Somali gunmen kidnapped two Libyan diplomats in Mogadishu’s busy Bakara market on Saturday, a driver for the two men said. ”Ten men with pistols in their hands surrounded us. They seized the two diplomats and left with the car,” the driver, who declined to give his name for fear of reprisal, said.
President Thabo Mbeki on Friday declined to disclose his views on the legitimacy of Kenya’s presidential elections, saying it was too early to make any pronouncements. ”Its better to see what the outcome of this process is first. We should not take any steps that will make the resolution of the problem difficult,” he said.
A new law meant to help crack down on young Canadian street racers in their souped up cars has nabbed an octogenarian in his Oldsmobile. The 85-year-old man is one of 2 300 drivers across Ontario to be charged under new legislation, designed to combat ”street racing, stunts and contests”, since it came into effect three months ago — and he’s the oldest.
Matthew Hayden scored his second century of the series on Saturday to equal Don Bradman’s career tally of 29 Test hundreds and provide Australia with a glimmer of hope of pressing ahead for victory over India in the second Test. The left-handed opener hit a stylish 123 to guide Australia to 282-4 at stumps in their second innings.
India spinner Harbhajan Singh faces a charge of racial abuse against Australian player Andrew Symonds under the International Cricket Council’s code of conduct, the ICC said on Saturday. The citing follows an alleged incident during Friday’s third day of the second Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Former Super 14-winning coach Heyneke Meyer is the favourite to succeed World Cup-winning boss Jake White as the new South Africa rugby coach next week. White stepped down as the Springbok coach at the end of last year after his four-year contract with the South African Rugby Union had run its course.
Former world number one Lindsay Davenport continued her impressive return to the WTA circuit on Saturday, outclassing France’s Aravane Rezai 6-2, 6-2 to win the Auckland Classic. The 31-year-old American comeback mum needed just 51 minutes to dispatch the 20-year-old Frenchwoman, offering fans a lesson in power and precision tennis.
Somali Prime Minister Nur Hasan Husein on Friday announced a new downsized Cabinet after weeks of consultations. ”I announce the fifteen ministers and five assistants of my Cabinet now and I wish to nominate the members that are left soon,” the premier said in the town of Baidoa.
International efforts to put an end to North Korea’s nuclear programme appeared to hit a snag on Saturday after Pyongyang defiantly insisted it had lived up to its end of a six-party disarmament deal. North Korea agreed last February to give up its nuclear-weapons programmes in return for one million tonnes of fuel oil or equivalent energy aid.
The whirlwind of violent destruction triggered by Benazir Bhutto’s death lashed Kashmore, a cotton-farming town at the junction of Pakistan’s three largest provinces, particularly hard. A frenzied mob tore through its narrow streets, plundering banks, torching the hospital and trashing its telephone exchange.