World Briefs: S. African President to face graft charges

S. African President to face graft charges

JOHANNESBURG • A South African court threw out President Jacob Zuma's attempt to appeal against a ruling that he should face almost 800 corruption charges, piling pressure on the embattled leader.

Mr Zuma had tried to overturn a court order that the National Prosecuting Authority should reinstate the charges that were dropped in 2009 before he came to power.

"We seriously considered whether the appeal would have reasonable prospects of success and came to the conclusion that there are no merits in the arguments," Judge Aubrey Ledwaba told the High Court in Pretoria yesterday.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE


Immunity for Turkish forces fighting Kurds

ANKARA • Turkey's Parliament has granted immunity from prosecution to members of the armed forces conducting counter-terrorism operations against Kurdish militants in fighting that has killed thousands in the past year.

The law, passed late on Thursday, gives expansive powers to the military as it tries to stamp out an insurgency by the Kurdistan Workers Party after the collapse of a two-year ceasefire. The legislation could make it harder to investigate allegations of rights abuses.

REUTERS

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on June 25, 2016, with the headline World Briefs: S. African President to face graft charges. Subscribe