Africa

Raila Odinga was one of Kenya's most influential political figures despite five unsuccessful presidential bids.

Evidence of the intentional targeting of civilians in el-Fasher amounts to war crimes, researchers say.

Ein Haus in Staufen flog im Februar dieses Jahres in die Luft. Zwei Menschen kamen dabei ums Leben. Jetzt ist klar, wie es zu der Tragödie kommen konnte.

Aldi senkt den Brotpreis auf 99 Rappen. Warum Preise so stark fallen, welche Strategien dahinterstecken und was das für Markt und Handwerk bedeutet, erklärt Nina Heim, Expertin für Preisgestaltung und Konsumentenverhalten an der ZHAW.

Before the last weekend, most people in Madagascar had no clue who Col Michael Randrianirina was.

On 10 October 2025, thousands of Palestinian families moved along the coastal road back to northern Gaza, amid the extreme devastation of infrastructure. Credit: UNICEF/Mohammed Nateel

By Oritro Karim
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 15 2025 (IPS)

After two years of conflict with Israel, Hamas has released the remaining 20 living hostages, while Israel has freed 250 Palestinian prisoners and over 1,700 detainees who have since returned to Gaza. Following a ceasefire agreement which took effect on October 10, Israeli forces are set to withdraw from designated areas within the Gaza Strip as humanitarian organizations mobilize to assist Palestinians in urgent need.

For the past two years, Gaza has endured relentless bombardment, while aid deliveries have been largely obstructed throughout the course of the war. Over the past three days, the United Nations (UN) and its partners have been operating on the ground to provide lifesaving assistance to displaced civilians—many of whom are finally returning home and receiving access to basic services for the first time in months.

“After so much horror and suffering there is finally relief at last,” said Olga Cherevko, the Spokesperson in Gaza for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). “Since the ceasefire took effect, the UN and our humanitarian partners have moved swiftly to scale up the delivery of humanitarian assistance across Gaza. The bombs have stopped falling and with that silence, came an opportunity and the responsibility to act. The ceasefire has allowed those who are suffering during the two years of war, Palestinian and Israeli families, a breath of fresh air and a light of hope after many dark months.”

On October 13, OCHA confirmed that Israeli authorities had approved the delivery of more than 190,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid—roughly 20,000 tonnes above the previous agreement—including food, medicine, and shelter materials. According to Cherevko, 817 aid trucks have successfully entered Gaza without obstruction, offering a moment of relief for Palestinian families devastated by the conflict.

UNICEF trucks bring life-saving supplies into Gaza for children and their families. Credit: UNICEF/Mohammed Nateel

For the first time since March, cooking gas has been delivered to households in Gaza, while many residents have also gained access to frozen meat, fresh fruits and vegetables, and flour—essentials that had been out of reach for months. “All these items, we’ve been needing for so long,” Cherevko told reporters on Tuesday. “This is going to make a massive difference in people’s lives because we’ve been seeing families and kids collecting garbage to cook with. This will be a huge breakthrough.”

As a result of improved security conditions within the enclave, humanitarian agencies have gained greater mobility, allowing them to reach several previously inaccessible areas—including the north, where access had been most restricted and needs are most severe. OCHA has fully mobilized to deliver aid across all regions of Gaza as part of its 60-day scale-up plan for the ceasefire, which has so far proven effective.

“We’re offloading and collecting critical supplies and reaching areas we haven’t been able to access for months,” said Cherevko. “With the commercial sector reinforcing our response and bilateral assistance alongside us, we’re working to restore access to clean water and ensure people receive bread and hot meals.”

The UN and its partners have been working to resupply hospitals and field clinics that have been left without fuel or medical supplies for months, many of which were left only partially operational during the war. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), within 24 hours of the ceasefire taking effect, an emergency medical team was deployed to Al-Ahli Hospital.

Additionally, eight aid trucks carrying critical medical supplies, including insulin, cancer medicines, incubators, ventilators, patient monitors, and solar panels for desalination units, have reached the European Gaza and Nasser hospitals. Additional deployments are planned for Gaza City as displaced civilians begin returning to their areas of origin.

“Improving access to health facilities and expanding our operational missions are vital first steps toward delivering urgent health assistance to Palestinians throughout Gaza,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO. “Gaza’s health system must be rehabilitated and rebuilt. This crisis gives us the opportunity to rebuild it better: stronger, fairer and centered on people’s needs.”

Rubble and unexploded ordnance pose a significant threat to Palestinians returning home and remain one of OCHA’s top priorities during its sixty-day scale-up plan. Specialized OCHA teams are currently conducting assessments along key roads and crossings, making sure explosive ordnance is clearly marked and that communities know to stay away. The full extent of unexploded ordnance across the enclave has yet to be determined.

Despite marked improvements over the past several days, the scale of needs remains immense and additional funding is urgently required to support lifesaving services and ensure a sustained path for recovery. In addition to unexploded ordnance, displacement, destroyed infrastructure, lawlessness, damaged roads, and the collapse of basic services stand as significant challenges for humanitarian organizations.

“The ceasefire has ended the fighting but it has not ended the crisis,” noted Cherevko. “Scaling up responses is not just about logistics, and more trucks. It is about restoring humanity and dignity to a shattered population. We’re working around the clock with all parties to ensure predictable safe and sustained access.”

On October 14, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) announced that an estimated USD 20 billion will be required over the next three years to initiate Gaza’s reconstruction efforts—part of a broader recovery plan that could span decades and ultimately cost more than USD 70 billion. UNDP Representative Jaco Cillers told reporters in Geneva that while there are “good indicators” of support from potential donors in Europe, the Middle East, and the United States, no commitments have yet been confirmed.

Numerous humanitarian experts have affirmed that lasting peace is the only viable solution to the crisis, warning that conditions in Gaza are extremely fragile and could deteriorate further—especially with the onset of the winter season. “Let me be clear, humanitarian aid alone will not be a substitute for peace,” said Cherevko. “The ceasefire must hold. It must become the basis for broader political efforts that bring the end of cycles of violence and despair.

“The ceasefire has opened the door to a future in which children can go to schools safely, hospitals are places of healing and not suffering, and aid convoys are ultimately replaced by commerce and opportunity.”

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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Un nouveau système automatique de contrôle des entrées et sorties est désormais mis en place dans les 29 pays de l'espace Schengen depuis dimanche 12 octobre 2025

Suppression des tampons sur les passeports dans l'espace Schengen. Les voyageurs non européens séjournant moins de 90 jours devront désormais fournir leurs données biométriques, à savoir photo et empreintes digitales. Un nouveau système automatique de contrôle permet d'enregistrer la date, l'heure, le lieu d'entrée et de sorte et les informations relatives à chaque visiteur.

Les voyageurs devront faire le processus d'enregistrement eux-mêmes via des bornes libre-service installées dans les aéroports. Ce système automatique de contrôle spécifique à l'espace Schengen vise à renforcer la sécurité, de lutte contre la fraude et le terrorisme, et à mieux contrôler la durée des séjours.

A.A.A

Tennis-Star Belinda Bencic veröffentlicht schockierende Hassnachrichten auf Social Media. Laut der Weltnummer 14 gehören Kommentare weit unter der Gürtellinie leider zum Alltag.

Überraschende Wende im Fall der Nord-Stream-Anschläge: Italien verhindert die Auslieferung des Hauptverdächtigen nach Deutschland. Der 49-jährige Ukrainer entgeht vorerst der deutschen Justiz.

Une délégation de l'organisation internationale Mercy ships, était au cabinet du ministre de la santé, Benjamin Hounkpatin, le vendredi 10 octobre 2025. La délégation conduite par Jonathan Ziehli, directeur des relations diplomatiques de l'organisation, a examiné avec l'autorité ministérielle, les contours d'un nouveau partenariat avec le Bénin.

Après plusieurs années d'action humanitaire au Bénin à travers le navire hôpital « Africa Mercy », l'organisation internationale, Mercy ships annonce son retour au Bénin avec un nouveau vaisseau plus grand qui offre une capacité de prise en charge importante. Ceci, dans le cadre d'un nouveau partenariat visant des interventions ciblées et à impact durable pour le système de santé. Une délégation de l'organisation internationale a discuté avec le ministre de la santé, des contours de ce nouveau partenariat le vendredi 10 octobre dernier.

Selon le directeur des relations diplomatiques de l'organisation, Jonathan Ziehli, le bâtiment dénommé Global Mercy arrive au Bénin « très prochainement » pour y séjourner pendant dix mois renouvelables une fois. Pendant cette période, au moins 2000 interventions chirurgicales seront offertes aux populations béninoises. En plus des soins qui seront dispensés à des milliers de Béninois, des programmes de renforcement de capacité sont prévus à l'intention du personnel soignant. Des bourses de formation seront également attribuées aux étudiants évoluant dans « l'écosystème chirurgical ».

Dans le cadre du nouveau partenariat avec le Bénin, Mercy ships compte apporter son appui pour la réouverture de l'école d'odontostomatologie de Cotonou. Cette infrastructure moderne qui sera érigée grâce à cette coopération selon le chef cellule coopération et partenariat à la FSS, Ablo Prudence Watchinou, sera dotée d'un laboratoire de simulation moderne et d'une clinique universitaire de 22 cabines.

Ces interventions à impact durable ne pouvant être mises en œuvre sans un cadre légal approprié, le représentant de l'organisation a sollicité l'appui du ministre de la santé pour la signature d'un protocole d'accord de siège. Le but visé étant de faciliter la mise en œuvre de projets structurants au profit du Bénin. Une requête pour laquelle le ministre de la santé a manifesté la disponibilité du gouvernement béninois.

F. A. A.

Ein riesiger Kupferkessel im Wert von 4000 Franken wurde vor dem Möbelhaus Laubscher in Studen BE gestohlen. Die Besitzerin Luisiana Steffen (52) vermutet, dass Diebe den zwei Tonnen schweren Kessel mit einem Kran abtransportiert haben. Die Polizei ermittelt.

Nach einem Jahr Abwesenheit gab Liam Millar am Samstag sein Comeback im kanadischen Nationalteam. Nun erzählt er in einem bewegenden Gespräch von der schwierigen Zeit nach seiner Kreuzbandverletzung – und wie ihm seine Frau hat helfen können.

Les Béninois résidant sur le territoire ivoirien sont désormais tenus de se faire immatriculer au registre consulaire « e-Diaspora » pour l'obtention de tout type de documents. L'information a été rendue publique ce mercredi 14 octobre 2025.

Une opération spéciale d'immatriculation « e-Diaspora » vient d'être lancée par le Consulat honoraire du Bénin en Côte d'Ivoire. L'immatriculation à ce registre consulaire des Béninois de l'étranger est désormais obligatoire pour l'obtention de tout type de documents au Consulat. Pour permettre à tous les Béninois d'être immatriculés, une équipe a été mandatée par le Consul pour aller vers les populations aux fins de les assister dans cette procédure.

Marina HOUENOU (Stag)

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

La Haute Autorité de l'Audiovisuel et de la Communication (HAAC) a rendu public le chronogramme de ses activités dans le cadre des élections législatives et communales de 2026. Il y a au total 51 activités dont 14 déjà réalisées.

Mourners gather in Nairobi following the death of former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

Mourners gather in Nairobi following the death of former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

Vorschlag für eine Verordnung des Europäischen Parlaments und des Rates über die Informationssicherheit in den Organen, Einrichtungen und sonstigen Stellen der Union
Ausschuss für auswärtige Angelegenheiten
David McAllister

Quelle : © Europäische Union, 2025 - EP

The forced deportations of immigrants without due process, violent crackdowns against protesters in Los Angeles, ICE raids, and the deployment of military forces in Washington, D.C. are chilling reminders of the authoritarian playbook. For those of us who have lived through repression, these are unmistakable warning signs. Credit: Shutterstock

By Carine Kaneza Nantulya
WASHINGTON DC, Oct 15 2025 (IPS)

I moved to the United States in 2012 with great reluctance. I wasn’t sure why I should uproot myself to a country thousands of miles away from my hometown. The move reminded me of a childhood I hadn’t fully embraced—growing up in faraway countries like Russia and China, making constant adjustments, encountering racism, forging and losing friendships along the way. I had promised myself I would not impose the same cycle on my children.

This is the moment for the continent to claim leadership, to strengthen multilateralism, and to shape a global order rooted not in interventionism, self-centeredness but in Ubuntu -- a vision of shared humanity, community, and interdependence

But the U.S. turned out to be different. It wasn’t China, and it wasn’t Russia. It was, and still is, a mosaic of cultures, languages, and nationalities unlike anywhere else. Most important, it was a country rooted in the fierce belief that people are free to speak, dissent, and live as they choose.

That bedrock principle, however, is eroding. The US is changing in ways eerily reminiscent of my home country, Burundi. In 2015, when President Pierre Nkurunziza defied the constitution to seek a third term, peaceful protesters were met with bullets, political opponents were silenced, and journalists fled. Many of those journalists found refuge in the US—at Voice of America, for instance—only to lose their livelihoods recently when the government shuttered most of VOA’s Africa department.

The dismantling of USAID has left social workers and health experts reeling, their efforts to uplift millions crushed overnight. Yes, the US has long had a complicated role abroad. I grew up hearing about its support for abusive leaders like Mobutu in what was then Zaire and its meddling in countries’ internal affairs in the name of fighting communism.

But those contradictions always existed alongside a powerful counterforce: freedom in journalism and academia, and activism that relentlessly exposed America’s own wrongs. Writers like Alfred McCoy and critics like Noam Chomsky built careers by holding the U.S. government accountable—something unthinkable in today’s Burundi, Moscow or Beijing.

That commitment to truth and liberty was precisely why, when Burundian security forces fired live bullets into protesters, students instinctively ran to the US embassy—not the Russian or Chinese one. For decades, US soft power was rooted in the promise of human rights and democracy.

Carine Kaneza Nantulya, deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch

Today, that promise is faltering. The forced deportations of immigrants without due process, violent crackdowns against protesters in Los Angeles, ICE raids, and the deployment of military forces in Washington, D.C. are chilling reminders of the authoritarian playbook.

For those of us who have lived through repression, these are unmistakable warning signs. Dictatorships do not emerge overnight; they take root when fear replaces voice, when courts surrender independence, when social movements fracture. Above all, they thrive on apathy and isolation.

Defending human rights and democratic principles is never easy—as my organization, Human Rights Watch, knows too well. But it is the only way to safeguard the dignity of the vulnerable and the cohesion of our shared humanity. So if Washington retreats from that responsibility, who will step up?

The answer lies, in part, with African governments. This is the moment for the continent to claim leadership, to strengthen multilateralism, and to shape a global order rooted not in interventionism, self-centeredness but in Ubuntu — a vision of shared humanity, community, and interdependence. Many Africans applauded when South Africa took Israel to the International Court of Justice saying Israel violated the Genocide Convention in Gaza. That same courage is needed in Sudan, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Sahel, where civilians face atrocities while the U.S. limits itself to mineral deals or silence.

“African solutions to African problems” cannot remain a slogan. It needs to become a policy agenda with concrete commitments. That means building stronger regional institutions with the authority and resources to act, supporting accountability mechanisms like the African Court and the International Criminal Court, and investing in early warning systems that can prevent crises before they spiral into atrocities.

It means protecting independent media and civil society so that governments are held accountable at home as well as abroad. And it means engaging at the United Nations and other multilateral forums not just as individual states but as coordinated blocks capable of shaping outcomes.

The US retreat is not simply a void; it is a test. If African leaders want to claim greater influence in the global order, they need to demonstrate it through pragmatic policies that protect civilians, strengthen the rule of law, and prioritize human dignity over mineral contracts and short-term business deals. This is less about replacing America and more about safeguarding Africa’s future on its own terms.

Excerpt:

Carine Kaneza Nantulya is deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch

La Haute Autorité de l'Audiovisuel et de la Communication (HAAC) a publié, le 1er octobre 2025, une décision concernant la couverture médiatique pendant la période de précampagne pour les élections législatives et communales prévues pour le 11 janvier 2026.

La précampagne des élections législatives et communale de 2026 au Bénin court de la période du 8 octobre 2025 à 00h00 au 26 décembre 2025, selon l'article 2 de la décision de la Haute Autorité de l'Audiovisuel et de la Communication (HAAC).

« Durant cette période, la diffusion de tout élément de campagne électorale précoce est interdite conformément à l'article 47 du code électoral en République du Bénin », stipule l'article 3.

La HAAC précise qu'« il est formellement interdit à tous les médias de relayer tout élément de campagne électorale relatif aux élections couplées législatives et communales du 11 janvier 2026 avant la période prévue par le code électoral en République du Bénin ».

Les médias peuvent, toutefois, « diffuser : tout autre élément relatif aux élections couplées législatives et communales du 11 janvier 2026, notamment les rencontres d'échanges et d'informations, les déclarations d'adhésion et les cérémonies d'installation des cellules des partis politiques sur toute l'étendue du territoire national ; les communiqués et avis de réunion des partis politiques, des organisations et mouvements politiques ainsi que des candidats ».