A Durban policeman was shot dead on Thursday morning, apparently accidentally, by a man seeking revenge against two suspects the policeman had arrested. Zakhele Nxumalo of the organised crime unit was shot as he was driving away from the house of the two suspects in Dube Village.
The Canterbury Crusaders lead the Super 14 field into a weekend dominated by do-or-die local derbies that will effectively determine the true contenders for the play-offs. Five of the seven matches will have a distinct bearing on the outcome of the competition, and three involve crucial domestic clashes in New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.
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There are few more thrilling sights in cricket than watching a fast bowler in action. That’s why the crowd at Grenada’s National Stadium on Friday will be doubly fortunate when champions Australia and New Zealand wrap up their World Cup Super Eights campaign.
Santos joined Mamelodi Sundowns, Silver Stars and Ajax Cape Town in the lucrative Absa Cup semifinals when they beat Benoni Premier United 1-0 at Athlone Stadium on Wednesday night. The goal was scored in the 68th minute by Eleazar Rogers. Santos can thank long-time stalwarts Musa Otiena, Edries Burton and Sebastian Bax, who chased everything and did not give the visitors space.
The legitimacy of a much-ballyhooed Security Council meeting on climate change has been challenged by developing nations that argue that the threat to the global environment is not a subject within the purview of the UN’s most powerful political body. There is "no role" envisaged for the Security Council on climate change, Pakistan’s ambassador said.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu on Thursday called on the people of Taiwan to face their painful history if they are to heal the wounds caused by a 1947 uprising in which thousands were massacred. The slaughter of islanders by Nationalist troops brought in from mainland China remained taboo for decades under Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek.
Sharks were the wedding witnesses on Thursday as a Japanese couple tied the knot surrounded by water and fish in a unique ceremony at an aquarium. The bride, Nami Arakawa (28), and groom Kosuke Sugiura (29) chose to tie the knot inside a 20m transparent tunnel running through the aquarium.
Reports that Zimbabwean Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu has annulled the registration of all NGOs active in the country have been greeted with dismay by civil society representatives. State-controlled television was quoted as saying that the annulment was aimed at identifying "agents of imperialism".
The JSE retained its weaker tone at noon trade on Thursday on profit-taking while resources were hit by fears that Beijing might raise interest rates. At 12pm the all-share index was off 0,45%. Resources fell 0,65% and the gold- and platinum-mining indices gave up 0,50% and 0,05% respectively. Industrials were down 0,32%, financials eased 0,30% and banks shed 0,45%.
Brant Parker, who for decades illustrated The Wizard of Id comic strip, has died just days after the passing of his collaborator on the comic. He was 86. Parker, of Lynchburg, died on April 15 at a nursing facility from complications of Alzheimer’s disease and a stroke he suffered last year.