officials

South Sudan is sliding deeper into a hunger emergency, with nearly two-thirds of the population — about 7.9 million people — facing acute food insecurity as fighting flares again between government and opposition forces. The heaviest violence has gripped Jonglei State, where troops loyal to President Salva Kiir have been fighting militias aligned with his longtime rival, Riek Machar, since December. The renewed clashes have uprooted hundreds of thousands of people in a nation already ranked among the poorest and most corrupt…

Switzerland’s investigation into the deadly Crans-Montana fire has widened, with four additional current and former officials now facing criminal scrutiny, according to sources close to the case. "The investigation has been extended to include four new individuals, bringing the total number of defendants to 13," the public prosecutors' office in southwest Switzerland's Wallis canton confirmed to AFP. Those newly drawn into the case are the Crans-Montana municipal councillor responsible for security, the person who previously…

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania — President Samia Suluhu Hassan has moved to sharply reduce the size of her presidential motorcade and ordered government officials to share bus transport, a public austerity step aimed at cutting fuel use as Tanzania feels the strain of a global energy crisis. At a swearing-in ceremony at State House on Wednesday, Hassan said her usual convoy of more than 30 vehicles would be trimmed to four: her lead car, a police escort and a backup security unit. "From now on, wherever I go, all officials will…

Somalia’s Southwest State has accused senior federal officials of maintaining links with Al-Shabaab and arming local militias, sharpening its standoff with Mogadishu. Authorities in Baidoa alleged that federal ministers and lawmakers have organized and supplied armed groups operating in Buurhakaba district in the Bay region. Southwest State Security Minister Hassan Abdulkadir told reporters the fighters are outside Somalia’s official security structure and behave like extremist insurgents. These groups are not government…

The Southwest State officials accused unnamed federal government figures of maintaining links with al-Shabab and arming militias in Buur Hakaba and that deepening tensions with Mogadishu. Authorities in Baidoa said in statements and public remarks that some federal ministers and lawmakers were involved in organizing and supplying armed groups actively in Buur Hakaba district of Bay region. Southwest Security Minister Hassan Abdulkadir asserted that the fighters operating there are not part of recognized state forces…

President Peter Mutharika has been asked to dismiss Finance Minister Joseph Mwanamveka and Attorney General Frank Mbeta and to suspend George Partridge, governor of the Reserve Bank of Malawi, over their alleged links to the controversial Amaryllis Hotel deal, according to a statement released Friday. The purchase of the luxury Amaryllis Hotel by the Public Service Pension Trust Fund (PSPTF) has triggered a high-stakes public finance controversy. Lawmakers on the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament have opened an…

Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian couple and their two young children in the town of Tammun in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian health officials said Saturday, as violence flared across the territory and in Gaza. The Palestinian health ministry said four members of one family — a 37-year-old man, a 35-year-old woman and two boys ages 5 and 7 — arrived at the Turkish Public Hospital in Tubas with gunshot wounds after troops opened fire on their vehicle. The Palestinian Red Crescent said its teams recovered the…

UNITED NATIONS — Somalia’s hunger crisis is accelerating, with 6.5 million people — about a third of the country — projected to face crisis levels of food insecurity through March, United Nations officials warned Thursday, citing a new assessment that shows sharp deterioration since January. Speaking to reporters via video link from UN headquarters, World Food Programme Director of Emergency Preparedness and Response Ross Smith said the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report for Somalia, released…

Mogadishu — Somalia’s Immigration and Citizenship Agency said Wednesday it foiled an attempt to smuggle a Somali minor out of the country to Libya after officers flagged irregular travel plans and uncovered a bid to fraudulently obtain travel documents. The agency said the girl, taken from Las Anod, was intercepted at an early stage of the journey after a verification process identified adults traveling with her as suspected members of a human smuggling network. Authorities said the effort to secure false documentation was…

Rescuers in California have recovered the ninth and final victim of the Castle Peak avalanche in the Sierra Nevada, bringing closure to a dayslong search after one of the deadliest avalanches in modern U.S. history. The slide struck Tuesday near Lake Tahoe, engulfing a guided backcountry group and leaving nine dead and six survivors, authorities said. “Nine individuals who lost their lives in the Castle Peak avalanche on 17 February have been safely recovered from the mountain,” the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office said in a…