When it comes to movies at the Cannes film festival, away from the worthy official screenings things are horrifying. Quite literally. This year has seen a surge in titles promising brain-eating, blood-splattering and nightmare-inducing action in that section of the market where hundreds of movies are on sale.
Police opened fire on thousands of protesters in the central Asian state of Uzbekistan on Friday, after an armed mob stormed a jail to free 23 men accused of Islamist extremism. At least 12 people were killed and dozens injured in the fighting in the eastern town of Andijan. Fifteen police officers were held hostage by rioters.
Vandals scrawled a Nazi swastika on Germany’s new Holocaust memorial within hours of it opening to the public.The small symbol on one of the monument’s 2 711 grey slabs was spotted by security guards and removed, but the vandal was not found.
Pope Benedict on Friday revealed that he had set his predecessor, John Paul II, on the road to possible sainthood just 26 days after the late pontiff’s death. Friday’s announcement — in Latin — that the late pope was to be considered for beatification, the stepping stone to sainthood, broke all records.
Politician Patricia de Lille is not liable for the publication of the names of three women with HIV/Aids in her biography, the Johannesburg High Court found on Friday. Author Charlene Smith is also not to blame for the naming of the women against their wishes, Judge Ivor Schartzman found in a 58-page verdict.
Soldiers opened fire on protesters in eastern Uzbekistan on Friday and killed at least three after demonstrators stormed a jail to free 23 men accused of Islamic extremism, witnesses said. Protest leader Kabuljon Parpiyev said as many as 50 people may have been killed over the course of the day.
The Supreme Court of Appeal on Friday dismissed an application by Winnie Madikizela-Mandela for leave to appeal against various fraud convictions by the Pretoria High Court. Madikizela-Mandela approached the Bloemfontein court in March this year with an application for leave to appeal.
Students who fail perpetually should not be allowed to continue their higher education studies indeterminately, Minister of Education Naledi Pandor said on Friday. The minister sought to explain a draft proposal she has submitted to the higher-education sector for consideration.
New talks to set a calendar to begin disarming fighters in Côte d’Ivoire were postponed on Friday as both sides in the protracted crisis huddled to weigh indictments in a World Bank report that judged all preparations ”insufficient”. Much of the fault, according to a World Bank report, lies with the national disarmament commission.
The Waratahs capped their best finish to date to a regular Super 12 season with a 25-20 win over the Blues, but looked to have squandered the chance of a home grand final after failing to score a bonus point on Friday. The Waratahs lacked their usual composure for much of the opening half.