A review of events and their interpretation.
| Wednesday, 16 December Western officials prepare for swift military action against Iraq, just one day after the UN's chief weapons inspector reported that Baghdad was still refusing to cooperate with UN weapons inspectors. Pentagon sources say that forces are ready to launch US-led military strikes against Iraq on the order from Clinton.
Warometer returns, 64%The US Congress considers delaying the impeachment hearing on President Clintern, scheduled for tomorrow. It's believed that it would be inappropriate to impeach the President while he was leading an attack on an enemy nation. Reports that inspector Holbrooke and Sod'em Hussies are in the pocket of leading Democrat sympathisers could not be confirmed by press time.A commercial for the millennium dome is to air on UK television. The ad, part of a 30 million pound campaign will condense the last 998 years of history into 60 seconds. It's part of the attempts to entice a predicted 12 million visitors into an unheated plastic tent on a toxic waste dump outside London.
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| Tuesday, 15 December Staff at the Midshires head office in Wolverhampton are evacuated after carbon dioxide leaks into the air conditioning system. The leak comes on the day the building society publishes notices to demutualise and prostitute itself to the giant Halifax bank. It could be divine retribution to this betrayal of trust.
Garrison Hearst is the rushing star, running for a team-record 198 yards. Steve Young throws for one score and runs for another as the San Francisco 49ers beat the Detroit Lions 35-13. The victory is the 49ers' 16th straight regular season win at home.
Adelaide: England 237 all out (Ramprakash 57, Stewart 63*, McGrath 4/50) Australia win by 205 runs.
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| Monday, 14 December Palestinian leaders reaffirm the nullification of clauses in the Palestine Liberation Organization's charter calling for Israel's destruction. Israel quickly accepts the Palestinian move, according to a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Towns and cities are p'ed off because the government won't pay property taxes. The Large Towns committee wants the right to levy these taxes, as services are being provided there for free.
Lahore: Fog prevents play today, match drawn
The Denver Broncos' dreams are shattered when Kent Graham throws a 37-yard touchdown pass to Amani Toomer with 48 seconds left, giving the New York Giants a shocking 20-16 victory. The Broncos (13-1) looked set for their 14th straight win and an NFL-record 19th straight over two seasons, but Graham engineered an 86-yard, six-play drive. The big play - a 23-yard scramble by the quarterback that moved the ball to the Broncos 48.
The New York Jets hang on to a fourth-quarter lead against Dan Marino, and now hold a one-game lead in the AFC East. New York (10-4) takes a playoff berth and a game ahead of Miami and Buffalo (both 9-5) in the AFC East. Seattle intercepts a franchise-record seven passes, to
beat San Diego, 38-17 and keep their remote playoff hopes alive.
The Seahawks (7-7) return an interception and fumble for
touchdowns to set an NFL record for most TDs (12) off turnovers
in a season. Atlanta beats New Orleans
27-17 to stay ahead of San Francisco in the NFC West. The Falcons (12-2) can claim the NFL West crown and a first-round bye if the
44-9ers lose to Detroit tonight. Peyton Manning sets NFL rookie
records for touchdowns (24), completions (286) and attempts (502)
as Indianapolis (3-11) hands Cincinnati (2-12) its ninth straight loss, 39-26.
Veteran linebacker Kevin Greene
attacks assistant coach Kevin Steele on the sideline in the
first half of the Carolina Panthers' 28-25 loss to the Washington Redskins. The Jacksonville Jaguars rely on their third-string QB, Johnathan Quinn, and lose to Tennessee 16-13. Minnesota Vikings kicker Gary Anderson sets an NFL record
with his 32nd straight field goal. Anderson's 24-yard
field goal against the Baltimore Ravens with 5:17 left in the
first half is his fourth of the game, breaking the best of 31
straight set by fellow Viking Fuad Reviez in 1994-95. Minnesota won the game 38-28. And there are wins for St Louis, over the Patriots, Green Bay, Tampa Bay, downing Pittsburgh, Arizona and Kansas City.
All of this means: Denver will be home through the playoffs, the Jets will also be in the post-season. 10-4 Jacksonville head the Central, two clear of Tennessee. Buffalo and Miami are both 9-5; New England join Tennessee on 8-6. Pittsburgh, Oakland and Seattle are all hoping for miracles on 7-7. |
| Sunday, 13 December President Bill Clinton begins a three-day trip to the Middle East by reaffirming America's commitment to Israel's security and vowing to "stand by you as you take risks for a just, lasting and secure peace... The United States will walk this road with Israel every step of the way."
Television impresario Lord Grade dies, aged 91. The founder of the ATV company was the driving force that allowed classics such as "Jesus of Nazareth", "Thunderbirds" and "The Muppet Show" to air around the world.
Adelaide (day 3) England 227 (Hussain 89*, Ramprakash 61, MacGill 4/53, Fleming 2/34). England lose the last 7 for 40. Australia 148/1 (Slater 73*) Australia, leading by 164 on first innings, now lead by 312 with 9 wickets left |
| Saturday, 12 December The House formally accuses President Clinton of perjury and obstruction of justice. The Judiciary Committee is expected to vote on a fourth article charging Clinton of abusing his powers as president.
Manchester United go top of the table, on goal difference after drawing 2-2 at Tottenham. Middlesborough go 4th, beating West Ham 1-0.
Adelaide, day 2: Australia 391 (Langer 179*, S Waugh 59, Headley 4/97), England 160/3 (Hussain 58*, Ramprakash 45*, Miller 2/48) England trail by 231 in their first innings |
| Friday, 11 December A Thai Airways Airbus carrying about 146 passengers crashes while trying to land at a provincial airport in southern Thailand. At least 50 people come out of the wreckage in early rescue attempts. Former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet appears in a London court to start a lengthy legal battle to avoid extradition to Spain. Pinochet argues that he will accept no court other than that of Chile. Spain wants Pinochet extradited to face charges of genocide, torture and terrorism relating to his rule over Chile. More than 3,000 people, including Spanish citizens, died or disappeared while Pinochet ran the country. It's severly unclear whether Spain has the legal right to request his extradition from a third country.
Adelaide, 3rd Test, day 1. Australia 266/4 (Langer 108*, Taylor 59, Waugh 59, Such 2/57) |
| Thursday, 10 December Urban affairs minister Art Reed told another politician to "return to the kitchen" on Tuesday. Yesterday, he said he was "stupid, rude and insensitive". But today, there are questions about the sincerity of the apology. Conservatives suggest he's only apologising in order to deflect the bad publicity he's taken in the days since. Labrador City Hospital is worried. Cheap-rate long distance promotions by local telecoms companies are swamping the lines in an evening, making it impossible for medical advice and supplies to arrive, or even be requested.
Two test matches start today, the second in both series. |
| Wednesday, 9 December Iraq bars UN inspection teams from the Ba'ath party headquarters near Baghdad. Iraqi state radio says inspectors were "provocative" in trying to get into the headquarters. This could be another escalation of the on-going arms crisis. Britain will allow the extradition of General Pinochet to Spain. The Home Secretary gave approval for the process to start; he will appear in court on Friday. Final night of the league stages of the European Cup. Manchester Utd and Bayern Munich draw 1-1, both sides progress. Panathaniakos secure their expected berth, as do Real Madrid and Inter Milan. In the only winner-takes-all match, Dynamo Kiev beat Lens 3-1. Juventus get their first win of the competition, beating Rosenborg; with Athletic Bilbao beating Galataseray, that's enough for Juve to sneak through. |
| Tuesday, 8 December The severed heads of four Western hostages are discovered along a road, more than two months after the men were seized by gunmen in the Chechen capital, Grozny. The hostages -- Brits Peter Kennedy, Darren Hickey, and Rudolf Petschi, and Kiwi Stanley Shaw -- were engineers working for Granger Telecom, a British telephone company. It's believed they were killed after a rescue attempt last night went wrong. It's back to court for Newfoundland's schools. Last year's vote to remove denominational schools is being challenged by Catholic and Pentecostal groups, who claim it's an infringement of their civil rights. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' six-game losing streak to Green Bay ends; the Packers' playoff hopes go on hold. Trent Dilfer throws touchdowns of 64 and 62 yards in the first half, then runs for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to carry the Bucs to a 24-22 win over the Pack. Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre gets eight sacks and fumbles six times as Green Bay (8-5) misses an opportunity to clinch a wild-card playoff berth. The Bucs (6-7) are now level with New Orleans and Arizona for the final NFC wild-card spot. Honest. |
| Monday, 7 December Russian President Boris Yeltsin is feeling better. He comes out of hospital in the morning, and spends three hours sacking four of his aides, and taking personal control of the nation's taxes. He's now back in hospital, content with his work but slightly exhausted from a tough month's work. The year's taxes will pay for his stay in hospital until 4pm tomorrow. Boris Yeltsin is 111. President Clinton's attorneys will have 30 hours on Tuesday and Wednesday to persuade the House Judiciary Committee that he shouldn't be impeached for over the Monica Lewinsky affair. The White House is not happy that the committee refused to give Clinton's lawyers four days to present his case, as they requested Friday. It's expected that Clinton's lawyers will spend the time weasaling about the use of the semi-colon and other arcane matters rather than answering the questions.
The Denver Broncos keep their perfect season going their worst performance of the season. The Broncos take two touchdowns in the final seven minutes to come from behind and beat the Kansas City Chiefs, after trailing 14-0, 21-7 and 31-21. The 35-31 victory makes the Broncos only the third team in NFL history to go 13-0. Denver also have a first-round bye and homefield advantage throughout the playoffs. |
| Sunday, 6 December Kofi Annan's talks with Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi are "fruitful" and an agreement is close on the handover of two suspects for the 1988 Lockerbie airliner bombing. "Libya has confirmed its seriousness and readiness to find a solution to the Lockerbie problem." The tenth anniversary of the bombing falls in 15 days time. Elections in Taiwan, where the ruling National party scores further victories in local and national polls; and Nigeria's local polls, in the first stage of a return to democracy. |
| Saturday, 5 December UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan is stood up in Libya by leader Moammar Gadhafi. Annan's attempting to arrange the surrender of two Libyan suspects in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing. The two were set to meet in the coastal town of Sirte, about 450 kilometres east of Tripoli, but Gadhafi's representatives said that he was unavailable to meet the world leader.
England beat South Africa, ending the Springbok's record-equalling 17 straight rugby test wins. The 13-7 victory features both sides missing some easy kicks, preferring to run the ball.
In football, it's Aston Villa 1, Manchester United 1 with no change atop the Premier League table. Blackburn move off the foot of the table after beating Wimbledon.
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| Friday, 4 December International speculator George Soros calls for the removal of Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and the release of Anwar Ibrahim, the country's former finance minister. Mahathir accused Soros and other speculators of attacking Malaysia's currency, causing the nation's worst slump in decades. Soros says Mahathir singled him out to blame for political reasons. Beaton Tolk resigns from the Newfoundland Cabinet, after claims that a school in St John's was only licensed after paying bribes. Opposition members are calling for the RMCP to investigate broader allegations of general corruption; Premier Weenie Tobin would prefer it be handled internally by the House Conflict of Interests commissioner. |
| Thursday, 3 December North Korea appears set to test-launch an intermediate range ballistic missile similar to one that took the world by surprise in August. Pyongyang has accused Washington of taking a hard-line stance on a suspected North Korean nuclear site and said the United States was pushing the situation to the "brink of war." US military sources say they're "monitoring the situation closely." Five Conservative peers leave various posts in the party. They include the deputy leader in the Lords, and one Baroness who quits the party to become a crossbencher. It follows leader William Hague's firing of Viscount Cranborne over a reforming deal last night. Liberal papers are calling it the Conservatives in crisis; backbench Tory MPs are backing their leader to the hilt. Roger Clemens tells the Toronto Blue Jays he wants to be traded. The five-time Cy Young Award winner is upset that the Blue Jays won't spend enough money to field a contender in the 1999 season. Clemens wants to be traded either to a contender or closer to his home in Katy, Texas. The World Series champion New York Yankees, Houston Astros and Texas Rangers are in the running to land the 36-year-old right-hander. |
| Wednesday, 2 December Court TV, the once-hot US cable network, unveils a more entertainment-oriented schedule that includes reruns of "Homicide: Life on the Street," juicier docudramas, a Johnnie Cochran talk show and a lawyer who doubles as a comedian. Chief executive Henry Schleiff doesn't want to erase Court TV's "highbrow" image, but wants to do something to lift the abysmal ratings. "We are addressing the issue in a responsible way." Viscount Cranborne, the Conservative leader in the Lords, is fired after trying to negotiate a deal with Toy Blah. The deal would have accepted the principle of abolishing hereditary peers' right to sit in the Lords in return for letting 100 of their number remain in office until a reformed chamber comes into operation. Tory leader Slappy Hague is having none of it, and gave the biscuit the boot. |
| Tuesday, 1 December Quebec re-elects the Parti Quebecois with a barely changed majority. The provincial election, the fourth province-wide poll in as many years, leads Premier Jean Charest in a stronger position to call a referendum on the province leaving the rest of Canada; current polls show he would lose by around 10%. General Augusto Pinochet leaves Grovelands Priory, a private hospital in north London. It comes after the hospital says that he "no longer requires the specialist medical and nursing care," he's been receiving since undergoing back surgery. His new location is not known The 44-9ers lose their best defensive player for the season as Bryant Young breaks his leg, casting a pall and reducing the side's 31-7 victory over the New York Giants to an afterthought. Young, San Francisco's best defensive player, went midway through the fourth quarter with a broken right leg. The leg bent backwards as he collided with linebacker Ken Norton Jr. as they closed in to tackle a scrambling Kent Graham. |
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