Foreign
South African court freezes ex-President Zuma’s account
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A South African bank said on Wednesday that a court had ordered a halt to outgoing payments from ex-president Jacob Zuma’s accounts in a dispute over loans for improvements to his private home while in power.
The First National Bank said the measure was the result of legal action taken by the liquidators of another bank, which is owed money by the 81-year-old politician.
“FNB was instructed by the High Court to place a hold on outgoing payments from former President Zuma’s FNB accounts. The accounts are not closed as incoming payments are unaffected,” FNB told AFP.
“This instruction from the court results from the process currently being managed by the VBS Bank liquidators, and FNB was legally required to comply. Former President Zuma’s recourse now lies with the courts and VBS liquidators.”
The measure is likely to further taint the reputation of graft-accused Zuma ahead of general elections on May 29.
In power from 2009 to 2018, Zuma is fronting a small start-up party that is threatening to take away key votes from his old home, the African National Congress.
The partial account freeze is related to the decade-old, controversial renovation of Zuma’s massive homestead in his home province of KwaZulu-Natal.
In 2016, a top court found that the then-president had acted against the constitution by using millions of dollars of state funds to refurbish his rural Nkandla home in the name of “security upgrades.”
Some of the features included a chicken coop and a swimming pool, alleged to be a fire-fighting facility — coined ‘fire pool’– a cattle enclosure and an amphitheatre.
Ordered to pay back the money, Zuma took out a 7.8 million rand ($413,000) loan from VBS.
The bank was later placed under curatorship, and its liquidators have gone to court to force Zuma to pay back the outstanding part of the loan.
AFP
Foreign
Iran accuses US of violating ceasefire over past 48 hours
Iran’s foreign ministry on Tuesday accused the United States of violating a fragile ceasefire during the past 48 hours in the southern coastal province of Hormozgan, without specifying the incident.
“The US terrorist army, continuing its illegal and unjustified actions since the ceasefire … has, in the past 48 hours, committed a gross violation of the ceasefire in the Hormozgan region,” the ministry said in a statement.
The US Central Command said forces had on Monday attacked missile sites and boats it said were trying to lay mines in the Gulf, while Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said it had fired at US aircraft attempting to enter the country’s airspace.
AFP
Foreign
Iran president orders internet restored after war suspension
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has ordered the restoration of international internet access in Iran, which had been suspended since the United States and Israel launched attacks against the country, local media reported Monday.
“The decree aimed at restoring internet access to its pre-January state was communicated to the Ministry of Communications by the president,” Iranian news agencies Tasnim and Fars reported.
Authorities shut down the internet during large-scale anti-government protests that peaked in early January, then suspended it again on February 28 at the start of the Middle East war.
Since then, the population has only had access to domestic platforms and websites.
AFP
Foreign
Trump says Iran deal ‘largely negotiated’ including reopening Strait of Hormuz
US President Donald Trump says an agreement with Iran has been “largely negotiated” and details will be announced soon.
The deal would include the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, he said on Saturday, without giving further details.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei earlier told state television that US and Iranian positions had been converging in the last week, but warned that did not mean agreements would be reached on key issues and accused the Americans of “contradictory statements”.
On social media, Trump said he had a “very good call” with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and others about a “Memorandum of Understanding pertaining to PEACE”.
“An agreement has been largely negotiated, subject to finalization between the United States of America, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the various other Countries, as listed,” Trump said.
“Final aspects and details of the deal are currently being discussed, and will be announced shortly.”
He also said he had a call on Saturday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which “went very well”.
The president has not given any further details on the deal, but has insisted any agreement would “absolutely” prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Later, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said: “I congratulate President Donald Trump on his extraordinary efforts to pursue peace,” and said the phone call had been “very useful and productive”.
Pakistan has been helping to negotiate a peace deal, serving as an intermediary.
“We hope to host the next round of talks very soon,” he wrote in the statement on X.
The US and Israel launched wide-ranging strikes on Iran on 28 February, sparking conflict across the Middle East. Iran responded by launching attacks on Israel and US-allied states in the Gulf.
A ceasefire in Iran was agreed in early April, and since then Washington and Tehran have engaged in talks over a long-term peace deal.
Speaking to state television on Saturday, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei also described a “memorandum of understanding”, saying Iran’s intention was to reach an agreement “in the form of a framework, consisting of 14 points”.
Baqaei said they were in the process of finalising the memorandum, so further talks could be held within 30 to 60 days “and ultimately a final agreement can be reached”.
The new sense of momentum comes after the mood appeared to have soured in Washington, with anonymous officials briefing US media on Friday that the administration was preparing for a fresh round of military strikes, although no final decision had been made.
On Friday, the president posted on Truth Social that he would not attend his son Donald Jr’s wedding this weekend so he could remain in Washington DC “during this important period of time”.
Last week, Trump had said the truce was on “massive life support” after rejecting Tehran’s demands, labelling them “totally unacceptable”.
The US has blockaded Iranian ports since 13 April.
On Saturday, US Central Command (Centcom) said it had redirected 100 vessels, disabled four, and allowed 26 humanitarian aid ships to pass since the blockade began.
Centcom commander Admiral Brad Cooper said its forces had been “highly effective” in “allowing zero trade into and out of Iranian ports which has squeezed Iran economically”.
Meanwhile, Iran has claimed military control of an area around the Strait of Hormuz, and has said all transit through the strait “requires coordination with and authorisation from the Persian Gulf Strait Authority”.
The US and Gulf allies have repeatedly rejected Iranian attempts to assert control over the strait, and the US has told ships not to comply with Iran’s rules.
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