South Africa Bus Crash Kills 12, Dozens Hurt 

A general view of the scene of a bus accident in Ekurhuleni on March 11, 2025. (AFP)
A general view of the scene of a bus accident in Ekurhuleni on March 11, 2025. (AFP)
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South Africa Bus Crash Kills 12, Dozens Hurt 

A general view of the scene of a bus accident in Ekurhuleni on March 11, 2025. (AFP)
A general view of the scene of a bus accident in Ekurhuleni on March 11, 2025. (AFP)

A bus overturned in an area of Johannesburg near South Africa's main airport early Tuesday, killing at least 12 people, city officials said, with dozens more injured.

The bus was carrying more than 50 people to work when it crashed on a busy road near Johannesburg's OR Tambo International Airport, officials said.

Twelve people were killed and 45 others hurt, they said in a statement. "We are lost for words. This is a disaster," Ekurhuleni city transport official Andile Mngwevu said.

The cause of the accident was not immediately known. It forced the closure of the highway leading to the airport. Images from the scene showed the bus on its side.

A survivor of the accident told Newzroom Afrika television that it appeared the bus was speeding.

Despite sophisticated road networks, South Africa battles with a high rate of road deaths blamed mostly on speeding, reckless driving, unroadworthy vehicles and failure to use seat belts.

Four school children were killed Monday and five others injured when two vehicles collided around Ekurhuleni, which lies east of Johannesburg.

At least nine people, including a four-year-old child, were killed last week when their bus careered into a ditch in the eastern province of KwaZulu-Natal. The 82-seater bus was carrying congregants returning home from church.



Russia Focusing Airstrikes on Ukraine Draft Offices to Derail Recruitment, Kyiv Says

A view shows ruins of buildings in the abandoned town of Marinka (Maryinka), which was destroyed in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in the Donetsk region, a Russian-controlled area of Ukraine, April 1, 2025. (Reuters)
A view shows ruins of buildings in the abandoned town of Marinka (Maryinka), which was destroyed in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in the Donetsk region, a Russian-controlled area of Ukraine, April 1, 2025. (Reuters)
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Russia Focusing Airstrikes on Ukraine Draft Offices to Derail Recruitment, Kyiv Says

A view shows ruins of buildings in the abandoned town of Marinka (Maryinka), which was destroyed in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in the Donetsk region, a Russian-controlled area of Ukraine, April 1, 2025. (Reuters)
A view shows ruins of buildings in the abandoned town of Marinka (Maryinka), which was destroyed in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in the Donetsk region, a Russian-controlled area of Ukraine, April 1, 2025. (Reuters)

Russia killed two people in an airstrike on the central Ukrainian city of Poltava on Thursday and damaged a military draft office there in what Kyiv said was a concerted campaign to disrupt recruitment for its war effort.

The strike on Poltava, which also injured 47 people and caused a fire at the city's main draft office, followed a drone attack on Monday near a recruitment center in Kryvyi Rih. Both cities are regional capitals.

"We understand that their (Russian) goal is to disrupt the mobilisation process," Vitaliy Sarantsev, a spokesperson for Ukraine's ground forces, told Ukraine's public broadcaster, Reuters reported.

"But I want to say that...it is too early (for Russia) to uncork the champagne because the process is impossible to stop."

Ukraine has struggled to fend off a bigger and better-equipped Russian army, and its call-up process has been marred by reports of draft-office corruption, poor training and weak battlefield command.

Well into the fourth year of its full-scale invasion, Russia has gained ground in eastern Ukraine and repeatedly hit cities far behind the front lines with drones and missiles, while also waging a sabotage campaign there, Kyiv's domestic security agency says.

In a statement to Reuters last month, the Security Service of Ukraine said it had arrested more than 700 people since 2024 for alleged crimes that included arson attacks on troop vehicles and bombings at draft offices.

A Ukrainian security official, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, said Russia was aiming to derail Kyiv's military call-up effort also by spreading disinformation and hacking recruitment office computers.

"The disruption of mobilisation is closely linked to the spread of panic and intimidation of the population," the source said, adding that bombings were part of the general strategy.

INTENSIFYING STRIKES

Russian forces have also stepped up strikes on military training grounds in recent weeks, prompting Kyiv's top general to order a strengthening of security measures at bases.

A missile attack on southeastern Ukraine this week killed a brigade commander. Ukrainian forces have also staged longer-range attacks on Russian bases in occupied territory as well as deep inside Russia.

Thursday's strike on Poltava came after the US said it had paused some weapons shipments to Ukraine, which drew warnings in Kyiv that the move would harm Ukraine's defence against intensifying Russian air strikes and battlefield gains.

Separately on Thursday, two people were killed in a ballistic missile strike on port infrastructure in the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa, said regional governor Oleh Kiper.

Dozens of people have been killed in recent drone and missile salvoes at Ukrainian cities, including the capital Kyiv.