It was a night of emphatic victories on day three of the Telkom South African National Swimming Championships in Durban on Thursday. Jean Basson came within just one-100th of a second of his best time as he cruised to victory in the 200m freestyle. The 18-year-old had little trouble from his rivals throughout the race.
While the intriguing Premier Soccer League title race enjoys a ”rest period’ this weekend, there is no respite for Orlando Pirates as they take on Sudan’s AlHilal in a first-leg, third-round Caf Champions League game at Ellis Park on Saturday afternoon — easily the most prestigious, lucrative and testing challenge that confronts Pirates.
Roger Federer has relied on his serve to remain unbeaten in ATP Masters events for more than a year. Guillermo Coria has had to overcome his serve just to get to the quarterfinals of the Monte Carlo Masters. Federer won 87% of the points on his first serve as he defeated third-round opponent Benjamin Balleret of Monaco on Thursday.
Desmond Tutu, the former chairperson of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, says he has doubts over the prospects of success in prosecutions of apartheid-era perpetrators of gross human rights. ”I worry that we could … have cases that go on for a long time, that evoke all kinds of emotion, then the people are acquitted,” he said.
Rodrigo Rato, the head of the International Monetary Fund, said on Thursday that President Robert Mugabe’s government needed to change its economic course and the way it is governing the Southern African nation. Rato, who was addressing journalists in Washington, said the multilateral lender was still concerned over Zimbabwe’s future.
Half the titles on the Homebru list are by women. But, asks Michelle Matthews, what more can be done to make women’s voices heard?
The radio interview I recorded with Dame Muriel Spark at her Tuscan home two years ago almost never made it on to tape because a dog outside could not be silenced. We waited for the preferred BBC background quiet during what seemed like an hour of growling, but were forced to proceed with the hound […]
The fight for political control of the Himalayan kingdom of Nepal left at least three people dead and scores injured on Thursday as pro-democracy demonstrators defied a curfew by gathering at the perimeter of the country’s capital to demand an end to royal rule.
Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting has labelled the increasingly hectic international Test schedule ”unacceptable” and has demanded more recovery time between matches. Ponting’s side completed a 2-0 series clean sweep against Bangladesh on Thursday but only after the Test minnows came close to a shock win in the first match against an out-of-sorts Australia.
Italian police codebreakers are turning to the Bible in their efforts to get at the many secrets of the Mafia’s ”boss of bosses”. Bernardo Provenzano was arrested this month after 43 years on the run. When an undercover policewoman known as ”the Cat” walked into his rural hideout on April 11 she found him surrounded by encoded messages to and from his lieutenants.