Do not fret. Everything will be in place by 2010. Everything. The stadiums will be in place. The trains and taxis will be in place. Naturally it is possible that the stadiums will be in place somewhere else, a decimal on the GPS display overlooked, to provide concrete amphitheatres in which demagogue dassies harangue termites and sun-bleached Pick ‘n Pay packets.
Israel pressed on with its air assault on Gaza on Friday in a bid to retrieve a soldier abducted nearly three weeks ago and stop rocket attacks but troops withdrew from the centre of the territory. The continued offensive came as the United States vetoed a United Nations resolution calling on Israel to halt its military operations in Gaza.
Legendary rugby winger Jonah Lomu will renew his bid to regain his All Black place on Saturday when he takes the field in an Auckland club match. Since receiving a kidney transplant in 2004, 31-year-old Lomu has been trying to resurrect his glory days but a stint with Welsh side Cardiff was cut short in April by an ankle injury.
Giant petrochemicals firm Sasol said it was confident that workers who planned to strike at the company would accept a new pay offer given to trade unions on Thursday. On top of its 6,5% salary increase, Sasol also offered a further 1,5% hike on employees’ housing subsidies.
The top World Cup official in Berlin has died four days after shooting himself in the head just hours after the final, the German press reported on Friday. The <i>Berliner Morgenpost</i> quoted a spokesperson of the Charite hospital as saying Juergen Kiessling (65) passed away on Thursday.
Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa has instituted an investigation into the affairs of his provincial finance minister Paul Mashatile following Mail & Guardian reports of possible conflicts of interests. But Shilowa immediately qualified the possible effectiveness of such an investigation by saying that on the basis of a brief conversation he had with Mashatile, he did not see any wrongdoing.
The Democratic Alliance has contradicted its stated policy by giving an African National Congress-aligned municipal manager a R1,8-million golden handshake.
The mayoral committee decided to terminate Bruce Kannemeyer’s contract, and pay him out for the remainder of his term, at its first meeting after the March local elections.
It would be nice to believe that Springbok coach Jake White had patched up his differences with the South African Rugby Union (Saru) after both sides released conciliatory statements this week following the mess over the extension of White’s contract. But you can tell when politicians lie: their lips move.
Robert Bigelow, the Las Vegas property magnate and space entrepreneur, moved a step closer to his dream of opening an orbiting space hotel on Thursday. At around lunchtime he confirmed that a test vehicle launched on Wednesday from Yasny in Russia had reached its target orbit 547km up with a 64° inclination to the equator.
”Always low prices” is the endlessly repeated slogan of Wal-Mart, the world’s biggest retailer. But now, if the price is low enough — under — you might get away without paying at all. The chain has decided to stop seeking prosecution of shoplifters stealing goods worth less than , ending the ”zero tolerance” policy inaugurated by the firm’s strictly moral founder, Sam Walton.