South African President Thabo Mbeki jumped into negotiations between the president of conflict-ridden Burundi and its main rebel leader on Sunday in a bid to breathe life into the faltering peace process. Mbeki and his deputy, Jacob Zuma, joined the discussions late on Sunday.
Springbok skipper Corne Krige believes the recent race row that led to lock Geo Cronje being booted out of camp has strengthened the Rugby World Cup squad. And England, whose clash with South Africa in Perth on October 18 is expected to settle who tops Group C and dodges the All Blacks in the quarterfinals, agree.
South African skipper Graeme Smith has vowed to prevent Pakistan running away with the one-day cricket series ahead of their third match in the eastern industrial city Faisalabad. Pakistan lead the series 2-0 after a thrilling eight-run win in the first match on Friday and an emphatic 42-run win on Sunday, both in Lahore.
England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson is confident Michael Owen will be joining David Beckham in Istanbul on Saturday for the crucial Euro 2004 qualifier against Turkey. Eriksson delayed naming his side while Owen was underwent physiotherapy on Monday, but the signs are that the striker would be fit for the Turkish battle.
South Africa’s Dewald Laubscher won the men’s all-around gymnastics on Sunday, and became the first person to take home the event’s gold medal from three consecutive All-Africa Games. Laubscher won the same prize in Harare, Zimbabwe, in 1995 and in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1999.
Pakistan went 2-0 up on Sunday in their five one-day international series against South Africa with a comfortable 42-run win at Gaddafi Stadium. Pakistan, who won the first game of the series by eight runs, made 267 for seven off their 50 overs. In reply, South Africa made 225 for nine with three of their key players being run out.
Over the past couple of years this column has complained about the conservative mindset that continues to dominate our courts, with the arguable exception of the Constitutional Court. A culture of obeisance to authority dominates over the demand for rational justification in all too many judgements.
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Nigerian labour leaders have called for workers to protest a large hike in petrol prices by mounting their second nationwide general strike of the year. The strike could have a knock-on effect on international oil prices. The unions also called on all Nigerians to boycott the Eighth All-Africa Games.
One year after the North Korea nuclear crisis erupted, analysts expecting an early end to north-east Asia’s latest geo-political nightmare are thin on the ground. North Korea’s latest claims this week that it was making atomic bombs after reprocessing 8 000 spent nuclear fuel rods met with considerable scepticism.