Author: Abdihakim Kalale

The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), a Europe-based human rights organization, has accused French energy giant TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) of being indirectly complicit in alleged war crimes, torture, and forced disappearances carried out by Mozambican government troops. The group has filed a criminal complaint with France’s anti-terrorism prosecutor. The allegations stem from the period after TotalEnergies evacuated its staff from the liquefied natural gas (LNG) project site in northern Mozambique and handed the territory over to the state. ECCHR says Mozambican soldiers whose salaries were paid under a security agreement linked to the project committed abuses in the…

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has confirmed the killing of Brig. Gen. Musa Uba by militants from the Boko Haram offshoot ISWAP, days after the senior military officer was abducted during an ambush in northeastern Borno State that also left four soldiers dead. Tinubu’s confirmation came through a statement issued Tuesday by his spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, in which the president expressed deep sorrow over the “tragic death of our soldiers and officers on active duty.” Local media had earlier reported that Uba was kidnapped on Friday night when ISWAP militants ambushed his team — which included operatives from the Civilian Joint…

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa directly addressed growing speculation about his possible resignation, saying he is prepared to step down if the ruling African National Congress (ANC) asks him to do so. The ANC leadership, however, firmly dismissed the rumors as “pure fiction.” Speaking at an ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Johannesburg on Monday, Ramaphosa said he wanted to give a “clear response” to days of media and social-media reports claiming he would resign after the G20 Leaders’ Summit. “If the party wants me to resign, I can do it tomorrow. Those who oppose me should say it…

Col. Alain Kiwewa, the administrator of Lubero territory in North Kivu province, said residents and officials recovered 23 bodies from the Byambwe health center following Friday night’s raid.He said 11 women were among the victims inside the facility, which serves as a referral center for conflict-displaced communities. Additional civilians were killed in three nearby villages, bringing the death toll to 29, according to Kiwewa. Local media reported that ADF fighters also set fire to parts of the health facility and several homes in the area. “Attacks on health facilities are a crime against humanity. These despicable acts must not go…

Anwar will travel with senior government officials and a business delegation aboard a special Malaysia Airlines charter flight. “The visit is aimed at deepening economic cooperation, attracting investments and diversifying Malaysia’s international partnerships under the government’s Madani agenda,” the prime minister’s senior press secretary, Tunku Nashrul Abaidah, said. High-level engagements in Ethiopia In Addis Abeba, Anwar is expected to meet Ethiopian President Taye Atske Selassie and participate in the Malaysia–Ethiopia High-Level Business Forum.Talks with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed will focus on “strategic cooperation,” with several memoranda of understanding expected to be exchanged. He will also meet African Union Commission Chairperson…

The declaration followed recommendations by the WHO Regional Verification Commission for Measles and Rubella Elimination, which met in Johannesburg in October. In a statement, WHO said the three island states have interrupted endemic transmission of both viruses for more than 36 months, while maintaining surveillance systems capable of rapidly detecting and containing imported cases. WHO Regional Director for Africa Mohamed Janabi called the achievement a major public health milestone. “It shows what’s possible when countries put prevention first and make vaccines a priority,” he said, urging African states to build on the progress so that “every child grows up healthy…

Lualaba official Roy Kaumba Mayonde said the incident occurred on Saturday at the Kalando mine, where unauthorized artisanal miners had entered the concession despite a ban. According to the government mining agency SAEMAPE, military personnel guarding the site allegedly fired shots, triggering panic among the miners, who rushed across a wooden bridge that had been erected by the miners themselves. The unstable structure gave way under the weight of the crowd, causing the fatalities.The military has not commented on the allegation. Mayonde described the incident as “tragic,” noting that mining companies frequently face incursions by informal miners attempting to access…

The attackers, armed with rifles, stormed the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga town around 4 a.m. and exchanged gunfire with security personnel before breaching the perimeter fence, police spokesperson Nafiu Abubakar Kotarkoshi said in a statement. Vice Principal Hassan Yakubu Makuku was shot dead while trying to resist the gunmen, and another staff member was wounded, he added. Police said additional tactical teams, soldiers and local vigilante groups have launched a search-and-rescue operation and are combing nearby forests and suspected escape routes. Northwest Nigeria has experienced repeated mass abductions by armed groups seeking ransom. Despite government security measures,…

Prosecutor Julian Nicholls told judges during a special sentencing hearing that Abd-Al-Rahman was responsible for “murder, torture and mass atrocities,” adding that witnesses had described him killing two people with an axe during attacks in Darfur more than 20 years ago. Abd-Al-Rahman, 76, was convicted in October on 27 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, torture, persecution and the orchestration of rape and other abuses by Janjaweed militias. Defence seeks seven-year term Defence lawyers, who earlier argued he was a victim of mistaken identity, are expected to submit their sentencing arguments later this week.They have requested…

Kenya’s main labour federation has called for the deportation of a Chinese national accused of abusing and exploiting workers at a factory in one of the country’s Export Processing Zones (EPZs), prompting an immediate public response from the Chinese Embassy in Nairobi. In a letter dated Nov. 12 to Prime Cabinet Secretary and Foreign Affairs Minister Musalia Mudavadi, the Central Organization of Trade Unions (Kenya), known as COTU, urged authorities to deport Xiao Jianzhong under Kenya’s immigration and labour laws. COTU Secretary-General Francis Atwoli accused Xiao — who reportedly holds Kenyan immigration credentials under Passport No. E0111474 — of “continued…

South Africa will restart long-delayed nuclear power projects and reopen key research facilities as part of efforts to rebuild domestic expertise and strengthen its position in the global nuclear fuel market, Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said Sunday. “As a country, we say we are not going to be left behind,” Ramokgopa told reporters at a news conference in Pretoria. Acknowledging years of setbacks and a significant loss of skilled engineers, the minister said South Africa is reopening nuclear fuel development laboratories, reviving the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) program and working with universities to train a new generation of nuclear…

At least 32 people were killed when an overcrowded makeshift bridge collapsed at a copper mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a regional official said Sunday. Lualaba Province’s Interior Minister Roy Kaumba Mayonde told reporters that the collapse occurred Saturday at the Kalando mine in Mulondo after “the hasty crossing of the diggers,” which caused the temporary bridge to give way and plunge into a flooded ditch. Mayonde said an investigation has been launched to identify those responsible and noted that illegal miners had forcibly entered the site despite a strict ban imposed due to heavy rains and heightened…

Somalia on Sunday officially launched the distribution of voter cards in the capital Mogadishu ahead of the city’s long-awaited municipal elections, marking a major step in the country’s transition toward direct voting. The National Independent Electoral Commission said nearly one million registered voters in the Benadir region are expected to take part in the polls. Commission Chairperson Abdulkarim Ahmed Hassan urged Mogadishu residents to collect their voter cards promptly, noting that preparations are on track despite earlier delays. The municipal elections had originally been scheduled for Oct. 30. Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre, who visited the commission’s headquarters on Sunday,…

Mauritania’s coast guard on Saturday said it rescued 227 irregular migrants aboard a vessel intercepted off the coast of Nouadhibou in the country’s northwest. In a statement, the coast guard said one of its patrols stopped the boat after a “tragic” and prolonged journey of more than 10 days. It said the passengers — among them women and children — were severely fatigued and suffering from hunger and dehydration. According to the statement, the migrants were of several West African nationalities, including 135 from Gambia and 73 from Guinea, while the remainder were from Senegal and Guinea-Bissau. Authorities said medical…

The Central African Republic’s (CAR) election authority on Friday approved seven candidates to run in the country’s Dec. 28 presidential polls, including incumbent President Faustin-Archange Touadera. Touadera, first elected in 2016, is seeking a third term — a move enabled by a 2023 constitutional amendment that removed previous term limits. The National Election Authority confirmed that two of Touadera’s leading rivals, former Prime Minister Henri-Marie Dondra and opposition figure Anicet-Georges Dologuele, were also cleared to contest the race after concerns they could be disqualified under new nationality requirements. Dologuele, who ran for president in 2020, renounced his French citizenship in…

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) on Saturday confirmed an outbreak of the deadly Marburg virus in southern Ethiopia. In a statement, the agency said the National Reference Laboratory in Ethiopia verified the presence of Marburg virus disease (MVD) after authorities detected a suspected hemorrhagic fever cluster in the Jinka area earlier this week. The head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said Friday that at least nine cases had been identified in southern Ethiopia. Africa CDC noted that preliminary analysis shows the detected strain is similar to variants previously recorded in East Africa.…