Johannesburg  - When South Africa was awarded the right to host the 2010 World Cup football officials in the country embarked on an ambitious plan.

Not only did they want to ensure that the World Cup itself would be a huge success, they also wanted to make sure that they would be able to field a strong team at the showpiece of international football.

To facilitate the latter, the South African Football Association (SAFA) spared neither effort nor money and in 2006 they proudly announced that Carlos Alberto Parreira had signed a contract to coach the team.

The arrival of the Brazilian World Cup-winning coach had South African football fans dreaming of World Cup glory.

Johannesburg - The advertisements began in local media at the weekend. "The Champions are coming," they say. Come watch Brazil for only 70 rand.

In seven months' time, some of the greatest footballing nations will descend on South Africa for the June 14-28 Confederations Cup, an eight-country tournament held every four years in the World Cup host nation a year before the world's most-watched sporting event.

The United States, Brazil, Spain, Iraq, Egypt and New Zealand - champions of their regions - and World Cup holders Italy and host nation South Africa will battle it out for the title of Champion of Champions in a tournament seen mainly as a dry run for 2010.

New York  - South Africa's Academy Award winning actress and activist Charlize Theron said Monday that a woman is raped every 26 seconds in her country, a situation she described as "quite horrific."

Appointed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Theron took over her new job as United Nations Messenger of Peace to lead the campaign to end violence against women.

Johannesburg- Around 1,000 people gathered in northern Johannesburg on Saturday to pay their respects to Miriam Makeba, South Africa's iconic songstress and anti-apartheid activist, who died six days ago in Italy.

Arts and Culture Minister Pallo Jordan was among a number of senior government officials who attended the emotional memorial service in the Coca-Cola Dome.

Maputo - South Africa has partnered up with energy-rich Mozambique to build a new power station aimed at relieving energy shortages in Africa's largest economy before the 2010 football World Cup, Mozambique's Noticias newspaper reported Friday.

New York - Academy Award winner actress and activist Charlize Theron was named UN Messenger of Peace to lead the campaign to end violence against women, the UN said Friday.

Theron founded The Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project in partnership with the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) to help improve the lives of poor children and their families in her native South Africa, particularly those suffering from HIV/AIDS.