World

Recent developments show that most of the bonds have not been structured properly. As a result, African countries are paying way over the odds relative to their sovereign risks.

According to figures from Amnesty International and Harm Reduction International, over 600 people were executed globally for drug-related offences in 2024 alone.

The majority of new measles infections were among school-age children who had only one shot of the measles vaccine.

Hundreds of people had taken to the streets, blocking major roads and setting up barricades as they denounced what opposition leaders are calling a “constitutional coup.”

Edgar Lungu's family opted to bury the late president in South Africa, following a disagreement with Zambia over how the funeral should be conducted.

Mohamoud briefed Ruto on preparations for the upcoming Special Summit on AU Reforms, and thanked Kenya for its "continued support" and for staying engaged despite bruised political egos.

In late 2024, Mozambicans took to the streets to protest against elections they claimed were rigged. Over 300 people were killed in demonstrations.

The report notes that Africa has seen little improvement since the mid-2010s, with the region now home to more than 60 per cent of the world’s extremely poor.

Lusaka had proposed a state funeral to be presided over by President Hakainde Hichilema, but Lungu's family opposed it, stating that they wanted to personally handle his repatriation and that he had left specific instructions forbidding Hichilema from being near his body.

Local civil society groups and international observers indicate that over 120 children have been abducted in recent days by Al-Shabaab militants in the country.

Much of the continent's cropland growth during the period under review was driven by increases in staple crops, such as maize, rice and wheat, particularly in Western and Eastern Africa.

Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also responded to the Iranian missile launch. "Tehran will shake," Smotrich posted on his X account.

Fordow is one of several nuclear-related sites across Iran that are known to have been damaged in the strikes by the United States, including those in Esfahan, Arak and Tehran.

The World Bank adds that in the early 2000s, Africa enjoyed strong economic growth driven by high commodity prices and a surge in foreign capital inflows.

Araghchi said that final decision on stopping Iranian military operations would be made later

The base is home to nearly 8,000 American troops and also hosts forces from the UK, Australia and other allied countries.

Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that Tehran had begun a missile campaign dubbed the "Annunciation of Victory," targeting US bases in both Iraq and Qatar.

Kwame Akoto-Bamfo is a Ghanaian multidisciplinary artist who engages with the histories and legacies of the transatlantic slave trade and colonialism at home and, increasingly, internationally, on both sides of the Atlantic.

The final decision rests with the country's Supreme National Security Council.

The US struck Iranian nuclear facilities in Iran, including the key Fordo site, in a tightly choreographed operation dubbed "Midnight Hammer."

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the strikes took place amid ongoing diplomatic talks, rendering any calls for renewed dialogue “irrelevant”.

They were looted in 1897 when British forces led by Sir Henry Rawson invaded the Benin Kingdom, now part of southern Nigeria, and exiled its monarch, Ovonramwen Nogbaisi, for six months.

An Iranian official confirmed that part of the nuclear site in Fordo was attacked by "enemy airstrikes," according to Iran's Tasnim News Agency and IRNA agency.

Grandi said, "The time to de-escalate is right now. Once people are forced to flee, there's no quick way back and all too often, the consequences last for generations."

The findings reveal a catastrophic impact on the physical, psychological, and social well-being of child survivors and highlight the need for urgent, coordinated global action.

UNICEF said Gaza now faces a "man-made drought," warning that if an ongoing fuel blockade of over 100 days is not lifted, "children will begin to die of thirst."

EU member nations will need to decide how to respond to the analysis. Their options range from suspending the current agreement to imposing economic sanctions on Israel.

In a statement, IGAD described the region as the largest refugee-hosting area in the world, currently sheltering over six million refugees and asylum seekers, about 20 per cent of the global total.

Nearly 13 million people have been uprooted from their homes in West and Central Africa. The UN Refugee Agency blames migration trends and conflict for creating a "perfect storm" of mass displacement.

The late president's family, citing unresolved grievances, declined to release his body from South Africa—despite earlier agreements—prompting the Zambian government to end the state-led commemoration.

The announcement marks a dramatic rupture with Lusaka, where President Hakainde Hichilema's administration had prepared for a state funeral with full honours.

The Ugandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs has reassured citizens that efforts are ongoing to locate and support any remaining Ugandans still in Iran.

Statistics show that nearly 1.2 million people have crossed into South Sudan since April 2023, straining already fragile systems amid a worsening humanitarian crisis.

2024 saw a record 41,370 grave violations against children,the highest number verified in nearly 30 years of monitoring/

The screening will apply to both new and returning student visa applicants, and applicants who refuse to set their social media accounts' privacy settings to "public" may be rejected.

In his report last year, UN Secretary-General António Guterres revealed that the escalation of conflict had exposed civilians to increased levels of sexual violence, driven by the proliferation of arms and greater militarisation.

According to family spokesperson Makebi Zulu, the return was suspended after the Zambian government allegedly issued a funeral programme without consulting the family.

Originally formed as a kind of personal guard for the supreme leader, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’s fighting strength now rivals that of the regular army.

But rather than charting a path to stability, the CPT remains mired in dysfunction as Haiti’s crisis deepens with no end in sight. Armed gangs now control most of the capital, more than a million Haitians have been displaced and half the country faces acute food insecurity.

Global airline passenger traffic had surpassed pre-pandemic levels and was projected to grow strongly in the coming decades—until instability in the Middle East disrupted the trend.

Patrice Lumumba was executed by a firing squad and his body was dissolved in acid. Only a gold-crowned tooth remained which Belgium formally returned to his family in 2022.

Reports suggest the directive was issued by Tehran via the state broadcaster, which had itself been targeted in Israeli airstrikes on Monday.

The ministry stressed the importance of vigilance, urging Kenyan nationals to avoid non-essential travel, stay updated through local media alerts, and strictly follow instructions from local authorities.

Due to the uncertain security situation, members of the Somali community recently met to evaluate their options. According to Ahmed, the meeting focused on whether they should continue to remain in Iran or try to leave for a safer country. The outcome of that discussion remains unclear.

IOM’s search and rescue teams have been deployed to trace victims, while survivors have received urgent medical attention upon disembarkation.

The mass casualty event left “hundreds of casualties, completely overwhelming Nasser Medical Complex” in Khan Younis, said WHO’s Representative in the occupied Palestinian territory, Dr Rik Peeperkorn.

Albares underscored the European Union's significant economic leverage and responsibility in the conflict.

Earlier on Tuesday, China’s foreign ministry confirmed that the country had started evacuating its citizens from both Israel and Iran.

65 per cent of all the attacks, explosions, and violence against civilians recorded between 2000 and 2024 were located within one kilometre of a road.

Calling for urgent international action, King Abdullah cautioned that the global community risks moral complicity by remaining silent.

They denounced the strikes as violations of international law and the United Nations Charter, stressing the importance of respecting national sovereignty, territorial integrity and the peaceful resolution of disputes.