Millions of the world’s poorest children are among the principal victims of climate change caused by the rich developed world, a United Nations report said on Tuesday, calling for urgent action. The Unicef report Our Climate, Our Children, Our Responsibility measured action on targets set in the UN Millennium Development Goals.
Alex Ferguson has promised a more ambitious approach from his Manchester United side in Tuesday’s Champions League semifinal second leg at home to Barcelona. Ferguson told the media that ”the game now starts at Old Trafford — it’s the decider.”
Manchester United players have claimed that Chelsea ground staff were reponsible for provoking the row that marred the end of the Premier League showdown between the two teams on Saturday by insulting Patrice Evra. Chelsea won a tense encounter at Stamford Bridge 2-1 with a late penalty strike from Michael Ballack and it was minutes after the final whistle blew when the brawl erupted.
The full Khampepe commission report will be gazetted on May 5, the official opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Monday. DA leader Helen Zille said the presidency had written to the DA to inform it of the move. Zille said the report was a crucial source of information during the legislative process to decide on the future of the unit.
North Koreans waved flags, plastic flowers and danced in the streets of Pyongyang to welcome the Olympic torch on Monday after the destitute state had promised its main benefactor China an ”astonishing” show. The global torch relay ahead of the Beijing Games in August has prompted protests against China’s rights record in Tibet.
South African President Thabo Mbeki’s failure to criticise neighbouring Zimbabwe leader Robert Mugabe has weakened his international stature, analysts said. Once hailed as a leader focussed on Africa’s revival, Mbeki’s silence on Zimbabwe has been blamed either on misplaced loyalty or crippling deference.
Austrians expressed shock and horror on Monday after police arrested a 73-year-old man they say imprisoned and abused his daughter in a windowless basement for 24 years and fathered seven children with her. The woman told them her father Josef lured her into the basement of the block where they lived in the town of Amstetten in 1984, and drugged and handcuffed her before imprisoning her.
About 170 accidents occurred in Gauteng since late Friday afternoon, Netcare 911 said on Sunday. In one incident, a three-year-old boy died and two other children were in critically injured following a head-on collision on the N12 near Xavier Road off-ramp on Saturday.
United States President George Bush described his mood as ”a little wistful” on Saturday night as he attended his last White House correspondents’ dinner. The president, who is said by those around him to detest journalists, has given the impression down the years that he would rather be somewhere else.
Zimbabwe’s opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) will take its claim of victory in last month’s election over President Robert Mugabe to the United Nations Security Council this week. MDC secretary general Tendai Biti will lead a delegation to New York, where he will tell a Security Council session that the party is not prepared to partake in a presidential run-off.