South Africa said on Monday it was "friends" with Russia, as it hosted Russia's top diplomat for a visit that has sparked criticism against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine.

Thousands turn out to opposition-organised protests in South Africa to express deepening frustration over the country's power crisis. Also, in a rare trial of a former president, ex-Mauritanian leader Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz appears in court on corruption charges.

Thousands turn out to opposition-organised protests in South Africa to express deepening frustration over the country's power crisis. Also, in a rare trial of a former president, ex-Mauritanian leader Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz appears in court on corruption charges. Finally, faced with about 15,000 tonnes of "e-waste" dumped in landfills every year, Rwanda is focusing more resources on recycling old smartphones.

Police are searching for two gunmen who opened fire on guests at a birthday party in Gqeberha. There has been a growing number of mass shootings in South Africa in recent years.

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.

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.

A survey has found that many people in Southeast Asia prefer to engage with the EU amid US-China rivalry in the region. Cambodians particularly viewed the bloc favorably — Malaysians and Indonesians not so much.

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.

The number of countries present on the ground in Turkey is going down as humanitarian aid takes over from search and rescue missions. One of the main priorities now is providing medical assistance to alleviate, and at times even replace, Turkish hospital services that cannot face the crisis on their own, given that many health centers are damaged or even destroyed.

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.

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