As anger boils over among Ethiopia’s Oromo population after the killing of a revered singer, analysts and activists say swift action and transparency by the government are necessary to avoid further bloodshed. Hachalu Hundessa was shot dead in Addis Ababa this week in what police say was a targeted killing. Police quickly apprehended suspects. But […]

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has called for urgent action to stop female genital mutilation, child marriage and other harmful practices carried out against millions of women and girls around the world each year. UNFPA made that call as it presented its State of the World Population report from UN headquarters in Geneva Monday. […]

International and regional powers agreed at talks on Tuesday to intensify a military campaign against Islamist militants in the West African Sahel region, with French President Emmanuel Macron saying victory over the jihadists was within grasp. Militant attacks in the Sahel have increased over the last two years, especially in the tri-border region of Niger, […]

Some are calling it an historic moment for France’s Greens party, others for the environmental movement in general. The Greens went from controlling just one major French city — Grenoble — to capturing a string of other large and mid-sized towns, including Bordeaux, Lyon, Strasbourg and Besançon. “What changed this election, the most important idea is ecology,” said Maud Lelievre a […]

For months, experts have warned of a potential nightmare scenario: After overwhelming health systems in some of the world’s wealthiest regions, the coronavirus gains a foothold in poor or war-torn countries ill-equipped to contain it and sweeps through the population. Now some of those fears are being realized. In southern Yemen, health workers are leaving […]

Democratic Republic of Congo’s prime minister protested on Sunday over the brief arrest of the justice minister, saying the coalition government could resign over the issue and calling on the president to guarantee Cabinet members’ legal protections. Justice Minister Celestin Tunda was detained by police on Saturday evening and released following several hours of questioning […]

Somalia’s electoral commission has announced that upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections will not take place on time, as scheduled. The chairperson of the National Independent Electoral Commission (NIEC), Halima Ismail Ibrahim, has told the Lower House of the parliament that political differences, insecurity, flooding and COVID-19 have hampered the commission’s work schedule. The parliamentary elections […]

The leaders of Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia agreed late Friday to return to talks aimed at reaching an accord over the filling of Ethiopia’s new hydroelectric dam on the Blue Nile, according to statements from the three nations.   Early Saturday, Seleshi Bekele, Ethiopia’s water and energy minister, confirmed that the countries had decided during […]