Polish man sentenced to life in Congo for espionage released, flown to Europe within hours
Last week, Polish Foreign Ministry spokesman Paweł Wroński said without elaborating that Majewski “is not a spy, he is a member of a travellers club” and was just following his “passion in life.” Wroński said his “behaviour was the result of a lack of knowledge of local customs.”
Netanyahu accused of invoking antisemitism to shift focus from his own problems at home
Israelis have been jarred by the global rise in antisemitism, and many view the swell of criticism against Israel as part of the rise. They see hypocrisy in the world’s intense focus on Israel’s war with Hamas while other conflicts get much less attention.
Biden administrations sticks with Israel despite Rafah killings that have been condemned worldwide
Recent deaths in Rafah have tested President Joe Biden’s promise to withhold weapons from Israel if the US ally made a major invasion of Rafah that put displaced persons there at risk.
Iran leads world in number of people executed worldwide but China’s secrecy buried truth on death penalty
The group said the spike in recorded executions was primarily driven by Iran, where authorities executed at least 853 people last year, compared to 576 in 2022. Those executed included 24 women and five people who were children at the time the crimes were accused of committing, Amnesty said, adding that the practice disproportionately affected Iran’s Baluch minority.
Pope apologises for using vulgar reference to gay men during discussion on homosexuality
The Vatican ban was articulated in a 2005 document from the Congregation for Catholic Education, and later repeated in a subsequent document in 2016, which said the church cannot admit to seminaries or ordain men who “practise homosexuality, present deep-seated homosexual tendencies or support the so-called gay culture.”
New poll finds South Africa’s ANC support around 42 per cent hours before voting starts
In a Tuesday update of the tracking poll by South African think tank the Social Research Foundation, the ANC’s support was estimated at 42.2 per cent on May 27, the latest day for which data is available, under a scenario modelled for the 66 per cent turnout seen at the last national election in 2019.
History to judge Ramaphosa leader who ruined or remade ANC as South Africa’s political force
If the party loses its majority for the first time in 30 years, as opinion polls predict, some political analysts say 71-year-old Ramaphosa will be unlikely to see out a second term. Ramaphosa was the ANC’s lead negotiator during talks that led to a peaceful end to apartheid, which enabled Nelson Mandela to become South Africa’s first Black president after 1994s historic all-race vote.
President Andrzej Duda seeks release of Polish traveller sentenced to life in Congo
The 52-year-old Pole, Mariusz Majewski, was detained by Congolese forces in February and later faced a military court in the restive nation, accused of spying.
Sri Lanka’s tea producers worried 70 per cent wage hike will turn over market to Kenya, India
The industry must start paying the salary increase from next month, Sri Lanka’s Labour Ministry said on Sunday, warning that plantation companies refusing to comply could be taken over by the government. Implementing the wage hike will cost plantation companies an additional 35 billion rupees, the association said.
$668m Nairobi Expressway run by state-owned China Road and Bridge Corp is a snapshot of how China engages with Africa
Daily average use in March was already 57,000 vehicles, exceeding a 2049 target of around 55,000 set by CRBC in a 2019 presentation on the project’s economic viability seen by Reuters.
