AFCON Returns to a Two-Year Cycle After CAF Reverses Its Four-Year Plan
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has reinstated the Africa Cup of Nations every two years, reversing a December decision to hold it every four. CAF had planned an African Nations League to replace AFCON as its biennial tournament but acknowledged it would take several years to generate the revenue needed to be self-sufficient. CAF president Patrice Motsepe said the move aims to advance and protect the interests of African football and its 54 member associations. The next AFCON is in 2027, hosted by Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, followed by 2028, 2031, and 2033, with none in 2030 because of the World Cup. Separately, the Court of Arbitration for Sport opened its hearing on October 8 on Senegal's appeal against being stripped of the 2025 title, which CAF awarded to Morocco in March.
Drone Strikes Kill at Least 15 at Displacement Camp in Ethiopia's Amhara Region
At least 15 people, many of them children, died in drone strikes on the Jari 2 camp for displaced civilians in Amhara, two sources involved in the rescue told Reuters today, Friday, October 30. The dead include five children, and a local official says 36 people were injured. It is not clear who carried out the attack or why the camp was targeted. Separately, the United Nations refugee agency says up to an estimated 50,000 people have crossed from Ethiopia into Kenya, up from 36,000 on Tuesday, after fighting in the border town of Moyale. Conflict monitor ACLED traced the violence to an October 18 confrontation over a Somali regional administration office in a disputed part of the town, and Kenyan leaders in Marsabit County warn the arrivals could overwhelm communities already short on food and water.
15-Year-Old Ghanaian Boy Shot and Killed Near His School in NYC
Javits Frimpong, 15, originally from Ghana, died after being shot in the abdomen near his school in the Bronx, New York City, shortly before 9:30 a.m. yesterday, Thursday, October 29, according to the New York Police Department (NYPD). Officers took him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Police are looking for three boys believed to be between 16 and 18, last seen dressed in black and wearing blue surgical masks, and authorities have not established what prompted the attack. His father, Thomas Frimpong, a 60-year-old yellow cab driver, told CBS News New York that his son had complained about being bullied at DreamYard Preparatory School and that two students were recently suspended after an altercation involving him, though police have not said the earlier dispute is connected to the shooting. Frimpong moved from Ghana to the U.S. about a year ago to live with his father, who described him as a quiet teenager who hoped to become a doctor.
Families of 37 Miners Who Died in Nigerian Custody Want Justice and Seized Property Back
Families of the 37 artisanal miners who died in custody in Nigeria say no compensation will make up for their loss and are asking for swift justice. A presidential panel found the men died from overcrowding, extreme heat, dehydration, and neglect while held by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps in Niger State. Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo said the report went to the Attorney-General for immediate judicial action but did not say when families would be compensated. Survivor Abdulsalam Yakubu wants motorcycles, phones, mining equipment, and gold seized during the arrests returned.
First Body Recovered From Collapsed Nairobi Building as 16 Remain Missing
Rescuers recovered the first body today, Friday, October 30, a woman's, from the rubble of an 18-story building that collapsed a week ago in Nairobi's Eastleigh area, with 16 people still missing. Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja said the building lacked the required construction approvals and that renting out completed shops on its lower floors was illegal. Four people were rescued earlier, and none has been pulled out alive since Saturday. Authorities are using thermal imaging technology from a team in China, which detected two people beneath the rubble.
Uganda Asks African Union to Consider Deploying Standby Force Against Ebola
Uganda called on the African Union to consider deploying its standby peacekeeping and humanitarian force to help contain the Ebola outbreak that has killed nearly 5,000 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Uganda's health minister made the call on Wednesday at a meeting of health officials from 45 African countries. He said AU personnel could provide medical and logistical support and ease a shortage of health workers, and he urged leaders to hold an emergency meeting on financing and deployment. Officials agreed to strengthen cross-border surveillance, share information, and keep borders open.
France to Send Fighter Jets to Chad for Training as Ties Mend
France will send two Mirage fighter jets and a transport aircraft to Chad for "training activities," the French army said yesterday, Thursday, October 29, as part of a joint exercise in November with Côte d’Ivoire and Gabon. Chad expelled French troops in 2024, but President Emmanuel Macron hosted Chadian leader Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno in Paris in mid-October, and the two countries signed a declaration of intent to renew defense cooperation. France says the aim is to help develop the Chadian air force.
Swiss Top Court Upholds 20-Year Sentence for Liberian Warlord Alieu Kosiah
Switzerland's Federal Supreme Court today, Friday, October 30, confirmed the guilty verdict against Liberian warlord Alieu Kosiah, upholding his 20-year sentence for rape, murder, and cannibalism in the country's first war crimes trial. The ruling closes the case. The court reversed a parallel conviction for crimes against humanity because the 2011 law on that crime cannot be applied retroactively. Alain Werner of Civitas Maxima, an NGO representing victims, called it a landmark decision.
