Good morning, it’s Caleb in Kampala, Uganda, where the government has just lifted the ban on social media, nearly a month since the internet shutdown on the heels of elections in the country.
This morning, I am telling you about a call to dialogue for protesting Indian farmers, the discovery that air quality in Sub Saharan Africa is improving, and Pierre Maudet in Geneva, wondering how many people still support him. |
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Reminder of the information that matters
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India’s Prime Minister invites protesting farmers for talks.
Tens of thousands of farmers who have been protesting in New Delhi over new agricultural laws they say will profit private buyers at their expense have now been invited to dialogue by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Dozens of farmers have died during the protests which have lasted for over two months.
Reuters (EN)
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Russia detains Jehovah’s Witnesses in new investigation into the group.
A number of Jehovah’s Witnesses were detained in Russia for organizing and taking part in the activities of a banned religious group. In 2017, Russia’s supreme court named Jehovah’s Witnesses an extremist group and ordered for its dissolution. Hundreds of Jehovah’s Witnesses have been detained following that ruling and dozens have been convicted on charges of extremism.
Reuters (EN)
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Ghana shuts down parliament over Covid-19 outbreak.
17 members of parliament in Ghana and 151 staff and ancillary workers have been infected with Covid-19, leading to a decision to close the parliament for three weeks. The parliament had already put in restrictions including only allowing one-third of members to sit in the chamber at any one time and suggested testing members each month, even though some members declined.
CNN (EN)
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Il est temps de raconter le monde
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Heidimanche, la newsletter du week-end.
Découvrez Heidimanche, la newsletter qui fait le point sur les infos incontournables du week-end et annonce les grands événements de la semaine à venir. Inscrivez-vous, c’est gratuit!
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Europe’s oldest known person turns 117.
Sister André who has lived through the 1918 flu, seen two world wars, and recently survived being infected with the coronavirus, making the French nun the oldest person to have survived the virus, turns 117 today. She is the world’s second known oldest person.
Le Temps (FR)
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Some schools in Chicago are reopening today.
Despite warnings from union leadership that in-person learning would put teachers the most at risk, some pre-school and special needs students will return to school in Chicago today. Families of nearly 70,000 students have opted for a gradual return of in-person learning over the next few months.
Block Club Chicago (EN)
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Valentina Piccinni/Positive News
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The women mechanics of Burkina Faso fixing cars and stereotypes.
In the hot and dusty outskirts of Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, women and girls from disadvantaged backgrounds are taking on jobs as car mechanics, a field that is perceived to be solely for men, and fixing such stereotypes while at it. According to UNESCO, more than 4 out of 10 girls of lower secondary school age are not in school in Burkina Faso.
Positive News (EN)
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Financial App, Djamo is Ivory Coast’s first Y-Combinator backed start-up.
With plans to bring consumers in Francophone Africa up to speed in terms of financial services, as their Anglophone counterparts, Djamo has received backing from Y Combinator, a first for Ivory Coast. The company says it has around 90,000 registered users and processes over 50,000 transactions monthly, a worthy feat in Francophone Africa where less than 25% of adults have bank accounts.
Tech Crunch (EN)
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Air quality in Sub-Saharan Africa is improving.
A new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, has revealed that the air in Sub Saharan Africa, contrary to what was previously believed, is becoming less polluted. The study found that levels of dangerous nitrogen oxide in the northern part of sub-Saharan Africa have declined sharply as wealth and population in the area have increased.
New York Times (EN)
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Facebook marketplace is now open to Nigerians.
Although it was created in 2016, Facebook Marketplace had not been available to buyers and sellers in Nigeria until last week. The feature was already available in Kenya, South Africa, and Ethiopia even though Nigeria has more Facebook users than those three countries. In September last year, Facebook also announced it’s opening an office in Nigeria.
Tech Cabal (EN)
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Pierre Maudet en 2016. Keystone.
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Pierre Maudet, combien de divisions?
Il est temps de se pencher sur les irréductibles, sur ses soutiens. Où sont-ils? Combien sont-ils? Heidi.news a tenté de compter ses troupes. La surprise est qu’il compte des partisans à gauche. La difficulté est que personne ne veut être nommé. D’où la question, inspirée de la blague de Staline sur le pape.
Heidi.news (FR)
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Comment la Suisse entend-elle surveiller les effets indésirables des vaccins?
Les campagnes de vaccination Covid-19 ont commencé depuis un mois et demi et la question de la sécurité des vaccins continue d’agiter le débat public. C’est Swissmedic qui est en charge de surveiller les effets indésirables. Nous avons demandé à Christophe Grühn, chef de la division sécurité des médicaments, de nous expliquer comment l’agence s’acquittait de cette tâche.
Heidi.news (FR)
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