An Australian government plan to filter the internet on Wednesday drew criticism from privacy advocates who said it represented the start of state censorship. Communications Minister Stephen Conroy, a member of the Labour team that ousted former prime minister John Howard in November, wants filters in place to shield children from online porn and violence.
Motherwell captain Phil O’Donnell died of heart failure, according to a post-mortem examination. The 35-year-old collapsed while being substituted towards the end of Motherwell’s 5-3 Scottish Premier League win against Dundee United on Saturday and later died in hospital.
Nikolay Davydenko, the world number four from Russia who remains at the centre of an investigation into a betting scandal, on Tuesday described his treatment by the Association of Tennis Professionals as ”idiotic”. Davydenko recently had a fine, for allegedly not trying at the St Petersburg Open, overturned.
The West Indies have put their celebrations behind them and are focusing on cricket. That was the message from West Indies captain Chris Gayle on Tuesday on the eve of the second Test against South Africa at Newlands on Wednesday. The West Indies go into the Test with a 1-0 lead after beating South Africa by 128 runs in the first Test.
It was a case of as you were at the head of the English Premier League as the top three sides all enjoyed a winning start to 2008. Leaders Arsenal remained two points in front with a 2-0 New Year’s Day victory over West Ham at the Emirates Stadium. Elsewhere on Tuesday, Manchester United stayed hot on Arsenal’s heels after a 1-0 success at home to Birmingham City.
The number of Israelis and Palestinians killed in the Middle East conflict dropped last year but human rights abuses continued, a leading Israeli human rights group said on Tuesday. The number of Israeli casualties was at its lowest level since the start of the second intifada in 2000, reflecting a growing sense of security within Israel.
Pakistan election officials were Wednesday poised to announce the date of crucial polls, thrown into chaos in the wake of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto’s assassination. A few hours later President Pervez Musharraf is to address the nation for the first time since her slaying at a campaign rally last week.
White House foes chased last undecided voters ahead of Thursday’s dead-heat first nominating clashes in Iowa, as comeback Republican John McCain grabbed a new poll lead in the next key state, New Hampshire.
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The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) on Tuesday denied that the decision to prosecute African National Congress president Jacob Zuma had been forced upon it by Zuma’s opponents. ”The decision has been made by the NPA and the NPA alone,” said NPA spokesperson Tlali Tlali in a statement.
More Americans are googling themselves — and many are checking out their friends, co-workers and romantic interests, too. In a report in December, the Pew Internet and American Life Project said 47% of United States adult internet users had looked for information about themselves through Google or another search engine.