MID-MORNING on a hazy winters day, and the red, white and blue campaign bus of Senator John McCain is barrelling down the interstate highway towards the South Carolina town of Spartanburg. Some African American groups complained of intimidation by the mayor’s re-election staff, but it appears they turned out to vote for him anyway.. Mr Brown, who has impeccable credentials as one of the country’s leading liberal Democrats, was accused of doing too little to temper the tide of new money, allowing real estate speculation and chain stores to force thousands of lower-income residents to leave the city.In the end, Mr Brown lined up an intimidating array of special interest groups on his side, wooing not only the Democratic Party establishment, but the Republicans too. Mr Ammiano, who entered the race just a few weeks ago on a tide of public discontent, conceded defeat but said that his coalition of aggrieved tenants, Latino workers, students, and gays and transsexuals had made sure their voices would not go unheard in future “My voice may be high I may be gay. My politics may be left, but we are right,” said Mr Ammiano, who would have been the first openly homosexual mayor of a large American city.
At the heart of the election was San Francisco’s transformation from a hip, ruggedly individual haven from theconformity of middle America, into a bright, affluent magnet for the Internet revolution. With the city’s liberal establishment and new generation of Internet millionaires behind him, Mr Brown captured almost 60 per cent of the vote.

He is believed to have been parked by the side of the road when the carjackers struck.He sustained wounds to his right shoulder, back and groin and was rushed to a Soweto clinic where he died.. DESPITE A grass-roots revolt aimed at returning San Francisco to the radical politics of the 1970s, mayor Willie Brown cruised to an easy re-election victory yesterday over his challenger Tom Ammiano. The head of the premier league, Joe Ndhlela, was recently suspended after being charged with fraud and corruption involving nearly one million rands (pounds 100,000), allegedly committed while he worked at a state transport company.South Africa, for years excluded from international sport as a result of apartheid-era sanctions, staged the rugby world cup in 1995, the African Cup of Nations (soccer) in 1996 and the All-Africa athletics games this year.The country has good sports facilities by third-world standards but the high crime rate is an issue of concern.The South African sports minister, Ngconde Balfour, condemned the murder, saying Molokoti’s death was a big loss to both his family and the sports community.”It is worse to lose a man of his calibre, who was involved in social upliftment, in such a brutal way,” he said.The team’s managing director, Kaizer Motaung, said he believed the killing was a criminal matter, not linked to the rivalries and cash scandals which plague South African football from time to time.Mlokoti, who is survived by his wife, three daughters and a son, is understood to have been visiting a friend in Soweto at the time of the attack. It’s very sad that he had to go in this fashion.”South Africa’s soccer image was already tarnished. One of the greatest hurdles faced by South Africa, rivalling England, Germany, Brazil and Morocco in bidding to stage the World Cup, is the country’s image as one of the most violent in the world.
Mlokoti, a former Soweto headmaster, was reportedly shot in the back as his car was stolen. Soweto police confirmed the incident, adding that the car had been found, but would not release further details.Neil Tovey, ex-captain of Kaizer Chiefs, said yesterday: “It’s very unfortunate that such things have to happen to people that are very good to the world Clarence was a person who offered a lot to the club He was always happy to lend a helping hand and listen.

SOUTH AFRICA’S prospects for staging the 2006 World Cup suffered a setback yesterday with the violent death in a Soweto carjacking of one the country’s leading football personalities. Clarence Mlokoti, 69, a director and co-founder of Kaizer Chiefs, one of the country’s most popular soccer clubs, was shot while travelling in the township near Johannesburg with his wife and daughter on Tuesday evening, his brother Mlungisi said yesterday. Mr Khalifa is one of the generals who took part in the 1989 coup that brought Mr Bashir to power. Mr Bashir has accused Mr Turabi of attempting to exercise “dual leadership”.. The army and other security forces have declared allegiance to him. On the street, too, there is almost unanimous support for his actions. Many Sudanese are deeply distrustful of Mr Turabi and his Islamist agenda.However, Mr Turabi, who for the past decade has been regarded as the main power behind the government, commands the loyalty of severalmilitias.