Kenyan & Uganda and other Embassies in DRC Attacked

"The Kenyan embassy in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been attacked.

According to Principal Secretary for Foreign Affairs Korir Sing’oei, the embassy staff was also attacked in the melee.
Further, the PS indicated that other embassies in Kinshasa were also attacked including the Uganda and South African Embassies.
Moreover, Sing’oei has explained that the attack was orchestrated by protesters who are against the violence in the Eastern part of DRC.

The embassies of France, the United States, Rwanda, and Kenya were also targeted by the protesters." MS

US biolab activity in Africa

"According to documents presented on Tuesday, the US is collaborating with local ministries, private contractors, and Big Pharma companies to implement American standards in biological safety and health management in Africa.

The documents indicate that the US military-biological presence on the African continent is rapidly expanding. Studies on the resistance of pathogenic microorganisms to medical drugs are reportedly being conducted in 18 African countries, while funding is provided through the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).... one of the “real clients” behind military-biological projects is the Metabiota company. Its requests are reportedly directed towards the US Army’s Infectious Diseases Research Institute, and concerns the training of infectious disease specialists in Kenya and Uganda." RT

WHO considers declaring international health emergency over deadlier strain of mpox

"The World Health Organization is considering declaring an international health emergency

over an outbreak of a deadlier strain of mpox — formerly known as monkeypox.
The new strain of the disease, renamed to mpox, is more infectious and has a 3% fatality rate, compared to the 1% fatality rate of the 2022 outbreak, Science reported. The outbreak began in the Democratic Republic of the Congo but recently spread to neighboring countries. The new strain is called clade 1.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo alone, 14,000 cases and 450 deaths were reported so far this year.
New cases were recorded in Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, and Burundi. The spread has prompted WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to consider sounding the WHO’s highest level of alarm." WashintonExaminer

Worst floods in decades kill 29 in Somalia, hit towns across East Africa

"The worst flooding to hit Somalia in decades has killed 29 people and forced more than 300,000 to flee their homes......Authorities have scrambled to rescue thousands of stranded people from the floodwater, which comes on the heels of the region's worst drought in 40 years. Floods in neighboring Kenya have killed at least 15 people and submerged a bridge in Uganda, cutting off a road linking Kampala to oilfields in the northwest.......The impact of the flooding is much worse because the soil is so damaged from an unprecedented recent drought." AP

Tourists killed in Uganda

"The army announced the capture of Abdul Rashid Kyoto, also known as Njovu, and the death

of six other members of the commando group accused of murdering a British and a South African honeymooner and their guide in Queen Elizabeth Park. The ADF rebels, affiliated to the jihadist group Islamic State, have previously been accused by the Ugandan authorities of attacking a school in the western town of Mpondwe in which 42 people were killed, and another in Kasindi, in eastern DRC, in which four people were killed, including two Ugandan soldiers." AfricanNews

North Korea's closure of Africa embassies a sign of economic hardships

"North Korea's recent closing of its diplomatic missions in Angola and Uganda was a sign that

the reclusive country is struggling to make money overseas because of international sanctions....Pyongyang's state media outlet KCNA said its ambassadors paid "farewell" visits to Angolan and Ugandan leaders last week, and local media in both African countries reported the shutdown of the North's embassies there." Reuters

Putin's meeting with African Leaders on Ukraine conflict

"Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted a delegation of African leaders in St. Petersburg.
The group traveled to Russia a day after visiting Ukraine and meeting President Vladimir Zelensky, promoting their 10-point peace roadmap designed to end the conflict between Kiev and Moscow, now well into its second year.

The African delegation comprised South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Senegalese President Macky Sall, Comoros President Othman Ghazali, Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, and senior officials from the Republic of Congo and Uganda. 

Ukraine broke the preliminary deal immediately after Russia withdrew its troops from Kiev Region, as had been agreed upon in Istanbul, Putin explained. "Kiev authorities, like their masters usually do, threw it all away into the graveyard of history," he added, stating that no one could guarantee that Ukraine would do the same to any new deals in the future. The Russian president also insisted that ongoing energy and food crises were not prompted by the conflict with Ukraine, but stemmed from the actions of Western powers." RT

A 'new Cold War' as Russia, France, US compete for influence in Africa

"Russian, French and American leaders are crisscrossing Africa to win support for their
positions on the war in Ukraine, waging what some say is the most intense competition for influence on the continent since the Cold War. 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and French President Emmanuel Macron are each visiting several African countries this week. Samantha Power, head of the U.S. Agency for International Development, went to Kenya and Somalia last week. The U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Linda Thomas-Greenfield, will go to Ghana and Uganda next week.

“It's like a new Cold War is playing out in Africa, where the rival sides are trying to gain influence,” said William Gumede.

Lavrov, in his travels across the drought- and hunger-stricken continent, has sought to portray the West as the villain, blaming it for rising food prices, while the Western leaders have accused the Kremlin of cynically using food as a weapon and waging an imperial-style war of conquest - words calculated to appeal to listeners in post-colonial Africa." France24

 

UN Food Chief Halved Refugee Meal Rations As Global Hunger Crisis Worsens

"Food riot risks continue to soar worldwide as the head of the food-aid branch of the United

Nations halved meal rations for refugees. 

On Monday, David Beasley, director of the UN World Food Programme (WFP), released a statement detailing "the heartbreaking decision to cut food rations for refugees who rely on us for their survival."

"As global hunger soars way beyond the resources available to feed all the families who desperately need WFP's help, we are being forced to make the heartbreaking decision to cut food rations for refugees who rely on us for their survival," Beasley said. 

Beasley pointed out that WFP already "significantly reduced" rations across its operating areas, indicating cuts up to 50% are affecting 75% of all refugees supported by WFP in Eastern Africa, including Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan, and Uganda." ZH