired calm, we will be forced to intensify our response,” Olmert told his Cabinet.
Cash-strapped South African Airways (SAA) had to fork out hundreds of thousands of rands after cabin attendants refused to continue with an international flight, the Sunday Times reported. The crew of 14 attendants faces suspension when they return to work this week pending an investigation into their behaviour.
Business mogul Tokyo Sexwale’s decision to enter the African National Congress (ANC) presidential succession race has dealt a heavy blow to President Thabo Mbeki’s chances of securing a third term as party president, the Sunday Times reported. It said several senior ANC leaders close to Mbeki have decided to throw their weight behind Sexwale’s bid.
A long time ago, in a Hollywood era far, far away, the story of an intergalactic battle between good and evil took the world by storm — and changed the movie industry forever. Thirty years after Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader and Han Solo were introduced to the world in Star Wars on May 25 1977, the seismic impact of George Lucas’s science-fiction saga is still being felt.