The hard-line supreme leader of Somalia’s Islamic courts on Monday denied any affiliation with al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and said his group takes no orders from outsiders. Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys said Bin Laden’s weekend message to Somali Islamists "has nothing to do with us".
The JSE was slightly firmer just after midday on Monday, benefiting from higher commodity prices. Volumes were extremely light, however, ahead of Tuesday’s Independence Day holiday in the US. By 12.15pm, the all-share index inched up 0,15%. Resources rose 0,21%, the gold-mining index gained 0,72% and the platinum-mining index perked up 1,26%.
David Beckham said before the World Cup that he would probably cry if England were to win the tournament. They didn’t, but it all ended in tears anyway for the football and celebrity superstar who led his country for nearly six years. Beckham resigned as captain on Sunday following England’s ouster by Portugal in a penalty shoot-out in their quarterfinal showdown.
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, has been buried at a secret location in the country, thwarting calls for his body to be repatriated to Jordan. Iraq’s National Security Adviser, Mouwafak al-Rubaie, said on Sunday that al-Zarqawi’s body had been handed over by the United States military and buried in accordance with Muslim traditions.
A car bomb exploded in a market in the northern city of Mosul, Iraq, on Monday, killing at least seven people and wounding 28, officials said. The attack was aimed at a police patrol but missed its target and hit the market instead. At least seven civilians were killed and 28 were wounded, according to police.
Former president FW de Klerk was discharged from hospital on Monday morning following surgery to remove a malignant colon tumour and subsequent respiratory complications. With the aid of a cane, he walked out of the Panorama Medi-Clinic to a waiting car. De Klerk told journalists he was going to rest for a bit and then start working again.
Zimbabwe’s Parliament is to clamp down on Cabinet ministers not taking the legislature’s business seriously, Harare’s Herald newspaper reported on Monday. Its website said a parliamentary committee recommended on Sunday that the conduct of such ministers be brought to the attention of President Robert Mugabe.
South Africa is to take a further step away from Europe and towards its siblings in the East. Johannesburg and Pretoria will soon have ”tuk-tuks” — the three-wheeled motor vehicles that swarm through Asian cities such as Bangkok and Mumbai — buzzing along its streets.
![]()
Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo, criticised for his role in Wayne Rooney’s sending off at the World Cup, won’t be back at Manchester United and can expect payback from the star England striker in the future. Quoting an unnamed source, The Sun newspaper reported on Monday that Rooney threatened to ”split him in two” when the two next meet.
Michael Schumacher cruised to his third win of the season in the United States Grand Prix on Sunday as he led home a Ferrari one-two after an incident-filled race. Schumacher beat Felipe Massa by 7,9 seconds as he took a record fifth win at the Indianapolis circuit and cut Spaniard Fernando Alonso’s lead in the World Championship to 19 points.