Rob Woollard
Report on sport in the Americas for Agence France-Presse.
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/ 20 May 2007

A long time ago in a Hollywood era far, far away

A long time ago, in a Hollywood era far, far away, the story of an intergalactic battle between good and evil took the world by storm — and changed the movie industry forever. Thirty years after Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader and Han Solo were introduced to the world in Star Wars on May 25 1977, the seismic impact of George Lucas’s science-fiction saga is still being felt.

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/ 29 March 2007

Woolmer probe: Video may yield clue

Detectives probing the murder of Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer said on Wednesday that better-than-anticipated security video footage could provide vital clues in the hunt for his killer. A painstaking operation to transfer hours of footage from well-worn VHS tape into a digital format has been completed, and early results were promising

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/ 27 March 2007

No quick result in Woolmer probe

Detectives probing the murder of cricket coach Bob Woolmer said investigators were nowhere near identifying suspects as Pakistan’s shell-shocked team prepared to head home on Tuesday. Police Deputy Commissioner Mark Shields said reports suggesting that detectives were focusing attention on three Pakistani fans who left Jamaica soon after Woolmer’s murder were premature.

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/ 26 February 2007

The Departed blows away Oscars competition

Crime drama The Departed blew away its rivals at the Oscars on Sunday, scooping best-picture honours and delivering a long-overdue director’s prize for Martin Scorsese. Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola presented the 64-year-old with his Oscar which finally came at the sixth attempt.

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/ 5 July 2006

Zidane fires France into final


Zinedine Zidane fired France into their second World Cup final appearance in eight years on Wednesday, scoring the only goal in a 1-0 semifinal victory over Portugal. The French captain shattered Portugal’s dreams of a first appearance in the final after coolly converting a hotly disputed penalty midway through the first half at the 62 000-seat Allianz Arena.