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.
Late on Monday Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama went head to head for a key demographic group: Jewish voters. Supporters from the Clinton and Obama camps flooded the hallways of the Washington Convention Centre, distributing fliers and shouting through loudhailers in their bid to draw people in.
At least eight people were killed during a mortar bomb attack on Somalia’s presidential palace, hospital officials said on Wednesday. The strike on Tuesday came hours after President Abdullahi Yusuf flew into the anarchic capital, Mogadishu, where insurgents have attacked government forces and their allies on an almost daily basis.
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South Africa skipper Graeme Smith opened the psychological battle with Australian rival Ricky Ponting on Wednesday by insisting that being the best in the world does matter. Ponting has been keen to stress that his team’s demotion from the top of the world rankings was irrelevant.
A fund to help Africa overcome obstacles to trade and investment is set to launch its first projects in East Africa after strong backing from corporate donors, officials said on Tuesday. The Investment Climate Facility (ICF) said latest contributors to the fund included Microsoft and South Africa’s Standard Bank.
A fourth man linked to the murder of KwaZulu-Natal historian David Rattray has been arrested, local police said on Wednesday. Superintendent Phindile Radebe said the 27-year-old suspect was arrested on Tuesday night at Helpemekaar, near Rattray’s home.
South African life insurer Metropolitan Holdings increased annual headline earnings per share by 28% and said on Wednesday the outlook for its target markets remained positive. Shares in Metropolitan outperformed rivals as South Africa’s bourse fell 3% in a fresh sell-off sparked by emerging market worries.
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.