UK Conservatives elect African woman, Kemi Badenoch, to replace former PM Rishi Sunak
Kemi Badenoch becomes the Conservatives’ fifth leader since mid-2016 after winning 57 per cent of party members’ votes in the final stage of a months-long contest that saw a field of six whittled down to two. She beat a former immigration minister, Robert Jenrick, who won 43 per cent of votes.
President Ramaphosa puts South African on edge after describing Russia’s Putin as valuable friend, ally’
The Democratic Alliance (DA) leader distanced him and his party from Ramaphosa’s reported quote of Russia being a valuable ally and friend. The remark was apparently made during a meeting of the two BRICS members.
President Macron of France visits Morocco after his Western Sahara change ushers in ‘new honeymoon’
France and Morocco have historically partnered on issues ranging from counterterrorism to Western Sahara. Morocco is the top destination for French investment in Africa and France is Morocco’s top trade partner.
Britain put at centre of slave trade reparatory justice despite push to relegate it to backburner
Goods were traded in West Africa for captured slaves who were shipped across the Atlantic to work in British sugar and tobacco plantations in the Caribbean and the Americas. Goods produced in the so-called New World were transported back to England.
Sex pest: Is ICC prosecutor being blackmailed for charging Israeli PM with war crimes in Gaza?
ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan also broadened the court’s focus, bringing criminal charges for the first time against individuals outside Africa. He charged Russian President Vladimir Putin for kidnapping children in Ukraine and opened an investigation into Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro for his crackdown on protesters.
Investigative journalists expose how, why group behind ‘Disinformation Dozen’ plotted to ‘kill Musk’s Twitter’
Investigative journalists Paul D. Thacker and Matt Taibbi on Tuesday released the documents on The Disinformation Chronicle and X. Thacker told The Defender he spoke with “several CCDH insiders” who provided minutes from internal CCDH staff meetings that took place between January and early this month.
Ukraine war: US doubts Russia’s military capacity in wake of North Korea’s 3,000-troop donation
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Wednesday there was evidence that North Korean troops were in Russia, although it remained to be seen what they would be doing there. Austin, speaking in Rome, said the alleged North Korean deployment could be further evidence that the Russian military was having problems over manpower in its war against Ukraine.
Noble no more: End of era of hereditary aristocracy in Britain after 700 years of power entitlement
Britain’s Parliament has two chambers: the House of Commons, whose members are directly elected by voters in 650 constituencies across the UK; and the unelected Lords. For centuries it was made up of noblemen – women were not allowed until 1963 – whose voting rights were passed down to their children along with their titles. In the 1950s these were joined by “life peers” – retired politicians, civic leaders and other notables appointed by the government.
Drab England considers hiring Man City manager Pep Guardiola, but what happens to Southgate’s ‘English DNA’ hype?
We can argue all day about whether Guardiola’s style would translate into international football, whether the England manager has enough time with the players to teach such a structured game, and whether Guardiola himself would want to leave Manchester City for a job that would pay him a fraction of his current salary.
Beasts of burden: Young African women duped into working in Russian drone factory work like slaves with low pay
In addition to dangers from chemicals, the complex itself was hit by a Ukrainian drone in April, injuring at least 12 people. A video it posted on social media showed a Kenyan woman calling the attackers “barbarians” who “wanted to intimidate us.”
