Jakarta: Indonesia’s anti-graft court sentenced a former minister to 12 years in prison on Monday after finding him guilty of bribery related to the government’s distribution of Covid aid. Former Social Affairs Minister Juliari Peter Batubara was arrested in December after he turned himself in to the Corruption Eradication Commission. His arrest came a day after the commission foiled an attempt to hand over $1.3 million in cash to ministry officials. AP

Threats against Indians in S Africa exist: Ela Gandhi

Johannesburg: Threats against the Indian-origin community in South Africa do exist after the recent violence, but the government is doing everything in its power to counter it, Mahatma Gandhi’s granddaughter Ela Gandhi said on Monday. Protests against the incarceration of former president Jacob Zuma for his involvement in corruption on July 7 rapidly devolved into orgies of looting and arson in the two provinces of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. PTI