Military Coup
“Severe” Internet Shutdown in Sudan as the Military Violently Seize Power
Demonstrators protest against prospect of military rule in Khartoum, Sudan. Image sourced from Reuters. Local media in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum are reporting that internet services across the region have been interrupted, with many outright stating that the internet is down. This is after reports that Sudan’s military seized power during a coup on Monday, arresting members of a transitional pro-democracy government that itself overthrew the long-ruling autocrat Omar al-Bashir during a citizen uprising two years ago. NetBlocks is reporting that the network disruptions are severe and appear to be consistent with an internet shutdown. They write that the disruption has likely been implemented to block the free flow of information online and news coverage of incidents on the ground. &#...
Zimbabwe journalist arrested amid storm over $60m Covid-19 supplies scandal
Zimbabwean police on Monday arrested an investigative journalist who exposed alleged corruption in the procurement of Covid-19 medical supplies, a matter that involves the first family. Hopewell Chin’ono’s lawyers said he was “abducted” by eight state security agents who did not produce a search warrant. One of the lawyers, Beatrice Mtetwa, said she went to Mr Chin’ono’s residence after getting an “SOS that his home was surrounded by state security agents”. Ms Mtetwa described the arrest as an abduction, saying the state agents broke into the house. Via Twitter, the Committee to Protect Journalists called Mr Chin’ono’s immediate release, saying he was “abducted from his home by police”. It added, “Authorities must stop harassing Hopewell Chin’ono and focus on the real criminals. Do the the...
