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South Africa plans to change its law so that it can decide whether or not to arrest a leader wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), a deputy minister told the BBC.
Obed Bapela made the remarks amid intense speculation over whether South Africa stands by its invitation to Russia’s President Putin to visit in August.
The ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Putin over the Ukraine war.
South Africa had earlier invited him to attend a summit of BRICS leaders.
Russia has not said whether Putin plans to participate in the meeting. BRICS is intended to strengthen ties between the nations of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
Meanwhile, SA has also granted diplomatic immunity to Russian officials attending, a move SA foreign affairs department described as standard procedure.
Under its current laws, South Africa is obligated to arrest Putin if he arrives on its shores, as it is a member of the ICC.
But South Africa has refused to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, insisting it wants to remain neutral.
South African children choir performs in the UK to raise funds for classrooms
A children’s choir from South Africa Wednesday arrived in the UK for a three-week tour and cultural exchange.
Project Zulu is an initiative run by the University of the West of England (UWE), which works in partnership with South African township schools.
The choir’s first performance was in Bath on May 27, where they raised £1,600 in less than an hour.
The money will go towards building new classrooms across two schools in the township of Madadeni. The choir of 9 boys and 11 girls are from the Madadeni Township, KwaZulu-Natal.
Jihadists kill 40 in Burkina Faso
Around 40 people were killed in Burkina Faso in two separate attacks by jihadists last weekend.
Around 20 army volunteers died near Bourassa, near the Malian border, on Saturday. A similar number of people died in another attack in the same area on Sunday.
Sources told the BBC that following Saturday’s violence, tens of insurgents were “neutralized” in an airborne operation by government forces.
Burkina Faso’s Prime Minister, Apollinaire Kyelem de Tambela, told parliament that his government would never negotiate with the jihadists.
Zimbabwean government summons US Diplomat over election comments.
On Tuesday, the Zimbabwean government summoned the acting US ambassador to the country over election-related social media posts, which it said amounted to activism and meddling in the country’s internal affairs.
Last week, the US embassy encouraged Zimbabweans to register to vote “and make sure your voice is heard.”
Zimbabwe’s acting permanent secretary in the Ministry of foreign affairs, Rofina Chikava, said she told the US embassy’s charge d’affaires Elaine French that the posts were unacceptable and deviated from diplomatic norms.
A spokeswoman for the US embassy said there was no problem with the social media posts while also confirming the meeting between the two.
“We stand by our recent social media posts calling for peace during the election season,” Meg Riggs, the spokeswoman, said.
Tensions are rising ahead of the planned general elections. The opposition’s Citizen’s Coalition for Change has called for an audit into the voters’ roll, citing missing names, including some of its officials and voters being moved kilometers away from their residence wards.
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