Church leaders in Kenya give qualified support for plan to close orphanages
Nairobi, Kenya RNS Amid a growing push among child welfare organisations to reunite families rather than keep children in institutional homes, Kenyan authorities are set to adopt a new national program that will phase out traditional orphanages over the next decade. Church leaders in the country, whose denominations run hundreds of orphanages, have expressed support […]
Kenyan military deployed as East Africa floods kill dozens
Nairobi, Kenya Reuters Kenya’s military was deployed on Thursday to rescue victims of heavy rains that have killed dozens of people across East Africa over the past month. At least 45 people have died in the floods in Kenya since March, including 10 since Monday, the Kenya Red Cross said. Large parts of the capital […]
WHO warns of falsified cough syrup ingredients seized in Pakistan
Reuters The World Health Organization issued an alert on Monday warning drugmakers of five contaminated batches of propylene glycol, an ingredient used in medicinal syrups, that appear to have been falsely labelled as manufactured by Dow Chemical units in Asia and Europe. The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) issued three alerts between January and […]
Elephant deaths trigger Kenyan call for Tanzania to curb hunts
Amboseli, Kenya Reuters In the rolling grasslands of the Amboseli wildlife park, conservationists fret about an emerging threat to Kenyan elephants that are crucial to its tourism business: licensed hunters across the border in Tanzania. The two East African neighbours manage elephant herds differently. Tanzania issues some trophy hunting licences to wealthy sport hunters every […]
Kenya court sentences priest convicted of abuse to preach on sexual crimes
Nairobi, Kenya RNS In a rare ruling, a Kenyan high court has sentenced a Catholic priest found guilty of assaulting a 16-year-old girl to spend the next three years preaching about the country’s sexual crimes law. Rev Dominic Muli Nzioka, a priest who served a parish in Mivumoni, in the Archdiocese of Mombasa, was ordered […]
Kenyan families weep for starvation cult victims as first bodies released
Malindi, Kenya Reuters Bereaved relatives emerged weeping from a hospital mortuary in Kenya on Tuesday after recovering the remains of loved ones whose doomsday cult leader induced them to starve themselves, according to the authorities. The bodies of more than 400 followers of the Good News International Church have been exhumed from the Shakahola forest […]
After Prime Minister pledges to step down, uneasy quiet in Haiti capital
Port-au-Prince, Haiti Reuters Uncertainty hung over Haiti’s political future on Tuesday after its Prime Minister said he would step down, a move welcomed by many Haitians exhausted by months of escalating gang violence, but with questions over security still to be settled. Prime Minister Ariel Henry, stranded in Puerto Rico, released a recorded video late […]
Haitian PM tenders resignation after Jamaica talks
Kingston, Jamaica Reuters Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry has resigned as head of the Caribbean nation, the leader of a regional body said on Monday, an unelected role the 74-year-old neurosurgeon has held since the 2021 assassination of the country’s last president. “We acknowledge his resignation upon the establishment of transitional presidential council and naming […]
US pledges $US100 million more for Haiti security mission at Jamaica talks
Kingston, Jamaica Reuters US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday the United States would contribute an additional $US100 million to a United Nations-backed multinational security force intended to help Haitian police fight gangs and $US33 million in humanitarian aid. This brings the proposed US contribution to the force to $US300 million. US Secretary […]
US military airlifts embassy personnel from Haiti, bolsters security
Washington DC, US Reuters The US military said on Sunday it has carried out an operation in Haiti to airlift non-essential embassy personnel from the country and added US forces to bolster embassy security, as the Caribbean nation reels under a state of emergency. The operation was the latest sign of Haiti’s troubles as gang […]