Fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo has interfered again with response to the Ebola crisis in affected regions in the country’s east, with World Health Organization (WHO) officials warning that the violence compromises the progress made in recent months. “Following another senseless attack on civilians in eastern DRC on…
James Swan, the United Nations envoy in Somalia, said Thursday that the nation is looking ahead toward 2020 elections and the adoption of a federal constitution by June, but significant barriers to success remain. “After more than a year without effective cooperation between the Central Government and key Federal Member…
Villagers in northern Namibia were shaken from sleep early Thursday by a moderate earthquake that happened shortly after 4 a.m., the second such quake to strike in southern Africa in a 24-hour period. The epicenter was located about 64 kilometers to the northwest of Khorixas, according to the United States…
Services will be held Friday for Almaas Elman, the Somali-Canadian human rights activists and former diplomat killed earlier this week in Mogadishu when she was shot by unknown assailants. Ilwad Elman, the prominent sister of Almaas, announced Thursday that “we will lay my sister to rest” during Friday prayers at…
The Human Rights Watch organization says that while last week’s extension of the United Nations peacekeeping mandate in Central African Republic is needed for protecting civilians, attacks against them continue despite a peace deal earlier this year. The rights group says there are still reports of attacks in Ouham-Pendé, Kemo,…
There are at least 11,000 children working in Madagascar’s southern mica mining region, where poverty means that sometimes entire families are exposed to dangerous health and safety conditions. That’s according to a new report from human rights advocates at Terre des Hommes, which found that between 56 and 62 percent…
President Paul Kagame of Rwanda pointed to a new partnership with Volkswagen and Siemens, one that makes his nation Africa’s first to have an electric vehicle pilot program, as evidence of what can be achieved through the G20 Compact with Africa initiative launched in 2017. His brief remarks came during…
The controversy over stock-art images from Kenya used by United States presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg wasn’t going away on Monday, as U.S. lawmakers and rival presidential campaigns pointed to the damage done by an already-weakened Buttigieg campaign on race and diversity issues. Buttigieg, an Indiana Democrat surging in polls ahead…
Young environmental activists in Zambia released a new video on Monday to call attention to the longstanding problem of lead poisoning in Kabwe, where more than a century of mining impacts led to environmental disaster and lasting health consequences disproportionately affecting children. “Several neighborhoods in our town, Kabwe, have some…
Another 10 people have died in an airstrike in Libya, with the news coming as the United Nations Security Council heard testimony Monday from Ghassan Salamé, head of the UNSMIL mission, who warned of intensifying violence and “a race against time to reach a peaceful solution.” Salamé said the attack…
Officials in Saudi Arabia say that Houthi rebels in Yemen are responsible for a piracy incident in the Red Sea on Sunday, one that affected governments are working to resolve through diplomatic channels but say calls attention to the security situation on a strategic global shipping route. A spokesman of…
They leave because they lack an adequate income. They leave because they’re looking for better educational opportunities, because of the security situation at home, because there’s no food, and because of environmental and climate shocks. That’s according to a survey of 4,195 migrants in Libya released by IOM, the United…
Slightly more than half of 65 nations reviewed in the new Freedom on the Net 2019 report show a decline in access, democratic protections for speech, and related Internet and social media rights – with Sudan showing one of the biggest drops and Zimbabwe not far behind. The annual report…
The Global Coalition Against ISIS, meeting in the United States, said its focus is shifting to West Africa now that Islamic State – according to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo – has been “defeated” in Syria and Iraq. “We agreed at the working level that West Africa and the…
President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa says his nation hopes to advance its interests through more value-added economic initiatives rather than its historic role as an exporter of commodities. Ramaphosa made his remarks during the two-day BRICS Summit, which ran through Thursday in Brazil. The meeting gathered the heads of…