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Circumcision For Young Men Aged 16 To 26 Goes Awry In South Africa, 39 Dead, Dozens Organs Mutilated

Published

3 hours ago

August 2, 2025

This year’s circumcision ceremony where men between the ages of 16 and 26 undergo agonising ritual ceremony has ended in South Africa, with 39 deaths recorded and dozens others had their male organs mutilated.

Among the Xhosa people of South Africa, the circumcision ceremony, known as Uwaluko, marks the transition from boyhood to manhood when the men undergo three-month seasons of initiation which always end with the circumcision.

However, according to the Daily Mail of UK, this year’s version did not go as expected as 39 young men who took part in the ceremony died due to the excruciating pains they passed through.

The circumcision for the young men is said to be compulsory among the Xhosa people. Reports said without undergoing the ceremony, they are not allowed to sit at community meetings neither are they allowed to take part in some social activities or even get married.

During the circumcision, unskilled traditional ‘surgeons’ used old spears and razor blades to perform the eye-watering rituals under the supervision of tribal leaders, causing some to suffer from gangrene, sepsis and dehydration. This ultimately led to the death of the 39 young men. Those who died as a result of dehydration were said to have been instructed not to drink water in order to prevent urination after circumcision.

According to Daily Mail, although there are calls to ban the dangerous practice, some have argued that it is an important part of Xhosa culture and every year, hundreds of young men undergo what was described as “the sacred ceremony” which dates back to generations.

Although the men in the community have a choice whether to undertake the circumcision or not, there is however huge peer pressure and those who refuse to undergo the ritual are referred to as ‘boys,’ a form of harsh insult on their manhood.

One of those who survived the harrowing exercise, Scotty Dawka, aged 19, recounted his experience to the Daily Mail.

“I was of course very scared of going. In my community, many young men went through the initiation before me and I wanted to be the same as them. I wanted to be looked up to as a man in my village by the elders. It was very painful to go through and I fell ill, but I was treated and I survived,” he said.

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Corporation For Public Broadcasting To Shut Down Following Trump’s Funding Cuts

Published

3 hours ago

August 2, 2025

Editor

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) announced on Friday that it will shut down operations, ending over 60 years of public media funding.

The move comes after President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers succeeded in eliminating federal support for the organization.

Trump recently signed a rescissions bill canceling $9 billion in previously approved government spending. Of that amount, $1.1 billion had been allocated to CPB for the next two years.

Trump has long criticized public media as “biased” against conservatives and made repeated efforts to cut its funding.

“Despite the extraordinary efforts of millions of Americans who called, wrote, and petitioned Congress to preserve federal funding for CPB, we now face the difficult reality of closing our operations,” said CPB President and CEO Patricia Harrison.

“CPB remains committed to fulfilling its fiduciary responsibilities and supporting our partners through this transition with transparency and care.”

The organization is now focused on helping local PBS and NPR stations—especially those in rural areas—prepare for the resulting budget shortfalls.

Harrison previously warned that some stations could be forced to close entirely.

Larger outlets may survive with help from donors and other revenue streams, but public media leaders say the national network will be severely weakened.

“The ripple effects of this closure will be felt across every public media organization and, more importantly, in every community across the country that relies on public broadcasting,” said NPR CEO Katherine Maher.

The CPB expects to eliminate most of its 100 staff positions by September 30, when the current funding expires.

A small transition team will remain until January to oversee a “responsible and orderly closeout of operations.”

The shutdown marks a political win for Trump, who has pushed for defunding CPB since the start of his presidency. Earlier this year, he tried to remove three board members, despite lacking legal authority under the 1967 law that created the corporation.

CPB filed a lawsuit to block that attempt, but on Friday, it voluntarily dropped the case—effectively conceding defeat.

“REPUBLICANS HAVE TRIED DOING THIS FOR 40 YEARS, AND FAILED… BUT NO MORE,” Trump posted on Truth Social, celebrating the bill’s passage through the GOP-controlled House and Senate.

Some advocates had hoped that Congress might still restore funding through the usual budget process.

However, a draft Senate bill released Thursday included no CPB funding—suggesting those hopes are now unlikely to materialize.

Trump and other Republicans argue that defunding CPB is a stand against liberal influence in public broadcasting.

Public media supporters say the move undermines civic life and access to reliable news.

“The end of CPB is the direct result of the deep and corrupt failure of Congress and the Trump administration to invest in informing the American public,” said Craig Aaron, co-CEO of media advocacy group Free Press.

“They have trashed decades of democracy-building work and will deny many journalists, artists, educators and creators the opportunity to be heard.”

Aaron said he still believes there’s a chance to rebuild publicly funded media from the ground up. He called for a new system “as a bulwark against authoritarianism that meets the civic needs of all our communities.”

Some broadcasters are already mobilizing support. In Boston, GBH put up a sign reading, “Local. Trusted. Defunded.”

“We’re not backing down,” the station said in a fundraising message. “But we can’t do it without you. Donate now to keep public media strong and independent.”

(CNN)

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Anxiety As Trump Deploys US Nuclear Submarines Near Russia After ex-President’s Comment

Published

3 hours ago

August 2, 2025

Editor

United States President, Donald Trump, says he has ordered two nuclear submarines to “be positioned in the appropriate regions” after what he called “highly provocative” remarks by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

Trump said he acted “just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that. Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances.”

He did not reveal where the submarines are being sent, following standard U.S. military protocol.

Medvedev recently issued threats toward the U.S. in response to Trump’s demands that Moscow agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine or face strict sanctions.

According to BBC, the U.S. and Russia hold the largest nuclear arsenals in the world, and both maintain fleets of nuclear submarines.

In a post on Truth Social on Friday, Trump wrote: “Based on the highly provocative statements of the former president of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, who is now the deputy chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, I have ordered two nuclear submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions.”

Trump did not specify whether the submarines were nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed.

Later that day, speaking to reporters, Trump said: “A threat was made, and we didn’t think it was appropriate. So I have to be very careful. I do that on the basis of safety for our people. A threat was made by a former president of Russia. And we’re going to protect our people.”

The Kremlin has not commented publicly, but Moscow’s stock market dropped sharply after Trump’s announcement.

Trump and Medvedev have been trading personal attacks on social media in recent weeks.

Trump has set new deadlines for Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine, the latest being August 8. Putin has not shown any sign of complying.

Earlier this week, Trump had mentioned a “10 or 12” day deadline. In July, he warned of heavy tariffs on Russian oil and other exports if Putin did not stop the war within 50 days.

Medvedev, who served as Russia’s president from 2008 to 2012, accused Trump of playing “the ultimatum game with Russia.”

In a post on X, he wrote that “each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war.”

Earlier in July, Medvedev called Trump’s ultimatum “theatrical,” adding that “Russia didn’t care.”

Writing on Telegram on Thursday, Medvedev warned of a “dead hand” threat — a phrase some analysts interpreted as a reference to Russia’s nuclear retaliation system.

Friday’s announcement wasn’t Trump’s first response to Medvedev. On Thursday, Trump called him “the failed former president of Russia, who thinks he’s still president,” and warned him to “watch his words,” adding, “he’s entering very dangerous territory!”

Medvedev has backed Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and remains a vocal critic of the West.

Headline

We’ll Deny You Visa If You’re Traveling To Give Birth, US Tells Nigerians

Published

5 days ago

July 28, 2025

Editor

The United States Mission in Nigeria has warned Nigerians planning to travel to the US primarily to give birth to secure American citizenship for their children.

In a post on X, the US Mission stated that using a visa for the main purpose of childbirth is prohibited under US immigration policy.

“Using your visa to travel for the primary purpose of giving birth in the United States so that your child will have U.S. citizenship is not permitted. Consular officers will deny your visa application if they have reason to believe this is your intent,” the US Mission said.

This warning is coming following the rising scrutiny of visa applications and growing enforcement around what is informally referred to as “birth tourism”, the practice of traveling to the US to give birth so the child obtains automatic citizenship.

Recall that the United States Department of State had also revised its visa reciprocity policy, announcing that most non-immigrant, non-diplomatic visas issued to Nigerian citizens will now be single-entry visas with a three-month validity period.

The US maintained that its visa policies are based on global technical and security benchmarks aimed at protecting the integrity of its immigration systems.