Worldwide
China: ‘brave new world’
27 Aug 2020
The Chinese government is obtaining blood samples from up to 70 million – 10% of all men and boys – as the high-tech surveillance state builds a ‘DNA Skynet’ of the country’s 700 million males. Any…
Iraq: assassinations in Basra
27 Aug 2020
Dozens of activists have been killed in Iraq in recent years. In under a week, two have been assassinated and three narrowly survived murder attempts, as tensions between pro-Iran groups and a Western-leaning government claim new…
USA: California fires update
27 Aug 2020
Firefighters battling historic blazes in Northern California made progress towards getting the massive fires under control after temperatures cooled in the region. Lightning strikes, many of which sparked the fires, have decreased, and fire officials said…
South Africa’s pandemic infections seem to have reached a ceiling. However, with the fifth highest total in the world, no one is celebrating. The government had months to prepare, but there is a critical shortage of…
Lebanon: Christians defy land grabbers
20 Aug 2020
Christians in Beirut have responded with defiance amid reports that groups seeking to profit from the devastating explosion are trying to persuade them to sell up and leave. 300,000 families were displaced by the 4 August…
USA: 10,849 lightning strikes, 367 fires
20 Aug 2020
Californian firefighters are battling hundreds of wildfires across California amid the hottest temperatures ever recorded (130 °F, 54.4°C in Death Valley). The fires have burned 649,054 acres in 14 states. More than 16,700 wildland firefighters and…