Every little detail counts in an isicathamiya competition: the harmony, the choreography, the costumes, the entrance on stage, the exit and, of course, the singing. On Saturday night at a Durban theatre in eastern South Africa, Philani Ntuli and his group of 15 singers have just aced their performance, drawing loud cheers from the public. The precise …

A cappella singing warms Durban’s Zulu soulSun, 24 Sep 2023 12:08:11 GMT Read More »

About a dozen women hunch over sewing machines in Libya’s capital, urgently making clothes for the living, and shrouds for the dead, two weeks after a huge flood devastated the eastern city of Derna.In the war-battered north African country that has long been divided between two rival governments, the tragedy that killed thousands has sparked …

Flood strengthens Libya’s national fabric, volunteers saySun, 24 Sep 2023 11:53:18 GMT Read More »

Ethiopia’s Tigist Assefa smashed the women’s marathon world record by more than two minutes in Berlin on Sunday as Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge won the men’s race for a record fifth time. Assefa clocked 2hr 11min 53sec, more than two minutes ahead of the previous world mark of 2:14:04 set by Kenyan Brigid Kosgei in Chicago in …

Assefa smashes women’s marathon world record in Berlin, Kipchoge wins men’s raceSun, 24 Sep 2023 10:32:10 GMT Read More »

Ireland are on the cusp of the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals after a thrilling 13-8 victory over defending champions South Africa in a riveting Pool B match at the Stade de France on Saturday.The Irish top the pool and round off their campaign against Scotland in a fortnight while the Springboks, who are second, play …

Ireland on brink of World Cup last eight after edging SpringboksSat, 23 Sep 2023 22:19:33 GMT Read More »

South Africa coach Jacques Nienaber struck a defiant note after Saturday’s nerve-jangling 13-8 defeat to Ireland, claiming the defending champions can still win the World Cup. South Africa lost their opening pool match to New Zealand in 2019 before going on to lift the Webb Ellis trophy and Nienaber believes the Boks can do it again. “In …

Defiant South Africa ‘can still win’ World Cup, says coachSat, 23 Sep 2023 22:08:33 GMT Read More »

Ethiopia said Saturday it had begun a second round of talks with Egypt and Sudan over a controversial mega-dam built by Addis Ababa on the Nile, long a source of tensions among the three nations.Ethiopia this month announced the completion of the fourth and final filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, prompting immediate condemnation …

Ethiopia, Egypt, Sudan resume Nile dam talksSat, 23 Sep 2023 20:34:13 GMT Read More »

Pope Francis on Saturday led tens of thousands of worshippers for a mass in Marseille after earlier striding into a politically loaded debate in the French Mediterranean city by urging European states not to treat migrants as invaders.The 86-year-old’s visit has been shadowed by the controversy over migrant arrivals in Europe, and his plea to …

Pope leads stadium mass in France after urging welcome for migrantsSat, 23 Sep 2023 20:03:36 GMT Read More »

A suicide bomber killed 13 people and wounded dozens more in central Somalia Saturday after driving a truck packed with explosives towards a security checkpoint, triggering a blast that razed nearby buildings, police said.Emergency workers used bulldozers to clear the debris as they retrieved bodies and rescued people trapped under rubble after the blast in …

Suicide truck bomber kills 13 in central Somalia: policeSat, 23 Sep 2023 17:44:12 GMT Read More »

Ethiopia told the United Nations on Saturday it wanted quicker implementation of a peace deal in Tigray, including on disarmament of former rebels.Ethiopia’s government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in November last year reached an accord in Pretoria that has largely halted a brutal two-year war.”The implementation of the agreement continues to make …

Ethiopia at UN calls for quicker progress on peace dealSat, 23 Sep 2023 16:07:53 GMT Read More »

Pope Francis on Saturday urged European governments to welcome migrants instead of viewing them as invaders, striding into in a hugely sensitive political debate again inflamed by mass arrivals on the second day of his visit to France’s Mediterranean port of Marseille.The pontiff made the comments hours before he leads a mass in Marseille’s main …

Pope urges Europe against treating migrants as invadersSat, 23 Sep 2023 11:57:28 GMT Read More »