Foreign
US says Putin is undergoing cancer treatment, survived assassination attempt
After a failed assassination attempt against him in March, Putin disappeared from the public eye for a period in April, when he was reportedly treated for advanced-stage cancer.
Russian President Vladimir Putin survived an assassination attempt last March and is undergoing treatment for advanced cancer, according to a confidential US intelligence report.
High-ranking US intelligence leaders shared the report with Newsweek and describe the Russian leader as increasingly isolated, paranoid and fearful, as his reported struggles with health issues and internal dissent within Russia grow.
After the failed assassination attempt against him in March, Putin disappeared from the public eye for a period in April – when he was reportedly treated for advanced-stage cancer, the report claims.
“Putin’s grip is strong but no longer absolute,” one of the senior intelligence officers involved with the reports explained. “The jockeying inside the Kremlin has never been more intense during his rule, everyone sensing that the end is near.”
Looming health questions
Putin has been the subject of speculation about his health since at least 2016, when independent Russian media outlet Proekt reported that Putin traveled with a team of 5-13 doctors at all times from 2016 to 2017, such as an ENT specialist, an infectious diseases specialist, and a neurosurgeon.
Putin also disappeared from the public eye for certain periods at a time, per Proekt, who said 12 specialists, including personal doctors, neurosurgeons, and a rehabilitation specialist, checked in at the Sochi hospital near his residence in November 2016.
The Russian President also disappeared from public view in mid-August 2017, when he met with oncologist-surgeon Evgeny Selivanov – a doctor Proekt claims has flown to Putin’s locations 35 times over the last four years.
“I don’t think that a sane person can suspect any signs of an illness or ailment in this man,” said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on French TV last weekend, citing Putin’s recent public appearances.
An intelligence leader involved in the report expressed doubts with Lavrov’s assurances, explaining that Lavrov likely said this as a display of loyalty and adding that “Putin is definitely sick … whether he’s going to die soon is mere speculation.”
Paranoia and isolation
The COVID-19 pandemic brought with it signs of increased paranoia by Putin, who imposed strict isolation procedures — such as isolation for two weeks prior and requiring visitors to pass through a disinfectant tunnel – and has been pictured meeting with fellow world leaders at Putin’s now-infamously long table.
Russia has also seemingly increased its response to dissent against Putin: opposition news outlets have been censored, politicians and military leaders dismissed and arrested, and Putin has grown increasingly isolated as disapproval mounts – highlighted by the apparent assassination attempt, which Ukraine’s Chief of Defense Intelligence Kyrylo Budanov last week also said occurred.
“One source of our best intelligence, which is contact with outsiders, largely dried up as a result of the Ukraine war,” an official who read out the report said. “Putin has had few meetings with foreign leaders… (his) isolation has thus increased levels of speculation.”
Speculation increases amid war
The month of May brought an increase in speculation that Putin is suffering from health ailments. A Russian oligarch reportedly said Putin is suffering from blood cancer in an audio tape leaked to New Lines Magazine. Richard Dearlove, the former head of Britain’s MI6 spy agency, suggested Putin was ill on a recent podcast – a sentiment former MI6 Russia bureau chief Christopher Steele concurs with, per his interview with British talk radio station LBC.
As Ukraine’s defense chief and US intelligence officials bring forward their own reports of Putin’s condition, an issue the Kremlin finally addressed via Lavrov’s interview with French TV channel TF1 last week.
“I’ll leave it on the conscience of those who disseminate such rumors,” Lavrov declared. (Jerusalem Post)
A United States federal court has set August 21, 2026, as the deadline for the release of records linked to longstanding allegations concerning Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and U.S. financial accounts associated with him in the 1990s.
The records are being sought in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed by Aaron Greenspan, which has reportedly been before the federal courts for more than three years.
The documents are understood to be held by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
The development followed a reported request by the DOJ for an additional 10 days to comply with an earlier court order requiring the release of the records.
According to Von Batten, a Washington, D.C.-based Republican lobbying firm, Tinubu also joined the DOJ’s request for the extension.
The firm said it obtained a copy of a recent court filing submitted on Tinubu’s behalf and claimed that the Nigerian president formally joined the request just two business days before it became public.
However, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell rejected the request for additional time and directed that the records be released by August 21.
Von Batten said Tinubu’s reported decision to participate in the extension request raised questions about his reasons for seeking more time before the records are made public.
The firm alleged that the delay could potentially be used to lobby U.S. officials over concerns that releasing the documents might affect U.S.-Nigeria relations.
It further speculated that Tinubu could argue that disclosure of the records might affect his cooperation with Washington on counterterrorism and security matters.
The records relate to allegations dating back to the early 1990s, including the 1993 forfeiture of approximately $460,000 connected to accounts associated with Tinubu in a U.S. proceeding involving suspected proceeds of narcotics trafficking.
Tinubu has consistently denied wrongdoing and has rejected allegations linking him personally to drug trafficking.
Von Batten also warned against any attempt by U.S. officials to interfere with the FOIA or judicial process to prevent the records from being released.
The lobbying firm referenced U.S. President Donald Trump’s stated opposition to shielding individuals accused of serious criminal conduct, arguing that the legal process should be allowed to proceed without political interference.
With Judge Howell’s ruling in place, the records are expected to be released on or before August 21, unless further legal action changes the deadline.
The contents of the documents remain unknown, and their release could provide further information about the 1990s forfeiture proceedings and U.S. law-enforcement investigations involving accounts linked to Tinubu.
South Africa’s anti-immigration group, March and March, has announced September 30 as a fresh deadline for undocumented foreigners to leave the country, as it staged a protest outside the Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit in Durban on Monday.
The group marched through central Durban under the theme, “It’s time to fetch your people,” calling on African leaders attending the 46th SADC Summit to take back their citizens living in South Africa without legal documentation.
March and March had earlier led nationwide protests on June 30, demanding tougher government action against undocumented immigration and warning that its campaign would continue until its demands were addressed.
Announcing its latest action, the group said the September 30 deadline would mark the beginning of what it described as the “mother of all protests”, while urging South Africans to assist the police in identifying undocumented foreigners.
The protest took place as the 46th Ordinary SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government got underway in Durban, with leaders from the regional bloc’s 16 member states in attendance.
The demonstration has renewed debate over South Africa’s treatment of foreign nationals, particularly citizens of other African countries.
President Cyril Ramaphosa recently condemned discrimination and violence against foreigners, saying South Africa could not advocate regional integration at the SADC summit while practising exclusion within the country.
The June 30 protests were accompanied by security operations and reports of attacks and looting in some areas, according to police reports cited in the original report.
March and March has continued to demand tougher action against undocumented immigration, while tensions over the treatment of foreign nationals have prompted some African countries to evacuate their citizens from South Africa.
The latest protest has brought the immigration dispute directly to the doorstep of the SADC summit, placing the issue before regional leaders whose citizens are among those affected.
US President Donald Trump has threatened to bomb Oman if it “gets in the way” of a US deal with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz, while calling on Tehran to surrender.
Trump made the remarks in an interview with Fox News journalist Trey Yingst, amid ongoing talks between Oman and Iran over future maritime navigation arrangements through the strategic waterway.
“If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the shit out of them,” Trump said, referring to the discussions between Oman and Iran as Washington pursues its own negotiations.
Iranian and Omani officials have been holding talks for weeks, with Iran’s Foreign Ministry saying Monday that both sides were working towards a joint declaration on the strait.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that the Strait of Hormuz is under US control, despite Iran maintaining an effective blockade that has severely restricted maritime traffic.
On Friday, Trump said he could even declare the Strait of Hormuz part of US territory, prompting Iran to insist that the strategic waterway “will remain Iranian.”
Trump also called on Iran to “put up the white flag of surrender,” according to Yingst.
The Strait of Hormuz, which lies between Iran to the north and Oman to the south, was previously regarded as an open international waterway and carries a significant share of global energy shipments.
AFP
There has been no known deployment of US ground forces in Iran during the Middle East war, with the exception of a rescue mission in April for a downed American pilot.
Hatami did not provide any details on where or when the killing or capturing of US soldiers was expected to take place.
“Anyone who kills or captures and hands over an invading American military personnel will receive a reward equivalent to $30,000 or 5 billion tomans from the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Army,” Hatami said, using an informal unit equivalent to 10,000 Iranian rials.
The war between Tehran and Washington began on February 28 after the United States, joined by Israel, attacked Iran. It was followed by an April ceasefire after nearly 40 days of fighting, and a June framework for peace talks that later collapsed.
Iran and the United States have since traded fire sporadically, with fighting mainly centred in southern Iran and around the Strait of Hormuz.
AFP
The family of Philip Ifeanyi Elobuike, an indigene of Eziama Village, Ebe, in Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State, has appealed to the public for assistance in locating him after his photograph surfaced on social media following nearly two years without contact.
Elobuike first travelled to the United States around 2004 and initially settled in the Los Angeles area of California. He later moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, before relocating to Dallas, Texas.
According to his family, Elobuike remained in contact with his relatives in Nigeria until around 2024, when communication with him suddenly stopped. Before losing contact, he was active on social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram.
His family had continued searching for him, and on August 11, 2026, they were relieved when his photograph surfaced on social media. The picture provided them with at least some reassurance that he was alive.
Elobuike Philip
However, contrary to reports circulating in some media outlets and on social media, Elobuike has not been reunited with his family or located by his kinsmen in the United States.
His relatives and members of the Nigerian community reportedly spent the entire day on August 12 searching for him in different parts of Dallas but were unable to locate him.
The family is therefore appealing to members of the public, particularly Nigerians and other individuals in the Dallas area, to assist in locating Elobuike and ensuring that he is safely reunited with his family.
The family also urged people to disregard reports claiming that he has already been found and reunited with his relatives, describing such reports as inaccurate.
Anyone who has information about Elobuike’s whereabouts or comes across him is urged to contact any of the following:
Dr. Fred Ngwu: (214) 418-8145
Moses Onyejekwe: (213) 479-2340
Law Okolo: (646) 302-2597
The family expressed appreciation to everyone who has shared his photograph and appealed for continued circulation of the information until he is successfully located.
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