Israel and Hamas swap hostages and prisoners in second phase of ceasefire deal
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Palestinians in Gaza will not be allowed to cross back to the northern part of the territory until the issue is resolved. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians had been displaced from northern Gaza during the war and many were expecting to return from Sunday.
Uganda: After ecocide and ethnocide, now President Museveni is churning out zombies and presiding over intellectual genocide
In Uganda ethnocide and ecocide are taking place simultaneously as the cultural heads sustained by the centre, are wallowing in goodies and monies provided to them by the very government presiding over ecocides and ethnocides in their cultural areas. Virtually all cultural heads, politically deprived, are swimming in their diminishing cultural base and ecologies.
Nigerian soldiers kill 79 militants, suspected kidnappers as army ramps up war against rebels
The 2014 kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls by Boko Haram extremists in the village of Chibok in the north-eastern state of Borno – the epicentre of the conflict between armed groups and the military – captured the attention of the world.
Beatification of Congolese civil servant murdered for fighting corruption picks up, inspires generation
The Rev Francesco Tedeschi, an Italian priest who is spearheading the beatification cause as the postulator, said the Vatican decree of martyrdom indeed recognizes Kositi died out of hatred for the faith, because his decision to not accept the spoiled food was profoundly inspired by the Gospel.
Fresh fears of regional war as Rwanda-backed M23 rebels push into eastern Congo’s capital Goma
On Friday, the governor of eastern Congo’s North Kivu province, where Goma is the provincial capital, died of wounds sustained on the frontline. The circumstances of Maj-Gen Peter Cirimwami’s death were not immediately known – he was visiting troops fighting the rebels when he was wounded.
Satellite images show Sudan’s largest oil refinery burning after being torched by civil war fighters
Al-Jaili Refinery sits some 60 kilometres (40 miles) north of Khartoum, the capital. The refinery has been subject to previous attacks as the RSF has claimed control of the facility since April 2023, as their forces had been guarding it. Local Sudanese media report the RSF also surrounded the refinery with fields of landmines to slow any advance.
Africa to bear brunt of US’ broad freeze on foreign aid as Trump orders review
A USAID official, who requested anonymity, said officers responsible for projects in Ukraine have been told to stop all work. Among the projects that have been frozen are support to schools and health assistance like emergency maternal care and childhood vaccinations, the official said.
Misfiring Nigerian military comes under searing criticism after its airstrikes kill 400 civilians
Since 2017, the military has killed about 400 civilians, according to SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based research firm that gathered reports and data from affected villages regarding the airstrikes. Rights groups and citizens have expressed concern over the military’s actions in Africa’s most populous country, which has been battling violent security crises on multiple fronts for many years.
Trade unions in South Africa accuse state of ‘horrific’ crackdown as 78 corpses pulled from illegal mine
Mametlwe Sebei, a trade union leader who has been trying to help the miners, said police had begun attempting to force the miners up to the surface in August by removing a pulley system used to deliver food and water supplies to them. Sebei said some miners had died crawling through flooded tunnels in an attempt to reach shafts that would have allowed them to climb out.
Rising gaps in relationships: Why men prefer younger partners and women switch to younger men when they hit 60 years
For women, a similar but less strong effect was observed after the age of 25 years. On average, for every 10 years of age, the preferred age difference at the beginning of a new relationship between a woman and her partner rises by about one additional year.
