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AMA, Human Rights

Sudan’s war on women: The number of people in need of sexual violence support quadruples as abuse of women and girls becomes the blueprint of war, three years on

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As the war in Sudan enters its fourth year with sexual violence as one of its most defining features, UN Women calls for the protection of all women and girls, accountability for all perpetrators, and a major scale-up in funding for women-led front-line response.

New York, USA, 15 April 2026- /African Media Agency (AMA)/- Sexual violence continues to surge across Sudan, with the number of women and girls requiring support after experiencing gender-based violence nearly doubling in two years and quadrupling since the start of the war three years ago, according to a new Gender Alert: The Impact of the War in Sudan on Women and Girls, published today by UN Women.

On 10 December 2024 in Sudan, Omnia [NAME CHANGED] peers through the window during a visit to a women’s organization. Displaced from her home due to fighting and threats, she lives with the trauma of being kidnapped, threatened, beaten and raped by armed men. To support her healing, Omnia is receiving mental health and psychosocial support from a women’s organization. Photo: UNICEF/UNI754435/Tess Ingram

The analysis draws on evidence from 85 women-led organizations operating across Sudan, including on the frontlines of the war in Darfur and Kordofan. Two-thirds of women front-line responders reported a significant increase in sexual violence in 2025, and half reported further escalation in 2026, according to new survey data featured in the alert.

“Women and girls are being raped and killed in their homes, and as they flee, seek food, water and medical care. The use of sexual violence has been embedded in the blueprint of Sudan’s war”, said Anna Mutavati, UN Women Regional Director for East and Southern Africa.

More than 4.3 million women and girls are now displaced inside Sudan, whilst 17.1 million require humanitarian assistance in 2026. Yet for many, especially in active conflict areas, there is limited or no access to food, shelter, or medical care. More than two-thirds of women working for women-led organizations on the front lines of the humanitarian response witnessed a significant increase in a lack of access to basic essential services in 2025.

All violations designed to inflict terror, humiliation and control over women and girls are compounded by blockades and ongoing instability and are being carried out with widespread impunity. “Ending this war means ending the impunity that sustains it and recognizing that there can be no peace whilst sexual violence remains one of its most calculated and cruelest tactics”, said Mutavati.

Women-led organizations assessed in the alert are reaching nearly 20 million people in need across Sudan. In conditions that are increasingly incompatible with basic survival, they are providing food to families, medical care and psychosocial support to survivors of sexual violence, mediating local conflicts, negotiating humanitarian access in places where formal systems have collapsed and international actors cannot reach.

Almost all (99 per cent) of surveyed women-led organizations in Sudan report implementation challenges linked to funding shortages, impediments caused by authorities, and insecurity. Some 85 per cent of surveyed women-led organizations in Sudan report being affected by funding reductions or cuts in 2025. Women working on the front lines face threats and targeted attacks, with one in five surveyed women working for women-led organizations having reported receiving threats. There has been no meaningful participation of Sudanese woman as negotiators in official peace talks over the past three years.

UN Women is on the ground in Sudan delivering life-saving support to women and girls, including protection services, psychosocial support and essential supplies. UN Women calls for the protection of civilians and the full, safe, and meaningful inclusion of women in humanitarian response, including direct support for women-led efforts.

UN Women calls for accountability for perpetrators, access to justice for victims and survivors, and the full, equal and meaningful participation of women in peace processes and decision-making.

Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) on behalf of Un Women.

The post Sudan’s war on women: The number of people in need of sexual violence support quadruples as abuse of women and girls becomes the blueprint of war, three years on appeared first on African Media Agency.

Entertainment

‘Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart’ Recap: Biggest Bombshells in Netflix Doc

Maravi Post Reporter

More than two decades after Elizabeth Smart was kidnapped as a 14-year-old by Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Barzee, she is opening up about the experience in Netflix’s documentary Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart.

In the film, Elizabeth is joined by her sister, Mary Katherine Smart, and their dad, Ed Smart, to discuss the 2002 case and how it impacted their family. Along with interviews from detectives that worked on the case, the documentary gives a new look into the case that has left people shocked for more than 20 years.

Us Weekly breaks down the biggest bombshells from Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart, below.

The Smart Family Members Were Considered Suspects After Elizabeth Smart Went Missing

After Elizabeth was kidnapped out of her bedroom in Salt Lake City, Utah, Detective Cordon Parks explained that officials were suspicious of Smart family because “statistically, more often than not, the perpetrator of this type of crime is a parent or a family member.”

Bombshell Interview: Sherri Papini Now Denies Hoax, Names Her Abductor

During interviews with the family, Parks said there “were a couple things” that came up that made them further suspect they were involved in Elizabeth’s disappearance. “I was told that the alarm had been inadvertently left off. And the window. When I looked at it the first morning, there were no scuff marks on the outside wall,” he recalled. “Even if you step up on a chair, you’re going to make a scuff mark. I did not see any. My initial assessment was that maybe this wasn’t the point of entry. Maybe it was a staged one.”

In the documentary, Ed reflected on being considered a suspect. “To have your daughter go missing is horrendous,” he said. “And then to be a possible suspect, I was beyond words.”

Ed proved his innocence by taking a polygraph test, though the public blame shifted to his brother Tom Smart when his polygraph test came back as inconclusive. The focus on Tom only became worse when he made some questionable comments during interviews regarding Elizabeth’s disappearance.

In the documentary, Tom said it was “dumbfounding” how long it took for the police “to clear the family” of any involvement in the kidnapping. “And as the finger was pointed at us, we saw a real drop in people that were … were coming to help us search,” he said.

Elizabeth Smart Emotionally Recalled the Night She Was Kidnapped

Elizabeth got emotional while recalling the night she was kidnapped by Mitchell in the documentary. “That night, I remember a man’s voice. ‘I have a knife on your neck. Don’t make a sound. Get up and come with me,’” she said. “I was terrified.”

She said she was led through her backyard and up a hill by Mitchell. “I was so worried that I was missing my chance for escape. I asked him if he was gonna rape and kill me cause I thought that must be what he’s going to do,” she said. “I wanted him to do it as close as he could to my house so that my parents could find me.”

Elizabeth and Mitchell eventually made it to a campsite, where they were greeted by Barzee. “She took my shoes off and then she started washing the dirt off my feet,” Elizabeth recalled. “And then she started to try to undo my pajamas.”

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After Elizabeth pulled her pajamas to keep them on, Barzee said that she would have to cooperate or else Mitchell would “rip the clothes off” of her.

Brian David Mitchell Declared Elizabeth His ‘Wife’ on the Night of the Kidnapping

Elizabeth eventually changed into a robe and went to see Mitchell. “I hereby seal you to me as my wife before God and his angels as my witnesses,” he told her. She said she screamed, and he responded, “If you ever scream out like that again, I will kill you. If it will help you to not scream out, I will duct tape your mouth shut.”

While Elizabeth argued that the marriage wasn’t legally binding, Mitchell said it was time to “consummate the marriage” and he raped her.

“It didn’t matter what I did. Ultimately, he raped me. And I remember being in a lot of pain. I remember begging him to stop,” she said. “And then when he was finished, he got up and he kind of smiled like it wasn’t a big deal to him and he walked out of the tent. And I just was left on the ground.”

Brian David Mitchell Planned to Kidnap 7 Girls

Elizabeth recalled Mitchell – who told her his name was Hephzibah Eledah Isaiah – telling her that “God commanded them to kidnap seven young girls.”

“I was the first of the seven. He said my sister would probably end up one of his wives and my cousin Olivia. I was horrified,” she said.

Mary Katherine Smart Connected Brian David Mitchell to the Kidnapping

Because Elizabeth and Mary Katherine shared a bedroom, she was the only witness of the crime. Detectives initially hoped she would be able to identify the kidnapper, though she was not able to identify Mitchell until later in the investigation.

Ed explained that the family previously met Mitchell while he was homeless and they hired him to help around their house, which was why Mary Katherine recognized him. However, police were skeptical if Mitchell was really involved since it took Mary Katherine a while to connect him to the crime.

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Sketches were eventually released of the suspect, and Mitchell’s brother-in-law called Tom to say it might have been him.

Police quickly learned that Mitchell “believed himself to be a prophet of God.” One detective said, “In the last few years, he seemed to be spinning into a violent state of mind.”

Elizabeth Smart Convinced Her Captors to Return to Salt Lake City

After Mitchell was identified as the suspect and the search for Elizabeth continued, he decided to leave Salt Lake City with Elizabeth and Barzee. However, Elizabeth managed to convince him to go back to her hometown by telling him that God told her so and that he was a prophet.

“And he just turned to me and was like, ‘Oh, well God is finally starting to work with you. Now that you recognize your own nothingness, we are supposed to return to Salt Lake,’” she recalled.

When they returned to Salt Lake City, someone spotted the trio on the street and reported it to police. As they were walking on the sidewalk, police cars pulled up to them and officers started questioning the adults. Elizabeth was then separated from the adults, and she eventually confirmed to the cops who she was. She then returned to her family nine months after she was kidnapped.

Elizabeth Smart Reflected on the Aftermath of Her Kidnapping

“Seeing my family again, it reminded me that everything that had happened, it didn’t take away my value or my worth. Like, those monsters could never take that away,” she said in the documentary. “I just remember being so excited to be home. I woke up a few times during that [first] night and both my parents were, uh, standing above me making sure I was still there.”

Elizabeth added that she was “scared of men” when she returned home. “I was scared of a lot of things and I still didn’t hear anyone speak about, like, being raped or being abused,” she said. “I felt, like, a lot of shame and embarrassment around what had happened even though I knew it wasn’t my fault.”

She went on to say that her mom played “a huge part” in helping her process what happened. ”I feel like the things that really helped the most were spending time with my family,” she said.

Elizabeth Smart: Sherri Papini ‘Will Have to Create a New Normal’

Elizabeth Smart Decided to Testify Against Brian David Mitchell

Mitchell didn’t go to trial until 2010, which made it hard for Elizabeth to move forward.

“It felt like the system was rigged against me and I thought, ‘This has gone on for almost a decade. It needs to end. I don’t care what it takes. I don’t care if I have to sit in the courtroom every day for months on end. If this is gonna bring it to a close, then that’s what I’m going to do,’” she said of her decision to testify.

Elizabeth added that she “didn’t want to face him” in court, but felt it was important to testify so that he wouldn’t be released and “go after another young girl.”

“When the verdict finally came in as guilty, I mean, it was … It was just like, ‘It is about time. Thank goodness. It’s done and I can leave it in the past now,’” she concluded.

Mitchell was found guilty of interstate kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor and was sentenced to life in prison. Meanwhile, Barzee was found guilty of kidnapping and other offenses. She received a 15-year federal prison sentence in 2009 and was released early on September 19, 2018.

Entertainment

How Did Selena Quintanilla Die? Autopsy Report Details Revealed

Maravi Post Reporter

Netflix’s 2025 documentary Selena y Los Dinos explores pop icon Selena Quintanilla’s murder at the hands of her former friend and business associate, Yolanda Saldívar.

Quintanilla — the “Queen of Tejano Music” — was only 23 years old when she was shot dead in Corpus Christi, Texas, in March 1995. Saldívar — once a trusted friend and president of Quintanilla’s fan club— was accused of embezzling thousands of dollars from the musician’s businesses months before the shooting.

Following the strong public outcry over Quintanilla’s death, Nueces County, Texas, medical examiners agreed to conduct an autopsy just three hours after the singer’s death. The coroner’s report eventually ruled Quintanilla’s death a homicide, despite Saldívar claiming the shooting was accidental.

The coroner’s report offered fascinating details on Quintanilla’s final confrontation with Saldivar, where their disagreements exploded into a deadly act of violence.

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Keep scrolling for more information on Quintanilla’s death and what her autopsy revealed.

Why Did Yolanda Saldivar Kill Selena

Yolanda Saldívar was initially just a fan of Selena Quintanilla. She later convinced the musician’s father, Abraham Quintanilla, to let her start a fan club in San Antonio, Texas, after seeing Selena in concert.

Saldívar went on to forge a close friendship with Quintanilla amid the success of her fan club. She was hired as a manager for the family’s Selena Etc boutique in Corpus Christie in 1994.

Her personal and professional relationship with the Quintanillas in early 1995 soured when the family discovered that Saldívar embezzled thousands from both the fan club and the boutique. Saldívar was fired from the store and replaced as the president of Selena’s fan club in March 1995.

In the weeks leading up to the murder, Saldívar purchased and returned a Taurus Model 85 .38-caliber revolver at San Antonio gun range A Place to Shoot. (Saldívar later re-purchased the weapon shortly before the murder took place.)

The Most Shocking Celebrity Deaths of All Time: Diane Keaton and More

Saldívar checked into the Days Inn motel on March 30, where she contacted Selena and claim that she’d been raped. Saldívar reportedly begged Selena to come visit her alone in her hotel room so she could turn over financial records.

Later that day, Selena brought along her husband, Chris Pérez, for her meeting despite Saldívar’s pleas for her to come to the Days Inn alone. Pérez agreed to wait by their car and once they left the meeting, Selena discovered Saldívar had not given her the proper documents.

On March 31, 2025, Selena told business associate Leonard Wong that she planned to meet with Saldívar again to retrieve perfume samples and the correct financial records.

When Selena returned to the Days Inn later that day, she agreed to take Saldívar to the hospital for a rape examination. The two women were ultimately informed by medical officials that the exam would need to be administered elsewhere.

Selena and Saldívar then returned to the Days Inn.

How Did Selena Quintanilla Die?

Once they were back at the hotel, Selena once again asked Saldívar to turn over financial records. Saldívar then pulled out the Taurus Model 85 .38-caliber revolver and shot Selena in the shoulder.

A wounded Selena desperately ran to the hotel lobby for help, with Saldívar chasing after her and shouting abuse. Selena was rushed to Corpus Christi Memorial Hospital where she was pronounced dead at around 1:05 p.m. local time on March 31, 1995.

At the same time, Saldívar engaged in a standoff with police after refusing to exit her vehicle in the Days Inn parking lot. Saldívar initially threatened to take her own life before she finally surrendered to FBI agents after a 10-hour standoff.

How Did Selena Quintanilla Die Autopsy Report Details Revealed
Selena Quintanilla ARA ZIEMBA/AFP via Getty Images

Saldívar was charged with first-degree murder and pleaded not guilty. At trial, Saldívar maintained that the shooting was accidental. She was found guilty in October 1995.

In October 1995, Saldívar was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole. She is currently serving her sentence at a women’s prison in Gatesville, Texas.

Saldívar did seek parole in December 2024, but her request was denied in March 2025. She remains behind bars at the time of publication.

What Did Selena Quintanilla’s Autopsy Reveal About Her Death?

The Nueces County, Texas, medical examiner’s office agreed to rush an autopsy only three hours after Selena’s death due to immense public interest in the case.

Us Weekly obtained the original 1995 report that confirmed that Selena died from a bullet wound to her lower right shoulder. Selena’s death was ruled a homicide.

The coroner confirmed that her cause of death was “exsanguinating internal and external [bleeding] due to [a] perforating gunshot wound” in the chest.

“It is my opinion that Selena Quintanilla Pérez, a 23-year-old woman, came to her death as a result of an exsanguinating internal and external hemorrhage, in other words massive bleeding, due to a perforating gunshot wound of the thorax (chest),” coroner Lloyd White added.

According to the coroner’s report, the bullet entered Selena’s back. The path of the bullet was traced from the ribs to the “upper pulmonary lobe,” before puncturing “the chest wall.” An exit wound was detected on the “upper right anterior chest.”

The coroner determined that the path of the bullet gravely injured Selena’s subclavian artery, which contributed to her death. The coroner also noted that “blood [was] present over many areas of the clothes” that Selena was wearing at the time of her death.

Entertainment

Most Shocking Revelations From Heather Gay’s Mormon Docuseries

Maravi Post Reporter

Heather Gay dove deep into the dark side of Mormon life in her new docuseries, Surviving Mormonism.

Fans of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City are likely familiar with Heather’s experience with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Since leaving the church behind, she’s shared her own stories on TV and in her books, Bad Mormon and Good Time Girl, and has spoken openly about some of the institution’s shortcomings.

In her Surviving Mormonism, available to stream on Peacock, the reality star admitted she didn’t expect to become “the public voice of Mormon critical thought.”

“Being forced to leave my faith and talk about it publicly shaped who I became,” she continued. “That’s been both incredibly transformative, but also it’s been really hard.”

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Heather explained that she wanted to use her platform to make a difference. “There’s just an endless sea of people who have been hurt by the church, and no one’s done anything about it,” she said in the first episode. “What fascinates me is the church’s ability to get away with it and for everyone that speaks out against it to just end up screaming into the void.”

Throughout the docuseries, Heather was introduced to other former Mormons who survived alleged sexual abuse, homophobia and other controversial practices that seemingly go against the church’s “image of inclusivity, acceptance [and] love.”

“If the Mormon church wasn’t f***ed up, I would have stayed,” Heather admitted.

Scroll down for some of the most shocking revelations from Surviving Mormonism With Heather Gay:

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

Gay Conversion Therapy

Heather met with David Mathison, who she described as being “one of the pioneers of the gay conversion therapy movement” within the Mormon world. David led a conversion program called Evergreen, but he eventually came out as gay himself and became an outspoken critic of the Mormon church.

“The guy that was teaching conversion therapy for and on behalf of the church was actually gay all along?” Heather remarked, recalling that she had friends growing up who “suffered from same sex attraction,” as LDS followers would say.

David noted that his family went back “several generations” in Mormonism and was taught to believe being gay was “unnatural” and “disgusting.” He was 23 years old when he “admitted” his sexuality to himself.

“I get married. [My bishop said], ‘You probably don’t need to tell her about the same sex attraction because it’s probably just gonna go away,’” David recalled. “He says, ‘Don’t worry about it, that’ll go away when you start having normal sex.’ … A year later, I’m like, ‘It didn’t go away.’”

When David confessed his feelings to his wife, she “cried” and told him they could still “make it work.” After Evergreen was founded, the couple became David and his wife “became the poster couple for mixed orientation marriage.”

Heather brought up rumors that the Evergreen “retreats” were spaces for men to hook up, but David claimed he never experienced anything like that. “Did that stuff happen? I’m sure,” he added.

Heather’s Divorce

Heather referred to herself as a “cradle Mormon,” meaning she was raised in the religion since birth. The Mormon belief in family shaped Heather’s vision for her own future.

“The second I met someone that was willing, I knew that I had the capacity to make any marriage work because I loved God, I loved being Mormon, I was good at being Mormon,” she told the cameras. “But I was very, very wrong.”

Heather was married to ex-husband Bill for more than a decade before their 2011 separation. The couple, who share three daughters, finalized their divorce in 2014.

“About three days into my marriage, I realized that we were fiercely, deeply incompatible,” she confessed. “I thought he was marrying me for all the reasons he wasn’t, and I was marrying him for all the reasons he did not want to be a husband.”

The Biggest Revelations From ‘RHOSLC’ Star Heather Gay’s Book ‘Bad Mormon’

Abuse in the Church

During the second episode, Heather spoke with Ben, the partner of a close friend, who had been “really traumatized and abused” while growing up in the Mormon church. “I remember hearing it and just not wanting to hear it,” Heather admitted of first learning about Ben’s experience.

Ben acknowledged that “it’s difficult” to reckon with what he went through. He went on to reveal that he was 4 years old when he started being sexually abused by a man named Jess. “It lasted until I was 9,” he continued. “The first time I remember being abused, I remember being in my Sunday school class and a man coming in and getting me and another girl and taking us to a field by the church. And I can just remember his face being right there above mine.”

Overcome with emotion, Ben alleged he was sometimes abused alone and sometimes “with other kids.” Ben explained that he kept the abuse quiet, believing he “had committed sin that was next to murder” by having sex. “And then being taught by my abusers that if I were to speak out, I would get excommunicated,” he added.

Ben recalled another instance where Jess gave him “a Sunday school lesson” about marriage involving a 12-year-old girl. “She had a veil pulled over [her face] … and he married her. And then said, ‘This is what we do after we get married,’ and he raped her,” Ben claimed.

While there were no consequences for Jess from the church — despite the abuse being reported — another alleged victim filed a lawsuit in 2017. According to the docuseries, the lawsuit was settled. By 2019, Jess was excommunicated from the Mormon church.

Following her conversation with Ben, Heather realized the same thing “could have happened to thousands of children” who grew up Mormon. “I think we are trained to just look the other way,” she admitted.

Heather later sat down with sisters Jennie and Lizzy, who were abused by their father. “My dad himself told me he always knew he would abuse his child if he had a daughter. He never went for help … he just hoped he would never have the opportunity,” Lizzy claimed. “He used the church’s teachings as a way to make the abuse normal.”

Despite multiple reports to the church and an excommunication, police weren’t involved. Lizzy and Jenny’s mother was “counseled” to stay in the marriage. Eventually, Lizzy filed a police report. Her father was sentenced to 32 years in prison.

“For 21 years, people knew what this man was doing,” Heather said, wiping her eyes. “Bishops, stake presidents, men that know better. You told one detective and he was arrested within six months.”

Calls From the Bishop

Heather remembered being “called in” to her bishop “all the time” as a teenager because he had “this spiritual impression” that Heather was masturbating, which would go against their beliefs.

“Even though I was in a closed room with a 50-year-old man, my dad’s best friend, directly asking me about masturbating,” Heather recalled, “I made a choice right then and there to not feel weird about it and not make him creepy. Because that’s the last thing I wanted.”

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The Floodlit Database

During a conversation with a former bishop named Nick, Heather learned about a platform called Floodlit. “I thought it was some program the church had instituted in order to keep track of sexual predators within the church and to keep their members safe. And I thought, ‘Wow, how progressive,’” Heather said as she scrolled the website.

She soon realized her assumption was wrong. Floodlit is an independent site, with Nick noting that it lists members of the church who have been convicted of different “forms of pedophilia.”

“I didn’t have any idea that abuse was so prevalent in the church. I heard about stories, but never in numbers like this,” she said.

Nick further opened up to Heather about his decision to step down from his bishop role, saying, “I saw things that [made me think], ‘This is happening? What?’ Eye-opening on a number of levels … It just didn’t sit well with me.”

Being in a Cult

In episode 3, Heather shared how her views on Mormon life “shifted” after speaking to fellow survivors. “I’m terrified of the word ‘cult,’” she admitted. “If we could have a conversation around cult techniques and cult behavior and if it didn’t eradicate the beautiful parts of my childhood and the wonderful things my parents did for me, I would just say it easily.”

Heather continued through tears, “My parents were in a cult. They raised our entire family in this cult. And it’s really, really, really hard to get out of. It doesn’t mean that my childhood was tainted or that my parents were bad people or that my family didn’t have real love or real experiences, but I was raised in a cult.”

Heather added that she hoped to shine a light on the experiences of others. “Giving victims a platform and an opportunity to tell their stories is, I think, the biggest act of resistance that you can do,” she said. “These stories should be heard. And the church is never gonna hear them, but the world can.”

Lifestyle

R&B singer Cassie back on the stand in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ sex trafficking trial

Maravi Post Reporter

R&B singer Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura is back on the witness stand at a court in New York on Friday to testify for a fourth day in the sex trafficking trial of music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs.

The 55-year-old was arrested last September and faces five charges including sex trafficking, transportation to engage in prostitution, and the more serious racketeering conspiracy.

The latter includes accusations of kidnapping, drugging, and coercing women into sexual activities.

Ventura, his former girlfriend of over 10 years, is a key prosecution witness in the trial and has described graphic details of alleged sexual and physical abuse by him.

She said Combs had controlled her from the start of her career, pulling her into a drug-fuelled, controlling relationship after signing her to his label at the age of 19, while he was 37.

A key piece of evidence shown to jurors was a 2016 surveillance video appearing to show Combs kicking and dragging Ventura down a hotel hallway in Los Angeles.

Heavily pregnant with her third child with husband Alex Fine, Cassie has described how Combs exerted power over her during their years together.

She said he had introduced her to what he called “Freak Offs” or orchestrated sexual encounters involving escorts.

Then in November 2023, she filed a lawsuit against Combs, accusing him of years of abuse and alleging that he raped her in 2018 after they ended their relationship.

A day after it was filed, both said they had reach a settlement. In court earlier this week, she revealed that she had received $20 million.

Since then, dozens of other people – both women and men – have filed lawsuits accusing Combs of sexual assault.

Ventura told the court she agreed to testify in the current case because she could no longer bear the burden of the years of his physical and emotional abuse.

Combs has pleaded not guilty and denied all allegations against him. If convicted on the racketeering charge, he faces up to life in prison.

Source: Africanews

https://video.euronews.com/mp4/ED/15/09/53/08/ED_PYR_1509538_20250516142342.mp4
Lifestyle

Dr. Mukwege denounces use of sexual violence as a weapon of war in DRC

Maravi Post Reporter

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Denis Mukwege denounced on Wednesday the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Speaking at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, the Congolese doctor described what he called a “dramatic situation” in the Congo’s North Kivu region.

“We had 10,000 cases of sexual violence, with 30 to 35 percent are rapes against children. There is a trend towards unacceptable violence, but to attack children, that is going beyond any possible red lines that you could imagine,” said Mukwege.

Mukwege founded the Panzi Hospital in the eastern Congo city of Bukavu, and for over 20 years has treated countless women who were raped amid fighting between armed groups seeking control of some the central African nation’s vast mineral wealth.

He was in Strasbourg to meet with members of the European Parliament and urge them to help negotiations and peace talks with rebel groups.

Mukwege shared the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize with activist Nadia Murad, who was kidnapped and sold into sexual slavery by Islamic State militants in 2014 along with an estimated 3,000 Yazidi girls and women.

Additional sources • AP

Source: Africanews

https://video.euronews.com/mp4/ED/14/25/17/06/ED_PYR_1425176_20250507130454.mp4
Lifestyle

New wave of Sudanese refugees flee into neighbouring Chad

Maravi Post Reporter

Large numbers of Sudanese refugees are pouring into eastern Chad with more than 18,500 people arriving in the past two weeks alone, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said.

After the bombing of the Zamzam camp for internally displaced people in Darfur and the city of al-Fasher, it says hundreds of thousands of people are on the move.

Many of them, including children, elderly people, and pregnant women, are severely malnourished.

“We didn’t expect this big influx of people,” says Jean-Paul Habamungu, head of the UNHCR sub-office in Chad.

“It’s terrible here at the border, many children, unaccompanied children like the one of 14 years we just met,  this boy of 9 years who is crying here looking for their parents.”

Habamungu says there are also many people with specific needs including pregnant and lactating women who are malnourished.

“So we expect more malnourished people coming now, talking about people who are dying on their way from Zamzam to between Tawila and Tiné, dying with hunger.”

The UNHCR says some 76% of them have lived through traumatic experiences such as sexual violence, extortion, and theft.

In addition, it says Chad is struggling to take in the new arrivals.

It already hosts some 1.3 million refugees, including 794,000 who have fled Sudan since the civil war started there over two years ago.

Humanitarian resources across the country are severely limited, impacting the ability to provide water, shelter, health, education, and protection.

Last month, Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces stormed into the Zamzam camp and went on a three-day rampage, killing at least 400 people, after months of starving its population with a siege. 

Refugees and aid workers say RSF fighters gunned down men and women in the streets, beat and tortured others, and raped and sexually assaulted women and girls.

The 11 April attack was the worst ever suffered by Zamzam, Sudan’s largest displacement camp, in its 20 years of existence.

Once home to some 500,000 residents, the camp has been virtually emptied.

The RSF also destroyed Zamzam’s only functioning medical centre, killing nine workers from Relief International.

Much of the south and east of the camp was burned to the ground, the General Coordination said.

Source: Africanews

https://video.euronews.com/mp4/ED/14/17/01/03/ED_PYR_1417013_20250506161114.mp4
Lifestyle

Namibia’s president sacks Agricuture Minister over rape allegations

Maravi Post Reporter

Namibia’s President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has sacked the country’s Agriculture Minister Mac-Albert Hengari.

“By virtue of the powers vested in the President by Article 32(6) of the Constitution of the Republic of Namibia, President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has relieved Hon. Dr. Mac-Albert Hengari of his duties as Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform,” Namibia presidency said in a statement on X on Sunday.

The former minister was arrested on Saturday over multiple charges including rape, gender-based violence and kidnapping according to local media reports.

There have been conflicting reports that he had resigned on his own before being fired. “I resigned as minister, but l cannot comment further,” he said.

It is alleged that Hengari had raped a 21-year-old woman and later tried to bribe her to withdraw the case she had filed last year.

He was appointed Minister of Agriculture in March after President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah included him among her top eight parliamentary candidates.

Investigations are still ongoing into the case.

Source: Africanews

Lifestyle

Namibia’s president sacks Agricuture Minister over rape allegations

Maravi Post Reporter

Namibia’s President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has sacked the country’s Agriculture Minister Mac-Albert Hengari.

“By virtue of the powers vested in the President by Article 32(6) of the Constitution of the Republic of Namibia, President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has relieved Hon. Dr. Mac-Albert Hengari of his duties as Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform,” Namibia presidency said in a statement on X on Sunday.

The former minister was arrested on Saturday over multiple charges including rape, gender-based violence and kidnapping according to local media reports.

There have been conflicting reports that he had resigned on his own before being fired. “I resigned as minister, but l cannot comment further,” he said.

It is alleged that Hengari had raped a 21-year-old woman and later tried to bribe her to withdraw the case she had filed last year.

He was appointed Minister of Agriculture in March after President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah included him among her top eight parliamentary candidates.

Investigations are still ongoing into the case.

Source: Africanews

Lifestyle, Obituaries

Weird!! Indian young doctor kidnapped, raped, killed burnt

Lloyd M’bwana
Priyanka Reddy has been raped murdered and her body burned in India

The body of a vet has been found charred under an overpass in India after she was raped and murdered by men who had offered to help her with a puncture.

Priyanka Reddy, who was in her twenties, was on her way home when she was killed near Hyderabad and her body was dumped and burned 15 miles away.

The victim’s mother has called for the monsters who committed the horrific crime to be burned alive.

Police recovered her clothes, shoes and a bottle near a toll road where Priyanka had parked her motorbike, and her family could only identify her by a locket she was wearing.

A milk vendor found her body at 6am yesterday morning and immediately alerted the police.

Four men have been arrested, including the main person accused Mohammed Pasha, a lorry driver.

Police identified the suspects after looking through CCTV footage from the crime scene.

Priyanka had called her sister Bhavya at 9.45pm to say that her motorbike had a puncture and someone had offered to help.

She then said that she was feeling scared by a group of truck drivers near her.

Bhavya advised her to leave the vehicle, walk to the toll and get a taxi home, but she never made it.

She tried to leave but the men blocked her then offered to repair the flat tyre.

Police now believe the suspects may have deliberately caused the puncture to make their attack easier.

The victim’s mother said her daughter could have been saved if police acted quicker.

Bhavya had approached one police station shortly after her phone call with Priyanka but was redirected to another station and searches were not carried out for a few hours.

Priyanka’s younger sister said: ‘We lost a lot of time moving from one police station to another.

‘Had the police acted without wasting time, at least my sister would have been alive.’

The shocking case is the latest in a number of horrific gang rapes in India and comes shortly after a wife in India was gang-raped by her nephews and forced by her ex-husband to drink acid in front of her young daughter.

Earlier this month, two teachers were accused of raping a blind girl over a two-month period in a school for children with disabilities.

The amount of rapes recorded in India is almost 40,000 each year, according to official figures.

Campaigners say the real number is higher, with victims wary of filing cases because of the social stigma and a lack of faith in investigators.

Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk