West Indies warmed up for next week’s third Test against England by hitting 534 for eight wickets to draw its three-day match against the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). The tourists declared at Durham’s Racecourse Ground with Chris Gayle and Ravi Rampaul unable to bat due to injury.
Disruption of coal supplies to the main power generating station in Zimbabwe has caused power failures across the country, reports said on Monday. The breakdown at Hwange Power Station has robbed the country of 500MW of power, nearly one-third of its needs, state radio and newspapers said.
South African police on Monday fired rubber bullets to disperse a crowd of nurses taking part in a nationwide strike over pay, wounding several, state radio reported. Police also arrested 20 nurses in the incident at a hospital in Durban, the radio said. It quoted police as saying the nurses were blocking entrances to the hospital.
Aids may be killing elected officials in some Southern African countries faster than they can be replaced, creating a new threat to democracy and governance in the region, a new study said. The Institute for Democracy in South Africa said a study of mortality patterns in Southern Africa indicated Africa’s HIV/Aids crisis was reaching deep into elected governments.
Somali pirates who have been holding a Taiwan-flagged fishing vessel since mid-May killed one of the 16 crew members because the ship’s owners have not paid a ransom, a maritime official said on Monday. The pirates threatened to kill other crew members if their demands are not met, said Andrew Mwangura, head of the Kenyan chapter of the Seafarers’ Assistance Programme.
South Africa is still negotiating the release of one of its citizens kidnapped in the Niger Delta, the Foreign Affairs Department said on Monday. ”We are still negotiating [for the man’s release] at this stage. We are, however, in contact with both the man’s mother and his wife,” spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa said.
Former Liberian president Charles Taylor refused to attend the opening of his war crimes trial on Monday saying in a letter read out in court that he could not expect a fair trial. ”I cannot take part in this charade that does injustice to the people of Liberia and the people of Sierra Leone,” said the letter.
Cameroon, the Côte d’Ivoire and Morocco moved to within one point of qualification for the African Nations Cup finals on a weekend overshadowed by the death of 12 spectators in a stampede in Zambia. A government investigation has been ordered and the result of an official enquiry promised by Friday, officials said.
The JSE was a touch weaker at noon on Monday on jitters ahead of the interest rates decision later this week, but miners gained on the back of a weaker rand and higher commodity prices. At noon the all-share index was off 0,09%. Resources added 0,19%, the gold and platinum mining indices gained 0,76% and 0,23% respectively.
Valentino Rossi won the Italian Grand Prix for the sixth consecutive time on Sunday and moved within nine points of MotoGP series leader Casey Stoner. It was the second victory this season for Rossi, who also won the Spanish GP in March. Riding a Yamaha, Rossi timed 42 minutes, 42,385 seconds over 23 laps on the Mugello circuit.