Weaver's News Spin

June 1999

A review of events and their interpretation. 

Yugoslavia: The War's Done (1st) More NATO blunders: the allied forces manage to bomb KLA forces, also fighting against Milosevic, and over the Albanian border, too. The bombs just missed a road down which thousands of refugees have travelled in recent days. (2nd) There's some form of peace settlement reached. Milosevic and the Serb Parliament accept it; NATO need to have it sold to them by the Finnish President. (5th) Talks on the implementation break down, but both NATO and Yugoslavia expect to implement the process anyway. (6th) With UN approval, the peace process moves forward. It picks up speed with NATO and Yugoslavia signing an agreement on its implementation three days later, after some breakdowns. (10th) After 10 weeks, NATO calls air strikes off after Serb forces start their pullout. Reconstruction will take many years; resettlement of a million displaced people will start in a few weeks; NATO troops move in within days. (12th) Russian troops enter Pristina; Moscow says there's been some form of mistake, and they pull back out within hours. The British, who have been tasked with defending that city, hot-foot in there before nightfall. (13th) Dead today: an off-duty Serb policeman, and a journalist. (14th) A mass grave is found near Pristina; over 2000 Albanians are reported to have gone missing in the area during the last three months.

 

Food Safety (1st) Prince Charles sticks his ears in the genetically modified food debate, calling the genetic modification of his food "unnatural". The Government thanks him for his contribution. (2nd) The Belgium government bans many foods after some animal feed is found to be contaminated with cancer-causing agents. The British Government leads the calls for its removal, in a move completely unrelated to the long-standing ban on British Beef. The word they're looking for is "chutzpah", we think. (15th) From bad to worse, as Coca-Cola pull their drink from shelves in Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Batches of the wrong carbon dioxide have been used, and some fungicide has entered the production chain.

 

UK Politics (8th) Johnathan Aitken, the former Cabinet minister, is sentenced to 18 months in jail after pleading guilty to charges of perjury. The man who was once tipped as a future prime minister is brought down after he lied in court during a libel action against the Guardian newspaper two years ago. (14th) The European Election Results are a disaster for the Labour party. They're relegated to second place, well behind the Conservatives. They have 36 seats, Labour 24, the Lib Dems 9. Scottish and Welsh nationalists pick up two seats each. The Greens get their first representatives, picking up two seats, while the vehemently anti-European UK Independence Party take three. It's the first Conservative election win since the May 1992 local elections. (15th) William Hague reshuffles his shadow cabinet. Peter Lilley is resigned, while two of the new intake from 1997 - Emma Lloyd and Peter Wiley - enter the cabinet. The general feeling is that this is a lineup to inspire confidence.

 

This Is Also News (8th) New Brunswick elects a Conservative government. The shock result overturns a massive Liberal majority, and ends 13 years of power for the Grits in the eastern province. Bernard Lord becomes the new Premier; at 33, he's even younger than Tony Blair (just). Punwriters are happy. (11th) The Queen's Greeting for Centurions is to change. After 75 years of being a telegram, and almost 20 years as the only telegrams in the country, HM will start sending out normal cards. Around 1500 greetings a year go to people marking their 100th birthday, or their diamond wedding anniversary.

 

Football: European (3-5) Euro 2000 qualifying Group 1: Italy down Wales 4-0 and look set to progress. Group 2: Norway, Greece and Slovenia all get 2-1 away wins and top the group. Group 3: Wins for Germany and Turkey mean they're level at the top. Group 4: Russia upset France, 3-2. With Iceland and Ukraine winning, those are the two sides to progress. And not France. Group 5: England draw 0-0 against Sweden, Poland win to go second behind the Swedes. Group 6: Spain thrash San Marino, Israel put five past Austria to go second. Group 7: Portugal and Romania win and set the pace. Group 8: Macedonia and Croatia lead the way, after drawing 1-1. Group 9: The Faroes get a 1-1 draw against Scotland, but still trail runaway leaders Czech. (9th) 1: Italy are held 0-0 in Switzerland, Wales 0-2 Denmark. 2: Greece lose to Latvia; Slovenia win. 4: France can only win 1-0 in Andorra. Russia beat Iceland 1-0, the Ukraine draw. 5: England draw 1-1 in Bulgaria and face elimination; Poland beat Luxembourg by a goal. 7: Romania and Portugal both win. 8: RoI down Macedonia. 9: Scotland fall to the Czechs, who book their place in the finals. Lithuania also win, while the Faroes draw with Bosnia.

 

The Cricket World Cup: Super Sixes (4th, ODI 1473) Game 31: The Oval: AUS -v- IND The Waughs and McGrath combine for a comfortable Australian victory. Mark Waugh makes 83, Steve hits 36 from 40 before McGrath reduces the Indians to 27/4. Jadeja scores a ton, but it's never going to be enough. Aus 282/6, Ind 205 - Aus win by 77 runs with 10 balls in hand. (5th, ODI 1474) Game 32: Trent Bridge: SA -v- PAK Pakistan start slowly, Elworthy returning 2/23, but concede 48 runs in the last four overs - Moin Khan top scores with 63 - to make their task much more difficult than it needed be. The middle order collapse to 58/5, before Klusener (46*) and Kallis (54) combine for a strong stand. Pak 220/7, SA 221/7 winning with 3 wickets and 6 balls in hand. (6-7, ODI 1475) Game 33: Headingly: ZIM -v- NZ It had to happen, the obligatory Rained Out Match. New Zealand had a slight, but not definitive lead, when play was suspended 15 overs into their innings. One point each. (8th, ODI 1476) Game 34: Old Trafford: IND -v- PAK A sporting occasion in cricket's biggest fixture. Prasad takes 5/27 as the Indians stay alive for now. On a good bowler's wicket, India have Dravid (61) and Azharrudin (59) doing well. Pakistan never quite get the run of the ball, and are all out with time to spare. IND 227/6, PAK 180 - Ind win by 47 runs with 27 balls in hand. (9th, ODI 1477) Game 35: Lords: AUS -v- NZ Mark Waugh makes 104, brother Steve 62 and Zimbabwe's Neil Johnson a sterling 132* as Australia prove just too strong for the opposition. Paul Reifell bowls the only strong over, taking two Zimbabwe wickets. Aus 303/4, Zim 259/6 - Aus win by 44 runs. The points, with SA-NZ to play: 5-ZIM, 4-SA-PAK-AUS 3-NZ 2-PAK (10th, ODI 1478) Game 36: Edgbaston: SA -v- NZ South Africa book their place in the final four with a comprehensive win. The Kiwis never really threatened as Kallis, Cronje and Klusener take two wickets each. Gibbs scored 91 for SA while Klusener finally gets an average (254) with his first dismissal of the tournament. (11th, ODI 1479) Game 37: The Oval: PAK -v- ZIM Pakistan book their place in the last four in ominously good form. Anwar dominates during a batting practice session, scoring 103, after being dropped by Ali Campbell on 20. Akhtar beats the best Zimbabwe resistance, including Jonson's 54, and Saqlain Mushtaq wraps the game up with a hat trick. Pak 271/9, Zim 123 - Pak win by 148 runs with 8.2 overs in hand. (12th, ODI 1480) Game 38: Trent Bridge: IND -v- NZ India set a challenging total, Jadeja scirubg 76, making 90 for the 4th wicket with Azharrudin. Cairns takes two wickets. NZ lose Horne (74) to a direct run out, but Twose (60*) and Parore (26*) steer them home. India 251/6, NZ 253/5 - NZ win by 5 wickets with 10 balls left; New Zealand will join South Africa and Pakistan in the semi-finals. (13th, ODI 1481) Game 39: Headlingly: AUS -v- SA Steve Waugh leads his side to a superb win as the Australians come from behind to take their place in the last four. Waugh goes 120* after South Africa hit a commanding total, led by Gibbs' 101. SA 271/7, Aus 272/5 - Aus win by 5 wickets with 2 balls left. They will meet SA in the semis; Pakistan against NZ in the other.

 

Tennis and Other Sports (1st) Andre Agassi is into the French Open semifinals, beating Marcelo Filippini Tuesday in a match so one-sided the fans jeered his opponent. Agassi defeated the Uruguayan 6-2, 6-2, 6-0. Agassi next faces Dominik Hrbaty, the Slovakian who upset Marcelo Rios and before that top-ranked Yevgeny Kafelnikov. Steffi Graf defeated Lindsay Davenport in three sets to advance to the French Open semifinals. There, she'll be joined by three familiar faces: top-ranked Martina Hingis, defending champion Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario and Monica Seles, her next opponent. (2nd) Gustavo Kuerten's clay-court game turned flat and an ailing Alex Corretja's game simply fell apart, to leave Andre Agassi the only seeded player remaining in the men's draw. Kuerten, the 1997 champion, is ousted 7-5 6-4 6-4 by Andrei Medvedev, the 100th-ranked player who knocked out Pete Sampras in the second round. Facing Medvedev in the semifinals will be Kuerten's fellow Brazilian, Fernando Meligeni, who routed a sluggish Corretja 6-2 6-2 6-0. (3rd) Steffi Graf outlasts Monica Seles to make it back to the French Open final for the first time in three years. She will face 18-year-old Martina Hingis, seeking the only Grand Slam title she has yet to win. Hingis beat another veteran, defending champion Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, 6-3 6-2. Graf, a five-time French Open champion, rallied after a strong first set by Seles to win 6-7 (2-7) 6-3 6-4. Seles won the tournament three years in a row, from 1990 to 1992, and was runner-up last year. (5th) It's Graf's title, overpowering Martina Hingis in three sets. Hingis finishes the match serving underarm. (6th) After losing the first two sets, Andre Agassi surges back against Andrei Medvedev to claim in five sets the only title to elude him. Once on the verge of defeat, Agassi regroups and wins 1-6 2-6 6-4 6-3 6-4. After the final point, he covered his face with his arms and broke into tears. The others to win all four majors in a career were Fred Perry, Don Budge, Roy Emerson and Rod Laver. Budge and Laver (twice) did it in the same year. Laver was on the court to present the trophy to Agassi.

 

Passages (12th) The Queen's Birthday Honours: Winners include Alex Ferguson, the manager of treble-winning Manchester United, who receives a knighthood. Trevor McDonald, the ITN broadcaster, is also knighted. Norma Major, charity worker and wife of former Prime Minister John, becomes a Dame, as does AS Byatt, the novelist. In broadcasting alley: Joan Bakewell (Heart of the Matter) gets a CBE, Helen Rollason (Newsround, BBC Sport) an MBE, Libby Purves (Midweek) and Jenni Murray (Woman's Hour) OBEs. Actors: Simon Callow (Amadeus) CBE, Julie Walters (Educating Rita) OBE, John Barry (James Bond theme) OBE. Also: Brian Jones OBE (round the world balloonist) DeForest Kelley, Dr Bones in the original Star Trek series, passes away at the age of 77.

Last fortnight

Next fortnight

jun 15 99