Meta Founder, Mark Zuckerberg Tenders Apologies To US Families Over Social Media Harms In Contentious Senate Hearing
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has apologised to families who say their children had been harmed by social media, during a fiery hearing in the US Senate. Mr Zuckerberg - who runs Instagram and Facebook - turned to them and said "no-one should go through" what they had. He and the bosses of TikTok, Snap, X and Discord were questioned for almost...
India Navy Rescues Pakistani Sailors From Pirates
Indian naval forces have rescued 19 Pakistani sailors after their fishing vessel was hijacked by pirates off Somalia's coast. This was the second rescue operation in 36 hours by the Indian warship INS Sumitra. Hours earlier, the ship had rescued the 17-member Iranian crew of a vessel which was also hijacked by pirates, the navy said. India's navy has responded to several...
Russia Anti-War Band Arrested In Thailand Faces Deportation
A Russian-Belarusian rock band with anti-war views that had been touring Thailand is under threat of being deported back to Russia, activists say. Human Rights Watch has urged the Thai government not to deport Bi- 2, who have been criticized by Moscow, saying the seven members face persecution. The band was arrested for unauthorized shows while touring Phuket, a resort island...
LGBT Blessings: Africans Are Special Case – Pope Francis
Catholic pontiff Pope Francis says he is confident critics of his recent decision to allow blessings for same-sex couples will eventually understand it, except for Africans who are “a special case”, Reuters reports. He said he trusted that gradually everyone would be reassured by the spirit of the ‘Fiducia Supplicans’ declaration by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith:...
3 US Troops Killed In Drone Attack In Jordan – Military
A drone attack on a base in Jordan killed three American troops on Sunday, the military said, the first time members of the country’s forces died as a result of hostile fire during the Israel-Hamas war. “On January 28, three US service members were killed and 25 injured from a one-way attack (drone) that impacted at a base in northeast...
Police Detain Man For 77 Counts Murder Following South Africa Building Fire
The South Africa Police Service have arrested a 29-year-old man on suspicion of 77 murders after telling a public inquiry he started last August’s deadly fire in a Johannesburg building. Last year fire gutted the Usindiso building in Marshalltown, where many poor people were residing, claiming 77 lives and leaving many injured. The tragedy highlighted the issue of buildings abandoned or...
Cameroon Rolls Out World’s First Malaria Vaccine
The world’s first routine rollout of the malaria vaccine has kicked off in Cameroon. The vaccine rollout commenced on Monday, featuring Daniella as the first recipient of the RTS,S malaria vaccine near Yaoundé. Endorsed by the World Health Organisation in October 2021 after a two-year program involving over 800,000 children in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi, the RTS,S vaccine is recommended for children aged...
47 Buried In Southwest China Landslide
Forty-seven people were buried when a landslide struck a remote and mountainous part of southwestern China on Monday, state media reported. The pre-dawn landslide hit in Zhenxiong County, Yunnan province, state news agency Xinhua reported, citing local authorities. State broadcaster CCTV said around 18 households were buried, and that more than 200 people were “urgently evacuated” from the area. Authorities have launched...
Catholic Bishops Decline To Bless Same-Sex Marriages
Senegal’s Catholic bishops have said they refuse to bless same-sex couples, the latest outcry following the Vatican’s recent approval of blessings for same-sex couples in certain contexts. Last month, the Catholic Church said priests could bless “irregular” and same-sex couples as long as they were not in contexts related to civil unions or weddings. The declaration, published by the Vatican’s faith department...
North Korean Teens Sentenced To Twelve Years Of Hard Labour For Watching K-Drama
Rare footage obtained by BBC Korean shows North Korea publicly sentencing two teenage boys to 12 years of hard labour for watching K-dramas. The footage, which appears to have been filmed in 2022, shows two 16-year-old boys handcuffed in front of hundreds of students at an outdoor stadium. It also shows uniformed officers reprimanding the boys for not “deeply reflecting on their mistakes”. South...
