Sudan’s paramilitary RSF detained 5,000, some tortured -human rights groups

DUBAI (Reuters) – Sudanese human rights organisations had evidence the Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) had detained more than 5,000 people in the capital and were keeping them in inhumane conditions, the group told Reuters on Friday. The RSF has been fighting the Sudanese army for three months, having dominated the Sudanese capital on…

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Venezuelan diplomat jailed in Kenya for 20 years for envoy’s murder

NAIROBI (Reuters) – A Kenyan court on Friday sentenced a former top Venezuelan diplomat to 20 years in jail over the 2012 murder of the Latin American nation’s acting ambassador at her home in an upmarket Nairobi neighbourhood. Dwight Sagaray, who was the first secretary at the embassy, was convicted, along with three Kenyan nationals,…

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StanChart to sell five sub-Saharan Africa businesses to Access Bank

DUBAI (Reuters) – Standard Chartered said on Friday it has reached an agreement to sell its subsidiaries in five sub-Saharan African countries to Nigeria’s Access Bank, putting into motion a plan announced last year to divest those businesses. Standard Chartered will sell its shareholding in its subsidiaries in Angola, Cameroon, Gambia and Sierra Leone to Access….

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The meds they bought were toxic. Now Gambian parents seek justice

By Edward McAllister DAKAR (Reuters) – Families of 20 Gambian children who died after consuming cough syrups made in India will take their government to court this month for allegedly mishandling drug imports – a rare step in one of Africa’s poorest countries, where few have the means to challenge authorities. The parents’ allegations and…

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UN agency calls for debt pause option as poverty rates rise

By Emma Farge and Marc Jones GENEVA/LONDON (Reuters) – A United Nations agency urged global finance ministers to give poor countries debt repayment breaks, estimating the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent surge in inflation and borrowing costs had pushed an extra 165 million people into poverty. The U.N. Development Programme said the jump meant more than…

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Ex-Mozambique finance minister pleads not guilty in New York on debt scandal charges

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A former Mozambique finance minister pleaded not guilty on Thursday to U.S. criminal charges over his alleged involvement in a fraud involving $2 billion in loans to three state-owned companies. Manuel Chang entered his plea before U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis in Brooklyn. Chang had been extradited on Wednesday from South…

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Egypt launches new Sudan mediation bid at neighbours’ summit

By Aidan Lewis CAIRO (Reuters) -Egypt on Thursday embarked on a fresh bid to halt fighting between Sudan’s warring factions and contain the humanitarian crisis it has unleashed, using a summit of neighbouring states to try to revive international efforts to contain the war. The leaders of Sudan’s seven neighbours in a joint statement called…

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Congo opposition spokesman shot dead months before election

KINSHASA (Reuters) -The spokesman for one of Democratic Republic of Congo’s main opposition parties was shot dead on Thursday, authorities said, raising tensions ahead of national elections in December. Video shared on social media purported to show the bullet-ridden body of Cherubin Okende, a former transport minister who was also a member of parliament, slumped…

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Explainer-What is happening in Sudan? Fighting in Khartoum explained

By Aidan Lewis KHARTOUM (Reuters) – A conflict in Sudan that erupted on April 15 has wrought havoc in the capital Khartoum, unleashed ethnic violence in Darfur, and uprooted more than three million people, including over 700,000 who have fled into neighbouring countries. WHAT TRIGGERED THE VIOLENCE? Tension had been building for months between Sudan’s…

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