Briefly

SOUTH AFRICA

Zuma starts serving jail term for contempt

Former president Jacob Zuma turned himself in to authorities early on Thursday to begin serving a 15-month sentence for contempt of the country's highest court, officials said. Prison authorities confirmed that Zuma "has been admitted to start serving a 15-month sentence at Estcourt Correctional Center" in his home province of KwaZulu-Natal. It is the first time a former president has been jailed in post-apartheid South Africa. The sentence handed to Zuma by the Constitutional Court last week for snubbing antigraft investigators also set a benchmark for the continent, by jailing a former head of state for refusing to respond to a corruption probe.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Fiery explosion erupts at major global port

A fiery explosion erupted on a container ship anchored in Dubai at one of the world's largest ports late on Wednesday, sending tremors across the commercial hub of the UAE. There were no immediate reports of casualties, and it was unclear what triggered the blast. Jebel Ali sits on the eastern side of the Arabian Peninsula and is the busiest port of call for US warships outside the United States. The combustion unleashed a shock wave through the city of Dubai, causing many walls and windows to shake.

AFGHANISTAN

Govt retakes key city after Taliban incursion

Afghan government forces on Thursday wrested back control of a western provincial capital stormed by the Taliban a day earlier and hundreds of fresh troops have been deployed to the region, the Defense Ministry said on Thursday. It said some fighting was continuing on the fringes of Qala-e-Naw, the capital of Badghis Province, which borders the Central Asian country of Turkmenistan. Defense Minister Bismillah Mohammadi said government forces were in a "very sensitive military situation", adding that "the war is raging" with the Taliban.

Agencies - Xinhua