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/ 16 May 2008

Bin Laden vows to fight Israel on 60th anniversary

Osama bin Laden vowed in an audio tape marking Israel’s 60th anniversary celebrations to continue the fight against the Jewish state and its allies and not give up an inch of Palestinian land. ”We will continue, God permitting, the fight against the Israelis and their allies,” the al-Qaeda leader said in the tape posted on an Islamist website on Friday.

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/ 19 April 2008

Taliban hold kidnapped Pakistan envoy

Pakistan’s envoy to Afghanistan, Tariq Azizuddin, who went missing in February, appeared on Saturday in a video aired by al-Arabiya news channel in which he said that he was held by the Taliban. ”We were on our way to Afghanistan in our official car on February 11 when we were kidnapped,” said Azizuddin.

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/ 21 March 2008

Bin Laden says Gaza must be freed with ‘iron and fire’

Osama bin Laden urged Palestinians on Thursday to use ”iron and fire” to end an Israeli blockade of Gaza, in a recording after the Vatican rejected accusations by the al-Qaeda chief of a ”new crusade”. In an audiotape broadcast by the Qatar-based al-Jazeera satellite channel on Thursday, bin Laden urged Muslims to keep up the struggle against US forces in Iraq

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/ 19 March 2008

ICC reinstates Hair and shortens 2011 World Cup

The International Cricket Council (ICC) restored controversial Australian Darrell Hair as a Test and one-day international umpire on Tuesday and decided to shorten the 2011 World Cup. Cricket’s governing body also said a ”full independent security assessment” would be made before violence-hit Pakistan staged the Champions Trophy in September.

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/ 17 March 2008

South African to be in ICC hot seat

The International Cricket Council (ICC) will be headed up by a South African within the next four months. Imtiaz Patel, CEO of SuperSport, has been offered the position of CEO at the ICC and now it’s just a matter of negotiating terms before he takes over the reigns from current CEO Malcolm Speed in early July.

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/ 11 March 2008

Sudan’s Bashir raises doubt over peace accord

Sudan President Omar al-Bashir on Tuesday raised doubts over a peace deal that Senegal said the leaders of Sudan and Chad are to initial in Dakar on the eve of an Islamic summit. Bashir referred to a Saudi-brokered deal signed in Riyadh in May 2007, when the two leaders made a pilgrimage to Mecca and prayed together inside the Kaaba, the holiest Muslim shrine.

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/ 5 March 2008

Completion of world’s tallest skyscraper delayed

The world’s tallest skyscraper under construction in the Gulf city-state of Dubai will take longer than planned to finish, its builders said on Wednesday, putting off the opening planned for the end of this year. The building’s final height is a closely guarded secret. Building representatives previously said it would stop somewhere above 693m.

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/ 3 February 2008

Els falls victim to Woods again

Tiger Woods watched his 25-foot putt race down the slope and bend toward the cup, then he skipped backward and punched the desert air in celebration when it disappeared into the cup for a final birdie. So ended his spectacular charge on Sunday to win the Dubai Desert Classic over Ernie Els, a familiar victim.

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/ 3 February 2008

Els takes lead over Woods in Dubai

Tiger Woods struggled with everything on the course on Saturday, missing putts, driving wayward balls into the desert terrain and yelling at a photographer for taking a shot while he was swinging. Ernie Els had a very different day, rising from fifth to first place at the Dubai Desert Classic.

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/ 30 January 2008

Al-Qaeda wing claims Algeria attack

Al-Qaeda’s North Africa wing said it was behind a blast at a police station in Algeria which authorities said killed two people. Al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb said a suicide bomber drove a truck packed explosives that detonated at the police station in a town east of Algiers on Tuesday.

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/ 30 December 2007

Bin Laden warns Iraqis not to fight al-Qaeda

Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden warned Sunni Muslims in Iraq not to take up arms against the terror network and promised the "liberation of Palestine" in a new online message. In the 56-minute tape released late on Saturday, the Western world’s most wanted man also accused the United States of seeking to control the region through the Iraqi government.

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/ 3 December 2007

SA gain on Australia in one-day rankings

South Africa are edging closer to Australia at the top of the International Cricket Council one-day international (ODI) rankings and now lie just four points behind the leaders following a 2-1 series victory over New Zealand. Graeme Smith’s team began the series on 123 rating points, five adrift of Australia.

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/ 21 November 2007

Steyn rockets up ICC player rankings

South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn has left his mark on the LG International Cricket Council (ICC) player rankings following his man-of-the-series performances against New Zealand. Steyn, who took 20 wickets in two matches against the Black Caps, has rocketed up to third in the latest listings for Test bowlers, a reflection of his recent potency.

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/ 19 November 2007

SA surge into third place in Test table

South Africa’s comprehensive clean sweep of its two-match series against New Zealand has lifted it to third position in the latest LG ICC Test championship table. Graeme Smith’s side, which won Tests in Johannesburg (358 runs) and Centurion (an innings and 59 runs) collected four rating points for its efforts.