A group of Indian villagers presided over the marriage of two donkeys at an ancient Hindu temple in southern India in a bid to promote world peace, a report said on Monday. The wedding took place on Sunday evening in the Sri Thirumoola Natha Swamy Temple in Tamil Nadu state, the United News of India news agency reported.
Carlos Alberto Parreira, whose future with Brazil is uncertain after the five-time champions were surprisingly eliminated in the quarterfinals of this year’s World Cup in Germany, has re-emerged as an odds-on favourite to be the next coach of Bafana Bafana.
Springbok coach Jake White denied on Monday his job was on the line but admitted his side’s 49-0 thrashing by Australia was the worst he could remember. The South Africans are in Wellington preparing for what might be an even sterner challenge on Saturday against the All Blacks.
Twenty Filipino seamen kidnapped by pirates in Somalia in March have been released and are on their way home, officials said on Monday. The men were freed unharmed on Saturday, and it wasn’t immediately clear whether any ransom had been paid, said Roy Cimatu, the government’s special envoy to the Middle East.
Michael Owen will return to the United States in six weeks’ time to undergo a second knee operation, the player said on Monday. The Newcastle striker, who ruptured a cruciate ligament in England’s World Cup group clash against Sweden in Germany, must wait for the swelling in his knee to go down before he undergoes a second bout of surgery.
Zimbabwe’s health minister has ordered striking junior doctors back to work, accusing them of ”biting the hand that feeds” them, reports said on Monday. The doctors, based at two major hospitals in Harare, have been on strike since last week, ever since they were informed they were going to be deployed to district hospitals for a year, said the Herald newspaper.
Sharks flyhalf Butch James was Monday on his way to join a battered Springbok squad as national coach Jake White scrambled to avoid a another drubbing, this time against the mighty All Blacks. South Africa were crushed 49-0 in a record score by a rampant Australia on Saturday, prompting calls in South Africa for White’s resignation.
The JSE was weaker at midday on Monday, after negative global sentiment saw it surrender early gains. Gold stocks bucked the trend, thanks to a higher bullion price. By noon, the all share index shed 1,12%. Industrials and financials fell 1,09% and 1,78% respectively, while the banks index tumbled 2,98%.
European stock markets fell on Monday as investors remained apprehensive in the wake of an escalation of the conflict in Lebanon which has led to new records for crude oil prices, dealers said. The price of London’s Brent North Sea crude oil hit a record high of $78,18 per barrel as violence continued to rage in the Middle East.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair was on Sunday night seeking to orchestrate concerted European pressure to prod a reluctant France into bigger cuts in farm protection as stalled global trade talks entered a make-or-break two weeks. The French president said the summit was not the venue for trade talks and insisted that the G8 should confine itself to an annual -billion package of aid.