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To the very end of his career, Zinedine Zidane could dictate the flow of play with rare skill and elegant control of the ball. In the World Cup final, Zidane lost control of his temper. The parting image for the France captain will forever be him rearing back in anger, lowering his head and launching his bald crown into the chest of Italy defender Marco Materazzi after the two exchanged words.
The leader of Somalia’s Islamic militia said on Monday that his group will "fight to the finish" against supporters of a secular warlord in the war-torn capital, one day after fierce fighting killed at least 20 people. The Islamic fighters fired mortar rounds and rocket-propelled grenades on Sunday at supporters of Adbi Awale Qaybdiid.
Russian investigators reconstructed the last moments of Sibir airlines flight 778 on Monday while passengers’ relatives prepared for the grim task of identifying their loved ones among at least 122 people who died. The Russian Airbus A-310, on a domestic flight from Moscow, failed to stop after it touched down in the Siberian city of Irkutsk on Sunday.
The South African Medical Association has called for an investigation into the release — by the director general of health — of a consignment of anti-Aids food supplements from the Dr Rath Health Foundation. The <i>Mail & Guardian</i> reported on Friday that the consignment allegedly contained a scheduled substance.
The United Nations world conference on small arms has collapsed without agreement — despite the majority of governments, including the European Union and many African and Latin American governments, backing tougher controls on the international trade in small arms and light weapons, Oxfam Great Britain said on Monday.
India’s new nuclear-capable Agni III missile failed in its first test-firing over the weekend because it was unable to reach its target, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee said. The Defence Ministry had initially declared Sunday’s test of India’s longest-range missile a success, but it plunged into the ocean in the Bay of Bengal, short of its target.
The 2006 Nat Nakasa Award for courage in journalism has been awarded to Mail & Guardian columnist Professor Guy Berger of Rhodes University, Print Media South Africa announced on Sunday. Berger, who has headed the university’s journalism department for 11 years, is the ninth winner of the award, and the first academic.
Former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling was among scores of people at a private memorial for company founder Kenneth Lay, who died in the mountain resort town of Aspen, Colorado, last week as he awaited sentencing for his role in one of the United States’s biggest corporate frauds.
With the 2010 World Cup on the horizon, guesthouses are popping up and offering employment to many South Africans. Across the board, tourism is offering opportunities for small businesses, but being in the people industry can be tough as events beyond your control can affect tourist perceptions.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Sunday he would push ahead with the army’s widescale offensive in the Gaza Strip, saying the fight to free an abducted soldier and stop militant rocket fire would last for a ”long time”. The 12-day-old operation has caused widespread destruction in Gaza, left 51 Palestinians dead and led to international complaints that Israel was using excessive force.