Traffic was disrupted between Nelspruit and Riverside in Mpumalanga on Monday when thousands of taxi operators marched to the premier’s office to hand over a memorandum outlining grievances, news reports said on Monday. The operators want the government to abandon its planned taxi-recapitalisation programme.
Shouts of ”Viva” and ”Amandla” and the sound of whistles and vuvuzelas echoed through Johannesburg’s Park station on Monday as about 100 Metrorail workers protested against the company’s 4,5% wage offer. There were severe disruptions on Monday in the Western Cape, with only 2% of trains operational.
Cash-strapped Zimbabwe is prosecuting about 50 hotels and tourist resorts for allegedly failing to remit foreign currency earnings to the central bank, a newspaper reported on Monday.
German football bosses go into the final year of preparations for the 2006 World Cup knowing only the final polish needs to be added to the 12 hosting stadiums. ”We now have the best infrastructure for football in the world,” said Wolfgang Niersbach, vice-president of the 2006 World Cup Organising Committee.
Justine Henin-Hardenne beat a visibly nervous Mary Pierce 6-1, 6-1 on Saturday to win the French Open, capping a remarkable comeback from a blood virus with her fourth grand-slam title and her second at Roland Garros. It was the most lopsided major final since Steffi Graf beat Natasha Zvereva 6-0, 6-0 to win the French Open in 1988.
The car keys of the Durbanville scuba diver feared to have been taken by a shark in False Bay on Saturday were found on a beach at Fish Hoek on Sunday, the National Sea Rescue Institute said. The diver was apparently attacked by the shark about 200m to 300m off Millers’ Point, near Simon’s Town.
A Somali broadcast journalist was killed at the weekend when gunmen opened fire at the vehicle in which she was travelling near the Somali capital Mogadishu, officials said on Monday. HornAfrik media said Duniya Muhiyadin Nur had gone to the area to cover a demonstration.
Valentino Rossi won the Italian Grand Prix for the fourth straight year on Sunday, passing old rival Max Biaggi two laps from the end. Rossi led the first all-Italian sweep of the top four positions in the top motorcycling division and has now won four of the first five races this season.
It’s not over until the fat lady sings — and victories on Sunday for the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ghana tended to silence those who were vocally proclaiming that a place for South Africa in next year’s World Cup was assured after the dogged 2-1 qualifying victory over the Cape Verde Islands in Praia on Saturday.
The JSE Securities Exchange continued to press into uncharted waters on Monday, despite a stronger rand. Dealers said that underlying positive sentiments and higher commodity prices were propelling the local bourse. At 12.13pm, the all share index was up 0,62% at 14Â 108,370 after earlier touching a highest ever 14Â 115,100.