Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | An independent UN expert has apologised for misspeaking during a news conference in Geneva this week, correcting his claim that more than 100,000 children were being held in migration-related US detention. AFP and a range of other media outlets were forced to retract their stories after …
Read More »Nigeria’s Buhari says anti-migrant attacks ’embarrassment’ for Africa
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday denounced recent xenophobic violence in South Africa as an “embarrassment” for the continent, as he wrapped up a state visit. Buhari’s trip was overshadowed by a spate of recent attacks against foreign workers in South Africa, where …
Read More »Rampahosa sends emissaries to neigbours to calm xenophobia fears
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has sent high-ranking emissaries on a mission to reassure African countries after a wave of xenophobic attacks, the presidency said on Sunday. At least 12 people have been killed in the surge of mob violence targeting foreign-owned businesses and …
Read More »One killed, five wounded in new Johannesburg violence
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | At least one person was killed and five others injured in Johannesburg on Sunday, police said, after security forces clashed with looters in the latest outbreak of xenophobic violence. South Africa’s biggest city and other areas were hit by a surge of attacks against …
Read More »Scores arrested in S.Africa looting, attacks on foreigners
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South African police on Monday arrested dozens of people following widespread looting and protests in the transport industry linked to a wave of anti-foreigner sentiment. At least 70 people have been arrested since hundreds of people marched through Johannesburg’s Central Business District (CBD) …
Read More »AU leaders set to sign landmark trade deal at African Summit
Niamey, Niger | AFP | African leaders will meet Sunday in Niger for the African Union (AU) summit, to sign a landmark free trade agreement, and to discuss looming security and migration crises on the continent. In a “historic” moment for the 55-member bloc, according to its chairman Moussa Faki, …
Read More »Mexico publishes Trump’s ‘secret deal’ on migration
Mexico City, Mexico | AFP | Mexico published the document Friday that US President Donald Trump fleetingly showed the press this week as evidence he had extracted tough new concessions on migration from the neighboring country. Trump theatrically waved the one-page document in front of reporters Tuesday, fending off critics who …
Read More »Algeria defends expulsions after UN fears for ‘stranded’ migrants
Algiers, Algeria | AFP | Algeria’s interior ministry on Friday defended moves to expel dozens of migrants as a matter of “national security”, after the UN voiced concern over a group who went missing in the desert. The global body’s refugee agency UNHCR said Thursday that 100 people were “unaccounted …
Read More »Deaths highlight children’s plight in migrant surge to US
Nentón, Guatemala | AFP | The death of two Guatemalan children in the United States within weeks of each other has highlighted why there are so many children among Central American migrants heading north: smugglers tell them families have a better chance of being allowed in by US border guards, …
Read More »Tighter EU terrorism tracking measures take effect
Brussels, Belgium | AFP | Tighter measures to fight crime and terrorism in the European Union took effect on Friday as the 28-nation bloc seeks to improve security by sharing information more efficiently. New rules that strengthen the Schengen Information System (SIS) should help border guards and law enforcement agencies, …
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