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Togo coach Otto Pfister has left the World Cup and has been replaced until further notice by his former assistant Kodjovi Mawuena, Togo team official Messan Attolou told Agence France-Presse on Saturday. ”Otto Pfister has left for Switzerland and his assistant Piet Hamberg has also left the team,” Attolou said.
New Zealand were forced to rely on a late charge to mount a come-from-behind 34-23 win over Ireland on Saturday to maintain their unbeaten record in 101 years of rugby internationals between the two countries. In their first outing since their historic Grand Slam at the end of last year, the All Blacks produced a bumbling performance for the first 60 minutes.
Hamas ended an 18-month ceasefire on Saturday, firing 11 rockets at Israel just hours before Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas was due to announce a controversial referendum. A statement by the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing, said the attacks were in response to the killing of 10 Palestinians.
About 7 000 residents have been evacuated in south China after landslides caused by heavy rain damaged homes amid stormy weather, which has wreaked havoc in the region for days and killed dozens of people, state media said. The evacuees moved out of their homes in Heping County in Guangdong province after a series of landslides hit the area.
Iraqi Vice-President Adel Abdel Mahdi has met Iran’s top nuclear negotiator in Tehran in a bid to help mediate an end to Iran’s nuclear crisis, a source close to the Iraqi leader said on Saturday. He said the meeting with Ali Larijani took place on Friday, a day after Abdel Hadi met in Baghdad with the ambassadors of Britain, France and Germany.
World number one Roger Federer and number two Rafael Nadal set up a dream finish to the French Open on Friday by advancing to the final. Federer (24) made his first Roland Garros title match as Argentina’s David Nalbandian retired injured while the Swiss player was leading 3-6, 6-4, 5-2 in their semifinal tie.
Visitors to New York already knew it, but now it’s official: foreign tourists arriving in the city have a more than 50% chance of being ripped off on their first taxi ride. Agents from the city’s Department of Investigation (DOI) posed as clueless tourists unable to speak English and took cabs from John F Kennedy airport to Manhattan and Brooklyn.
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Ecuador began their World Cup campaign with a precious 2-0 win over Group A rivals Poland on Friday. Carlos Tenorio broke the deadlock in the 24th minute with a stooping header and Agustin Delgado made the points safe with a simple tap-in 10 minutes from time. Poland enjoyed plenty of possession but were short on ideas in the final third of the pitch.
The Western Cape department of local government had its electricity and water reconnected on Friday after it paid R242 000 towards its arrears bill. The department’s city centre building was disconnected on Thursday over what the City of Cape Town said was an outstanding amount of over R724 000.
It was a rout. After months of fighting that left hundreds dead, Mogadishu fell suddenly this week: pick-up trucks with mounted machine-guns and young warriors scrambled to leave the city. The victors broadcast a triumphant announcement that the warlords had been ousted.