Egypt has banned all female circumcision after the death this week of a 12-year-old girl undergoing the widely practised procedure. Budour Ahmad Shaker died from an overdose of anaesthetic at a private clinic in Minya province in upper Egypt during the $9 operation.
Pakistani commandos blew holes in the walls of a mosque compound on Sunday in hope hundreds of women and children could escape, while security forces besieged a revolutionary cleric leading Islamist gunmen inside. Troops have surrounded the Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque, in Islamabad since Tuesday.
They rocked the world, but as the clean-up at nine climate change gigs around the globe begins, many wonder if the galaxy of pop stars did much to change it. United States and British media were generally underwhelmed on Sunday by Live Earth, the mega-concert organised by former US vice-president and green campaigner Al Gore.
The Free State Cheetahs moved clear at the top of the Absa Currie Cup standings when they outclassed Griquas 51-10 in Bloemfontein on Saturday. After holding a narrow 14-7 (two tries to one) lead at halftime, the Cheetahs simply moved up a gear after the break and scored another five tries for their third success full-house of log points.
Algeria’s state oil and gas company KBR, a former Halliburton subsidiary, signed a ,88-billion deal on Saturday for a liquefied natural gas plant. The Skikda plant, on Algeria’s eastern Mediterranean coast, will be the country’s largest liquefied natural gas facility, with a capacity of 4,5-million tonnes of LNG a year.
The 15-month-old daughter of South African Airways (SAA) chief executive officer Khanya Ngqula drowned in a Durban North swimming pool, the Sunday Times reported. It was not clear who was supposed to be looking after the child.
Thousands of music lovers roared on Saturday in northern Johannesburg as international music stars set fire to the African leg of the round-the-clock Live Earth music concerts to highlight global warming. The event, backed by former United States vice-president Al Gore, rocked nine major cities on all continents.
India batsmen Gautam Gambhir, Dinesh Karthik and skipper Rahul Dravid all made fifties against Sussex on the first day of the opening match of the England tour at Hove on Saturday. Gambhir led the way with 81, Karthik made 76 and Dravid was 57 not out as India ended the first day of four against the English county champions.
Wladimir Klitschko beat Lamon Brewster with a technical knockout after six rounds to successfully defend his IBF and IBO heavyweight titles on Saturday. The Ukrainian clearly dominated the first five rounds, making repeated contact with his strong left jab that largely went unanswered.
The death toll from Saturday’s truck bomb attack in a market in the northern Iraqi town of Tuz Khurmato may be as high as 150, local officials said on Sunday. Local police and the mayor, Mohammed Rasheed, said the confirmed death toll was 130, with 250 wounded. But police said 20 people were still missing and presumed dead.