The national executive committee (NEC) of the African National Congress (ANC) on Saturday rejected the conclusions of a task-team report on the hoax email saga. The NEC meeting focused primarily on the political preparations for the ANC’s 52nd national conference, which will take place in December.
An unofficial state of emergency has been imposed on Zimbabwe by President Robert Mugabe, with police beating people who venture on to the streets after dark and breaking up gatherings as small as four people, residents report. Government gunmen on Saturday seized the body of an opposition activist to prevent his burial from becoming a focal point for the opposition.
Silver Stars went into the quarterfinals of the Absa Cup when they narrowly beat Ajax Cape Town by a 1-0 score in the fifth minute. Supersport United beat Lamontville Golden Arrows 1-0 to qualify for the quarterfinals too, and Benoni Premier United qualified as well when they beat Mvela League Bay United 2-1.
The Cheetahs snapped their poor recent form to garner an incredible 38-20 victory over the fancied Brumbies in Bloemfontein on Saturday. The hosts led 14-0 at the break and never looked like losing the game. The Cheetahs were spectacular and ran the ball at every opportunity.
Sprinter Sherwin Vries pulled off an amazing sprint double at the South African Senior Track and Field Championships at King’s Park Athletics Stadium in Durban on Saturday, showing he is on track to go to the World Championships in Japan later this year. It was a fifth national title for Vries.
Luke Watson scored a try and Peter Grant kicked three penalties and a conversion as South Africa’s Stormers beat New South Wales 16-10 in a Super 14 rugby match on Saturday. ”It’s going to be a good test of character from here on in,” Waratahs captain Adam Freier said.
Ian Thorpe glanced at the pool and felt a bit of an urge to dive in — but no chance. The swimming community bid farewell to one of its greatest performers on Saturday night, honoring the ”Thorpedo” at the opening ceremony for the world championships in his home country.
A Russian airliner crash-landed in the central Russian city of Samara on Saturday, killing seven people and injuring 23, emergency officials said. Authorities gave conflicting accounts about what caused the incident. An Emergency Situations Ministry spokesperson said the plane grazed the runway with a wing as it tried to land in heavy fog.
Bombers detonated explosives on three trucks carrying a toxic gas amid traffic in western Iraq, killing at least two police and leaving 350 civilians needing treatment, the United States military said on Saturday. All three attacks were carried out between 4.11pm and 7.13pm local time on Friday
Former MP Tony Yengeni’s son Mandla was hijacked in Nyanga, outside Cape Town, on Friday night. A silver Mercedes Benz with four or five occupants stopped in front of Yengeni and his friends and approached the victims, pointing firearms at them. At gunpoint, they stole a black Volkswagen Golf and sped off.