South African officials say former president Nelson Mandela will spend Christmas in a hospital. The office of the presidency issued a statement confirming his doctors’ decision on Monday. The 94-year-old anti-apartheid icon was admitted to a Pretoria hospital on December 8. He underwent surgery to remove gallstones on Saturday, a few days after doctors treated […]
South Africa’s Mandela to Spend Christmas in Hospital
Sexual Abuse of Kenyan Girls Increasing
A new report by the United Nations Children’s Agency says violence against girls in Kenya is on the rise, with many experiencing sexual abuse by strangers. Madhavi Ashok, the deputy representative of UNICEF Kenya, told VOA News that children are particularly vulnerable in their own communities, noting that many suffer attacks while they are walking […]
Rebels Take Another Town in C.A.R.
Rebels in the Central African Republic have captured another town after a battle with government forces. The rebel alliance known as Seleka seized the town of Bambari on Sunday. Witnesses say government forces withdrew after two hours of gunfire. Bambari, a town of 40,000, sits in the south-central C.A.R., a 400-kilometer drive from the capital, […]
Mali Islamists Destroy More Timbuktu Mausoleums
Islamist militants are tearing down more ancient mausoleums in the northern Malian city of Timbuktu. Witnesses and tourism officials say rebels from the Ansar Dine group began destroying the mausoleums Sunday with pickaxes. The militants destroyed several mausoleums in the city in July, after the U.N. cultural agency, UNESCO, put Timbuktu on its list of […]
Mali Islamists Destroy More Timbuktu Mausoleums
Islamist militants are tearing down more ancient mausoleums in the northern Malian city of Timbuktu. Witnesses and tourism officials say rebels from the Ansar Dine group began destroying the mausoleums Sunday with pickaxes. The militants destroyed several mausoleums in the city in July, after the U.N. cultural agency, UNESCO, put Timbuktu on its list of […]
Death Toll Rises in Kenya Tribal Attacks
Authorities in Kenya say the death toll from new tribal clashes in the southeastern Tana River region has risen to 45. A local police official says the clashes started before dawn Friday, when a group of ethnic Pokomo, armed with spears and firearms, raided a village belonging to the Orma people. The Kenya Red Cross […]
Death Toll Rises in Kenya Tribal Attacks
Authorities in Kenya say the death toll in tribal clashes in the southeastern Tana River region has risen to 45. A local police official says the clashes started when a group of ethnic Pokomo, armed with spears and firearms, raided a village belonging to the Orma people before dawn on Friday. The Kenya Red Cross […]
Kenyan PM Odinga Declares Bid for Presidency
Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga has declared he will run for the presidency next March. Mr. Odinga will represent the Coalition for Reform and Democracy, or CORD. Mr.Odinga ran against now-incumbent president Mwai Kibaki in 2007, in an election that resulted in a wave of unrest that left more than a thousand people dead. Fellow […]
South Africa’s Zuma Urges Countrymen to Pray for Ailing Mandela
South African President Jacob Zuma has visited former president and civil rights icon Nelson Mandela in the hospital and urged his countrymen to keep praying for the 94-year-old Nobel laureate. A presidential spokesman said Mr. Zuma assured Mr. Mandela of the love and support of all South Africans, young and old — and supporters the […]
Russia Calls for Punishment for U.N. Helicopter Accident
Russia has called on South Sudan to punish those responsible for shooting down a United Nations helicopter, killing all four Russian crew members. In a Foreign Ministry statement Saturday, Moscow urged South Sudanese officials to take steps to make sure such incidents do not happen again. The statement said the “tragic occurrence” underscored the need […]