AT least 12 people were killed in an attack by armed Islamic militants in the region of Ain Defla, west of Algiers. Several newspapers reported 13 people were killed in Monday’s attack. Three other people were wounded, two seriously, and five young girls were kidnapped. The dead, including five women, were employed at a center […]

THE cash-strapped National Symphony Orchestra has closed down after it was unable to find the R10-million it needs to continue. NSO leader Caius Oprea said on Sunday they have been informed that the institution has run out of money. “We were told that we may even not be paid for this month, meaning that we […]

FRENCHMAN Jean-Louis Schlesser claimed victory on Sunday in the auto class of the 2000 Paris-Dakar-Cairo rally at the foot of the Giza pyramids. The result is yet to be officially confirmed but Schlesser, like compatriot Richard Sainct for the motos, had dominated the 17-stage, 11000km trek interrupted by an airlift over Niger because of terrorist […]

FORMER South Africa off-spinner Pat Symcox announced his retirement from first-class cricket on Friday. “The time has come to move on,” said Symcox, 39, who played 20 tests and 80 one-day internationals for his country. He made his first-class debut for Griqualand West in 1977-78 and was their captain this season. “My form for Griquas […]

TOUTS have bought up almost all the tickets for Sunday’s Egypt-Zambia African Nations Cup match, selling them at up to three times the face value, angry match organisers said on Monday. The touts pushed up prices from 200 to 600 naira ($2 – $6), pushing them out of the range of many ordinary Nigerian fans, […]

HIJACKERS shot a man in the head and pistol-whipped his female companion before throwing the couple down a slope on Tafelberg Road in Cape Town, a few metres from the Table Mountain cableway station in the early hours of Sunday. Police said the couple Maria Beukes, 37, and her companion known only as Johnny had […]

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT, Kumasi, Gabon | Monday 10.00am. South Africa 3 (Bartlett 54, 77, Ngobe 42) Gabon 1 (Nzigou 20) THE African Nations Cup is a marathon, not a sprint, and Bafana Bafana did enough in central Ghana on Sunday night to suggest they can make a serious challenge for a trophy held by Egypt. Teams […]

AJ VENTER is likely to battle out his season in court before he can do so on the rugby pitch. Golden Lions CEO Johan Prinsloo said on Thursday that the dispute involving Venter’s choice of province this season will probably end in court. Venter wants to move from the Golden Lions to the Natal Sharks, […]

ZAMBIAN coach Ben Benfuchile Monday blamed a ‘jinx’ referee for his team’s 2-0 defeat by holders Egypt in the opening round of the African Nations Cup in Lagos. “We did not lose to a superior side. We lost the match to the referee who is proving to be a jinx each time he officiates one […]