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Kosovo’s president resigns to face war crimes charges

PRISTINA, Kosovo—The president of Kosovo, who served as a guerrilla leader during Kosovo’s war for independence from Serbia in the late 1990s, resigned Nov. 5 and will face charges for war crimes and crimes against humanity at a special court based in The Hague. President Hashim Thaci said he decided to relinquish his post “to protect the integrity of the...

Europol arrests nearly 400 in child trafficking raids

The European Union (EU)’s police agency, Europol, has arrested nearly 400 people during raids targeting child trafficking suspects in a number of European countries. Europol said in a statement on Nov. 4 that during the raids—coordinated with Britain, Portugal, Spain, and nine other EU countries—at least 388 people were arrested and 249 potential victims were identified, of whom 61 were...

UN investigator: Rights of minorities to worship undermined

UNITED NATIONS—The UN special investigator on religious freedom urged countries to repeal laws undermining the right of minorities to worship and hold beliefs, pointing as examples to China’s detention of Uighurs, 21 countries that criminalize apostasy, and sweeping surveillance of Christians in North Korea and Muslims in Thailand. Ahmed Shaheed warned that “the failure to eliminate discrimination, combined with political...

EU: Brexit trade talks still face ‘too many difficulties’

BRUSSELS—With a deadline looming ever more menacingly, the European Union’s chief negotiator on the post-Brexit trade deal with Britain Nov. 4 publicly blamed London for a lack of progress in the two sides’ belated attempt to reach an even rudimentary agreement. “At this stage, there are still too many difficulties remaining on important topics,” Michel Barnier said on his way...

UN brings Cyprus leaders together, mulling future talks on divided island

The leaders of the divided island of Cyprus have met in the capital Nicosia, in an  encounter convened by the United Nations, the Secretary-General’s Good Offices Mission in Cyprus said on Nov. 3. The meeting is the first between the Greek Cypriot leader, Nicos Anastasiades, and the Turkish Cypriot leader, Ersin Tatar, since the latter assumed his post following elections in October. Representatives...

10,000 women and the spark for Nigeria’s independence

In the recently released documentary “Journey of an African Colony,” executive producer and narrator Olasupo Shasore captivates his audience by physically visiting many of the locations discussed in this seven-part series on the colonial history of Nigeria. Facts in this documentary and the release Sept. 30, coincided with the 60th anniversary of Nigeria’s independence from Great Britain. The information comes...

Armenia, Azerbaijan keep fighting despite cease-fire deal

YEREVAN, Armenia—Fighting over the separatist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh raged on Oct. 27, unimpeded by a U.S.-brokered cease-fire, while Armenia and Azerbaijan traded blame for the deal’s quick unraveling. Azerbaijan accused Armenia of striking the Barda region with rockets, killing four civilians, including a 2-year-old girl, and wounding 13 others. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry denounced the attack as “another war crime...

Kenyan author accepts writing prize in his Gikuyu language

(GIN)—Ngaahika Ndeenda, a theatrical piece about a wealthy farmer, a peasant and his marriageable young daughter, was a commercial success when it appeared in 1977 in Kenya. But because it appeared in Gikuyu, the author’s mother tongue, it angered the government which slapped the authors—Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o and Ngũgĩ wa Mirii— in jail.  Set in post-independence Kenya, the play looks...

Morales’ party claims win as Bolivia seems to shift back left

LA PAZ, Bolivia—Bolivia appeared to be shifting sharply away from the conservative policies of the U.S.-backed interim government that took power last year after leftist President Evo Morales resigned, with the self-exiled leader’s party claiming victory in a weekend presidential election. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-5tnaEH6Nc The leading rival of Mr. Morales’ handpicked successor, Luis Arce, conceded defeat as did interim President Jeanine Anez, a...

Sanctions do more harm than good

AFRICA WATCH The sanctions concept has been around a long time. According to Foreign Policy global news publication, sanctions have a long history of use by nation states blockading their enemies, or by those that have come under the sway of Western imperialist powers. A case can be made, that for Africans and Africans of the Diaspora this form of...