BARACK OBAMA travels to South Africa today and the question on everyone's lips is whether he will meet his hero, Nelson Mandela.
The 94-year-old former South African president remains in a critical condition in a Pretoria hospital and the US president has stated that he will be guided by the wishes of Mandela's family over a visit.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
During his time in the country Obama will visit Robben Island, where Mandela spent years in prison.
Meanwhile, Mandela's daughter Makaziwe has lashed out at the media over its intense coverage of her father's health and accused reporters of being disrespectful to the Mandela clan.
She told South Africa's state broadcaster SABC that journalists had made a "nuisance" of themselves at the hospital where her father is being treated and contrasted their behaviour with the respect afforded Margaret Thatcher in her final days.
"There's sort of a racist element with many of the foreign media, where they just cross boundaries," Makaziwe said. "It's truly like vultures waiting when the lion has devoured the buffalo, waiting there for the last of the carcass."
Makaziwe and 19 other members of the Mandela family made an application to a court today to move the remains of three of Mandela's children, and of two other people believed to be his siblings, from Mvezo to Qunu, the family's ancestral home. The remains were exhumed and reburied in Mvezo – Mandela's birthplace – by the statesman's grandson Mandla, an issue which has caused a rift in the family.
South African newspaper The Herald says Mandla has indicated he will not oppose the application to return the remains to Qunu.
-
How will the new Repayment Assistance Plan for student loans work?the explainer The Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) will replace existing income-driven repayment plans
-
In the Spotlight Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has been at odds with US forces
-
Music reviews: Ethel Cain, Amaarae, and The Black KeysFeature "Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You," "Black Star," and "No Rain, No Flowers"
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designationThe Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across SyriaTHE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weaponsThe Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarrayIn the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month
-
Ukrainian election: who could replace Zelenskyy?The Explainer Donald Trump's 'dictator' jibe raises pressure on Ukraine to the polls while the country is under martial law
