Migrants traveling with smugglers off the coast of Yemen were forced into the sea on Thursday, with another five people reported dead and some 50 missing – just a day after a similar episode claimed 50 lives. The International Organization for Migration said up to 180 migrants were forced off…
Some 50 Somali and Ethiopian migrants traveling by boat to Yemen were forced into the sea by a human smuggler and drowned off the coast of Shabwa on Wednesday. There were dozens of survivors, some of whom left as others quickly buried 29 of the dead in shallow graves along…
Ethiopia lifted last week the state of emergency imposed since October 2016, but the decision has raised questions about what happens to those detained during mass arrests on politically motivated charges during that time. Among them is Merera Gudina, the academic and longtime opposition leader whose arrest was – according…
Eight more people have been arrested on corruption charges in Ethiopia, the nation’s attorney general said Saturday, bringing to 42 the number of government officials and business professionals caught up in the crackdown. The 42 suspects were arrested for alleged embezzlement of more than USD$58 million from the Federal Roads…
At least 400 migrants, many of them from Eritrea and Ethiopia, are still living on the streets or the wooded outskirts of the French city of Calais months after the sprawling migrant camp there was dismantled by French authorities. Some 200 of them are unaccompanied minors, while another 300 people…
A new letter signed by 39 members of the European Union Parliament asks for a full inquiry into human rights violations in Ethiopia, while calling into question the accuracy and impartiality of a controversial report completed by the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission in April. The letter to Federica Mogherini, High…
Police in London say at least 79 people have died in the London Grenfell Tower blaze, including many who remain missing but are presumed dead. Another 10 people remain in critical condition following the massive fire that swept through the 24-story residential tower, with 19 people all told still in hospital for…
Social media images of trapped migrants in Libya are being used to extort ransom from their family and friends, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Thursday. The United Nations Migration Agency described a video recorded by a Somali journalist and posted to Facebook on June 9 that showed some…
German Chancellor Angela Merkel pressed her case for investment in Africa on Monday as part of the G20’s Compact for Africa initiative, the focus of two-day meetings in Berlin. Merkel, whose nation holds the current G20 presidency, welcomed African leaders from Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Tunisia, the three nations that…
The nations of Cote d’Ivoire and Equatorial Guinea were elected to two-year terms on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Friday. They join the 10-nation roster of nonpermanent members to the council, along with incoming nations Kuwait, Poland and Peru. The Netherlands also will join the council for one…
World Health organization officials say an “unprecedented” outbreak of cholera in Somalia is linked to the drought that began in October 2016, creating widespread shortages of clean drinking water and food. There are more than 40,000 suspected cases since the beginning of the year, with nearly 700 deaths to date,…
The physician who leads the Africa Tobacco-Free Initiative has spoken out against candidate Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of Ethiopia, just as the final vote for World Health Organization Director-General (WHO DG) looms next week. Dr. Frank Ashall, in an open letter published online Friday in the well-regarded British medical journal The…
Negeri Lencho of Ethiopia, the country’s information minister, has defended the extended state of emergency in the East African nation and its refusal to allow United Nations officials access to investigate allegations of human rights abuses. Lencho’s comments came during an interview with al Jazeera broadcast Tuesday. “It is the…
President Uhuru Kenyatta has arrived in China to attend the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) in Beijing, which runs through May 15. The Government of Kenya announced in April that it was one of more than 100 participating nations, with the heads of state of at least…
Ethiopian courts have adjourned until June 2 the case of leading opposition leader Merera Gudina, chairman of the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), who has denied charges of terrorism lodged against him. A hearing scheduled for Thursday followed last week’s 11-page response, presented by Merera and his legal team, arguing that…