Grieving quake survivors scavenged for food in the debris of their houses on Sunday and pleaded for aid, as the world promised to help Indonesia recover from the latest in a string of deadly natural disasters. By nightfall, the death toll from the magnitude 6,3 quake had reached more than 4Â 300 people, officials said.
Fresh photographic evidence seen by United States investigators is believed to reveal that some of the 24 unarmed Iraqis killed in the Iraqi town of Haditha after an American died in a roadside bomb in November were in effect executed, it was reported on Saturday.
The 19 South African passport-holders arrested by the Democratic Republic of Congo authorities on allegations that they were hatching a coup have been deported from Kinshasa and were expected to arrive at the Johannesburg International Airport on Sunday evening.
New Zealand rugby officials have defended the decision to go ahead with the fog-bound Super 14 rugby final in Christchurch on Saturday, but said the match would have been postponed if it was any thicker. The match was reduced to a farce at times in the pea-souper that shrouded Jade Stadium, where the Canterbury Crusaders emerged from the fog as 19-12 victors over the Wellington Hurricanes.
England beat Sri Lanka by six wickets on Sunday after a career-best performance from paceman Liam Plunkett gave his team an easily attainable victory target on day four of the second Test at Edgbaston. England, led by Kevin Pietersen’s 142 off 157 balls, reached 295 in reply to Sri Lanka’s first-innings 141.
Defending world champion Fernando Alonso of Spain drove from pole position to a clear and consummate victory for Renault in Sunday’s controversy-hit Monaco Grand Prix. His first win in the Principality, in the wake of Saturday’s extraordinary penalty that sent disgraced rival Michael Schumacher from pole to the back of the grid.
President Thabo Mbeki should open the succession debate, the National Union of Mineworker’s (NUM) president Senzeni Zokwana said on Saturday. Speaking at NUM’s 12th congress at Midrand, he said this would dispel perceptions that some leaders, especially African National Congress deputy president Jacob Zuma, were being marginalised.
Michael Schumacher was dramatically stripped of pole position and placed last on the grid for Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix late on Saturday. The International Motorsport Federation, motor racing’s governing body, came down hard on the seven-time champion after finding him guilty of ”deliberately stopping his car in the middle of the track”.
A bid by India’s United Breweries to take over the French champagne group Taittinger has sparked concern among wine professionals in the company’s home region in Northern France. Welcomed by some as a chance to get a foothold in the Indian market, the -million bid is seen by others as a threat to the French system of locality-based appellations for wine.
The annual World Economic Forum (WEF) on Africa opening in Cape Town on Wednesday will take stock of Africa’s strongest growth in three decades and the impact of China and India on the continent. Sub-Saharan Africa is poised to post growth of 5,8%, its best performance in more than 30 years, according to the International Monetary Fund.