The United States plans to slap fresh sanctions on Sudan over the Darfur conflict on Tuesday and seek a tough new United Nations Security Council resolution punishing Khartoum, top US officials said. China, one of Sudan’s main allies, criticised the sanctions even before they were officially announced by President George Bush.
Venus Williams was one of only seven players to complete a match on Monday at the French Open, with rain again causing havoc on the schedule. It was the second straight day of rain at the French Open, and three delays throughout the day forced organisers to postpone 58 matches.
The All Blacks on Tuesday named one of their strongest combinations for their first Test of the year as second-string France arrived in New Zealand admitting they would rather be somewhere else. Despite most of France’s top players staying home to complete club commitments, All Black coach Graham Henry chose most of his top players.
The United States will slap fresh sanctions on Sudan over the Darfur conflict on Tuesday and seek a tough new United Nations Security Council resolution punishing Khartoum, top US officials said late on Monday. The Darfur conflict has cost at least 200Â 000 lives and forced more than two million people from their homes, according to the United Nations.
The government had by Monday afternoon made no new offer at a special bargaining council meeting with public-sector unions called to discuss the current wage dispute. Some union negotiators, who did not want to be identified because negotiations were ongoing, said there was ”no new offer on the table” and that it was likely that strike action planned for June 1 would proceed.
Foul air, filthy water and contaminated soil have led to a surge of tumours in China, where cancer is the main cause of death, the state media reported this week. Raising fears that breakneck economic growth is having a dire impact on the nation’s health, a government survey blamed pollution for a sharp rise in cancer cases.
A huge shift in global capital flows is forecast after the Chinese government’s acquisition of a $3-billion stake in the sprawling United States private equity group Blackstone, owner of Café Rouge restaurants, Madame Tussauds and Center Parcs. The purchase is likely to be only the starting point of a $200-billion foray into world stock markets and private companies by the communist government in Beijing.
Senior officials in the Palestine Liberation Organisation and Hamas were on Saturday trying to broker an end to the bloody siege of a Lebanese refugee camp, which began last week when the Lebanese army engaged members of Fatah al-Islam, an al-Qaeda-inspired group, after a bank robbery in the city of Tripoli.
African National Congress (ANC) deputy president Jacob Zuma on Saturday warned party members to ensure that the party does not become "power-drunk". Speaking at an ANC branch meeting in Durban, he said: "The ANC is going to rule South Africa for a long time. But, we must not fall into the mistake of being power drunk."
Dane Bjarne Riis on Friday became the first rider to admit having used performance-enhancing drugs while winning the Tour de France. Riis, who won the race in 1996, said he used drugs between 1993 and 1998. ”I have taken doping, I have taken EPO,” Riis told a news conference. ”I purchased it myself and I took it myself. It was a part of everyday life as a rider.”