Rodrigo Duterte has taken a strong stance on COVID-19 vaccinations in previous weeks. The Philippine President has threatened to arrest anyone who refuses to be vaccinated. Duterte’s comments came during a press meeting at the presidential palace in Manila among members of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases.
International governments have roundly condemned the Belarusian government, after a commercial flight was forced to land and a journalist was arrested in Minsk last Sunday. The 27 members of the European Union bloc have decided to ban Belarusian airlines from travelling over Europe, while U.S President Joe Biden called the
On Wednesday 17th March, a Japanese Court in Sapporo ruled that the government’s non-recognition of same-sex marriages is unconstitutional, in a move which puts pressure on the Diet to change its currently inactive stance on such unions. The first of several cases regarding equal marriage in Japan, the Sapporo ruling
A Polish heavy metal singer, who has been convicted for offending religious sentiment laws, has launched a legal defence fund with which to appeal against the conviction of artists under blasphemy laws. Adam Darski, best known for fronting the Polish metal group Behemoth under the name Nergal, is hoping a
China’s state-run Xinhua news agency reported on Thursday, 11th February that the country’s broadcasting regulator would not be renewing the BBC’s license to broadcast its flagship World News programme, due to a “serious content violation.” Through an announcement on its website, the NRTA (China’s National Radio and Television Administration) said
A Dutch Appeals Court at The Hague has ruled that Shell Nigeria, a subsidiary of the Royal Dutch Shell PLC, must pay compensation to farmers in two Nigerian villages, for damages caused by underground oil leaks in 2004 and 2005. The landmark ruling on 29th January could have potential huge
The Chinese government has found citizen journalist Zhang Zhan, 37, guilty of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” for her coverage of the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan last year. Zhang’s sentence is four years imprisonment. Ms. Zhang, who travelled to Wuhan in February, spent three months in the city after hearing
On the 18th December 2020, the UN updated the number of internally displaced people in the Cabo Delgado region of Mozambique, estimating that over 420,000 civilians have been forced from their homes this year. The UN High Commission for Refugee’s deputy director for Southern Africa, Angèle Dikongué-Atangana, described the situation
Protesters have again clashed with police in Paris, as nearly one hundred rallies gather nationwide to protest a controversial new draft security law. Despite President Emmanuel Macron’s ruling L.R.E.M. (La République en Marche) Movement announcing that parts of the law would be rewritten after backlash on December 1st, the protests,
At present, the 2020 election in Zanzibar appears to be heading down a similar path to previous elections in the semi-autonomous state; that is, a fierce contest marred by violence. Preventing this cycle of violence coinciding with an impending election is key to ensuring not only the safety and security
Last week, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) announced that an initial pledge of $1.2 billion (USD) has so far been made to help “restore livelihoods and rebuild infrastructure” in Mozambique after two cyclones have hit the region these past months. According to the UNDP, a pledging conference held in
A rise in violence in North-Western Nigeria has led to the displacement of tens of thousands of people across the border into Niger. The cause is believed to be an unprecedented rise in inter-ethnic violence, unrelated to the Boko Haram insurgency currently endemic to the region. At a press briefing
Information acquired by the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) suggests that children whose fathers fought for the Islamic State militant group, are likely being held in “secret detention facilities”and unidentified “settlements” away from their mothers. The intelligence, (the sources of which the UN has not disclosed) suggests that authorities in
The Kutupalong-Balukhali refugee camp in Bangladesh, more widely known by the anglicised name of its nearest town, Cox’s Bazar, is currently the world’s largest refugee camp. It is thought that over 1 million Rohingya Muslims currently live there, having fled persecution in their native state of Rakhine in Myanmar. Alongside
After fighting Nauru’s Waqa government for the past 5 years, ex-president Sprent Dabwido has passed away, leaving the remaining members of the Nauru 19 leaderless as they await their appeal decision. Dabwido served as President of Nauru between 2011-2013 and signed the controversial deal with then Australian Prime Minister Julia
After the ousting of President Omar al-Bashir, Sudan looks set – albeit tentatively – to be heading towards civilian rule for the first time in nearly thirty years. On 21 April, the leaders of the various groups of protesters unveiled their plans for a civilian body to take over from
The convoluted topic of Britain’s exit from the European Union remains central to much of the day’s news screen. Crucial to Brexit – and the current stalling of the process – is the question of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. This has provided such
