Owners and managers of a personal care assistant (PCA) company are facing criminal charges related to a scheme to defraud the Minnesota Medical Assitance Program (Medicaid) out of about $9.5 million. The case is the largest Medicaid fraud prosecution charged by the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office and its Minnesota Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, the attorney’s office says. Court documents show...
May 31, 2026
Africa is facing summit fatigue, here is how to beat it
By RISHON CHIMBOZA Summits are the mortal enemy of a leader’s diary. African heads of state could attend a summit– regional, continental, global – every week if they were so minded. Preparation, travel and attendance take bites out of schedules, reducing time to focus on pressing domestic concerns. It can sometimes be hard to connect the time invested in summits...
Rival Eritrean groups clash in Israel, leaving dozens hurt in worst confrontation in recent memory
Hundreds of Eritrean government supporters and opponents have clashed with each other and with Israeli police in Tel Aviv By OHAD ZWIGENBERG and SAM McNEIL TEL AVIV, Israel — Hundreds of Eritrean government supporters and opponents clashed with each other and with Israeli police Saturday, leaving dozens injured in one of the most violent street confrontations among African asylum seekers and...
Human rights groups express concern over AU’s premature termination of Tigray Commission’s mandate
Addis Abeba – More than 30 civil society and human rights organizations have expressed their concern over the African Union’s decision to prematurely terminate the mandate of the Commission of Inquiry into the situation in the Tigray region. In an open letter addressed to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), these human rights groups expressed their disappointment over the decision to...
Gov’t removes paper tariffs to end textbook crisis
By Selamawit Mengesha A new legislation approved by the Council of Ministers will soon waive customs duties on imported paper for textbooks. It is a decision that is expected to avert the textbook crisis that was faced by students last year, as there were no printed books based on the new curriculum approved during the same period. Schools were distributing...
ATMIS drawdowns do not mean support lessens
Troop and equipment drawdowns by the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) will not affect ongoing operations against Al Shabaab in the east African country. With an eye on the mission’s full withdrawal by December 2024 – 16 months away – ATMIS Force Commander Lieutenant General Sam Okiding re-affirmed the mission’s commitment to support the ongoing Somali-led military offensive...
We must embrace all Kenyans from diverse ethnicities
Over the last few months, I have seen sporadic instances of senior politicians – most of them alumni of the Uhuru Kenyatta administration – spewing vitriol specifically targeted at Kenyans of Somali origin. Whether it is complaining about alleged Somali takeover of businesses, migration into certain parts of the country and demographic change, or the spectre of “insecurity,” the rhetoric...
The Red Cross says 43 bodies have been collected in a week from clashes in a disputed Somali city
BY CARA ANNA NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The International Committee of the Red Cross says 43 bodies have been collected in the past week from the front line of the latest fighting in a disputed city in Somaliland. The ICRC in a statement Friday said a further 110 wounded people have been taken to hospitals in the past week by the...
Displacement, horrific violence continue in western Tigray as Amhara forces maintain control
By Mihret G/kristos Addis Abeba – Continued displacement and human rights violations persist in the western Tigray areas under the control of Amhara forces. Over the course of five days last week, 1,436 people have been displaced, with many seeking refuge at the Endabaguna Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Center, located near Shire town in the northwestern Tigray zone. The center serves those...
Experts Warn of Shrinking Civic Space as BRICS Expands Membership
Ignatius Annor WASHINGTON — Some analysts warn that the choice of countries selected for induction into the BRICS bloc suggests the grouping as a whole may be headed on a path toward decreased tolerance for public dissent and debate. The five-nation developing bloc, which comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, announced on August 24 the admission of six countries...