Category: General Interest
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South African President reassures the UN over seized lands
Seized South African farmlands ‘to be shared by all’ says Cyril Ramaphosa. Dutch settlers landed in the Cape of Good Hope in 1652 and began setting up farms in and around Cape Town. In 1795, the British occupied the region, sparking a long-running conflict with the original Dutch settlers..
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Supreme Court curbs the use of biometric ID program
India’s top court upholds world’s largest biometric ID program but outlines limits and strikes down controversial clauses from the act. Aadhaar is a 12-digit unique-identity number issued to all Indian residents based on their biometric and demographic data. The data is collected by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). The Central Government contended before…
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WhatsApp working with Reliance Jio to stop fake news
Facebook’s WhatsApp is working closely with Reliance Jio to spread awareness of false messages, weeks after the Indian telecoms operator opened up the messaging service to tens of millions of customers. The term “fake news” has become increasingly popular due to its linkage..
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Beijing Investigates ‘Serious’ Violations by Energy Agency Chief
China is investigating the head of its National Energy Administration, the latest official caught in President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption drive that has scrutinised over a million officials. Nur Bekri is a Chinese politician of Uyghur origin, currently serving as a minister-level Vice Chairman..
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Incurable plant disease threatens U.S. rose business
American-grown roses are becoming a bit less rosy, with the spread of an incurable virus that’s causing major damage to the nation’s $250-million-a-year rose business. A rose is a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus Rosa, in the family Rosaceae, or the flower it bears..
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EU is investigating Amazon
European authorities said Wednesday they have opened a preliminary antitrust investigation into Amazon over the e-commerce giant’s treatment of smaller merchants on its website. Amazon is an American electronic commerce and cloud computing company that was founded on July 5th 1994. It started as an online bookstore..
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Zimbabwe needs more money to fight cholera
Zimbabwe’s government says it still needs $35 million to help fight a cholera outbreak that has killed 31 and infected more than 5,000. Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in southern Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa, Botswana, Zambia..
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Microplastics may enter food chain via mosquitoes
Mosquito larvae have been observed ingesting microplastics that can be passed up the food chain, researchers at the University of Reading claim in a new study. Microplastics are small pieces of plastic that pollute the environment. While there is some contention over their size..
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Saudi invests $1bn in Lucid Motors
The Saudi wealth fund has invested $1Bn in Tesla rival Lucid motors. Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, is investing in new industries to diversify the kingdom’s economy away from its vast hydrocarbon resources. Tesla is an American automaker founded in 2003 by Elon Musk. It specializes in electric cars, lithium-ion battery..
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Russia claims that flight MH17 was shot down by a Ukrainian missile
The Russian military says the missile that shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 came from the arsenals of the Ukrainian army, not from Russia. Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17) was a passenger flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur that was shot down on 17 July 2014 while flying..