Khutsong residents are embarking on an indefinite consumer boycott starting on Saturday, the South African Broadcasting Corporation reported. The Merafong Demarcation Forum said the boycott was aimed at intensifying the defiance campaign against the incorporation of Khutsong into the North West from Gauteng.
Suspected militants kidnapped three Indian petrochemical workers from their residence in Nigeria’s oil capital, Port Harcourt, on Saturday, the army said. The militants originally seized 10 workers, all employed by Indonesia’s Indorama, but the military engaged them in a gunfight and rescued seven, the spokesperson for the army in the region said.
An uneasy calm prevailed in India’s southern city of Hyderabad on Saturday as thousands of police patrolled the streets a day after a bomb blast in a mosque and subsequent clashes killed at least 14. Ten people died in the explosion that took place during Friday prayers at the sprawling 17th century Mecca Masjid.
Residents of the western parts of the Western and Northern Cape provinces have been warned to brace for severe weather on Saturday, Cape Town’s disaster management said. Very cold, wet and windy conditions were expected on Saturday, would spread to the entire Western and Northern Cape on Sunday and persist until Monday, said a spokesperson on Friday.
Saturday is one of the biggest days in South African rugby history. Whether it goes to Pretoria or Durban, South Africa is guaranteed to hold the Super 14 title for a year when the Bulls and Sharks face up in the final at the Absa Stadium in Durban. The final will square up two of the strongest and most consistent teams in this year’s edition of the Super 14.
All-rounder Shahid Afridi smashed 73 off just 34 balls to lead Pakistan to a five-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the first of three one-day internationals in Abu Dhabi on Friday. Pakistan, playing for the first time since their disappointing World Cup campaign and the mysterious death of their coach Bob Woolmer, reached their target of 236 with eight overs to spare.
Bafana Bafana coach Carlos Alberto Parreira has been admitted to a Johannesburg clinic complaining of fever and inflamed ribs. ”I am feeling much better now, and the doctor is confident I will go home this weekend,” said Parreira on Friday. On May 1 this year, the Fifa World Cup-winning coach fractured his right rib during a fall in his home country of Brazil.
Matt Prior became the first England wicket-keeper to score a century on Test debut as the hosts piled up 553-5 on the second day of the first Test against West Indies at Lord’s on Friday. Prior (25) was one of four England centurions in the innings with Alastair Cook (105), Paul Collingwood (111) and Ian Bell (109 not out) also reaching three figures.
AC Milan are desperate to atone for their Istanbul nightmare when they face Liverpool in next Wednesday’s Champions League final rematch in Athens. Milan looked certain to beat Liverpool in the 2005 final after taking a 3-0 lead at half-time. But Milan inexplicably imploded in a bizarre six-minute spell in the second half.
Nearly 70 Taliban militants were killed in an ambush by United States-led forces and Afghan soldiers in eastern Afghanistan, a military commander said on Saturday. The rebels were killed late on Friday in Paktia province near the border with Pakistan, Afghan army General Sami-Ul Haq Badar said. ”We set an ambush, attacked them and killed 67 Taliban.”