ADDIS ABABA – Ethiopian opposition leader Jawar Mohammed and 22 others appeared in court Monday to face charges of terrorism and other crimes. Jawar, a media mogul and outspoken critic of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, was arrested in June following the killing of popular singer Hachalu Hundessa, a champion of the Oromo ethnic group. Political […]
Human Rights
UNICEF Criticizes Sentencing of 13-Year Old for Blasphemy in Nigeria
ABUJA, NIGERIA – The United Nations Children’s Agency, UNICEF, has condemned a Nigerian court for upholding a 10-year prison sentence with manual labor for a 13-year-old boy convicted of blasphemy. The Sharia court in the northern Nigerian state of Kano convicted Omar Farouq in August of using foul language against Allah during an argument with […]
Report: US Global War on Terror Has Displaced Up to 59 Million People
The U.S. war against global terrorism has displaced as many as 59 million people since 2001, according to a new report released Tuesday by Brown University. The study, published by the Rhode Island-based university’s “Costs of War Project,” says between 37 million and 59 million people in eight countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle […]
US Sanctions ICC Prosecutor Bensouda
WASHINGTON – The United States on Wednesday announced sanctions against the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Fatou Bensouda. The 59-year-old Bensouda, a Gambian national, had angered the Trump administration by opening an investigation into crimes allegedly committed by American soldiers in Afghanistan. During a briefing Wednesday at the State Department, Secretary […]
Zimbabwean High Court Orders Dissidents to Be Freed on Bail
HARARE – Opposition politician Jacob Ngarivhume and award-winning journalist Hopewell Chin’ono were granted bail on Wednesday at their fourth attempt after being detained in July for calling for protests. In separate rulings, the High Court granted their appeals against the ruling of a lower court that had denied them bail, saying its judges had erred. […]
As Africa Celebrates Polio-Free Status, Nigeria Says Battle Not Over
ABUJA – Misbahu Lawan Didi became paralyzed in both legs after contracting the polio virus as a child. As a lover of games, he was unable to enjoy his favorite sports with his able-bodied counterparts. In 1988, he founded para-soccer for disabled polio survivors to play. Not long after, he also played a part in […]