United Nations, United States | AFP | About 40 trucks are loaded and ready to ferry relief supplies to Syria’s bomb-and-siege shattered Eastern Ghouta, but there has been no let up in fighting despite a UN ceasefire resolution, a top UN official said Wednesday. Mark Lowcock, the UN under secretary-general for …

Sochi, Russia | AFP | World Cup coaches expressed a quiet confidence on Wednesday about Video Assistant Referee technology ahead of its likely adoption for this year’s showpiece event in Russia. Representatives from the 32 teams to have qualified for the World Cup gathered in the Black Sea resort of Sochi …

New York, United States | AFP | Facebook on Wednesday announced that its year-old job-hunting service is expanding to dozens more countries, aiming to connect members with local work. Facebook vice president Alex Himel described the move into more than 40 countries as a “new stage of the diversification of the …

Gdansk, Poland | AFP | Vying for an Oscar, “Loving Vincent” is the world’s first animated feature film painted by hand — all 65,000 frames — in the distinct style of Vincent van Gogh. Centred on a probe into his untimely death, the film was shot on a shoestring budget of …

Firms cannot be allowed to profit from damaging content, while avoiding responsibility for its consequences COMMENT | ALEXANDRA BORCHARDT | Germany’s Network Enforcement Act – according to which social-media platforms like Facebook and YouTube could be fined €50 million ($63 million) for every “obviously illegal” post within 24 hours of receiving …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | A South African court has fined a self-styled prophet who sprayed his followers in the face with insecticide as a supposed cure for illness. Pastor Lethebo Rabalago was found guilty by a court in the northwest town of Limpopo of five charges of grievous assault …

Bamako, Mali | AFP | Four UN peacekeepers were killed on Wednesday when a mine exploded under their vehicle in central Mali in a deliberate attack, capping a bloody week for civilians and security forces in the West African nation. Jihadists have ramped up their activities in central Mali in recent …

Brazil’s policy of open doors, and open arms reminds us to offer safety to those united by hardship COMMENT | ALOYSIO NUNES FERREIRA | Recently, leaders from Latin America and the Caribbean met in Brazil to discuss solutions to the global refugee crisis. Observer countries, international organisations, and representatives of civil …

Brussels, Belgium | AFP | Rivals to Google urged the EU on Wednesday to keep up its fight against the search engine giant, saying proposals by the firm to avoid more EU mega-fines fell short. EU Competition Commissioner Margarethe Vestager in June slapped Google with a record 2.4-billion-euro (more than $2.7 …

The continent’s democracies badly need a new generation of leaders, but where are they to be found? COMMENT | STEPHEN CHAN | In every single African country, young people make up the majority of the population and they are generally very ill served by their ageing governments. Young leaders, where they …