Springbok flyhalf Andre Pretorius marked his return to action with two conversions and a drop goal as the Lions drew 24-24 with Griquas in their Vodacom Cup match in Kimberley on Friday night. In Friday’s other match, Pumas fullback Casper Steyn kicked his team to a 15-9 win over the Mighty Elephants in Port Elizabeth.
Even with one brief lapse, Roger Federer needed only 59 minutes to beat David Ferrer 6-1, 6-4 and reach the Nasdaq-100 Open final on Friday. His opponent on Sunday will be sixth-seeded Ivan Ljubicic, a Croat who advanced to his first final in the United States by beating number three David Nalbandian 6-1, 6-2.
Jenson Button earned his third career formula-one pole position on Saturday after recording the fastest time in qualifying for Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix. It was the first pole since last year’s Canadian Grand Prix for the Honda driver, who is yet to win a race in more than 100 grands prix.
If a religious person offers to pray for you next time you fall ill, you may wish to ask them politely not to bother. The largest scientific study into the health effects of prayer seems to suggest it may make matters worse. Two-thirds of Americans and more than a quarter of British people say they pray regularly.
General Wojciech Jaruzelski, the former communist leader of Poland, is to stand trial for ”communist crimes” 25 years after he tried to crush the Solidarity trade union, declared a ”state of war” in Poland and jailed tens of thousands. Jaruzelski has always argued that his decision to impose martial law was the lesser of two evils.
President Thabo Mbeki has rejected a request by Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon for a commission of inquiry into aspects of South Africa’s intelligence agencies. Leon had asked for a probe into the activities of the intelligence structures in the wake of the African National Congress hoax e-mail scandal.
It was supposed to be an evening cruise to celebrate the completion of one of the Gulf kingdom’s most prestigious building projects, the twin towers of the Bahrain World Trade Centre. But even before the ship, an old Arab dhow, left the dock near the Marina Club at Manama, there were signs that something was wrong.
Commuters angered by bus-fare increases have burnt three North West Star buses in Hammanskraal, north of Pretoria, South African Broadcasting Corporation news reported on Saturday. Commuters were protesting on Friday night against the increases, which come into effect on Saturday.
Construction company Murray & Roberts Holdings late on Friday afternoon released the names of the South Africans killed in the Bahrain ferry disaster. Fifty-seven people were killed when a ferry capsized while on a pleasure cruise on Thursday night.
Soccer star Benedict Vilakazi was acquitted on charges of rape and statutory rape in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Friday, South African Broadcasting Corporation radio news reported. Earlier, the state asked the court to drop the charge of rape but retain the charge of statutory rape.