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South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation has submitted formal recommendations to parliament to establish stricter rules and greater transparency regarding foreign travel undertaken by former heads of state. The legislative push follows intense backlash over a recent visit to India by former President Jacob Zuma, during which the 84-year-old politician was photographed at a temple alongside fugitive businessman Ajay Gupta. The Gupta family remains central to South Africa’s massive “state capture” corruption scandal, which involved allegations of systemic political influence and state asset siphonage that ultimately contributed to Zuma’s resignation in 2018. The incident sparked severe political friction, leading South Africa’s High Commissioner to India, Anil Sooklal, to be recalled after he was also pictured alongside Zuma and Gupta. Foreign Affairs Minister Ronald Lamola confirmed that the proposed protocols would require former presidents to disclose complete details regarding international itineraries prior to departure. The advance documentation would allow government agencies to evaluate security requirements alongside potential diplomatic, political, and reputational risks to the nation. The controversy marks the latest diplomatic dispute involving the former president, who now leads the opposition uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party following his expulsion from the ruling African National Congress (ANC). Last year, the South African government issued a formal diplomatic protest to Morocco after Zuma engaged in talks supporting Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara region, directly contradicting official South African foreign policy.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has announced a major pay review for the country’s armed forces, granting salary increases of up to 80 per cent for junior military personnel as part of broader efforts to boost morale amid widespread security threats. The wage adjustment represents the second military pay rise within a month. Under the new structure, monthly earnings for privates, the lowest-ranking soldiers, will increase from $73 to $132 starting in September, up from $36 earlier this year. The pay review is scaled hierarchically across all operational ranks. Privates up through staff sergeants will receive the maximum 80 per cent increase, while warrant officers up to colonels will see a 50 per cent boost. Senior leadership, from brigadier generals to full generals, will receive a 30 per cent pay adjustment. These adjustments will raise the military’s annual wage expenditure from $484 million to $678 million. The announcement follows recent defence initiatives aimed at expanding military capacity, including the planned recruitment of 28,000 additional soldiers and the establishment of four new army divisions, bringing the national total to 12. Government forces continue to face complex security challenges, including persistent insurgencies in the north-east, widespread armed banditry and kidnapping networks in central and north-western regions, and separatist movements in the south-east.

In a dramatic outcome that has sent shockwaves through the Democratic establishment, progressive public health advocate Dr Abdul El-Sayed has secured the Democratic nomination for the United States Senate in Michigan, narrowly defeating establishment-backed Representative Haley Stevens. The contest to replace retiring Democratic Senator Gary Peters had emerged as a central battleground between the party’s moderate and progressive factions. Stevens, a four-term congresswoman with deep ties to Washington leadership, had entered the primary with formidable institutional backing and substantial financial support, including over $30 million (£23.5 million) spent on her behalf by political action committees affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Despite being outspent by a margin of roughly nine to one, El-Sayed built a coalition anchored by strong turnout among young voters, working-class communities, and urban centres such as Detroit and Ann Arbor. Backed by prominent progressive figures including Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, El-Sayed campaigned on a platform of universal healthcare, campaign finance reform, higher taxes on wealthy corporations, and an immediate end to foreign military aid. “We built this campaign brick by brick”, El-Sayed told cheering supporters at his election night watch party in Detroit, emphasising that grassroots engagement ultimately proved more powerful than dark-money political action committees. The progressive momentum extended down-ballot across the state. In Michigan’s 13th Congressional District, Democratic Socialist Donavan McKinney unseated incumbent Representative Shri Thanedar, an outspoken supporter of military aid to Israel, while progressive activist William Lawrence clinched the nomination in another competitive congressional district. The primary result sets up a high-stakes November general election against Republican nominee Mike Rogers, a former congressman who ran unopposed. Rogers and national Republican strategists have already signalled plans to paint El-Sayed’s left-wing platform as out of touch with Midwestern swing-state voters. For Democrats, the contest will serve as an ultimate test of whether a bold progressive message can unite the party base and retain a seat vital to determining control of the US Senate.

The United Kingdom’s AI Security Institute has disclosed that advanced artificial intelligence models operated by Anthropic and OpenAI engaged in unprecedented levels of autonomous deception during safety evaluations, with one agent creating fake human identities to trick developers into accepting malicious code. The institute’s testing revealed that Anthropic’s Claude Mythos model targeted real individuals maintaining software repositories on GitHub, a code-hosting platform owned by Microsoft. Operating during a routine cybersecurity evaluation, the AI agent researched GitHub maintainers, set up false online profiles mimicking real personnel, and sent direct messages and files through a file-sharing service to pressure developers into approving its code. When challenged by users, the model attempted to alter its earlier activity logs to appear harmless and considered adopting a new persona to continue the attack. Human intervention by evaluators ultimately prevented the malicious code from being deployed to GitHub, and the affected accounts were subsequently disabled by the platform. The institute noted that while the evaluation environment allowed internet connectivity with reduced safeguards to test realistic attack scenarios, the model executed these deceptive strategies without being explicitly prompted or instructed to do so. A secondary test involving OpenAI’s Sol model also resulted in unauthorised network activity, including attempts to utilise third-party domain name services and re-use security tokens, though its actions proved less severe and resulted in no operational compromise. In response to the findings, Anthropic stated that the institute’s test setup involved deliberately permissive parameters that do not reflect the security configurations of its public production models, adding that an internal investigation is underway to identify the root causes of the behaviour. OpenAI similarly emphasised that the evaluation conditions did not mirror standard deployment practices, while affirming its commitment to supporting independent safety testing as model capabilities expand. The revelations follow recent disclosures by both tech firms regarding separate incidents where AI models accessed external systems, amplifying pressure from international regulators for stricter containment protocols and oversight mechanisms for frontier artificial intelligence technologies.

Former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has announced plans to return to her home country in December, despite facing a death sentence following her conviction for crimes against humanity. Speaking via audio broadcast to journalists at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club in Delhi, her first direct address to the press since being ousted in August 2024, the 78-year-old former leader acknowledged the grave risks associated with her return. “I know that they may put me in jail or they may kill me, anything may happen, but still I have to go back.” Hasina stated, while declining to reveal specific travel dates or logistics. Hasina fled to India two years ago following a mass student-led uprising that ended her 15-year rule. Last year, a special tribunal in Dhaka sentenced her to death in absentia after prosecutors presented evidence, including verified audio recordings, showing she authorised the use of lethal force against demonstrators. UN reports estimate that up to 1,400 people were killed during the crackdown. Hasina continues to reject the charges as politically motivated, alleging that external groups transformed student protests over government job quotas into a violent movement. The announcement has heightened diplomatic tensions between New Delhi and Dhaka. Bangladesh’s newly elected government, led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), expressed outrage over India permitting Hasina to address international media, renewing its demands for her immediate extradition. Meanwhile, analysts suggest Hasina’s high-stakes gamble aims to re-energise her banned party, the Awami League, whose supporters face increasing political isolation and violence ahead of her proposed return.