Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
HONG KONG, June 28 (Xinhua) — He Zhuguo (Ho Tsu-kwok), a prominent Hong Kong businessman involved in tobacco and media businesses, died of illness at the age of 77 on June 11 in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), an official statement said Saturday.
He Zhuguo, born in Shanghai in June 1949, was chairman of the Hong Kong Tobacco Company Limited and chairman of the Sing Tao News Corporation Limited.
He was a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and a member of the Bureau of the CPPCC National Committee.
He Zhuguo is a renowned patriotic businessman and “a close friend of the Communist Party of China,” the statement said, adding that He Zhuguo loved the country and Hong Kong, firmly supported the policy of “one country, two systems” and the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and supported the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s efforts to implement law-based governance.
He played an important role in ensuring Hong Kong’s smooth transition, its return to the bosom of the motherland, and the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong, the statement said.
He Zhuguo also supported the country’s reform and opening up and actively participated in economic development and charity work in China’s interior, the statement said.
Following his death, heads of central government bodies expressed their grief and condolences to his family in various ways. -0-
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Florida 20th district))
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) issued the following statement in response to the rising anti-Muslim rhetoric targeting New York City’s Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani.
“I’m deeply troubled by the rise in anti-Muslim rhetoric. Let me be clear: targeting individuals based on their faith or heritage is un-American and completely unacceptable.
“Zohran Mamdani is a proud Muslim and a dedicated public servant. His faith—like that of so many across this nation—is not a barrier to leadership. It is a reflection of the very ideals America aspires to: a nation where our diversity is not merely tolerated, but celebrated.
“Muslim Americans are our neighbors, our community leaders, and our voices in government. It’s time we move beyond fear and division—and refocus on what truly matters: delivering for the people we are elected to serve.”
Detectives investigating the murder of a woman in Tower Hamlets have charged a man in connection with her death.
Layek Miah, 27 (04.11.1997) of Malmesbury Road, Tower Hamlets was charged with murder. He appeared at Thames Magistrates’ Court on Saturday, 28 June. He was remanded in custody and is set to appear at Central Criminal Court on Tuesday, 1 July.
Police were called on Thursday, 26 June at 23:01hrs, to an address in Monier Road, Tower Hamlets to reports of a stabbing.
Officers attended the scene alongside the London Ambulance Service, who treated a woman in her 40s for stab wounds.
Sadly, despite the best efforts of the emergency services, she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Her next of kin have been made aware and are being supported by specialist officers.
Anyone with information which could assist with the investigation is asked to call 101 stating CAD9509/26JUN. Alternatively you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or by submitting an online form.
The National Awards Ceremony 2025 was held on Friday 27th June, in a distinguished event hosted at State House under the patronage of the President of the Republic, Mr. Wavel Ramkalawan.
The ceremony began with a heartfelt rendition of the National Anthem performed by three talented Seychellois youths — Farhine Ally, Allessandro Evenor, and Danielle Morel — setting a patriotic tone for the proceedings.
In his opening remarks, the Chairperson of the National Awards Committee, Mr. Robert Grandcourt, commended the resilience, dedication, and accomplishments of the awardees whose service has contributed immensely to the development and unity of the Seychelles nation.
President Wavel Ramkalawan delivered the keynote address, paying tribute to the honourees for their outstanding service and unwavering commitment to the country. He reaffirmed the importance of recognising Seychellois citizens who embody national pride, integrity, and perseverance.
The President then led the Presentation of Awards, honouring a total of 13 exemplary citizens and two Seychelles National Sports teams:
MEDAL OF HONOUR
The late Dr René Guy Ah Moye
The late Mr Thomas Vaune Alexis
Mrs Milcah Emilien
Mr Antonio Gopal
Mrs Syldovia Rachel Larue
Shinan Philippe Moustache
Dr. Nirmal Kantilal Jivan Shah
MEDAL OF MERIT
Ms Beatrice Aglae
Mr Lienal Joey Thierry Bibi
Mr Jerris Cesar
Ms Marie-Thérèse Hossen
Mrs Daniella Johnstone
Mr Gerry Legras
PRIDE OF THE REPUBLIC OF SEYCHELLES
National Women’s Volleyball Team
National Beach Soccer Team (Paradise Boys)
Each award symbolised the nation’s deepest appreciation and respect for the remarkable contributions made by the recipients across various fields of national life.
The ceremony culminated in a moving musical tribute to the late Seychellois music legend, Mr. Thomas Alexis, with stirring performances of two of his most cherished songs, “Manman mon manman” and “Sesel mon pei”, lovingly interpreted by his son and daughter, Mr. Amos Alexis and Ms. Josepha Lepere. Their tribute not only honoured their father’s legacy but also stirred a deep sense of cultural pride among those present.
The National Awards Ceremony 2025 stands as a powerful reminder of the value of service, patriotism, and the vibrant spirit of the Seychellois people.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of State House Seychelles.
And unlike the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s, when national unity coalesced around the defense of Iranian sovereignty, this time the government appeared to fight without significant public support. While accurate polling from within Iran is hard to come by, the lack of pro-government rallies, the low approval numbers for the government ahead of the war and the government’s subsequent crackdown since tell their own stories.
As a researcher of different ethnic groups within the country, I know that many Iranians – especially those from historically marginalized communities – viewed the conflict with Israel not as a defense of the nation but as a reckless consequence of the government’s ideological adventurism and regional proxy campaigns. It puts the Islamic Republic in its most vulnerable position since its establishment after the Iranian Revolution in 1979.
Hard and soft power diminished
It is worth taking a snapshot of just how diminished the Iranian government is following the recent series of blows.
Its soft power – once built on revolutionary legitimacy, Shiite ideological influence and anti-Western propaganda – has eroded dramatically.
For decades, the Islamic Republic relied on a powerful narrative: that it was the only government bold enough to confront the United States and Israel, defend Muslim causes globally and serve as the spiritual leader of the Islamic world. This image, projected through state media, proxy militias and religious rhetoric, helped the government justify its foreign interventions and massive military spending, particularly on nuclear development and regional militias.
But that narrative no longer resonates the way it once did. The leaders of Iran can no longer claim to inspire unity at home or fear abroad. Even among Shiite populations in Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen, support during the Israel-Iran confrontation was muted. Inside Iran, meanwhile, propaganda portraying Israel as the existential enemy has lost its grip, especially among the youth, who increasingly identify with human rights movements rather than government slogans.
It is also clear that Iran’s hard power is getting weaker. The loss of senior commanders and the destruction of important military infrastructure have shown that the government’s intelligence and security systems are severely compromised.
Even before Israel’s attack, a number of reports showed that Iran’s military was in its weakest state in decades. The real surprise in the recent war came not from the scale of the damage by Israeli and U.S. bombs but from how deeply Israel had penetrated the upper echelons of the Iranian military and intelligence sectors. The recent conflict amounted to a security as well as a military failure.
Externally defeated, internally adrift
As its power across the region appears diminished, so too is the Iranian government’s grip loosening internally. A 2024 survey by Iran’s Ministry of Culture revealed “discontent” among the population, with over 90% of Iranians “dissatisfied” with the country’s current position. Elections in November 2024 saw a turnout of under 40%, further underscoring Iranians’ discontent with the political process.
And reporting from inside Iran suggests many Iranians blame government policies for the war with Israel. “I place the blame on this country’s decision-makers,” one resident of Rasht told Reuters, “their policies have brought war and destruction upon us.”
The government has responded with a tactic it has used before: repression. According to government-aligned media, over 700 people were arrested during and immediately after the conflict, accused of collaborating with the Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency.
As in past crackdowns, ethnic minority regions – particularly Kurdish areas – have been targeted.
One day after the ceasefire with Israel, the government executed three Kurdish cross-border laborers who rely on smuggling goods to survive in Iran’s underdeveloped Kurdish provinces.
These executions, which were done without a trial or legal counsel, fit a pattern of how the government uses ethnic scapegoating to stay in power. And it echoes a historic pattern: When the government feels threatened, it strikes the Kurds first.
A historical pattern of repression
Kurds are estimated to number 10-12 million in Iran, composing roughly 12% to 15% of the country’s total population – making them the third-largest ethnic group after Persians and Azeris. Iran also includes significant Baluch and Arab minorities.
When the Islamic Republic was established in 1979, many ethnic groups supported the revolution. They hoped for a more inclusive and democratic Iran than what preceded it – the brutal autocracy of the shah that had frequently targeted minorities.
Those hopes were quickly dashed. By rejecting pluralism and promoting a unifying ideology centered on Shiite Islam and Persian identity, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini marginalized non-Persian and non-Shiite groups.
Other ethnic groups were viewed with suspicion, while Shiite Azerbaijanis were mainly co-opted into the system.
Khomeini declared jihad against Kurdish resistance groups, labeling them infidels, separatists and agents of Israel and the United States.
Armed with advanced weaponry inherited from the last Pahlavi shah, the government launched a military campaign in Kurdistan province. Many Kurdish villages and towns were destroyed, and approximately 50,000 Iranian Kurds were killed between 1979 and 1988.
The region was turned into a militarized zone – a status that continues today.
But instead of embracing political reform, it responded with one of the most brutal crackdowns in Iran’s history. Khomeini issued a fatwa, or religious edict, ordering the execution of political prisoners, including large numbers of Kurdish dissidents.
Between late July and September 1988, thousands of political prisoners were executed – many without trial or any legal process. At least 5,000 people were killed and buried in unmarked mass graves, according to Amnesty International.
Khomeini labeled them “mohareb,” or “warriors against God,” and criticized the Revolutionary Courts for not sentencing them to death sooner. This mass execution campaign signaled the government’s resolve to eliminate all dissent, regardless of legal precedent or human rights norms.
This targeted elimination of Kurdish leadership, combined with the mass executions of political prisoners, was a deliberate strategy to decapitate any organized opposition before it could challenge the government’s survival.
A new crisis, the same strategy
The Islamic Republic appears to be using the same playbook now, but under far more fragile conditions.
Given the precarious state of the government, it is fair to ask why there are not more protests now, especially in ethnic minority regions. For many, the answer is fear over what happens next.
Meanwhile, the overall opposition remains fractured and leaderless, both along ethnic lines and in terms of goals. The main opposition groups have traditionally been reluctant to acknowledge ethnic rights, let alone include them in any vision for a future Iran. Rather, they insist on “territorial integrity” as a precondition for any dialogue, echoing the Islamic Republic’s rhetoric.
This is a key legacy of the Islamic Republic: Its propaganda has not only shaped domestic opinion but also influenced the opposition, dividing Iranians at home and abroad. And it has long mobilized the dominant ethnic group against minorities, especially Kurds, by portraying them as internal enemies.
Shukriya Bradost does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, June 28 (Xinhua) — Ambassadors and envoys from the permanent missions of eight countries to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna stressed cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear technology during a visit to China.
Foreign envoys from Ghana, Brazil, Namibia, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Pakistan, Venezuela and Indonesia visited nuclear technology demonstration and innovation sites in China’s Shandong Province (east China) and Beijing.
They exchanged views with Chinese officials and experts and attended a symposium in Beijing on cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear technology.
The event, which took place from June 22 to 27, was jointly organized by the China National Atomic Energy Agency (CAEA) and the Permanent Mission of China to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna.
CAEA noted China’s efforts to promote safe and sustainable development of nuclear energy, use of nuclear technology for social welfare, as well as its extensive practice and future plans to deepen cooperation in peaceful uses of nuclear technology with developing countries.
The foreign diplomats noted that China’s achievements in nuclear energy and nuclear technology have attracted the world’s attention, adding that China has played a vital role in promoting the peaceful use of nuclear energy among countries in the Global South. They also expressed their willingness to cooperate with China at the bilateral and multilateral levels in areas such as nuclear agronomy, nuclear medicine, nuclear safety and security.
CAEA said it would work with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and partners from the Global South to jointly advance innovation and development in nuclear energy technologies. -0-
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, June 28 (Xinhua) — The number of valid invention patents in China has reached 4.97 million by May this year, demonstrating the vibrant creativity of Chinese innovators and laying the foundation for cultivating and developing new productive forces, the National Intellectual Property Administration (NIPA) said at a press conference on Friday.
China is currently in the process of transition from a major importer of intellectual property to a leading global creator of it, Guo Wen, an official representative of the State Intellectual Property Institution, said at a press conference, adding that the State Intellectual Property Institution, based on meeting the actual needs of domestic innovative entities, is making efforts to improve the quality of services in this area, in particular by updating the evaluation standards for patent applications, improving their quality and the efficiency of their examination, and optimizing the on-demand examination mechanism.
“From January to May of this year, the State Administration for Intellectual Property Review reviewed 84,000 and 116,000 patent applications in priority and accelerated order, respectively, while postponing the review of 9,300 patent applications,” Guo Wen said, adding that 13 batches of patent applications were also reviewed in a centralized manner.
“As a result, a number of high-value patents have been issued that can strengthen the core competitiveness of industrial sectors, guarantee national industrial security, and promote the transformation and modernization of industrial sectors,” she emphasized.
To further improve the quality of patents, the State Intellectual Property Office will improve the mechanism of accelerated coordinated protection and increase the level of targeting in providing assistance. The State Intellectual Property Office has 77 centers for the prompt protection of intellectual property rights at the national level, where services are provided on a “single window” basis. -0-
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
Tashkent, June 28 (Xinhua) — In January-May 2025, gold exports from Uzbekistan amounted to $6.49 billion, which is 54.8 percent more compared to the same period last year, local media reported on Friday, citing data from the National Statistical Committee of the Republic.
It is noted that the main contribution to the growth of exports was made by gold trade. The precious metal accounted for almost 44 percent of the total volume of Uzbek exports and became the main source of foreign currency.
As of May 2024, Uzbekistan’s international reserves reportedly reached $49.66 billion, the highest level since 2013. –0–
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
SANAA/JERUSALEM, June 28 (Xinhua) — Yemen’s Houthis launched a Zulfiqar ballistic missile that “successfully hit” a “sensitive” site in southern Israel, where an air raid siren was sounded for the first time since the ceasefire with Iran, rebel spokesman Yahya Saria said in an address on Al-Masirah TV on Saturday.
Earlier this week, the Houthis carried out “several military operations” against “sensitive” targets and military installations in the Israeli cities of Beersheba, Jaffa (Tel Aviv) and Haifa, using ballistic missiles and drones, he said. All operations were “successfully carried out,” Saria added.
The actions were “a form of support for the oppressed Palestinian people,” he said, vowing that the Houthis would continue their “supportive military operations until the aggression in Gaza stops and the blockade is lifted.”
In turn, the Israel Defense Forces /IDF/ reported that a rocket flying from Yemen towards Israel on Saturday morning “was most likely successfully intercepted.” –0–
The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group has approved a second partial credit guarantee to help Côte d’Ivoire raise funds for strategic green and social projects. This risk-sharing instrument will enable the country to access competitive financing from international commercial banks, including funding in local currency. The transaction builds on a successful €533 million Bank-guaranteed facility completed in 2023.
Côte d’Ivoire continues to show economic resilience and improved credit ratings. The West African country is committed to increasing revenue mobilization while ensuring prudent debt management.
The guarantee allows Côte d’Ivoire to diversify its funding sources and secure longer-term loans that align with its Medium-Term Debt Management Strategy for 2024-2028. It also provides access long-term local currency financing, helping address structural liquidity challenges in the regional financial market.
Proceeds will fund sectors aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals and Côte d’Ivoire’s National Development Plan 2021-2025. Priority areas include sustainable agriculture, water and sanitation, renewable energy, health, affordable housing, education, and financial inclusion.
“This operation reflects the Bank’s strategic use of risk mitigation instruments to help regional member countries access affordable, long-term capital for transformational investments,” said Solomon Quaynor, Vice-President for Private Sector, Infrastructure and Industrialization at the African Development Bank Group. “The guarantee supports Côte d’Ivoire’s efforts to embed sustainability into its financing strategy while strengthening investor confidence in the country’s macroeconomic and policy frameworks.”
The local currency component addresses chronic CFA franc liquidity shortages in the West African Monetary Union regional financial market, supporting both debt sustainability and regional capital market development.
“Over the past three years, we have approved seven guarantees to unlock close to $3 billion of competitively priced sustainable financing for our Regional Member Countries,” said Ahmed Attout, Bank Group Director for Financial Sector Development. The first guarantee’s €533 million proceeds were allocated to projects covering basic infrastructure projects, basic services, and employment and competitiveness projects, benefiting millions of Ivorians.
The new guaranteed facility will support Côte d’Ivoire’s vision of achieving upper-middle-income status by 2030 through sustainable economic transformation.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Haley Stevens (MI-11)
WASHINGTON, D.C. –– This week, Michigan Congresswoman Haley Stevens has been speaking out about her ‘Stop Trump’s Abuse of Power’ legislation that would block the President from deploying active-duty military forces within U.S. states or territories without the consent of their governors or local leaders.
Watch what Congresswoman Haley Stevens has to say about her proposed legislation.
SiriusXM: Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) on Her Stop Trump’s Abuse of Power Act
“I’m just very simply looking at legislation to make sure the President can’t override the wishes of local law enforcement or state officials in terms of deploying the American military on federal Americans.”
“We are a nation of laws Steve and frankly the President has got to start following them.”
As an elected representative of the great state of Michigan, here in our nation’s capitol I am acting. I am putting forward a stop to this abuse of power and chaos that we are getting with Donald Trump and his administration.”
WZZM: Amid federal military mobilization in L.A., MI’s Rep. Stevens to unveil bill seeking limit presidential authority to deploy troops
“We need to ensure that if the president is taking these actions, it is—particularly, deploying the military and the Marines into a situation—that it comes and meets the needs of local law enforcement and state officials.”
“I certainly am known as a very bipartisan member of Congress,” she said, “and I plan to have practical and reasonable conversations with my colleagues across the aisle as well.”
“This is just a step in that direction to curb and check and reestablish what we, you know, a long held tradition and rule of law in this country, which is that we have three branches of government.”
Michigan Public Radio
“The Oakland County Democrat says her bill is in response to the Trump administration sending marines to Los Angeles during anti-immigration raid protests. ‘I’m going to continue to stand up and I’m going to continue to force these conversations when this level of chaos and disruption is wreaking havoc.’”
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Haley Stevens (MI-11)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Michigan Congresswoman Haley Stevens announced that next week she will be introducing the ‘Stop Trump’s Abuse of Power Act,’ which makes it illegal for the president to deploy active duty forces to a state or territory without a direct request from the executive of the state or territory.
The bill follows Donald Trump’s unlawful and unprecedented deployment of U.S. Marines to the streets of Los Angeles despite local leaders–including the Governor–and local law enforcement making it clear the President’s actions would increase tension.
“President Trump has shown a disturbing pattern of disregard for the Constitution and due process. This month, he made it harder for local law enforcement to do their jobs in California by unlawfully deploying our military on U.S. soil – further escalating tension and violence,” said Michigan Congresswoman Haley Stevens. “We must stand up to Donald Trump’s chaos and destruction, which is why I am introducing this legislation to limit his powers and make sure he cannot deploy troops on U.S. soil for his political gain. We are a nation of laws and it’s about time the President begins to follow them.”
The bill would add this language into theInsurrection Act of 1807and would only apply to duties related to peaceful protests and demonstrations.
Delegates from around the world are preparing to gather in Sevilla, Spain for the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, a once-in-a-decade opportunity catalyze investment for a better future. Set to run from 30 June to 3 July, the Conference will spotlight multilateralism’s critical role in fostering a sustainable future for all.
To watch all live events in 6 official languages: webtv.un.org/
More information: https://financing.desa.un.org/FFD4
Delegates from around the world are preparing to gather in Sevilla, Spain for the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, a once-in-a-decade opportunity catalyze investment for a better future. Set to run from 30 June to 3 July, the Conference will spotlight multilateralism’s critical role in fostering a sustainable future for all.
To watch all live events in 6 official languages: webtv.un.org/
More information: https://financing.desa.un.org/FFD4
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Press release
Pledge to protect Armed Forces community as government delivers on manifesto commitment
Military personnel, their families and veterans are to have their unique circumstances legally protected by central government for the first time under new plans announced by the Prime Minister.
Transformative protections for military personnel, veterans and their families, including the bereaved, have been announced by the Prime Minister today.
Legislation will be brought forward to deliver manifesto promise to bring Armed Forces Covenant fully into law, placing the Armed Forces community at the heart of government decision-making.
Prime Minister visits RAF Valley to celebrate our Armed Forces Day.
Comes after a year of delivery for our Armed Forces and veterans, including “homes for heroes,” new funding for wraparound support and new Armed Forces Commissioner to advocate on behalf of the service community.
Military personnel, their families and veterans are to have their unique circumstances legally protected by central government for the first time under new plans announced by the Prime Minister.
As the nation marks Armed Forces Day, the Prime Minister visited RAF Valley in Wales where he met trainee pilots and their families to celebrate Armed Forces Week.
It comes as the Government confirms plans for the first time that all government departments will have to legally consider the needs of the Armed Forces community when making new policy.
More details of the legal duty will be set out in due course, but could include initiatives such as extending travel benefits to the families of veterans and the bereaved, or flexible working for partners of serving personnel who are required to move as part for their role in the Armed Forces.
This delivers on a manifesto promise and is part of the Government’s commitment to renew the nation’s contract with those who serve and following the Strategic Defence Review, which underscored the role our Armed Forces play in protecting our national security, which is the foundation of this Government’s Plan for Change.
This Government has committed to renewing its contract with the Armed Forces community, delivering two above inflation pay awards for service personnel and an extra £1.5bn investment this parliament to improve forces’ family housing through the Strategic Defence Review.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:
“Across the country and around the world, our service personnel and their families make the ultimate sacrifice to keep us safe and protect our freedom and our way of life.
“When I became Prime Minister, I made a promise to serve those who have served us. Through the new Armed Forces Covenant, we are delivering on that promise — ensuring our service personnel, veterans and their families are treated with the respect they deserve – that is our duty.
“Our Armed Forces Covenant will put our Armed Forces community at the very heart of government decision-making. Their courage, duty, and sacrifice are the foundation of our national values, and they deserve nothing less.”
The new Armed Forces Covenant Legal Duty will ensure:
Fair access to services: Ensures that serving personnel, veterans, and their families are not disadvantaged.
Priority support for those most in need: Provides additional help for those who have given the most, such as the injured or bereaved.
Legal duty on public bodies: Local authorities, NHS bodies, and schools must consider the needs of the Armed Forces community in their decision-making.
Annual reporting: The government is legally required to publish an annual report on Covenant delivery and progress.
Announcement follows the Prime Minister’s “homes for heroes” policy guaranteeing housing for all UK Armed Forces veterans, exempting them from local connection rules for social housing.
The Prime Minister also announced £3.5 million of funding for wraparound support services for veterans at risk of homelessness, including mental health, employment, and independent living support earlier this year.
Today’s announcement forms part of a wider commitment to renew the contract with those who have served the country are treated with respect and long-term security.
Under the new legislation all areas of government will for the first time have to have ‘due regard’ for the Armed Forces Covenant when policy and decision making; taking into account the unique circumstances and position of the Armed Forces community to prevent disadvantage.
Currently this is only legally required in areas of housing, healthcare and education and only at local level, so, not applicable to central government. The Legal Duty Extension marks a huge step forward in increasing support for the Armed Forces community.
This extension follows consultation with over 150 organisations and builds on recommendations from the House of Commons Defence Select Committee.
Veterans and People Minister Alistair Carns MP said:
“Service life offers unique opportunities for personal growth and camaraderie, but it also demands exceptional sacrifices. Today, we’re taking bold action to ensure that those who serve our country receive the recognition and support they deserve by embedding these principles into law.
“Whether you serve in the regular or reserve forces, you and your families stand to benefit from the Covenant Legal Duty Extension and its principles as part of our government’s commitment to renew the nation’s contract with those who serve.”
The Armed Forces Covenant is built on a simple but powerful principle: no one in the Armed Forces community should face disadvantage in accessing public or commercial services.
Mark Atkinson, Director General, Royal British Legion:
“The Royal British Legion has been calling for a stronger Armed Forces Covenant for over a decade.
“Those who have served in the Armed Forces often face unique challenges, for example moving frequently during service can make it hard for families to receive consistent support from public services or for spouses and partners to build careers. Expanding the Covenant Legal Duty will help public services better respond to these challenges by ensuring the needs of the Armed Forces community are taken into account when making decisions.
“Currently the Covenant Legal Duty only applies to some areas of housing, education, and healthcare. We firmly welcome the decision to bring the Covenant fully into law to make sure all parts of government across the UK are working together and focused on providing the best possible support for those who are serving, have served, their families and the bereaved.
“It will be vital that the impact of the Duty is measured effectively and those who deliver services must also be resourced with funding and training so that they can fully understand the purpose of the Armed Forces Covenant to ensure this change makes a meaningful difference to the lives of all those in the Armed Forces community.”
The new legal duty announced today will extend this commitment across all government departments and devolved administrations. This transformative measure ensures that serving personnel, reservists, veterans, and their families are considered in every relevant policy decision—giving them a meaningful voice and delivering on the Government’s pledge to strengthen support for our Armed Forces communities.
This builds on existing successes in housing, education, and healthcare, such as dedicated NHS pathways for veterans and the Service Pupil Premium.
Additional information
The extension of the Legal Duty will encompass all UK Government Departments and Devolved Governments, and the following policy areas:
· Housing
· Education
· Healthcare
· Social care
· Childcare
· Employment and service in the armed forces
· Personal taxation
· Welfare benefits
· Criminal justice
· Immigration
· Citizenship
· Pensions
· Service-related compensation
· Transport
For more information about the Armed Forces Covenant and the legal duty extension, please visit www.armedforcescovenant.gov.uk.
It is our ambition to include these statutory changes in the next Armed Forces Bill, which is required every five years to continue to have an Armed Forces.
More than 1,000 serving military personnel, veterans and cadets were joined by massed pipes and drums and vintage military vehicles in Aberdeen’s Armed Forces Day parade today (Saturday 28 June).
The 30-minute parade started at Albyn Place at 11am, before making its made its way along Union Street, Union Terrace, Schoolhill, Upperkirkgate, Broad Street, and finishing at the Castlegate.
On Broad Street, the Lord Provost of Aberdeen, Dr David Cameron, in his role as His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant was joined by representatives from the UK’s Armed Forces, to take the salute in front of the City’s official flagpole outside Marischal College, on Broad Street.
The Lord-Lieutenant of Aberdeen, Dr David Cameron, said: “Today’s parade is a tribute to the courage, commitment, and sacrifice of our Armed Forces. It was heartening to see the parade route lined with residents and visitors alike, young and older, waving Aberdeen Armed Forces Day parade flags and showing their support. This parade reminds us of the enduring bond between our community and those who serve.”
Major (Retd) Grenville Irvine-Fortescue, Chairman of The Gordon Highlanders Regimental Association, said: “Armed Forces Day is always special as it honours and recognises the service, dedication and sacrifice of our men and women from across all the Services. In this year of the 80th anniversary of the end of World War 2 that service and sacrifice is brought into even sharper focus. The veterans who march today are immensely proud to do so. They march in memory of those who have gone before. They march in support of our Armed Services of today, both Regular and Reserve Forces. They march out of respect for those servicemen and women who bare the mental and physical scars of their service and they march in deep gratitude to the families who have and continue to provide such amazing support.
“We also acknowledge the Navy, Army and Air Cadet Forces, the commitment they make and the pride they take in being a part of the parade today.
“For us here in Aberdeen we have the special honour of our last WW2 and D Day Gordon Highlander veteran, Jim Glennie BEM, Legion d’honneur, joining His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant, Dr David Cameron, to take the salute as the parade marches past.
“On behalf of The Gordon Highlanders Association, I would like to thank the Lord-Lieutenant, Aberdeen City Council and the people of Aberdeen City, the communities of Aberdeenshire and the wider North East, for their wonderful support to this Armed Forces Day and their commitment to continue to stand by the remarkable men and women of our Armed Services. That support is greatly appreciated and makes us all march a bit taller.”
John McLeish, Chief Executive, The Gordon Highlanders Museum, said: “Once again, Aberdeen’s Armed Forces Day Parade has captured the hearts of people across the city and beyond. We are delighted to have been able to support this year’s ‘design a flag’ competition and we look forward to welcoming the winners to The Gordon Highlanders Museum in the near future.”
Members of the public who lined the parade route were given special Aberdeen Armed Forces Day flags to wave, which featured a special design by Marley Smith, a Primary Six Year pupil from the city’s Broomhill School.
The Gordon Highlanders Museum supports the ‘design a flag’ competition by gifting the three age-group category winners, which includes the overall winner, with family passes to the museum.
A man who fled the UK in an attempt to evade justice has been jailed for murder.
Sabajet Shuti – 31 (04.07.93) of Upney Lane, Barking was sentenced to life imprisonment to serve a minimum of 27 years following a hearing at Southwark Crown Court on 27 June.
Shuti had been found guilty of murdering 27-year-old Lumturi Zeqja, along with possession of a knife and GBH relating to a second man at the conclusion of a trial at the same court on 14 April.
Shuti’s brother, Emirlion Shuti – 30 (13.12.94) of Blake Avenue, Barking was found guilty of affray during the same trial. He received a 20-month sentence, suspended for two years.
The court heard how Sabajet Shuti launched his fatal attack on the evening of 16 October 2022 in Church Lane, Leytonstone.
Lumturi was standing outside a café with his friend when the Shuti brothers arrived at around 22:40hrs in two cars. The brothers went to a separate café but shortly after Emirlion Shuti returned to one of the cars and began to drive it erratically along the road, revving the engine and causing a disturbance.
Lumturi’s friend approached Emirlion and told him to stop but instead of doing this, Emirlion got out of the car and spoke to his brother and others who were outside the neighbouring café. The situation quickly escalated after Emirlion Shuti threw a punch at Lumturi’s friend. During the ensuing altercation Sabajet Shuti produced a knife and stabbed Lumturi twice, and his friend once.
Both Shuti brothers then fled the scene leaving Lumturi collapsed and dying on the pavement. The emergency services attended but despite their efforts they could not save him. His friend was taken to hospital for emergency surgery and thankfully survived the attack.
Detectives began to piece together evidence and from accessing CCTV and mobile phone footage were able to identify who was responsible.
The day after the murder, Sabajet Shuti made plans to leave the UK. He changed his appearance by shaving off his beard and then travelled to Folkestone before crossing the Channel into France. A warrant for his arrest was issued and around a year after the attack, on 3 October 2023 Sabajet Shuti was arrested in Sweden. He was extradited back to the UK to face the consequences of his actions.
In the intervening period, detectives had arrested and charged Emirlion Shuti for his role in the attack.
Detective Inspector Brett Hagen who led the investigation said: “Sabajet Shuti went to great lengths to try and evade justice, fleeing the country and regularly changing location in an attempt to avoid being arrested.
“However, his efforts were in vain as while he was on the run, our team of tenacious detectives had built a file of evidence and, working in liaison with international law enforcement colleagues, the net closed in on him.
“The level of violence Sabejet Shuti used was completely unnecessary – he went out that night armed with a knife so had clear intent of causing someone significant harm if the chance arose.
“His actions cost Lumturi Zeqja his life and has caused untold pain to his family and friends. While nothing I can say can alleviate their suffering, I hope they can take some small measure of comfort in seeing the Shuti brothers held to account for their actions.”
Source: Africa Press Organisation – English (2) – Report:
Download logo
The Presidency of the Republic of Ghana is pleased to announce that the Prime Minister of the Republic of India, His Excellency Narendra Modi, will undertake a two-day Official Visit to Ghana from Wednesday, 2nd July, to Thursday, 3rd July, 2025.
The visit highlights the warm and longstanding friendly relations between Ghana and India, as well as the importance both nations place on strengthening their strategic partnership.
The itinerary for the visit includes a bilateral meeting between President Mahama and Prime Minister Modi at the Presidency. The two leaders will engage in discussions aimed at deepening cooperation across various sectors, including trade, investment, agriculture, technology, education, healthcare, and energy. They will also exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest.
Key highlights of the visit will include the signing of several bilateral agreements to consolidate cooperation frameworks between Ghana and India, followed by a joint Press Conference addressed by President Mahama and Prime Minister Modi. President Mahama will also host a State Dinner in honour of Prime Minister Modi and his delegation.
The visit by Prime Minister Modi is expected to strengthen bilateral ties, foster deeper economic cooperation, and solidify the bonds of friendship between the peoples of Ghana and India.
The State of Qatar reaffirmed its support for the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact and its unwavering commitment to actively participating in relevant regional and international initiatives aimed at enhancing regional and global security and stability.
This came in the State of Qatar’s statement delivered by HE the State of Qatar’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al-Thani during her participation in the opening of a meeting organized by the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism. The event, held at UN headquarters in New York, was on enhancing partnerships between regional organizations and the UN Counter-terrorism Coordination Compact to support the coordination of political interventions and capacity-building efforts.
Her Excellency emphasized the importance of the meeting as a constructive platform for strengthening dialogue and coordination among the members of the UN Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact, contributing to more integrated and effective international efforts to combat terrorism.
Her Excellency also highlighted the ongoing partnership between the State of Qatar and the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism, commending the continuous efforts to enhance international cooperation and implement a shared vision for countering terrorism through coordinated and integrated action.
For his part, Under-Secretary-General for Counter-Terrorism Vladimir Voronkov praised Qatar’s leading role in supporting UN counter-terrorism initiatives, especially those focused on preventing violent extremism by addressing its root causes, primarily through promoting education and supporting sustainable development.
The State of Qatar emphasized the importance of promoting and protecting children’s right to education, especially in countries affected by conflict, highlighting its leading efforts in this field, which have received international recognition.
This came in the State of Qatar’s statement delivered by HE Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al-Thani, during the UN Security Council’s open debate on effective strategies to end and prevent grave violations against children in armed conflict, held at UN headquarters in New York.
Her Excellency referred to the State of Qatar’s key partnerships with the United Nations, which reflect the country’s commitment to supporting international efforts to protect children affected by armed conflicts. She pointed to the State of Qatar’s hosting and support of the Analysis and Outreach Hub of the Office of the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, noting that the center continues to play a vital role in advancing child protection efforts in conflict areas.
Her Excellency also noted that this year marks the 20th anniversary of Security Council Resolution 1612 (2005), which was a landmark step and solid framework for improving the protection of children affected by armed conflict. It led to the creation of a monitoring and reporting mechanism focused on children and armed conflict. She stressed that all commitments must now be translated into concrete actions.
Her Excellency expressed the State of Qatar’s deep concern over the increasing number of grave violations against children, citing the UN Secretary-General’s report that said violence against children in armed conflict reached its highest level in 2024, and added that children have borne the brunt of relentless hostilities and indiscriminate attacks.
Her Excellency also strongly condemned the grave violations of international humanitarian law committed by the Israeli occupation against children in the Gaza Strip, calling on the international community to urgently act to compel Israel to comply with international laws, end its brutal war on Gaza immediately, and address the resulting catastrophic humanitarian conditions.
Her Excellency said that it was extremely alarming what the report documented regarding the scale of grave violations against children in the occupied Palestinian territories, particularly the widespread use of explosive weapons in densely populated areas, the sharp increase in violations in Gaza, and the escalation of violence in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
Her Excellency emphasized that it is absolutely unacceptable for children to remain victims of grave violations in ongoing conflicts, and underscored the importance of ensuring their protection in such areas.
In conclusion, Her Excellency expressed her appreciation for HE Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations for Children and Armed Conflict Virginia Gamba, praising her tireless efforts and extensive expertise.
The State of Qatar participated in the signing ceremony of the Peace Agreement between the Republic of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which took place today in Washington, facilitated by the United States of America.
His Excellency Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulaziz bin Saleh Al-Khulaifi, Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, represented the State of Qatar at the signing ceremony.
In a statement to Qatar News Agency (QNA) on this occasion, His Excellency the Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed the State of Qatar’s welcome of the conclusion of this Agreement, as well as its commendation of the sincere will and genuine commitment demonstrated by both Parties to the approach of peaceful and diplomatic solutions.
His Excellency also expressed Qatar’s pride in contributing positively to facilitating the achievement of this Agreement through hosting several negotiation sessions between the two parties, as a result of Doha’s hosting of the trilateral meeting between His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Amir of the State of Qatar, His Excellency President Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda, and His Excellency President Félix Tshisekedi, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on March 18, 2025, which constituted a significant milestone for direct dialogue and confidence-building between the two sides.
His Excellency commended the constructive role played by the United States of America in completing these efforts and reaching this significant Agreement, which is expected to enhance security and stability in the Great Lakes region.
His Excellency the Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirmed that these efforts are in support of the African Union’s mediation and the outcomes of the Joint Summit of the East African Community and the Southern African Development Community, which was held in Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania, on February 8, 2025. In this regard, he expressed the State of Qatar’s full readiness to collaborate with all regional and international partners to achieve lasting peace that benefits the peoples of the region.
HE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi received today a phone call from HE Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Arun Hemachandra.
The call dealt with discussing cooperation relations between the two countries and ways to support and enhance them, and discussed a number of topics of common interest.
During the call, Sri Lanka’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs expressed his country’s solidarity with the State of Qatar following the attack launched by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps on Qatar’s Al Udeid Air Base.
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Alexander Richard Braczkowski, Research Fellow at the Centre for Planetary Health and Resilient Conservation Group, Griffith University
In the shadows of Python Cave, Uganda, a leopard leaps from a guano mound – formed by bat excrement – and sinks its teeth into a bat. But this is no ordinary bat colony. The thousands of Egyptian fruit bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus) found in this cave are known carriers of one of the world’s deadliest viruses: Marburg, a close cousin of Ebola.
I am a conservation scientist with over 17 years of experience in wildlife ecology, monitoring and human-wildlife conflict. I’m the co-founder of the Kyambura Lion Project, which made this discovery.
For years, scientists studying how diseases spread from animals to humans have hypothesised that zoonotic diseases jump from a wildlife reservoir (like a bat) to an intermediate host (monkey) and potentially to us, humans.
For past Marburg outbreaks in Uganda, two spillover pathways have been identified: the first, involves humans coming into contact with a fruit bat habitat (namely caves filled with bat guano). Indeed, fruit bats are thought to have infected two tourists at Python Cave in 2007 and 2008.
The second pathway involves humans and animals eating the same fruit that bats have fed upon or made contact with. This second spillover pathway was identified by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention scientists in 2023. They tracked bats from the cave entering cultivated gardens to feed.
But Atukwatse and the team of young Ugandan scientists (Yahaya Ssemakula, Johnson Muhereza, Orin Cornille and Winfred Nsabimana) have potentially found another pathway: predation by at least 14 species.
Such rich visual evidence of a viral interface – bats, predators and people – is virtually non-existent in the literature. Many theoretical depictions of this process exist, and there are isolated incidents of a monkey predating on a bat or wildlife feeding on bat guano, but Atukwatse’s discovery of this many different predators repeatedly feeding on a known Marburg virus reservoir is a first.
His discovery highlights two uncomfortable truths:
many potential zoonotic interfaces remain undocumented – often right under our noses
the people most likely to detect them first are those living closest to wild frontiers.
But the bigger message is this: global health institutions need to stop overlooking local scientists and start funding field-based detection systems across Africa and Asia.
If we want to detect the next outbreak early, we should be empowering more Atukwatses, not waiting for the next lab test.
Atukwatse had heard from nearby guides that a large bat cave lay close to the survey grid. That kind of site, he reasoned, could be perfect leopard territory: a place to hunt, rest or avoid the heat.
This is ecological attentiveness at its best – the field biology equivalent of a commodities trader spotting volatility in a geopolitical flashpoint.
Atukwatse had his radar on and acted on instinct, setting five camera traps at the cave’s entrance and along the surrounding animal trails. Just one week later, he got what he hoped for: three separate clips of a leopard hunting bats in broad daylight. He left the cameras in place in protective casing. He checked them every 7–10 days.
But that was just the beginning.
The scale of the discovery
When I first looked at Atukwatse’s videos, our joint excitement was around the leopard footage. We knew they were adaptable and could even eat small rodents , but no one had ever recorded them eating bats in Africa.
As more clips came in, we realised something bigger was unfolding. Blue monkeys were seen grabbing bats mid-roost. A crowned eagle and a Nile monitor fought over two bat carcasses. A fish eagle – typically a piscivore, which is a carnivorous species that primarily eats fish – was filmed clutching bats in its talons.
Over 304 trap-nights, Atukwatse’s traps recorded 261 independent predator events from at least 14 different species.
Then came the second shock: over 400 human visitors – many of them tourists – were filmed approaching the cave mouth without any protective gear. Some stood just metres from a known Marburg virus reservoir. Importantly, the Uganda Wildlife Authority has built a sanctioned viewing platform about 35 metres from the cave. However, tourists broke park rules and walked within two metres of the cave mouth.
It was only after I visited the cave myself to take stills of the team that we put this all together. Atukwatse had just found the first visual evidence, at a large scale in nature, of at least 14 predators feeding on a known wildlife virus reservoir harbouring one of Earth’s deadliest viruses.
This wasn’t the result of million-dollar pathogen surveillance. It wasn’t even the core aim of our leopard survey. This happened because a young Ugandan field scientist followed his ecological gut.
Why does the discovery matter?
For decades, disease ecologists have known that major outbreaks often originate in wildlife – swine flu, avian flu and even SARS-CoV-2 all trace back to animal hosts. But what’s often missing is direct observation of spillover interfaces – the exact moments when a virus jumps from a bat, goose, or other animal into new species like humans, livestock or other wildlife.
Atukwatse’s discovery may be the first large-scale visual record of such an interface in nature: a roost of Egyptian fruit bats known to harbour a deadly virus, actively predated upon by at least 14 species, with hundreds of humans visiting the same cave mouth unprotected.
This may be a Rosetta Stone moment for spillover ecology – shifting our understanding from hypothetical models to a real, observable interface.
These kinds of spillover sites exist in other places in nature: in a Chinese wet market where a civet meets a meat processor, or in a Gabonese village where a bat is butchered for bushmeat. The difference? Most of them go undocumented. Atukwatse just filmed one.
Alexander Richard Braczkowski is the scientific director of the Volcanoes Safaris Partnership Trust Kyambura Lion Project.
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Alexander Richard Braczkowski, Research Fellow at the Centre for Planetary Health and Resilient Conservation Group, Griffith University
In the shadows of Python Cave, Uganda, a leopard leaps from a guano mound – formed by bat excrement – and sinks its teeth into a bat. But this is no ordinary bat colony. The thousands of Egyptian fruit bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus) found in this cave are known carriers of one of the world’s deadliest viruses: Marburg, a close cousin of Ebola.
I am a conservation scientist with over 17 years of experience in wildlife ecology, monitoring and human-wildlife conflict. I’m the co-founder of the Kyambura Lion Project, which made this discovery.
For years, scientists studying how diseases spread from animals to humans have hypothesised that zoonotic diseases jump from a wildlife reservoir (like a bat) to an intermediate host (monkey) and potentially to us, humans.
For past Marburg outbreaks in Uganda, two spillover pathways have been identified: the first, involves humans coming into contact with a fruit bat habitat (namely caves filled with bat guano). Indeed, fruit bats are thought to have infected two tourists at Python Cave in 2007 and 2008.
The second pathway involves humans and animals eating the same fruit that bats have fed upon or made contact with. This second spillover pathway was identified by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention scientists in 2023. They tracked bats from the cave entering cultivated gardens to feed.
But Atukwatse and the team of young Ugandan scientists (Yahaya Ssemakula, Johnson Muhereza, Orin Cornille and Winfred Nsabimana) have potentially found another pathway: predation by at least 14 species.
Such rich visual evidence of a viral interface – bats, predators and people – is virtually non-existent in the literature. Many theoretical depictions of this process exist, and there are isolated incidents of a monkey predating on a bat or wildlife feeding on bat guano, but Atukwatse’s discovery of this many different predators repeatedly feeding on a known Marburg virus reservoir is a first.
His discovery highlights two uncomfortable truths:
many potential zoonotic interfaces remain undocumented – often right under our noses
the people most likely to detect them first are those living closest to wild frontiers.
But the bigger message is this: global health institutions need to stop overlooking local scientists and start funding field-based detection systems across Africa and Asia.
If we want to detect the next outbreak early, we should be empowering more Atukwatses, not waiting for the next lab test.
Atukwatse had heard from nearby guides that a large bat cave lay close to the survey grid. That kind of site, he reasoned, could be perfect leopard territory: a place to hunt, rest or avoid the heat.
This is ecological attentiveness at its best – the field biology equivalent of a commodities trader spotting volatility in a geopolitical flashpoint.
Atukwatse had his radar on and acted on instinct, setting five camera traps at the cave’s entrance and along the surrounding animal trails. Just one week later, he got what he hoped for: three separate clips of a leopard hunting bats in broad daylight. He left the cameras in place in protective casing. He checked them every 7–10 days.
But that was just the beginning.
The scale of the discovery
When I first looked at Atukwatse’s videos, our joint excitement was around the leopard footage. We knew they were adaptable and could even eat small rodents , but no one had ever recorded them eating bats in Africa.
As more clips came in, we realised something bigger was unfolding. Blue monkeys were seen grabbing bats mid-roost. A crowned eagle and a Nile monitor fought over two bat carcasses. A fish eagle – typically a piscivore, which is a carnivorous species that primarily eats fish – was filmed clutching bats in its talons.
Over 304 trap-nights, Atukwatse’s traps recorded 261 independent predator events from at least 14 different species.
Then came the second shock: over 400 human visitors – many of them tourists – were filmed approaching the cave mouth without any protective gear. Some stood just metres from a known Marburg virus reservoir. Importantly, the Uganda Wildlife Authority has built a sanctioned viewing platform about 35 metres from the cave. However, tourists broke park rules and walked within two metres of the cave mouth.
It was only after I visited the cave myself to take stills of the team that we put this all together. Atukwatse had just found the first visual evidence, at a large scale in nature, of at least 14 predators feeding on a known wildlife virus reservoir harbouring one of Earth’s deadliest viruses.
This wasn’t the result of million-dollar pathogen surveillance. It wasn’t even the core aim of our leopard survey. This happened because a young Ugandan field scientist followed his ecological gut.
Why does the discovery matter?
For decades, disease ecologists have known that major outbreaks often originate in wildlife – swine flu, avian flu and even SARS-CoV-2 all trace back to animal hosts. But what’s often missing is direct observation of spillover interfaces – the exact moments when a virus jumps from a bat, goose, or other animal into new species like humans, livestock or other wildlife.
Atukwatse’s discovery may be the first large-scale visual record of such an interface in nature: a roost of Egyptian fruit bats known to harbour a deadly virus, actively predated upon by at least 14 species, with hundreds of humans visiting the same cave mouth unprotected.
This may be a Rosetta Stone moment for spillover ecology – shifting our understanding from hypothetical models to a real, observable interface.
These kinds of spillover sites exist in other places in nature: in a Chinese wet market where a civet meets a meat processor, or in a Gabonese village where a bat is butchered for bushmeat. The difference? Most of them go undocumented. Atukwatse just filmed one.
Alexander Richard Braczkowski is the scientific director of the Volcanoes Safaris Partnership Trust Kyambura Lion Project.
Security Council briefing by Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee , Assistant Secretary-General for Africa, Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs – Department of Peace Operations, on Sudan and South Sudan.
UN Assistant Secretary-General for Africa Martha Pobee said that the security conditions in Sudan remain dire.
Briefing the Security Council today (27 Jun) Pobee said, “Security conditions remain dire, marked by shifting frontlines, increased and often indiscriminate aerial assaults by both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, and continuous attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, including hospitals.”
She continued, “The warring parties appear unrelenting in their resolve to pursue military objectives. The fighting shows no signs of abating. In recent weeks, the focus of the conflict has shifted once more to the Darfur and Kordofan regions. The Kordofans are increasingly emerging as an epicenter of fighting.”
She highlighted, “We are particularly worried about the growing use of advanced weaponry, including long range drones. This has expanded hostilities into previously stable areas of the country. Aerial attacks in populated areas have already caused significant civilian casualties and mass displacement.”
She concluded, “It is time to take concrete steps to end the senseless suffering of the Sudanese people. Too many lives have been lost, too much trauma has been inflicted, and the risk of regional conflagration is too great, to allow this conflict to fester any longer. I call on the wider international community to work together, for our multilateral partners to join hands, and for the Council to lead the way in resolving the conflict in Sudan.”
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Alexander Richard Braczkowski, Research Fellow at the Centre for Planetary Health and Resilient Conservation Group, Griffith University
In the shadows of Python Cave, Uganda, a leopard leaps from a guano mound – formed by bat excrement – and sinks its teeth into a bat. But this is no ordinary bat colony. The thousands of Egyptian fruit bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus) found in this cave are known carriers of one of the world’s deadliest viruses: Marburg, a close cousin of Ebola.
I am a conservation scientist with over 17 years of experience in wildlife ecology, monitoring and human-wildlife conflict. I’m the co-founder of the Kyambura Lion Project, which made this discovery.
For years, scientists studying how diseases spread from animals to humans have hypothesised that zoonotic diseases jump from a wildlife reservoir (like a bat) to an intermediate host (monkey) and potentially to us, humans.
For past Marburg outbreaks in Uganda, two spillover pathways have been identified: the first, involves humans coming into contact with a fruit bat habitat (namely caves filled with bat guano). Indeed, fruit bats are thought to have infected two tourists at Python Cave in 2007 and 2008.
The second pathway involves humans and animals eating the same fruit that bats have fed upon or made contact with. This second spillover pathway was identified by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention scientists in 2023. They tracked bats from the cave entering cultivated gardens to feed.
But Atukwatse and the team of young Ugandan scientists (Yahaya Ssemakula, Johnson Muhereza, Orin Cornille and Winfred Nsabimana) have potentially found another pathway: predation by at least 14 species.
Such rich visual evidence of a viral interface – bats, predators and people – is virtually non-existent in the literature. Many theoretical depictions of this process exist, and there are isolated incidents of a monkey predating on a bat or wildlife feeding on bat guano, but Atukwatse’s discovery of this many different predators repeatedly feeding on a known Marburg virus reservoir is a first.
A leopard grabs a fruit bat at Uganda’s Python Cave.Bosco Atukwatse/Kyambura Lion Project
His discovery highlights two uncomfortable truths:
many potential zoonotic interfaces remain undocumented – often right under our noses
the people most likely to detect them first are those living closest to wild frontiers.
But the bigger message is this: global health institutions need to stop overlooking local scientists and start funding field-based detection systems across Africa and Asia.
If we want to detect the next outbreak early, we should be empowering more Atukwatses, not waiting for the next lab test.
Atukwatse had heard from nearby guides that a large bat cave lay close to the survey grid. That kind of site, he reasoned, could be perfect leopard territory: a place to hunt, rest or avoid the heat.
This is ecological attentiveness at its best – the field biology equivalent of a commodities trader spotting volatility in a geopolitical flashpoint.
A blue monkey with bat in hand at Python Cave.Bosco Atukwatse/Kyambura Lion Project
Atukwatse had his radar on and acted on instinct, setting five camera traps at the cave’s entrance and along the surrounding animal trails. Just one week later, he got what he hoped for: three separate clips of a leopard hunting bats in broad daylight. He left the cameras in place in protective casing. He checked them every 7–10 days.
But that was just the beginning.
The scale of the discovery
When I first looked at Atukwatse’s videos, our joint excitement was around the leopard footage. We knew they were adaptable and could even eat small rodents , but no one had ever recorded them eating bats in Africa.
As more clips came in, we realised something bigger was unfolding. Blue monkeys were seen grabbing bats mid-roost. A crowned eagle and a Nile monitor fought over two bat carcasses. A fish eagle – typically a piscivore, which is a carnivorous species that primarily eats fish – was filmed clutching bats in its talons.
Over 304 trap-nights, Atukwatse’s traps recorded 261 independent predator events from at least 14 different species.
Then came the second shock: over 400 human visitors – many of them tourists – were filmed approaching the cave mouth without any protective gear. Some stood just metres from a known Marburg virus reservoir. Importantly, the Uganda Wildlife Authority has built a sanctioned viewing platform about 35 metres from the cave. However, tourists broke park rules and walked within two metres of the cave mouth.
Bosco Atukwatse.
It was only after I visited the cave myself to take stills of the team that we put this all together. Atukwatse had just found the first visual evidence, at a large scale in nature, of at least 14 predators feeding on a known wildlife virus reservoir harbouring one of Earth’s deadliest viruses.
This wasn’t the result of million-dollar pathogen surveillance. It wasn’t even the core aim of our leopard survey. This happened because a young Ugandan field scientist followed his ecological gut.
Why does the discovery matter?
For decades, disease ecologists have known that major outbreaks often originate in wildlife – swine flu, avian flu and even SARS-CoV-2 all trace back to animal hosts. But what’s often missing is direct observation of spillover interfaces – the exact moments when a virus jumps from a bat, goose, or other animal into new species like humans, livestock or other wildlife.
Atukwatse’s discovery may be the first large-scale visual record of such an interface in nature: a roost of Egyptian fruit bats known to harbour a deadly virus, actively predated upon by at least 14 species, with hundreds of humans visiting the same cave mouth unprotected.
This may be a Rosetta Stone moment for spillover ecology – shifting our understanding from hypothetical models to a real, observable interface.
These kinds of spillover sites exist in other places in nature: in a Chinese wet market where a civet meets a meat processor, or in a Gabonese village where a bat is butchered for bushmeat. The difference? Most of them go undocumented. Atukwatse just filmed one.
– How does Marburg virus spread between species? Young Ugandan scientist’s photos give important clues – https://theconversation.com/how-does-marburg-virus-spread-between-species-young-ugandan-scientists-photos-give-important-clues-259806
On Friday, 27 June 2025, H.E. Henry Jardine, United States Ambassador to Seychelles, and Rear Admiral Michael Mattis, Director of Strategic Effects at U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa (NAVEUR-NAVAF), paid a courtesy call on Mr. Sylvestre Radegonde, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tourism, at Maison Quéau de Quinssy.
The meeting focused primarily on enhancing maritime and defence cooperation, particularly through the ongoing initiatives of NAVEUR–NAVAF. Discussions covered the challenges faced in patrolling Seychelles’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and the potential for leveraging drone technology to assist in maritime surveillance efforts.
Minister Radegonde commended NAVEUR–NAVAF for its leadership in promoting maritime security in the region and for its continued support in building the capacity of the Seychelles Defence Forces through joint exercises. Notably, he highlighted the successful 2025 edition of Cutlass Express, which was conducted earlier this year under the leadership of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM).
Minister Radegonde also expressed his appreciation for the United States’ participation in this year’s National Day Parade, underlining the strength of the bilateral relationship.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Tourism, Republic of Seychelles.
The Head of the European Union Delegation for the Seychelles, H.E. Ambassador Oskar Benedikt paid a courtesy call on the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tourism, Minister Sylvestre Radegonde, on Friday 27th June 2025, at Maison Quéau de Quinssy.
During their meeting, they discussed the cooperation between the European Union and Seychelles, particularly the status of the Port Victoria Rehabilitation and Extension Project and the implementation of the ‘European Solidarity Action Plan with Seychelles’, a Technical Cooperation Facility between the EU and Seychelles signed in 2024. They also touched on the progress of the ongoing negotiation to deepen and broaden the interim Economic Partnership Agreement between the EU and the Eastern and Southern Africa configuration (the latter comprises of Seychelles, Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius and Zimbabwe).
They further discussed the EU’s list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes and the efforts being done by the Government to ensure that Seychelles be removed from the list. The upcoming presidential and legislative elections was also discussed by Minister Radegonde and Ambassador Benedikt.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Tourism, Republic of Seychelles.
As the Foreign Ministers of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) signed a draft peace agreement in Washington this Friday, tensions and violence continue to grip eastern DRC.
Since January, the region has seen a new escalation of violence as the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group launched an offensive in North and South Kivu provinces.
While tensions persist in the DRC, both frontlines and negotiation positions are shifting, paving the way for peace, the Security Council heard this Friday.
The path to lasting peace in the DRC requires “collective action,” said Bintou Keita, Head of the UN peacekeeping mission in the country, MONUSCO.
“Priority must be given to dialogue over division, and national cohesion must be actively preserved,” she said.
Yet, while diplomatic efforts focus on ways to address the current crisis, the situation in other regions within MONUSCO’s area of operations also demands urgent attention.
Humanitarian situation
With seven million people currently displaced across the country, 27.8 million people facing food insecurity and almost 1.4 million children in acute malnutrition, the humanitarian situation is dire.
The security crisis in the east of the country has worsened the humanitarian situation, yet due to funding cuts, MONUSCO does not have sufficient means to respond to it accordingly.
The suspension of funding from MONUSCO’s main donor, which covered 70 per cent of the humanitarian response in 2024, is “forcing humanitarian actors to focus solely on life-saving emergencies,” said Ms. Keita.
“We are at the end of July, and the humanitarian response plan is only 11 per cent funded,” she added.
Insecurity, sexual violence and abductions
Violence in the east of the country continues to disproportionately affect women, boys, and girls, notably as rape and other forms of sexual violence are still being systematically used as weapons of war.
Men and boys accused of links with opposing forces are at risk of abduction, while women and girls who have survived sexual violence face severely limited access to healthcare, as healthcare facilities are often targeted by attacks.
In 2025, over 290 schools were destroyed, with ongoing cycles of violence keeping 1.3 million children out of the education system in Ituri, in the east of the country.
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will undertake a visit to Ghana from July 02-03, 2025. This will be Prime Minister’s first ever bilateral visit to Ghana. This Prime Ministerial visit from India to Ghana is taking place after three decades. During the visit, Prime Minister will hold talks with the President of Ghana to review the strong bilateral partnership and discuss further avenues to enhance it through economic, energy, and defence collaboration, and development cooperation partnership. This visit will reaffirm the shared commitment of the two countries to deepen bilateral ties and strengthen India’s engagement with the ECOWAS [Economic Community of West African States] and the African Union.
In the second leg of his visit, at the invitation of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago, H.E. Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Prime Minister will pay an Official Visit to Trinidad & Tobago (T&T) from July 03 – 04, 2025. This will be his first visit to the country as Prime Minister and the first bilateral visit at the Prime Ministerial level to T&T since 1999. During the visit, Prime Minister will hold talks with the President of Trinidad & Tobago, H.E. Christine Carla Kangaloo, and Prime Minister H.E. Kamla Persad-Bissessar and discuss further strengthening of the India-Trinidad & Tobago relationship. Prime Minister is also expected to address a Joint Session of the Parliament of T&T. The visit of Prime Minister to T&T will impart fresh impetus to the deep-rooted and historical ties between the two countries.
In the third leg of his visit, at the invitation of the President of Republic of Argentina, H.E. Mr. Javier Milei, Prime Minister will travel to Argentina on an Official Visit from July 04-05, 2025. Prime Minister is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with President Milei to review ongoing cooperation and discuss ways to further enhance India-Argentina partnership in key areas including defence, agriculture, mining, oil and gas, renewable energy, trade and investment, and people-to-people ties. The bilateral visit of Prime Minister will further deepen the multifaceted Strategic Partnership between India and Argentina.
In the fourth leg of his visit, at the invitation of President of the Federative Republic of Brazil, H.E. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Prime Minister will travel to Brazil from July 5-8, 2025 to attend the 17th BRICS Summit 2025 followed by a State Visit. This will be Prime Minister’s fourth visit to Brazil. The 17th BRICS Leaders’ Summit will be held in Rio de Janeiro. During the Summit, Prime Minister will exchange views on key global issues including reform of global governance, peace and security, strengthening multilateralism, responsible use of artificial intelligence, climate action, global health, economic and financial matters. Prime Minister is also likely to hold several bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the Summit. For the State Visit to Brazil, Prime Minister will travel to Brasilia where he will hold bilateral discussions with President Lula on the broadening of the Strategic Partnership between the two countries in areas of mutual interest, including trade, defence, energy, space, technology, agriculture, health and people to people linkages.
In the final leg of his visit, at the invitation of the President of the Republic of Namibia, H.E. Dr. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, Prime Minister will embark on a State Visit to Namibia on July 09, 2025. This will be the first visit of Prime Minister to Namibia, and the third ever Prime Ministerial visit from India to Namibia. During his visit, Prime Minister will hold bilateral talks with President Nandi-Ndaitwah. Prime Minister will also pay homage to the Founding Father and first President of Namibia, Late Dr. Sam Nujoma. He is also expected to deliver an address at the Parliament of Namibia. The visit of Prime Minister is a reiteration of India’s multi-faceted and deep-rooted historical ties with Namibia.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of External Affairs – Government of India.
