Nairobi, Kenya — Kenyan police officers may be set for deployment to Haiti on Tuesday, according to local reports and the French news agency, AFP. Multiple inquiries to the government of Kenya for confirmation of such reports were not answered. This development comes after numerous delays and court challenges, including the newest lawsuit that accused Kenyan President William Ruto of contempt of court.

Last year, a United Nations Security Council resolution approved the Kenyan-led mission, but earlier this year the High Court of Kenya ruled against the deployment, saying it was unconstitutional. Issues cited by the court include the lack of a “reciprocal agreement” between the countries.

The Kenyan government eventually secured that agreement but the same people who sued the government in the first place filed another lawsuit seeking to block the deployment.

From a legal perspective, the legitimacy of the agreement is still in question, lawyer Wallace Nderu told VOA.

“The ground for this application is that when the then-prime minister of Haiti was signing this agreement with Kenya, there was no known government in Haiti. The president had been assassinated; there were no elected leaders in Haiti. So where does he drive the mandate to negotiate an agreement on behalf of his country Haiti comes into question,” said Nderu, a lawyer and a program officer at ICJ Kenya, the International Commission of Jurists, a non-governmental, non-profit, member-based organization.

Nderu also said Kenyans feel the agreement was hastily put together, noting its content has not been shared with the population.

“Part of the provisions in the law … indicates that these agreements, after being signed, have to be gazetted in the official Kenya Gazette,” Nderu said. “So, concern is raised that this particular agreement is very secretive. We are not aware of the content of the agreement … it raises the legitimacy of the government deploying the police to Haiti.”

The Kenya Gazette is an official government publication that contains legal notices, government appointments, and other official announcements.

A new commander for the police force was appointed Monday by the inspector general.

President Ruto has maintained that stabilizing the troubled Caribbean nation is “a mission for humanity … a mission for solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Haiti.”

In addition to Kenya, other nations including Benin, the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados and Chad said they will join the mission.

While some Kenyans support the mission in Haiti, others have wondered why their country wants to lead the multinational force, given that nations more powerful and better equipped have not been willing to step forward.

The reported deployment will take place on the same day that protests against proposed tax increases that have rocked Kenya in the past week are to resume.
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Dakar, Senegal — Senegal said Monday it had implemented voluntary COVID-19 screening tests and reimposed the wearing of masks at Dakar’s international airport for returning pilgrims fearing the virus was linked to the deaths of some Mecca pilgrims.

Dakar suspects that a number of the some 1,300 deaths — according to a Saudi tally — are down to a respiratory syndrome ailment such as COVID-19, Health Minister Ibrahima Sy said on Sunday.

“Initially, we thought it was related to heatwaves because the temperature was excessively high, but we realized that there is a respiratory syndrome with the cases of death,” Sy said of the deaths during the hajj pilgrimage, which took place during intense heat.

“We told ourselves that, probably, there is a respiratory epidemic, and it was our duty to be able to monitor the pilgrims on their return by putting in place a screening system for everything COVID-19 related,” said Sy in remarks carried by Senegalese broadcasters.

The health ministry said it had “strengthened the health surveillance system” by deploying a team at the airport to provide voluntary screening tests and identify pilgrims suffering from flu-like illnesses.

The ministry also urged the population “to be vigilant, to show restraint and to be more serene to avoid an epidemic.”

Out of 124 rapid diagnostic tests, 78 proved positive for the COVID-19 virus, 36 of which were later confirmed by PCR tests, the ministry said.

Charles Bernard Sagna, chief medical officer for the airport, said the alert was raised when the Senegalese medical team based in Jeddah had reported “a significant number” of passengers with respiratory problems.

“There is no cause for alarm but there also has to be prevention,” the ministry said Sunday.

Senegalese daily L’Observateur reported that five of the dead at the hajj were Senegalese nationals.

They were among an around 12,000-strong officially registered Senegalese contingent.

Saudi Arabia’s official SPA news agency earlier reported 1,301 deaths at the annual hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, where temperatures climbed as high as 51.8 degrees Celsius (125 degrees Fahrenheit), according to the country’s national meteorological center.

More than 80 percent of pilgrims attending mainly outdoor rituals were “unauthorized” and walked long distances in direct sunlight, according to SPA.

The hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam that all Muslims with the means must complete at least once in their lives.

Saudi officials have said 1.8 million pilgrims took part this year, a similar number to last year, and that 1.6 million came from abroad.
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Maiduguri, Nigeria — At least seven people were killed and 100 kidnapped on Saturday night when gunmen attacked a rural community in Nigeria’s northwestern Katsina state, residents and police said Sunday, the latest attack against residents in the north of the country.

Armed gangs, known locally as bandits, have frequently raided communities in the northwest, kidnapping residents, students and motorists for ransom.

Residents said gunmen on motorbikes arrived in Maidabino village in Danmusa local government area of Katsina, and started shooting sporadically, forcing residents to flee.

Hassan Aliyu told Reuters by phone that the attack took residents by surprise and dozens of women and children were confirmed missing.

“They killed seven people, including burning two children,” Aliyu said. “They spent more than six hours destroying our properties.”

Auwalu Ismail, another resident, said the gunmen first blocked all roads leading to Maidabino before the attack.

“They burnt down our shops, vehicles, and took away our livestock. They also kidnapped my wife and more than 100 women and children,” he said.

Katsina state police spokesperson Abubakar Aliyu Sadiq confirmed the attack and the seven deaths but would not say whether anyone was missing. He said the police were investigating.

“The remaining men who did not flee are living in fear … and waiting to hear news about their abducted loved ones,” said Muhammad Sani, whose sister was abducted.
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Nairobi — Kenya’s President William Ruto said Sunday that he was ready for “a conversation” with thousands of “peaceful” young protesters who held nationwide demonstrations this week to oppose proposed tax increases.

Organized on social media and led largely by Gen-Z Kenyans who have livestreamed the demonstrations, the protests have caught Ruto’s government off-guard, as discontent mounts over his economic policies.

“I am very proud of our young people… they have stepped forward peaceful and I want to tell them we are going to engage them,” Ruto said in his first public comments on the protests.

“We are going to have a conversation so that together we can build a greater nation,” Ruto said during a church service in the Rift Valley town of Nyahururu.

His characterization of the protests as “peaceful” came after rights campaigners reported two deaths following Thursday’s demonstrations in Nairobi.

There was no immediate response from the protesters, who have called for a national strike on June 25.

The demonstrations were mostly peaceful, but officers fired tear gas and water cannon throughout the day to disperse protesters near parliament.

According to a Kenya Human Rights Commission official, 21-year-old Evans Kiratu was “hit by a tear gas canister” during the protests and died in hospital.

On Friday, a police watchdog said it was investigating allegations that a 29-year-old man was shot by officers in Nairobi after the demonstrations.

The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) said it had “documented the death… allegedly as a result of police shooting” on Thursday.

Several organisations, including Amnesty International Kenya, said that at least 200 people were injured in the protests in Nairobi, as thousands of people take to the streets across the country.

Cash-strapped government

Ruto’s administration has defended the proposed levies as necessary for filling its coffers and cutting reliance on external borrowing.

Following smaller-scale demonstrations on Tuesday, the cash-strapped government agreed to roll back several tax hikes laid out in a new bill.

But Ruto’s administration still intends to increase some taxes, defending the proposed levies as necessary to raise money.

Kenya has a debt mountain, and servicing costs have ballooned due to a fall in the value of the local currency over the last two years, leaving Ruto with few options.

The tax hikes will pile further pressure on Kenyans, with many already struggling as the cost of living surges and well-paid jobs remain out of reach for young people.

“Tuesday 25th June: #OccupyParliament and Total Shutdown Kenya. A national strike,” read a poster shared widely online, adding that “Gen Z are granting all hard working Kenyans a day off. Parents keep your children at home in solidarity.”

After the government agreed to scrap levies on bread purchases, car ownership as well as financial and mobile services, the treasury warned of a 200-billion-shilling ($1.5-billion) shortfall.

The government has now targeted an increase in fuel prices and export taxes to fill the void left by the changes, a move critics say will make life more expensive in a country already saddled with high inflation.

Kenya is one of the most dynamic economies in East Africa but a third of its 51.5 million people live in poverty.
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BUSHBUCKRIDGE, South Africa — The walls of Shadrack Mashabane’s hut in the rural South African town of Bushbuckridge are covered with traditional fabrics, with a small window the only source of light. What stands out among the herbs and medicines in glass bottles is a white box containing an HIV testing kit.

Mashabane is one of at least 15 traditional healers in the town who, in a pilot study, have been trained by University of Witwatersrand researchers to conduct HIV testing and counseling in an effort to ensure as many South Africans as possible know their status.

It’s part of the largest known effort in the country to involve traditional healers in a public health goal and study the results. Later this year, at least 325 other healers will undergo the training and become certified HIV counselors. Researchers will compare rates of HIV testing by healers and clinics.

Most traditional healers were already knowledgeable about HIV — some from personal experience — and were eager to get involved, researchers said.

South Africa has one of the highest rates of HIV in the world. Stigma remains in many communities around the disease and its treatment — even though HIV antiretroviral medication and pre-exposure prophylaxis are free. Concern about privacy at clinics also keeps people from seeking help.

Many people in rural areas see traditional healers as their first point of contact for illnesses, and the project hopes they can help change attitudes.

South Africa’s large younger population is a special concern. A government study released in December showed that people living with HIV had fallen from 14% in 2017 to 12.7% in 2022, but HIV prevalence rose among girls between 15 and 19, a phenomenon largely attributed to older men sleeping with them.

Around 2,000 traditional healers operate in the Mpumalanga province town of Bushbuckridge, home to about 750,000 people, providing traditional and spiritual services.

Mashabane said patients at first found it difficult to believe he was offering HIV testing — a service they had long expected to be available only at health clinics.

“Many were not convinced. I had to show them my certificate to prove I was qualified to do this,” he said.

The process includes the signing of consent forms to be tested, along with a follow-up with Mashabane to ensure that patients who test positive receive their treatment from the local clinic.

He said breaking the news to a patient who has tested positive for HIV is not that difficult because the illness can be treated with readily available medication. But in many cases, he has to accompany the patient to the clinic “to make it easier for them.”

Florence Khoza is another traditional healer who has been trained to test for HIV. She said risky sexual behavior is common. She often dispenses traditional herbs and medication to treat gonorrhea, but now she goes further by advising patients to test for HIV.

“I tell them it is in their best interest,” she said.

Khoza said many patients fear going to the clinic or hospital and having other community members see them collecting HIV treatment.

“In many cases I collect the HIV medication on their behalf,” she said.

Ryan Wagner, a senior research fellow with the study, said testing and treating via traditional medicine practitioners could “ultimately lead to the end of new HIV cases in communities such as rural Mpumalanga, which has some of the largest HIV burden globally.”

Researchers hope their findings will inspire South Africa’s government to roll out such training across the country. 
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MWINGI, Kenya — Esther Kangali felt a sharp pain while on her mother’s farm in eastern Kenya. She looked down and saw a large snake coiling around her left leg. She screamed, and her mother came running.

Kangali was rushed to a nearby health center, but it lacked antivenom to treat the snake’s bite. A referral hospital had none as well. Two days later, she reached a hospital in the capital, Nairobi, where her leg was amputated due to delayed treatment.

The 32-year-old mother of five knows it could have been avoided if clinics in areas where snakebites are common are stocked with antivenom.

Kitui County, where the Kangalis have their farm, has Kenya’s second highest number of snakebite victims, according to the health ministry, which last year put annual cases at 20,000.

Overall, in Kenya, about 4,000 snakebite victims die every year while 7,000 others experience paralysis or other health complications, according to the local Institute of Primate Research.

Residents fear the problem is growing. As the forests around them shrink due to logging and agricultural expansion, and as climate patterns become increasingly unpredictable, snakes are turning up around homes more frequently.

“We are causing adverse effects on their habitats like forest destruction, and eventually we are having snakes come into our homes primarily to seek for water or food, and eventually we have the conflict between humans and the snakes,” said Geoffrey Maranga, a senior herpetologist at the Kenya Snakebite Research and Intervention Center.

Climate change also can drive snakes into homesteads, he said, as they seek water in dry times and shelter in wet.

Maranga and his colleagues are part of a collaboration with the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine to create effective and safe snakebite treatments and ultimately produce antivenom locally. Maranga’s center estimates that more than half of people bit by snakes in Kenya don’t seek hospital treatment — seeing it costly and difficult to find — and pursue traditional treatments.

Kenya imports antivenom from Mexico and India, but antivenom is usually region-specific, meaning a treatment in one region might not effectively treat snakebites in another.

Part of the work of Maranga and colleague Fredrick Angotte is extracting venom from one of Africa’s most dangerous snakes, the black mamba. The venom can help produce the next generation of antivenom.

“The current conventional antivenoms are quite old and suffer certain inherent deficiencies” such as side effects, said George Omondi, the head of the Kenya Snakebite Research and Intervention Center.

The researchers estimate the improved conventional antivenoms will take two or three years to reach the market. They estimate that Kenya will need 100,000 vials annually, but it’s not clear how that much will be produced locally.

The research aims to make antivenom more affordable to Kenyans. Even when antivenom is available, up to five vials are required, which can cost as much as $300.

Meanwhile, the research center also does community outreach on snakebite prevention, teaching health workers and others how to safely coexist with snakes, perform first aid and treat those affected by snakebite.

The goal is to have fewer Kenyans suffer like Kangali’s neighbor, Benjamin Munge, who died in 2020 four days after a snakebite because the hospital had no antivenom.

It’s unlikely that snakes will move away from homes, Kangali’s mother, Anna, said, so solving the problem is up to humans.

“If the snakebite medicine can come to the grassroots, we will all get help,” she said.
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Nairobi, Kenya — A 21-year-old man died after being hit by a tear gas canister during protests in Kenya this week, a human rights official and the victim’s relative said Saturday, in the second fatality in connection with the youth-led demonstrations. 

Led largely by Gen-Z Kenyans who have livestreamed the demonstrations against tax increases, the protests have been galvanized by widespread anger over President William Ruto’s economic policies. 

Thursday’s demonstrations in Nairobi were mostly peaceful, but officers fired tear gas and water cannons throughout the day to disperse protesters near parliament. 

According to a Kenya Human Rights Commission official, 21-year-old Evans Kiratu was “hit by a tear gas canister” during the demonstrations. 

“He was rushed to hospital around 6 p.m. on Thursday … and died there,” Ernest Cornel, a spokesperson at the Kenya Human Rights Commission, told AFP. “It is tragic that a young person can lose his life simply for agitating against the high cost of living.” 

The victim’s aunt told national broadcaster Citizen TV that her nephew had died in the hospital before she was able to see him. 

“We are demanding justice for my nephew,” she said. 

The rallies began in Nairobi on Tuesday before spreading across the country, with protesters calling for a national strike on Tuesday. 

Kiratu’s death comes on the heels of another fatality reported Friday, when a police watchdog group said it was investigating allegations that a 29-year-old man was shot by officers in Nairobi after the demonstrations. 

The Independent Policing Oversight Authority said it had “documented the death … allegedly as a result of [a] police shooting” Thursday. 

According to a police report seen by AFP, a 29-year-old man was taken to the hospital in Nairobi around 7 p.m. Thursday, “unconscious with a thigh injury” before “succumbing” to his injuries, without giving further details. 

Several organizations, including Amnesty International Kenya, said that at least 200 people were injured in Nairobi after Thursday’s protests, which saw thousands of people take to the streets across the country.

Following smaller-scale demonstrations in Nairobi earlier in the week, the cash-strapped government agreed to roll back several tax increases laid out in a new bill. 

But Ruto’s administration still intends to increase some taxes, defending the proposed levies as necessary for filling its coffers and cutting reliance on external borrowing. 

The tax increases will pile further pressure on Kenyans, with many already struggling to survive as the cost of living surges and well-paid jobs remain out of reach for young people. 

Organized largely through social media, the protests have caught the government by surprise, with demonstrators now calling for a nationwide shutdown. 

“Tuesday 25th June: #OccupyParliament and Total Shutdown Kenya. A national strike,” read a poster shared widely online, adding that “Gen Z are granting all hard-working Kenyans a day off. Parents keep your children at home in solidarity.” 

After the government agreed to scrap levies on bread purchases and car ownership as well as financial and mobile services, the treasury warned of a 200 billion shilling ($1.5 billion) shortfall. 

The proposed taxes were projected to raise 346.7 billion shillings ($2.7 billion), equivalent to 1.9% of GDP, and reduce the budget deficit from 5.7% to 3.3% of GDP. 

The government has now targeted an increase in fuel prices and export taxes to fill the void left by the changes, a move critics say will make life more expensive in a country battling high inflation. 

Kenya is one of the most dynamic economies in East Africa, but a third of its 51.5 million people live in poverty. 
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BANGUI, Central African Republic — Authorities in the Central African Republic charged a European aid worker who was arrested last month with terrorism and undermining state security, the public prosecutor’s office said.

Martin Joseph Figueira, a Belgian-Portuguese consultant for the American nongovernmental organization FHI360, has been accused of being in communication with armed groups to plot a coup, thereby jeopardizing national security.

On Friday, the prosecutor charged him with six crimes, including undermining the internal and external state security, as well as terrorism. If found guilty, he faces a sentence of forced labor for life.

Among Figueira’s alleged crimes, the prosecutor’s office listed “the existence of several contracts with the leaders of armed groups, supply of strategic information on the different positions of the Central African Armed Forces, money and weapons, being identified as an alleged employee of an American nongovernmental organization carrying out research on Fulani herders.”

Figueira also allegedly “defended war crimes and crimes against humanity; the propaganda of armed groups while encouraging them to create an international terrorist branch like the Islamic State,” the statement said.

Figueira holds Belgian and Portuguese passports. On his Belgian passport he goes under the name of Martin Joseph Edouard.

FHI360, a public health organization that manages projects related to family planning and reproductive health, confirmed that one of its workers is in custody in the Central African Republic.

Figueira was arrested last month in Zemio, a town in southeastern Central African Republic that has been plagued by fighting between local ethnic militias and anti-government rebels for over a decade.

“We are working to secure our consultant’s immediate release,” FHI360’s spokesperson Jennifer Garcia told The Associated Press immediately after his arrest.

So far, The Associated Press has not been able to contact Figueira, and none of his lawyers commented on Friday’s statement.

Mohamed Ag Ayoya, deputy special representative of the U.N. secretary-general in charge of humanitarian action, told the AP he was monitoring the situation.

“We learned of the news and the prosecutor’s press release through the press,” Ayoya said. “We have no comment to make. But what I can tell you at this level it is his embassy in Bangui which is managing the file.”

Authorities have warned foreign charity workers against taking part in activities that could jeopardize national security or they could face judicial proceedings.

Following Figueira’s arrest, the military was deployed to Zemio, after more than six years of absence from the town. The Russian mercenary group Wagner, which for years has had a significant a presence in the Central African Republic, was also deployed there at the same time to train local militias and recruit them for the army. It wasn’t immediately clear whether Wagner forces were still present in the city.

The Central African Republic has been in conflict since 2013, when predominantly Muslim rebels seized power and forced then-president Francois Bozize from office. Mostly Christian militias fought back. A 2019 peace deal helped slow the fighting, but six of the 14 armed groups that signed later left the agreement.

A U.N. peacekeeping mission and Rwandan troops are currently deployed in the Central African Republic to try to quell the violence and protect civilians.
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Lome, Togo — Togo authorities said they will lift a suspension on accreditations for foreign journalists imposed in April after a highly contested constitutional reform. 

The High Authority for Audiovisual and Communication, or HAAC, suspended accreditations before legislative elections that saw President Faure Gnassingbe’s ruling party extend his family’s political dynasty. 

HAAC had said the suspension was because of “serious failures” in the coverage of Togo’s politics by French media and issues with a French journalist who was expelled from Togo. 

“The suspension of the accreditation of foreign press organizations for the coverage of news and demonstrations in Togo is lifted as of Wednesday, June 26,” HAAC said in a statement issued late Friday.  

Reporters Without Borders had denounced the suspension as a violation of freedom of information. 

Gnassingbe’s Union for the Republic, or UNIR, party won 108 of the 113 parliament seats in the election in the small West African state. 

Under the constitutional reform, the presidency becomes a largely ceremonial post elected by lawmakers. Power shifts to a new president of the council of ministers. That position will automatically be taken by the head of the ruling party, in this case Gnassingbe as the UNIR leader. 

It means Gnassingbe can regain the post every six years if his party maintains a parliamentary majority. Critics called the reform an “institutional coup” tailored for Gnassingbe to evade term limits on his presidency. 
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MADRID — A cruise ship rescued 68 migrants and found five bodies in a traditional fishing boat that was drifting off the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, Spain’s maritime rescue agency said Thursday.

It said an oil tanker traveling from northwestern Spain to Brazil spotted the drifting boat on Wednesday afternoon about 815 kilometers south of Tenerife, one of the seven islands in the Canaries archipelago.

Spanish authorities diverted the Insignia, a cruise ship, to rescue the migrants. The Insignia crew also recovered three of the five bodies on the fishing boat. The remains of two people were left at sea because of bad weather hampering their recovery.

The canoe-shaped boats, known as pirogues, are used by fishermen in Mauritania and Senegal.

It is unusual for cruise ships to make rescues of migrants on the Atlantic route, but the pirogue “was a long way out and they could be in danger,” said a maritime rescue’s spokesperson, speaking on condition of anonymity under departmental rules.

One of the passengers on the cruise ship, Steve Dilbeck from Huntington Beach, California, said they were not told about the dead.

“They did say the boat had been at sea for 20 days,” Dilbeck told The Associated Press in a text message. “We were diverted in the evening and took us two hours to reach them. They were brought on board and placed in the Insignia Lounge, which is where they have all their shows.”

“The area has been closed off to passengers. Told they had them remove their clothes and put on jumpsuits. Then they asked passengers if they had shoes and clothes they could donate, particularly for men. Their announcement said 62 were men, with the rest women and children,” he added.

The Marshall Islands-flagged Insignia had left Mindelo, a port city in Cape Verde, on Tuesday. Its operator, Miami-based Oceania Cruises, did not immediately comment on the rescue.

The Spanish rescue agency emailed a statement saying the Insignia is expected to arrive on Friday at the port of Santa Cruz, Tenerife.

The Canary Islands is a destination for boats packed with migrants departing from northwestern Africa on a perilous Atlantic route in search of a better life in Europe.

Spain’s Interior Ministry says a record 55,618 migrants arrived by boat — most of them in the Canary Islands — last year, almost double the number of the previous year. More than 23,000 have landed so far this year, the ministry said.

The Spanish nonprofit organization Caminando Fronteras (Walking Borders) says more than 5,000 migrants have died so far this year through May while trying to reach Spanish coasts, most of them on the Atlantic route. The figure for all 2023 was 6,600, more than double the number for 2022.
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GROS ISLET, St. Lucia — Undefeated South Africa pulled off a seven-run win over defending champion England in the Super Eight playoffs at the Twenty20 World Cup on Friday.

Harry Brook, who made 53, and Liam Livingstone, with 33 off 17 balls, had the chase in control for England with 25 needed off 18 balls until fast bowlers Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje dismissed them in the last three overs.

Later, Shai Hope hit 82 from 39 balls as the West Indies beat the United States by nine wickets in a match between co-hosts. Hope struck eight sixes as the West Indies ran down their winning target of 129 with more than nine overs to spare.

England was restricted to 156-6 in reply to South Africa’s 163-6.

“Getting to those last three overs, the odds looked heavily against you,” South Africa captain Aiden Markram said. “But the bowlers came back, it shows a lot of skill and shows the fight inside.”

Quinton de Kock finished with 65 as he smacked the tournament’s joint-fastest half-century off 22 balls, and David Miller provided the impetus in the latter half of South Africa’s innings with 43 off 28.

South Africa’s win streak was extended to six games and it is a firm favorite for the semifinals after two wins in two matches in its group.

England suffered its first loss in the Super Eight after it beat the West Indies by eight wickets at the same venue.

Earlier, de Kock dominated South Africa’s powerplay and had them motoring along at 63-0 before England pulled them back through spinners Adil Rashid (1-20) and Moeen Ali (1-25).

De Kock put fast bowler Jofra Archer on the mat early with two successive sixes in a 21-run over. De Kock was given a life on 58 when video replays suggested Mark Wood’s fingers were not underneath the catch. The decision left England players fuming.

Hope the new star as West Indies beat US

At Bridgetown, Barbados, West Indies fans partied under the Friday night lights as new team addition Shai Hope launched a spectacular display of power-hitting to put the West Indies’ campaign back on track with its nine-wicket win over the U.S.

He finished the chase with a six from the fifth ball of the 11th over. Along with his eight sixes, he hit four fours.

After a loss to England in their first Super Eight match, the West Indies had to win to stay in semifinal contention. The United States surprised the cricket world by beating powerhouse Pakistan on the way to the Super Eight playoffs but after losses to South Africa and the West Indies in the playoff stage now cannot reach the final four.

Roston Chase took a career-best 3-19 and Andre Russell 3-31 as the West Indies limited the United States to 128 in 19.5 overs after winning the toss.

“This is my favorite place to play cricket,” Chase said. “I’m from Barbados so I grew up playing a lot of cricket here. It’s our destiny and our goal to go out there and win this World Cup.”

Hope was added to the West Indies’ lineup for Friday’s match as an injury replacement for Brandon King who was ruled out with a side strain.

The United States began well and despite the loss of Steven Taylor in the second over, reached a healthy 48-1 after the six-over power play. But from then on regular wicket falls prevented them gaining momentum.

Chase, especially, put brakes on the scoring. He bowled captain Aaron Jones for 11 in the 10th over, then removed Corey Anderson and Harmeet Singh with consecutive balls in the 14th over.

Hope powered the West Indies run chase, hitting 42 from 23 balls in the power play after which the West Indies were 58 without loss.

“A tough night for the boys,” Jones said. “Against the West Indies we needed a target of 175 or 180 and obviously we didn’t get that.”
…

…

NIAMEY, Niger — Floods in mostly arid Niger have killed 21 people and affected more than 6,000 others during just the first few weeks of the African country’s rainy season that runs through September, a government official said.

Thirteen people were killed when their homes collapsed and eight died by drowning following heavy rains, Colonel Boubacar Bako, the director-general of civil protection, said on national TV on Thursday evening.

From the Maradi region of south-central Niger, 35-year-old resident Ali Abdou told The Associated Press by phone that heavy rains destroyed houses in his community.

“It is only the first rain of the season, and our houses are already down,” Abdou said.

The rainy season, which lasts from June to September, regularly claims many lives in Niger, including in desert areas.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that floods and heavy rains hitting the country in recent years are the result of climate change. Last year, 52 people died and 176,000 were affected by floods in Niger, the Interior Ministry said.

Niger’s population struggles with periodic droughts and heat waves during the dry season.

The Maradi region has been most affected by the floods so far this year, accounting for 14 of the 21 deaths, Bako said during his televised announcement.

Niger’s capital, Niamey, and its 2 million inhabitants, usually hit by deadly floods, have been spared so far.

But in a suburb of Niamey, the mud-brick house of resident Maiga Harouna, 56, collapsed during the torrential rain.

“We desperately need help from the government before the second rain arrives,” Harouna said.

The government has not yet announced any plans for relocating people who lost homes because of the floods.
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nairobi, kenya — Africa became less attractive to foreign investors last year and finance deals declined by 50 percent to $64 billion, according to a new report.  

The World Investment Report, released Thursday by the U.N. Trade and Development, said foreign investment remains subdued by the global economic slowdown and rising geopolitical tensions.  

On the continent, central African countries recorded the largest drop in foreign investment, 17 percent, and West Africa recorded the lowest dip, 1 percent. 

Bruce Nsereko-Lule, a general partner at Seedstars Africa Ventures, a venture capital firm that invests in high-growth companies, said conditions in Western economies have contributed to the reduction in foreign direct investment in Africa.

“We have seen very high interest rates in Western economies,” he said. “With the devaluation of the currency, we saw this is partially driven by the same factor. Investment in these developing markets, emerging markets, even became less attractive as the companies effectively had to work significantly hard to generate a return that would make a good return for Western investors.”

Researchers say that the lack of financial inflows to Africa and other countries affected sustainable development, with new funding dropping by 10 percent globally. Lack of financing for development programs will hinder countries from achieving the 2030 agenda, which covers economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection.

The reduction of foreign investments is also blamed on protectionist policies by African governments and on regional realignments, which investigators say are disrupting the world economy, fragmenting trade networks, regulatory environments and global supply chains.

Some governments’ actions have undermined the stability and predictability of global investment flows, creating obstacles and isolating opportunities.  

Samuel Nyandemo, economics lecturer at the University of Nairobi, said the behavior of some African governments is turning away investors.

“There is corruption, there is bureaucracy in investments, the red tape bureaucracies, and then the marginal rates of returns from investments are not forthcoming,” he said.

The fall of foreign direct investment in Africa is blamed on insecurity in some African countries, the weakening of local currencies, a harsh business environment, corruption and political uncertainty. 

However, Africa has received investment in a growing share of greenfield mega projects worth $5 billion, plus wind and solar energy production worth $10 billion. And Morocco, a North African nation, is getting $6.4 billion to manufacture electric vehicle batteries.

Nyandemo said Africa needs to create an environment where investors feel safe with their businesses. 

“They need to have investor confidence, create a conducive macroeconomic environment for investments and enable investors to repatriate their profits appropriately without any bureaucratic procedures, and minimize taxation,” he said. “Create a tax regime which is conducive for investment.”

The U.N. report predicted that despite challenges, financial conditions in Africa are expected to improve. Governments can address low investments by creating transparent and streamlined business environments.
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Abuja, Nigeria — Regional security analysts are warning Nigerian authorities to take caution following a new report that armed militants operating in Africa’s volatile Sahel region have a found their way into northwest Nigeria through the borders of the Republic of Benin.

Wednesday’s security report, “Dangerous Liaisons” by the Dutch research think tank Clingendael Institute, is the latest indicator that militants are migrating from the Sahel to wealthier coastal nations in the region. 

The 81-page report says extremists believed to be linked with al-Qaida in the last year have migrated from the Republic of Benin and settled in northern Nigeria, including around Kainji National Park. 

If not addressed, the trend could escalate attacks in both countries already struggling with lethal violence from  groups, the report indicates.

Security analyst Chidi Omeje said the discovery is no surprise. 

“It’s not surprising if such happens, because of course you know the nature of our very porous borders,” said Omeje. “Those ones coming through the Sahel to me are purely for economic pondering, I’m not sure they’re ideological based. [But] it’s a dire situation, it’s quite concerning, it’s frightening.” 

The report also says the search for economic opportunity and high poverty levels contribute to the recruitment and expansion of various armed groups in the region. 

Africa’s Sahel — the vast expanse south of the Sahara Desert — is a global terrorist epicenter, according to the 2023 World Terrorism Index. 

Experts say the wave of coups in the region in recent years has affected its security situation and response to regionally based militants. 

In April, Nigeria hosted more than 400 delegates from across Africa at a summit on counterterrorism. 

In an address at the summit, Nigerian National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu spoke about factors driving terrorism.

“Terrorism in Africa is driven by factors such as foreign terrorist fighters, organized crime, prolonged conflict, drug trafficking, illicit arms trade, high youth unemployment and inadequate policing,” said Ribadu. “Effective strategies require comprehensive approaches that address these drivers, promote socioeconomic development, enhance governance, resolve conflict and strengthen regional and international corporation.” 

Security analyst Senator Iroegbu said local authorities need to secure their country’s borders while planning for more robust regional action. 

“There’s a lot of volatility on the northern fringes of Nigeria,” said Iroegbu. “The insecurity is a fertile ground for all these groups to easily crisscross the boundaries and establish themselves. These jihadist groups … their target is also to move to the coastal side of Africa. It’s now left for the security agents and Nigerian government, how they respond to this. In fact, a contingency plan should’ve been in place all along.” 

This week, Nigeria announced plans to acquire 50 military aircraft to combat terrorism especially in the country’s northwest region. 

But analysts warn that unless those plans are supported by schemes to alleviate poverty and reduce vulnerability of locals, the problem may persist. 
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Conakry, Guinea — Two media regulators in Guinea were sentenced Thursday to eight months in prison after claiming the heads of popular outlets were bribed by the ruling military, their lawyer said.

The ruling followed months of a junta-led crackdown on media freedom across Guinea that saw four private radio stations and two private television channels banned in May.

Djene Diaby and Tawel Camara — two of the 13 commissioners of Guinea’s media regulator, the High Authority for Communication — were also fined 1 million Guinean francs ($116) each, lawyer Kemoko Malick Diakite told reporters.

He said that he intended to appeal.

During the trial, prosecutor Mohamed Bangoura called for a one-year sentence, saying that the commissioners committed “very serious” acts.

One of the defense lawyers, Bakary Millimouno, asked the court for leniency, describing his clients as “first-time offenders.”

In comments to reporters on June 12, Diaby and Camara accused the owners of the now-banned media organizations of receiving money from the junta in return for favorable coverage.

However, those media organizations continued to criticize the junta, which led to them being banned last month, the commissioners claimed.

Diaby and Camara were charged with defamation against the head of state and detained in Conakry’s central prison, their colleague Amadou Toure told AFP.

The two commissioners appeared in court in Conakry Wednesday where they apologized and said they had no proof of their claims.

In her earlier contested comments, recorded and published on social media, Diaby said she had “no compassion” for the media bosses.

“Each one of them got money … at the presidency. Each one of them signed,” Diaby said.

Both commissioners also described junta members as indifferent to legality and capable of anything to retain power.

The High Authority for Communication suspended Diaby and Camara for “gross misconduct” on June 13.

The directors of the Hadafo Medias, Djoma Media and Frequence Medias groups said they were lodging a complaint against the two officials. Their media outlets are among the radio and TV stations whose licenses were withdrawn by the authorities on May 22.

Opposition voices have been largely stifled since the colonels seized power in a 2021 coup, overthrowing elected President Alpha Conde.
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WINDHOEK — A high court in Namibia on Friday declared unconstitutional two colonial-era laws that criminalized same-sex acts between men, in a landmark win for the LGBTQ community in the southern African nation.

The case was brought by Namibian activist Friedel Dausab with the support of UK-based non-governmental organization Human Dignity Trust.

Dausab told Reuters after the court’s decision he was “just happy”. “It’s a great day for Namibia,” he said. “It won’t be a crime to love anymore.”

Rights campaigners say that while convictions under the laws on “sodomy” and “unnatural sexual offences” were relatively rare, they have perpetuated discrimination against the LGBTQ community and made gay men live in fear of arrest.

Namibia inherited the laws when it gained independence from South Africa in 1990, though same-sex acts between men were initially criminalized under colonial rule.

South Africa has since decriminalized same-sex sexual activity and is the only country on the African continent to allow LGBTQ couples to adopt children, marry and enter civil unions.

Last year, Uganda enacted one of the world’s harshest anti-LGBTQ laws, which included the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality”, despite widespread condemnations from the West.
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Windhoek, Namibia — Amnesty International has called on authorities in Namibia to ensure the safety of the LGBTQ+ community as a court prepares to rule in a case challenging the laws that criminalize homosexual conduct.

In November 2020, the Law Reform Commission of Namibia recommended discarding laws related to sodomy as they relate to intimate same-sex practices between homosexual men.

However, the parliament of Namibia has been slow to repeal these laws, which prompted gay activist Friedel Dausab to sue the government on the ground that the sodomy law is not consistent with the Namibia constitution.

The High Court of Namibia will rule on this matter Friday.

“There were many pieces of laws that have been in the law books for many years, basically since before independence, many of which really did not make sense any longer and they are just not compatible with the modern times,” said Etuna Joshua, the chairperson of the Law Reform and Development Commission of the Ministry of Justice.

Linda Baumann, an LGBTQ+ activist, said the community has taken extra security measures to ensure its safety during and after the proceedings on Friday.

Baumann said Namibia has seen an increase in violence against LGBTQ+ persons, which she says is directly linked to a Supreme Court ruling that said marriages between same-sex couples performed out of the country were valid.

She said that since that ruling, religious and faith-based groups have incited violence against the LGBTQ+ community.

“Amnesty [International] is not exaggerating,” said Baumann. “What we are doing as a movement is to alert ourselves around the issue around safety and security because we have anti-groups. … We’ve also seen murders of LGBT people in six months. Six people, six months.”

A local daily newspaper recently published a report on a string of killings where LGBTQ+ people were the victims. However, some critics say Namibia has a high number of killings in general and the killings cannot be regarded as hate crimes.

Mercedez Von Cloete, a transgender activist who successfully sued the state for a transphobic assault at the hands of a police officer seven years ago, said the community is at risk of targeted violence if the sodomy law is repealed by the High Court.

“It was targeted violence as a result of not only political but also religious hate speech as well as mob organizing that has made LGBTQ people — especially in the last couple of months — feel unsafe. … And I applaud Amnesty International for the fact that they were able to at least raise an alarm.”

Amnesty International human rights lawyer Mandipa Machacha told VOA that “while Namibia traditionally had tolerance towards LGBT persons compared to other countries [in Africa], there has always been a certain level of hostility, and the situation deteriorated significantly following the 2023 ruling which recognized same-sex unions.”

She said Amnesty International fears Friday’s ruling may drive homophobia against members of the LGBTQ+ community.
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nairobi, kenya — As Sudan’s humanitarian crisis grows more dire, concerns are growing that foreign actors with interests in Sudan are complicating the situation and making it harder to end a 14-month war that has driven millions from their homes and has put parts of the country on the brink of famine.

Calls to end the fighting during the past year have come from around the world, including the United Nations, the African Union, the Arab League and East Africa’s Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). IGAD tried to send the presidents of Kenya, South Sudan and Djibouti to Khartoum to mediate the crisis, the group’s spokesperson at the time, Nuur Mohamud Sheekh, told VOA.

But so far, that initiative has not materialized. Other powers like the United States, Egypt and Saudi Arabia have led efforts to broker cease-fires that came and went without much effect.

Some have questioned how each of the warring factions — the Sudan Armed Forces, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti — have funded the war and supported their fighters for 14 months.

“There’s a lot of resources and money that is being invested in this war, particularly on the RSF side,” said Hala al-Karib, regional director for the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa.

Al-Karib believes the RSF is getting military and political support from the United Arab Emirates, while the Sudanese army may be getting help from Iran and Egypt. Her views are echoed by other analysts, including Kwaku Nuamah, a senior lecturer at American University’s School of International Services.

Russia’s state-run militia formerly known as the Wagner Group has also been identified as a major supplier of arms to the RSF.

Egypt’s support of al-Burhan is largely a reflection of long-standing ties between the SAF and the Egyptian military, Nuamah said. He added that Iran’s role in the conflict — once generally neutral, now one of active support for al-Burhan — reflects past good relations with the Sudanese government and contemporary geostrategic concerns, including Tehran’s need for allies as it faces crushing global sanctions.

However, Michael Walsh, a senior fellow in the Africa program at the U.S.-based Foreign Policy Research Institute, cautions that hard evidence of outside support for either side in the Sudan conflict is hard to come by.

“Many of the journalists who are covering the region, they are covering it from Egypt. People have been displaced, embassies have been displaced,” he said. “Given the security implications of information of who’s supporting either party, it’s really difficult to get access to that information and there’s a huge risk of misinformation and disinformation.”

War, humanitarian crisis

The war began on April 15, 2023, when Sudanese citizens awoke to sounds of gunfire and clashes in the capital, Khartoum, pitting units of the Sudan Armed Forces against the RSF.

At the time, al-Burhan was head of Sudan’s transitional governing Sovereign Council; Dagalo was the deputy head. Tensions between the generals had been rising over disagreements about how the RSF should be integrated into the Sudanese army. Restructuring the military was part of an effort to restore the country to civilian rule after the ouster of former Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir in 2019 and a 2021 military coup orchestrated by the two generals.

The war quickly spread beyond the capital. Since its beginning, more than 8.8 million people have fled their homes and nearly 16,000 fatalities have been reported by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED), a data collection, analysis and crisis mapping project.

UAE links?

“Both sides have continued to violate the laws of armed conflict in multiple ways, with the support of outside actors allegedly ranging from the UAE to Russia to Iran to Egypt and others,” Nathaniel Raymond, executive director at the Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab, told VOA.

The Yale humanitarian research lab has been tracking action in Sudan since the war started using satellite and other technology. In a report published last week, the lab used satellite images to identify an Ilyushin (IL-76) — a large Russian-made transport plane — flying June 11 near Sudan’s El-Fasher region, above RSF-controlled territory.

The finding is significant, Raymond said, because the same model of plane has “also been seen at facilities identified by the United Nations panel of experts as being linked to alleged UAE lethal support activities on behalf of RSF in Sudan.”

A report earlier this year by a U.N. panel of experts noted that accusations that UAE had provided military support to RSF via Amdjarass city in Chad were “credible.”

About the IL-76, Raymond noted that “we don’t know who was flying this plane and we are working to differentiate whether it was a Sudan Armed Forces plane or was resupplying RSF or was transiting through over El-Fasher.”

Regardless, he said, it makes one wonder about what activities are going on to supply both sides in the conflict.

The UAE strongly rejects allegations of its involvement in the conflict and categorically denies the provision of military, logistical, financial or political support to any faction in Sudan, the UAE’s foreign ministry told VOA in response to a query.

The UAE pointed out to VOA that after the Sudanese authorities refused a request in 2023 by the UAE to build a hospital inside Sudan to provide medical support to the wounded, the UAE built two field hospitals close to the Chadian-Sudanese border known as Amdjarass and Abeche. They have extended an invitation to the U.N. panel of experts to visit the hospitals and observe.

Why Sudan?

Walsh, at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, said it’s important to remember “there are some individuals in this conflict who have relationships with foreign actors that extend way before the start of hostilities in the current civil war … in Sudan. There are connections to Yemen and other conflicts.”

Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, which was renamed the Africa Corps after the death of its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has also reportedly been present for years in Sudan, although Wagner denied this. The U.S. Treasury Department accused the group last year of providing the RSF with surface-to-air missiles that have contributed to “a prolonged armed conflict that only results in further chaos in the region.”

According to more recent media reports, Ukrainian special forces have intervened on behalf of SAF to counter the Russian mercenary group. Ukraine has been at war with Russia for over two years now. Russia has used Wagner fighters to help fight its war in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with al-Burhan in Ireland in September 2023 to discuss Russia-funded armed groups. At the meeting, Zelenskyy thanked the Sudanese general for his country’s support of Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

There are also reports that Sudanese authorities are about to strike a deal for the construction of a logistical supply base for the Russian navy on its Red Sea coast. The Sudan Tribune reported this month that a Sudanese military delegation would visit Moscow soon to discuss the country’s needs for weapons and munitions.

American University’s Nuamah said Sudan is of interest to outside actors because of its strategic location on the coast of Red Sea at the crossroads of sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East; its possession of lootable natural resources such as gold; and the fact that it shares borders with numerous fragile states in a turbulent region. The Red Sea provides access to the Suez Canal and is one of the most heavily traveled waterways in the world.

In any case, Sudan is looking at a gloomy situation for the near term. ACLED ranks Sudan as one of the 50 most violent countries in the world, saying that conditions continue to get worse as mass killings remain a key feature of that conflict.

Earlier this month, about 200 people were killed during attacks by RSF soldiers on unarmed civilians in the village of Wad al-Noura, in Sudan’s Gezira state. The attack was widely condemned by the international community and prompted renewed calls for a cease-fire.

Al-Karib of the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa, who relocated to Uganda after the war started, still has friends and family in Sudan. Painting a grim picture of the war-torn country, she said that “people are getting killed regularly just for being themselves. People are being … kidnapped and detained for lengthy periods of time. Women can’t travel from point A to point B safely. Communities are looted completely.”
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MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s government is seeking to slow the withdrawal of African peacekeepers and warning of a potential security vacuum, documents seen by   Reuters show, with neighboring countries fretting that resurgent al-Shabaab militants could seize power.

The African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), a peacekeeping force, is committed to withdrawing by Dec. 31, when a smaller new force is expected to replace it.

However, in a letter last month to the acting chair of the African Union Peace and Security Council the government asked to delay until September the withdrawal of half the 4,000 troops due to leave by the end of June. The letter has not been reported before.

The government had previously recommended, in a joint assessment with the AU in March, reviewed by Reuters, that the overall withdrawal timeline be adjusted “based on the actual readiness and capabilities” of Somali forces.

The joint assessment, which was mandated by the U.N. Security Council, warned that a “hasty drawdown of ATMIS personnel will contribute to a security vacuum.”

“I’ve never been more concerned about the direction of my home country,” said Mursal Khalif, an independent member of the defense committee in parliament.

The European Union and United States, the top funders of the AU force in Somalia, have sought to reduce the peacekeeping operation due to concerns about long-term financing and sustainability, four diplomatic sources and a senior Ugandan official said.

Negotiations about a new force have proven complicated, with the AU initially pushing for a more robust mandate than Somalia wanted, three of the diplomatic sources said. A heated political dispute could lead Ethiopia to pull out some of the most battle-hardened troops.

Somalia’s presidency and prime minister’s office did not respond to requests for comment.

Mohamed El-Amine Souef, AU special representative to Somalia and head of ATMIS, said there was no definitive timeline for concluding negotiations but that all parties were committed to an agreement that helps achieve sustainable peace and security.

“The AU and Somalia’s government have emphasized the importance of a conditions-based drawdown to prevent any security vacuum,” he told Reuters.

The Peace and Security Council is due to meet on Somalia later on Thursday to discuss the drawdown and follow-up mission.

As the drawdown proceeds, with 5,000 of around 18,500 troops leaving last year, the government has projected confidence. It has said the new force should not exceed 10,000 and should be limited to tasks like securing major population centers.

The call for a smaller force likely reflects views of nationalists who oppose a heavy foreign presence in Somalia, said Rashid Abdi, an analyst with Sahan Research, a Nairobi-based think-tank focused on the Horn of Africa.

Worried neighbors

Uganda and Kenya, which contributed troops to the departing mission, are also worried.

Henry Okello Oryem, Uganda’s state minister of foreign affairs, said that despite intensive training efforts, Somali troops could not sustain a long-term military confrontation.

“We do not want to get into a situation where we are fleeing, the kind of thing that we saw in Afghanistan,” he told Reuters.

Oryem said Kenya accepted the drawdown requested by the U.S. and EU but that the concerns of countries with forces in Somalia should be heard.

Kenyan President William Ruto told reporters in Washington last month that a withdrawal that did not account for conditions on the ground would mean “the terrorists will take over Somalia.”

In response to questions, an EU spokesperson said it was focused on building domestic security capacities and supported in principle a Somali government proposal for a new mission that would have a reduced size and scope.

A U.S. State Department spokesperson said the force should be large enough to prevent a security vacuum. Washington has supported all requests submitted by the AU to the U.N. Security Council to modify the drawdown timeline, the spokesperson said.

In response to a question about Ethiopian forces, the spokesperson said it was critical to avoid security gaps or unnecessary expenses “incurred by swapping out existing troop contributors.”

Setbacks

Two years ago, an army offensive in central Somalia initially seized large swathes of territory from al-Shabaab.

In August, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamed declared his intention to “eliminate” the powerful al-Qaida offshoot within five months.

But just a few days later, al-Shabaab counter-attacked, retaking the town of Cowsweyne. They killed scores of soldiers and beheaded several civilians accused of supporting the army, according to a soldier, an allied militiaman and a local resident.

“This broke the hearts of Somalis but gave courage to al-Shabaab,”  Ahmed Abdulle, the militiaman, from a clan in central Somalia, said in an interview in April.

The Somali government has never publicly provided a death toll for the Cowsweyne battle and didn’t respond to a request for a toll for this story.

“There were enough troops in Cowsweyne, over a battalion, but they were not organized well,” said a soldier named Issa, who fought in the battle there last August.

Issa said car bombs had blasted through the gates of Cowsweyne army camp on the day of the attack, citing a shortage of defensive outposts to protect bases from such attacks.

Ten soldiers, militiamen from local clans and residents in areas targeted by the military campaign reported no army operations in the past two months following additional battlefield setbacks.

Reuters could not independently establish the extent of the territorial losses to al-Shabaab. Somalia’s national security adviser said on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) this week that the army had held most of its gains.

The peacekeepers’ withdrawal could make it more difficult to hold territory. While analysts estimate Somalia’s army at around 32,000 soldiers, the government acknowledged, in the assessment with the AU, a shortage of some 11,000 trained personnel due to “high operational tempo” and “attrition.”

The government has said its soldiers are capable of confronting al-Shabaab with limited external support.

Somalia has defied gloomy predictions before and has expanded its security forces in recent years.

Residents of the seaside capital Mogadishu – whose ubiquitous blast walls testify to the threat of Shabaab suicide bombers and mortars – say security has improved. Once quiet streets bustle with traffic, and upscale restaurants and supermarkets are opening.

An assessment published in April by the Combating Terrorism Center at the United States Military Academy said an Afghanistan-like collapse was unlikely, helped by ongoing external support.

The United States, for instance, has about 450 troops in Somalia to train and advise local forces, and conducts regular drone attacks against suspected militants.

But the assessment’s author, Paul D. Williams, a professor of international affairs at George Washington University, said the militants’ estimated 7,000-12,000 fighters would nevertheless be “slightly militarily stronger” than Somali forces because of superior cohesion and force employment.

International support

Somalia’s security has been underwritten by foreign resources since Ethiopia invaded in 2006, toppling an Islamist-led administration but galvanizing an insurgency that has since killed tens of thousands of people.

The U.S. has spent more than $2.5 billion on counterterrorism assistance since 2007, according to a study last year by Brown University. That number does not include undisclosed military and intelligence spending on activities like drone strikes and deployments of American ground troops.

The EU says it has provided about $2.8 billion to ATMIS and its predecessor since 2007. Turkey, Qatar and other Middle Eastern countries also provide security assistance.

But resources are under strain. The EU, which pays for most of ATMIS’s roughly $100 million annual budget, is shifting toward bilateral support with an eye toward reducing its overall contributions in the medium-term, four diplomatic sources said.

Two diplomats interviewed by Reuters, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe private negotiations, said the U.S. and EU want to scale back peacekeeping operations because of competing spending priorities including Ukraine and Gaza and a sense Somalia should take responsibility for its own security.

Some European countries would like to see the new mission financed through assessed contributions of United Nations member states, which would increase the financial burden on the United States and China, the four diplomatic sources said.

The State Department spokesperson said the U.S. did not believe such a system can be implemented by next year but said there was strong international consensus to support the follow-on mission. The EU didn’t address questions about the financing of the replacement mission.

Financing for the new mission can only be formally addressed once Somalia and the AU agree on a proposed size and mandate.
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Nairobi, Kenya — Kenyan protesters were due to stage fresh protests across the country on Thursday against contentious tax hikes that many fear will worsen a cost-of-living crisis.

The cash-strapped government of President William Ruto agreed to make some concessions on Tuesday after hundreds of mostly young protesters clashed with the police in the capital Nairobi.

But the government will still go ahead with some tax increases and has defended the proposed hikes as necessary for filling its coffers and cutting reliance on external borrowing.

Protesters have vowed to take to the streets across the country, including in the Indian Ocean city of Mombasa and the lakeside city of Kisumu, both opposition bastions.

“They need to reject the bill, not edit it,” Sarah Njoroge, 21, told AFP. “It appears that they think we are vocal on social media and will get tired.”

The authorities have blocked several roads near parliament in Nairobi and deployed a heavy police presence, with lawmakers beginning debate on the bill on Wednesday.

Protesters in Nairobi said they would march to parliament, which must pass the final version of the bill before June 30.

A parliament source told AFP that a vote on the proposals was expected on June 27.

The taxes were projected to raise $2.7 billion, equivalent to 1.9 percent of GDP, and reduce the budget deficit from 5.7 percent to 3.3 percent of GDP.

The presidency on Tuesday announced the removal of proposed levies on bread purchases, car ownership as well as financial and mobile services, prompting a warning from the treasury of a 200-billion-shilling shortfall as a result of the budget cuts.

The government has now targeted an increase in fuel prices and export taxes to fill the void left by the changes, a move critics say will make life more expensive in a country already battling high inflation.

Tuesday’s protest was largely peaceful with black-clad protesters forced into cat-and-mouse chases with police who fired volleys of teargas.  

At least 335 people were arrested, according to a consortium of lobby groups including the human rights commission KNCHR and Amnesty Kenya.

“We have changed tack. Today we will be in colorful and defiant clothing to avoid a repeat of them arresting everyone in black,” said an organizer of the march, who requested anonymity fearing reprisals.

Kenya is one of the most dynamic economies in East Africa but a third of its 51.5 million people live in poverty.
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NORTH SOUND, Antigua — South Africa had to work hard to earn an 18-run win over the fast-improving United States in the opening game of the Super Eight at the Twenty20 World Cup on Wednesday.

Co-host the West Indies also lost it first match in the Super Eight stage Wednesday, beaten by eight wickets by defending champion England. Jack Salt scored 87 runs to lead England.

Andries Gous made an unbeaten 80 off 47 balls for the U.S. — against the country of his birth — to move atop the batting charts at the World Cup before South Africa restricted the Americans at 176-6.

Fast bowler Kagiso Rabada claimed 3-18 and spinner Keshav Maharaj got the prized wicket of U.S. captain Aaron Jones for a duck — no runs — to finish with 1-24.

Quinton de Kock had earlier made a rampant 74 off 40 balls and Heinrich Klaasen provided the perfect finish with 36 not out in the South African total of 194-4 after Jones won the toss and elected to field.

“Pretty happy with the performance as a whole,” South Africa captain Aiden Markram said. “A couple of overs here and there we need to tidy up … but the wicket definitely changes and gets a bit slower.”

De Kock and Markram (46 off 32 balls) dominated both spinners and the pacers as they raised a solid 110-run stand after Saurabh Netravalkar (2-21) had provided the early breakthrough by getting the wicket of Reeza Hendricks in his second over.

“We’ve had some tricky wickets so it was nice to spend some time in the middle today,” de Kock said. “The USA put us under pressure towards the end. It was a great game.”

Netravalkar, who bowled a sensational Super Over in the United States’ historic win over heavyweights Pakistan in the group stage, struck immediately in his return spell when Markram was brilliantly caught by diving Ali Khan at deep backward point off a full-pitched ball.

But Klaasen used all his T20 experience in the last five overs and struck three sixes while Tristan Stubbs also hit two fours in his 16-ball unbeaten 20 which lifted the South Africa total.

“Hard to take a defeat after coming so close,” Jones said. “We did lack discipline in the bowling at times, (but) once we play good cricket we can beat any team in the world. We need to be a lot more disciplined.”

England beats the West Indies

At Gros Islet, St Lucia, Salt carried his bat for 87 and Jonny Bairstow made an unbeaten 48 as defending champion England beat the West Indies by eight wickets in a match between two-time World Cup champions.

It was the West Indies’ first loss of the tournament and their first defeat in eight Twenty20 internationals.

The West Indies made 180-4 batting first on the same pitch on which they made 218-5 against Afghanistan in the final match of the group stage on Monday.

The fireworks came at the end and from England as Salt made his 87 runs from 47 balls with seven fours and five sixes and Bairstow added his 48 from 26 deliveries. England reached 181-2 with 15 balls to spare.

Salt provided a solid foundation for the England run chase, initially in a 67-run opening partnership with Jos Buttler.

Salt scored 30 runs — three sixes and three fours — from the 16th over bowled by Romario Shepherd.

“I’m not looking too far ahead at the minute, just glad that I could contribute to a good team win,” Salt said. “It was a little bit tougher in the middle overs with the spin.”

The pitch may have been a little slower than on Monday but England captain Buttler also used his bowlers well and the West Indies innings included 50 dot balls.

A capacity crowd in the first night match of the Super Eight stage was out to party but the match really didn’t come alive until the end.

The West Indies started well but were disrupted in the six-over power play by the loss of Brandon King who retired hurt after 4.3 overs with a side or groin strain. King had just hit the first six of the match, a 103-meter (338-foot) blow that flew over the grandstand and out of the stadium.

He made 23 from 13 balls and was setting the early pace of the innings when he was forced to retire with the West Indies at 40-0. There was no immediate word on the seriousness of King’s injury.

“Credit has to be given to the England bowling unit. You can see they had clear plans and executed them well,” West Indies captain Rovman Powell said.
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U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi is marking World Refugee Day in Sudan and South Sudan, where he has been traveling this week, highlighting the situation of millions of people displaced by war. VOA United Nations correspondent Margaret Besheer spoke to him from New York.
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