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On August 9 1956, a crowd of about 20 000 South African women of all races flocked to Pretoria’s Union Buildings and their leaders delivered petitions to the government. This year, 50 years on, South Africans celebrate the massive women’s march.
The shutdown of a major Alaskan oil field sent oil prices sharply higher on Monday and prompted investors to sell stocks on inflation fears, one day before the Federal Reserve’s next decision on interest rates. BP plc said late on Sunday it would shut down the Prudhoe Bay oilfield due to possible pipeline corrosion.
Pilot error, faulty equipment and inclement weather all contributed to the plane crash that claimed the life of former national cricket captain Hansie Cronje, an inquest heard on Monday. The Hawker Siddeley 748 crashed into the Outeniqua mountain range outside George on June 1 2002.
Alleged serial rapist and multiple murderer Sipho Dube (30) deserves to be locked up for life, the uncle of one of his victims said on Monday. The judge presiding over Dube’s case, Judge Seun Moshidi, said in his summary judgement on Monday that the crimes were characterised by the same modus operandi.
An official complaint is to be lodged against veteran Australian commentator Dean Jones for a remark he made, Cricket South Africa CEO Gerald Majola said on Monday. Jones was heard to say on a live TV broadcast that ”the terrorist has got another wicket” when Proteas fielder Hashim Amla caught Kumar Sangakkara.
The German-born opera singer Elizabeth Schwarzkopf, regarded as one of the greatest sopranos of her age, died on August 3 at the age of 90 in Schruns in western Austria, according to the Austria Press Agency. Schwarzkopf began her career in 1938 in Berlin.
The National Democratic Convention (Nadeco) on Monday suspended two national MPs and a KwaZulu-Natal MPL from the party. ”We are currently investigating the conduct of certain members of Nadeco, and will, if necessary, institute disciplinary action soon,” Nadeco president Ziba Jiyane said in a statement.
Authorities at the University of Zululand have threatened to close the institution if protesting students did not return to class on Monday, a spokesperson said. ”All students have been requested to go back to class immediately. Failure to comply … by 3pm, the university will be closed by 4pm today [Monday],” said a university spokesperson.
The British public is getting the chance to vote for their favourite actress to take the lead role of Maria von Trapp when The Sound of Music returns to the London stage in December. Ten remaining candidates will compete to land the part of the singing nun in a series of live televised knock-out rounds.