HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH WANTS AN INDEPTH INVESTIGATION INTO THE DEATH OF THE 400 I RIM PRO TESTERS IN 2015

Over 400 Oromo protesters were killed in November 2015, and thousands others were arrested by Ethiopian security forces during widespread protests against the government’s proposed expansion of the capital Addis Ababa expected to impact on Oromia farming communities.

These figures and other forms of abuses, disputed by the Ethiopian government, were detailed by Human Rights Watch in a reportthey released on Wednesday calling on the Ethiopian government to support an independent investigation into the killings, arrests and abuses.

The Ethiopian government strongly disputed the figures saying only 173 people died, including 28 policemen and officials as cited by a Commission on Human Rights, reportsAFP.

“The Ethiopian Council of Human Rights is not a friend of the government and has registered only 103 names (of victims) … Human Rights Watch is very generous with numbers when it comes to Ethiopia,” the spokesman for the Ethiopian government, Getachew Reda, said referring to another figure by the independent Ethiopian Council of Human Rights.

“Overall, the security forces behaved in a very professional and responsible manner, but there are always a few bad apples,” he added.

Human Rights Watch observed that while the protests have largely subsided since April, the government crackdown has continued as many of those arrested remain in detention and hundreds have disappeared.

34 MIGRANTS WITH 20 CHILDREN INCLUDED WERE FOUND DEAD IN NIGER DESERT

34 migrants were found dead last week in the Nigerien desert in an attempt to travel to neighbouring Algeria, the Nigerien Ministry of Interior said in a statement.

Among the 34 found near Assamaka, a border post between Niger and Algeria, are five men, nine women and 20 children who “probably died of thirst, as is often the case,” it was suggested.

The statement said only two bodies, a Nigerian and a 26-year-old Nigerien woman, were identified adding that between June 6 and 12, many migrants had been abandoned by smugglers on the desert.

The Nigerien ministry also cautioned illegal migrants about the risks they face in trying to “take this perilous path managed by criminal networks”.

Join Fotemah Mba to foster progress in Africa!

Although Fotemah’s story begins in Cameroon, West Africa, the book of his life and travels is much thicker than that. The son of a distinguished educator and diplomat he spent most of his young life traveling the world. Fotemah was exposed to the cultures of such places as Algeria, Belgium & the United States; for this reason is a fluent speaker of four different languages. Even as a youngster he had an ear for music and was energized by the diverse sounds made known to him through his travels.

FASHION PROFILING A-list Actor; producer and model Syndy Emade gets the blogger treatment

Cameroonian A-list Actor; producer and model Syndy Emade gets the blogger treatment with her striking makeup venture.

Great make up is one thing, but when great make up is teamed with great styling, a wonderful model and beautiful photography, we have editorial gold. This is what is demonstrated in most of Syndy's look. The makeup is not only clean and precise, it is also very fitting to the overall mood of the final images. She strikes perfect balance, matching glamor with a feeling of the everyday that makes this look work so well.

I couldn't help but notice how artfully, softly and precisely her makeup was applied. This is brilliantly done.

SAMUEL ETO'O: DONE AND DUSTED. SAMUEL ETO'O TIES THE KNOD IN VINTAGE ITALIAN STYLE

Cameroonian international and one of Africa’s greatest footballers, Samuel Eto’o, married the mother of his children, Georgette Tra Lou, at a church in Stezzano, northern Italy on Tuesday afternoon.

The white wedding seals the nuptial of the two reported to have been traditionally married since 2007.

Samuel Eto’o, known for his fashion taste and style, decided to go classic as he drove to the church in a vintage Fiat 500L car dressed in a grey three-piece suit and a waistcoat.

His wife also arrived in a classic Mercedes Excalibur convertible car wearing a radiantly beautiful long flowing white dress holding a bouquet of white lilies.

The pair walked down the white carpet in glamour as their high-profiled guests cheered them on. Former teammates and friends of Eto’o including Carles Puyol of Barcelona, Inter Milan owner Massimo Morrati among others.

GREEN LIGHT FOR VOLUNTARY RETURN OF REFUGEES IN CAMEROON

The Nigerian government says it has agreed to Cameroon’s voluntary return of some 80,000 Nigerian refugees who fled the Boko Haram insurgency.

Nigerian officials had said Cameroon was threatening to force the repatriation of tens of thousands of Nigerians.

Cameroon has previously dumped thousands on the border with Nigeria.

Nigerian emergency agency spokesman Sani Datti said on Sunday that Abuja signed an agreement with the UNHCR and Cameroon for the return of Nigerian refugees “voluntarily and in a dignified manner.”

Last month, Nigerians who had returned home were blocked from returning to Cameroon though they complained they did not have enough water as temperatures soared over 100 degrees.

The UN says some 600,000 Nigerians are displaced in the region.

Some 20,000 people have been killed and more than two million others made homeless since the beginning of the bloody Boko Haram militancy in Nigeria in 2009.

Source: newsagency

FASHION PROFILING: CRISP WHITE AND JEANS GET THE BLOGGER TREATMENT

White-on-white always feels fresh indeed. We can't get enough of Cameroon celebrities deep rooted in nollywood. The Style Scribe Joan Ngomba styled her white  jeans by pairing with a crisp white blazer and nude bag; she masters a light and airy take on a casual chic denim look. On the other hand, When I first noticed  Xtie Becca popping up in street style roundups, I was taken back by how different her style was from the usual crowd: opting for sneakers over everything and seamlessly merging urban and quirky pieces in the style of Rihanna. I must say her spring look is appealing.

SURFING, THE NEW EFFECTIVE HEALING TOOL FOR SOUTH AFRICAN STREET CHILDREN

A hitherto reserved sport – surfing – appears to be helping some of Durban’s street children overcome their troubled past.

Surfing was almost exclusively a white only sport under apartheid South Africa but with the end of the regime, came the end of its exclusivity.

Thanks to training from Umthombo Street Children, a community-based project working with underprivileged and homeless youth, several former street children are taking up surfing.

One of them Thabane Ndima, who was found by Umthombo, says he “tried soccer and cricket but when I did surfing I felt like something was being lifted from my heart and I found peace and harmony”.

“Every time I do surfing I get to forget about everything in my past that is painful and I get to focus on what I’m doing” he added.

But surfing does not only serve as an avenue for Thabane to escape his past, he says “surfing has made my life better”, a feeling he says is best appreciated by “those who understand what surfing is all about”.

BREAKING DAWN FOR OSCAR PISTORIUS SENTENCE HEARING

The sentencing trial of disgraced Olympian Oscar Pistorius is set to begin on Monday.

The sentencing is for the 2013 murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, after his original conviction was upgraded from the lesser charge of manslaughter last year.

Pistorius was denied a leave to appeal his conviction by the Constitutional Court, South Africa’s highest court.

Pistorius, widely known as the Blade Runner denies the charge. He faces a minimum 15-year jail sentence.

In April, both legal teams agreed on five days of argument to be heard from June 13 to 17. The pre-sentencing arguments will be heard at Pretoria High Court.

ATTACK: SUICIDE BOMBER HITS FIELD HOSPITAL NEAR LIBYA'S SIRTE

A suicide bomber has killed three people at a field hospital for forces fighting Islamic State in the Libyan coastal stronghold of Sirte on Sunday.

A security source said medical staff have appealed for help in treating the wounded.

The bomber also wounded seven others and caused extensive damage to the hospital, about 50km from the front line.