More than 1 000 United States troops, backed by helicopter gunships and jets, on Saturday launched a major offensive against Iraqi villages on the Syrian border, claimed to be in areas used by al-Qaeda. The latest attack was launched just two weeks before a referendum on a controversial new Constitution for Iraq.
North Korea has begun to reverse market reforms by kicking out international relief workers and choking off supplies of food and medical aid in a crackdown that puts millions of the country’s children and elderly at risk. From Saturday, stall-holders have been ordered to stop trading in cereals, including rice.
Two Cape Flats girls found murdered last week were laid to rest on Saturday, South African Broadcasting Corporation news reported. Cape Town mayor Nomaindia Mfeketo said at the funeral of three-year-old Joey Joseph that the community of Delft will stand together to fight incidents of this nature.
The Eastern Province Cricket Board has been hit by a fresh crisis, South African Broadcasting Corporation radio news reported on Saturday. Six clubs under the banner of the Black African Clubs Cricket Forum have announced their withdrawal from Eastern Province cricket activities with immediate effect.
Public hearings into whether the Scorpions should remain with the National Prosecuting Authority or become part of the South African Police Service will start on Monday as scheduled, the South African Broadcasting Corporation reported on Saturday.
Up to a third of new female HIV infections could be prevented if scientists could find an effective cure for a mysterious vaginal condition that affects many women in South Africa. Researchers from the University of Cape Town have found that bacterial vaginosis was ”significantly associated with an increased risk of HIV seroconversion”.
A strong earthquake measuring 5,4 on the Richter scale rocked eastern Taiwan late on Saturday as the island braced for the impact of powerful Typhoon Longwang. Packing sustained winds of up to 227kph, Longwang, Chinese for ”dragon king”, is expected to bring strong gusts and torrential rains to the entire island.
South African President Thabo Mbeki has conveyed condolences, shock and outrage to the government and people of Indonesia following a series of bombings in Bali on Saturday. Mbeki said the government and people of South Africa reiterate their conviction that no cause can ever justify acts of terrorism.
Western El Salvador’s Ilamatepec volcano shot burning rock, gases and ash high into the air on Saturday, sending frightened residents scurrying from surrounding areas. Authorities ordered the evacuation of three communities in the shadow of the volcano, located near Santa Ana, the country’s second-largest city.
Powerful bombs ripped through three crowded restaurants on the Indonesian resort island of Bali on Saturday, killing at least 25 people and wounding more than 100 — the second time terrorists have brought carnage to the tropical paradise in three years. Witnesses reported seeing dismembered bodies at the scene, many of them foreigners.