Circumstances of deaths raise concerns about pressure on gathering and departure facilities
The fatal shooting of two Eritrean men in Libya has raised concerns about overcrowding in UN facilities for refugees there.
The pair were reportedly killed in Tripoli last Thursday, days after the UN refugee agency had pressed them to leave a so-called gathering and departure facility (GDF).
Continue reading...Warring sides also plan to deploy more troops despite Russian-Turkish brokered deal
A Russian-Turkish brokered ceasefire between the two warring groups in Libya was struggling to take hold in Tripoli as both sides accused the other of breaches and laid out plans to mobilise more forces.
In a breakthrough on Saturday, both sides in the civil war – the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA), based in Tripoli, and the Libyan National Army (LNA) forces led from the east of Libya by Gen Khalifa Haftar – agreed to a ceasefire proposed last week by Russia and Turkey.
Continue reading...The International Festival of Porto-Novo is the capital’s annual celebration of Benin’s cultural diversity. The theme of this year’s festival is Ogoun, one of the spiritual entities of the voodoo religion
Continue reading...Murchison Falls is a magnet for tourism but energy projects, not least a possible dam, threaten the wildlife haven
Along the road that takes you into Murchison Falls national park, animals once roamed freely. Narrow roads provided the perfect environment for them, so “they [didn’t] feel like they are in a foreign land”, says tour operator Everest Kayondo.
But not any more. The park’s lush forest is being uprooted and red trucks and yellow diggers stand ready to pave the road – and the way for new energy projects.
Continue reading...Claims lodged in high court in Belfast on behalf of victims of bombings in Northern Ireland
A fresh attempt to sue Libya for supplying the IRA with the plastic explosive Semtex during the Troubles is being launched by victims and the bereaved in Northern Ireland.
Claims have been lodged with the high court in Belfast on Thursday on behalf of two men who are seeking compensation respectively for the 1993 Shankill Road bombing and a blast on the Falls Road, west Belfast, in 1988.
Continue reading...Erdoğan and Putin make call for ceasefire, as Italian PM hosts Libyan factions in Rome
An unprecedented drive involving Europe, Russia and Turkey has been launched to broker a Libyan ceasefire, and end the risk of the country collapsing into total all-out war.
However, it is unclear to which extent the joint Russian-Turkish call for a ceasefire by 12 January should be seen as complementary or in competition to an intensified Italian-led European push to end the fighting.
Continue reading...Railway operator apologises for delay of more than 24 hours to Johannesburg-Cape Town train
South Africa’s state-owned rail operator has apologised after passengers were left stranded for more than a day on a train from Johannesburg to Cape Town.
Shosholoza Meyl said the train, which departed on Sunday, was scheduled to arrive in Cape Town on Monday evening. It is now expected to arrive late on Tuesday.
Continue reading...Venezuela also in top five as IRC’s David Miliband warns of devastating impact from war, floods, droughts and disease
Yemen has topped an annual watchlist of countries most likely to face humanitarian catastrophe in 2020, for the second year running.
Continued fighting, economic collapse and weak governance mean that more than 24 million Yemenis – about 80% of the population – will be in need of humanitarian assistance this year, according to analysis by the International Rescue Committee (IRC), which found that another five years of conflict could cost $29bn (£22bn).
Continue reading...Fears UN-backed government may be overrun as key territory lost to Libyan National Army
The nine-month assault on the UN-backed Libyan government has moved closer to a bloody climax, with the Tripoli administration reeling from the loss of key coastal territory to rebel forces, and a lack of international condemnation of a drone strike that massacred 30 of its military cadets.
Russia and the United Arab Emirates were continuing to pour arms into the country in support of the Libyan National Army rebel forces, led by Gen Khalifa Haftar.
Continue reading...As a failing electric grid further burdens the creaking health system, doctors continue to seek opportunities abroad
The waiting rooms at the Ifako Ijaiye hospital in Lagos are overcrowded with patients waiting to see doctors. Often people have to stand outside.
“It is now like this every day. We have to come early and pick numbers before we can meet the doctors. Even though the doctors try to see everybody, it has got worse,” says Oluchi Ezegbo, a market trader from Okearo, in nearby Ogun state.
Continue reading...Data showing downward global trend in explosive harm comes amid fears over rising violence and threat of war in Middle East
Civilians killed or injured in Libya by explosive weapons rose by 131% last year, with the number of incidents at its highest since 2011, the year of the Benghazi uprising, according to new data seen by the Guardian.
Most of the 900 people who died or were hurt in explosions in the country in 2019 – up from 392 in 2018 – were victims of airstrikes, according to statistics from Action on Armed Violence (AOAV), a charity based in London.
Continue reading...Holding city would be a major gain for warlord in battle against Tripoli government
Libyan forces loyal to the eastern-based commander Khalifa Haftar said they had taken control of the strategic coastal city of Sirte in a rapid advance preceded by airstrikes.
Holding Sirte would be an important gain for Haftar, who since April has been waging a military offensive on the capital, Tripoli, home to Libya’s internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA).
Continue reading...Gunfire also heard as he tried to hold gathering for 2021 presidential bid
Ugandan police have arrested Bobi Wine and fired teargas at his supporters as the pop star turned politician tried to hold a rally for his 2021 presidential bid.
Wine and his People Power pressure group had aimed to start a programme of consultations with supporters on his plans to challenge Yoweri Museveni, 75, who has ruled Uganda since 1986.
Continue reading...Legality of allowing Harare officials to interview those awaiting removal questioned
The Home Office faces a series of legal challenges over its decision to allow Zimbabwean government officials to interview people from the country who are seeking asylum in the UK.
The government was criticised earlier this year for working with the Zimbabwean state to accelerate the removal of asylum seekers after Robert Mugabe was forced from power, despite continuing human rights abuses in the country.
Continue reading...President’s critics decry plan to retrace steps of his guerrilla forces that seized power in 1986
The Ugandan president, Yoweri Museveni, began a six-day march through the jungle on Saturday to retrace the steps of his guerrilla forces when they seized power three decades ago
Museveni is one of Africa’s longest-ruling leaders. He seized power in 1986 after taking part in rebellions to end the rule of Idi Amin and Milton Obote, and is expected to seek a sixth term in office in elections due in 2021. Critics dismissed the march as an attempt to rally support ahead of the poll.
Continue reading...Palm plantations are fuelling a booming international trade but the people who live on its edges feel forgotten
The sign at the entrance to the palm oil plantation in Grand Bassa has faded thanks to Liberia’s relentless cycle of scorching sun and torrential rain. Even so, it’s possible to make out the phrase: “Your community is rich: Let’s have a fair share.”
Several miles farther on, past endless rows of carefully cultivated palm trees, it’s a slogan that bears little relation to reality. Gbenee Town is a small huddle of huts surrounded by a plantation more than six times the size of London’s Richmond Park.
Continue reading...Move meant as deterrent to Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar raises fears of escalation in violence
Turkey’s parliament has approved by a large majority a bill that allows troops to be deployed to Libya in support of the Tripoli-based government in the country’s worsening civil war.
The vote, taken during a special sitting, comes amid fears that the threat of Turkish intervention, in addition to that by other regional competitors, could intensify violence in Libya. MPs voted 325-184 in favour of the deployment.
Continue reading...A farmer in eastern Uganda says he clings to the hope that the UN sustainable development goals could change things
Where I live, people are organised in clans. I belong to a clan where even 100 people, gathered together, can’t raise $100 (£75) to organise a funeral.
I come from a family that couldn’t afford to pay tuition of $10 a term when I was a student two decades ago. Many of my young relatives are out of school now, because their parents can’t afford a full academic term of $15.
Continue reading...All-female Genji Hip Hop collective use rhymes and art to fight cultural stereotypes and gender violence
Aminata Gaye picks up a grey scarf and stretches it into a T shape. She ducks under the fabric, wraps it around her neck and crisscrosses it over the crown of her head.
It is almost dusk outside, but in this windowless room there is no indication of time as Gaye gets dressed for a concert starting at 9pm. Her veil in position, the 27-year-old old is transformed into Mina la voilée (Mina the veiled one), her stage name as a rapper in Dakar, Senegal.
Continue reading...All they want is to do is play professionally, but for many young hopefuls from Africa their expensive journey to Turkey ends in exploitation
• Photographs by Italo Rondinella
For months, Yves Kibendo woke up every morning at 6am. He would leave his house in an ancient area of Istanbul, returning late in the evening, after working for 12 hours in a textile factory.
He was paid under the table, or sometimes not at all.
Continue reading...