Africa

Authorities in Saudi Arabia have dismissed a Human Rights Watch report detailing the systematic killing by border guards of hundreds of Ethiopian migrants on the Kingdom’s border with Yemen. A Saudi official said the report – based on interviews with survivors – was not reliable. The rights group said at …

King Mohammed VI of Morocco has pardoned more than 650 people convicted of various crimes, some of them terrorist-related, local media reported. The Moroccan Ministry of Justice has released the list of those who have benefited from royal pardon this year. Those pardoned include 16 people who had been convicted …

Human Rights Watch has accused Saudi Arabian border guards of systematically killing hundreds of Ethiopian economic migrants trying to cross from war-torn Yemen, the BBC reported. The rights group said at least 655 people have been killed by guards since early last year. Some were shot, others killed or maimed …

The Somali government on Sunday decreed a ban on TikTok, Telegram and an online betting site claiming that these platforms were used by “terrorists” for propaganda purposes. This decision comes as the second phase of the military offensive against radical Al-Shabaab Islamists, who have been leading a bloody insurrection against …

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has once again declared that his country will not be drawn into global power dynamics, local media reported. Mr Ramaphosa’s televised address came ahead of the meeting of the Brics nations – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – in Johannesburg on Tuesday. “We …

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has rejected the Nigerien coup leader’s plan to lead the country for three years before restoring civilian rule. The organisation’s political commissioner, Abdel-Fatau Musa, said the timetable was unacceptable. On Saturday, Gen Abdourahamane Tchiani said a national dialogue was needed to lay …

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has warned of the situation of children facing the cholera epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo. More than 8,000 children under the age of five have been infected with cholera in the first seven months of the year in the troubled province of …

Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has said a military offensive against al-Shabab aims to eliminate the al-Qaeda linked group in the next five months. Correspondents say a promise to eliminate the group is hugely optimistic seeing as it has been around since the early 2000s, is deeply embedded in communities …

Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet African heads of state on the sidelines of the BRICS summit next week “to advance China-Africa cooperation in the new era”, Reuters reported, citing China’s ambassador to South Africa. “The meeting will take place late on Thursday, the last day of the three-day summit,” …

A Kenyan man who said he was protesting against the high cost of living set himself on fire in the coastal city of Mombasa on Thursday afternoon, local media reported. He had climbed on top of a statue in the middle of a busy roundabout before setting himself alight.. In …