Suicide bombers struck in Baghdad and to the west and south of the capital on Saturday in a string of attacks on mostly Iraqi police targets that killed more than 30 people and wounded dozens, most of them policemen. In the worst attack, a man driving a truck packed with explosives blew up outside a police station in Baghdad’s volatile southern district of Dora, killing 20.
Iran on Saturday insisted that 15 British sailors it seized had illegally entered Iranian waters, denouncing what it called a ”blatant aggression”. The Britons were being taken to the capital for questioning, Iranian media reported. Iran’s tough comments came after Britain demanded the return of the sailors and denied they had strayed into Iranian waters.
Derick Hougaard kicked 17 points to lead South Africa’s Bulls to a 22-13 win over the Otago Highlanders in a Super 14 rugby match on Saturday. Hougaard provided the Bulls’ first 15 points from penalties then converted their only try, scored by fullback Jaco van der Westhuizen, to finish with six goals from seven attempts.
Zimbabwe’s Vice President Joyce Mujuru met South Africa’s Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka in Johannesburg on Friday, e.tv reported. The television station had footage of Mujuru at the plush Westcliff Hotel in Johannesburg. She declined to answer questions put to her by a reporter.
The Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) has expressed concern over the suspension of a professor at the University of Kwazulu-Natal after he criticised management. ”We are concerned at the erosion of free expression rights at tertiary academic institutions,” FXI director of operations Na’eem Jeenah said on Friday.
The Highveld Lions won the Standard Bank Pro20 competition in fine style on Friday night, beating the Cape Cobras by six wickets in the final at the Wanderers, thanks to a superb 73 by the Lions captain. Neil McKenzie won the toss and sent the visitors in to bat. The Cobras appeared to have lost some of their venom, and lost wickets at regular intervals.
Senator Barack Obama said on Friday that his campaign had nothing to do with a web ad portraying his chief rival for the Democratic president nomination as an Orwellian figure. Nevertheless, Obama declined to denounce the ad, which depicts Democratic Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton as Big Brother. He said the ad apparently ”captured the public’s imagination”.
All 11 crew members on a cargo plane that was shot down by a missile during take-off were killed, officials said on Saturday. The downing of the plane on Friday, after it had delivered equipment for Ugandan peacekeepers in Mogadishu, came at the end of a particularly violent week in the Somali capital.
Negotiations to end the ongoing Metrobus strike between the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) and the City of Johannesburg were on Friday postponed to Monday. Municipal spokesperson Gabu Tugwana said new negotiators were introduced on Friday in a bid to speedily reach an agreement with the union.
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Detectives investigating the murder of Pakistan’s cricket coach, Bob Woolmer, say they are actively pursuing the possibility that match-fixing of one or more of the World Cup games may have provided the motive for his killing. Earlier, it emerged that the entire Pakistan team was swabbed for DNA samples on Friday amid concern that the team was being singled out for police attention.