Tutu discharged from hospital

CAPE TOWN — Anti-apartheid cleric and Nobel laureate, Desmond Tutu, was discharged from a South African hospital yesterday after almost two weeks of routine tests, his foundation said.

Tutu, who spent his 87 birthday in hospital, has had prostate cancer for roughly two decades and has largely withdrawn from public life.

His foundation said in a statement Tutu “has been discharged from hospital and is re-gathering his strength at home.”

Using the pulpit to criticise the white minority apartheid regime, Tutu won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his non-violent opposition to apartheid. — Reuters MOZAMBIQUE’S ruling Frelimo party took a clear lead in early results from local polls, official data shown on Thursday, as the Renamo opposition looked to gain ground ahead of next year’s general election.

With 18 declared results in the 53 municipalities, Frelimo had secured 17 wins against just one for Renamo after Wednesday’s vote. Counting continued in many areas where the race was close.

Frelimo has ruled Mozambique since its independence from Portugal in 1975.

“These results are provisional and do not cover the whole country. We call on competitors and citizens to wait calmly for the final results,” said Paulo Cuinica, spokesperson for the National Election Commission.

The election had threatened to inflame tensions in Mozambique, where Renamo fought a brutal 16-year civil war against the Frelimo government before fighting stopped in 1992. Renamo has maintained an armed wing since the civil war, and unrest again erupted between 2013 and 2016.

Renamo, which boycotted the last local poll in 2013, has alleged fraud and police intimidation of its supporters during the election.

The vote has been seen as a test of progress in the peace process after recent talks between President Filipe Nyusi and Renamo’s acting leader Ossufo Momade. — AFP