Despite democracy, Tunisians riot
BY DAY THE streets are quiet, the cafés full of unemployed men. At night, though, groups of young people have fought running battles with police during a week of protests and riots in several Tunisian cities that started on January 15th. Local media portray them as looters and vandals; more than 600 have been arrested,…
A Site Allows You To Add Bernie Sanders Sitting To Any Location
Bernie Sanders sitting in mittens at the Presidential Inauguration has become a viral meme, and there’s a site that lets you add him anywhere. Using Google Photos, Nick Sawhney has put up a website that allows you to add Sanders to any location. It’s not as multifaceted as some of the Photoshops that are circulating…
Most-Surprising Presidential Pardons in US History
Published on Jan 22, 2021 by Anne Presidential pardons are one and many in the history of the US. There are many times when US Presidents granted reprieves for their citizen’s misdeeds. The US President may grant a pardon for any individual, including himself, for any crimes done against the country and its citizens. This…
Assassinations rise in Afghanistan amid negotiations
THE TRAFFIC jams in Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital, have recently yielded a sombre new spectacle. Almost every day, drivers crawling along at rush hour have had to pass the blasted or bullet-riddled cars of those whose commute has ended in an assassin’s attack. Two female judges were shot dead on their way to work on January…
Why it’s hard for Congo’s coltan miners to abide by the law
MARTIN IS A Congolese pastor with a sideline in coltan smuggling. “You can hide it in the petrol tank of a motorbike,” he says, “or in a secret compartment under a lorry.” He smuggles coltan into neighbouring Rwanda, where it costs about half as much to export the stuff. The border police know which vehicles…
After two months of war, Tigray faces starvation
NO IMAGE BETTER symbolises the fall from power of the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the party that had called the shots in Ethiopia for almost three decades. Sebhat Nega, one of its founders, was pictured this month in handcuffs, wearing a rumpled tracksuit and a single sock. The 86-year-old, long one of Ethiopia’s most…