Signs of renewed activity emerged on Wednesday in the quest for a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas in the nine-month-old war in the Gaza Strip while Israel launched more strikes on the devastated enclave. After weeks with little public diplomacy, mediators Egypt and Qatar delivered a response from Hamas to a proposal that would include a release of hostages held in Gaza and a ceasefire in the Palestinian enclave. Israel is studying the document, said a statement released by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on behalf of the Mossad spy agency. Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been…
Author: KahawaTungu Editor
Haitian Prime Minister Garry Conille told the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday that the arrival of the first Kenyan police officers in Haiti under a U.N.-backed mission marked a critical stage to restoring security in a country ravaged by gang violence. “The arrival of the first contingent of the Multinational Security Support kicks off a new era in Haiti,” Conille told diplomats in New York. “Haiti is currently at a critical point with 12,000 armed individuals holding a population of 12 million hostage.” Some 200 Kenyan police arrived in Haiti last week as part of the long-delayed mission mandated to help national police fight…
Yemen’s Houthis are sending drone boats packed with explosives into the Red Sea as they intensify their attacks on merchant ships that have little defence against the “sophisticated shift” in tactic, maritime security sources say. Iran-aligned Houthi militants first launched aerial drone and missile strikes on the trade route in November in what they say is solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. In over 70 attacks, they have sunk two vessels, seized another and killed at least three seafarers. In recent weeks, at least three ships have been attacked by unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) and in one incident it contributed to…
Riot police fired tear gas grenades and charged at stone-throwing protesters in downtown Nairobi and across Kenya on Tuesday in the most widespread unrest since at least two dozen protesters died in clashes a week ago. The nationwide demonstrations signalled that President William Ruto had failed to appease a spontaneous youth protest movement, despite having abandoned plans for tax rises that triggered the unrest last week. Tuesday’s demonstrations began in ebullient mood but turned violent as the day wore on. In Nairobi’s downtown business district, police wearing helmets and carrying shields and wooden clubs charged at the protesters, and tear…
Many Palestinians were seeking shelter on Wednesday after fleeing their homes in southern Gaza and complained of water shortages as Israel pressed on with its military offensive in the densely populated enclave. Israeli forces carried out new military strikes in the southern city of Rafah amid fierce fighting with Palestinian militants overnight, residents said. At least 12 people were killed in new strikes in central and northern Gaza, health officials said. Israel’s leaders have said they are winding down the phase of intense fighting against Hamas, the Islamist group that has governed Gaza since 2007, and will soon shift to…
Activists behind Kenya’s anti-government protests are rethinking their strategy after demonstrations on Tuesday were marred by widespread violence and looting. The activists say the violence was the work of “goons” hired by politicians to either discredit legitimate demonstrators or advance their own agendas, but they acknowledge that it risks undermining the protest movement. “It seems the state has realised that the only way to counter this movement is by using goons to incite violence, break into people’s property, loot, and tarnish our cause,” Ojango Omondi, an activist in the capital Nairobi, told Reuters. “It’s time to go back to the drawing board…
Sierra Leone officially banned child marriage on Tuesday with President Julius Maada Bio signing into law a bill to end the practice that remains widespread. Advocates hope the new legislation will better protect girls in Sierra Leone, around a third of whom are married before they turn 18, increasing the maternal death rate due to the physical risks they face from pregnancy, according to the health ministry. Under the law, any man who marries a girl under the age of 18 could face at least 15 years in prison and a fine of around $4,000. Parents or those attending such…
Israel has freed dozens of Palestinians detained during its war in Gaza, including the director of one of the enclave’s main hospitals. Israel released 55 prisoners on Monday to free up space in its jails, unconfirmed reports claimed. Speaking shortly after his return to Gaza, al-Shifa Hospital Director Muhammad Abu Salmiya asserted that Palestinian prisoners in Israel’s prisons were facing daily abuse. With thousands of Palestinians having been added to those already detained since the war began on October 7, Israel’s prisons are “full,” reported the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation. Abu Salmiya was arrested amid claims by the Israeli military…
The European Commission (EC) has charged Meta with breaching the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) via its new “pay or consent” advertising model. The charge announced on Monday follows the tech giant’s launch of the no-ads subscription service for Facebook and Instagram in Europe last November. The move is the European Union executive’s latest against Big Tech since the DMA came into force earlier this year. Meta offers users a choice between being targeted by ads based on their personal data or paying to avoid them. The system was rolled out after the EU ruled that Meta must get consent…
Top Democrats on Sunday ruled out the possibility of replacing President Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee after a feeble debate performance and called on party members to focus instead on the consequences of a second Donald Trump presidency. After days of hand-wringing about Biden’s poor night on stage debating Trump, Democratic leaders firmly rejected calls for their party to choose a younger presidential candidate for the Nov. 5 election. Biden, 81, meanwhile, was huddling with family members at the Camp David presidential retreat on Sunday. The New York Times cited people close to the situation as saying that Biden’s family were urging him…
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will on Monday say only his Conservatives can counter a Labour-led government and that a vote for Nigel Farage’s right-wing Reform UK would hamper any chance of his party forming a strong opposition. Appearing to all but concede defeat before Thursday’s election, Sunak will appeal to those voters on the political right who are considering voting for Farage’s party in protest at his Conservative government. The Conservatives look set to be kicked out of office after 14 turbulent years, marked by Britain’s vote to leave the European Union in 2016 and the cost of living crisis that…
South Africa’s president has announced the formation of a new cabinet over a month after elections stripped his African National Congress (ANC) party of its majority. President Cyril Ramaphosa named 32 ministerial positions of the government of national unity late on Sunday, following weeks of deadlock that delayed the formation of an historic governing coalition. The announcement sees 20 of the 32 posts going to the ANC. Another six will be filled by the Democratic Alliance (DA) party, with the remainder split among a crowd of smaller coalition parties. Ramasopha was forced into the unprecedented power-sharing arrangement with DA and others after…
Nearly a month since landmark national elections saw the African National Congress (ANC) lose its majority for the first time, forcing it to form a coalition to govern South Africa, a deadlock stemming from the allocation of cabinet positions threatened to topple the whole house of cards. Tense negotiations, mainly between the ANC and the Democratic Alliance (DA), the two biggest parties in the coalition, led to delays this week of President Cyril Ramaphosa announcing his cabinet in the Government of National Unity (GNU). But by Friday, as Ramaphosa was due to meet Steenhuisen, the political bartering that characterised the…
Germany defender Antonio Rudiger on Friday returned to training ahead of Saturday’s Euro 2024 last 16 clash with Denmark, having missed earlier sessions with a hamstring strain. Denmark however will be forced to sweat on the fitness of midfielder Christian Eriksen, who did not take the pitch in the Danes’ pre-match training session. A spokesperson from the Danish FA (DBU) said Eriksen had taken part in a gym workout instead. Rudiger’s potential absence was a threat for Germany, who are already set to do without fellow centre-back Jonathan Tah, who misses the game with a yellow card suspension. Also Read: Hosts…
Polls in Iran opened on Friday for a presidential election following the death of ultraconservative president Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash last month. Around 61 million Iranians are eligible to vote in the polls where reformist Masoud Pezeshkian, 69, hopes for a breakthrough win against a divided conservative camp. The Guardian Council, which vets candidates, allowed him to run against a field of conservatives now dominated by parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili. Also left in contention is cleric Mostafa Pourmohammadi after two ultraconservatives dropped out — Tehran major Alireza Zakani and Raisi’s former…