JOHANNESBURG – When artist Robin Rhode needed a canvas for his latest work, he found it at an abandoned sports ground in his dysfunctional hometown of Johannesburg. Beneath the waist-high grass, broken bottles and an occasional bullet casing, he uncovered a decades-old miniature golf course, indoor soccer fields and a tennis training wall. And that’s...
JERUSALEM – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday warned Yemen’s Huthi rebels of retaliation after the group claimed a missile attack on central Israel.“This morning, the Huthis launched a surface-to-surface missile from Yemen into our territory. They should have known by now that we charge a heavy price for any attempt to harm us,” Netanyahu...
CARACAS – Three Americans, two Spaniards and a Czech citizen have been detained in Venezuela on suspicion of plotting to destabilise the country, the government said, as the United States and Spain denied Caracas’s allegations they were involved. The arrests come amid heightened tensions between Venezuela and both the United States and Spain over Venezuela’s...
DAKAR – Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye last week vowed to “relentlessly track down” migrant traffickers a day after news that at least 35 people had drowned off West Africa. Faye, elected in March, called on the country’s young people to stay in Senegal rather than falling for the “illusion” of a better future elsewhere....
GENEVA – The World Health Organisation (WHO) said Yesterday that at least a quarter of those injured in the war raging in Gaza have suffered “life-changing injuries”, many requiring amputations and other “huge” rehabilitation needs. At least 22 500 of the people injured in Gaza in the 11 months since the war erupted will “require...
PARIS – The United Nations (UN) cultural agency yesterday raised the alarm over reports of armed groups looting several museums and heritage institutions in war-wracked Sudan.“The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) is deeply concerned about the recent reports of possible looting and damage of several museums and heritage institutions in Sudan, including the...
NAIROBI – Hundreds of passengers were left stranded at Kenya’s main airport yesterday as staff went on strike over a planned takeover by an Indian company. The walk-out by the Kenyan Aviation Workers Union began at midnight, severely disrupting flights at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA). Long queues of passengers were outside the airport...
LONDON – Thousands of prisoners in British jails were due to be released early yesterday, as part of government moves to ease overcrowding. Recently released figures showed that the prison population in England and Wales was at its highest-ever level. But with concern about released prisoners reoffending, the government insisted that no violent offenders or...
LAGOS – The leader of one of Nigeria’s top labour unions has been released from custody by a domestic security agency a day after he was detained at Abuja airport, his union said yesterday. The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) said Joe Ajaero was detained by the Department of State Services or DSS on Monday as...
KHAN YUNIS – Gaza’s civil defence agency said a strike on a humanitarian zone in the southern city of Khan Yunis killed 40 people yesterday, with the Israeli army reporting that it hit a Hamas command centre. Civil defence official Mohammed al-Mughair said that “40 martyrs and 60 injured” were recovered and taken to nearby...