America
Trump, Putin To Meet Again As Zelensky Lands In Washington
The President of America, Donald Trump, says he is due to meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Viktor Putin, in a fortnight.
The summit of the two world leaders, tentatively scheduled for Budapest, Hungary, would be their second this year.
It is to be hosted by Hungarian leader, Victor Orban, a staunch ally of Putin, in spite of his country being a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO, which eastwards expansion triggered the ongoing military conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Announcing the imminence of the meeting , Trump, in Washington, said it followed two-and+a- hang hours of telephone talks with Putin on the three -year old Ukraine war.
He described the phone talks as productive, but gave no further details.
Trump’s disclosure of the planned summit came as the President of Ukraine, Wolodymr Zelensky, arrived in Washington for talks with him on the war.
Zelensky is expected to brief Trump when they meet later today on the necessity for America to oblige his country with Tomahawk missiles to enable it strike targets deep in Russia, and impair the slow but steady advance of its troops in his country.
Diplomats say they expect a convivial meeting between both leaders today, but are hesitant to concede that Trump would grant the Zelensky prayer for approval to enable Ukraine access the high value assault missiles .
Zelensky has, of late, been a regular face at the White House, while Putin and Trump met earlier this year in Alaska, the cold northern fringe settlement in America which was sold to America by Russia.
Qatar
Pakistani, Afghan Officials Meet Over Border Violence
Officials of both Pakistan and Afghanistan are meeting in Doha, capital of Qatar, to negotiate an end to their violent border skirmishes.
The meeting comes as the 48- hour ceasefire deal between both nations is due to run full cycle later today.
The two neighbours had been at daggers drawn at their common border at Torkam, and violence broke out last Saturday after Afghan troops allegedly attacked Pakistani soldiers after accusing them of violating Afghan Sovereignty.
The skirmishes tipped on Wednesday , leading to escalation that sources said saw scores of casualties, including dozens of fatalities, on both sides of the conflict.
Afghanistan has consistently accused its bigger and more prosperous nuclear neighbour, Pakistan, of frequent breaches of its sovereignty and territorial integrity, but Pakistan , in turn, accuses Kabul of harbouring militants it accuses of violent cross border raids in its territory.
Madagascar
Madagascar’s Military Leader Sworn Into Office
The military leader of Madagascar, Colonel Michael Randriaririna, has been sworn into office for an indefinite term.
The event held this morning at the High Constitutional Court in Antananarivo, the capital.
The new leader is expected to constitute a cabinet to run his administration, later today .
The formal inauguration of the military administration came days after an elite unit of the military of the tiny Indian Ocean African Island nation said it had seized power in a putsch that both the United Nations (UN) and the African Union ( AU), had both strongly condemned.
The AU has , aside from the condemnation, suspended the country from its fold.
Today’s event put paid to the prospects of a possible resurgence of the now ousted President, Andry Rajoelina.
The President had, in a rare video message on Sunday, addressed the nation, disclosing that he had gone into hiding for his own safety.
He gave no details beyond saying that any undemocratic change of government would be null and void.
Madagascar had been caught in the throes of youth – led protracted protests over alleged corruption, unemployment and significant shortfalls in public power and water supplies.
Rajoelina , until his oyster, was the head of the Southern African Development Council( SADC).
He was President for 1- years.
America
Trump’s Former NSA, John Bolton , Charged With Unlawful Disclosure Of Classified Security Information
The American Judicial Department has arraigned John Bolton, the former National Security Adviser (NSA) to President Donald Trump.
Bolton, the NSA to Trump in his first term in office, is facing 18 counts of criminal indictment for alleged disclosure of classified security information to persons who should not be in the know.
The prosecution alleges that Bolton, now a staunch critic of President Trump, shared classified information with members of his immediate family on at least 18 different occasions.
But Bolton and his legal team have tagged his arraignment a political witch hunt, and accused Trump of weaponizing the judiciary to hunt perceived political opponents.
Kenya
Kenya Holds State Funeral For Fallen Ex- PM, Raila Odinga, Today
Kenya is set to hold a state funeral for its veteran democracy activist and former Prime Minister, Raila Odinga.
The event is scheduled for later today at the National Stadium, Nairobi, and tens of thousands of people are expected to attend to pay their last respects to him.
Odinga, who died of a heart attack while undergoing medical treatment at a hospital in the Indian state of Kerala, was the Prime Minister of Kenya between 2008 and 2013.
He vied unsuccessfully for the presidency of the country five times.
He was a staunch advocate for democratic pluralism.
He would be buried at a family holding in the shores of Lake Victoria, on Sunday.
