President Robert Mugabe may have bought himself more time after skilfully evading United Nations pressure by persuading the world body’s Secretary General, Kofi Annan, to cancel his visit to Zimbabwe and instead back mediation between Harare and former colonial power London, analysts say.
England fans seeking solace from their World Cup woes are shunning Portugal as a holiday destination after the national squad knocked England out of the tournament, travel agents said on Tuesday. Portugal beat England on penalties after Saturday’s goalless quarterfinal in Gelsenkirchen, causing misery for England supporters.
A French radio reporter has been expelled from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for not having the right papers, said an Agence France-Presse (AFP) reporter who was at the airport. Ghislaine Dupont, special reporter for Radio France International was put on a Belgian plane late on Monday bound for Brussels.
Dmitry Tursunov expects he’ll be fined for an outburst during his fourth-round loss at Wimbledon on Monday. If not, a few things the Russian said in his news conference — such as calling the chair umpire an ”idiot” — should do the trick. After losing his service in the 15th game of the fifth set to give Jarkko Nieminen an 8-7 lead, Tursunov hit a ball in anger towards chair umpire Fergus Murphy.
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The World Cup is soccer’s greatest spectacle. It’s also a month-long grind, and the fatigue is starting to show. Games every few days, many played under a summer sun. Travel back and forth across Germany. Pressure that grows with every game. And that’s on top of the nine months that many players just spent with soccer’s best clubs.
South Africa is ready to cooperate with a German probe into alleged kickbacks paid in the sale of four warships to South Africa in 1999, Minister of Public Enterprise Alec Erwin said on Tuesday. He said South Africa will assist in the investigation if asked, but added he had received no formal notification on the issue.
Businesses are bracing themselves for a rand at R8 or even R8,50 to the United States dollar after the shock 20% weakening in the local currency since early May. The Reserve Bank is likely to tighten interest rates aggressively from here to stem the slide in the rand. Some economists are forecasting a further 1,5% to 2% increase in rates over the next year.
The All Blacks have ditched their experimental line-ups and included their big guns to face a resurgent Australia in the opening Tri-Nations Test in Christchurch on Saturday. New Zealand split their best players between two different line-ups in their less than emphatic wins over Ireland and Argentina last month.
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Angry Brazilian football fans have destroyed a seven-metre tall statue of World Player of the Year Ronaldinho following the national team’s World Cup quarterfinal exit at the hands of France. The statue, made out of resin and iron, in the southern town of Chapeco in Santa Catarina state, was burnt overnight on Saturday, after the Selecao’s 1-0 defeat to Les Bleus
An awaiting trial prisoner shot during an attempted escape in Lenasia, Johannesburg, has died, police said on Tuesday. He was wounded during a shoot-out with two policemen who were transporting him and two other men to Potchefstroom in the North West province. Sergeant Modukeng Riba (44) was shot and killed and Inspector Piet Maleka (49) was critically injured.