A magnitude-7,4 earthquake struck in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of the Kermadec Islands, at 10.39am GMT on Tuesday, the United States Geological Survey reported on its website. The quake — which hit at a depth of 148km — was located about 290km south, south-west of Raoul Island, in the Kermadec Islands chain.
Japanese automobile giant Toyota Motor Corporation said on Tuesday it would recall more than 210 000 Land Cruiser Prado sports utility vehicles worldwide, owing to a problem with their rear-axle shafts. The parts, which could develop cracks because of insufficient tenacity, would be replaced with fortified shafts, the top Japanese motor company said in a statement.
An unexploded World War II bomb brought travel chaos to the River Mersey on Tuesday, leaving almost 250 ferry passengers and crew stranded as navy divers rushed to disarm it, the coastguard said. Traffic was moving through the tunnel, said Craig Sim, watch assistant at Liverpool Coastguard in north-west England.
Fenner South Africa, a manufacturer and distributor of fire-resistant conveyor belting to the local coal-mining industry in which it commands a 75% to 80% market share, has become the first of its sector to conclude a black economic empowerment (BEE) partnership, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.
Sudan on Tuesday promised to remedy the shortage in food aid caused by the halving of the cash-strapped World Food Programme’s rations for displaced people in the strife-torn region of Darfur. ”The government of Sudan pledges to give 20 000 metric-tonnes of food aid to make up for the cuts in food rations,” Vice-President Ali Osman Taha told reporters.
Proudly South African (PSA) — the campaign established in 2001 to encourage consumers to buy local products — is undergoing a renaissance under new CEO Manana Moroka, the organisation said on Tuesday. The <i>Mail & Guardian</i> reported earlier this month that PSA was floundering.
Arsene Wenger believes fate is propelling Arsenal towards victory over Barcelona in the most-eagerly anticipated Champions League final in years. He seen his young side defy the odds on their way to a Stade de France rendezvous with Barcelona, the one side in Europe who can reasonably claim to combine entertainment and efficiency as attractively as his own side.
Darfur’s two rebel factions came under fresh pressure on Tuesday to sign a fragile peace agreement as Khartoum. Only the largest faction of one of two main rebel groups signed the peace agreement with Khartoum at the African Union-sponsored talks in Abuja on May 5.
After years of secrecy, the Pentagon has disclosed the names, ages and home countries of everyone held at the isolated Guantánamo Bay Naval Base in south-eastern Cuba as a suspect in the United States-led war on terror. The US says it has held 759 males, ranging from teenagers to older than 70, from more than 40 countries, according to the list released late on Monday.
The trial of ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein over the killing of Shi’ites in the 1980s began hearing on Tuesday the testimony of defence witnesses, marking a new stage in the long-running process. Saddam himself was not in court for the hearing, the day after he defiantly refused to plead to detailed charges.