World

Victims of South Africa’s deadliest storm on record scrambled to get help on Thursday as relief teams struggled to cross bridges and roads wrecked by floods and landslip.

At least 306 people died when the heaviest rainfall in six decades swept away homes and destroyed infrastructure in the city of Durban and KwaZulu-Natal province.

The government has declared the region a state of disaster to unlock relief funds. 

But with key roads and bridges washed away, relief workers battled to reach the hardest-hit areas, which have been without water or electricity for up to four days.

President Cyril Ramaphosa, in a visit to the region on Wednesday, described the floods as a “calamity… a catastrophe of enormous proportions.”

Thousands of people have been made homeless and around 250 schools damaged.

Authorities said they had established 17 shelters to accommodate over 2,100 displaced people.

Sporadic protests erupted in some areas over slow restoration of services and lack of relief.

Durban city government appealed for patience.

“We understand the frustration and anxiety of our residents,” it said in a statement.

“We are working as quickly as we can. Our teams are hard at work to resume services. However, it may take a while to fully restore all services because of the extent of the damage to access roads.”

The government of KwaZulu-Natal has also put out a public call for aid, urging people to donate non-perishable food, bottled water, clothes and blankets.

– Appeal for shelter –

But many survivors said they had been left to fend for themselves.

In Amaoti, a township north of Durban, residents balanced precariously on the embarkment of a collapsed road, trying to fetch clean water from a broken pipe underneath.

“We don’t have water, there is no electricity… people from (everywhere) are coming to get water,” Thabani Mgoni, 38, told AFP in the midst of the crowd.

Philisiwe Mfeka, a 78-year-old grandmother, said her water supply stopped on Tuesday. 

Even water from the fractured pipe was being rationed to one bucket per person, with children, some as young as 10, coming to fetch one bucket each.

Volunteers said they were desperate to find food, clothes and other essentials.

In a pitch-dark hall in Durban’s Glebelands dingy apartment block, volunteers used the torches from their cellphones to register scores of displaced people overnight.

“We are just helping the people because we care,” said Mabheki Sokhela, 51, who helped organise temporary shelter at a community hall.

He urged fellow residents to provide a roof for the victims. “There is not enough space,” he said.

Many victims slept on chairs or on cardboard on the floor.

A mortuary worker at the Durban township of Phoenix said more than 100 corpses had been brought in.

“Last night there was queue of people bringing bodies. It’s too much,” the worker said, asking not to be named as he did not have permission to speak to the media.

Burials have been banned until the wet ground stabilises.

 – Brutal storm –

The storm was so severe that crocodile breeding ponds overflowed as perimeter fences fell down, allowing 14 reptiles to escape. They were recaptured a day later.

Weather experts say apocalyptic levels of rain were dumped over  several days.

Some areas received more than 450 millimetres (18 inches) in 48 hours, amounting to nearly half of Durban’s annual rainfall of 1,009 mm, the national weather service said.

The storm caught South African authorities unprepared.

The South African Weather Service has issued an Easter weekend warning of thunderstorms and localised flooding in KwaZulu-Natal and neighbouring Free State and Eastern Cape provinces.

The country is still struggling to recover from the two-year-old Covid pandemic and deadly riots last year that killed more than 350 people.

Here are the latest developments in the war in Ukraine:

– Russian flagship ‘seriously damaged’ –

The Russian navy’s Black Sea flagship is “seriously damaged” by an ammunition explosion, state media says. A Ukrainian government official claims the vessel was hit by the country’s missiles.

The Russian defence ministry says it remains afloat.

The “Moskva” gained notoriety early in the war when it called on Ukrainian border troops defending the strategic Snake Island to surrender, only to be defiantly refused.

– Evacuations resume –

Ukraine says it is reopening humanitarian corridors through nine routes in Ukraine’s east and south, to facilitate the evacuation of civilians from war-scarred regions after a day-long pause that Kyiv attributed to Russian violations.

– Ukraine accused –

The governor of Russia’s southern Bryansk region accuses the Ukrainian army of shelling a Russian town about 10 kilometres (six miles) from their joint border, injuring civilians.

The Russian military threatens to strike Ukraine’s command centres in Kyiv as “we are seeing Ukrainian troops’ attempts to carry out sabotage and strike Russian territory”, Moscow’s defence ministry says.

– Genocide debate –

Leaders on either side of the Atlantic diverge on whether to label Russia’s actions in Ukraine as “genocide”.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says US President Joe Biden, who has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of genocide, was “right” in his choice of words.

But French President Emmanuel Macron, who is campaigning for re-election, said such “verbal escalations” were unhelpful, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz steers clear of using the term. 

– $800mn US aid package –

The United States unveils a major new package of aid to Ukraine, including equipment such as helicopters, howitzers and armoured personnel carriers.

The package includes equipment Washington had previously refused to provide to Kyiv for fear of escalating the conflict with nuclear-armed Russia.

– Kharkiv offensive continues –

Russia’s offensive on Ukraine’s second city of Kharkiv has claimed a further four lives, governor Oleg Synegubov says. The city near the Russian border has been on the eastern frontline since the start of the war and suffered massive destruction.

– Ukraine a ‘crime scene’ –

The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor calls Ukraine “a crime scene” on a visit to the town of Bucha west of Kyiv, one of several towns where Russia is accused of massacring civilians.

The ICC investigates allegations of war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and aggression.

– Le Pen for NATO-Moscow rapprochement –

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen says she will back closer ties between NATO and Russia and pull Paris out of the alliance’s military command if elected president in an April 24 runoff with Emmanuel Macron.

Following accusations she is too close to President Vladimir Putin, Le Pen said a “strategic rapprochement” is required and questions need to be asked about the role of the alliance after the end of the Warsaw Pact.

– US warns China –

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warns that China’s stance towards Russia and its invasion of Ukraine could affect countries’ willingness to collaborate and trade with Beijing.

– Prisoner swap –

Ukraine says that 30 prisoners of war are being returned to the country as part of the most recent exchange of captives with Russia, following an order from President Volodymyr Zelensky.

It says in a statement on social media the swap involves five officers and 17 servicemen, along with eight civilians, including one woman.

– 4.7 million refugees –

More than 4.7 million Ukrainians have fled their country in the 50 days since Russia invaded, the United Nations says.

A delegation of United States lawmakers led by vocal China hawk Senator Lindsey Graham arrived in Taiwan on Thursday for a two-day trip as Beijing threatened “strong measures” in response. 

The group, which also includes Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Bob Menendez, is making the latest in a string of visits by foreign politicians to the island in defiance of pressure from Beijing. 

A US government plane touched down in Taipei on Thursday evening for what Washington’s de facto embassy said were talks on “US-Taiwan relations, regional security, and other significant issues of mutual interest”.

Taiwan’s foreign ministry said the group would meet President Tsai Ing-wen, foreign minister Joseph Wu and defence officials.

China’s Communist Party has never controlled self-ruled Taiwan but it views the island as part of its territory and has vowed to one day seize it, by force if necessary.

Those threats have become more bellicose under President Xi Jinping, making the security of Taiwan a rare subject of bipartisan support in Washington.

Menendez was among a group of lawmakers who introduced a bill in February to rename Taipei’s de facto embassy in Washington the “Taiwan Representative Office”. 

That would be a diplomatic departure from the tradition of using the word “Taipei”. 

Beijing baulks at use of the word Taiwan on the international stage and opposes any country having official exchanges with the democratic island.

Lithuania’s recent decision to allow Taiwan to use its own name for a representative office triggered Beijing to launch a trade war against Vilnius that has angered the European Union. 

China’s foreign ministry warned the US senators against “going down on the wrong and dangerous path” ahead of their arrival. 

“China will continue to take strong measures to resolutely safeguard its national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters.

A Swedish parliamentary delegation is also currently in Taiwan.

“The purpose of the visit is very clear,” Swedish lawmaker Charlie Weimers told reporters on Thursday.   

“It is to send a signal of support from Europe to Taiwan. And to make sure that signal is being heard all across the Taiwan Strait.”

Former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo infuriated Beijing when he said the United States should diplomatically recognise Taiwan as “a free and sovereign country” during a visit last month. 

China’s sabre-rattling has spurred greater diplomatic support for Taipei and prompted visits from Western politicians shaken by Beijing’s more muscular tone. 

Russia’s recent invasion of Ukraine has also heightened fears that China might one day follow through on threats to annex its smaller neighbour.

Like most nations, the United States diplomatically recognises Beijing but also maintains de facto diplomatic ties with Taipei and is bound by an Act of Congress to ensure Taiwan can maintain its defence.

US arms sales and diplomatic visits to Taiwan have ticked up under both former president Donald Trump and his successor Joe Biden.

Britain will send migrants and asylum-seekers who cross the Channel thousands of miles away to Rwanda under a controversial deal announced Thursday as the government tries to clamp down on record numbers of people making the perilous journey.

“From today… anyone entering the UK illegally as well as those who have arrived illegally since January 1 may now be relocated to Rwanda,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a speech near Dover in southeastern England.

“Rwanda will have the capacity to resettle tens of thousands of people in the years ahead,” Johnson said.

He called the East African nation with a sketchy human rights record “one of the safest countries in the world, globally recognised for its record of welcoming and integrating migrants.” 

Johnson was elected partly on promises to curb illegal immigration but has instead seen record numbers making the risky Channel crossing.

He also announced that Britain’s border agency would hand responsibility for patrolling the Channel for migrant boats to the navy.

More than 28,000 people arrived in Britain having crossed the Channel from France in small boats in 2021.

Around 90 percent of those were male and three-quarters were men aged between 18 and 39.

The Rwanda plan swiftly drew the ire of opposition politicians who accused Johnson of trying to distract from his being fined for breaking coronavirus lockdown rules, while rights groups slammed the project as “inhumane”.

Ghana and Rwanda had previously been mentioned as possible locations for the UK to outsource the processing of migrants, but Ghana in January denied involvement.

Instead, Kigali on Thursday announced that it had signed a multi-million-dollar deal to do the job, during a visit by British Home Secretary Priti Patel.

“Rwanda welcomes this partnership with the United Kingdom to host asylum seekers and migrants, and offer them legal pathways to residence” in the East African nation, Foreign Minister Vincent Biruta said in a statement.

The deal with Rwanda will be funded by the UK to the tune of up to 120 million pounds ($157 million, 144 million euros), with migrants “integrated into communities across the country,” it said.

In Dover, where many migrants arrive after crossing the Channel, some residents welcomed the announcement.

“They should be sent back, because it is not our responsibility,” said retiree Andy, 68. 

“Our responsibility is to look after our own people, which we aren’t doing,” the heavily tattooed army veteran told AFP.

“I understand people escaping from repression, I do. But if they’re coming over here for one thing and that is money, to me that is wrong.”

– Backlash –

Refugee Action’s Tim Naor Hilton accused the government of “offshoring its responsibilities onto Europe’s former colonies instead of doing our fair share to help some of the most vulnerable people on the planet”.

“This grubby cash-for-people plan would be a cowardly, barbaric and inhumane way to treat people fleeing persecution and war,” he said.

Scotland’s Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said the plan showed that the Conservative government was “institutionally racist”.

The government “rightly provides asylum and refuge to Ukrainians fleeing war, but wants to send others seeking asylum thousands of miles away to Rwanda for ‘processing’,” Yousaf tweeted.

Australia has a policy of sending asylum seekers arriving by boat to detention camps on the Pacific island nation of Nauru, with Canberra vowing no asylum seeker arriving by boat would ever be allowed to permanently settle in Australia.

Since 2015 the UK has “offered a place to over 185,000 men, women and children seeking refuge (…) more than any other similar resettlement schemes in Europe,” Johnson said.

According to the UN refugee agency, Germany received the highest number of asylum applicants (127,730) in Europe in 2021, followed by France (96,510), while the UK received the fourth largest number of applicants (44,190).

Tesla chief Elon Musk has launched a hostile takeover bid for Twitter, insisting it was a “best and final offer” and that he was the only person capable of unlocking the full potential of the platform.

Musk offered $54.20 a share, which values the social media firm at $43.4 billion, in a filing dated Wednesday April 13 with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Twitter’s board said it would carefully review what it termed Musk’s “unsolicited, non-binding” offer and decide on a course of action that was “in the best interest of the Company and all Twitter stockholders.”

Musk’s latest move toward Twitter comes just days after he turned down a seat on the board following his acquisition of a 9.2 percent stake in the microblogging platform.

“I invested in Twitter as I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy,” Musk said in his filing.

“However, since making my investment I now realize the company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form,” he said.

“Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company. As a result, I am offering to buy 100% of Twitter for $54.20 per share in cash, a 54% premium over the day before I began investing in Twitter.”

– ‘Popcorn time’ –

Musk, Twitter’s biggest shareholder, said his “offer is my best and final offer” and he would reconsider his position as a shareholder if it was rejected.

“Twitter has extraordinary potential. I will unlock it,” he said.

Wedbush analysts said the Twitter board would likely be forced to accept the bid or seek another buyer. 

“It’s get out the popcorn time as we expect many twists and turns in the weeks ahead as Twitter and Musk walk down this marriage path,” the analysis said, with a host of questions likely to swirl around issues of financing, regulatory aspects and balancing Musk’s time between his many companies.

Currently the world’s richest man, and with more than 80 million followers on the microblogging platform, Musk last week disclosed a purchase of 73.5 million shares — or 9.2 percent — of Twitter’s common stock. His announcement sent Twitter shares soaring more than 25 percent.

He was offered a seat on the board but turned it down at the weekend.

Musk’s move comes after he tweeted Saturday asking whether the social media network was “dying” and to call out users such as singer Justin Bieber, who are highly followed but rarely post.

“Most of these ‘top’ accounts tweet rarely and post very little content,” the Tesla boss wrote, captioning a list of the 10 profiles with the most followers — which includes himself at number eight, with 81 million followers.

In other weekend tweets, Musk posted joke polls on whether to drop the “w” from Twitter’s name and on converting its San Francisco headquarters to a homeless shelter “since no one shows up anyway.”

He also suggested removing ads, Twitter’s main source of revenue.

The billionaire tech entrepreneur is a frequent Twitter user, regularly mixing in inflammatory and controversial statements about issues or other public figures with remarks that are whimsical or business-focused. 

He has also sparred repeatedly with federal securities regulators, who cracked down on his social media use after a purported effort to take Tesla private in 2018 fell apart.