The United States Supreme Court will on Monday take up the thorny issue of lethal injections in a bid to determine if this method of executing death-row inmates conforms with the Constitution, which forbids cruel and unusual punishment. The review comes after death-penalty opponents have demonstrated that lethal injection can in fact be painful.
Lewis Hamilton insists last year’s spying scandal and the heavy hand of McLaren team politics have been consigned to history as he takes aim at the 2008 Formula One world title. The British driver enjoyed a storming start to his career in 2007 and was on course to clinch the title before he was pipped to the crown by just one point by Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen.
Victor Matfield became the latest big name to make his bow with ambitious French second-division side Toulon on Saturday. The giant lock forward, who hadn’t played since helping the Springboks to a second World Cup title on October 20, won generous applause after coming on as a second-half replacement as Toulon went on to beat La Rochelle 36-0.
New Zealand’s inspired bowlers wrecked Bangladesh’s hopes of survival in the first cricket Test on Sunday, setting up a comfortable nine-wicket win with two days to spare. Bangladesh started the day at a confident 148 without loss in their second innings, but within two sessions the game was over.
High-flying Everton were knocked out of the FA Cup 1-0 by third division Oldham Athletic in the third round on Saturday, becoming one of four Premier League sides to go out to lower league opposition. Birmingham City, Blackburn Rovers and Bolton Wanderers were the other upset victims.
After years of secret preparation, the world’s cheapest car will be unveiled in Delhi next week — delighting millions of Indians as much as it is horrifying environmentalists. At £1 290, the People’s Car is being marketed as a safer way of travelling for those who, until now, have had to transport their families balanced on the back of their motorbikes.
Hillary Clinton launched a searing attack on surging rival Barack Obama, as polls showed he could inflict a second body blow to her White House hopes in Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary. Clinton used a tense face-to-face debate, three days before the next crucial 2008 test, to argue her rival was inconsistent and inexperienced.
Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf conceded that a gunman may have shot Benazir Bhutto but said the opposition leader exposed herself to danger and bore responsibility for her death, CBS News said on Saturday. Musharraf was also quoted as telling the CBS 60 Minutes programme that his government did everything it could to provide security for Bhutto.
A devastating health emergency looms in Kenya where an explosion of post-election violence has killed hundreds and displaced a quarter of a million others, British charity Merlin warned on Sunday. Local aid workers fear an outbreak of diseases in crowded make-shift camps in schools, hospitals and churches, most of which were still out of reach.
A powerful earthquake measuring 6,5 on the Richter Scale hit the Peloponnese region of southern Greece early on Sunday, the geodynamics institute of the Athens observatory reported. There were no immediate reports of casualties. Greece is the European country most prone to earthquakes, with seismic activity accounting for half of the continent’s tremors.