The war lovers I have known in real wars have usually been harmless, except to themselves. They were attracted to Vietnam and Cambodia, where drugs were plentiful. Bosnia, with its roulette of death, was another favourite. A few would say they were there ”to tell the world”; the honest ones would say they loved it, writes John Pilger.
It is difficult not to notice 19-year-old Mumait Khan. Tattoos ride on her shoulders and her lower back and her sinuous dance routines have made her one of the most sought-after ”item girls” to roll out of Bollywood. ”Item” is Mumbai film-speak for a raunchy musical number slipped into mainstream Hindi films.
African leaders emerged from their first attempt at brokering peace in Sudan’s Darfur region without a major development on Sunday, though Sudan’s lead negotiator said the groups made ”some progress”. The talks aim to end more than three years of deadly civil war that has left more than 180 000 people dead in western Sudan and driven millions more from their homes.
Defending champion Tiger Woods charged into the title hunt while Chad Campbell clung to a one-stroke lead when darkness halted Saturday’s rain-interrupted third round of the Masters. Top-ranked Woods, chasing his 11th major victory and fifth Masters crown, birdied the par-4 third and par-5 eighth holes to reach three-under par after nine holes, three strokes off the lead entering Sunday’s endurance test.
The possibility of mass strikes loom on the horizon for Zimbabwe’s embattled economy as workers demand higher wages to cushion them against soaring living costs because of hyper-inflation and shortages of foreign currencies. Wage talks opened two weeks ago and were expected to continue until the end of the month in Zimbabwe, where large-scale labour action could become a reality for the first time in eight years, according to unionists.
The director general of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, Menzi Simelane, has denied that top officials had doctored the department’s books to hide R840-million they had failed to spend or that they had misled Parliament about their financial affairs.
World football’s governing body Fifa have clarified the deadline they set for the implementation of a new law that punishes clubs whose fans racially abuse players after Inter Milan escaped with a mere fine for a recent transgression. Fifa said the new ruling would come into effect immediately for those football associations whose regulations already contain a clause setting out the same punishment.
Kaizer Chiefs’ chances of retaining their PSL title are looking slim after the champions played to a goaless draw against lowly Bush Bucks in a fast and entertaining match played at the FNB Stadium on Saturday night. Chiefs strikers Gert Schalkwyk and Louis Ageymen were both guilty of failing to test Bucks goalkeeper Tampungu Dikete by missing the target on numerous occasions.
Emergency teams spray-painted damaged houses with ”X” signs after checking them for bodies or survivors and crews moved in dump trucks to haul away the wreckage piled up by tornadoes blamed for 12 deaths. Bystanders were warned not to smoke because of leaking gas while police patrolled to ensure there was no looting on Saturday.
The death toll from a ship capsize off the coast of the Red Sea state of Djibouti rose to at least 109 on Saturday. The toll climbed as the search went on for an unknown number of people still believed missing from Thursday’s accident, thought to be the worst disaster since the country won independence from France in 1975.