International News
Haiti Transitional Council Sworn In After Months of Violence
The installation of the nine-member Presidential Transitional Council marks the first step to forming a new government after months of chaos following gang warfare.
Images shared on social media showed the council members greeted with fanfare at the presidential palace in Port-au-Prince, and the head of a party represented in the body confirmed to AFP that they had taken an oath of office.
The council — made up of eight men and one woman — is to attend an official inauguration ceremony, which an official press invitation said would be held at the prime minister’s office, known as the Villa d’Accueil.
Meanwhile, Henry — who had promised in March to step down when a council was installed — thanked the Haitian people “for the opportunity to serve our country with integrity, wisdom and honor.”
“Haiti will be reborn,” he wrote in his resignation letter, which was released Thursday but dated Wednesday from Los Angeles.
Pending the formation of a new government, economy minister Michel Patrick Boisvert was appointed as interim prime minister, the outgoing cabinet said.
Boisvert had already taken over some official communications in recent weeks, with Henry in the United States and unable to return to his country after a trip to Kenya.
The council, whose installation was delayed multiple times by weeks of infighting, is now tasked with getting the country ready for new elections by 2026.
After facing a series of crises, including economic vulnerability and natural disasters, Haiti’s political instability has only worsened since the 2021 assassination of president Jovenel Moise.
The country of 11.6 million has no sitting legislature and has not held elections since 2016.
It is unknown how the country’s powerful gangs will respond to the new council, made up of figures from across Haiti’s political spectrum, after voicing anger at their exclusion from transitional talks.
Gang leader Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier, whose 1,000-member G9 alliance controls parts of Port-au-Prince, was among those excluded.
The violence, exacerbated by prison breakouts in February, has sparked a worsening humanitarian crisis in Haiti, with aid agencies pleading for help amid growing hunger, surging poverty and a lack of health care.
The United Nations says some 360,000 Haitians are internally displaced, with the gang violence forcing 95,000 people to flee the capital and pushing five million into “acute hunger.”
Last year, a UN-backed force led by Kenya was tasked with deploying to the country and helping its beleaguered police rein in criminal gangs.
Kenya then said it had put plans on deploying the force on hold until the transitional council was stood up.
AFP
German authorities deported at least 137 Nigerian citizens across five chartered flights between February and June 2026, according to migration monitoring reports.
Data from the DERS Team and Refugees4refugees.org shows the deportations occurred in phases, with 27 Nigerians returned in February, 37 in March through a joint European Union operation, 24 in April, 23 in May, and 26 in June.
The February operation departed from Stuttgart and landed at Lagos Cargo Airport, with Baden-Württemberg listed as a primary participant. The March operation represented the largest single return of Nigerians recorded over three years and was executed in collaboration with Spain, Austria, and Belgium.
The reports indicate a growing reliance on multi-national chartered flights by European states to repatriate undocumented or non-resident individuals to Nigeria.
The United States has condemned the killing of members of the family of Plateau-based cleric, Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo, describing the attack as horrific and urging Nigerian authorities to ensure those responsible are brought to justice.
In a statement shared on X on Thursday, the US Department of State’s Bureau of African Affairs expressed condolences to the victims’ families and called for stronger measures to prevent further attacks on vulnerable communities across Nigeria’s Middle Belt.
“The United States strongly condemns the horrific killing of members of Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo’s family in Plateau State, Nigeria. The continued violence targeting Christian communities and other vulnerable populations in Nigeria’s Middle Belt is deeply alarming,” the bureau said
The US said it had already engaged Nigerian officials on the worsening security situation, stressing that urgent action was needed to curb recurring attacks and hold perpetrators accountable.
“As I discussed last week with Nigerian officials, we must do more to prevent violent acts. The perpetrators must be held accountable, and urgent action is needed to strengthen security and protect Christians and other vulnerable communities,” the statement added.
The bureau reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to working with the Nigerian government to combat terrorism and violent extremism, stressing that Christians and other Nigerians should be able to practise their faith without fear of violence.
The statement followed the July 12 attack on Kum community in Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State, where nine members of Rev. Dachomo’s extended family, including a two-month-old baby, were killed.
According to the cleric, the attackers, believed to be armed Fulani militias, asked for him by name before opening fire on his relatives.
Dachomo, who serves as Regional Chairman of the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN) in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area, said his family had repeatedly been targeted because of his outspoken criticism of the violence in Plateau State.
He recalled that his grandmother and an uncle were also killed in previous attacks, adding that days after burying his relatives, he received a written death threat from the same group, warning that he would be their next target.
Saudi Arabia has updated its tourist eVisa programme for 2026, limiting eligibility in Africa to only three countries as part of its list of 66 nations whose citizens can apply through the Kingdom’s online visa platform.
The move leaves most African countries, including Nigeria, outside the simplified entry scheme.
The electronic visa allows eligible travellers to visit Saudi Arabia for tourism, leisure activities, family visits and Umrah, excluding the annual Hajj pilgrimage. Applications are completed online, eliminating the need for embassy visits and lengthy visa processing.
Saudi authorities said the eVisa forms part of ongoing efforts to expand tourism, attract international visitors and simplify travel procedures through a fully digital application system. The visa is available only to citizens of approved countries and territories listed on the Kingdom’s official tourism portal.
Below is the list of African countries eligible for Saudi Arabia’s eVisa.
1. Mauritius
2. Seychelles
3. South Africa
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