Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | XINHUA | The Ethiopian government on Thursday restored total access to the internet after a total shutdown since June 29 following deadly unrest in the capital Addis Ababa and other parts of the country killing at least 239 people. Deadly protests erupted in the Ethiopian capital, …
Read More »Pandemic, strife and identity politics: ‘The Last of Us’ returns
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Civilisation has collapsed after a global infection. A gay heroine, backed up by characters drawn from diverse minorities, fights back against warring factions of humanity. As storylines go, the blood-soaked new video game “The Last of Us Part II” dovetails into a troubled contemporary landscape. …
Read More »Half year on, activists fear no justice for Iran protest killings
Paris, France | AFP | Half a year after protests which Iran has now acknowledged claimed more than 200 lives, rights groups fear the real toll from the crackdown was far higher and that nobody will be brought to justice. Protests erupted across Iran from November 15-19 after a sudden fuel …
Read More »US retailers condemn racism but critics say profiling persists
New York, United States | AFP | As racial justice protests have swept the US, leading retailers have taken to social media to proclaim their commitment to equality. But such statements decrying racism in the wake of the George Floyd killing have been met with incredulity by some non-white customers, who …
Read More »UK’s Johnson says will not ignore anger over racial injustice
London, United Kingdom | AFP | British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has acknowledged the “cold reality” behind angry protests against racial injustice, but warned he would not tolerate violence or the breaking of coronavirus distancing laws. Demonstrations have broken out across Britain following the death of George Floyd in the United …
Read More »Strongman admirer Trump sees US protests in warlike terms
Washington, United States | AFP | From the White House, President Donald Trump delivered blunt — some say alarming — instructions to local leaders confronting nationwide street protests against police brutality: “dominate.” “If you don’t dominate, you’re wasting your time,” he told state governors. And if they tried, but failed? “Then I …
Read More »US defense chief opposes callup of regular army to quell unrest
Washington, United States | AFP | US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Wednesday that he opposed invoking a rarely used law to deploy military to quell nationwide protests over police brutality against African Americans. “I do not support invoking the Insurrection Act,” Esper said, two days after President Donald Trump said …
Read More »America’s unrest: why I am protesting
Minneapolis, United States | AFP | A week of protests over the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, at the hands of a police officer in Minneapolis has rocked the United States. Tens of thousands of people, from all ethnic and demographic groups, have taken to streets in cities …
Read More »Trump threatens military mobilization against violent US protests
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump vowed Monday to order a military crackdown on once-in-a-generation violent protests gripping the United States, saying he was sending thousands of troops onto the streets of the capital and threatening to deploy soldiers to states unable to regain control. The dramatic escalation …
Read More »Alarm in Germany as ‘corona demos’ take off
Berlin, Germany | AFP | From anger over lockdown measures to a purported vaccine plan by Bill Gates: a growing wave of demonstrations in Germany by conspiracy theorists, extremists and anti-vaxxers has alarmed even Chancellor Angela Merkel. Initially starting as a handful of protesters decrying tough restrictions on public life to …
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