Authorities alerted by villagers in Mzimba area, 250km north of capital, to site believed less than a month old
Authorities in Malawi have discovered a mass grave in the north of the country containing the remains of 25 people suspected to be migrants from Ethiopia.
“The grave was discovered late on Tuesday but we cordoned it off and started exhuming today. So far, we have discovered 25 bodies,” said a police spokesperson, Peter Kalaya.
Continue reading...Scientists say behaviour, filmed in South Africa, has never been seen in detail before – and never from the air
Scientists have published findings confirming that orcas hunt great white sharks, after the marine mammal was captured on camera killing one of the world’s largest sea predators.
A pod of killer whales is seen chasing sharks during an hour-long pursuit off Mossel Bay, a port town in the southern Western Cape province, in helicopter and drone footage that informed a scientific study released this week.
Continue reading...Church says same-sex marriage means Mpho Tutu van Furth cannot preside over godfather’s service
The daughter of the late Anglican archbishop Desmond Tutu has been barred by the Church of England from officiating at her godfather’s funeral in a Shropshire church because she is married to a woman.
Mpho Tutu van Furth, an ordained priest in the Anglican church, was invited to preside over the funeral of Martin Kenyon, who died last week at the age of 92. The C of E said its actions were “in line with the House of Bishops current guidance on same-sex marriage”.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Labour peer calls on US president to follow UK in banning firm over misconduct in South Africa
Joe Biden should follow the UK in banning the global management consultancy firm Bain & Company from future government contracts, the Labour peer Peter Hain has said.
In a letter shared with the Guardian, the former minister and anti-apartheid campaigner urged the US president to “act on this matter and establish a clear precedent that will signal to all US global companies, consultancies, lawyers, auditors and financial advisers that collusion with corrupt politicians and their business cronies in other countries will not be tolerated”.
Continue reading...Judgment is huge victory for campaigners concerned about effect of seismic waves on marine life
A South African court has upheld a ban imposed on the energy giant Shell from using seismic waves to explore for oil and gas off the Indian Ocean coast.
The judgment delivered in Makhanda on Thursday marks a monumental victory for environmentalists concerned about the impact the exploration would have on whales and other marine life.
Continue reading...A new generation could end decades of MPLA rule this week and serve notice on Africa’s veteran leaders in polls seen as test of democracy
Millions of Angolans will vote this week in a landmark election described as an “existential moment” for the key oil-rich central African state, and a test for democracy across a swath of the continent.
The poll on Wednesday pits veteran politicians against a generation of young voters just beginning to grasp that they can bring about a radical change and escape from the shadow of the cold war.
Continue reading...Global management consultancy’s three-year ban follows pressure by ex- Labour minister Peter Hain
The global management consultancy Bain & Company has been barred from tendering for UK government contracts for three years after its “grave professional misconduct” in state corruption in South Africa, the Cabinet Office said.
Britain became the first western country to take this step, after pressure from the former Labour minister and anti-apartheid campaigner Peter Hain.
Continue reading...Dozens of zama-zamas – illegal miners from other countries – now being held in crime crackdown following music video shoot attack
Dozens of men detained after the alleged gang-rape of eight women on a music video shoot in South Africa are expected back in court on Wednesday as police made more arrests of artisanal miners blamed by local people for widespread violence.
The arrests on Tuesday near Krugersdorp, a city north-west of Johannesburg, bring the total number of people detained since the attack to more than 120.
Continue reading...Crew filming music video at abandoned mine in Krugersdorp was attacked by armed men, police say
More than 80 men suspected of the gang rapes of eight women and the armed robbery of a video production crew in the South African town of Krugersdorp, west of Johannesburg, have appeared in court.
The men were arrested at an abandoned mining site following the rapes and robbery near the disused mine.
Continue reading...Analysis: Foreign minister seeks to win friends and influence people in countries where closeness can be traced back to USSR
Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, is arriving in Uganda on the latest stop of his tour of Africa, aimed at rallying support on the continent for Russia as the war in Ukraine goes into its sixth month.
Many African leaders have refused to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and have accused the US and Nato of starting or prolonging the conflict.
Continue reading...Cause of death of 21 young people at Enyobeni tavern last month still yet to be determined
Investigators have found traces of the toxic chemical methanol in the bodies of 21 teenagers who died in a nightclub in South Africa last month.
The tragedy at the Enyobeni tavern in the poor Scenery Park township in the coastal city of East London on 26 June caused shock and grief in a nation used to seeing casualties from a widespread culture of heavy drinking.
Continue reading...Analysis: Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s authoritarianism and incompetence ended the family’s political reign
For weeks protesters in Sri Lanka have chanted “Go home Gota.” Now Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the president, appears to be looking for one. His first stop was the Maldives, reached last night. The United Arab Emirates may be the final destination.
The Rajapaksa family’s fall has been spectacular. It has resonated across the region, and well beyond. The ruler of Sri Lanka has been a high-profile casualty of the global cost of living crisis, analysts have said. In distant South Africa, a talk show host asked if the soaring cost of living there could spell the end for the ruling party. Others are asking the same question.
Continue reading...Attack on tavern near Johannesburg in which 15 were killed was one of several similar incidents over the weekend
Campaigners in South Africa have called for a crackdown on increasingly powerful organised criminals armed with military-grade weapons, blamed for a string of recent deadly attacks.
Police are looking for suspected gang members who killed 15 people in a tavern near Johannesburg, the country’s commercial capital, using an assault rifle and 9mm pistols on Saturday night.
Continue reading...Police investigating if attacks linked, citing similarities as gunmen in both cases said to have fired at people ‘randomly’
Four people have been killed and eight wounded in a bar in eastern South Africa after two men fired indiscriminately at customers, police said, on the same night as a bar shooting in Soweto left 15 dead.
Police were trying to verify if the attacks were linked, they said, noting their similarity.
Continue reading...South African police investigate reports group of men arrived in taxi and opened fire on patrons
Gunmen used automatic rifles and powerful handguns to kill 15 people and injure a further eight in a mass shooting at a tavern in Johannesburg’s Soweto township in the early hours of Sunday.
The attack in the Nomzamo informal settlement occurred shortly after midnight when a group of men arrived in a Toyota minibus and entered the bar, neighbours told the Guardian.
Continue reading...Fossils from South African cave are 3.4 to 3.6m years old and walked the Earth at same time as east African relatives
The fossils of our earliest ancestors found in South Africa are a million years older than previously thought, meaning they walked the Earth around the same time as their east African relatives like the famous “Lucy”, according to new research.
The Sterkfontein caves at the Cradle of Humankind world heritage site southwest of Johannesburg have yielded more Australopithecus fossils than any other site in the world.
Continue reading...Police in southern city of East London launch investigation and officials rule out stampede
At least 17 young people were found dead at a nightclub in a township in South Africa’s southern city of East London on Sunday, police said.
“We got a report about 17 [people] that died in a local tavern in Scenery Park, which is based in East London,” said Thembinkosi Kinana, a police spokesperson. “We are still investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident.”
Continue reading...President is accused of trying to cover up theft of millions of US dollars hidden at his game farm
The South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, is facing the most serious personal challenge of his four years in power after claims he tried to cover up the theft of millions of US dollars hidden at his game farm.
The scandal – labelled Farmgate by South African media – could potentially derail Ramaphosa’s efforts to win a second term in power and destabilise Africa’s most developed economy.
Continue reading...Covid, climate, stability and violence contributing to young people feeling pessimistic about future, survey of 15 countries suggests
African youth have lost confidence in their own countries and the continent as a whole to meet their aspirations and a rising number are considering moving abroad, according to a survey of young people from 15 countries.
The pandemic, climate crisis, political instability and violence have all contributed to making young people “jittery” about their futures since the Covid pandemic began, according to the African Youth Survey published on Monday.
Continue reading...Police begin process to transport Indian-born pair wanted on criminal and money-laundering charges
Police in Dubai are coordinating with their South African counterparts to secure the extradition of two wealthy Indian-born brothers wanted by South African authorities on criminal and money-laundering charges who were arrested in the emirate on Monday.
Atul and Rajesh Gupta are accused of paying bribes in exchange for lucrative state contracts and influence over ministerial appointments during the chaotic nine-year presidency of Jacob Zuma, which ended amid allegations of systematic corruption in 2018. The brothers fled to Dubai shortly after Zuma’s fall from power.
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