The United States administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, admitted on Tuesday that Washington was having to rethink its plan to ask unelected committees to choose an interim Iraqi government, which the country’s pre-eminent Shia cleric has opposed as undemocratic.

The United States is sending troops and defence contractors to the Sahara desert in West Africa to open what it calls a new front in the war on terror. A small vanguard force arrived this week in Mauritania to pave the way for a -million plan to bolster the security forces and border controls of Mauritania, Mali, Chad and Niger.

The newspaper USA Today on Tuesday went public with its own Jayson Blair-style scandal, delivering another hammer blow to the reputation of journalism in the United States. The newspaper printed a half-page mea culpa, admitting that its star foreign correspondent, Jack Kelley, had ”repeatedly misled editors” during a seven-month internal investigation into the veracity of his work.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on the Angolan government to manage oil revenues better and allow for greater fiscal transparency. "More than $4-billion in state oil revenue disappeared from Angolan government coffers from 1997 to 2002, roughly equal to the entire sum the government spent on all social programmes in the same period," HRW said on Tuesday.

Spain’s Roman Catholic bishops have never been publicly keen on homosexuality, but now they have provoked outrage by accusing gays of threatening not just the nation’s morality but its exchequer as well. A cardinal has claimed gay marriages will help bring the country’s social security system to its knees.

All-rounders Heath Streak and Sean Ervine helped Zimbabwe achieve a respectable total after the team’s other batsmen failed against India in a triangular one-day cricket match at the Bellerive Oval on Wednesday.

Host Tunisia selected Brazilian-born attacker Francileudo Silva Santos, who recently took up Tunisian nationality, in a 22-man squad named on Tuesday for the African Nations Cup. Half of the players picked by coach Roger Lemerre play in Europe. The competition starts later this month.

Sharks coach Kevin Putt has announced that lock Johann Ackerman will be training with the Sharks after being released from the Cats squad. The 33-year-old former Springbok lock (he played in eight Tests between 1996 and 2001) turned out for Griquas last season, where his career underwent a major rejuvenation.

The committee leading New York’s bid to host the 2012 Summer Olympics has sent its official reply to a bid questionnaire to the International Olympic Committee. The 65-page document outlines central themes including transportation, venue planning, security, accommodation and the environment.