Of all of Africa’s four debutants at the World Cup, Côte d’Ivoire could be the side best placed to spring a shock. The Ivorians pulled off a dramatic upset in qualifying by eliminating four-time finalists Cameroon and as a result will arrive in Germany knowing that sometimes miracles do happen.
The Sharks, with a 24-10 lead and 16 minutes to play, suddenly found themselves pressured into error by a resurgent Stormers side in their Super 14 rugby encounter on Saturday before taking the four match points with a 24-17 victory. With one game to go against the Western Force in Durban next week, the loss of that bonus point chance may have scuttled their semifinal hopes.
A hat-trick of tries by Springbok midfielder Jaque Fourie was enough to stave off a late fightback by the Blues and give the Cats a morale-boosting victory in their last game of the Super 14 at Ellis Park on Saturday, winning narrowly 34-33. Fourie was exceptional in midfield and proved his class once again as he tore open gaps in the Blues defence and pounced for his three tries.
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All eyes will be on Jacob Zuma’s rape trial judgement in Johannesburg High Court 4E on Monday. If he is not guilty, he will collect his R20Â 000 bail money and walk out of the court a free man. If he is found guilty, the sentencing and appeal process will begin.
The church bells of Beaconsfield, a small town in north Tasmania, have not rung since the end of World War II. But on Saturday night the bellringers were preparing to go to work again as two mates who have been buried alive for 12 days almost a kilometre deep after the collapse of the town’s goldmine on 25 April were being dug free of their nightmare.
Six Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip over the weekend while workers began to protest against their government’s failure to pay them wages for two months. A 60-year old farmer was the latest victim of Israeli shelling, which continued all day on Saturday in response to the firing of six missiles at Israel on Friday.
United States legal authorities have submitted an extradition request for Isaac Kwame Amuah, son-in-law of former president Nelson Mandela, media reports said on Sunday. Amuah is a fugitive in the US after failing to appear in court on a rape charge dating back to 1993.
It may sound like science fiction, but the prospect that suicide bombers and hijackers could be made redundant by flying robots is a real one, according to experts. The technology for remote-controlled light aircraft is now highly advanced, widely available — and, experts say, virtually unstoppable.
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Security bosses are preparing Zuma’s rape accuser for a life in exile in another country, out of fear for her life in South Africa, the Sunday Times reported. The decision to move the 31-year-old HIV-positive complainant abroad followed a ”high-level” security assessment undertaken by police officials and the intelligence services.
A United States helicopter involved in an anti-Taliban combat operation crashed in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan, killing all 10 US soldiers on board, the US military said on Saturday. The crash of the Chinook in Kunar province late on Friday was another blow to coalition forces in Afghanistan after a bomb killed two Italian soldiers near the capital the same day.