S.Africa circumcision ritual: a dangerous route to manhood Coffee Bay, South Africa | AFP | Naked, covered in white clay mud, and with his penis wrapped in leaves, Abongile Maqegu, 20, sits in a hut in South Africa recovering from his circumcision — a traditional ritual that can prove …
Read More »South Africa ex-finance minister calls for Zuma to go
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South Africa’s respected former finance minister Pravin Gordhan called Tuesday for President Jacob Zuma to resign, stepping up pressure on the embattled leader. Gordhan joined a growing number of activists in the ruling African National Congress (ANC) along with anti-apartheid veterans and business leaders who …
Read More »BOOK: Mandela ambulance ‘caught fire’, his surgeon reveals
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | An ambulance carrying South Africa’s first democratically elected president Nelson Mandela caught fire as it was rushing him to hospital, his doctor revealed in a book published on Monday. The incident is one of several bizarre episodes contained in the book chronicling Mandela’s final …
Read More »Uber driver dies after car torched in South Africa
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | A South African Uber driver whose car was torched five weeks ago died of his injuries on Monday, the company said, after an attack allegedly involving rival metre-taxi drivers. The man was parked on a street in the capital Pretoria at night when …
Read More »Bail for accused in S.African coffin assault case
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Two white South African farmers accused of pushing a black labourer into a coffin and threatening to burn him alive were granted bail on Friday. The assault was captured on video apparently filmed on a mobile phone by one of the alleged assailants, causing …
Read More »ICC to rule if S. Africa broke rules by not arresting Sudan’s Bashir
The Hague, Netherlands | AFP | War crimes judges will Thursday hand down an eagerly anticipated ruling on whether South Africa flouted international law by failing to arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in 2015, wanted for genocide in Darfur. The landmark decision will serve as a blueprint for future cooperation …
Read More »S.Africa’s Zuma faces parliament vote on Aug 8
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South African President Jacob Zuma, who has been weakened by growing criticism from within the ruling ANC party, will face a vote of no confidence in parliament on August 8, officials announced Sunday. Opposition parties have pushed for the vote to be held in …
Read More »South Africa in recession as economy shrinks 0.7% in Q1
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South Africa’s economy unexpectedly contracted in the first quarter of this year, pushing the continent’s most advanced economy into its first recession since 2009, according to official statistics released Tuesday. The data, which also showed unemployment hitting a 14-year high, are expected to pile more …
Read More »Zambia bars S.Africa opposition leader at airport
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Zambian officials barred South Africa’s main opposition leader from entering the country Thursday, his party said, claiming he was blocked over his support for an imprisoned Zambian opposition leader. Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Mmusi Maimane was en route to the Zambian capital Lusaka to …
Read More »RAMAPHOSA: South Africa risks becoming ‘mafia state’
S. Africa risks becoming ‘mafia state’ warns Ramaphosa Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South Africa risks becoming a “mafia state”, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa warned Sunday, calling for a corruption probe at the top as he stepped up criticism of President Jacob Zuma. Ramaphosa is one of the main …
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