Tigray conflict: Ethiopia declares 'indefinite humanitarian truce'

Ethiopia's government on Thursday declared "an indefinite humanitarian truce effective immediately", saying it hoped to help hasten delivery of emergency aid into the Tigray region, where hundreds of thousands face starvation.
#ethiopia #ethiopiagovernment

75% of Tigray population facing severe hunger as war rages in Ethiopia

An estimated 75% of the seven million population in Ethiopia's war-torn Tigray region have employed extreme coping strategies, with food aid, healthcare and other basic human needs cut off.
#tigray #ethiopia

SA students hide in subway as Russian forces pounded Ukraine city Kharkiv

Nkateko Muyimane and six fellow African students hid in a subway while Russian shells pounded Kharkiv, before fleeing on a train to Budapest they very nearly failed to board.
#ukraine #russiaukrainewar #kharkiv #budapest

Battle royale as Zimbabwe holds by-elections on Saturday

After two months of intensive rallies and flashes of political violence that claimed at least one life, Zimbabwe will hold by-elections on Saturday to fill 28 parliamentary and 121 hundred local government seats.
#zimbabwe #byelections

Robert Mugabe's son endorses Mnangagwa's Zanu PF ahead of by-elections

Robert Junior Mugabe, son of the late former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe, has come out in support of Zanu PF ahead of by-elections due to be held in the country on Saturday.
#robertmugabe #zimbabwe

Russia-Ukraine war is hurting Zimbabwe’s struggling economy

While the government has paused its price increases for now, they are still “just exorbitant”, says Kambamura, a father of two who stays in Dangamvura, a high-density suburb in Mutare. At these prices “the taxi business is becoming unprofitable,” he added. But the war is affecting commodities beyond fuel. With Russia and Ukraine exporting about a quarter of the world’s wheat, those prices too have been shooting up globally since the start of the invasion.
#russia #russiaukrainewar

Victory for press freedom in Tanzania, but DRC bans newspaper

A newspaper banned in Tanzania five years ago, has been allowed to publish again, while in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), another newspaper has been suspended for the next six months.
#tanzania #newspaper #congo

Covid-19: More than 840 000 vaccine shots donated to Kenya have expired

Kenya announced on Wednesday that nearly 840 000 Covid-19 vaccines received through donations had expired, blaming hesitancy and a short shelf life for jabs going unused.
#kenya #covid19

About 200 000 children exposed to online sexual exploitation, abuse in Tanzania - report

An estimated 200 000 children were victims of online sexual exploitation and abuse in Tanzania in the last year, a new study found. According to the study, titled "Disrupting Harm in Tanzania", the children were subjected to harmful experiences and were blackmailed to engage in sexual activities or grooming.
#tanzania #sexualexploitation

US lawmakers call on Foreign Office to closely follow DRC political developments

The United States Foreign Office has been encouraged by lawmakers to pay more attention to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)'s political situation ahead of the general elections in 2023.
#us #congo