'Life moves on' Rabada looks ahead to World Test Championship final after drug ban
May 31 (Reuters) - South Africa fast bowler Kagiso Rabada said life moves on and he will never be "Mr I-Apologise-Too-Much" after serving a one-month ban for testing positive for recreational drug use at this year's SA20 competition.
The 30-year-old Rabada can resume playing for his country in June, after being named in South Africa's squad for the World Test Championship final against Australia at Lord's from June 11 to 15.
Having already apologised for his actions in May, Rabada said he wanted to move on from the incident.
"I'm just glad to be playing again. The process was handled really well ... I think, as a player, and a man, people will have their different opinions. I can live with that," Rabada told media on Saturday before leaving for London.
"There are some people who would have been disappointed and to those people I'm deeply sorry ... The people closest to me are the ones I felt I let down.
"But life moves on. I'll never be 'Mr-I-Apologise-Too-Much'. But I'll never condone that action."
Rabada said he has been speaking with team mates, adding that he plans to do more in the coming days to mend any rifts the incident may have caused.
"I think I owe it to them (to talk about what happened)," he said. "They're my team mates. We've come from so far.
"I've already spoken to them and I guess we can do so in more detail when we get together for an extended amount of time."
Rabada is likely to lead the fast-bowling attack in the World Test Championship final with seamers Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi and Dane Paterson also in the squad.
Keshav Maharaj and Senuran Muthusamy are the two specialist spin options.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
42 minutes ago
- Reuters
Rwanda-backed rebels in Congo executed civilians, Human Rights Watch says
June 3 (Reuters) - Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in Democratic Republic of Congo executed at least 21 civilians over two days in February in the eastern city of Goma, Human Rights Watch said in a report published on Tuesday. The report covers incidents on February 22-23 in a Goma neighborhood, offering a snapshot of the violence during the latest escalation of the decades-long conflict. 'Commanders and combatants who directly ordered or carried out abuses should be held criminally accountable,' Human Rights Watch said in the report. M23 rebels have seized eastern Congo's two largest cities, Goma and Bukavu, in an offensive that began in January. The unprecedented advance has killed thousands of people and forced hundreds of thousands to flee. The 21 slain civilians included six men and one woman shot in the head near Katindo military camp in Goma on February 22. HRW said M23 were responsible, citing a witness. In a separate incident, M23 killed people and dumped their bodies at a construction site less than 100 metres away from the camp. These included a 15-year-old who was taken from his home and later found dead at the site, HRW said, citing a relative and a neighbour. Goma's Kasika neighbourhood was targeted because it had previously housed Congolese army barracks, HRW said. The violence continued in the neighbourhood a day later on February 23 when M23 rounded up around 20 young men at a nearby sportsfield. A witness told HRW the rebels accused the young men of being members of the army. Three that tried to run away were shot. An M23 leader said the group would look into the allegations and publish the findings. 'HRW gives us an opportunity to mirror ourselves. We respect this organization despite its past accusations which proved to be false,' M23 leader Bertrand Bisimwa told Reuters. The overall toll in Goma is likely to be higher, HRW said, with medical workers reporting that over 50 bodies were collected from the Kasika area over the two-day period. Other organizations have previously reported grievous crimes committed in eastern Congo since M23 seized swaths of territory. Amnesty International in March said rebels had raided hospitals in Goma for wounded Congolese soldiers and taken 130 people including caregivers. Many were tortured and some are still missing. UNICEF reported a five-fold surge in rape cases treated across 42 health centers in eastern Congo, in February, describing it as the worst sexual violence seen there in years. Almost a third of the victims were children, UNICEF said. In one example, a mother reported that her six daughters, the youngest just 12 years old, were raped by armed men searching for food. The conflict in eastern Congo is rooted in the spillover of Rwanda's 1994 genocide and the struggle over Congo's vast mineral resources. Rwanda denies U.N. allegations that it backs the M23, saying its forces are acting in self-defence against Congo's army and allied militias.
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
High-rise, high expectations: is Casablanca's finance hub a model for African development?
For centuries, Casablanca was a significant trading hub for merchants from across the breadth of the Atlantic coast, given its geographical position between Africa, the Middle East and Europe. These days, Morocco's economic capital is merging those historical roots with a strong modern commercial identity. One such manifestation is the Casablanca Finance City (CFC) district, whose high-rise buildings stand as a symbol of the city's dream of being a main gateway for international investment into Africa. Since the district launched in December 2010, its attractive tax regime has brought in entities from across the globe. There was a slowdown in sign-ups to the hub during the Covid-19 pandemic but it now hosts 240 companies, including Huawei and Schneider Electric, accounting for more than 7,000 jobs. 'We welcome companies from multiple sectors … [and] we also support them in their development into the continent,' said Lamia Merzouki, its chief operating officer. Over the past decade, Moroccan investment across Africa has sharply risen: from $100m in 2014 to $2.8bn in 2024. As of March 2025, it was ranked fourth in the Middle East and Africa region and 57th out of 119 overall on the Global Financial Centres Index. Brigitte Labou, the head of customs practice for Francophone Africa at KPMG Avocats, based in Paris, says hubs such as the CFC are 'important levers for accelerating the industrialisation of Africa. 'The financial hub that the CFC represents, as well as the related tax advantages, are assets that can attract the relocation of production chains to Morocco and Africa,' she added. Representing a key entry point for business into Africa, the CFC is seen by the Moroccan government as a valuable component of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), a trade agreement with the promise of a unified African market of 1.4 billion people and a combined GDP of $3.4tn. It was approved by the African Union in 2012 and launched seven years later, but implementation has been slow. But in a time of global tariff wars, African economists are hoping agreements such as AfCFTA can help. In May, as hundreds of African business executives in various shades of suits converged in Abidjan in Ivory Coast for the Africa CEO Forum, intracontinental trade during tariff disruption topped the agenda. The South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, speaking during an all-presidential panel in Abidjan, proposed more collaboration on the continent as a solution. 'We would like the private sector to follow in tandem with the public sector, and to embrace the AfCFTA and also be active participants … [AfCFTA] is going to be the pathfinder', he told more than 2,800 delegates. Merzouki agrees. 'In this context of trade wars, the African free trade area is really a must,' she said after the session. 'We need to accelerate the momentum. Regional integration is a must for us, and this is something that we have been nourishing since the beginning.' There is criticism that the CFC's focus on attracting foreign capital has done little to address deep-seated inequalities within Morocco. Recent trade data for 2024 also shows that the EU – rather than Africa – is still a destination for at least two-thirds of Moroccan exports. In response to this discrepancy, Merzouki said the data 'should not overshadow the dynamic cooperation between Morocco and the rest of Africa'. There is also regular criticism of Morocco's constitutional monarchy system, but supporters say this has projected an image of calm that seems to have benefited Casablanca, compared with other African hubs. 'Even if there are lots of different trade wars and economic upheavals and so on, Morocco remains a stable platform,' said Merzouki. 'There is political stability, macroeconomic stability. We have a lot of international players that give us this feedback. They want to come to Casablanca because it remains stable.' Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion It is now marketing this profile of a haven within chaos to draw in more entities amid one of the biggest global trade disruptions in decades. Since Donald Trump resumed his second term as US president, he has upended trade deals and hiked tariffs, including for all of Africa. The CFC is also cooperating with two dozen African investment promotion agencies, including those of Nigeria and Ivory Coast, seeking new opportunities to increase infrastructural development. It also hosts the Africa50 fund, a vehicle launched in 2015 by the African Development Bank, with initial capital of $700m from 20 member states, to spur infrastructure development across the continent. The district is also pivoting to accommodate its interest in artificial intelligence – having launched an Africa Innovation Lab to support fintechs – and sustainable financing. Currently, Africa generates only 2% of its potential in carbon credits, which are permits countries or companies can exchange to fund initiatives that reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Merzouki, a former chair of the UN Development Programme's Financial Centres for Sustainability Network, thinks the continent can become an energy powerhouse with the right conditions: technology transfer, capacity building, financing. Last September, the CFC signed an agreement with another Moroccan agency to launch a voluntary carbon market for private entities as part of a push to start a carbon-efficient ecosystem. Still, there are limits to African financial hubs such as the CFC: doing business is notoriously difficult in many African countries and red tape and archaic policies continue to stymie the flow of cash and workers across borders. Bright Simons, the vice-president of the Imani Centre for Policy and Education in Accra, Ghana, says the hubs are merely short-term solutions that cloud the big picture. 'The unique selling point for the hubs is to try and concentrate resources in a manner that tries to circumvent some of those [logistical and infrastructural] barriers,' he said. 'African governments, rather than go the long route of trying to actually fix these problems, are trying to look for shortcuts, and perhaps hubs have become the cleverest but most visible way.'
Daily Mail
5 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Nepo babies' not-so-humble brag about their status and generational wealth as they embrace label in new trend - but can you guess who their famous parents are?
Nepo babies have really been in the hot seat over the last year - and now rather than rebuffing the identity, they are bragging about it. In a new online trend, the offspring of the rich and famous are making their celebrity-heir status known thanks to the basketball term 'air ball' - a missed basket. Among the nepo babies jumping on the trend are Ava Phillippe, the daughter of Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe, Francesca Scorsese and Jackson 5 star Randy Jackson's daughter Zoë. But perhaps winning the trend is Alianna Thiam - given that her dad Akon sings on the track being overlaid on the clips, Soul Survivor. The clips show the nepo babies turn the joke on you for making an 'airball' - a very wrong, and seriously underestimated, assumption about what their parents do for work. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the Daily Mail's showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Taking to TikTok, Senegalese-American singer Akon's daughter Alianna shared a picture of himself with the caption: 'Told him my dad was in the music industry.' In the next slide, Alianna could be seen taking a mirror selfie in a lavish apartment as she added a caption with her hypothetical date's response: 'He said "Oh like a manager?"' In a mic drop moment, Alianna's final slide is a sweet picture of her hugging her famous father. Holyfknairball was hashtagged to call out the date's conversational missed basket. Meanwhile Reese's daughter Ava shared a selfie writing: 'I told him my mom's a lawyer. ' The next snap showed Ava and her mum on the set of the iconic film Legally Blonde, with the hypothetical person's very incorrect response mistakenly assuming she means an actual lawyer. The caption on the clip reads 'He said "Oh what firm does she work at?",' and the third slide is the movie poster of Legally Blonde with 'air ball' written over the top. 'Her law degree may not be real... but she did go to Stanford for a bit,' Ava captioned the post. Next up was American Idol judge Randy Jackson's daughter Zoë who put her own spin on the trend by leaving it ambiguous as to what kind of judge he is. 'I told him my dad was a judge,' she said in the first clip, writing in the second: 'He said "Cool! At which court"' She then added a snap of her dad on the talent show. 'It's gonna be a YES for me Dawg,' Zoë captioned her take. And Academy Award-winning filmmaker Martin Scorsese's daughter Francesca also got in on the action - saying she was 'told to do this trend'. 'I told him "My dad is a filmmaker". He said "Oh nice like for commercials or something?",' before dropping a photo of the iconic director. The term nepo baby was coined by a Twitter user in 2022 who was shocked to learn their favourite actress had famous parents. It sparked a fierce debate on whether the children of the rich and famous have been getting an unfair leg up. But the nepo baby path to fame doesn't always run smooth, with many forced to try their hand at several showbiz careers until they find one that sticks. In stark contrast to the air ball trend, some celebrity offspring have taken issue with being branded as such, with TV presenting duo Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan's daughter Chloe going as far as to call the phrase a 'dirty word'. Phoenix Brown, the daughter of Spice Girl Mel B, also recently slammed the 'febrile and poisonous' debate around nepo babies' success in the entertainment industry. She made headlines when she hosted an art exhibition only for it to be a ruse as part of a documentary on nepo babies. 'I told him my dad was a judge,' she said in the first clip, writing in the second: 'He said "Cool! At which court"' She then added a snap of her dad on the talent show Daughter of Spice Girl Mel B, Phoenix Brown, 25, is fronting Channel 4 documentary Born in the Limelight - Nepo Babies: Untold, which first aired in October, and returns to screens again next Thursday. In the documentary Phoenix pretends to reinvent herself as an artist, using her mother's name to stage an exhibition. She sells a painting for £2,000 - but an experts admits that without her famous name it would only be worth £30. But despite admitting that having Mel B as her mum has 'opened doors', Phoenix warns that the levels of 'hate' for nepo babies has never been so high following public obsession with the concept. Meanwhile Brooklyn Beckham's rise to nepo baby success comes after years of being the butt off the joke as he tried to launch various showbiz careers. The eldest child of David and Victoria Beckham has taken jibes in the past over his career changes, having first tried to follow in his footballer father's steps before becoming an aspiring photographer and trying his hand at becoming a chef. In 2017, the then-aspiring photographer released a book named What I See. While in 2020, he was also said to have signed to a major modelling agency, after receiving criticism over his photography. Speaking to Grazia in November, Brooklyn addressed the nepo baby criticism, as he said: 'Obviously I am one. But I couldn't help how I was born, at all.' While he understands why the public can feel irked by nepo babies, Brooklyn said he tries to ignore the 'rubbish' people say rather than dwell on it. He added: 'There's always going to be people that say rubbish. But as long as you do something that makes you happy and you're kind to people, that's all that matters. I'm always gonna get it, no matter what I do. And I'm fine with that. It makes me work harder, because I'm like, I'm gonna prove these people wrong.' When Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban 's daughter Sunday Rose, 16, made her catwalk debut for MiuMiu it didn't get quite the breathless reception the brand was expecting. The teenager's 'stomping' went viral on social media, with people critiquing her style and saying that she looked like a 'petulant child'. Her country singer father Keith, 57, jumped to her defence, and told People Magazine he is 'very proud' of his teen daughter but wants to protect her. Kate Moss's half-sister Lottie has also declared she is 'sick of people blaming nepotism for why they aren't rich and famous or successful'. Lottie signed with Storm Management when she was just 14 years old and threw herself into modelling, but decided to quit photoshoots for OnlyFans in 2021. Amid a storm of nepo baby criticism in 2022, Lottie said: 'I'm so sick of people blaming nepotism for why they aren't rich and famous or successful - obviously it's not fair that people who come from famous families are getting a leg up because of that but guess what? 'Life isn't fair - if you put your mind to something you can accomplish anything! So instead of being negative about other people's success go and try and create your own!' And while it was always her ambition to follow in her parents Richard and Judy's footsteps and go into television, Chloe Madeley revealed she 'hates' being branded a nepo baby - and went as far as to describe it as a 'dirty word'. Speaking to Olivia Attwood on the latest episode of her podcast, So Wrong It's Right, Chloe said she finds it hard when people criticise her for being a child of nepotism. She said: 'Nepo baby is such a dirty word, and people don't realise how hard it is to hear that about yourself, when you're on the receiving end of it.'
