Month: August 2024

Violent protests over high cost of living rock Nigeria

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Abuja, Nigeria — Thousands of people continue to march the streets in Nigeria calling for a reversal of government reforms. Last year, authorities scrapped fuel subsidies and devalued the country’s currency in a bid to fix the economy. The measures sent the cost of living, especially food prices, soaring. On Friday, police fired tear gas to disperse demonstrators who say they’re not backing down.

The nationwide protests called Ten Days of Rage were held in many Nigerian cities on Thursday and Friday despite clashes with security.

“We deserve our benefits, we have mineral resources, we have natural resources, nature blessed the people,” said Wisdom Chimuanya, an Abuja protester. “We need a government that will serve the people and not lord over the people. Mr. President should meet the people’s demands, enough is enough.”

President Bola Tinubu announced the end of the fuel subsidy during his inauguration in May. Soon afterward he removed the rate cap on the national currency, the naira.

Authorities also increased electricity tariffs by more than 200%.

Protesters say these policies have made everyday living unaffordable.

Tensions escalated around Abuja on Friday as protesters pushed back against the government order not to march in the streets. Many protesters were injured and say police were firing live rounds.

The police said it only used tear gas to disperse the protesters.

Benneth Igweh, police commissioner of the Federal Capital Territory, which includes Abuja, said a court order was issued to prevent disruptions of normal activities around the city.

Local media reported 13 people have been killed across the country.

Authorities in northeast Borno and northwest Kano state imposed curfews Friday to control the violence.

“Until the government answers us, we’re not going to leave the streets,” said Chikaobi Emmanuel, a protester in Abuja. “The government is trying to disperse the protesters, but we’re not relenting. We’re peaceful protesters, why would the government order their security operatives to start shooting tear gas?”

Last month, Nigerian lawmakers pledged to donate half of their salaries to citizens for six months, and authorities relaxed taxes on certain food imports, including wheat, to lower prices.

On Monday, Nigeria signed a new minimum wage into law. But protesters say these measures are not enough and vow to occupy the streets until fuel prices return to normal.
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Protests turn violent as UK unrest spreads after children’s killings

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london — Protesters attacked police and started fires in the northeast English city of Sunderland on Friday as violence spread to another northern city following Monday’s killing of three children in Southport. 

Anti-immigrant demonstrators threw stones at police in riot gear near a mosque in the city before overturning vehicles, setting a car on fire and starting a fire next to a police office, the BBC said. 

“The safety of the public is our utmost priority and when we became aware that a protest had been planned, we ensured there was an increased policing presence in the city,” Northumbria Police Chief Superintendent Helena Barron said in a statement.  

“During the course of the evening those officers were met with serious and sustained levels of violence, which is utterly deplorable.” 

Three police officers were hospitalized for treatment, and eight people have so far been arrested for offenses such as violent disorder and burglary, Barron added. 

The protest in Sunderland was one of more than a dozen planned by anti-immigration activists across the U.K. this weekend, including in the vicinity of at least two mosques in Liverpool, the closest city to where the children were killed. 

Several anti-racism counterprotests were also planned. 

British police were out in force on Friday across the country and mosques were tightening security, officials said. 

A 17-year-old boy has been charged with the murder of the girls in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance workshop in the northwestern seaside town of Southport, a crime that has shocked the nation. 

Violent incidents erupted in the following days in Southport, the northeastern town of Hartlepool, and London in reaction to false information on social media claiming the suspect in the stabbings was a radical Islamist migrant. 

In an attempt to quash the misinformation, police have emphasized that the suspect  was born in Britain. 

Earlier on Friday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer made a second visit to Southport since the murders.  

“As a nation, we stand with those who tragically have lost loved ones in the heinous attack in Southport, which ripped through the very fabric of this community and left us all in shock,” he said in a statement. 

British police chiefs have agreed to deploy officers in large numbers over the weekend to deter violence. 

“We will have surge capacity in our intelligence, in our briefing, and in the resources that are out in local communities,” Gavin Stephens, chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, told BBC Radio. 

“There will be additional prosecutors available to make swift decisions, so we see swift justice.” 

Mosques across the country are also on a heightened state of alert, the Muslim Council of Britain said. 

Zara Mohammed, the council’s secretary general, said representatives from hundreds of mosques agreed to strengthen security measures at a briefing on Thursday. Many at the meeting also reported concerns for the safety of their worshippers after receiving threatening and abusive phone calls. 

“I think there’s a sense within the community that we’re also not going to be afraid, but we will be careful and cautious,” Mohammed said. 

Police in Southport, where on Tuesday evening protesters attacked police, set vehicles alight and hurled bricks at a mosque, said they were aware of planned protests and had “extensive plans and considerable police resources” on hand to deal with any disorder. 

Police in Northern Ireland also said they were planning a “proportionate policing response” after learning of plans by various groups to block roads, stage protests and march to an Islamic Centre in Belfast over the weekend. 
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Ethiopia PM says talks underway with armed groups; one group denies any discussion

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ADDIS ABABA, ethiopia — Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said that negotiations are in progress with armed militias in the Amhara region to peacefully resolve the ongoing conflict there. 

Speaking at a meeting with financial leaders in Addis Ababa on Friday, the prime minister said the federal government has been making efforts to reach out to the rebels but hinted that a lack of unity among the armed groups could be an obstacle. 

“I haven’t revealed this so far but to let you know today, it has been a while since we started talks with armed groups operating in the Amhara region,” he said in Amharic, speaking to participants of the meeting. “The problem so far is that there is no centralized group. When we reach an understanding with one group we don’t agree with the other.”   

The prime minister said efforts have been made to make the groups come together to “create enabling conditions for talks.” 

“But we have started talks with some of the groups; there are groups that have started continuous talks with the government,” he said.

The prime minister did not identify which armed groups were involved in the talks and when the talks started. The format of the talks is also not yet clear. 

Group denies it’s talking to government

A spokesperson for one of the Fano armed groups fighting in the Amhara region denies talks with the government. Fano is an ethnic Amhara militia without a formal structure and there are several groups operating in different parts of the Amhara region.  

Simeneh Mulatu, head of the foreign and diaspora affairs department for the Fano militias in Gojjam, told VOA that there have not been any talks or negotiations they started with the government. 

Leaders of other Fano factions operating in the region could not be reached for comment.

Official unaware of reports of talks   

Despite the prime minister’s remarks, an official with the Amhara region’s peace council set up in June also appears to be unaware of the reports of talks with the armed militias.   

Eyachew Teshale told VOA that they are not aware of any formal peace talks that are going on between the government and the Fano armed group.   

Fighting between federal government forces and Fano broke out a year ago after reports emerged that the government was planning to disarm the regional paramilitary forces to integrate them into other security structures, including the federal army. 

In November last year, the Ethiopian government held talks with the other rebel group fighting in the Oromiya region, the Oromo Liberation Army. The two sides failed to narrow their differences during the two rounds of talks that took place in Tanzania. 

This story originated in the Horn of Africa’s Amharic Service. 
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Afghan missions vow to provide consular services despite Taliban disavowal

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Washington — Afghan diplomats and diplomatic missions in Europe, Australia and Canada say they will continue providing consular services despite the Taliban’s recent announcement disavowing them.

The Taliban’s Foreign Ministry announced in a statement Tuesday that it would not recognize the legitimacy of consular services performed at Afghan diplomatic missions in Australia, Canada and 11 European countries.

“[T]he consular services such as deeds, endorsements, NOCs, issuing passports, passport renewal stickers, visa stickers, etc., from the missions in London, Belgium, Berlin, Bonn … Austria, France, Italy, Greece, Poland, Sweden, Norway, Canada and Australia are no longer accepted by MoFA and relevant departments, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs bears no responsibility toward these documents and no actions will be taken thereof,” read the statement.

Afghan diplomats working in the 13 missions disavowed by the Taliban are the employees of the former Afghan government, which collapsed after the Taliban seized power in August 2021. They have remained at their posts in the years since, helping Afghan citizens with a range of consular services.

Representatives of the missions said they would continue their services without interruption.

“The diplomatic and consular missions of Afghanistan in Europe, Canada, Australia, and elsewhere remain committed to continue providing consular services within the framework of national and international laws and regulations, and in understanding and collaboration with host country authorities,” said a statement issued on Tuesday by the Coordination Council of Ambassadors and General Consulates of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.

“I am confident that the consular services [in these countries] would continue as usual,” said Nigara Mirdad, Afghanistan’s deputy ambassador in Poland.

She added that the consular services are permitted by the host countries and provided in accordance with international conventions and laws.

In the council’s statement, the Taliban said they “repeatedly urged” the missions in these countries to “engage” with the Taliban’s Kabul-based rulers, but “unfortunately, the actions of most of the missions are carried out without coordination, arbitrary and in explicit violation of the existing accepted principles.”

Mirdad called the Taliban’s decision “unreasonable” and said that consular services are “transparent and based on Afghan laws.”

She added that the diplomats working in the missions do not recognize the Taliban’s government as it does not have “any internal and international legitimacy.”

“Instead, the Taliban should work on its government’s internal legitimacy and respect human rights and Afghanistan’s commitments to the international conventions and laws,” Mirdad said.

The Taliban’s government is not yet recognized by any country, although China has accepted the credentials of the Taliban’s ambassador to Beijing.

The international community says that to gain recognition, the Taliban must honor their commitment to respect women’s rights and form an inclusive government in Afghanistan.

While the Taliban lack formal international recognition, some countries have handed over their local Afghan diplomatic missions to the Taliban.

In March 2023, the Taliban said they sent diplomats to at least 14 countries.

Last week, the spokesperson for India’s Ministry of External Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal, said in a news conference that “visas to people in Afghanistan are being given and that to and fro movement is happening.”

In November, the Afghan Embassy in New Delhi closed as the diplomats appointed by the former government were not given visas.

Afghan diplomats in Spain and the Netherlands announced in October that they established contact with the Taliban’s Foreign Ministry.

Diplomatic missions in these two countries are not included in the list of missions that the Taliban announced cutting ties with.

Shah Sultan Akifi, former cultural attache of Afghanistan in Moscow, told VOA that the Taliban’s decision would not affect the operations of the 14 diplomatic missions listed in the announcement, but it would “create problems” for ordinary Afghans living in the host countries.

“It will be problematic for Afghans who want to travel to Afghanistan or those who want to attest their documents if the Taliban don’t accept the consular services in these countries,” Akifi said.

Farkhunda Paimani and Noshaba Ashna of VOA’s Afghan Service contributed to this report, which originated in VOA’s Afghan Service.
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Activist freed in prisoner swap feared dying in Russian prison

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washington — American permanent resident Vladimir Kara-Murza told reporters on Friday he had expected to die in a Russian prison.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist, who had been serving a 25-year prison sentence following a 2022 arrest, was freed Thursday in a historic prisoner swap negotiated by the U.S. and its allies with Russia.

Kara-Murza spoke to the media in Bonn, Germany, with two of the seven Russians — Ilya Yashin and Andrei Pivovarov — also freed in the deal.

At the briefing, he detailed the harsh conditions he was subjected to, including 10 months in solitary confinement, and restricted contact with family. He said Russia allowed him only one call to his wife and two with his children in the entire time of his nearly two years in detention.

Kara-Murza said Germany’s decision to release a high-profile assassin — Vadim Krasikov — as part of the exchange “wasn’t an easy decision.”

Pivovarov, who headed the opposition group Open Russia, said the historic deal saved the lives of some of those detained. And he drew a sharp distinction between everyday Russians and the authoritarian regime.

“It is wrong to associate Russian people with the government’s policies,” said Pivovarov, adding that their task was to work to make Russia “free and democratic.”

Yashin, a Russian activist jailed for supporting the war in Ukraine, said he had not wanted to be deported in any swap. He said he feared the action could encourage Russian President Vladimir Putin to take more “political prisoners.”

“I did not give my consent to being sent outside of Russia,” he told reporters in Bonn. “What happened on August 1 is not an exchange. This is my expulsion from Russia against my will. My first wish in Ankara was to buy a ticket and go back to Russia.”

Yashin said a Federal Security Service agent told him that if he returned “your days will end like Navalny’s.” Alexey Navalny died in a remote prison colony before any deal to secure his release could be made.

Yashin on Friday said Putin bears the responsibility for that death.

Kara-Murza was convicted of treason for his speeches against Russia’s war in Ukraine, including one made to the Arizona House of Representatives. In 2018 he was a pallbearer at Senator John McCain’s funeral alongside U.S. President Joe Biden.

In total, seven Russian political prisoners were freed and removed from Russia in the deal, along with five Germans, three American citizens and green card holder Kara-Murza.

‘They stepped up’

President Biden greeted the Americans — journalists Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva and former Marine Paul Wheelan — as they arrived at Joint Base Andrews late Thursday.

Speaking with the gathered media, Biden praised the partnership with U.S. allies, saying, “They stepped up, they took a chance for us, and it mattered a lot.”

Those allies — Germany, Poland, Norway and Slovenia  helped the U.S. with the never-before-seen multi-country negotiations that played out over months to secure the largest swap with Russia since the Cold War.

“The toughest call in this one was for other countries,” Biden acknowledged late Thursday as the hostages and their families hugged in the background. “I asked them to do some things that were against their immediate self-interest and really very difficult for them to do, particularly Germany and Slovenia.”

Germany’s part in the deal involved handing over to Russia convicted killer Krasikov.

And Slovenia in the last part of a multipart deal had on Wednesday pardoned and expelled two Russian spies.

Slovenian President Natasa Pirc Musar on social media praised her country’s part in the deal.

“Slovenia and its intelligence agencies worked tirelessly and with great sensitivity with our allies and partners in prisoner exchange which successfully concluded yesterday,” she said Friday on X. “I would like to pay respect and compliment everyone involved in this difficult action that saved lives.”

‘Many had feared for their health’

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday said he had spoken at length with those freed from Russian prisons who traveled to Germany.

“Many did not expect this to happen now and are still very full of the feelings associated with suddenly being able to be free after all,” he told reporters. “Many had feared for their health and even their lives.”

Germany held the primary person the Kremlin wanted in the deal.

That convicted killer, Krasikov, and six other Russians were welcomed back by Putin in a scene that mirrored that at Andrews air base.

But while the West welcomed home political prisoners — journalists, opposition voices and activists — taken by Russia, Putin greeted convicted killers and spies.

Some information in this report came from Reuters.
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Human rights defenders condemn arrest, alleged torture of activists in Zimbabwe

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Harare, Zimbabwe — Human rights defenders — including a United Nations special rapporteur — are condemning the arrests and alleged torture of Zimbabweans who called for the release of opposition activists arrested in late June.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government says it’s not going to take chances that protests could disrupt a Southern African Development Community summit later this month.

Four human rights activists — Vusumuzi Moyo, Namatai Kwekweza, Samuel Gwenzi and Robson Chere — arrived at the so-called Rotten Row Magistrates court in Harare Friday with members of the police.

The four walked into court hours after Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights released photos showing bruises, welts and blood on their bodies.

Douglas Coltart is with the organization, which is representing the four.

“The horrific human rights abuses that we have seen over the past few days are not just crimes under Zimbabwean law which they are, but they also crimes under international law,” said Coltart. “And I think it is very important for Zimbabwean authorities who are involved with giving orders for these atrocities to be perpetrated or those who are carrying them out to understand that while they may think that they will always be impunity, they will come a time where there will be accountability for these abuses.”

On Friday, the four were charged with disorderly conduct for protesting the detention of 79 opposition supporters who have been in custody since June on charges of holding an illegal gathering.

Speaking to VOA Friday, Mary Lawlor, a U.N. special rapporteur on human rights defenders, said she was disappointed by the arrests and apparent torture of the four activists by Zimbabwean authorities.

“From what I understand, they were taken off a flight, held incommunicado for a number of hours before being charged with disorderly conduct as a result of their participation in a peaceful protest calling for the release of opposition political figures,” said Lawlor. “I unreservedly call for the immediate release of all four detained activists and an investigation into the allegations of maltreatment to which they were subjected to while in custody.”

Late Thursday, Home Affairs Minister Kazembe Kazembe, flanked by Police Commissioner-General Godwin Matanga and several high-ranking police officers, said the government is aware of attempts to disrupt the smooth flow of the SADC summit that Zimbabwe is hosting in about two weeks.

He said the government would not allow illegal gatherings ahead of the summit.

“It is clear that the organizers seek to provoke a heavy-handed response from government which they assume would attract global attention and put Zimbabwe on the spotlight. We have been through such episodes before and are prepared for same,” said Kazembe.

“The attempts of rendering the country ungovernable will be met with befitting responses,” he said. “Let those seeking to create an atmosphere of despondency among peace-loving citizens, let them be warned that such antics will not be tolerated. Fellow Zimbabweans, we assure you all to deal with those bent on lawlessness.”

On Friday, the four arrested activists submitted an application for bail and applied for discharge, saying they had been tortured after they were taken off their flight earlier this week.
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Gunmen kill 2 police officers escorting Pakistan judges

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ISLAMABAD — Authorities in northwestern Pakistan said Friday that suspected militants had ambushed and opened fire on a vehicle transporting a group of local judges, killing two police officers who were escorting them. 

The deadly shooting took place in Tank, a militancy-hit district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan. Area police officials said the attack also injured two of their personnel, but all three judges escaped unharmed.  

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the shooting. 

Militants linked to the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, a globally designated terrorist group, routinely target security forces and government officials in Tank and surrounding districts, killing dozens of people in recent weeks.  

On Wednesday, unidentified attackers fired at a bulletproof vehicle transporting Pakistani staff of a United Nations development agency in Tank, but they escaped unharmed.  

Pakistan maintains that the TTP, also known as the Pakistani Taliban, and militants linked to other anti-state groups have taken shelter and orchestrated cross-border attacks from sanctuaries in Afghanistan. 

“Afghanistan has hideouts and sanctuaries for terrorist groups, including the TTP, that continue to threaten Pakistan’s security,” Mumtaz Baloch, the Pakistani foreign ministry spokesperson, reiterated Thursday at her weekly news conference.  

“We urge Afghanistan to take immediate, effective, and robust action against these terror groups, especially the TTP, and to ensure that Afghan territory is not used as a staging ground for terrorism against Pakistan,” Baloch stated.  

Afghanistan’s de facto Taliban government denies the presence of foreign militants in the country, saying it does not allow anyone to threaten neighboring countries, including Pakistan, from Afghan soil.  

The United States and the United Nations have expressed concerns over the threat of terrorism emanating from Afghanistan. They have identified Islamic State Khorasan, or IS-K, an Afghan affiliate of the Islamic State, as the most serious regional threat. 

“ISIS-K is a transnational terrorist network that has the ambition and capacity to launch international terrorist attacks,” Vedant Patel, the U.S. State Department principal deputy spokesperson, told a news conference on Thursday. He used an acronym for the Afghan branch of the militant network.  

Patel said that Washington is working to ensure Afghanistan “never serves as a launching pad” for terrorist attacks against the U.S. or its allies.   

“We are cooperating with partners and allies, including in the immediate region, and we’re working vigilantly to prevent the re-emergence of external threats from Afghanistan, including by working with partners to counteract terrorist recruitment efforts as well.” 

A recent U.N. report estimated that up to 6,500 TTP militants are based in Afghanistan and are being trained, as well as armed at al-Qaida-run camps there, leading to an increase in attacks in Pakistan. 
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Morocco eliminates US men with 4-0 Olympic soccer victory

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Paris — The United States was eliminated from the Olympic men’s soccer tournament on Friday after a 4-0 loss to Morocco in the quarterfinals.

Soufiane Rahimi, Ilias Akhomach, Achraf Hakimi and Mehdi Maouhoub scored the goals at Parc des Princes that ended U.S. hopes of a medal at the Paris Games.

Morocco, which enjoyed fervent support in the French capital, will play the winner of Japan vs. Spain in the semifinals in Marseille on Monday.

The U.S. qualified for the quarterfinals of the Olympics for the first time since Sydney 2000 but was outclassed by a polished Morocco team that had already beaten Argentina in the group stage.

Rahimi scored a penalty in the 29th minute and Akhomach doubled the lead in the 63rd.

Hakimi rolled in the third after a solo run in the 70th.

Maouhoub, a substitute, finished off the rout with a penalty in second-half stoppage time.

In front of a packed crowd at the home of Paris Saint-Germain, Morocco dominated the chances in the first half, but needed a penalty to find a breakthrough after Nathan Harriel fouled Rahimi in the box.

Despite protests from the American players, referee Yael Falcón Pérez pointed to the spot and Rahimi fired low to the left and beyond the dive of Patrick Schulte.

Miles Robinson had a golden chance to level the game in the 59th when collecting a knockdown from about six yards out, but shot wide.

That miss proved even more costly when Morocco extended its lead four minutes later through Akhomach, who slotted past Schulte from close range after Abde Ezzalzouli’s cross.

Hakimi, who plays his club soccer for PSG, added a third shortly after — carrying the ball to the edge of the box before firing into the bottom right hand corner.

Morocco made it 4-0 in stoppage time when Harriel handled in the box and, after a VAR review, a second penalty was awarded and Maouhoub converted.
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French judo icon Teddy Riner wins 3rd individual Olympic gold

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PARIS — The stands at Champs de Mars filled up quickly. One fan dressed in a white martial arts uniform waved a French flag back and forth. A woman next to him held up a poster with the face of one of the biggest sports stars in France. Crowds of people bounced up and down so excitedly it shook the floor of the arena, where judo is being played in the 2024 Paris Olympics.  

Many of them were there to see Teddy Riner, the hometown judo icon who delivered once again for France on Friday. He capped his incredible career by becoming the second three-time individual Olympic gold medalist in judo history in one of the most electrifying events of the Paris Games so far. The 35-year-old heavyweight defeated Korea’s Min-jong Kim for the gold in his fifth Olympics.  

An 11-time world champion and four-time Olympic gold medalist, Riner is one of the most popular and beloved figures in any sport from France.  

Riner was France’s flag bearer during the opening ceremony and joined retired French track and field sprinter Marie-José Pérec in lighting the cauldron at the end of the night.   

Riner is widely considered the greatest judoka the sport has ever seen. He had a 10-year unbeaten streak in which he dominated opponents with his imposing size and athleticism.  

Riner had the opportunity to match Olympic history with three gold medals three years ago in Tokyo but that chance evaporated with a surprising loss to Russian Tamerlan Bashaev in the quarterfinals. Riner rallied for a bronze medal and still took home gold in the mixed team event. He turned that moment of disappointment into hope for the future, with his next opportunity only three years away.  

With a first-round bye, Riner rolled through the second round and quarterfinals Friday afternoon, setting up a much-anticipated semifinal against Temur Rakhimov of Tajikistan.  

He drew the loudest cheers from the crowd at Champs de Mars, which roared when he walked onto the red-and-yellow tatami, and cheered even louder when he finished Rakhimov with an ippon that secured his spot in the final.  

Riner joins a trio of French stars at the home Olympics. Basketball phenom Victor Wembanyama is the leader of the country’s men’s basketball team that is hoping to challenge the defending champion United States for gold. Léon Marchand has dominated in the pool with three gold medals.  

France, one of the world’s top judo nations, still has the mixed team competition on Saturday, looking for its second straight gold in the event after defeating rival Japan to win its first mixed team tournament in Tokyo.  

The French judo team was already off to a hot start. Luka Mkheidze and Shirine Boukli won France’s first two medals of the Paris Olympics last weekend, with Mkheidze claiming silver and Boukli winning bronze.  

After another masterful ippon in the final, Riner shook his head in triumph. The crowd chanted his name. He fell to his knees with his arms stretched wide above him, ending the night where he’s been so many times before. On top.
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Kenya on alert after case of mpox confirmed

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Nairobi — The Kenyan Health Ministry has dispatched health care workers to Taita-Taveta County, where a case of mpox was detected Wednesday. 

Authorities say the person who tested positive for the virus traveled through the county along the Kenyan-Tanzanian border.  

Kenya Health Ministry Principal Secretary Mary Muthoni said health officials were deployed in an effort to prevent the virus from spreading. 

“We are doing what we are calling contact tracing and more surveillance. We have enhanced surveillance but even in itself by the virtue that our teams were able to detect this it shows you how much enhancement we have done at the border,” Muthoni said. “Our port health officers at all 32 points of entry are well trained and we are able to monitor any kind of outbreak that may be at the border level.” 

Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is endemic to forested areas of East, Central, and West Africa. 

Virus symptoms include high fever, skin rash, headache, swollen lymph nodes, and general body aches. The virus can spread through direct contact with a sick person and also through respiratory droplets. 

According to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at least 1,450 people have died of mpox across 15 African countries since the start of 2022.  

In the past seven months, 14,250 mpox cases and 456 deaths have been recorded. 

Taita-Taveta County resident Haji Mohamed Mwakio told VOA he is concerned for himself and his community because he has not seen any measures being taken advising the community to practice healthy living. 

Taita-Taveta County is home to more than 340,000 people. Muthoni of the Ministry of Health said medical officials are following up on the patient and the people he met. 

“We have been able to isolate this patient after testing,” Muthoni said. “We are yet to confirm how many people he was with, so we have deployed our health teams to Taita-Taveta for the response.” 

Health officials are concerned about an outbreak of the virus across several countries.  

According to the Associated Press, Burundi, Central African Republic, and Rwanda reported mpox cases for the first time this week. 

Mwakio said the countries need to work together to manage the spread of the virus by taking precautions and control measures at border points. He also said governments should help the communities understand the situation and how they can protect themselves. 

On Sunday, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, an organization that develops vaccines against emerging infectious diseases, announced plans to give an mpox vaccine to those who have been exposed to the virus to see if it can protect them from the illness. 
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UK police brace for more far-right protests

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LONDON — Several suspects arrested in violent protests that erupted after the fatal stabbing of three children in northwest England were due in court Friday as officials braced for more clashes that Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned and blamed on “far-right hatred.”

Starmer vowed to end the mayhem and said police across the United Kingdom would be given more resources to stop “a breakdown in law and order on our streets.”

Demonstrations are being promoted online over the coming days in towns and cities that include Sunderland, Belfast, Cardiff, Liverpool and Manchester, using phrases such as “enough is enough,” “save our kids” and “stop the boats.”

John Woodcock, the British government’s adviser on political violence and disruption, said there was a “concerted and coordinated” attempt to spread the violence.

“Clearly, some of those far-right actors have got a taste for this and are trying to provoke similar in towns and cities across the U.K.,” he told the BBC.

The attack Monday on children at a Taylor Swift-themed summer holiday dance class shocked a country where knife crime is a long-standing and vexing problem, although mass stabbings are rare.

Seventeen-year-old Axel Rudakubana was charged with murder over the attack that killed Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Bebe King, 6, in the seaside town of Southport in northwest England. He was also charged with 10 counts of attempted murder for the eight children and two adults wounded.

A violent demonstration in Southport on Tuesday was followed by others around the country — fueled in part by online misinformation that said the attacker was Muslim and an immigrant. Rudakubana was born in Britain to Rwandan parents and lived close to the scene of the attack.

Suspects who are under 18 are usually not named in the U.K., but judge Andrew Menary ordered that Rudakubana could be identified, in part to stop the spread of misinformation.

Far-right demonstrators have held several violent protests, ostensibly in response to the attack, clashing with police outside a mosque in Southport on Tuesday and hurling beer cans, bottles and flares near the prime minister’s office in London the next day.

Merseyside Police, which is responsible for Southport, said it had made seven arrests so far and had a team of specialists reviewing hundreds of hours of footage to identify anyone involved.

“If you took part in this disorder, you can expect to receive a knock on your door by our officers,” Detective Chief Inspector Tony Roberts said.

Police officers were pelted with bottles and eggs in the town of Hartlepool in northeast England, where a police car was set ablaze. Seven men ages 28 to 54 were charged with violent disorder and were due in court Friday, the local Cleveland Police force said.

At a news conference Thursday, the prime minister said the street violence was “clearly driven by far-right hatred” as he announced a program enabling police to better share intelligence across agencies and move quickly to make arrests.

“This is coordinated; this is deliberate,” Starmer said. “This is not a protest that has got out of hand. It is a group of individuals who are absolutely bent on violence.”

Starmer said his so-called National Violent Disorder Program would enable police to move between communities — just as the “marauding mobs” do. Officers will harness facial recognition technology to identify culprits and use criminal behavior orders often imposed on soccer hooligans that prevent them from going to certain places or associating with one another.

Starmer put some of the blame on social media companies, although he didn’t announce any measures to address that and said there was a balance to be struck between the value they offer and the threat they can pose.

“Violent disorder, clearly whipped up online, that is also a crime. It’s happening on your premises,” he said.
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Russian drone hits bus in Kharkiv region, injuring six, official says

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KYIV — A Russian drone hit a bus in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region early on Friday, injuring six construction workers, including one who was in a critical condition, the regional governor said.

Governor Oleh Syniehubov said the incident took place near the town of Derhachi, about 40 km (25 miles) from Hlyboke one of the border settlements where Russia opened a new front in the war in May.

Ukraine’s military halted the Russian offensive there, rushing in reinforcements after Russia pushed up to 10 km (six miles) into the border areas.

Thousands of people have been killed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine February 2022.

 
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Turkey blocks access to Instagram, gives no reason

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ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey’s communications authority blocked access to the social media platform Instagram on Friday, the latest instance of a clampdown on websites in the country.

The Information and Communication Technologies Authority, which regulates the internet, announced the block early Friday but did not provide a reason. Sabah newspaper, which is close to the government, said access was blocked in response to Instagram removing posts by Turkish users that expressed condolences over the killing of Hama political leader Ismail Haniyeh.

It came days after Fahrettin Altun, the presidential communications director and aide to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, criticized the Meta-owned platform for preventing users in Turkey from posting messages of condolences for Haniyeh.

Unlike its Western allies, Turkey does not consider Hamas to be a terror organization. A strong critic of Israel’s military actions in Gaza, Erdogan has described the group as “liberation fighters.”

The country is observing a day of mourning for Haniyeh on Friday, during which flags will be flown at half-staff.

Turkey has a track record of censoring social media and websites. Hundreds of thousands of domains have been blocked since 2022, according to the Freedom of Expression Association, a nonprofit organization regrouping lawyers and human rights activists. The video-sharing platform YouTube was blocked from 2007 to 2010.
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