Lesotho activist arrested after video on unemployment rates angers prime ministerTšolo Thakeli had long campaigned on youth joblessness, but a post questioning Sam Maketane's promises on work creation landed him in prisonIt took a single video complaining about Lesotho's unemployment rate to turn Tšolo Thakeli into the prime minister's enemy. Within a day of posting there were armed police at his door.It was Father's Day, and the 31-year-old father of two was in his pyjamas when they arrived. He had no idea his post would land him in trouble; after all, he had campaigned for a long time, under different governments, for action on jobs for young people. Continue reading...
'We won't let them get away with this': activists to sue Tanzania's government over 'sexual torture'Boniface Mwangi and Agather Atuhaire vow to hold authorities accountable as repression intensifies before October electionsTwo east African activists say they plan to sue Tanzania's government for illegal detention and torture during a visit in support of an opposition politician in May.Boniface Mwangi, from Kenya, and Agather Atuhaire, a Ugandan, sent shock waves around the region earlier this month when they gave an emotional press conference in which they alleged they had been sexually assaulted and, in Atuhaire's case, smeared in excrement after their detention in Dar es Salaam. "[The authorities] take you through sexual torture," Mwangi said at the time. Continue reading...
Trump eyes mineral wealth as Rwanda and DRC sign controversial peace deal in USAgreement aims to end decades-old conflict rooted in the 1994 Rwandan genocide but critics have described it as vague and opaqueRwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have signed a peace deal in Washington to end fighting in eastern DRC, although questions remain over what the agreement means and who stands to benefit - with Donald Trump using the occasion to boast that the US had secured lucrative mineral rights.At a ceremony with US secretary of state Marco Rubio in Washington, the two African countries' foreign ministers signed the agreement pledging to implement a 2024 deal that would see Rwandan troops withdraw from eastern Congo within 90 days. Continue reading...
Rising poverty in conflict zones 'causes a billion people to go hungry'In first assessment since pandemic in 2020, World Bank urges other countries to step up supportExtreme poverty is accelerating in 39 countries affected by war and conflict, leaving more than a billion people to go hungry, according to the World Bank.Civil wars and confrontations between nations, mostly in Africa, have set back economic growth and reduced the incomes of more than a billion people, "driving up extreme poverty faster than anywhere else", the Washington-based body said. Continue reading...
At least 16 people killed and 400 injured in Kenyan protestsPolice clashed with people marching in Nairobi and other areas to honour those killed in protests last yearAt least 16 people have been killed and 400 injured in Kenya as a nationwide demonstration to honour those killed during last year's anti-government protests turned chaotic, with police clashing with protesters in different parts of the country.Amnesty International Kenya's executive director, Irũngũ Houghton, told Reuters the death toll had been verified by the government-funded Kenya national commission on human rights. "Most were killed by police," he said. Continue reading...
White House says Canadian PM 'caved' to Trump demand to scrap tech taxTrump officials hail U-turn as Mark Carney says decision to rescind digital services tax means revival of trade talksThe United States has said that Canada's prime minister Mark Carney "caved" to demands from the White House after his government abruptly scrapped their digital services tax on US technology companies, which was set to go into effect on Monday."It's very simple. Prime minister Carney and Canada caved to president [Donald] Trump and the United States of America," press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a daily briefing. Continue reading...
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