Year: 2024

At least 3 people were killed Thursday in Mozambique’s capital following clashes with the police.

Maputo’s largest hospital made the announcement on Friday (Nov. 08), it added that 66 people had been injured.

Independent candidate Venancio Mondlane who was backed by the Podemos party has been alleging electoral fraud occurred during the October 9 polls.

The casualties add up to the at least 20 people dead Amnesty International reported Wednesday (Nov. 06) since the beginning of the protests in late October.

The politician who arrived second according to disputed results then called for a week of protests ending Thursday (Nov. 07).

During the tense day, thousands of demonstrators set fires and barricaded roads in Maputo. Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets.

Mozambique’s armed forces have been deployed.

Earlier this week, the Constitutional Council ordered the National Elections Commission explain the discrepancies in the numbers of votes cast in the three elections that were held last month.

Incumbent President Filipe Nyusi of Frelimo has repeated he is open to dialogue and warned against the economic repercussions of the protests.

Ghana’s outgoing President Nana Akufo-Addo is facing a storm of criticism on social media after unveiling a statue of himself outside a regional hospital in Sekondi.

According to Regional Minister Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, the statue, presented during a “thank-you tour” in the Western Region, was meant to commemorate Akufo-Addo’s development projects during his two terms in office.

However, many Ghanaians see it as an act of self-promotion rather than public service, sparking backlash online.

Opposition MP Emmanuel Armah Kofi-Buah condemned the statue, posting on X that “the people of the Western Region deserve better than these self-serving displays.” Others echoed similar sentiments, questioning the statue’s relevance at a time when several of the president’s initiatives remain incomplete. One commenter remarked that it “would have been admirable if the president had left such recognitions to posterity.”

Despite the controversy, some Ghanaians defended the monument, praising Akufo-Addo’s contributions, particularly his flagship policy of free secondary education, which he has highlighted as his “most significant legacy.” Supporters hailed him as the architect of Ghana’s free education system, with one fan posting, “He is deserving of this monument – the greatest president I’ve ever had.”

The tour has also served as a platform for the ruling New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) campaign ahead of next month’s general election. Akufo-Addo urged voters to support Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia, the NPP’s candidate, to continue his administration’s policies.

Bawumia’s main opponent will be former President John Dramani Mahama of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), with the cost of living being a pivotal issue in the race.

The Australian government announced on Thursday what it described as world-leading legislation that would institute an age limit of 16 years for children to start using social media, and hold platforms responsible for ensuring compliance.

“Social media is doing harm to our kids and I’m calling time on it,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.

The legislation will be introduced in Parliament during its final two weeks in session this year, which begin on Nov. 18. The age limit would take effect 12 months after the law is passed, Albanese told reporters.

The platforms including X, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook would need to use that year to work out how to exclude Australian children younger than 16.

“I’ve spoken to thousands of parents, grandparents, aunties and uncles. They, like me, are worried sick about the safety of our kids online,” Albanese said.

The proposal comes as governments around the world are wrestling with how to supervise young people’s use of technologies like smartphones and social media.

Social media platforms would be penalized for breaching the age limit, but under-age children and their parents would not.

“The onus will be on social media platforms to demonstrate they are taking reasonable steps to prevent access. The onus won’t be on parents or young people,” Albanese said.

Antigone Davis, head of safety at Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, said the company would respect any age limitations the government wants to introduce.

“However, what’s missing is a deeper discussion on how we implement protections, otherwise we risk making ourselves feel better, like we have taken action, but teens and parents will not find themselves in a better place,” Davis said in a statement.

She added that stronger tools in app stores and operating systems for parents to control what apps their children can use would be a “simple and effective solution.”

X did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday. TikTok declined to comment.

The Digital Industry Group Inc., an advocate for the digital industry in Australia, described the age limit as a “20th Century response to 21st Century challenges.”

“Rather than blocking access through bans, we need to take a balanced approach to create age-appropriate spaces, build digital literacy and protect young people from online harm,” DIGI managing director Sunita Bose said in a statement.

More than 140 Australian and international academics with expertise in fields related to technology and child welfare signed an open letter to Albanese last month opposing a social media age limit as “too blunt an instrument to address risks effectively.”

Jackie Hallan, a director at the youth mental health service ReachOut, opposed the ban. She said 73% of young people across Australia accessing mental health support did so through social media.

“We’re uncomfortable with the ban. We think young people are likely to circumvent a ban and our concern is that it really drives the behavior underground and then if things go wrong, young people are less likely to get support from parents and carers because they’re worried about getting in trouble,” Hallan said.

Child psychologist Philip Tam said a minimum age of 12 or 13 would have been more enforceable.

“My real fear honestly is that the problem of social media will simply be driven underground,” Tam said.

Australian National University lawyer Associate Prof. Faith Gordon feared separating children from there platforms could create pressures within families.

Albanese said there would be exclusions and exemptions in circumstances such as a need to continue access to educational services.

But parental consent would not entitle a child under 16 to access social media.

Earlier this year, the government began a trial of age-restriciton technologies. Australia’s eSafety Commissioner, the online watchdog that will police compliance, will use the results of that trial to provide platforms with guidance on what reasonable steps they can take.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said the year-long lead-in would ensure the age limit could be implemented in a “very practical way.”

“There does need to be enhanced penalties to ensure compliance,” Rowland said.

“Every company that operates in Australia, whether domiciled here or otherwise, is expected and must comply with Australian law or face the consequences,” she added.

The main opposition party has given in-principle support for an age limit at 16.

Opposition lawmaker Paul Fletcher said the platforms already had the technology to enforce such an age ban.

“It’s not really a technical viability question, it’s a question of their readiness to do it and will they incur the cost to do it,” Fletcher told Australian Broadcasting Corp.

“The platforms say: ’It’s all too hard, we can’t do it, Australia will become a backwater, it won’t possibly work.’ But if you have well-drafted legislation and you stick to your guns, you can get the outcomes,” Fletcher added.

Dozens of Russian drones targeted the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in a night time attack that lasted eight hours, authorities said Thursday.

Local officials said many of them were shot down over the city, but that falling debris injured at least 2 people and damaged 10 buildings, including a medical facility.

They said Russian forces fired lone drones and swarms of drones that entered Ukrainian airspace from various directions and at a variety of altitudes, in an apparent attempt to overwhelm the air defence system.

Officials say Russian drones also hit an energy facility in northern Ukraine resulting in power cuts.

As Russia steps up its strikes, Ukraine is bracing for the potential withdrawal of support from the United States following Donald Trump’s re-election.

Throughout his campaign, the Republican now-president-elect cast strong doubts on continued US commitment to Kyiv.

Drone attacks on Kyiv have recently been occurring almost daily, more than two-and-a-half years after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said earlier this week that Russia is currently deploying about 10 times more Iranian-made Shahed drones than it was this time last year.

The United Kingdom has unveiled an extensive new sanctions package against Russia, focusing on Kremlin-backed mercenary groups operating in Africa and key players tied to Russia’s military supply chain.

The latest measures, announced by the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office, place restrictions on 56 individuals and entities involved in supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine and destabilizing regions across Africa.

Among the sanctioned are three mercenary groups, including Africa Corps, the successor to Russia’s Wagner Group, and 11 individuals associated with Russian proxy forces. The UK became the first G7 nation to directly sanction Africa Corps, citing its role in “threatening stability and security” across African nations like Libya, Mali, and the Central African Republic. “These targets have direct ties to the Kremlin and have committed extensive human rights abuses across the continent,” stated the Foreign Office.

The sanctions extend to entities in China, Turkey, and Central Asia, which the UK accuses of supplying vital components for Russia’s military operations, including machine tools, microelectronics, and drone parts. This move is intended to curb Russia’s access to critical technology that could be used in its ongoing war against Ukraine.

Also included in the sanctions is Denis Sergeev, a Russian intelligence officer allegedly involved in the 2018 poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, England, using a Novichok nerve agent. The UK described this as its most comprehensive sanctions package since May 2023.

The sanctions follow months of pressure from the UK on Russia, with previous rounds targeting Moscow’s shipping industry, alleged chemical weapons usage, and cyber activities. UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy emphasized the significance of the latest actions, saying, “These measures will strike at the heart of Russia’s destabilizing efforts in Africa and cripple its military supply networks for the Ukraine war.”

As Russia seeks to deepen its influence in Africa amid a prolonged war with Ukraine, the UK’s sanctions underscore a commitment by Western allies to counter Moscow’s operations across the continent and restrict its access to military resources.

More horrors continue to emerge from the debris and ubiquitous layers of mud left by the walls of water that produced Spain’s deadliest natural disaster in living memory.

Residents of Massanassa in the Valencia region located in the kingdom’s north, were calling for assistance of Thursday (Oct. 31). The floods have killed at least 158 people.

“What people need is food, because we understand that all the material losses are not important next to saving our lives, when we look at other people that have lost their lives”, sociologist Antonio said.

“We still don’t know how neighbours and acquaintances have been lost. We need drinkable water.”

An unknown number of people are still missing, and more victims could be found.

Spain PM said EU member states have stepped up to offer resources.

AEMET, Spain’s national weather service has issued amber rainfall warnings for Friday (Nov. 1st) for areas in the Valencia and Castellón regions, where many communities are still reeling from the floods.

Survivors of the worst natural disaster to hit Spain this century awoke to scenes of devastation after villages were wiped out by flash floods.

More than 1,700 soldiers have joined emergency workers. Thousands have lost the fruit of a lifetime’s work

Botswana’s ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) has lost its parliamentary majority in this week’s election, according to reports from the private Mmegi newspaper and state radio, which cited results from over half the constituencies.

Though analysts anticipated a competitive race, they believed a divided opposition would favor President Mokgweetsi Masisi’s BDP, which has governed the country since its independence from Britain in 1966. However, based on results from 36 of the 61 constituencies, opposition parties have secured more than half the seats in parliament, according to Mmegi and state radio.

The BDP has won just one of the 36 constituencies so far, while the opposition coalition, the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), has taken 23. To secure a majority, a party needs 31 seats.

Botswana, known for its stability and diamond wealth, provides free healthcare and education to its 2.3 million citizens and is the world’s top diamond producer by value. However, recent downturns in the diamond market have strained revenues, highlighting the country’s struggle to diversify its economy.

A Moroccan economist known for his human rights work has been detained after criticizing the government in remarks posted on social media during a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron to the North African kingdom.

Prosecutors arrested Fouad Abdelmoumni in Casablanca on Wednesday and announced that he was being investigated on suspicion of spreading false information and accusing others of crimes on social media, Morocco’s state news agency reported. If charged and convicted, he faces up to five years in prison under cybercrime laws.

“This arbitrary arrest is part of a series of harassments targeting Abdelmoumni, as a reprisal for his bold positions, his opinions and the defence of human rights,” the Moroccan Association for the Support of Political Prisoners said in a statement published on Wednesday. “This arrest represents a new escalation in the authorities’ policy of repression against political and human rights activists in the country.”

Mr. Abdelmoumni, a former political prisoner, is the coordinator of the association.

As Mr Macron visited Rabat with Moroccan leaders including King Mohammed VI, the activist claimed in a post that Morocco was trying to “blackmail” France using methods such as spying and refusing to cooperate in managing illegal immigration.

Abdelmoumni has not yet been formally charged. When he appears in court on Friday, he will likely be charged with crimes related to the article, said one of his lawyers, Souad Brahma.

In Morocco, authorities can detain people under investigation for 48 hours without charging them.

Ms. Brahma said Mr. Abdelmoumni was arrested for expressing his opinion and called his detention a violation of his right to freedom of expression. She said she was denied the opportunity to visit him on Thursday, despite having received permission from the court. The authorities have not responded to allegations that the arrest was politically motivated.

Throughout his visit, Mr. Macron spoke of opening a new chapter in relations between France and Morocco, after years of tensions.

Amnesty International and the Paris-based nonprofit group Forbidden Stories published a report alleging that Moroccan authorities used Israeli software Pegagus to infiltrate the electronic devices of human rights activists, including Mr. Abdelmoumni, and politicians, including Mr. Macron.

Morocco has vigorously denied the allegations and filed a defamation lawsuit.

Mr. Abdelmoumni, 66, has been a prominent human rights advocate since his arrest and torture along with other left-wing activists during King Hassan II ’s era of repression, known as the “Years of Lead .” He has publicly supported pro-democracy efforts in the country, including during the Arab Spring and the “Hirak” movement. Morocco’s 2017

After the Pegagus software investigation, Abdelmoumni was among the activists profiled in a Human Rights Watch report 2022

The report states that an anonymous person released a video of him and his partner (now his wife) having sex, likely captured by a hidden camera inside the air conditioner in his home. In Morocco, sex outside marriage is a crime, and information about their relationship was later published in pro-government media, in an operation that Mr. Abdelmoumni said was aimed at intimidating him.

This week, he took part in a vigil demanding justice for a Moroccan nationalist who disappeared in France in 1965 and appeared at the court where Morocco’s former human rights minister was being tried. He was on his way to a meeting of the Moroccan Association for the Support of Political Prisoners when he was arrested.

Mr Macron’s political party helped push through a resolution in 2023 condemning human rights abuses in Morocco in the European Parliament. However, the two countries have recently strengthened their political and economic ties. This week, they announced economic deals and lucrative contracts on projects ranging from transport to desalination infrastructure. Mr Macron also reiterated his support for Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara. .

During his three-day visit, Mr Macron did not mention human rights in speeches he gave at a business forum, to the country’s French community or to the country’s parliament.

Kenya’s new deputy president has been sworn into office, two weeks after his predecessor was overwhelmingly voted out in an impeachment motion in parliament over allegations of corruption and inciting ethnic division.

Kindiki Kithure took office on Friday after a colourful event in the capital, Nairobi, attended by government officials and Western envoys among other guests.

The court cleared his swearing-in on Thursday after orders suspending it were lifted, despite a continuing court case challenging the impeachment of the previous deputy president, Rigathi Gachagua.

Gachagua is challenging the impeachment before the High Court in Nairobi, arguing that the charges are unsubstantiated and that the hearings were unfair.

The former deputy president was impeached and removed from office by a vote of more than two-thirds of legislators on Oct. 17 on charges of corruption, inciting ethnic divisions and support for anti-government protests. President William Ruto nominated Kindiki for the deputy role the next day.

Gachagua’s impeachment had highlighted divisions within the ruling United Democratic Alliance, or UDA, and friction between Ruto and Gachagua, both UDA members. Gachagua had been accused of insubordination when he opposed the government’s policy of forced evictions during heavy rains that caused flooding and deaths.

The new deputy president Kindiki called Friday’s event a celebration of the “constitution and our democracy” and committed to be loyal and faithful to the president.

President Ruto urged him to “please serve the people of Kenya” adding that like all public servants, they are not in office for personal interests and that all leaders serve at the pleasure of the people of Kenya and must uphold the constitution and the rule of law.

Kindiki — the former interior minister — takes the deputy president’s office at a time when arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances in Kenya have raised concerns among western envoys and human rights groups. The country is also going through economic hardships with a rising cost of living and newly increased taxes.

In June, the country witnessed a series of nationwide anti-government protests over a finance bill that proposed to increase taxes, culminating in the storming and burning of parliament on June 25, when several protesters were shot dead outside parliament gates.

Ruto, who came to office claiming to represent Kenya’s poorest citizens, has faced widespread criticism over his efforts to raise taxes to pay off foreign creditors. The public opposition led him to shake up his Cabinet and back off from certain proposals.

Beauty queen Chidimma Adetshina, now crowned Miss Universe Nigeria, finds herself at the heart of a heated nationality debate after the South African Department of Home Affairs announced she would be stripped of her South African identity and travel documents.

The decision has stirred up questions about citizenship, belonging, and identity in South Africa.

The story began when Ms. Adetshina, a law student, reached the finals of the Miss South Africa pageant. However, her eligibility quickly came under scrutiny due to her Nigerian father and Mozambican mother, even though she says she was born and raised in the South African township of Soweto.

In August, she withdrew from the competition after authorities revealed that her mother might have committed “identity theft” to gain South African citizenship.

While some questioned her identity, others rallied around her, calling out the intolerance and highlighting her South African roots.

Following this backlash, Ms. Adetshina accepted an invitation to compete in Nigeria and went on to win the title of Miss Universe Nigeria.

Now, as she prepares to represent Nigeria at the Miss Universe pageant in Mexico on November 16, the South African government has finalized its decision to revoke her identity papers, stating that she and her mother failed to prove their eligibility to retain citizenship.

Tommy Makhode, a senior official in South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs, announced the revocation on Tuesday, explaining that the case had been referred to the Hawks—a specialized police unit investigating serious crimes and was deemed a “case of fraud.” Officials are now awaiting further action from prosecutors.

In a past statement, Ms. Adetshina emphasized that she sees herself as “proudly South African” and “proudly Nigerian,” expressing a dual identity she has cherished throughout her life. Now, as she prepares to represent Nigeria on the global stage, questions about her identity, citizenship, and her unique cross-cultural heritage remain.