Cele takes responsibility for breakdown of TRC prosecutions
Former police minister Bheki Cele accepted some responsibility for the failure to prosecute apartheid-era accused by refusing to fund their legal representation. He was speaking at the Khampepe Commission of Inquiry. He said that he accepted that this meant that some accused died without facing justice and this was to the detriment of the families of those who had suffered at their hands. Cele said that he had been tortured during the struggle and he could not bring himself to use state resources to defend such perpetrators. He added that the police during his tenure prioritised the 2010 Football World Cup, which sidelined other issues.
The Tolkeinverse “feels … very white”, says Serkis
Addressing a repeat complaint about Peter Jackson film adaptations of JRR Tolkien’s fantasy works, actor Andy Serkis has said that Tolkien’s inspiration was from Norse mythology. Serkis was speaking to the BBC from New Zealand, where he is working on another Tolkien-related project. Serkis has advocated for diversity in film projects, but defended the choices made in relation to Tolkien’s world. “Tolkien himself was influenced a lot by Norse mythology, there’s a lot of that feeling,” he said, “The Shire feels very, very much like a very, a very white, you know…” The Hunt for Gollum, on which he is now working, looks set to continue these casting choices.
Growing objection to conscription in Germany
Germany could struggle to meet its military expansion goals, as growing numbers of young men are applying for exemption. While Germany does not have a mandatory call-up, it does conduct registration for males in the event of mobilisation. The Federal Office of Family Affairs and Civil Society Functions reports that in the six months to the end of June 2026, it had received 5,862 applications for exemption on moral or religious grounds. In 2025, it received 3,879, and in 2024, 2,249.
Source: News24, The Guardian, BBC
