In July 2003 when United States President George W Bush was asked about the growing number of attacks by insurgents in Iraq, he said: ”Bring them on. We have the force necessary to deal with the situation.” That assertion was being questioned again this week after a fresh wave of suicide bombings that has killed nearly 400 people in the past fortnight.
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At least 73 Iraqis were killed and more than 120 wounded on Wednesday in a string of bomb attacks in northern Iraq and Baghdad, security officials said. The bloodshed came as a 1Â 000-strong United States force backed by aircraft battled insurgents in the west of the country.
A vaccine supplier is poised to release much-needed flu vaccines — delayed by formulation problems earlier in the year — and only needs the go-ahead from the Medicines Control Council. ”If we receive authorisation from the MCC, we can provide all the vaccines needed,” the MD of Sanofi Pasteur, Stephen Alix, said on Wednesday.
Ethiopian authorities said on Wednesday they take ”very seriously” European Union concerns about virulent language being used by rival parties in the campaign for the country’s weekend general elections. The National Election Board of Ethiopia said the concerns expressed by EU election observers in a letter last week will be addressed.
An Indian company has developed a mobile personal computer that weighs 500g, uses a flexible keyboard that can be rolled up and costs just 10 000 rupees (), reports said on Wednesday. The Mobilis has all the essential features of a PC such as word processing, e-mail, web browser, spreadsheets and personal information manager.
A United States envoy confirmed on Wednesday that North Korea has begun preparations for a nuclear test as the Stalinist state claimed it has taken a key step towards the manufacture of more atomic bombs. North Korea is believed to have as many as eight nuclear weapons, according to estimates, but has not tested one so far.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) is planning mass action against retailers after the Competition Commission found that there would be no competition concerns should retailers sign Cosatu’s proposed code of conduct, which sets a target of 75% local content for clothing products on retailers’ shelves.
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) journalists and technical workers have voted to strike in protest at thousands of job cuts, union officials said on Wednesday. The BBC now faces the threat of a walkout at TV and radio stations across the country later this month and the possible disruption of some programmes.
Defending champion and top-ranked Roger Federer cruised into the third round of the Hamburg Masters and avenged his Olympic defeat by beating Tomas Berdych 6-2, 6-1 on Wednesday. In his first tournament following a three-week break to rest inflammation in both feet, Federer will next meet Tommy Robredo.