Facebook, Australia Reach a Deal to Restore News Pages on February 23, 2021Facebook has announced it will restore news content to its users in Australia. The social media giant has blocked news to Australians since last Thursday in response to a proposed law which would make it and Google pay news publishers for content. Facebook said Tuesday it will lift a contentious ban on Australian news pages […]
Myanmar coup: Military takes country offline for second night on February 16, 2021Access to the internet has been restored after it was blocked by Myanmar’s new military rulers. The blackout was the second night in a row and the fourth shutdown since the 1 February coup and came as the junta tries to stifle dissent. Earlier, the military authorities announced stiff penalties for those opposing the coup […]
Tractor rally: Indian farmers hoist Khalistan flag on Red Fort on January 26, 2021Police agreed to allow Tuesday’s rally after several rounds of talks on the condition that it would not interrupt the annual Republic Day parade, which takes place in central Delhi. They gave farmers specific routes for their rally, which would largely be confined to the outskirts. But farmers instead converged on the iconic 16th Century […]
FinCEN Files: Tory donor Lubov Chernukhin linked to $8m Putin ally funding on September 21, 2020The husband of one of the Conservative Party’s biggest donors was secretly funded by a Russian oligarch with close ties to President Putin. Lubov Chernukhin has given £1.7m to the Tories, including paying to spend time with the last three prime ministers. Leaked files show her husband received $8m (£6.1m). The money initially came from […]
China bubonic plague: Inner Mongolia takes precautions after case on July 6, 2020Authorities in China have stepped up precautions after a city in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region confirmed one case of bubonic plague. According to state reports, the Bayannur patient – a herdsman – is in quarantine and in a stable condition. Officials said they were also investigating a second suspected case, according to China’s Global […]
Dexamethasone is first life-saving coronavirus drug on June 16, 2020A cheap and widely available drug called dexamethasone can help save the lives of patients who are seriously ill with coronavirus. UK experts say the low-dose steroid treatment is a major breakthrough in the fight against the deadly virus. It cut the risk of death by a third for patients on ventilators. For those on […]
Pakistan girls murdered over phone video footage on May 18, 2020Two teenage girls have been murdered in a so-called “honour killing” in north-west Pakistan following a video circulated on the internet. They are said to have been shot dead by family members earlier this week in a village on the border of the North and South Waziristan tribal districts. The murders came after a video […]
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson tests positive for COVID-19 on March 27, 2020Prime Minister Boris Johnson has tested positive for coronavirus, the government has said. Mr Johnson has mild symptoms and will self-isolate in Downing Street, after being tested at No 10 by NHS staff. “He was tested for coronavirus on the personal advice of England’s chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty,” a statement said. He will […]
39 bodies found inside truck container in Britain on October 23, 2019The bodies of 39 people have been found in a lorry container in Essex. The vehicle, registered in Bulgaria, was found shortly before 01:40 BST at Waterglade Industrial Park in Grays, police said. Everyone inside the container, 38 adults and one teenager, died, Essex Police said. The lorry driver, a 25-year-old man from Northern Ireland, […]
Letter from Africa: Africa’s history makers in 2018 on December 29, 2018In our series of letters from African writers, Ghanaian journalist Elizabeth Ohene looks back at some of the big events on the continent in 2018. It has been a year where one is tempted to invoke the “always something new out of Africa” theory. It is not every day you have a prime minister leading […]