Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudan’s protest leaders blamed ruling generals Monday for deadly new violence as three blood-stained bodies were found a day after the first mass rallies since a June crackdown on demonstrators. State media reported that seven people were killed as tens of thousands rallied to demand a …
Read More »Tensions high as Albania heads into disputed local polls
Tirana, Albania | AFP | Albania will on Sunday hold bitterly disputed municipal polls that have snowballed into a democratic crisis, with the opposition boycotting the vote and refusing to recognise its results. The tense election run-up has seen bouts of violence as opposition supporters attacked polling stations around the country …
Read More »Hong Kong police: Anger swells against ‘Asia’s Finest’
Hong Kong, China | AFP | Once dubbed “Asia’s Finest”, Hong Kong’s police are fighting allegations of using excessive violence against protesters, their headquarters besieged twice in the last week as calls for an independent inquiry into their tactics swell. Pro-democracy lawmaker Wu Chi-wai was aghast as thick clouds of …
Read More »Sudan protest leader fears more violence at newly planned demos
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | A prominent Sudanese protest leader has voiced fears of more violence against demonstrators at rallies this week, insisting the June 3 “massacre” at a Khartoum sit-in had been planned. Protest leaders have called for mass rallies against the military on Sunday, the first such nationwide call …
Read More »Governor sacked after Mali massacre
Bamako, Mali | AFP | The Malian government on Wednesday sacked the governor of the central Mopti region following a village massacre in which 35 people died. Three days of national mourning would also be held “in homage to the victims of the terrorist attack perpetrated on June 10, 2019 against …
Read More »UN Security Council strongly condemns Sudan violence
New York, United States | AFP | The UN Security Council on Tuesday strongly condemned recent violence in Sudan and called on Khartoum’s military rulers and protest movement to work toward a solution to the crisis. In a unanimous statement, the council called for an immediate halt to attacks against civilians …
Read More »Nearly 100 killed, 19 missing in central Mali village massacre
Bamako, Mali | AFP | Nearly 100 people were killed in a gruesome overnight attack on a village in central Mali, in the latest violence to strike the fragile region, authorities said Monday. There was no immediate claim of responsibility but the massacre, targeting a village inhabited by the Dogon community, …
Read More »Facebook bans far-right leader, controversial black activist
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Facebook on Thursday banned controversial black activist leader Louis Farrakhan, far-right icon Alex Jones and several others in a heightened crackdown on hate content at the leading social network. “We’ve always banned individuals or organizations that promote or engage in violence and hate, regardless of ideology,” Facebook said …
Read More »CID summons Bobi Wine for defying IGP’s guidelines
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) has summoned Kyadondo East MP, Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine on accusation of inciting violence. In summons signed by Senior Commissioner, Joseph Obwana, on behalf of CID director Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIGP) Grace Akullo, Kyagulanyi is accused …
Read More »Ebola, violence-weary DRC region proudly stages unofficial vote
Beni, DR Congo | AFP | Thousands of voters, weary from frequent armed attacks and an ongoing Ebola outbreak, proudly cast ballots in a northeastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo — even though they will count for nothing. Citing security and health fears, the country’s national electoral commission …
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