SOUTH AFRICA
ANC loses majority
The ruling African National Congress (ANC) party yesterday lost its its three-decade-old absolute majority and would have to find allies if it is to remain in power. With more than 98 percent of the votes from Wednesday’s election counted, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s ANC had just more than 40 percent support, a catastrophic slump from the 57.5 it won in 2019. That marks a historic turning point as the party has enjoyed an absolute majority since 1994. Data released earlier in the day from the Independent Electoral Commission showed that the center-right Democratic Alliance held second place with 21.71 percent, while former president Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto we Sizwe had 12.6 percent, a surprise score for a party founded just months ago as a vehicle for the former ANC chief.
AFGHANISTAN
Twenty die in boat sinking
At least 20 people were yesterday killed when a boat sank while crossing a river, a Taliban official said. Quraishi Badlon, Nangarhar provincial director of the information and culture department, said the boat sank while crossing a river in the province’s Mohmand Dara district, killing 20 people including women and children. The boat was carrying 25 people, according to village residents, of whom five survived. So far five bodies have been retrieved including a man, a woman, two boys and a girl, the Nangarhar Department of Health said in a statement.
GERMANY
Six injured in stabbing
Six people were on Friday wounded in a knife attack at a far-right rally, including a prominent critic of Islam, drawing immediate condemnation from the nation’s leaders. The attack, just days before EU-wide elections, comes amid a spike of politically motivated violence in the country. Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser raised the possibility that the assault could have been Islamist motivated. A man with a knife attacked and wounded several people on the market square in the city of Mannheim in the southwest at about 11:35am, police said in a statement. Five of the wounded were participating in a rally organized by Pax Europa, a campaign group against radical Islam, police said. A police officer who intervened was also stabbed several times in the back of the head, it said. Another officer fired at the attacker and wounded him. “The extent and severity of the injuries are not yet known,” the police said, adding that the identity of the attacker had not yet been determined.
JAPAN
US$300m lost in ‘leak’
Crypto exchange DMM Bitcoin said it had lost about US$300 million in bitcoin in what it described as “an unauthorized leak” from its digital wallet. “We are still investigating details of the damages,” it said in a statement after detecting the “unauthorized leak” at about 1:26pm on Friday. “We have already taken measures to prevent the unauthorized leak, but we have also implemented restrictions on the use of some services to ensure additional safety,” the exchange said. DMM Bitcoin did not give details on the “leak,” but global cryptocurrency analysis firm Chainalysis said it was one of the biggest crypto hacks. “Today’s hack of Japanese exchange DMM Bitcoin for $305M worth of bitcoin is the biggest hack since Dec 2022 and the 7th largest crypto hack ever,” Chainalysis wrote on X, adding that it had labeled the funds as “stolen.”
A beauty queen who pulled out of the Miss South Africa competition when her nationality was questioned has said she wants to relocate to Nigeria, after coming second in the Miss Universe pageant while representing the West African country. Chidimma Adetshina, whose father is Nigerian, was crowned Miss Universe Africa and Oceania and was runner-up to Denmark’s Victoria Kjar Theilvig in Mexico on Saturday night. The 23-year-old law student withdrew from the Miss South Africa competition in August, saying that she needed to protect herself and her family after the government alleged that her mother had stolen the identity of a South
BELT-TIGHTENING: Chinese investments in Cambodia are projected to drop to US$35 million in 2026 from more than US$420 million in 2021 At a ceremony in August, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet knelt to receive blessings from saffron-robed monks as fireworks and balloons heralded the breaking of ground for a canal he hoped would transform his country’s economic fortunes. Addressing hundreds of people waving the Cambodian flag, Hun Manet said China would contribute 49 percent to the funding of the Funan Techo Canal that would link the Mekong River to the Gulf of Thailand and reduce Cambodia’s shipping reliance on Vietnam. Cambodia’s government estimates the strategic, if contentious, infrastructure project would cost US$1.7 billion, nearly 4 percent of the nation’s annual GDP. However, months later,
Texas’ education board on Friday voted to allow Bible-infused teachings in elementary schools, joining other Republican-led US states that pushed this year to give religion a larger presence in public classrooms. The curriculum adopted by the Texas State Board of Education, which is controlled by elected Republicans, is optional for schools to adopt, but they would receive additional funding if they do so. The materials could appear in classrooms as early as next school year. Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott has voiced support for the lesson plans, which were provided by the state’s education agency that oversees the more than
Ireland, the UK and France faced travel chaos on Saturday and one person died as a winter storm battered northwest Europe with strong winds, heavy rain, snow and ice. Hampshire Police in southern England said a man died after a tree fell onto a car on a major road near Winchester early in the day. Police in West Yorkshire said they were probing whether a second death from a traffic incident was linked to the storm. It is understood the road was not icy at the time of the incident. Storm Bert left at least 60,000 properties in Ireland without power, and closed
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