The start of the Soccer World Cup has had an unexpected benefit for blackout-plagued Cape Town, the city’s manager for public lighting, Charles Kadalie, said on Wednesday. He said a drop in evening peak electricity demand in residential areas has been noticeable since Friday, when the tournament got under way in Germany.
Patriotism appears to have played no small part in Dutch gay men’s selection of their World Cup ”first 11” based on looks and sex appeal, as revealed by a survey conducted by a gay newspaper. Dutch squad members Robin van Persie, John Heitinga and Jan Kromkamp all make the team.
The aroma of meat sizzling on the side of the road was an incongruous distraction at the entrance to Virgin Active’s new Khayelitsha ”township gym”, which aims to educate local residents about the advantages of a healthy diet and exercise. ”It’s not going to be easy to convince them, but we must convince them bit by bit,” said trainee assistant Noxolo Jaho on Wednesday.
A new centre in Botswana is piloting some innovative strategies to address the emotional and medical needs of HIV/Aids healthcare providers.
Indonesian scientists on Wednesday again placed Mount Merapi on its highest-alert level a day after the volcano had been downgraded, meaning they believe an eruption is imminent. Potentially deadly heat clouds streaming from Merapi’s peak caused panic among some villagers living around the volcano’s slopes.
HIV/Aids programmes in sub-Saharan Africa cannot be implemented by doctors and nurses alone if they are to expand to meet the treatment needs of citizens, according to United States global Aids coordinator Dr Mark Dybul, who is in South Africa to attend a meeting of the implementers of the US President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief.
Open source is alive and well in South Africa’s biggest township, Soweto. Bongani Hlope carries the flag high, planning a <i>tsotsitaal</i> translation for Linux to make it more accessible for his neighbours. By day, he’s a Java developer at health-insurance giant Discovery Health.
Injuries have forced Springbok coach Jake White to make three changes to his Test-winning side, including dropping star centre Jean de Villiers for the weekend’s second Test against Scotland. Both De Villiers and centre partner Jaque Fourie have been ruled out. De Villiers had left the field in the second half of the first Test with rib injuries.
Springbok coach Jake White announced a new centre pairing to face Scotland in the second Test in Port Elizabeth on Saturday. Injuries to centres Jean de Villiers and Jaque Fourie forced White to select the untested combination of Olivier and Snyman.
Hospitalised former president FW de Klerk had a ”peaceful” night after a tracheotomy was successfully performed, Panorama Medi-Clinic said on Wednesday. Spokesperson Melissa Rademan said De Klerk was in a stable condition in an intensive-care unit at the hospital.