An earthquake measuring 6,9 on the Richter scale rocked parts of Indonesia’s Sumatra island on Saturday, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. The quake prompted residents in Nias island, where about 900 people were killed in a powerful quake on March 28, to run out of their homes in panic.
The 62 alleged mercenaries, imprisoned for a year in Zimbabwe, were still in Chikurubi prison at 8am, their lawyer, Alwyn Griebenow, said on Saturday. The men should have been released on Tuesday when their sentences expired. Immigration officials have changed their minds several times about when the 62 will be released.
South Africa’s cricket captain Graeme Smith may be missing from action, but his side will be going all-out to complete an unprecedented clean sweep of a one-day international series against the West Indies in the Caribbean when the last two matches of their best-of-five series are played on Saturday and Sunday.
A top al-Qaeda suspect arrested in Pakistan could have vital information about possible terrorist attacks on Britain, intelligence sources believe. British security and intelligence officials are seeking information from Abu Faraj al-Libbi, believed to be number three in the al-Qaeda leadership, to find out what he knows about any operations planned against Britain or British interests abroad.
When it comes to movies at the Cannes film festival, away from the worthy official screenings things are horrifying. Quite literally. This year has seen a surge in titles promising brain-eating, blood-splattering and nightmare-inducing action in that section of the market where hundreds of movies are on sale.
Police opened fire on thousands of protesters in the central Asian state of Uzbekistan on Friday, after an armed mob stormed a jail to free 23 men accused of Islamist extremism. At least 12 people were killed and dozens injured in the fighting in the eastern town of Andijan. Fifteen police officers were held hostage by rioters.
Vandals scrawled a Nazi swastika on Germany’s new Holocaust memorial within hours of it opening to the public.The small symbol on one of the monument’s 2 711 grey slabs was spotted by security guards and removed, but the vandal was not found.
Pope Benedict on Friday revealed that he had set his predecessor, John Paul II, on the road to possible sainthood just 26 days after the late pontiff’s death. Friday’s announcement — in Latin — that the late pope was to be considered for beatification, the stepping stone to sainthood, broke all records.
Politician Patricia de Lille is not liable for the publication of the names of three women with HIV/Aids in her biography, the Johannesburg High Court found on Friday. Author Charlene Smith is also not to blame for the naming of the women against their wishes, Judge Ivor Schartzman found in a 58-page verdict.
The Supreme Court of Appeal on Friday dismissed an application by Winnie Madikizela-Mandela for leave to appeal against various fraud convictions by the Pretoria High Court. Madikizela-Mandela approached the Bloemfontein court in March this year with an application for leave to appeal.