Highest election-year political attacks recorded in SA since 2000 – report
Figures from the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime (GI-TOC) show at least 42 people have been murdered in suspected political assassinations so far this year in 36 political attacks, a tally that surpasses every election year since the database began tracking hits in 2000. According to GI-TOC data, there were 23 political killings over the same period in 2025. Since 2000, the database has captured more than 2 700 assassinations linked to political, organised crime, taxi industry, domestic and interpersonal motives. Intense rivalry over local government positions is believed to be the context for the killing of more than three dozen people serving as ward councillors, political party campaigners, members of civic organisations and traditional leaders since January. Analysts warn the highest-risk period looms as contests for political power intensify ahead of next month’s local elections.
Wits researchers warn WHO of climate-related health emergency
Researchers from Wits University have urged the World Health Organisation (WHO) to declare the climate crisis a public health emergency of international concern, arguing that a globally co-ordinated response akin to Covid-19 pandemic measures is needed to protect people from the harmful health effects of rising temperatures and extreme weather events. In a letter to leading medical journal, The Lancet, the researchers cite a study by the University of Chicago’s Climate Impact Lab that the world could face an extra 451,000 deaths between June 2026 and February 2027 due to extreme heat caused by this year’s record-breaking El Niño. Says Wits Planetary Health Research clinical researcher Nicholas Brink, lead author of the letter: “If that number was an infectious disease, it would be clear that this warrants a declaration of a public health emergency.”
Trump sets up taskforce to oversee AI development
US President Donald Trump has unveiled a new taskforce, the Super Intelligence Force, which is intended to ensure that the US continues to lead in AI development, and to coordinate the government’s engagement with the public. The new outfit will be led by Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton. Trump also said last week that he would set up a board to oversee AI safety after top tech business leaders signed what he described as a “morally binding” regulation pact.
Kanye West’s sold-out shows in Russia cancelled
Continuing controversy over his “glorification” of Adolf Hitler – and other statements and gestures related to Jews and Nazism – stalks US rapper Kanye West, with the cancellation of two sold-out concerts in Russia being the latest responses. Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova previously called the planned shows unacceptable due to Ye’s “glorification” of Hitler. A somewhat more complex position was expressed by politician Nikolay Novichkov, who called for the musician to be investigated for praising Hitler, but adding that the concerts should be cancelled unless he publicly declared “moral support for Russia and the special military operation”, the approved term for the war in Ukraine. Last year, Ye started selling swastika T-shirts and released a song called Heil Hitler. In January, he took out a full-page advertisement in the Wall Street Journal to apologise, titled: “To Those I’ve Hurt.” He wrote: “I am not a Nazi or an antisemite. I love Jewish people.”
Sources: Business Day, News24, BBC, The Guardian