President Joe Biden has labelled key United States ally Japan and partner India alongside China and Russia as countries that were failing to reap the economic rewards of migration because they were “xenophobic”. Speaking at a campaign fundraising event in remarks that were not filmed or recorded, Biden said hostility towards foreigners was hobbling their growth. “One of the reasons why our economy’s growing is because of you and many others. Why? Because we welcome immigrants,” Biden said at the event to mark the start of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. “Why is China stalling so…
Author: KahawaTungu Editor
Every year on May 3, UNESCO commemorates World Press Freedom Day. It is being marked today at a particularly perilous time for journalists globally, with Israel’s war on Gaza becoming the deadliest conflict for journalists and media workers. “When we lose a journalist, we lose our eyes and ears to the outside world. We lose a voice for the voiceless,” Volker Turk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a statement today. “World Press Freedom Day was established to celebrate the value of truth and to protect the people who work courageously to uncover it.” Deadliest period for journalists in Gaza More than…
The United States has accused Russia of breaching the global ban on chemical weapons by using the choking agent chloropicrin against Ukrainian soldiers and deploying riot control agents “as a method of warfare” in Ukraine. “The use of such chemicals is not an isolated incident, and is probably driven by Russian forces’ desire to dislodge Ukrainian forces from fortified positions and achieve tactical gains on the battlefield,” the State Department said in a statement on Wednesday that also announced new sanctions against entities linked to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Chloropicrin, a nearly colourless oily liquid which causes severe irritation to…
According to Merriam-Webster, discipline is the act of training or developing by instruction and exercise, particularly in self-control. It also defines it as “punishment.” But the true meaning of discipline is far more nuanced than the dictionary definition. Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments. Contrary to popular belief, discipline is not a restraint but an unlimited (sort of) freedom. The power to control what not to do will serve as fuel to do more. Or in the beautiful words of Aristotle, “what it lies in our power to do, it lies in our power not to do.” In this…
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan says Turkey will join in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). “Upon completion of the legal text of our work, we will submit the declaration of official intervention before the ICJ with the objective of implementing this political decision,” Fidan said on Wednesday at a joint news conference with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi in the Turkish capital, Ankara. “Turkey will continue to support the Palestinian people in all circumstances,” he said. The ICJ has ordered Israel to refrain from any acts that could fall under the Genocide Convention…
Borussia Dortmund’s Niclas Füllkrug fired in a first-half goal to seal a 1-0 victory over visitors Paris Saint-Germain in a compelling Champions League semifinal first leg on Wednesday. https://twitter.com/ChampionsLeague/status/1785776211597103120 Nico Schlotterbeck floated a pass into Fullkrug’s path and the Germany forward controlled the ball with a perfect first touch before drilling a low shot past keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma in the 36th minute. PSG, fresh from being crowned Ligue 1 champions and desperate to win their first ever Champions League trophy, found it hard going against a disciplined Germán defence, especially in the first half with forward Kylian Mbappé largely neutralised.…
The Israeli army is reinforcing its positions within the Gaza Strip, ostensibly before a long-telegraphed assault on Rafah and the Hamas brigades it says are present there. Rafah’s population has swollen after hundreds of thousands of desperate families fleeing from the rest of Gaza sought what shelter they could from Israel’s relentless attacks. The southern city has not been spared Israeli attacks from the air as Israel has threatened for weeks to invade it by land, spurring international concerns about the potential impact on Palestinian civilians there. Under pressure from its allies in the United States and the West as…
Hamilton Hall, the academic building at Columbia University that students protesting against Israel’s war on Gaza occupied early on April 30, has a long history of student protests. Over the past half-century, students have barricaded themselves there in protest at pivotal moments in history, including the Vietnam War and the growing global momentum against apartheid in South Africa. Protesters dubbed the building “Mandela Hall” in honour of the South African liberation leader during the 1985 student blockade. Echoing the 1985 protests, students who took over the building on Tuesday renamed it “Hind’s Hall” in honour of six-year-old Hind Rajab, who was killed alongside her family…
Collins Obondo stood atop the rubble of a house in Mathare, one of the largest informal settlements in Kenya’s capital Nairobi, surveying the aftermath of a flood that destroyed his neighbourhood. “This is all that’s left of my mother,” the 38-year-old said, looking down at the heap of muddy miscellaneous items gathered together on top of where her house once stood. Last Tuesday, residents awoke in the middle of the night to the frantic shouts of “Maji! Maji!” (Water! Water!) after torrential rain triggered widespread flooding across the capital. The overpopulated settlement is situated within a valley through which the…
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has renewed his promise that Israel will launch a ground assault on Rafah in southern Gaza amid shaky ongoing truce talks to reach a ceasefire deal. Netanyahu on Tuesday said Israel will destroy Hamas’ battalions there “with or without a deal” to achieve “total victory” in the nearly seven-month war. Israel and Hamas are negotiating a potential ceasefire agreement and an exchange of hostages held by Palestinian groups in Gaza for prisoners held in Israeli jails. “The idea that we will stop the war before achieving all of its goals is out of the question. We will enter…
The aftermath of the recent flash floods in Mai Mahiu has left a devastating toll, with government spokesperson Isaac Mwaura announcing that the state will assume the burden of hospital bills for victims. Speaking to the press in Mombasa, Mwaura disclosed that 73 individuals were injured in the calamity and are currently receiving treatment in nearby medical facilities. “All their hospital bills will be paid by the government in the spirit of solidarity,” he said. Expressing solidarity, Mwaura assured that the government would cover all expenses incurred by those receiving medical care. He emphasized the severity of the situation in…
Columbia University has begun suspending student demonstrators after they defied an ultimatum to disperse. The New York University, the epicentre of pro-Palestinian protests that have upended college campuses across the United States, made the call on Monday. The move follows almost two weeks of protests against Israel’s war in Gaza, which have swept through higher education institutions from coast to coast, and spread into Europe. The demonstrators have demanded that the universities cease all investment in Israel or companies that are seen as supporting its war effort. The response of the authorities has been tough, with critics of the protests…
Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou’s 15-month-old son Kobe has died, the boxer said in a social media post. Ngannou, 37, posted a black and white photo with his son late on Monday and wrote, “Too soon to leave but yet he’s gone. My little boy, my mate, my partner Kobe was full of life and joy.” “Now, he’s laying without life. I shouted his name over and over but he’s not responding. “I was my best self next to him and now I have no clue of who I am. Life is so unfair to hit us where it…
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that vital US weapons have started to arrive in Ukraine in small amounts, but that deliveries need to be faster as Russian forces continue to advance on the battlefield. Zelenskyy told a joint press conference in Kyiv alongside NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Monday that the situation on the battlefield directly depended on the speed of ammunition supplies to Ukraine. “Timely support for our army. Today I don’t see anything positive on this point yet. There are supplies, they have slightly begun, this process needs to be sped up,” he said. Last week, the United…
If Harry Kane is to win the Champions League with Bayern Munich and claim a first career trophy, he will have to get past Real Madrid and England teammate Jude Bellingham. Tuesday’s semi-final first leg in the Bavarian capital pits the two England superstars against each other, less than two months out from Euro 2024 kicking off in the same venue. A decade apart in age, the duo have walked hugely different paths so far in their careers, but have become crucially important to their respective European giants since joining in the summer. Kane has been the only light to…