SINCERETALK

Aiden Markram has attributed his promising renaissance as an international cricketer partly to getting off social media. from News24 Top Stories https://ift.tt/9qG7Rep via sinceretalk

The Wall Street Journal called China’s slowdown "disappointing." But for the environment, it is welcome news. On January 17, 2023, China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced that the country's population fell in 2022 by 850,000 people from 2021, which was the first population decline witnessed by the country in six decades. This has mostly resulted from low birth rates stemming from the imposition of China’s one-child policy from 1980 to 2015, as well as from voluntary family decisions, rather than deaths from COVID-19. This article was produced by Earth | Food | Life , a project of the Independent Media Institute. On the same day, the NBS reported that China's GDP grew by only 3 percent in 2022, which is less than half the previous year's 8.1 percent expansion pace. International news outlets greeted these bombshells with worry bordering on horror. Time noted that "[e]xperts are alarmed" by these trends; the Wall Street Journa

During a hearing this week, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) was humiliated after promoting a report from the Global Times to justify the end of military aid to Ukraine — only for the witness to point out the Global Times is Chinese state-run media. But there's a lot more to the story, wrote Aaron Blake for The Washington Post on Tuesday. "The Trump administration in 2020 designated the Global Times and three other outlets as 'foreign missions' because they are ' effectively controlled by the government of the People’s Republic of China ,'" wrote Blake. "'This designation recognizes PRC propaganda outlets as foreign missions and increases transparency relating to the CCP and PRC government’s media activities in the United States,' the State Department said." "Some media scholars have likened the Global Times to China’s Fox News. The New York Times in 2019 labeled it ' a 24-hour propaganda machine ' whose top editor at the time

A report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) revealed that neither FBI Director Christopher Wray nor Attorney General Merrick Garland has conducted an internal investigation into the FBI's processing of information known ahead of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. A key piece of the House Select Committee investigating the attack focused on the failures of law enforcement , finding multiple examples of agencies that were warned ahead of time that an attack was coming and did nothing to ensure added protection on Jan. 6. “Law enforcement had a very direct role in contributing to the security failures that led to the violence," said Tim Heaphy, a former federal prosecutor and the Jan. 6 committee’s chief investigative counsel. His team documented a number of failures, but most of them were downplayed in the final public hearing. "The ongoing FBI review of its actions during the weeks preceding Jan. 6, 2021, has not included an assessment of how it processed

Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee is at war with drag performers in his state. Lee says he plans to sign a recently passed bill restricting "adult cabaret performances" and banning gender-affirming care for the state's minors. But when confronted with his own past on Monday, after a 1977 photo emerged on Reddit of Lee wearing a miniskirt cheerleader outfit, complete with a wig and a string of pearls, the governor’s office claimed to The Daily Beast , it's "different." Lee was caught off-guard when a Tennessee Holler reporter confronted him about the photo, asking if he "remembered dressing in drag in 1977." Lee said it was "ridiculous, […] conflating something like that to sexualized entertainment in front of children, which is a very serious subject," Lee snarled. Before scrambling into his SUV, the governor added: I think the concern is what's right there in that building. Children that are potentially exposed to sexualize

Republican Governor Ron DeSantis is being accused by far-right-wing Trump supporters of trying to ban them from his book signing at a Books-A-Million in Leesburg, Florida –specifically, from the parking lot outside the book store. Video posted by far-right-wing activist, conspiracy theorist, and white nationalist Laura Loomer shows a small group of people wearing MAGA caps and clothing with Donald Trump's name and campaign logos, standing in a parking lot holding a few Trump signs. A security officer tells them they are not allowed to be there because of their clothing which shows support for the ex-president. Loomer is an ultra-MAGA Trump supporter who lost the GOP primary to incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Brian Mast. The security officer can be heard in the video saying, "they told me to say anyone wearing 'Trump' has to go right now." READ MORE: DeSantis on Fighting 'The Woke': I Made the 'Democratic Party a Rotten Carcass' Yet They Can &

From GOP Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz , to the State of Florida’s CFO , to Republicans in Congress, the far right has put a target on Pete Buttigieg ‘s back. Freshman U.S. Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), who attended an event in December that included U.S. Rep. George Santos and white nationalists, on Monday called for Secretary Buttigieg to resign . On Tuesday he suggested the House should impeach him . Why? Collins said Buttigieg was "hired to check a diversity box," and claims his "focus on wokeness prevents him from assessing the root cause of transportation incidents." In Collins' Fox News op-ed and a follow-up Fox News interview the word "woke" appears six times. RELATED: As Pete Buttigieg Surveys East Palestine Train Derailment Even Fox News Admits Elaine Chao 'Never' Visited an Accident It all seems to have begun last year in July when Buttigieg criticized U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) for calling protecting the marriages of

Proteas Test captain Temba Bavuma is hoping for less capricious pitches to be prepared for their series against the West Indies ahead of Tuesday's first Test at SuperSport Park in Centurion. from News24 Top Stories https://ift.tt/Bvhmy5e via sinceretalk

The countries are at a similar crossroads with their politics. Critically, both need an injection of confidence in their policymakers, who’ve made a brouhaha about their respective economic promises, but have failed to deliver The post Similarities in the tale of Nigeria and South Africa as generators and politicians bellow in the dark appeared first on The Mail & Guardian .

The justice department is currently reviewing comments from activists, academics, and civil society on a proposed new law to decriminalise sex work. It will then ask Cabinet to take it to Parliament before it can become law. from News24 Top Stories https://ift.tt/s4ZwIud via sinceretalk

Dominion Voting Systems has filed another bombshell court document , this time also around 200 pages, which provides additional damning evidence of how the company believes Fox News operated during the 2020 presidential election and after, allowing known falsehoods to be broadcast to the public. Fox News is facing a massive $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit by Dominion, which legal experts have said the voting machines company stands a good chance of winning. Among the most damaging revelations found so far in the new document released Monday is that Fox Corporation Chairman and News Corp Executive Chairman Rupert Murdoch, under sworn oath, admitted he handed Jared Kushner “confidential information” about Joe Biden’s campaign ads before they went live on the right wing cable channel. READ MORE: ‘Propaganda Network’: Media Reporter Says Dominion Filing Exposes Fox News as ‘Void of the Most Basic Journalistic Ethics’ “During Trump’s campaign, Rupert provided Trump’s son-in-law and se

Crime studies say hiring a contract killer costs anywhere between $145 and $8700 in South Africa The post Contract killings come cheap in South Africa appeared first on The Mail & Guardian .

Former ANC MP Manyana Rubben Mohlaloga and the former acting head of the Land Bank, Philemon Mohlahlane, lost their appeal to overturn criminal convictions for defrauding the Land Bank of R6 million. from News24 Top Stories https://ift.tt/cyMkz4o via sinceretalk

Ageing coal-fired fleet will kill tens of thousands by ignoring air-pollution minimum limits, costing tens of billions The post Eskom shrugs as hazardous, and costly, emissions stay sky-high appeared first on The Mail & Guardian .

The president has been in weekend consultations with tripartite alliance partners Cosatu and SACP as Cabinet shake-up takes shape. from News24 Top Stories https://ift.tt/MjKOdav via sinceretalk

The News24 Karoo Burn took place this weekend on the longest straight gravel road in Southern Africa. from News24 Top Stories https://ift.tt/oad6USg via sinceretalk

Power supply is the remit of municipalities, not the president or national government, Ramaphosa has said in court papers The post I don’t have a legal duty to end load-shedding, says Ramaphosa appeared first on The Mail & Guardian .

Even Trevor Noah needs to pop into the grocery store for some necessities from time to time. from News24 Top Stories https://ift.tt/itjdCwu via sinceretalk

Many US newspapers have decided to no longer publish the popular "Dilbert" comic strip, after its creator posted a racist video earlier this week calling Black people a "hate group". from News24 Top Stories https://ift.tt/AYoticJ via sinceretalk

The Blitzboks sneaked into the Los Angeles Sevens quarter-finals despite a loss to Ireland in their final Pool B encounter at a wet and rainy Carson, California. from News24 Top Stories https://ift.tt/kXuPbG1 via sinceretalk

President Cyril Ramaphosa has allayed the concerns of the ANC alliance partners regarding a new electricity minister The post SACP, Cosatu want inclusion in cabinet during marathon meetings with Ramaphosa appeared first on The Mail & Guardian .

The Lions and MyPlayers have issued a joint statement after a player survey done by the Johannesburg franchise was leaked. from News24 Top Stories https://ift.tt/1vzfl4B via sinceretalk

Telkom plans to retrench 15% of its employees across the group as the sector rebalances after the online boom during the pandemic The post After Telkom, more tech sector lay-offs on the cards appeared first on The Mail & Guardian .

In these difficult times, a summit aims to help with the urgent need for our leaders to act responsibly to instil caring, compassionate and conscious values The post South Africa craves conscious, ethical leadership appeared first on The Mail & Guardian .

There will be enormous logistical problems given that 18 parties are contesting, the number of contestants at various levels, and the security issues The post How to poll 93 million voters – the challenge of pulling off Nigeria’s presidential elections appeared first on The Mail & Guardian .

Three years ago, North West teenager Utlwanang Mmeti started his sneaker business in his parent's garage in Luka, Rustenburg. from News24 Top Stories https://ift.tt/vjX8oBk via sinceretalk

It’s going to be a busy one. We’re on the ground at the Cape Town E-Prix and also off to the Tankwa for the News24 Karoo Burn mountain bike race. We’ve got plenty of reading to keep you entertained in the meanwhile. from News24 Top Stories https://ift.tt/3xKJNZf via sinceretalk

Description of new species was a 37-year-long labour of love for Eastern Cape palaeontologist The post ‘Terrifying’ prehistoric fish found in Makhanda appeared first on The Mail & Guardian .

Calls for two judges accused of crime to step aside while a third appears before Judicial Conduct Tribunal on a complaint of impeachable misconduct The post A torrid week for the judiciary appeared first on The Mail & Guardian .

Much of the global south is neutral on the war in Ukraine, not because they support Russia but because they can’t side with the US and Nato The post Multi-polar world does not mean being in favour of Putin appeared first on The Mail & Guardian .

Former Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich has come under fire following new reports that he covered up his office's own taxpayer-funded report debunking former President Donald Trump's lies about election fraud. Brnovich, who left office after a failed bid for the GOP Senate nomination, has defended his office's work , touting other instances in which he investigated and debunked false election claims. But on MSNBC Thursday, voting rights attorney Marc Elias slammed Brnovich's decision, accusing him of trying to run interference for Trump's baseless claims the 2020 election was stolen from him. "I know we're not going in a neat order, but this story was too incredible not to bring you in on," said anchor Nicolle Wallace. "What's amazing is this guy, this Trump guy, finds the truth and hides it in his drawer so he can keep peddling the lies. It seems to sum it all up." "It does," said Elias. "And I think you really

United States Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg traveled to the site of the February 3rd Norfolk Souther train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio on Thursday to assess the environmental damage and human health issues caused by the toxic chemicals that were released in the crash. On Wednesday, former President Donald Trump staged a publicity tour of the small town where he accused President Joe Biden's administration – especially Buttigieg – of not doing enough to address the ecological disaster, which is being managed by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Federal Emergency Management Agency at the request of Republican Governor Mike DeWine . Norfolk Southern was ordered by the EPA on Tuesday to pay for the cleanup. Buttigieg addressed Trump's critiques at a press conference. READ MORE: Donald Trump Jr.: Pete Buttigieg only became transportation secretary because 'he's the gay guy' “I’m here for the work, and not for the politics. You can se

The United Stats DC Circuit Court of Appeals will soon determine whether the Department of Justice (DOJ) can search Rep. Scott Perry's (R-PA) phone as the agency continues to investigate the Jan. 6 attack, CNN reports. CNN previously reported that the DOJ "seized" Perry’s cell phone in August of 2022 as part of the investigation, considering the congressman staunchly supported former president Donald Trump's attempt to overturn the 2020 election. Now, the House Freedom Caucus chairman is scheduled to testify in court this week against the agency's attempt to probe "the contents" of the cellular device, according to NBC. READ MORE: Scott Perry: The most dangerous insurrectionist in Congress Shortly after Perry's phone was confiscated in August with a search warrant, CNN reports , officials returned the phone to the congressman after they collected an image of the device. NBC reports : The warrant indicated the phone data would be taken to

A federal judge has ruled that Donald Trump , the ex-president, and FBI Director Chris Wray can both be deposed in sworn testimony in a wrongful termination lawsuit filed by former senior FBI official Peter Strzok and a case alleging unlawful release of personal text messages, filed by Lisa Page. A noted legal expert is applauding the decision. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson Thursday afternoon ordered Trump and Wray to be questioned in a case alleging the two former FBI agents were "targeted for retribution," according to The Washington Post . There's one caveat: President Joe Biden must agree to not invoke executive privilege. He has one month to weigh in. "Strzok seeks reinstatement and back pay over what he alleges was his unfair termination for criticizing then-president Trump," The Post reports. "Page alleges officials unlawfully released a trove of politically charged text messages she exchanged with Strzok, with whom she was having an

House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California) sharing forty-four-thousand hours of footage from the January 6th, 2021 insurrection at the United States Capitol exclusively with Fox News host Tucker Carlson has ignited fierce backlash from Democrats and sparked intense national security concerns among experts. But a new conservative detractor has emerged – MyPillow Chief Executive Officer Mike Lindell – who is deeply mired in litigation stemming from his debunked conspiracy theories that the 2020 election was stolen from then-President Donald Trump. On Thursday's edition of ex-Trump White House chief strategist and twice-convicted felon Steve Bannon's show War Room on the right-wing network Real America's Voice, Lindell revealed that he intends to sue McCarthy to gain access to what he believes is evidence that will vindicate him. "I got breaking news with *the* Mike Lindell. Mike, what's the breaking news? You've got something you'r