Former South African president Nelson Mandela’s ex-wife denied on Friday that she had given an interview to a British newspaper in which she was quoted criticizing the anti-apartheid icon.
The London Evening Standard had quoted Winnie Madikizela-Mandela as saying that her ex-husband had “let us down” and that she could not forgive him for accepting the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 alongside white then-president F.W. De Klerk.
Madikizela-Mandela said she did not grant an interview to the newspaper but she did not specifically deny making the remarks, which created a stir in South Africa.
“I will in the coming days deal with what I see as an inexplicable attempt to undermine the unity of my family, the legacy of Nelson Mandela and the high regard with which the name Mandela is held here and across the globe,” Madikizela-Mandela said in a statement distributed by the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
The Evening Standard said the conversation with Madikizela-Mandela was conducted with Nadira Naipaul, wife of Nobel literature laureate V.S. Naipaul.
“Nadira Naipaul is a distinguished journalist who visited Winnie Mandela at home and spoke to her at length about her experiences,” the newspaper said on Friday. “Nadira and her husband, the writer Sir V.S. Naipaul, are photographed with Winnie Mandela and this picture was printed with the article. We cannot understand Winnie Mandela’s denial of an event and conversation which clearly took place.”
Nadira Naipaul said: “The conversation took place as I reported, and I accurately rendered the statements Winnie Mandela made.”
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number