Doctors who carried out surgery on a Japanese man to remove a "tumour" had good news and bad news for him. He did not have cancer — but the "growth" that had been causing him pain was in fact a 25-year-old surgical towel.
President Thabo Mbeki on Tuesday denied reports that the South African government had been warned of the prospect of xenophobic attacks by the National Intelligence Agency. ”There was no such intelligence reports — they certainly did not come to me,” he said.
After making history by capturing the Democratic nomination, Barack Obama turns on Wednesday to the task of unifying a fractured party for a five-month battle for the White House with Republican John McCain. The Illinois senator on Tuesday locked up the 2Â 118 delegates he needs for victory at the August convention.
A 2,2m high tidal wave inundated parts of Jakarta overnight as the city government and citizens tried to hold the water back with emergency embankments, a government official said on Wednesday. The height of the water was far greater than earlier predictions.
The United States pressed concerns about Chinese nuclear weapons and space plans in talks between the two powers on Wednesday that also covered North Korea, Iran and other international security hotspots. US officials again raised objections to an anti-satellite test China conducted in January 2007 by using a missile to destroy one of its own satellites.
African telecommunications operator Moov, controlled by Emirates Telecommunications Corp (Etisalat), launched the first nationwide cellphone coverage in Côte d’Ivoire on Tuesday using Thuraya satellite phone technology.
The Pretoria High Court on Tuesday reserved judgement in an application by Judge Nkola John Motata to stop the state from playing five potentially incriminating video and audio recordings made at the scene of his car accident. Motata was charged with drunk driving and defeating the ends of justice after smashing his Jaguar.
China’s state media on Tuesday hailed Premier Wen Jiabao as the world’s sixth-most-popular politician on the social networking site Facebook — well ahead of United States President George Bush. Wen Jiabao’s profile was set up two days after he rushed to the scene of the May 12 earthquake in Sichuan province to oversee rescue efforts.
Apple is planning a solar-powered iPod, according to a report about a patent application submitted by the company. The patent, which was unearthed by the Apple fan site MacRumors.com, describes an iPod with a solar panel under the LCD screen that could be used to provide additional power.
A paralysed man using only his brain waves has been able to manipulate a virtual internet character, Japanese researchers said on Monday, calling it a world first. The 41-year-old patient used his imagination to make his character take a walk and chat to another virtual person on the popular Second Life website.