Stand at any border post in Southern Africa and watch who goes through it: women with heads and arms laden, people on bicycles and cars that have teetering piles of goods, mini-bus taxis with stacked roofs, dragging trailers. Previously disregarded, these informal vendors are increasingly seen as part of the solution to the region’s many economic problems.
Let’s start with some assertions, all of which can be supported. Everybody knows that quality jobs are better than social grants. We also know that fast, job-creating economic growth is required. The problem is, it is elusive and looks set to remain so. Social grants are the quickest way to alleviate chronic poverty, reckons Charles Meth.
Oil prices were nudging record levels on global markets this week after Iraqi insurgents threatened to blow up the country’s key southern oilfields if the Americans launched a full-scale onslaught on the holy city of Najaf. Dealers shrugged off an earlier move by Saudi Arabia to calm global energy markets after Wednesday’s frenetic trading that saw fresh concerns about terrorism.
By the end of this century, our official stance against drugs in sport will look risible.
Is it really so wrong for an athlete to use performance-enhancing substances? Sports academic Lincoln Allison argues that those who strive to be the best should do so by any means necessary.
It’s hard to think of a more cataclysmic start to the season than Chelsea versus Manchester United at Stamford Bridge. If Chelsea win on Sunday, everybody will be shouting about the way Roman Abramovich has bought the championship for £210-million. If Manchester United win, everybody will call for the head of Jose Mourinho.
Hurrah for the new Premiership season! Last season there were complaints that competition was actually quite dull, but when you see what passes for football news when no matches are taking place, the heart fairly leaps at the prospect of Bolton vs Charlton or Portsmouth vs Birmingham.
Two of the Athens Olympic Games’s most high-profile stars planned to miss Friday’s opening ceremony, along with hundreds of other athletes content to shun a lifetime memory to ensure they won’t compromise their Olympic performance. Tens of millions were expected to watch the ceremony on television around the world.
Special Report: Olympics 2004
Half-centuries from skipper Marvan Atapattu and Kumar Sangakkara tightened Sri Lanka’s grip on the second cricket Test against South Africa on Friday after the visitors were dismissed cheaply following a devastating spell from Sanath Jayasuriya. Sri Lanka extended their lead to 492 runs on day three of the Test.
A devastating bowling spell by Sanath Jayasuriya put Sri Lanka in a winning position on Friday as South Africa was dismissed for just 189 in their first innings of the second cricket Test. Jayasuriya’s figures of 5-34 — his second five-wicket haul — surpassed his previous best of 5-43.
World champion Michael Schumacher set a stunning time in Friday’s opening practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix as he started his quest for a record-breaking 12th win of the season. Schumacher bettered Fernando Alonso’s pole time from last year with a lap of one minute and 21,552 seconds, 25 minutes from the end.