South Africa rejects decision on Israel’s AU observer status

South Africa rejects decision on Israel’s AU observer status

South Africa voiced its objection to Israel’s new status as an observer at the African Union, issuing a statement Wednesday that said it was “appalled” by a decision described as “unjust and unwarranted.” The statement from the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) follows last week’s decision by the…

African nations implicated in Pegasus spyware inquiry

African nations implicated in Pegasus spyware inquiry

Morocco, Egypt and Rwanda are just three of the nations where governments and their leaders are named in an ongoing investigation into the use of Pegasus spyware supplied by Israeli tech company NSO Group. The Pegasus Project, coordinated by the Paris-based NGO Forbidden Stories, looks at how the technology is…

Friday ceasefire in Middle East appears to be holding

Friday ceasefire in Middle East appears to be holding

A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza appeared to be holding on Friday, after diplomats from Egypt, the United States and other nations were able to broker a deal that went into effect in the early morning hours. The uneasy truce came after some 3,400 rockets fired from Gaza…

U.S. identifies soldiers killed in Sinai crash

The United States Army identified on Saturday the names of five soldiers who died while supporting a peacekeeping mission in the Sinai region of Egypt this week. The soldiers died when a UH-60 helicopter crashed on Thursday. They are: Capt. Seth Vernon Vandekamp, 31, from Katy, Texas. Chief Warrant Officer…

World leaders, diplomats honor Mubarak’s passing

Global leaders offered their condolences to the Egyptian people on Tuesday following news that former president Hosni Mubarak had died in Cairo. Mubarak, 91, was a former military chief with a complicated legacy who was forced from office during the Egyptian uprising in 2011. He had been ill and required…

African nations respond to U.S. Mideast Peace Plan

African governments and their Arab counterparts weighed in Wednesday on a new Middle East Peace Plan proposed jointly by United States President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and they’ve stressed the importance of Palestinian self-determination in the process. “South Africa believes that it is only initiatives developed…

Facebook bans 265 accounts used to manipulate African politics

Facebook says that 265 accounts that created pages and posts originating in Israel but targeting African nations and politicians have been removed – and so has a company that’s behind much of the activity. “Although the individuals behind this network attempted to conceal their identities, our investigation found that some…

Sisi interview to air in U.S. despite Egypt’s demand to stop it

The CBS investigative news program “60 Minutes” in the United States says it’s going ahead with its interview of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt, despite Cairo’s request to kill the segment. Sisi recently sat down with journalist Scott Pelley to record the interview, confirming that the Egyptian military is…