Haitians speak of exhaustion and hopelessness as new UN force gets set to tackle gangs
Slated to eventually include up to 5,500 police and military officers, the GSF aims to regain control of the country by fighting gangs through a broader and more combative mandate, while negotiations are continuing on the political front to pave the way for elections.
Collateral damage: How mere suspicions led to 12-day Israel-Iran war with US in supporting cast role
The Israeli attacks in June came after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released a report accusing Iran of enriching uranium to near weapons grade levels, and one day before the IAEA declared that Iran was not complying with its nuclear safeguards obligations.
US Congress explores possibilities of compelling spy agencies to declassify evidence on origins of Covid
Tucked deep inside the sprawling National Defence Authorisation Act for Fiscal Year 2026 is language that requires the director of National Intelligence to conduct a declassification review with the heads of federal intelligence agencies of information about those who funded coronavirus research and what’s known about risky “gain-of-function” work performed at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
AGOA extension by US coincides with Kenya’s accelerated export diversification push
On December 2, during Kenyan President William Ruto’s visit to Washington, US President Donald Trump’s administration announced that it supports a one-year extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, the trade initiative with sub-Saharan Africa that was to expire last Tuesday, according to a White House official.
Tension over disputed election forces Tanzania President Samia Suluhu to shelve Independence Day celebrations fearing protests
Prime Minister Mwigulu Nchemba on Monday asked all nonessential workers to stay home on Tuesday. The annual Independence Day celebrations were cancelled in November and the government said funds that would have been used for the celebrations would be used to repair damaged infrastructure.
A hundred schoolchildren abducted in Nigeria are released but more are still held
At least 303 schoolchildren were seized at the Niger state school together with 12 of their teachers when gunmen attacked the St Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri community on November 21. Fifty escaped in the hours that followed.
‘Bloody peace’: 30 killed, 20 injured in bomb explosion in eastern Congo after army clashes with militia
More than 300 armed groups vie for a foothold in mineral-rich eastern DRC near the border with Rwanda, most prominently the Rwanda-backed M23 group. The conflict has created one of the world’s most significant humanitarian crises with more than seven million people displaced, officials say.
Will GSF breed to more violence? Locals complain foreigners come with preconceived plan that isolates Haitians as key partners in intervention
According to the latest BINUH – the UN’s office in Haiti – report, more than 60 per cent of gang-related casualties between June and September came during security operations.
Fading American dream: How Trump’s new policies shattered hopes of 600,000 refugees listed to relocate to US
As part of Trump’s crackdown on both legal and illegal migration, the Republican president has upended the decades-old refugee programme that has served as a beacon for those fleeing war and persecution. In October, he resumed the program but set a historic low of refugee admissions at just 7,500 – mostly white South Africans.
As UN Security Council’s new Gang Suppression Force gets ready to take over from Kenya-led mission in Haiti, past scepticism persists
After the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission failed to stem Haiti’s rapidly deteriorating security situation, the UN Security Council approved Resolution 2793 on September 30 to replace the MSS with a new force.
