A rising trend towards government-enforced internet shutdowns – with at least 300 incidents in more than 54 countries over the last two years – is prompting renewed warnings from the UN about the threat these digital blackouts pose to freedom of expression, access to information and human rights. In a statement issued this week, UNESCO…
The South African National Space Agency (Sansa) has warned that geomagnetic storm activity is expected to intensify over the next 24 hours following a powerful solar eruption that sent a cloud of charged plasma towards Earth. According to Sansa’s Space Weather Centre, the disturbance was triggered by a long-duration X1.9-class solar flare that erupted from…
In his final annual address outlining his priorities, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that the world is “brimming with conflict, impunity, inequality and unpredictability” – even as international cooperation is fraying at the moment it is most needed. Speaking in the General Assembly, he said the global system was under unprecedented strain from wars, division,…
Shayan Sardarizadeh, Richard Irvine-Brown,BBC Verify, Ghoncheh Habibiazadand Sarah Namjoo,BBC Persian Watch: Protesters and security forces clash in Iran protests Iran has warned it will retaliate if attacked by the US, as BBC sources and activists report hundreds of protesters have now been killed in an escalating government crackdown. “Things here are very, very bad,” a…
Protesters ignored threats of severe punishment from Iran’s leaders and warnings from rights groups about undocumented killings as they poured out onto the streets of cities across the country late Friday. The fresh protests came as President Donald Trump again warned the Islamic regime that he would intervene if demonstrators were killed. “I tell the…
Oxfam categorically rejects the recent US military intervention in Venezuelan territory, which constitutes a violation of international law and an unacceptable interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign country. This action threatens regional stability, contradicts the principle of Latin America and the Caribbean as a zone of peace, agreed upon by the States of…
The African health organisation said that the study analysed more than 187,000 laboratory test results from 205 laboratories in 14 African countries, including Nigeria. A new study has reported a rise in drug-resistant infections across several African countries, including Nigeria, raising concern about the ability of health systems to treat common illnesses effectively. The Africa…
Nairobi — The African Union (AU) has expressed deep concern over the escalating crisis in Venezuela, warning that the country’s complex internal challenges can only be resolved through inclusive political dialogue among Venezuelans themselves. In a communiqué issued from its headquarters in Addis Ababa on January 3, the AU said it was closely monitoring recent…
Africa’s migrant workers continue to face widespread exploitation, abuse and insecurity despite the existence of regional and global protection frameworks, the African Regional Organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation, ITUC-Africa, has warned. In a statement issued on December 18, by Akhator Odigie General Secretary, ITUC-Africa, the group said the continent remains a region of…
Heavy rains over the past week have compounded the already dire living conditions of the hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, UN agencies say. Unicef spokesman Jonathan Crickx told the BBC that the weather overnight had been “horrendous”, with the rain so intense that he had seen up to 15cm (6in)…
