2010 – A year for SA

"This is our time. This is our year," says World Cup local organising committee CEO Danny Jordaan.

And he is right. The excitement for this year has built up and now it is time to revel in it. As we welcome the world, it is time to show what we are made of.

He says: “The 10 stadiums needed to host the tournament are complete and our government and the construction industry are confident they can cope with the massive amount of work required to finish the refurbishment of roads, airports and other infrastructural developments.”

Have a great 2010 everyone!

Goodbye old, hello new!

As per tradition in New York City, thousands will gather in Times Square to welcome the New Year. Usually confetti is released at midnight from the tall office buildings that surround the square.

This year there will be a slight difference in the confetti. They were all goodbye-to-bad-memories messages written by hundreds of people seeking to shed the old year.

The messages were written on Monday – the city’s third annual Good Riddance Day that allows New Yorkers to let go of their emotional baggage.

Is that not a great start to a fresh year?

Women only please

Trust a shopping mall in China to come up with a car park that offers women drivers bigger than normal parking spaces.

An official from the mall says the aim of the parking lot is to address women’s sense of colour and distance.

The spaces are a meter wider than normal parking spaces so it caters for their needs. And well, the pink speaks for itself.

Matric results could be delayed

Teachers have threatened to boycott the matric results verification process. It could mean the results will not be released by January 7, as set by the Department of Education.

Teachers from Gauteng's biggest district, D11 - which includes Soweto, Eldorado Park, Lenasia, Ennerdale, the southern suburbs and parts of central Johannesburg - have threatened not to attend the verification of their pupils' results.

Results cannot be released until verification by all schools have taken place.

Teachers have complained they did not receive overtime pay and they are still dealing with payment issues from 2007.

Watch this space for any further development.

Ploughing his way into trouble

When his father complained about the state of the roads, a seven-year-old German boy took the family front loader excavator and started to plough the snow.

Officers on patrol stopped the boy after he cleared the street in the town of Reinfield, and was on his way back to the parking lot.

When the boy noticed the police vehicle, he immediately stopped, got out and admitted he does not have a driver’s license, as every other seven-year-old kid.

The vehicle and boy were returned to his mother. But at least the father received what he wanted for Christmas – a clear road.

It is enough to make anyone go: “Aww…”

Foul fetish

Some people adore the fragrance of flowers, baked bread or freshly cut grass. But there is a poor soul in England who prefers to take a whiff of peoples’ bottoms. Say what? Yes, he likes to smell bums!

A man was caught on CCTV in a supermarket kneeling behind a shelf packer and repeatedly breathing in. The footage shows the man pretending to chose items and crouching behind the employee.

Police have appealed to the public to track down the man to shed further light on the bizarre episode.

Freak accident

The festive season is renowned for miracles and good happenings. Not so for an Austrian man. After he tried to defrost his car with an electric heater, amid a freezing European winter, the car exploded and his garage burnt down.

After he switched on the heater, the 71-year-old man then went into his house for a meal. Before he could get a few mouthfuls, petrol fumes ignited and the car exploded.

Thankfully no one was injured, but for his house. The man’s wife was so shocked she had to be taken to a hospital.

Now that is a rude awakening!

Viva South Africa!

South Africa has made us proud yet again – it has been recommended as one of the most ethical countries in the developing world.

Ethical Traveler, a project of the California based non-profit Earth Island Institute has chosen The Developing World’s 10 Best Ethical Destinations. The organisation released a report based on a study of developing countries from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. The report focuses on those countries that are working hard to protect human rights, build social welfare, and preserve the environment.

South Africa made the list along with African countries Namibia, Ghana and the Seychelles.

Ethical Traveler said “We believe this bodes well for the future of these nations and, hopefully, for the African continent.”

Yay South Africa!

Global warming

Global warming is the topic everyone is talking about. As delegates from around the world, South Africa included enter their second week of negotiations on the issue, a group of South African actors are putting on a short performance outside.

While it is a difficult subject to illustrate through acting, these artists have put a comical spin of the subject and are trying their level best to get their message across!

Global warming is everyone’s problem and we all need to do our part to try and reverse it’s already devastating effects.

So remember to turn off all your plug points when you aren’t using them!

Miss South Africa

With the hype of the Miss World pageant that was held this weekend, many people did not realise that Miss South Africa also took place. This prestigious event that is run annually went off without a glitch and was its usual success. Tatum Keshwar, last year’s winner, handed over her crown to Nicole Flint, a 21 year old hailing from Pretoria. Nicole is a Journalism student and has been working in the media industry.

Matapa Maila was named the first princess and Lisa van Zyl was crowned the second princess.

All in all, we are pretty impressed by our new representatives and can’t wait to see how Nicole fairs in the year ahead!

Plane crashes

An investigation into the latest aeroplane crash which happened yesterday has been opened. While an official Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) spokesperson has commented that the details of the crash are sketchy, great lengths are being taken to understand what possibly went wrong.

The pilots involved in the accident have yet to be named.

The accident was the result of a practise run for their afternoon show in Vereeniging. The pilots were performing a trick and when they tried to pull the plane up, it wouldn’t budge and instead slammed straight into the ground. Sadly both pilots were killed, luckily no other people were involved in this tragic incedent.