Author: Malebogo Putu
The 28th ASEAN-Japan Summit concluded with a wide-ranging joint declaration outlining concrete steps to deepen cooperation under the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP). According to the statement, ASEAN and Japan committed to undertake “substantive, practical and tangible cooperation” across the AOIP’s four priority areas: maritime cooperation, connectivity, sustainable development, and economic collaboration. The declaration emphasized that these initiatives will be implemented through ASEAN-led mechanisms such as the ASEAN Plus Three (APT), the East Asia Summit (EAS), the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), and the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus). Among the highlighted programs were the WA Project 2.0, the…
Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Japan reaffirmed their shared commitment to peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region during the 28th ASEAN-Japan Summit held in the Malaysian capital. In a joint statement adopted at the close of the meeting, both sides underscored their resolve to “further promote, mainstream and implement the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP)”, emphasizing the need to uphold international law and maintain an open, transparent, and rules-based regional order. The declaration acknowledged that global and regional challenges are increasingly interconnected, calling for stronger cooperation to address them collectively. ASEAN and…
Raila Amolo Odinga, the indomitable Kenyan opposition leader who endured decades of political persecution, brokered fragile peace after national turmoil and shaped the country’s democratic evolution through five presidential bids, died on Wednesday in Kochi, India. He was 80. Mr. Odinga, often called “Baba” or “Agwambo” by supporters, suffered a cardiac arrest during a morning walk at an Ayurvedic hospital in Koothattukulam, Ernakulam district, Kerala, where he had been receiving treatment. The news, confirmed by family members and hospital officials, sent shockwaves through Kenya, prompting spontaneous gatherings in Nairobi’s Kibera slum and Kisumu’s streets, his strongholds. President William Ruto declared…
Police in the Western Cape have launched an intensive manhunt following the fatal shooting of three men in their twenties in the Lotus informal settlement in Gugulethu on Tuesday evening. According to a media statement issued by Colonel Andrè Traut of the South African Police Service (SAPS) in the Western Cape, the attack occurred at approximately 18:30 when “the victims were attacked by unknown gunmen who opened fire before fleeing the scene.” Authorities have not yet determined the motive for the killings. “The motive for the attack is yet to be determined, and detectives from the Provincial Serious and Violent…
Police efforts to track down suspects linked to violent crimes in the Western Cape have led to the arrest of a man wanted for murder in Delft earlier this month, authorities confirmed on Wednesday. According to a media statement issued by Sergeant Wesley Twigg of the South African Police Service (SAPS) in the Western Cape, the operation was conducted by members of the Anti-Gang Unit and Delft SAPS, who acted on intelligence regarding the suspect’s whereabouts. “Efforts to arrest suspects on the wrong side of the law yielded positive results when police members arrested a suspect wanted for a murder…
The South African Police Service (SAPS) in Limpopo has arrested a tenth suspect believed to be part of a notorious syndicate responsible for a wave of ATM bombings that struck the province between 2023 and 2024. According to Colonel Malesela Ledwaba of the South African Police Service in Limpopo, the arrest was made “during an ongoing intelligence-driven operation conducted by the Provincial Tracking Team aimed at tracing the remaining suspects.” Ledwaba said the 50-year-old male suspect was apprehended “on the night of Monday, 06 October 2025, at around 21:00, at a hideout in Stinkwater, Hammanskraal, in the Gauteng province.” The…
An 18-year-old father has been arrested in connection with the brutal murder of his five-month-old biological son at Jimmy Jones Village near Malamulele, Limpopo, in what police have described as a “heartbreaking act of violence.” According to a statement issued by the South African Police Service (SAPS) in Limpopo, the incident occurred on Tuesday morning, October 7, 2025. The suspect was apprehended later that night, at approximately 22:00, following an intensive investigation by local detectives. The Provincial Commissioner of Police in Limpopo, Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe, commended the swift action of law enforcement officers in apprehending the suspect. “I commend…
Five members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), among them a female soldier, are facing charges of corruption alongside two undocumented Zimbabwean nationals, in a case that has cast a fresh spotlight on the persistent challenge of cross-border smuggling and official corruption in South Africa’s northernmost province. The seven suspects, aged between 26 and 42, are scheduled to appear before the Musina Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, September 18, 2025. According to police, they face charges of corruption, possession of illicit cigarettes, unlawful discharge of a firearm, and defeating the ends of justice. Their arrests on Tuesday, September 16,…