South Africa, Turkey-Syria, Angola.

Today's three stories you should know.

Nov 29, 2022

South Africa

High drama in South Africa today as Janusz Walus, the notorious killer of anti-apartheid icon Chris Hani, was stabbed in prison just days before he was due to be released on parole. The decision to free the far-right Walus after 30 years had caused widespread anger and both the government and Hani’s widow had opposed it. Hani was regarded as the country’s second most popular politician after Nelson Mandela and his murder in 1993 was seen as an attempt by Polish citizen Walus to derail South Africa’s transition to democracy. Prison officials said Walus’s condition was stable.

Turkey-Syria

As mentioned in a recent newsletter, Turkey is carrying out air raids against a Kurdish group in Syria who it views as a wing of the Kurdistan Workers Party, with which it has been fighting a war since 1984. There is a wrinkle, though. The group it is attacking, the YPG, makes up the majority of fighters in the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militia, which is the main ally of the US in the fight against ISIS in Syria. And today, the SDF said it had “temporarily paused” its operations against ISIS due to the Turkish strikes and that gains it has so far made against the group may now be jeapordized. The move by the SDF - perhaps a clever act of brinkmanship - will likely lead to more pressure being applied to Turkey by the US to stop its attacks.

Angola

Angola is seeking the extradition of Isabel dos Santos, the daughter of former President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who was once believed to be Africa’s richest woman. The country’s attorney-general, Helder Pitta Groz, said the government was working with Interpol to locate her. Dos Santos, though, told the New York Times that she was not a fugitive, that she was living in London and that she was available for questioning. Dos Santos has been charged with embezzlement linked to her time as boss of the state oil firm, Sonangol. She says the charges are politically motivated.