Tag: Africas

Microsoft has denied the claims of the so-called hacktivists “Anonymous Sudan” that they breached the company’s servers and stole credentials for 30 million customer accounts. Anonymous Sudan is known for debilitating distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against Western entities in recent months. The group has confirmed their affiliation with pro-Russian hacktivists like Killnet. Last month, Microsoft admitted that Anonymous Sudan was responsible for service disruptions and outages at the beginning of June that impacting several of its services, including Azure, Outlook, and…

Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin on Monday released the first audio statement since an aborted armed rebellion he staged on Saturday, defending the move as a reaction to an attack on his force that killed some of his 30 fighters. “We started our march because of an injustice,” Prigozhin said in an 11-minute audio. He didn’t offer any details as to where he was at the moment or what his future plans are. Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin on Monday released the…

Two senior officials with the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT), briefed ambassadors on recent developments, including the arrest of a top fugitive from the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, and the final verdict related to atrocities committed in the Balkan wars. Judge Graciela Gatti Santana, Mechanism President, reported that in-court proceedings are all but concluded as only one case related to core crimes committed in Rwanda now remains on the docket. “This represents a watershed moment…

Struggling to overcome recruiting shortfalls, the Army and the Air Force have bolstered their marketing to entice legal residents to enlist, putting out pamphlets, working social media and broadening their outreach, particularly in inner cities. One key element is the use of recruiters with similar backgrounds to these potential recruits. Airman 1st Class Joshua Fancisco, from the Philippines, left, Airman 1st Class D’elbrah Assamoi, from Cote D’Ivoire, center, and Airman 1st Class Jordan Flash, from Jamaica, looks at their U.S….

In this feature, part of a series exploring the fight against trafficking in the Sahel, UN News focuses on the illegal arms trade that is fuelling conflict and terrorism. In the Sahel, home to 300 million people, it’s a buyer’s market for guns. Insurgency and banditry plague the region, rooted in, among other things, endemic intercommunal tensions, clashes between farmers and herders, a spread of violent religious extremism, and competition over such scarce resources as water and arable land amid…

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) said on Thursday it was suspending food aid to Ethiopia because its donations were being diverted from people in need. A spokesperson said USAID had determined, in coordination with the Ethiopian government, that a “widespread and coordinated campaign is diverting food assistance from the people of Ethiopia”. The statement did not say who was behind the campaign. The United States is by far the largest humanitarian donor to Ethiopia, where more than 20…

The top US securities regulator sued cryptocurrency platform Coinbase on Tuesday, the second lawsuit in two days against a major crypto exchange, in a dramatic escalation of a crackdown on the industry and one that could dramatically transform a market that has largely operated outside regulation. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday took aim at Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. The SEC accuses Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao of operating a “web of deception”. If…

Following widespread diversion of lifesaving food aid in Ethiopia last month, the World Food Programme (WFP) has strengthened safeguards and controls in a bid to prevent further misuse, the UN agency said on Tuesday. WFP had paused distributions in the restive Tigray region in the north after finding evidence of significant supplies on sale in local markets, and immediately launched an investigation. Over 20 million people are in dire need of food assistance in Ethiopia, where communities continue to be…

By Harun Maruf  The United States military has confirmed conducting a new airstrike against al-Shabab militants in the Middle Juba region of southern Somalia. The airstrike took place in Jilib town on Saturday in collaboration with the Somali federal government, according to a press statement released Monday by the U.S. Africa Command known as AFRICOM. “The command’s initial assessment is that no civilians were injured or killed,” the statement said. The AFRICOM statement did not say whether any of the…

Source: Saudi Press Agency Jeddah, May 21, 2023, SPA — The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States of America announce that on May 20, 2023, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, representatives of the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces signed an Agreement on a Short-Term Ceasefire and Humanitarian Arrangements. The short-term ceasefire, which enters into force 48 hours after the signing of the Agreement, shall remain in effect for seven days and may be extended with the…

A temporary ceasefire in Sudan has been agreed as fighting between two warring factions entered its sixth week. Previous truce attempts between Sudan’s regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have tended to collapse within minutes of beginning. But the new deal will be enforced by a “ceasefire monitoring mechanism,” according to a US-Saudi statement. As part of the seven-day humanitarian ceasefire, Sudanese officials have agreed to restore essential services. Fighting between the two sides has plunged the country into…

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The head of the Russian private army Wagner claimed Saturday that his forces have taken control of the city of Bakhmut after the longest and most grinding battle of the Russia-Ukraine war, but Ukrainian defense officials denied it. In a video posted on Telegram, Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin said the city came under complete Russian control at about midday Saturday. He spoke flanked by about half a dozen fighters, with ruined buildings in the background and…

The international community will not fall in line with the pro-Western rules pushed by the G7 and not allow the US-led group to dominate world affairs, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.  “China will never accept the so-called rules imposed by the few. The international community does not and will not accept the G7-dominated Western rules that seek to divide the world based on ideologies and values,” the statement read. The Foreign Ministry went on to…

Shenderovich then confirmed on Facebook he was “barred from his own performance in London” but still did not explain the reasons behind the incident. He also mockingly thanked “all the idiots” responsible “for such an incredible promotion.”  The author eventually moved to nearby Regent’s Park together with his would-be audience, where he held an impromptu performance “in the natural setting,” Shenderovich himself said in his Facebook statement. The author called the event “one of his best performances” and said that…

Indonesia is launching the flight because “Russia is now looking to the East, so we are also looking towards Russia,” Helmi explained. Also on Friday, the first Russian plane landed in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi after a four-year hiatus. The arrival was met by a small group of anti-Russia protesters at the airport. On Saturday, meanwhile, the first Georgian Airways plane arrived in Moscow, with its pilot saying on social media that “direct flights are profitable and the right thing to…

LONDON – Britain on Friday published plans to ban imports of Russian diamonds, copper, aluminium and nickel and slap a new wave of sanctions against Russia, targeting companies connected to the alleged theft of Ukrainian grain. Along with the United States, Britain and other Group of Seven (G-7) major economies are set to unveil sanctions and export controls targeting Russia over its war against Ukraine at a summit in Japan this weekend. “We will legislate later this year to ban…