First Independent Mena Newspaper
Uganda has confirmed a temporary agreement with the United States to accept third-country nationals denied asylum in the U.S., marking a significant shift in migration policy that has sparked controversy both at home and across the continent. The deal, confirmed last week (21 August) by Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary Vincent Bagiire Waiswa, excludes individuals with […]
South Sudan’s political stability faces renewed strain after General Khamis Abdel-Latif Chawul Lom urged President Salva Kiir Mayardit to replace First Vice President Riek Machar with Stephen Par Kuol, leader of a breakaway SPLM-IO faction. Machar, a key architect of the 2018 peace accord, has been under house arrest since March over an ongoing criminal […]
Renewed violence in South Sudan is threatening to plunge the country — and its neighbors — into deeper instability, UN officials warned this week. Assistant Secretary-General for Africa, Martha Pobee, told the UN Security Council that South Sudan’s fragile peace process is unraveling, with escalating clashes between government forces and rival militias eroding the 2018 […]
South Sudan’s government has firmly denied reports of discussions with Israel regarding the possible relocation of Palestinians from Gaza to its territory, following widespread media coverage and public outcry. The denial follows an Associated Press report that cited unnamed sources claiming that Israel and South Sudan were engaged in talks over forcibly transferring Palestinians as […]
The Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC) has called on African Union (AU) leaders to step up direct engagement to defuse South Sudan’s deepening political crisis. Speaking in Juba Monday during a visit by a high-level AU Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) delegation, RJMEC Chief of Staff Ambassador Berhanu Kebede urged the AU and […]
The United States has launched a sweeping reassessment of Kenya’s Major Non-NATO Ally (MNNA) status, raising alarm over President William Ruto’s growing ties with China, Russia, Iran, and links to extremist groups. Granted in June 2024, Kenya’s MNNA designation made it the first sub-Saharan African country to join an exclusive list of U.S. defense partners. […]
A staff member of South Sudan’s Health Ministry who was abducted from a Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) ambulance in Morobo County, Central Equatoria, has been released unharmed, MSF confirmed on Sunday, July 27. The incident occurred on Friday around 10 a.m. local time when armed individuals halted the ambulance, removed the ministry employee—identified as nurse […]
On Tuesday, July 22, 2025, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has issued a grave warning that it may be compelled to reduce food rations in South Sudan as early as September due to critical funding shortfalls. Currently, WFP can only assist 2.5 million individuals—just 30 percent of those experiencing severe hunger—across the country. […]
South Sudanese President Salva Kiir has appealed for the immediate lifting of international sanctions and a United Nations arms embargo, citing their detrimental impact on the country’s progress and security sector reform. Addressing lawmakers at the opening of the Revitalized Transitional National Legislative Assembly in Juba on Wednesday, July 16, Kiir emphasised that South Sudan’s […]
A recent U.S. deportation of five convicted foreign nationals to the African kingdom of Eswatini has ignited outrage among human rights groups and African leaders. The individuals — originally from Vietnam, Jamaica, Cuba, Yemen, and Laos — were expelled after their home countries refused to accept them. All five have serious criminal convictions, including murder […]