Arms-exporting governments are reneging on their promises by failing to take into account the impact that the trade has on poverty, Oxfam says in a report published this week. The report, Guns or Growth, says six developing countries — Oman, Syria, Burma, Pakistan, Eritrea and Burundi — spend more on arms than they do on health and education combined.
Hardly a day goes by in which we do not hear of a government minister somewhere resigning his or her office. But why do ministers resign? More interestingly — why do some not resign although there seem to be compelling reasons for them to do so? In the absence of empirical research, generalisations must be guesswork. Ministers frequently resign because they find themselves involved in scandals.
It was a night Portugal will long remember. In the most heartstopping game of Euro 2004 so far, the host nation beat England 6-5 in a penalty shootout on Thursday after a 2-2 tie in regulation time, becoming the tournament’s first semifinalist and triggering wild celebrations across the country.
It’s only two years since South Africa last played Wales but it seems like a lifetime. Then, as now, the Springboks played the first two games of the season in Bloemfontein and Cape Town and, perhaps more pertinently, they were also looking ahead to a brave new world under a new coach.
Auf Wiedersehen. Arrivederci. Ciao. Yes, it’s good night from our friends in Germany, Italy and Spain, three of the world’s established footballing powers.
This sad trio, all ranked in Fifa’s top 10, are going home. The Czech fans were singing Auf Wiedersehen long before Milan Baros scored the winner at the Jose Alvalada Stadium in Lisbon on Wednesday night.
South African soldiers attached to the United Nations peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are among the 3 700 troops now deployed on that country’s tense eastern border. More than 20 000 DRC troops have massed on the eastern border with Rwanda, say UN officials.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who has never visited South Africa, has missed three African presidential inaugurations and the launch summit of the African Union. This has led to mounting criticism of Egypt’s role in Africa. Mubarak has even stayed away from meetings of the five-man New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad) steering committee.
Kenenisa Bekele, the 22-year-old Ethiopian who is set to emerge as the glittering star of the track at the Olympic Games in Athens, hides his face in his hands. The laughter takes hold of him. He rocks gently back and forth, unsure whether he is more embarrassed or exhilarated to be asked if his mentor, Haile Gebrselassie, has recovered from having two of his world records smashed.
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