Thousands of delegates from South Africa's ANC party gathered Saturday for a five-day meeting to elect their new leader in a divisive race seen as a pivotal moment in the country's post-apartheid history.
As South Africa’s ruling party prepared to elect its new leader yesterday there were signs that the candidate backed by President Jacob Zuma was in serious trouble.
Mr Zuma had personally anointed his ex-wife, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma as his successor but ANC branches have so far overwhelmingly backed the deputy president, Cyril Ramaphosa. A number of court challenges were upheld to disqualify Zuma-aligned provinces from the voting.
The 5,000 delegates started voting on Saturday and the announcement of a victor is expected on Sunday.
Despite an attempt to ban factional songs, the ANC Eastern Cape delegates sang victory songs against Mrs Dlamini-Zuma.
While supporters put on brave faces in defence of the former African Union chairman, the display did not convince many. Even a signature policy announcement that was trailed as boost to her position - the announcement of free higher education for students from poor backgrounds - was announced instead by Mr Zuma. Commentators said the surprise declaration was a last ditch effort to secure backing for Mrs Dlamini-Zuma.
Mr Ramaphosa, 65, a former trade union leader, led the historic negotiations in the 1990s to end apartheid before launching a business career that made him one of the country's wealthiest men.
He is often accused of failing to confront the current leader while serving as the deputy since 2014.
Mr Zuma's two terms have been marred by graft scandals and while he will step down as ANC chief, he is set remain as head of state ahead of general elections in 2019.
The 68-year should have a formidable claim to the top job. She is arguably an ideal candidate to become South Africa’s first woman: as a stalwart of the liberation movement she has a proven track record in the public service under several portfolios. Mrs Dlamini-Zuma has international experience at the African Union Commission.
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As the ANC convenes, South Africa has everything to lose
Anti-apartheid heroes slam Zuma as ANC meets to elect new chief
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But her stature as been undermined by the factional divisions in the ANC. She cannot shake off her association to Mr Zuma and his cronies, most notably the links to notorious Gupta family that has bankrolled the president. The Indian immigrants have become synonymous with corruption involving state funds, and even have one of President Zuma’s sons as a business associate. Public opinion has worked against Mrs Dlamini-Zuma and the fact that opinion makers who are vouching for her to win are those with ties to the Guptas.
Amanda Gouws, a politics professor at Stellenbosch University, said that the thousands of party delegates could be offered bribes for their votes, and that Mr Zuma was lobbying hard for Mrs Dlamini-Zuma to emerge victorious.
"Zuma is very afraid of being prosecuted after he leaves office if Dlamini-Zuma doesn't win, so he is really trying to make sure she does," she told AFP.
Mrs Dlamini-Zuma has strongly denied her campaign had been involved with vote-buying, saying "no leader will be proud of being elected out of money".
With tensions rising, Mr Ramaphosa said the party "should rally behind whoever is elected".
Tefu Velaphi, a 38-year-old delegate and building manager, told AFP: "Zuma's legacy is disastrous. He only cares about himself and his friends. We want them to be arrested.
"That lady will protect Zuma," he said, referring to Mrs Dlamini-Zuma.
But Matthew Tsepang, one of her supporters, said: "We can not judge a person by her previous life. She can be a former wife but have her independence. She is a capable leader."
The ANC uses an exhaustive process to elect its leaders. Delegates first vote in their branches, and then the consolidated branch votes are forwarded to the provinces where an official position is taken on who they want to lead. The consolidated provincial nominations are then forwarded to the national conference.
But the taint of corruption saw the removal of voting power from more than 500 delegates, one tenth of the total.
“The decision taken there is that the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal and Bojanala region [in the North West], all the structures that are nullified will not be voting delegates at conference," said Gwede Mantashe, the secretary general.
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
No more lice
Defining head lice
Pediculus humanus capitis are tiny wingless insects that feed on blood from the human scalp. The adult head louse is up to 3mm long, has six legs, and is tan to greyish-white in colour. The female lives up to four weeks and, once mature, can lay up to 10 eggs per day. These tiny nits firmly attach to the base of the hair shaft, get incubated by body heat and hatch in eight days or so.
Identifying lice
Lice can be identified by itching or a tickling sensation of something moving within the hair. One can confirm that a person has lice by looking closely through the hair and scalp for nits, nymphs or lice. Head lice are most frequently located behind the ears and near the neckline.
Treating lice at home
Head lice must be treated as soon as they are spotted. Start by checking everyone in the family for them, then follow these steps. Remove and wash all clothing and bedding with hot water. Apply medicine according to the label instructions. If some live lice are still found eight to 12 hours after treatment, but are moving more slowly than before, do not re-treat. Comb dead and remaining live lice out of the hair using a fine-toothed comb.
After the initial treatment, check for, comb and remove nits and lice from hair every two to three days. Soak combs and brushes in hot water for 10 minutes.Vacuum the floor and furniture, particularly where the infested person sat or lay.
Courtesy Dr Vishal Rajmal Mehta, specialist paediatrics, RAK Hospital
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
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