Daily News Channel
The atmosphere was tense in Cape Town on Friday after xenophobic violence that has left more than 40 dead in Johannesburg spread to South Africa’s largest city. Clashes overnight resulted in one death and 15 arrests and the evacuations of 420 foreign nationals, a police official in Cape Town said. “Crowds of people went on a rampage, looting and carrying out acts of violence,” said Cape Town Police Superintendent Billy Jones.
Shoaib was named in the initial 15-man squad for the tournament, which takes place in England from June 5, but the Pakistan Cricket Board has announced they had applied for a replacement to the ICC technical committee. The 33-year-old pace bowler, whose participation had been in doubt after he struggled for fitness and form during the recent one-day series against Australia, was diagnosed with genital viral warts and underwent a course of electrofulgration treatment — a procedure where electrical current is used to destroy unwanted tissue. “The medical board has reported that Shoaib Akhtar was suffering from genital viral warts and the wound needs further care and treatment for a minimum 10 days for the purpose of healing and to achieve skin cover,” PCB said in a statement
The parliament of South Africa elected Jacob Zuma as the nation’s president Wednesday.
If the fast spread of swine flu suggests the world is small, the global response to the epidemic reminds us that in many ways it’s still light years apart. Swine flu has been making headlines in the Western world, but in places like India and Africa, where “pandemic” is just another part of the daily vocabulary, no one has so much as stifled a sneeze
The ruling African National Congress is expected to win Wednesday’s elections in South Africa by a landslide, but polls predict it might lose its two-thirds parliamentary majority. The ANC has gained votes in every election since 1994, but a new player that threatens the party’s grip on power has entered the fray. The ANC is also dogged by corruption and is accused of failing to deliver services to the poor.
At least 32 Iraqis were killed and 123 others wounded in six car bombings and a roadside bomb attack in Baghdad by mid-day Monday, an Interior Ministry official said. The leader of the African National Congress had been charged with more than 700 counts of corruption and fraud. The charges, which were linked to a multibillion dollar arms deal in the country, were dropped after eight years of investigations
South Korea scored a late goal Wednesday to defeat North Korea 1-0 in a World Cup qualifying match set amid the backdrop of heightened political tensions in the region. Substitute Kim Chi-Woo scored in the 88th minute when his left-footed free kick went past defenders and into the back of the net. Replays showed that a North Korean defender may have deflected the ball just enough to prevent goalkeeper Lee Woon-Jae from the save.
Nobody ought to have been surprised that South Africa chose to heed China’s concerns and deny a visa to the Dalai Lama — not because of the South African government’s poor record of responding to human-rights crises in its own neighborhood, but because of China’s growing diplomatic influence and assertiveness thanks to its status as the great hope of an ailing world economy.
South Africa will stage the 2009 Indian Premier League after officials decided to move the Twenty20 tournament to a neutral venue because of security fears. England was the alternative choice for the highly-lucrative event, but IPL chairman Lalit Modi confirmed South Africa as hosts at a press conference on Tuesday
An international peace conference in Johannesburg has been postponed after South Africa refused the Dalai Lama a visa to attend the event. Announcing the postponement at a news conference Tuesday, Irvin Khosa, chairman of the South African football league, did not offer an explanation for the delay.