Headline

Benin Opposition Leader Jailed 20 Years For Terrorism

Published

4 years ago

December 11, 2021

Benin opposition leader Reckya Madougou was sentenced on Saturday to 20 years in prison for terrorism by a special court in the capital Porto-Novo after a brief trial that her lawyers condemned as a “political attack”.

After more than 20 hours of hearings, Madougou was found guilty of “complicity in terrorist acts” by the Economic Crime and Terrorism Court, or Criet, which on Tuesday sentenced another key opposition figure to 10 years.

Critics say the court, set up in 2016, has been used by President Patrice Talon’s regime to crack down on the opposition and pushed Benin into authoritarianism.

“This court has deliberately decided to penalise an innocent person,” Madougou said shortly before her prison sentence was announced.

“I have never been and I will never be a terrorist,” the 47-year-old former justice minister added.

“It’s a sad day for our justice system, I maintain that there is no proof,” one of her lawyers, Robert Dossou, told AFP.

Madougou was one of several Benin opposition leaders banned from running in an election in April in which Talon won a second term with 86 percent of the vote.

She was arrested in the economic capital Cotonou in March — just weeks before the election — accused of financing an operation to assassinate political figures to prevent the vote, in an alleged bid to “destabilise” the country.

“Tried at 6am, without witnesses, without documents, without evidence, Recky Madougou was sentenced to 20 years in prison by three accomplices of those in power,” her France-based lawyer Antoine Vey tweeted after the sentencing.

“Her crime: to have embodied a democratic alternative to the regime of Patrice Talon.”

Vey had told the trial on Friday that “this procedure is nothing but a political attack”.

“Even before her arrest, everything was orchestrated,” Vey said a day after arriving from Paris.

He asked for the trial to be cancelled, before leaving the court and never returning — Madougou’s Benin-based lawyers stayed for the remainder.

Vey then told AFP that it was “a trial in which nothing was judicial”.

Madougou said on the stand at the trial that she had “no illusions” about its outcome.

“I offer myself to the democracy of my country, if my sacrifice can give your court back its independence,” she said.

– Judge flees pressure –
Less than a week before the April election, a judge from the special court fled Benin denouncing political pressure to make rulings, in particular in the case of Madougou’s arrest.

Government officials dismiss claims of political interference and say Benin’s judiciary is independent.

Benin was long praised for its thriving multi-party democracy in a troubled region. But critics say the West African state’s democracy has steadily eroded under Talon, a 63-year-old cotton magnate first elected in 2016.

Some opposition leaders have fled the country while others were disqualified from running in elections, or targeted for investigation.

Joel Aivo, a professor who had been held for eight months, was found guilty on Tuesday of plotting against the state and money laundering.

Aivo, who was also barred from running in the election, was arrested on April 15, four days after the ballot that saw Talon returned to power.

The same special court in 2018 also sentenced Sebastien Ajavon, an opposition figure who came third in the previous election, to 20 years in prison for drug trafficking.

He was again sentenced in early March in absentia to a second sentence of five years in prison for forgery and fraud.

Like most Beninese opposition figures, he now lives in exile.

AFP

Headline

Trump Threatens Extra 10% Tariff On BRICS Nations

Published

7 hours ago

July 7, 2025

Editor

US President, Donald Trump has warned that countries supporting BRICS policies that clash with US interests will face an additional 10% tariff.

“Any country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% tariff.

“There will be no exceptions to this policy,” Trump wrote on social media.

Trump, who has long criticised the BRICS alliance—comprising China, Russia, India and other emerging economies—has ramped up trade pressure as part of his economic strategy.

The US had set 9 July as a deadline for countries to finalise trade agreements.

However, according to US officials, tariffs will now kick in from 1 August.

Trump said he would begin sending letters to various countries, notifying them of the tariff rate they will face if no deal is reached.

Since returning to office in January, Trump has introduced multiple import tariffs, arguing they are necessary to protect American manufacturing and jobs.

Back in April, during what he dubbed “Liberation Day,” he rolled out a wave of new tariffs—some reaching as high as 50%—but later paused the more extreme measures to allow for negotiations until 9 July.

During this interim period, a general 10% tariff has been in place on goods entering the US from many of its global trade partners.

So far, Washington has only secured full trade agreements with the UK and Vietnam, alongside a partial deal with China.

Yet, the UK and the US are still at odds over tariffs on British steel.

Asked whether the tariff changes would take effect on 9 July or 1 August, Trump responded vaguely: “They’re going to be tariffs, the tariffs are going to be tariffs.”

He added that between 10 and 15 countries would receive letters on Monday outlining their new tariff rates if they don’t reach an agreement.

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick later confirmed that the new tariffs will take effect on 1 August.

Trump also warned Japan last week that it could face a “30% or 35%” tariff if it fails to strike a deal with the US by Wednesday.

In May, the European Union was told it would face tariffs of up to 50% without an agreement in place.

Reports last week suggested the EU was considering a temporary arrangement to maintain a 10% tariff on most goods, while also negotiating to ease existing tariffs—such as the 25% tax on cars and car parts, and the 50% rate on steel and aluminium.

Last year, Brics expanded beyond its founding members—Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa—to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Together, the bloc represents more than half of the world’s population and aims to elevate its global influence in opposition to Western powers.

In 2024, Trump threatened to impose 100% tariffs on BRICS countries if they proceeded with plans to launch a rival currency to the US dollar.

Sunday’s fresh threat came after BRICS finance ministers, meeting in Rio de Janeiro, denounced the US tariff strategy and proposed changes to the International Monetary Fund and global currency valuations.

They issued a statement warning that such tariffs pose a risk to the global economy by creating “uncertainty into international economic and trade activities.”

Andrew Wilson, deputy secretary general of the International Chambers of Commerce, said it would not be easy for countries to sever trade ties with China.

“Shifting away from China…in a number of sectors is far more difficult to achieve in the world in practice,” he said.

“You look at the dominance China has in a number of sectors—EVs, batteries [and] particularly rare earths and magnets, there are no viable alternatives to China production.”

(BBC)

Headline

After Fallout With Trump, Elon Musk Says He’s Forming ‘America Party’

Published

1 day ago

July 6, 2025

Editor

Billionaire Tesla owner Elon Musk, has disclosed that he is forming a third political party, which he called the ‘America Party,’ after a dramatic falling out with Donald Trump over a tax and spending bill recently signed into law by the President.

Musk, who was the largest individual donor to Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, worked with the current US President as the lead of his cost-cutting government agency—the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)—until his recent resignation.

After bowing out of the DOGE role, Tribune Online reports that Musk started criticizing Trump’s “big beautiful bill” because of estimates that he said would add trillions of dollars to the federal deficit.

Speaking via his X social media platform, Musk said, “When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy.”

Musk, a former ‘first buddy’ of the US President, declared that the new party is for freedom: “Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.”

Meanwhile, Musk’s rift with President Trump last month after intense criticism of the spending bill appeared to have cooled after Musk regretted and deleted the most incendiary posts he made linking Trump with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein and calling for the President’s impeachment. According to Musk, those posts ‘went too far.’

However, the world’s richest man reignited the feud over the last several days as the bill neared passage and eventually passed by the House before it was subsequently signed at a White House ceremony.

According to CNN, the extent to which Musk has taken steps to legally form the party is unclear, as party formation requires registering with the Federal Election Commission. The most recent FEC filings showed no indication that this has happened, CNN reports.

The owner of X, who has made threats during the social media scuffle with Trump, had indicated he wants a party that is fiscally conservative and reins in spending, but has offered few other details about what the party’s platform would be.

While Musk and Trump reportedly share similar views on contemporary social issues, the former has argued the Republican policy agenda will increase the debt, calling it “debt slavery.”

The two-party system in the United States has long been criticized by both registered Democrats and registered Republicans, but efforts in the last century to form a third party have shown little success. Billionaire Ross Perot ran for president as an independent in 1992, winning nearly a fifth of the popular vote, but carried no states in the election, which was won by Bill Clinton.

Headline

Australian Actor Julian McMahon Is Dead

Published

2 days ago

July 5, 2025

Editor

Australian actor Julian McMahon, best known for his roles in Nip/Tuck, Charmed, and Fantastic Four, has died at the age of 56.

McMahon passed away in Clearwater, Florida, on Wednesday following a private battle with cancer.

His death was confirmed in a statement released on Friday by his wife, Kelly.

The statement read,”With an open heart, I share with the world that Julian McMahon, my beloved husband, died peacefully this week after a valiant effort to overcome cancer.

“His deepest wish was to bring joy into as many lives as possible.

“We wish all of those to whom Julian brought joy to continue to find joy in life.

“We are grateful for the memories.”

Born into a prominent political family, McMahon was the son of former Australian Prime Minister Sir William McMahon.

In a nod to his family’s legacy, he portrayed an Australian prime minister in the Netflix drama ‘The Residence.’

McMahon’s career spanned decades, earning him international recognition for his roles as Dr. Christian Troy in ‘Nip/Tuck’, Cole Turner in ‘Charmed’, and Victor Von Doom in ‘Fantastic Four’.

He was married three times, including a high-profile marriage to Australian singer and actress Dannii Minogue, sister of pop icon Kylie Minogue.