Eight-time grand-slam champion Andre Agassi launched his 20th United States Open campaign with a swift straight-set victory over Romanian Razvan Sabau on Monday, to the delight of New York fans. French Open champion Rafael Nadal eased into the second round with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Bobby Reynolds.
Former French Open champion Gaston Gaudio became the United States Open’s first major casualty on Monday, falling to American Brian Baker in three sets on the first day of the season’s final grand slam. Eighth-seeded Serena Williams beat back a second-set challenge from 16-year-old Taiwanese qualifier Yung-Jan Chan 6-1, 6-3
Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo on Monday met a group of white farmers whose farms were seized by the Zimbabwean government and promised to help them overcome their initial financial and infrastructural problems in their new country. Obasanjo visited the farmers on their leased land on Friday.
Liberian football legend turned presidential candidate George Weah is enjoying soaring popularity among young people, but this wanes among students trying to get an education. During visits to communities, 38-year-old Weah attracts large crowds of former combatants, peddlers, petty traders and football fans.
A pair of ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz and insured for -million is missing from a museum. Police Chief Leigh Serfling said the slippers were stolen late on Saturday or early on Sunday. Someone entered the museum through a window and broke into the small display case holding the slippers.
Mourners who paid their last respects to a British war veteran were stunned to see him strolling through the town shortly after the funeral, newspapers said on Tuesday. Friends of the former bus driver travelled from far and wide to attend the cremation after reading the death notice of a Frank Hughes in a local newspaper.
Seven people were killed and three seriously injured in a fire that swept through a building housing African immigrants in central Paris, fire services and police said on Tuesday. The blaze comes four days after 17 Africans were killed in similar circumstances in the French capital.
Floor-crossing battles kept two Cape High Court judges busy for the better part of the day on Monday. At stake in two cases involving the United Democratic Movement and the Independent Democrats are two seats in the National Assembly, one in the National Council of Provinces and five in various provincial legislatures.
Several hundred boisterous fans turned out to greet their Springbok heroes upon the Boks’ arrival at Johannesburg International airport on Monday evening. ”What this team has achieved in the last 18 months is huge,” a visibly pleased Jake White told journalists at a press conference.
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KwaZulu-Natal leaders of the African National Congress alliance pledged support on Monday for axed deputy president Jacob Zuma and condemned recent police raids on his home. However, they also urged South Africans to support President Thabo Mbeki and Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka as the leaders of the country.