Formula One rookie Karun Chandhok has dismissed speculation about his status at cash-strapped HRT and made clear that he is keen to be part of the team’s plans for the future.

The only sound piercing the wail of the vuvuzela was the referee’s whistle, blowing over and over again for an endless series of penalty kicks as players pushed, pulled and wrestled each other to the ground.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai earns just $525 a month, has less than $20,000 in the bank and owns no land or property, according to a declaration of his assets on Sunday by an anti-graft body.

The detritus of occupation comes in all shapes and sizes. In Iraq, it’s M-16 ammunition clips, rifle bipods and body armour at Baghdad’s Haraj market.

Argentina have become the bookies’ favourite to win the first World Cup on African soil, after two clear wins in opening matches while their closest competitors failed to impress.

One of Italy’s most prominent Catholic cardinals and a former minister have been put under investigation as a corruption scandal that has tainted the government spread to touch the Vatican.

A senior Iranian cleric has decreed dogs are “unclean” and should not be kept as pets — a move aimed at discouraging Western-style dog ownership in the Islamic state, a newspaper reported on Saturday.

A pink sex pill offered little help to women and came with unacceptable risks, US government advisers agreed on Friday, in another setback in the search for a drug to boost female libido.

A Hong Kong book publisher has been forced to halt the much-awaited publication of former Chinese Premier Li Peng’s memoirs of controversial events leading up to the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown on pro-democracy protests.

Fifa has changed its rule on yellow card amnesties at the World Cup to reduce the chances of big name players missing out on the July 11 final.
Germany’s Michael Ballack in 2002, Italy’s Alessandro Costacurta in 1994 and Argentina’s Claudio Caniggia in 1990 are the best-known players to have missed World Cup finals after picking up second yellow cards in semis.