durables

  Zambia's former First Lady Esther Lungu and her daughter Chiyeso Katete have been arrested over possession of properties suspected to be proceeds of crime. The two were arrested on Thursday in the capital, Lusaka, alongside another close relative identified as Charles Phiri, authorities said. Ms Lungu "failed to give a reasonable explanation" of how she acquired a $30,000 (£24,000) estate in the capital, the state anti-drug agency said. Former President Edgar Lungu said the family would challenge the charges in court. The former leader has been accusing the government of victimizing him and members of his Patriotic Front (PF) party to block his return to politics ahead of the 2026 elections. He recently claimed to have been put  under house arrest over his heightened political activities although the government denied it . Last September, his wife was arrested over corruption allegations, involving cases of theft of motor vehicles and title deeds, which she denied. On T...

  South Africa's ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), is about to lose its majority in parliament for the first time since it came to power 30 years ago, partial results from Wednesday's parliamentary election suggest. With results from 56% of voting districts counted so far, the  African National Congress ( ANC) is leading with 42%, followed by the Democratic Alliance (DA) with 24%. The uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK Party) of former President Jacob Zuma received 11% of the vote and the Economic Freedom Fighters party, nearly 10%. Final results are expected over the weekend. The online system streaming the election results crashed on Friday morning, leaving poll screens showing zero results. South Africa's electoral commission has apologized for the issue and later restored the service. It said the poll results had not been compromised. Many voters blame the  African National Congress ( ANC) for the high levels of corruption, crime, and unemployment in the coun...

  As Claudia Sheinbaum, the front-runner in Mexico’s presidential election, arrives for a rally in a packed park in the colonial city of Orizaba, the crowd starts to chant "President!" Those attending are convinced that is what she is about to become: Mexico’s first-ever woman president. The polls suggest they may well be right. With her closest rival, Xóchitl Gálvez, also a woman, and the only man in the presidential race a distant third, Mexico is almost certainly set to break centuries of male domination of the country’s highest office. In fluent English, Ms Sheinbaum, who belongs to the governing Morena party, says the fact that both leading candidates are women is a sign that Mexican society is finally evolving. "I think it’s also a symbol for the world,” she said. “Mexico has been known to be ruled by men for many years. But Mexicans are now governed by many women and that’s a change,” says the former mayor of Mexico City, referring to the gender parity in the cabi...

  As a reminder, Donald Trump's team says they are planning to appeal against the verdicts. But on what basis? The evidence of Stormy Daniels, whose alleged sexual encounter with Trump was at the heart of the case, could be one reason. “The level of detail that was provided [by Daniels] is really not necessary to the telling of the story," says Anna Cominsky, a professor at New York Law School. The novel legal strategy taken by the district attorney in this case may also provide grounds for appeal. Falsifying business records can be a lower-level misdemeanor in New York, but Trump faced more serious felony charges because of a supposed second crime - an illegal attempt to influence the 2016 election. Prosecutors broadly alleged that violations of federal and state election laws, along with tax fraud, applied to this case. But they did not specify to the jury exactly which one was broken. Legal experts say there are questions around the scope and application of the federal law,...

  Police clearance certificates are not necessary for those entering the country as temporary residents, including on study permits In a development that could help international students and temporary workers, the Canadian government has acknowledged that police clearance certificates are no longer necessary for those entering the country as temporary residents, including study permits. Responding to repeated questions from Indo-Canadian MP Arpan Khanna during a sitting of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration on Monday, Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Marc Miller said, “I have never said such certificates are required for temporary residents.’ He also said the government does “verification”, which he explained were biometrics, basically fingerprints that were run through partner and police databases. As for the police certificates from the country of origin, Miller said, “We do not, as a routine matter, require them for ...

  A speeding passenger bus fell from a highway into a rocky ravine in southwest Pakistan early Wednesday, killing at least 28 people. A speeding passenger bus fell from a highway into a rocky ravine in southwest Pakistan early Wednesday morning, killing at least 28 people and more than 20 people  injured , officials said. Local police officer Asghar Ali said the driver lost control suddenly in Washuk town as the bus was traveling from Turbat, the second-largest city in Baluchistan province, to Quetta, the province’s capital. Police were trying to collect details from the injured. Ismail Mengal, a government administrator in Washuk, said the driver of the bus was among the dead.  He said rescuers and police quickly responded and provided initial medical treatment to the injured passengers. Police transported the dead and injured to a hospital, where some of the injured were in critical condition. In a statement, Sarfraz Bugti, the chief minister in Baluchistan, expressed g...