South Sudan: More Than Half of South Sudan’s Population Facing Food Crisis – UN agencies

JUBA, Feb 23 (NNN-ALLAFRICA) –Three leading United Nations agencies warn that more than half of South Sudan’s population is suffering extreme hunger, and humanitarian aid is urgently needed. Nearly 7 million people in the country could face severe food shortages at the peak of the lean season between May and…

Ecuador: Rare giant tortoise surfaces in the Galapagos Islands after a century

‎PUERTO BAQUERIZO MORENO (Galapagos, Ecuador), Feb 23 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Conservationists in the Galapagos Islands have found a giant tortoise from a species thought to have become extinct more than a century ago. The adult female tortoise was found on the island of Fernandina in the west of the Pacific archipelago and…

U.S. imposes travel restrictions on DR Congo officials for vote abuses

WASHINGTON, Feb 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) – The U.S. State Department has imposed travel restrictions against five top officials from the Democratic Republic of Congo, including the heads of the country’s electoral commission and constitutional court, accusing them of corruption during recent presidential elections. The surprise move comes a month after the…

Wife of Guatemalan president investigated for cashing illegal cheques -prosecutor

GUATEMALA CITY, Feb 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) – The wife of Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales will be investigated on suspicion of cashing illicit cheques made out to her and her husband totalling more than $30,000, the country’s top prosecutor said. Four cheques were written out by a business also being investigated for…

Update: Sudanese Pres Bashir appoints new caretaker administration, leaves other posts unchanged

KHARTOUM, Feb 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir early on Saturday appointed a new caretaker administration, but left the country’s current defence, foreign and justice ministers in place following an earlier declaration of a one-year state of emergency. Just hours after announcing he would dissolve the country’s central and…

Trans asylum-seeker killed after U.S. deportation back to El Salvador

SAN SALVADOR, Feb 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A Salvadoran transgender woman who sought asylum in the United States was killed weeks after she was deported, a rights group said, underscoring the dangers of the Trump administration’s hardening policy on asylum seekers. El Salvador’s ASPIDH Rainbow Trans Association said Camila Diaz Cordova,…

Ecuador Activates Earthquake Emergency Committees

Quito, Feb 23 (NNN-Prensa Latina) — Ecuadorian authorities activated the provincial Emergency Operations Committees (COE) after two earthquakes were registered in Macas, Morona Santiago province, and Guayaquil, in Guayas. Alexandra Ocles, head of the National Risk and Emergency Management Service, said that the authorities are carrying out an information survey…

18 countries ratify African Continental Free Trade pact

NAIROBI, Feb 23 (NNN-KBC) — Eighteen countries have so far ratified the African Continental Free Trade Agreement with others in the process of ratifying it. Kenya’s Trade Principal Secretary Dr. Chris Kiptoo says 22 countries are required to ratify the African Continental Free Trade Area to make it effective. Dr. Kiptoo says…

High Court defers ruling on decriminalising gay sex in Kenya

NAIROBI, Feb 23 (NNN-KBC) — The High Court has postponed ruling on decriminalising gay sex in Kenya. Justice Chacha Mwita informed a packed court room that the three judge bench constituted to hear the case needed more time to prepare for the ruling. The decision by the High Court to delay…

Pres Kenyatta says looking forward to the day Kenya will have a female Head of State

President Kenyatta speaks during World Thinking Day NAIROBI, Feb 23 (NNN-KBC) — President Uhuru Kenyatta said that he looks forward to the day Kenya will have its first female Head of State. While acknowledging that women are naturally gifted with attributes of servant leadership, the President said some of his…