Lesotho declares food insecurity emergency

Lesotho declares food insecurity emergency

Lesotho's government says people are at risk of extreme hunger in the next eight months. The country's Prime Minister Sam Matekane has declared a national food insecurity disaster spanning eight months from July 2024 to March 2025. The Lesotho Times reports Matekane announced that severe El Niño-induced droughts are causing extreme hunger for at least 700,000 Basotho, a notable rise from the 582,000 affected in the 2022/2023 period. This crisis, […]

July 24, 2024 24

Africa

Afrobarometer survey shows democracy at risk

A majority of Africans would support a military takeover if their elected leaders fail to act in their interests, according to a recent Afrobarometer survey. Bloomberg Africa reports that while two-thirds of respondents find military intervention undesirable as a regular form of governance, faith in democracy is waning across the continent amid growing corruption concerns. The survey reveals that despite a decline, 66% of Africans still prefer democracy over other […]

July 24, 2024 20

Africa

11 million Nigerian children are going hungry: how this hurts their health and what needs to be done

By Blessing Akombi-Inyang, UNSW Sydney Unicef, the UN agency for children, reported in June 2024 that around 11 million Nigerian children were experiencing severe child food poverty. The report says this translates to one in every three Nigerian children under five years old. Nigeria has about 31 million children under five. Unicef defines severe child food poverty as consuming no more than two out of […]

July 24, 2024 9

Africa

Kenya Police Use Tear Gas to Quell Clashes as Protests Enter Sixth Week

Kenyan police fired tear gas to prevent clashes between protesters and government supporters in Nairobi on Tuesday Reuters reports. Youth-led demonstrations against alleged corruption and misgovernance have continued for six weeks. Despite President William Ruto abandoning the $2.7 billion finance bill in June, protests persist, initially sparked by opposition to tax hikes and climaxing in the storming of parliament.

July 24, 2024 10

Africa

U.S. Invites Sudanese Army and RSF to Ceasefire Talks in Switzerland

The United States has invited the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces for U.S.-mediated ceasefire talks starting on August 14 in Switzerland, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Tuesday as per Reuters. RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo confirmed early on Wednesday that they will participate constructively in the talks to achieve a comprehensive ceasefire across the country and facilitate humanitarian access to those in need.

July 24, 2024 11

Africa

Dozens detained in Kampala anti-corruption protest

There's heavy police and military deployment in Uganda's capital Kampala, ahead of a planned anti-corruption protest. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has warned he will 'crush the protests' if demonstrators go ahead with their plans. Isabel Nakirya reports. Ugandan security forces detained dozens of young people on Tuesday, a rights group said, as they took part in a banned protest rally in downtown Kampala against official corruption and alleged […]

July 23, 2024 43

Africa

Scattered anti-government protests in Kenya

By Hillary Orinde Hundreds of protesters took to the streets across Kenyan towns on Tuesday in defiance of a police ban, the latest in a series of demonstrations that have rocked the East African nation. Activists led by young Gen-Z Kenyans launched peaceful rallies last month over steep tax increases but they spiralled into deadly violence, before morphing into wider anger against President William Ruto's government. […]

July 23, 2024 9

Africa

France demands ‘unconditional release’ of Niger president

France on Tuesday called for the "immediate and unconditional release" of Niger's ousted president Mohamed Bazoum, almost a year after he was overthrown in a coup. Bazoum has "been held prisoner for a year in scandalous conditions", foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine said. "We have always condemned this detention, we still strongly condemn it and continue to call for his immediate and unconditional release," he told reporters […]

July 23, 2024 17

Africa

Gunmen Kill 26 in Mali Village Attack

Gunmen killed 26 people in a village in central Mali's insurgent-plagued Mopti region on Sunday, a local official told Reuters on Monday. The attack occurred in the Circle of Bankass, a hotspot for violent insurgencies by jihadist groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State. According to Bankass Mayor Moulaye Guindo, the armed assailants opened fire on villagers working in their fields on Sunday evening.

July 23, 2024 8