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Mbalula’s remarks come after the government announced thatit would be deporting Waluś, who was convicted of killing South AfricanCommunist Party (SACP) leader Chris Hani, in 1993. This was announced by the minister in the PresidencyKhumbudzo Ntshavheni, during a media briefing held at GCIS AuditoriumTshedimosetso House, in Pretoria on Friday. During her address, Ntshavheni said Waluś was firstsentenced to death on October 15, 1993, for the assassination of SACP’sstruggle stalwart - Hani. Ntshavheni confirmed to the media that the parole period ofWaluś has come to an end after serving nearly 30 years of life imprisonment andthat he will be deported back to his homeland of Poland. Speaking at a separate media briefing, on Friday regardingthe socio-economic developments and the state of affairs of the country, Mabuladescribed his deportation without a ‘full confession of his actions andconspiracies’ as an ‘injustice.’ “Janusz Waluś deprived South Africa of one of its greatestleaders. His release without a full confession of his actions and conspiraciesremains an injustice,” Mbalula said. Mbalula said the scar caused to Hani’s family and thenation is still fresh from healing. “The heavy blow that was inflicted on the nation ispalpably fresh, considering its painful effect on comrade Chris's children andhis wife comrade Aus Dimpo Annie.” Mbalula said the assassination of Hani waswell-orchestrated scheme designed to plunge the country into chaos and attemptto subvert the cause for a negotiated political settlement. “Thus, deferring a dream for democratic South Africa, aftermany years of apartheid subjugation.” Mbalula added: “This was well calculated. Ironically, thekilling of comrade Chris Hani.” Mbalula described Hani as a selfless and disciplinedcommissar of the uMkhonto weSizwe - the people’s army (the ANC). “He brought us the freedom and the rights we enjoy today,”Mbalula added.Google asks US appeals court to reject app store monopoly verdict
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Keir Starmer is under mounting pressure to raise human rights issues on his first visit as PM to the Gulf on Sunday. The Prime Minister accused Boris Johnson of “going cap in hand from dictator to dictator” when he visited the region two years ago. Mr Starmer will travel to the United Arab Emirates on Monday morning to meet leader Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan before flying to Saudi Arabia to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. But the PM is facing pressure to challenge the countries over abuses, from “draconian repression” of human rights defenders to state-sanctioned killings. Amnesty International said he must question the UAE holding dozens of prisoners of conscience and severely restricting the right to free speech. And it told the PM to raise with Saudi authorities their execution of more than 280 people this year alone and institutionalised discrimination against women. Labour ’s leftwing politicians also urged the PM to raise human rights issues on his trip last week, with hopes that Mr Starmer’s esteemed career as a human rights lawyer will encourage him to do so. During his visit, Mr Starmer is set to pursue closer ties with the countries to increase future partnerships on technology , prosperity, and defence and security. Both countries are major investors in the UK, with trade between the UK and the UAE worth £23billion and £17billion with Saudi Arabia. Mr Starmer said: “Driving long term growth at home requires us to strengthen partnerships abroad... By doing so, hardworking British people will reap the rewards for generation to come.” Stability in the Middle East is expected to be high up the agenda during the PM’s trip, including the need for a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza, the release of all hostages and the urgent acceleration of aid into Gaza. The PM has previously spoken to Saudi Arabia’s leader and praised “his leadership to support regional stability” in the area. Polly Truscott, Amnesty International UK’s foreign policy adviser, said: “The PM needs to be making it completely clear to his counterparts in the UAE and Saudi Arabia that respect for human rights and the rule of law is part and parcel of the UK doing business abroad. Be the first with news from Mirror Politics POLITICS WHATSAPP: Be first to get the biggest bombshells and breaking news by joining our Politics WhatsApp group here . We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you want to leave our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice . NEWSLETTER: Or sign up here to the Mirror's Politics newsletter for all the best exclusives and opinions straight to your inbox. PODCAST: And listen to our exciting new political podcast The Division Bell , hosted by the Mirror and the Express every Thursday. “For too long these business trips have treated human rights as an optional extra, usually meriting only a terse comment to the media that ‘human rights were raised’. We need to see UK business visits completely overhauled, with human rights experts made part of trade delegations and proper impact assessments conducted into prospective agreements to ensure they don’t further undermine human rights.” Human rights legal group Reprieve also called on the Prime Minister to raise what it described as an "execution crisis" with Saudi leaders. Reprieve's deputy executive director Dan Dolan said: "When Boris Johnson visited Mohammed bin Salman in 2022, three days after the mass execution of 81 people, Sir Keir Starmer was rightly scathing of Johnson's unconditional embrace of one of the world's most prolific executioners of protesters. Now he is the Prime Minister, he has the opportunity to address the escalating execution crisis in Saudi Arabia." Downing Street said on Friday: “As with every meeting between the Prime Minister and world leaders, human rights are always discussed regularly. We stand ready to discuss them with any country and indeed cooperate with them. I think the Prime Minister has made his personal commitment to that very clear.” The Prime Minister is also expected to travel to Cyprus on Monday night, where he will meet President Nikos Christodoulides in the capital Nicosia on Tuesday, before travelling to meet British troops deployed over Christmas . The bilateral visit is the first by a British prime minister to the Commonwealth country in more than 50 years. Sir John Major visited the Mediterranean island for the 1993 Commonwealth heads of government meeting, but this was not part of a bilateral visit. The last visit of that kind to Cyprus by a prime minister was made by Edward Heath in 1971.SMU has plenty to play for when it closes the regular season against California on Saturday afternoon in Dallas. The Mustangs (10-1, 7-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who checked in at No. 9 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings on Tuesday, would like to send their seniors off the right way. They would also like to complete a perfect regular season before appearing in the ACC title game in their first year in the conference. Most importantly, they want to continue to strengthen their playoff case. "You've got the College Football Playoff, so every game matters. That's what's so cool about it now. The regular season is important," SMU coach Rhett Lashlee said. "We'd like to finish well in everything we do, particularly on Saturday, to finish off the regular season, continue our momentum into the following week. Hopefully, continue to show the committee and others that we're worthy of continuing to play this year." The Mustangs are a worthy playoff team to date. Kevin Jennings has established himself as one of the top quarterbacks in the country, throwing for 2,521 yards with 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also has rushed for 315 yards and four TDs. Brashard Smith has been another standout, rushing for 1,089 yards and 13 TDs. Defensively, the Mustangs rank tied for 14th in the country with 20 takeaways. "Obviously they've had a phenomenal season," Cal coach Justin Wilcox said of SMU. "As soon as you turn the tape on, it doesn't take very long to see why their record is what it is. They're very, very good really in every phase of the game - extremely explosive and quick and fast. They've got a dominant D-line. We've got a lot of challenges in front of us and our guys are excited for that." Cal (6-5, 2-5) is coming off an emotional win, defeating rival Stanford 24-21 on Saturday to secure a bowl berth. The Golden Bears will appear in consecutive bowls for the first time since 2018-19 and are now looking to clinch their first winning season since 2019. SMU is not overlooking Cal, as all five of the Golden Bears' losses have come by one score. "You'd be hard-pressed to find a better 6-5 team in America," Lashlee said. "I think you can conservatively say they very, very easily could be 9-2." Cal is led by quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who has thrown for 3,004 yards with 16 touchdowns and six interceptions. Tight end Jack Endries leads the team with 555 yards receiving, while wide receiver Nyziah Hunter has caught a team-leading five touchdowns. Defensively, Cal has the ACC's top scoring defense (20.7 points per game) and is tied with Clemson for the ACC's best turnover margin (plus-13). Defensive back Nohl Williams is the star of the group -- he leads the country with seven interceptions. Even though oddsmakers are heavily favoring SMU, Cal is going into the game with a simple mindset. "Our task at hand is to make the best bowl game right now," Mendoza said. "And the way to do that is to go into Dallas, give it our best and ruin SMU's season." Saturday will mark the first conference meeting between these ACC newcomers, and just the second meeting between the programs all time. SMU won a 13-6 game back in 1957. --Field Level Media
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Elon Musk plots $20tn world-first mega tunnel connecting UK and New York taking just 54 minutesWASHINGTON (AP) — Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Defense Department, said he had a “wonderful conversation” with Maine Sen. Susan Collins on Wednesday as he pushed to win enough votes for confirmation. He said he will not back down after allegations of excessive drinking and sexual misconduct. Collins said after the hourlong meeting that she questioned Hegseth about the allegations amid reports of drinking and the revelation that he made a settlement payment after being accused of a sexual assault that he denies. She said she had a “good, substantive” discussion with Hegseth and “covered a wide range of topics,” including sexual assault in the military, Ukraine and NATO. But she said she would wait until a hearing, and notably a background check, to make a decision. “I asked virtually every question under the sun,” Collins told reporters as she left her office after the meeting. "I pressed him both on his position on military issues as well as the allegations against him, so I don’t think there was anything that we did not cover.” The meeting with Collins was closely watched as she is seen as more likely than most of her Republican Senate colleagues to vote against some of Trump’s Cabinet picks. She and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a fellow moderate Republican, did not shy from opposing Trump in his first term when they wanted to do so and sometimes supported President Joe Biden’s nominees for the judicial and executive branches. And Hegseth, an infantry combat veteran and former “Fox & Friends” weekend host, is working to gain as many votes as he can as some senators have expressed concerns about his personal history and lack of management experience. “I’m certainly not going to assume anything about where the senator stands,” Hegseth said as he left Collins’ office. “This is a process that we respect and appreciate. And we hope, in time, overall, when we get through that committee and to the floor that we can earn her support.” Hegseth met with Murkowski on Tuesday. He has also been meeting repeatedly with Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, a military veteran who has said she is a survivor of sexual assault and has spent time in the Senate working on improving how attacks are reported and prosecuted within the ranks. On Monday, Ernst said after a meeting with him that he had committed to selecting a senior official to prioritize those goals. Republicans will have a 53-49 majority next year, meaning Trump cannot lose more than three votes on any of his nominees. It is so far unclear whether Hegseth will have enough support, but Trump has stepped up his pressure on senators in the last week. “Pete is a WINNER, and there is nothing that can be done to change that!!!” Trump posted on his social media platform last week. On Thursday, Hegseth plans to meet with a Democrat — Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman. Fetterman confirmed the meeting to The Associated Press but did not say whether he was considering supporting Hegseth or what he planned to discuss. ___ Associated Press writer Ali Swenson contributed to this report. Mary Clare Jalonick And Matt Brown, The Associated Press
Trump selects longtime adviser Keith Kellogg as special envoy for Ukraine and RussiaJuan Soto gets free luxury suite and up to 4 premium tickets for home games in $765M Mets deal DALLAS (AP) — Juan Soto gets free use of a luxury suite and up to four premium tickets behind home plate for regular-season and postseason New York Mets home games as part of his record $765 million, 15-year contract that was finalized Wednesday. Ronald Blum, The Associated Press Dec 11, 2024 3:06 PM Dec 11, 2024 3:20 PM Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message FILE - New York Yankees' Juan Soto speaks during media day for the baseball World Series, Oct. 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File) DALLAS (AP) — Juan Soto gets free use of a luxury suite and up to four premium tickets behind home plate for regular-season and postseason New York Mets home games as part of his record $765 million, 15-year contract that was finalized Wednesday. The Mets also agreed to provide personal team security for the All-Star outfielder and his family at the team’s expense for all spring training and regular-season home and road games, according to details of the agreement obtained by The Associated Press. Major League Baseball teams usually provide security for player families in seating areas at ballparks. New York also agreed to assist Soto's family for in-season travel arrangements, guaranteed Soto will have uniform No. 22 and included eight types of award bonuses. Soto's suite will be valued at the Mets' prevailing prices, presumably for tax purposes, and after 2025 he can by each Jan. 15 modify or give up his suite selection for the upcoming season. He can request the premium tickets, to be used by family members, no later than 72 hours before the scheduled game time. The Yankees had refused to offer Soto a free suite. “Some high-end players that make a lot of money for us, if they want suites they buy them ... whether it's CC (Sabathia), whether it’s (Aaron) Judge, whether it’s (Gerrit) Cole, whether it’s any of these guys," general manager Brian Cashman said. "We've gone through a process on previous negotiations where asks might have happened and this is what we did and we’re going to honor those, so no regrets there." Cashman said the Yankees have a shared suite for player families and a family room with babysitting. Soto gets a $75 million signing bonus, payable within 60 days of the agreement’s approval by the commissioner’s office. The deal for the 26-year-old, which tops Shohei Ohtani's $700 million, 10-year contract with the Dodgers, was reached Sunday pending a physical that took place Tuesday. Soto receives salaries of $46,875,000 each in 2025 and 2026, $42.5 million in 2027, $46,875,000 apiece in 2028 and 2029 and $46 million in each of the final 10 seasons. Soto has a contingent right to opt out of the agreement within three days of the end of the 2029 World Series to become a free agent again, but the Mets have the an option to negate the opt-out provision by increasing the yearly salaries for 2030-39 by $4 million annually to $50 million and raising the total value to $805 million. If the club exercises its option to negate the opt-out provision, Soto can make his opt-out decision by the fifth day after the World Series. He has a full no-trade provision and gets a hotel suite on road trips. Soto would receive a $500,000 bonus for winning his first Most Valuable Player award and $1 million for each MVP award. He would get $350,000 for finishing second in the voting and $150,000 for finishing third through fifth. Soto was third in the AL voting this year. He would earn $100,000 for each All-Star selection and Gold Glove, $350,000 for World Series MVP and $150,000 for League Championship Series MVP. Soto would get $100,000 for selection to the All-MLB first or second team, $150,000 for Silver Slugger and $100,000 for the Hank Aaron Award. Award bonuses are to be paid by the Jan. 31 after the season in which the bonus is earned. ___ AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb Ronald Blum, The Associated Press See a typo/mistake? Have a story/tip? This has been shared 0 times 0 Shares Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message Get your daily Victoria news briefing Email Sign Up More Baseball Shane Bieber says bonds led to re-signing with Guardians after he missed '24 following elbow surgery Dec 11, 2024 3:19 PM MLB Remaining Free Agents List Dec 11, 2024 3:07 PM MLB Free Agent Signings List Dec 11, 2024 3:07 PM
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