Israelis convinced themselves this was to be the dull election, the one marked by a record low turnout and apathy. A people who complain they live in a land with too much history seemed in no mood to make some more. But make it they have. Last Tuesday they voted to reject once and for all the ideology that had dominated the state for more than three decades.
A year after Charles Taylor launched his rebellion from deep in the Liberian forest sparking war across the region, his mother said he had always been a stubborn child. ”Among all my children, Charles’s attitude is just different. He is a very stubborn person — since his childhood days,” Taylor’s mother, Yassa Zoe Taylor, said in 1990.
A determined partnership of 56 by Mark Boucher and tail-ender Andre Nel saw South Africa through to a useful lead of 283 on the third day of the third Castle Lager Test against Australia at the Wanderers on Sunday. South Africa were 250 for eight when bad light stopped play 13 minutes early.
The South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu) is not part of a wage deal reached in the security industry and will continue with intended strike action, a spokesperson said on Sunday. ”We did not sign the deal, we are not happy with it and we will continue to strike,” Randall Howard said.
United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her British counterpart, Jack Straw, made a surprise visit on Sunday to Iraq, carrying a sharp message of international impatience with delays in the formation of a new government. The ministers flew in secretly under tight security in pouring rain from Britain.
French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin has admitted in an interview that he made errors and was misunderstood in his management of a hotly contested youth labour law that has sent students and unions into the streets in violent protests. He denied, however, that he has been disavowed by President Jacques Chirac.
It was not pretty to watch, but the Sharks finally overcame a strong Queensland defence to topple their old nemeses, the Queensland Reds, by five tries to four as they won their Super 14 rugby encounter 36-26 at the Absa Stadium on Saturday evening. Both sides picked up a bonus point as a result of the nine tries scored.
The Wildebeest moved to the top of the Vodacom Cup log and edged closer to a home semifinal with a seven-try hammering of the Cheetahs in their 51-14 victory in Durban on Saturday. The result takes the Wildebeest to the top of the log on 30 points, with the Falcons slipping off the pace slightly after their defeat at the hands of the Blue Bulls.
Manchester United won 2-1 at Bolton on Saturday to cut Chelsea’s Premier League lead to seven points after the champions were held 0-0 by relegation-threatened Birmingham. Substitute Ruud van Nistelrooy scored the winner at the Reebok Stadium after United had trailed to Kevin Davies’s 25th-minute goal and Louis Saha equalised.
Moroka Swallows enhanced their log standing when they beat their visitors, Bloemfontein Celtic, 1-0 in their Premier Soccer League encounter played in Germiston on Saturday. In other matches, Santos beat Jomo Cosmos, Black Leopards beat a determined Supersport United and Free State Stars beat Ajax Cape Town.