-
SAS veteran defies top brass to tell all about his Nairobi terror heroics
Former SAS soldier Christian Craighead has defied a Ministry of Defence gagging order by discussing his banned memoir in a five-hour YouTube interview, after being barred from publishing the book or being interviewed about it in Britain. The 51-year-old, who single-handedly tackled jihadist gunmen during the 2019 Nairobi hotel siege, faces possible UK prosecution over…
-
Nigeria arrests alleged Mexican drug kingpin at international airport
Nigeria’s drug enforcement agency has revealed the arrest of Arturo Carrera Loaiza, a 40-year-old Mexican national, at Lagos international airport last month as he attempted to leave the country. The arrest led investigators to a suspected industrial-scale methamphetamine laboratory in Ebonyi state, the third such facility allegedly linked to Mexican nationals uncovered in Nigeria within…
-
South African president vows justice as more women’s bodies found near Johannesburg
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has vowed that “no stone will be left unturned” in the hunt for those responsible for killing several women in and around Kempton Park, north-east of Johannesburg, over the past two months. Police say the investigation now covers eight deaths, most of the victims found partially or fully naked, after…
-
Poacher is trampled to death by elephants while ‘lining up a shot’ to kill a white rhino
A suspected poacher was trampled to death by a herd of elephants in South Africa’s Kruger National Park as he prepared to shoot a white rhino for its horn. He and an accomplice had illegally entered the park armed with a high-powered rifle and an axe, reportedly hoping for a payday of around £10,000, when…
-
Wild dogs record 2,500-mile trek across Africa in search of a mate
A pack of three male African wild dogs has completed a 2,485-mile (4,000km) journey across Zambia in search of a mate, the longest distance ever recorded for an African land mammal undertaking such a trip. Researchers say the feat offers cautious optimism that wildlife can still move across vast, human-altered landscapes, though the study also…
-
‘I’m enjoying life more than I’ve ever done’: 7 Up! star Bruce Balden reflects on life at 70 – and reveals poem from his soldier father who was posted to Africa when he was a child
Bruce Balden, one of the original participants in ITV’s Seven Up! documentary series, has spoken about his contentment in retirement ahead of the broadcast of “70 Up”, the latest instalment following his life since 1964. First interviewed at age seven, when he expressed a wish to see his father, an RAF officer then stationed in…
-
Africa’s richest man aiming to make $23bn from continent’s biggest-ever IPO
Aliko Dangote, already Africa’s richest person, saw his fortune poised to swell by roughly two-thirds to almost $60bn following the stock market listing of his Nigerian oil refinery, in what was billed as the continent’s biggest-ever initial public offering. The flotation of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals on the Nigerian exchange, which Dangote pitched as…
-
The myth of killer AI is a self-serving attempt at regulatory capture
This piece is a discussion podcast from The Register’s “Kettle” series, in which host Brandon Vigliarolo is joined by systems editor Tobias Mann and senior reporter Tom Claburn to push back on recent warnings from AI industry figures that advanced models pose an existential threat to humanity. The hosts argue that such doomsday rhetoric, echoing…
-
Formula One world champion loses £1.4million tax bill fight over his Hampshire buffalo farm
Jody Scheckter, the 1979 Formula One world champion, has lost a tribunal battle with HM Revenue and Customs over a £1.4 million tax bill linked to his organic buffalo farming venture in Hampshire. The 76-year-old South African-born driver poured £55 million into Laverstoke Park in Overton after buying the estate in 1996, building it into…
-
Boks power & All Blacks of old – what did we learn from series?
South Africa secured a 3-1 series victory over New Zealand in the inaugural “Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry” series, further underlining their status as the world’s top-ranked side ahead of next year’s Rugby World Cup. The Springboks lost the opening Test in Johannesburg but responded by leaning on their trademark forward power, particularly the driving maul and…