WELLINGTON, Jan 21 (Reuters) – New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon called a general election for November 7 and kicked off his re-election campaign on Wednesday asking voters to choose continuity and promising economic prosperity.

WASHINGTON/DAVOS/COPENHAGEN, Jan 20 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday there was “no going back” on his goal to control Greenland, refusing to rule out taking the Arctic island by force and lashing out at NATO allies as European leaders struggled to respond.

Amid alarming global water shortages, a UN report declares a new era of ‘water bankruptcy’, emphasising the need for urgent action and redefined policies to address irreversible losses.

Nelson Mandela Bay has received a qualified audit for the second consecutive year, with the Auditor-General flagging seven major financial and governance failings. Issues include misstated water revenue, unverified provisions for landfills and the Swartkops River, and billions in misreported contracts and capital commitments.

The former head of South Africa’s police watchdog, Robert McBride, has made striking allegations against KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, including that he attempted to undermine an investigation into his former acting national boss Khomotso Phahlane.

The minister of transport, Barbara Creecy, has called for national action on scholar transport safety following the minibus taxi crash in Gauteng that claimed the lives of 12 learners. Just days earlier, metro police in Nelson Mandela Bay intercepted a 16-seater vehicle carrying 40 people — predominantly schoolchildren.

As the waters recede, we gather the flotsam and jetsam of what we took for granted before the rains came. And amid chaos, locals unite to rebuild essential bridges, showcasing solidarity and determination to restore normalcy.

Weeks of raids on hijacked buildings in the Joburg CBD by city departments and the JMPD followed the murder of DJ Warras, creating the impression that Joburg was finally moving decisively against hijacked buildings. But the numbers tell a different story. The city still has at least 188 hijacked buildings in the inner city, with court orders in place for just seven, and even those remain...

Jan 20 (Reuters) – The world is facing irreversible water “bankruptcy”, with billions of people struggling to cope with the consequences of decades of overuse as well as shrinking supplies from lakes, rivers, glaciers and wetlands, U.N. researchers said on Tuesday.

The Khampepe Inquiry into possible political interference in the NPA’s prosecution of apartheid-era crimes has prompted former presidents Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma to challenge aspects of victims’ arguments.

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 20 (Reuters) – European leaders, rattled by Donald Trump’s latest global gambit, are looking to present a united front in Davos, as CEOs warned against an emotional response to the U.S. president’s ambition to take over Greenland.