Headline

World Records That Tumbled In 2022

Published

3 years ago

December 25, 2022

A Ukrainian woman who fled the war in her country takes refuge in the main hall of an athletic complex in the Moldovan capital Kishinev.

From roasting temperatures to rocketing energy prices and millions of refugees fleeing Ukraine, 2022 was a year of extremes.

AFP looks back at some of the records smashed:

Food and energy prices

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February caused a massive jump in energy and food costs, with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s Food Price Index hitting a historic peak in March and the cost of gas in Europe reaching record highs.

The eurozone annual inflation climbed steadily to 10.6 percent in October, the biggest increase since the index began in 1997.

Refugees

The war also triggered the biggest wave of refugees in Europe since the end of World War II. More than 7 million Ukrainians fled to other European countries and a further 6.9 million were displaced internally, according to the UN refugee agency UNHCR.

Globally, the number of displaced people exceeded 100 million for the first time.

Burning up

Europe sweated through its hottest summer on record, with records tumbling in many countries, including England where the mercury topped 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) for the first time. Forest fires linked to the hotter, drier conditions also guzzled more land than ever before in Europe — over 600,000 hectares.

Hail of missiles

North Korea fired a record number of missiles into the Sea of Japan in response to large-scale joint military exercises staged by South Korea and the United States.

A particularly intense peak saw 23 missiles fired in 24 hours on November 2.

Farewell Queen

After 70 years on the throne, Britain’s longest-serving monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, passed away on September 8, aged 96.

Before her massive state funeral, an estimated quarter of a million people queued round the clock to view the coffin as it lay in state.

Musk mayhem

It was a big year for Elon Musk, the world’s richest man whose fortune was estimated by Forbes at close to $200 billion at the start of December.

The CEO of Tesla and SpaceX added Twitter to his portfolio for $44 billion and swiftly caused controversy, by firing half the staff and unbanning people who had been thrown off the platform, including Donald Trump.

New artistic heights

The art collection of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, which included works by Cezanne, Klimt and Van Gogh, was sold by Christie’s for $1.62 billion, the biggest amount ever for an art auction.

Marilyn Monroe was a big hitter too, with one of her photo portraits by Andy Warhol selling for $195 million, making it the most expensive 20th century artwork.

Tennis titans

When Rafael Nadal won the French Open for the 14th time, the Spanish ace raised his own record of Grand Slam titles to 22, ahead of Novak Djokovic (21) and Roger Federer (20).

It was also a year of farewells with two of the sport’s greatest players calling time on their glittering careers: Federer and Serena Williams, who has 23 Grand Slams to her name.

Jet-setting Swift

The 10th album by the US megastar, “Midnights”, caused such a frenzy that Spotify broke down as more fans sought to listen to it over a single day than any other album.

Ten of its tracks were listed in the top ten Billboard Hot 100, also a first.

Less glorious for Swift was her topping the list for the “worst private jet CO2 emission offenders” among celebrities for her extensive private jet use.

In August when she was awarded the unenviable prize, she had already clocked up 170 flights in her private jet.

Eight billion humans

In November the world’s population — which numbered 2.5 billion in 1950 — exceeded eight billion, according to the UN.

AP/CHANNELS TV

Headline

TikTok Bans 49,512 Live Sessions In Nigeria As Creators Stream Sex Romps

Published

4 hours ago

November 22, 2025

Editor

For the first time, TikTok has shared data on its enforcement of Live Monetization guidelines, following a surge in users going live during sexual activity. The platform released the figures during its West Africa Safety Summit in Dakar, Senegal, held in partnership with AfricTivistes.

In the second quarter of 2025, TikTok took action, including warnings and demonetization, against 2,321,813 Live sessions and 1,040,356 Live creators for violating its Live Monetization guidelines.

In Nigeria alone, 49,512 Live sessions were banned during the same period.

The Summit brought together senior government officials, policy experts, NGOs, regulators, media representatives, and industry leaders from West African nations, including Nigeria, Senegal, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Ethiopia.

Delegates discussed strategies to strengthen user protection and content moderation frameworks tailored to regional challenges.

The event marked a pivotal moment for TikTok’s regional safety efforts and its commitment to upholding global safety standards across Sub-Saharan Africa.

Experts shared insights, examined online safety challenges, and explored collaborative measures under TikTok’s #SaferTogether initiative.

TikTok’s Outreach and Partnerships Manager for Sub-Saharan Africa, Duduzile Mkhize, emphasized the platform’s commitment to enhancing user security through stakeholder collaboration.

She stated: “While global, we remain hyper-local in our day-to-day efforts. The dialogue at this Summit is invaluable because only through insights sharing and collaboration with policymakers and local partners across West Africa can we prevent a fragmented and insecure digital environment.

“United action can help us guarantee a safe space for our community to discover, create, and connect responsibly.”

A key partner in this effort is Nigeria’s Dr. Akinola Olojo, expert on preventing and countering violent extremism, and member of TikTok’s Sub-Saharan Africa Safety Advisory Council.

He said: “The convening of various stakeholders in Dakar, sharing insights for collaborative action, proves that the work we do alongside TikTok is not in vain.

“We must move beyond reactive measures and continue to build proactive systems that empower communities to resist radicalization and leverage online spaces for positive social impact.”

Globally, TikTok removed over 189 million videos in the same quarter, representing just 0.7% of all content uploaded. Of these, 163.9 million were flagged by AI-driven moderation systems.

Notably, 99.1% of removals were detected proactively, and 94.4% were taken down within 24 hours. The platform also removed 76,991,660 fake accounts, alongside 25,904,708 accounts suspected to belong to users under the age of 13.

In Nigeria, TikTok removed 3,780,426 videos between April and June 2025 for violating Community Guidelines. Impressively, 98.7% were removed before being viewed, and 91.9% were taken down within 24 hours.

The data, released in TikTok’s Quarter 2 2025 Community Guidelines Enforcement Report, underscores the platform’s ongoing commitment to creating a safe digital space for its users.

Headline

Nnamdi Kanu’s Case Proof Of Religious Persecution In Nigeria – US lawmaker, John James

Published

2 days ago

November 20, 2025

Editor

Former chairman of the Africa Subcommittee and now a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Representative, John James, has claimed that the case of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, is proof of religious persecution in Nigeria.

James stated this when the United States House Subcommittee on Africa on Thursday, held a public hearing to review President Donald Trump’s recent redesignation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern.

The hearing in Washington, DC included senior US State Department officials and Nigerian religious leaders.

James claimed that in the case of Nnamdi Kanu, Nigeria’s Court of Appeal had struck down the charges against him and ordered his release in 2022.

He said: “Religious persecution is tied to political repression and weakening institutions in Nigeria. The detention of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is a clear example.

“In 2022, Nigeria’s Court of Appeals struck down the charges against him and ordered his release.

“The UN Working Group for Arbitrary Detention has also called for his unconditional release, yet he remains in solitary confinement in deteriorating health and recently had to represent himself in court.

“Nigeria has signaled that the law is optional and targeting Christians is fair game. Just hours ago this morning, despite the pleas and cries of Nigerian people and many Nigerian lawmakers, Kanu was convicted on all charges.”

Nnamdi Kanu was on Thursday, sentenced to life imprisonment over terrorism charges.

Headline

Nigerians Don’t Trust Their Govt – US Congressman Riley Moore

Published

2 days ago

November 20, 2025

Editor

US Congressman Riley Moore has said that Nigerian people do not trust their government.

Moore stated this on Thursday at US House of Representatives Subcommittee on Africa, which is investigating Trump’s redesignation of Nigeria as a ‘Country of Particular Concern’, CPC.

“The Nigerian people don’t trust their government. ‘How can you trust a government that doesn’t show up when you ask them to?

“The Nigerian government must work with the US in cooperation to address these insecurity issues.

“A case that just happened recently in Plateau state. We had a pastor there who warned the Nigerian government that they were under attack. There’s imminent attack forces here in the next 24 hours. Please come and help us.

“The Nigerian government did not only ignore it but put up a press release that it is fake news,” he said.

Moore would be meeting with a delegation of senior members of the Nigerian government, over the devastating insecurity in Nigeria and the US designation of the country as CPC, DAILY POST reports.