India’s Kovind begins state visits to Djibouti, Ethiopia

India’s Kovind begins state visits to Djibouti, Ethiopia

Indian President Ram Nath Kovind began a state visit to Djibouti on Tuesday, his first such trip since taking office in July and the first such high-level meeting since diplomatic relations were established between the two countries. Kovind was welcomed on his arrival by Prime Minister Abdoulkader Kamil Mohamed, before making…

Fatal Turkey quake causes tsunami; 2 dead, some 500 injured

A major earthquake that sparked a small Mediterranean Sea tsunami struck Turkey and Greece early Friday morning, with reports that the temblor was felt as far away as Egypt. The 6.7-magnitude earthquake hit at about 1:30 a.m. local time, 10 kilometers from the seaside town of Bodrum, according to the…

HRW report on EU-Turkey migrant deal may raise red flags for Africa

The European Union’s dicey migration deal with Turkey is causing untold misery among migrants and refugees trapped on Greek islands, according to a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report released Wednesday. The HRW organization conducted research in May and June on the island of Lesbos that “documented the deteriorating mental health…

As Turkey’s war on Gulen escalates, so does impact on Africa

The latest round in Turkey’s internal war on Fethullah Gülen and the Gülen movement followers came late Saturday, when new decrees appeared in the nation’s Official Gazette.  They extend the crackdown on Turkey’s media outlets, establish control over university administration and push Turkey’s initial state of emergency into January. Another 10,000…

Tunisia, the EU-Turkey migrant deal and Merkel’s Africa travels

German Chancellor Angela Merkel begins a trip to Africa Sunday, visiting the nations of Mali and Niger to discuss their security and counterterrorism strategies before heading to Ethiopia. She’ll arrive in Addis Ababa amid the nation’s escalating unrest and the international attention to its alleged human rights violations, issues that…