SPAIN took the Meridian Cup junior soccer tournament in Cape Town on Sunday, defeating Ghana 2-1 in the final. The battle for third place between Portugal and Egypt ended in a scoreless draw, and was decided on penalties. Portugal’s nerves outlasted the Egyptians, and putting the young Portuguese in third place.

KOSIE LOUBSER stunned the big guns of professional cycling with a superb performance on an intense fifth day of the Tour de Langkawi from Kuala Lumpur to Port Dickson on Sunday that saw the South African step up a notch to third overall on general classification. Loubser is within striking distance of top-class riders like […]

FORMER Liverpool goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar has been forced to stop coaching Cape Town club Seven Stars after just two matches owing to work permit problems. Grobbelaar, one of the most colourful characters in English football during the 1980s, cannot work in the land of his birth because he is no longer a citizen. The star, […]

THE Absa Group has won the bid to buy the majority shareholding of Tanzanian bank NBC Ltd. Reliable sources said at the weekend that the Tanzanian cabinet met in Dodoma on Friday and approved a presidential parastatal sector reform commission recommendation to accept the Absa Group tender. “This is not the go ahead for ABSA […]

UNITED States Defence Secretary William Cohen is due to arrive in Cape Town on Tuesday morning for talks with Defence Minister Joe Modise and Deputy President Thabo Mbeki. Defence ministry spokesperson Puso Tladi said Cohen will sign a military co-operation agreement. Cohen, on his first visit to South Africa, is also expected to discuss US […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Harare | Sunday 1.30pm. THE first of two five day matches between the Zimbabwe and England ‘A’ teams was called off in Harare on Saturday when further rain soaked the outfield and affected the bowlers’ run-up areas. Only 10 hours out of a scheduled 30 hours was played over the five days with […]

THE New Zealand connection at Ellis Park strengthened on Thursday when it was announced that former Otago tighthead prop Nick Moore will pack down for the Gauteng Lions pack this year. The 28-year-old player, who has 80 games for Otago and two seasons with the Super 12 Highlanders behind him, will joining his compatriot, former […]

NIGERIA’S fuel refinery at Kaduna in the north has resumed operations, pumping some 1,5- million litres of fuel a day to a depot in the region, the plant’s manager said on Friday. The restoration of the refinery, under a $214-million contract awarded to French oil giant Total, is a key step in ending the chronic […]

THE handling of local election results in Niger contravenes the West African country’s electoral code, a supreme court judge said on Monday, as reports of criminal irregularities also emerged. Attorney-General Soly Abdourahamane said centralisation of the weekend poll results and their gradual release by the National Independent Electoral Commission (CENI) “did not conform with the […]

THE King and Queen of Spain, Juan Carlos I and Sofia, are to visit South Africa from February 15 to 18, according to foreign affairs. The king will participate in a Spanish/South African business conference planned for Johannesburg on February 17.