Zimbabwe rejected a US health deal that would have provided $367m (£272m) in funding over five years because of Washington’s demand for sensitive data. The decision has come to light after a government memo from December was leaked, revealing that President Emmerson Mnangagwa felt the deal was “lopsided”. A government spokesman has since explained the US was demanding access to biological samples for research and commercial gain but said it was not willing to share the benefits for future vaccines and treatments. “We will now turn to the difficult and regrettable task of winding down our health assistance in Zimbabwe,”…
Author: Oki Bin Oki
Former US treasury secretary and Harvard president Larry Summers is retiring from his roles at the Ivy League university after its review into his ties with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Harvard said it had accepted Summers’s resignation as co-director of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government and that he would retire from his other academic and faculty posts. Last year, Summers expressed “regret” over his links with Epstein, while addressing students in a class he had been teaching at Harvard. Released emails had indicated that he corresponded with Epstein until the day before the financier’s 2019 arrest…
The UN Security Council has announced new sanctions on four leaders of Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces over atrocities committed in the western Sudanese city of el-Fasher. The deputy commander, Abdul Rahim Hamdan Dagalo and Brigadier General Al-Fateh Abdullah Idris, more commonly called Abu Lulu, who became known as the “Butcher of el-Fasher”, are among those proscribed. The others are RSF deputy commander Gedo Hamdan Ahmed and field commander Tijani Ibrahim. The RSF’s capture of the city in October was one of the most brutal chapters of Sudan’s nearly three-year civil war. Last week a UN fact-finding mission concluded that…
In what became the longest-ever address of its kind, President Donald Trump provided his update on America as part of his State of the Union address, offering victorious – and sometimes combative – remarks, praising the work of fellow Republicans and outlining his future agenda. The annual address by the president is made to members of the US Congress, his cabinet, members of the Supreme Court – along with the president’s family and other guests. The speech came at a particularly pivotal time for the president as tensions flare over Iran, and just days after his global tariffs programme was…
Abigail Spanberger, the first female governor in Virginia’s history, attacked President Donald Trump’s economic and immigration policies during Democrats’ response to the State of the Union address. She questioned whether the president was working to make life more affordable and safer for Americans, while criticising Trump’s immigration crackdown in US cities and tariffs on imports. The rebuttal – first delivered in 1966 by a rising star in the opposing party – came just moments after Trump finished his remarks on Capitol Hill. Spanberger, 46, was elected as Virginia’s governor in November after serving in Congress and working as a CIA…
A bomb scare at the Australian prime minister’s home originated from written threats directed at a Chinese dance and music group banned by Beijing. In emails seen by local media and the BBC, performers of the Shen Yun group were told to cancel their upcoming Australian shows or risk explosives being detonated at Anthony Albanese’s official residence in the nation’s capital. Authorities refused to comment on the emails, only confirming they had attended an “alleged security incident” at the leader’s home on Tuesday and “nothing suspicious was located”. Shen Yun was founded by the religious movement Falun Gong, which is…
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has arrived in Israel for a two-day visit, his first since the war in Gaza began. Modi is expected to address Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, and hold meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog. There is no meeting with Palestinian leaders on his schedule. The visit comes as both countries look to strengthen ties in defence, technology and trade – a relationship that has grown significantly since Modi came to power more than a decade ago. Analysts, however, say the visit will also test India’s foreign policy as it tries to balance…
Bill Gates “took responsibility for his actions” and addressed his links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during a meeting with staff from his charitable foundation, the organisation said. “Bill spoke candidly, addressing several questions in detail,” the Gates Foundation said in a statement. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that Gates apologised to staff, said he had two affairs with Russian women which Epstein later found out about, and in relation to the late financier said: “I did nothing illicit. I saw nothing illicit.” Gates has come under renewed scrutiny over his relationship with Epstein following the release of…
Kenyan authorities deported Zimbabwean constitutional lawyer Brian Bright Kagoro, accusing him of orchestrating a foreign-funded operation to destabilize the government through renewed street protests. Immigration officials declared Kagoro, 51, persona non grata and removed him from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Sunday night following hours of interrogation. Security sources claimed investigations spanning six months linked him to what they described as a sophisticated political mobilization network allegedly bankrolled by international donors. The deportation, officials said, signals the government’s diminishing tolerance for foreign activists engaging in domestic political mobilization. According to security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, Kagoro made…
The Kenyan Court of Appeal rejected an application by Paul Ndung’u to reopen a concluded legal dispute over the SportPesa brand. The decision, delivered by a three-judge bench, rejected the application made by Ndung’u and ultimately dismissed his motion in its entirety, finding it had “no merit”, and awarding costs to Milestone Games. This is the second legal case that Mr. Ndung’u has lost against SportPesa in recent months, with the English High Court finding in November 2025 no substance to a legal claim filed by Ndung’u against the company and its leadership. “The court’s decision to reject this baseless…
Purchasing a static caravan is a thrilling process, but it usually comes along with uncertainty. You can be concerned about picking a model that is attractive but does not really fit how you intend to utilize it. Simultaneously, the fear of spending too much or missing out on certain costs can be overwhelming. The various choices in terms of size, layout, price, and the choice of park make it hard to select the right one. However, it becomes considerably easier to make this decision when you set two priorities in mind: your lifestyle and your budget. You eliminate guesswork when…
ODM rebels opposed to the broad-based government were on Tuesday removed powerful committees in the National Assembly to less lucrative ones. This came as the government-leaning team of the party moved in to crack the whip. For instance, Suba South MP Caroli Omondi was ejected from the powerful Constitution Implementation and Oversight Committee, with his position in the committee taken by the latter-day convert of the broad-based government, Githunguri MP Gathoni Wamuchomba. The changes were bound to happen, as the ODM wing in the broad-based political arrangement drew the first blood. Omondi, who was recently declared the secretary general of…
President Donald Trump has lashed out at reports that his top military adviser had urged caution on air strikes against Iran, saying the general believes it would be “easily won”. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General Dan Caine, has warned that strikes against Iran could be risky, potentially drawing the US into a prolonged conflict, US media report. General Caine has reportedly cautioned that a military action could have repercussions across the region, potentially including retaliatory strikes by Iranian proxies or a larger conflict that would require more US forces. In a lengthy post on Truth…
Spouse to the Deputy President, Dr. Joyce Kithure, has called for increased focus on ensuring all children get access to quality education to enable them to become better people in society. Dr. Kithure said education sets children on a path to better lives calling on teachers, parents and other stakeholders in the sector to work closely for the good of the young learners. “Let us ensure that no child is left behind due to neglect, discouragement, or lack of support,” she urged. Dr. Kithure spoke on Tuesday when she graced a fundraiser for the construction of classrooms and a science…
The military spokesperson for the M23 rebel group, Willy Ngoma, was killed in an army drone strike in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday, two senior rebel officials, a regional diplomat, and a Western adviser to the government said. The attack happened near Rubaya, in North Kivu, at around 3 a.m. (0100 GMT), and came after several days of sustained drone attacks on the area by the Congolese army, one of the senior M23 officials told Reuters. Rubaya is a strategic coltan-mining hub that produces around 15% of the world’s supply, making it a key financial stronghold for the…