AFP news

Ezekiel Odero, the head of the New Life Prayer Centre and Church, was arrested on Thursday in the coastal town of Malindi accused of the "mass killing" of his followers.

The discovery of mass graves in Shakahola forest near the coastal town of Malindi last week shocked Kenyans, with the government warning that the death toll -- currently at 109 -- could rise even further.

There is a death by starvation every 36 seconds on average in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia, the UN's children's organisation UNICEF and NGOs Care and Oxfam told a joint news conference in Paris.

More than 16,000 Ukrainian children have been deported to Russia since the February 2022 invasion, according to Kyiv, with many allegedly placed in institutions and foster homes.

Ukrainian Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya said there may be no other country in the world where citizens pay such heed to debates at the UN General Assembly or Security Council about their nation.

The "Friends of the Tree" group works to raise awareness about green areas around the capital Tripoli that are quickly disappearing because of drought, human activity and desertification.

Late Wednesday, the army said it had agreed to talks in Juba, capital of neighbouring South Sudan, on extending the three-day truce which expires on Friday "at the initiative of IGAD", the East African regional bloc.

The WWA study concentrated on the three areas worst hit by the drought: southern Ethiopia, Somalia and eastern Kenya.

The nearly one-hour discussion, which reportedly included Xi advocating for peace negotiations, was met by Russian accusations that Ukraine was undermining efforts to end the fighting.

The fighting pits army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against his fellow 2021 coup leader and former deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2023 promises harsh penalties against anyone who engages in same-sex activity.

The Indonesian foreign ministry said 560 nationals had been successfully evacuated from Sudan to Saudi Arabia, though it was not clear if all of them were on the same boat that reached Jeddah on Wednesday morning.

Under Prime Minister Viktor Orban's anti-migration agenda, they face a system that feels geared against them -- from the struggle to find schooling to being squeezed out of accommodation in the capital.

A little further on, residents pointed to the top of a hill near the town, describing it as an "M23 position".

Andre de Ruyter said an estimated one billion rand ($55 million) "is stolen from Eskom" each month.

The 72-hour ceasefire brokered by the United States was already struggling to hold after the regular army launched renewed air strikes against rival paramilitary forces in the capital Khartoum late on Tuesday.

As the death toll hit 90 on Tuesday, police said investigators were pausing the search for bodies because the morgues were full, with children accounting for more than half the victims.

Myke and her youngsters "have been waiting under the sun for four days", she told AFP on the side of a road southeast of Khartoum.

Roizman is Russia's last prominent opposition figure who is still in the country and not behind bars.

The video, set to dramatic music, then depicts armed men in full combat gear walking across a battlefield in thick fog.

The discovery last week of mass graves topped with crucifixes -- many housing the remains of children apparently starved by their parents -- has shocked Kenya.

Ramaphosa said he was "disappointed at the (EU's) acts of... protectionism against" the country's agricultural products, "most recently against our citrus".

Police sources told AFP late Monday that the death toll was now 73, with a number of people rescued and taken to hospital.

On the first anniversary of the war in February, the UN General Assembly voted by an overwhelming majority to repeat its demand for the "immediate" withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine.

Fighting for the town, once known for its salt mines and sparkling wine production, has grinded on for 10 long months.

A major search is under way near the coastal town of Malindi where dozens of bodies were exhumed over the weekend, sending shockwaves through the country as President William Ruto vowed to crack down on "unacceptable" religious movements.

Fighting broke out in Sudan on April 15 between forces loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy turned rival Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Attacks blamed on suspected jihadists are on the rise in Burkina Faso, which is battling an insurgency that spilled over from neighbouring Mali.

Raab's resignation gives Prime Minister Rishi Sunak a headache some two weeks before local elections at which the Conservatives are expected to lose seats.