As it did at last week’s national track and field championships, the notorious Cape Doctor had the final say in the outcome of the 56km Two Oceans ultra-marathon in Cape Town on Saturday. At times on the southern part of the course the south-easter wind gusted at more than 40km/h.
Passengers at Durban International Airport, some of them heading for the Two Oceans Marathon in Cape Town, were so enraged when a Mango flight was cancelled on Saturday that one of them smashed a glass door and armed riot police were called, the Cape Argus has reported.
Two men died when their light aircraft crashed on a farm near Van Reenen on Saturday afternoon, said Free State police. The two-seater light aircraft went down approximately 45km south of Harrismith, near the N3 freeway, said ER24 spokesperson Riana Beech. According to witnesses on the scene, the aircraft had completed several flights during the day.
Two people died and three were injured — two of them seriously — in a three-car pile-up on the N1 south near the Grasmere toll plaza on Saturday night. Netcare 911 has responded to more than 280 accidents on the country’s roads since the start of the Easter weekend, said spokesperson Nick Dollman.
Lamontville Golden Arrows and Bidvest Wits drew 2-2 in their Premier Soccer League clash at the King Goodwill Zwelithini Stadium in Umlazi on Saturday afternoon. Abafana Besithende, as Arrows are known, dominated the first 20 minutes of the game and were rewarded in the 10th minute with a goal.
The Reds scored a converted try in the dying seconds of their Super 14 match against the Lions at Ellis Park on Saturday to snatch a lucky 24-all draw. The result meant that no South African side could win a match in this weekend’s round of matches. The visitors came back from an 11-point deficit to take two points from the match.
In-form Premier Soccer League champions Mamelodi Sundowns eased to a 3-0 victory over the unsophisticated Curepipe Starlight of Mauritius in the MTN Champions League’s first-round, first-leg encounter at the Super Stadium in Atteridgeville on Saturday.
Angola’s sacrifices would forever remain etched in the history of the South African liberation struggle, African National Congress president Jacob Zuma said on Saturday. Speaking at the 20th commemoration of the Cuito Cuanavale battle in Angola, Zuma paid tribute to the heroes and heroines of Angola, Cuba and Namibia.
Four people died and 16 were injured — one critically — in Cape Town on Saturday morning in one of more than 285 accidents on the country’s roads since the start of the Easter weekend. In Durbaniville, Netcare 911 spokesperson Nick Dollman said a car collided with a minibus taxi in the early hours of Saturday.
Efficient cross-border infrastructure is needed to facilitate trade and development in Africa, Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said on Friday. She also said the private sector had a key role to play in the development of Africa by advancing the vision of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development.
Racism, discrimination and the cultural divide were causes for concern in South Africa, political parties and organisations said on Human Rights Day. Western Cape acting premier Leonard Ramatlakane said a number of projects would be implemented to combat racial discrimination in the province.
The adverse publicity surrounding the selection of the Proteas is a matter of concern to all cricket lovers, Cricket South Africa chief executive Gerald Majola said on Friday. Speaking at OR Tambo Airport ahead of the Proteas’ departure for a three-Test tour of India, Majola said it was disappointing that cricket was hitting the headlines for the wrong reasons.
The giants enter the African club battleground this weekend as second round combat begins in the two major competitions. Both title holders hail from Tunisia and enjoy home advantage with Etoile Sahel playing AS Douanes of Senegal in the African Champions League while CS Sfaxien meet JSM Bejaia of Algeria in the African Confederation Cup.
A South African court has dismissed a bid by a group of fishermen to overturn an official ban on commercial abalone fishing, the Environmental Affairs and Tourism ministry said on Thursday. Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk ordered the indefinite ban to protect existing natural stocks of the shellfish
South Africa’s tertiary education system is operating at close to capacity with limited infrastructure and academic staffing resources available for expansion, Education Minister Naledi Pandor said in Durban on Thursday. Pandor said that the government hoped to achieve a higher education enrolment of 820 000 students by 2010.
Two Cape Flats men were on Thursday each given two life sentences for the murder of a man in an argument about a baseball cap and for the later murder of a police detective who investigated them for the first murder. The judge said the murders showed that the two men had no respect for human life.
The Gautrain’s management on Thursday rejected suggestions that the project’s costs will rise to R35-billion. The project was well within budget, Gautrain Management Agency CEO Jack van der Merwe said. He was reacting to statements made by National Assembly transport committee chairperson Jeremy Cronin during a debate on Tuesday.
Traffic authorities are out in full force on the N1 highway to Limpopo as thousands of faithful head to the Zion Christian Church’s headquarters of Moria for the Easter gathering, the traffic department said on Thursday. Spokesperson Ntau Letebele said traffic officials were pulling out all the stops to prevent road accidents.
A decision on what disciplinary measures, if any, will be taken against Scorpions boss Leonard McCarthy over the Browse Mole report is expected ”soon”, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development said on Thursday. ”A recommendation has been made to the minister and she will act,” said spokesperson Zolile Nqayi.
The Easter weekend promises to be a busy one for lovers of live music, with festivals offering diverse line-ups around the country.
Three men lounge on plastic camping chairs at what looks like a picnic site. Three of them are shirtless, their fat bellies sagging over their trousers.
Angola’s government will go ahead with plans to disarm civilians possessing illegal firearms obtained mostly during the country’s 27-year civil war. The government won approval from the National Disarmament Commission, the Angop news agency quoted deputy commander of the National Police for Public Order, Paulo de Almeida, as saying.
The National Energy Regulator of South Africa cannot ignore Eskom’s request for a 53% tariff increase, a business research and consulting firm said on Thursday. ”If the country expects the electricity utility to resolve the current capacity crisis, it must be given the resources to do so,” said Frost & Sullivan.
South African legislators have recommended that Parliament revise laws to give it more oversight over the Reserve Bank, raising concerns of political interference in monetary policy as inflation soars. The Reserve Bank has raised its repo rate by 400 basis points to 11% since June 2006 to try to tame inflation.
Over a period of five years, Johannesburg Water will spend about R1-billion annually on the upgrading and rehabilitation of infrastructure, it said on Thursday. Ros Greeff, of Joburg’s mayoral committee for infrastructure and services, said the money would be spent to ensure that occurrences such as burst water pipes were reduced.
African National Congress (ANC) MPs with disabilities have threatened to embark on protests if the quality of service rendered to disabled people at South African airports is not improved. Briefing the media on Thursday, ANC MP Maxwell Moss said the Airports Company South Africa, as well as airlines, had failed to attend to the needs of disabled passengers.
A third state witness, testifying in the Pretoria Regional Court on Thursday, described his former boss, Ekurhuleni metro police chief Robert McBride, as ”the mafia” and ”a liar”. Former metro police officer Patrick Johnston also said McBride was someone he was afraid of.
South Africa will send a delegation of 55 observers to Zimbabwe’s general elections, the government said in Cape Town on Thursday. ”The South African contingent will comprise representatives from civil society, business, religious leaders, members of Parliament and government officials,” spokesperson Themba Maseko told journalists.
Low-income households and small-to-medium enterprises will be shielded from proposed electricity tariff hikes of up to 60%, the government said on Thursday. A differentiated tariff structure would be put in place to ensure that these sectors of society were protected, government spokesperson Themba Maseko told journalists in Cape Town.
The Cabinet has dismissed renewed allegations of President Thabo Mbeki’s involvement in arms-deal corruption as baseless and mere speculation. Wednesday’s fortnightly Cabinet meeting had noted media reports regarding the investigation by German authorities into the allegations of corruption in the arms deal.
Heavyweight counters on the JSE’s resource and mining indices pulled back sharply on Thursday morning, as commodity prices started to lose ground, traders said. The slump in commodity prices forced the JSE’s broader all-share index to pull back 3,23% by noon.
Excellent batting and bowling took the Titans to a well-deserved 38-run victory over the Warriors in the final of the MTN domestic championship at SuperSport Park on Wednesday. Put in to bat by the Warriors, the Titans scored an impressive 269-6 — the highest total in any match in the championship this season.