Children rescued from the school were said to have been abused and starved
More than 300 captives, most of them children and many in chains, have been rescued from a building in the northern Nigerian city of Kaduna.
All the children, seen by a Reuters reporter at the scene, were boys aged from five to their late teens. Some had their ankles manacled and others were chained by their legs to large metal hubcaps.
Continue reading...Even before Egyptian authorities warned that they would “decisively confront” any protests that take place on Friday, it was evident that it would require extraordinary courage to answer the call to the streets. Abdel Fatah al-Sisi’s regime has repeatedly shown its utter ruthlessness since seizing power six years ago in a coup. Security forces killed thousands of people protesting against the takeover. The country has locked up 60,000 political prisoners. Executions have soared this year.
Yet hundreds of people did demonstrate in cities including Cairo, Suez and Alexandria last week. The authorities responded with teargas, rubber bullets, beatings and live ammunition. Almost 2,000 people have since been arrested – more than are thought to have taken part. They include several prominent figures who do not appear to have been involved in any way, including the internationally recognised rights lawyer Mahienour el-Massry, who was defending protesters; the journalist and opposition politician Khaled Dawoud; and Hazem Hosny, a former spokesperson for Sami Anan, the former military chief of staff detained since he tried to challenge Mr Sisi for the presidency last year.
Continue reading...Demonstrations planned for Friday against rule of Abdel Fatah al-Sisi
More than 1,900 people have been arrested in Egypt in the last week, as the country braces for further demonstrations on Friday against the rule of president Abdel Fatah al-Sisi.
The figures were compiled by the Cairo-based NGO the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights. Bystanders and others who had little to do with the protests were reportedly detained along with the demonstrators, and those arrested were being held across the country.
Continue reading...Banning of BBC and crackdown on protests seemingly not on agenda at PM’s talks with Sisi
The prime minister, Boris Johnson, lavished praise on Egypt at a bilateral meeting with its president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, in New York, hours before the UK hosted a global media freedom conference with Amal Clooney, the UK’s special envoy on media freedom.
Sisi has just instigated a fresh massive crackdown on journalists following the outbreak of protests against corruption in Egypt.
Continue reading...Inaugural World Poverty Forum – dubbed ‘Davos with the poor’ – to take place in Kenya’s Kibera to ensure voices of poorest are heard
A global conference on poverty is to take place in Africa’s largest slum in an effort to make sure the poorest get a voice.
The inaugural World Poverty Forum will be announced on Wednesday in New York at the Decade of Action event taking place during UN general assembly week. It is already being dubbed as “Davos with the poor”.
Continue reading...Mohamed Ali is unlikely source of viral videos about corruption that have stirred resentment
Hundreds of protesters have taken to the streets across Egypt since Friday in a rare show of public dissent against Abdel-Fatah al-Sisi’s rule. But the call for demonstrations came from an unlikely source: a contractor and part-time actor living in exile in Barcelona, who has made bold corruption claims in a string of viral videos.
Mohamed Ali is a former military contractor who addresses Egyptians from his apartment, shirt often unbuttoned and cigarette in hand. His colloquial style of speech, sometimes swearing in an accent more working class than his own, is intended to present a man-of-the-people appeal. Ali has called for a million Egyptians to march on Friday.
Continue reading...Donald Trump’s new national security adviser studied at the segregated University of the Orange Free State
Donald Trump’s new national security adviser attended a segregated university in South Africa, described by one of its former vice-chancellors as “routinely racist”.
Robert O’Brien, a relatively junior official appointed to the top White House post on Wednesday, went to the University of the Orange Free State under the South African apartheid system. O’Brien’s LinkedIn page says he was there in 1987, while still an undergraduate. He received a scholarship from Rotary International and according to its records he was there from 1986. The first black undergraduate was admitted in 1988.
Continue reading...Governments are in crisis-planning mode over efforts to repatriate 500,000 tourists
The collapse of Thomas Cook has plunged governments across Europe and Africa into crisis-planning mode as they help with the repatriation of more than 500,000 stranded tourists and begin to count the cost of the holiday company’s demise on already-battered economies.
About 50,000 holidaymakers are stranded in Greece, 21,000 in Turkey, 15,000 in Cyprus and 4,500 in Tunisia. Thousands of tourists are also stuck in the US and dozens of other countries. Most of the tourists are from the UK with an estimated 150,000 people, followed by Germany with about 140,000 holidaymakers.
Continue reading...World Health Organization frustrated by lack of clinical data sharing, while Tanzania insists its tests show disease is not Ebola
Several unexplained cases of a disease with Ebola-like symptoms in Tanzania have prompted an extraordinary statement from the World Health Organization questioning the response of the country’s health authorities.
WHO warned that lack of information over the cases, including clinical data, possible contacts and potential laboratory tests performed for differential diagnosis of the patients had not been communicated, leaving it unable to assess the potential risk.
Continue reading...When he ended the brutal 22-year presidency of Yahya Jammeh, he was hailed as a hero. But the hope inspired by Adama Barrow’s ascent has long since faded
Almost three years ago, Yahya Jammeh’s 22-year rule over the small west African nation of the Gambia came to a shock end. Fed up with the constant fear and human rights abuses, a floundering economy and endemic corruption, Gambians voted out one of Africa’s most notorious strongmen.
The man who beat him, estate agent, businessman and one-time Argos security guard Adama Barrow, was a political nobody who united a divided opposition in a coalition, promising to create jobs, repeal bad laws and create a level political playing field. He also promised to be only a transitional president, resigning after three years.
Continue reading...Younger generation takes to the streets in defiance of six-year ban on demonstrations
Hundreds of Egyptians have been swept up in a campaign of arrests targeting protesters, as demonstrations against Abdel-Fatah al-Sisi’s rule continue.
The Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms (ECRF), a Cairo-based NGO, reported on Sunday that at least 220 people had been arrested since protests began on Friday night. The organisation said it had set up an “emergency room” to deal with the spike in arrests, and that at least 100 more people were likely to have been detained after protests in Suez, Alexandria and Giza. Another NGO, the Egyptian Centre for Economic & Social Rights, stated it had recorded at least 274 arrests since the demonstrations began.
Continue reading...An unexpected post-Mugabe boom has caught the attention of international art collectors
In a makeshift studio, in an empty house on a ridge with a spectacular view of trees and blue sky, two artists are setting out brushes and paint. Half-finished canvases lean against walls. The bustle and noise of the city is far away.
Gresham Tapiwa Nyaude and Helen Teede are among a new wave of young artists in Zimbabwe who are attracting attention from collectors and curators worldwide. Both now work in a converted house surrounded by forest, a 40-minute drive from the capital, Harare.
Continue reading...Underwater proposal gone tragically wrong was recorded and posted to Facebook
A woman has paid a heartbreaking tribute to her boyfriend, who drowned while proposing marriage to her in Tanzania.
Kenesha Antoine posted a video on Facebook of her boyfriend, Steven Weber, swimming up to the window of their underwater room at the Manta Resort on Pemba Island, off Tanzania.
Continue reading...At least 55 people reported arrested over protests calling for President Sisi to stand down
Hundreds of Egyptians took to the streets in Cairo and other cities in rare protests against the country’s president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, responding to an online call for a demonstration against government corruption.
Videos shared on social media showed protesters in central Cairo as well as the port cities of Alexandria and Suez, demanding that Sisi leave office. Protests also occurred in the towns of Damietta, Damanhur and Mahalla.
Continue reading...Action Against Hunger urges authorities to allow ‘life-saving’ work to continue after sanction imposed without ‘notice or explanation’
The Nigerian army has ordered Action Against Hunger to close its main office in Maiduguri, in Nigeria’s north-eastern Borno state, amid allegations the group has been “aiding and abetting terrorism”.
Soldiers forced the organisation to stop its work in the region on 18 September.
Continue reading...Peter Magombeyi, who was overseeing a doctors’ strike, turns up confused and in pain
A doctor and labour activist in Zimbabwe whose reported abduction led to widespread protests by medical staff has been found, disoriented and in pain but alive.
Peter Magombeyi, the acting president of the Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association (ZHDA), disappeared at about 10pm (2100 BST) local time on Saturday. The union leader sent a short message to colleagues saying he believed he was being kidnapped before all communications ceased.
Continue reading...Growing number of young fighters combined with sexual violence and ethnic tensions threatens return to civil war, UN warns
UN investigators have warned that despite the fragile peace in South Sudan, the recruitment of children into the army and militias is on the increase as each side seeks to bolster infantry numbers.
The investigators also warned that sexual violence against women and localised ethnic violence are increasing tensions that could return the country to civil war.
Continue reading...Beehives built out of scrap wood in the country’s virgin forests have reaped rewards for 10,000 local families
A former hedge fund manager has become one of Africa’s most prolific single-source honey producers through a social enterprise that impacts thousands of families.
The Zambia-based organisation, Mama Buci – meaning “Mother Honey” in Bemba, the local language – was started 10 years ago by former trader Martin Zuch and has since grown to provide more than 10,000 families with income.
Continue reading...Activists fear Peter Magombeyi was kidnapped by state agents for role in doctors’ strike
Concerns are growing for a doctor and labour activist in Zimbabwe who remains missing more than 48 hours after his abduction by suspected state security agents.
Peter Magombeyi, the acting president of the Zimbabwean Hospital Doctors Association (ZHDA), disappeared at around 10pm on Saturday. The union leader sent a short message to colleagues saying he believed he was being kidnapped before all communications ceased.
Continue reading...Oly Ilunga detained in connection with $4.3m allocated for fighting the deadly virus
The former health minister for the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been arrested over the alleged mismanagement of $4.3m (£3.4m) dedicated to the Ebola response.
Oly Ilunga, who resigned as health minister in July having been removed from leading the Ebola response by President Félix Tshisekedi, has denied any wrongdoing.
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