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Election officials in South Africa rush to register 100,000 prisoners to vote

Election officials in South Africa rush to register 100,000 prisoners to vote

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Election officials in South Africa rush to register 100,000 prisoners to vote

South African election officials have visited prisons across the country as part of an ambitious project to register at least 100,000 inmates to vote in this year’s national election.

The country’s constitution guarantees every adult citizen the right to vote — meaning there are no restrictions on prisoners taking part in elections, a stark contrast to most other African nations. The date for the vote has not yet been announced, but it’s expected to be held between May and August.

The Electoral Commission of South Africa hopes to register a record number of inmates in the 240 correctional facilities across the country as voters. Around 15,000 prisoners voted in the last national election in 2019.

South Africa has about 157,000 inmates currently in prison, according to authorities. The country struggles with one of the highest crime rates in the world.The commission said that though it was concluding its visit to all 240 prisons by the end of Thursday, it still could not say how many prisoners countrywide had registered.

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At the all-male Zonderwater Correctional Centre on the outskirts of the capital, Pretoria, prisoners in orange uniforms lined up Thursday in a hall to register as first-time voters or update their details on electoral rolls if they have been recently incarcerated.

Guards kept a close watch. A banner with the words “Ensuring Free and Fair Elections” was pinned to a prison wall.

Other inmates ignored the process, chatting to each other or getting on with their work preparing lunch in the cafeteria.

“The whole country is a single constituency,” said electoral commission chairperson Mosotho Moepya. “Whether they are here at Zonderwater … or elsewhere in the country.”

Khathutshelo Mashau, an inmate who registered, said he thinks that prisoners also have an interest in who governs the country.

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“The way our courts are operating sometimes, it does frustrate us,” Mashau said. “If you are writing an appeal it takes so long. That’s one thing that us, as offenders, we are worried about.”

Mandla Mpangane also registered to vote but said most prisoners did not, largely because they are disillusioned with the way the legal process handles their parole applications and grievances while in prison.

He said he hoped his vote would improve the running of the prison and life for his family on the outside.

“It will make a big difference in our community,” he said.

South Africa, with a population of 62 million, has more than 27 million registered voters so far for this year’s national election.

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It will be South Africa’s seventh under its new democracy. The country’s first all-race vote was held in 1994 and saw Nelson Mandela elected as the country’s first Black president to officially end the apartheid system of forced racial segregation.

The African National Congress party once led by Mandela has been in government ever since apartheid ended. 

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Estonia summons Russian embassy chief over GPS jamming

Estonia summons Russian embassy chief over GPS jamming

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Estonia summons Russian embassy chief over GPS jamming

Estonia’s foreign ministry has summoned the head of the Russian embassy in Tallinn to protest the jamming of GPS signals, the Baltic country said on Wednesday.

Estonia accuses neighbouring Russia of violating international regulations by disturbing GPS navigation in airspace above the Baltic states, echoing concerns from airlines that say they have contended with such interference for months.

The Estonian foreign ministry on Wednesday summoned Russia’s charge d’affaires to convey its message. Moscow and Tallinn last year expelled each other’s ambassadors as relations deteriorated in the wake of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

“Jamming the GPS signal is an element of Russia’s hybrid activities, disrupting everyday life and threatening the security of allies,” Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said in a statement.

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Russia’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

GPS, short for Global Positioning System, is a network of satellites and receiving devices used for positioning, navigation and timing on Earth in everything from ships and planes to cars.

The jamming of GPS signals can be disruptive to commercial airliners but they can usually navigate by other means.

Finnish carrier Finnair last month said it would pause all flights to Tartu in Estonia to allow the local airport to upgrade its navigation system, which has so far relied only on GPS.

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Australia boosts funds to Taiwan-ally Tuvalu amid Pacific contest for influence with China

Australia boosts funds to Taiwan-ally Tuvalu amid Pacific contest for influence with China

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Australia boosts funds to Taiwan-ally Tuvalu amid Pacific contest for influence with China

Australia will quadruple its financial assistance to Tuvalu, a Pacific Island nation at risk from rising seas, to cement a landmark climate migration and security deal as China also courts small island states.

On a visit to Tuvalu, foreign minister Penny Wong said on Wednesday evening Australia has committed A$110 million ($72.27 million) in its national budget to Tuvalu.

The sum includes A$50 million ($32.85 million) to build the first undersea cable connecting the island’s residents to global telecommunications services, and A$19 million for a land reclamation project to fortify Tuvalu’s coastline from rising seas.

Another A$15 million will be spent on a national security coordination centre, as well as A$10 million in direct budget support.

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The funding is a significant boost on the A$17 million ($11.17 million) Australia provided to Tuvalu in 2023-24.

China’s ambitions for a greater security presence in the Pacific became an election issue in Tuvalu in January, as two leadership contenders said Tuvalu should consider switching ties from Taiwan to Beijing for more funds, and revise a new security pact with Australia.

Neighbour Nauru cut ties with Taiwan a fortnight before Tuvalu’s vote, after China built a port and promised more aid.

Tuvalu’s new prime minister Feleti Teo pledged to stick with Taiwan, and to ratify the Falepili Union signed with Australia in November. The treaty allows Tuvalu citizens to migrate to Australia for work or study, while recognising Tuvalu continues to exist despite the rising sea levels.

“Australia has provided a security guarantee to support Tuvalu in a humanitarian disaster, a pandemic or the event of attack,” Wong said in a speech on Wednesday evening.

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“It is also the first time in history that two nations have agreed in a legally binding instrument that statehood endures in the face of sea level rise,” she added.

The treaty allows Australia to vet Tuvalu’s deals with third countries in a broad range of security areas from ports to telecommunications.

On Thursday, Wong and Teo are expected to say that the security cooperation does not limit Tuvalu’s ability to enter into diplomatic agreements with other nations, according to an advance copy of a joint statement viewed by Reuters.

“We recognise that the people of Tuvalu deserve the choice to live, study and work elsewhere, as climate change impacts intensify at home,” the text of the statement reads.

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Probe launched after Boeing cargo plane lands in Istanbul without front landing gear

Probe launched after Boeing cargo plane lands in Istanbul without front landing gear

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Probe launched after Boeing cargo plane lands in Istanbul without front landing gear

A FedEx Airlines Boeing cargo plane landed at Istanbul Airport on Wednesday without its front landing gear, a Turkish Transport Ministry official said, adding there were no casualties and authorities had launched an investigation.

The aircraft, flying from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, informed the control tower in Istanbul that its landing gear had failed to open and touched down with guidance from the tower, managing to remain on the runway, a ministry statement said.

Airport rescue and fire fighting teams were scrambled before landing, but no one was injured. The ministry gave no reason for the failure.

The aircraft involved is a nearly 10-year-old Boeing 767 freighter, one of the most common cargo planes and based on the 767 passenger model dating back to the 1980s.

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An official from Turkey’s transport ministry said its teams were conducting examinations at the scene as part of the ongoing investigation, but did not provide further details.

Boeing referred queries to FedEX, which said in a statement it was coordinating with investigation authorities and would “provide additional information as it is available”.

Video footage obtained by Reuters showed sparks flying and some smoke as the front of the plane scraped along the runway before coming to a halt and being doused with firefighting foam. No fire appeared to have broken out.

The video showed the pilots holding the plane’s nose above the runway for several seconds after the main wheels had touched the ground, apparently executing the emergency drill for landing with a retracted nose gear that pilots train for, according to the SKYbrary aviation database.

In June last year, a small 22-year-old Boeing 717 flown by Delta Airlines made a similar smooth landing without a nose gear in Charlotte, North Carolina, in an incident later blamed on a fractured component.

The runway was temporarily closed to air traffic, but other runways at Istanbul airport were still operating normally, the airport operator IGA said.

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Manufacturers are not typically involved in the operation or maintenance of jets once they enter service, but Boeing has been under intense media and regulatory scrutiny following a series of incidents on its smaller 737.

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