At least 47 people were killed on Friday when a bus plunged into a river in northern Tanzania, bringing the death toll from traffic accidents in the region to at least 75 this week. The bus, going from the town of Melerani to Arusha, spun out of control on a bridge and toppled into a river at Makumira, about 20km from its destination, killing the victims.
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The 2006 World Cup officially began on Friday, kicked off by a colourful ceremony celebrating football lore and the 32 nations taking part in the globe’s biggest single sporting event. From a stage at Munich’s dazzling new stadium, German President Horst Koehler declared the start of the championship’s 18th edition since 1930.
A new policy of free medical care for Burundian mothers and children was intended to improve their lives; instead it has crippled the nation’s health system. Public hospitals in Burundi have recorded double, sometimes triple, the number of patients since the presidential directive for free health services was implemented on May 1.
Danish ceramicist Bjoern Wiinblad, best known for his pottery decorated with native fairy characters and trademark cherubic maidens, has died, his secretary said on Friday. He was 87. Wiinblad died shortly before midnight on Thursday, said Goy Badse, his secretary of 45 years.
South Africans of all races are gearing up to mark a historic Zulu uprising against British colonial masters a century ago, seen as the birth of black resistance that later ended apartheid. Soldiers in uniform and Zulu warriors on Sunday will commemorate the 100th year of the Bhambatha rebellion in protest against a British tax.
The Vereeniging laundry murder case will soon be re-enrolled at court, Gauteng minister of community safety Firoz Cachalia said on Friday. ”The police have assured me that the matters of concern raised by the magistrate are being dealt with and that the case will soon be re-enrolled at court,” Cachalia said during his budget speech.
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Under-pressure Brazil striker Ronaldo on Friday called on the media to stop harping on about his weight and called on reporters to show him more respect. ”The issue of my weight does not interest anyone; it’s just ridiculous,” the 2002 World Cup winner snapped.
Former African National Congress chief whip Tony Yengeni has filed papers with the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein in a final bit to challenge his four-year prison sentence passed in 2003 in relation to fraud. Yengeni is asking for leave to appeal directly to the Supreme Court of Appeal against his fraud sentence.
The traditional-medicines sector will soon be recognised in the department of health’s budget, Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang said on Friday. Speaking at a traditional-medicine workshop in Benoni, Tshabalala-Msimang said her department will also speed up the process of establishing an interim traditional-health council.
The Kruger National Park (KNP), veterinary surgeons and researchers are closely monitoring an outbreak of anthrax in the north of the park. ”We would like to assure the public that this is a minor outbreak … and, at this stage, there is no major cause for concern,” KNP executive director Bandile Mkhize said.