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Zulu leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi dies aged 95 in South Africa

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Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi (pic BBC)

Mangosuthu Buthelezi, a towering figure in South African politics and outspoken Zulu chief, has died at the age of 95.

During the racist apartheid regime, he founded the Zulu Inkatha party after becoming disillusioned with the African National Congress (ANC). Thousands were killed in clashes between supporters of the two parties in the early 1990s. But he was later welcomed back into the fold, serving as President Nelson Mandela’s minister of home affairs.

Chief Buthelezi was a shrewd but controversial politician, who disagreed with the ANC’s tactics of armed action against white-minority rule and trod a moderate path as leader of an ethnic-Zulu homeland. He was opposed to international sanctions on South Africa, arguing that they would only harm the country’s black majority.

During the clashes in the early 1990s, Nelson Mandela’s ANC accused him of collaborating with the white-minority government. Some feared the violence could lead to a civil war and derail the transition to democracy which saw Mandela become president in 1994. Many believed that members of the apartheid security forces were working with the Inkatha movement to fight the ANC but Buthelezi always denied that.

President Cyril Ramaphosa led tributes, describing Chief Buthelezi as a “formidable leader”. He said he had “played a significant role in our country’s history for seven decades”. The president added: “Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi has been an outstanding leader in the political and cultural life of our nation, including the ebbs and flows of our liberation struggle, the transition which secured our freedom in 1994 and our democratic dispensation.”

He said Chief Buthelezi had died in the early hours of Saturday, two weeks after celebrating his 95th birthday.

(BBC)



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US top court orders Trump to return man deported to El Salvador in ‘error’

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The Supreme Court refused to block a judge's order requiring the Trump administration to facilitate Mr Garcia's return (BBC)

The US Supreme Court has ordered the Trump administration to facilitate the return of a Maryland man, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador’s notorious mega-jail.

The Trump administration had conceded that Kilmar Abrego Garcia was deported by accident, but appealed against a federal court’s order to return him to the US.

On Thursday, in a 9-0 ruling, the Supreme Court declined to block the lower court’s order.

The judge’s order “requires the Government to ‘facilitate’ Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent”, the justices ruled.

(BBC)

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Woman jailed over £39 donation to Ukraine freed in US-Russia prisoner swap

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Ksenia Karelina was detained in Yekaterinburg in 2024 [BBC]

A Russian-American citizen has been released in a prisoner swap between Moscow and Washington.

Amateur ballerina Ksenia Karelina, a Los Angeles resident, had been in prison in Russia for over a year, after being arrested in the city of Yekaterinburg in early 2024.

She was found guilty of treason for donating money to a US-based charity providing humanitarian support to Ukraine and was sentenced to 12 years in a penal colony.

In exchange, the US reportedly freed Arthur Petrov, a dual German-Russian citizen arrested in Cyprus in 2023. He was accused of illegally exporting microelectronics to Russia for manufacturers working with the Russian military.

[BBC]

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Nationwide strike for better pay brings Greece to standstill

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Demonstrators shout slogans during a protest, marking a 24-hour strike over low wages, in Athens, Greece, April 9, 2025 [Aljazeera]

A nationwide general strike disrupted public services across Greece, with ferries tied up in port, flights grounded and public transport running only part-time as labour unions press for higher wages to cope with rising living costs.

The 24-hour strike on Wednesday was called by the two main umbrella unions covering the public and private sectors, seeking a full return of collective bargaining rights which were scrapped as part of international bailouts during Greece’s financial crisis.

Greece has emerged from a 2009-18 debt crisis, which saw rolling cuts in wages and pensions in turn for bailouts worth about 290 billion euros ($319bn) and economic growth seen at 2.3 percent this year, outpacing other eurozone economies.

Tapping on the country’s progress, the conservative government increased the monthly minimum wage by a cumulative 35 percent to 880 euros ($970). But many households still struggle to make ends meet amid rising food, power and housing costs, the labour unions say.

The country braces for further global financial turmoil triggered by US tariffs.

[Aljazeera]

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