More than 40 years into their careers and after several failed attempts, the Rolling Stones finally made their debut on the Chinese mainland on Saturday night. The gig was billed as an attempt by the ”world’s biggest rock band” to win new followers in the planet’s most populous nation, but if Mick Jagger came as a rock missionary he ended up preaching to the converted.
Hamas is to abandon its use of suicide bombers, who have killed almost 300 Israelis, in any future confrontations with Israel, its activists have told The Observer. The Islamic group, which leads the Palestinian Authority, says, however, that it may resort to other forms of violence if there is no progress towards Palestinian statehood.
When Elsa Strong saw a still picture from the upcoming movie United 93 she did not see an actress portraying a character. She did not see a scene from a film. Instead she saw a moment of terrible poignant tragedy from her own life. That picture, which Strong stumbled across on the film’s website, portrayed the moment Linda Gronlund made a desperate cellphone call from aboard a doomed plane on 11 September 2001.
The time is fast approaching when veterinarians will be forbidden to dock dogs’ tails. The South African Veterinarian Council has declared that tail docking for cosmetic purposes will be an unethical practice from June next year. Veterinarians, dog owners, sporting enthusiasts and kennel club officials are divided on the issue.
Irish raider Numbersixvalverde won the Grand National in Liverpool on Saturday giving jockey Niall ”Slippers” Madden victory with his first ride and Ireland their fifth win in the world’s most famous race in the last eight years. The Martin Brassil-trained 11-1 shot beat home last year’s winner and topweight Hedgehunter (5-1) while Clan Royal (5-1) was third and Nil Desperandum (33-1) fourth.
Northerns ground out a significant advantage on the third day of the SAA Provincial Challenge Final at Newlands on Saturday. After dismissing Western Province early in the day’s play, they had worked their way to a lead of 180 with seven wickets in hand by the time bad light stopped play a few minutes before the scheduled close.
Tottenham boosted their bid for Champions League football next season with a 2-1 win over Manchester City on Saturday as rivals Blackburn saw their push for fourth place stalled by Portsmouth’s battle for Premiership survival. Goals from Canadian defender Paul Stalteri and England midfielder Michael Carrick either side of half-time allowed fourth-placed Spurs to pull four points clear of Blackburn
Australia’s wily leg-spinner Shane Warne said on Saturday all Test scalps were important and that he had not blasted Muttiah Muralitharan for taking easy wickets. Warne, who was quoted as saying earlier this year that competitors like Sri Lankan off-spinner Muralitharan had got a lot of ”cheap wickets”, said he had been quoted out of context then.
Three-time major champion Ernie Els likes his chances of winning his first Masters green jacket because of the difficult playing conditions at Augusta National Golf Club. The 36-year-old South African fired his second consecutive one-under par 71 on Friday to stand on two-under par 142 — four strokes behind United States leader Chad Campbell.
The Canterbury Crusaders remained unbeaten and the expansion Western Force stayed winless as the ninth round of rugby union’s Super 14 provided both blockbuster and B-grade attractions. The Crusaders edged the New South Wales Waratahs 17-11 in a star-studded cliffhanger which had hype and intensity but lacked the final plot twist which might have made it more memorable.