South Africa, Peru, Sudan.

Today's three stories you should know.

Apr 21, 2023

South Africa

A horrific attack in South Africa as 10 members of the same family - including seven women and a 13-year-old boy - were shot dead by four armed men. Police responding to the shooting in the city of Pietermaritzburg engaged in a gun battle with the attackers, killing one and arresting two. The fourth got away but police said his identity is known. Police Minister Bheki Cele described the dead suspect as a “notorious” criminal, and said the scene at the family home was “terrible.” No motivation for the attack has yet been reported. South Africa has one of the highest murder rates in the world and there have been several mass shootings in recent years.

Peru

Former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo has turned himself in to officials in the US and is expected to be extradited back to Peru to face charges of corruption. Toledo, who was in power from 2001 to 2006, is accused of taking about $20 million in bribes from Odebrecht, a huge Brazilian construction company. The corruption scandal has shaken Peruvian politics to its core with Toledo one of four ex-presidents accused of wrongdoing. Former President Ollanta Humala is currently on trial, former President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski is under house arrest, and former President Alan García shot himself in dead in 2019 as police arrived at his home to arrest him.

Sudan

Heavy fighting has continued in Sudan’s capital Khartoum despite a three-day truce being agreed for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr. Residents reported artillery fire and street-to-street battles throughout the day. The conflict pits rival generals - army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces group - against each other in a battle for power. The roots of the bitter row between the two lie in a dispute over how to go about a promised transition to civilian rule following a military coup in 2019.