South African Court Hears Appeal from Jailed Ex-President Zuma Amid Violent Protests
Voice of America
A South African court Monday began hearing an appeal launched by former President Jacob Zuma on his lengthy prison sentence in the wake of violent protests against his imprisonment.
According to Reuters, Zuma’s lawyers asked the court to release the 79-year-old Zuma partly on the grounds that the Constitutional Court improperly imposed the sentence in his absence. Zuma reported to a prison facility in his home province of KwaZulu-Natal last week to begin serving a 15-month sentence on contempt of court charges after he failed to testify before a special inquiry looking into wide-ranging allegations of official corruption during his nine years in office, which ended in 2018. His lawyers are also arguing that he will be at risk of catching COVID-19 while imprisoned.
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FILE - A man types on a computer keyboard in Warsaw, in this Feb. 28, 2013, illustration photo.
Queensland, Australia
U.S. warplanes hit what officials describe as high-ranking operatives of the Islamic State affiliate in Somalia, U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Saturday.
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FILE - A man takes a picture of his wife with Taranaki Maunga, previously known as Mount Taranaki, in the background in New Plymouth, New Zealand, Sept. 26, 2011. FILE - New Zealand's Taranaki Maunga, previously known as Mount Taranaki, has a warm glow lighting the snow peak, June 12, 2011.
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FILE - European Union Ambassador to the United Nations Olof Skoog speaks to the U.N. General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York City, Oct. 27, 2023.
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House, Jan. 31, 2025, in Washington.
A man rides a bicycle past the landmark clock tower of the central Syrian city of Hama on Jan. 27, 2025.
FILE - This picture shows sailing boats in Skjervoy Fjord, in northern Norway within the Arctic Circle, on Nov. 15, 2024. A map of the Arctic Region
The homepage of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine's website on Jan. 31, 2025. Sergiy Tomilenko, president of the organization, says many Ukrainian media outlets face the threat of closure after the United States froze all foreign aid for 90 days. The homepage of Frontier Myanmar's website, Jan. 31, 2025. Ben Dunant, editor-in-chief of the magazine, says, “It is difficult — or even impossible — for many [media outlets] to make commercial revenue” in war-torn Myanmar.
President of Mozambique Daniel Chapo, center, arrives for a summit in Harare, Zimbabwe, Jan. 31, 2025. Mozambican authorities have assured refugees who fled to Malawi after post-election unrest that peace has been restored and they are welcome to return home.