One of the biggest relief efforts ever seen has finally started to crank into action, with supplies beginning to reach some of the worst-hit areas. Pledges of aid from around the world passed the $2-billion (about R12-billion) mark, with Japan’s announcement that it was boosting its aid from $30-million to $500-million.
The wave took two hours to reach Prayoon and his son, waiting with their nets. The 47-year-old Thai fisherman recounts: ”Suddenly the water went very clear. I had never seen it do that before … and then the swells began to come through under us.” Prayoon was 3km offshore. The wave was moving at 8km a minute. It would reach the shore in 24 seconds…
There was no early warning. When the sea receded, tourists and locals wandered over the newly exposed seabed to peer at flapping fish or crabs. And only then did they notice a white crest swelling in the distance. This behaviour helps explain why the death toll is so appallingly high – and suggests measures that might urgently be taken to prevent future disaster.
The captain of the South African cricket team, Graeme Smith, said on Saturday that the team was feeling relaxed and confident ahead of the third Castle Lager/ MTN Test at Newlands. The five-day match starts on Sunday. Smith said that while it wasn’t ideal to play back to back Tests, the team had had a good recovery session, and had also had a day off with no practice.
South Africa scored slowly but ended up with a satisfying total for the loss of only four wickets on the first day of the third Castle Lager/MTN cricket Test against England at Newlands on Sunday. South Africa had 247/4 at close of play with an imperious looking Jacques Kallis and Hashim Amla still at the crease.
Former president of the SA Football Association, Solomon ”Stix” Morewa, is very ill in the intensive care unit at a private hospital in Soweto, City Press newspaper reported on Sunday. He played a pivotal role in getting South African football readmitted to the international fold after a period of isolation.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has ordered the army to resume attacks against the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels, after last-minute hitches scuppered a truce agreement on New Year’s Eve, the army said on Saturday.
It resembles a giant bamboo shoot, can carry people more than a kilometre skyward in less than 40 seconds, and on Friday it was officially declared the world’s tallest building. The 508 metre tall building in Taipei’s Hsinyi district is 56 metres taller than the previous record holder, the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur.
Millions of Turks will lose their status as billionnaires today as the world’s biggest banknote, the 20-million lira bill (worth about R100), is formally declared dead. At midnight last night Turkey adopted a new currency, the new Turkish lira, or YTL, replacing notes which for years had symbolised economic upheaval.
The global effort to ease the suffering of the millions of people stricken by the tsunami disaster was stepped up again on Friday as it became clear that aid was still not getting to those most in need.