Two Taliban negotiators said on Saturday they were ”optimistic” about talks to release their 21 South Korean hostages but insisted that some jailed rebels must be freed first. The Afghan government has consistently rejected the demand since the group of Christian aid workers was captured in the southern province of Ghazni more than three weeks ago.
United States astronauts prepared early on Saturday for the first spacewalk of the shuttle Endeavour mission following discovery of damage in the spacecraft’s protective shield. The two spacewalkers, mission specialists Rick Mastracchio and Dave Williams, were to spend the night at a special airlock to prevent decompression sickness.
An international scramble for the Arctic’s oil and gas resources accelerated on Friday when Canada responded to Russia’s recent sovereignty claims with a plan to build two military bases in the region. On a trip to the far north, the Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, said: ”Canada’s new government understands that the first principle of Arctic sovereignty is: use it or lose it.”
Argentine striker Carlos Tevez completed his move to Manchester United on Friday, the Premier League champions said. ”Manchester United is delighted to announce that Carlos Tevez has been registered as a member of its first-team squad by the Premier League,” United said in a statement.
The Sharks beat the Valke 45-22 in an Absa Currie Cup game at the Bosman Stadium in Brakpan on Friday night but only entertained their travelling supporters in the first half as they scored five tries to the Valke’s one. Prop Kees Lensing opened the scoring with a try as early as the third minute, which Rory Kockott converted.
Anil Kumble’s maiden Test hundred all but assured India of a series win over England on the second day of the third and final Test at the Oval on Friday. At the close England were 24-1 in reply to India’s first innings 664, still needing a further 441 to avoid the follow-on target of 465.
Tiger Woods fired one of the greatest rounds of his career, a seven-under par 63 that missed by an eyelash being the lowest round in Major history, to grab the lead on Friday at the PGA Championship. Woods lipped out a horseshoe heart-breaker on a 15-foot birdie putt at the 18th hole to miss setting a record-low Major round.
Nigeria has the second highest maternal mortality rate in the world, in large part due to unsafe abortions carried out across the country, non-profit health organisation Ipas said on Friday. Between 10 000 and 15 000 deaths out of 100 000 births annually are from unsafe abortions in Nigeria, the group said.
The Johannesburg High Court on Friday dismissed a procedural application within an urgent application filed by the South African Broadcasting Corporation’s (SABC) head of legal services, Mafika Sihlali, against the broadcaster. Sihlali was taking the SABC to court in a desperate effort to save his career.
Thousands of people have fled their homes on the southern Philippine island of Jolo as troops pursue Muslim militants blamed for killing more than 20 soldiers, officials said on Saturday. Jolo brigade commander Colonel Anthony Supnet said his troops would continue to hunt the gunmen, even though they had broken up into smaller groups and scattered.