Soldiers searched houses and fired in the air on Friday as the Nigerian military launched a crackdown on suspected militants in the country’s restive, petroleum-rich south, where more than a dozen foreign oil workers have been kidnapped. President Olusegun Obasanjo ordered the clampdown on Tuesday.
Mohammad Yousuf’s third century of the series left Pakistan in command of the fourth and final Test at The Oval in London on Friday. When bad light forced an early close on the second day, Pakistan were 336 for three, a first-innings lead of 163, with Yousuf 115 not out and captain Inzamam-ul-Haq unbeaten on two.
South Africa’s chances of winning any medals at the 11th IAAF World Junior Athletics Championships in Beijing this weekend reached a glimmer of hope on Friday when three of the stars of the 2005 World Youth meeting in Morocco showed their class. JP Hofmann (shot put), Simoné du Toit (discus) and high-hurdler Louw Smit all progressed.
When it comes to handing out appointments as acting Bafana Bafana coach to Pitso Mosimane, the South African Football Association (Safa) is taking a miserly, scrooge-like approach towards the man who is also at the helm of the Premier Soccer League’s Supersport United.
It was scrappy and unconvincing to say the least, but the Blue Bulls scored an all important fourth try on their way to a 27-13 victory over a plucky Falcons side at Bosman Stadium on Friday night. The bonus point for the Bulls enables them to stay in touch with the log leaders in the Absa Currie Cup competition.
Roland Schoeman has the rules of the Pan Pacific Championships to thank for his place in Friday night’s final of the 100m freestyle. The rules of the competition, currently taking place in Victoria, Canada, state that only two swimmers from each country can swim in a final.
Rafael Nadal lost to fellow Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-6 (2), 7-6 (3) in the quarterfinals on Friday, leaving the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters without its top two players. Top-ranked Roger Federer’s 55-match winning streak in North America ended on Wednesday with a loss to Britain’s Andy Murray.
World number one Tiger Woods surged to within one stroke of the leaders, rolling in a birdie putt on 18 en route to a four-under 68 in Friday’s second round of the ,8-million PGA Championship. The United Kingdom’s Luke Donald and Sweden’s Henrik Stenson led another birdie fest on Friday.
The recent flow of news from around the world suggests that the balance of world economic power may finally be swinging away from the United States — the powerhouse of the past decade or more — towards Japan and Europe, which have lagged behind for many years.
Those who hold a rose-tinted view of the entertainment industry may wish to look away now. It turns out that the expensive gifts showered on the film stars who present the Oscars are not given purely out of a spirit of generosity. The United States’s tax authorities are cracking down on the ”goodie bags” handed out to presenters.