Somalia, Qatar, South Africa.

Today's three stories you should know.

Oct 29, 2022

Somalia

Scores of civilians have been killed in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu today as two car bombs hit a busy junction near government offices, according to police. An Associated Press journalist said he saw “many” bodies at the scene and that they appeared to be civilians who had been travelling on public transport. An ambulance responding to the first bomb is reported to have been destroyed and journalist Mohamed Isse Koona killed in the second blast. There has been no claim of responsibility but the attack is likely to have been carried out by the al-Shabab armed group, which has been trying to topple Somalia’s government for over a decade.

Qatar

Reuters carried an exclusive report today from Qatar’s capital Doha revealing that thousands of foreign workers, mainly Africans and South Asians, have been evicted from their homes in areas where fans will stay during the World Cup next month. Workers, many of whom are likely to have worked on building key infrastructure for the tournament, told the news agency that some were given two hours to vacate their apartments and that several had to sleep on the streets. The Gulf state has come under fire from rights groups in the lead up to the World Cup. Qatar’s leader, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, says the criticism is part of a campaign against the country.

South Africa

A new Zulu king is to be coronated in South Africa today. King Misuzulu ka Zwelithini, 49, will be the first king crowned since South Africa became a democracy in 1994. During the apartheid-era, Zwelithini’s father was forced by the government to be coronated wearing a Western suit. Today’s coronation, though, is expected to be a massive celebration of Zulu culture. Zulu kings and other tribal leaders retain some influence in South African society and receive budgets from the government - a source of controversy with some South Africans calling it a waste of taxpayers’ money. A fifth of the country’s population is Zulu, making it the largest ethnic group.