French driver Thierry Magnaldi won the eighth stage of the Dakar Rally on Saturday as two-time defending champion Stephane Peterhansel regained the overall lead in his Mitsubishi. Magnaldi, in a Schlesser-Ford, took the 508km stage from Atar to Nouakchott in five hours and 56 seconds to celebrate his second stage win on this year’s event.
Zimbabwe cricketers called off their strike on Saturday and gave the game’s rulers three weeks to find a solution to the impasse that once again threatens the strife-torn country’s Test status. Following a meeting with their representative, Clive Field, the 37 players involved agreed to shelve their three-month stoppage until January 31.
Non-league minnows Nuneaton Borough earned a dramatic draw at home to English Premiership team Middlesbrough in the biggest shock of the FA Cup third round on Saturday. Fellow non-leaguers Tamworth will also find their name in the hat for the FA Cup fourth-round draw after they earned a draw at Championship side Stoke.
In a match filled with many nostalgic moments, illustrious former soccer stars playing for a European combination gained a 3-1 win over the African XI in what was billed as ”The Battle of the Legends” at a rain-swept Ellis Park on Saturday night. And no one demonstrated the ingrained skills any better than Italy’s Roberto di Matteo.
All-rounder Jacques Kallis will miss South Africa’s Twenty20 cricket international against Australia at the Gabba in Brisbane on Monday. Kallis will be rested along with pacemen Andre Nel and Charl Langeveldt and all-rounder Justin Kemp, coach Mickey Arthur said on Sunday.
An estimated 2,5-million Muslim pilgrims began the annual trek on Sunday from the holy city of Mecca to the valley of Mina, with Saudi authorities on high alert to prevent another tragedy. The pilgrimage rites, known as the hajj, start three days after an ageing hostel in the heart of Mecca collapsed, killing 76 people.
A Democratic Republic of Congo court has ordered the seizure of equipment used by Air France, SN Brussels and Ethiopian Airlines for their alleged failure to pay for ground services, a judicial source said on Saturday. The source said the seizure covers such items as boarding stairs, trucks and luggage belts at Kinshasa airport.
President Thabo Mbeki and other members of the African National Congress leadership — including Jacob Zuma — were gathering in Cape Town on Sunday for the launch of the party’s local government election campaign. The launch coincides with the 94th anniversary of the ANC’s founding on January 8 1912.
Authorities in Tanzania’s semiautonomous state of Zanzibar on Saturday started rationing water in the capital due to shortages at reservoirs caused by a searing drought that has placed millions at risk of famine across East Africa, officials said. ”The only option is to start rationing the little water we get,” an official said.
A Tygerberg hospital minibus used to transport patients has been hijacked, Cape Town police said on Saturday. The Toyota Hi-Ace minibus, fitted to transport outpatients, was on its way from Tygerberg hospital to Eersteriver hospital with a passenger just after noon.