Backlash

Echoing through the streets of Johannesburg and Pretoria, wave after wave of self-styled civic groups has marched in recent years with near-identical grievances. The banners and leaders may rotate, and the slogans get a fresh coat of paint, yet the refrain rarely shifts. From Operation Dudula to the more recent Put South Africans First, along with the Fiyela Movement, the All Truck Drivers Foundation, and several predecessors, the pattern endures. The labels evolve; the message persists, writes Jan Bornman for Our City News…

Washington is weighing a plan to move roughly 1,100 Afghan evacuees from a former U.S. base in Qatar to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to AfghanEvac, an advocacy coalition. The evacuees—interpreters, former Afghan commandos, and relatives of personnel tied to the United States—were airlifted out after the 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. AfghanEvac has sharply criticized the idea, alleging that U.S. officials intend to steer the group back toward Taliban-ruled Afghanistan by trying to "manufacture a…

President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah’s move to appoint seven new deputy ministers has drawn swift criticism from political analysts and opposition figures, who argue the decision will meaningfully inflate government spending. They describe the plan as poorly conceived, saying it places fresh strain on the national budget. Each of the seven deputies will earn N$65 000 a month — N$780 000 a year — adding nearly N$1.7 million annually to the wage bill for public office bearers. Critics also questioned whether the appointees can…

Concerns are rising regarding the appointment of Jonathan K. Weedor as the chairperson of the National Elections Commission, as opposition leaders and civil society organizations voice their objections. They argue that Weedor's previous endorsements of the ruling Unity Party raise significant doubts about his impartiality in this critical role. “He brings extensive expertise in electoral management to the table,” commented Anderson Miamen, director of the Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia. “However, his…

HONG KONG — A Hong Kong court sentenced pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison after convicting him under the city’s national security law, drawing swift condemnation from the United Nations, the European Union and Western governments concerned over the future of press freedom in the territory. Lai, 78, the founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, was found guilty in December on two counts of foreign collusion under the sweeping security legislation imposed by Beijing in 2020, as well as one count…

Trump video depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as monkeys sparks outrage; White House calls it ‘internet meme’ President Donald Trump triggered a wave of condemnation from top Democrats after posting a Truth Social video that briefly depicts Barack Obama, the nation’s first Black president, and former first lady Michelle Obama as monkeys. The White House dismissed the criticism as “fake outrage,” saying the clip was an online meme. The roughly one-minute video, posted late yesterday, promotes conspiracies about Trump’s 2020…

Europe’s leaders condemned U.S. President Donald Trump after he questioned the value of NATO allies and floated military options over Greenland, a one-two punch that further rattled the transatlantic alliance and revived legal and sovereignty concerns from Brussels to Copenhagen. In an interview Thursday in Davos, Switzerland, Trump downplayed allied sacrifices in Afghanistan and cast doubt on whether NATO partners would aid Washington if needed. “We’ve never needed them. We have never really asked anything of them,” he told…

Minneapolis border shooting ignites political crisis as Senate funding vote falters, shutdown looms Graphic cellphone videos of border patrol agents fatally shooting Alex Pretti outside a Minneapolis coffee shop on Saturday have ricocheted across television and social media, stoking protests and driving an immediate political backlash that threatens to derail funding for the Department of Homeland Security and trigger a government shutdown by Friday. Pretti, 37, an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs hospital, was…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s Jubaland and Puntland State, along with the self-declared republic of North Western State of Somalia, have sharply rejected a federal government decision to suspend cooperation agreements with the United Arab Emirates, deepening a long-running power struggle over who controls ports, security, and investment policy. In separate statements, the regional authorities said Mogadishu lacks the legal authority to halt or cancel deals they described as lawfully concluded directly between regional…

X faces threat of being effectively blocked in the United Kingdom as regulators probe its AI chatbot Grok over reports it generated sexualized deepfake images — including of children — at users’ request. Owner Elon Musk has denounced the backlash, saying critics “want any excuse for censorship.” The UK’s communications regulator, Ofcom, said it has launched an expedited assessment following urgent contact with X and is weighing enforcement under the Online Safety Act. Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said she would support…