Author: Andrew Rogers

Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, daughter of former South African President Jacob Zuma, has resigned from parliament amid allegations that she recruited 17 South Africans to fight as mercenaries in Russia’s war in Ukraine. Her resignation, effective immediately, follows a police investigation into claims that she lured the men under false promises of security training. The men, aged 20 to 39, reportedly ended up on the front lines in Ukraine’s Donbas region. Authorities say eight of them are members of Zuma-Sambudla’s extended family. Zuma-Sambudla had served in parliament since June 2024 for the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, an opposition group founded by her…

Airbus has issued a safety warning for 6,000 of its A320 family planes, prompting airlines to temporarily ground affected jets during the busy Thanksgiving travel period. The alert follows the discovery of a software flaw that could affect pilots’ ability to steer and stabilize the aircraft during solar storms. The European plane manufacturer urged all operators using the A320 to update software and hardware to protect against radiation interference. At the time of the announcement, roughly 3,000 planes were airborne. Most affected jets are expected to be grounded for just a few hours, but those requiring hardware updates may face…

President Donald Trump announced Friday that he is cancelling executive orders signed by President Joe Biden using an autopen. An autopen is a device used by presidents to sign official documents when they are unavailable to sign in person. Trump and past presidents, including Barack Obama, have used autopens for official business. However, Trump claimed Biden’s use of the device was improper and said it should invalidate many of his executive orders. “Any document signed by Sleepy Joe Biden with the Autopen, which was approximately 92% of them, is hereby terminated, and of no further force or effect,” Trump wrote…

The Trump administration has ordered U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to pause all asylum decisions, following the shooting of two National Guard soldiers in Washington, D.C., officials said Friday. The internal directive instructs asylum officers to halt approvals, denials, and closures for all asylum applications indefinitely. The order comes after the suspect, an Afghan man who was granted asylum earlier this year, allegedly carried out the attack. One of the soldiers has died, and the administration is citing the incident as justification to tighten the U.S. immigration system. According to the directive, USCIS officers can continue interviews and case…

Northwestern University has reached a $75 million agreement with the Trump administration to restore millions in frozen federal research funds and end several federal investigations into the school’s compliance with anti-discrimination laws. The deal, announced Friday, settles probes by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education regarding the university’s practices. It also permanently closes all pending investigations by the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division into potential violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on race in admissions. In April, the administration froze $790 million in federal grants and…

President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he intends to grant a full pardon to former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who is serving a 45-year sentence in the United States for drug-trafficking offenses. The move would erase one of the most high-profile US convictions tied to Central American politics in recent years. Trump shared the news on his social media platform, saying Hernández had been treated “very harshly and unfairly.” He added that the pardon was timely, given Honduras’s upcoming presidential election and the expected rise of conservative candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura. Hernández led Honduras from 2014 to 2022.…

The death toll from severe flooding in southern Thailand has risen to more than 80 people as floodwaters began to subside on Thursday, officials reported. Torrential rains over the weekend triggered widespread flooding in 12 southern provinces, affecting about 1 million households and over 3 million people. The heaviest impact was recorded in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Patthalung, Songkhla, Trang, Satun, Pattani, and Yala provinces. While water levels have fallen in several areas, some provinces, including Pattani and Nakhon Si Thammarat, still face high water levels. Government spokesperson Siripong Angkasakulkiat said in a press conference in Bangkok that deaths in Songkhla…

A drone attack struck the Khor Mor gasfield in northern Iraq on Wednesday night, forcing the facility to halt operations and cutting power to parts of the Kurdish region. The attack, reported around 11:30pm local time (20:30 GMT), hit several gas storage tanks, causing a fire and explosions that injured several workers. No deaths have been reported. Iraq’s Joint Operations Command said the attack seemed aimed at disrupting the region’s security and economic stability. Officials reported that about 8 percent of the local power grid was affected, causing widespread electricity outages. The Khor Mor gasfield, operated by the UAE’s Dana…

Nvidia (NVDA) has denied claims that it is engaging in “circular financing,” a controversial practice where suppliers invest in their own customers to boost revenue. In a seven-page memo to analysts, the AI chipmaker pushed back against a recent Substack newsletter suggesting Nvidia is using vendor financing similar to accounting controversies from the dot-com era. Nvidia emphasized that it does not rely on vendor financing. Unlike companies such as Lucent in the 2000s, Nvidia said its customers pay within 53 days, and the company’s revenue and reporting are transparent and economically sound. However, prominent short sellers remain skeptical. Jim Chanos,…

Shock and concern spread through Washington, D.C., on Wednesday after two National Guard troops were shot near Farragut Square, just blocks from the White House. Authorities later identified the suspect as an Afghan man. The normally quiet area, frequented by office workers and visitors, was transformed into a chaotic crime scene. Police, National Guard units, and heavily armed Secret Service personnel swiftly cordoned off nearby streets, while nearby office workers were directed to use rear exits. From surrounding buildings, flashing lights and sirens lit the square as law enforcement personnel searched the area. A helicopter hovered overhead, adding to the…