Dunkley NEWS! - Coup in the Congo, Russian rogues, African laws, and Guns in Space!

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Ex-South African leader Zuma, now a ruling party critic, is disqualified from next week's election
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Former South African President Jacob Zuma has been disqualified from running for a seat in Parliament in next week's national election because of a previous criminal conviction. The decision by the country's highest court is certain to raise political tensions ahead of a pivotal vote in Africa's most advanced economy. Zuma once led South Africa's ruling African National Congress party but was forced out as its leader and resigned as president in 2018 under a cloud of corruption allegations. He has reemerged with a new political party challenging his former allies. The ANC might be forced into a coalition government for the first time.
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Americans in alleged Congo coup plot formed an unlikely band
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Authorities in Congo are accusing three Americans of involvement in a brazen weekend attack on Congo's presidential palace. According to the official description of events, the three formed an unlikely band under the leadership of eccentric opposition figure Christian Malanga, who dabbled in gold mining and used cars before persuading his Utah-born son to join in the ill-fated coup attempt. Six people, including Malanga, were killed in the attack early Sunday and the three Americans were among dozens arrested. Officials say they are trying to untangle how Malanga's 21-year-old son, Marcel, went from playing high school football to allegedly trying to unseat the leader of one of Africa's largest countries. Marcel's mother says, "My son is innocent."
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UN Security Council rejects Russia-backed resolution on banning weapons in space
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The United States says that Russia last week launched a satellite that could be part of weaponizing space. That's a possible future global trend that members of the U.N. Security Council condemn, even as they failed on Monday to pass a measure against it. The resolution drafted by Russia rivaled one backed by the U.S. and Japan that failed last month. The rival drafts focused on different types of weapons. The U.S. and Japan specified weapons of mass destruction. The Russian draft discussed all types of weapons. The U.S. and its allies say the language the council voted on Monday was meant to distract the world from Russia's true intention: weaponizing space. Russia denies this.
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Russian theater director and playwright go on trial over a play authorities say justifies terrorism
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A Russian court has started the trial of a theater director and a playwright facing charges of justifying terrorism over a play they staged, the latest step in the unrelenting crackdown on dissent in Russia that has reached unprecedented levels during Moscow's war in Ukraine. Zhenya Berkovich, a prominent independent theater director, and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk have been jailed for over a year. Authorities claim a play they staged justifies terrorism, which is a criminal offense in Russia. In the play, women arrested after attempting to go to Syria to marry members of Islamic militant groups tell a judge what made them vulnerable to being wooed by extremists online. The women told the court Monday their intent was to prevent terrorism.

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