South Africa under scrutiny for Russian vessel as ruling ANC says it would ‘welcome’ Putin

South Africa under scrutiny for Russian vessel as ruling ANC says it would ‘welcome’ Putin

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — The South African government was coming under more pressure Wednesday for refusing to release cargo documents relating to a visit to a Russian ship that the United States says collected cargo weapons for Moscow. Separately, a senior member of South Africa’s ruling party added to the scrutiny of the … Read more

UN conference raises less than $1 billion for climate-ravaged Horn of Africa in big disappointment

UN conference raises less than  billion for climate-ravaged Horn of Africa in big disappointment

UNITED NATIONS (AP) – A high-level UN conference on Wednesday raised less than $1 billion of the more than $5 billion organizers had hoped to help more than 30 million people in the Horn of Africa to face a major climate crisis and massive displacement after years of conflict, a great disappointment for aid agencies. … Read more

Review does not support Ken Paxton claim of partisan House investigators

Review does not support Ken Paxton claim of partisan House investigators

Sign up for The Brief, the Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers informed about the most important news from Texas. After investigators from a Texas House committee concluded on Wednesday that Attorney General Ken Paxton may have violated state laws and abused the powers of his office, Paxton responded by dismissing the findings as … Read more

Elon Musk wants to build a digital public square. But his debut for DeSantis was a technical failure.

Elon Musk wants to build a digital public square.  But his debut for DeSantis was a technical failure.

Elon Musk wants to turn Twitter into a “digital town square,” but his high-profile Twitter Spaces launch event, with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announcing his candidacy for the presidency, struggled with technical problems and a nearly half-hour delay on Tuesday. The billionaire Twitter owner said the problems were due to “strained” servers because so many … Read more

Russian private army chief Wagner says more than 20,000 of his soldiers died in the Battle of Bakhmut

Russian private army chief Wagner says more than 20,000 of his soldiers died in the Battle of Bakhmut

KYIV, Ukraine — Russian private army chief Wagner has again broken the Kremlin line on Ukraine, saying his aim to demilitarize the country has backfired, acknowledging that Russian troops have killed civilians and agreeing with Western estimates that he lost over 20,000 men in the Battle of Bakhmut. Yevgeny Prigozhin said around half of those … Read more

McCarthy sends Republican debt limit negotiators to White House, but parties are ‘far apart’

McCarthy sends Republican debt limit negotiators to White House, but parties are ‘far apart’

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Wednesday he would send Republican negotiators to the White House to complete the debt limit talks, but warned the two sides are “still far apart” as they try to reach a budget deal with President Joe Biden. McCarthy said he remained optimistic that progress could be made … Read more

Russian private army chief Wagner says more than 20,000 of his soldiers died in the Battle of Bakhmut

Russian private army chief Wagner says more than 20,000 of his soldiers died in the Battle of Bakhmut

KYIV, Ukraine – Russian private army chief Wagner said his forces lost more than 20,000 men in the long-running battle of Bakhmut, about half of those who died in the eastern town of Ukraine being Russian convicts recruited to fight in the 15 Month War. That figure stands in stark contrast to Moscow’s widely disputed … Read more

Russian private army chief Wagner says more than 20,000 of his soldiers died in the Battle of Bakhmut

Russian private army chief Wagner says more than 20,000 of his soldiers died in the Battle of Bakhmut

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian private army chief Wagner says his forces lost more than 20,000 fighters in the long battle for Bakhmutwith about 20% of the 50,000 Russian convicts he recruited to fight in the 15-month war dying in the city in eastern Ukraine. The figure contrasts sharply with widely disputed claims by Moscow … Read more

Ron DeSantis set to kick off 2024 presidential campaign, formalizing rivalry with Trump

Ron DeSantis set to kick off 2024 presidential campaign, formalizing rivalry with Trump

Florida Governor Ron DeSantisan outspoken cultural conservative long considered Donald Trump’s main rival for the Republican nomination, is set to launch its 2024 presidential campaign on Wednesday. The 44-year-old Republican governor plans to announce his decision in an online chat with Twitter CEO Elon Musk, according to two people with knowledge of the decision. They … Read more

Trump’s freewheeling, stream-of-conscious speaking style attracts legal attention amid investigations

Trump’s freewheeling, stream-of-conscious speaking style attracts legal attention amid investigations

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump is talking about his legal woes in a way that would make most defense attorneys cringe. A recent sample: In a March interview on Fox News, the former president said he had “the right to take” classified documents with him to his Florida compound and would not say he didn’t. … Read more