Banjul, Gambia (PANA) - Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, has welcomed the conviction by a Swiss court of the former Minister of Interior of the Gambia, Ousman Sonko, on a series of crimes against humanity in connection with acts of unlawful killing, torture and arbitrary detention committed between [...] Full text...

Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) - A new book has outlined the July riots that caused chaos in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces following the arrest of former President Jacob Zuma. Eight Days in July, written by Qaanitah Hunter, Jeff Wicks and Kaveel Singh details how intelligence services warned of a [...] Full text...

Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) on Monday condemned acts of violence during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown after a video clip surfaced of an unidentified man dressed in army fatigues assaulting a woman in Durban. PANA reports that there have been numerous incidents over [...] Full text...

Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – South African photojournalist Shiraaz Mohamed has spoken for the first time since returning home after his abduction in Syria in 2017. As previously reported by PANA, Mohamed escaped last December. His captors had unsuccessfully attempted to secure US$1.5 million ransom for his release. Relief agency Gift [...] Full text...

Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (PANA) - Burkina Faso’s former presidential guard displayed a cold-blooded disregard for human life, killing 14 unarmed protestors and bystanders and wounding hundreds more with automatic weapons following last month’s coup d’état, according to human rights non-governmental organzation, Amnesty International (AI). In a press statement, AI said during [...] Full text...