Ariel Sharon has been left one step away from corruption charges and being forced from office by the indictment of a businessman on Wednesday for allegedly paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Israeli prime minister’s family for political favours.

Remember those schoolyard crazes? When one kid would arrive with a yo-yo/dingbat/tamaguchi and everyone else would just have to have one? Oom Krisjan’s thoughts strayed back to his schooldays recently when he saw all the little ones lining up for their first day of grind.

Zimbabwe’s destruction and descent towards starvation and madness continues, helped almost singlehandedly by the South African government which clearly has little or no morals any more, writes Ian Fraser. Read the AP report entitled "Zimbabwe cruelty extends to domestic animals", and Cathy Buckle’s latest letter called "Little begging girl".

Australian cricket chiefs said on Thursday they would not consider moral issues when deciding whether to tour Zimbabwe later this year, unlike their English counterparts. Cricket Australia spokesperson Peter Young said his organisation’s expertise was limited to cricket and left moral questions to the government.

Shaun Pollock became the most fiendish of bludgeoning bashers with bat in hand when he mercilessly destroyed the Eastern Province Jumbos attack at Kingsmead on Wednesday. He helped the KwaZulu-Natal Dolphins to a formidable 45 overs total of 272 for four wickets in their Standard Bank cricket match.

A goal in each half gave Santos three full points although they did not deserve it when they beat Dynamos 2-0 in a Castle Premiership match at Athlone Stadium on Wednesday night. This win puts Santos second on the log — a point behind Ajax Cape Town.

Roger Federer says his breakthrough Wimbledon triumph last year has made him hungry for more Grand Slam titles and he wants to realise that at the Australian Open. The Swiss world number two had few concerns in reaching the third round in a straight sets victory over United States qualifier Jeff Morrison on Thursday.

Australian prosecutors filed manslaughter charges on Thursday against a pub bouncer, Zdravco Micevic (21), who allegedly landed the fatal punch that killed cricketing legend David Hookes. Micevic, a former champion amateur boxer, has been receiving death threats since Hookes’s death on Monday.