A huge asteroid hurtles in from outer space to devastate the Earth, an unstoppable force of nature from which there is no escape. Just such a catastrophe is thought to have killed off the dinosaurs, and, according to most experts, it is only a matter of time before a similar fate befalls the human race.
Libyan security personnel routinely torture detainees, the United States State Department said in a report describing the country’s human rights situation as poor. The state also restricted civil liberties and freedoms of speech, press, assembly and association, the report said.
Fresh from her efforts to secure the black vote at Sunday’s civil rights commemoration in Selma, Alabama, Hillary Clinton turns on Wednesday to the other voting block which she hopes to win over in her bid for the 2008 presidency: women.
Mauritania has protested to Libya over comments by its leader, Moammar Gadaffi, in which he called Mauritanians ”tribal” and said they were wasting their time with multi-party elections, the official news agency said. Mauritania, a Saharan Islamic state that straddles Arab and black Africa, is holding elections this Sunday to select a civilian president to take over from a military junta.
World powers will receive a ”serious response” from Iran if they adopt a new United Nations resolution imposing more sanctions over its atomic drive, top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani warned on Wednesday. ”If they go ahead in an extreme manner and issue a resolution, they will receive a serious answer …,” Larijani was quoted as saying.
Violence against women continues unchecked "in every continent, country and culture" because it is frequently concealed or tacitly condoned, United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon said on Wednesday. In a message to mark International Women’s Day on Thursday, the UN secretary general said violence "takes a devastating toll on women’s lives".
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Bangladesh pulled off a major shock on Tuesday when they defeated New Zealand by two wickets in a World Cup warm-up match. Pace bowler Mashrafe Mortaza proved to be the hero with bat and ball. After taking 4-44 to limit the Black Caps to 224 all out, he then smashed two successive sixes off the hapless James Franklin to secure victory in the 49th over.
It was not the most romantic of honeymoons. Police said a groom is in jail, accused of trying to run over his new wife after a weekend wedding in Las Vegas. ”We have a wedding certificate for [March] 4th. They were still -honeymooning when he ran her over,” said Lieutenant Paul Jaroscak.
The JSE remained modestly firmer in noon trade on Wednesday helped by a positive performance on United States markets overnight. Dealers remained unconvinced by the JSE’s gains, however, and believed more weakness was in store. By 11.52am, the all-share and all-share industrial indices added 0,4% and 0,88% respectively.
The bitter rivalry between Iran’s President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and the country’s leading elder statesman has erupted into a public struggle for control over economic policy. Hashemi Rafsanjani set the scene for a power struggle by telling Iranian journalists that Ahmadinejad’s "trial period is over".