There is a civil war in Ethiopia that is being fought largely in the shadows. The country’s prime minister Abiy Ahmed and his government have imposed a full blackout as they seek to defeat the leadership of the region of Tigray. The phone lines have been cut and the internet is switched off. The banks
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The funeral of a black man who died while being beaten by supermarket security guards has been held following protests that echoed those of the racial justice movement in the United States. Joao Alberto Silveira Freitas, a father of four, was buried wearing a white T-shirt in a coffin draped with the flag of his
Russia has barred 25 British citizens from entering the country in a tit-for-tat move after London sanctioned 25 Russians, including a close ally of Vladimir Putin. A Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman accused the UK of interfering in Russia’s internal affairs by issuing the July sanctions against individuals thought to be involved in the mistreatment and
Imagine how it feels to be given two days’ notice to pack up your home. The desperate situation follows a war which has already claimed the lives of your children and sunk your nation into a bitter defeat. Now, the hastily drawn up peace demands that your house be handed to the victors and it
The United Nations has called for an immediate ceasefire in Ethiopia, as it expects 200,000 refugees to escape to Sudan in the coming months. With more than one million refugees already in Sudan, the east African country is struggling to cope with about 31,000 Ethiopian refugees who have already entered since fighting erupted on 4
The number of people killed in protests over the arrest of Ugandan presidential candidate Bobi Wine has risen to 16, while dozens more have been injured. Mr Wine – a pop star whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi – was detained on Wednesday in the eastern town of Luuka after being accused of violating anti-coronavirus
The head of Pfizer has told Sky News his company is poised to send out doses of its COVID-19 vaccine “within hours” of it receiving official approval. Chief Executive Albert Bourla said his company would be applying for permission from regulatory authorities across the world “very, very soon – within a couple of days” and
Australian special forces unlawfully killed 39 people in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016, a report has found. The revelation comes after a four year inquiry by the Australian Defence Force (ADF), which investigated 57 incidents, took testimony from hundreds of witnesses and reviewed more than 20,000 documents. Speaking in the Australian capital of Canberra, General
The state of South Australia is beginning a six-day lockdown in response to a cluster of 22 coronavirus cases. Schools, universities, bars and cafes have been ordered to close since midnight local time on Wednesday (1pm Tuesday UK time). Only one person from each household is allowed to leave home each day and and only
US President Donald Trump will cut his country’s military presence in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Pentagon has announced. Acting defence secretary Christopher Miller said the number of US soldiers in Afghanistan will fall from 4,500 to 2,500 by the time Mr Trump leaves office early next year. The number of troops in Iraq will be
Anti-government protests in Thailand reached a head on Tuesday, turning violent outside the country’s parliament in Bangkok. Inside, lawmakers are considering proposals to amend the constitution, one of the core demands of the nation’s student-led pro-democracy movement. The movement is calling for the removal of prime minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a former army ruler, reforms to
Hurricane Iota has made landfall on the coast of Nicaragua with winds of up to 155mph, the National Hurricane Centre (NHT) has said. The category four hurricane hit the town of Haulover at around 10.40pm eastern time on Monday (3.40am GMT Tuesday). It is around 15 miles south from where the devastating Hurricane Eta struck
Iota has strengthened into a “dangerous” category 4 hurricane as it heads towards Central America. Forecasters expect it to make landfall in northeastern Nicaragua and eastern Honduras on Monday night. It comes just days after the countries were ransacked by category 4 Hurricane Eta which killed at least 200 people and left dozens more missing.
Peru’s interim president has resigned after just five days following the deaths of two people in protests over the sudden removal of his predecessor. Manuel Merino was sworn in on Tuesday after Peru‘s opposition-dominated Congress voted to remove popular centrist Martin Vizcarra as president over bribery allegations, which he denies. But in a televised speech
Tigray’s leader has admitted it fired missiles at the capital of neighbouring Eritrea, in another escalation of the fighting in Ethiopia. Earlier, at least three rockets appeared to have been aimed the airport in the Eritrean capital Asmara, hours after the Tigray regional government warned it might attack. The attacks on an international target represent
Ten people have died after a fire broke out on an intensive care ward treating coronavirus patients in Romania. Seven others are critically injured following the fire at a hospital in the city of Piatra Neamt on Saturday. Apart from one person, all those killed or injured are COVID-19 patients, according to emergency services spokesperson