An independent review of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) operations in Africa says the lender’s work is confused, vague, lacks transparency and suffers from a large gap between rhetoric and practice. "The fund should be clearer and more candid about what it has undertaken to do," says the report.
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Every time England seamer Liam Plunkett wants inspiration, he just reaches for his iPod. The England cricket team has downloaded clips of the greatest moments of its players on to their digital music players and portable-game consoles, as well as their laptops.
Manchester United turned David Beckham into an international superstar and on Tuesday he bid an emotional farewell to Old Trafford before he quits European soccer for the United States. Beckham joined United in 1991 at 16, debuted the next year, and transferred in 2003 to Real Madrid.
South Africa launched a revamped national Aids plan on Wednesday as new research showed the high cost of government inaction on the epidemic — 1Â 500 South Africans are infected with HIV every day. South Africa’s national strategic plan aims to cut new HIV infections by 50% and bring treatment and support to at least 80% of HIV-positive people by 2011.
Moments of wayward brilliance and woeful finishing were the overriding features of Bafana Bafana’s 1-1 draw with Swaziland’s minnows at Ellis Park on Tuesday in a nightmarish performance that will probably leave new Brazil-born coach Carlos Alberto Parreira waking up at nights in sweaty disbelief.
Double world champion Fernando Alonso hopes to get his McLaren career off to a winning start on Sunday in an Australian Grand Prix that is far more than just a season-opener. Formula One is also entering what promises to be a fascinating new era after the retirement last October of Ferrari’s seven-time world champion, Michael Schumacher.
United States President George Bush wrapped up a tour of Latin America on Wednesday with little to show for his six-day swing through the region. Bush was due to head home with no substantive deals or immediate evidence that the public relations offensive had salvaged Washington’s reputation in the five countries he visited.
The White House on Tuesday rejected calls by Congress for its senior staff to give evidence in the growing row over the dismissal of eight federal prosecutors. Congress is demanding that Karl Rove, George Bush’s chief political adviser, and others appear before an investigation into allegations that the eight were dismissed on political grounds.
South Africa’s relatively small space programme can still play a significant role in skills development, Professor Sias Mostert of SunSpace and Information Systems in Stellenbosch said on Wednesday. It was a myth that satellite programmes belonged only to larger nations, he said.
The Hamas-run Palestinian government said on Tuesday that it was working to release Alan Johnston, the British Broadcasting Corporation’s Gaza correspondent, saying that it knew who was responsible for his kidnapping. ”This issue is on its way to being solved, God willing,” said Ghazi Hamad, a government spokesperson.