Ireland struggled to a 23-20 World Cup warm-up win over Italy on Friday in a match that was crowned by two controversial tries in the dying minutes. Ireland, who had trailed 13-10 at the interval despite fielding a near full-strength side, had led 16-13 with three minutes left before Italy scored a try through Matteo Pratichetti, which they thought had won the game.
Luke Kibet of Kenya won the marathon in 2 hours, 15 minutes and 59 seconds on Saturday, claiming the first gold medal of the 2007 track and field World Championships. Mubarak Hassan Shami of Qatar was second in 2:17,18, and fast-finishing Viktor Rothlin of Switzerland was third in 2:17,25.
KJ Choi, who is having a career year on the PGA Tour, fired a 66 to take a two-shot lead after the second round of the -million Barclays Classic tournament on Friday. The 37-year-old South Korean star shot 64 on Thursday and has now rolled in 12 birdies over the first two rounds to reach 12-under-par 130 at the Westchester Country Club course.
A man pleaded guilty on Friday to driving at 277km/h in a high-performance sports car on a public road, making him the fastest motorist ever caught speeding in Britain. Timothy Brady was caught driving a £98 000 Porsche 911 Turbo in a random police speed check on a trunk road near Abingdon, south central England, in January this year.
From the ground it looked an impossible manoeuvre. The Russian Sukhoi-35 shot vertically into the sky before flipping forward in midair. It then raced downwards with an ear-ripping roar. The crowds were impressed. Even seasoned United States pilots standing on the tarmac looked on admiringly.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, said Zimbabweans fleeing from the economic crisis into South Africa were not entitled to refugee status, and border camps should not be set up to accommodate them, the South African Broadcasting Corporation reported on Friday.
The Gauteng branch of the South African National Civic Organisation’s (Sanco) request for an investigation into the Sunday Times editor was ”legitimate”, the national leadership said on Friday. This conflicted with an earlier statement by a Sanco national executive committee member who rejected the provincial body’s call for a probe.
Mafika Sihlali, head of legal services for the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), was suspended on Friday, the national broadcaster said. Sihlali was suspended with full pay, pending a disciplinary inquiry after allegations of corruption and abuse of power were levelled against him.
The Johannesburg High Court on Friday reserved judgement in the dispute between Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang and the Sunday Times over her confidential hospital records. Judge Mahomed Jajbhay said he would make his decision in seven days. ”I will reflect most of the weekend on the matter,” he told both parties.
Sierra Leone’s main opposition parties will campaign jointly against Vice-President Solomon Berewa in a presidential run-off after taking control of the West African country’s Parliament, a party chief said on Friday. The move puts All People’s Congress leader Ernest Bai Koroma in position to succeed outgoing President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah.