Facts when it is complicated. Clarity when it is not.https://evenkeel.news/enhttps://evenkeel.news/article/2026-04-04-california-mail-ballot-rejections/https://evenkeel.news/article/2026-04-04-california-mail-ballot-rejections/Rejected mail-in ballots in California's November 2025 special election rose to four times the 2024 rate. Rural counties were hit hardest after the US Postal Service changed collection schedules, delaying postmarks on ballots mailed on Election Day. The issue affects 14 states with post-election grace periods.Sat, 04 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMTbalancedushttps://evenkeel.news/article/2026-04-04-gumede-ppe-siu-case/https://evenkeel.news/article/2026-04-04-gumede-ppe-siu-case/The Special Investigating Unit is seeking R390 million from billionaire Robert Gumede over an alleged pandemic procurement fraud. Red Roses Africa was awarded a R514 million SAPS contract. No court has made findings. The case awaits the Special Tribunal.Sat, 04 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMTfactualsouth-africahttps://evenkeel.news/article/2026-04-04-investment-conference-pledges/https://evenkeel.news/article/2026-04-04-investment-conference-pledges/President Ramaphosa announced R415 billion in pledges at the sixth South Africa Investment Conference. Economists say gross fixed capital formation has fallen 15.1% since 2018. Both sides agree South Africa needs real investment, not just pledges.Sat, 04 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMTbalancedsouth-africahttps://evenkeel.news/article/2026-04-04-kenya-citizens-russia-military/https://evenkeel.news/article/2026-04-04-kenya-citizens-russia-military/Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi told Kenya's Senate that 16 Kenyans are missing inside Russia's military apparatus. An estimated 165 remain deployed in the Ukraine conflict. The government says most went willingly, lured by bonuses of up to $23,000. Families and rights groups say many were deceived through recruitment networks spanning Kenya, Qatar, and the UAE.Sat, 04 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMTbalancedworldhttps://evenkeel.news/article/2026-04-04-mccormick-unilever-merger/https://evenkeel.news/article/2026-04-04-mccormick-unilever-merger/McCormick & Company and Unilever reached a definitive agreement to combine Unilever's global food business with McCormick, creating a $20 billion-a-year food group. The deal brings Knorr, Hellmann's, and Marmite under the same roof as Frank's RedHot and Old Bay. Markets reacted negatively, with both stocks falling on announcement day.Sat, 04 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMTbalancedbusinesshttps://evenkeel.news/article/2026-04-04-oil-prices-surge-iran/https://evenkeel.news/article/2026-04-04-oil-prices-surge-iran/Brent crude hit $109 and WTI reached $111.54 per barrel on Friday as Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz enters its sixth week. The strait normally carries 20 million barrels per day. The IEA warned that April will bring worse disruption than March. US petrol prices have risen 30% since the conflict began.Sat, 04 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMTfactualbusinesshttps://evenkeel.news/article/2026-04-04-sudan-hospital-drone-strike/https://evenkeel.news/article/2026-04-04-sudan-hospital-drone-strike/Two drone strikes hit Al Jabalain Hospital in White Nile State on Thursday, killing at least 10 people including seven medical staff. The attack struck an operating theatre and a maternity ward during a children's immunisation campaign. Doctors Without Borders called the attack appalling. The WHO has documented over 200 attacks on healthcare facilities since Sudan's civil war began.Sat, 04 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMTmoral-clarityworldhttps://evenkeel.news/article/2026-04-04-sweden-shadow-fleet-tanker/https://evenkeel.news/article/2026-04-04-sweden-shadow-fleet-tanker/The Swedish Coast Guard detained the oil tanker Flora 1 after a 12-kilometre oil spill was detected near Gotland Island. The vessel, on the EU sanctions list, had departed from the Russian port of Ust-Luga. Two crew members are suspected of environmental crimes. It is the third vessel Sweden has seized in four weeks.Sat, 04 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMTfactualworldhttps://evenkeel.news/article/2026-04-04-tongaat-hulett-rescue/https://evenkeel.news/article/2026-04-04-tongaat-hulett-rescue/The future of one of South Africa's largest agricultural companies rests on a Durban High Court liquidation battle. Vision Sugar holds R11.7 billion in debt. Thousands of KwaZulu-Natal jobs depend on the outcome.Sat, 04 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMTbalancedsouth-africahttps://evenkeel.news/article/2026-04-04-trump-defense-budget/https://evenkeel.news/article/2026-04-04-trump-defense-budget/The White House requested $1.5 trillion in defence spending for 2027, a 44% increase and the largest military budget in US history. The proposal includes $73 billion in cuts to health research, education, and housing programmes. Republicans call it a necessary rebuild. Democrats say the Pentagon cannot responsibly absorb the increase.Sat, 04 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMTbalancedushttps://evenkeel.news/article/2026-04-04-trump-pharma-tariffs/https://evenkeel.news/article/2026-04-04-trump-pharma-tariffs/An executive order signed on 2 April sets a baseline 100% tariff on all imported patented pharmaceuticals. Companies that agree to match their lowest global prices and build US manufacturing can qualify for reduced or zero rates. More than a dozen major drugmakers, including Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, are already exempt after signing pricing deals with the administration.Sat, 04 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMTbalancedbusinesshttps://evenkeel.news/article/2026-04-04-upington-freezer-investigation/https://evenkeel.news/article/2026-04-04-upington-freezer-investigation/Police opened an inquest after finding 46-year-old Carla Engelbrecht in a deep freezer at her home. Her husband reported her missing hours earlier. No suspects have been identified. An autopsy will determine the cause of death.Sat, 04 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMTfactualsouth-africahttps://evenkeel.news/article/2026-04-04-us-fighter-jets-iran/https://evenkeel.news/article/2026-04-04-us-fighter-jets-iran/An F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down over Iran on Friday, the first US combat aircraft downed by enemy fire in over 20 years. The pilot was rescued by special forces on Iranian soil. The search for the weapons system officer continues. A second aircraft, an A-10, was also hit and its pilot recovered from the Persian Gulf.Sat, 04 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMTfactualus