With South African women remaining society’s most vulnerable members, the country still has not achieved the kind of nation the marchers 50 years ago would be proud of, Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Tony Leon said on Wednesday. He said that 50 years onwards, women actually have less to celebrate.
Former South Africa captain Mbulelo Mabizela has returned home to play for Mamelodi Sundowns after being released by Norwegian champions Valerenga, his new club announced on Tuesday. The 25-year-old, who was South Africa’s youngest-ever captain, is the latest in a series of recent high-profile signings by champions Sundowns.
Captain Aaron Mokoena and five other foreign-based players make their return to South Africa’s squad for the first time this year in a friendly against neighbours Namibia in Windhoek on August 16. Caretaker coach Pitso Mosimane on Tuesday brought back the Blackburn Rovers defender plus Bradley Carnell, Quinton Fortune, Steven Pienaar, Nasief Morris and MacBeth Sibaya.
Israeli troops thrust deeper into Lebanon on Wednesday and were reported to have lost four dead to Hezbollah rocket fire as Israel’s inner cabinet debated whether to order a bigger advance before any United Nations move to end the war. A vote on a UN Security Council resolution may not take place before Thursday because of wrangling over its content.
Typhoon Saomai moved closer to Taiwan’s capital on Wednesday, with landfall expected on Thursday morning, as a tropical storm fizzled at the south end of the island and another changed its course, veering toward the east of Japan. Saomai approached from the east with sustained winds of 155kph and gusts up to 191kph.
The film Snakes on a Plane has yet to be released, but already enjoys cult status in cyberspace, thanks to little more than its over-the-top title, which just begs to be parodied. It stars Samuel L Jackson as an FBI agent who fights off hundreds of snakes released by a Mob boss on a commercial flight in a attempt to kill a key witness.
An unseemly row was raging in Britain on Wednesday over whether Margaret Thatcher, the former prime minister, should be granted a state funeral when she dies. Thatcher (80), who is currently enjoying good health, is generally seen as Britain’s most divisive post-war leader.
South Africa plans to introduce a new law that will broaden the legal definition of rape in a bid to clamp down on widespread sexual offences, the justice ministry said on Wednesday. South Africa has one of the world’s highest rates of violent crime, including rape.
Zimbabwe’s annual inflation rate has declined to 993,6% in July from 1 184,6%, the country’s Central Statistical Office (CSO) said on Wednesday. "The year-on-year rate of inflation in July 2006 was 993,6%, shedding 191 percentage points on the June rate of 1 184,6%," acting CSO director Moffat Nyoni told a news conference.
British police stepped up a high-profile probe on Wednesday into suspicions that a senior tabloid newspaper journalist and two other men intercepted phone calls from staff close to Prince Charles, heir to the throne. Anti-terrorist officers at London’s metropolitan police are investigating because of the potential security risks to the royal family.