There were no positive dope tests at the recent Cricket World Cup in the West Indies, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Thursday. A total of 68 players were tested during the 47-day event, which ended on April 28 with Australia clinching an unprecedented third successive title.
The municipality of Matatiele seems likely to stay in the Eastern Cape, according to Provincial and Local Government Minister Sydney Mufamadi. Briefing the media on Thursday following Cabinet’s fortnightly meeting the day before, he said new draft legislation would re-affirm the current cross-boundary arrangements as they are now.
"We believe the concept of identity through your avatar will span the web. We are going to seek to enable that. Technology-wise, it’s only about 18 months away." Philip Rosedale, founder of virtual world <i>Second Life</i>, talks about avatars, dictatorship, virtual economies and the next big step for his creation.
A few weeks ago a man turned up at my front door, having been guided there by a GPS satellite navigation system on his dashboard. He was a bit surprised when I told him that the place he was looking for was 9km away. I was less surprised because I have yet to come across a single such device reliable enough to justify shelling out thousands.
An Israeli air strike destroyed a Hamas security headquarters in Gaza City on Thursday, wounding at least 40 people, in a powerful response to rocket attacks by Palestinian militants. Smoke rose from what remained of the downtown office building that housed Hamas’s Executive Force.
Conditions in some Gauteng state hospitals pose a serious health risk to patients, Beeld newspaper reported on Thursday. It said this emerged from complaints by readers in the past week. They spoke of cockroaches in hospital kitchens, dirty toilets, faeces on the walls and of incompetent nurses who treated wounds without gloves.
Finance Minister Gordon Brown became Britain’s prime minister-in-waiting Thursday as the ruling Labour party said he was the only candidate to succeed its outgoing leader, Tony Blair. But Brown faces a six-week wait before actually taking over at 10 Downing Street, when his long-time ally-turned-rival Blair stands down at the end of June.
Africa is experiencing unprecedented growth, but the continent will have to sustain that expansion for years to come if it is to lift people out of poverty, the African Development Bank chief said on Thursday. Africa is set to grow about 6,5% this year, marking the fifth straight year of above-trend expansion.
The inefficient use of the internet by local tourism marketers will lead to business loss, researchers said on Thursday. Ian Kruger, director of BlueRiverStone, a company that recently completed a research into South African tourism websites, said the local market was not taking full advantage of the functions of internet marketing.
An inquiry into Pakistan’s shock first-round exit from the cricket World Cup has blamed the arrogant attitude of captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, accusing him of acting like a dictator. The three-member committee, which revealed its findings on Thursday, added that lack of planning and poor discipline were also behind Pakistan’s dismal performance in the Caribbean.