Victims of deadly building fire in Johannesburg died behind locked gates
After one of the worst residential fires in South Africa’s history, little remains of the overcrowded building in Johannesburg that sheltered some 200 Africans. Some called it a death trap and a disaster waiting to happen. The fire that began shortly after 1 a.m. on Aug. 31, trapped residents in the darkness, unable to pry open the locked security gates...
A former Mossad chief says Israel is enforcing an apartheid system in the West Bank
HERZLIYA, Israel—A former head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency told The Associated Press on Sept. 6 that Israel is enforcing an apartheid system in the West Bank, joining a tiny but growing list of retired officials to endorse an idea that remains largely on the fringes of Israeli discourse and international diplomacy. Tamir Pardo becomes the latest former senior official...
UK home rents more than doubled in deprived areas over past four years: Study
A countrywide study in the UK shows home rents have more than doubled in the most deprived urban areas over the past four years, pushing more people into poverty. The report, which was published by The Guardian on September 3, cited countrywide data analyzed by the estate agent, Hamptons. It said over the past four years, Britons living in the most deprived areas saw their...
Coups or revolution? African nations at a crossroads and throwing off Western colonial shackles
Military leaders in the Central African nation of Gabon announced that they had taken power, ousted the government, and placed its longtime President Ali Bongo under house arrest. The officers introduced themselves as members of the Committee of Transition and the Restoration of Institutions (CTRI). They annulled the official results from the Aug. 26 presidential election, closed borders, and...
Summit shows growing strength of BRICS alliance which challenges Western-dominated global order
Many observers and analysts framed the recent BRICS Summit held in South Africa as a challenge to the Western-dominated global order. The group’s increasing economic clout included the addition of six more nation-states, making it “BRICS Plus.” Economist Redge Nkosi, the Pretoria-based founder and executive director of First Source Money and Public Banking of South Africa, who participated in the...
Thousands take to Colombia’s streets to protest 50 percent increase in gasoline prices
BOGOTA, Colombia—Thousands of protesters on cars and motorbikes took to the streets of Colombia’s main cities on August 28 to reject recent hikes in gasoline prices that have drastically increased the price of fuel in the South American country. Protesters say that the monthly price hikes set by Colombia’s first leftist government are making it harder for small businesses to...
Hundreds of thousands trafficked into online criminality across Southeast Asia
Criminal gangs in southeast Asia are using torture and abuse to force hundreds of thousands of people into an online scam operation that generates billions of dollars per year, the UN Rights Office (OHCHR) said on August 29. OHCHR said that at least 120,000 people across Myanmar and another 100,000 in Cambodia may be held in situations where they are forced to...
Facebook’s parent company sued by African staffers citing ‘trauma’
Meta, Facebook’s parent company, is facing a $1.6 billion lawsuit from content moderators in Kenya over poor working conditions, insufficient mental health support and low pay for moderators. The content moderators told the Associated Press that their job required them to watch horrific content for eight hours a day that would overwhelm many of them while being paid 60,000 Kenyan...
Israel tried to influence UK courts against pro-Palestine activists: Report
Israeli forces have arrested more than 5,000 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since the beginning of the year, amid a surge in the regime’s attacks on Palestinian towns and cities. The Palestinian Prisoners Club (PPC) made the announcement in a statement on August 29, saying the occupation forces arrested 200 citizens across the West Bank within a week, which...
France convicts 2,000 people in connection with June protests
France has convicted nearly 2,000 people for having participated in protests against police brutality and racial profiling in late June. The country witnessed weeks of nationwide protests and social unrest after a police officer shot dead a 17-year-old boy of Algerian origin during a traffic stop on June 27. Police contained the disturbances through the deployment of virtually 45,000 security forces and...