Category: Foreign News

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South Africa’s top court has handed former president Jacob Zuma a 15-month jail term for contempt of court following his refusal to appear before graft investigators.

“The Constitutional Court can do nothing but conclude that Mr Zuma is guilty of the crime of contempt of court,” judge Sisi Khampepe said.

Zuma, 79, is accused of enabling the plunder of state coffers during his nearly nine-year stay in office.

This kind of recalcitrance and defiance is unlawful and will be punished,” Khampepe said.

“I am left with no option but to commit Mr Zuma to imprisonment, with the hope that doing so sends an unequivocal message… the rule of law and the administration of justice prevails.”

“The majority judgement orders an unsuspended sentence of imprisonment for a period (of 15 months),” she declared, ordering Zuma to hand himself over within five days.

Punch

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The UK government’s main website was unavailable, as several international media platforms went down, including The Guardian and the Financial Times newspapers.

The portal gov.uk and the newspaper sites all showed error messages. The BBC was also temporarily inaccessible but later returned.

Punch

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A statement from the panel said the ruling would come at around 1300 GMT on Wednesday, to be followed by a news conference.

The Trump ban came as several online platforms removed the social media-savvy leader over comments interpreted as encouraging the rioters who took over the US Capitol on January 6 in a deadly rampage.

While many applauded the Trump ban, some political leaders and analysts have expressed concern over important platforms unilaterally removing important voices in political discourse.

Both Facebook and Twitter argued that Trump was banned for violating platform rules, after a long period of allowing exceptions because his comments were seen as newsworthy.

The social network itself asked the independent body to review Trump’s eviction from the online community.

AFP

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Chad’s President Idriss Deby Itno has died on the battlefield after three decades in power, the army announced on state television.

The shock announcement came only the day after the 68-year-old was proclaimed the winner of a presidential election that had given him a sixth term in office.

The army said Deby had been commanding his army at the weekend as it battled against rebels who had launched a major incursion into the north of the country on election day.

Deby “has just breathed his last breath defending the sovereign nation on the battlefield,” army spokesman General Azem Bermandoa Agouna said in a statement read out on state television.

Deby, 68, had ruled Chad with an iron fist for three decades but was a key ally in the West’s anti-jihadist campaign in the troubled Sahel region.

The army said a military council led by the late president’s 37-year-old son Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, a four-star general, would replace him.

Punch

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Barcelona prosecutors have filed suit against energy giant Endesa for the deaths of hundreds of birds electrocuted by its high-wire power lines, court documents show.

According to the lawsuit, a copy of which was seen by AFP , prosecutors are suing the utility for offences against the environment and wildlife for failing to adequately insulate its electricity cables and pylons, creating “a death trap” for birds.

Electrocution occurs when birds touch two wires at a time or when they perch on a conductive pylon while also touching a cable.

In their complaint, prosecutors said 255 birds died in the Osona region north of Barcelona between 2018 and 2020, including protected species such as white storks, griffon vultures, short-toed eagles and buzzards.

“The electrocution and death of birds due to direct contact with the exposed conductors on pylons owned by the defendant has affected the whole province of Barcelona, constituting a veritable plague,” the complaint reads.

When contacted by AFP, Endesa was not immediately available for comment.

According to the lawsuit, Endesa had “not taken measures to repair the affected (parts) that fail to comply with the safety measures… deliberately disregarding and ignoring its legal obligations to prevent harm to wildlife and the environment”.

AFP/Punch