Cameroon, the Côte d’Ivoire and Morocco moved to within one point of qualification for the African Nations Cup finals on a weekend overshadowed by the death of 12 spectators in a stampede in Zambia. A government investigation has been ordered and the result of an official enquiry promised by Friday, officials said.
The JSE was a touch weaker at noon on Monday on jitters ahead of the interest rates decision later this week, but miners gained on the back of a weaker rand and higher commodity prices. At noon the all-share index was off 0,09%. Resources added 0,19%, the gold and platinum mining indices gained 0,76% and 0,23% respectively.
President Vladimir Putin said Russia would go back to its Cold War stance of aiming its missiles at Europe if Washington went ahead with a plan to build a missile defence shield near Russia’s borders. Putin said Moscow would not be responsible for the consequences because Washington had started the escalation.
Roger Federer moved closer to a French Open title on Sunday but then saw the figure of Guillermo Canas, against whom he’s lost twice this year, approaching in his rear-view mirror. Federer enjoyed a 7-6 (7/3), 6-4, 6-4 victory over Russia’s Mikhail Youzhny to reach the quarterfinals.
Maria Sharapova saved three match points in a battling performance on Sunday to defeat Switzerland’s Patty Schnyder 3-6, 6-4, 9-7 and reach the last eight of the French Open. It was a courageous effort from the 20-year-old Russian who is still feeling the effects of a shoulder injury.
Nicole Castrale chased down the world’s number one player for her first United States LPGA Tour victory, beating Lorena Ochoa with a par on the first hole of a play-off Sunday in the Ginn Tribute. Castrale closed with a one-under 71 to match Ochoa (74) at nine-under 279 on the River Towne Country Club course.
Authorities in the United States are hunting for a fourth man in the alleged plot to explode jet-fuel supply tanks under New York’s John F Kennedy international airport, raising fears of a new front for al-Qaeda and its affiliates in the Caribbean. The FBI had been tracking the JFK airport four since January 2006, officials said.
Valentino Rossi won the Italian Grand Prix for the sixth consecutive time on Sunday and moved within nine points of MotoGP series leader Casey Stoner. It was the second victory this season for Rossi, who also won the Spanish GP in March. Riding a Yamaha, Rossi timed 42 minutes, 42,385 seconds over 23 laps on the Mugello circuit.
Striking public-sector workers in South Africa warned on Monday that government threats to sack health workers would derail efforts to resolve an increasingly bitter pay dispute. Fikile Majola, secretary general of the National Education Health and Allied Workers’ Union said negotiations would resume on Monday.
A Somali Islamist group on Monday claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing that targeted the Horn of Africa country’s prime minister. Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi has accused al-Qaeda of being behind Sunday’s suicide bombing that killed seven people outside his home in Mogadishu.