Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s Cabinet on Sunday approved a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a cessation of hostilities with Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon, a political source said. However, both Israel and Hezbollah showed little inclination to stop fighting ahead of Monday’s proposed truce. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan had said the prime ministers of Israel and Lebanon agreed fighting would end on Monday.
The Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) has chosen a new top structure at its provincial congress in Limpopo, a spokesperson said. Mudini Maizha said on Sunday that Japie Ligege was chosen as the new chairperson for the party in the province. Morwamotshi Ntwampe is his deputy, while Elvis Molapo is the new secretary.
A 23-year-old lifesaver lost his foot when he was bitten by a shark in False Bay on Sunday morning, said the National Sea Rescue Institute. He was flown to hospital in a rescue helicopter. The incident took place about 11am off Sunrise Beach in Muizenberg. The man, whose name was not released, is a surf lifeguard from Lifesaving SA’s False Bay Lifesaving Club.
The South African Communist Party (SACP) on Sunday welcomed the Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs’ decision to do away with the ”willing buyer/willing seller” policy in land reform. ”In particular we welcome her commitment to set deadlines to negotiations over the price of land under claim,” said the SACP in a statement.
The Cuban newspaper Juventud Rebelde on Sunday released the first pictures of Cuban leader Fidel Castro taken after his gastrointestinal surgery, with Castro quoted as saying, ”I feel very happy.” The Cuban leader, who turned 80 on Sunday, appeared alert and in good spirits and displayed no discernible weight loss.
British authorities have thwarted ”at least four major plots” since the deadly July 7 bombings last year, home secretary John Reid told BBC television on Sunday. Reid said that all four plots would have led to significant loss of life, and added that ”up to two dozen” terror investigations were currently being pursued.
Battle for control of South Africa’s newest political party, the National Democratic Convention (Nadeco), is set to enter the public arena this week when its leader, Dr Ziba Jiyane, opposes a court action to set aside the appointment of the party’s federal executive. Last Thursday Vincent Ngema filed papers in the Pietermaritzburg High Court.
Bantering with a journalist from the lads’ mag FHM last year, Jenson Button was asked his opinion of women racing drivers. ”You wouldn’t want to be on the circuit with them, would you?” he said. ”A girl with big boobs would never be comfortable in the car. And the mechanics wouldn’t concentrate. Can you imagine strapping her in?”
World number one Roger Federer fended off a tenacious challenge from Fernando Gonzalez on Saturday, downing the 15th-seeded Chilean 6-1, 5-7, 6-3 to reach the Toronto Masters Series final. It wasn’t exactly the Federer Express, but the top-seeded Swiss finally chugged into his 17th straight ATP final — a streak dating back to his semifinal exit at Roland Garros in 2005.
A storm in the Bay of Bengal sank seven fishing boats and at least 60 Bangladeshi fishermen were missing, police said on Sunday. The storm on Saturday also triggered a metre-high water surge, washing away some houses and shops on the island of Saint Martin, about 500km south-east of the capital Dhaka.