Eight of former Movement for Democratic Change legislator Roy Bennett’s ex-farm workers have been denied asylum by the South African government, ”in what could be a prelude to the outcome of the application for political asylum” by Bennett himself, the state-owned Zimbabwean The Herald newspaper reported on Monday.
The donor-starved Palestinian Authority may cease to function if government employees continue to go without salaries for much longer, the World Bank warned in a new report released on Monday. Civil servants will simply down tools and discipline in the ranks of the security services could well collapse if pay cheques are not forthcoming, the Washington-based body said.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair faced warnings on Monday of the need to avoid a ”corrosive” power struggle as he prepared to take on Labour Party rebels accused of trying to oust him after poor local election results. Blair has pledged to complete a third term in power but not stand for a fourth straight term in office.
Three people were arrested in Vietnam for trafficking fake -million bills although the largest number on the real thing is , a newspaper reported on Monday. The counterfeiting ring was uncovered by police in Tay Ninh province, according to the Thanh Nien, [Youth], newspaper.
British tactics in Southern Iraq were under review on Sunday night as military chiefs studied whether the dramatic loss of an army helicopter at the weekend signified a new vulnerability in the air, as well as a growing hostility from Iraqis on the ground. The ministry of defence said a ”maximum of five” British personnel were on board, but had yet to confirm a death toll.
A four-year-old Indian child who ran 65km in seven hours last week was on Monday banned by worried welfare officials from running marathons. The child welfare department of the eastern state of Orissa announced the ban following a medical report that Budhia Singh was ”undernourished, anaemic and under cardiological stress”.
When Oscar de la Hoya gets back to his adopted home in Puerto Rico, he’ll have plenty of lucrative choices to make about his revitalised career — whom to fight, when to fight and when to stop. But deciding to stay at home with his wife and son might be the bravest choice of all. De la Hoya got the boxing world buzzing on Saturday night after a 20-month absence from the ring.
Ruud van Nistelrooy will know by Tuesday at the latest if he has any future at Manchester United after walking out of the ground rather than appear as a substitute. The 29-year-old, scorer of 150 goals in 200 starts for United since joining in a £19-million transfer from PSV Eindhoven five years ago, left the ground after discovering he had been left out of the team.
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored two goals on Sunday to help Ajax win the Dutch Cup with a 2-1 victory over PSV Eindhoven. The win boosted Danny Blind’s chances of keeping his job as Ajax coach. On Friday, a club spokesperson told The Associated Press that Blind’s position would be reviewed after Sunday’s match.
A strong offshore earthquake registering 5,4 on the Richter scale hit the eastern coast of central Sumatra on Monday, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties, the meteorology office said. The earthquake, which hit at 4.16pm local time, was centred 46km under the floor of the Indian Ocean, some 129km south-west of Bengkulu city, agency official Hardiatno said in Jakarta.