There is something quietly powerful about a group of nations deciding that, in the middle of a digital revolution, they will not face the future alone. That was the spirit in Astana, where the Organization of Turkic States brought together ministers and senior officials responsible for media and information from across its member countries for their eighth meeting. After days of discussion, Ömer Kocaman, the organization’s deputy secretary-general, shared a clear message: the Turkic states are determined to work together more closely in the media world, and they want to do it now. The conversation was not only about cameras,…

In the charged atmosphere preceding South Africa’s high-stakes national elections, the political landscape has become a crucible of anxieties, accusations, and alarmist rhetoric. It is within this volatile climate that President Cyril Ramaphosa has stepped forward to deliver a firm and unequivocal rebuttal to claims that his party, the African National Congress (ANC), intends to weaponize asylum seekers as pawns in the electoral process. The rumor, which had been circulating with increasing velocity across social media platforms, political talk shows, and opposition press briefings, suggested a sinister plot to register non-citizens en masse to bolster the ANC’s flagging vote share.…