'Blatant disregard for rights': concern grows over Gabon's social media clampdownActivists claim use of laws to curtail internet freedoms part of well-documented history of cracking down on dissentWhen Gabon's media regulator indefinitely suspended major social media platforms in February, citing security concerns during anti-government protests, it became the talk of town - literally.Within weeks of the announcement, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to bypass the restrictions surged in the central African country. When gendarmerie began stopping young men at road checkpoints in the capital Libreville and other urban centres to confiscate mobile phones with VPNs installed or detain the owners, warnings spread by word of mouth. Activists and opposition members said their accounts were also suspended due to efforts of state officials. Continue reading...
Internal displacements caused by violence or conflict at record high in 2025The 32.3m surpasses those caused by disasters for the first time, as 82.2m people displaced in total around worldThe number of internal displacements triggered by conflict or violence around the world reached a record high in 2025, surpassing the number of disaster-driven internal displacements for the first time.A report published by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) shows that by the end of 2025 there were 32.3m conflict-driven internal displacements. That is 60% higher than those recorded the previous year, and - for the first time since data collection began in 2008 - above displacements driven by natural disasters, which reached 29.9m in 2025. Continue reading...
Gaborone gold rush: how Botswana rose to the top of men's sprintingCountry with a population of just 2.5m credits investment in young athletes for its rise but this progress is under threatIt was a fairytale ending to the World Athletics Relays in Gaborone. In the final strait, Collen Kebinatshipi surged past South Africa's Zakithi Nene to win the men's 4x400m relay for Botswana. The home crowd, a sea of light blue, went wild."It means so many things to us," Letsile Tebogo, 22, the reigning 200m Olympic champion, who ran the second leg, told reporters afterwards. "Not just the team … but for the people that always cheer for us behind the TV. Now they had that experience to see first-hand how much effort, how much pressure, how much we give for them." Continue reading...
Weather tracker: US and Mexico brace for heatwave as deadly floods hit South AfricaTemperatures soar in California and Arizona, while deluge continues across Western and Northern CapeHeat is expected to intensify across western parts of the US and Mexico this week as a ridge of high pressure pushes temperatures well above the seasonal norm. Daytime highs are forecast to reach 10-15C above average in some areas.The US National Weather Service has issued heat advisories for parts of California and Arizona, with extreme heat warnings in force on Monday and Tuesday in places such as Palm Springs, where temperatures could reach 40-43C (104-110F). More broadly, temperatures are expected to climb into the high 30s celsius before the heat shifts eastwards towards the midwest later this week. Continue reading...
Body of missing US soldier recovered off coast of Morocco1st Lt Kendrick Lamont Key Jr was participating in military exercise among US, Nato allies and African countriesA search team recovered the body of a US soldier who went missing near a cliff during a training exercise in Cap Draa, Morocco, the US army said on Sunday.Moroccan searchers found the remains on Saturday in the water within a mile (1.6km) of where the soldier went missing on 2 May, the army said in a statement. Continue reading...
Cartel corruption claims push US-Mexico relations to breaking pointWith Mexico under pressure from Trump to tackle drug trafficking groups, analysts say 'it's the most tense situation since the 1980s'Relations between Mexico and the United States are being pushed to breaking point amid accusations by Washington that Mexican officials have been "in bed for years" with drug traffickers, and reports of CIA agents freely operating south of the border."There are many who are betting on the defeat and failure of the Mexican government," said Claudia Sheinbaum tersely on Wednesday, when asked about the allegations at a news conference. "We want a good relationship with the United States government. What are our limits? The defence of sovereignty and respect for the Mexican people and their dignity." Continue reading...
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