Politics

South African authorities have adopted sign language as the country’s 12th official language, local media reported. President Cyril Ramaphosa formally approved the Sign Language Bill into law during a ceremony in Pretoria. Some of the country’s other languages are Afrikaans, English, Xhosa and Zulu. South Africa is the fourth country …

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused Tunisian security agents of committing “serious abuses” against black African migrants attempting to get to Europe. The campaign group said it had interviewed more than 20 migrants and asylum seekers since March. Seven were among more than 1,000 black Africans expelled or forcibly transferred …

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the Brics summit being held in August, local media reported, citing South African presidency. An arrest warrant has been issued against Mr Putin by International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes in Ukraine. South Africa is an ICC signatory and so would …

Nigeria is gearing up to stop the spread of anthrax after cases were reported at a livestock farm north-west of the capital, Abuja. The outbreak was confirmed by the agricultural ministry after symptoms of the disease were discovered at a farm in Gajiri, along the Abuja-Kaduna motorway, in Niger state. …

Former US President Donald Trump has promised to end the ongoing war in Ukraine if Americans re-elect him in the next presidential election. The Republican billionaire, who intends to become president of the United States again in 2024, explained on Fox News his strategy to “end the war” in Ukraine …

Tunisian President Kais Saied has signed an agreement with the European Union aimed at combating human trafficking, local media reported. Tunisia has become the main departure point for migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe. Announcing the deal in Tunis, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen promised increased …

The United States authorized this Thursday the sale without a prescription of a contraceptive pill, a first in the country, which hopes to facilitate its access. The pill concerned, Opill, will be available in pharmacies, neighborhood shops and supermarkets as well as online on the internet, announced the American Medicines …

Nigeria’s suspended central bank governor Godwin Emefiele has challenged in court his detention by the country’s secret police, the Department of State Services (DSS). The 61-year-old, who was taken into custody on 10 June – a day after his suspension by newly inaugurated President Bola Tinubu, has not been formally …

US President Joe Biden accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of having a “craven lust for land and power” at the end of a NATO summit on Wednesday. NATO members offered the prospect of long-term protection a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky decried as “absurd” a refusal to offer an …

A Roma court on Saturday decided not to convict a 66-year-old man who admitted intentionally touching the buttocks of a 17-year-old girl, as the attack lasted “between 5 and 10 seconds”. But according to the judges, “this handful of seconds” is too short and the act, in fact, “does not …