For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Halima Frost.

Making headlines: DA satisfied with uMngeni municipality’s positive strides; Ramaphosa urges all States to comply with collective obligations under international law; And, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger announce exit from International Criminal Court

DA satisfied with uMngeni municipality’s positive strides

The Democratic Alliance in KwaZulu-Natal expressed satisfaction with the positive strides that uMngeni Mayor Chris Pappas, Deputy Mayor Sandile Mnikathi and their team continue to make in the municipality.

This after the Provincial Spatial Integration Report 2024/25 ranked the municipality as number one in the province for ensuring households have access to essential services.

DA KwaZulu-Natal leader Francois Rodgers explained that the 93.75% access score reflected the number of households with the minimum level of access to essential services in uMngeni.

The municipality was won by the DA from the African National Congress in the 2021 municipal elections.

Ramaphosa urges all States to comply with collective obligations under international law

In celebration of the eightieth anniversary of the UN General Assembly, President Cyril Ramaphosa called for the removal of obstacles to the two-State solution, including a halt to illegal Israeli settlements and removal of the separation wall.

Ramaphosa was speaking during a meeting in New York on a two-State solution in the Middle East, where he urged member States to recognise Palestinian statehood and act in solidarity with its people.

He noted that the world was appalled at the brutal acts of genocide and grave war crimes committed by Israel in Gaza, aimed at eradicating the Palestinians from that narrow strip of land, and the illegal expansion of settlements in the West Bank.

He highlighted that the situation had been made worse by Israel’s stated intention to annex the entirety of the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Ramaphosa said the viability of a two-State solution depended on full and universal respect for international law.

And, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger announce exit from International Criminal Court

The military-led West African countries Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have announced their withdrawal from the International Criminal Court, denouncing it as "a tool of neocolonial repression".

The announcement, in a joint statement published on Monday, is the latest example of diplomatic upheaval in West Africa's Sahel region following eight coups between 2020 and 2023.

The three countries, which are ruled by military officers, have already split from the West African regional bloc Economic Community of West African States and formed a body known as the Alliance of Sahel States. They have also curbed defence cooperation with Western powers and sought closer ties with Russia.

Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have been members of the ICC, located in The Hague, for more than two decades. But their statement said they viewed the court as incapable of prosecuting war crimes, crimes against humanity, crimes of aggression and genocide. It did not specify examples of where the countries believed the ICC had fallen short.

The three countries are battling Islamist militant groups that control large swathes of territory and have staged frequent attacks on military installations this year.

Human Rights Watch and other groups have accused the militants as well as the militaries and partner forces of Burkina Faso and Mali of possible atrocity crimes.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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