South Africa’s top court ruled Thursday that men should be able to take their wives’ surnames and a law that prevented this amounted to unfair gender discrimination.

The Constitutional Court said the legal ban served no legitimate government purpose and was suspended, paving the way for parliament to enact amendments to the legislation.

While men were deprived of the ability to take their wives’ surnames, the discrimination was “far more insidious” for women, the ruling said.

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It “reinforces patriarchal gender norms, which prescribe how women may express their identity, and it makes this expression relational to their husband, as a governmental and cultural default,” it said.

The case was brought to court by two couples, one of which wanted to honour the woman’s parents who died when she was young. In the other case, the woman wanted to keep her ties to her family surname as she was an only child.

Previously, men would have to apply to the home affairs department to change their surname, a request that was not automatically granted.

Provisions allowing men to assume their wives’ surname on marriage are already in place in other countries, mainly in Europe and in certain US states.

AFP

Jihadists have set up roadblocks in the south and west of landlocked Mali near the borders with Senegal and Mauritania, where vital goods are imported daily.

Mali has battled a security crisis for over a decade, fuelled by violence by groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS) as well as local criminal gangs, which is compounded by a severe economic downturn.

Since early September, jihadists have imposed intermittent roadblocks on major routes leading to the capital, disrupting the movement of goods and people near Bamako and in the west.

Several witnesses told AFP that traffic had been brought to a standstill and was stretching back more than 10 kilometres (six miles) on a main highway near Bamako because of a blockade.

Mali’s junta has sought to play down the impact.

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“If enemy movements are sometimes observed, they do not last more than 20 to 30 minutes. Therefore, we cannot talk about a blockade,” said Colonel-Major Souleymane Dembele, head of the army’s Directorate of Information and Public Relations (DIRPA), at a press conference on Monday.

Observers say the jihadists’ aim is to paralyse the economy, rather than to control territory.

They also want to show that the Malian army does not have the security situation under control, they say.

A private transport company, which has been targeted in attacks by the jihadists, has announced it is suspending its services “until further notice for security reasons”.

Several vehicles transporting fuel or consumer products coming from Senegal have also been targeted by the violence.

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At least 10 buses have also been set on fire across the country by the jihadists, who first forced the passengers off the vehicles, according to an AFP count.

– ‘Restore order’ –

With no direct access to the sea, Mali imports most of the products it needs by road, such as hydrocarbons, fish, fruits and vegetables, from the port of Dakar, Mauritania or Ivory Coast.

Last weekend no tanker truck carrying fuel made the Dakar-to-Bamako trip for fear of reprisals from jihadists.

“We have decided to stop all our trucks for the time being. We are considering sending emissaries to the jihadists to discuss securing our activities,” an official from a Malian fuel company told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Jihadists also abducted six Senegalese drivers last weekend before later releasing them.

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The Malian army, which initially played down the blockades, has announced it is deploying troops to “restore order” on highways in the west and south of the country.

“The situation is difficult. The army has sent reinforcements into the field, it’s true. But these reinforcements don’t stay long, while the jihadists remain on the ground,” an elected official in the western Kayes region told AFP.

“The army must change its mode of intervention,” the deputy added.

Junta chief General Assimi Goita on Tuesday chaired an extraordinary defence council meeting in Bamako.

No official statement was released afterwards, but a source close to the talks said the security situation had been discussed.

“Significant measures have been taken to ensure the safety of property and people,” the source said.

Mali has been ruled by a junta since back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021.

Since then, the military rulers of the West African nation have turned away from traditional Western partners, especially former colonial power France, and strengthened ties with Russia and China.

AFP

At least 35 people were killed and more than 130 were injured after Israeli air strikes targeted multiple locations in Yemen on Wednesday, a day after Israel bombed a residential building in Doha, Qatar, in an apparent attempt to assassinate Hamas leaders, Al-Jazeera reported.

According to Yemen’s Ministry of Health on Thursday, the strikes hit densely populated residential areas in the capital, Sanaa, as well as the Al-Jawf governorate.

The ministry described the casualties as a preliminary toll and warned that the death count may rise as rescue teams continue to search for survivors beneath the rubble.

The ministry reported that among the locations struck were homes in Sanaa’s al-Tahrir neighbourhood, a medical facility on 60th Street, and a government compound in Al-Hazm, the capital of Al-Jawf.

Civil defence teams are currently working to extinguish fires and pull survivors from the debris. The attacks caused widespread damage to civilian infrastructure, including fuel and health facilities.

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The Houthi-run Al Masirah TV stated that “martyrs, wounded, and several homes [were] damaged as a result of the Israeli attack on the Moral Guidance Headquarters,” adding that Israeli forces targeted the health sector in southwest Sanaa and government buildings in Al-Jawf.

The Yemen Oil and Gas Corporation also confirmed that a medical station on al-Sitteen Street was struck during the bombardment.

In response to the air strikes, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree claimed that the group used surface-to-air missiles to repel Israeli aircraft.

“Our air defences were able to launch a number of surface-to-air missiles while confronting the Zionist aggression against our country,” Saree said in a statement on Telegram. “Some combat formations were forced to leave before carrying out their aggression, and the bulk of the attack was thwarted, thanks be to God.”

Israel’s military later confirmed the operation.

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“A short while ago, the IAF [Israeli Air Force] struck military targets belonging to the Houthi terrorist regime in the areas of Sanaa and Al-Jawf in Yemen.

“The targets included military camps in which operatives of the terrorist regime were identified, the Houthis’ military public relations headquarters and a fuel storage facility that was used by the terrorist regime,” said an Israeli military spokesperson in a statement.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attack was in retaliation for a Houthi drone strike on Israel’s Ramon Airport earlier this week.

“This [attack] did not weaken our hand – we struck them again from the air today, at their terror facilities, at terror bases with a great many terrorists, and also at other facilities.

“We will continue to strike. Anyone who strikes us, anyone who attacks us – we will reach them,” Netanyahu said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

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This latest escalation followed a pattern of repeated Israeli attacks on Yemen. Last month, Israeli air strikes killed top Yemeni officials, including Prime Minister Ahmed al-Rahawi. The Houthis have vowed continued resistance against Israel, stating that they will persist in their operations until the war on Gaza ends.

The group has imposed a maritime blockade on Israeli-linked vessels in the Red Sea and launched multiple air strikes into Israeli territory. The Houthis have said they will cease attacks only if a ceasefire is reached in Gaza.

The ongoing Israeli campaign in Gaza has now stretched into its 23rd month. More than 64,000 Palestinians have been reported killed since the start of the war in October 2023.

In addition to its campaign in Gaza, Israel has expanded its military operations across the region, targeting sites in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen. The Israeli government has also intensified operations in the occupied West Bank, displacing thousands of Palestinians.

On Tuesday, Israeli forces bombed a residential building in Doha where Hamas leaders were reportedly meeting to discuss a ceasefire proposal from US President Donald Trump. At least six people were killed, though Hamas later stated that its top leadership had survived the attack.