The South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu) has distanced itself from Monday night’s murder of six people at a train station in Benoni, saying ”no member of Satawu was involved”. ”There is no way any member of Satawu can be involved in any killing,” Satawu spokesperson Jackson Simon said on Wednesday.
Kenyan security forces on Wednesday fought Ethiopian gunmen along the increasingly restive border between the two countries where drought has fuelled inter-clan and tribal clashes and heightened tensions. At least one person, a Kenyan officer, was wounded in the gun battle that occurred when a joint team of Kenyan army, police and border patrol encountered an armed gang that had crossed the border from southern Ethiopia.
Iraq’s leadership, including the Sunni Arab camp involved in efforts to forge a unity government, on Wednesday jointly condemned the defiant battle cry from al-Qaeda frontman Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. "Al-Zarqawi has launched a genocide against the Iraqi people, branding the Shi’ites as rawafidh [rejectionists], the Kurds as traitors, and the Sunni Arabs as renegades," said President Jalal Talabani .
Pakistani police have registered a blasphemy case against Danish cartoonists and some European newspapers over cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad that sparked worldwide protests this year, they said on Wednesday. Internet search engines Google.com and Yahoo.com were also named in the complaint filed by Iqbal Haider, an activist of a small political party, police said.
Three South African Airways (SAA) planes were isolated and searched on Wednesday morning after warnings that there were bombs on each plane, the Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) said. ”Information was received from the police around 11.50am this morning [Wednesday] to the effect that there were bomb warnings on three SAA aircraft,” Acsa spokesperson Solomon Makgale said.
Andrew Symonds smashed an unbeaten century to help Australia score a 67-run victory over Bangladesh in the second one-day international on Wednesday. The Queenslander’s 103 not out helped the tourists set a tough 251-run target for Bangladesh on a pitch not conducive to stroke play. The home side were bowled out for 183 in reply.
Real Madrid star and France legend Zinedine Zidane on Wednesday explained his decision to retire after the World Cup finals in Germany and not play on with his club for another year. ”I didn’t make this decision overnight. It’s one I’ve mulled over for a long time,” Zidane told a news conference in Madrid, confirming what he had told French television on Tuesday.
Pakistan and India agreed to work towards finalising a draft agreement reducing the risk of an accidental nuclear conflict between them at the end of two days of talks on Wednesday. "The two sides held detailed discussions on the draft text of an agreement," said a joint statement.
The French press were dreaming on Wednesday of a glorious World Cup send-off for Zinedine Zidane the day after he announced his decision to retire following this summer’s tournament. Leading sports daily L’Equipe dedicated five pages to the legendary 33-year-old Real Madrid playmaker’s comments on Tuesday confirming his decision to hang up his boots.
The Zambian government is investigating allegations that a group of white farmers and safari operators plotted to undermine President Levy Mwanawasa in upcoming elections, a presidential spokesperson said on Wednesday. The white farmers and safari operators have been accused by the president’s office of working with an opposition party to cause artificial food shortages ahead of elections to be held some time later this year.