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☆ A decade after Mandela's death, his pro-Palestinian legacy lives on
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Former South African president Nelson Mandela (R) and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat (L) address the media after holding talks on the crisis in the Middle East May 3, 2001. It was a gesture as controversial then as South Africa's support for the Palestinian cause is today, but Mandela brushed off criticism. Last month, the ruling ANC backed a motion in South Africa's parliament to suspend diplomatic ties with Israel until it agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza. Israel has disputed the comparison with apartheid as a lie motivated by antisemitism, but many South Africans follow Mandela's lead. Some in South Africa's Jewish community criticise the ANC's stance, pointing out that Mandela himself eventually tried to build bridges with Israel.

Persons: Nelson Mandela, Yasser Arafat, Mandela, Arafat, S.Africa, Carien du Plessis, Mandla Mandela, Obed Bapela, Lebogang Mashile, David Saks, Ehud Barak, Ezer Weisman, Saks, Shafiek, Tim Cocks, Alex Richardson Organizations: South, Arafat ANC, ANC, Palestine Liberation Organisation, Hamas, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Israel, Gaza, Shafiek, JOHANNESBURG, Palestine, Johannesburg, South Africa's, South Africa, South

☆ Environmental groups urge funding halt for TotalEnergies' Mozambique project
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Wendell Roelf | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

TotalEnergies signs are seen at a petrol station in Nice, France, October 10, 2022. The letter, seen by Reuters, comes at a crucial juncture for the French energy company as it prepares to relaunch Africa's largest foreign direct investment project. Activists warn the project may worsen climate change and fuel human rights abuses in the impoverished southern African nation. TotalEnergies said before Friday's letter that arrangements for project finance remain in place despite a 'force majeure' halt in 2021 when Islamist militants threatened the project site. The project delay has led some investors to reassess their previous cost assumptions in light of inflation and global gas market swings.

Persons: Eric Gaillard, Banks, TotalEnergies, Ntshengedzeni Maphula, Reta Jo Lewis, Wendell Roelf, Toby Sterling, Nellie Peyton, Forrest Crellin, Mathieu Rosemain, Yuka Obayashi, Tim Cocks, Olivia Kumwenda, Elaine Hardcastle Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, ActionAid International, Greenpeace, African Development Bank, Societe Generale, Africa's Export Credit Insurance Corporation, Thomson Locations: Nice, France, Mozambique, Greenpeace France, Netherlands, U.S, Exim, Cape Town, Amsterdam, Johannesburg, Paris, Tokyo

☆ How the Nigerian military fatally shot a young captive
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +19 min

The Nigerian government and military – including the presidency, Ministry of Defence, defence headquarters and army leaders – did not respond to detailed questions for this story. Various entities have accused Nigerian security forces of other abuses in connection with killings of civilians and captives. Two security force members told Reuters they saw multiple prisoners brought out of the barracks and shot after the fighting ceased. Tweets from Nigerian defence headquarters in Abuja show the military declared the hostilities over shortly after 11 a.m. Nine shots fired A uniformed security force member shot nine rounds at the young captive, pulling the trigger at least seven times, according to forensic audio experts who listened to the recording at Reuters’ request.

Persons: Melanie O’Brien, –, Ocampo, Christopher Musa, Musa, ” Musa, “, extrajudicially, Michael Oluoha Agi, ’ ”, ”, Boko, ‘ Allahu akbar ’, Yahaya, Haram, Biu, Bellingcat, Belllingcat, Chris Olukolade, Emmanuel Emeka, Emeka, Reade Levinson, David Lewis, Tim Cocks, Carlos Gonzales, Paul Carsten, Daphne Psaledakis, Stephanie van den Berg, Youri van, Adolfo Arranz, Sam Hart, Feilding, Julie Marquis, Alexandra Zavis Organizations: Reuters, International Association of, Nigerian, Ministry of Defence, ICC, Islamic, Human Rights Commission, United Nations, Twitter, Nigerian Army, Nigerian Air Force, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, U.S . State Department, U.S, Boko, Civilian, Task Force, Defence, Facebook, 231, Battalion, 331 Artillery Regiment Locations: Geneva, Nigeria, Haram, Islamic State West Africa Province, Nigerian, United States, Britain, U.S, Biu, Boko Haram, Abuja, Largema

☆ Mourners gather in South African for funeral of controversial Zulu prince Buthelezi
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

South Africa's leader of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) Mangosuthu Buthelezi speaks to supporters ahead of the national elections, in Richards Bay, north of Durban, in South Africa, April 19, 2009. REUTERS/Rogan Ward/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsULUNDI, South Africa, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Thousands of mourners gathered in eastern South Africa on Saturday for the state funeral of Mangosuthu Buthelezi. The veteran South African politician, Zulu prince and controversial figure during the apartheid liberation struggle, died last week aged 95. South African media reported that two giraffes and six impalas had been slaughtered and skinned as part of the ritual preparations. Like the ANC, he was critical of white minority rule, which had relegated Zulus and other Black South Africans to downsized 'homelands'.

Persons: Mangosuthu Buthelezi, Rogan Ward, Mangosuthu, Buthelezi, Nelson Mandela, Siyabonga Sishi, Tim Cocks, Mike Harrison Organizations: Freedom Party, IFP, REUTERS, South, Home Affairs, African National Congress, ANC, Thomson Locations: Richards Bay, Durban, South Africa, Ulundi, KwaZulu, Natal, Xhosa, South Africa's

A few years ago, the charity ran out of money and quietly stopped operating, so the building began filling up with drug users and desperately poor migrants, residents said. Spokespeople for the City of Johannesburg and police did not respond to requests for comment about the residents' accounts. But Johannesburg city manager Floyd Brink said there was a plan to get hijacked buildings back under control. But human rights groups took them to court, said Annie Michaels, an activist from the Johannesburg Migrants Advisory Panel, which has been supporting migrants in the building. Shocked at the state of the building, Jack urged her brother Dube to move, but he never did.

Persons: Sihle Dube, didn't, Dube, Bertha Gxowa, Angela Rivers, Kabelo Gwamanda, Floyd Brink, Cyril Ramaphosa, Ramaphosa, contemptuously, Thando, Ethel Jack, Jack, I've, Chinte Mustafa, Annie Michaels, Michaels, he'd, Tim Cocks, Alexandra Zavis, Ros Russell Organizations: Association, City, Bertha, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Johannesburg Fire, JOHANNESBURG, Johannesburg, Germiston, Johannesburg's, South, South Africa, Africa, Utrecht, Malawi

☆ Johannesburg fire: what are 'hijacked buildings' and why are they dangerous?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A firefighter works at the scene of a deadly fire which occurred in the early hours of the morning in Johannesburg, South Africa, August 31, 2023. REUTERS/Shiraaz Mohamed Acquire Licensing RightsJOHANNESBURG, Aug 31 (Reuters) - More than 70 people were killed overnight when fire raged through a five-storey Johannesburg apartment block that may have been rented out illegally, known as a "hijacked building":WHAT ARE HIJACKED BUILDINGS AND WHEN DID THE ISSUE BEGIN? In some instances, the syndicates occupied buildings with fraudulent title deeds, said Angela Rivers, general manager at Johannesburg Property Owners and Managers Association. Rivers said she was aware of 57 known hijacked buildings in the Central Business District alone, mostly owned by the city or the provincial government. Lebogang Isaac Maile, the head of the Human Settlements department for Gauteng province, said 23 hijacked buildings had been identified in Johannesburg as in need of development.

Persons: Shiraaz Mohamed, Angela Rivers, Rivers, Kabelo Gwamanda, Edward Molopi, Lebogang Isaac Maile, Bhargav Acharya, Catherine Schenck, Tim Cocks, Nick Macfie Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Association, Central Business District, Economic Rights Institute, Thomson Locations: Johannesburg, South Africa, Rights JOHANNESBURG, South Africa's, Gauteng

☆ Zambia seeks to deny bail to five Egyptians, 6 nationals charged with spying
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LUSAKA, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Zambia sought to deny bail to five Egyptians and six Zambians charged with espionage for entering a restricted zone of Lusaka airport, two weeks after Zambian authorities said their plane had been seized along with guns, bullets, cash and fake gold. "The state must give reasons as to why accused persons whose liberties to freedom are being taken away must be denied bail," defence lawyer Martha Mushipe told the court. That fuelled speculation in Zambian media that some of the suspects might have sought to swindle gold buyers in a fake bullion scam. Two Egyptian security sources said the plane seized in Zambia had been inspected by authorities before leaving Cairo, but that bags with one of the arrested Egyptians were not searched, and this was currently under investigation. Reporting by Chris Mfula; additional reporting by Cairo Newsroom; writing by Tim Cocks; editing by Mark HeinrichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Davies Chibwili, Martha Mushipe, Zambian Mines Minister Paul Kabuswe, Chris Mfula, Tim Cocks, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Drug Enforcement Agency, Zambian Mines Minister, Cairo Newsroom, Thomson Locations: LUSAKA, Zambia, Lusaka, Lusaka's, Cairo, Egyptian

☆ Factbox: BRICS summit 2023: What's likely to be discussed?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Putin will participate in the summit virtually and will be represented in Johannesburg by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. BRICS EXPANSIONThe leaders are divided over the expansion of the bloc by adding new members, including the admission criteria. BRICS BANKThe group is also expected to discuss how to boost local currency fundraising and lending within the New Development Bank (NDB), or so-called BRICS bank. While the NDB, which was established in 2015, is still looking at the potential use of alternative currencies, there will be no talk about a common BRICS currency during the summit, South Africa's senior BRICS diplomat said. 'FRIENDS OF BRICS'The last day of the summit is expected to focus on talks with leaders from other countries.

Persons: Aly, Cyril Ramaphosa, Xi Jinping, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Narendra Modi, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Sergei Lavrov, Enoch Godongwana, BRICS, Naledi Pandor, Emmanuel Macron, Macron, Pandor, Anait Miridzhanian, Olivia Kumwenda, Tim Cocks, Nick Macfie Organizations: New Development Bank, REUTERS, Rights, Indian, International, Africa's Finance, Federal Reserve, United Arab, South African Foreign, Ukraine, Continental Free Trade Area, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, Rights JOHANNESBURG, Brazil, Russia, India, South Africa, Johannesburg, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Indonesia, Egypt, Ethiopia, BRICS, United States, South, Bangladesh, Uruguay, Algeria, Honduras, Zimbabwe, Africa, Latin America, Asia, Caribbean, France, Russian

☆ South Africa's Women's World Cup success highlights unequal pay issues
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Thando Hlophe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

South Africa's women's team, known as "Banyana Banyana", reached the last 16 at the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand earlier this month -- the first time either the men's or women's team had achieved the feat. In a 2022 investigation into the bonus structure for Banyana Banyana, South Africa's Commision for Gender Equity found that "players are not remunerated on the same scale (as) ... their male counterparts". For instance, South Africa's women's players received only a 55,000 rand ($2,885) bonus for reaching the final of the Women's Africa Cup of Nations, which they went on to win. "We're coming from very disadvantaged homes, we become breadwinners," Portia Modise, former Banyana Banyana captain, told Reuters after playing a friendly in the township of Soweto. That figure compared with $440 million for the men's tournament in Qatar.

Persons: Dhlamini, Carl Recine, SAFA, Portia Modise, Linda Zwane, Thando, Tannur Anders, Tim Cocks, Toby Davis Organizations: Soccer Football, FIFA, Sydney Football Stadium, REUTERS, Rights, Africa's, South African Football Association, Gender Equity, Africa, of Nations, Reuters, Thomson Locations: New Zealand, Netherlands, South Africa, Sydney, Australia, Rights JOHANNESBURG, Qatar, Soweto

☆ BRICS nations to meet in South Africa seeking to blunt Western dominance
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Tim Cocks | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

An attendant is stands next to South African, Indian, Russian, Brazilian and Chinese flags during a plenary session of BRICS Summit, in Xiamen, China September 4, 2017. South Africa will host Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the BRICS summit from August 22 to 24. Russia needs friends to counter its diplomatic isolation over Ukraine, and so is keen to bring in new members, as is its most important African ally, South Africa. BRICS nations are keen to project themselves as alternative development partners to the West. Officials in Brazil, China and South Africa said climate change may come up but indicated it wouldn't be a priority.

Persons: Tyrone Siu, S.Africa, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Narendra Modi, Naledi Pandor, BRICS, Breton Woods, disbursing, Laurie Chen, Lisandra, David Stanway, Carien Du Plessis, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: BRICS, REUTERS, Tyrone, Global, Indian, New Development Bank, World Bank, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: Xiamen, China, India, Brazil, JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, Ukraine, . South Africa, United States, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Egypt, AFRICA, BRICS, Russia, Africa, Beijing, Brasilia, Singapore, Johannesburg

☆ Brazil now main holdout against BRICS expansion, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Lisandra Paraguassu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

An attendant is stands next to South African, Indian, Russian, Brazilian and Chinese flags during a plenary session of BRICS Summit, in Xiamen, China September 4, 2017. "An expansion could transform the bloc into something else," said a Brazilian official, who asked not to be named. Russia said expansion would be high on the agenda of the upcoming BRICS summit. A government official told Reuters: "India has reservations about the expansion ... South Africa, the first beneficiary of a BRICS expansion in 2010, now supports inclusion of new members, though South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has said the expansion formula requires "closer scrutiny and understanding."

Persons: Tyrone Siu, Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Peskov, Cyril Ramaphosa, Oliver Stuenkel, Stuenkel, Lisandra, Laurie Chen, Krishn Kaushik, Carien du Plessis, Tim Cocks, Wendel Roelf, Anthony Boadle, Brad Haynes, David Gregorio Our Organizations: BRICS, REUTERS, Tyrone, Reuters, Brazilian, Diplomats, Getulio Vargas Foundation, Thomson Locations: Xiamen, China, Tyrone Siu BRASILIA, Brazil, Russia, India, South Africa, United States, Ukraine, Brasilia, Algeria, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Beijing, BRICS, Africa, São Paulo, Indonesia, Iran, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, New Delhi

JOHANNESBURG, July 20 (Reuters) - A BRICS currency will not be on the agenda of the bloc's summit in South Africa next month, but Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa will continue to switch away from the U.S. dollar, South Africa's senior BRICS diplomat said on Thursday. "There's never been talk of a BRICS currency, it's not on the agenda," Anil Sooklal, South Africa's Ambassador at Large: Asia and BRICS, told a media briefing. "What we have said and we continue to deepen is trading in local currencies and settlement in local currencies." This has pushed countries to find alternatives to the dollar, especially among non-U.S. allies. "BRICS started a process that has been expedited as a result of the conflict, as a result of unilateral sanctions," Sooklal said.

Persons: There's, it's, Anil Sooklal, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Sergei Lavrov, BRICS, Sooklal, Rachel Savage, Carien du Plessis, Tim Cocks, Angus MacSwan Organizations: U.S ., South, Thomson Locations: JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, Brazil, Russia, India, China, South, Asia, Russian, Ukraine, U.S

☆ South Africa to host BRICS summit despite Putin arrest warrant
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Carien Du Plessis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

South Africa has a duty as a signatory to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to arrest Putin if he attends the talks between the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India and China, due to an arrest warrant over the deportation of children from Ukraine. "South Africa will host the 15th BRICS Summit at the Sandton Convention Centre in Sandton, Johannesburg, from 22 to 24 August 2023," the Department of International Relations said in a statement. Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya confirmed to Reuters in a text message that this meant the whole summit, including the main part involving the BRICS heads of state, would take place in South Africa. He and a spokesperson for the international relations department declined to comment on whether or not Putin will attend. On Tuesday, South Africa's Minister of International Relations Naledi Pandor said Putin had not yet replied to an invitation, sent before the ICC charged him on March 18.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, Cyril Ramaphosa, Vincent Magwenya, International Relations Naledi Pandor, Xi Jinping, Narendra Modi, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Pandor, Sergey Lavrov, Tim Cocks, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: International Criminal Court, ICC, African National Congress, ANC, Department of International Relations, Reuters, South Africa's, International Relations, India's, Thomson Locations: JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, China, Brazil, Russia, India, Ukraine, Africa, Sandton, Johannesburg

☆ In Zimbabwe, female rugby team seeks to keep girls off the streets
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Nyasha Chingono | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Shingi Chigegede, a member of the Zimbiru Rugby Academy Club, an all-female rugby team, makes a try during a legue match against Old Georgians sports club in the capital Harare, in Zimbabwe, April 29, 2023. REUTERS/Philimon BulawayoDOMBOSHAVA, Zimbabwe, May 30 (Reuters) - Bridget Magasu is the first to arrive for the training session, clutching a rugby ball while she waits for other members of her all-female rugby team to arrive. Domboshava, a hub for transporting farm produce, has become a hotspot for sex work. "We wanted the girls to stay away from the streets," team coach Takudzwa Ngirazi, 25, a former club rugby player said. Jobs are scarce, pushing teenage girls into sex work - sometimes for as little as U.S. $2.

JOHANNESBURG, May 15 (Reuters) - South Africa's climate policy body on Monday suggested the government could delay retiring its ageing coal-fired power plants to address electricity shortages and said a power crisis had put the country on track to meet its climate goals anyway. The ruling African National Congress has recommended that state power utility Eskom delay the decommissioning of its ageing coal-fired power stations to help minimise rolling electricity outages. "The least-cost approach is to pull the coal plants off when they reach the end of their economic life," said Crispian Olver, executive director of the Presidential Climate Commission (PCC). South Africa relies on coal for electricity. South Africa's national target for emissions reductions is 398-510 MtCO2e by 2025, and 350-420 MtCO2e by 2030.

☆ South Africa to try to withdraw from ICC again - Ramaphosa
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Carien Du Plessis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] South African President Cyril Ramaphosa responds to a parliamentary debate on his state of the nation address in Cape Town, South Africa, February 16, 2023. Only two days earlier, South Africa's parliament announced that it would abandon a seven-year-long legislative process to pull South Africa out of the ICC's Rome Statute. The process was abandoned because the governing party in December decided that South Africa should rather remain in the ICC and try to effect changes from within, a decision that has now been reversed. The international arrest warrant against Putin was issued after he had already received his invite from South Africa to the BRICS summit in August, and it would oblige South Africa to hand him over to the International Criminal Court in The Hague if he set foot in the country. "He has been invited by President Ramaphosa and Russia has indicated attendance," South Africa's official in charge of the relationship with BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) countries, Anil Sooklal, told Reuters.

☆ Explainer: Why Lesotho parliament is debating reclaiming land from South Africa
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Carien Du Plessis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Even if the motion passes, its economically and militarily more powerful neighbour South Africa - which completely envelops Lesotho - is unlikely to cede the land. In fact, there are around twice as many Basotho in South Africa as in Lesotho. Historically, the seizure of Basotho land by Dutch settlers -- whose descendents, Afrikaners, now own most of the land in Free State -- is well-attested. Lesotho became a British protectorate in 1868, after the then king Moshoeshoe I appealed to British imperial authorities to prevent any more land being seized. Eswatini's King Mswati III has in the past similarly claimed that big parcels of neighbouring South African land were historically part of his kingdom and should be returned, but has never realised them.

☆ South African authorities arrest 87 ahead of anti-government protest
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JOHANNESBURG, March 20 (Reuters) - South African security forces said on Monday that 87 people had been arrested in the last 12 hours across the country over public violence ahead of planned protests by the Marxist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party. The EFF has called for a national shutdown to protest crippling power cuts and demand the resignation of President Cyril Ramaphosa. The party's main constituency are the poor and working class Black South Africans who feel left out of the country's prosperity since the governing African National Congress (ANC) ended white minority rule in 1994. Parliament said in a statement on Sunday that the South African military would deploy 3,474 troops for a month until April 17 to prevent and combat crime in cooperation with the police. "Law enforcement officers are on high alert and will continue to prevent and combat any acts of criminality," NatJOINTS said.

[1/5] Locals in the Chiradzulu district look at the damage on a road after mudslides and rockfalls in the area caused by the aftermath of Cyclone Freddy in Blantyre, Malawi, March 15, 2023. Most people heeded the warnings, knowing from bitter experience the damage such storms could inflict: 600 people had died in Cyclone Idai in 2019. The storm was far more deadly in neighbouring Malawi, where at least 447 were killed as Freddy tore through the country's southern tip and inundated the main commercial hub of Blantyre. Mozambique and Malawi are among the poorest 8% of countries in the world, according to United Nations data. In the case of Freddy, this extra energy allowed the storm to pick up strength again and circle back to strike again.

☆ South Africa's EFF marches to demand president's resignation
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Members of the political party, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), gather at Church Square after calling for a "National Shutdown" and demanding resignation of President Cyril Ramaphosa in Pretoria, South Africa March 20, 2023. REUTERS/Alet PretoriusJOHANNESBURG, March 20 (Reuters) - Thousands marched through the streets of South Africa's cities on Monday to demand that President Cyril Ramaphosa resign, as security forces guarded malls and roads to prevent violence and looting. The Marxist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party, whose supporters are mainly poor and working class Black South Africans who feel marginalised since the governing African National Congress (ANC) ended white minority rule in 1994, had called for a national shutdown. South African security forces said on Monday that 87 people had been arrested in the last 12 hours over public violence ahead of planned protests. Parliament said in a statement on Sunday that the South African military would deploy 3,474 troops for a month until April 17 to prevent and combat crime in cooperation with the police.

[1/3] Branches of trees sway as cyclone Freddy hits, in Quelimane, Zambezia, Mozambique, March 12, 2023, in this screen grab taken from a handout video. It pummelled central Mozambique on Saturday, ripping roofs off buildings and bringing widespread flooding around the port of Quelimane, before moving inland towards Malawi with torrential rains that caused landslides. At least six people died in Mozambique's Quelimane, which was struck hard by the storm, authorities told the public broadcaster on Monday. The total number killed by storm Freddy in Mozambique, Malawi and Madagascar since it first made landfall last month is now nearing 100. Malawi has been battling the deadliest cholera outbreak in its history, and U.N. agencies have warned the situation could now get worse.

☆ Record-strength cyclone Freddy pounds Mozambique after making second landfall
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

JOHANNESBURG, March 12 (Reuters) - Cyclone Freddy battered central Mozambique on Sunday after making landfall for a second time in a month and breaking records for duration and strength of tropical storms in the southern hemisphere. More than 171,000 people were affected after the cyclone swept through southern Mozambique last month, killing 27 people in Mozambique and Madagascar. More than half a million people are at risk of being affected Mozambique this time, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). At least one person was killed there on Saturday when his house collapsed on him as the storm swept onshore, state TV reported. Two weeks ago, 27 died when the storm first made landfall, after first being spotted near Indonesia on Feb. 6.

☆ Floods and high winds hit Mozambique as record-breaking cyclone Freddy nears
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MAPUTO, March 11 (Reuters) - Cyclone Freddy was settling off the coast of Mozambique on Saturday, bringing flooding and high winds to Quelimane two weeks after killing at least 27 people in southern Africa when it first made landfall last month. After swirling for 34 days straight, the weather system is likely to have broken the record for the longest-lasting tropical cyclone. The cyclone is slow-moving, which meteorological experts say means it will pick up more moisture off the sea, bringing heavy rainfall. More than 171,000 people were affected after the cyclone swept through southern Mozambique last month, bringing heavy rains and floods that damaged crops and destroyed houses, with OCHA putting its death toll at 27 so far -- 10 in Mozambique and 17 in Madagascar. More than half a million people are at risk in Mozambique this time, especially around in Zambezia, Tete, Sofala and Nampula and Zambezia provinces.

☆ Six Nigerian states challenge election in Supreme Court
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Camillus Eboh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

ABUJA, March 3 (Reuters) - Six opposition-led Nigerian states have asked the Supreme Court to throw out the result of last weekend's presidential vote, saying the electoral body broke the law and its own rules during the count, court papers showed. Six of Nigeria's 36 states - Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo and Sokoto - said in court papers dated Feb. 28 that the election commission had failed to transmit results through an electronic system meant to show transparency. They sought a court declaration that all presidential election results announced by the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) "were invalid, null and void, and of no effect whatsoever". Those materials included ballot papers and voting machines, the order from the appeals court showed. There have been numerous legal challenges to the outcome of past Nigerian presidential elections but none has succeeded.

☆ Nigeria's Obi says he, not Tinubu, won presidential election
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Camillus Eboh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Summary Presidential election marred by technical problemsWinner Tinubu says vote was credibleChallenger Obi vows to overturn result in courtAfter vibrant campaign, turnout was record lowABUJA, March 2 (Reuters) - Nigerian presidential candidate Peter Obi said on Thursday he had won Saturday's election, called Bola Tinubu's victory fraudulent and promised to claim the top job through legal means. Tinubu, the ruling party candidate, was declared president-elect of Africa's most populous nation on Wednesday, having won 37% of the vote. He said the election was credible and the reported problems had had no impact on the overall outcome. "We won the election and we will prove it to Nigerians," he said. While neither generated the visible enthusiasm directed at Obi, both had powerful political machines and decades of networking behind them.

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