Meeting meant to brief leaders about ‘best options’ for deploying force to Niger delayed indefinitely for ‘technical reasons’
West African nations have suspended a key military meeting on the crisis in Niger, a day after saying they would muster a “standby” force in their bid to reinstate the country’s deposed leader.
Fears also mounted for elected president Mohamed Bazoum, who was ousted by members of his guard on 26 July.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Zazia Bazoum says Mohamed Bazoum and other family members denied electricity after coup and have little to eat
Niger’s overthrown leader and his family are being held under inhumane conditions by their military captors, who have cut off the electricity to the presidential residence, leaving them to rapidly lose weight while food rots in the fridge, the president’s daughter has told the Guardian.
Zazia Bazoum, who was on holiday in France when Mohamed Bazoum was detained by his own presidential guard last month, said she is in near daily phone contact with her father, mother and brother, who she says are living without clean water and relying on supplies of rice and pasta, although their gas oven is running out of fuel.
Continue reading...The pandemic, cost-of-living crisis and the climate emergency are influencing responses to the largest-ever survey of young people
Getting a good education and a job are the top priorities for 10 to 24-year-olds, according to the preliminary results of the largest-ever global survey of young people.
More than 700,000 were asked what would improve their wellbeing. About 40% cited education and work, while 21% said safety and 16% good health and nutrition.
Continue reading...Ecowas says force is a last resort and would prefer diplomatic means of reinstating President Bazoum after army coup
Leaders of a powerful west African regional bloc have ordered the activation of its standby force, increasing the pressure on the senior army officers who deposed Niger’s democratically elected leader last month but leaving the door open for a diplomatic solution.
Speaking after an emergency Ecowas summit in Abuja, President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria warned that “no option is taken off the tables including the use of force as the last resort”.
Continue reading...Population has declined dramatically due to overfishing and environmental changes in the Indian Ocean
African penguins are on track for extinction by 2035 if measures are not taken to ensure their survival, campaigners have said.
The population of African penguins has declined dramatically over the past 100 years. In the early 20th century, it is thought that there were probably several million breeding pairs: today, fewer than 11,000 breeding pairs remain, and the population continues to fall sharply.
Continue reading...Mohamed Bazoum has been held at the presidential palace since the coup that deposed him
The US has expressed deep concern for Niger’s deposed president after his party said he and his family were running out of food and living under increasingly dire conditions.
President Mohamed Bazoum, the West African nation’s democratically elected leader, has been held at the presidential palace in Niamey with his wife and son since mutinous soldiers moved against him on July 26.
Continue reading...Four people rescued say vessel had set off from Sfax in Tunisia and had taken on water in stormy conditions
At least 41 people are feared to have died after a boat sank in rough seas off the Italian island of Lampedusa in the central Mediterranean, Italian authorities and the UN said on Wednesday.
Four survivors who were rescued on Wednesday morning by a Maltese bulk carrier and eventually moved to a patrol boat from the Italian coastguard, said they had been on a vessel that set off from the Tunisian port of Sfax six days ago and sank on its way to Italy’s shores.
Continue reading...Forced closure described as ‘a huge blow’ to human rights as country fosters hostile environment for activists, journalists and LGBTQ+ people
Uganda’s president, Yoweri Museveni, has come under attack from campaigners and activists for forcing the closure of the UN human rights office in the country.
The head office in the capital, Kampala, closed at the weekend. Two field offices, in Gulu and Moroto, had already ceased operating over the summer, after the government’s decision not to renew a host agreement allowing the agency to operate.
Continue reading...Victoria Nuland said commanders rejected calls to restore democracy and blocked her from meeting Mohamed Bazoum, who is under house arrest
Junta leaders in Niger have refused to let a senior US official meet the West African country’s ousted president and rejected her calls to restore democracy after last month’s coup.
Victoria Nuland, the US acting deputy secretary of state, described “frank and difficult” talks during a two-hour meeting in the Nigerien capital, Niamey, on Monday, as the rebellious commanders again refused to give in to international pressure to stand down.
Continue reading...Clashes were latest in string of global skirmishes that have drawn scrutiny to human rights abuses in Eritrea
A weekend of Eritrean cultural festivities in Toronto was canceled by city officials following outbreaks of violence and demonstrations by oponents of the Eritrean government.
Clashes between attendees and protestors left nine people in hospital and were the latest in a string of global skirmishes that have drawn fresh attention to human rights abuses in Eritrea and tensions between diaspora populations.
Continue reading...Despite narrow defeat to England, team’s efforts in Australia win praise after what some saw as a lack of official backing
Nigerian football fans in the Lagos suburb of Shomolu had nothing but praise for their team after their narrow defeat on penalties to England in the Women’s World Cup on Monday.
The suburb, home to much of the country’s printing industry, is usually a hive of industrial activity, but many of its presses fell silent on Monday morning as workers gathered in groups around televisions to watch the Super Falcons take on the European champions in Brisbane.
Continue reading...Ecowas to hold talks on Thursday as west African country ignores demands to reinstate ousted president
The West African bloc Ecowas will meet on Thursday to discuss the coup in Niger, as cracks appeared in its unity and the military junta in Niamey refused to cave in to international pressure to stand down.
The announcement that the Economic Community of West African States would gather in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, came hours after the coup leaders ignored a deadline to reinstate the ousted president after the power grab on 26 July – a move the bloc had earlier warned could lead it to authorise a military intervention.
Continue reading...Italian coastguard says two bodies recovered, amid reports of at least 30 people missing from two vessels that sailed from Tunisia
The bodies of a woman and toddler were recovered by the Italian coastguard after two shipwrecks overnight off the southern island of Lampedusa.
Fifty-seven people were rescued and more than 30 were believed to be missing as of Sunday afternoon in what was described as “more tragic news” regarding those making the perilous journey across the Mediterranean in search of refuge in Europe.
Continue reading...Supporters wave Niger and Russia flags as Ecowas deadline for military to cede power approaches
Thousands of coup supporters in Niger gathered on Sunday for a rally to cheer on the generals claiming power, as a deadline set by the west African bloc for the military to relinquish control or face possible armed intervention was due to elapse.
The Ecowas bloc, chaired by regional military powerhouse and Niger’s neighbour Nigeria, had given the troops that toppled President Mohamed Bazoum on 26 July a week to return him to power.
Continue reading...Groups say move could worsen country’s security crisis given police force’s poor human rights record
An offer from Kenya to dispatch police officers to Haiti has been welcomed by officials in the embattled Caribbean nation – but prompted concern among human rights groups who say the move could worsen the country’s security crisis.
Haiti’s prime minister, Ariel Henry, requested international support from the UN last year when gangs began taking control of much of the country, engulfing the nation in chaos as they fought pitched street battles.
Continue reading...Defence chiefs deliver ultimatum for Sunday after mediation fails to reinstate elected president
West African defence chiefs have drawn up a plan for military action if Niger’s coup is not overturned by Sunday, the regional bloc said, after mediation failed in a crisis that threatens regional security and has drawn in global powers.
The Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) has given Niger’s coup leaders until Sunday to step down and reinstate the elected president, Mohamed Bazoum.
Continue reading...Clashes between the army and a regional militia threaten public security and are causing ‘serious economic and humanitarian damage’, said officials
Ethiopia’s council of ministers has declared a state of emergency in the Amhara region after its leader said he was no longer able to contain a surge in violence between a local ethnic militia and the army.
The office of the prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, announced the emergency on Friday, saying attacks by “armed extremist groups” posed an increasing threat to public security and were causing significant economic damage.
Continue reading...Delegation from Ecowas leaves early, having failed to meet detained president or coup leader
A west African diplomatic mission to Niger to seek the release and reinstatement of the country’s president, Mohamed Bazoum, after a coup has failed, raising the risk of a military intervention.
The delegation, which had flown to the Nigerien capital, Niamey, left on Thursday, earlier than planned, without having met Bazoum or the coup leader, Gen Abdourahamane Tchiani.
Continue reading...Information ministry calls for calm after attack by suspected supporters of country’s ruling Zanu-PF party
A Zimbabwean man has died after he and other opposition party supporters were ambushed by suspected supporters of the country’s ruling party on their way to a campaign rally west of the capital, Harare, stoking fears of growing violence three weeks before elections.
Police confirmed the death and said two suspects had been arrested, as the country’s information ministry called for calm.
Continue reading...West African country is enduring hard times – and critics say plan to import liquefied natural gas will only make things worse
John Gakpo has milled corn to make kenkey – a cornmeal dumpling and Ghana’s staple food – in a dimly lit wooden shack in a suburb of the capital, Accra, for 15 years.
In the past, his earnings have been sufficient to provide for his family – but not any more.
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