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The content originally appeared on: CNN Earlier in the day, Suu Kyi was sentenced to four years in prison on charges of incitement and breaking Covid-19 rules, in the first verdict against the Nobel Peace Prize winner since the military seized power in February. Suu Kyi, 76, was Myanmar's state counselor and de facto leader of the country before she was ousted and detained by the military 10 months ago and hit with almost a dozen charges that add up […]
In May, Burundi held a presidential election which was won by Evariste Ndayishimiye, candidate of the ruling National Council for the Defense of Democracy - Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) party.
Ndayishimiye was hurriedly sworn in after the untimely death of president Pierre Nkurunziza in June.
Rights violations continue
The Council encouraged donor countries which had suspended aid to Burundi to continue dialogue towards resumption of development assistance.
A report by a UN watchdog in September said human rights violations were still being committed in Burundi, including sexual violence and murder.
The country was plunged into a crisis in April 2015 when Ndayishimiye’s predecessor Pierre Nkurunziza decided to run for a controversial third term, which he ultimately won in July 2015.
His candidature, which was opposed by the opposition and civil society groups, resulted in a wave of protests, violence and even a failed coup in May 2015.
Hundreds of people were killed and over 300,000 fled to neighboring countries.
[Dalsan Radio] Vietnam has called on Somalia to create favourable conditions for women to engage in political activities and ensure a 30 per cent rate of legislative seats for women.
[New Times] The Minister of Trade and Industry Beata Habyarimana has said that the government is doing all it can to ensure that a recent spike in wheat products, cooking oil, sugar, soap and sanitary pads is brought back to normal.
President Uhuru Kenyatta yesterday appointed Justice Martha Koome as Chief Justice after members of the National Assembly endorsed her nomination.
Soul icon Sade has a new daughter-in-law. The singer’s son, model and artist Izaak Theo Adu-Watts, married his longtime love, hairdresser and artist Emily Margaret Shakeshaft, in April in Hawaii, […]
The post Sade’s Son Izaak Got Married In Hawaii appeared first on Essence.
Paris — The arrest of Félicien Kabuga, one of the alleged masterminds behind the Rwandan genocide, in France on May 16, 2020 brings victims and survivors one step closer to justice 26 years later.
Kabuga is charged by an international war crimes court with genocide and related crimes during the 1994 genocide, and was living in France under a false identity at the time of his arrest.
\"Félicien Kabuga's arrest is a major victory for victims and survivors of the genocide in Rwanda who have waited more than two decades to see this leading figure face justice,\" said Mausi Segun, Africa director at Human Rights Watch.
Alison Des Forges, senior adviser to the Human Rights Watch Africa division for almost two decades and one of the world's foremost experts on Rwanda, published the authoritative account of the genocide, \"Leave None to Tell the Story.\"
\"Questions remain over how Kabuga was able to evade justice for over two decades, but cooperation between governments has made it possible for victims and survivors at last to see him face trial and should be replicated to secure the surrender of more international war crimes fugitives.\"
Ethiopia’s Foreign Minister, Gedu Andargachew has rejected Egypt’s call to refer the dispute over Addis Ababa’s construction of the giant Nile dam to the United Nations Security Council.
The $4.6 billion project, on the Blue Nile in Ethiopia, would create the most powerful hydroelectric dam in Africa.
“The issue with the dam can be solved right here instead of taking it to the UN Security Council.
Truth be told, if they are thinking like that their issue is not with Blue Nile (dam), it is with a country called Ethiopia.
Unless this is a longing for war, the dam in fact encourages development, brotherhood, and creating ties”, the Ethiopian foreign minister added.
The United Nations' Security Council has endorsed Guinea's Bintou Keita and South Africa's Nicholas Hayshom as new emissaries.
The hunt continues
The hunt is continuing in the Sahel for the killers of eight people in Niger on Sunday.
The killers were believed to be armed motorcyclists who came through the bush on motorbikes, to arrive at the vicinity of the town of Koure. The eight victims consisted of six French nationals, and a Nigerian guide and driver. They were a team from the French humanitarian aid organisation ACTED.
The killings, an hour from the capital Niamey in a nature reserve considered relatively safe, shocked many; foreign nationals and members of aid organisations have previously not been considered in danger in such areas.
Troops in Niger backed by French air support are searching for the killers of the eight strong team.
Operation Barkhane
French soldiers have been engaged in Operation Barkhane , an ongoing anti-insurgent mission targeting Islamist groups in Africa's Sahel region, since 2014. It's previously concentrated on the tri-border region between Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso with the backing of the G5 Sahel member nations after the group's formation a few months earlier.
G5 Sahel
The G5 Sahel was formed to closely link economic development and a united front of security against jidahist organisations between the members: Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger. The United Nations Security Council has also approved G5 Sahel counterterrorism operations.
Jihadists change approach?
The killings in Kouré have suggested to some analysts that jihadist groups are moving to different areas to avoid direct confrontation with the military forces of Operation Barkhane, despite the cooperative framework provided by G5 Sahel.
In Niger, as elsewhere in the Sahel, these groups thrive on a perception of the abandonment of rural populations and pre-existing conflicts between communities.
Although they have in the past been able to collaborate episodically on targeted attacks, the various jihadist groups in the Sahel have been fighting each other since early 2020.
In a recent report , the think-thank International Crisis Group explained that the conflict in the Tillabéri area is \"fundamentally motivated by inter and intra-community competition over rights and resources, a conflict that the Islamic state has been able to exploit to its advantage\".
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg made three stops in Metro Atlanta Friday as he promoted President Joe Biden’s American Jobs Plan. The plan includes $174 billion for electric vehicle manufacturing, $115 billion for bridge, highway, and road repairs, $100 million for broadband access and expansion, $85 billion for transit improvements, and $25 billion for airport upgrades. It also includes funding […]
NEW YORK — As India is gearing up to assume the rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), India hopes to keep the spotlight on the Secretary-General’s report on the Islamic State (IS) terrorists. The rolling presidency means India has the power to decide the agenda for August. “We have never failed to highlight the manifestations of terrorist activities across […]
The post India Lists Priorities As United Nations Security Council President first appeared on The Florida Star | The Georgia Star.
Haitian Americans and immigrants are expressing alarm following the shocking midnight assassination of President Jovenel Moïse and the attack on his wife, first lady Martine Moïse at his home near Port-au-Prince. According to reports, the president was assassinated at his private residence at around 1am in an assault by unknown gunmen dressed commando-style who spoke […]
The post Haitian Americans Fear What Comes Next As Assassination of Jovenel Moïse Casts Nation into Political Crisis appeared first on L.A. Focus News.
[Tunis Afrique Presse] Tokyo/Japan -- Hospitals in Japan's second largest city buckled under a new wave of COVID-19 infections, even as the country opened two mass vaccination sites to inoculate most of its elderly population ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.
Kenya and Djibouti will later today know which of them will take Africa’s non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, UNSC.
Regional votes were split between the two competing nations with Ethiopia, Sudan and Somalia siding with Djibouti whiles Eritrea voted for Kenya.
“The story of how tiny Djibouti outflanked Kenya, a regional power, to obtain 78 votes for the UNSC seat is fascinating.
The Security Council is the U.N.’s most powerful body and has five permanent members — the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France — and 10 members elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms, with seats allocated to regional groups.
Normally, ambassadors from the 193 U.N. member states would meet in the horseshoe-shaped assembly chamber at U.N. headquarters overlooking New York’s East River and vote by secret ballot for new Security Council members.
[Nation] Property worth millions of shillings was destroyed in a fire at Havanna Gardens Hotel in Mpeketoni, Lamu West, on Sunday.
May 31st marks the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the Tulsa race massacre when more than 35 blocks of what was dubbed Black Wall Street were burned to the […]
The post Russell Westbrook On Bringing New 'Tulsa Burning' Documentary To Life: 'It Kind Of Hit Home' appeared first on Essence.
[Tunis Afrique Presse] Tunis/Tunisia -- President Kaïs Saïed received Monday at the Palace of Carthage, a written message from Malian transitional president, Bah N'daw, handed over to him by Malian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Zeyni Moulaye.
[The Conversation Africa] Following a maritime boundary dispute, Somalia instituted proceedings against Kenya at the International Court of Justice in August 2014. The two east African neighbours dispute 160 000 square kilometres of territory in the Indian Ocean with prospects of vast oil and gas deposits.
Opinion - Kenya is watching events in Somalia with a keen interest even while it appears detached from commenting directly.
Sierra Leone Telegraph: 24 May 2021: Sierra Leone's Inspector General of Police - Ambrose Sovula (Photo above), last week suspended four senior police officers in his watch for alleged corruption and misconduct. The country's Head of Criminal Investigations Department (CID), Chief Superintendent John K. Alpha was suspended along with his Deputy Tommy B. Zizer and…
The Angolan Civil War, beginning at the time of the countrys independence from Portugal in 1975, was a 27-year struggle involving the deaths of over 500,000 soldiers and civilians. Initiated at the height of the Cold War, pro- and anti-communist forces in Angola set the stage for a proxy fight between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Though the fighting officially ended in 2002, Angola remains in economic and social turmoil with a massive refugee crisis and millions of landmines impeding farming practices.
Rich in diamonds and oil, Angola was one of the last African nations to receive independence from a European power. On April 25, 1974, a Portuguese military coup d’état protesting the country’s colonial practices successfully overthrew the regime. The combined forces of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA), and the National Union for Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) created a transitional government with the Alvor Accord of 1974.
Within a year the government had disintegrated, and with aid from the USSR and the Cuban military, the Marxist-oriented MPLA under the leadership of José dos Santos had wrested control of most of Angola. Indirectly and through proxies, governments from the United States, Brazil and South Africa funded UNITA, providing munitions, intelligence reports, and mercenaries.
Heavy fighting continued until 1991 when a temporary agreement known as the Bicesse Accords was reached. Calling for an immediate ceasefire and the removal of both Cuban and South African troops, the agreement mandated a new national government and army, along with Angola’s first multi-party elections. A year later, MPLA candidate José dos Santos won 49% of the popular vote in the election compared to 40% for UNITA candidate Dr. Jonas Savimbi. When Savimbi disputed the outcome, UNITA resumed guerilla war against the MPLA.
In 1993 the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 864 placing
[Capital FM] Goma -- A river of boiling lava from the eruption of Mount Nyiragongo came to a halt outside Goma Sunday, sparing the city in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the military governor of the region said on Sunday.
Colin Powell is a retired four-star general of the United States Army. He is currently serving as an American Statesman. Powell was the first African-American to serve as the Secretary of State, which he did from 2001 to 2005 under George W. Bush. Powell is to date, the only African American to serve as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a position that he held during the Persian Gulf War. Powell has also served under the National Security Advisor.
Colin Luther Powell was born on April 5, 1937 in Halem, New York City. Powell graduated from Morris High School in 1954 and attended the City College of New York thereafter. Halfway through college, Powell joined the ‘Reserve Officers Training Corps’, where he trained with the Pershing Rifles. When he graduated, he received a commission as a second lieutenant of the Army, which he accepted. Powell was assigned to the 48th Infantry Division as a Platoon Leader.
Powell went on two tours to serve for the Vietnam War; his first tour was forcibly shortened after he was injured by a Punji Stake (a booby trap similar to a wooden spike). In his second tour, he was awarded for rescuing three people from a helicopter crash which he had survived.
After the war, Powell was selected for a highly competitive White House Fellowship under President Richard Nixon. Powell then served as the senior military assistant to Caspar Weinberger, who was the Secretary of Defense at that time. Powell then went on to become the National Security Advisor after the Iran Contra Scandal. His term at the National Security Council was extremely fruitful and Powell was then promoted to four-star General under President George H. W. Bush in 1989. Immediately after appointment, Powell served as the Commander in Chief, Forces Command for a small term. He was then chosen to serve as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff towards the end of 1989. In addition to being the only African-American to have held that position, Powell was also the youngest to have ever done so, he continued to hold the
[SudaNow] Khartoum -- Three of the last week's events had attracted much of the press comments.
