The Nigerian Football Association on Saturday again refused permission for Arsenal striker Nwankwo Kanu to play in Sunday’s FA Cup tie against Leicester at Highbury. Kanu made a personal plea to the Nigerian FA to be allowed to turn out for his club but Arsenal have now released the player for African Nations Cup duty. […]

IRISH Prime Minister Bertie Ahern arrived in Lesotho on Monday for a brief official visit to be followed by a four-day trip to neighbouring South Africa. Ahern and a delegation of Irish trade and aid officials were met at Maseru’s airport by Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili and members of his cabinet. The Irish premier was […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Monday 4.30pm INVESTORS piled into South African markets on Monday, pushing equities to fresh record highs and bond yields down to levels not seen since the emerging markets crisis of 1998, as economists predict a rosy 2000. In a massive rally that swept across the market, the financial index rocketed over […]

EMMA THOMASSON, Johannesburg | Monday 4.30pm INVESTORS piled into the Johannesburg Stock Exchange on Monday, pushing equities to fresh record highs and bond yields down to levels not seen since the emerging markets crisis of 1998, as economists predicted a rosy 2000. The Johannesburg All-Share index ended up 3,58% at 8963 points after briefly breaching […]

ENIWOKE IBAGERE, Lagos | Monday 5.30pm. NIGERIA’s national soccer team captain and Turkey-based striker Daniel Amokachi will not make the final squad for the African Nations’ Cup tournament because of injury, assistant team coach Amodu Shaibu said. Shaibu said injuries and lack of form among key players had significantly weakened the side before the contest […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Monday 3.00pm. ERNIE Els found himself on the receiving end of yet another Tiger Woods PGA Tour blitz when he lost the season-opening Mercedes Championship played at Kapalua, Hawaii in a playoff on Sunday. Woods birdied the second extra hole to beat the South Arican after a riveting final-round head-to-head […]

ALGERIA were thrashed 7-0 by world club championship contenders Vasco de Gama of Brazil in Rio after trailing by three goals at half-time. The Desert Warriors meet South Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Gabon in Group B at the African Nations Cup finals.

JOHN Tlale, one of three goalkeepers named by South Africa for the African nations Cup tournament, is a doubtful starter due to an ankle injury. His place would probably go to Brian Baloyi, who was voted second best goalkeeper at the 1998 finals in Burkina Faso behind Egyptian Nader al-Sayed.

MINISTER of Trade and Industry Alec Erwin on Friday released the names of eight manufacturers shortlisted to produce new purpose-built public transport vehicles. AMC, DaimlerChrysler, Iveco, QLS and Tata have all proposed to build either 18-seater or 35-seater configurations while GAZ, Kwoon Chung and Malandela have tendered to supply 18-seaters.

THE rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) on Sunday denied involvement in an attack in southern Sudan which two Sudanese aid workers died and two other went missing. SPLM/A spokesman Samson Kwaje said that his rebel group has no forces operating in Western Upper Nile, where the incident occurred, and that most of the rebel […]