South Africa

The corruption trial against South African ex-president Jacob Zuma risks being delayed again. Judge Piet Koen announced on Monday that he is withdrawing, which means the trial may have to start again. The now 80-year-old Zuma has been on trial since May 2021 for the bribe he allegedly accepted from the French defence company Thales over 20 years ago. "Good justice, the constitution and my conscience dictate that I withdraw," Koen said during a session from Pietermaritzburg, broadcast live on TV. Zuma did not attend the hearing. Zuma must answer for fraud, corruption and extortion, among other things. However, in recent years, the former president has done everything he can to delay the process, and once the process has started, various delaying manoeuvres have been launched. ...

In South Africa, the fourth corona wave seems to have reached its peak. As a result, the authorities are abolishing the curfew. Although the omicron variant has led to a record number of infections, fewer people have been hospitalized and died from the virus compared to other waves. The omicron variant was first discovered on November 23 in South Africa. Immediately several countries cancelled flights to and from the country. The fourth wave had thus started in South Africa. The variant also caused the highest number of infections yet identified: more than 23,000 cases were recorded per day in mid-December. The variant is now causing a new wave of infections worldwide. Yesterday, the South African authorities announced that the fourth corona wave appears to have peaked. As a result, th...

The Omicron variant of the coronavirus is causing a "worrying" rise in the number of infections in South Africa, official authorities report. The new mutation is fast becoming the dominant player.   Over the past two weeks, the number of daily corona infections in South Africa has increased exponentially, says Dr Michelle Groome of the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD). "From a weekly average of about 300 new cases per day, we went to 1,000 last week and more recently 3,500," Groome said. "On Wednesday, no fewer than 8,561 new cases were registered, compared to 1,275 a week earlier. Such an increase is worrying." No less than 74 percent of all registered infections in the past month were attributable to the new Omicron variant, as it turns out. "The mutation is so...

The number of rhinos killed by poachers in South Africa in the first six months of 2020 is more than half compared to the same period last year.   The Ministry of the Environment has announced that 166 rhinoceroses have been illegally killed. Poachers were less able to access natural areas due to strict measures against the coronavirus. "For the first time in a decade, no rhinos were killed in April in Kruger National Park," said Environment Minister Barbara Creecy in a statement. About 20,000 white rhinos live in South Africa, which is 90 percent of the entire population in the world. The horns of the animals are very popular in East Asia, where they are thought to be good medicines. The horn consists mainly of keratin, which is also found in people's nails and hair.

In South Africa, a two-day-old baby died who had the coronavirus. The child was born prematurely and was, therefore, struggling with lung problems, said Health Minister Zweli Mkhize.   It is rare for babies who become infected with the virus to die. The mother of the deceased child was also a corona patient. The death toll from the coronavirus outbreak in South Africa stands at 339. The authorities have diagnosed more than 18,000 people with the virus.