The cellphone industry will introduce number portability on September 18, the Argus reported on Friday. Its website said this would allow a subscriber, whether on prepaid or contract, to move to another operator while keeping the same number. Communication experts predicted better service for cellphone users is bound to follow.
A man was killed and 42 people injured when two Metrorail trains collided north of Kempton Park on Friday night, Ekurhuleni emergency services said. Spokesperson Sugan Naidoo said the accident happened just after 7pm between the Pinedene and Olifantsfontein stations when two trains that were both on their way to Pretoria collided.
The Central Intelligence Agency of the United States authenticated a new audio-taped message on Friday in which al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden vows to wage holy war in Iraq and Africa, while the White House brushed off the message as old news. In the fourth tape this year, Bin Laden hails Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the slain al-Qaeda leader in Iraq, as a ”lion of Islam”.
![]()
Luca Toni repaid the faith shown in him by coach Marcello Lippi by scoring twice in Italy’s 3-0 win over Ukraine in the World Cup quarterfinals on Friday. The victory sealed a place in the last four of the tournament, where they will meet hosts Germany, a repeat of the 1982 final. Italy won that match 3-1 and were crowned world champions for a third time.
![]()
Goalkeeper Jens Lehmann was the toast of Germany as the hosts progressed into the semifinals of the World Cup with a sensational 4-2 penalty shootout win over Argentina on Friday. With the game unsettled at 1-1 after extra-time, Arsenal goalkeeper Lehmann stepped up to save spot-kicks from Roberto Ayala and Esteban Cambiasso to ensure celebration parties across Germany.
A 37-year-old police officer died after he and a colleague were wounded in a shooting with robbers in Soweto on Tuesday morning, police said. Inspector Leslie Mashaba (37) and Captain Simon Matladi (38) tried to arrest two armed robbers at a shack in Kliptown at 3am when the shooting began.
Music and storytelling marked the celebrations of former president Nelson Mandela’s birthday in Johannesburg on Tuesday.
South Africa’s Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Development says there is no truth in a recent <i>Mail & Guardian</i> story where it was asserted that President Thabo Mbeki had intervened and stopped the "judges Bills". The <i>M&G</i>, however, stated on Friday that it stands by the story, which it holds to be "of immense public interest".
Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende submitted his government’s resignation on Friday, clearing the way for a possible election, after a simmering immigration debate spilled over into a full-scale political crisis. Balkenende tendered the resignation to the head of state, Queen Beatrix.
The maximum-earnings ceiling for contributions to the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) will on Saturday increase from R10 966 to R11 662 per month, the Department of Labour said on Friday. ”All workers who earn above the maximum level will only contribute up to the maximum,” the department said in a media statement.