Biden: Under Trump free press will crumble because of ‘tech industrial complex’, avalanche of misinformation, disinformation, abuse of power
Biden hands over power to Trump at noon (1700 GMT) on Monday. Trump has enlisted billionaire Elon Musk, who helped his election efforts, as a special adviser charged with cutting costs from the federal government.
South African police end mine rescue operation with at least 78 dead and 246 survivors
Authorities launched the rescue effort on Monday in response to a court order last week ordering them to do so. A specialist mining rescue company had been dropping a small cage thousands of meters down a shaft to retrieve survivors and bodies. But no personnel from the company went down because they considered it too dangerous – instead two community volunteers were in the cage to help the miners out.
Five days before Trump is sworn in, Israel and Hamas agree to end Gaza war, free hostages and prisoners
If successful, the planned phased ceasefire could halt fighting that has left much of Gaza in ruins, displaced most of the enclave’s pre-war population of 2.3 million, and killed tens of thousands of people. The toll is still rising daily.
Trade unions in South Africa accuse state of ‘horrific’ crackdown as 78 corpses pulled from illegal mine
Mametlwe Sebei, a trade union leader who has been trying to help the miners, said police had begun attempting to force the miners up to the surface in August by removing a pulley system used to deliver food and water supplies to them. Sebei said some miners had died crawling through flooded tunnels in an attempt to reach shafts that would have allowed them to climb out.
Incoming Trump administration officials concede Ukraine peace deal is no easy task
In the run-up to his November 5 election victory, Trump declared dozens of times that he would have a deal in place between Ukraine and Russia on his first day in office, if not before. In late October, however, he made a subtle shift in his rhetoric, and began saying he could solve the war “very quickly.”
UN says 21,000 child soldiers are fighting in Africa’s multiple civil wars with girls most vulnerable conscripts
The economic impact of using child soldiers significantly hampers national development. Missing out on schooling results in lost human capital and reduced productivity, contributing to long-term economic stagnation, decreased workforce participation, higher poverty rates and reduced foreign investment due to ongoing instability.
In new revelations, Meta chief Zuckerberg delves into how White House ‘scream’ and ‘curse’ at Facebook staff to purge Covid content
Mark Zuckerberg said demands from the Biden administration to censor posts grew after the Covid-19 vaccines were rolled out, after which government officials began pressuring Meta “super hard” to remove specific posts.
How social media connects political class and electorate in democratically restricted spaces like Uganda’s
In Uganda, so many micro-platforms have been formed on WhatsApp, X (formerly Twitter), etc, mainly by young people, to engage in political dialogue and debates, away from the tightly controlled physical political space. Even then, President Tibuhaburwa Museveni, more than any other Ugandan, has used social media to influence political discourse and public opinion towards perpetually dominating the political space.
UAE wants to reduce over-reliance on oil as it signs trade deals with Malaysia, Kenya, and New Zealand
Zeyoudi said Kenya will be a gateway to East Africa for the UAE and would provide a basis for further and bigger agreements with the whole bloc, which he said would start immediately.
Nigerian military bombs and kills own citizens instead of insurgents with aircraft donated by US on Christmas Day
The Nigerian military has a long history of killing civilians in its battle against militants and “bandits,” and has repeatedly denied responsibility for airstrikes that have killed innocent people. It has frequently been accused of covering up civilian deaths, as well, including running what a 2023 investigation by Nigeria’s Premium Times called “a systemic propaganda scheme to keep the atrocities of its troops under wraps.”
