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☆ Tanzania expects economy to rebound in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

NAIROBI, April 28 (Reuters) - Tanzania's economy is expected to grow faster this year compared with a year earlier, but performance could be dampened by effects of the war in Ukraine, Finance Minister Mwigulu Nchemba said in a letter to the International Monetary Fund. In the letter dated April 4 and made public on Friday, Nchemba said the economy was expected to expand by about 5.2% in 2023 from 4.7% a year earlier. "We expect the economy to continue facing headwinds from spillovers of the war in Ukraine in the near term," he said. Tanzania's economy relies on among others, tourism, mining and agriculture. Reporting by George Obulutsa; Editing by James Macharia ChegeOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Airstrikes, artillery fire heard in Khartoum as Sudan fighting enters third week
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

KHARTOUM, April 29 (Reuters) - The sounds of air strikes, anti-aircraft weaponry and artillery could be heard in Khartoum early on Saturday and dark smoke rose over parts of the city, as fighting in Sudan entered a third week. Fighting between the army and a rival paramilitary force continued despite the announcement of a 72-hour ceasefire extension on Friday, when strikes by air, tanks and artillery rocked Khartoum and the adjacent cities of Bahri and Ombdurman. The fighting has also reawakened a two-decade-old conflict in the western Darfur region where scores have died this week. More than 75,000 people were internally displaced within Sudan just in the first week of the fighting, according to the United Nations. The U.S. said several hundred Americans had departed Sudan by land, sea or air.

☆ Children account for majority of Kenyan cult deaths, interior minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Ayenat Mersie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Followers of the Good News International Church near the coastal town of Malindi reportedly believed they would go to heaven if they starved themselves. "The reports we are getting are that many of the recoveries are of children... Children are the majority, followed by women. "The preliminary reports we are getting is that some of the victims may not have died of starvation. REUTERS/Joseph OkangaPASTORS ARRESTEDThe leader of the Good News International Church, Paul Mackenzie, has been in police custody since April 14. On Thursday, he did not respond to questions from journalists as he was escorted into a police station.

☆ Head of regional force tackling east Congo violence resigns, Kenya denies
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GOMA, April 28 (Reuters) - The Kenyan commander of a regional force set up to tackle militia violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo said he had resigned due to obstruction and threats to his safety, adding to doubts over whether the mission can be effective. The seven countries of the East African Community (EAC) set up the EACRF military force last April to try to end bloodshed linked to decades of militant activity in Congo's east. In the letter, Nyagah alleged foreign military contractors were sent to survey his residence in January, placing monitoring devices that forced him to relocate. "My security as the Force Commander is not guaranteed," Nyagah said. Communications Minister Patrick Muyaya previously acknowledged the presence of foreign military contractors in Congo as "instructors".

NAIROBI, April 27 (Reuters) - A Kenyan church leader was arrested on Thursday over the "mass killing of his followers", the interior minister said, just days after the leader of a cult based in the same region was detained and mass graves of his followers were found. REUTERS/Stringer 1 2 3 4Odero was "being processed to face criminal charges related to mass killing of his followers," Interior Minister Kindiki wrote on Twitter. Mackenzie was arrested again on April 14, and held alongside 14 other members of his church. The death toll among Mackenzie's followers is expected to rise further. Reporting by George Obulutsa; Writing by Estelle Shirbon; Editing by James Macharia ChegeOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

CNN —Harry Belafonte, the dashing singer, actor and activist who became an indispensable supporter of the civil rights movement, has died, his publicist Ken Sunshine told CNN. Bettmann Archive/Getty Images Belafonte, left, plays a school principal in a scene from the film "See How They Run" in 1952. Bettmann Archive/Getty Images Belafonte poses with the Emmy Award he won in 1960 for the musical special "Tonight With Belafonte." Fred Sabine/NBCU/Getty Images Belafonte and other recipients of Albert Einstein Commemorative Awards display their medallions after being honored in 1972. He is survived by his wife Pamela, his children Adrienne Belafonte Biesemeyer, Shari Belafonte, Gina Belafonte, David Belafonte, two stepchildren Sarah Frank and Lindsey Frank and eight grandchildren.

☆ Sudan fighting resurges as UN envoy says ceasefire partly holding
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Khalid Abdelaziz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire beginning on Tuesday after negotiations mediated by the U.S. and Saudi Arabia. U.N. special envoy on Sudan Volker Perthes told the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday that the ceasefire "seems to be holding in some parts so far." The fighting has paralysed hospitals and other essential services, and left many people stranded in their homes with dwindling supplies of food and water. The U.N. humanitarian office (OCHA) said shortages of food, water, medicines and fuel were becoming "extremely acute", prices were surging and it had cut back operations for safety reasons. Since the fighting erupted, tens of thousands have left for neighbouring Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia and South Sudan.

☆ Death toll in Kenyan starvation cult rises to 58 - police
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Hereward Holland | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The death toll, which has repeatedly risen as exhumations have been carried out, could rise further. The Kenyan Red Cross said 112 people have been reported missing to a tracing and counselling desk it has set up at a local hospital. Kenya's Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome, visiting the scene, said the death toll included 50 people found in mass graves as well as eight who were found alive and emaciated, but later died. Koome said 14 other cult members were in police custody. Reporting by Hereward Holland; Writing by Estelle Shirbon; Editing by Alexander WinningOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ The steps that could help address biodiversity loss could also help fix the climate crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Biodiversity loss doesn't always get as much attention as the climate but the crises are linked. The animal, named Sudan, was the last male northern white rhino. The loss of biodiversity doesn't always get as much attention as the climate crisis but the two challenges are linked. "Anybody who's working with these issues — biodiversity, climate change, and the underlying drivers of it — realize the interconnectedness of it," Chomba said. Nachmany said some parts of the financial world are recognizing that biodiversity loss and the climate crisis are two parts of the same problem.

A convoy leaving Khartoum, Sudan’s capital, advances on a road toward Port Sudan, on Sunday. Photo: abubakarr jalloh/AFP/Getty ImagesThe U.S. and other governments moved swiftly over the weekend to evacuate embassy staff from Sudan, where a battle for power between the country’s top two generals has now left millions of residents with the difficult choice of whether to try to sit out the clashes at home or attempt a risky escape. The rapid descent of the east African country—and especially its capital, Khartoum—into all-out war appeared to surprise many embassies, including the U.S. mission, which didn’t issue advisories for American citizens to leave the country before the fighting started on April 15.

☆ Number of bodies exhumed from suspected Kenyan cult graves jumps to 47
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Humphrey Malalo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/StringerNAIROBI, April 23 (Reuters) - Kenyan police have now exhumed the bodies of 47 people thought to be followers of a Christian cult who believed they would go to heaven if they starved themselves to death. Police near the coastal town of Malindi started exhuming bodies on Friday from the Shakahola forest. "In total, 47 people have died at the Shakahola forest," detective Charles Kamau told Reuters on Sunday. The leader of the church, Paul Mackenzie, was arrested following a tip-off that suggested the existence of shallow graves belonging to at least 31 of Mackenzie's followers. Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki said the entire 800 acre forest had been sealed off and declared a scene of crime.

NAIROBI, Kenya — It began with a helicopter evacuation of American diplomats from Sudan’s besieged capital city just after midnight Sunday, then turned into a full-fledged exodus of foreign officials and citizens of other nations as the battle raged around them. At the United States Embassy in Khartoum, an elite team of Navy SEALs ushered up to 90 people onto aircraft before taking off for Djibouti, 800 miles away. Hours later, a United Nations convoy began snaking its way out of the city, starting a 525-mile drive to Port Sudan on the Red Sea, while British and French diplomats were escorted to an airfield outside the city where military cargo planes were waiting. Other groups headed for Qadarif, a small town near the border with Ethiopia, and a boat chartered by Saudi Arabia carried its fleeing diplomats across the Red Sea. After days of fruitless diplomatic efforts to get two warring Sudanese generals to lay down their weapons, foreign governments took another tack this weekend: fleeing a country, long viewed as strategically important, that has been in the grip of intense fighting for over a week.

☆ Seeing Opportunities, World Powers Take Sides in Sudan War
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Declan Walsh | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

NAIROBI, Kenya — As war consumes Sudan, nations from around the world have mobilized swiftly. A Libyan warlord offered weapons to his favored side, American officials said. Even the leader of Russia’s most notorious private military company, Wagner, has gotten involved. Publicly, he has offered to help mediate between the rival generals fighting for power, but American officials say he has offered weapons, too. “The U.N. and many others want the blood of the Sudanese,” Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner founder, said in a statement.

☆ Kenya police begin exhuming remains from suspected Christian cult graves
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Humphrey Malalo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Police began exhuming bodies on Friday, said Charles Kamau, a detective in the nearby town of Malindi, without giving further details. The leader of the church, Paul Mackenzie, was arrested following a tip-off that also suggested the existence of shallow graves belonging to at least 31 of Mackenzie's followers. Police said the 15 rescued worshippers had been told to starve themselves to death so they could meet their creator. Matthew Shipeta from Haki Africa, a human rights group, said he had seen at least 15 shallow graves in the forest. "Personally I have visited about 18 children's graves," Mikali told Citizen TV.

☆ ‘We Will Hunt You’: Ugandans Flee Ahead of Harsh Anti-Gay Law
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Abdi Latif Dahir | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In a spartan safehouse with flimsy curtains and no furniture northwest of the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, people from neighboring Uganda clung to the few valuables they could snatch while fleeing harsh new legislation targeting them back home. A gay man clutched the white rosary that he took to church every Sunday. A transgender woman brought her favorite shimmering blue dress. A lesbian couple clenched the one smartphone that held photos from happier days, going on dates and dancing in clubs. They began leaving after Uganda’s Parliament passed a sweeping anti-gay bill in late March that threatens punishment as severe as death for some perceived offenses, and calls for life in prison for anyone engaging in same-sex relations.

☆ Court rules Meta can be sued in Kenya over alleged unlawful redundancies
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In response, Judge Matthews Nduma issued an interim injunction against Meta and Sama preventing them from terminating the moderators' contracts, pending a judgment on the legality of their redundancy. "The court finds that this court has jurisdiction to determine the matter of alleged unlawful and unfair termination of employment on grounds of redundancy," Nduma said on Thursday. Meta, Sama and Majorel did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday. The cases could have implications for how Meta works with content moderators globally. The U.S. giant works with thousands of moderators around the world, tasked with reviewing graphic content posted on its platform.

☆ More women describe having forced abortions in Nigerian Army programme
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +20 min

And both lost their pregnancies after they were taken into custody by Nigerian soldiers and given unidentified pills and injections. Nigerian military leaders previously have adamantly denied the existence of the abortion programme and the deliberate killing of unarmed children. We respect every living soul.”Asked about the military’s comments on the programme, Yau replied: “This happened to me, and they are denying it. After she was put into a room with three other pregnant women, Yau said, army personnel gave her pills and more injections. Reuters was unable to determine if this tally overlapped with others cited in its December story about the abortion programme.

☆ Opinion | My Continent Is Not Your Giant Climate Laboratory
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Chukwumerije Okereke | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Several environmentalists last year presented Africa’s leading climate negotiators with a bold idea: A technology called solar geoengineering could protect their countries from the worst effects of climate change, they said. It wasn’t the first time Westerners have tried to persuade Africans that solar engineering projects may be in our best interest. As a climate expert, I consider these environmental manipulation techniques extremely risky. And as an African climate expert, I strongly object to the idea that Africa should be turned into a testing ground for their use. Even if solar geoengineering can help deflect heat and improve weather conditions on the ground — a prospect that is unproven on any relevant scale — it’s not a long-term solution to climate change.

Many other hospitals were also reported to have come under attack on Monday, the third day of fighting in Sudan. Russia has also been trying to make inroads in Sudan, and members of the Kremlin-affiliated Wagner private military company are posted there. Leaders from around the world called for a cease-fire, but it was not clear who, if anyone, was in control of Sudan, Africa’s third-largest country, by area. “Everyone is afraid,” said Ahmed Abuhurira, a 28-year-old mechanical engineer who went out to try to charge his cellphone. “The humanitarian situation in Sudan was already precarious and is now catastrophic,” he said.

☆ For LGBTQ Kenyans, court win prompts backlash as threats escalate
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Ayenat Mersie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NAIROBI, April 18 (Reuters) - For Kenya's lesbians and gays, a supreme court ruling allowing the rights body that represents their interests to register as a non-governmental organisation has turned out to be a mixed blessing. But, in a country where same-sex acts remain punishable by up to 14 years in prison, the ruling has also led to a menacing backlash. An LGBT activist wears a badge as he attends a court hearing in the Milimani high Court in Nairobi in Nairobi, Kenya. For now, Kenya is still seen as a relative haven for LGBTQ people in a hostile region. For Kevin Mwachiro, an LGBTQ activist for 15 years, this is the most challenging time that the community inside Kenya has experienced.

☆ As New Wave of Violence Hits Sudan’s Capital, Civilians Feel the Strain
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Abdi Latif Dahir | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

NAIROBI, Kenya — As a new wave of violence swept the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, on Monday, millions of residents hiding in their homes felt the growing strain from the battles, and doctors and hospitals were struggling to cope with casualties and get the supplies and staff members that they needed. The forces of rival generals battling for control of Sudan clashed for a third day in Khartoum, threatening to worsen a humanitarian crisis in a nation already facing dire economic straits, growing hunger and widespread unemployment. Some were too afraid to venture out for food or other supplies. A doctors’ group said that hospitals remained understaffed and were running low on supplies as wounded people streamed in. And the World Health Organization said that the insecurity in the capital was impeding medical workers and ambulances from reaching those in need of critical care.

☆ Sudan Fears ‘Ghost of Civil War’ as Explosions Rock Capital
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Declan Walsh | Abdi Latif Dahir | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Fighter jets screamed over Khartoum, the capital, on Sunday, firing rockets into a city of millions. Artillery barrages slammed into the military headquarters, reducing it to a tower of flames. Civilian planes were bombed at the city’s airport, where terrified passengers cowered on the terminal floors. And when their relationship disintegrated into violence this weekend, it set off a breathless descent that appeared the realization of many people’s worst fears. One of the factions even captured and held Egyptian soldiers, along with seven Egyptian warplanes, threatening to suck a powerful neighbor into the fight and raising the specter of a regional conflagration.

☆ Kenya's President Ruto asks opposition to give talks a chance
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Monicah MwangiNAIROBI, April 16 (Reuters) - Kenya's President William Ruto asked the opposition on Sunday to give talks with the government a chance while his main opponent urged his followers to protest again over electoral reforms and the high cost of living. The protests partly stem from accusations of fraud in August's presidential election in which Ruto narrowly beat Raila Odinga. Odinga's Azimio La Umoja (Declaration of Unity) Alliance and Ruto's Kenya Kwanza (Kenya First) alliance disagree about the content of the talks and who should steer them. Kenya Kwanza wants the talks to involve only lawmakers and discuss only the selection of electoral officials. "If we don't hear from Ruto next week, when Ramadan ends, we are going back to the streets," he said.

☆ Facebook depends on local partners to flag hateful content. In Ethiopia, those partners say they were ignored.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( Tekendra Parmar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +31 min

Trusted partners say warnings were ignoredInsider spoke with six current and former trusted partners from Ethiopia who said that Facebook routinely ignored their pleas to take down content that they deemed hateful or likely to incite violence. Some of the trusted partners declined to be named because they've faced death threats and fear for their own safety. Multiple trusted partners in Ethiopia said hate speech is still proliferating on the platform. Rafiq Copeland, a senior adviser at InterNews, one of Meta's longest-standing trusted partners globally, told Insider that the core complaints of trusted partners in Ethiopia have come up in other Rest of World countries. Even in Addis Ababa, it seemed that everyone knew about the Facebook posts, and many people now saw him as a traitor.

☆ Fighting Erupts in Sudan’s Capital
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( Declan Walsh | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

NAIROBI, Kenya — Gunshots and explosions rang out on Saturday morning in several parts of Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, as residents reported clashes between rival factions of the armed forces. The military, which seized power in a coup 18 months ago, had agreed to hand that power to a civilian-led government this month. Intensive diplomatic efforts to prevent the tensions from escalating into violence appeared to collapse on Saturday. A resident living near a Rapid Support Forces camp in the Soba district said it was under attack from regular army forces. Videos circulating on social media showed soldiers and armored vehicles moving through the deserted streets of residential areas against a backdrop of intensive gunfire.

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