Boxing promoter Don ”Mr 1 000 Volts” King, revealed on his arrival in South Africa on Tuesday afternoon that he was here to meet former state president Nelson Mandela. ”Words cannot describe how I feel about Mandela. He is the miracle man of the world,” said the controversial boxing guru at the Johannesburg International airport.
Former Bafana Bafana coach Clive Barker has been fired by relegation-threatened Zulu Royals with two matches remaining to complete the 2003/04 soccer season. Club spokesperson Chris Mlotswa said the decision was taken by the management following Usuthu’s 4-1 defeat by Kaizer Chiefs at the weekend.
Zimbabwe cricket officials were confident a strike by their senior players would be ended on Wednesday. International Cricket Council chief executive Malcolm Speed’s visit to Harare and efforts by a group of provincial cricket chairpersons may have helped to reach a settlement.
Gerard Houllier might yet be sacked despite leading Liverpool into the Champions League qualifying by finishing fourth in the Premiership. Anfield sources said Houllier could be forced out or pushed upstairs in major changes in the managerial team. He has one year left on his contract.
The entire South African Olympic and Paralympic squads competing at this year’s Athens competition will for the first time be tested for drugs, said the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport on Wednesday. ”We prefer to weed out any potential drug cheats before the event,” said Daphne Bradbury, the institute’s CEO.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has called an emergency executive board meeting for Friday to decide if the scheduled matches between Zimbabwe and Australia should retain Test status. The ICC believes the integrity of Test cricket is at risk by an under-strength Zimbabwe team playing number-one-ranked Australia.
Zim cricket officials hope to end strike
The Ugandan army claimed on Tuesday that it had killed 54 Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) fighters during an air raid on Monday in southern Sudan. Since 2002 the Khartoum government has allowed Ugandan forces to conduct operations against the LRA in parts of southern Sudan.
South Africa has to overcome the colonial and apartheid legacy of unskilled and jobless workers to create a workforce for the reconstruction and development of the country, President Thabo Mbeki said on Tuesday at the launch of the Expanded Public Works Programme in Limpopo.
At least 15 Palestinians were killed and more than 30 wounded as dozens of Israeli tanks and hundreds of troops swept through the heart of Rafah in the Gaza Strip in one of the bloodiest operations of the intifada. Two of the victims were children, hit by bullets as they played inside their home.
‘There were rockets, shells. It was war’
One of Africa’s largest transportation projects, Gautrain, is making good progress and will be completed by 2010 when the Soccer World Cup is hosted by South Africa, Gautrain spokesperson Dr Barbara Jensen said on Tuesday. Gautrain will link Pretoria and Johannesburg with the Johannesburg International airport through Sandton.