Thousands of tiny frogs rained on a town in north-western Serbia, Belgrade daily Blic reported on Tuesday. Strong winds brought storm clouds over Odzaci, 120km north-west of Belgrade, on Sunday afternoon, but instead of rain, down came the tiny amphibians, witnesses said.
Killer rabbits, flatulent Frenchmen, giant knights who say ”Ni!” — it is the kind of daft British humour one would not expect to storm New York. But Spamalot, the musical based loosely on the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, has romped home with the most prestigious prizes in this year’s Tony awards.
Tests by Japanese electronics maker Sharp have found an air-purifier using plasmacluster ion technology was 99% effective in killing-off the bird flu virus in a controlled environment. Plasmacluster have ions also proved effective against 26 other kinds of harmful airborne substances, including bacteria, mould fungi, viruses and allergens.
Moroka Swallows MD Leon Prins on Monday described weekend reports that the Birds’ multimillionaire majority shareholder Dieter Bock was poised to sell his interests in the Soweto Premier Soccer League club as ”a lot of hogwash”. ”We are here to stay,” was the message from a noticeably incensed Prins.
It’s a choice any coach would welcome: When Ronaldo returns, which of Brazil’s soccer stars should he replace? It’s the decision Carlos Alberto Parreira will have to make — and it got tougher on Sunday when Brazil’s improvised front line led a steamroller offence that routed Paraguay 4-1 in a World Cup qualifier.
Star Springbok lock Victor Matfield and winger Breyton Paulse cut lonely figures at Monday afternoon’s training session at Selborne College. Springbok chief coach Jake White announced on Monday that Matfield had been forced to withdraw from the side to play Uruguay in East London on Saturday.
Edwin van der Sar has vowed to become Manchester United’s new Peter Schmeichel and put them back on top of English football. The former Juventus and Ajax goalkeeper has agreed a two-year contract at Old Trafford, who have tried 10 ‘keepers since Schmeichel left in 1999 after the treble-winning season.
Samoan coach Michael Jones said on Tuesday the gap between rugby’s rich and poor nations is extending ever further and that he is dismayed over the official indifference to the plight of the sport in the Pacific Islands. Jones is preparing his team for Saturday’s one-off international with Australia in Sydney and is looking to show what Samoan rugby can offer the rugby world.
Cautious buyers and market saturation is contributing to a slowdown at the top end of the residential property market, with houses priced over R2-million staying unsold for longer, First National Bank chief economist Cees Bruggemans said on Tuesday.
South African financial services group African Life Assurance Company on Tuesday reported a 37% increase in headline earnings per share to 244,2 cents for the year ended March 31, from 178,4 cents a year ago. A strong performance from African Life Health helped increase operating profit by 28% to R226,7-million.