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.
Palestinian militant sources claimed on Saturday night that they were close to reaching an agreement in negotiations over the release of an Israeli soldier. They want a guarantee that Israel will free prisoners at a future date in return for the release of Corporal Gilad Shalit.
By saying no to military tribunals at Guantánamo, the Supreme Court has clipped United States President George Bush’s wings after he sought to assert his authority in the name of security. The court’s ruling last Thursday ”marked the end of the national security ‘state of emergency’ that has prevailed for nearly five years”, commentator David Ignatius wrote in The Washington Post.
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Ten-man England were sent crashing out of the World Cup on Saturday, losing a penalty shoot-out to Portugal after a controversy packed quarterfinal battle. Manchester United striker Cristiano Ronaldo scored the decisive spot-kick to hand Portugal a 3-1 shoot-out victory and shatter England’s dream of a first World Cup for 40 years.
German prosecutors are investigating possible kickbacks in a sale of warships to South Africa by a German shipbuilding consortium, a prosecutor confirmed on Saturday. The German news magazine Der Spiegel was to appear on Monday with a report that the ”irregularities” were suspected of occurring in 1999.
Zimbabwean prison officials on Saturday released three South African spies who were jailed for life in 1988 for murder and sabotage, a state daily reported. ”Three South African spies, who were jailed for life in 1988 for murder and sabotage … will be released today [Saturday} from Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison following a Presidential pardon,” the Herald reported.
There are three perennial passions in Argentina: football, the tango and the country’s claim to Britain’s South Atlantic outpost, the Falkland Islands. Even the build-up to Argentina’s World Cup game against Germany on Friday failed to entirely deflect attention from what in the last few months has become the hot political issue.
It will be cheaper to make love in Britain from Saturday thanks to a reduction in sales tax on condoms announced by the Treasury on Friday. Value-added tax on condoms and other non-prescription contraceptive products will be 5%, rather than the standard 17,5%, "leading to immediate reductions in the prices paid by consumers", it said in a statement.
Roger Federer was left with a clear run to a fourth successive Wimbledon final on Friday when danger men David Nalbandian and James Blake both crashed out in the third round. Argentinian fourth seed Nalbandian, one of just four men to have beaten Federer since the start of 2005, was dismissed by Spanish 28th seed Fernando Verdasco 7-6 (11/9), 7-6 (11/9), 6-2.