Author: damazah@gmail.com

Today, as we mark World Humanitarian Day, we must reflect on the state of humanitarianism. Humanitarian work has always been framed upon the collective assumption that there are lines that should never be crossed, even in wars.For a generation, we had binding international agreements that treated the act of protecting a child in need of food or a medic treating the sick and wounded as a fundamental legal right.Today, the consensus and meaning behind these laws are gone.Too many governments are no longer consistently defending the rules-based order that they helped create. When it suits them, some are openly disregarding…

Liberia has agreed to accept up to 1,200 foreigners deported from the US over the next year in one of the biggest deals agreed so far by Washington as it continues its clampdown on illegal migration.Such agreements with other countries have often involved people who are legally protected from returning to their own countries, for reasons such as persecution. It is not clear if those coming to Liberia have protection orders.”The government wants to emphasise that those being brought to Liberia are being received as guests,” Information Minister Jerolinmek Piah said.An initial group of 20 are due to land on…

Inflation in South Africa, Africa’s largest economy, eased sharply in July, giving the central bank more room to keep interest rates unchanged as it assesses the impact of volatile global conditions and the war in Iran. Read also: South Africa’s MA Market Stalls as Iran war fuels corporate caution Consumer prices rose 4.3 percent in the year to July, down from 5 percent in June, according to Statistics South Africa. The reading was below the 4.5 percent median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg and marked the first decline in annual inflation in five months. Monthly, inflation slowed to 0.2…

SpaceX’s most recent Starship test flight may have ended July 24, but its mission isn’t over yet. The spacecraft splashed down in the Indian Ocean intact after flying halfway around the world from SpaceX’s launch base in South Texas. Engineers expected the ship’s life to end with a fiery disintegration after toppling over, just as past Starships have done following splashdown. Numerous onboard sensors and cameras, along with buoys and drones in position at the splashdown zone, have provided important data for SpaceX to assess the performance of the ship’s heat shield after each test flight, so officials accepted the…

Labour could lose dozens of seats to the Green party if the government allows new drilling in the North Sea, according to internal research shared with the Guardian.Green party analysis suggests up to 50 Labour MPs, including Andy Burnham’s key ally Louise Haigh, could lose their seats at the next election if the government fails to make urgent climate action a priority or allows new drilling for oil and gas in the North Sea.The research found that voters in these key Labour v Green seats want bold action to tackle the climate crisis, which has contributed to record heatwaves, devastating…

The IL isn’t totally defunct yet, but it’s getting close Aug 18, 2026 at 9:49 pm ET • 6 min read Nobody is allowed to get injured anymore. We’re inside of six weeks to go, after all, which means anyone who goes down now probably isn’t coming back. That’s not strictly true, of course. Minimal IL stints do exist, but they’re not so easily anticipated. Consider it a bonus if you get anything more from a player who you’re currently stashing in an IL spot. Still, if you have the spots, you might as well use them, right? Even if…

Sometimes it feels as though horrific world events and the malicious entities behind them are reaching into every aspect of our lives, from heatwaves that keep me shut away indoors, to generative AI that makes it increasingly difficult to trust what I read online. I can no longer even retreat into my favourite video game without funding human rights abuses across the world.I’ve been playing The Sims series of life-simulation games since its first release at the turn of the millennium, when I sat with my sister in the corner of the sitting room using money cheats to build mansions…

If you’re not a morning person, decision-making is best avoided before 8am. Or, at the very least, until you’ve had a cup of coffee. That is why assisted espresso machines, such as the Ninja Luxe Cafe Premier ES601UK, are so welcome in my kitchen. They require more effort than a fully automatic bean-to-cup machine, but the reward is a glimmer of manual espresso perfection – without all the faff.The Ninja Luxe Cafe Premier ES601UK has been gracing my kitchen worktop on and off for over a year, and – despite some mild to moderately serious irritations – it’s a capable…

The UK’s competition watchdog has launched investigations into Trainline, Virgin Atlantic and Red Driving School over concerns that all three companies displayed misleadingly low prices to their customers.The Competition and Markets Authority’s investigations are part of a broader clampdown on “drip pricing”, an illegal practice that makes a product appear cheaper by not including all mandatory fees.The regulator said it had opened investigations into the companies amid concerns that customers had not been shown the total price upfront when buying train and coach tickets, holidays or driving lessons.“The first price customers see should be the price they pay,” said Emma…

Morning opening: Fresh corruption probes add to Zelenskyy’s problems ahead of key voteJakub KrupaUkraine’s anti-corruption agencies opened an investigation into unnamed lawmakers and presidential advisers just hours before a key vote in parliament, adding to pressure on president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.The Nabu and Sapo agencies released no further details, Reuters noted, but their announcement comes just hours before the Ukrainian parliament is due to vote on a new defence minister, Yevhen Khmara, appointed after Zelenskyy sacked his popular predecessor, Mykhailo Fedorov.Protesters carry placards as they march during a rally calling for a reform of the defence sector and the reinstatement of…