Russian helicopters rescued 775 fishermen stranded on ice sheets drifting into the Pacific Ocean on Sunday. The men had walked a few kilometres across the ice pack surrounding the remote island of Sakhalin in Russia’s far-east to fish over the ocean, news agencies quoting local emergency services reported.
Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe has signed into law a Bill giving local owners the right to take majority control of foreign companies, including mines and banks, a government newspaper reported on Sunday. Analysts fear the move could sound the death knell for an economy that is struggling with the world’s highest inflation rate of more than 100Â 000%.
Suspected ”terrorists” killed in a raid in north-west China’s Muslim-dominated Xinjiang region earlier this year had been planning an attack on the Olympics, a top official said on Sunday. In separate comments, another high-level official from the same region said authorities had on Friday foiled a planned ”terrorist attack” on a passenger jet.
Pakistan’s two major opposition leaders signed a formal declaration Sunday on forming a coalition government, and urged President Pervez Musharraf to convene Parliament without delay. Asif Ali Zardari, widowed husband of ex-premier Benazir Bhutto, and Nawaz Sharif signed the agreement at a news conference after a fresh round of coalition talks.
The average cocaine user in Britain probably does not spend too much time thinking about where their drug of choice comes from. If they did, they might reflect on how it travels from South America to the bars, clubs and kitchen tables of the United Kingdom.
At least 56 Tamil Tiger rebels and four government troops have been killed in heavy fighting across Sri Lanka’s embattled north over the weekend, the Defence Ministry said on Sunday. Helicopter gunships were deployed against suspected Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam strongholds in the coastal district of Mannar on Saturday, the ministry said.
The office of National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) acting head Mokotedi Mpshe was quarantined on Thursday when it was discovered that a threatening letter addressed to him was laced with a poisonous substance, the Sunday Times reported. NPA spokesperson Tlali Tlali confirmed that at least one employee had a violent physical reaction to the letter.
Santos recorded their fifth consecutive Premier Soccer League win when they beat Golden Arrows 3-1 at the Athlone Stadium on Saturday night. An uneventful first half gave way to an action-packed second half that saw all four goal scored. In the first half very little scoring opportunities were created.
South African Kevin Anderson reached the final of the ATP hard-court tournament in Las Vegas on Saturday with a straight-sets victory over American Robby Ginepri. Anderson, ranked 175th in the world, defeated Ginepri 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 to advance and will next take on another American Sam Querrey.
Godfrey Khotso Mokoena, South Africa’s best long and triple jumper of all time, gave himself a fine 22nd birthday present in Valencia on Saturday when he won South Africa’s third-ever gold medal at the IAAF World Indoor Championships with a jump of 8,08m.