DR Congo: UN vows orderly peacekeeping transition as South Africa withdraws troops

DR Congo: UN vows orderly peacekeeping transition as South Africa withdraws troops

In a statement issued on Sunday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said he informed UN Secretary-General António Guterres on 12 January about the decision, which “is influenced by the need to consolidate and realign the resources of the South African National Defence Force, following 27 years of South Africa’s support to UN peacekeeping efforts in the DRC.”  He noted that South Africa is among the top 10 countries contributing troops to […]

Aid cuts push millions in West and Central Africa deeper into hunger

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) issued the warning on Friday, citing latest analysis from the food security framework Cadre Harmonisé, the regional equivalent of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) that uses a one to five scale – with five spelling catastrophe/famine – to inform response. It projects that 13 million children are also expected to suffer from malnutrition this year while over three million people will […]

‘Africa is poised for progress’ Guterres tells development conference in Japan

‘Africa is poised for progress’ Guterres tells development conference in Japan

“With the world’s youngest population, abundant natural resources, and a vibrant entrepreneurial spirit, Africa is poised for progress,” he told the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) in Yokohama. He said the meeting’s theme – Co-Create Innovative Solutions with Africa – was a reminder that these same strengths can help shape a more […]

Cholera outbreak in West and Central Africa poses crisis for children

Cholera outbreak in West and Central Africa poses crisis for children

“The heavy rains, widespread flooding and the high level of displacement are all fuelling the risk of cholera transmission and putting the lives of children at risk,” said UNICEF regional director for West and Central Africa Gilles Fagninou. Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by consuming food or water contaminated with bacteria. The disease […]

Children’s lives ‘turned upside down’ by wars across Middle East, North Africa, warns UNICEF

Children’s lives ‘turned upside down’ by wars across Middle East, North Africa, warns UNICEF

Alarmingly, 110 million children in the region live in countries affected by war, with homes, schools and health facilities damaged or destroyed in fighting. “A child’s life is being turned upside down the equivalent of every five seconds due to the conflicts in the region,” said Edouard Beigbeder, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East […]

Central Africa at a crossroads amid rising tensions and instability

Central Africa at a crossroads amid rising tensions and instability

With violence worsening in both the Lake Chad Basin and the Great Lakes, the Security Council met on Monday to examine the threats confronting the wider region. “Central Africa remains rich in potential, but the challenges are still significant,” said Abdou Abarry, Head of the UN Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA). Some progress While […]

More than 50 million in West and Central Africa at risk of hunger

More than 50 million in West and Central Africa at risk of hunger

More than 36 million are struggling to meet their basic food needs, which is projected to rise to over 52 million during the lean season from June to August, latest analysis reveals. This includes almost three million people facing emergency conditions, and 2,600 people in Mali who are at risk of catastrophic hunger. Although needs […]

World News in Brief: Guterres on India-Pakistan tensions, eastern DR Congo update, weather boost for locusts in Africa

World News in Brief: Guterres on India-Pakistan tensions, eastern DR Congo update, weather boost for locusts in Africa

UN Secretary-General Guterres has spoken to leaders on both sides on India-Pakistan tensions. “This morning, he spoke separately by telephone with Muhammad Shebaz Sharif, the Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, and he also spoke earlier in the day with Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, the Minister for External Affairs of the Republic of India,” said […]

Discovery of Mbiresaurus gives birth to new theory on dinosaurs in Supercontinent Pangea

Discovery of Mbiresaurus gives birth to new theory on dinosaurs in Supercontinent Pangea

The discovery of Mbiresaurus in Zimbabwe has led the group of researchers to propose a new theory on dinosaur migration, as Africa was once part of the supercontinent called Pangea. The climate across ancient Pangea continent is thought to have been divided into strong humid and arid latitudinal belts, with more temperate belts spanning higher […]

Africa’s oldest known dinosaur skeleton to bridge the ‘Missing Middle’

Africa’s oldest known dinosaur skeleton to bridge the ‘Missing Middle’

An international team of paleontologists led by Virginia Tech has discovered a skeleton of new long-necked dinosaur Mbiresaurus raathi, that fills a critical geographic gap in the fossil record of the oldest dinosaurs. The skeleton, mostly intact, was first found by a graduate student in the Virginia Tech Department of Geosciences and other paleontologists during […]

Trumpeting ‘America First’ Theory Far-Fetched But Feasible

Trumpeting ‘America First’ Theory Far-Fetched But Feasible

US President Donald Trump in his first Presidential address has put “America First”, setting the tone for an inward-looking diplomacy that might radically change the course of world events since the Pearl Harbor attack seven decades ago. “We assembled here today are issuing a new decree to be heard in every city, in every foreign […]