Iraq’s leaders were locked in frantic haggling over a new Constitution on Saturday night as the deadline for presenting a draft to Parliament expired. American diplomats offered their own proposed draft in a dramatic attempt to clinch a deal and avert a political crisis that would embarrass President George Bush.
A week after she gorged on bratwurst and grilled-cheese sandwiches, one of the world’s top competitive eaters gobbled down 44 lobsters in 12 minutes on Saturday to set a new speed-eating record. Sonya Thomas, who weighs 44,5kg, humbled her bigger male competitors as she consumed 5,13kg of lobster meat.
Former Inkatha Freedom Party chairperson Ziba Jiyane says his new political party, the National Democratic Convention, will be registered with the Independent Electoral Commission on Monday. Jiyane resigned from the IFP on Thursday after being suspended for bringing the party’s name into disrepute.
A Cosafa Cup semifinal of mixed emotions and vacillating form ended in heartbreak for Bafana Bafana at the Mmabatho Stadium on Saturday when Zambian goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene completed an unusual double to edge his team into Sunday’s final against Zimbabwe via a 9-8 advantage in the deciding penalty shoot-out.
An earthquake measuring 5,3 on the Richter scale shook south-west China’s Yunnan province on Saturday, toppling houses and causing several injuries, state media reported. ”Injuries have been reported in seven townships of Wenshan county,” the official Xinhua news agency reported.
New Zealand piled on 30 unanswered points to overturn an early Wallaby flourish and retain rugby’s Bledisloe Cup 30-13 at the Sydney Olympic stadium on Saturday. The All Blacks were irresistible as they came back from a 13-10 half-time deficit to overpower Australia, recovering after last week’s loss to South Africa.
British Airways said on Saturday it will operate 85% of its medium-haul flights and 80% of long-haul journeys as it returns to normal following a devastating strike that grounded more than 70Â 000 passengers since Thursday. A spokesperson said it will take several days to get operations completely back to normal.
Only one of its three humanitarian relief supply trucks will leave for Zimbabwe on Saturday, said the South African Council of Churches (SACC). SACC deputy secretary general Eddie Makue said the Zimbabwean government has failed to issue the council with a duty-free certificate for two of the trucks.
If Thursday was the United States’s day, then Friday was definitely Russia’s, as led by extraordinary pole-vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva they won three titles at the World Athletics Championships. The 23-year-old broke her own world record for the ninth time this year — vaulting 5,01m.
A day-long drama over whether or not Tiger Woods could make the cut at the PGA Championship ended in spectacular fashion on Friday with a last-hole birdie sending the superstar into the weekend. The Masters and British Open champion risked missing the cut to attempt a birdie-eagle finish on Baltusrol Golf Club’s only par-five holes.