Coronavirus: Iran cover-up of deaths revealed by data leak
The number of deaths from coronavirus in Iran is nearly triple what Iran's government claims, a BBC Persian service investigation has found.
The government's own records appear to show almost 42,000 people died with Covid-19 symptoms up to 20 July, versus 14,405 reported by its health ministry.
The number of people known to be infected is also almost double official figures: 451,024 as opposed to 278,827.
The official numbers still make Iran the worst-hit in the Middle East.
WhatsApp spyware attack: senior clergymen in Togo among activists targeted
Bishop from Togo among 1,400 individuals alerted by WhatsApp to malware attack
A prominent Catholic bishop and a priest in Togo have been told they were targeted by spyware made by the private surveillance firm NSO Group, in the first known case of its kind involving members of the clergy.
A joint investigation by the Guardian and the French newspaper Le Monde can reveal that Bishop Benoît Alowonou and five other critics of Togo’s repressive government were alerted by WhatsApp last year that their mobile phones had been targeted with the spying technology.
WhatsApp announced last year that 1,400 of its users were attacked with the malware, which is made by Israel’s NSO Group, over a two-week period last April.
Amazon fires: Huge surge in blazes recorded amid growing concern of repeat of last year’s destruction
More than 1,000 fires began on 30 July alone, National Institute for Space Research warnsHarry Cockburn
Brazil’s devastating fires in the Amazon have increased by a shocking 28 per cent from just one year ago, the country’s National Institute for Space Research has reported.
The agency said it had recorded a total of 6,803 fires in the Amazon rainforest last month, compared to 5,318 in the same month of 2019.
The enormous rise comes ahead of the traditional “fire season” for the region, which begins in August, and there are concerns Brazil could repeat the surge seen in fires in August 2019, when 30,900 fires were recorded by the institute - which represented a 12-year high for the month.
School is back in Germany — but coronavirus is not gone
The school holidays are coming to an end in parts of Germany. The authorities want a return to "normal" school life. But that's easier said than done.
All of Germany is looking toward the eastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in the coming days. In 2020, the sparsely populated region in northeastern Germany is the first to start the school year this time.
Summer holidays are staggered in Germany, so not all 16 federal states go on vacation at the same time, clogging the nation's airports and famed autobahns. This year's return to school can best be described as a large-scale experiment.
Hundreds of militants remain at large after Islamic State group attack on prison
Afghan security forces battled Islamic State fighters for control of a prison in the eastern city of Jalalabad on Monday, with dozens killed in an overnight assault. At least 300 militants remain at large, according to a spokesman for the governor of Nangarhar province.
More than 300 prisoners were at large on Monday after an attack by Islamic State on an Afghan prison, the governor’s spokesman said on Monday, as clashes continued between prisoners and security forces.
The assault began on Sunday night on the jail in the eastern city of Jalalabad, with at least 29 people killed and more than 50 wounded, according to Attaullah Khugyani, a spokesman for the governor of Nangarhar province.
Critics are accusing the Philippines government of using the coronavirus lockdown to crack down on dissent
Updated 0750 GMT (1550 HKT) August 3, 2020
Questioning the world's toughest coronavirus restrictions can be a risky business in the Philippines.
In mid-March, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte ordered parts of the country to go into a quarantine that would eventually last up to 80 days, and become one of the world's longest and strictest lockdowns.
Protests against job losses and food shortages during that period were met with a strong police response and mass arrests. In April, Duterte publicly said police should "shoot ... dead" anyone who violated virus restrictions.
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