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/ 23 December 2004
Striker Miguel Angel ”Mista” Ferrer scored twice on Wednesday to earn Valencia a 3-0 victory over a nine-man Espanyol and lift the defending champions into second place in the Spanish league. In another 17th-round game, Sevilla’s Brazilian forward Julio Baptista scored in the 19th minute to beat Real Madrid 1-0.
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/ 23 December 2004
A former member of the South African cricket selection committee, Hugh Page, came out in support of captain Graeme Smith’s call for greater stability in the cricket set-up in South Africa. Page said on Thursday that South Africa are amateurs in a world of professionals.
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/ 23 December 2004
The European Union has grown to 25 diverse states, with five more waiting in the wings and at least another 14 sniffing around the periphery. Should Turkey be allowed to join the European Union? That decision has divided Europeans. But where does Europe end? James Meek finds that cases can be made for many other countries, from Tunisia to Iraq.
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/ 22 December 2004
An oil slick in the Suez Canal caused by a collision involving a Kuwaiti tanker a week ago is threatening to reach the Mediterranean, port sources said on Wednesday. The spill was caused by a leak in the Al-Samidun tanker, carrying 160 000 tonnes of crude, after it collided with a dredger further south on December 14.
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/ 22 December 2004
The Department of Health has filed notice with the Constitutional Court to appeal against a judgement by the Bloemfontein Supreme Court of Appeal annulling the government’s new medicine-pricing regulations. The appeal effectively suspends the Supreme Court of Appeal judgement passed on Tuesday.
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/ 22 December 2004
After three weeks of musing, the Department of Home Affairs has decided to approach the Constitutional Court about legalising gay marriages. ”We are filing our appeal today [Wednesday]. We are a very principled department and believe we cannot pre-empt the process,” said departmental spokesperson Nkosana Sibuyi.
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/ 22 December 2004
The latest instalment in the Harry Potter series won’t hit stores for more than six months but it has already topped at least one bookseller’s most wanted list and is racking up thousands of advance orders, retailers said on Wednesday. It shot to number one on online bookseller Amazon.co.uk‘s Hot 100 book list.
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/ 22 December 2004
Niger police acknowledged on Wednesday that officers had toured the capital, Niamey, this week to remove all copies of the independent weekly Testimony (Le Temoin) ahead of the inauguration of re-elected President Mamadou Tandja. Tandja was inaugurated on Tuesday after his second-round victory on December 4.
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/ 22 December 2004
British Prime Minister Tony Blair pursued his quest to bring peace to the Middle East on Wednesday, unveiling plans for a conference to help prepare the Palestinians for statehood after Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza. Meanwhile, opposition to the Gaza pull-out is gathering steam among the settlers.