By AFPMore by this AuthorJOHANNESBURG,South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has cut short his participation in the Commonwealth summit in Britain to tackle violent demonstrations at home, his office said, in one of the first major challenges of his new presidency. It added that the South African leader had urged security forces to "exercise maximum restraint". Police have reportedly used tear gas and rubber bullets to try and quell the protests, which erupted this week over jobs, housing and corruption. Ramaphosa had been attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London where he was leading a government delegation this week. Ramaphosa, who took over as leader of the ruling African National Congress in December, replaced Jacob Zuma as South Africa's leader earlier this year.

Source: Daily Nation April 20, 2018 04:30 UTC