Trump seeks crown as world peacemaker, brokering truce in central Africa
President Donald Trump celebrated a U.S.-brokered peace agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo in an Oval Office ceremony Friday, touting the potential pause in a decades-long conflict as he sought to build his image as a global dealmaker.
It was the latest in a flurry of global peacemaking efforts Trump has undertaken to mixed results, working phones and meeting personally with leaders to resolve a conflict between India and Pakistan and wars in Iran, Ukraine and Gaza. In some cases, including in Iran, a ceasefire has held — but at times he has also projected more optimism than some warring leaders themselves, as was the case Friday in the Oval Office.
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Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Iran holds state funeral for top brass slain in war with Israel
Iran will hold a state funeral service Saturday for around 60 people, including its military commanders, killed in its war with Israel, after Tehran's top diplomat condemned Donald Trump's comments on supreme leader Ali Khamenei as "unacceptable". The United States had carried out strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites last weekend, joining its ally Israel's bombardments of Iran's nuclear programme in the 12-day conflict launched on June 13. Both Israel and Iran claimed victory in the war that ended with a ceasefire, with Iranian leader Khamenei downplaying the US strikes as having done "nothing significant". In a tirade on his Truth Social platform, Trump blasted Tehran Friday for claiming to have won the war. He also claimed to have known "EXACTLY where he (Khamenei) was sheltered, and would not let Israel, or the U.S. Armed Forces... terminate his life". "I SAVED HIM FROM A VERY UGLY AND IGNOMINIOUS DEATH, and he does not have to say, 'THANK YOU, PRESIDENT TRUMP!'" the US leader said. Trump added he had been working in recent days on the possible removal of sanctions against Iran, one of Tehran's main demands. "But no, instead I get hit with a statement of anger, hatred, and disgust, and immediately dropped all work on sanction relief, and more," Trump said. Hitting back at Trump Saturday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the Republican president's comments on Khamenei. "If President Trump is genuine about wanting a deal, he should put aside the disrespectful and unacceptable tone towards Iran's Supreme Leader, Grand Ayatollah Khamenei," Araghchi posted on social media platform X. "The Great and Powerful Iranian People, who showed the world that the Israeli regime had NO CHOICE but to RUN to 'Daddy' to avoid being flattened by our Missiles, do not take kindly to Threats and Insults." The Israeli strikes on Iran killed at least 627 civilians, Tehran's health ministry said. Iran's attacks on Israel killed 28 people, according to Israeli figures. - 'Historic' state funeral - The state funeral proceedings in Tehran for 60 nuclear scientists and military commanders killed in Israeli strikes are set to begin at 8:00 am (0430 GMT) at Enghelab Square. It will be followed by a funeral procession to Azadi Square, about 11 kilometres (seven miles) across the sprawling metropolis. Mohsen Mahmoudi, head of Tehran's Islamic Development Coordination Council, vowed it would be a "historic day for Islamic Iran and the revolution". Among the dead is Mohammad Bagheri, a major general in Iran's Revolutionary Guards and the second-in-command of the armed forces after the Iranian leader. He will be buried alongside his wife and daughter, a journalist for a local media outlet, all killed in an Israeli attack. Nuclear scientist Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, also killed in the attacks, will be buried with his wife. Revolutionary Guards commander Hossein Salami, who was killed on the first day of the war, will also be laid to rest after Saturday's ceremony -- which will also honour at least 30 other top commanders. Of the 60 people who are to be laid to rest after the ceremony, four are children. - 'Imminent threat' - During his first term in office, Trump pulled out in 2018 of a landmark nuclear deal -- negotiated by former US president Barack Obama. The deal that Trump had abandoned aimed to make it practically impossible for Iran to build an atomic bomb, while at the same time allowing it to pursue a civil nuclear programme. Iran, which insists its nuclear programme is only for civilian purposes, stepped up its activities after Trump withdrew from the agreement. After the US strikes, Trump said negotiations for a new deal were set to begin next week. But Tehran denied a resumption, with leader Khamenei vowing Thursday never to yield to US pressure and insisting that Washington had been dealt a humiliating "slap". "The American president exaggerated events in unusual ways, and it turned out that he needed this exaggeration," Khamenei said, rejecting US claims Iran's nuclear programme had been set back by decades. Israel had claimed it had "thwarted Iran's nuclear project" during the 12-day war. But its foreign minister reiterated Friday the world was obliged to stop Tehran from developing an atomic bomb. "Israel acted at the last possible moment against an imminent threat against it, the region and the international community," Gideon Saar wrote on X. "The international community now has an obligation to prevent, through any effective means, the world's most extreme regime from obtaining the most dangerous weapon." bur-tc/dhc
Yahoo
41 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Rod Stewart says country should ‘give Farage a chance'
Sir Rod Stewart has called on Britain to 'give Nigel Farage a chance' as he revealed how close he came to pulling out of his Glastonbury appearance. The 80-year-old singer backed the Reform UK leader ahead of appearing in the festival's afternoon legends slot on Sunday, 23 years after he headlined the Pyramid Stage. 'I've read about (Sir Keir) Starmer cutting off the fishing in Scotland and giving it back to the EU. That hasn't made him popular,' he told The Times. 'We're fed up with the Tories. We've got to give Farage a chance. He's coming across well. Nigel? What options have we got? 'Starmer's all about getting us out of Brexit and I don't know how he's going to do that. Still, the country will survive. It could be worse. We could be in the Gaza Strip.' Admitting his wealth ensures 'a lot of it doesn't really touch me', he insisted he is not out of touch and expressed his support for Ukraine – criticising US President Donald Trump and Vice-President JD Vance for their treatment of Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky on his visit to the White House – and Gaza. 'It's depressing, what's going on in the Gaza Strip,' he said. 'Netanyahu doesn't realise that this is what happened to his people under the Nazis: total annihilation. And Trump is going to turn the Gaza Strip into Miami?' Stewart said a prolonged bout of flu, which forced him to cancel five shows in the US, nearly forced him to withdraw from a Glastonbury appearance he described to ITV as his 'World Cup final'. 'This time last week I was thinking of cancelling,' he told The Sun, crediting his wife Penny Lancaster with nursing him back to health. 'I have had Influenza A. It's been so terrible. It's the worst thing anyone could possibly have, I wouldn't wish it on anyone. 'Apart from (Vladimir) Putin. I'd wish it on him.' Stewart told The Sun he had negotiated an extra quarter of an hour on top of the allotted 75 minutes for his set. He confirmed he will be joined at Glastonbury by former Faces bandmate Ronnie Wood, Simply Red's Mick Hucknall and Lulu, as well as performing the song Powderfinger by Saturday headliner Neil Young.
News24
an hour ago
- News24
Ties that bind: Inside Mashatile's inner circle behind SA's new lottery operator
Photographs and footage reveal the close personal relationships behind the company that clinched the multibillion-rand lotto licence and its links to Deputy President Paul Mashatile. They provide insight into the powerful people who orbit the deputy president, with a new name surfacing: former Adapt IT CEO Sbu Shabalala. Following amaBhungane's reporting, MPs put the heat on Trade and Industry Minister Parks Tau, asking him to account for possible conflicts of interest in the licence-bidding process and award. A cache of pictures and videos show the cosy ties between Deputy President Paul Mashatile and the inner circle behind the new lottery operator, Sizekhaya Holdings. It also introduces a key new figure linking them: Sbu Shabalala, the disgraced former Adapt IT chief executive. AmaBhungane understands that Shabalala is engaged to Khumo Bogatsu, Mashatile's sister-in-law, and is also the cousin of Moses Tembe, the Durban businessman who leads Sizekhaya. Earlier this week, amaBhungane revealed that Bogatsu is the twin sister of second lady Humile Mashatile and co-owns Bellamont Gaming with Tembe. Bellamont Gaming is a shareholder in Sizekhaya Holdings, which has received the nod from Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau to take over the national lottery licence, which is valid for eight years and generates about R7 billion annually. amaBhungane Shabalala is believed to be a key person helping knit together the politically connected group, which includes Sandile Zungu, a prominent member of Sizekhaya who reportedly co-leads the consortium with Tembe. Shabalala's presence is also controversial because of his spectacular fall from grace and departure from Adapt IT in 2021 following a violent incident at his estranged wife's home. He did not respond to questions. Power video The group's proximity to power is most strikingly demonstrated in a video circulated online around March 2025 - three months before the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) announced Sizekhaya as the winning bidder. The video captures the group, minus Zungu, at what appears to be a holiday gathering at an upscale resort. The scene is relaxed and familiar: Tembe in a crisp white shirt, his wife in jeans and a white shirt, Shabalala in a black shirt and shorts, Bogatsu in a sun hat and white blouse, Mrs Mashatile sipping a bottle of water and the deputy president caught dancing. Deputy President Paul Mashatile taking a break from his demanding duties to spend quality time with family and friends. — MDN NEWS (@MDNnewss) March 15, 2025 Other photos, which we'll detail, place members of the group - including Zungu, Mashatile and their spouses - in each other's company at various personal and private events. The visuals are significant, not because powerful people have friends, but because these friendships sit at the nexus of a major public tender worth billions, raising questions about proximity, access and influence. In this regard, state capture amply demonstrated the potential sway of informal networks over formal decision-making. The visuals add to concerns about the potential for political interference in the award of the hotly contested lottery licence, despite both Tau and Mashatile emphasising this week that the deputy president played no role whatsoever in the lottery decision. In a response to amaBhungane, Sizekhaya said: 'The questions put forward to advocate Bogatsu, Mr Tembe, and Mr Zungu are irrelevant to the award and operation of the fourth national lottery licence and, as such, Sizekhaya is unable to respond to them. Sizekhaya added: Sizekhaya reiterates that the allegations relating to 'interested, politically connected parties' are baseless, and that our directors and shareholders are fit and proper, as per the Lotteries Act. Tembe told amaBhungane he did not believe any answer they gave would ever satisfy the 'insatiable appetite to incriminate' Mashatile: 'We're private individuals who've got private lives like you… You're welcome to continue down that trajectory without our cooperation.' He maintained that they had submitted all necessary declarations to the NLC and that the consortium won the bid on merit. Fallout Following amaBhungane's reporting, MPs grilled Tau during a committee meeting on Tuesday about Mashatile's possible conflicts of interest. Tau indicated he had been unaware that the deputy president's sister-in-law had an interest in Sizekhaya and said the matter would be investigated. Mashatile also later claimed he was unaware of Bogatsu's participation in the lottery bid. Then, in a shocking turn of events, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Wednesday that he had decided to remove Deputy Trade Industry and Competition Minister Andrew Whitfield, a DA member. Whitfield's firing was allegedly due to his official overseas visit in February, which took place without Ramaphosa's permission. A furious DA gave Ramaphosa 48 hours to remove other poor-performing and corruption-implicated ministers, threatening 'consequences' if he did not. In a speech on Thursday, DA leader John Steenhuisen told Parliament that 'perhaps there is something even deeper at play here… Andrew Whitfield … had opposed an attempt to make suspect appointments; he was standing in the way of the looting that will follow from the Transformation Fund - and all of this in a department mired in corruption allegations involving the tender for the national lottery.' In a statement on Friday, Ramaphosa said Whitfield's firing was unrelated to anything else other than his trip. 'There is really no basis for suggestions that the dismissal of the former deputy minister is related to any other reason than his failure to receive permission to travel and adhere to the rules and established practices expected of members of the executive of the Republic of South Africa,' he said. Shabalala's rise and fall For Shabalala - whose engagement to Bogatsu appears to have given him direct access to Mashatile - being included in the deputy president's circle provides him with a comeback after his dramatic fall from grace. In May 2021, the Sunday Times reported that Shabalala's estranged wife, Neo Shabalala, sought a High Court interdict against him, claiming he had hired armed men to assault her then-partner, Sipho Nzuza, at her Zimbali home. Nzuza was eThekwini's city manager but was at the time out on bail of R50 000 after being arrested in connection with the now notorious Durban Solid Waste case, where he is still on trial alongside former mayor Zandile Gumede. ALSO READ | amaBhungane: Who went to Paris with Paul? Tenderpreneur joined Mashatile's France-SA business trip The Sunday Times report said Nzuza had been left in critical condition after the attack and had his spleen and part of a kidney removed. Neo claimed in her affidavit that the assault - at which Shabalala was allegedly present - was meant to intimidate her into signing a divorce settlement that she believed was for less than what she was entitled to. She claimed Shabalala was invading her privacy by planting listening devices in her home and monitoring her cellphone. Neo said: I do not feel safe in the slightest with the first respondent [Shabalala] being near me or entering the immovable property. Although Shabalala maintained his innocence, saying the allegations were without merit, he consented to the interdict, and the fallout resulted in his fall from grace. After taking a three-month leave of absence to 'attend to personal matters', he resigned from Adapt IT, the feisty tech company he founded and took to a listing on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange. 'We are coming home' - and bringing friends In growing closer to Mashatile through Bogatsu, Shabalala is said to have also brought his cousin, Tembe, into enhanced proximity. Tembe co-directs and co-owns Bellamont Gaming with Bogatsu, the twin sister of Mashatile's wife, Humile. The company is a minority shareholder in Sizekhaya, and it is central to questions about a conflict of interest for the deputy president. The company's name, Sizekhaya - which translates to 'we are coming home' - seems apt for a group bound not only by business but also by longstanding personal relationships. Aside from the revealing video, the group also appeared together in a photo previously published by amaBhungane. The photo was taken at St Paul's Anglican Church in February 2024, where they gathered to honour victims of a bus crash following the ANC's manifesto launch at Moses Mabhida Stadium. While the published photo focused on Tembe, Mashatile and his wife in the front row, a closer look reveals Shabalala standing behind them to the right and a partially obscured woman, who may be Bogatsu, to his left, just behind the red jacket. Supplied That year, Mashatile had frequented Tembe's home in uMdloti, KwaZulu-Natal, according to people in the area, and around the time the photo was taken it is said that Mashatile's presidential protection unit stayed over at Tembe's house for around six days. Coincidentally or not, Bellamont Gaming was registered just months before that visit, in December 2023 - four months after the NLC published the request for proposal for the licence and just two months before bids were due. In that month, Zungu was seemingly celebrating a special moment with Tembe, and a photo shared to his WhatsApp story shows the pair allegedly holding Zungu's baby girl. Supplied Miami and milestones 2023 was also the year that Shabalala and Bogatsu allegedly celebrated their own milestone - their alleged engagement in August in Miami. Tembe and Reggie Kukama - a well-known friend and associate of Mashatile's - as well as Kukama's son were allegedly there to witness the special occasion. Supplied Kukama and Mashatile are members of the so-called 'Alex Mafia', a group of successful businessmen and politicians who hail from Alexandra in Johannesburg. More pictures from the same year show Shabalala and Bogatsu arm-in-arm with Zungu and his wife, Nozipho. Supplied Supplied Another image shows the alleged couple with a close friend at a lunch hosted for the group. Another shows Bogatsu and Shabalala alongside the ANC's Tony Yengeni in an intimate lunch setting. On 2 February 2024, the day before the lottery bids were due, Shabalala, Bogatsu, Tembe and his wife, Princess Ntandoyesizwe Tembe (formerly Zulu), were photographed at the opening of the Anele Tembe Library at Durban Girls' College. Supplied It was a special occasion for Tembe as a grieving father. Anele died in 2001 after falling from a balcony in the presence of her then-fiancé, rapper Kiernan 'AKA' Forbes. Forbes died two years later after being shot in Durban. 'Not enough to buy an aeroplane' In response to amaBhungane's questions, Tembe dismissed questions about his relationships as an 'invasion of privacy and humiliating'. He said in his various positions, he met 'almost all leaders across the political spectrum in their home and my home'. 'It's my duty to share notes on all issues that impact business and to influence them to inculcate and live Godly values. None of them [across the political spectrum] would ever say I discussed personal interests.' Mashatile, Tembe added, had no financial interest in Sizekhaya's bid, saying the bid was never discussed with Mashatile and confirmed his shareholding in Sizekhaya, but he claimed that it was 'insignificant' and 'much less than 10%'. 'The NLC takes the biggest chunk of the top line and winnings even higher. No shareholder would make money to buy an aeroplane.' Political alignment Tau and Mashatile have also risen through the political ranks together. From December 2000, Tau served as a member of the mayoral committee in Johannesburg for various portfolios until 2009, when he was elected to the Gauteng ANC provincial executive committee. From 1994 until 2009, around this time, Mashatile served as MEC in various portfolios, also in Gauteng. From 2007 to 2017, Mashatile served as provincial chairperson of the ANC in Gauteng and from 2011 to 2016 - the same period - Tau served as mayor of Johannesburg. Parliamentary grilling Tau maintained in a parliamentary portfolio committee meeting this week that the process of awarding the licence to Sizekhaya Holdings was fair but said he would go back and investigate allegations of a conflict of interest between the deputy president and his sister-in-law. He said: Fit and proper is a continuous process. There are allegations that have been raised in the media. 'We have looked at those allegations, and we will look at them because they are specific allegations; you cannot ignore them. It would be irresponsible of us to ignore what has been raised in the public domain by investigative journalists in the media and so on.' Tau added that the department would get appropriate advice on whether the deputy president's relationship constitutes a conflict of interest, political affiliation and any other considerations. AmaBhungane sent questions to Mashatile's office regarding the allegations, but he had not responded by the time of publication. The story will be updated if a comment is received.
