Misfiring Nigerian military comes under searing criticism after its airstrikes kill 400 civilians
Since 2017, the military has killed about 400 civilians, according to SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based research firm that gathered reports and data from affected villages regarding the airstrikes. Rights groups and citizens have expressed concern over the military’s actions in Africa’s most populous country, which has been battling violent security crises on multiple fronts for many years.
Kenya, capital of abductions: Ex-attorney general provides rare peek into how the rich reach out to president for release of kin in police custody
In public statements since June, President William Ruto had expressed concern about allegations by human rights groups of abductions by state agents, in which unidentified individuals have detained people and held them for days without charge in undisclosed locations.
Biden: Under Trump free press will crumble because of ‘tech industrial complex’, avalanche of misinformation, disinformation, abuse of power
Biden hands over power to Trump at noon (1700 GMT) on Monday. Trump has enlisted billionaire Elon Musk, who helped his election efforts, as a special adviser charged with cutting costs from the federal government.
South African police end mine rescue operation with at least 78 dead and 246 survivors
Authorities launched the rescue effort on Monday in response to a court order last week ordering them to do so. A specialist mining rescue company had been dropping a small cage thousands of meters down a shaft to retrieve survivors and bodies. But no personnel from the company went down because they considered it too dangerous – instead two community volunteers were in the cage to help the miners out.
Five days before Trump is sworn in, Israel and Hamas agree to end Gaza war, free hostages and prisoners
If successful, the planned phased ceasefire could halt fighting that has left much of Gaza in ruins, displaced most of the enclave’s pre-war population of 2.3 million, and killed tens of thousands of people. The toll is still rising daily.
Trade unions in South Africa accuse state of ‘horrific’ crackdown as 78 corpses pulled from illegal mine
Mametlwe Sebei, a trade union leader who has been trying to help the miners, said police had begun attempting to force the miners up to the surface in August by removing a pulley system used to deliver food and water supplies to them. Sebei said some miners had died crawling through flooded tunnels in an attempt to reach shafts that would have allowed them to climb out.
Incoming Trump administration officials concede Ukraine peace deal is no easy task
In the run-up to his November 5 election victory, Trump declared dozens of times that he would have a deal in place between Ukraine and Russia on his first day in office, if not before. In late October, however, he made a subtle shift in his rhetoric, and began saying he could solve the war “very quickly.”
Rising gaps in relationships: Why men prefer younger partners and women switch to younger men when they hit 60 years
For women, a similar but less strong effect was observed after the age of 25 years. On average, for every 10 years of age, the preferred age difference at the beginning of a new relationship between a woman and her partner rises by about one additional year.
Smartphones on cusp of becoming ‘old news’ as Big Tech develops easy-to-use smart glasses
Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg thinks that within 10 years, smart glasses will overtake smartphones in both popularity and usefulness. By the time we hit the 2030s, he predicts people will be keeping their phones tucked away more than they’re using them.
China’s credit cuts to Kenya forces the East African nation to turn to UAE for railway financing
Trade between Kenya and the UAE has more than doubled over the last decade, Ruto’s office said. The UAE is the sixth biggest export market for Kenyan goods, and its second biggest source of imports. The value of the trade stood at Ksh445 billion ($3.44 billion) in 2023, with the UAE buying agricultural products, while Kenya imports petroleum products, machinery and chemicals.
