South Africa yesterday mustered its army reserves in a bid to quell looting that has stoked fears of shortages and dealt a crippling blow to its already battered economy. 

Amnesty International yesterday said that migrants held in Libyan detention camps are subject to horrific sexual violence at the hands of guards, including being forced to barter sex for clean water, food and access to sanitation. 

Climate change and deforestation have flipped a large swathe of the Amazon basin from absorbing to emitting planet-warming CO2, a transformation that could turn humanity’s greatest natural ally in the fight against global warming into a foe, researchers reported on Wednesday. 

1790 – US Congress declares Washington, DC as new capital.

Iran is not prepared to resume negotiations on coming back into compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal until Iranian President-elect Ebrahim Raisi’s administration has begun, a diplomatic source said on Wednesday.

The Israeli army yesterday said it had arrested between 20 and 30 Palestinian students in the occupied West Bank it accused of being “terror operatives” of Islamist group Hamas.  

Cuban authorities restored internet access on Wednesday following three days of interruptions after unprecedented protests erupted over the weekend, AFP journalists said.

An Israeli-Canadian lobbyist hired by Myanmar’s ruling military leaders to represent them in Washington and other capitals said on Wednesday he has stopped his work with the generals because sanctions prevented him from being paid.

President Joe Biden welcomes German Chancellor Angela Merkel to the White House on Thursday for what is likely her last official visit to Washington, and she’s conveying a message to Berlin’s close ally: You’ve got a friend.

Celebrity Dutch crime reporter Peter R. De Vries has died just over a week after being shot in the street, his family and his employer RTL Netherlands news said on Thursday.

At least eight people have died and dozens of people are missing in Germany after heavy flooding turned streams and streets into raging torrents, sweeping away cars and causing some buildings to collapse.

Days after the Taliban captured a remote district in Afghanistan’s north, they issued their first orders in the form of a letter to the local imam. 

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said yesterday he might order more troops onto the streets as the army and police struggled to quell days of looting and violence that has claimed 72 lives.

The UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday highlighted the global “scourge” of systemic racism and ordered an independent investigation into racially-fuelled police violence around the world.  

President Joe Biden on Tuesday called it a “national imperative” to pass sweeping voting rights legislation that has stalled in Congress and attacked Republicans for their opposition.

Cuba has restricted access to social media and messaging platforms including Facebook and WhatsApp, global internet monitoring firm NetBlocks said on Tuesday, in the wake of the biggest anti-government protests in decades.

1961 - Spain accepts equal rights for men and women

Afghan women and girls are going to suffer unspeakable harm. This is a mistake... They’re just going to be left behind to be slaughtered by these very brutal people, and it breaks my heart.

The United Arab Emirates on Wednesday become the first Gulf state to open an embassy in Israel, as its envoy hailed the trade and investment opportunities that closer ties would bring at a flag-raising ceremony also attended by Israel's president.

Schools remain shut in 19 countries due to the pandemic, affecting 156 million children in what risks being “a generational catastrophe,” the heads of two UN agencies warned Monday.