A last-minute diplomatic tussle has grounded Taiwan President Lai Ching-te’s planned trip to Eswatini, with Taipei accusing Beijing of leaning on other nations to deny overflight permissions—an action it condemned as a breach of international norms and a risk to aviation safety. Taiwan said Seychelles, Mauritius, and Madagascar withdrew Lai’s flight clearances under “intense pressure” and economic coercion from China. Beijing rejected the coercion claim and instead lauded the three Indian Ocean countries, saying it held…

The Office for the Establishment of War and Economic Crimes Court (OWEC) has raised serious concerns over the deliberate obstruction of its mission by high-ranking government officials. This body, dedicated to creating a judicial framework aimed at holding civil war perpetrators accountable, claims that its efforts are being stifled at a critical juncture. OWEC Executive Director Jallah A. Barbu highlighted the nature of the interference, describing it as a phenomenon surpassing mere bureaucratic hurdles. "What we are…

Washington is weighing a plan to move roughly 1,100 Afghan evacuees from a former U.S. base in Qatar to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to AfghanEvac, an advocacy coalition. The evacuees—interpreters, former Afghan commandos, and relatives of personnel tied to the United States—were airlifted out after the 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. AfghanEvac has sharply criticized the idea, alleging that U.S. officials intend to steer the group back toward Taliban-ruled Afghanistan by trying to "manufacture a…

The Nigerian government has officially charged a number of retired senior military officers in connection with an alleged coup attempt aimed at unseating President Bola Tinubu. The accused appeared before a Federal High Court in Abuja, facing a serious 13-count indictment that includes conspiring to "levy war against the state." Reports suggest that the conspirators planned to invade the Presidential Villa, seize control of the government, and imprison President Tinubu along with other senior officials. This intricate…

More than 200 civilians held by an armed group tied to the Islamic State in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have been freed in a joint military operation, officials said, marking one of the largest recent rescues in the volatile region. Ugandan forces, operating alongside the Congolese army, struck a camp run by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a militant organization that originated in Uganda. The Ugandan People's Defense Forces (UPDF) said the raid targeted the ADF, a Ugandan group active in eastern Congo…

Squeezed by budget shortfalls, shifting battlefields, and emerging security risks, the United Nations peacekeeping mission is buckling under intensifying pressure, with mounting struggles to shield civilians and uphold stability. Yet UN official Jean-Pierre Lacroix emphasized that these deployments remain essential instruments for helping nations transition from war to durable peace. Over the past year, peacekeeping missions have confronted "significant financial challenges," Lacroix said, triggering contingency steps that…

In a renewed bid to halt a grinding conflict that has ravaged eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, government representatives and delegates from the M23 rebel movement convened in Geneva, even as clashes drift into hard-to-reach highlands where danger grows and past ceasefire attempts have repeatedly unraveled. This ninth round of talks seeks to chart a path out of the fighting in the east, now focused on North Kivu and South Kivu. There, M23 has captured swaths of territory while the Congolese army, backed by its…

President Daniel Chapo says Mozambique’s campaign against insurgents has turned a corner, with national security forces working alongside regional partners to retake areas once controlled by militants. Under sustained pressure, he noted, the armed groups are “constantly on the move,” and authorities have recorded no confirmed kidnappings in the past six months. Addressing the National Council of the Mozambique Youth Organisation (OJM), the ruling Frelimo Party’s youth wing, the President also appealed for responsible…

A tragic airstrike by the Nigerian military has claimed the lives of numerous individuals, primarily traders, after hitting a village market. This incident unfolded near the border connecting Yobe and Borno states, where the aircraft was reportedly engaged in operations against Islamist militants. According to the Nigerian Air Force, the strikes were part of "mop-up" operations targeting "identified terrorist locations" along the Jilli axis in Borno State. Sources indicate that the fighter jet involved was tracking a group…

Wednesday April 8, 2026 IDP mother and her children find shelter in IDP camp/File Photo A fresh wave of fighting in southern Somalia’s Bay region has driven thousands of families — including people already uprooted before — into parched rural communities where food, safe water and shelter are in painfully short supply. Gudey Abdullahi Malin, a mother of eight, told Radio Ergo that she fled her home in Baidoa with her children after violence broke out in her area in late March. She is now living in Buula Gedisoy village,…