The United Nations addressed on Friday the global spread of unrest that has swept across nearly every continent, with both the UN Secretary General and the head of the UN human rights office in Geneva appealing for peaceful demonstrations and expressing concerns over violence. “Disquiet in peoples’ lives is leading…
United Nations Secretary General António Guterres has strongly condemned Friday’s attack on a mosque in northern Burkina Faso, in a statement released over the weekend. Guterres expressed condolences to the families of the deceased and the nation, and promised the UN will continue to support efforts to bring peace and…
Last week the Senegalese government announced a $93.3 million project to promote entrepreneurship in rural communities. Called the Rural Youth Agripreneur Support Project, the initiative is backed by a $51.9 million loan from the International Fund for Rural Development (IFAD) and will provide training and financial support to young people…
There was a moment during United States President Donald Trump’s press conference on Wednesday afternoon when – in addition to more defensive rambling than usual – the president almost sounded wistful about a time when he felt the world still loved him. “I used to be the king of getting…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
By Dominic Rohner and Alessandro Saia According to the United Nations Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict, 2018 year was the worst on record in terms of children trapped in armed conflict regions, with nearly 250,000 students impacted by the closure of several hundred schools in Mali alone. These…
The death toll continues to rise in the Bahamas, where news crews report an increasingly dire situation as survivors of powerful Hurricane Dorian – some six days later – remain trapped on portions of the island nation where the damage has been described as apocalyptic. Thousands of people are still…
High-level officials in Burundi say they strongly reject the conclusions of a United Nations report released Wednesday, one that expressed concern over risks associated with human rights concerns as the volatile nation moves toward 2020 elections. The report, completed by a team of UN experts including Doudou Diène of Senegal…
United Nations Secretary General António Guterres completed a three-day visit to Democratic Republic of Congo with expressions of confidence in the newly formed government and optimism that President Felix Tshisekedi and the country will meet their significant challenges. The Congolese will see “a government that wants to transform the country,…
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg completed on Wednesday her two-week journey by sea to New York City, where she will participate in the United Nations Climate Summit in September. Thunberg, the 16-year-old face of climate action since she began her Friday school strikes in her home country, traveled aboard the…
Last year was the worst on record for children trapped in regions where armed conflict rages, and it saw the highest numbers of children killed or maimed since the United Nations began keeping records on them, the UN said in a new report. The Annual Report of the Secretary-General on…
The juxtaposition of the headlines was jarring, in a way that seemed newly unbearable despite all we’ve learned in recent years about African migrants seeking a pathway to Europe, the horrific realities they encounter in transit and in Libya – and the complicity of European governments in their suffering. The…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Investigative journalists whose work focused on what really happened to United Nations experts Zaida Catalán of Sweden and American Michael Sharp in the Democratic Republic of Congo have won top honors from the Investigative Reporters & Editors (IRE) organization for their work. The “Deceptive Diplomacy” reporting, which won in the…
As the United Nations marks World Environment Day, this year’s theme focuses on air pollution – and that’s a significant challenge on the African continent. A recent study from NASA in the United States found some 780,000 premature African deaths per year were linked to air pollution from different causes….
Opposition leaders in Sudan, outraged by Monday’s attacks on protesters they say left more than 30 dead, have called for an “all-out political strike and civil disobedience” as they cut off negotiations with the country’s Transitional Military Council (TMC). The Forces of the Declaration of Freedom and Change issued a…
A two-day conference on the legacy of Kofi Annan of Ghana, the former United Nations secretary general who died last year, promises to place African affairs at the center of the conversation. The sessions begin Monday at Chatham House in the UK, with prominent leaders including Kenyan Raila Odinga, representing…