Former South African President Jacob Zuma appeared in court on Friday (6 April) to face corruption charges relating to a $2.5 billion arms deal. He faces 16 charges including fraud, racketeering and money laundering. They relate to a procurement deal with Thales, a French arms manufacturer, in the mid-1990s, when Zuma was deputy president. Zuma’s financial adviser at the time, …

Jacob Zuma, South Africa’s former president, will appear at the Durban High Court on Friday to face more than a dozen corruption charges that date back to a fraught $2.5bn arms deal in the mid 1990s. Zuma, 75, faces 16 charges of corruption, racketeering and fraud, including taking bribes from a French arms manufacturer in a set of accusations that …

Opposition candidate Julius Maada Bio has won a narrow victory in a run-off election to become Sierra Leone’s new president. The National Electoral Commission announced at 10pm local time that Maada Bio of the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) won 51.8 percent of a total of over 2.5 million ballots cast in the March 31 vote, beating the ruling All …

Immigrants with limited German language competence are among those that face most difficulties finding accomodation or at risk of being thrown out of their apartment. Now, a new site offers information in multiple languages so that people of all backgrounds can know their rights and recourses. Werena Rosenke receives a lot of phone calls. “They’re people who need acute help. …

America marks the 50th anniversary of the assassination of the Rev Martin Luther King Junior Wednesday. Best known for his role in the advancement of civil rights by using the tactics of nonviolence and civil disobedience, King was assassinated on 4 April 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee. Is Black America better off today than in Dr King’s time? Our New York-based …

A spike in violent crime in London saw more murders committed in the city in February and March than there were in New York, new figures show. London’s monthly murder rate has overtaken New York City’s for the first time in modern history, according to new figures from the Metropolitan Police and the New York Police Department. In February, 15 …

Ethiopia’s parliament has elected Abiy Ahmed as the new prime minister, a week after the ruling coalition nominated him to succeed Hailemariam Desalegn. Abiy was sworn in on Monday shortly after his election to become Africa’s second-most populous country’s 16th prime minister and the first Oromo to hold Ethiopia’s top seat. Hailemariam resigned in February, following months of protests in …

The Southern Africa nation of Botswana has sworn-in its new president in the person of Mokgweetsi Masisi. The 55-year-old becomes the country’s 5th president. He took the oath of office before the country’s national assembly in the presence of the Chief Justice, the Speaker of Parliament and his immediate predecessor, Seretse Khama Ian Khama. The official oath was administered by …

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has been re-elected with 97 percent of votes, the same proportion that the former military commander secured four years ago for his first term, official results showed on Monday. However, turnout was lower at 41 percent, despite efforts to get as many Egyptians as possible to polling stations during last week’s vote. Sisi had been …

South African anti-apartheid icon Winnie Madikizela-Mandela died peacefully on Monday following a long illness, a family spokesman said. “She died after a long illness, for which she had been in and out of hospital since the start of the year,” Victor Dlamini said in a statement. “She succumbed peacefully in the early hours of Monday afternoon surrounded by her family …