Author: Amnewsworld

Mauritania went to the polls on Saturday for the first in local election since President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani was elected in 2019. It is being seen as a test of the leader’s popularity ahead of presidential elections next year in which he has not yet confirmed his decision to stand. However, Ghazouani, who has overseen the West African country’s relative stability in the violence-wracked Sahel, is widely expected to seek re-election. Voter Mahfoud said: “We would like these elections to bring out patriotic men who will work to boost the economy and reduce unemployment.” Ghazouani’s El Insaf party is favoured to…

A total of 23,495 people in Ghana tested positive for HIV in the first half of this year (January to June). The figure is two percent of the 948,094 people who undertook HIV testing from January to June 2022, the Programme Manager of the National STIs and HIV/AIDS Control Programme, Dr. Stephen Ayisi Addo said in a report filed by state newspaper, graphic online. “The figure for this new infection is too high, so we need to intensify education to let people know that HIV is still real; …We have to let people know that they need to stick to…

Amnesty International has welcomed a UN report accusing the Malian army and “foreign” fighters of having executed over 500 people in 2022 during anti-jihadi operations in the Moura region. The figures by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) amount to the worst atrocity the Sahel country has experienced since a jihadist insurgency flared in 2012. It is also the most damning document yet against Mali’s armed forces and their foreign allies. Human Rights Researcher on the Sahel, Amnesty, Ousmane Diallo described the seriousness of the report. “We draw the attention of the prosecutor and the International Criminal Court to…

Paraguay’s decades of relations with Taiwan look set to continue after a conservative and pro-Taipei candidate, Santiago Pena, was declared the winner in the South American country’s presidential election. Colorado Party candidate Santiago Pena will be Paraguay’s next president, after election officials declared him the winner in the country’s presidential election on Sunday. With over 95% of the vote counted, preliminary results showed Pena winning with 42.9%. His main competitor, center-left opposition candidate Efrain Alegre came in second place with 27.5%. “Thank you for this Colorado victory, thank you for this Paraguayan victory,” Pena said in a speech. Sunday’s presidential election was…

Abu Hussein al-Qurashi, the suspected leader of the “Islamic State” terror group, has been killed in an operation by the Turkish intelligence services, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said. Abu Hussein al-Qurashi, the suspected leader of the so-called Islamic State (IS) group, was killed in Syria, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday. “This individual was neutralized as part of an operation by the Turkish national intelligence organization (MIT) in Syria yesterday,” Erdogan said in an interview, adding that al-Qurashi had been pursued by intelligence services for a “long time.” “We will continue our struggle with terrorist organizations without any discrimination,” Erdogan stressed.…

Air raid sirens sounded in the capital and other areas in Ukraine, as authorities said defense systems were repelling missile attacks. Pope Francis has also hinted at secret Vatican peace “mission.”  Ukraine activated its air defenses on Monday after Russia launched an early morning missile attack, officials said. Air raid sirens also sounded across the country, and authorities warned residents to take shelter. “Air defenses are at work!” Kyiv’s regional administration wrote on the Telegram messaging app, after reports of explosions heard in the region. “Keep calm! Stay in shelters until the air alarm goes off!” Authorities later issued the all-clear, with Kyiv officials saying air…

The much-anticipated Sand marathon began in Morocco on Sunday attracting more than 1150 runners who will have to show their resilience in the six-day 251 km ultramarathon. The participants camped in the desert packed their food and medical kits while the medical teams check the fitness certificates of the participants before the race began on Sunday. “Today, they are checking our bags to see if all the material is OK, and then we give our medical certificate with the electrocardiogram. If it’s good, we are fit for the race. Self-sufficiency starts tomorrow morning, so until next Saturday. So, we will…

The world’s largest rhino conservation farm is going up for auction in South Africa. “I have been expending money on this population of rhinos for thirty years and I have finally run out of money” says its owner John Humes. The future for these rhinos in the north west province (South Africa) depends on the outcome of a sale. “We have a very good breeding record, and we have a very good protection record so somebody could go on doing this and just expand it to more and more rhinos. Somebody could do that very easily.” “I’m hoping that there…

Battles raging in Sudan have sparked several evacuation operations to rescue foreign citizens or embassy staff by road, air and sea. The main airport in the capital Khartoum has been the site of heavy fighting and is under the control of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that is battling the army. Some evacuations are taking place from Port Sudan on the Red Sea, an 850 kilometre (530 mile) drive from Khartoum. Here is an overview of what various nations were doing in efforts to take stranded citizens to safety. Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia led the first reported successful evacuation…

Jerry John Rawlings (22 June 1947 – 12 November 2020) was a Ghanaian military officer and politician who led the country for a brief period in 1979, and then from 1981 to 2001. He led a military junta until 1992, and then served two terms as the democratically elected President of Ghana. Rawlings came to power in Ghana as a flight lieutenant of the Ghana Air Force following a coup d’état in 1979. Prior to that, he led an unsuccessful coup attempt against the ruling military government on 15 May 1979, just five weeks before scheduled democratic elections were due to take place. After handing power over to a civilian government,…