Either Michael Jackson is on the verge of a stunning comeback, or he is sinking to new depths of personal and financial crisis: as usual, his reality seems rather flexible. The singer has fired his business managers, formed a new company and says he is moving from Bahrain to Europe, possibly to Ireland, where he was travelling this week ”on personal business”.
A would-be initiate has died of malnutrition after he and twenty-one other boys were found hidden in the Ntabankulu mountains in the Eastern Cape, the province’s health department said on Thursday. Spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo said the boys had been kept in the mountains for more than three weeks and were denied food. They were all taken to hospital suffering from malnutrition.
Two civil liberties groups sued in federal court to remove a picture of Jesus that has hung in a high school for more than 30 years. Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the West Virginia American Civil Liberties Union say the painting, Head of Christ, sends the message that Bridgeport High School endorses Christianity as its official religion.
Ruthless Roger Federer crushed Tim Henman’s Wimbledon dream for another year on Wednesday while Maria Sharapova and Venus Williams were so merciless that they seriously undermined their equal prize money campaign. Federer, bidding for a fourth successive title, destroyed Henman 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 in just 84 minutes to notch up his 43rd consecutive grass court win.
A gathering of Africa’s top media owners this week called on the continent’s leaders to give priority to development of a professional and ethical media, and boost the role of the media in support of development. The meeting called on African governments to view a vibrant and plural media as a vital cog in the development of Africa.
With a punnet of strawberries in one hand and a glass of Pimms in the other, tennis-mad tourists from as far away as Japan, China and even Australia are out in force at Wimbledon this week. The foreign supporters, who also include a strong United States contingent, cheer on their fellow countrymen and women, while soaking up the atmosphere.
Yahoo! will consider refunding money to thousands of advertisers dating back to January 2004 and pay ,95-million in attorney fees to settle a class-action lawsuit
alleging the internet powerhouse has been profiting from bogus sales referrals generated through a sham known as ”click fraud.”
Police divers have recovered the body of a woman after the bakkie she and her husband were travelling in plunged into the Durban harbour on Wednesday night after an apparent hijacking. Paramedics said the 31-year-old woman had sustained about 12 stab wounds.
Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe was still not sure if he would meet with United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan at the upcoming African Union (AU) summit in Gambia this coming weekend, a party spokesperson said on Wednesday. Reports from South Africa have suggested Mugabe would meet both Annan and South African President Thabo Mbeki on the sidelines of the AU summit in Banjul.
Myspace.com, the social networking website popular with millions of teenagers worldwide, has long been a magnet for adult predators who pose as children to meet young victims on the internet. Now, two Florida girls aged 13 and 14 have been charged with armed robbery after allegedly setting up a bogus profile of an attractive woman to snare lonely men.