EXPLAINER: WHAT IS ‘ALL EYES ON RAFAH’? DECODING A VIRAL SOCIAL TREND ON ISRAEL’S WAR

Fri 31 May 2024: An AI generated image with the text ‘All eyes on Rafah’ has been re-shared over 46 million times amid Israel’s attacks on Gaza’s Rafah. An image with the text “All eyes on Rafah” is on every other Instagram story, dominating social media discourse on Israel’s war on Gaza. Here’s more about […]

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BIDEN EASES RESTRICTIONS ON UKRAINE USING US WEAPONS INSIDE RUSSIA

Fri 31 May 2024: President Joe Biden has eased a restriction on Ukraine using US weapons within Russian territory to aid in defending the northeastern Kharkiv region from renewed Russian attacks. Multiple US officials, speaking anonymously, reported that Kyiv is now permitted to use these weapons on the border of Kharkiv, which has faced increased […]

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CHINA ALLEGEDLY DEPLOYS J-20 FIGHTER JETS NEAR INDIAN BORDER

Fri 31 May 2024: China allegedly deployed J-20 stealth fighter jets to a location less than 150 kilometers (93 miles) from the state of Sikkim in northeastern India, according to a report by Indian broadcaster NDTV on Thursday.  The report, citing satellite imagery, claimed that six of the aircraft were stationed at a dual-use military […]

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TRUMP FOUND GUILTY IN HUSH MONEY TRIAL, BUT WILL IT HURT HIM IN THE POLLS?

Fri 31 May 2024: The jury in Donald Trump’s hush-money payments trial has found the former U.S. president guilty of falsifying business records in relation to payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels. The guilty verdict marks the first felony conviction of a U.S. president. Speaking to reporters after the verdict, Trump called the trial a […]

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ISRAEL CANNOT WIN GAZA WAR WITHOUT ‘DAY-AFTER’ PLAN, BLINKEN WARNS

Thu 30 May 2024: The United States has once again issued a strong warning to Israel over its lack of a post-war strategy for Gaza, leaving open questions about how the territory will be governed and stablised. Speaking at a news conference in the Moldovan capital Chisinau on Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said […]

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LOAD SHEDDING & WATER WOES: CAN SOUTH AFRICA FIX ITS AILING INFRASTRUCTURE?

Thu 30 May 2024: “I set up my company several years ago. The power cuts were bad then, lasting up to five hours a day,” said Lezanne Viviers, who works in the fashion industry and lives in Johannesburg, South Africa’s biggest city. Since 2007, electricity cuts have become so common that Eskom – the state-owned […]

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EXECUTIONS WORLDWIDE AT HIGHEST LEVEL SINCE 2015: AMNESTY

  A picture obtained from the Iranian Mizan News Agency on December 12, 2022, shows the public execution of Majidreza Rahnavard, in Iran’s Mashhad city. (Mizan News/AFP) Thu 30 May 2024: Human rights group Amnesty International said in a report released on Wednesday that 1,153 executions were recorded worldwide in 2023. The figure represents a 30% increase […]

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WORLD ONLY HALFWAY TO MEETING GLOBAL TARGET FOR ESSENTIAL HEALTH SERVICES BY 2025

Thu 30 May 2024: Despite huge strides in coverage, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) chief said on Monday that only 585 million more people will be covered by essential health services without catastrophic health spending by 2025, putting the UN’s international public health organization only slightly more than halfway toward its goal of 1 billion.  […]

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BRAZIL WITHDRAWS AMBASSADOR TO ISRAEL AFTER MONTHS OF TENSIONS OVER GAZA WAR CRITICISM

Wed 29 May 2024: Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has withdrawn his country’s ambassador to Israel after months of tensions between the two countries over Israel’s war on Gaza. The move was announced in Brazil’s official gazette on Wednesday. There was no immediate response from Israel. Lula has been a frequent critic of […]

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