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UK zoo welcomes not one, but THREE lion cubs for the first time in a decade
Blackpool Zoo has welcomed three African lion cubs, its first lion births in a decade. The triplets, born on 26 July to first-time parents Hira and Khari, are significant for the zoo’s breeding programme and mark a new chapter after recent losses in Khari’s family. Khari was himself the zoo’s previous lion cub, born in…
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Migrants seen swimming around border fence of Spanish enclave Ceuta
Hundreds of migrants have entered Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta from Morocco, with footage showing people swimming around the border fence or using inflatables, while others passed through a gate. The arrivals have put significant pressure on local resources, prompting Ceuta’s leader to call for intervention from Spain’s national government. Spanish media, cited by…
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Rangers move a ‘dream come true’ for South Africa’s Makhanya
Rangers have signed South African defender Olwethu Makhanya from Philadelphia Union for an undisclosed fee, making him their eighth arrival of the summer. The 22-year-old centre-back described the move to Ibrox as a dream fulfilled, while manager Derek McInnes said his athleticism and potential should help him adapt to Scottish football. Makhanya has agreed a…
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John Legend joins apartheid drama as Harry Belafonte
John Legend has joined Bill Condon’s apartheid-era drama The Road Home, playing US singer, actor and civil-rights activist Harry Belafonte. The film follows South African jazz musician and anti-apartheid campaigner Hugh Masekela, exploring divisions over cultural boycotts and the role of music in challenging racial segregation. Thabo Rametsi leads the cast as Masekela, alongside Guy…
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Pesticide-sprayed tomatoes suspected to have killed 15 elephants in Kenya
Fifteen elephants have died near Kenya’s Amboseli National Park after reportedly eating tomatoes sprayed with pesticides, with preliminary tests detecting cyanide in carcass samples. The suspected poisoning highlights growing tension between wildlife conservation and expanding farming around the park, where elephants frequently enter farmland seeking food and water. The deaths occurred between 24 June and…
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Fifa wants more money for its members but that does not guarantee investment | John Duerden
Fifa says selling stakes in the World Cup to private investors would allow it to distribute more than $10bn to its 211 member associations for football development. The proposal could benefit countries lacking facilities and infrastructure, but the article argues that greater funding does not itself ensure that money reaches grassroots football or is properly…
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Oprah Winfrey’s South African school for girls will CLOSE after 20 years in operation
Oprah Winfrey’s Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa, which she founded two decades ago to give disadvantaged young women access to a high-quality education, is set to close. The move brings to an end a project that has been closely associated with the US media mogul’s philanthropic work and her long-standing connection to South…
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Halima Returns Reclaimed On New Single ‘onyx’
Brooklyn-based UK/Nigerian artist Halima has released a new single, ‘onyx’, out via drink sum wtr, marking a self-produced return following her debut album ‘SWEET TOOTH’ last year. The track deals with the aftermath of heartbreak, tracing a path from pain towards catharsis and emotional distance, and represents her first fully self-produced work since before her…
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How Mexican drug cartels have outsourced meth labs to Nigeria
Nigerian anti-narcotics officers, together with a federal judge, held a court hearing inside a suspected illegal drug laboratory hidden in a forest in Ogun State, where three Mexicans and seven Nigerians appeared in handcuffs over an alleged methamphetamine production operation. The unusual move to convene court at the site reflects a growing trend of Mexican…
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Mysterious deaths of 14 elephants in Kenya prompts urgent inquiry
The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has launched an urgent investigation after 14 elephants were found dead near Amboseli National Park in southern Kenya, in what officials describe as the first mortality event of this scale in the region in decades. Tissue samples have been sent to laboratories to establish whether disease, poisoning or another cause…