Yearly Archives: 2003

Tonga outscored Wales by three tries to two in Canberra on Sunday but were unlucky to be edged out 27-20 by an unconvincing Welsh side in their Pool D clash. Tonga’s sole consolation was picking up a bonus point for losing by seven points while Wales owed a lot to former captain Martyn Williams who came on to score eight points in the second-half.

Euros, pounds or dollars: ”no contribution would be too small” in the fight for South Africans abroad to have the vote in the 2004 election, according to the ”saxpatvote” website. If they are good enough to pay taxes to South Africa, they should be allowed to cast their ballots overseas, says London-based Die Interafrikaanse Trust.

A toll-free suicide crisis line aimed at teenagers was opened late last week by the South African Anxiety and Depression Group (Sadag) to coincide with matric exams — and calls have already doubled since the start of the exams on Monday.
South Africa’s suicide rate is 17,2 per 100 000, higher than the global average of 16 per 100 000.

President Thabo Mbeki said there was no need to extend the terms of the Hefer Commission of Inquiry, the Sunday Times reported in its early editions. Mbeki turned down a request for the Hefer commission to investigate allegations that Deputy President Jacob Zuma was involved in corruption connected to the arms deal.

Three American soldiers and at least seven Iraqis were killed in a gun battle outside the office of a Shia cleric in the holy Iraqi city of Kerbala, officials said on Friday. A US military police patrol opened fire on guards protecting the office of Syed Mahmoud al-Hassani, one of several clerics in Kerbala. In the firefight, three military policemen from the 101st Airborne Division were killed, the heaviest loss for the US forces for more than a month.

The US pursuit of forcible regime change is not a viable or safe policy in the dangerous world that exists after September 11, said the French foreign minister, Dominique de Villepin. In a wide-ranging critique of US policy in the Middle East and beyond, De Villepin said that any military action against Iran over its alleged nuclear weapons would be ”absolutely ridiculous”.

The mass arrival of Brazilian prostitutes in a small, sleepy Portuguese town has unleashed a furious battle with their clients’ wives which has turned into a bitter international dispute involving the national government, the Euro 2004 football tournament and Time magazine.

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire, said California’s new governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, in the final days of his campaign in response to allegations of his harassing women. At the time, it seemed as though he was speaking metaphorically but, in retrospect, maybe he was pondering on the issue of what Californians smoke and where and what should be done about it.