No image available
/ 26 January 2006
People who are nervous about public speaking should first have penetrative sex to ease the stress, although masturbation is unlikely to have the same effect, an unusual study says. A British psychologist compared the effect of different sexual activities on blood pressure when a person later undergoes a stressful experience.
No image available
/ 26 January 2006
Twelve towns in the south-eastern Australian state of Victoria were on high alert on Thursday against raging bushfires that have already destroyed 27 homes and killed two people and thousands of farm animals. Dozens of fires fuelled by scorching temperatures and rising winds were burning around the state.
No image available
/ 26 January 2006
Scientists say they have discovered the world’s smallest known fish in threatened swampland in Indonesia. A member of the carp family, the fish has a translucent body and a head unprotected by a skeleton. ”This is one of the strangest fish that I’ve seen in my whole career,” said Ralf Britz, a zoologist at London’s Natural History Museum.
No image available
/ 26 January 2006
The cause of United States actor Chris Penn’s death remained undetermined on Thursday after an autopsy, and the coroner’s office has ordered blood toxicology tests. Penn, the brother of Academy Award-winning actor Sean Penn and musician Michael, was found dead on Tuesday in his Santa Monica condominium.
No image available
/ 26 January 2006
A fire that started on Saturday was out of control on Baines Kloof Pass in the Western Cape on Thursday morning, having already destroyed about 600ha of plantation and fynbos. ”Our people have been battling right through the night,” said Cape Winelands executive mayor Clarence Johnson.
No image available
/ 26 January 2006
The Warriors lost it on all fronts on Wednesday night as their hopes of staying in contention for the Standard Bank Pro20 cricket series disintegrated with an amateurish display against the Free State Eagles at Sahara Oval St George’s. Sending the visitors into bat, the Warriors bowled with ill discipline to concede 173 runs in 20 overs.
No image available
/ 26 January 2006
Ruud van Nistelrooy and Louis Saha scored to overcome a stand-out effort by goalkeeper Brad Friedel on Wednesday, enabling Manchester United to beat Blackburn Rovers 2-1 and reach the English League Cup final against upstart Wigan Athletic. Van Nistelrooy and Saha’s goals advanced the Reds on a 3-2 aggregate score.
No image available
/ 26 January 2006
Cameroon joined Côte d’Ivoire in the African Nations Cup quarterfinals on Wednesday as they beat sorry Togo 2-0 and looked a good bet to add a fourth title to their laurels. Angola just about kept an interest in the tournament, but only by their fingernails, as they fought out a 0-0 draw with the Democratic Republic of Congo.
No image available
/ 26 January 2006
Belgium’s eighth seed Justine Henin-Hardenne came through a tough three-set fight against fourth seed Maria Sharapova to reach the final of the Australian Open on Thursday. The Belgian came from behind to win 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 with a backhand down the line to end the Russian’s drive to reach her first-ever Australian Open final.
No image available
/ 26 January 2006
A lengthy list of policy headaches, ranging from Iran’s nuclear threat to the stalled global trade talks, greeted more than 2 000 business, government and civil society leaders as they gathered in the Swiss ski resort of Davos on Wednesday for the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum.