The European Union is keen to trumpet its latest role in easing the Iran nuclear crisis, but strains and institutional limbo are clouding the bloc’s efforts to punch its diplomatic weight, officials admitted on Thursday. EU foreign policy head Javier Solana stands ready to return to Tehran to negotiate with the Islamic republic over a package of trade and political incentives.
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Injured England midfielder Steven Gerrard has emerged as a fitness concern for Saturday’s World Cup opener against Paraguay, describing himself as only ”50-50” for the match. The in-form Liverpool star has been forced to sit out training over the past two days after complaining of a sore back caused by a bang on the hip.
Latest forecasts show a marked deterioration in the inflation outlook, particularly in the short term, South African Reserve Bank (SARB) Governor Tito Mboweni cautioned on Thursday. He was speaking after the SARB’s monetary policy committee announced it had decided to raise the repo rate by 50 basis points to 7,5%.
A suspect in an alleged plot to bomb Canadian buildings had applied to a flying school and considered using a plane for an attack, according to court documents revealed by Canadian radio. But the suspect, Amin Mohamed Durani (19) did not attend the flying lessons, fearing that he would draw attention to himself.
Road accidents claim more lives in the world’s poorest countries than malaria or tuberculosis, say campaigners urging governments to treat fatal crashes as a global disease. The Commission for Road Safety, chaired by the former Nato chief Lord Robertson, will on Thursday call on the G8 countries to support a -million 10-year plan to tackle the 1,2-million deaths and 50-million injuries on the roads every year.
Europe’s southern fringe is still the home of machismo, with Portuguese men being the least likely to do any housework, according to a study. At the top of the household layabouts’ ranking, 61% of Portuguese men, 57% of Greek men and 47% of Spanish men told researchers they rarely, or never, used an iron or wielded a dustpan and brush.
The Western Cape department of local government office in Cape Town had its water and electricity cut off on Thursday over an unpaid bill of almost R750Â 000. City of Cape Town workers cut off the water to the department’s city centre building at 1.12pm and the electricity shortly after that.
Two United States astronomers have discovered huge quantities of carbon gas mixed with a cloud of dust surrounding a young, yellow star that could resemble our own solar system at its inception, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) said.
Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon has scoffed at suggestions that the party’s newly-elected Tafelsig ward councillor Sheval Arendse be suspended. Briefing the media at Parliament after Wednesday’s by-election, Leon said he was unaware of any charges against Arendse.
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A smiling Wayne Rooney resumed training at England’s base camp in southern Germany on Thursday, giving the side a huge boost ahead of their World Cup campaign. The 20-year-old striker was put through his paces with his teammates and showed no ill effects in his first run-out since jetting being given the green light to play in the World Cup.