Forces loyal to Saddam Hussein appeared last night to have lost control of much of Basra, after columns of British troops poured into Iraq’s second city, destroying its Ba’ath party headquarters.
American troops were last night preparing to mount the first significant assault on Baghdad in a final operation to take the city sector by sector.
Tony Blair will today urge George Bush to internationalise the reconstruction of postwar Iraq, and is expecting a series of conferences to phase in a democratic Iraqi government.
All signs pointed to an epic confrontation about to unfold: the constant low bass of American artillery in the darkness, the muffled shouts of Iraqi soldiers on night watch.
It was another tough day in front of the cameras for Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf. But if the Iraqi minister of information was feeling the strain now that the war has reached Baghdad, he certainly wasn’t showing it.
American ground forces closed in on the centre of the Shia holy city of Kerbala yesterday, sending tanks through the streets and directing artillery fire on to sniper positions. Smoke canisters screened infantry advances.
US forces this morning mounted their most far-reaching move into Baghdad, going into the heart of the Iraqi capital.
The Nelson Mandela Foundation (NMF) and representatives from various political parties on Sunday paid tribute to veterans of the liberation struggle at a special luncheon hosted by the former president.
Only two boxers are left standing in the South African political ring following the recent floor crossing of MPs — the ”bloated African National Congress juggernaut” and an ”agile Democratic Alliance that continues to build its muscle”, says DA leader Tony Leon.
South African healthcare group Discovery Holdings (DSY) on Sunday announced two joint ventures that give its US subsidiary, Destiny Health, mainstream access to the world’s largest healthcare market.