As the UN warns of famine and the city of El-Fasher becomes more and more populated, Sudanese citizens who are trapped there have turned to animal feed. For almost a year and a half, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have surrounded the city and halted aid.
Democrats’ fierce protests and the Texas map, which were created as part of the infamous mid-decade redistricting process, sparked gerrymandering tug-of-war for voters in various states across the nation.
After signing the bill with a marker, Abbott declared in a video clip on social media that “Texas is now more red in the United States Congress.”
Abbott and Republicans “effectively surrendered Texas to Washington” with the new map, according to the head of Texas’s Democratic Party.
State Democratic Party Chairman Kendall Scudder said in a statement that they adore blatantly blatant about how “Texas Tough” they are, but when Donald Trump made one call, they bent over backwards and gave Texans precedence over his own. It’s pathetic, to be honest.
Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett, the dean of the state’s congressional delegation, announced he would not run for reelection if the new map was put into effect in 2026. Rep. Greg Casar’s district would retake the place of another Democratic incumbent under the proposed map, causing Doggett’s district to overlap with his.
Following the signing, California Governor Gavin Newsom, who has come to be a prominent opponent of Trump on redistricting and other issues, taunted Abbott on X as the president’s “#1 lapdog.”
Republicans have acknowledged that in the upcoming midterm elections, they will be able to maintain their slim majority in Texas by capturing more congressional seats. Similar actions are being considered in more states that are under Republican control.
Democrats are vying to oppose such actions in California and other states. A redistricting plan that Democrats hope will win five more congressional seats was approved last week by the California legislature.
Voters in November must approve the California plan. The Texas plan has been challenged in court, but it does not require voter approval.
After more than 50 Democratic state House members staged a walkout that denied Republicans the required legislative quorum, the Texas bill was delayed for two weeks.
Democrats claimed that the new Texas map enacted discriminatory laws based on race and diluted Hispanic and Black voting rights.
Republicans in Texas who supported the bill claimed that they changed the map’s design to reflect voter intent rather than race.
Nigerians will now be required to pay $80 or the equivalent of naira for each package sent to the US, according to the NIPSOST on Friday.
NIPOST announced the change would start taking effect on August 29, 2025, but it also disclosed that all letters and other documents would not be subject to the requisite prepaid customs fee.
It explained that the development came after a US Executive Order that suspended de minimis deferrals for all international postal shipments.
All postal products to the United States, aside from letters and documents, will now be subject to a prepaid customs duty of USD $80 (or its naira equivalent) at the point of acceptance in Nigeria, according to the organization.
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According to the statement, “Global logistics operations are also being impacted as airlines and cargo carriers handle shipments headed to the US with more care.” This could cause delays in delivery by potentially extending both transit and processing times. Customs checks are also required for all US-bound shipments at the destination.
The circular read partially as NIPOST “is actively working with the Universal Postal Union (UPU), US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and our airline partners to minimize service disruptions and safeguard customer experience.”
Following a phone call leak scandal, Paitongtarn Shinawatra was fired.
The Thai Constitutional Court has revoked the country’s prime minister.
In a phone call with Hun Sen, a former leader of Cambodia, the court determined that Paetongtarn Shinawatra had violated the country’s laws.
What are the effects of her dismissal, then?
Presenter: Adrian Finighan
Guests:
Nattakorn Devakula, a former television host and independent political commentator,
Titipol Phakdeewanich, a political scientist at Ubon Ratchathani University.
In response to the conflict in Gaza, Turkey has declared that it will end all ties with Israel and that it will close all of its airspace. The region in conflict, according to the Turkish foreign minister, is a result of Israel’s aggressive policies.
Following their meeting in the southern French port city of Toulon, the leaders of Europe’s two largest economies on Friday agreed to ratchet up measures to combat Russia’s “companies that support its war,” including “companies from third countries that support Russia’s war.”
A day after the most deadly Russian attack on Kyiv in a few months, the two nations also agreed to provide Ukraine with additional air defense equipment and to start a strategic discussion on nuclear deterrence. At least 23 people were killed on Thursday when Russian missiles and drones ripped through Kyiv’s apartment blocks, including four children. About 50 others were also hurt.
After Trump’s decision to resume diplomatic relations with Moscow at the start of his second presidency, the conflict that was sparked by Russia’s massive invasion of its neighbor in February 2022 appears to have lost momentum.
Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as Putin had promised to do in conversations with Trump earlier this month, will eventually have a long-awaited meeting, according to Macron.
However, he added that “Putin will play President Trump again” if the Russian leader didn’t adhere to the Monday deadline.
Merz continued that the war appeared to last “many more months” and that it appeared as though Putin was “unwilling” to hold such a meeting.
He said, “We will not abandon Ukraine,” but that Putin appeared to be showing “no readiness” to meet with Zelenskyy.
That does not surprise me, Merz said, “to be honest, because this is a part of this Russian president’s strategy.”
In reprehensibility over remarks made by France’s Macron that angered Moscow last week, Putin was described as an “ogre at our gates.”
“We claim there is an ogre at the gates of Europe,” he said, echoing the sentiments of many other countries, including the Ukrainens, that the Georgians and the Americans have experienced since their 2008 invasion.
That is a man who has chosen to impose imperialism on others in order to alter global borders.
Macron also warned that Putin had a habit of saying one thing at a global meeting before acting differently.
He claimed that the disconnect between President Putin’s statements at international summits and the reality of his actual actions demonstrates his insincerity.