David Beckham scored with a free kick in the 60th minute on Sunday to lead England to a 1-0 win over Ecuador and a spot in the quarterfinals of the World Cup. Beckham sent in a curling free kick from about 25m that beat diving goalkeeper Christian Mora.
A shootout in Jeppestown, Johannesburg, on Sunday ended in what was described as a bloodbath with four police officers and eight suspects killed. An emotional Gauteng provincial Commissioner Perumal Naidoo told reporters at the scene that ”four policemen had lost their lives in the line of duty”.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki will offer an amnesty to some rebel groups and call for the disarmament of militias as part of a 28-point national reconciliation plan to stem violence, a lawmaker said on Saturday. The plan, first mentioned by al-Maliki on June 6, was inspired by post-apartheid South Africa.
Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Saturday accepted his nomination by the leftist Worker’s Party (PT) to run for a second term in October elections. ”I’m here today to tell you that the dream has not ended and that hope has not died,” Lula (60) said at a national PT convention in Brasilia.
The chasm between Super 14 experience and Vodacom Cup rugby was further exposed when defending champions the Cheetahs hammered Griquas 55-14 in a one-sided opening Currie Cup encounter played in Bloemfontein on Saturday. The Cheetahs surprisingly won the Currie Cup last year.
Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene’s seventh one-day international 100 saw his side to an eight-wicket win over an outclassed England at the Riverside in Chester-le-Street on Saturday as the tourists went an unbeatable 3-0 up in the five-match NatWest Series. Jayawardene made 126 not out.
Defending world drivers’ champion Fernando Alonso stormed to pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal on Saturday. Spaniard Alonso (24) fended off a later surge from his teammate Giancarlo Fisichella to take the top spot in one minute and 14,972 seconds — more than two-10ths of a second ahead of the Italian.
The Black Widow strikes again. Sonya Thomas, a 45kg woman who earned her nickname by out-eating many of her heavyweight male opponents on the competitive eating circuit, ate 60 ham biscuits on Saturday to win an eating contest at the 16th Annual Virginia State Harley-Davidson Owners’ Group Rally.
A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. That’s doubly true when it comes to protecting computers that are connected to the internet. Anyone who thinks that a virtual firewall is enough to protect a PC from the dangers of the internet — such as hacker attacks and unwanted contact with damaging programs — is making a mistake.
Computers sometimes need a little tender loving care, particularly in summer. Warm weather can make processors sweat, especially if the inside of your computer case has become a habitat for dust bunnies. If a desktop PC runs all day long and the casing sits on a dusty corner of the carpet, it’s likely to quickly become a dust trap.