Burundian women mourn erosion of cultural melodic greeting or Akazehe as pandemics reign
Annonciate Baragahorana, a teacher in the province of Bujumbura, which includes the commercial capital, said that while she was not born in a place where akazehe was widely practiced, she was astonished as a young girl when women embraced and addressed her in the polyphonic way during visits to other regions.
Abandoned by state, stigmatised by society: Horrors of Central African Republic women raped by ‘UN peacekeepers’
The MINUSCA spokesperson said the mission registers all cases that are brought to its attention in a database and maintains the confidentiality of survivors and third parties. They did not confirm or deny if they have a record or receiving cases from Karomschi.
Rapists or peacekeepers? Investigators alarmed by UN inaction on sex abuse by Rwandan soldiers in Central African Republic
“If I haven’t gone to see MINUSCA, it is because I don’t know who to turn to, but also because I am afraid,” said Jeanne*, a fruit and vegetable vendor who said she was raped by a Rwandan peacekeeper last year. “They say that their peacekeepers have come from their country to protect us, only to rape us, so what can we do?”
Investigation: How Ethiopian authorities submit lists of 100,000 fake names, which they use to steal relief food
Some aid recipients in Ethiopia said they do sometimes sell some of their food rations, but out of desperation. “I got aid because I have health conditions,” said Leelity Gebreegizabher, a single mother of two in a camp in the town of Shire. “A local official helped me to get 15 kilos of food so that I could sell some of it to buy medicine.”
Investigation: WFP, US, state and military officials massive implicated in theft of relief food as hundreds of starving Ethiopians died in Tigray region
Some US officials privately accuse the UN food body of being untrustworthy. An internal WFP investigative report cites a May 2023 cable from Washington’s top US diplomat in Ethiopia at the time: “The scale and depth of diversion” in areas where the WFP managed food relief “calls into question WFP’s ability to be a faithful and principled” partner for distributing food in Ethiopia.
Christians allied to Trump brand Kamala Harris a ‘Jezebel spirit’ as religious nationalism rocks campaign
The term ‘Jezebl spirit’ has a long history of being used in the US against women, especially Black women. During times of slavery, the idea was used to justify the systemic sexual assault and rape of Black women and girls. It has been used in the past to target other women such as Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama, and to categorise movements such as feminism, abortion rights and LGBTQ+ rights.
Robbed of resources, brutalised by armed groups and ignored by UN, displaced millions in Congo report dire mental health crisis
Editor’s note: This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the US is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org. Internationally, many governments and other organizations offer help and information on how to contact them is available online.
Drab England considers hiring Man City manager Pep Guardiola, but what happens to Southgate’s ‘English DNA’ hype?
We can argue all day about whether Guardiola’s style would translate into international football, whether the England manager has enough time with the players to teach such a structured game, and whether Guardiola himself would want to leave Manchester City for a job that would pay him a fraction of his current salary.
Deadly anti-depressants: Doctors ignore findings that the drugs work less by treating illness, more by changing personality
Eli Lilly, the manufacturer of Prozac, confirmed the drug had been blamed in over 75 criminal cases. The drugmaker said it was unaware of any cases in which the defence had succeeded. That’s precisely the problem, according to Healy. Today, nearly 20 years after Pittman’s case, no jury has acquitted a person who claimed antidepressants caused them to commit a murder.
Trail of misery left by departing UN peacekeepers in Congo: To women Monusco soldiers’ ‘job was only to impregnate us’
On the ground for 25 years, MONUSCO and its predecessor mission have one of the worst records on sexual exploitation and abuse of any UN peacekeeping operation, with 272 allegations (some involving multiple perpetrators and survivors) against military personnel, according to a public database that tracks peacekeeper misconduct.
