A suicide truck bomb ripped through a line of vehicles waiting at a checkpoint on Friday in Fallujah and killed at least seven civilians, while authorities in the capital discovered the bodies of six more men who were blindfolded, handcuffed and shot in the back of the head, police said. A powerful bomb hit a United States tank in east Baghdad.
Sri Lanka spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan joined Shane Warne as the only cricketer to reach 600 Test wickets on Friday, ensuring their fierce rivalry continues. The landmark wicket sparked celebrations from the Sri Lankan players, who mobbed their star bowler, completing the feat 13 years after his Test debut.
South Africa’s third-largest gold miner, Harmony Gold, is expected to make an offer for Western Areas in the future to increase its stake in the company following its acquisition of a 29% stake, analysts and fund managers said on Friday. "I think that Harmony could make an offer to Western Areas’ minorities," an analyst said.
At least seven illegal gold panners have died in the past week just over Zimbabwe’s border with Mozambique after heavy rains brought chaos to the area, reports from eastern Zimbabwe said on Friday. There are fears the casualty figure could be much higher.
India leg-spinner Anil Kumble moved closer to the 500-wicket mark by clean bowling England batsman Paul Collingwood before poor visibility disrupted play on Friday in the second Test match. England were 200-5 in their first innings when umpires Darrell Hair and Simon Taufel decided to call off play.
Zimbabwe’s inflation rate hit an all-time high of 782% in February, according to government statistics released on Friday. ”The year-on-year rate of inflation in February 2006 was 782%, gaining 168,8 percentage points on the January rate of 613,2%,” Moffat Nyoni, acting director of the Central Statistical Office, said.
A seemingly drunken neurosurgeon was wrestled into custody by sheriff’s deputies while on his way to the operating room in a San Francisco-area hospital, officials said on Thursday. Frederico Castro-Moure (45) was also suspended from his post as head of neurosurgery at the Alameda County Medical Centre.
All Blacks flyhalf Daniel Carter scored a try and kicked 10 points on Friday to give the Canterbury Crusaders a 25-19 win over the Waikato Chiefs in a Super 14 rugby match. Carter scored within 15 seconds of the kick-off at Waikato Stadium, charging down a clearing kick from his opposite number, Stephen Donald.
Malawi’s private sector has drawn attention to the country’s poor business climate and called for government cooperation in creating an environment more conducive to business. The Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry has conducted a survey among 100 of its members.
China will increase its spending on science and technology by nearly 20% this year in a move to remain competitive internationally, the government said on Friday. The central government will allocate 71,6-billion yuan ($8,8-billion) from its budget for science and technology in 2006, up 19,2% over last year, said Zhang Shaochun, assistant minister of finance.