Foreign News
Thousands flee fresh ethnic killings in Darfur
Thousands of people have been forced to flee the Sudanese region of West Dafur amid fears of ethnic cleansing, a medical charity says.
Witnesses have accused the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of targeting and killing non-Arabs, with reports of hundreds of deaths. This comes after the RSF captured the Sudanese army headquarters in West Darfur capital of El Geneina. The RSF says it is not involved in what it describes as a “tribal conflict”.
It has been battling the army for control of the country since April.
Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) says that most of the 7,000 people who have crossed into Chad in the past three days are women and children who are fleeing with nothing.
Hatim Ali, a local human rights monitor, said he had fled to Chad after the RSF and allied militias arrived on horses, camels and motorbikes and besieged Erdamta, just across a river from El Geneina. He said they “killed so many men and raped a lot of women”, adding that hundreds of people may have been killed.
Since the capture of El Geneina, the RSF and allied Arab militias have been accused of murdering ethnic Masalit people, looting homes and raping women. The RSF and Arab militia even reportedly attacked a camp for internally displaced people in Erdamta, where some 800 people are said to have been killed. A man who fled the camp with his family before the attack told the BBC: “I’m still alive, but I lost a lot”.
While many people have fled to Chad, thousands remain trapped in Sudan as Arab militias demand huge sums of money to cross the border, an aid worker told BBC.
Pierre Honnorat, the head of the World Food Programme (WFP) in Chad, told the BBC the key challenge was feeding the thousands of refugees. “We need support, and we need it now. We do need to secure a meal a day to them all. They have nothing,” he said.
The RSF originated in Darfur and has been accused of attrocities against non Arabic groups in the region during this year’s conflict. The paramilitary group has been gaining more territory in Darfur since the beginning of this month, taking control of four of the region’s five states.
Peace talks in Saudi Arabia have been unfruitful as efforts to secure a ceasefire have failed, according to Reuters.
The UN refugee agency says “an unimaginable” humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Sudan. Nearly six million people have been forced from their homes since the war began.
(BBC)
Millions of people in South Asia celebrated Holi, the Hindu festival of colours, by smearing each other with brightly coloured powder, dancing to festive music and feasting on traditional sweets prepared for the occasion.
The raucous spring festival sees Hindus take part in a kaleidoscopic celebration of the end of winter and the triumph of good over evil. The festival is a national holiday in India, while in Nepal it’s a two-day event that began on Thursday. It’s also observed in other South Asian countries as well as among the Indian diaspora.
Holi has its origins in Hindu mythology and celebrates the divine love between the Hindu god Krishna and his consort Radha, signifying a time of rebirth and rejuvenation.
Across the country, people dressed mostly in all-white clothes celebrated the festival by hurling coloured powder at each other. Children, perched on rooftops and balconies, flung water balloons filled with coloured pigments at passersby.
Groups of young men also used water guns to chase people down in public parks and on the roads, while others danced on the streets to music blaring from speakers.
In some places, people hurled marigolds, roses and jasmine petals instead of coloured powder.
[Aljazeera]
A British man has been killed in a hit-and-run incident involving a vehicle in the motorcade of Kenyan President William Ruto.
The man, who has been named as 79-year-old Edgar Charles Frederick, died on Thursday after being struck in the accident on a main road in the capital, Nairobi.
Police detained a driver, who has since been released on bail.
They say he was driving a support vehicle that was travelling as part of President Ruto’s official convoy of cars.
Police spokesman Michael Muchiri told the BBC that Mr Frederick had been visiting Kenya to see his sister and nephew who are residents of the country.
The victim’s next-of-kin have been informed, and a post-mortem is likely to be conducted later on Friday.
The police said the driver, who failed to stop after the incident, would appear in court following an investigation.
A spokesperson for the UK High Commission said officials were aware of the reports and were seeking more information.
Videos posted on social media show a man in blue jeans and a light-coloured shirt lying bleeding on the road outside a busy shopping area.
Other pictures show the victim covered in a checked shawl, known locally as a Maasai Shuka.
Mr Muchiri told the BBC the vehicle belonged to the regional administration and was providing support to the presidential detail.
President Ruto held events in the vicinity of the scene on Thursday as part of ongoing political engagements with the public in the capital.
[BBC]
China’s biggest hotpot chain Haidilao has offered to compensate more than 4,000 diners who visited one of its Shanghai branches, where two teens urinated into their hotpot broth.
A video of the boys peeing into their broth pot while dining in a private room was widely shared online last month. It is not clear who might have filmed the incident.
Police said the 17-year-olds, who were drunk at the time, were detained soon after the incident.
There is no suggestion anyone consumed the affected broth. Haidilao has apologised to customers, saying it has replaced all hotpot equipment and dining utensils, as well as disinfecting other crockery and utensils.
The incident happened late in February, though the company’s management only found out about it days later, after videos circulated on social media.
Haidilao said the staff on duty at the time had failed to stop the teens.
It took another week to find out which outlet it was, the company said, as it has dozens of outlets in the city.
Diners in Haidilao use their own personal hotpot equipment to cook their food, and broths are not re-used again for other customers. However, it is unclear in this case if the hotpot in question was thoroughly cleaned and disinfected before it was used by the next customer.
“We fully understand that the distress caused to our customers by this incident cannot be fully compensated for by any means, but we will do our utmost to take responsibility,” the company said in a statement.
Haidilao said customers who dined at the outlet between 24 February and 8 March will receive a full refund, followed by cash compensation that is 10 times the amount they were billed.
The company has expanded quickly since it opened its first restaurant in Jianyang in Sichuan province. It now operates more than 1,000 restaurants across the world.
Haidilao is known for its customer service and family-friendly atmosphere, where ladies can receive manicures and kids are treated to candy floss while waiting for a table.
[BBC]
Our government has reaffirmed its commitment to breaking barriers that limit women’s full participation in the economy, recognizing their vital role in national development. – Dr. Harini Amarasuriya
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