GERMANY: A top official with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrat party announced his resignation today, citing health problems.

The resignation of Kevin Kuhnert comes a year before an election in which the SPD face an uphill struggle, with poll ratings dropping and disappointing results in recent state elections.

Mr Kuhnert has been the SPD general secretary since late 2021.

PHILIPPINES: Former president Rodrigo Duterte registered today to run for mayor of his southern home city despite his notorious legacy over his brutal anti-drugs crackdown that the International Criminal Court is investigating as a possible crime against humanity.

Mr Duterte filed his papers before the Election Commission in Davao city, where he had served as mayor for about two decades before winning the presidency in 2016. 

RUSSIA: A Russian court sentenced Stephen Hubbard, a US citizen, to nearly seven years in prison today for fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine.

Mr Hubbard admitted to signing a contract with the Ukrainian military after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and to fighting alongside them until being captured two months later.

He was sentenced to six years and 10 months in a general-security prison. 

FRANCE: French-Cameroonian writer Charles Onana was set to go on trial today in Paris, accused of complicity in contesting the 1994 Rwandan genocide where about 800,000 Tutsis and Hutus were killed within 100 days.

In a book published five years ago, Mr Onana described the idea that the Hutu government had planned a genocide in Rwanda as “one of the biggest scams” of the last century.

Mr Onana denies the charges.