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Ghana aim to give their long-suffering fans something to smile about when they make their World Cup debut after a 44-year wait to play in the finals. One of Africa’s most powerful footballing nations, the ”Black Stars” have won the Nations Cup four times while their clubs and teams have dominated continental and junior international competitions.
The embarrassment of South African soccer continued unabated at the National Stadum in Gaborone on Sunday as Bafana Bafana crashed out of the Cosafa Cup after a penalty shoot-out defeat against Fifa’s 103rd ranked Botswana. A tepid quarterfinal embodied with little excitement or inspiration ended goalless — with the team known as the Zebras showing their stripes by netting all six penalty kicks.
A new surge of interethnic and militia violence has killed at least 60 people in separate attacks in Darfur over the past few days, the African Union and the United Nations said on Sunday. The killings came ahead of an expected visit by top UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi on Tuesday.
Bulgaria, once home to the Ancient Thracian civilisation, laid a gilded lure for tourists recently with a dazzling display of its nine most important gold and silver artefacts, seen together for the first time. The objects, dating back between the fifth millennium BC and the third century AD "form part of the foundations of European civilisation", President Georgi Parvanov said.
A combination of icy temperatures and reduced capacity could plunge parts of Cape Town into darkness on Monday night, a media report said on Monday. Eskom has estimated that there will be a shortage of at least 150 megawatts from 6pm to 8pm, after Koeberg’s Unit Two generator is switched off on Monday for refuelling and safety upgrades.
The Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, is to meet Hamas leaders this week in an attempt to prevent growing conflict in the Gaza Strip degenerating into civil war after a bomb attack that seriously injured the head of the Palestinian intelligence service and a failed attempt to blow up another senior security official.
As Zimbabwe reels under a world-record inflation of 1Â 042,9%, many are forsaking meals and walking or cycling for scores of kilometres to work every day in a tortuous battle to survive. Zimbabwe is going through the seventh year of economic recession characterised by four-digit inflation, shortages of basic foodstuffs while at least 80% of the population lives below the poverty threshold.
Emboldened by the acquittal of Jacob Zuma, leaders of the African National Congress and South African Communist Party youth leagues have become more strident than usual, and the politics of demagogy threaten to choke the national discourse. Why, I’ve wondered, have their various mad ramblings gone unchecked?
If South Africa is to move out of its developing world status, it will have to boost its reserve of technological skills. Vis Naidoo, chief executive of the non-profit education organisation, Mindset, tells Gina Bonmariage about his plans for the organisation.
The recent rock and punk revival is set to put guitar bands in the limelight again at this summer’s festivals across Europe, but the electronic music scene is fighting back with events of its own where vinyl and samplers rule. The undisputed leader is the Sonar festival in Barcelona, Spain, which runs from June 15 to 17.