Ethiopian government forces kill 12 civilians in sustained weeklong bombing of Tigray town
At least six people were killed and 21 injured in an Ethiopian army airstrike Thursday on the Tigray regional capital, Mekelle, hospital sources told VOA. The attack brings the total number of casualties reported by medical personnel from a series of government bomb strikes since last week to at least...
Military council will appoint technocrat PM to run government, Sudan’s governing junta announces
The Sudanese general who seized power in a coup this week said the military he heads will appoint a technocrat prime minister to rule alongside it within a week. In an interview with Russia’s state-owned Sputnik news agency published on Friday, Abdel-Fattah Burhan said the new premier will form a...
Somali president, PM commit to ‘speeding up elections’ but tension high in Mogadishu
After weeks of heated disputes between the outgoing President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo and his Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble over the disappearance of a female spy, the two men finally agreed to move on. According to a deal signed by Farmajo and Roble, “speeding up elections is a top priority.”...
Somalia tops list of most dangerous countries for journalists to work for sixth year running
Over the past decade, 226 of the 278 journalists killed in a nexus of corruption, organised crime, extremist groups, and government retaliation, have been murdered with impunity, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists’ 2021 Impunity Index, published today, October 28. The annual Index spotlights countries where journalists are murdered...
Baby elephant found trapped in a wire snare saved, flown to recovery centre by Zimbabwean rescuers
Rescuers in Zimbabwe airlifted a seriously injured elephant calf to safety after she was found entangled in a wire snare, with one ear almost completely detached, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) reports. IFAW said in statement that fishermen d spotted the approximately 18-month-old female calf wondering alone on...
Catch-22 for new military strongmen in Sudan as public servants resist new regime
The Sudanese army was facing widening opposition on Thursday to this week’s coup, with state officials in Khartoum vowing disobedience and activists mobilising for mass demonstrations later this week. The takeover led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan on Monday against a civilian government has brought thousands of people into the...
Sudan’s ruling military sacks six envoys who criticised Monday ouster of PM Abdalla Hamdok
Sudan’s ruling military has sacked six ambassadors and security forces have tightened their crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, even as international pressure against this week’s coup grows. The decision, announced late on Wednesday on state media, included Sudan’s ambassadors to the US, the European Union, China, Qatar, France and the head...
Civil society groups raise alarm over lack of transparency in Madagascar’s lucrative mining industry
A dozen civil society groups have denounced a lack of transparency in Madagascar’s lucrative mining sector, which accounts for 30 per cent of its exports. Rich in gold, emeralds, rubies and sapphires, Madagascar and its wealth have done little to contribute to its development or improve the living conditions of...
For over 50 years, abortion was a human rights issue in US, now Supreme Court ban looms
An upcoming case in the US Supreme Court might hasten the end of abortion across roughly half of the United States – a right that the country has defended for nearly 50 years. More than 800 scientists and several scientific organisations have provided evidence to the court showing that abortion...
US Homeland Security reports ‘startling’ rise in number of illegal immigrants after Biden came to power
Not only was the record for illegal immigrant apprehensions along the southern border shattered in 2021, the fiscal year, which ended in September. The month concluded with a bang – a final month spike of migrants from Haiti (132 per cent), Turkey (89 per cent), India (82 per cent), Ukraine...
