The two main
rival
opposition parties in Zimbabwe have reunited in order to
ensure
that president Robert Mugabe does not steal the country's parliamentary and presidential election, which by all vote counts have gone against him and his Zanu-PF party. The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) received one more seat in parliament than the Zanu-PF in last month's election, but did not have enough for an absolute majority. Now that they have reunited with a MDC
faction
that won 10 seats, they have that majority, and a government recount of 18 seats over the weekend has confirmed these results. In the presidential election, the government has still not released the official results, although the election was held over four weeks ago.
A
Basque
fishing boat that was captured by pirates of the coast of Somalia last week was set free after a reported 1.2m €
ransom
was paid by the Spanish government. The government would not confirm if a ransom had been paid, but claim that they had made sure that "such incidents never happen again."
East Timor rebel leader Gastao Salsinha and 11 of his comrades have
surrendered
to the country's legal authorities after days of negotiations. In addition to the surrender, the government announced that the approximately 600 rebels, who are ex-soldiers, have given up their weapons, essentially ending a 2 year old rebellion. Government pressure on the rebels had increased in February after a rebel attack resulted in the death of former rebel leader Alfredo Reinado and serious injuries to President Jose Ramos-Horta.
American Actor Wesley Snipes was sentenced to three years in prison for failing to pay his taxes for three years. The star of the Blade trilogy was found innocent of
fraud
charges earlier in the year, but guilty of three
misdemeanor
charges. The long sentence results from the fact his failure to pay taxes was deliberate.
British singer Amy Winehouse was cautioned by police over the weekend for assaulting another person. She was released after reporting to the police station and although she will not face charges, the event will go in her
police record.
Winehouse is currently working on a song that could possibly be used as the theme for the next James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace.
The band Coldplay has announced that it will offer its first single from its latest album to fans for free. The song, titled Violet Hill, will be available for download from the band's website from April 29th till May 5th, preceding its normal digital release on May 6th. Coldplay's new album Vida la Vida has a June 12th UK release date.
Teen singer and star of Disney's Hannah Montana, Miley Cyrus has said that she is embarrassed about a photo shoot for the magazine Vanity Fair that shows her partially nude. Disney has complained the magazine
took advantage
of the 15 year old star, but Vanity Fair argues that Cyrus' parents with her at the shoot, which was performed by legendary photographer Annie Leibowitz. Although Cyrus says she was "excited" at the opportunity to work with such a famous photographer, she now has regrets after seeing the pictures.
