JOHANNESBURG: South Africa’s new president, Cyril Ramaphosa, is expected to give more details about how he plans to tackle corruption and boost economic growth on Friday, when he delivers his first state of the nation address.
Ramaphosa was sworn in as head of state on Thursday after his scandal-plagued predecessor, Jacob Zuma, reluctantly resigned on orders of the ruling African National Congress (ANC).
His election as president, which was unopposed in the parliament, has prompted a wave of optimism among South Africans hungry for change after nine years of economic stagnation and corruption scandals under Zuma. Zuma denies all wrongdoing.
“It’s all systems go. We are expecting our political program to be delivered by the new president,” parliamentary speaker Baleka Mbete told state broadcaster SABC from Cape Town, where the state of the nation address will be made from around 1700 GMT.
Ramaphosa, who will see out the remainder of Zuma’s presidential term until elections next year, faces an uphill battle to win public and investor support.
Africa’s most developed economy needs faster economic growth if it is to reduce high unemployment — currently at 27 percent — and alleviate widespread poverty that has persisted since the end of white minority rule in 1994.
The economy slipped into recession last year for the first time since 2009 and has also declined in indices that measure corruption and the ease of doing business.
Financial markets have rallied since Ramaphosa took over from Zuma as ANC leader in December, as investors warmed to his pledges to straighten out the country’s struggling state-owned enterprises and woo overseas investment.
South Africa’s rand extended recent gains early on Friday.
Ramaphosa, a former union leader who played an important role in talks to end apartheid, is expected to announce major cabinet changes in the coming days to replace Zuma acolytes in key portfolios who have been accused of mismanagement and implicated in corruption.
Ordinary South Africans are hopeful that he will deliver on promises to create more jobs.
South Africa’s Ramaphosa set to outline priorities in key speech
South Africa’s Ramaphosa set to outline priorities in key speech
Kabul residents name their newest mosque after Gaza
- Gaza Mosque is located in Qua-ye-Markaz, near Kabul’s famous carpet market
- Opened this month, the two-story mosque was funded from public donations
KABUL: In an act of solidarity and to honor the victims of Israel’s war on Gaza, residents of the Afghan capital have named their newest mosque after the Palestinian enclave.
Opened on Jan. 11, the Gaza Mosque is located in the Qua-ye-Markaz area of Kabul, close to business plazas and the city’s famous carpet market.
A two-story building, which can accommodate some 500 worshippers, it was funded from public donations on land provided by the Kabul municipality.
“The mosque was named Gaza Mosque to acknowledge the struggle and sacrifices of the men, women, children, youth and elders in Gaza in defending their land,” Hajji Habibudin Rezayi, a businessman who led the fundraising, told Arab News.
“There were a few name suggestions before the completion of the mosque’s construction, including Palestine, Aqsa and Gaza. Most of the campaign participants voted for Gaza as a symbol of solidarity.”
There is widespread support for Palestine among Afghans — many of whom know what it means to live under foreign occupation as they endured it during the 1979-1989 Soviet-Afghan War and the 20 years of war following the US invasion in 2001.
Afghanistan was the first non-Arab country to recognize the Palestinian National Council’s declaration of independence in 1948. Every successive Afghan government has stood by Palestine in the wake of Israel’s wars against it and the occupation of Palestinian land.
Since the beginning of Israel’s latest deadly assault on Gaza in October 2023, which has destroyed most of the enclave’s civilian infrastructure and killed tens of thousands of civilians, imams at Afghan mosques have regularly held special prayers for Palestinian freedom.
When a ceasefire was announced last week, celebrations were organized both in Afghan households and in public spaces.
“Afghans have been trying to help as much as they can to send support to Palestinians in terms of donations, prayers and other acts of solidarity,” said Abduraqib Hakimi, the imam of the Gaza Mosque.
“Every Muslim and human must have some solidarity with the people of Palestine and Gaza for what they have gone through during the past year and a half.”
Worshipers at the mosque told Arab News that they hoped that their country could do more.
“Israel’s actions in Palestine are nothing but genocide,” one of them, Asadullah Dayi, said.
“Innocent women and children were killed, and houses were destroyed. There has never been so much oppression in the history of Islam like the Zionist oppression of the Palestinians.”
Three years after restoring ties, Thailand sees growth in exchanges with Saudi Arabia
- Last week, Saudi FM led Kingdom’s delegation at inaugural meeting of Saudi-Thai Coordination Council
- With increase in trade relations, Thai Board of Investment opened an office in Riyadh in July last year
Bangkok: Three years into the reestablishment of ties with Saudi Arabia, Thais say that they are observing new opportunities and the growth of relations.
Relations between Saudi Arabia and Thailand were officially restored in January 2022, during Thailand’s former prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s visit to Riyadh, when the two countries agreed to appoint ambassadors for the first time in more than three decades.
The visit was reciprocated in November that year, when Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrived in Bangkok as a guest of honor at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit and became the first Saudi official to make such a trip.
Many agreements and official exchanges have since followed. Not only the volume of trade between the two countries has significantly increased, but also people-to-people exchanges and political consultations.
The ties were further solidified last week, when Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan visited Thailand, leading the Kingdom’s delegation at the inaugural meeting of the Saudi-Thai Coordination Council. The meeting drove further bilateral cooperation in politics, consular affairs, security and military ties, culture, tourism, economy and trade.
Alhuda Chanitphattana, a Middle East expert from Bangkok University, told Arab News that while over the past three years there has been significant growth in various industries, especially tourism and cooperation between small and medium-sized enterprises, last week’s visit marked another milestone in relations.
“The Jan. 16 meeting was a hopeful step in the history of our ties,” she said.
“The Saudi foreign minister was here himself, bringing along the press, and the meeting was able to set up a number of significant collaborations.”
The Tourism Authority of Thailand estimated that since the restoration of ties, the number of Saudis visiting the Southeast Asian nation has risen threefold, as it expected 300,000 Saudi travelers in 2025.
Since the resumption of diplomatic relations in 2022, bilateral trade has grown by more than 30 percent, surpassing $7 billion. Key Thai exports include automobiles, wood products and canned seafood, while Saudi Arabia primarily exports crude oil, chemicals and fertilizers to Thailand.
The upside is seen especially in the automobile sector.
“Thailand’s car and car parts export to Saudi Arabia grew by 40-50 percent in the past year due to more demand in the Kingdom,” Chanitphattana said. “Thai mechanics are in high demand now.”
The establishment of a Thailand Board of Investment office in Riyadh in July 2024 has also underscored the country’s commitment to supporting Saudi Vision 2030 and attracting investors from the Kingdom.
“There was a Thai exporter of essential oils who was earlier based in Dubai, but after 2022, he moved to Riyadh and opened an office in King Abdullah Financial District,” Chanitphattana said, adding that the Thai Chamber of Commerce is open to helping other businesses match with Saudi counterparts.
One such entrepreneur is Manoj Atmaramani, who in 2022 was among the first Thais to join a hotel, restaurant and cafe/catering event in Saudi Arabia.
That visit bore fruit. Today, Atmaramani exports tea and coffee products to the Kingdom and his business is growing.
“Now Saudi people can travel here, and Thai people can travel there. I have taken many Saudi businesspeople to my factory. I have also visited coffee factories in Saudi Arabia. I would advise the Thai businesspeople to present themselves at the business exhibitions in Saudi Arabia,” he said.
“Saudi Arabia is my first export market outside of Southeast Asia. My product lines have expanded since.”
South Korea to release preliminary report of Jeju Air crash by Monday
- One area under investigation is what role a bird strike played in the Dec. 29 crash of flight 7C2216
- It will take several months to analyze and verify flight data and cockpit voice recordings
SEOUL: South Korea will release by Monday a preliminary report on last month’s Jeju Air plane crash that killed 179 people, the deadliest air disaster on the nation’s soil, the transport ministry said on Saturday.
One area under investigation is what role a bird strike played in the Dec. 29 crash of flight 7C2216 as it arrived at Muan International Airport from Bangkok, according to a ministry statement.
The report will be sent to the International Civil Aviation Organization as well as the United States, France and Thailand, the ministry said. Seoul has been cooperating with investigators from the US National Transportation Safety Board and France’s Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety.
It will take several months to analyze and verify flight data and cockpit voice recordings, which stopped recording four minutes and seven seconds before the crash, and communication recordings with the control tower, the ministry said.
At 08:58:11 a.m., the pilots discussed birds flying under the Boeing 737-800, then declared mayday at 08:58:56, reporting a bird strike while the plane was on a go-around, the statement said. Airport CCTV footage also showed the plane making “contact” with birds during the go-around, it said.
Previously the ministry had said the pilots issued the distress signal due to bird strikes before going around.
The jet crashed at 9:02:57 a.m., slamming into an embankment and bursting into flames that killed everyone aboard except for two crew members in the tail section.
The surveillance footage was taken from too far away to see if there was a spark from the bird strike but it “confirmed the plane making contact with birds, though the exact time is unclear,” a ministry official told Reuters.
Duck feathers and blood were found in both of the plane’s GE Aerospace engines, the ministry said.
The ministry said it would conduct a separate analysis of the role of the concrete embankment that supported navigation antennas called “localizers.” The ministry said on Wednesday that it would remove the embankment, which experts said likely made the disaster more deadly.
India probes mystery illness after 17 die: reports
SRINAGAR: Authorities in India-administered Jammu and Kashmir were investigating a mysterious disease that has claimed the lives of 17 people, local media reports said Saturday.
The deaths, including those of 13 children, have occurred in the remote village of Badhaal in Jammu’s Rajouri area since early December.
The village was declared a containment zone earlier this week with around 230 people quarantined, the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency reported.
All of the fatalities had damage to the brain and nervous system, Amarjeet Singh Bhatia, who heads Rajouri’s government medical college, said.
“The winter vacations have also been canceled to deal with the medical alert situation,” PTI quoted Bhatia as saying.
The victims were members of three related families.
The federal government has launched an investigation with health minister Jitendra Singh saying an initial probe suggested the deaths were “not due to any infection, virus or bacteria but rather a toxin.”
“There is a long series of toxins being tested. I believe a solution will be found soon. Additionally, if there was any mischief or malicious activity, that is also being investigated,” PTI quoted Singh as saying.
In a separate medical incident, authorities in the western city of Pune recorded at least 73 cases of a rare nerve disorder.
Those infected with Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) include 26 women and 14 of the patients are on ventilator support, PTI quoted an official as saying.
In GBS, a person’s immune system attacks the peripheral nerves, according to the World Health Organization.
The syndrome can impact nerves that control muscle movement which may lead to muscle weakness, loss of sensation in the legs of arms and those infected can face trouble swallowing and breathing.
Apartment building collapses in central Turkiye, trapping 2 people
ISTANBUL: Rescuers were battling to reach two people trapped under a collapsed apartment building in central Turkiye on Saturday, officials said, with three others had already been rescued. No deaths were reported.
The collapse comes as there is renewed focus on building safety following the deaths of 78 people in a hotel fire Tuesday.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said 79 people were registered as living in the four-story apartment block in the city of Konya, some 260 kilometers (160 miles) south of the capital Ankara.
TV images showed emergency workers sifting through a large pile of rubble Saturday morning following the building’s collapse Friday evening.
Those remaining under the debris were Syrian nationals, Yerlikaya said, adding that the cause of the building collapse was not immediately known. “If there is a fault, negligence or anything else, we will learn it together,” he told journalists.
The incident occurred just three days after a fire ripped through a 12-story hotel at a ski resort in northwestern Turkiye, killing 78 people. The investigation into the blaze is examining whether proper fire prevention measures were in place.
Questions over building safety have resurfaced two weeks before the second anniversary of an earthquake that hit southern Turkiye and north Syria, killing more than 59,000. The high death toll was due in part to building safety regulations being ignored.
In 2004, a 12-story apartment building collapsed in Konya, claiming the lives of 92 people and injuring some 30 others. Structural flaws and negligence were blamed for the collapse.
