Hard-line Islamic insurgent groups in Iraq are targeting a new type of victim with the full protection of Iraqi law, a media report has revealed. The country is seeing an escalation of brutal attacks on what are being called the ”immorals” — homosexual men and children as young as 11 who have been forced into same-sex prostitution.
The joint operations centre (JOC) set up to respond to the Port Elizabeth area floods finally closed on Saturday, said disaster-management officials. ”We’ve closed our JOC now … We believe there’s no further risk to life,” said Nelson Mandela Metro disaster-management chief Shane Brown.
The wreck of the Safmarine Agulhas is breaking up and containers still on board may break free, the East London harbour authorities warned on Saturday. ”She’s almost in two, but she hasn’t broken in two. She’s about to go. It won’t be much longer,” said the National Port Authority in East London.
A man was burnt to death when his nephew crashed their car on Saturday night in what an eyewitness described as ”a race with a tow-truck”. ER24 spokesperson Neil Noble said the Ford Sierra hit a traffic sign on the M41, crossed the median and collided with oncoming traffic. The car caught alight on impact.
Water has been successfully pumped out of the bulk carrier that started taking on water in heavy seas off KwaZulu-Natal and the vessel is no longer listing, officials said late on Saturday night. A spokesperson for the Maritime Rescue Coordinating Centre in Cape Town said the ship was due in Durban at about 11am on Sunday.
A ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah forces in Lebanon moved decisively closer on Saturday night after the United States, Britain and France agreed an outline deal to resolve what British Prime Minister Tony Blair described as a ”tragic crisis”.
At this time of the year, holidaymakers in Europe rush to the beaches to top up their tans, but in Chinese cities women avoid the sun like the plague. Umbrellas deployed, arms fully covered, hats jammed on their heads, women on Shanghai’s occasionally sunny streets are now employing every trick in the book to cut out the UV rays.
Dubbed ”Little Chelsea” for seemingly trying to emulate, on a modest scale, English champions Chelsea’s pursuit of talent via a sizeable chequebook, Mamelodi Sundowns on Saturday cruised to a third successive Telkom Charity Cup title while beating Bloemfontein Celtic 2-0 in a one-sided final at FNB Stadium.
A man was killed on Saturday morning when he became trapped in a burning furniture-upholstery factory in Durban. Ashwin Mohanlall (38) apparently tried to flee from the blaze, which took firefighters more than five hours to bring under control. Stairwells were being used as storage spaces, making access for firefighters difficult.
Disaster relief in the Eastern Cape was well under way by Saturday morning, after the province was hit this week by flooding, disaster management said. ”We relocated 7 000 people yesterday [Friday] to about 25 community halls in Port Elizabeth and East London,” said a spokesperson for the Nelson Mandela Bay municipal council.