Month: October 2024

Beauty queen Chidimma Adetshina, now crowned Miss Universe Nigeria, finds herself at the heart of a heated nationality debate after the South African Department of Home Affairs announced she would be stripped of her South African identity and travel documents.

The decision has stirred up questions about citizenship, belonging, and identity in South Africa.

The story began when Ms. Adetshina, a law student, reached the finals of the Miss South Africa pageant. However, her eligibility quickly came under scrutiny due to her Nigerian father and Mozambican mother, even though she says she was born and raised in the South African township of Soweto.

In August, she withdrew from the competition after authorities revealed that her mother might have committed “identity theft” to gain South African citizenship.

While some questioned her identity, others rallied around her, calling out the intolerance and highlighting her South African roots.

Following this backlash, Ms. Adetshina accepted an invitation to compete in Nigeria and went on to win the title of Miss Universe Nigeria.

Now, as she prepares to represent Nigeria at the Miss Universe pageant in Mexico on November 16, the South African government has finalized its decision to revoke her identity papers, stating that she and her mother failed to prove their eligibility to retain citizenship.

Tommy Makhode, a senior official in South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs, announced the revocation on Tuesday, explaining that the case had been referred to the Hawks—a specialized police unit investigating serious crimes and was deemed a “case of fraud.” Officials are now awaiting further action from prosecutors.

In a past statement, Ms. Adetshina emphasized that she sees herself as “proudly South African” and “proudly Nigerian,” expressing a dual identity she has cherished throughout her life. Now, as she prepares to represent Nigeria on the global stage, questions about her identity, citizenship, and her unique cross-cultural heritage remain.

Residents of Valencia woke up to scenes of devastation on Thursday, after villages were wiped out by monstrous flash floods that have claimed at least 155 lives.

The death toll is expected to rise further as search efforts continue with an unknown number of people still missing.

It is the worst natural disaster to hit Spain this century, with scenes eerily similar to damage left by a hurricane or tsunami.

Wrecked cars and trucks piled up along the highways, and a thick layer of mud covered many streets, as Spanish military personnel worked to clear flooded areas.

Over a thousand soldiers joined local emergency workers to search for bodies and survivors.

Thousands of people were left without water and electricity and parts of the region were isolated as roads were cut off and train lines disrupted.

Spain’s government declared three days of mourning starting Thursday.

At least one person has died and 35 people injured after a Russian bomb hit a residential building in Ukraine’s 2nd largest city, Kharkiv.

Authorities in the city confirmed the victim to be a 12 year old boy. Emergency services in Kharkiv said rescue operations were underway and their workers were assisting residents.

Officials said they feared others could be still trapped under the rubble, including a missing 15-year-old boy.

According to the regional governor, a 500-kilogram Russian glided bomb hit the building directly on Wednesday evening.

The strike damaged the entrance to a residential building.

Meanwhile Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Zelenskyy on Thursday repeated his demand for the United States to allow Ukraine to use long-range American missiles to strike air bases deeper in Russia.

Zelenskky comments followed the attack the Kharviv.

Russia has increasingly used powerful glide bombs to pummel Ukrainian positions and strike cities dozens of kilometers (miles) from the frontline.

Kharkiv, a city of 1.1 million, is about 30 kilometers (less than 20 miles) from border.

Guinea authorities dissolved dozens of political parties and placed two major opposition ones under observation late Monday, while the transitional government has yet to announce a date for elections.

The West African country has been led by a military regime since soldiers ousted President Alpha Conde in 2021. The West African regional bloc known as ECOWAS has pushed for a return to civilian rule and elections are scheduled for 2025.

The mass dissolution of 53 political parties and required observation of 54 others for three months is unprecedented in Guinea, which held its first democratic election in 2010 after decades of authoritarian rule. The Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralization announced the moves based on an evaluation of all political parties begun in June. The evaluation was meant to “clean up the political chessboard,” according to the ministry.

The 67 parties that will be under observation for three months can operate normally but must resolve irregularities noted in the report. Those parties include the Rally of the Guinean People, which is the party of former President Alpha Condé, and another major opposition party, the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea.

The authorities said the parties placed under observation failed to hold their party congress within the time limit and to provide bank statements, among other issues.

Guinea is one of a growing number of West African countries, including Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, where the military has taken power and delayed a return to civilian rule. Earlier this year, the military junta in Burkina Faso extended its transition term by five years.

Col. Mamadi Doumbouya, who leads Guinea, overran the president three years ago, saying he was preventing the country from slipping into chaos and chastised the previous government for broken promises.

However, since coming to power he’s been criticized by some for being no better than his predecessor.

In February, the military leader dissolved the government without explanation, saying a new one will be appointed.

People in Botswana are waiting for results of Wednesday’s election which could extend the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP)’s 58-year rule.

Earlier in the day, the main opposition Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) leader Duma Boko voiced concerns about the exercise.

“We are worried about all these things because they speak to the integrity of the process and they tell you that we’re dealing with an IEC (Independent Electoral Commission) that is hellbent on ensuring that we do not have free, fair and credible elections, but we make do with what we have,” said Boko.

Ballot counting began as soon polling closed at 17:00 GMT. But some voting stations stayed open long after the official closing time to allow voters queuing up to cast their ballots.

The election will determine the makeup of the diamond-rich southern African country’s parliament, and lawmakers will later choose the president.

The ruling party won won 38 of 57 contested seats in the last election in 2019.

President Mokgweetsi Masisi, a 63-year-old former high school teacher, is seeking a second and final term.

A party needs to win at least 31 parliament seats to be declared as the winner.

Botswana goes to the polls on Wednesday in a vote that will determine whether the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) will extend its 58-year hold on power.

Analysts say, however, that this time round it is hard to predict the outcome of the general election.

The country faces tough times following a downturn in demand for diamonds which are vital to its economy.

The opposition say the BDP has been in power too long and accuse it of economic mismanagement and corruption, an accusation it denies.

Some young people in the capital Gaborone are hoping that the election will bring about employment and a change for the better.

Botswana is widely seen as a country with low corruption and good governance, but there is a growing lack of confidence in the government.

“I’m actually a graduate, but I don’t have any job. So I hope, I hope the future will be bright this time around after these elections,” said resident Maitshwarelo Ditsebe.

Unemployment has risen and stands at more than 27 per cent, with youth unemployment above 45 per cent.

“I wish the party I’ll be voting for will create employment for young women,” said another Gaborone resident, Boago Sentsho.

President Mokgweetsi Masisi of the ruling Botswana Democratic Party will be competing against three challengers as he seeks a second and final term in office.

His main challenger is Duma Boko of the opposition coalition Umbrella for Democratic Change who has pledged to more than double the minimum wage and increase social grants.

The election is not directly for president. Voters decide the makeup of parliament and lawmakers later elect a president.

Polling stations open at six on Wednesday morning with people voting for 61 seats in the National Assembly and 609 local council seats

Amid soaring tensions with the West over its war in Ukraine, Russia on Tuesday launched a massive exercise of the country’s nuclear forces.

It test-fired missiles over thousands of kilometres in a simulated nuclear response to an enemy first strike.

“Given the growth of geopolitical tensions, the emergence of new external threats and risks, it is important to have modern strategic forces that are constantly ready for combat use” said Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“I emphasise that we are not going to get involved in a new arms race, but we will maintain nuclear forces at the necessary level of sufficiency.”

The exercise involved Russia’s full nuclear range of ground-, sea-, and air-launched missiles.

As part of the drills, the military test-fired a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile from the Plesetsk launch pad at the Kura testing range on the Kamchatka Peninsula, the Defence Ministry said.

The Novomoskovsk and Knyaz Oleg nuclear submarines test-fired ICBMs from the Barents Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk, while nuclear-capable Tu-95 strategic bombers carried out practice launches of long-range cruise missiles.

The ministry said that all the missiles reached their designated targets.

The nuclear exercise comes after weeks of signals from Moscow to the West that it would respond if the United States and its allies allowed Kyiv to fire longer-range missiles deep into Russia.

Putin reinforced the message by announcing a new version of Russia’s nuclear doctrine.

It states that Moscow considers a conventional attack by a non-nuclear nation that is supported by a nuclear power to be a joint attack on the country — a clear warning to the US and other allies of Kyiv.

In a message intended to deter the West, Putin also said the revised document envisages the possible use of nuclear weapons in the case of a massive air attack.

There has been widespread condemnation of Israel’s decision to ban UN relief agency, UNRWA, from operating in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

Israel claims it has evidence that a few of the agency’s thousands of staffers are affiliated with Hamas and other armed groups.

Its ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, said Israel will continue to work with UN organs that are focused on humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians, “but not in terrorism”.

“You have WHO, UNICEF, World Food Programme, dozens of NGOs that operate today in Gaza. We will continue to work with them. But we will not continue to work with UNRWA after what we just exposed,” he said.

Israel’s parliament voted 92-10 late on Monday to ban UNRWA from conducting “any activity” or providing any service inside Israel, including the areas of annexed East Jerusalem, Gaza, and the West Bank.

The vote also saw lawmakers declare the UN relief agency a terrorist group, which effectively bans it from any direct interaction with the Israeli state.

The decision was in defiance of pressure from the United States and other countries to maintain the agency which is the largest provider of humanitarian assistance to Palestinians.

It provides nearly the entire population of Gaza with basic supplies, and needs access through Israel to do this.

There are fears the ban will worsen the already dire humanitarian crisis in the enclave. More than 1.9 million Palestinians are displaced and the Gaza Strip faces widespread shortages of food, water, and medicine.

“If UNRWA is unable to operate, it would likely see the collapse of the humanitarian system in Gaza. UNICEF would become effectively unable to distribute lifesaving supplies,” said UNICEF spokesperson James Elder.

“Here I’m talking vaccines, I’m talking winter clothes, I’m talking hygiene kits, health kits, water, water and sanitation. RUTF (ready-to-use therapeutic food) on malnutrition, and we know, again, we’re knocking on the door of famine, and all range of nutrition supplies.”

The rule is due to come into effect in 90 days’ time.