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The corruption charge against Jacob Zuma, the new head of the African National Congress (ANC), is on the agenda of the first meeting since his election of the party’s national executive council on Monday, the party secretary general said on Sunday. ”The corruption charge against Zuma is on the agenda,” Gwede Mantashe, said.
A suicide bomber killed nine people during celebrations to mark Army Day in the eastern Baghdad suburb of Karrada on Sunday, the latest in an upsurge of suicide bombings in Iraq. The blast took place outside the offices of an NGO called the Iraqi Unity Gathering, which had been hosting an event for army officers and tribal leaders from both of Iraq’s religious sects.
President Robert Mugabe’s government has awarded a hefty salary hike to Zimbabwe’s magistrates and prosecutors, who have been on strike since October, official media reported on Sunday. Zimbabwean workers have been hit hard by an economic crisis critics blame on Mugabe’s policies and has seen inflation jump to nearly 8 000%, the highest in the world.
South African HIV/Aids activist Zackie Achmat got married to his co-campaigner boyfriend at a ceremony attended by hundreds of guests, newspapers reported on Sunday. Achmat (45), founder and chairperson of the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), the country’s main Aids lobby, married Dalli Weyers on Saturday at a colourful occasion near Cape Town.
Australia beat India by 122 runs in an amazing finish to the second test on Sunday to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and equal their own world record of 16 successive victories. Part-time spinner Michael Clarke captured three wickets in five deliveries to wrap up an incredible victory with just seven balls remaining after India looked to have done enough to salvage a draw.
Chadian President Idriss Déby Itno on Saturday threatened to pursue and strike Chadian rebels inside neighbouring Sudan and repeated charges that Khartoum was trying to destabilise his country. Déby claimed his forces had already driven out the rebels from Chad and said: ”We’re going to destroy them in their nest inside Sudan.”
The United States Supreme Court will on Monday take up the thorny issue of lethal injections in a bid to determine if this method of executing death-row inmates conforms with the Constitution, which forbids cruel and unusual punishment. The review comes after death-penalty opponents have demonstrated that lethal injection can in fact be painful.
Lewis Hamilton insists last year’s spying scandal and the heavy hand of McLaren team politics have been consigned to history as he takes aim at the 2008 Formula One world title. The British driver enjoyed a storming start to his career in 2007 and was on course to clinch the title before he was pipped to the crown by just one point by Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen.
Victor Matfield became the latest big name to make his bow with ambitious French second-division side Toulon on Saturday. The giant lock forward, who hadn’t played since helping the Springboks to a second World Cup title on October 20, won generous applause after coming on as a second-half replacement as Toulon went on to beat La Rochelle 36-0.
New Zealand’s inspired bowlers wrecked Bangladesh’s hopes of survival in the first cricket Test on Sunday, setting up a comfortable nine-wicket win with two days to spare. Bangladesh started the day at a confident 148 without loss in their second innings, but within two sessions the game was over.