Foreign

TSHIFHIWA Matodzi, the key figure behind the $130 million VBS Mutual Bank scandal that rocked South Africa, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison. Matodzi, the former chairperson of VBS Mutual Bank, pled guilty to 33 charges, including corruption, theft, fraud, money laundering, and racketeering. Although he received a combined sentence …

Former Equatorial Guinea justice minister Ruben Maye Nsue Mangue, who had been imprisoned since August 2022 for criticising the country’s leader, has been released following a presidential amnesty. Mangue, also a pastor, was detained for calling President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo a ‘demon’ and accusing him of sequestering the nation’s …

IN a significant move on Monday, Gambian lawmakers adopted recommendations to uphold the country’s ban on female genital mutilation (FGM). This decision comes ahead of a pivotal vote later this month that will determine whether to decriminalise the practice. FGM has been illegal in Gambia since 2015. Despite the ban, the practice …

KENYAN President William Ruto on Tuesday announced that a national multispectral forum will hold July 15, to address issues raised by the country’s youth that sparked protests across the country. Ruto said the proposed six-day forum will deliberate on issues including employment, tax policies, national debt, representation and accountability, and …

KENYA’S President William Ruto signed a pivotal law on Tuesday, establishing a panel to appoint members of the electoral body. This move aims to address criticisms and stabilise his presidency amidst ongoing political tensions. The reconstitution of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) emerged as a significant point during …

Lithuania bought RBS70 NG, a mobile short-range air defense system, from a Swedish company for 147 million euros (about 159 million U.S. dollars), Lithuania’s Ministry of National Defense said Monday. The ministry’s Defence Material Agency has signed final agreements with Sweden’s Saab Dynamics AB, and the delivery is scheduled for …

West Africa’s regional bloc, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), has tasked Senegal’s President Basirou Diomaye Faye with mediating talks with the three military junta-led states—Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso—that withdrew from the group earlier this year. The move aims to restore stability in the region, which has been under …

Jon Landau – the Oscar-winning producer of some of the world’s highest-grossing movies of all time, including Titanic and Avatar – has died, aged 63. Landau, who was the long-time producing partner of filmmaker James Cameron, reportedly died on Friday after living with cancer for more than a year. His …

FRENCH Prime Minister Gabriel Attal says he will hand his resignation to President Emmanuel Macron on Monday morning. Attal said this on Sunday, July 7, 2024, adding that he will carry out his functions as long as required. Attal made the comments after his party failed to win a majority …

Afghanistan has launched another polio vaccination campaign aimed at protecting around 8 million children under the age of 5, the Taliban Health Ministry announced on Monday. The four-day campaign is the third this year and will cover 23 of the country’s 34 provinces, the ministry said in a statement. The …