THIS WEEK

 

16: The government of South Sudan is holding an emergency cabinet meeting hours after it announced that long-delayed national elections would be postponed by two years. The polls were due to take place in December. A 2018 peace deal that ended a civil war allowed president Salva Kiir to remain in charge of a transitional government with his former foe Riek Machar serving as his deputy (Juba).

 

16: UN World Cleanup Day

 

16-17: APM Terminals, owned by Danish shipping company Maersk, is seeking to interdict Transnet from proceeding with its multibillion-rand privatisation deal with Philippines-based International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI) to revitalise Durban's Container Terminal Pier Two (DCT2). APM, which was as the runner-up after the tender process, wants the interdict ahead of a further court challenge to set aside the award of the 25-year concession. The matter has been set down before Durban High court Judge Rob Mossop and argument is expected to continue for two days.

  

17: GLF Africa 2024: Greening the African Horizon. Global conference to find out how Africa can navigate the future of three shifting landscapes: forests and savannas, drylands, and freshwater and oceans. Register at: bit.ly/GLFAfrica2024 (Nairobi)

 

19: ‘Meet the Scientist’ featuring Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett-Helaire, the scientist who helped develop the groundbreaking Covid-19 vaccine. This event will be live-streamed, with free registration open to all (Johannesburg).

  

19: 85-year-old former teacher Iain Wares is expected in court for his local sex abuse case. Numerous former pupils of Edinburgh Academy and Fettes College are accusing him of abuse. Wares faces more than 70 charges for allegedly sexually and physically abusing young boys during his teaching years in Scotland. Justice Minister Thembi Simelane has approved the extradition of Wares to the UK at the conclusion of his local trial (Cape Town).

 

19: Funeral for former Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan who died last week. President Cyril Ramaphosa has directed that the national flag be flown at half-mast in honour of the struggle stalwart until the funeral (Durban).

 

OTHER:

 

* Senegal's President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has dissolved the opposition-led Parliament, paving the way for a snap legislative election six months after he was voted in on an anti-establishment platform. The new election will take place 17 November,

 

*  Zimbabwe will cull 200 elephants as it faces an unprecedented drought that has led to food shortages while also tackling a ballooning population of the animals. The elephants will be hunted in areas where they have clashed with humans, including Hwange, home of Zimbabwe's largest natural reserve.

 

* Five mixed-race women demanding reparations from Belgium after being taken from their mothers in the Congo 70 years ago have taken their fight to a Brussels appeals court. They accuse the country of crimes against humanity over a colonial-era practice that saw them taken from their families and placed in institutions. The complaint covers the period 1948-1961 and concerns the practice of placing mixed-race children in religious institutions managed by the Church. 

 

* Thanks to a regional rotation, the next Commonwealth secretary-general is due to come from Africa, and candidates from Lesotho, Ghana and The Gambia are all keen to get the job for the next four to eight years. Career diplomat Joshua Setipa from Lesotho, The Gambia's Foreign Affairs Minister Mamadou Tangara and Ghanaian Regional Integration Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey are in the running,

 

* The Mail & Guardian’s Greening the Future nominations are now open. The awards celebrate people, projects and organisations that champion environmental concerns and make our world a better, greener place. The awards were first launched in 1998 to acknowledge those who have dedicated their work, and much of their lives, to preserving our planet for future generations.  The theme for this year is ‘Crowning Our Green Champions’. Categories are:  agriculture, biodiversity, green design, green finance and business, mining, renewable energy and clean air, waste management and water and ocean conservation. The event coincides with the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP 29, to be held in November in Baku, Azerbaijan. The theme of this year’s event is ‘In Solidarity for a Green World’.  The closing date for nominations is 18 October.