By Melody Fletcher for Mailonline

Published: 09:42 EDT, March 10, 2024 | Updated: 09:45 EDT, March 10, 2024

South Africa has asked the United Nations’ highest court to issue emergency orders to Israel to end what it called the “genocidal starvation” of the Palestinian people, citing UN warnings that Gaza risks was under threat of famine.

The request made Wednesday to the International Court of Justice in The Hague was part of a case filed by South Africa in December accusing Israel of genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza. Israel has strongly denied the accusation of genocide and on Thursday the Foreign Ministry called on the court to reject South Africa’s latest request.

“South Africa continues to act as the legal arm of Hamas in an attempt to undermine Israel’s inherent right to defend itself and its citizens and to release all hostages,” said Lior Haiat, a spokesman for Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. said on social media.

It was not immediately clear when the court would respond to the request. In January, in an initial ruling in the broader genocide case, the court ordered Israel to act to prevent its forces from committing genocide in Gaza and to increase the amount of humanitarian aid reaching the territory’s citizens.

Last month, South Africa asked the court to issue an emergency injunction to stop Israel from sending troops to the southern Gaza city of Rafah. The court did not do this, but said Israel must adhere to its original order to prevent genocide.

The judges of the World Court, as it is also known, have not ruled on the core question of whether a genocide is taking place in Gaza, a complex charge that will likely take them months or years to decide. For now, they have ordered a series of measures, amounting to temporary orders, aimed at protecting Palestinian civilians, as they found the dangers of genocide “plausible.”

The genocide case has thrust the usually slow-moving court into the global spotlight, turning it into a platform for tense arguments and disputes over Israel’s war in Gaza. Despite the symbolic weight of the charges before it, the court, which settles disputes between UN member states, does not have any means to force Israel to follow its orders.

In its request on Wednesday, South Africa accused Israel of causing widespread hunger and near-famine throughout Gaza. Health authorities there say children are dying every day from malnutrition and dehydration, and aid groups say people are hungry enough to resort to food leaves, donkey food and food scraps.

“Palestinian children are dying of hunger as a direct result of Israel’s deliberate acts and omissions – in violation of the Genocide Convention and the court’s order,” lawyers for South Africa wrote in the filing.

For months, international observers and aid agencies have warned that Gaza’s 2.2 million citizens are facing famine, amid acute shortages of food and water. Distributing limited supplies within the territory has become more challenging, amid the destruction of infrastructure and increasing lawlessness as desperate people loot aid convoys.

In asking the court to intervene, South Africa pointed to last week’s deadly aid delivery in northern Gaza and Israel’s attempts to block UNRWA, the main UN agency providing aid to Palestinians. refugees, to discredit. South Africa said the humanitarian situation in Gaza had deteriorated rapidly in the weeks since the court refused to issue an emergency order to stop a possible Israeli advance on Rafah. At the time, the court said the “dangerous situation” throughout Gaza required Israel to comply with its order to prevent genocide.

“The situation that was ‘dangerous’ then is now so terrifying as to be unspeakable,” South Africa said in the dossier.

Adam Sella reporting contributed.

A pig whose lifetime paintings fetched $1 million after being rescued from the slaughterhouse has died in South Africa.

Owner Joanne Lefson, 52, announced the death of her beloved eight-year-old Pigcasso, who suffered from chronic rheumatoid arthritis.

Images show the animal beaming as she paints on a canvas at her home and even at the beach.

During her lifetime, Pigcasso sold her artwork worldwide to celebrities such as Ed Westwick, Rafael Nadal and animal expert Dr. Jane Goodall.

Lefson rescued her from a factory farm in South Africa in May 2016, just weeks before she was to be sent to the slaughterhouse.

Pigcasso was transferred to Farm Sanctuary SA, a non-profit foundation that provides a safe shelter environment for rescued farm animals in Franschhoek.

Lefson said: ‘There is great sadness that such an inspiring figure for animal welfare has passed away, but we also celebrate a life well lived and the profound difference she made.

‘Pigcasso would have become a piece of cake within six months. Instead, she was saved and rose to inspire millions of people to rethink what they eat thanks to her extraordinary talent. Her legacy continues through the sanctuary and our mission to inspire a kinder, more sustainable world for all.

‘Although Pigcasso had already shown complaints of arthritis in recent years, her physical condition deteriorated rapidly in September 2023.

‘By early October, both her hind legs had become lame due to the calcification of her lower back, aggravated by the arthritis; Both incurable conditions directly related to the manipulations and modifications to which farm animals are subjected in today’s industrialized factory farms.’

Pigcasso’s popularity grew and in 2018 she became the first animal artist to organize a solo art exhibition at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, South Africa.

Since then she has organized exhibitions around the world, including in the Netherlands, Germany, France, China and the United Kingdom.

Lefson said, “From the moment the piglet arrived, she ate or destroyed everything except a paintbrush that was left in her stall.

‘I was intrigued by her interest in the brush and decided to see if she might like to paint. I adjusted the brush to fit her mouth and before long “Pigcasso” was creating art on a canvas I placed in her stall.”

She added: ‘In 2021, Pigcasso made international headlines when she sold ‘WILD AND FREE’ to a German buyer for £20,000, which was an official world record for the best-selling work of art ever painted by an animal.

“Pigcasso has raised more than $1 million from the sale of her artwork, making her the most successful non-human artist in world history.

‘Not only is this a testament to her extraordinary creativity and intelligence, but the proceeds will also benefit Farm Sanctuary SA, where she lived. The funds have also supported other charities that resonate with its mission.

‘Her last work of art was called ‘Standing Ovation’.’

British holidaymakers are among 2,200 passengers trapped on board the Norwegian Dawn cruise ship after Mauritius authorities banned the ship from docking following reports of a possible cholera outbreak.

About the same number of tourists were unable to board the ship and had to queue at the port before being put up in hotels when it became clear the ship could not dock.

The 12-day cruise had left South Africa via Mozambique and was due to dock in Port Louis on Sunday, but arrived a day early after missing a stop on Reunion Island.

A Briton due to embark on his cruise this weekend said he has tried to cancel his trip and is considering taking expensive flights back to Britain because he is ‘afraid of getting on a contaminated ship’.

‘[I am] not on the ship, but waiting to board and not wanting to… it’s been complete chaos on shore,” he told MailOnline, saying he had received no updates and that the situation was a “complete mess” used to be.

The 59-year-old tourist said his partner ‘now refuses to get on the ship no matter what’ and said they are expecting £1,600 flights home.

He said this would mean they would lose any possible refund during the trip, but they would like to get home regardless.

The ship has about 1,000 crew members, and of the more than 3,000 on board, at least 15 people – 14 passengers and one crew member – are said to be in isolation with symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea.

A passenger on board photographed a tanker ship near the ship while it was off the coast of Mauritia.

A group of journalists were scheduled to take a press trip on the ship on Sunday before learning that cholera was suspected to be on board. USA Today reports this.

A mother of two children on the ship told the Dutch newspaper BN DeStem that the passengers had been told that there might be cholera on board, and that they could be quarantined for up to ten days if this is confirmed.

“You can imagine that the atmosphere among the passengers is not pleasant,” says Dutch holidaymaker Esther Verdaas.

“Flights are being missed, people have lost money on hotels booked in Mauritius. Guests are angry, rebellious, sad. These are of course luxury problems. But what I find difficult is that so much is unclear. Can we go home? When? How? Where do we get tickets?’

Mrs Verdaas explains that ‘the trouble started’ when they were supposed to dock in Réunion on Saturday, but were turned away by the authorities.

“That meant an extra long day of aimless floating on the open sea,” says the tourist, who is traveling with her husband and their two daughters.

One passenger on the ship wrote on Facebook earlier today: ‘We are not given an explanation as to why we are stuck outside Mauritius but the theory is that we have had an outbreak of [gastro intestinal] problems, probably due to food poisoning.’

Another tourist on the ship said today that passengers were “fed up” and that there were “limited facilities” to deal with being stuck at sea.

Although cholera is uncommon in countries such as Britain and the US, there have been significant cholera outbreaks in southern Africa in recent months, with at least 188,000 cases since January 2023 in seven countries and more than 3,000 deaths.

“The decision not to allow the cruise ship access to the quay was taken to avoid health risks,” the Mauritius Ports Authority said.

“The health and safety of passengers and that of the country as a whole are of the utmost importance to the authorities,” it added, without giving any details on the nature of the health risk.

A spokesperson for US-based Norwegian Cruise Line said in a statement that during the ship’s voyage to South Africa on February 13, some passengers had experienced mild symptoms of a stomach-related illness.

Once in Port Louis, the ship’s management worked with Mauritian authorities to ensure precautions were in place and everyone on board was OK, the spokesperson said.

The port authority said the test results would be known within 48 hours.

The ship has 2,184 passengers and 1,026 crew members. Of these, about 2,000 passengers were said to have disembarked in Port Louis after completing their cruise, while another 2,279 new passengers were expected to board the ship, the port authority said.

“Passengers who were due to board the ‘Norwegian Dawn’ and start their cruise from Mauritius today will not be able to do so due to potential health risks,” the report said.

Those who disembarked or joined the cruise will now do so on Feb. 27, the Norwegian Cruise Line spokesperson said.

MailOnline has contacted Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd for comment.

Cholera can be contracted by drinking unclean water, eating food that has been soaking in unclean water, and eating food that has been handled or prepared by someone infected with cholera.

Shellfish in particular have an increased risk of infection.

However, according to the NHS, the risk of becoming infected while traveling is very small. It is especially common in places without a clean water supply or modern sewerage, such as parts of Africa and Asia.

To prevent cholera, people are advised to wash their hands regularly with soap, especially after using the toilet and before touching or eating food.

In places where cholera is more common, it is also recommended to drink only boiled tap water or bottled water and only brush your teeth with bottled or boiled water.

In such places it is advised not to eat uncooked fruits or vegetables (including salad) that have not been washed with clean water, not to eat seafood, and not to eat ice cream or use ice in drinks.

It is possible to get vaccinated against the infection, which is recommended for people traveling to remote places of higher risk and without access to medical care.

This is the moment a sombre Princess Anne signed a book of condolence for Namibia’s late President Hage Geingob following his death aged 82 – as leaders from Africa and Europe came together to pay their respects at a state funeral. 

The Princess Royal, 73, arrived in Namibia yesterday to attend the memorial and burial of the late president in the capital, Windhoek.

Anne, who was representing her brother King Charles, seemed downcast while honouring the life of the southwest African politician, who passed away earlier this month.

The presidency confirmed that he died in hospital while receiving medical treatment for cancer. He was surrounded by his wife, Monica Geingos, and his children.

Mr Geingob was laid to rest in the country’s Heroes’ Acre cemetery today following a memorial service yesterday.

After the service, Princess Anne was seen arriving at Casa Rosalia – the late president’s private residence – where she offered her condolences to Ms Geingos.

The Princess Royal, dressed all in black, signed a condolence book in front of a portrait of the late president which was surrounded by candles and flowers. There was also a touching moment in which Anne sat down on a sofa and spoke to Mr Geingob’s widow on the eve of today’s state funeral.

Anne also joined representatives from 27 countries for Mr Geingob’s state funeral this afternoon. She donned an all-black ensemble as she joined crowds of mourners in the capital.

She wore a long black coat and hat, along with a gold ribbon knot brooch, set with 12 diamonds – which has been in the royal’s jewellery collection for five decades.

The eye-catching piece features a snake-like loose ribbon design with lifted edges, with the diamonds taking centre stage – and it appears to be the choice of accessory for the Princess’s important occasions.

The Princess Royal was first seen wearing the brooch at Buckingham Palace in February 1969, before wearing it at Buckingham Palace in February 1969, to greet Colonel Frank Borman, the American astronaut who served as commander of the Apollo 8 mission.

It is not known how long Anne will be in Namibia, or how her future engagements for the week will be affected. MailOnline has reached out to Buckingham Palace for comment. 

Mr Geingob had been president since 2015 and was set to finish his second and final term in office this year.

He is thought to have been fond of Anne’s mother, the late Queen Elizabeth, and shared a heartwarming post when she passed away on September 8 in 2022.

‘I met #Queen Elizabeth II in 1991 on her visit to Namibia and I took her to Katutura,’ he wrote on X.

‘When I met her again in 1992, she recalled our exchange. In 2017, I paid Her Majesty a courtesy visit, she had the same sense of humor and indefatigable commitment to service. #RIPHM.’

Crowds of citizens have gathered to pay their respects, waving the nation’s flags and holding up posters to commemorate the politician’s life.

Also pictured at the event was Ms Geingos, as well as Namibia’s interim President Nangolo Mbumba.

Military personnel carried Mr Geingob’s coffin, and Reverend Bishop Zakhias Cape was also seen during the procession at Heroes Acre, south of Windhoek. 

Heads of state from other nations, including Germany and Ghana, were also present. 

Mr Geingob was undergoing treatment for cancer before his passing. The 82-year-old had a colonoscopy and a gastroscopy on January 8, followed by a biopsy, his office said last month.

He participated in a two-day trial of ‘novel treatment for cancerous cells’ in the US last month, according to his office. In 2014, he said he had survived prostate cancer.

Vice-president Nangolo Mbumba has now been sworn in as acting president to complete the term for Mr Geingob, as allowed by the constitution.

Elections are set for November. A government statement said Mr Mbumba will lead Namibia until March 21 next year, when the election winner takes office.

Mr Geingob was the country’s third president since it gained independence in 1990, following more than a century of German and then apartheid South African rule.

After spending nearly three decades in exile in neighbouring Botswana and the US as an anti-apartheid activist, Mr Geingob returned to Namibia as its first prime minister from 1990 to 2002. He also served in the same capacity from 2008 to 2012.

Soft-spoken but firm on advancing Africa’s agenda as an important stakeholder in world affairs, Mr Geingob maintained close relations with the US and other Western countries.

But, like many African leaders, he also forged a warm relationship with China, refuting claims that Beijing is aggressively asserting economic influence over countries in Africa as a form of colonialism.

Namibia, which is on the south-western coast of Africa, enjoys political and economic stability in a region ravaged by disputes, violent elections and coups. However, the country’s opposition slammed Mr Geingob last year for endorsing disputed elections in Zimbabwe.

Condolences from various leaders around the world poured in on Sunday.

In a statement, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would ‘forever cherish’ his memories of meeting Mr Geingob. 

‘It is difficult to overestimate his personal contribution to developing friendly relations between Namibia and Russia,’ the statement added. 

Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa posted on X, saying Mr Geingob’s ‘leadership and resilience will be remembered’.

Cyril Ramaphosa, president of neighbouring South Africa and one of Namibia’s largest trading partners, described him as a ‘close partner in our democratic dispensation’ and ‘a towering veteran of Namibia’s liberation from colonialism and apartheid’.

Kenya’s Prime Minister William Ruto said Mr Geingob was a ‘distinguished leader who served the people of Namibia with focus and dedication’ and ‘strongly promoted the continent’s voice and visibility at the global arena’.

Namibia, a country of just over 2.5 million people, is rich in minerals such as diamonds, gold and uranium. 

Despite being classified as an upper-middle-income country, socioeconomic inequalities are still widespread, according to the World Bank.

South Africa said on Tuesday that Israel's policies towards the Palestinians were “a more extreme form of apartheid”, citing its fraught history of racial discrimination to increase global pressure on Israel at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

The court, the United Nations' highest judicial body, will hear six days of arguments over Israel's “occupation, settlement and annexation” of Palestinian territories, including the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The UN General Assembly asked the court more than a year ago to review the legality of Israeli policies in the Palestinian territories, before Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza.

The proceedings, which began on Monday, would see more than 50 countries appear before the 15 judges over the next week, a level of participation never before seen at the court. It is expected that the court will issue a non-binding opinion. Israel has said it will not participate in the oral arguments because it does not recognize the court's jurisdiction in the case.

South Africa's ambassador to the Netherlands, Vusi Madonsela, addressed the judges on Tuesday morning, weeks after his country argued in court that Israel was committing genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza. In that case, the court ordered Israel, which has denied the allegations, to take action to prevent genocide in Gaza, but has not yet decided whether genocide occurred.

Mr Madonsela recalled South Africa's “painful experience” of decades of apartheid and discrimination and drew parallels with what he called Israel's colonization of the Palestinian territories it seized in 1967. He referred to the separate legal systems, land zoning rules, roads and housing rights for Palestinians. He said Israel has established a “two-tiered system of laws, regulations and services” that benefits Jewish settlers while “denying the rights of Palestinians.”

South Africans are seeing “an even more extreme form of the apartheid that has been institutionalized in my country against black people,” Mr Madonsela said. He said South Africa has a special obligation to denounce apartheid practices wherever they occur. He also called on Israel to dismantle the separation wall between Israel and the West Bank, which the court ordered removed in 2004 and which still stands.

The United States does planned to present arguments on Wednesday.