South African mercenaries are said to be involved in Haiti in the run-up to that country’s elections later this year, media reports said on Tuesday. It said an e-mail to members of the SA Special Forces League mentions that league members and former members of the police task force have apparently ”positioned” themselves for ”fireworks in a small, controversial, Caribbean country”.
With a comeback title in his pocket and his back-nerve injury now under control, Andre Agassi is riding high as he moves deeper into his American hardcourt summer. The legend capped a return after two months off court hurt as he lifted a fourth title on Sunday at the  000 Mercedes-Benz trophy in Los Angeles, the 60th of his storied career.
Long distance swimmer Carina Bruwer on Monday became the 23rd South African to swim across the English Channel, the Cape Long Distance Swimming Association said in a statement. The ”nervous and excited” Bruwer began her attempt at 8.30am from Dover, England.
Angela Merkel’s hopes of sweeping to victory as Germany’s first woman chancellor are being threatened by a new party. Opinion polls reveal that the Left Party — launched recently by former communists and renegade Social Democrats — is already in third place, and its support base appears to be growing.
The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) on Monday launched a new round of lawsuits in Hollywood’s ongoing battle against film piracy on the internet. The MPAA said it was acting on a court ruling that peer-to-peer swapping networks like Grokster and the software behind them can be held accountable for illegal online film distribution.
About 150 shacks burnt down when a fire swept through the George Gogh informal settlement south of Johannesburg on Monday afternoon, emergency services said. Spokesperson Malcolm Midgley said the fire started just after 4pm when a rubbish fire got out of hand.
Dali Mpofu, the new group chief executive officer of the South African Broadcasting Corporation, took up his new job on Monday with a firm stance against corruption, SABC news reported. Mpofu said he hoped to bring values like team-building, integrity and respect to the corporation.
Saudi Arabia moved quickly on Monday to reassure the world that the death of King Fahd would not bring turmoil or a sudden change of direction to the world’s largest oil exporter. Crown Prince Abdullah, who had been in day-to-day charge for almost a decade after a stroke incapacitated the king, was immediately declared monarch.
Thirty-six people were killed and around 300 injured after rioting broke out in Khartoum on Monday following the death of the former rebel leader John Garang, who had been sworn in as Sudan’s vice-president just three weeks ago. A dusk-to-dawn curfew has been imposed in the Sudanese capital in a bid to restore order.
Brazil and South Africa are the only two countries in the world that have any real market for half-tonne bakkies. The Brazilian-built Fiat Strada enjoys 25% of the light commercial vehicle market in its home country, and now that it’s arrived in South Africa it’ll probably have a huge impact on sales of General Motors’ Corsa utility and Ford’s Bantam.