cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/34323150

Intelligence findings given to parliament say ‘rogue’ agencies and individuals recruiting Kenyan nationals to frontline

More than 1,000 Kenyans have been lured to fight for Russia in its war with Ukraine, according to an intelligence report to the Kenyan parliament that highlights the scale of a Russian operation taking African men to the frontline.

The majority leader of Kenya’s national assembly, Kimani Ichung’wah, said “rogue recruitment agencies and individuals in Kenya” were continuing to send Kenyan nationals to fight in the conflict, as he read MPs the summary of an investigation by Kenya’s National Intelligence Service.

. . .

A growing number of people from African countries – including Kenya, Uganda and South Africa – and elsewhere have been lured to the frontline as Russia seeks manpower to sustain its invasion. Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, said in November that more than 1,400 people from 36 African countries were fighting for Russia in Ukraine. Many are being held by Ukraine as prisoners of war.

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Official numbers on road fatalities have risen for five consecutive years, with 1,316 deaths in 2025.

The push by Washington, which also wants to scale down a peacekeeping operation in Kosovo, has become known internally as a “return to factory settings,” four diplomats told POLITICO.

The U.S. under Donald Trump is pushing NATO to slash many of its foreign activities including ending a key alliance mission in Iraq, four NATO diplomats told POLITICO.

The U.S. has also in recent months lobbied to scale down NATO’s peacekeeping operation in Kosovo and keep Ukraine and Indo-Pacific allies from formally participating in the alliance’s July annual summit in Ankara.

The effort reflects a White House drive to treat NATO as a strictly Euroatlantic defense pact and roll back decades of expansion into crisis management, global partnerships and values-driven initiatives that have long irritated the U.S. president and his MAGA base.

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cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/44591248

The BBC has commissioned a slate of new shows to mark Sir David Attenborough’s 100th birthday, on Friday 8 May, and will be showcasing some of the finest programmes from his extraordinary seven-decade career in a week-long celebration of his work and legacy.

New programmes

• Making Life on Earth: Attenborough’s Greatest Adventure - featuring new interviews with David and the original production team as they reflect on the making of the ground-breaking series Life on Earth for BBC One and iPlayer

• Secret Garden - a new primetime series for BBC One and iPlayer, in which Attenborough reveals the hidden worlds and remarkable wildlife thriving within Britain’s gardens

• David Attenborough’s 100 Years on Planet Earth - a celebratory live event for BBC One and iPlayer from the Royal Albert Hall, featuring the BBC Concert Orchestra and special guests.

From the archive

• Special episodes from some of Attenborough’s most beloved landmark series, airing on BBC One in the week leading up to his birthday

• A dedicated BBC iPlayer collection showcasing more than 40 series presented by David, celebrating one of the most remarkable bodies of work in broadcasting history.

Members of Sydney’s Muslim community say Pauline Hanson should put her offensive views aside and meet them to share a meal.

Event driven microsalesforce

U.S. officials are threatening major changes to a trade agreement with Mexico and Canada that could upend the way business is done and leave Canada on the outs.

The Trump administration has a list of things it wants Mr. Carney to concede, including longstanding grievances about protected industries in Canada, such as the dairy sector. Another pressing issue for the U.S. administration is the fact that liquor distributors controlled by Ontario and other provincial governments in Canada pulled U.S. liquor off their shelves last year, in retaliation against Mr. Trump’s tariffs on Canada.

Trump administration officials have also been irked by Mr. Carney’s global charm offensive as he seeks to bolster Canada’s trade relationships with other countries, including China. Responding to a modest tariff deal that Mr. Carney struck during a visit to Beijing last month, Mr. Trump threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on Canadian goods, and claimed that China would “take over” Canada and even ban hockey.

. . .

Mr. Trump and his advisers have indicated that the three-country pact could be scrapped altogether. Instead, the United States could end up with bilateral deals with Canada and Mexico, the advisers have suggested. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

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A South Korean court on Thursday sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to life imprisonment for leading an insurrection with his short-lived declaration of martial law in December 2024, a verdict underlining the country's democratic foundations.

California’s new bill requires DOJ-approved 3D printers that report on themselves targeting general-purpose machines.

Assembly Member Bauer-Kahan introduced AB-2047, the “California Firearm Printing Prevention Act,” on February 17th. The bill would ban the sale or transfer of any 3D printer in California unless it appears on a state-maintained roster of approved makes and models… certified by the Department of Justice as equipped with “firearm blocking technology.” Manufacturers would need to submit attestations for every make and model. The DOJ would publish a list. If your printer isn’t on the list by March 1, 2029, it can’t be sold. In addition, knowingly disabling or circumventing the blocking software is a misdemeanor.

As Russian missiles and drones plunge much of Ukraine into darkness this winter, the mountain community of Ust-Chorna has largely kept the lights on — thanks to green energy.

The district, made up of four villages tucked into a forest valley of western Ukraine, relies on a small network of hydroelectric power stations that have continued operating even as Russian attacks have all but destroyed the country's centralized energy grid.

And as emergency blackouts are implemented across the country, Ust-Chorna's residents say their power supply has remained nearly uninterrupted.

. . .

Russian attacks have decreased Ukraine's electricity generation capacity to 33% of its prewar levels, according to government estimates. The severity of the damage and ensuing blackouts have exposed the weaknesses of centralized power infrastructure, accelerating the country's push toward decentralized and renewable energy sources. In 2020, green energy made up 9.2% of the total energy consumed in Ukraine, while in 2023 this rose to 22%.

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I'd like to get into playing 2009scape, but the official server apparently allows players with different XP rates to play with each other.