They have long been viewed as a symbol of fidelity and everlasting love. But swans are in fact cheating philanderers who regularly flee the nest for extramarital sex, Australian researchers revealed on Wednesday. DNA testing has shown that one in six cygnets is the product of an illicit encounter, smashing the monogamous image of the birds.
The Church of England said on Wednesday it had proved a hit with football fans seeking divine intervention to help England win the World Cup after putting a prayer for the team on its website. The church said it had scored more than 4 000 hits on the prayers section of its wbsite after posting the prayer last month for the likes of England captain David Beckham and his teammates.
A United Nations Security Council team met on Wednesday with African Union officials to discuss the possible handover to the UN of an AU peacekeeping force in Sudan’s troubled Darfur region. A day after failing to win express Sudanese government approval for the transfer, the UN mission arrived at AU headquarters in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.
The success of Islamic extremists fighting for control of Somalia’s capital could prove a setback in the United States war on terrorism, with the defeat of a counterterrorism alliance providing hope for militants elsewhere in the region. The US has not carried out any direct action in Somalia since the deaths of 18 servicemen on a humanitarian mission in a 1993 battle in Mogadishu.
The <i>Google.com</i> search engine has been blocked in most parts of China, as Beijing steps up its efforts to restrict the public’s access to information, a Paris-based media watchdog said. Internet users in many major Chinese cities have had difficulty connecting to the uncensored international version of Google for the past week, Reporters sans Frontières said in a statement received on Wednesday.
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For the first time in 32 years, the defending champions will not open the World Cup and, for that, Brazil must be truly grateful. Down the years, reputations of the mighty have been shattered when the first exchanges take place in the four-yearly tournament with memories still fresh of Cameroon’s win over Argentina in 1990.
Oil prices fell on Wednesday on signs Iran was responding positively to a package of incentives by world powers hoping to curb its nuclear programme. But uncertainty over the outlook will keep a floor under oil prices. The mood on energy markets has seesawed from day to day with each diplomatic development between Iran, the United Nations and the United States over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
Storms pummeling southern China in the past week have killed at least 46 people and left tens of thousands homeless, a state-run newspaper said on Wednesday. The worst-hit has been Fujian province, where heavy rains have triggered floods and landslides that have killed 26 people since May 29, the China Daily said, citing Li Baojun, an official with the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
Two more people have been taken in for questioning after two prisoners escaped from the Middledrift maximum security prison on Tuesday morning, the Eastern Cape correctional services department said. Authorities have also reviewed the closed circuit television footage which implicated four officers at the prison.
At least 115 trade unionists were murdered for defending workers’ rights in 2005, while more than 1 600 were assaulted and about 9 000 were arrested. Nearly 10 000 workers were sacked for their trade union involvement, and almost 1 700 detained, according to the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions’ (ICFTU) annual survey.