The U.S. military command in Africa has said it conducted an airstrike in central Somalia that killed five al-Shabab militants. 

In a press statement Thursday, AFRCOM said the “collective self-defense” airstrike occurred July 19 in a remote area near Hareeri Kalle, approximately 15 kilometers south of Galcad.

AFRICOM said the strike was in support of Somali National Army forces fighting al-Shabab. The strike came at the request of the federal government of Somalia, the statement added. 

AFRICOM said it will continue to assess the results of Wednesday’s operation and will provide additional information “as appropriate.” 

The Somali government has been fighting al-Shabab militants since 2006. The group was removed from major cities but continues to control vast areas in the countryside.

In August 2022, the Somali army, supported by self-mobilized local fighters, launched a military offensive that seized parts of central Somalia from the militant group. 

The militants have struck back, raiding military bases and inflicting heavy losses on government forces in the south and central regions.  

Meanwhile, Hussein Sheikh-Ali, the national security adviser for Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, told VOA this week the Somali government hopes to get a financial boost in December when a fundraising conference will be held in New York for the Somali army.   

Ali said six countries — the United States, United Kingdom, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar — as well as the European Union will co-sponsor with Somalia an international donor conference for the Somali security sector.    

“We are expecting something that would take Somalia up to 2027 when Somalia believes we can take over to fund our security forces completely,” Ali said.  

The Somali government is aided by an African Union force and independently operating Ethiopian forces that are also fighting al-Shabab. 

The United States, Turkey, Eritrea and the United Arab Emirates are among the nations training the Somali National Army.  
…

NAIROBI, KENYA – Kenyans angry over the high cost of living and tax hikes were set to continue protests Thursday, a day after police opened fire on protesters, killing at least two and wounding 26 more.

“The voice of the people must be heard. Our peaceful protest continues,” opposition leader Raila Odinga wrote on Twitter.

Kenyan President William Ruto, meanwhile, has vowed that no protests would take place, saying he would take Odinga “head-on.”

The Wednesday-to-Friday demonstrations are the third round of protests that the opposition has called this month.

The Nation newspaper reported that Odinga’s Azimio opposition party had called for its supporters to assemble at Huruma grounds, Kangemi grounds and Central Park in the capital, Nairobi, Thursday.

The Kenyan Interior Ministry said Wednesday that more than 300 people were arrested during the protests and will be charged with crimes that include looting, destroying property and assaulting police.

Kenyan Foreign Minister Alfred Mutua said the protests have been politically instigated and have been far from peaceful as the opposition has characterized them.

“What we have witnessed are violent protests with those involved carrying all manner of crude weapons,” he said. “We have seen goons destroy our highways with no police around. That is not a peaceful protest.”

Authorities did not comment on the dead and wounded or respond to witness allegations that police officers had at times fired into homes.

The opposition condemned the arrests of seven elected leaders and two close associates of Odinga, describing them in a statement as a “desperate attempt” by the Ruto administration to paralyze the opposition.

The opposition said protests would continue Thursday.

The Media Council of Kenya alleged cases of police masquerading as journalists “with intent to arrest protesters.” In a statement, the council called such behavior “grave unprofessional conduct.”

Businesses and schools in Nairobi were closed as police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse protesters. Demonstrations were reported in several other parts of the country, including the western counties of Migori and Kisii, where the opposition enjoys huge support.

Police had said the protests were illegal as no permit for them was issued, but the right to peaceful protests is enshrined in the Kenyan constitution.

Wednesday in Nairobi’s Kibera district, Omondi Diatiene said he was ready to protest as long as it takes.

“We are protesting today because the standards (costs) of living in this country have gone drastically up,” he said. “They are going up each and every day. We don’t need Ruto, that’s it. He’s already shown us he’s a very stubborn man, he’s not ready to listen to the people.”

During similar protests last week, at least 10 people were killed, according to watchdogs. A police officer confirmed at least six deaths to the AP. Many others were injured, including 53 children who went into shock after tear gas was thrown inside their school compound.

Religious leaders have called for dialogue between the government and the opposition to end the protests. Catholic bishops Wednesday issued a statement saying, “no further blood should be shed” and urged the president to repeal the finance law that has agitated many Kenyans.

The law has raised the price of fuel to its highest level as the government implements a doubling of value added tax on petroleum products to 16%. The prices have taken effect despite a court order suspending the implementation of the controversial new taxes.

A Nairobi resident, Wycliffe Onyango, said his entire earnings are spent on food. “Right now there is no work going on. We are suffering. I plead with the government to deal with the cost of living,” he said.

The International Monetary Fund this week called the law’s approval a “crucial” step toward reducing Kenya’s debt vulnerabilities.

Western envoys from 13 countries on Tuesday issued a joint statement calling for dialogue and expressed concern over the loss of lives and destruction of property.

The Kenya Medical Association said its members had attended to “hundreds of injured Kenyans and witnessed tens of fatalities” as a result of protests in recent months, and access to health facilities was limited for patients and workers, leading to increased mortality.

Human Rights Watch urged political leaders to stop labelling protesters as “terrorists” and respect the right to peaceful protests. The group also called out the police for using force and live bullets to confront protesters.

VOA’s Mariama Diallo contributed to this report. Some information in this report came from Reuters. 
…

Fuel stations in Malawi’s economic capital, Blantyre, are running on empty after a fresh, nationwide fuel shortage this week.

Long lines of motorists are waiting for hours, sometimes overnight, in hopes of fueling their vehicles, while public transport fares have doubled. Malawi’s energy regulator says the country has depleted its fuel reserves, largely due to a lack of foreign currency.

The problem became apparent July 16 when motorists started to scramble for gasoline, though diesel still was readily available.

Now, both products have run out. Long lines, some as long as a kilometer from a pump station, are common, attracting a lot of speculation from motorists such as Labani Chirwa. 

Chirwa has heard there are plans to hike the prices of fuel, leaving many thinking some filling stations are deliberately hoarding the fuel to make huge profits from the old stock.

The government has rejected that speculation.

This is the first time since March the fuel supply situation has reached critical levels.

The fuel scarcity has pushed operators of public transportation vehicles to almost double their fares.

However, the operators say despite the increase in fares they are not making any profits because they are spending a day or two lining up for fuel without doing any business. 

The fuel scarcity is a big blow because many people and their families rely on minibuses, said Calisto Kambani, who runs a minibus business in Blantyre.

Malawi has been facing recurring fuel shortages since August 2022, largely because the country lacks enough foreign currency. The Reserve Bank of Malawi said in June that the government’s foreign exchange reserves were not enough to last a month.

Henry Kachaje, chief executive officer for the Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority, told reporters Tuesday that Malawi cannot keep up with rising international prices for petroleum products.

“Previously, the country used to require an average of about $300 million worth of product, but when the prices of petroleum products on the market rose, as a country we needed almost $600 million worth of a product. Unfortunately, our export base did not double as the import bill doubled,” he said.

Kachaje said the energy regulator is working with fuel suppliers to minimize the shortages.

“One way is to engage suppliers that are willing to give product to Malawi in Malawi Kwacha [local currency],” he said, “so we use that as a measure to supply to the main market on a daily basis while we allow our national importer, the National Oil Company of Malawi, to focus on restocking the strategic reserves.”

Kachaje said if all works according to plan, the fuel strategic reserve in Malawi will be restocked by the end of August.

The current fuel shortage is temporary, he added, projecting it will be resolved within three days.  
…

South Africans marked Nelson Mandela International Day to honor the anti-apartheid hero and late president’s birthday on July 18. But almost 10 years after Mandela’s death, the events stand in stark contrast to the socio-economic segregation and corruption that still haunt South Africa. Vicky Stark reports from Cape Town, South Africa. Camera and video editing by Shadley Lombard.
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Zimbabwe’s main opposition party, the Citizens Coalition for Change, has turned to door-to-door campaigning ahead of next month’s election, saying police are turning down its applications for public rallies. The police acknowledge refusing to authorize a number of opposition rallies but say they are also turning down requests to rally from the ruling party. Columbus Mavhunga reports from Harare. Camera: Blessing  Chigwenhembe 
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Tayba Hatimy studied and practiced dentistry for seven years before she realized her real passion was caring for the environment. Since then, she has founded a garbage collection app that helps people in Mombasa, Kenya reduce garbage along the coast. Saida Swaleh has the story. (Camera: Moses Baya )
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Swathes of Europe baked Tuesday in a heatwave trailed by wildfires and health warnings, as parts of Asia also suffered under extreme weather. 

Firefighters battled blazes in parts of Greece and the Canary Islands, Spain issued heat alerts while some children in Italy’s Sardinia were warned away from sports for safety reasons. 

“You can’t be in the street, it’s horrible,” said Lidia Rodriguez, 27, in Madrid. 

In much of Europe, authorities have warned in recent days of the health dangers of the extreme heat, urging people to drink water and shelter from the sun.  

Several local temperature records were broken in southern France, the weather service said. 

Meteo France said a record 29.5 degrees Celsius (85 Fahrenheit) had been reached in the Alpine ski resort of Alpe d’Huez, which sits at an altitude of 1,860 meters (6,100 feet), while 40.6 C (105 F) had been recorded for the first time in Verdun in the foothills of the Pyrenees. 

In a stark reminder of the effects of global warming, the U.N.’s World Meteorological Agency (WMO) said the trend of heatwaves “shows no signs of decreasing.” 

“These events will continue to grow in intensity, and the world needs to prepare for more intense heatwaves,” John Nairn, a senior extreme heat adviser at the WMO told reporters in Geneva.  

Wildfires and scorching heat 

Northwest of the Greek capital of Athens, columns of smoke loomed over the forest of Dervenohoria, where one of several fires around the capital and beyond was still burning.  

Fire spokesperson Yannis Artopios called it “a difficult day.” Another heatwave was on the horizon for Thursday, with expected temperatures of 44 C (111 Fahrenheit).  

Still burning was a forest fire by the seaside resort of Loutraki, where the mayor said 1,200 children had been evacuated Monday from holiday camps. 

In the Canary Islands, some 400 firefighters battled a blaze that has ravaged 3,500 hectares of forest and forced 4,000 residents to evacuate, with authorities warning residents to wear face masks outside due to poor air quality. 

Temperatures were unforgiving in Italy and in Spain, where three regions were put under hot weather red alerts. 

The Italian islands of Sardinia and Sicily have been on watch to possibly surpass a continentwide record of 48.8 C (119.8 F), recorded in Sicily in August 2021. 

Many throughout Italy sought escape by the sea, including outside Rome, where the midday heat hit 40 C (104 F). 

“Certainly it’s better at the beach, you can at least get a little wind from the sea. It’s not even possible to remain in the city, too hot,” said Virginia Cesario, 30, at the Focene beach near the capital. 

Climate change impact  

The heatwaves across Europe and the globe are “not one single phenomenon but several acting at the same time,” said Robert Vautard, director of France’s Pierre-Simon Laplace climate institute. 

“But they are all strengthened by one factor: climate change.” 

Health authorities in Italy issued red alerts for 20 cities, from Naples in the south to Venice in the north.  

At Lanusei, near Sardinia’s eastern coast, a children’s summer camp was restricting beach visits to the early morning and forbidding sports, teacher Morgana Cucca told AFP. 

In the Sardinian capital of Cagliari, pharmacist Teresa Angioni said patients were complaining of heat-related symptoms. 

“They mainly buy magnesium and potassium supplements and ask us to measure their blood pressure, which is often low,” Angioni said. 

Heat record in China 

In parts of Asia, record temperatures have triggered torrential rain. 

Nearly 260,000 people were evacuated in southern China and Vietnam before a typhoon made landfall late Monday, bringing fierce winds and rain, but weakening to a tropical storm by Tuesday. 

China reported on Monday a new mid-July high of 52.2 C (126 F) in the northwestern Xinjiang region’s village of Sanbao, breaking the previous high of 50.6 C (123 F) set six years ago. 

The record-setting heat came as U.S. climate envoy John Kerry met with Chinese officials in Beijing, as the world’s two largest polluters revive stalled diplomacy on reducing planet-warming emissions. 

Speaking Tuesday at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People with China’s top diplomat Wang Yi, Kerry called for “global leadership” on climate issues. 
…

The Russian private military force known as the Wagner Group captured the world’s attention with its open mutiny and march on Moscow, averted at the last minute through a deal brokered by Belarus. As Wagner’s future role remains uncertain, we take a look at their origins, the role they play in conflicts around the world, and their rise to influence as an unofficial arm of the Kremlin. Story by Alex Gendler; narration by Salem Solomon.
…

Somalia’s rebuilt national museum is hosting its first show after more than three decades of damaging war and conflict. The 90-year-old museum is holding an international exhibit for 18 artists. Mohamed Sheikh Nor reports from Mogadishu, Somalia.
…

Every year on Nelson Mandela’s birthday (July 18), the South African government calls on citizens to honor the global icon’s legacy by doing good deeds. But almost 10 years after the anti-apartheid legend’s death, with South Africa suffering record levels of unemployment, widespread blackouts and corruption scandals, many say the current government is itself failing to honor Mandela.

Mandela, who spent 27 years in prison in his fight against racist white minority rule, is a hero to many in South Africa and across the world. After he became the country’s first democratically elected president in 1994 there was a great sense of hope for South Africa under his leadership of the African National Congress party, or ANC.

But his successors — all from the ANC — have had mixed reviews, with one — former President Jacob Zuma — facing trial on multiple counts of corruption.

Many critics say the once-storied liberation party has become bloated, corrupt and inept, though others argue the brutal legacy of the apartheid system has made it hard to turn the country around.

What ordinary South Africans who spoke to VOA on the streets of Johannesburg did agree on this Mandela Day, however, was that the man many refer to as “tata,” or father, is sorely missed.

Isaac Rabotapi, a security guard, remembered the day in 1990 when he was a young child and Mandela was released from prison.

“We were so happy in Soweto… even children, we couldn’t sleep even in that day because we were so happy he was out of jail… We do remember so many things about him. Actually, we miss him,” Rabotapi said.

Rabotapi says the country’s current leaders haven’t lived up to Mandela’s huge legacy.“I’m very disappointed. I think Tata would be very crying to see that South Africa is collapsing; really, it’s collapsing about water, loadshedding, electricity, those stuffs, the shortage of food, you know, so many things. The crime,” Rabotapi said.

Agnes Mashole, who owns a beauty salon, also remembers the celebrations when Mandela and the ANC won the first election after apartheid.

But like Rabotapi, she laments the widespread power failures known here as “loadshedding” — which have badly affected Africa’s most developed economy — and expresses disappointment with the current government.

“They failed, they like really failed. I wish we could just wake up Mandela and fix everything… The economy is going down. This loadshedding, it’s worse,” Mashole said.

Asanda Ngoasheng, an independent political analyst, told VOA South Africa was a complex country because of its history.

“Yes, corruption does leave a stain in the ANC and it is a difficult issue to deal with and it is disappointing for South Africans considering the legacy of Mandela, but there is a lot that the ANC has done for South Africa and continues to do for South Africa, particularly Black South Africans,” Ngoasheng said.

To mark Mandela Day, President Cyril Ramaphosa inaugurated two new statues of the revered statesman, and made a speech about “following in his footsteps.”

However, if the ANC doesn’t fix some of the problems plaguing the country, it may no longer be able to retain power simply by trading on Mandela’s legacy.

South Africa holds elections next year and recent polls show the ANC might lose its parliamentary majority for the first time since coming to power. 

 
…

Cameroon’s military says it has arrested scores of rebels suspected in the shooting deaths of 10 civilians Sunday in the northwest town of Bamenda. The military says separatists disguised themselves as government troops to try to frame them for the killings, which a rebel spokesperson denies.

Bamenda city mayor Achombong Paul, who visited Bamenda Regional Hospital on Tuesday morning, said residents of the city are living in fear after Sunday’s brutal killings. 

“Every human life has value. Every human being has a right to live and nobody for whatever reason has a right to take away the life of an individual,” he said. “We cannot live in a town where there is chaos, fear and all the kinds of atrocities going on at the same time. We will never move forward with this attitude. No, we won’t. People can’t go to work, nothing works in this town because people are scared to be killed.”

Hospital director Nsame Denis said at least 600 people have visited the hospital since Sunday’s killings to find out if their family or friends are among the victims.  

“We received in total 12 victims of firearm injuries. Out of this 12, one is in the intensive care, one took treatment and went home, and at the level of the mortuary, we have 10 corpses amongst whom three are female and seven are males ranging from 24 to 56 years,” Nsame said.

Cameroon’s military, in a July 17 statement, said about 12 heavily armed fighters dressed in military gear similar to that of the central African state’s military shot indiscriminately at civilians at Nacho Junction in Bamenda. 

The military said scores of suspects have been arrested in a crackdown operation less than 48 hours after the killings.

Deben Tchoffo, governor of the Northwest region, said fighters want to create panic among civilians who collaborate with the military by reporting suspected separatists.

“I would like, on behalf of the head of state, to assure the population that measures are being taken by the security services to locate the authors of that barbaric act and sanction them. I would like to strongly condemn those attacks by a terrorist group,” he said.

Separatists on social media, including Facebook and WhatsApp, denied responsibility for the killings. They said government troops were responsible, asserting that the military wants to give separatists a bad image to the international community.

The Center for Human Rights and Democracy in Central Africa reports that Sunday’s killing comes two days after Cameroon’s military was said to have raided Awing Quarter, another neighborhood in Bamenda, and killed at least five people.

Northwest Region Governor Tchoffo acknowledges that civilians were killed in Awing Quarter but blames fighters for the killings.

The Cameroon government said people wounded in both attacks are being treated free of charge in hospitals in Bamenda. 

Rights groups, including Human Rights Watch and the Center for Human Rights and Democracy, accuse both the military and rebels of abuses, including rape, torture and killings.

Cameroon’s Northwest and Southwest regions have seen years of deadly battles between government troops and separatists fighting to carve out an English-speaking state from French-speaking majority Cameroon.

The conflict has killed more than 6,000 people and displaced more than 760,000 others, according to the International Crisis Group. 
…

Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has condemned the militant group al-Shabab for imposing a weeklong blockade on the southwestern town of Baidoa. Authorities say the Islamist group has cut off supplies in and out of the area, worsening hunger caused by record drought and insecurity.

Al-Shabaab set up the blockade Tuesday, cutting off transport to and from Baidoa, the capital of South West state.

The blockade, which comes ahead of a planned government military offensive in the region, has affected businesses and resulted in price hikes as vehicles transporting goods from towns such as Mogadishu are stranded.

Hussein Mohamud, the chief of staff for Somalia’s president, said the blockade demonstrates that al-Shabab is at war against the people of Somalia.

Mohamed Edin, a trader in Baidoa, told VOA businesses will soon be forced to close as supplies dwindle.

He said he relies on supplies from Mogadishu that pass through Afgoye but his business has suffered since the blockade. With his stock nearly depleted, Edin said he might be forced to close his business if the blockade continues.

According to the United Nations, Baidoa is home to about 600,000 internally displaced people pushed from their homes by the al-Shabab insurgency and drought.

Analysts say by imposing the blockade, al-Shabab is affirming its strength and that could worsen the situation in the region.

Abdirahman Azari, director of the Mogadishu-based Center for Analysis and Strategic Studies, said al-Shabab is sending direct and indirect messages to the Somali government that they are still in control in parts of the country and can impose sanctions anywhere and people will obey their orders.

Azari added that the blockade could jolt the government into an earlier launch of a planned offensive.

The Somali government says it is on course to launch Operation Black Lion, which will focus on South West and Jubaland states in the southern part of the country.

Government forces with the help of local militias reclaimed part of the central area of the country from al-Shabab control last summer in the first phase of the offensive.

Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti are expected to send in about 20,000 troops to bolster Somali forces and clan militia in the second phase of the operation.

Abdiaziz Isaack, a security and political analyst at the Hamad Bin Khalifa Civilization Center, said al-Shabab’s blockade on Baidoa is sending a message.

He said it demonstrates the al-Shabab’s ability to challenge the government despite local and international efforts to defeat the group. Isaack said al-Shabab is telling the Somali government that it will face stiff resistance when it begins the second phase.

The South West state perennially remains the most vulnerable region in Somalia in terms of insecurity and drought. In April, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited Baidoa to launch a humanitarian campaign for Somalia, appealing for “massive international aid” to stave off famine.
…

Rights activists and opposition groups in Zimbabwe say President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s signing into law a so-called “Patriotic Bill” is a grave attack on fundamental freedoms and rights. The new law authorizes harsh penalties, including the death penalty, for anyone found guilty of “willfully damaging the sovereignty and national interest of Zimbabwe.”

Zimbabwe’s main opposition party and human rights groups are calling Mnangagwa to repeal the bill he signed into law last Friday.

“We condemn their signing into law of the unconstitutional ‘Patriotic Bill,’ which will criminalize free speech and freedom of association which are protected under our constitution,” said Fadzayi Mahere, spokesman for Citizens Coalition for Change. “The introduction of this repressive legislation confirms beyond any doubt that Mr. Mnangagwa is worse than Robert Mugabe and Zimbabwe as become a full-blown dictatorship in an outpost of tyranny.”

Mahere called on Zimbabweans to, as he put it, “vote decisively for change” in the August 23 general election.

Obert Masaraure is spokesman for another rights group, the Crisis Coalition of Zimbabwe. His group says the new law is vague in its definition of offenses.

“Some of the penalties proposed by the law for deliberately injuring the sovereignty and national interests of Zimbabwe, such as the death penalty, long imprisonment, loss of citizenship and binding of persons from electoral participation for five years, are too harsh and inappropriate for vaguely defined offenses,” he said. “The provision of the death penalty means that the new law violates the constitution which only allows for the death penalty in cases of murder and aggravating circumstances. We firmly oppose the death penalty without exceptions. We are completely against the death penalty and we condemn it and unreservedly.”

Amnesty International said the new law is evidence that Zimbabwean authorities are “bent on closing civic space as well as suppressing any form of dissent.”

But Rutendo Matinyarare, chairman of the pro-government Zimbabwe Anti-Sanctions Movement, has a different view.

“I’m over the moon because of the fact that the president is finally signed this criminal law amendment,” Matinyarare said. “And I’m happy because I was one of the people that proposed the Patriotic Bill.”

Matinyarare said his group is pleased about laws that punish people who advocate for sanctions and call for the invasion of the country and stabilization of the country.

“It puts us in step with other nations across the world that have similar laws,” Matinyarare said. “Let’s hope it deters people and unites Zimbabweans to not sabotage their own country.”

Mnangagwa and the ruling ZANU-PF party have pushed for years for an end to Western sanctions against Zimbabwean leaders. The sanctions were imposed during the rule of the late Robert Mugabe for human rights violations and alleged election rigging.

Mnangagwa has not commented on the law, known as the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Amendment Act, since he signed it into law last week.
…

Russia said Monday it is ending its participation in a wartime deal that allowed Ukraine safe passage to export grain from three Ukrainian ports past Russian warships on the Black Sea. 

Here is a look at how the grain deal worked and what Russia’s withdrawal from the agreement will mean for both Moscow and Kyiv as well as the global food supply. 

What is the grain deal?

The United Nations and Turkey brokered the deal to allow grain to be shipped from Ukraine, despite Russia’s ongoing war in that country. Much of the exported grain was shipped to impoverished countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. The deal also allowed for Russia to ship food and fertilizer throughout the world despite Western sanctions on Moscow.

When did the agreement begin? 

The nearly year-old deal was reached in July 2022 and was meant to be extended every four months. It was renewed three times, but the last two renewals were for only two months each as Russia complained of obstacles to exporting its food and fertilizer. 

Why did Russia withdrawal from the pact? 

Russia has repeatedly said it was not benefiting enough under the initiative. Ukraine and Russia are both major global suppliers of wheat, barley, sunflower oil and other affordable food products. One of Russia’s main demands has been for its agriculture bank to be reinstated in the SWIFT system of financial transactions.    

What was the effect of the deal?

After Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine — considered the breadbasket of Europe — grain prices rose worldwide. The U.N. gain deal, brokered five months after the war began, helped to bring down global food prices. The U.N. said that since exports from the pact began in August 2022, 32.9 metric tons of food commodities have been exported to 45 countries.

Will food prices rise again? 

Experts say not renewing the Black Sea grain deal could cause food prices to again climb. However, they say the worldwide food situation is not as volatile as it was last year because other countries are now producing more grain to counterbalance losses from Ukraine, including Argentina, Brazil, and European nations. 

Can Ukraine still ship from the Black Sea?

It is not clear if Russia will block Ukrainian ports following its withdrawal from the grain deal. However, even if Russia does not block or attack Ukrainian ships carrying food supplies, ship owners will surely see increased insurance premiums to enter the Black Sea and are likely to be reluctant for their vessels to pass through a war zone without assurances of safety. 

Can Ukraine send more grain through Europe? 

Ukraine has been sending large amounts of grain through eastern European countries since the conflict began; however, these routes — both land and river — handle lower amounts compared to sea shipments. Ukraine’s shipments through Europe have also prompted anger from some European countries that say the shipments have undercut local supplies. As a result, five EU countries — Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia — have banned domestic sales of some Ukrainian grains.

What does the deal’s end mean for the World Food Program?

The U.N. World Food Program says grain from Ukraine has played an important role in its efforts to distribute food to those in need. The U.N. agency says the grain initiative has allowed it to ship more than 725,200 tons of grain to relieve hunger around the world, including to Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. 

Some information in this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
…

Sierra Leone’s new parliament will have the largest female representation in the country’s history, with 41 women lawmakers, more than double that of the last election. Activists say that number could have been higher had a new law that reserves 30 percent of leadership roles for women been followed correctly. Senanu Tord reports from Port Loko, Sierra Leone.
…

The ongoing war between Sudan’s military and a paramilitary force has placed the country in jeopardy of not being able to feed itself and has thrown many people into deeper depths of hunger and poverty, according to a Reuters report.

Reuters said Monday that the delays in planting are also “partly due” to the farmers not being able to receive any credit from banks and the high prices of items like fertilizer and fuel.

The news agency said it talked with more than a dozen people, including farmers, experts and workers.

Four of the farmers, Reuters said, reported that they might not be able to plant before this month’s heavy rains.

Farmers also said Sudan is heading towards a famine, despite a U.N. analysis that says it is too early to make that prediction.

“Peanuts should have been sowed,” said one farmer. “Until now, our preparation is zero. . . We think we’re threatened with a famine.”

In addition, aid agencies have accused both warring factions of blocking humanitarian access to areas. Both sides have said they have facilitated access, and both accuse the other of blocking aid.
…

The year 2023 has so far not been a good one for Africa. Conflict has erupted in Sudan, deepened in the Democratic Republic of Congo and spread southward from the Sahel.

Extreme weather, often attributed to climate change, has triggered devastating droughts and floods in places like Kenya and South Sudan, deepening poverty. Many African economies are struggling under massive debt.

But the head of the African Development Bank, or AfDB, prefers to focus on the continent’s promise: notably, how to better harness its assets — from its massive natural resource wealth to its large and young workforce — to fight climate change, invest in sustainable development and green and grow economies.

“I’ve been pushing that we need to revalue our countries based on their natural capital,” the bank’s president, Akinwumi Adesina, told VOA during a recent trip to Paris.

“This fundamentally for me is how we are going get a lot of capital going into Africa,” he added, “by the greening of African economies, by the proper valuation of carbon” that contributes to rising emissions but can also be stored and sequestered in areas rich in land and forests.

Adesina spoke after a financing summit in the French capital that drew dozens of developing country leaders, but few from richer nations. Still, many observers note it delivered some concrete results in development and climate financing for poor countries — possibly paving the way for bigger changes.

Among the takeaways: China and other creditors agreed to restructure Zambia’s debt; Senegal received financing to develop renewable energy, and rich nations agreed to reallocate $100 billion in International Monetary Fund money to fight climate change and poverty in developing countries.

For Adesina, the summit, hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron, led to “a new sense of commitment, a sense of urgency of the need to move forward.”

He also echoed other critics, though, in calling on rich nations to meet promises of climate financing made about a decade ago to poorer ones. The aim is to be more aggressive in building a more equitable world — siding with calls made by a group of developing countries led by Jamaica called the Bridgetown Initiative.

China key

A Nigerian economist famous for his bowties — one was firmly affixed during the Paris interview — 63-year-old Adesina was tapped as AfDB head in 2015 and reelected for a second term in 2020. As the son of a farmer from southwestern Nigeria, he understands Africa’s development challenges firsthand.

“The global financial architecture is failing,” Adesina said, adding the world was also “way off course” in achieving U.N. sustainable development goals that include ending poverty and hunger, and ensuring quality education, along with clean water and energy.

Africa alone will need $2.7 trillion to tackle climate change between now and 2030, he noted. Yet it gets only a fraction of global financing to cope with a climate crisis for which it is largely not responsible.

“We all live on the same planet,” Adesina said. “We are not going to another one, so we’ve got to save it.”

While sustainable financing may be slow to come, competition for Africa’s riches is intensifying. In recent months, top officials from the U.S., China and Russia have crisscrossed the continent, seeking to ramp up diplomatic and economic ties.

China, in particular, is a top lender and Africa’s biggest trading partner. Critics, including Washington, have slammed Beijing for fostering debt traps — locking in loans for political leverage — which Beijing strongly denies.

But the Paris summit marked a change. China, Zambia’s largest creditor, joined others in agreeing to restructure the country’s debt — in what some, like Adesina, hope will pave the way for similar deals.

“There’s no way we can solve the challenges of debt in Africa without China at the table,” he said, noting Beijing currently holds 14 percent of the continent’s debt.

‘Toxic’ debt

Adesina also denounced loans repaid by depleting Africa’s rich trove of natural resources — from timber and oil and gas to diamonds and rare earth metals, like cobalt, that are key for electric vehicles — with often disastrous environmental consequences.

The World Bank estimates such loans represented nearly 10 percent of new borrowing in sub-Saharan Africa between 2004 and 2018. Critics single out China and Russia for especially harmful practices. Russia’s Wagner Group notoriously trades its much-criticized military services for opportunities to exploit timber, diamond and gold mines in countries where it operates — but they are not the only ones.

“Natural resource-backed loans should stop completely,” said Adesina, without naming any particular country. “They should never be on the table. They are toxic, non-transparent debt, which mortgages the future of countries.”

But he also called on African countries to be more active in mobilizing resources for their own development by raising taxes on multinational companies, for example, stopping illicit capital flows out of the continent, and cracking down on corruption.

Africa, Adesina argues, is a good investment. He cited a Moody’s Analytics report that found the continent’s default rate for infrastructure projects to be the second lowest in the world.

Accounting for Africa resource wealth, or natural capital — including the positive contribution of its rainforests and other wild areas in fighting climate change and preserving biodiversity — would also substantially change its balance sheets.

“If that re-estimation were to be taken into account, the debt-to-GDP ratio would fall dramatically,” Adesina said, allowing countries like mineral- and forest-rich Democratic Republic of Congo to raise money at a much lower interest rate.

He points to the AfDB’s own green investments — including in a vast solar energy project in the Sahel that is aimed at providing electricity to a quarter-million people and the development of at-home skills in solar assembly and manufacturing.

Such investments carry larger payoffs, Adesina added, describing how solar drip irrigation could help green the Sahel, or how parallel investments in development could help address root causes of the region’s years-long conflict.

He added that young people would stay in the African continent instead of moving to Europe “because there’s economic activity powered by available energy.”
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European leaders and Tunisia’s president announced progress Sunday in the building of hoped-for closer economic and trade relations and on measures to combat the often-lethal smuggling of migrants across the Mediterranean Sea.

The leaders of Italy, the Netherlands and the European Commission made their second visit to Tunis in just over a month. They expressed hope that a memorandum newly signed with Tunisia during the trip would pave the way for a comprehensive partnership.

On their last visit in June, the leaders held out the promise of more than 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) in financial aid to rescue Tunisia’s teetering economy and better police its borders, to restore stability to the North African country and to stem migration from its shores to Europe.

This time, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte didn’t detail the full monetary value of the EU aid on offer to Tunisia, in statements they made after talks with Tunisian President Kais Saied.

But von der Leyen said the latest trip secured agreement on “a comprehensive package of measures that we will now put into practice swiftly.”

Saied, speaking through an interpreter, said that he expects the memorandum to be followed by “a set of binding agreements” — suggesting more negotiating work ahead.

Tunisia intends to implement the memorandum “in the nearest time possible,” he said.

Specific aid that von der Leyen announced included a 10-million-euro ($11 million) program to boost exchanges of students and 65 million euros ($73 million) in EU funding to modernize Tunisian schools.

On migration, von der Leyen said: “We need an effective cooperation more than ever.”

The EU will work with Tunisia on an anti-smuggling partnership, will increase coordination in search and rescue operations and both sides also agreed to cooperate on border management, she said. Von der Leyen pledged 100 million euros ($112 million) for those efforts — a figure she had already announced on the leaders’ previous visit.

Tunisia has faced an international outcry over the plight of hundreds of migrants who were deported to inhospitable desert areas on the Libya and Algeria borders. On the Tunisia-Algeria border, local reports have said as many as 30 migrants died.

Saied, however, insisted migrants are well treated.

“The Tunisian people have provided these migrants with everything possible, with unlimited generosity, while many organizations, supposed to play their humanitarian role, only manifested themselves in press releases,” he said.

Rutte described the new memorandum as the “promising start of a comprehensive strategic partnership” between the EU and Tunisia that will aim to boost economic growth.

He said that EU member countries now must approve the deal, adding: “I’m very confident that there will be broad support.”
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A rebel group has killed at least 11 people in northeastern Congo, a local official said Sunday.

Isaac Kibira, a deputy to the governor of the Bwito area in North Kivu, said the victims were killed by M23, a rebel group the United Nations says has links to neighboring Rwanda. Rwanda denies the accusation.

M23 rose to prominence 10 years ago when its fighters seized Goma, eastern Congo’s largest city on the border with Rwanda. It derives its name from a March 23, 2009, peace deal that it accuses the Congo government of not implementing.

The bodies of 11 civilians were discovered Sunday morning, left in two neat rows in the grass. M23 had occupied the area since Tuesday, according to Paris-based research group Sahel Intelligence, before withdrawing.

M23 is one of more than 120 armed groups fighting in eastern Congo, most of whom are vying for land and control of mines with valuable minerals, while others are trying to protect their communities from rival armed groups.

Last week’s armed occupation in the Bwito region forced hundreds of people out of their homes and into neighboring communities, adding to what the U.N. estimates are 5.5 million people displaced within Congo due to violence.
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Zimbabwe’s main opposition leader Nelson Chamisa promised economic prosperity and an end to corruption as he launched his party’s campaign Sunday for national elections set for Aug. 23.

Chamisa, who leads the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), is running against 80-year-old President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who has led the ruling Zanu-PF since a coup ousted Robert Mugabe in 2017.

The 45-year-old politician, lawyer and pastor launched his “For Everyone” campaign in the city of Gweru, about 300 kilometers (186 miles) east of the capital Harare, vowing to fix the country’s unrelenting economic crises.

Chamisa lamented the lack of development in the country, saying there was little to show after 43 years of democracy.

“All we see is poverty, unemployment and millions going to the diaspora,” Chamisa told thousands of supporters gathered at a stadium in the city.

Supporters clad in the party’s yellow regalia braved chilly weather to attend the rally following sustained efforts by the police and judiciary to ban opposition party rallies.

“They have been banning our campaigns, but no one will ban us from people’s hearts,” Chamisa said to thunderous applause.

Chamisa promised to deal with endemic corruption and misuse of the country’s resources by the ruling elite, adding that the mineral-rich country should benefit all.

This is Chamisa’s second bid for the presidency and first under the banner of the CCC, which launched early last year.

In 2018, he became Zimbabwe’s youngest-ever presidential candidate, narrowly losing to incumbent Mnangagwa in the disputed poll.

Chamisa said his party would remain vigilant against electoral malpractice. “We will not accept a rigged election this time,” he said, promising other reforms including improved salaries for the civil service.

The upcoming general election is expected to be close, with both Mnangagwa and Chamisa enjoying support across the country.

Chamisa plans to take his campaign to the countryside in an effort to win over historically Zanu-PF voters.
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Airstrikes pummeled Khartoum on Sunday and fighting raged in Sudan’s western Darfur region, witnesses said, as a three-month war between the army and rival paramilitaries showed no signs of abating.

In the capital’s east and northwest, army fighter jets “targeted bases” belonging to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) who “responded with anti-aircraft weapons,” witnesses told AFP.

RSF drones targeted Khartoum’s largest military hospital, according to witnesses. A similar attack Saturday on the same facility left five dead and 22 injured, the army said.

The war between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy, RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, has claimed at least 3,000 lives and displaced over 3 million people since it erupted on April 15.

In Darfur, a vast region which has seen some of the worst of the fighting, witnesses on Sunday reported “heavy clashes using various types of weapons” in the town of Kas.

Residents of Kas, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) northwest of the South Darfur state capital of Nyala, said houses were broken into and looted by RSF fighters.

The paramilitaries in a statement hailed their “victory” in the town.

Darfur, home to around a quarter of Sudan’s 48 million people, has seen entire towns razed to the ground, with reports of mass civilian deaths and ethnically charged assassinations blamed on the RSF and allied Arab militias.

On Saturday, the RSF said it “categorically refutes” a recent report by Human Rights Watch that detailed the summary execution of “at least 28 ethnic Massalit” — a non-Arab minority group — and the “total destruction of the town of Misterei” in West Darfur state.

The RSF blamed the violence on “longstanding tribal conflict” and said it “strictly adheres” to “international humanitarian law.”

The paramilitary force stemmed from the Janjaweed militia, which was armed and unleashed against ethnic minority rebels in Darfur in the early 2000s.

That conflict killed more than 300,000 people and displaced 2.5 million, the U.N. estimates.

Atrocities committed at the time led the International Criminal Court to charge former dictator Omar al-Bashir with offenses including genocide.

The court’s chief prosecutor has launched a new investigation into suspected war crimes in the current fighting, including sexual violence and civilians being targeted for their ethnicity.
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A police officer and four civilians were killed in a suspected terrorist attack in southwestern Niger, the army said Saturday, in an area where thousands fled their homes this month to escape jihadi violence.

An army statement said the attack took place on Friday afternoon, targeting “a group of paramilitary police escorting a convoy” along a road near the border with Burkina Faso.

The statement said five people had been killed and 19 injured, including seven officers, five soldiers, and seven civilians, who were all taken to the capital, Niamey.

“On the side of the enemy, two terrorists were killed,” the statement said.

The attack took place in the southwestern Tillaberi region, in the border area where Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali meet — a hotbed of activity for insurgents linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group.

The vast arid area, roughly the size of South Korea, has about 150,000 internally displaced people, according to the United Nations.

On Wednesday, the U.N. and local authorities said nearly 11,000 had fled their homes this month alone.

One of the poorest countries in the world, Niger is also struggling with jihadi violence that has spilled into its southeast from northeastern Nigeria.
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Sudanese representatives have arrived in Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah to resume talks with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Sudanese government sources told Reuters Saturday, after three months of fighting between the army and RSF.

Previous talks in Jeddah facilitated by Saudi Arabia and the United States were suspended by both countries in early June after numerous cease-fire violations. Saudi Arabia and the U.S. have yet to confirm the resumption of talks between Sudan’s warring factions.

Separately, a mediation attempt launched by Egypt began Thursday, an effort welcomed both by the Sudanese army, which has close ties to Egypt, and the RSF.

A series of cease-fires have failed to halt the fighting which broke out on April 15 as the army and RSF vied for power.

The conflict has seen more than 3 million people uprooted, including more than 700,000 who have fled to neighboring countries.

On Saturday, at least four civilians were killed and four injured in a drone attack that targeted a hospital in the city of Omdurman, Sudan’s health ministry said, accusing the RSF of carrying out the attack.
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United Nations agencies said Friday that millions of Sudanese cannot obtain treatment for emergency and chronic health conditions because fighting has brought the country’s fragile health system to near total collapse.   

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement violence and “shortages of supplies, damage or occupation of facilities and assaults on medical staff” are having a devastating impact on people’s lives and on their ability to access health care. 

The World Health Organization has said that some 50 attacks on health care facilities have caused 10 deaths and 21 injuries since fighting began between the Sudanese armed forces and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces three months ago. 

“Ongoing violence, rampant insecurity, repeated attacks on health, and limited access to essential health supplies, are putting the people of Sudan in a life-or-death situation, with no immediate political solution in sight,” Rick Brennan, emergency director for the WHO’s regional office for the Eastern Mediterranean said.  

Speaking from Cairo, Brennan said the violence has had a huge impact on access to the most basic health care, including treatment of such common infections as pneumonia and diarrhea, trauma treatment, and obstetric care.   

He said the conflict is preventing people with chronic conditions, such as diabetes and hypertension from getting treatment.   

“Patients who have been receiving dialysis for kidney failure and treatment for cancer are facing a sudden cessation of their treatment, with life-threatening consequences,” he said. 

He said disrupted access to those services is risking the lives of 8,000 people, including 240 children who need regular dialysis sessions.  He said many of an estimated 49,000 Sudanese cancer patients could die “without restoration of access to their cancer care.” 

He said lack of access to health care is raising the risk of malaria, measles, dengue, and cholera outbreaks.  The dangers, he said, are particularly acute with the onset of the rainy season. 

“The delivery of health care across the entire country is limited by shortage of supplies, lack of health workers and functioning health facilities, and logistic constraints due to insecurity and roadblocks by militias,” he said. 

The World Health Organization estimates 11 million people in Sudan need urgent health assistance, but few health facilities still are functioning.   Brennan said that between two-thirds and 80% of hospitals are not functioning and “in West Darfur, only one hospital is operational, but only partially.” 

Despite the ongoing insecurity and bureaucratic impediments, he said the WHO was working with local health authorities and U.N. agencies, including UNICEF and the U.N. Population Fund, to provide health care. 

For example, he said more than 170 tons of medical supplies have been delivered to hospitals and therapeutic treatments have been provided for more than 100,000 severely malnourished children. 

He said the WHO and and the U.N. Population Fund were working to provide women and girls access to sexual, reproductive, and maternal health care.   

He added that survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, which reportedly “is widespread in this conflict, as it is in so many conflicts,” were receiving medical and psychosocial support. 

“But the reality is that there are large proportions of the population to whom we do not have access, especially in Khartoum, Darfur and Kordofan,” he said. 

“Therefore, together with our U.N. partners, we are exploring all options to expand our operations, including through cross-border assistance.” 
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