ABUJA – Nigerians across the religious spectrum yesterday pushed back on US President Donald Trump’s threats of military intervention over the killing of Christians in the country. Africa’s most populous country, which is roughly evenly split between a mostly Christian south and Muslim-majority north, is home to myriad conflicts, which experts say kill both Christians...
WASHINGTON – US president Donald Trump said on Thursday that he has ordered the Pentagon to start nuclear weapons testing to equal China and Russia, just minutes before opening a high-stakes summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The move comes after Russian president Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Moscow had successfully tested a nuclear-capable,...
DAR ES SALAAM – Tanzania was under a communications blackout on Thursday, a day after elections turned into violent chaos with unconfirmed reports of many dead. President Samia Suluhu Hassan had sought to solidify her position and silence criticism within her party in the virtually uncontested polls, with the main challengers either jailed or barred...
DAR ES SALAAM – Hundreds protested yesterday in Tanzania’s largest city, tearing down banners of President Samia Suluhu Hassan and burning a police station, as the East African country went to the polls in elections where the main challengers have either been jailed or barred from standing. Despite heavy security in the commercial capital, Dar...
BRUSSELS – The European Union on Wednesday denounced what it said was the “brutality” of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group, which recently captured the key city of El-Fasher. The statement came as reports emerged of mass atrocities there and the killing of five Red Crescent volunteers in Kordofan. “Civilians being targeted based on...
GAZA CITY – Israel said it had carried out strikes on dozens of Hamas targets following the death of a soldier, with Gaza experiencing its deadliest night of bombing since a US-brokered truce went into effect earlier this month. After the strikes, the Israeli military said it had begun “renewed enforcement of the ceasefire”, though...
BERLIN – German human rights activists yesterday accused Berlin-based agricultural company Amatheon Agri of violently forcing Zambian farmers off their land and seizing their livestock. Amatheon Agri strongly denies the allegations. At least four villages in Zambia were violently cleared in 2024 to make way for the company’s farming activities, German NGO FIAN said, with...
ABIDJAN – Ivory Coast’s President Alassane Ouattara was set to secure a fourth term yesterday as early results indicated a landslide win in a weekend poll that excluded two of his main rivals. Nearly nine million voters were eligible to cast their ballot Saturday in the world’s top cocoa producer, which has resisted coups and...
PORT SUDAN – Thousands of civilians remained trapped in Sudan’s stricken city of El-Fasher, with fears growing for their safety, the United Nations and local groups said yesterday after paramilitary forces claimed control of the army’s last stronghold in the western Darfur region. Since May 2024, El-Fasher has been besieged by the Rapid Support Forces...
TOKYO – Donald Trump arrived in Japan on Monday, on the next leg of an Asia tour that could see the US president and China’s Xi Jinping end their bruising trade war. Speaking on Air Force One, Trump said he was hopeful of a deal when he sees Xi on Thursday, while also indicating he...