South African police accused of helping criminals register security companies to access firearms
Naidoo told the court Gounden allegedly had the Verulam Police Station under his control and some detectives were on his payroll.
IMF says while Sub-Saharan Africa debt levels to fall, new funding has become scarce
After painful defaults for Zambia, Ghana and Ethiopia since 2020, a rise in external debt servicing and a fall in funds from overseas has led to the lowest net foreign flows into Sub-Saharan Africa since the global financial crisis of 2008-9, the IMF said.
Gang violence kills 2,500 in Haiti in four months as international support takes a backseat
Gang violence, which has worsened for years, escalated on February 29 when unelected Prime Minister Ariel Henry travelled to Kenya to fast-track a planned international security support mission, but days later he resigned under US pressure.
Iran-Israel hostility spirals rapidly from sub-threshold level to overt war that sucks in Middle East
Israel’s targeting of the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1 has been widely regarded as a step up in its openness to hit at Iran directly, though Tehran is accused of targeting an Israeli embassy in the past. The recent behaviour is a departure from the past when either party often tried to shroud their actions in the cloak of plausible (or sometimes implausible) deniability.
Israel retaliatory strikes on Iran rattle stocks but US Treasuries report recovery after attacks
Oil prices jumped $3 a barrel on concern that Middle East oil supply could be disrupted, but later pared some of the gains after Iran said it has no plans for an immediate retaliation, denying that any attack had taken place.
UN human rights chief concerned that the world is forgeting eastern Congo’s escalating violence
Fighting has intensified between security forces and the M23 rebel group, the most dominant in the region with alleged links to neighbouring Rwanda. Attacks by the rebel group forced at least 165,000 people to flee their homes in March, most of them pouring into Goma, whose estimated population of two million people is already overstretched with inadequate resources.
Questions raised about African navies conspicuous absence in fight against piracy
Western navies and the Indian Navy have stepped in to contain the emerging threat landscape through multinational naval responses – including Prosperity Guardian, Operation Aspides (EUNAVFOR) and Operation ATALANTA (anti-piracy). These efforts are vested in maintaining the integrity of the maritime component underpinning the global economy.
Africa’s threadbare maritime security in Red Sea and Western Indian Ocean exposes weak links
The Houthis have also demonstrated a robust capacity for ballistic missile, drone, and subsea technological disruption. These deployments flag the proliferation of modern materiel to nonstate armed groups. The increased maritime militarisation of nonstate actors and criminal groups poses a direct threat to African assets, infrastructure and national interests elsewhere on the continent.
Iran’s response to Israeli attack on embassy in Syria guided by ‘saving face without losing its head’
A source familiar with US intelligence was not aware of the message conveyed via Oman but said Iran has “been very clear” that its response to the attack on its Damascus embassy compound would be “controlled” and “non-escalatory” and planned “to use regional proxies to launch a number of attacks on Israel.”
Covid vaccine lies: ‘What we’ve learnt is that scientists cannot be trusted, they lie all the time’
According to Thacker, “If you’re going to be a corrupt journal the way Science Magazine has turned itself into a completely corrupt institution, then we need to begin to think about whether or not publicly funded research can be published in these journals.”
