Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe returned to work on Monday after a visit to China yielded a few agreements but fell way short of an expected rescue package for his country, and remained defiant of Western criticism of his regime. The 81-year-old leader shrugged off global pressure over his government’s urban demolition blitz.
Several people were killed and many others were wounded on Monday in rioting that broke out in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, following the announcement of southern leader John Garang’s death in an air crash, a Khartoum-based diplomat said. Anti-Arab riots also erupted on Monday in Juba, the main city in southern Sudan.
A heatwave in the Balkans has led to at least 43 deaths over the weekend, as authorities across the region advised people to take precautions at home and outside, local reports said on Monday. In Romania, 40 deaths were reportedly linked with the heat.
Officials from six nations held a seventh day of talks on Monday, after China presented a second draft joint statement of principles on ending North Korea’s nuclear-weapons programme. United States negotiators held more bilateral talks with North Korea and plan to continue talks on Tuesday, a US official said.
Women from different Iraqi rights groups met on Monday to issue a list of demands they believe will guarantee women’s rights in the country’s new Constitution. The informal group issued a six-point statement demanding, among others, that Islamic law, or sharia, is not one of the sources of the Constitution.
South African church leaders expect to meet President Thabo Mbeki soon to discuss the United Nations report on Zimbabwe’s clean-up operations, believed to have affected about 700Â 000 people. Anglican Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane and other leaders on Monday blessed consignments of humanitarian aid destined for Zimbabwe.
A team of divers is searching at the bottom of the Baie des Ha! Ha! in north-eastern Canada for 800kg of cheddar sunk by an entrepreneur hoping to revolutionise cheesemaking. Dairy owner Luc Boivin was inspired by a fisherman’s tale to dunk 10 barrels of cheddar into the water to test the effects of cool temperatures and high pressure.
Nokia maintained its robust lead in the world cellphone market in the second quarter as sales of entry-level units boosted overall shipment numbers, a technology research house said on Monday. IDC said global shipments of cellphones totalled 188,7-million units in the three months to June, up 16,3% from a year ago and 7,3% from the previous quarter.
The police described in detail on Monday how they monitored a London bombing suspect’s cellphone calls before arresting him in Rome and said his extradition to Britain would not take long. Italian police also said the Briton falsified his name and nationality when applying for asylum in Britain years ago.
Opposition parties on Monday stepped up their attack on individuals allegedly involved in the Oilgate scandal. The Freedom Front Plus laid charges against Imvume Management, the company at the centre of the scandal, on Monday and the Democratic Alliance is to meet the National Prosecuting Authority about the matter.