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Rustenburg, South Africa - Two goals from Bernard Parker helped South Africa beat New Zealand 2-0 Wednesday to give the host nation its opening victory at the Confederations Cup.

Parker struck in each half to give Bafana Bafana the win at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg, a result that moves South Africa second in Group A on four points, two behind qualified Spain, who beat Iraq 1-0 in the day's earlier game.

Cairo - Libya remains free from swine flu but more cases have been confirmed across the Middle East, an official at the National Centre for Control and Prevention of Endemic Diseases said Wednesday.

Egyptian health authorities announced that the number of confirmed cases had risen to 29. Health Ministry spokesman Abdel Rahman Shaheen said 12 people had recovered, while 17 others were still being treated in hospital.

Washington - A Republican has resigned as the party's fourth-ranking member of the Senate after admitting to an extra- marital affair with an aide, US media reported Wednesday.

Senator John Ensign, who represents the state of Nevada, quit as chairman of the Republican Policy Committee, which coordinates legislative policy in the Senate, according to the Congressional Quarterly.

Ensign on Tuesday admitted having an affair last year with a campaign staff member who was married to one of his Senate aides.

Washington - The United States urged Iran Wednesday to transparently resolve the dispute over its presidential election, which has sparked days of massive protests and international criticism.

US State Department spokesman PJ Crowley said the protests are a sign that Iranians have grown impatient with the country's diplomatic isolation and denied that Washington was interfering in either the election or protests.

"The Iranian people are frustrated that Iran is isolated ... from the rest of the world," Crowley said.

New York - The Cuban government on Wednesday acceded to the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism and said it will not be responsible for weapons stored at the US naval base at Guantanamo.

The convention is one of 13 existing international instruments the United Nations depends on to fight terrorism. This particular convention aims at eliminating any use of nuclear materials or weapons by terrorist groups.