John Paul II revolutionised the papacy with his formidable energy and intellectual abilities but his most lasting memorial was to be achieved in the field of politics: the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe. The pope, who died on Saturday aged 84, gave the papacy a higher profile than it had ever had before.
Pope John Paul II, spiritual leader of the world’s 1,1-billion Roman Catholics, died on Saturday at 9.37pm, the Vatican announced. The 84-year-old pontiff died two days after suffering heart failure brought on by two months of acute breathing problems and other infections. Tens of thousands packed St Peter’s Square on Saturday.
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The Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) has called for investigations into allegations of fraud during Zimbabwe’s parliamentary elections. The union body — which staged a demonstration of solidarity with Zimbabwean workers — said it believed the elections took place in ”a flawed political and legal context”.
New captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Wavell Hinds both completed maiden double centuries Friday and the West Indies amassed a formidable 543 for five declared against South Africa at stumps Friday, the second day of the first Test at Bourda.
DaimlerChrysler came close to shutting down its Smart car business, the company admitted yesterday as it announced it was taking a â,¬1,2-billion charge on the heavily loss-making range and cutting up to 700 jobs.
Côte d’Ivoire officials say they pinning their hopes on a weekend peace summit lead by South African President Thabo Mbeki, who is trying to mediate an end to the West African country’s lingering civil conflict. Côte d’Ivoire has been divided along tribal and religious lines since a failed coup attempt in September 2002.
A group of Spanish priests have placed their faith in the country’s trade unions as they decided to fight salary cuts imposed by a bishop who lost millions in church money on internet stocks. A union said it was approached by the priests after the bishop reportedly suggested they dip into the church’s alms boxes to make ends meet.
Moroka Swallows beat a 10-man Wits University 2-0 in their Castle Premier Soccer League match played at the Bidvest Stadium on Friday night. Both teams failed to break the deadlock in the first half.
Looking composed at times and dishevelled at others the second-seeded Baby Boks always had the unpredictable Argentinians under control in the final game of the first day of the IRB Under-19 World Rugby Cup as they held on to win 62-18.
South African Airways’ fuel levy for international flights is to increase from R155 to R186, the company said on Friday. The levy for flights to and from Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe was now around R124 per flight.