A report into a building fire that killed 76 people in South Africa last year has concluded that city authorities should be held responsible because they were aware of serious safety issues at the rundown apartment block at least four years before the blaze. The nighttime fire at the five-story building in downtown Johannesburg on Aug. 31 was one of South Africa's worst disasters. Retired Judge Sisi Khampepe was put in charge of the inquiry, which began in October.
The 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup – formerly, simply the World T20 – is the ninth edition of the tournament in only 17 years and the biggest ever with 20 teams taking part. It is taking place jointly in the Caribbean, for the second time, and the United States which is hosting its first matches in either limited-overs World Cups.
France will send its ambassador to the inauguration of Russian President Vladimir Putin for his next six-year term in office on Tuesday, a French diplomatic source said on Monday, in contrast with Germany which said it would not be represented. Paris' decision suggests a potential split in the Western camp with several countries, including the Baltic states, vehemently opposed to giving Putin any form of legitimacy and potentially undermining Ukraine in its war with Russia after Moscow launched an invasion more than two years ago. Putin won a record post-Soviet landslide, cementing his already tight grip on power, in Russia's presidential election, held in March just weeks after Putin's most prominent opponent Alexei Navalny died in jail.