JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA – South Africans are united in mourning for Nelson Mandela on Friday, but while some celebrated his remarkable life with dance and song, others fretted that the anti-apartheid hero’s death would make the nation vulnerable again to racial and social tensions. Continue reading
China Patrols Air Zone Over Disputed Islands
BEIJING (AP) — China said it sent warplanes into its newly declared maritime air defense zone days after the U.S., South Korea and `Japan all sent flights through the airspace in defiance of rules Beijing says it has imposed in the East China Sea. Continue reading
Egypt and Ethiopia Hold Nile Talks, No Deal Reached
Addis Ababa — The Ethiopian and Egyptian leaders on Tuesday held talks in Kuwait over Cairo’s concern regarding the construction of what will upon completion be Africa’s biggest hydro power plant. Continue reading
Ethiopians back from Saudi recall attacks
Returning after clampdown, former migrants say they were beaten, robbed and jailed, and that they will never go back.
When Abdallah Awele moved to Saudi Arabia from Ethiopia last year, he thought he would land a good job and earn enough money to send home to his family.
But instead, Abdallah, 21, said he was beaten, robbed and jailed for living in the country illegally. Continue reading
Arrests at anti-Saudi protest in Ethiopia
Police in Ethiopia have arrested dozens of people outside the Saudi embassy in the capital Addis Ababa in a crackdown on demonstrators protesting against targeted attacks on Ethiopians in Saudi Arabia.
Police units blocked roads on Friday to prevent the protest at the embassy from growing and forced some journalists to delete photos.
“The police came and they beat us… and now more than 100 people are at the police station” said Getaneh Balcha, Blue Party Continue reading
Kenya mall attack leaves at least 25 dead
NAIROBI (AFP) – Masked gunmen stormed a packed upmarket shopping mall in Nairobi Saturday, spraying gunfire and killing at least 30 people and wounding dozens more before holing themselves up in the complex.
The attackers were “pinned down” after hours of painstaking evacuations, with police going shop-to-shop to secure the Westgate shopping mall, a security source told AFP.
“The attackers have been isolated and are pinned down in an area on one of the floors. The rest of the mall seems to be secure,” a security source told AFP at the scene.
Kenya Mall Shooting: At Least 59 Killed, 175 Injured in ‘Senseless Act of Violence’
At least 30 hostages remain trapped inside an upscale mall in Nairobi, Kenya, more than 24 hours after unsuspecting shoppers were met with a siege of terror when attackers dressed in black, wearing facemasks and vests, threw grenades and opened fire on unsuspecting crowds.
Kenya’s interior Cabinet secretary Joseph Lenku said at least 59 people were killed and at least 175 others were injured in the attack. While more than 1,000 people were rescued from the shopping center, Kenyan forces continue to swarm the mall are as a tense standoff ensues.
“The priority is to save as many lives as possible,” Lenku said.
Terror at Nairobi Mall: Kenyan President Vows to Defeat Terrorists
South Sudan arrests general for rights violations
JUBA (AFP) – A top army commander in the troubled new nation of South Sudan has been arrested over a string of alleged human rights violations, officials said Tuesday. General James Otong Riek was a commander in the eastern state of Jonglei, the scene of heavy fighting last month between rival ethnic groups. The army said he had been implicated in “several reports and complaints of killings”. Continue reading
Three types of Anywaa
By Magn Nyang, Mninesota, USA - When I was a child growing up in Anywaa village, I heard all kinds of histories about the bravery and herosim of Anywaa. How united they were when it came to protecting their interests. I heard how they mobilized to defend Anywaa interests in Adongo, Chiero, Jor, Ter-naam, Openo, Lul and so on. I heard that Anywaa in those days did not even ask which Anywaa needed help. They did not care if Openo Anywaa, Lul Anywaa, Tar-Naam Anywaa, or Adongo Anywaa needed help. They would just mobilize from all corners of Anywaa land and travel hundreds of miles to protect Anywaa interests.
Ethiopia: Lives for land in Gambella
To many people land is much more than a resource or corporate commodity to be bought developed and sold for a profit. Identity, cultural history and livelihood are all connected to ‘place’. The erosion of traditional values and morality (which include the observation of human rights and environmental responsibility) are some of the many negative effects of the global neo-liberal economic model, with its focus on short-term gain and material benefit. The commercialization of everything and everybody has become the destructive goal of multi-nationals, and their corporate governments manically driven by the desire for perpetual growth as the elixir to life’s problems.