Africa News Tonight - VOA Africa

As expected, both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump won big in the Super Tuesday primaries in the United Sates, and remain on track to be their parties’ presidential nominees. When Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019, he was lauded as a regional peacemaker, but one analyst says his reputation as a leader who could unite Ethiopia has deteriorated. Egyptian lawyer Mona Zulficar’s advocacy for women’s rights places her on a list of the most powerful businesswomen in the Middle East.

Today is a consequential day in the early part of the race for both U.S. political parties' presidential nominations — a day political junkies have come to call "Super Tuesday." U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the First Lady of the United States Jill Biden presented 12 women from around the world with the International Women of Courage Award, as part of Washington’s celebration of International Women’s Day. U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration is urging aid organizations to start buying medicines to treat HIV from African pharmaceutical companies.

Kenya last week signed a deal with Haiti to send 1,000 police to the Caribbean nation, where violence is escalating. The two nations pushed forward with the security plan even though Kenyan President William Ruto faced stiff opposition at home. Haitian American Johanna LeBlanc, a partner at Adomi Advisory Group law firm, tells VOA’s Carol Van Dam it is not surprising that the deal, which has the support of the U.N., was delayed for months.

The U.S. State Department honors women from around the world who have demonstrated exceptional courage, strength and leadership to bring about positive change to their communities, often at great personal risk and sacrifice. The whereabouts of Haiti’s prime minister, Ariel Henry, were not known Monday, three days after he signed a bilateral accord in Kenya to pave the way for a possible multinational force to help restore security in the troubled Caribbean nation. The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, warns the potential spillover of dozens of conflicts around the world could threaten global peace and cause human rights violations to surge in all regions.

U.S. President Joe Biden says a temporary cease-fire in Gaza would ease strained relations with Israel's neighbors and jumpstart a process for Palestinians to have their own state. Since the war broke out in October, the U.S. has tried to promote steps toward creating a Palestinian state as part of a broader deal. Mairav Zonszein, an Israeli-American analyst at the International Crisis Group, spoke with VOA senior analyst Mohamed Elshinnawi about the prospects of U.S. success on such a deal.

Kenya and Haiti signed a deal Friday to deploy police from the East African nation to lead a UN-backed mission in the gang-plagued Caribbean nation. Haitian prime minister Ariel Henry is in Nairobi.

Kenyan President William Ruto said he and the Haitian prime minister discussed what is needed to "enable the fast-tracking of the deployment." Journalist Mohamed Yusuf spoke with some Kenyans about the planned mission to Haiti.

Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry has been visiting Kenya, and signed an agreement with President William Ruto on plans to deploy Kenyan police to lead a United Nations-backed mission in the gang-plagued Caribbean nation. United Nations investigators warn an alarming rise in violence and human rights violations threaten prospects for a durable peace in South Sudan, but Juba officials have criticized the findings. Since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out in October, the United States has been trying to work toward creating a Palestinian state as part of a broader Middle East peace agreement.

News reports say Chad opposition politician Yaya Dillo died in a clash with security forces, as government troops enter homes in the capital N'djamena in search of weapons they say suspected rebels and opposition party leaders have hidden. Human rights experts warn that Eritrea’s government maintains an iron grip on its people through repression and widespread, systematic impunity for grave human rights violations. The International Rescue Committee says delivering critical humanitarian supplies to Sudan through the Red Sea has become too dangerous because of attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, and the organization will use alternative but more expensive routes to deliver aid.

Thousands of delegates, including ministers, senior government officials, scientists, representatives from civil society and the private sector are meeting in Nairobi to tackle some of the planet’s most pressing environmental challenges. Reuben Kyama reports from Nairobi.

The UN asked the International Court of Justice to review Israel's "occupation practices.” Palestinian representatives asked judges to declare Israel's occupation illegal, saying their advisory opinion could contribute to a two-state solution

Analyst Mairav Zonszein at the International Crisis Group speaks to VOA's Mohammed Elshinnawi about this development and Israel's attitude toward a potential pause in the Gaza war.