A 73-year-old former New Zealand soldier is to undergo a sex change and the government has agreed to pick up the 30 000 New Zealand dollar (R136 200) cost of the operation, a report said on Saturday. After the operation, transsexual Vicki Harvey will be able to change the gender on her birth certificate to "female".
A crocodile that fled an abandoned wildlife park for a day at the seaside caused beachgoers to panic at a popular south China resort on Sunday, state media said. The croc surfaced at Beihai city’s Silver beach in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, scaring off many swimmers, Xinhua news agency reported.
A third-division provincial girls’ football team entered the annals of Belgian soccer on Saturday after suffering a crushing 50-1 defeat because of the absence of a single but crucial player: their music-loving goalkeeper. SK Berlaar’s goal was left unguarded after their goalie opted instead to go to a rock festival
A second person has died from injuries sustained in an accident at Samancor’s Middelburg Ferrochrome furnace last week, a company spokesperson said on Monday. Jaji Jan Mtsweni was one of 13 people injured when ”hot gasses were released” from one of the furnaces last Wednesday morning.
Iraq roped in disenchanted Sunni Arabs for last-minute talks on Monday on thorny issues dogging the drafting of the Constitution just hours before a deadline to complete the charter expires. The talks ”could be the last-ditch effort to strike a deal on the Constitution”, a source close to the negotiations said.
Jacques Kallis will replace Nicky Boje as vice-captain to Graeme Smith in the Proteas national cricket team and will serve in this capacity for a year, after which he will decide if he wishes to continue in the role. This was announced at a media briefing by Cricket South Africa and the United Cricket Board in Durban on Monday.
Africa’s largest pharmaceutical manufacturer, Aspen Pharmacare, lifted headline earnings per share by 40% from 103,7 cents to 144,7 cents for the year ended June. In what was described as a record year for earnings, earnings before interest, taxation and amortisation increased by 32% to R831-million.
Everton won 1-0 at Bolton in the Premier League on Sunday to recover from last week’s season-opening loss to Manchester United. Ruud van Nistelrooy scored from close range in the 66th minute on Saturday to help Manchester United get another shut-out victory, beating Aston Villa 1-0.
Five men were injured during an attempted robbery at a jewellery store in Sandton City on Monday morning, ambulance service ER24 said. The robbers ran down the steps towards the Sandton Sun and Towers Intercontinental hotel and shot their way through the hotel’s glass doors to where a getaway car was waiting in Fifth Street.
Supersport United finally ended a four-season sequence without a victory against Moroka Swallows when two late goals gave them a 3-1 victory at a sun-swept Germiston Stadium on Sunday afternoon and entry into the semifinals of the SAA Supa8 competition.