Bank of Israel governor calls for more clarity on future defence spending
Israel intends to add some 20 billion shekels ($5.4 billion) of spending towards defence a year going forward. The amended budget also allows for compensation payments to households and businesses hurt by the war, which was sparked by Hamas’ shock attack on Israel on October 7.
European football grapples with irony of Black players dominating the game, but can’t be hired to coach
Racism has long permeated the world’s most popular sport, with players subjected to racist chants and taunts online. While soccer governing bodies such as Fifa and UEFA have taken steps to combat the abuse of players, the lack of diversity in the upper ranks at major clubs remains an unsolved problem.
Canada to train troops from Caribbean nations in addition to $60 million for Haiti mission
The troops are due to stay in Jamaica for an initial period of a month and will train around 330 troops from Jamaica, Belize and the Bahamas.
American R&B icon Bruce Springsteen becomes first international songwriter to be made fellow of Britain’s Ivors Academy
Over the last half century, the Born to Run musician has sold more than 140 million records worldwide — from his 1973 debut Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ to his most recent studio album Only the Strong Survive in 2022, with a liberal dusting of top honours along the way, including 20 Grammys, an Oscar and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Pop star Shakira revisits how she turned pain into ‘tears of triumph and tears of self-recognition’ in new album
In reality, the last few years haven’t been kind to Shakira. In 2022, after 11 years and two children together, she separated from soccer player Gerard Piqué, leading to what she’s called the “dissolution of my family.” She faced charges of tax evasion in Spain; in November 2023, she received a suspended three-year sentence and paid a fine of €7.3 million ($8 million) in addition to previously unpaid taxes and interest.
A cycle of extreme weather, drought in southern Africa leaves some 20 million facing hunger
The drought in Zimbabwe, neighbouring Zambia and Malawi has reached crisis levels. Zambia and Malawi have declared national disasters. Zimbabwe could be on the brink of doing the same. The drought has reached Botswana and Angola to the west and Mozambique and Madagascar to the east.
Living off Ethiopia’s social safety net programme is ‘not like dying, but it’s not like living either’
Audited accounts from the finance ministry, which declined to comment for this story, show that the government’s contribution remained fairly constant at just over four billion birr ($70 million) a year between 2020-2021 and 2022-2023, a steep drop in real terms because of inflation. That money accounted for about 18 per cent of the total programme funding.
Pope endures punishing schedule that’s renewed concerns about the 87-year-old’s poor health
On Friday, the pope skipped at the last minute the night-time Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) procession at Rome’s Colosseum in what the Vatican said was a bid to “preserve his health” ahead of other Holy Week events.
How English speaking imperialists tapped greenhorn Museveni as a tool for uprooting France from Great Lakes Region
The second aspect of Rwanda, which attracted Museveni’s yellow bus, was the Tutsi question. Ever since the 1959 revolution that ousted the Tutsis from power and sent a sizeable portion of them into exile, the Tutsis have aspired to get back to power and those in exile to go back to Rwanda. There is a strong belief in certain circles that Museveni is himself a Tutsi.
Why Ugandans are suspicious presidents Museveni and Kagame want to create a Tutsi hegemony in Great Lakes Region
In 2012, Museveni and Kagame met members of the Banyarwanda community in Uganda (UMUBANO) at State House in Kampala. They were feuding over leadership with one faction that recognised Donant Kananura while another one recognised Dr Eric Kyamuhangire who also doubles as a senior presidential advisor on culture. The Kananura group was accused of extorting money from Kagame under the guise of assisting Banyarwanda in Uganda. Museveni promised to mediate in resolving the leadership wrangles. On his part, Kagame advised the Banyarwanda not to focus on those small issues of leadership but work for the development of the two countries.
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