tightens

Iran moved to tighten control of the Strait of Hormuz by seizing two ships, escalating pressure in the strategic waterway just after US President Donald Trump said he was indefinitely shelving planned attacks and with peace efforts still stalled. The fate of a ceasefire that began two weeks ago and was due to expire earlier this week was still uncertain. Only hours after warning of renewed force, Mr Trump abruptly shifted course on Tuesday, appearing to declare unilaterally that the US would prolong the truce while it…

Real Sociedad beat FC Barcelona 2-1 in a breathless, contentious finish on Sunday, trimming Barcelona’s lead at the top of La Liga to a single point and tightening a title race sharpened by Real Madrid’s win a day earlier. Mikel Oyarzabal opened the scoring with a far-post volley in the 32nd minute after a disputed buildup, and Goncalo Guedes delivered the winner barely a minute after Marcus Rashford had dragged Barcelona level in the 70th. The hosts then survived a late red card to Carlos Soler and a barrage of Barcelona…

With the presidential election in Tunisia approaching in October, there’s a palpable tightening of the reins on dissent, particularly within the media, warns Bassam Khawaja, Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Human Rights Watch. He pointed out that at least five journalists find themselves incarcerated, simply for expressing their viewpoints. “This crackdown is systematically erasing criticism and stifling diverse opinions across Tunisia’s media landscape,” Khawaja noted. He elaborated that meaningful…

South Africa on Monday tightened COVID-19 restrictions, banned alcohol sales and extended a nationwide curfew, as infections shot through a million marks due to a faster-spreading variant of the disease detected in the country. South Africa has recorded the highest number of coronavirus infections on the continent, with 1,044,413 cases reported and almost 27,000 deaths. Daily cases began to increase rapidly at the end of November to between 10,000 and 14,000. The new variant, called 501.V2, was…

Is Rwanda experiencing a second wave of Covid-19? In current days, the nation has registered a peak in contamination, with a few hundred circumstances detected per day. Figures have hardly ever been reached for the reason that pandemic started in Rwanda, which has to this point been comparatively sparse. The federal government, which in current weeks has reopened sure sectors of the economic system,…

In Ethiopia, the conflict in the province of Tigray continues, still cut off from the world since the fighting began on November 4. The federal army says it is advancing against the dissident regional capital Mekele and is preparing to invade it. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed gave the TPLF, the party that runs the region, three days to give up, and the army warned residents of the city and caused a UN…