A review of events and their interpretation.
| Friday, 16 October The Nobel Peace Prize goes to John Hume and David Trimble, leaders of democratic Nationalist and Unionist parties in Northern Ireland, and the driving force behind the Good Friday Agreement. It's a welcome shot in the arm for the peace process that's stalling over arms decomissioning. Newfoundland Finance Minister Paul Dicks is worried that the province's population decrease might hit the government's tax revenues. Opposition politicians wonder what the big surprise is, as the phenomenon has been under way for some years. Peshawar: Australia 599/4 (Taylor 334* equals Bradman's national record and is 41 away from the all-time best; Langer 116) -v- Pakistan |
| Thursday, 15 October Benjamin Netanyahu and Yasser Arafat express optimism about the prospects of reaching a deal to re-ignite the stalled Middle East peace process. "Personally, I believe this is a window of opportunity not only for us Palestinians, not only for Israel, but for the whole Middle East," Arafat said in London. 500 people gather in Chicago for a candlelight vigil in memory of Matthew Shepard, a gay student slain last week in Wyoming. Such memorials are a familiar sight across the USA as people gather to express their shock and outrage over the attack, which police say was partially fueled by Shepard's sexuality. "I can't stop crying. I am so devastated by this," gay actress Ellen DeGeneres tells a crowd in Washington. There's still no deal for St John's Civic Centre, after a meeting of national, provincial, local and hotel representatives. Everyone there is under a gagging order, apart from the media rep, and he's not saying anything right now. Businesses in the harbour area need the centre to provide an economic boost.
The San Diego Padres are on their way to Yankee Stadium for the World Series, after slamming the Atlanta Braves 5-0 in Game 6 of the NLCS. The Braves narrowed a 3-0 series lead to 3-2, but are no match for the Padres' 5-run 6th inning when the Padres use six singles, a walk and a two-run error by left fielder Danny Bautista to break up a pitching duel between the Braves' Tom Glavine and the Padres' Sterling Hitchcock. The World Series begins Saturday in New York.
Peshawar, 2nd test of two. Australia 224/1 (Taylor 112*, Langer 97*)
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| Wednesday, 14 October Robin Cook infers that NATO doesn't trust president Milosevic and may seek a Security Council resolution to back up the Kosovo peace accord. "We don't trust him. Of course we don't trust him. That's precisely why the critical element for us in any deal that can stick would be mechanisms to make sure he can't go back on it," says Cook on the BBC. Meanwhile the US warns that the Yugoslav government must show significant progress during the four-day gap. St John's may borrow $8m to complete the long-proposed civic centre, rather than wait for the cash from the national government.
The Yankees take another step toward establishing themselves as one of baseball's greatest teams with their 35th American League pennant. The Yankees, winners of 114 regular season games, down the Cleveland Indians 9-5 in Yankee Stadium to win the ALCS 4-2. Scott Brosius hits a three-run homer, Derek Jeter a two-run triple and Mariano Rivera his second save to lock up the ALCS.
The third round of Euro 2000 qualifiers. Albania stuff Norway 1-0 to upset the Vikes' challenge.
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| Tuesday, 13 October At ease, men. Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic allows an international verification mission into Kosovo to check compliance with UN demands in the conflict-ridden Serbian province. Envoy Richard Holbrooke brokers the agreement following several rounds of intense talks aimed at halting the separatist conflict and avoiding NATO airstrikes. The jets are stood down for four days. There's gold at the Virgin Lake near Grand Falls. No, it's not a re-run of the 1994 scam that pre-empted the Bre-X scandal by some years. This could be worthwhile returns over 50 square kilometres. The haste to stake claims is on already. A weekend of trouble in Davis Inlet with gas sniffing, rock throwing and gunshots. There was a report of a disturbance on Friday night, and it went on all weekend. Children of 9 are arrested for their own protection, and one Mountie has petrol poured over him. Michael Tucker's three-run homer with one out in the eighth off San Diego ace Kevin Brown - making a rare relief appearance - gives Atlanta a lead they don't relinquish, and beat the San Diego Padres 7-6 in NLCS Game 5. The Braves make a five-run eighth on an RBI double by Tony Graffanino off Donne Wall and a throwing error. The Padres take a 3-2 lead to Atlanta for Game 6 Wednesday night. |
| Monday, 12 October A gay University of Wyoming student who was pistol-whipped and lashed to a fence in near-freezing temperatures dies from his injuries. Matthew Shepard's blood pressure dropped and his condition deteriorated severely before he died at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado. Envoy Richard Holbrooke and President Slobodan Milosevic make "some progress" in their talks over the Kosovo crisis. NATO continues to gear up for airstrikes.
The New York Yankees are back in control of the ALCS. Chili Davis, sidelined for most of the season with a bad ankle, drills a two-run single and a solo homer as the Yankees beat the Cleveland Indians 5-3 to grab a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven ALCS. Yankees starter David Wells strikes out 10 in seven innings for his second straight ALCS win against Cleveland. Chad Ogea takes the loss.
Andres Galarraga caps a six-run seventh inning with a grand slam homer; the Atlanta Braves stay alive defeating San Diego Padres 8-3. Galarragga's shot off reliever Dan Miceli deep into the left-field seats follows a leadoff homer by Javy Lopez that tied the game and an RBI single by Ozzie Guillen that put the Braves ahead.
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| Sunday, 11 October With NATO poised to order airstrikes against Yugoslavia, special envoy Richard Holbrooke ends a marathon session of shuttle diplomacy in an attempt to defuse the Kosovo crisis without military action. Holbrooke gives no hint of an impending breakthrough. "Nothing has changed, and the situation is very serious," he said after ending midnight talks with Yugoslav President Milosevic.
The New York Yankees even the ALCS at 2-2 with a 4-0 win over the Cleveland Indians. The Yankees ride the strong pitching of "Duque" Hernandez who threw over seven innings of shutout ball. With the win, the Yankees feel they're back in control.
The San Diego Padres take a 4-1 lead in the bottom of the eighth inning Saturday and hold on to put the Atlanta Braves in a 3-0 hole in the NLCS. No team has ever come back from three down in a best of seven series. San Diego win the game on the strength of Sterling Hitchcock's starting pitching, Donne Wall's relief, and Trevor Hoffman's closing. Atlanta ace Greg Maddux takes the loss.
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| Saturday, 10 October Richard Holbrooke heads to Kosovo's provincial capital to meet with ethnic Albanian leaders after marathon talks on the Kosovo crisis with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic fail to reach a breakthrough. Holbrooke would not give specifics about his meeting with Milosevic, but it was clear the six hours of talks lasting into the early hours did not yield an agreement. "We are in a very grim situation, and everybody knows how serious it is," Holbrooke said. The Save the Children Fund becomes the first major charity to leave the troubled province, saying that a lack of action means they can't continue their relief efforts. An openly gay student at the University of Wyoming remains in a critical condition after being savagely beaten and left tied to a wooden fence to die in the cold. Police say robbery was a motive in the attack on Matthew Shepard, 22, but that he also was singled out because he is gay. Two men, aged 21 and 22, have been charged with attempted murder, kidnapping and aggravated robbery. Wyoming's governor Jim Geringer says the state needs hate-crime legislation.
The Cleveland Indians pound Andy Pettite for four homers - Jim Thome hits two - as the Tribe routs the New York Yankees 6-1. The win puts Cleveland ahead 2-1 in the best-of-seven ALCS. Bartolo Colon pitched a four-hitter to get the win.
The second round of European Championship qualifiers. The main winners are Wales - 2-1 victors in Denmark - and Turkey, who trump Germany 1-0. Northern Ireland beat Finland 1-0, France are held to a 3-2 win in Russia. England are held scoreless by Bulgaria. Croatia return to winning form, beating Malta 4-1, and Scotland triumph 3-2 over Estonia.
Harare: Zimbabwe 221 & 293 (Kumble 4/87, H Singh 3/60); India 280 & 173 (Dravid 44, Ganguly 36, Johnson 3/41). Zimbabwe beat India by 61 runs and take the series 1-0. It's only Zimbabwe's second test victory.
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| Friday, 9 October Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi's centre-left coalition loses a confidence motion by just a single vote. Italy's lower house of parliament votes 313 to 312 against the Prodi government, prompting the applause of opposition centre-right deputies. "I am not bitter," Prodi, after the announcement. He's resigned, but will stay on until elections can be held. There's more fighting in Grand Falls schools following amalgamation over the summer. Five schools merged to form one, creating bitter divisions and an upsurge in violence at Exploin Valley High. The principal says that the violence has just been concentrated on two, not five, sites. Stephen Tucker hasn't had his trash collected or his street ploughed since 1975. At Pattypond, he's too far out of St John's to receive these services. But that's not stopped the city from billing him $1500 in property tax. He's saying that he won't pay a cent until he gets his snow cleared and trash taken away. Upgrades to the Trans-Canada Highway mean speeders are becoming a concern. The Churchill Falls police see many vehicles travelling faster than the 70 kph limit, and have dusted off their radar gun to catch speedy cars. Moose will not be given the $200 fines.
San Diego takes Game 2 of the NLCS 3-0 over Atlanta behind a masterful pitching performance from Kevin Brown. He strikes out eleven, giving up three hits in the shutout. He has two hits, keeping a rally going in the sixth with a base hit and a single in the ninth before scoring an insurance run. Losing pitcher Tom Glavine allows a run on three hits in six innings. Quilvio Veras leads with three hits including a double and an RBI single.
Harare: India 280 (Dravid 118), Zimbabwe 219/2 (Rennie 84*, Wishart 63). Zimbabwe lead by 160 runs with 8 second innings wickets left.
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| Thurday, 8 October America's House of Representatives votes to launch an impeachment inquiry making William Jefferson Clinton the third president to face the prospect of removal from office. Conservatives within the Democratic party and those with tough election races defected to support the open-ended inquiry demanded by Republicans.
Outspoken Portuguese novelist Jose Saramago is the winner of the 1998 Nobel Literature Prize. He's the first writer in Portuguese to receive the world's most prized literary award, to be presented at a Stockholm ceremony on December 9. In its citation, the Academy said it gave the award to Saramago for work "with parables sustained by imagination, compassion and irony continually enables us to apprehend an illusory reality."
Enrique Wilson scores from first base on a controversial sacrifice bunt play as the Cleveland Indians beat the New York Yankees 4-1 in 12 innings Wednesday to level the ALCS at one game apiece. Wilson scores after teammate Travis Fryman is hit in the back by Tino Martinez after bunting down the first base line. Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch argued that Fryman interfered with the throw while Wilson scored.
San Diego Padres' Ken Caminiti hits a solo homer in the 10th to push his team past Atlanta 3-2 in a rain-delayed Game 1 of the NLCS. Ruben Rivera's double and dash home on Jim Leyritz's dribbler gives the Padres a 2-1 lead in the eighth. In the ninth, the Padres' Trevor Hoffman, who converted 53 of 54 save chances this season, can't protect the edge and gives up Andruw Jones' tying sacrifice fly.
Harare: India 248/6 (Dravid 104*) India leads by 27 with 4 first innings wickets.
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| Wednesday, 7 October Air strikes over Kosovo look more likely after envoy Richard Holbrooke's talks with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic fail to reach agreement. "Right now, we are in the countdown to a decisive moment in the history of the Balkans," said Holbrooke before his third meeting with the Yugoslav president. Wolverhampton postage staff turn up a letter after 14 years. The letter, an order for Liverpool team posters containing a cheque for 8 pounds, had lain behind a machine until the Horseley Fields site was closed early this year. Royal Mail apologise for the delay, and point out that the average wait for this kind of mail is now only 422 months. Off Northern Labrador, an unusual harvest. Chunks of icebergs are taken from off Maquovic, to the Iceberg Vodka Company of St John's. They're trying to increase their 500 tonnes of ice, after last spring's harvest has been used in extra demand.
David Wells and the Yankees ensure payback is swift and brutal. A five-run first inning blows Jaret Wright right out of the game, leaving the Indians with shocked, blank expressions. Wells shuts out Cleveland til the ninth, and New York takes a 7-2 victory in the ALCS opener. Paul O'Neill, Bernie Williams, Jorge Posada and Scott Brosius all hit run-scoring singles in the first, Posada adds a sixth-inning homer off Chad Ogea, and Williams a run-scoring double in the seventh.
Harare: Zimbabwe 221 (Rennie 47, Kumble 3/42). India 6/1
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| Tuesday, 6 October The Republican-controlled Judiciary Committee votes for a full impeachment inquiry into the sex, perjury and obstruction of justice allegations against President Clinton. The full House may vote on the panel's proposal late this week. The probe would not be limited to Starr's report on the Lewinsky matter and would have no deadline for completion. Toronto police pursue a motorcycle that can reach speeds of 300 miles an hour (fast). There's only one Honda NSR-500 in existance, and it was stolen from the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame on Sunday. Valued at $250,000, it's for "serious collectors only", claim the makers. A lorry fire melts 40 tonnes of cheese on the A483 at Cynghordy. The road is closed for five hours while police shovel the melt into skips. A passing pig farm makes this the largest Welsh rarebit in history. Oil from the Hibernia is being stored at Riffenhead, Placenta Bay. It comes from the offshore rig by tanker, and is stored at the massive site until it's sold. Each of the five tanks can hold 500,000 barrels. The Minnesota Vikings end the Green Bay Packers' 29-game home winning streak Monday night with Randall Cunningham passing for 442 yards and four TDs in the 37-24 rout. Rookie sensation Randy Moss catching 2 touchdowns and racking up 190 yards on five catches. Minnesota go 5-0. |
| Monday, 5 October UN action in Kosovo is imminent, claims a NATO chief. The comments come after a report compiled for UN Sec-Gen Kofi Annan. The UNSC voted Thursday to endorse action to break the UN's charter and intervene in the internal affairs of a member state. The Voisey's Bay mine may be smaller than first thought. Rather than a round-the-year, deep mining operation, it will only be a seasonal surface mine unless nickel prices improve from their current lows. Religious symbols in schools are a matter for local areas to sort out. There's nothing restricting them, if that's what the majority of the parents want, but there should be sensitivity for those who don't want to participate, says Schools Minister Roger Grimes.
San Diego go through to the NL Pennant Series after beating Houston 6-1. Jim Leyritz homers for the third straight game.
A crazy, crazy night of NFL action. Buffalo lead San Fransisco 23-0 after three quarters, and survive a frenetic comeback to win 26-21. The 44-9'ers are yellow-flagged for a record 22 offences. The Indy Colts also get their first win of the season, downing San Diego 17-12. Atlanta score three times in 48 seconds while routing winless Carolina 51-23. Had the Falcons scored at that rate for the whole game, they would score 1575 points. Denver look like they're heading for that territory, taking a 28-0 lead over hapless Philadelphia after just 13.5 minutes. They ease off to win 41-16. And Kansas' game against Seattle is delayed 53 minutes by a violent rainstorm; the Chiefs take a crucial 17-6 win.
Rawalpindi: Australia beat Pakistan by an innings and 99 runs. Pakistan 269 & 145; Australia 513. Steve Waugh is man of the match, and it's Australia's first win in Pakistan since November 1959.
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| Sunday, 4 October Finance ministers and central bank presidents from the G7 put a "very intense focus" on the burgeoning global economic crisis during a daylong meeting. No new initiatives come out of the gathering in Washington. Decisions on specific proposals -- including US proposals to overhaul the global financial architecture -- will be left until a later date. Meanwhile, the Brazilian economy is expected to deflate significantly this week.
The Atlanta Braves sweep their division series against the Chicago Cubs, winning game three 6-2 at Wrigley Field. Greg Maddux has the win, and scores the first run. Catcher Eddie Perez provides the margin of victory with an eighth inning grand slam. The Cubs answer with two runs in the bottom half of the inning, but the Braves hold on to end the series. They'll face the San Diego Padres or the Houston Astros for the league championship...
Rawalpindi: Pakistan (137/9) trail Australia by 108 with one wicket left
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| Saturday, 3 October Australia's general election is won by the Conservative coalition, led by John Howard. The incumbent is returned with a reduced majority, but one that will enable him to push much of his programme through parliament.
The New York Yankees overcome a three-hour rain delay to wrap up their series against the Astros with a 4-0 victory. The match finishes at 1:23 CST. Cleveland take a 2-1 lead over Boston with a tight 3-1 win.
Aston Villa go 6 points clear at the top of the Premier League with a 2-1 victory over Coventry. Manchester United are second, after downing Southampton 3-0 - their first win there since 1994. Spurs beat Derby 2-0.
Rawalpindi: Australia 513 all out (S Waugh 157, Lehmann 98, Healy 82, Wasim Akram 3/112). Australia lead Pakistan by 244 after first innings.
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| Friday, 2 October George Baker is removed as the head of Canada's fishery committee. The fire-brand Newfoundland MP got his marching orders after producing a report damning the department for the '92 collapse of Atlantic cod. Voisey's Bay is the scene of more arguments, this time about potential pollution from the nickel mine. The company says their mine will have no significant impact; the Innu Nation, whose land the mine would be built on, use worst-case scenarios to show that major pollution is a possibility.
Houston's Astros take the San Diego Padres 5-4 in the bottom of the 9th inning as Padre relief ace Trevor Hoffman surrenders an RBI single to Bill Spiers. San Diego tied the game with two runs in the top of the ninth after trailing from the Houston first.
Rawalpindi: Pakistan 269 (Saeed Anwar 145), Australia 237/4 (Slater 108, S Waugh 104*). Australia trail by 32 runs with 6 wickets in hand.
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| Thursday, 1 October Swissair officials confirm reports that a type of insulation implicated in fires on at least four other jets has been found in the wreckage of Flight 111. The thermal insulation blankets had been approved by the Federal Aviation Administration. But the Washington Post reported that McDonnell Douglas, maker of the Swissair MD-11 that crashed off Nova Scotia last month, recommended last year that it be replaced with a more fire retardant insulation. Over 35 people test for tuberculosis in Cartwright, Labrador; the town's mayor says that a number of people will fly to Goose Bay for testing tomorrow. 40% of deaths world wide are caused by pollution, claim researchers from Cornell University. The trend is downward; millions will become environmental refugees and flee in search of food.
Braves starter John Smoltz becomes the winningest pitcher in all postseasons as he allows the Chicago Cubs five hits in 7 2/3 innings. Smoltz took his record to 11-3 in 21 postseason starts, leading Atlanta to an opening win in their best of five NL playoff series and breaking the most-wins record he shared with Whitey Ford and Dave Stewart. A two-run homer in the second inning from Michael Tucker and a grand slam from Ryan Klesko in the seventh complete the Braves victory.
Rawalpindi, First Test: Pakistan 253/8 v Australia
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