The collapse of the Doha round of trade talks on Monday is just one more pressure point on financial markets already bruised by interest rate uncertainty, fear of economic retrenchment and escalating geopolitical tension. It robs investors who believe in the wealth creating properties of globalisation of the prospect of yet more openness, replacing it instead with worries about growing protectionism.
A British parliamentary committee has concluded that English football’s governing body should abolish rules that prevent girls playing in mixed teams with boys after the age of 11, The Guardian said on Tuesday. The current restrictions were imposed in 1921 because the Football Association deemed the game ”unsuitable for females”.
The four Serie A clubs found guilty of match-fixing will learn later on Tuesday whether their appeals for lighter sentences have proved successful. Juventus, AC Milan, Lazio and Fiorentina have all been found guilty by the Italian football federation of committing sporting fraud in the 2004/05 season.
For a country with an unelected hereditary leader there is a blunt irony in calling itself the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This vast swath of central Africa is many things, a failed state, a humanitarian crisis, a natural resource bounty, but a representative democracy it is not.
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The corruption case against Jacob Zuma, once the front-runner to succeed President Thabo Mbeki, has exposed splits in the African National Congress (ANC), the party that under Nelson Mandela led South Africa from apartheid to multiracial politics. Analysts say the ANC is facing its worst crisis in years.
The first three days of hearings in an inquiry into the South African Broadcasting Corporation’s (SABC) alleged blacklisting of certain political analysts have been completed, the commissioners said on Monday. They said the range of views and the quality of submissions had helped to clarify which factors influenced decisions around the use of analysts.
The people of Lebanon are facing their ”hour of greatest need”, the United Nations said on Monday in launching an emergency appeal for -million to help an estimated 800Â 000 civilians whose lives have been disrupted by Israeli bombing of Lebanon.
Fiona Macleod and Gavin Smitsdorp are well on their way to an eco-friendly home — and a cheaper, cooler life.
Fire and brimstone rained down on northern Israel throughout most of this week. And as air-raid sirens sounded and rockets slammed into the country from Hizbullah positions in Lebanon, the state unfurled its extensive safety net. The Israeli Defence Force Home Front Command issued a list of safety recommendations via television and newspapers — including step-by-step instructions on what to do when the sirens sound.