Author: Amnewsworld

Ivory Coast has announced plans to purchase the entire volume of cocoa stockpiled by the country’s cooperatives, a move aimed at protecting farmers’ incomes as global cocoa prices fall to their lowest level in two years. The intervention comes as slowing exports have led to a buildup of unsold cocoa, putting pressure on producers in Ivory Coast, where the cocoa sector accounts for about 14 percent of gross domestic product and supports the livelihoods of roughly one in five citizens. Speaking on Tuesday, Agriculture Minister Kobenan Kouassi Adjoumani said the government had adopted what he described as a “simple and…

South Africa’s Human Settlements Minister Thembi Simelane has confirmed that the death toll from recent floods in the northeastern provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga has risen to 38, as authorities step up emergency housing assistance for displaced communities. In a statement issued Tuesday, Simelane said fatalities in Limpopo have increased from 17 to 18, while Mpumalanga has recorded 20 deaths. Six people remain missing in Limpopo as search and recovery operations continue. The floods followed several days of intense rainfall that swept through low-lying and rural areas, destroying or damaging thousands of homes and forcing many families into evacuation centers.…

A sharply worded commentary circulating online has reignited debate over what critics describe as Western Europe’s inconsistent application of human rights standards, particularly in relation to Israel, Islamist militant violence, and Europe’s own historical record. The argument, widely shared on social media and political forums, accuses several Western European governments of harshly condemning Israel’s military campaign in Gaza following the October 7, 2025 Hamas-led attacks, while remaining largely silent on other alleged atrocities including historical abuses committed by European states and ongoing violence in parts of the Middle East. At the center of the criticism is Denmark, whose prime minister…

Finnish fuel retailer Teboil has been placed under corporate restructuring following a ruling by the District Court of Western Uusimaa, according to entries published on Finland’s national insolvency register. The court decision took effect on Friday and follows an application for restructuring filed by Teboil in late November. The company said it was no longer able to meet its financial obligations after international sanctions were imposed on its Russian parent company, Lukoil. Lukoil was placed under United States sanctions in the autumn, triggering immediate consequences for its Finnish subsidiary. Following the sanctions, Finnish banks suspended payment processing services for Teboil,…

Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine was placed under house arrest on Friday, a day after national elections in which early official results show President Yoweri Museveni holding a commanding lead as he seeks to extend his nearly four-decade rule. With roughly a quarter of ballots counted, the Electoral Commission of Uganda reported Museveni on 76 percent of the vote, far ahead of Wine. Final presidential and parliamentary results are expected by early Saturday. The vote followed a tense and heavily restricted campaign period marked by an internet shutdown, a measure increasingly used by Ugandan authorities during elections and criticized by…

Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno has been named the winner of the 2026 African Peace Prize, in recognition of his role in guiding Chad through a peaceful political transition and for the country’s humanitarian response to hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing the conflict in Sudan. The announcement was made by the African Conference for Peace following a unanimous decision by the Prize Committee, which cited Déby’s leadership in consolidating stability in Chad while keeping the country’s eastern borders open to displaced Sudanese civilians. The committee met at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva under the auspices of the UN-mandated University…

With a single strike of a lighter and a brief drag of a cigarette, an Iranian woman living in Canada has emerged as a global symbol of defiance against Iran’s intensifying crackdown on dissent, as images of her act ripple across social media and real-world protests worldwide. A short video that went viral this week shows the woman setting fire to a photograph of Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, using the flame to light a cigarette before dropping the burning image to the ground. The footage—lasting just over half a minute—has become one of the most striking visuals linked to…

A U.S. citizen has accused federal immigration officers of violently detaining her while she was on her way to a medical appointment in Minneapolis, an incident that has intensified scrutiny of the Trump administration’s ongoing immigration crackdown in the city. In a statement released Thursday, Aliya Rahman said she was pulled from her vehicle by immigration officers, taken into custody, and later denied medical care until she lost consciousness. The Department of Homeland Security disputed her account, describing Rahman as an agitator who obstructed officers during an enforcement operation. Video of the arrest, which has drawn millions of views across…

A small group of Ukrainian immigrants gathered on Friday at Simon’s Town, the site of South Africa’s main naval base, to protest against Russia’s involvement in the multinational naval exercise Will for Peace 2026, which also includes warships from China, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Demonstrators criticized South Africa for inviting Russia to take part in the week‑long joint military drills in its waters while Moscow continues its war against Ukraine. Ukrainian expat Kateryna Fedkina called on Pretoria to suspend military cooperation with what she described as an “aggressive state,” saying it was painful to see Russian naval forces…

Authorities in New Mexico issued an arrest warrant Friday for director and Emmy Award-winning actor Timothy Busfield, charging him with two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor. The allegations, detailed in a criminal complaint filed by an Albuquerque Police Department investigator, stem from reports by a child who said Busfield touched him inappropriately on multiple occasions while working on the set of the TV series The Cleaning Lady. The child said the first incidents occurred at age 7 and continued at age 8. The complaint indicates the abuse took place between November 2022 and spring 2024 and was…