Foreign News
Hundreds protest at violence against Kenyan women
Demonstrations are taking place across major cities in Kenya to protest against the rising cases of femicide and other violence against women.
Hundreds have gathered in Nairobi, Nakuru, Mombasa, Nyeri and Lodwar, some carrying placards with the names of those who were killed.
A 2022 survey found at least one in three Kenyan women had endured physical violence at some point in their lives. “I am here because I’m angry,” 33-year-old Winnie Chelagat told the BBC. “It is wrong, we are tired and we want something to be done about it.”
Men and boys must take responsibility for their own actions instead of the burden being on women and girls to protect themselves, said another protester called Michael Onyango. “We should educate our sons and tell them that they need to stop killing women.”
Saturday’s protests follow a series of gruesome murders of women – including one victim, later named as Rita Waeni, whose dismembered remains were found stuffed into a plastic bag at an Airhub rental apartment.
Femicide is defined as intentionally killing a woman or girl because they are female.
Amnesty International says more than 500 cases of femicide were recorded in Kenya between the years 2016 and 2023. Many of the victims were killed by intimate partners or people known to them.
Campaigners want the authorities to expedite justice for all recent victims of sexual and gender-based violence.
Dozens of local rights groups say the government must declare femicide a national emergency and class femicide as a specific crime, distinct from murder.
In Nairobi on Saturday, demonstrators chanted “Sisi ni watu sio wanyama” in Swahili – meaning “we are human beings not animals”.
Others carried banners saying “only weak men kill women” and “every time you blame the victim you affirm the murderer”.
Victim-blaming has been rife on social media, with commenters in Kenya’s so-called “manosphere” blaming murdered women for their own deaths.
Many messages on online platforms focus on what the victims were wearing when they were attacked, or question why they did not use their mobile phones to tell family and friends their whereabouts.
Despite Kenya having robust laws against gender-based violence, most perpetrators go unpunished. When prosecutions are brought, they often drag on for years in court.
(BBC)
Egyptian rescuers found four bodies and five survivors on Tuesday during a Red Sea search operation after a tourist boat carrying 44 people sank on Monday.
A total of 33 people have been rescued so far but seven were still missing as of Tuesday evening.
The victims’ identities have not yet been disclosed by authorities. The BBC understands two of the missing are British nationals.
The four-deck modern vessel had been carrying 31 passengers and 13 crew when it is understood to have been hit by a large wave near Marsa Alam, causing it to capsize.
The boat sent distress calls at 05:30 local time (03:30 GMT), local authorities said.
The vessel sank within five to seven minutes, according to Red Sea governor Maj-Gen Amr Hanafi. He said some people had been unable to escape from their cabins.
A total of 28 people were rescued by military personnel and a passing tourist boat in the hours after the vessel capsized.
The governor had earlier said other survivors were found in the Wadi el-Gemal area, south of Marsa Alam.
The 44m (144ft) Sea Story yacht had departed a port near Marsa Alam on Sunday for a five-day diving trip that was supposed to finish further north at the town of Hurghada.
It is believed to have been hit by rough winds overnight on Sunday. The Egyptian Meteorological Authority warned of high waves on the Red Sea and advised against maritime activity on Sunday and Monday.
Wind speeds were between 37-43 mph (60-70 kmph) and wave heights were three to four metres (10-13ft) high
According to the local council in Marsa Alam, the crew of the Sea Story are Egyptian while the tourists on board were from Belgium, Britain, China, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland and the US.
Among the missing are two Polish tourists and one from Finland, according to those nations’ foreign ministries.
A UK Foreign Office spokesperson said they were providing “support to a number of British nationals and their families following an incident in Egypt”.
The Chinese embassy in Egypt said two of its nationals were “in good health” after being rescued.
Marsa Alam is a popular destination for tourists on Egypt’s southern Red Sea coast. It is surrounded by diving spots, including renowned coral reefs.
The Red Sea governorate said the boat was owned by an Egyptian national, and had received a one-year validity certificate in March 2024 when it was inspected by maritime safety.
Hanafi said there were no technical faults at the time of the incident.
He also visited Marsa Alam to see the people rescued, and said they were all in good health, and no-one had needed admission to hospital. The passengers are being taken to a tourist hotel in the area, he added.
The BBC has contacted Sea Story’s Egypt-based owner and operator, Dive Pro Liveaboard.
Its website says the vessel was built in 2022 It has four decks and 18 cabins that can accommodate up to 36 passengers.
Last year, three Britons died off the coast of Marsa Alam after their dive boat caught fire.
[BBC]
Supporters of jailed former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan have been pushed back by security forces after reaching the heart of the heavily-barricaded capital earlier on Tuesday.
The convoy of opposition protesters has been marching towards Islamabad’s D Chowk – or Democracy Square – since the weekend, demanding Khan’s release, among other things.
At least six people were killed – four paramilitary soldiers, and two protesters – as the march moved through the city, clashing with security forces at points.
A number of protesters did make it as far as D Chowk however, and were seen scrambling over shipping containers placed to block their way.
But hours after protesters reached the square, security forces successfully cleared the area. As darkness fell, the lights were switched off – only police officers and paramilitary soldiers left behind.
A police officer nearby said that some protesters had made it beyond the three-tier stack of shipping containers, but only a few hundred metres before they were pushed back.
However, thousands of Khan supporters remain in the area – to keep warm in the biting cold, protesters have started burning paper and other materials inside rubbish bins. Many have even resorted to burning grass and bushes on the footpaths and greenbelts, where people are gathered.
Muhammad Shahid, who came with his family all the way from Punjab province, says they’re here because of Imran Khan’s message: “He says we must fight for our rights.”
He adds: “We’re here to stand up for our fundamental rights. Imran Khan has been illegally arrested, and we will fight to make our voices heard.”
Khan, who has been in prison for more than a year on charges he says are politically motivated, has urged his supporters not to give up – encouraging people to continue towards D Chowk
“My message to my team is to fight till the end, we will not back down,” the former prime minister said on X.
Even from behind bars, the former cricket star has proved a powerful player in Pakistan politics. During elections in February, his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, which had been banned from standing and was forced to run candidates as independents, emerged as the single largest bloc.
However, they fell short of the majority and their rivals united to form a new government. As a result, protesters are also calling for the overturning of election results they say were rigged – a claim disputed by the government.
It was Khan who called on his supporters to take to the streets at the weekend, issuing a “final call” and asking them to stay in the capital until their demands are met.
The government – which had already introduced a ban on public gatherings -responded by blocking Islamabad’s streets with shipping containers, and bussing in police from across the country.
Restrictions also appear to have been brought in on some internet services, while schools and colleges have been shut because of fears of violence.
Pakistan’s interior minister said the protesters had been offered an alternative venue for their protest but had refused.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who blamed the protesters for the deaths of four soldiers on Tuesday, dismissed the march as “extremism”.
“These disruptive elements do not seek revolution but bloodshed,” he said in a statement.
Zulfikar Bukhari, spokesman for Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) party, told news agency Reuters at least two protesters had been killed – one shot, and one run over by a vehicle.
At least 50 people have been injured.
[BBC]
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