Britain moved rapidly to contain an outbreak of foot and mouth, a highly infectious disease that devastated farming six years ago, by isolating a farm west of London on Saturday. Prime Minister Gordon Brown broke off his holiday to return to London and chair an emergency meeting of senior ministers.
The Golden Lions beat the Wildeklawer Griquas 45-24 in an Absa Currie Cup match at the Ellis Park Stadium on Saturday, to stay in the running for a play-off berth. The Lions looked the better side throughout the 80 minutes as Griquas made schoolboy mistakes.
Packed hospitals in eastern India struggled to cope with people suffering waterborne diseases on Saturday and marooned villagers clashed with police as some of the worst floods in living memory ravaged South Asia. More than 250 people have died over the past 11 days after torrential monsoon rains that caused rivers to burst their banks.
Former United Nations envoy for Sudan Jan Pronk is concerned about the effectiveness of a UN force for Darfur as the government in Khartoum has obstructed previous UN resolutions. The UN Security Council authorised on Tuesday up to 26 000 troops and police for Darfur and approved the use of force to protect civilians.
Western Province ended a four-match losing streak in the Absa Currie Cup rugby competition by running out comfortable 47-18 winners in their match against the Valke at Newlands on Saturday. Province started off brightly and were up 17-0 after just 12 minutes, but their performance petered out and they carried only a 20-10 lead into halftime.
Paramedics from the KwaZulu-Natal provincial Emergency Medical Rescue Services and Netcare 911 on Saturday responded to reports of a collision between two trains at Dargle near the Midmar Dam in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands. Netcare 911 spokesperson Chris Botha said that a goods train had collided with a locomotive.
David Beckham’s chances of making his much-anticipated Major League Soccer debut for Los Angeles at Toronto on Sunday are ”slim”, Galaxy coach Frank Yallop said. The 32-year-old former Real Madrid and Manchester United star lacks training time with his new teammates because of a left ankle injury
Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood, and Allied Workers’ Union (Ceppwawu) and National Petroleum Employers’ Association negotiators were still locked behind closed doors at 9pm on Saturday. ”All I can say is that we are still talking,” said Ceppwawu spokesperson Keith Jacobs.
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal begin the countdown to this month’s US Open as the top two in the world resume their rivalry atop the field at the Montreal Masters. The event, which begins on Sunday in an effort to attract more fans, is the first of back-to-back elite events as the big names swing into action on the hard courts of North America.
Convicted child-killer Christian Olivier has confessed to molesting at least 200 boys over a period of three years, a media report said on Friday. Olivier was found guilty on Tuesday of the murder, kidnapping and indecent assault of Steven Siebert in December 2005.