Africa’s last absolute monarch has invited banned opposition parties to enter the political playing field in Swaziland, speaking publicly on the issue for the first time in a rare interview. King Mswati III this week will celebrate 20 years since he ascended to the throne at the age of 18 in the small mountainous kingdom.
Suzaan van Biljon put such a mammoth effort into winning her third title in the 200m individual medley at the Telkom South African National Swimming Championships in Durban on Saturday that she could barely stand afterwards. Gerhard Zandberg bagged the 100m freestyle title on Saturday.
Top-ranked Roger Federer of Switzerland and defending champion Rafael Nadal of Spain will meet in the Monte Carlo Masters final after winning their semifinals on Saturday. Federer beat 12th-seeded Fernando Gonzalez of Chile 6-2, 6-4, and second-ranked Nadal downed Gaston Gaudio of Argentina 5-7, 6-1, 6-1.
A 100%-plus effort by an inspired and highly motivated Sharks pack of forwards piloted the Sharks to a most impressive 32-15 Vodacom Super 14 rugby victory over the Auckland Blues before 27 000 enthusiastic spectators at the Absa Stadium in Durban on Saturday.
”Happy, but not altogether happy,” was how one of the Orlando Pirates’ supporters, who are dubbed the ”Happy People”, reflected the general mood at Ellis Park on Saturday afternoon after the Buccaneers had beaten Sudan’s AlHilal 2-0 in a first-leg, third-round CAF Champions League game.
The Bulls kept their semifinal dream alive with a thorough 46-17 beating of a clawless and clueless Cats team in their Super 14 encounter played at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday. Coming into this game desperately needing a win to salvage their season from hell, the Cats did not disappoint their critics.
Thierry Henry came on as a substitute on Saturday and scored in the 84th minute to earn Arsenal a 1-1 draw with Tottenham in the last game at Highbury between the north London rivals. In the other key game on Saturday, Liverpool defeated Chelsea 2-1 in the semifinals of the FA Cup at Old Trafford.
Free State Stars beat Black Leopards 2-1 in their entertaining Premier Soccer League game played at Goble Park Stadium in Bethlehem on Saturday. In other matches, Golden Arrows drew with Ajax Cape Town, Thembisa Classic beat Santos, Bloemfontein Celtic beat Bush Bucks, and Moroka Swallows beat Jomo Cosmos.
The Wildebeest cemented their place at the top of the Vodacom Cup log, but had to rely on a last-minute penalty for an 11-9 victory over the Boland Cavaliers in Wellington on Saturday. It took a penalty by Wildebeest flyhalf Steve Meyer in the dying moments of the game to secure the visitors a victory.
Shi’ite leader Jawad al-Maliki has been given 30 days to form Iraq’s first full-term post-Saddam Hussein government after being nominated as prime minister to end a four-month political deadlock. United States President George Bush hailed al-Maliki’s nomination on Saturday.