Former United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan urged African leaders on Sunday to practise good governance and democracy to rebuild the continent, and told the world’s rich nations to keep their promises of aid. ”It is vital that Africa lead its own development process,” he told a gathering at the fifth annual Nelson Mandela lecture.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s Prime Minister, secured a landslide election triumph on Sunday night, winning a second five-year term with nearly half of the national vote after being forced by veiled threats of a military overthrow to call an early ballot.
Turks began voting on Sunday in a parliamentary election pitting the ruling Islamist-rooted AK Party against nationalists who disagree strongly over the future path of the rigidly secular Muslim country. Opinion polls tip the pro-business AK Party to govern alone for five more years, but the size of their majority will be key.
Zimbabwe police are hunting a traditional spirit medium who led President Robert Mugabe’s government on a fruitless search for much-needed fuel she said was mysteriously oozing out of a rock. The Southern African state is battling with acute fuel shortages amid an economic crisis many blame on Mugabe’s policies.
South Africa’s national selectors have stayed true to their word and named a predictable and experienced squad of 30 players to feature at this year’s World Cup tournament. National coach Jake White named 14 backs and 16 forwards with the squad being a good blend of youth and experience.
On the surface, Mark Cain works for a time-share company. Members pay a one-off sum to join and an annual fee. They then get to book holiday time in various destinations around the globe. But Solstice clients are not ordinary people. They are America’s super-rich and a brief glance at its operations reveal the vast and still widening gulf between them and the rest of the United States.
David Beckham made his long-awaited debut for Los Angeles Galaxy in front of a capacity crowd when he came on as a substitute in the 78th minute of Saturday’s exhibition match against Chelsea. The England midfielder, who has been struggling to recover from an injury to his left ankle, was cheered loudly by the 27 000 fans at the Home Depot Centre.
A Cambodian-born French woman faces prosecution for criminal damage after planting a kiss on a painting by the artist Cy Twombly, leaving the imprint of her lipstick on the otherwise immaculate white canvas.
Bernadette Pelger leans out of her window to curse "the gendarmes, the drug-dealers, the kids who make all the noise at night, the fights" — in short, all the things that make her life on a council estate on the outskirts of a poor central French city a misery.
Embattled Ekurhuleni metro police chief Robert McBride will be given ”time off” pending the outcome of a court case against him. Ekurhuleni mayor Duma Nkosi would not be drawn on whether McBride would be suspended or given paid or unpaid leave.