New details have emerged of how the growing number of prisoners on hunger strike at Guantánamo Bay are being tied down and force-fed through tubes pushed down their nasal passages into their stomachs to keep them alive. They routinely experience bleeding and nausea, according to a sworn statement by the camp’s chief doctor.
Suspected Tamil rebels blew up a naval gunboat on Saturday, killing 15 Sri Lankan sailors in a suicide attack that caused the biggest military loss of life since a truce began four years ago, the military said. The pre-dawn attack came as the United States expressed concern over the recent escalation of violence in Sri Lanka.
An American teenage amputee whose prosthetic leg was stolen has recovered the artificial limb after it was apparently placed in her yard by a remorseful thief, police said on Friday. In November, burglars broke into the Los Angeles area home of 16-year-old Melissa Huff, stealing money and other valuables, including her prosthetic leg.
High-tech companies are scrambling to get a piece of the action of internet telephony as the new technology gains more ground against traditional phone service. The shift by consumers to internet-based calling systems is prompting makers of hardware, software and web portals to adapt to the new landscape.
Microsoft released a security fix for a recently discovered flaw in its Windows operating system several days early, in a bid to foil hackers trying to exploit the vulnerability. The software giant released the security ”patch” on Thursday, ahead of its original plan to distribute the update on January 10.
Indonesia on Saturday revised the estimated death toll from a landslide that levelled a village in Central Java from 200 down to about 70, after scores of people initially reported missing were accounted for. Officials had earlier said up to 200 people had been buried when a torrent of mud slammed into the hillside village of Sijeruk.
A group of 24 contracted Springbok players underwent a thorough medical and conditioning assessment in Bloemfontein on Friday. The testing was overseen by Springbok coach Jake White and his medical and conditioning team. Andy Marinos, manager of national teams at SA Rugby, was also present.
Zimbabwe cricket chief Peter Chingoka received government backing in his job on Friday as the devastating rift between players and the game’s rulers threatened to lead to the loss of Test status. Striking members of the national team said they will not tour the West Indies in May if the controversial Chingoka remains in power.
George Weah, Roger Milla, Abedi Pele and Tony Yeboah, four of the brightest luminaries in the African soccer firmament, were nowhere in sight on Friday only 24 hours before they were due to play against a team of former European stars in ”The Battle of the Legends” at Ellis Park.
Roger Federer’s preparation for the year’s first grand slam, the Australian Open in 10 days’ time, gathered momentum as he reached the final in defence of his Qatar Open title on Friday. The world number one from Switzerland produced his best performance of the week so far as he overcame Tommy Haas.