Articles by BBC News
We found 76 results.
James Earl Jones, Voice of Darth Vader, Dies Aged 93
Graeme Baker and Thomas Mackintosh | BBC News - TRANSCEND Media Service,
16 Sep 2024
10 Sep 2024 – U.S. actor James Earl Jones, best known for being the voice of the Star Wars villain Darth Vader, has died early yesterday [9 Sep] morning surrounded by his family.
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Nearly Two Million Crowd Into Gaza’s South as Israeli Airstrikes Continue
BBC News - TRANSCEND Media Service,
1 Jan 2024
26 Dec 2023 – Gemma Connell of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said what she had seen at the Al-Aqsa hospital in central Gaza yesterday was “absolute carnage”. Many severely injured people could not be treated because the hospital was “absolutely overloaded”, she said.
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Disingenuous
BBC News – TRANSCEND Media Service,
20 Nov 2023
The devil is in the details…
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How US Marines Are Being Reshaped for China ‘Threat’
Jonathan Marcus | BBC News - TRANSCEND Media Service,
6 Feb 2023
1 Feb 2023 – The US military commitment to the Pacific was underlined in a White House meeting between the leaders of the US and Japan. But behind the scenes, this renewed focus on Asia has sparked a fierce debate within one of its most fabled military forces.
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Queen Elizabeth II Has Died
BBC News - TRANSCEND Media Service,
12 Sep 2022
Queen Elizabeth II, the UK’s longest-serving monarch, has died at Balmoral aged 96, after reigning for 70 years. She died peacefully on Thursday [8 Sep] afternoon at her Scottish estate. The Queen came to the throne in 1952. RIP
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Mikhail Gorbachev, Last Soviet Leader, Dead at 91
Matt Murphy and Robert Greenall | BBC News - TRANSCEND Media Service,
5 Sep 2022
31 Aug 2022 – Mikhail Gorbachev, the former Soviet leader who brought the Cold War to a peaceful end, died yesterday aged 91. RIP
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Imran Khan Ousted as Pakistan’s PM after Vote
BBC News - TRANSCEND Media Service,
11 Apr 2022
10 Apr 2022 – Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan has been ousted from power after losing a no-confidence vote in his leadership. The vote was held past midnight after opposition parties brought a motion against him, following days of drama.
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Ukraine: How Close Was the Nuclear Plant Attack to Catastrophe?
Esme Stallard and Victoria Gill | BBC News – TRANSCEND Media Service,
7 Mar 2022
4 Mar 2022 – Buildings at the Zaporizhzhia plant–the largest in Europe–were damaged after it was hit by shelling. UN’s nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency says that none of the safety systems at the plant were affected, and there was no release of radioactive material.
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Native American Tribes Reach Major Opioid Settlement
BBC News - TRANSCEND Media Service,
7 Feb 2022
1 Feb 2022 – Native American tribes have agreed a landmark settlement with major drug companies over the devastation caused by opioid addiction.
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South Africa’s Archbishop Desmond Tutu Dies at 90
BBC News - TRANSCEND Media Service,
27 Dec 2021
26 Dec 2021 – Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Nobel Peace prize laureate who helped end apartheid in South Africa, has died aged 90.
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Nigeria’s Boko Haram Militants: Six Reasons They Have Not Been Defeated
Ishaq Khalid | BBC News, Abuja - TRANSCEND Media Service,
24 May 2021
17 May 2021 – The phrase that Nigerian militant group Boko Haram had been “technically defeated” is ringing increasingly hollow.
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Myanmar Coup: What Is Happening and Why?
Alice Cuddy | BBC News - TRANSCEND Media Service,
8 Feb 2021
2 Feb 2021 – Myanmar hit headlines around the world on Monday [1 Feb] when its military seized control. The country’s leader, [Nobel Peace Laureate] Aung San Suu Kyi, and members of her party are thought to be under house arrest.
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Coronavirus: Trump’s WHO De-funding ‘as Dangerous as It Sounds’
BBC News - TRANSCEND Media Service,
20 Apr 2020
15 Apr 2020 – US President Donald Trump has been heavily criticised for halting funding for the World Health Organization (WHO) amid the global coronavirus pandemic.
→ read full articleAfrica Eye: Torture ‘Rampant’ among Nigeria’s Security Forces
BBC News – TRANSCEND Media Service,
30 Mar 2020
10 Feb 2020 – BBC Africa Eye has uncovered shocking video evidence that torture is being used by multiple branches of the Nigerian police and armed forces. WARNING: This Film Contains Disturbing Scenes Including Images of Torture
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The Boss Who Put Everyone on 70K
Stephanie Hegarty – BBC News,
9 Mar 2020
28 Feb 2020 -In 2015, the boss of a card payments company in Seattle introduced a $70,000 minimum salary for all of his 120 staff – and personally took a pay cut of $1m. Five years later he’s still on the minimum salary, and says the gamble has paid off.
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Trump Lifts Restrictions on US Landmine Use
BBC News – TRANSCEND Media Service,
3 Feb 2020
31 Jan 2020 – US President Donald Trump has lifted restrictions on the deployment of anti-personnel landmines by American military forces. The decision reverses a 2014 Obama administration ban on the use of such weapons. The Trump administration said Mr Obama’s policy could put US troops “at a severe disadvantage”.
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Single-Use Plastic: China to Ban Bags and Other Items
BBC News – TRANSCEND Media Service,
27 Jan 2020
20 Jan 2020 – Non-degradable bags will be banned in major cities by the end of 2020 and in all cities and towns by 2022. The restaurant industry will also be banned from using single-use straws by the end of 2020. China has for years been struggling to deal with the rubbish its 1.4 billion citizens generate.
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Smartphone ‘Addiction’: Young People ‘Panicky’ when Denied Mobiles
Sean Coughlan - BBC News,
2 Dec 2019
29 Nov 2019 – Almost a quarter of young people are so dependent on their smartphones that it becomes like an addiction, suggests research by psychiatrists. The youngsters also cannot control the amount of time they spend on the phone. Such addictions have “serious consequences” for mental health.
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(Castellano) Crisis en Ecuador: Lenín Moreno vs. Rafael Correa, los antiguos aliados cuya enemistad divide al país
BBC News Mundo – TRANSCEND Media Service,
14 Oct 2019
10 octubre 2019 – ¿El hombre que transformará la economía ecuatoriana o el que “traicionó” el “socialismo del siglo XXI” que quería implantar su antecesor? El presidente ecuatoriano, Lenín Moreno aka neo-coño, afronta la mayor crisis de su gobierno tras acabar con más de 40 años de subsidios a los combustibles, en lo que constituye un paso más en la dirección contraria a la política de su predecesor, Rafael Correa.
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Milan Anti-Racism March Draws “Hundreds of Thousands”
BBC News – TRANSCEND Media Service,
4 Mar 2019
3 Mar 2019 – Organisers said about 200,000 people turned out to protest against racism in the northern Italian city of Milan in Lombardy, a region where the right-wing populist League party has strong support.
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US Stops All Aid to Palestinians in West Bank and Gaza
Yolande Knell - BBC News,
4 Feb 2019
1 Feb 2019 – More than US$60m in annual funds for the Palestinian security services has now ended, and – while Israel has backed some previous cuts in US aid for Palestinians – officials have expressed concern about this move. The US has confirmed the step linked to new anti-terrorism legislation.
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Myanmar, the Country Where Facebook Posts Whipped Up Hate
BBC News – TRANSCEND Media Service,
17 Sep 2018
Decades of ethnic and religious tensions, a sudden explosion of internet access, and a company that had trouble identifying and removing the most hateful posts.
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India Court Legalises Gay Sex in Landmark Ruling
BBC News – TRANSCEND Media Service,
10 Sep 2018
6 Sep 2018 – In a historic decision, India’s Supreme Court has ruled today that gay sex is no longer a criminal offence. The ruling overturns a colonial-era law known as section 377. Author and commentator Sandip Roy told the BBC that although the ruling was a cause for celebration, there were still hurdles to overcome, and a need for anti-discrimination laws.
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U.S. to Cut US$ 200m Aid to Gaza and West Bank
BBC News – TRANSCEND Media Service,
27 Aug 2018
24 Aug 2018 – US President Donald Trump has ordered more than US$200m in economic aid which was to be allocated to Gaza and the West Bank be redirected elsewhere. A State Department official said the decision was made after a review “to ensure these funds are spent in accordance with US national interests”.
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What Happens to India’s Four Million ‘Stateless’ People?
Soutik Biswas – BBC News,
13 Aug 2018
30 Jul 2018 – Questions of identity and citizenship have long vexed a vast number of people living in Assam, one of India’s most multi-ethnic states. Among the residents are Bengali- and Assamese-speaking Hindus. A third of its 32 million residents are Muslims, the second-highest number after Indian-administered Kashmir.
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Which Country Dominates the Global Arms Trade?
Tim Bowler - BBC News,
14 May 2018
10 May 2018 – Brutal civil wars in Syria and Yemen, coupled with the return of great power rivalries between the US, Russia and China, have brought the world’s arms trade into sharp focus. It is a thriving global industry with the total international trade in arms now worth about $100bn per year. And it is the United States that is extending its lead as the globe’s number one arms exporter.
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How Exercise in Old Age Prevents the Immune System from Declining
Fergus Walsh – BBC News,
12 Mar 2018
Doing lots of exercise in older age can prevent the immune system from declining and protect people against infections, scientists say.
→ read full articleBrazil Opens Vast Amazon Reserve to Mining
BBC News – TRANSCEND Media Service,
28 Aug 2017
24 Aug 2017 – Brazil’s government has abolished a vast national reserve in the Amazon to open up the area to mining. Covering 46,000 sq km (17,800 sq miles), straddles the northern states of Amapá and Pará, and is thought to be rich in gold, and other minerals. It is larger than Denmark. WWF’s report said that a “gold rush in the region could create irreversible damage to indigenous cultures”.
→ read full articleHow BAE Sold Cyber-Surveillance Tools to Repressive Arab States
BBC News – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 Jun 2017
A year-long investigation by BBC Arabic and a Danish newspaper has uncovered evidence that the UK defence giant BAE Systems has made large-scale sales across the Middle East of sophisticated surveillance technology, including to many repressive governments. These sales have also included decryption software which could be used against the UK and its allies.
→ read full article[Nobel Peace Laureate] Aung San Suu Kyi: No Ethnic Cleansing of Myanmar Muslim Minority
BBC News Asia – TRANSCEND Media Service,
10 Apr 2017
6 Apr 2017 – Aung San Suu Kyi has denied there is ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar, despite widespread reports of abuses. Instead, Myanmar’s de-facto leader said the country would welcome any returning Rohingya with open arms.
→ read full articleAustralia: Great Barrier Reef Survival Relies on Halting Warming, Study Warns
BBC News – TRANSCEND Media Service,
20 Mar 2017
16 Mar 2017 – Australia’s Great Barrier Reef can be saved only if urgent steps are taken to reduce global warming, new research has warned. Attempting to stop coral bleaching through any other method will not be sufficient, according to scientists.
→ read full articleMyanmar Muslim Minority Subject to Horrific Torture, UN Says
Jonah Fisher - BBC News,
13 Mar 2017
10 Mar 2017 – A top UN official says “crimes against humanity” are being committed by the military and police against Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslim minority.
→ read full articleIs Bloodied Syrian Boy Omran Daqneesh Just another Image?
Lina Sergie Attar – BBC News,
29 Aug 2016
The iconic image of a bloodied Syrian boy in an ambulance has sparked international compassion but can it now transcend being just a hashtag or viral moment and become a movement to end the war?
→ read full articleEurope Migrant Crisis: Charity Rejects EU Funds over Migration Policy
BBC News – TRANSCEND Media Service,
20 Jun 2016
Medical aid charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) says it will no longer take funds from the European Union in protest at its migration policy.
→ read full articleUS Remains Reluctantly Tied to Global Security Role
Mark Urban – BBC News,
22 Feb 2016
America’s military finds itself pulled in several directions – and even the $582bn (£403bn) defence budget rolled out earlier this month will not be enough to satisfy all of its needs. One of the headlines to come out of the new budget was a quadrupling of spending on US military preparations to defend allies in Europe.
→ read full articleIndia Firm to Launch ‘World’s Cheapest’ Smartphone
BBC News – TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Feb 2016
17 Feb 2016 – Ringing Bells said their Freedom 251 phone would be priced under 500 rupees (€6.57; £5; $7.3), but Indian media reports said it would cost just 251 rupees (€3.29; $3.67; £2.56). India is the world’s second-largest mobile market and has one billion mobile phone subscribers.
→ read full articleIsrael Bans Norwegian Doctor Mads Gilbert from Gaza
BBC News – TRANSCEND Media Service,
17 Nov 2014
A Norwegian doctor has been permanently banned from entering the Gaza Strip by the Israeli government. Dr Mads Gilbert says he was stopped trying to cross into Gaza in October. He called the move “totally unacceptable”. Israel cited security reasons for imposing the ban.
→ read full articleCuba to Send Doctors to Ebola Areas
Smitha Mundasad - BBC News,
13 Oct 2014
Cuba is sending 165 health workers to help tackle the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, officials say. Doctors, nurses and infection control specialists travel to Sierra Leone in October and stay for six months.
→ read full articleUN Human Rights Council Backs Argentina on US Debt Row
BBC News – TRANSCEND Media Service,
29 Sep 2014
26 Sep 2014 – The United Nations Human Rights Council has passed a resolution in Geneva condemning a group of American hedge funds that took Argentina to court.
→ read full article[MUST READ] USB ‘Critically Flawed’ after Bug Discovery, Researchers Say
Dave Lee, Technology reporter - BBC News,
11 Aug 2014
8 Aug 2014 – Cyber-security experts have dramatically called into question the safety and security of using USB. Most famously, the Stuxnet attack on Iranian nuclear centrifuges was believed to have been caused by an infected USB stick. “Basically, you can never trust anything anymore after plugging in a USB stick.” A USB device that appears completely empty can still contain malware, even when formatted.
→ read full articlePope Francis: ‘About 2%’ of Catholic Clergy Paedophiles
BBC News – TRANSCEND Media Service,
14 Jul 2014
The Pope said that abuse of children was like “leprosy” infecting the Church, according to the Italian La Repubblica newspaper. He vowed to “confront it with the severity it demands”.
→ read full articleCrop Diversity Decline ‘Threatens Food Security’
Mark Kinver - BBC News,
10 Mar 2014
Fewer crop species are feeding the world than 50 years ago – raising concerns about the resilience of the global food system, a study has shown.
→ read full articleChernobyl’s Arch: Sealing Off a Radioactive Sarcophagus
Nick Meo – BBC News,
2 Dec 2013
One of the biggest engineering projects in history, it has been likened to a gigantic metal igloo, built to seal off hundreds of tons of nuclear fuel and dust buried inside reactor number four, which in 1986 blew up and burned for 10 days. Everything about the project is epic: the size, the 1.5bn euro (£1.2bn) cost, the technical problems of working on a radioactive building site.
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Paxman Pocketet by Brand (Must Watch)
BBC Newsnight – TRANSCEND Media Service,
28 Oct 2013
Oct 23, 2013 – Newsnight’s Jeremy Paxman in a hostile interview is clobbered by Russell Brand about [not] voting, revolution and changed consciousness.
→ read full articleGlenn Greenwald ‘Hostile’ Interview on Snowden, NSA, GCHQ and Spying
BBC Newsnight – TRANSCEND Media Service,
7 Oct 2013
Oct 3, 2013 – BBC Newsnight exclusive hostile interview with journalist Glenn Greenwald.
→ read full articleIndia: Army ‘Mistook Planets for Spy Drones’
BBC News – TRANSCEND Media Service,
29 Jul 2013
25 Jul 2013 – India’s army reportedly spent six months watching “Chinese spy drones” violating its air space, only to find out they were actually Jupiter and Venus.
→ read full articlePatience Running Out in Bulgaria
Nick Thorpe, BBC News – TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Jul 2013
Protesters in Bulgaria pack the streets of Sofia each evening, but after 35 days in a row, their patience with Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski’s government is wafer-thin.
→ read full article1913: When Hitler, Trotsky, Tito, Freud and Stalin All Lived in the Same Place
Andy Walker – BBC News,
22 Apr 2013
A century ago, one section of Vienna played host to Adolf Hitler, Leon Trotsky, Joseph Tito, Sigmund Freud and Joseph Stalin.
→ read full articleHSBC Faces New Money Laundering Claims in Argentina
BBC News – TRANSCEND Media Service,
25 Mar 2013
Banking giant HSBC, which was hit with a US fine for money laundering last year, is facing fresh accusations of illegal activity in Argentina, which has alleged that the bank used “fake receipts” to facilitate money laundering and tax evasion, and launder 392m pesos ($77m; £50m).
→ read full articleHaiti’s ‘Baby Doc’ Duvalier Avoids Appearing in Court
BBC News – TRANSCEND Media Service,
25 Feb 2013
Haiti’s former ruler Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier has been ordered to appear in court in Port-au-Prince after failing to attend a hearing. Relatives of some of those allegedly killed or tortured by his militias in the 1970s and 1980s want him charged with crimes against humanity.
→ read full articleAmia Bombing: Argentina and Iran Agree Truth Commission
BBC News – TRANSCEND Media Service,
4 Feb 2013
Argentina and Iran are to jointly set up a commission to investigate the 1994 bombing of the Israeli-Argentine Mutual Association (Amia) Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires. The commission will be made up of five independent judges, none of whom will be from either Argentina or Iran. The Jewish organisation was reported to be vehemently opposed to the move.
→ read full articleSwiss Bank Wegelin to Close After US Tax Evasion Fine
BBC News – TRANSCEND Media Service,
7 Jan 2013
Switzerland’s oldest bank is to close permanently after pleading guilty in a New York court to helping Americans evade their taxes. Wegelin, which was established in 1741, has also agreed to pay $57.8m (£36m; 44m euros) in fines to US authorities. It said that once this was completed, it “will cease to operate as a bank”. The bank had admitted to allowing more than 100 American citizens to hide $1.2bn from the Internal Revenue Service for almost 10 years.
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TRANSCEND Member Prof. Vandana Shiva – The Original Tree Hugger (Video of the Week)
HARDtalk – BBC News,
10 Dec 2012
19 Nov 2012 – BBC HARDtalk speaks to the original tree hugger. The phrase was coined back in the seventies when she, along with a group of women in India, hugged trees to stop them from being chopped down. In the decades since, Vandana Shiva has become known throughout the world for her environmental campaigns.
→ read full article(Portuguese) Filhotes Deixados na Neve Ilustram Campanha Contra Abandono de Cães Após Natal
BBC News – TRANSCEND Media Service,
2 Jan 2012
Dois cãezinhos abandonados na neve e no frio no fim do ano passado, e readotados em seguida, foram usados por uma fundação britânica em uma campanha para que os animais não sejam dados de presente de Natal, para evitar o seu abandono depois do período de festas.
→ read full article(Portuguese) Saiba Como o Álcool Afeta Seu Corpo
Philippa Roxby, Repórter de Saúde - BBC News,
10 Oct 2011
Os efeitos do consumo do álcool a curto prazo são conhecidos: ressacas, cansaço, má aparência. A longo prazo, a ingestão da substância está associada a várias condições, entre elas o câncer da mama, câncer oral, doenças cardíacas, derrames e cirrose hepática, entre outras. Pesquisas também associaram o consumo de álcool em doses elevadas à problemas de saúde mental, perda de memória e diminuição da fertilidade.
→ read full article(Portuguese) Centenas de Vítimas de Tráfico Sexual São Resgatadas na Amazônia Peruana
BBC News – TRANSCEND Media Service,
10 Oct 2011
Quase 300 mulheres foram resgatadas de situação de exploração sexual na Amazônia peruana, informou a polícia do país na última segunda-feira [3 out 2011].
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“Governments don’t rule the world; Goldman Sachs rules the world.”
BBC News – TRANSCEND Media Service,
3 Oct 2011
In a scary and painfully frank interview a freaked out BBC interviewer is visibly shaken when market trader Alessio Rastani predicts that the “Market is Toast.” Apparently, there is nothing Euro governments can do. “Anyone can make money from a crash,” he affirms. The worst thing to do now is nothing. People should act to protect themselves against an inevitable crisis still approaching.
→ read full articleWikiLeaks Memorabilia Auction on eBay to Raise Funds
BBC News – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 Sep 2011
The computer, which has a buy it now price of $552,615, was used to “prepare the cables for media partners and releases”. “In this exclusive auction item you will get the full set of WikiLeaks Cables, the WikiLeaks computer and its passwords,” WikiLeaks said in a statement released on Twitter.
→ read full article(Portuguese) Vida nos Oceanos Pode Enfrentar Extinção sem Precedentes, Diz Estudo
Richard Black - BBC News,
27 Jun 2011
Um novo estudo indica que os ecossistemas marinhos enfrentam perigos ainda maiores do que os estimados até agora pelos cientistas e que correm o risco de entrar em uma fase de extinção de espécies sem precedentes na história da humanidade.
→ read full articleBrazil Supreme Court Awards Gay Couples New Rights
BBC News – TRANSCEND Media Service,
9 May 2011
5 May, 2011 – Brazil’s Supreme Court has voted overwhelmingly in favour of allowing same-sex couples the same legal rights as married heterosexuals. The decision was approved by 10-0 with one abstention. The ruling will give gay couples in “stable” partnerships the same financial and social rights enjoyed by those in heterosexual relationships.
→ read full articleWorld Bank President: ‘One Shock Away From Crisis’
BBC News – TRANSCEND Media Service,
25 Apr 2011
The president of the World Bank has warned that the world is “one shock away from a full-blown crisis”. Robert Zoellick cited rising food prices as the main threat to poor nations who risk “losing a generation”. He was speaking in Washington at the end of the spring meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
→ read full articleShell Annual Profits Double to $18.6bn
BBC News – TRANSCEND Media Service,
7 Feb 2011
The oil giant Shell has reported profits almost doubled from $9.8bn to $18.6bn (£11.5bn) for 2010, partly thanks to rising oil prices and output.
→ read full articleVenezuela-Cuba Undersea Cable Link Work Starts
BBC News – TRANSCEND Media Service,
31 Jan 2011
Work has begun on laying an underwater fibre-optic cable to link Venezuela and Cuba. It will stretch 1,600km (1,000m) and considerably improve telephone and internet services to Cuba, which currently relies on a costly and slow internet connection via satellite.
→ read full articleIsrael Starts Building Barrier on Egypt Border
BBC News – TRANSCEND Media Service,
6 Dec 2010
Work is beginning in Israel on a barrier along the border with Egypt, aimed at stemming the flow of illegal immigrants into the country. The barrier, including an electric fence and surveillance technology, will run for 250km (155 miles). Work on the $372m (£232m) project is expected to take up to a year.
→ read full articleDISTURBING STORY OF FALLUJAH’S BIRTH DEFECTS
John Simpson - BBC News,
5 Mar 2010
Six years after the intense fighting began in the Iraqi town of Fallujah between US forces and Sunni insurgents, there is a disturbingly large number of cases of birth defects in the town.Fallujah is less than 40 miles (65km) from Baghdad, but it can still be dangerous to get to. As a result, there has […]
→ read full articleUGANDA BANS FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION
BBC News,
19 Dec 2009
Ugandan MPs have voted to outlaw female genital mutilation – also known as female circumcision.Anyone convicted of the practice, which involves cutting off a girl’s clitoris, will face 10 years in jail, or a life sentence if a victim dies. The BBC’s Joshua Mmali in Uganda says it is not officially condoned but is still […]
→ read full articlePERU INDIANS HAIL ‘HISTORIC’ DAY
BBC News,
20 Jun 2009
Indigenous groups in Peru have called off protests after two land laws which led to deadly fighting were revoked [19 Jun 09]. Hailing victory, Amazonian Indian groups said it was an "historic day". At least 34 people died during weeks of strikes against the legislation, which allowed foreign companies to exploit resources in […]
→ read full articleFEARS OF SRI LANKA ‘CATASTROPHE’
BBC News,
15 May 2009
The Red Cross says its staff in Sri Lanka are witnessing an "unimaginable humanitarian catastrophe" in the area where troops have trapped Tamil Tigers. The agency says a ferry loaded with aid has been unable to reach the battered north-eastern coastal strip for three days because of fighting. The Sri Lankan army earlier […]
→ read full articleERITREA BECOMING ‘A GIANT PRISON’
BBC News,
21 Apr 2009
The Eritrean government is turning its country into a giant prison, according to Human Rights Watch. The Horn of Africa nation is widely using military conscription without end, as well as arbitrary detention of its citizens, says HRW. Hundreds of Eritrean refugees forcibly repatriated from countries like Libya, Egypt and Malta face arrest and torture […]
→ read full articleGUATEMALA SORRY OVER BAY OF PIGS
BBC News,
19 Feb 2009
President Alvaro Colom of Guatemala has apologised to Cuba for his country’s role in the failed US-backed invasion at the Bay of Pigs in 1961. The CIA used Guatemalan territory to train Cuban exiles before their disastrous invasion which was quickly defeated by Cuban forces. "It was not us, but it was our land," President […]
→ read full articleANTI-TERROR TACTICS ‘WEAKEN LAW’
BBC News,
17 Feb 2009
Anti-terror measures worldwide have seriously undermined international human rights law, a report by legal experts says. After a three-year global study, the International Commission of Jurists said many states used the public’s fear of terrorism to introduce measures. These included detention without trial, illegal disappearance and torture. It also said that the UK and […]
→ read full articleMOOD MIXED AS CLIMATE SUMMIT ENDS
Richard Black - BBC News Environment Correspondent,
14 Dec 2008
Poznan – The UN climate summit has ended with delegates taking very different views on how much it has achieved. Western delegates said progress here had been encouraging, but environment groups said rich countries had not shown enough ambition. Developing nations were angry that more money was not put forward to […]
→ read full articleCLUSTER BOMB ‘SOON TO BE THING OF THE PAST’
Angus Crawford - BBC News Germany,
15 Nov 2008
On 3 December, more than 100 countries, including the UK, will sign a treaty banning cluster bombs. As a result Britain, by law, will have to destroy more than 30 million explosives. The UK does not have the facilities, so they are being exported to Germany for disposal. "I feel good to work for a […]
→ read full articleNIGER EX-SLAVE WINS LANDMARK CASE
BBC News,
30 Oct 2008
A West African court has found Niger’s government guilty of failing to protect a woman from slavery in a landmark case for the region. The court found in favour of Hadijatou Mani, who says she was sold aged 12 and made to work for 10 years. A judge ordered the government – which says it […]
→ read full articleKENYA SET TO GET TRUTH COMMISSION
BBC News,
25 Oct 2008
Kenya’s parliament has approved a Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) to probe human rights abuses since independence in 1963. Those found guilty of genocide and other human rights violations will not be eligible for amnesty. The move comes amidst debate on how to deal with those implicated in the violence that broke out after […]
→ read full articleDESMOND TUTU CONDEMNS GAZA BLOCKADE
BBC News,
13 Oct 2008
Nobel peace laureate Desmond Tutu has called Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip an "abomination." Tutu’s Video in Gaza 1-Min
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