The United Nations Security Council is likely to vote on Thursday on a British-drafted resolution that demands a halt to the siege of al-Fashir in Sudan’s North Dafur region by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), diplomats said on Wednesday. The draft text, seen by Reuters, also calls for an immediate halt to the fighting and for de-escalation in and around the city and the withdrawal of all fighters that threaten the safety and security of civilians. Britain has asked for the draft to be voted on by the 15-member council on Thursday afternoon. A resolution needs at least nine…
Author: KahawaTungu Editor
Rwanda said the United Nations refugee agency had lied when it told a British court this week that asylum seekers sent to the East African country could be moved on again to states where they risked torture or death. Lawyers representing the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Monday that Rwanda’s asylum system was inadequate, as part of a challenge to the British government’s policy to deport asylum seekers there. The lawyers said the policy risked asylum seekers facing a banned process known as refoulement, building on past evidence that formed an important part of the British Supreme Court’s reasoning…
Nearly 400 million children under the age of five — roughly 60 percent in that age group globally — experience violent physical or psychological discipline at home, from spanking to insults, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said late Monday. The new UNICEF estimates reflect data from 100 countries collected from 2010 to 2023, and covers both “physical punishment” and “psychological aggression.” For UNICEF, psychological abuse can include screaming at a child, or calling them “stupid” or “lazy,” while physical abuse includes shaking, hitting or spanking a child, or any action intended to cause physical pain or discomfort, without injury. Of…
Singapore Airlines (SIA) said Tuesday it had offered $10,000 (Ksh.1,292,500) in compensation to passengers who suffered minor injuries on a flight hit by extreme turbulence last month and will discuss higher payouts with those more badly hurt. A 73-year-old British man died and several other passengers and crew onboard flight SQ321 from London suffered skull, brain and spine injuries during the terrifying high-altitude ordeal. The pilots diverted the Singapore-bound Boeing 777-300ER carrying 211 passengers and 18 crew to Bangkok, where the injured were taken to hospitals. In a statement on Tuesday, SIA said it had sent out emails offering US$10,000…
Haiti’s transitional council has announced the formation of a new government, replacing all the members of former Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s cabinet, as the country pushes to tackle economic woes and rampant gang violence. The announcement on Tuesday came two weeks after the council appointed Garry Conille – a former regional director for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) – as interim prime minister. Several ministers in the new cabinet are from outside the country’s political class. Dominique Dupuy, Haiti’s representative at the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), will serve as the country’s foreign minister. Conille will also act as…
At least 49 people have been killed and 140 more are missing after a boat carrying refugees and migrants from the Horn of Africa to Yemen sank, according to the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration (IOM). The vessel that capsized on Monday was carrying some 260 people, mostly from Ethiopia and Somalia, who had set off from the northern coast of Somalia to travel 320km (200 miles) across the Gulf of Aden to reach Yemen. Refugees and migrants from the Horn of Africa and East Africa are increasingly braving the dangerous journey to reach Saudi Arabia and other Arab states of…
Billionaire Elon Musk said on Monday he would ban Apple devices at his companies if the iPhone maker integrates OpenAI at the operating system level. “That is an unacceptable security violation,” Musk, who is the CEO of electric-vehicle maker Tesla and rocket maker SpaceX and owner of social media company X, said in a post on X. “And visitors will have to check their Apple devices at the door, where they will be stored in a Faraday cage,” he said. Apple and OpenAI did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. Earlier in the day, Apple announced a slew…
Former South African president Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party has applied to the country’s top court to block the newly elected parliament from sitting this week on the grounds that the May 29 vote was marred by fraud, it said on Tuesday. The National Assembly is due to convene on Friday for lawmakers to swear the oath of office and elect their speaker, deputy speaker and the country’s president. The challenge from MK comes at a time when South Africa is facing a level of political uncertainty unseen in 30 years of democracy, with no clarity as to who will…
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday urged Hamas to accept a ceasefire proposal outlined by Washington to end the Gaza war, a plan that the United Nations Security Council voted to support. On his eighth trip to the Middle East since the war started, the top U.S. diplomat called on countries in the region to pressure the Palestinian militant group to approve the draft. The U.S. has said Israel has accepted it although Israeli officials have not formally announced this. “My message to governments throughout the region, to people throughout the region, is – if you want a ceasefire,…
At least 50 people were killed and an unspecified number kidnapped, including women and children, when gunmen attacked the village of Yargoje in northwest Nigeria at the weekend, residents said on Monday. A year after President Bola Tinubu came to power promising to end widespread insecurity, attacks in the northwest by armed gangs, often referred to as bandits, have become almost routine, with authorities seemingly powerless to stop them. Dozens of gunmen on motorbikes stormed Yargoje in the Kankara local government area of Katsina state late on Sunday, according to resident Hassan Ya’u. “They shot sporadically at people, claiming the…
Prosecutors in the Hunter Biden case, the first criminal trial of a sitting US president’s son, presented their closing arguments on Monday. “No one is above law,” prosecutor Leo Wise said. Mr Biden, 54, denies lying about his drug use when he filled out a federal form in October 2018 to buy a gun in Wilmington, Delaware. The son of President Joe Biden did not take the stand to give evidence in his trial. He faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted. Mr Biden has pleaded not guilty to three charges related to his possession of a firearm…
A suspect in a California gang gun battle that killed six people – including innocent bystanders – has died in jail while awaiting trial. Smiley Martin, 29, was found dead in his cell early on Saturday, his lawyer said. He was one of three men arrested in April 2022 after a late-night brawl turned into a deadly gun battle in Sacramento’s city centre. The cause of Mr Martin’s death is being investigated. The Sacramento Sheriff’s Office said an inmate, aged 29, was found unresponsive at about 02:15 local time on Saturday in Sacramento County Main Jail. Medical staff were unable…
An initial post-mortem examination on the body of Dr Michael Mosley has concluded he died of natural causes, the BBC has been told. The TV presenter’s remains were found in a rocky area on the Greek island of Symi on Sunday – four days after he went missing while on holiday. Greek police spokeswoman Konstantia Dimoglidou told the BBC that the initial post-mortem found no injuries on his body that could have caused his death. Dr Mosley’s time of death was around 16:00 (14:00 BST) on Wednesday, the day he went missing. The 67-year-old father-of-four was reported missing after he…
Nvidia’s 10-for-1 stock split is in effect, giving investors nine additional shares for every one that they already own. Shares declined slightly to $119.77 shortly after the market open on Monday. Nvidia’s stock price has more than doubled this year after more than tripling in 2023 and it’s now the third most valuable company in the S&P 500. The meteoric ride allowed Nvidia to briefly surpass Apple last week as the second most valuable company in the U.S. Nvidia surpassed $3 trillion in market value. The chipmaker has seen soaring demand for its semiconductors, which are used to power artificial…
European governments may be wary of budget Chinese electric vehicles flooding their markets but they’re also fiercely competing for a share of the manufacturing investment and jobs the new competitors bring. While the European Union investigates China’s auto subsidies and considers tariffs on imports, national governments across the bloc are dangling their own incentives to attract Chinese automakers looking to build European factories. Manufacturing costs for Chinese EV makers including BYD (002594.SZ), Chery Automobile (CHERY.UL) and state-owned SAIC Motor are much lower at home but they are nonetheless keen to set up in Europe to build their brands and save on…