More than 20 people were killed Sunday after shells hit a market in a suburb of the Sudanese capital Khartoum, a committee of pro-democracy lawyers said in a statement.

It was the latest bloodshed in the fighting since April between the forces of army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

A statement from the committee for pro-democracy lawyers said the shells hit the market in Omdurman during an intense exchange of fire between the two sides. 

“More than 20 civilians have been killed and others have been wounded,” said the statement, which was sent to AFP. The committee keeps track of rights violations during the conflict and its civilian victims.

On Saturday, a medical source said shells that hit houses in Khartoum had killed 15 civilians.

Omdurman has repeatedly been the site of fierce battles between the two sides.

Though most of the fighting was previously contained to the capital and the western region of Darfur, it has also spread to areas south of Khartoum according to witnesses.

More than 10,000 people have been killed in the Sudan conflict so far, according to a conservative estimate by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project.

But aid groups and medics have repeatedly warned the real toll exceeds recorded figures, with many of those wounded and killed never reaching hospitals or morgues.

The war has caused an estimated 5.5 million people to flee, both within Sudan and across borders, according to the United Nations.
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In Nigeria, advocates with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies are calling for urgent action to save the country from the brink of famine. The U.N. reports that over 15 percent of the population is currently undernourished, and that number is rising. Gibson Emeka has this story from Abuja, Nigeria, narrated by Carol Van Dam.
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Nigeria’s lawmakers on Thursday approved the new government’s first supplemental budget, which includes huge allocations for SUVs and houses for the president, his wife and other public officials, sparking anger and criticism from citizens in one of the world’s poorest countries.

In the budget presented to lawmakers to supplement the country’s expenditures for 2023, the government had allocated about $38 million for the presidential air fleet, vehicles and for renovation of residential quarters for the office of the president, the vice-president and the president’s wife — even though her office is not recognized by the country’s constitution.

Before the budget was approved, and facing increasing criticism, lawmakers eliminated $6.1 million earlier budgeted for a “presidential yacht” and moved it to “student loans.”

A Nigerian presidential spokesman said President Bola Tinubu had not given approval for the yacht, whose allocation was provided under the Nigerian Navy’s budget.

The country’s National Assembly recently confirmed that more than 460 federal lawmakers will each get SUVs — reportedly worth more than $150,000 each — which, they said, would enable them to do their work better. Local media reported that the lawmakers have started receiving the vehicles.

“All of this speaks to the gross insensitivity of the Nigerian political class and the growing level of impunity we have in the country,” said Oluseun Onigbinde, who founded Nigerian fiscal transparency group BudgIT.

The allocations reminded many Nigerians of the economic inequality in a country where politicians earn huge salaries while essential workers like doctors and academics often go on strike to protest meager wages.

Consultants, who are among the best-paid doctors in Nigeria, earn around $500 a month. After several strikes this year, civil servants got the government to raise their minimum wage to $67 a month, or 4 cents an hour.

Such steep expenditure on cars in a country where surging public debt is eating up much of the government’s dwindling revenues show its “lack of priorities” and raises questions about the lack of scrutiny in the government’s budget process and spending, said Kalu Aja, a Nigerian financial analyst.

Kingsley Ujam, a trader working at the popular Area 1 market in Nigeria’s capital city of Abuja, said he struggles to feed his family and has lost hope in the government to provide for their needs.

“They (elected officials) are only there for their pockets,” said Ujam.

It is not the first time Nigerian officials are being accused of wasting public funds.

That tradition must stop, beginning with the president “making sacrifices for the nation, especially as vulnerable people in the country are struggling to make ends meet,” said Hamzat Lawal, who leads the Connected Development group advocating for public accountability in Nigeria.

He added that Nigeria must strengthen anti-corruption measures and improve governance structures for the country to grow and for citizens to live a better life. “We must also make public offices less attractive so people do not believe it is an avenue to get rich,” he said.

While Nigeria is Africa’s top oil producer, chronic corruption and government mismanagement have left the country heavily reliant on foreign loans and aid, while at least 60% of its citizens live in poverty.

Austerity measures introduced by the newly elected president have drastically cut incomes and caused more hardship for millions already struggling with record inflation.
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Guinea’s former military ruler, Moussa Dadis Camara, is back in custody, his lawyer said Saturday, denying Camara was a willing participant in an earlier armed jailbreak that he described as a kidnapping by force. 

Residents of the capital Conakry woke up to the sound of gunfire in the early hours of Saturday as heavily armed men sprang Camara and three other officers out of a central prison, prompting the Guinean authorities to launch a nationwide manhunt. 

In a post on social media Saturday afternoon, Camara’s lawyer Pepe Antoine Lamah said Camara was back in Conakry’s Central House prison. 

He did not share details on how his client had returned to custody but accused the government of failing to protect its detainees. 

“Camara was indeed kidnapped this morning very early by heavily armed individuals who forced him into a vehicle,” he said. “It is … unacceptable and even inappropriate to classify a kidnapping as an escape.” 

The authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The general prosecutor earlier said it had opened an investigation against Camara and the others involved in what it called a jailbreak. 

The whereabouts of the other officers were not immediately known. 

The search for them has gripped the capital, with soldiers patrolling the streets in armored personnel carriers, while armed officers stopped and searched passing cars. 

Residents described hearing the rattle of gunfire in the early hours from the Kaloum administrative district, where Camara and the others were held in the Central House prison. 

“There was dread, anxiety stress … fear in our hearts. Everyone was scared and wondering what was going on,” said Conakry local Mamadou Aliou Tham.  

The incident highlights the fragile security situation in Guinea, which is ruled by another military junta that seized power in a coup in 2021 — one of eight such takeovers in West and Central Africa in the last three years.  

Camara and others have been on trial since last year, accused of orchestrating a stadium massacre and mass rape by Guinean security forces in which 150 people were killed during a pro-democracy rally on Sept. 28, 2009. 

Camara has denied responsibility, blaming the atrocities on errant soldiers.  

He led a 2008 military coup and ruled Africa’s largest bauxite exporter for almost a year until he was wounded in a December 2009 assassination attempt.  

He remains popular in the southeast, although his reputation was tarnished by the massacre. Survivors and family members had hoped the trial would bring them long-awaited justice.  
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The annual summit of the African Growth and Opportunity Act — a program that has provided eligible sub-Saharan African countries with duty-free access to the U.S. economy since 2000 — wrapped up in South Africa on Saturday.  

Under AGOA, total goods imports into the United States were worth about $10 billion in 2022, compared with $6.8 billion in 2021. African leaders are asking the U.S. Congress to renew the trade policy for another 10 years or more before it expires in 2025.  

To be eligible for AGOA, nations must respect the rule of law and protect human rights. On Monday, U.S. President Joe Biden said four countries would be dropped from AGOA: Niger and Gabon for coup d’etats, and the Central African Republic and Uganda for human rights violations.  

On Saturday, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai sat down with several reporters to answer questions about AGOA’s future. The following transcript has been edited for brevity and clarity:

VOA: China is Africa’s largest trade partner; how can the U.S. compete and how do the two countries’ approaches to trade with Africa differ? 

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai: Let me start … with what the basis for our relationship is, which is that the U.S. partnership with the countries of Africa is inherently valuable vis-à-vis ourselves, first and foremost. Our historical ties, our people-to-people ties, the fact that the United States grew out of our own colonial past, there are so many points of shared cultural, historical narrative. That is the cornerstone of our partnership.  

Beyond that, we look at the demographics of Africa. … By the year 2050, one in four human beings on this planet will be African. Then you look at the median age of the population in Africa and you compare it to the median age in different places and you realize that the future is Africa. The potential — human potential, the economic potential — of Africa, that is another reason why we know that charting our own path for the future necessarily involves partnership with Africa. So, there is the reason why we are here.  

Separately, let me turn to your question on China. Yes, China’s footprint in the global economy in terms of trade is enormous. We know that; that is true in many of our conversations around the world. We feel very strongly that the type of partnership the United States brings and can bring is inherently different from what other partners bring and that is why we are focused on enhancing and building on a U.S. partnership with Africa. 

VOA: Yesterday, a representative of an African country told me ‘We don’t want Western democracy imposed on Africa.’ How do you cope with this? 

Tai: Obviously there’s not just one form of democracy, we all have our versions of democracy. But broadly speaking, I think when we talk about democracy, you break it down, it’s about a system of government where the people have the right and power to select their government. … I don’t think AGOA dictates the specific kind of democracy, I think the way that I have phrased it is AGOA is set up to support African solutions to the political and economic reforms that AGOA’s meant to encourage. 

VOA: How is the U.S. relationship with South Africa, owing to South Africa’s stance on the Ukraine crisis?  

Tai: Now recall I’m the U.S. trade representative, so I am an economic policy team member. So let me focus on the U.S.-South Africa economic relationship. Let’s acknowledge that we live in a very complex world that is only becoming more complicated. That said, I think that the relationship overall, and the relationships on a more human level, are strong, on the economic side, which is where my competency lies. …   

We all need to figure out how to navigate this complex world, and I have a high degree of confidence, at least on the economic side, that we have managed to navigate some choppy waters this year and that we will continue to do our best to do so. I think the South African government, on this trip, at this forum, has indicated the strength of its support for the economic relationship with the United States.  

VOA: It has been a thorny issue, Africa wants to be developed, and as long as we continue to send raw materials outside of Africa, we are not going to learn the skills. What’s your view?  

Tai: As I understand it, you’re talking about: How does Africa and the countries in Africa move up the value chain and industrialize? And I think that that is the challenge of economic development. We in the United States are focused also on a reindustrialization project, having gone through a period of deindustrialization, so it’s made for a period of very interesting conversations while I’ve been here.

I think that that is a tremendously important question that we all have to figure out. In my instincts, I feel convinced that as globalization evolves, because we see that it is needing to evolve … the next iteration of globalization should do a better job than this past one. … This next one has to involve a development program that looks at how we can more effectively partner between advanced economies and emerging economies to provide a win-win solution to development.

And I think that the basic principle is going to be, if you take President Biden’s outlook, that we’re trying to rebuild and reinvigorate our middle class, how through trade policy could we help each other build our middle classes?

How do we do it in a way that we’re not pitting our middle class against your middle class, our workers against your workers? How do we think more about trade being a complementary exercise as opposed to a cut-throat competition? … I have been really, really privileged to work with our partners on the African continent on how we solve that problem.  

VOA: We’ve heard, especially from Republican members of Congress, that they are going to want to look at enforcement of eligibility because some of them have said they don’t think the administration is doing a good job of implementing enforcement. So, what do you say to that?  

Tai: I don’t know who exactly else they would like to suspend from AGOA, but there is an annual review process, it is a very rigorous process … a lot of deliberation goes into it and the calls are not easy. 
…

The former head of Guinea’s 2008 military junta, Moussa Dadis Camara, was sprung from prison by heavily armed men in Conakry in the early hours Saturday along with three other high-ranking officers, Justice Minister Charles Wright said.

Residents told Reuters that military vehicles and special forces were policing the streets of the Guinean capital after shots were heard in the Kaloum administrative district, where Camara and others were held at the Central House prison.

“Heavily armed men burst into the Central House of Conakry. They managed to leave with four defendants in the trial of the events of Sept. 28, including Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara,” the minister said on the radio.

“They will be found wherever they are,” he said, declining to give further details of the investigation.

Guinea’s borders have been closed to prevent the fugitives from fleeing the country, he said.

Camara and others have been on trial since last year, accused of orchestrating a stadium massacre and mass rape by Guinean security forces in which 150 people were killed during a pro-democracy rally on Sept. 28, 2009.

Camara has denied responsibility, blaming the atrocities on errant soldiers.

Residents near Kaloum said shots were first heard around 4 a.m., after which security was tightened on the streets and the entrance to Kaloum was blocked.

By late morning, the capital appeared calm with many soldiers still visible in some areas, ordering people to stay at home, Mmah Camara, a resident of Tombo district, said by phone.

Guinea is governed by military leader Mamady Doumbouya, who took power in a coup in 2021 — one of eight in West and Central Africa in the last three years. Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad and Gabon are also run by military officers.
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The U.N.’s humanitarian agency is warning that the situation for civilians in Sudan’s volatile Darfur region is worsening as fighting between the country’s two rival armed groups escalates and intercommunal tensions rise.

It reports renewed clashes between the Sudan Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces in all four corners of Darfur “have killed dozens of civilians and wounded many more; thousands have been displaced and civilian property has been destroyed or damaged.”

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA, reports at least 17 people were killed and 35 were injured over the past week in Nyala in South Darfur, and 17,500 people fled their homes in search of safety.

It said military clashes and intercommunal fighting also have been reported in North and Central Darfur, with more people being killed and displaced.

“Darfurians have suffered enough, not least women, in the past and in the current conflict,” said Jens Laerke, OCHA spokesperson.

“Overall, in Sudan, more than 5.7 million people have been forced from their homes and 25 million, more than half of the population, now need humanitarian assistance,” he said.

Some 9,000 people have been killed and thousands more have been injured since two rival generals plunged the country into war on April 15, OCHA estimates. It reports 4.6 million have become newly displaced inside Sudan, and more than 1 million people have fled as refugees into neighboring countries.

According to the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, the refugee flow from Sudan appears to be unstoppable.

William Spindler, UNHCR spokesperson, said that the UNHCR’s director of external relations, who currently is on the border in White Nile State, reports that more than 10,000 people have arrived from Sudan into South Sudan in just the past few days.

“We have seen a sharp increase in the last week of 15% more people arriving than in the previous week,” said Spindler, noting that the makeup of the new arrivals was different than before.

“In the past, most of the people to arrive in South Sudan were South Sudanese who had been refugees in Sudan returning to their home,” he said.

“Now, we are seeing mostly Sudanese fleeing … citizens of Sudan fleeing into South Sudan,” most of whom, he said, apparently were fleeing from an increase in violence and sexual assault.

OCHA spokesperson Laerke said, “We know from our colleagues in UNFPA [U.N. Population Fund] that they consider a total of 4.2 million people, including refugees in Sudan, are at risk of gender-based violence. That is just a mind-numbingly high number.”

U.N. human rights officials reported Friday that an increasing number of women and girls in the Darfur region have been kidnapped and sexually assaulted by men affiliated with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

They said women and girls reportedly are being held in inhumane, degrading, slave-like conditions, where they allegedly are forcibly married and held for ransom.

“Credible information from survivors, witnesses and other sources suggests more than 20 women and girls have been taken, but the number could be higher,” said Liz Throssel, human rights spokesperson.

“Some sources have reported seeing women and girls in chains on pickup trucks and in cars,” she said.

She said this shocking situation most likely is much worse than the numbers indicate, noting that cases of conflict-related sexual violence are never fully reported because of the shame attached to these violations.

“According to our documentation, at least 105 people have been subjected to sexual violence since the hostilities began on 15 April, 2023,” Throssel said.

“At least 70% of the confirmed incidents of sexual violence recorded — 37 incidents in total — are attributed to men in RSF uniforms, eight to armed men affiliated with the RSF, two to men in unidentified uniform, and one to the Sudan Armed Forces,” she said, adding that the remaining cases involved unidentified men.

Human rights officials are calling for the prompt release of the abducted women and girls, for all alleged cases of sexual violence to be investigated and for perpetrators of the crimes to be brought to justice.

The RSF and the Sudanese army both have denied allegations of human rights abuses against civilians while accusing each other of committing rights violations.
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Heavy rains and flooding ravaged parts of Kenya on Friday, sweeping away homes and livestock and destroying roads and electric transmission lines, authorities said. At least two people were killed and at least one was missing.

One of the victims died after a house collapsed under heavy rains in the coastal city of Mombasa, police said, while the second was swept away by floods in Meru County in central Kenya. Emergency workers were searching for a third person believed to have drowned in Isiolo, in the country’s north.

Kenya’s Meteorological Department had earlier warned of above average rainfall until Monday.

“Flood waters may appear in places where it has not rained heavily especially downstream. Residents are advised to avoid driving through, or walking in moving water or open fields and not to shelter under trees and near grilled windows when raining to minimize exposure to lightning strikes,” read the alert.

In Mombasa, heavy rains caused flash floods, which swept away homes and businesses. Videos showed cars submerged in flooded roads, while in the northeast, a major road linking Wajir and Mandera counties was completely cut off leaving motorists stranded.

Dramatic footage also emerged Thursday of a wildlife conservancy chopper crew rescuing eight people who were in a truck that was being swept away by raging floodwaters in Samburu county.

Heavy rains were also reported in the neighboring countries of Tanzania and Somalia, where the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said “several homes have been inundated and bridges damaged.”
…

This week, the U.S. State Department confirmed that Washington’s plan to refurbish and extend the Lobito Corridor — a railway that will run through mineral-rich Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo to an Atlantic port in Angola — is moving full steam ahead.

Such ambitious infrastructure investments by other powers in Africa have been derailed in the past. For years, China has tried with mixed results to increase its influence in Africa and boost trade connectivity by investing in ports and railways.

Debt-incurring or unfinished projects undertaken as part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, or BRI, have been criticized, prompting what analysts see as a new focus on what Chinese President Xi Jinping has called a “small and beautiful” approach.

Now the West is stepping in, with the U.S., European Union, the three African nations and two financial institutions signing a memorandum of understanding last month to develop the partially existing Lobito Corridor.

Plans were outlined in an online media briefing this week, and a six-month feasibility study is expected to start before the end of the year, said Helaina Matza, the acting special coordinator for the Partnership on the Global Infrastructure Investment, or PGII. The intention is to get the 800 kilometers (500 miles) of new track built within five years at an estimated cost of more than $1 billion, she said.

When asked how the U.S. plans to sustain the project long-term and avoid the mistakes made by other foreign powers pursuing infrastructure projects on the continent, Matza was optimistic.

“It’s not all concessional financing going directly to governments,” she said, noting that a private partner, the Africa Finance Corp., is involved and will be putting “forward a plan for operation and maintenance and putting forward a plan around capacity development.”

While not mentioning China directly, she said: “I think we’ve learned from mistakes and projects that over the years, frankly, we’ve helped bail out because they needed refurbishment a little too quickly.”

Liu Pengyu, China’s Embassy spokesperson in Washington told VOA in an emailed response that there is “broad space for cooperation in the field of global infrastructure, and there is no question of various relevant initiatives contradicting or replacing each other.”

Liu also denied the frequent criticism that Beijing is using BRI and its projects to create spheres of influence.

“Any calculation to advance geopolitics in the name of infrastructure development is not welcome and doomed to fail,” he said.

Lessons from the BRI?

One of China’s largest BRI investments was the $4.7 billion Standard Gauge Railway in Kenya, which started operating in 2017 and connects the capital, Nairobi, with the port city of Mombasa.

The railway was supposed to connect to neighboring Uganda, as a way of bringing critical minerals to the coast, but it never got that far, leaving the cargo side of the business struggling. This week the Kenyan government announced a sharp increase in fares for passengers, citing rising fuel prices.

The announcement came on the heels of President William Ruto’s visit last month to China, where he was seeking a $1 billion loan to complete unfinished infrastructure projects. Some Kenyans have also criticized the project for not hiring enough locals to operate the railway.

Asked whether the existence of the BRI will help inform the new US/EU initiative, Yunnan Chen, a researcher at the global think tank Overseas Development Institute, said it has already had an impact.

“While the BRI can be criticized on many areas, one success it’s certainly had is to raise the profile of infrastructure in development, and crowded in greater interest — and welcome competition — in this space,” she said, noting the G7 now has the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment and the E.U. has the Global Gateway. The first Global Gateway forum was held last month in Brussels, where the Lobito Corridor memorandum of understanding was signed.

“The fact that U.S. has taken such a deep interest in Angola — a major BRI partner and one of the largest recipients of infrastructure lending from China — is a clear sign they want to ramp up the competition directly in China’s spheres of interest,” she said.

While some of the Chinese projects have faced “legitimate criticism,” Chen said, railway projects can be difficult to make profitable based on passengers and freight if they are not linked to the mining sector.

“The Lobito Corridor may do better than some of the East African projects, since they will likely be directly connected to minerals/mining projects that justifies the freight, but it will be a test to see how the U.S. and EU will tackle the challenges that rail construction brings,” she said.

These challenges include social and environmental impacts and management of the railway once completed, all problems the Chinese have faced. Chen said it will be interesting to see how the West now fares “given the emphasis on higher standards.”

Matza, the acting PGII coordinator, said, “Our ethos for any sort of infrastructure we invest in is that the project is transparent.”

She said the U.S. wants to ensure that “the whole corridor is successful and that people who live along that corridor can participate not only in commerce but in other activities that really benefit the economic development of themselves and their countries.”

View from Africa

So who do ordinary Africans trust more when it comes to infrastructure investment, the U.S. or China?

VOA put that question to Johannesburg residents this week to see what they think.

Musician Luyolo Yiba, 29, was cynical as he sipped a drink at a sidewalk cafe.

“Both are looking at taking minerals, so it’s tricky to say this one is better than that one,” he said, adding that he doubts the U.S. is primarily concerned with helping the African people and that he expected the money to be lost to government corruption in Africa.

Zoyisile Donshe, an entrepreneur in his 40s, said he doesn’t think there needs to be competition for influence in Africa at all.

“They see that Africa is the future,” he said. “I love America, I love China as well. They’re creating opportunities in Africa. … I think most Africans would prefer them to cooperate.”

Asked whether the Lobito Corridor could end up being linked to any Chinese-built railways in the region, Matza said it was too soon to say but did not rule it out.

“There’s a lot of work happening, there’s maybe a Tazara refurbishment,” she said, referring to a railway linking Zambia and Tanzania. 

“There’s a lot of talks about an additional rail line that can continue south and maybe out through Mozambique,” she said. “We’re taking this on one piece at a time knowing what we can finance, support and help design.”
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Eswatini has eight species of highly venomous snakes and a mostly rural population of 1.2 million people. When these reptiles bite people, it can be deadly, especially when antivenom is scarce. VOA’s Nokukhanya Musi reports from Manzini. Producer: Keith Lane. Camera: Samkeliso Sibandze.
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Kenyan females are facing a form of online blackmail called sextortion, in which perpetrators threaten to share sexual images or videos of them with others unless they pay or meet other demands. Francis Ontomwa talks to some victims about their ordeals. Camera: Amos Wangwa .
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North Korea has decided to close diplomatic missions in at least four locations across the globe, a significant diplomatic shift that some observers say may indicate severe economic challenges.

According to a series of media reports that began emerging last week, North Korea will shutter its embassies in Uganda, Angola and Spain, as well as its consulate in Hong Kong.

North Korean state media have not publicly explained the reasons behind the closures. However, a North Korean ambassador was quoted in The Independent, a Ugandan newspaper, as saying Pyongyang is reducing its number of embassies in Africa to “increase the efficiency” of its “external institutions.”

South Korea’s Ministry of Unification, which handles relations with the North, attributed the closures to strengthened international sanctions against North Korea, which have disrupted the cash-earning operations of its overseas missions.

“This is one aspect that shows North Korea’s difficult economic situation, where it is now difficult to even maintain minimal diplomatic relations with traditionally friendly countries,” a South Korean official told local media outlets.

Before the closures, North Korea had diplomatic missions in 53 places, according to South Korea’s unification ministry.

Many North Korean embassies have been involved in the smuggling of weapons, drugs, and luxury goods, as well as other illicit commercial activity meant to earn cash for their economically isolated government, according to media reports.

Sanctions pressure

North Korea is barred from a wide range of global trade activities under U.N. Security Council resolutions first put into place over its nuclear weapons program in 2006.

As sanctions pressure increased, North Korea expanded its economic ties in Africa, by sending construction workers there and exporting massive, communist-style statues that are erected in public squares.

In recent years, some African countries, including Angola, have taken steps to sever contracts with North Korean construction companies, and requested that North Korean workers leave, in order to comply with U.N. sanctions.

It not clear, however, how those developments may have factored into North Korea’s decision to close its embassies in Uganda and Angola.

In reality, multilateral sanctions pressure on North Korea has remained flat for several years, even as it rapidly expands its nuclear arsenal.

That’s because Russia and China, North Korea’s primary international backers, have refused to support more sanctions at the U.N. Security Council.

Severe economic woes?

Some observers say the embassy closures may instead point to even broader problems with North Korea’s economy.

Thae Yong-ho, a former senior North Korean diplomat who now serves as a South Korean lawmaker, said the closures “prove that North Korea is struggling economically.”

In a Facebook post, Thae said North Korea’s difficulties can be seen as a second version of the “Arduous March,” the famine in the 1990s that may have killed millions.

“North Korea claims their harvest this year was good, but North Korean defectors who fled recently have complained of hunger,” Thae added.

There are no signs of mass starvation in North Korea – but even if there were, the outside world would not necessarily know. Virtually all foreigners, such as aid workers and diplomats, left North Korea during the COVID-19 lockdown and have not returned.

Amid the isolation, North Korea has grown closer to China and Russia. Most notably, North Korea has sent many artillery shipments to Russia for use in Moscow’s war against Ukraine, according to U.S. and South Korean officials.

More profitable ventures?

Those steps are apparently not enough for North Korea to overcome its financial woes, said Mason Richey, associate professor at South Korea’s Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.

“Unless it’s just streamlining, a North Korean version of corporate restructuring – getting rid of non-core lines of business to be able to focus attention where it is most profitable,” he said.

One possibility, according to Richey, is that North Korea has found cyber attacks, such as theft of cryptocurrency, to be a much more efficient means of acquiring cash.

Over the past five years, North Korean hackers have stolen more than $2 billion in cryptocurrencies, according to an August report by TRM Labs, which studies crypto-related financial crime.

“If sanctions make generating money from embassies difficult, and the arms trade in Africa perhaps tougher, and they don’t need that so much anymore because of crypto theft … then why keep open useless embassies that are a drain on North Korean funds?” Richey said.

Lee Juhyun contributed to this report.
…

At least 40 people were killed in Nigeria’s Yobe state from Monday into Tuesday after suspected Boko Haram militants shot at villagers and set off a land mine, in the first major attack on the northeastern state in 18 months, the police said on Wednesday.

The attack happened about 8:30 p.m. Monday, at Gurokayeya village, Gaidam local government in Yobe, the state’s police spokesperson Abdulkarim Dungus said.

He said that gunmen opened fire on villagers, killing at least 17 people, and that on Tuesday a land mine exploded, killing at least 20 villagers who were returning from burying victims of the previous attack.

The Islamist group has been killing and abducting villagers in Borno state, a hotbed for militancy that has been the epicenter of a 14-year war on insurgency in Nigeria.

President Bola Tinubu and his Cabinet on Monday approved a $2.8 billion supplementary budget to fund “urgent issues,” including defense and security.

Tinubu, preoccupied with the economy, has yet to disclose how he would tackle insurgency in the north and widespread insecurity in other parts of the country.

The Yobe community had been at peace for over a year before this attack, residents said. The last time a bomb exploded in Yobe state was in April 2022.

Lawan Ahmed, a resident, told Reuters the militants shot at villagers sporadically from motorbikes, killing about 17 people on Monday.

Ahmed said that the same insurgents on Tuesday attempted to eliminate those who had gone to the burial on Monday, killing more than 20 people.
…

On the second day of his state visit to Kenya, Britain’s King Charles honored Africans who served with British forces during the two world wars before he headed to an urban forest to help highlight the crucial role of green spaces in cities.

Charles and Queen Camilla honored World War II veterans Wednesday at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery in Kariokor. Daniel Achini, the commission’s regional manager for East Africa, called the cemetery “very important to us.”

“The king is here, first and foremost to honor the sacrifices of the Africans who served with the British forces during World War I and II,” Achini said, “and he’s here to support the noncommemorated project of the War Graves Commission where we are trying to look for records of Africans who served during WWI and commemorate them adequately.”

A few veterans were present, including two said to be 104 and 117 years old, Achini told VOA.

The veterans present “served in WWII in various capacities” and “lost their medals in one way or another, so the king will be replacing those medals today,” he said.

Next was a stop at Karura Forest, an urban forest in the heart of Nairobi, to highlight the crucial role of green spaces in cities. Charles was joined by the famous Kenyan marathon runner Eliud Kipchoge. Together, they flagged off a 15k “Run for Nature” event.

A few minutes before Charles’ arrival, Kipchoge said, “It’s really important for the king to be here. … If you want to perform well, you need to run in a clean environment and breathe clean air. … This is our only home. We don’t have another home to conserve. We need to take care of it. The only way to take care of it is to involve ourselves as sportsmen and sportswomen.”

To honor the legacy of late Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai, who ran a campaign to save Karura Forest, Charles – escorted by Maathai’s daughter, Wanjira, and local children who support environmental causes – took a walk to a tree planting site.

There, Charles planted an Elgon teak with environmental campaigner Karen Kimani, 10, a fifth-grader.

“I felt a little nervous, but it all went well,” Kimani said afterward. “I am very happy, and it has been my wish, and I can’t believe it happened.”

Kimani, who has already planted more than 10,000 trees, said she was chosen to lend a hand to the king after writing a letter to Buckingham Palace.

“My mom got an email that it had been accepted and that I was going to plant a tree with the king,” she said.

The King was to leave Nairobi Wednesday night and head to the coastal city of Mombasa, where he’ll spend Thursday and Friday.
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The World Health Organization warns that disease outbreaks, malnutrition and non-communicable diseases are rising in war-torn Sudan, with devastating consequences for millions of people forced to flee their homes in the face of escalating violence. 

Since conflict erupted April 15, more than 4.6 million people have become newly displaced inside Sudan. The number, added to the more than three million who already were displaced within the country before the current conflict, makes Sudan home to the world’s largest internally displaced crisis. 

“The health system in Sudan is stretched to breaking point as capacities decline in the face of mounting needs,” said Ni’ma Saeed Abid, WHO representative in Sudan, speaking Tuesday in Port Sudan.

“Access to health care continues to be limited due to insecurity, displacement, and shortages of medicines and medical supplies, placing millions of Sudanese at risk of severe illness or death from preventable and treatable causes,” he said. 

The WHO says that 70 to 80 percent of health facilities are “non-functional in conflict hotspots.” It has verified 60 attacks against health care and personnel, leading to 34 deaths and 38 injuries. 

“Conflict and the consequent massive displacement have driven the population further into a state of widespread malnutrition, with the lives of children hanging in the balance,” said Abid.

“Cholera, measles, dengue and malaria are circulating in several states. And a combination of any of these diseases with malnutrition can be lethal,” he warned. 

According to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) estimates, 20.3 million people, or 40 percent of Sudan’s population, are facing hunger. Estimates show 4.6 million children, pregnant and nursing mothers are malnourished; 3.4 million children under five are acutely malnourished; and 700,000 children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition, which can lead to death. 

“I have seen two or three children put on the same bed for treatment for acute severe malnutrition because of the high number of cases,” Abid said. “And all these children because of malnutrition are susceptible for infection.” 

Since September 26, Sudan has declared outbreaks of cholera in Gedaref, Khartoum and South Kordofan states, with suspected cases reported from Al Jazirah and Kassal states. 

“And there is a possibility of further expansion because of the quality of water supply, because of the sanitation and because of displacement,” Abid said. “We are expecting that we may see more states affected, more people affected.” 

As of last week, the WHO reports 1,962 suspected cholera cases with 30 lab-confirmed cases and 72 associated deaths. It estimates more than 3.1 million people are at risk of cholera until the end of December.

The World Health Organization has stockpiled drugs and essential supplies for the treatment of cholera patients. It has deployed 14 rapid response teams into the affected areas, strengthened the country’s surveillance and early warning systems, and is getting ready to receive oral cholera vaccines for a campaign in Gedaref state.

More than six months have passed since the start of the crisis in Sudan. While efforts to contain some of the worst impacts of the disaster are critical, they are not enough. 

Martin Griffiths, under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, says only peace will stem the humanitarian tragedy that continues to unfold unabated in the country. 

In a statement over the weekend, he welcomed the resumption of peace talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, saying they couldn’t have started soon enough. 

“Thousands of people have been killed or injured. … Aid workers are hamstrung by fighting, insecurity, and red tape, making the operating environment in Sudan extremely challenging,” he said.

“We need the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces to break the bureaucratic logjam. We need them to fully adhere to international humanitarian law and to secure safe, sustained and unhindered access to people in need,” he said. 
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Britain’s King Charles said Tuesday there is “no excuse” for the “abhorrent and unjustifiable acts of violence” committed against Kenyans during the East African nation’s struggle for independence from British colonial rule.

The monarch made the acknowledgement during a state banquet in Nairobi at the start of a four-day state visit by Charles and Queen Camilla. The visit comes ahead of celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of Kenya’s independence on December 12.

More than 10,000 Kenyans were killed and others rounded up, detained and tortured during the brutal suppression of the Mau Mau uprising at the hands of British authorities between 1952 and 1960.

Charles told the attendees the “wrongdoings of the past are a cause of the greatest sorrow and the deepest regret.” He said that by addressing the past with “honesty and openness,” the two nations could “continue to build an ever closer bond in the years ahead.”

But the king did not offer a full-fledged apology for the atrocities as many Kenyan activists are demanding.

Kenyan President William Ruto, who hosted the banquet, said the response to African independence movements was “monstrous in its cruelty.” Ruto acknowledged that while Britain has made efforts to “atone for the death, injury and suffering” inflicted on Kenyans, “much remains to be done in order to achieve full reparations.”

Britain agreed to a $24 million settlement in 2013 for more than 5,000 Kenyans who suffered abuse during the revolt.

Charles’s visit to Kenya is his first to a member country of the 56-nation Commonwealth, comprised mostly of former British colonies, since his succession to the throne after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth, last year. Her historic 70-year reign began in 1952 when her father, King George VI, died while then-Princess Elizabeth was visiting Kenya with her husband, the late Prince Philip.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
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An American couple in Uganda has been convicted of cruel and inhumane treatment of a 10-year boy, who was in their care.

The couple was found guilty of six charges and ordered to pay more than $26,000 in compensation to the boy, who is now in a children’s home.

Justice Alice Komuhangi started delivering her verdict by describing the situation as a systemic problem with no mechanisms to take care of children like the 10-year-old.

“That’s why the victim found himself in the hands of the accused persons who are no citizens of Uganda and also suffering from ill health.,” Komuhangi said. “The child was in need of help and support, having lost his father and having been abandoned by his own mother.”

The American couple, Nicholas Scott Spencer and wife Mackenzie Leigh Mathias Spencer, were arrested in December 2022 and charged with aggravated torture of the child, who was living in foster care at their home in Kampala.  

Prosecutors said the couple withdrew the boy from school, isolated him in a room away from other children, made him sleep on a wooden slab without a cushion and kept him naked.

The prosecution’s statement adds that the boy was made to sit in one position with his legs crossed and folded as they fed him frozen food while monitoring him on CCTV cameras installed in the room.

The Spencers were later charged with aggravated child trafficking, to which they pleaded guilty and, in March, released on bail.

Judge Komuhangi found the Spencers guilty of six charges Tuesday, including cruel and degrading treatment of a child, child neglect, unlawful stay in Uganda and employment without a work permit.

The judge fined Mackenzie Spencer $1,000 for illegally staying in Uganda, giving her the option of paying the fine or spending two years in prison.

The judge fined Scott Spencer $400 for child neglect. He will have to serve a sentence of six months in prison if he can’t pay.

Judge Komuhangi also ordered each of them to pay the child $13,200 in compensation by the end of the day Tuesday.

“You’re also supposed to compensate and each one of you shall compensate this child to the tune of 50 million Uganda shillings, which makes it a total of 100 million Uganda shillings,” Komuhangi said.

If the Spencers cannot pay the fine, they will have to serve the jail terms.

The boy has been taken to a children’s home pending the appointment of a trustee, who will be given access to the money to take care of him. 

 
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Britain’s King Charles has begun a four-day visit to Kenya, his first trip to Africa since becoming king following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth, last year. Addressing aspects of Britain’s colonial past, issues related to the climate crisis, education and the importance of national security will top the monarch’s agenda.

The royal visit kicked off with a welcoming ceremony at the State House led by Kenyan President William Ruto and the country’s first lady.

It was followed by a visit to Uhuru Gardens National Monument and Museum — a new location dedicated to telling Kenya’s history through Kenyan voices — where the king laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior.

Right after, Charles and Queen Camilla went to the Eastlands local library, where young and old lined up inside to greet the couple.

Joel Aluoch grew up in the area and couldn’t believe the king was paying a visit to the library he’s known for so long.

“This is very phenomenal,” Aluoch said. “We are so elated to be in the group that’s going to meet the king, his majesty the king. It’s a lifetime experience. We are happy he chose to come to Eastlands where we were born and bred.”

VOA also spoke to a few other attendees, including Eva Aholi, Rahma Abdi and Lucy Vihenda, who were lucky to not only see the royal couple up close and personal, but even shook hands with them.

“I feel great. It’s a privilege to greet a king and a queen,” said Eva Aholi said. “I feel special.”

“I feel happy, and I told them, ‘Jambo’ and ‘Welcome to Kenya,'” Rahma Abdi said.

Lucy Vihenda echoed the others’ sentiments.

“It’s a privilege and an honor first of all to see the King and the Queen and to shake their hands,” she said. “We wish them well and tell them, ‘Karibu Sana Kenya.'”

“Karibu Sana Kenya” means “Big welcome to Kenya.”

This is the third foreign trip for the royal couple and their first to Africa since Charles became king last year.

Kenya holds symbolic significance for Charles’ family because of what it represented for his late mother, who was in Kenya when she learned her father had died and she had become queen.

The trip comes as the African nation celebrates 60 years of independence from Britain.

Javas Bigambo, a Kenyan lawyer and a governance specialist, recalled Kenya’s hard-fought struggle against British colonialism.

“There was a history of taking up the land of the locals when Kenya was a British protectorate from 1901 through the time of struggle through independence,” Bigambo said, “the Mau Mau struggle where a number of Kenyans suffered in the hands of the British.”

Ten years ago, Britain apologized and agreed to pay compensation to thousands of veterans of the Mau Mau nationalist uprising in Kenya, which was brutally suppressed by the British colonial government in the 1950s.

In Kenya, Mau Mau veterans and campaigners welcomed the apology at the time but said the compensation of about $3,500 per victim was not enough for the pain, suffering and long-term effects the community endured.

Other groups have also been asking for an apology and reparations. On Monday, the Kenya Human Rights Commission sent a 10-page document to the U.K. High Commission in Nairobi with its demands. Davis Malombe is the group’s executive director.

“We are raising a number of concerns with respect to the unresolved injustices by the colonial government when they were in the country between 1895 and 1963,” said Davis Malombe, the rights group’s executive director, “and also the other atrocities, which have been committed by the British multinational corporations and other actors from that time to date.”

VOA reached out to the embassy for comment but did not hear back.

King Charles and Queen Camilla will spend two days in Nairobi and then two days in the coastal city of Mombasa, where they plan to meet with environmental activists, conservationists, artists, entrepreneurs, veterans and young people.
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As Kenya prepares for heavy rains forecasted to occur in November and December, water-harvesting and recycling technology developed by a Kenyan entrepreneur could help reduce water shortages during drier times of the year. Juma Majanga reports from Isinya, Kenya. Videographer: Amos Wangwa
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A new report accuses a Chinese company of illegal deforestation in Congo, but there’s debate over which country is responsible.  

Over a six-month period last year, Congo King Baisheng Forestry Development exported $5 million – or about 30 million kilograms — in illegally logged hardwood to timber conglomerate Wan Peng through Zhangjigang Port, the environmental watchdog Global Witness found in its report.

The DRC’s Environment Ministry did not respond to questions about the findings, while the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., stressed that China places “great importance on protecting the environment.” The embassy declined to comment on the specific case in question.

“It is worth mentioning though, that the Chinese government always instructs the Chinese companies abroad to abide by local laws and regulations. That is our consistent position,” said an embassy spokesperson in an email to VOA.

But the Global Witness report made it clear that while there may be laws on paper preventing logging concessions in DRC, they were often ignored.  

Since 2002 there has been a government moratorium on new logging in the DRC due to the corruption in the sector, Global Witness said, but “despite this, vast swathes of forest have continued to be allocated to loggers in violation of the country’s own laws.”

A paradox

The report also pointed to the fact that in April 2022 the Congolese government suspended five concession agreements it had awarded to Congo King Baisheng Forestry Development or CKBFD, but logging continued in at least two of the concessions. After the suspension, between June and December, the company made $5 million in exported logs, it said.

When sent the evidence collected by Global Witness, Chinese Customs told the NGO that “as the logging has taken place in DRC and violated local laws, the DRC authority was responsible for enforcement.” The Chinese government could investigate evidence of Chinese companies or citizens being involved in illegal logging – if requested by the DRC government.  

This creates a paradox, analysts told VOA.  

“The Chinese government always preaches its companies to abide by the law, but in reality, the law is not always followed, especially in countries with weak governance…. In countries like DRC, laws are often negotiable with bribery,” Yun Sun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center, told VOA.  

“Beijing’s attitude is ‘we cannot be responsible for the law-making or law-enforcement of another country’, and ‘a few bad apples of Chinese companies do not equate the Chinese government,’” she added.

Christian Geraud Neema Byamungu, Africa Editor at the China Global South Project, himself Congolese, echoed this.  

“From China’s perspective, in this case, they’re not responsible, each country is responsible for what’s happening,” he said.

“Since they’re not backed by Beijing, there is absolutely no political reason for the DRC authorities not to implement and enforce regulations. But they’re not enforced because these Chinese individuals are backed or working for powerful Congolese authorities who can prevent and protect them from any legal action.”  

“So in that case, China’s answer would be ‘How am I responsible? The DRC is letting powerful individuals help Chinese individuals break their country’s rules,” wrote Byamungu to VOA.  

Planting forests

The spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy told VOA that China has been making major efforts in afforestation at home.  

“With four decades of afforestation, China has created the world’s largest planted forests, doubling its forest coverage rate from 12 percent in the early 1980s to 24.02 percent in 2022. Based on NASA satellites date [data] at least 25 percent of global foliage expansion since the early 2000s came from China,” the spokesperson said.

When asked about China’s tree planting efforts, Charlie Hammans, an investigator on the Global Witness report, acknowledged China, which is the world’s largest carbon emitter, had seen some successes at home.

“China has made significant strides in decarbonizing its economy in the last few years and has set a net zero goal by 2060. However, this report makes clear that the behavior of companies in forest-rich countries such as CKBFD undermines the efforts of the country at home,” he said.

But Global Witness said there’s a loophole in China’s forest law, as it is not clear if it applies to imported timber.

“A clear strategy to address this imbalance should be to bring in strong laws to ensure products linked to deforestation cannot be imported into China, and Chinese banks who finance forestry and agribusiness beyond their borders should be required to carry out extensive due diligence to ensure they are not bankrolling bad actors linked to deforestation,” Hammans said.
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An animal welfare group in Namibia has come out against the theft of dogs in the country that end up on the plates of consumers who regard the domestic animal as a delicacy. Vitalio Angula has this story from Windhoek, Namibia. This report contains graphic images that some viewers might find disturbing. Viewer discretion is advised.
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Thousands of South Africans braved cold, wet weather to greet the Rugby World Cup-winning Springboks when they arrived in Johannesburg on Tuesday.   

Many wore green and gold, the colors of the national team, as they filled every available space at OR Tambo airport to greet the record four-time world champions.   

South Africa edged greatest rivals New Zealand 12-11 in a gripping final in Paris last Saturday to achieve back-to-back titles after also winning the 1995 and 2007 title deciders.   

Supporters cheered in unison as captain Siya Kolisi emerged into the public area, waved at the crowd while holding the Webb Ellis Cup, and took selfies with jubilant supporters.   

“Thank you to the people of South Africa. We have had a long and tough 20 weeks, but it was worth it,” said Kolisi, a loose forward and the first black Test captain of the Springboks.   

“This triumph has been six years in the planning. Winning the World Cup in 2019 was an unexpected bonus as the ultimate goal was always to be champions in 2023.”   

Many waved signs reading “Bokke [Springboks], a bunch of winners”, as loud music played in the background creating a party atmosphere. A band played the national anthem.   

The latest success brought joy to a country battling unemployment, electricity, water and crime crises.   

Rugby is one of the three most popular sports in South Africa, but the only one to regularly deliver trophies.   

The football team has not triumphed since winning the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations while the cricket side has yet to win a world title in any format.   

“We love them so much, they made us proud,” said Excellent George, 42, who was at the airport with her Springbok-flag-holding husband Rudy.   

“With our country having a lot of problems, sport, and especially rugby, bring us together,” she added.   

Susan, a 56-year-old accountant who preferred to give only her first name, said she took a day off work to see her heroes up close.   

Like many in the country she said she saw the team as a unifying force able to bridge racial and social divides in the country.   

“I just could not miss it,” she said wearing a green and gold fleece jacket and flanked by a friend sporting a similar outfit.   

“We have players from all backgrounds, all races and watching those people on the field just brings us so much hope. It gives me goosebumps just to think about it,” she said. 

 
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U.N. soldiers Tuesday left a camp in the strategic town of Kidal in Mali’s volatile north, which has been wracked by jihadist and separatist violence, several sources in the peacekeeping mission told AFP.   

“We left Kidal this morning,” a source in the U.N. peacekeeping mission based in the town said.    

Following a coup in 2020, Mali’s new military rulers in June ordered the peacekeepers out, proclaiming the “failure” of their mission.   

The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), whose strength has hovered around 15,000 soldiers and police officers, has seen 180 of its members killed.  

The original plan was for the peacekeeping force to have withdrawn from the West African nation by the end of the year, but the UN troops began withdrawing from their compounds as early as July.   

The U.N. peacekeeping force says it has had to destroy or decommission equipment such as vehicles, ammunition and generators that it was unable to take away, in accordance with UN rules.   

The MINUSMA withdrawal has exacerbated rivalries between armed groups present in the north of the country and the Malian state.   

These groups do not want the UN camps handed back to the Malian army, saying such a move would contravene ceasefire and peace deals struck with Bamako in 2014 and 2015.   

However the army is pushing to take back control of the evacuated camps.   

The predominantly Tuareg separatist groups who oppose the army have resumed hostilities against it.    

The Al-Qaeda-linked Support Group for Islam and Muslims (GSIM) has also stepped up attacks against the military.   

That means that MINUSMA’s pull-out is all the more perilous, taking place against the background of this renewal of hostilities — and on what are perceived to be restrictions imposed by the authorities on its ability to maneuver. 

 
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Adiara Traore was due to travel to France with an international dance troupe before France suspended visa services in Mali, and the French Ministry of Culture asked the country’s artistic union to “suspend cooperation” with artists from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. Amid tensions between France and Sahelian juntas, Malian artists and their supporters are asking the French government to allow artists to continue the cultural exchange that has flourished between Mali and France for years. Annie Risemberg reports.
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