On the platform at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, standing together at the podium, was not one George Bush, but two. Faced with the daunting annual ritual of having to be intentionally funny, Bush had arranged for an impressionist, Steve Bridges, to share the burden with him.
Hopes for a breakthrough in peace talks on the Darfur conflict were dashed on Sunday night when two of the main rebel groups refused to sign a proposed agreement only hours before a deadline expired. The Sudanese government and the rebels had been under enormous pressure to reach a deal over the conflict.
A report detailing white South Africa’s deadly military involvement during apartheid’s dying days has been made public for the first time, the Sunday Independent reported. The Steyn report details how the army helped destabilise the country during the turbulent early 1990s.
Namibia’s relaxed approach when it comes to celebrity is one of the main reasons why Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt chose this arid stretch of Africa to have their baby — and they should be left alone, locals say. In early April, Hollywood’s golden couple quietly jetted into Namibia where Jolie (30) is expected to give birth to their child.
A fishing trawler that was sinking with 21 crew members on board was safely towed to Port Elizabeth, the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) said on Sunday. NSRI Port Elizabeth deputy station commander Paul Killeen said the boat was successfully towed by rescue craft Spirit of Toft.
A case of vandalism and damage to property was opened against residents of the Joe Slovo informal settlement in Cape Town on Sunday, media reports said. The case was opened by the Cape Town municipality after some of the residents broke into property belonging to the municipality to occupy vacant flats.
Two South Africans were on board a plane missing since Friday in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday night. They were the pilot and his wife. A third passenger, believed to be a French or Canadian citizen, was also on board.
Between a dithering African National Congress and a blustering Democratic Alliance mayor Helen Zille, social cohesion in Cape Town is a distant dream, writes Richard Calland. The incident last Saturday when Zille was chased away from a meeting in Crossroads has provided a serious distraction.
It’s what most South African soccer followers will see as a dream Absa Cup final on May 20 — but there was plenty of drama as Orlando Pirates beat Classic 2-1 at Loftus Versfeld on Sunday afternoon to qualify for a match-up against arch-foes Kaizer Chiefs. The shocks and shenanigans began even before the kick-off.
South Africa successfully avoided the follow-on after tea on the fourth day of the second Castle Lager Test at Newlands on Sunday, and a draw now looks a certainty. When bad light stopped play an hour-and-a-half after tea, South Africa had 427 for five, and still trailed New Zealand by 166.