Pugilistic VP Kamala Harris pushes the envelope as Biden struggles to restore Democrats’ confidence
Harris, whose approval ratings in recent public opinion polls also hover under 40 per cent, is also the US’s most popular Democratic politician after Biden. But some White House aides have privately questioned her effectiveness as an administration spokesperson and her ability to win were she at the top of the ticket.
Ugandan president’s son vows crackdown on graft in army but questions raised about complicity of his family
Uganda’s opposition has accused Museveni of fast-tracking his son’s military career to prepare him to take political power. Museveni has denied grooming him for the presidency.
UN in new $1.4 billion plan for 2.3 million South Sudanese refugees in East and Central Africa
The regional refugee plan complements a humanitarian appeal launched earlier this year, aimed at reaching 5.9 million people in South Sudan. Humanitarian partners will build on gains already made with host governments and regional bodies to improve the protection environment for refugees and asylum-seekers through enhanced access to asylum and civil documentation.
French lawmakers condemn ‘bloody and murderous’ 1961 massacre of Algerian protesters
About 12,000 Algerians were arrested in the crackdown and dozens were killed, “their bodies thrown into the Seine River,” President Emmanuel Macron acknowledged in 2021 on the 60th anniversary of the massacre.
Nigeria’s Access Holding to seek shareholders’ nod to raise $1.5 billion via share or bond sale
Shares of Nigerian-based Access Group, which operates across 15 countries, mostly in Africa but including Britain and France, rose 2.08 per cent to 24.50 naira on the Nigerian bourse. They hit a high of 30.70 naira in January.
UN human rights calls for immediate and bold action to address ‘cataclysmic’ situation in Haiti
As of the end of January, a total of 900 schools had temporarily closed, affecting roughly 200,000 children. Threats to school security are particularly acute in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince and in the northern part of nearby Artibonite province.
Con: X owner Elon Musk fought government surveillance, while profiting off state surveillance
In its petition to the Supreme Court last September, X’s attorneys took up the banner of communications privacy: “History demonstrates that the surveillance of electronic communications is both a fertile ground for government abuse and a lightning-rod political topic of intense concern to the public.” After the court declined to take up the case in January, Musk responded tweeting, “Disappointing that the Supreme Court declined to hear this matter.”
Formation of DRC new government on course as UNSC told M23 rebels have uprooted military
On humanitarian, human and civil security issues, Bintou Keita drew attention to atrocities committed by another rebel group – the ADF (Allied Democratic Forces) – active in the eastern DRC. She pointed to 200 civilian deaths since the start of 2024 on the Ituri/North Kivu provincial border.
Anti-Israel protesters interrupt Biden, Obama, Clinton at $25 million New York fundraiser
Biden, 81, has faced concerns about his age and fitness for a second four-year term. Recent Reuters/Ipsos polls show his approval rating at 40 per cent and in a tight race with Trump, 77, ahead of the November 5 election.
Since America has lost influence in African Sahel it has adopted China’s African foreign policy of ‘see-no evil’
The most recent State Department report on human rights in Equatorial Guinea details credible reports of extrajudicial killings, torture, “inhuman” punishment, arbitrary arrest and political imprisonment by the state, among many other abuses.
