Norway’s data protection agency said Monday it would ban Facebook and Instagram owner Meta from using the personal information of users for targeted advertising, threatening a $100,000 daily fine if it continues. The business practices of US big tech firms are under close scrutiny across Europe over concerns about privacy, with huge fines handed out […]

French prosecutors on Monday asked for 17 men to stand trial over rape and other crimes committed in the production of online pornography, a source close to the case told AFP. Accusations against the men include rape, gang rape, organised human trafficking and aggravated pimping, committed during video production for the “French Bukkake” platform, according to […]

A Lebanon judge on Monday ordered the seizure of embattled central bank governor Riad Salameh’s properties pending a local investigation into his wealth, a judicial official told AFP. Salameh has been the subject of a series of judicial probes both in crisis-hit Lebanon and abroad into the fortune he has amassed during some three decades in […]

The death toll in an investigation linked to a Kenyan cult that practised starvation to “meet Jesus Christ” has exceeded 400 after 12 more bodies were found on Monday, a senior official said. ALSO READ: Kenya president says no more room for opposition protests “Total death Toll – 403,” Coast Regional Commissioner Rhoda Onyancha told AFP in a […]

British rock star Elton John on Monday gave evidence as a witness for the defence at the sexual assault trial of Hollywood actor Kevin Spacey. The two-time Oscar winner denies 12 charges concerning four men, including indecent assault, which are alleged to have occurred between 2001 and 2013. ALSO READ: Elton John and Guns N’Roses rock Glastonbury Festival […]

Air strikes pummelled Khartoum on Sunday 16 July 2023, and fighting raged in Sudan’s western Darfur region, witnesses said, as a three-month war between the army and rival paramilitaries showed no signs of abating. In the capital’s east and northwest, army fighter jets “targeted bases” belonging to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) who “responded […]

Zimbabwe’s largest opposition party on Sunday 16 July 2023 finally managed to launch its election campaign after multiple bans of planned rallies ahead of August 23 general polls. The southern African nation, long prone to political and economic instability, is bracing for another electoral battle between opposition leader Nelson Chamisa and iron-fisted President Emmerson Mnangagwa. […]

Russia on Monday said a Ukrainian attack on the Moscow-built bridge linking annexed Crimea to the Russian mainland killed a civilian couple and wounded their child. Moscow said two drones had hit the bridge in the early hours of Monday and blamed “the Kyiv regime.” ALSO READ: NATO to address the upcoming summit about Ukraine Traffic […]

The Ukrainian navy and SBU security service carried out an overnight attack on the Russian-built bridge linking annexed Crimea to Russia, a Ukrainian source told AFP Monday. ALSO READ: Ukraine retakes territory around Bakhmut from Russian forces “Today’s attack on the Crimean bridge is a special operation of the SBU and the navy,” the security service source said. […]

Libyan border guards have rescued dozens of migrants who have been left in the desert by Tunisian authorities without water and food, and their numbers are “rising”, an officer said Sunday 16 July 2023. Hundreds of migrants from sub-Saharan African countries were forcibly taken to desert and hostile areas bordering Libya and Algeria after racial […]

Ukraine said on Monday its forces had retaken several square kilometres of territory around the eastern city of Bakhmut, which Russian forces seized in May. ALSO READ: Pope’s Ukraine peace envoy on visit to Moscow Kyiv last month began its highly anticipated fightback against entrenched Russian troops after stockpiling Western weapons and building up its offensive forces. “Over […]

A beloved monument to Ethiopia’s traditional cabaret culture, the historic nightclub Fendika is running on borrowed time, having just escaped demolition. Two decades earlier, Fendika was one of 17 “azmari bet” (a venue hosting performances by Ethiopia’s azmari musicians) in the Kazanchis district, a neighbourhood harkening back to Addis Ababa’s jazz-fuelled era. ALSO READ: Egypt, Ethiopia […]

England cricket great Ian Botham has sold off more than 200 souvenirs from his career at a London auction, with items from his celebrated role in a 1981 Ashes triumph among the most highly-valued lots. The ball with which he took five Australia wickets for one run as England came from behind to win the fourth Test of […]

Sudanese national Mohannad and other refugees had only been in Cairo a few weeks when his landlady told him he would have to pay triple the rent if he wanted to keep his apartment. He had arrived with his wife and three children in the Egyptian capital — 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles) north of his […]

The Hollywood actors’ union began to strike at midnight Thursday, after negotiations to reach a new contract with production studios ended without an agreement. Actors will join writers in the first industry-wide walkout for 63 years, effectively bringing the giant movie and television business to a halt. At 0701 GMT, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA), representing around […]

About 5,000 demonstrators on Thursday staged an anti-LGBTQ protest in Lilongwe, the capital of the conservative southern African nation of Malawi, where same-sex relationships are illegal. The rally comes against the backdrop of a court case brought by a Dutch national and transgender woman from Malawi who are challenging the constitutionality of the country’s laws […]

War-torn Sudan’s capital experienced a communications blackout for several hours on Friday, residents said, as the army and paramilitary forces waged intense battles across Khartoum. ALSO READ: Sudan sides to be held to account as war rages: UN Vital internet and mobile phone connections — which have been critical to sourcing information and supplies during nearly […]

Armed Islamist groups have carried out widespread killing, rape and looting in northeast Mali this year, forcing thousands of people to flee, Human Rights Watch said Thursday 13 July 2023. “Security has deteriorated sharply amid clashes between two armed Islamist groups as they seek to control supply routes and increase their influence,” the New York-based […]

Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Thursday 13 July 2023 urged nations targeted by Western sanctions to band together as he hosted the leader of fellow international outlier Iran. President Ebrahim Raisi arrived for the last leg of the first Africa tour by an Iranian leader in 11 years, on a tour aimed at easing the […]

South Africa’s graft-tainted ex-leader Jacob Zuma is receiving medical treatment in Russia, his spokesperson said on Friday, a day after the country’s highest court upheld a ruling that he should return to prison. “Zuma travelled to Russia last week for health reasons,” the 81-year-old’s spokesperson Mzwanele Manyi said in a statement. PICTURE | Springboks v All Blacks | Official team […]

A Russian anti-war activist living in Serbia was banned from entering the Balkan country after being stopped at Belgrade’s main airport Thursday, according to his lawyer. ALSO READ: Russia downs five Ukrainian drones in ‘terrorist act’ Peter Nikitin, who has permanent residency in Serbia, was prevented from entering at the request of the country’s Security Information […]

South Africa’s top court on Thursday 13 July 2023 upheld an earlier ruling that former president Jacob Zuma should return to prison to complete his 15-month term for contempt of court, dismissing an appeal seeking to keep him out of jail. It was not immediately clear whether Zuma would return to jail, with prison authorities […]

Kenya’s interior ministry on Thursday said more than 300 people had been arrested over anti-government protests that left nine dead as the opposition announced fresh demonstrations next week. There were violent clashes and looting on Wednesday in parts of the East African nation as protesters took to the streets over tax hikes in defiance of a government […]

The United Nations on Wednesday, 12 July 2023 said nearly three months of war in Sudan had uprooted more than three million people and called for the warring sides to face “accountability”. Britain said it was taking action. It announced sanctions on businesses it said were associated with Sudanese military groups on both sides of […]

The United States has struck dozens of deals worth $5.7 billion with African nations since President Joe Biden pledged to go “all in” on the continent, a business gathering in Botswana heard Wednesday 12 July 2023. The 75 new agreements signed since December include financing for solar projects in Angola and the facilitation of export […]