Premiership stars Nwankwo Kanu and Frederic Kanoute aim to fire Nigeria and Mali into an African Nations Cup final showdown by breaking the hearts of Tunisia and Morocco in the semi-finals on Wednesday. Nigeria, who knocked out defending champions Cameroon 2-1 in the last eight, take on the hosts in front of 60 000 passionate Tunisian fans.

At the peak of his powers he was reverently called a freak of nature, but now nature has cruelly turned on Jonah Lomu, the gargantuan All Blacks wing, who faces a life in a wheelchair if he does not get a kidney transplant. Lomu struck fear in those he faced at the height of his career, became the most marketable face of the sport worldwide.

Shane Warne’s much-anticipated comeback to cricket after a 12-month doping ban was restricted to a short time at the batting crease on Tuesday as rain interrupted an Australian match between Victoria’s 2nd XI and the Queensland Academy. Warne missed the opening day of the match to serve out the last day of his suspension.

Morocco has emerged as a strong challenger to South Africa in the bidding to become the first African country to host soccer’s World Cup. Moroccan bid leader Saad Kettani contests the idea that South Africa should get the World Cup as a reward for having gotten rid of apartheid and embraced all-race democracy.

The Telkom PGA Championship has been given added impetus with the inclusion of two of the country’s most exciting young professionals in Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel for the R1,5-million tournament at Woodhill Country Club this week.

One man and a child survived among 40 passengers aboard an Iranian aircraft that crashed and burst into flames on Tuesday on landing in the emirate of Sharjah, state television reported. Several dead bodies were shown in dramatic footage of the burning wreck.

An apparent car bomb exploded on Tuesday at a police station south of Baghdad, the United States military said. Colonel William Darley, a military spokesperson, said the blast occurred in the town of Iskandariyah, about 50km south of the Iraqi capital. He had no further details.

An inquiry into racism in South African rugby will be set up by the end of February, Minister of Sport Ngconde Balfour said on Tuesday. ”Rugby has had its own internal inquiry. The bigger inquiry must be taken up by the minister, which will look at transformation in the sport and whether there is racism,” he said.