Thousands of people marched through the streets of Cape Town to Parliament on Saturday to demand diplomatic and trade sanctions against Israel. The march, one of several organised around the country this week, was under the auspices of a broad coalition of trade unions, religious bodies and civil society.
Disaster relief in the Eastern Cape was well under way by Saturday morning, after the province was hit this week by flooding, disaster management said. ”We relocated 7 000 people yesterday [Friday] to about 25 community halls in Port Elizabeth and East London,” said a spokesperson for the Nelson Mandela Bay municipal council.
Tour de France champion Floyd Landis’s back-up urine sample confirmed high levels of testosterone, cycling’s governing body said on Saturday, raising the prospect that he could lose his title. Following the results of the ”B” sample, Landis was fired by his Swiss team, Phonak.
Youngsters Chamara Kapugedera and Prasanna Jayawardene sparked a Sri Lankan batting revival after South Africa threatened to run away with the second cricket Test in Colombo on Saturday. The duo put on 105 for the sixth wicket after a four-wicket haul by South Africa’s Makhaya Ntini reduced the hosts to 86-5 before lunch.
Mat Rogers scored out wide with four minutes remaining and Stirling Mortlock converted from the sideline as Australia rallied to edge South Africa 20-18 in Saturday’s Tri-Nations rugby union international. The Australians, 49-0 victors over the South Africans three weeks ago, let a 10-0 half-time lead slip.
The starry-eyed bubble of local invincibility surrounding Kaizer Chiefs after their recent victory over Manchester United was burst by Mamelodi Sundowns in the second Telkom Charity Cup semifinal at FNB Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Earlier, Moses Spandeel led Bloemfontein Celtic to a 2-0 victory over Orlando Pirates.
Tropical Storm Prapiroon killed 18 people as it lashed south China with heavy rain and winds on Friday after forcing the evacuation of more than half a million and snarling transport links across the region. State television showed pictures of huge trees uprooted by the roadside in the Guangdong city of Shenzhen.
An Australian city slicker who recently moved to the continent’s tropical far north has found he is housemates with a 6m python and its 3m mate. James Kinniburgh discovered the amethystine pythons living in the roof of his Cairns house a fortnight ago, Australia’s AAP news agency reported on Saturday.
Somalia’s Prime Minister, Ali Mohamed Gedi, on Friday appointed seven new ministers as he started replacing the 38 who quit in the past week to protest against the deployment of Ethiopian troops to protect his 18-month-old administration.
World oil prices fell on Friday, but losses were limited by strong demand, tight supplies and geopolitical tensions, analysts said. Traders were monitoring the latest developments in Nigeria, the biggest oil producer in Africa, where three Filipino oil and gas workers were abducted on Friday.