Author: Amnewsworld

At least 50 civilians died in an attack by suspected Islamist militants in northern Burkina Faso, government spokesman Lionel Bilgo said Monday, in one of the bloodiest clashes since a military coup in January. “The army has so far found 50 bodies” after the village of Seytenga was attacked overnight Saturday, Bilgo said, adding that the toll “may rise.” “Relatives (of the victims) have returned to Seytenga and may have taken bodies away,” he told a press conference. Seytenga was the site of bloody fighting last week. Eleven gendarmes were killed on Thursday, prompting a military operation that the army…

M23 rebels seized the town of Bunagana in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Monday, whose army accused Rwanda of being behind the “invasion” of its territory. Bunagana, an important cross-border trading center between the DRC and Uganda, and very close to Rwanda, “is under enemy control,” a Congolese officer acknowledged earlier today on condition of anonymity. “The (Congolese) army has just given in, entering Uganda,” said Damien Sebusanane, head of a local civil society association, who was at the Ugandan border on Monday morning. “An army truck has just passed, four jeeps and other vehicles full of…

Air quality in South Africa has come under the spotlight once again and the city of Johannesburg has called for an investigation into a heavy sulphur-like smell that filled the air this week. Last year the stench was believed to be the result of elevated levels of sulphur dioxide and hydrogen sulphide from a fuels plant in Mpumalanga. Experts say it’s a form of pollution adding to an already growing problem._”We are receiving quite a few complaints from even our residents about having smells in the air, almost like a rotten egg sulphur smell. And this is indicative of the…

The US Defense Secretary said Chinese military activity around the self-governing island threatened to change the status quo. Lloyd Austin said Washington would continue to stand by Taiwan at an event in Singapore. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin criticized China on Saturday for a “more coercive and aggressive approach to its territorial claims.” Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Asia’s premier defense conference, Austin said there had been an “alarming” increase in the number of unsafe and unprofessional encounters between Chinese planes and vessels with those of other countries. “We’ve witnessed a steady increase in provocative and destabilizing military…

The Spinosaurus — or spine lizard — was larger than the infamous Tyrannosaurus rex. Few fossils of the mighty predatory remain, so this is a exciting find. With its massive size, unusual scales and fearsome crocodile-like skull, the Spinosaurus has long been a dinosaur fan favorite — its appearance is so distinct that it was portrayed as even larger and more powerful than the ferocious Tyrannosaurus rex in the movie Jurassic Park III. However, despite its popularity, scientists know little about the Spinosaurus. Its fossils have proven nearly impossible to find. To date, archaeologists have only uncovered seven such fossils —…

When Tobi Adepoju was attacked by fans of Shooting Stars after a football match, it wasn’t a first-time occurrence. Many Nigerian sports journalists often face harassment — or worse — from clubs and fans. When Shooting Stars Sports Club returns to Ibadan, Nigeria, for its home games this season, its fans will not be in attendance. It’s a punishment for Nigerian sports journalist, Tobi Adepoju, having been beaten up by a crowd of local fans after a recent draw against Remo Stars. For 12 years, freelance journalist Adepoju has been traveling across the country to provide media coverage of the Nigeria Professional Football…

Somalia has agreed to lift a ban on air freighting khat from Kenya that had been in place for more than two years, Kenya’s agriculture minister announced Friday. The announcement, which comes a day after Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta visited Mogadishu for the inauguration of Somalia’s new president Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud, marks an easing of relations between the two countries, which were stormy under the previous president Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, known as Farmajo. In this tense context, Mogadishu had never lifted the ban on air transport of miraa -the other name for khat- from Kenya, which was imposed in March…

Rwanda’s ministry of Defence says DRC fired two rockets into the western part of its country, on Friday, causing no casualties but terrifying the population at the border. In its statement, the ministry says it is the third such attack since March. Tensions between the two central african countries have been on the rise as Kinshasa accuses its neighbor of backing M23 rebels sending this week, 500 soldiers in Eastern DRC, something Rwanda denies. DRC’s national army has been fighting against M23 insurgents, considered a terrorist group, in eastern Congo for a decade and violent clashes have been occurring since…

According to the May 2022 Hunger Hotspots report, Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Sudan, and Yemen remain at ‘highest alert’ as hotspots with catastrophic conditions, and Afghanistan and Somalia are new entries to this worrisome class since the previous hotspots report in January 2022. These countries all have segments of the population facing IPC phase 5 ‘Catastrophe’ – or at risk of deterioration towards catastrophic conditions, with a total of 750,000 people already facing starvation and death in Ethiopia, Yemen, South Sudan, Somalia and Afghanistan. The conflict in Ukraine is compounding what is already a year of catastrophic hunger, unleashing a wave…

South Africa held a late training session on Tuesday in Delhi as they continued to prepare for the first Twenty 20 of the five-match series against hosts India. Captain Temba Bavuma is hoping to surprise the hosts with a series win and build some momentum ahead of the T20 World Cup scheduled for later this year. Bavuma’s side has been helped with some timely performances by key South African players in the recently concluded IPL (Indian Premier League), with the middle-order batter David Miller being the most impressive one. Others who impressed during the T20 extravaganza included fast bolwer Kagiso…