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People find their late relative's church uniform in the rubble of a building, which was destroyed during flooding at the KwaNdengezi Station, near Durban, South Africa, Apr 16, 2022. (Photo: Reuters/Rogan Ward) - 

Rains that have killed around 400 people and left thousands homeless in South Africa this week began pounding the east coast again on Saturday (Apr 16), threatening more flooding and forcing many to take refuge in community centres and town halls.

The rains, which have left at least 40,000 people with no shelter, power or water, had died down by Friday, but are now expected to continue until early next week.

"I'm so worried," said Gloria Linda, sheltering under a large umbrella by a muddy road in her township of Kwandengezi, about 30km inland from the main eastern coastal city of Durban.

This week's heavy downpours in Kwazulu-Natal Province knocked out power lines, shut down water services and disrupted operations at one of Africa's busiest ports of Durban, as well as closing roads leading into the city.

"A lot of people's houses are damaged, a lot of people died. We’ve got no water, no electricity, even our phones are dead – we're stuck," Linda said, before meandering down a dirt track to a funeral of a friend killed by the floods.

Elsewhere, a family stood in the rain looking at their collapsed metal shack, one of several homes that lay in ruins.

State broadcaster SABC said on Saturday the death toll was now 398, with 27 people still missing. In places wrecked by flooding, many relatives were searching only to recover victims' bodies for burial.

"We phoned the police, we phoned the ambulance, we phoned fire brigade, none of them responded in time," Muzi Mzobe, 59, told Reuters in front of a pile of rubble - what was left of a house he was renting out to tenants who were killed in it.

"Four people were covered in rubble here, and when we got them out, they had already passed on."//CNA

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson delivers a speech on immigration, at Lydd Airport, Britain on Apr 14, 2022. (File photo: Pool via Reuters/Matt Dunham) - 

Russia's foreign ministry said on Saturday (Apr 16) it had barred entry to the country for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and 10 other British government members and politicians.

The move was taken "in view of the unprecedented hostile action by the British Government, in particular the imposition of sanctions against senior Russian officials," the ministry said in a statement, adding that it would expand the list soon.

The Kremlin has described Johnson, who has been one of Ukraine's staunchest backers, as "the most active participant in the race to be anti-Russian".

A week ago, Johnson visited Kyiv where he and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised each other for their cooperation since the Russian invasion, which Moscow calls a "special operation".

"The UK and our international partners stand united in condemning the Russian government’s reprehensible actions in Ukraine and calling for the Kremlin to stop the war," a British government spokesperson said in response to Moscow's decision to bar Johnson and other British politicians.

"We remain resolute in our support for Ukraine," the spokesperson added//CNA

A tanker carrying 750 tonnes of diesel fuel from Egypt to Malta sank on Saturday (Apr 16) in the Gulf of Gabes off Tunisia's southeast coast. (Graphic: AFP/Simon Malfatto) - 

A tanker carrying 750 tonnes of diesel fuel from Egypt to Malta sank on Saturday (Apr 16) in the Gulf of Gabes off Tunisia's south-east coast, sparking a rush to avoid a spill.

"The ship sank this morning in Tunisian territorial waters. For the moment, there is no leak," local court spokesman Mohamed Karray said.

A disaster prevention committee would meet in the coming hours "to decide on the measures to be taken", he added.

The Equatorial Guinea-flagged Xelo was headed from the Egyptian port of Damietta to the European island of Malta when it requested entry to Tunisian waters on Friday evening due to bad weather.

The tanker is 58m long and 9m wide, according to ship monitoring website vesseltracker.com.

It began taking water around 7km offshore in the Gulf of Gabes and the engine room was engulfed, according to a Tunisian environment ministry statement.

It said Tunisian authorities evacuated the seven-member crew.

Environment minister Leila Chikhaoui was travelling to Gabes "to evaluate the situation ... and to take necessary preventive decisions in coordination with the regional authorities", a ministry statement said.

Authorities have activated "the national emergency plan for the prevention of marine pollution with the aim of bringing the situation under control and avoiding the spread of pollutants".

Court spokesman Karray said the Georgian captain, four Turks and two Azerbaijanis were briefly hospitalised for checks and were now in a hotel.

The defence, interior, transport and customs ministries were working to avoid "a marine environmental disaster in the region and limit its impact", the environment ministry said.

Before the ship sank, the ministry had described the situation as "alarming" but "under control".

The Gulf of Gabes was traditionally a fishing area but activists say it has suffered from pollution due to phosphate processing industries based near the city of Gabes.

The last maritime accident involving the country was in October 2018, when Tunisian freighter Ulysse slammed into the Cyprus-based Virginia anchored about 30km off the northern tip of the French island of Corsica, sending hundreds of tonnes of fuel spilling into the Mediterranean.

It took several days of maritime manoeuvres to disentangle the boats and pump some 520 cubic metres of propulsion fuel, which had escaped tanks//CNA

France Affichage Plus workers prepare official campaign posters of French presidential election candidates at the disp outside Paris, France, April 13, 2022. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier - 

Protests were expected around France on Saturday (Apr 16) as opponents of far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen seek to form a united front to prevent her from winning an election runoff against incumbent Emmanuel Macron on Apr 24.

Police have warned of possible incidents as demonstrators convene in some 30 cities.

Macron, a pro-European Union centrist, won the presidency in 2017 after easily beating Le Pen when voters rallied behind him in the runoff to keep the far right out of power.

This year, the first round of voting last Sunday set up the same battle, but Macron is facing a much tougher challenge.

He is slightly ahead in opinion polls, but prior to the first round on Apr 10, Le Pen successfully tapped into anger over the cost of living and a perception that Macron is disconnected from everyday hardships. That saw her finish with 23.1 per cent of votes compared to 27.85 per cent for Macron.

However, she has appeared more rattled this week as the focus has turned to her programme and opinion polls have shown Macron extend his lead. An IPSOS-Sopra-Steria poll on Friday showed the president winning the runoff with 56 per cent of votes.

He has won backing from former presidents Nicolas Sarkozy and Francois Hollande. Hundreds of celebrities and sporting figures have also endorsed him to block Le Pen coming to power.

Le Pen, whose stance is anti-immigration and eurosceptic, has sought in recent years to soften her image and that of her National Rally party. Opponents, including Macron, have said her programme is full of lies and false promises - an accusation Le Pen has rejected.

"The far right is once again in the second round of the presidential election strengthened by a level of support never seen before. We refuse to see it win power," the Human Rights League said in a joint statement announcing the protests. Dozens of other rights groups, unions and associations co-signed the call to protest.

Speaking to reporters on a campaign stop in southern France, Le Pen dismissed the planned protests as undemocratic.

"The establishment is worried," she said. "That people are protesting against election results is deeply undemocratic. I say to all these people just go and vote. It's as simple as that."

With the electorate fragmented and undecided, the election will likely be won by the candidate who can reach beyond his or her camp to convince voters that the other option would be far worse.

For decades, a "republican front" of voters of all stripes rallying behind a mainstream candidate has helped to keep the far right out of power.

But Macron, whose sometimes abrasive style and policies that veered to the right have upset many voters, can no longer automatically count on that backing.

Climate change activists from Extinction Rebellion forced the closure of a main square in central Paris on Saturday, protesting the environmental programmes of both candidates.

"This election leaves us no choice between a far-right candidate with repugnant ideas ... and a candidate who during five years cast the ecology issue aside and lied," Lou, 26, a history teacher, who joined the Extinction Rebellion movement two years ago, told Reuters.

Anti-Macron protesters will also gather in Paris on Saturday//CNA