The last episode of the Lord of the Rings trilogy scored a stunning Oscars clean-sweep on Sunday, winning eleven awards and becoming the first fantasy film ever to win the coveted best picture trophy.
The Philippine Islamist bandit group Abu Sayyaf claimed responsibility on Sunday for an explosion on a ferry near Manila on Friday that killed one person and left 184 missing. President Gloria Arroyo dismissed the claim as ”an afterthought”, despite threats Abu Sayyaf made last year to target passenger ferries.
Washington has ordered the hunt for Osama bin Laden to be intensified along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border in the hope of capturing him before the US presidential election in November. George Bush has approved a new plan to step up the hunt for the al-Qaeda leader and for Mullah Omar, leader of the Taliban.
Troops from the United States and France were rushing to Haiti on Sunday night in a scramble to fill the power vacuum left after President Jean-Bertrand Aristide fled the country with US help. A force of US marines was scheduled to arrive on Sunday night, with a French contingent of between 120 and 140 troops due to join them on Monday morning.
There is a fundamental contradiction in the government’s economic approach. It has adopted a counter-cyclical fiscal policy with an eye to stimulating growth and development through increased spending and investment. State spending is directed in key areas to boost employment and relieve poverty.
Nedcor executives walked off with pay checks worth R109-million in 2002, having presided over the destruction of a quarter of the bank’s capital last year. Last week the bank announced a staggering R1,6-billion loss. Were Nedcor figures massaged to enrich executive carpetbaggers?
For no particular reason that I can fathom, the Dirty Duck on the Waterside in Stratford-upon-Avon is shut tight at this crucial time of the year. It is a mighty shame that this is all happening now, when my dear friend and colleague, Sello Maake kaNcube, is about to strut the Stratford boards for the first time, in the tricky role of Othello.
Tiger Woods captured his first title of 2004 when he defeated Davis Love three and two in Sunday’s 36-hole final to retain his title at the elite Match Play Championship. ”It was a tough day, but I hung in there,” said Woods, who was one down to Love at the halfway point of the match.
Rival New Zealand and South African cricket skippers will be warned to end their sledging battle, match referee Gundappa Viswanath of India said on Monday. The two sides meet in New Zealand on Tuesday in the sixth and last one-day cricket match in a series New Zealand has already won 4-1.