Julian Rademeyer

More on Russia's African inforwars in the latest edition of @thecontinent.org www.thecontinent.org/_files/ugd/2...

"In South Africa, for example, the Russians ordered racist mugs for the birthday of the leader of the Democratic Alliance...with the aim of leveraging its historical perception as the 'white party' to further tarnish image," reports @forbidden-stories.bsky.social

4/4 Significant contingents came from Egypt (361 men), Cameroon (335 men) and Ghana (234 men). At least 32 South Africans are also fighting for Russia.

3/ The average age among African recruits is 31 years, with a stronger representation of the 18-25 age category (150 recruits). The oldest is 57 years old, an Egyptian national, while the youngest is 18 years old from Ghana."

2/ Chillingly, according to the report, the "duration of service of those killed in action averages only six months, highlighting the fate of many African recruits as cannon fodder for the frontline. Over 50 recruits served only a month before being killed (51 total)."

Conned into combat: Ramaphosa, Putin in talks to return SA men fighting in Ukraine | News24 There’s tentative hope for the repatriation of young South African men sold to fight for Russia in the Ukraine war following direct talks between President Cyril Ramaphosa and President Vladimir Putin...

1/ According to new report by @aeowinpact.bsky.social, at least 1,417 African nationals have signed military contracts with Russia. 316 have been killed in combat, including two identified as South African. drive.google.com/file/d/1tVGr...

High-flying former Kruger ranger claims he was framed for rhino poaching Once hailed as the ‘Crown Prince of the Kruger’, former regional ranger Rodney Landela has taken the stand insisting he was framed for the killing of a white rhino in July 2016. As the State marshals ...

Accused rhino poacher and former regional ranger Rodney Landela – once heralded as the “Crown Prince of the Kruger” – insists he was framed. www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026...

Plea to support Africa’s game rangers as conflict spreads to more parks The Game Rangers Association of Africa is calling on governments, funders and conservation groups to lend more support to wildlife rangers across the continent following an increasing number of attack...

The Game Rangers Association of Africa says more than 30 protected wildlife areas across the continent are now “severely affected” as armed extremists, separatists and organised crime groups expand in scale and sophistication. www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026...

Award-winning wildlife expert Gareth Patterson (62) dies GARDEN ROUTE NEWS - Award-winning wildlife...

Tragic news. Wildlife campaigner and author Gareth Patterson (62) has died. www.knysnaplettherald.com/News/Article...

Cárteles expanden sus tentáculos en África | El Universal Se ha identificado la presencia de cárteles mexicanos en Nigeria, Mozambique, Kenia y Sudáfrica, donde trafican principalmente metanfetamina, aliados con redes locales

Mexican drug cartels expand their tentacles in Africa, reports Mexico's El Universal. (Spanish) www.eluniversal.com.mx/mundo/cartel...

Letter written by Debretsion Gebremichael, Chairman of the TPLF organization under whose command Tigrayan rebels operate...addressed to the African Union

Map of Ethiopia, with the Tigray region, and the capital Addis Ababa outlined

Official logo of the TPLF (Tigrayan People's Liberation Front) who govern Ethiopia's Tigray region and who are currently at war with the Ethiopian government

Three days into conflict in Tigray, the warring factions are either silent, or issuing vague statements.

Following a call for restraint by the African Union, the chairman of the TPLF, under whose command Tigrayan rebels are fighting, responded expressing a willingness to engage in dialogue.

LINDIWE MAZIBUKO | Villagers’ cries drowned out by flood focus on Kruger Government prioritises tourism infrastructure over displaced families, writes Lindiwe Mazibuko

Villagers’ cries drowned out by flood focus on Kruger. "When infrastructure for wildlife viewing receives dedicated funding mechanisms before [displaced] families receive adequate shelter, a hierarchy of value is revealed," writes Lindiwe Mazibuko www.sundaytimes.timeslive.co.za/opinion-and-...

More than 200 killed in coltan mine collapse in eastern DRC, officials say Rubaya mine produces about 15% of the world’s coltan, which is processed into tantalum, used in mobile phones

More than 200 people were killed this week in a collapse at the Rubaya coltan mine in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The mine produces about 15% of the world’s coltan, which is processed into tantalum, used in mobile phones.

Melania | Rotten Tomatoes Discover reviews, ratings, and trailers for Melania on Rotten Tomatoes. Stay updated with critic and audience scores today!

'Brett Ratner’s tasteless, tedious, criminally shallow propaganda puff piece 'Melania' is nearly two hours of self-congratulatory torture...Ratner couldn’t find the humanity in a funeral." www.rottentomatoes.com/m/melania

The ‘Little West’ takes on the new world order Terrified into co-operation by outside threats, a surprisingly solid bloc is emerging

"The Little West has an ideology of sorts... democracy, individual freedoms and nostalgia for the old order. The other powers have no belief system beyond an all-purpose aggressive nationalism..
"Anyone can be invaded next.. the biggest problem is ignored: climate change" www.ft.com/content/fcb5...

Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Minneapolis (Official Audio) YouTube video by Bruce Springsteen

I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.

Stay free

Kruger’s ‘crown prince’ back in the dock as rhino trial reaches crucial phase | News24 In conservation circles, he was practically royalty. Tipped to assume the khaki mantle of head ranger at the Kruger National Park, its one-time “crown prince” Rodney Landela returns to court on Wednes...

Once dubbed the Kruger National Park's 'crown prince’, former regional ranger Rodney Landela, is back in the dock as his rhino poaching trial reaches crucial phase www.news24.com/southafrica/...

Don Winslow on Resisting Fascism, Abolishing ICE, & Writing Crime Fiction For a Living

The best-selling author spent 3 decades researching America's failed drug war, the border crisis & immigration policy. He returns with a new book & urges Dems to abolish ICE.

open.substack.com/pub/thelefth...

Multi-billion-rand global crime operation taken down in Bryanston | The Citizen Hawks led a major global law enforcement raid on multiple syndicate premises in Bryanston and Joburg's northern suburbs

The Israel-based cybercrime syndicate operates a massive global investment and money laundering scam across several markets.The South African call centre raided by the Hawks targeted citizens of US, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and New Zealand

REP. OMAR after being attacked with liquid: “We will continue! These fucking assholes are not gonna get away with this! Here is the reality people like this ugly man don’t understand — we are Minnesota Strong. We’ll stay resilient in the face of whatever they might throw at us.”

Too true 😂

EDWARD KIESWETTER: Illicit trade hollowing out South Africa’s economy and the rule of law Unchecked shadow economy drains revenue, destroys jobs and entrenches organised crime

"The scale of the illicit economy in SA means enforcement is constantly chasing volume. For every consignment intercepted, syndicates attempt to adapt, reroute and scale. Border capacity remains uneven, legal gaps persist, and penalties do not always deter" www.businessday.co.za/opinion/2026...

Wanted: The Interpol Files - BBC World Service Documentaries YouTube video by BBC World Service

A year-long investigation by #BBCEye and French outlet Disclose, backed up by thousands of leaked documents, reveals rampant abuse of Interpol Red Notices by authoritarian countries such as Russia to target journalists, dissidents, and others.

Interpol-wanted drug trafficker found working at Constantia Virgin Active as a personal trainer Virgin Active has suspended contracted Cape Town personal trainer Stan Stamenov, who was working at its gym in the upmarket suburb of Constantia. Stamenov’s name also came up when Krasimir Kamenov, al

Interpol-wanted drug trafficker with alleged links to Bulgarian organised crime figures has been found working at a Cape Town Virgin Active gym www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026...

Illegal miners terrorise community after taking over local school Residents of a mining village near Carltonville are pleading for government’s intevention to rid their area of illegal miners who seized an abandoned school seven years ago and turned it into no go zo...

Illegal miners terrorise community after taking over local school in South Affirc. The school, which was closed in 2018 due to low pupil numbers, has been converted into a hostel where heavily armed "zama zamas" rule the roost. www.sowetan.co.za/news/2026-01...

Faces of the drop-out rate In 2023, there were almost 1.2 million children in Grade 10. But two years later, when the class of 2025’s results were released, there were only 779 000 who sat for their matric exams. What happened ...

In 2023, there were 1.2 million children in Grade 10 in South Africa. But years later, only 779 000 who sat for their matric exams. What happened to the others? Distressing special report by @news24southafrica.bsky.social specialprojects.news24.com/faces-of-the...

(PDF) Born-Frees, the Matric Exam, and the Battle Royale for Opportunity in South Africa PDF | Every year, around a million South African grade twelve learners sit for the National Senior Certificate Examination, colloquially called... | Find, read and cite all the research you need on Re...

2/2 Read the thesis by Adriaan Steyn that Steinerg's article draws on: "Despite the steady rise in candidates and the national pass rate, the [matric] exam increasingly functions as a high-stakes selection apparatus in a context of deep inequality and widespread exclusion" shorturl.at/03zgP

Jonny Steinberg | A few kilometres apart, worlds away: SA’s educational segregation | News24 A young South African’s Harvard PhD thesis exposes how South Africa’s post-apartheid school system has recreated educational segregation, with fee-paying schools secretly prioritising white students, ...

1/2 "If you are white or can prove on a piece of paper that you are middle-class, your child will be fine. If you are neither, your child is screwed. It is questionable whether a society like [South Africa's] can be called a democracy in any meaningful sense," writes Jonny Steinberg

I'd wager this is the angriest statement ever issued by the Nobel Peace Prize people...

Opinion | This Is How the Cartels Win

Turning Latin America into a theater of war will not weaken transnational organised crime; it will entrench it www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/o...