agrees

March 16 (UPI) — Kenya and Russia announced on Monday that Kenyans will no longer be recruited by the Russian military and sent to fight in Ukraine.

The move follows a Kenyan intelligence report indicating that more than 1,000 people from Kenya and other African nations in recent months have been recruited into deployment on the front lines of the war between Russia and Ukraine by “rogue” agencies participating in human trafficking.

The report, released in February, alleged that of Kenyans recruited for the war, 10 died, 28 were missing, 39 were hospitalized and others were fighting for Russia in Ukraine, The Kenyan Daily Post reported.

“We have agreed that Kenyans will no longer be enlisted for special operations through the defense ministry,” Kenyan Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi said during a news conference. “They will no longer be eligible to be enlisted.”

The nations also were expected to sign a labor agreement aimed at protecting Kenyans working in Russia — specifically in drone manufacturing — which will cover people working specifically for the military or for other related industries, he said.

Mudavadi told The BBC that Kenya has shut down more than 600 agencies that were lying to Kenyans about a range of possible jobs in Russia and other countries, with many ending up in Ukraine.

Russia has not given answers to relatives at its embassy in Kenya, nor has it commented on reports that human traffickers were fooling people into being enlisted in the war with lies about well-paid jobs.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Lavrov said during the news conference that all foreign fighters, including those from Kenya, had not been coerced or lied to and their voluntary service complied with Russian law.

“Once a contract is terminated, the individual is no longer bound and is free to make their own decisions,” Lavov said, although Kenyans who have volunteered to join the war have to find and pay for their own travel home.

Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, alleged in November that at least 1,400 people from Africa from 36 countries have been sent to Ukraine by Russia, many of whom have been captured as prisoners of war.

Khalil Mack will continue to be a nuisance for opposing quarterbacks for at least one more season.

The Chargers edge rusher agreed to a contract extension with the team Saturday, the team announced. The deal is for one season and pays out $18 million guaranteed, according to multiple reports.

In 12 games last season, Mack, 35, had 5½ sacks and 32 tackles, playing a key role alongside Tuli Tuipulotu and Odafe Oweh in spearheading the Chargers’ pass rush and softening the blow of Joey Bosa’s exit from the unit.

Since joining the Chargers via a trade with the Chicago Bears in March 2022, Mack has recorded 36½ sacks and 195 tackles. The three-time All-Pro and nine-time Pro Bowl selection missed five games with a left elbow injury early in the season, but he was still a force on defense for the Chargers — even when his sack totals were at their lowest mark since his 2014 rookie season.

Mack’s greatest season with the Chargers — and arguably his NFL career — came in 2023 when he had a franchise-record 17 sacks and finished tied for second in the league with four strip-sacks. During the Chargers’ Week 4 win over Las Vegas that season, he recorded six sacks.

If Mack’s decision seems familiar, that’s because it is. Last year, he didn’t re-sign with the Chargers until just before the start of free agency as he mulled whether to return or retire. He was persuaded with a one-year, $18-million deal similar to the one he agreed to Saturday.

Mack is a proven Hall of Fame-caliber pass rusher, but he still hasn’t been part of a playoff win. He’s 0-6 in the playoffs and the Chargers’ disheartening loss to the New England Patriots in the wild-card playoffs probably gave him plenty of reasons to think about his future.

With Mack under contract, re-signing Oweh becomes a clear priority for Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz ahead of the free-agent negotiation period beginning Monday.

Oweh had a breakout season in the aftermath of his midseason trade from Baltimore and is considered one of the top defensive players set to be available in free agency. Oweh had 7½ sacks and 28 tackles in 12 games with the Chargers.

With defensive coordinator Jesse Minter leaving L.A. to become the head coach of the Ravens, Mack will be working under new defensive coordinator Chris O’Leary next season. If Mack can stay healthy, he’ll likely continue to be a valuable contributor to the Chargers’ pass-rushing threat.

Feb. 27 (UPI) — The Department of Defense reached an agreement with Scouting America to continue to support the organization after it committed to end its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said he had been considering an end to supporting the organization because of “significant cultural changes” it made in the early 2010s.

The 116-year-old organization changed its name from Boy Scouts of America to Scouting America, allowing girls to join and introducing programs that included various DEI themes.

“The Boy Scouts lost their way, and a once-great organization became gravely wounded,” Hegseth said in a statement.

“[DEI] crept in, the name was changed to ‘Scouting America,’ girls were accepted [and] the focus of God as the ruler of the universe was watered down to include openness to humanism and Earth-centered pagan religions,” he said in the statement.

Hegseth tied the move to an executive order President Donald Trump signed on his first day in office seeking to end “illegal discrimination and restoring merit-based opportunity,” including with the end of DEI programs among government agencies.

Scouting America said in a statement that it is making changes to align with DOD policies and goals as it has engaged in negotiations with the department for several months about its support for the organization.

The group said in a statement that it plans to waive registration fees for military families, launch a new merit badge focused on military service and veterans and reinforce its commitment to “scouting’s foundational ideas: leadership, character, duty to God, duty to country and service.”

As it has engaged the DOD about potential changes to its program, Scouting America said in the statement that it has “preserved our service to the more than 200,000 girls who participate in our programs.”

Noting that girls have participated in scouting since the 1960s, Scouting America said that its commitment to girls being part of the organization is “unwavering.”

Since 1910, more than 130 million people have participated in scouting programs and it is a well-known pipeline to the U.S. military based on its history showing that “scouts are significantly more likely to serve in uniform than the general population.”

Oman’s Foreign Minister says most recent indirect talks between US, Iran ‘really advanced, substantially’ and diplomacy must be allowed do its work.

Iran agreed during indirect talks with the United States never to stockpile enriched uranium, said Oman’s top diplomat, who described the development as a major breakthrough.

Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi also said on Friday that he believed all issues in a deal between Iran and the US could be resolved “amicably and comprehensively” within a few months.

“A peace deal is within our reach … if we just allow diplomacy the space it needs to get there,” Al Busaidi said in an interview with CBS News in Washington, DC, after Oman brokered the third round of indirect talks between the US and Iran in Geneva on Thursday.

“If the ultimate objective is to ensure forever that Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb, I think we have cracked that problem through these negotiations by agreeing [on] a very important breakthrough that has never been achieved any time before,” Al Busaidi said.

“The single most important achievement, I believe, is the agreement that Iran will never ever have nuclear material that will create a bomb,” he said.

“Now we are talking about zero stockpiling, and that is very, very important because if you cannot stockpile material that is enriched, then there is no way that you can actually create a bomb,” he added.

There would also be “full and comprehensive verification by the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency]”, he said, referring to the UN’s nuclear watchdog.

Oman’s top diplomat also said Iran would degrade its current stockpiles of nuclear material to “the lowest level possible” so that it is “converted into fuel, and that fuel will be irreversible”.

“This is something completely new. It really makes the enrichment argument less relevant, because now we are talking about zero stockpiling,” Al Busaidi said.

Regarding recent US demands regarding Iran’s missile programme, Al Busaidi said: “I believe Iran is open to discuss everything”.

Asked if he thought enough ground was covered in the most recent talks in Geneva to hold off a US attack on Iran, the minister said, “I hope so.”

“We have really advanced substantially, and I think, obviously, there remains various details to be ironed out, and this is why we need a little bit more time to really try and accomplish the ultimate goal of having a comprehensive package of the deal,” he said.

“But the big picture is that a deal is in our hands,” he added.

The foreign minister’s comment followed after he met earlier on Friday with US Vice President JD Vance and as US President Donald Trump continued to sabre-rattle while at the same time declaring he favoured a diplomatic solution with Tehran.

Trump said on Friday that he was not happy with the recent talks that concluded in Geneva.

“We’re not exactly happy with the way they’re negotiating,” Trump told reporters in Washington, adding that Iran “should make a deal”.

“They’d be smart if they made a deal,” he said.

Trump later said that he would prefer it if the US did not have to use military force, “but sometimes you have to do it”.

The US and Iranian sides are expected to meet again on Monday in Vienna, Austria, for more indirect negotiations.