South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa was forced this week to cancel a trip to Davos by an escalating energy crisis that is inflicting rolling blackouts on the continent’s most developed economy.

Tens of thousands of railway workers, university staff, teachers and civil servants in London have gone on a day of strike on Wednesday, Feb. 1.

The government will remove regulatory hurdles to invest in new electricity infrastructure. Loadshedding has almost brought South Africa's economic growth to a standstill.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared a national "state of disaster" over the country's rolling power shortages. Energy provider Eskom says its ageing coal-fired power plants cannot keep up with demand and it's been imposing scheduled cuts. The blackouts are weighing on business activity and South Africa's economic growth.

Pretoria's Western allies are upset by South Africa hosting upcoming joint naval exercises with Russia and China. Historical ties between Moscow and the ruling ANC may explain President Ramaphosa's stance.

Nearly 6,500 people deported from Germany sneaked back to the country over the past three years, police told Bild newspaper.

South Africa has begun military exercises with both China and Russia as part of a routine army drill. The joint training has drawn immense criticism from the West, coming nearly one year on from the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The death toll from Cyclone Gabrielle in New Zealand climbed to 11 on Sunday as thousands of people remained missing a week after the storm struck the country's North Island.

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At least 5,000 Ukrainian civilians are thought to be languishing in prisons in Russia. Many were arbitrarily detained in Ukraine and forcibly deported when Russian forces swept towards Kyiv in the early days of the invasion. Now, almost a year later, their families are still desperate for news of their whereabouts.

A Russian ship loaded with hypersonic missiles will take part in joint naval drills with China off South Africa's eastern coast this week. But a Russian commander denied there were plans to fire the weapons.

Once enacted, the electoral body reforms would reduce salaries and funding for local election offices. Additionally, they would lessen sanctions for candidates who fail to report campaign spending.