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Children among those killed in second fatal incident in two weeks close to the Horn of Africa, says UN agencyAt least 21 people have died after a boat capsized off the coast of Djibouti, the UN’s migration agency has said.It was the second fatal maritime accident in two weeks off the Horn of Africa nation, which lies on the perilous so-called eastern migration route...

Repealing ban would mean return of ‘one of the most pernicious forms of violence committed against women and children’A team of UN experts has urged Gambian lawmakers not to repeal a ban on female genital mutilation, saying such a move would set a dangerous global precedent.In a letter dated 8 April and made public on Thursday, the experts, led by Reem Alsalem, the UN...

International Organization for Migration believes those discovered ‘died in process of being smuggled through the desert’A mass grave containing at least 65 bodies has been discovered in south-west Libya this week, the UN migration agency said on Friday.A spokesperson for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said the mass grave was uncovered by Libyan security forces. Continue reading...

It’s not clear if the new agreement can circumvent the Kenyan high court’s earlier ruling that such a deployment is unconstitutionalKenya and Haiti have a security deal to try to salvage a plan for Nairobi to deploy 1,000 police officers to the troubled Caribbean nation to help combat gang violence that has surged to unprecedented levels.Kenya agreed in October to lead a UN-authorized international...

‘Crucial’ UN resolution attempts to avoid repeat of injustices produced by Africa’s fossil fuel sectorIn an attempt to avoid the “injustices and extractivism” of fossil fuel operations, African leaders are calling for better controls on the dash for the minerals and metals needed for a clean energy transition.A resolution for structural change that will promote equitable benefit-sharing from extraction, supported by a group of...

Judge says UN-backed proposals to tackle gangs in Caribbean country contravene Kenya’s constitutionKenya’s high court has ruled against a government plan to deploy hundreds of police to Haiti to lead a UN-backed multinational mission to fight escalating gang violence in the Caribbean country.Enock Chacha Mwita, the judge who issued the ruling, said: “Any decision by any state organ or state officer to deploy police...

Human Rights Watch’s annual report highlights politicians’ double standards and ‘transactional diplomacy’ amid escalating crisesHuman rights across the world are in a parlous state as leaders shun their obligations to uphold international law, according to the annual report of Human Rights Watch (HRW).In its 2024 world report, HRW warns grimly of escalating human rights crises around the globe, with wartime atrocities increasing, suppression of...

Al-Shabaab fighters attack after aircraft carrying medical professionals and soldiers lands in their territoryAl-Shabaab fighters in Somalia have attacked a United Nations helicopter that made an emergency landing in rebel-held territory, killing one passenger and abducting five others.The minister of internal security of Galmudug state in central Somalia, Mohamed Abdi Aden Gaboobe, said the helicopter made the landing in Xindheere village on Wednesday after...