Iran on Sunday rejected a deadline to respond to an international offer aimed at resolving a nuclear stand-off, saying it would answer during the next Iranian month which begins July 23. ”A deadline is not an issue. We think such statements are not constructive and they will not help resolve the problem,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hamid Reza Asefi told reporters.
Western Province carried on from where the Stormers left off by snatching defeat from the jaws of victory as they went down 28-25 to the Sharks in their Currie Cup match at Newlands on Saturday. The Sharks were heavily favoured going into the match and seemed well on their way as they took a 10-0 lead after 20 minutes.
Does dancing in a circle, decked out in ancient garb, in the dead of night, while banging a tambourine constitute a crime? This is the question many of the big-beards in the Greek Orthodox Church have been forced to ask as the realisation has dawned that Apollo-loving pagans are among us again.
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has held talks with United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan on the sidelines of an African Union summit in Gambia, and Annan will definitely not be going to Harare later this year, Zimbabwe state television reported late on Saturday.
The Blue Bulls showed glimpses of a championship outfit when they recorded a morale boosting 39-24 win over the Lions in their Currie Cup encounter played at Ellis Park on Saturday. It may not have been the prettiest game to the eye but pretty was not what Heyneke Meyer and his troops crossed the Jukskei River for.
France have put their slow start to the World Cup on the backburner and have fixed their sights firmly on a second final after outclassing defending champions Brazil. Powered by tireless captain Zinedine Zidane, France recorded a 1-0 win over a lacklustre Brazilian team thanks to a sumptuous 57th-minute Thierry Henry volley.
Any agreement reached at faltering World Trade Organisation Doha Round talks on liberalising global commerce had to meet developmental needs while not further burdening poor countries, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) said on Saturday. It has rejected the idea that developing countries accept deep cuts in tariffs in exchange for an end to unfair trade practices in the north.
Budget cuts on the upgrading and maintenance of railway signals is to blame for the train accident that claimed a life and left 42 people injured in Kempton Park on Friday night, the Democratic Alliance said. ”The government must take full responsibility for deaths and injuries,” DA transport spokesperson for Gauteng James Swart said on Saturday.
South Africa’s Rooivalk helicopter has made it to the shortlist in Turkey’s $2-billion ATAK programme for 91 helicopters, senior officials at Denel said on Saturday. According to information released in Ankara on Friday, Denel will be called for further negotiations with the Turkish military procurement authorities.
Israel struck at the heart of the Palestinian government on Sunday, hitting the Gaza office of the Hamas prime minister in a new wave of night-time air raids, ratcheting up the pressure to rescue an Israeli soldier captured by militants a week ago. Prime Minister Ismail Haniya, who was not in his office at the time, condemned the attack, which set his office ablaze.