Two spacewalking astronauts on Monday replaced broken hardware deemed crucial for the completion of the International Space Station, a new success for Nasa in the six-day-old Discovery shuttle mission. Astronauts Mike Fossum and Piers Sellers replaced a broken cable reel of the orbiting laboratory’s construction equipment transporter.
Daniel Libeskind has had his fingers badly burned by the acrimonious project to rebuild the World Trade Center site, but the Ground Zero architect remains convinced his vision will be realised. Since his master plan was chosen from an international field in February 2003, Libeskind has been forced to watch as major elements of his blueprint have been radically modified or taken out of his hands altogether.
Russia’s security service announced the death of Shamil Basayev on Monday, the country’s ”terrorist number one” and the man who was the self-confessed mastermind of the Beslan massacre. The 41-year-old, who lost a foot during the second Chechen war in 2000, frequently appeared in internet broadcasts and statements to haunt the Kremlin.
A bitter battle to control Sri Lanka’s cricket establishment has wrecked the schedule for next month’s limited-overs tri-series against India and South Africa. The dispute, generated by upcoming elections at Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), revolves around holding the first four matches of the August 14-29 tri-series in the central town of Dambulla.
Econet’s decision to release 10 000 new payphones into the Zimbabwean market before the end of the year is part of a deliberate strategy to create and stimulate employment creation, the company said in a statement on Monday. Econet estimates that over 500 jobs will be created in downstream industries.
Two days before I was to take delivery of the press test vehicle I would have been driving during my 30th birthday, the booking was cancelled. Just when it seemed that I would have to drive my boring old car during a landmark birthday, the ever-efficient Toyota marketing guys phoned me to say that they had secured a Lexus RX350 for me.
Kevin Pietersen has told England’s novice bowlers to ”stand up and be counted” as the team prepares for its Test series against Pakistan. England head into Thursday’s first Test at Lord’s on the back of seven straight defeats against Sri Lanka — one in a Test match, one Twenty20 and five one-day international reverses — and with several key players out of action because of injury.
Never mind breakfast at Tiffany’s. One step inside ”Bejewelled by Tiffany 1837-1987”, a retrospective of the iconic New York jeweler, and most visitors will want to stay for lunch as well as dinner. Most of the 200 sparkling pieces now on display in London are from Tiffany’s own collection, with a few on loan from private individuals.
Murray & Roberts group chief executive Brian Bruce said on Monday that the company has reorganised leadership responsibilities in the run-up to the Soccer World Cup 2010, adding that critical areas of the Gautrain project should be ready in time for the tournament.
South African IT group Datatec announced on Tuesday that its South African operations will merge with African Legend Technologies (ALT) to form an R800-million-a-year IT company. Datatec will have a 55% shareholding and African Legend Technologies will hold the remaining 45% in the newly merged entity.