Princess Latifa: 'Hostage' ordeal of Dubai ruler's daughter revealed
By BBC Panorama
Reporting team
The daughter of Dubai's ruler who tried to flee the country in 2018 later sent secret video messages to friends accusing her father of holding her "hostage" as she feared for her life.
In footage shared with BBC Panorama, Princess Latifa Al Maktoum says commandos drugged her as she fled by boat and flew her back to detention.
The secret messages have stopped - and friends are urging the UN to step in.
Dubai and the UAE have previously said she is safe in the care of family.
Myanmar military files new charge against Aung San Suu Kyi
Junta holds first press conference and describes coup as lawful, as internet shut for second night
Myanmar’s military regime has filed a new charge against the deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi and shut down the internet for a second night as it tries to quell a popular revolt against the coup it launched at the beginning of the month.
The junta held its first press conference on Tuesday, seeking in part to limit the economic and diplomatic fallout of its takeover, which it described as lawful. It said it would hold an election soon and denounced protesters for allegedly inciting violence and intimidating civil servants.
“Our objective is to hold an election and hand power to the winning party,” Brig Gen Zaw Min Tun, spokesman for the ruling council, told the news conference which the military broadcast live on Facebook, a platform it has banned.
Netherlands government ordered to scrap controversial Covid curfew
Curfew violates ‘freedom of movement and privacy’ court rules
A Dutch court has ordered the government to axe a controversial Covid-19 curfew banning people from going outside late at night.
Earlier this year, ministers introduced measures that prevented people from leaving their homes between 9pm and 4am, in a move aimed at reducing transmission of the disease.
The restrictions were last week extended until 3 March.
Belarus: Police raid homes of journalists, activists
Massive anti-government rallies swept the nation in 2020. Europe's "last dictatorship" is cracking down on dissent in a bid to maintain control.
Police in Belarus carried out 22 raids on the homes and offices of journalists, human rights activists and trade union members on Tuesday. The raids were part of an investigation into mass anti-government protests, officials said.
The former Soviet nation has been gripped by weekend protests ever since strongman President Alexander Lukashenko claimed victory in a disputed election on August 9, 2020.
Ethiopia’s Tigray conflict and the battle to control information
Warnings about deterioration of press freedom as independent journalists endure harassment, denied access to embattled northern region.
The eruption of fighting in Ethiopia’s Tigray region 100 days ago has pitted journalists wanting to report on the conflict against a government seeking to maintain total narrative control.
The government-imposed lockdown of the northern region and communications blackout affecting the internet, mobile phones and landlines has made access and assessment for aid agencies dealing with the unfolding humanitarian crisis extremely difficult. It has also made it next to impossible for media seeking entry to investigate artillery attacks on populated areas, deliberate targeting and massacres of civilians, extrajudicial killings, widespread looting and rape, including by suspected Eritrean soldiers.
Syringe shortage hampers Japan's COVID-19 vaccination roll-out
By Kiyoshi Takenaka
Japan is scrambling to secure special syringes to maximize the number of COVID-19 vaccine shots used from each vial, but manufacturers are struggling to ramp up production quickly, raising fears that millions of doses could go waste.
Japan, with a population of 126 million, last month signed a contract with Pfizer Inc to procure 144 million doses of its vaccine, or enough for 72 million people, with the vaccination campaign set to start on Wednesday.
One vial is meant for six shots, Pfizer says, but it takes special syringes that retain a low volume of solution after an injection to extract six doses, while only five shots can be taken with standard syringes that the government has stored up in preparation for the inoculation drive.
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