A bone found on a British beach has sparked renewed interest in one of the country’s most curious myths — that a monkey washed ashore during the Napoleonic Wars was executed by suspicious locals for being a French spy. The discovery has intrigued locals, given the town’s curious folklore.
A chemical fire that left billowing clouds of smoke hanging over Brakpan North was extinguished at noon on Friday, 14 hours after it started. At least three residents were hospitalised for irritation to their mucous membranes — eyes, noses and mouths — caused by the fumes, said an emergency services spokesperson.
Japan launched a nationwide probe on Friday into thousands of mysterious, sharp-edged pieces of metal in different sizes found jutting out of roadside guardrails across the country. Japanese media have been debating whether the shards were planted by pranksters or if they could all have been formed by car fragments in crashes.
![]()
South African Deputy President Jacob Zuma has told business people in Lusaka, Zambia, that his conscience ”is clear”, as he has not committed any crimes. Meanwhile, Shaik’s conviction does not necessarily signal the closure of his Nkobi group of companies.
A few weeks back, I mentioned that I had been playing with a Blackberry and promised to come back to you once I had done a bit more rigorous testing on it. I have. In the meantime, I have also had the chance to try out the Nokia 9500 — a new-generation smart phone that oozes a stylish charm and screams "Open me, open me" when you look at it.
Scattered violence at and near polling stations, including a deadly grenade attack and the shooting of a South African peacekeeper working for the United Nations, threatened to mar key local elections in war-ravaged Burundi on Friday.
You can just imagine the conversation, can’t you? ”Phew … that was a near miss — we nearly had to investigate something sleazy in football … But wait a minute, have you seen what that nasty chap at this team in Ryman League Division Two has done? The naughty so-and-so … We’ll soon sort him out …”
Whatever else happens in Glasgow, Gordon Strachan has already shaken the critics. Those who doubted whether his heart was really in management must be silent now. Other members of his profession were bemused last year when he walked out at Southampton, but they cannot question the depth of his ambition any longer.
And so England’s post-season visit to the United States ended on a victorious note and a triumphant one for Michael Owen. The validity of this tour is a topic that will continue to attract legitimate criticism, but Owen will retain fond memories of his time in New Jersey after a hat-trick elevated him to fourth in the all-time list of England scorers.
The hour has finally come for Bafana Bafana to step up a gear in their final round of World and African Nations Cup qualifiers. South Africa meet Cape Verde, who lie second behind them, in Praia, Cape Verde, on Saturday. The preparations for this match did not go according to plan, as the players arrived for training in dribs and drabs.