Buyelwa Sonjica, the Minister of Minerals and Energy Affairs, has welcomed the findings of an inquest that found the negligence on the part of Northam Platinum could not be ruled out in the deaths of nine workers in an underground fire at the company’s Zondereinde mine near Thabazimbi two years ago.
With food and fuel stocks running perilously low, local and international aid officials in Tyre were preparing on Wednesday for a siege. Israel has warned everyone south of Lebanon’s Litani river to move north. Some Israeli commanders have said their ground troops may move up to the river in the coming days to hold a huge swath of southern Lebanon until an international force arrives.
England and Bath flyhalf Olly Barkley was arrested by police using CS (violence controlling) spray after a fight in which a man suffered a broken jaw. Devon and Cornwall police confirmed on Thursday that the 24-year-old was detained by them along with two other men in the seaside town of Newquay, north Cornwall on the weekend.
KwaZulu-Natal Aquatics president Peter Thompson has confirmed that eThekwini Municipality was among the six cities announced by the world governing body of swimming, Fina, bidding to stage the 14th Fina World Aquatic Championships in 2011.
Andrew Flintoff is planning to regain match fitness well before the first Ashes Test against Australia, which starts at Brisbane’s Gabba ground on November 23. The 28-year-old England all-rounder, the man selectors want to captain the team in Australia, underwent surgery on his problem left ankle last week.
Michael Schumacher aims to continue his assault on Fernando Alonso at the Hungarian Formula One Grand Prix on Sunday, in which he could move within one point of his rival if all goes well. Schumacher is coming off three straight victories in his Ferrari, with Alonso and his Renault team seemingly not able to match their form and speed of the earlier part of the season.
South Africa are set for another agonising battle when the second and final Test against Sri Lanka starts on Friday at off-spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan’s home club. The Sara Oval at the Tamil Union Club, where Muralitharan plays his domestic cricket, is regarded as a spinners’ haven tailor-made for the prolific star.
Zimbabwean shops and businesses were on Tuesday slashing zeros from their prices as the country started adjusting to a redenominated currency introduced by the central bank. But ordinary people pondered whether this signalled that the country’s economic fortunes were improving.
The JSE surrendered early gains to head south on Thursday as players adopted a cautious stance ahead of the Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC) announcement on interest rates due just after 3pm. Weakness on offshore markets and a lower gold price added to the negativity.
Rescuers trying to save a woman who got stuck in a tree after her house was flooded were hampered by snakes making for their jet ski, the National Sea Rescue Institute said on Thursday. ”There were lots of snakes in the flood waters. They were using the rescue gear and the jetski for floatation,” spokesperson Craig Lambinon said.