Security Council lifts arms embargo on Central African Republic forces
The arms embargo was established in 2013 against the backdrop of a brutal intercommunal conflict, when the predominantly Muslim Seleka rebels seized power leading to the mostly Christian militias fighting back. Civilians bore the brunt of the conflict, with several…
Urgent action needed to stop spread of drug-resistant malaria, scientists warn
Bangkok — Millions of lives could be put at risk unless urgent action is taken to curb the spread of drug-resistant malaria in Africa, according to a new paper published in the journal Science. The paper says the parasite that…
Healthcare in Sudan ‘hanging by a thread,’ warns UN agency
In one particularly appalling attack, a hospital was struck last Friday alongside residential areas and a livestock market in North Darfur state that killed or injured at least 97 civilians. Attacks against medical facilities, personnel and supplies, which violate international…
Climate change imperils drought-stricken Morocco’s cereal farmers, food supply
KENITRA, Morocco — Golden fields of wheat no longer produce the bounty they once did in Morocco. A six-year drought has imperiled the country’s entire agriculture sector, including farmers who grow cereals and grains used to feed humans and livestock….
Advocates hail sub-Saharan Africa’s lead in global HIV response
washington — Thousands of policymakers, health care professionals and advocates gathered this week in Munich, Germany, to take stock of the global fight against HIV as they try to meet the 2030 deadline set by world leaders for eliminating AIDS…
Deadly Atlantic shipwreck shows victims’ desperation, says UN refugee agency
The UN agency’s comments follow reports on Monday that dozens of people are missing after a boat carrying hundreds of people capsized in the waters off the coast of the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott. Recent months have continued to see a…
Ethiopia landslides: Death toll rises as UN supports response
More than 250 people are reported to have been killed, amid fears that the toll could rise to over 500, the UN Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a flash update on the disaster, issued on…
Young Ethiopian Space Program graduates aim for the skies
A group of young African students is shooting for the stars thanks to a program called ‘Pathways to Space.’ Aerospace company Boeing and a South African science organization backed an education program that just celebrated its first batch of graduates….
Meta takes down thousands of Facebook accounts running sextortion scams from Nigeria
Meta says it has taken down about 63,000 Facebook accounts in Nigeria that were engaging in financial sextortion scams — along with groups and pages that were trying to organize, recruit and train new scammers. Sexual extortion, or sextortion, involves…
Progress in ending world hunger set back by global crises
Progress toward achieving a world free of hunger has stalled, while efforts to improve the nutritional status of billions of people have been setback 15 years as global crises deepen in some of the world’s poorest countries, according to a…