Zambia have shot up 28 places in the FIFA rankings, breaking into the top 50 for the first time in eleven years after winning the African Nations Cup on Sunday.
Top-ranked Ivory Coast lived up to their billing by reaching the African Nations Cup final as the tournament delivered yet another surprise on Wednesday when Zambia also reached Sunday's deciding match.
Seydou Keita has emerged as the undisputed leader of an exciting young Mali side six months after returning from a 20-month hiatus from the international game.
Ivory Coast and Zambia ruthlessly crushed African Nations Cup underdogs Equatorial Guinea and Sudan 3-0 respectively on Saturday to end the dreams of opponents who had upset the odds to reach the last eight.
Didier Drogba's talismanic qualities helped Ivory Coast make a winning, if not impressive, start to the African Nations Cup finals as he scored the only goal against a stubborn Sudan. With Angola, who beat Burkina Faso 2-1 in Sunday's other match in Malabo.
Ivory Coast and Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure was named African Footballer of the Year on Thursday.
A Didier Drogba double helped the Ivory Coast become the second side to progress from the African Nations Cup preliminaries to next year's finals after a 6-2 win in Benin on Sunday.
Rioting spectators forced a 34-minute stoppage in the African Nations Cup semis.
The referee at the centre of the controversial penalty decision that helped hosts Equatorial Guinea reach the African Nations Cup semi-finals has been banned for six months.
African football hit dizzying heights before descending into violent farce
Ghana's head coach Avram Grant hit out at African Nations Cup organisers for giving his side a shoddy bus and lengthy commute ahead of their critical Group C clash with Algeria.
Didier Drogba scored twice to maintain the Ivory Coast's perfect start to the 2012 African Nations Cup qualifiers on Sunday while other top contenders Ghana, Nigeria and Zambia also won.
Nearly 14.3 million people, including children, are 'trapped' in modern-day slavery in India, which tops a global index of people under bondage across the world with an estimated 35.8 million people enslaved, a new research said on Monday.
'It's unclear whether she is the target of the investigation, or what agents were searching for. The officials said it is an ongoing investigation and no charges have been filed,' reports CNN.com, while the Post adds that "the exact nature of the investigation involving Raphel remains unclear. She has not been charged.'
Ivory Coast have named Francois Zahoui as Sven-Goran Eriksson's successor as coach two weeks before they begin their African Nations Cup qualifying campaign.
India jumped three places to 135th in the latest FIFA rankings. In global rankings, Spain dethroned Brazil from number one spot. The Netherlands, Italy and Portugal complete the top five.
Addressing the Committee for Development Policy, Sha Zukang, under-secretary-general for economic and social affairs, said the worst economic crises since the great depression have thrown many more people into poverty.
Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has called Atletico Madrid's Brazil-born forward Diego Costa into his squad for the first time for this month's friendlies away to Equatorial Guinea and South Africa.
The ongoing financial crisis, poverty reduction, reforms including expansion of the Security Council, uneven progress in the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and Darfur conflict are likely to dominate the agenda of the United Nations General Assembly that begins on Tuesday. More than 170 heads of state and governments, foreign ministers and senior diplomats will participate in the discussion lasting about two weeks.
Ethiopia ended the hopes of 2010 World Cup hosts South Africa from making next year's finals in Brazil after a dramatic round of African group stage qualifying matches on Sunday.
Nigeria and South Africa, who jostle for political and economic supremacy on the African continent, were drawn together in their World Cup qualifying group on Sunday. Although South Africa, as hosts of the 2010 event, qualify automatically for the finals, they are participating in the preliminaries because they also serve as qualifiers for the 2010 African Nations Cup finals.
The endangered list includes the Western Hoolock gibbon (Hoolock hoolock) found in India, Bangladesh and Myanmar.
The State Department's annual report on human trafficking released worldwide on Tuesday, ranked India for a fourth consecutive year in the report's second-worst category, the so-called Tier 2 Watch List.
Fidel Castro of Cuba figures in the list along with Hu Jintao of China as the most corrupt dictators.
'What adult citizens do in the privacy of their home, what they eat or drink or watch, is not the government's concern.'
The son of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher pleaded guilty to helping to finance unknowingly an alleged coup plot in oil-rich Equatorial Guinea.
The central African country of Equatorial Guinea has asked South Africa to extradite Mark Thatcher, the son of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who reportedly funded a coup attempt in that nation.
Chief spokesperson for the elite 'Scorpions' police unit, Sipho Ngwema, said this on Thursday responding to reports that Mark Thatcher claimed he was innocent of all charges against him.
Former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher's son Mark was arrested in Cape Town Wednesday on suspicion of involvement in a coup plot in Equatorial Guinea.
An astounding 11,400 athletes will travel from more than 200 countries to compete at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. In all, 20 nations will be represented by three or fewer athletes - including Afghanistan, Belize, Gambia and South Sudan - nine will be represented by only two competitors, and one country will be represented by a sole athlete. Sprinter Etimoni Timuani will carry the flag at the opening ceremony for the South Pacific nation of Tuvalu - the smallest delegation destined for Rio de Janeiro.
Of the nearly 4.6 crore people living as slaves globally, two-thirds, or 3.04 crore, are in the Asia-Pacific region, with the highest number in India.
'India is the largest stomping ground in the world for impact investing as we have an extraordinary combination of entrepreneurial drive with huge, absolute demand for all kinds of social services,' IDFC First Bank's chief Rajiv Lall tells Anjuli Bhargava.
Seeking to inject a fresh impetus to India's strategic ties with African countries, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday left on a six-day visit to Ethiopia and Tanzania during which he will discuss ways to effectively combat the twin threats of terrorism and piracy.
Charlotte Hornets forward Jeffery Taylor was suspended 24 games without pay by the NBA on Wednesday after pleading guilty last month to misdemeanor domestic violence assault and malicious destruction of hotel property.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
China is using its growing trade power to enhance its global influence, especially in Africa, Latin America and Asia, where it is perceived as an all-weather friend. Since opening up its economy in 1978, China's foreign trade has been growing by leaps and bounds.
Lionel Messi and Alexis Sanchez, club mates at Barcelona, sparkled as Argentina and Chile put behind them a weekend to forget with victories in the South American 2014 World Cup qualifiers on Tuesday.
The third Lusofonia Games, slated to be held in Goa in November, have been postponed to January due to the slow progress of infrastructure work. The Games of 'Lusophone' (Portuguese-speaking countries) will now be held from January 18 to 29, 2014.
© 2025 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances