News That Matters To Africa©️
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Once you realize that you can do something about a bad situation, it would be difficult to live with yourself if you didn’t do it.”
HIGHLIGHTS
DRC/M23 war escalates
Cameroon Conflicts keeping children out of school
Mozambican opposition leader says fight is ‘far from over’
Italy released wanted Libyan due to ‘social dangerousness’
UN confirms US will leave WHO in 2026
Interest payments on debt in Africa skyrocketing.
TOP NEWS
EASTERN AFRICA
WEST AFRICA
SOUTHERN AFRICA
NORTH AFRICA
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AFRICA-GENERAL NEWS
EASTERN AFRICA
COMOROS
President denies intention to hand power to Son
President Azali Assoumani, who came to power in 1999 through a coup has denied he intends to hand over power to his son. Last Thursday, Assoumani in a speech to supporters on the island of Moheli, said: “I will place my son to replace me as head of the state and the party.” However, in a statement posted on its Facebook page late on Friday, the president’s office said that did not mean he intended to hand over power when he leaves office in 2029 to his son Nour El Fath. “He instead spoke of ‘a child’ who would succeed him, knowing that it is customary in the Comoros to describe every citizen as ‘a child’, without necessarily speaking of one’s own offspring.”
DR CONGO
The DRC Crisis/War:
Congo severs ties with Rwanda
DRCongo has severed all diplomatic ties with Rwanda and South Africa said on Saturday that nine of its peacekeepers had been killed amid a surge in fighting with Rwanda-backed rebels in mineral-rich eastern Congo. The three-year M23 insurgency in eastern Congo has intensified in January with the rebels seizing control of more territory than ever before, prompting the United Nations to warn of the risk of a broader regional war. Congo and its allies said on Saturday they had pushed back M23 fighters, who were advancing on the provincial capital Goma. The sound of nearby heavy bombardment rocked the city in the early hours of Saturday.
9 South African troops killed in DRC escalation
Nine South African troops deployed to the Eastern DRC have been killed in clashes with the rebel group M-23. The troops, deployed as part of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Mission in the DRC (SAMIDRC), were engaged in a two-day battle to prevent the rebel group from advancing towards Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu. The deadly confrontation resulted in the loss of seven SANDF members and two soldiers serving under the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO). Several others sustained injuries, although the exact number is yet to be confirmed.
Rebels kill Goma Governor – Reports
The governor of eastern Congo’s North Kivu province has died from injuries sustained during fighting on the front line, a military spokesman said Friday, as M23 rebels closed in on the provincial capital. The circumstances around the death of Maj. Gen Peter Cirimwami were unclear but Cirimwami, who led army operations in the restive North Kivu, visited troops on the front line in Kasengezi, around 13 kilometers (8 miles) from Goma, on the day of his death. The city of Goma was gripped by palpable tension as clashes between Congo’s armed forces and M23 raged on in the city’s periphery on Friday. South Africa’s military said its forces were able to halt the advance and push the M23 rebels back. The SANDF said that the number of injured had yet to be confirmed and some had varying degrees of injuries.
Rwanda condemns ‘misguided, manipulative’ statements on DR Congo crisis
The Rwandan government has expressed concerns about statements issued by various parties on the security crisis in eastern DR Congo, where the M23 rebels have intensified their offensive around Goma city. “Misguided or manipulative statements do not provide any solutions,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned in a statement on Sunday, January 26. “The ongoing conflict in eastern DRC, particularly the recent heavy fighting around Goma, was triggered by constant violations of the ceasefire by the Congolese armed forces (FARDC) in coalition with UN-sanctioned genocidal militia FDLR, European mercenaries, ethnic militias (Wazalendo), Burundian armed forces, SAMIDRC forces as well as MONUSCO troops.” “This fighting close to the Rwandan border continues to present a serious threat to Rwanda’s security and territorial integrity, and necessitates Rwanda’s sustained defensive posture,” the ministry said.
War in the DR Congo: M23 follow the trail of raw materials
Within three years, the March 23 movement (M23), has managed to occupy large parts of North Kivu in eastern DRC. In recent days, the militias have taken control of the strategically important town of Minova and briefly seized the small town of Sake before being partially pushed back by Congolese soldiers. From positions on the surrounding hills, the rebels are firing heavy artillery. According to the UN, peacekeepers are patrolling with the Congolese army and assisting in securing the civilian population, which repeatedly finds itself caught in the crossfire. An attempt by the M23 rebels to capture the million-strong city of Goma, located on Lake Kivu, failed over the weekend for now.
Türkiye ready to mediate between Rwanda, Congo
Türkiye is ready to provide any support needed to resolve the dispute between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo over a new offensive launched by an armed group in the east of the DRC, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Thursday. Erdoğan was speaking at a joint news conference with his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame in the capital Ankara. For his part, Kagame said he appreciated Türkiye’s mediation efforts. Türkiye has sought to increase its diplomatic efforts and economic development in Africa. Last year Erdoğan brokered a deal to end tensions between Ethiopia and Somalia.
Man killed for fighting corruption inspiries new generation
When Floribert Bwana Chui Bin Kositi was asked in 2007 to allow spoiled rice from Rwanda to be transported across the border to the eastern Congo city of Goma, he knew the risks of resisting corruption, especially as a government worker. He refused nonetheless. It didn’t take long before he was kidnapped; days later, his body was found by colleagues at the Office Congolais de Contrôle, the agency that monitors the quality of products. Nearly two decades after his death, he is being celebrated in the central African country and beyond following Pope Francis’ recent approval of his beatification.
Denying Citizenship As a Weapon of War – DRC’s Gamble Against M23
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) spokesperson Patrick Muyaya, speaking to French television and on the X platform, categorically dismissed the legitimacy of the AFC/M23 rebels, declaring: “The M23 does not exist; it is the Rwandan army (RDF) operating in the east of our country.” With this statement, the Congolese government not only dismissed M23 as an external force but also effectively stripped its members of their Congolese identity. It is an act of erasing thousands of Congolese citizens, branding them as foreigners simply because they belong to a minority community the state has historically persecuted. International law is clear: arbitrary denial of citizenship is a violation of human rights.
ETHIOPIA
Scores of Ethiopians die in long-running Amhara conflict, rights body says
Ethiopian forces and Amhara militiamen have both in recent months killed dozens of civilians, caught in a conflict plaguing the country’s second-largest region since mid-2023, a state-appointed rights body said on Friday. Fighting between the military and local Fano militiamen, which erupted after the end of civil war in neighbouring Tigray region, has been Ethiopia’s biggest security crisis since. The U.N.’s latest update said in June that at least 740 civilians were killed in 2023. But a further 115 civilians at least were killed between September and December last year, according to a new report by the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC). It cautioned that this was only a partial accounting of rights abuses over that period because of difficult working conditions.
KENYA
Abductions spark fears of a return to Kenya’s dark past
The reported disappearance of more than 80 government critics over the last six months has caused a huge public backlash in Kenya. A judge has warned he will imprison top security officials for contempt of court if they fail to appear for a third time. The case is linked to the disappearances since nationwide protests against proposed tax hikes began last June. At least 24 are said to still be missing. The police and government deny kidnapping and illegally detaining protesters, but the country has a history of state-sponsored abductions, and some Kenyans fear they are returning to that dark past. The Inspector General of Police and DCI Director were ordered to produce in court seven social media influencers who disappeared in December. Five suddenly reappeared in early January at various locations across the country.
Experts call for action as cases of enforced disappearances rise
As the issue of abductions and enforced disappearances rages on, global actors now want governments to put up measures to stem the acts and protect survivors. The call was made during the first world congress on enforced disappearances held in Geneva, Switzerland, between January 15 and 16… About 82 cases of abductions were reported last year according to the Kenya National Human Rights Commission with only 29 resolved. International Justice Mission Kenya communications and media lead, Joseph Kariuki, said there was a need for enhancement of civil society groups’ ability to engage with UN mechanisms to boost the fight against the vice.
SOMALIA
More than 100 dead dolphins found on Somali coast, cause a mystery
More than 100 dead dolphins have been found on the coast of Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland region, with officials yet to establish what caused their deaths. Samples had been taken to try to establish what happened. The region’s fisheries minister said “so far, we know their death was not caused by wounds from nets because there were no wounds or cuts on them,” he said, adding that officials did not believe toxic materials were to blame since fish in the area did not appear to have been affected.
SUDAN
Sudan’s Army, Paramilitaries Trade Blame Over Oil Refinery Attack
The Sudanese army and rival paramilitaries traded blame on Thursday over targeting a major oil refinery about 70 kilometres (40 miles) from Khartoum. The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) had claimed since the first month of the war, in April 2023, to be in control of the refinery. In a statement, the army alleged that the RSF “deliberately set fire” to the facility in an attempt to destroy Sudan’s infrastructure after failing to seize control of the country’s “resources and land”. The RSF, however, blamed the military for the destruction, accusing it of targeting the refinery with barrel bombs during air strikes in the morning…Greater Khartoum remains divided with both sides locked in a protracted struggle…
WHO chief urges end to attacks on Sudan health care after 70 killed in drone strike
The head of the World Health Organization called on Saturday for an end to attacks on health care workers and facilities in Sudan after a drone attack on a hospital in Sudan’s North Darfur region killed more than 70 people and wounded dozens. Darfur Governor Mini Minnawi said on X that an RSF drone had struck the emergency department of the hospital in the capital of North Darfur, killing patients, including women and children. Fierce clashes have erupted in El Fasher between the RSF and the Sudanese joint forces, including the army, armed resistance groups, police, and local defense units.
OpEd: Western governments are exaggerating reports of famine and starvation in Sudan, says Russia
UGANDA
Video: Govt weaponizes law against Opposition
The escalating clampdown on dissent is worrying critics of Uganda’s regime. Opposition leader Kizza Besigye was recently charged with treason and his lawyer imprisoned. Other activists have also been arrested for criticizing the government.
WEST AFRICA
BURKINA/NIGER/MALI
Trio of Military Govts tighten screws on foreign mining companies
The militaries who took power in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger in recent years have stepped up pressure on foreign firms — promising greater sovereignty and a fairer distribution of revenue from the lucrative mining sector. After weeks of escalating tension with Canadian company Barrick Gold, Malian authorities carried out an order in mid-January to seize gold stocks at Loulo-Gounkoto –- one of the world’s largest gold complexes. Barrick Gold owns 80 percent of Loulo-Gounkoto, with Mali retaining the rest…Authorities are demanding hundreds of millions of dollars in arrears from Barrick Gold and in November detained four of the company’s Malian employees. In the same month, they arrested the CEO and two employees of Australian firm Resolute Mining, before releasing them after the company struck a $160 million deal with the government…At the end of last year, Niger authorities took control of French nuclear group Orano’s uranium mining unit after withdrawing its licence. Niger is the world’s seventh-largest producer of uranium, accounting for 4.7 percent of global supply. In 2023, Burkina Faso’s junta said it had requisitioned 200 kilograms of gold extracted by a subsidiary of the Canadian group Endeavour Mining for “public necessity”.
CAMEROON
Separatist conflicts keeping children out of school
Since a separatist crisis erupted in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions in 2016], thousands of people have been displaced and killed in Cameroon’s English-speaking southwest and northwest regions, and nearly 500,000 children were out of school in 2024, according to UNICEF…[Meanwhile] in neighbouring Nigeria’s southeast, another separatist uprising rocking the Igbo-majority region is also putting children at risk…Children in separatist conflict zones across Cameroon and Nigeria endure underreported trauma, as violence spills across borders, experts say…Mark Duerksen, a research associate at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, told Al Jazeera: “Modern separatism in both countries is driven by economic injustice, political disenfranchisement, and heavy-handed security measures.”
GABON
Nation heads for April 12 presidential polls in bid to end military rule
Gabon’s council of ministers announced that presidential elections would be held on April 12, ending the military rule that began with a coup in 2023 and led by Gen. Brice Oligui Nguema . In November, Gabon voted yes in a referendum on a new constitution, delivering on a promise by the military coup leaders to take steps towards restoring constitutional rule. On Monday, a new law allowed military officials to stand in elections, subject to certain conditions. That means that Nguema, the transitional leader who made no secret of his ambitions to be elected as president, gets an exception to run.
IVORY COAST
Chocolate industry braces as Ivory Coast expects dire cocoa crop
Ivory Coast expects to record one of the worst mid-crop cocoa harvests of the last 15 years this season with production seen no higher than 300,000 metric tons compared with a yearly average of 500,000 tons, regulator and industry sources said. A poor harvest could add upward pressure to cocoa prices, which are already around record highs after nearly tripling last year. Analysts have said the chocolate industry is in for a rough 2025 that could see shelf prices increase by a percentage in the teens. Ivory Coast is the world’s top cocoa producer, but a lack of rain and excessive heat since November across all its 13 growing regions have stalled development of the mid-crop harvest, which is meant to start in April.
NIGERIA
Fuel tanker blast kills 18 in Nigeria’s south east
A fuel tanker truck explosion killed 18 people in Nigeria’s southeastern Enugu state on Saturday, a week after another incident left about a 100 residents dead in the north of the country. The latest accidents follow a similar blast in Jigawa state in October that killed 147 people – one of the worst such tragedies in Africa’s most populous nation. The truck involved in Saturday’s incident suffered brake failure and the driver lost control, crashing into more than a dozen vehicles on an expressway in Enugu state. Accidents involving fuel tanker trucks have become common in Africa’s largest oil producer, which authorities blame on bad roads and reckless driving, often with dozens of fatalities.
Nigeria’s new BRICS partner status sparks economic optimism, debate
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu’s special adviser told Lagos-based Channels Television that the BRICS partnership, which became official Friday, is pivotal to promoting trade, investment, food security, infrastructure development and energy security. The 10 BRICS member states make up 40% of the global economy and 55% of the global population… Despite the optimism, analysts say Nigeria faces significant hurdles. The country’s struggling economy and inadequate infrastructure raise concerns about its capacity for meaningful growth through BRICS. There’s also concern about how Nigeria will balance its alliances with Western nations while deepening ties with BRICS.
Multiple injuries on U.S.-bound flight forced to turn back to Nigeria
A United Airlines flight bound for Washington Dulles International Airport from Lagos, Nigeria, was forced to make an emergency return mid-flight early Friday after a technical issue with the aircraft (the plane experienced an “unexpected aircraft movement”) during flight that put six people in the hospital, an airline spokesperson said. The plane forced to carry out the emergency return Friday was a Boeing 787-8, and the event was the latest in a number of high-profile incidents involving planes from the embattled manufacturer.
Video: Why the US is returning Nigeria’s stolen oil money
This month, the US said it is returning $52.88 million in seized assets to Nigeria as part of a corruption probe against former oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke and associates. Of the repatriated funds, $50 million will be allocated to rural electrification programs in Nigeria.
SIERRA LEONE
European cocaine kingpin has high level protection in Sierra Leone-sources
One of Europe’s most wanted fugitives, convicted cocaine smuggler Jos Leijdekkers, has found refuge and high-level protection in Sierra Leone, according to three sources with direct knowledge of the matter as well as photos and video footage. The images and accounts shed fresh light on the role of the West African nation, which international law enforcement officials say is a transshipment point for large volumes of Latin American cocaine headed to Europe. Leijdekkers, who is Dutch, was sentenced in absentia to 24 years in prison on June 25 by a Rotterdam court for smuggling more than 7 tonnes of cocaine. Dutch police have said he was believed to be living in Turkey until recently.
OpEd: Sierra Leone is on the brink of legalising abortion. We must not allow the US far right to infiltrate and stop us
SOUTHERN AFRICA
BOTSWANA
Botswana closes doors on foreign teachers, truck drivers
Minister of Labor and Home Affairs Pius Mokgware told a group of unemployed teachers protesting in Gaborone that the government already has stopped issuing permits to foreign educators and truck drivers. He said that last month the government rejected 140 applications for work permits. One of the protesters said that their actions weren’t xenophobic, but a plea to the government to prioritize citizens in hiring teachers. In neighboring South Africa, clashes between migrants and locals have often turned deadly, with citizens arguing foreigners are taking their jobs. Botswana’s stable economy has attracted migrant workers, the majority fleeing hardship in neighboring Zimbabwe.
MOZAMBIQUE
Mozambican opposition leader says fight is ‘far from over’
Venancio Mondlane, Mozambique’s opposition leader who ran for the presidency has said in an interview that he has no plans to join the new government headed by President Daniel Chapo’s Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (Frelimo). Frelimo has ruled uninterrupted since independence nearly 50 years ago from Portugal. In the interview, Mondlane also said he’s open to dialogue, but accused the government of hypocrisy….”when he (Chapo) talks about dialogue, it becomes clear that his words are characterized by extreme hypocrisy”. And when asked if Frelimom had learned anything from the crisis, Mondlane said “No. It has learned nothing. On the contrary, the party has become more radical and even more violent.”
Police chief accused of abuses sacked by new president
Mozambique’s police chief Bernadino Rafael has been sacked, following allegations of brutality during October’s disputed election and its aftermath. He has denied claims by prominent opposition figures that he had worked with criminal groups to kidnap and kill civilian protesters in recent months. It is the first major security shake-up of President Daniel Chapo’s presidency so far, as he faces immense pressure to win public trust and kick-start the ailing economy after months of unrest. Mozambique is in the throes of one of its worst post-election crises since independence. Mozambique’s police force has also denied claims that it was responsible for shooting dead two political aides in broad daylight.
How serious is Mozambique’s financial crisis?
Mozambique’s international bonds tumbled earlier this week after a news report that the new government in Maputo is weighing a debt restructuring following months of post-election turmoil. Deadly protests flared up in October after the opposition accused the government of cheating in a presidential election costing the government 42 billion metical ($664.03 million) in revenues as a result of the economic disruption caused by the protests. Like other countries in the region, Mozambique’s economy has also been hit hard by climate change in recent years. Deadly cyclone Chido last month is expected to have hit economic output.
NAMIBIA
Ex-First Lady: “Scammers using my name and likeness to con people”
Namibia’s former First Lady Monica Geingos has released a video message warning people that fraudsters are using her name and likeness to target unsuspecting citizens. Manipulated clips circulating for some time on social media appear to show her asking people to invest in a foreign exchange (forex) scheme. There have been many victims, including one woman who was swindled out of her retirement savings, said a spokesperson…this is the first time Mrs Geingos has made an appeal in person as the volume of fake messages has “gotten worse over the past two months”… The TikTok clips have used genuine footage of Mrs Geingos speaking dubbed with a voice that sounds like hers. The bank account details and phone numbers provided are all Namibian.
SOUTH AFRICA
Ramaphosa signs controversial land seizure law
President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed into law a bill allowing land seizures by the state without compensation – a move that has put him at odds with some members of his government. Black people only own a small fraction of farmland nationwide more than 30 years after the end of the racist system of apartheid – the majority remains with the white minority. This has led to frustration and anger over the slow pace of reform. While Ramaphosa’s ANC party hailed the law as a “significant milestone” in the country’s transformation, some members of the coalition government say they may challenge it in court. The signing of the law comes after a five-year consultative process as well as the findings of a presidential panel set up to look into the issue.
DA declares dispute with ANC unity
THE DA has declared a dispute with President Cyril Ramaphosa in a move to reset the relationship with the ANC in the Government of National Unity (GNU). In his letter to Ramaphosa, party leader John Steenhuisen objected to the signing of the Expropriation Act in contravention of a clear legal opinion submitted by Public Works Minister Dean Macpherson that the Act is unconstitutional. “I call for the reset of the relationship. I am not saying we are about to walk out of the coalition…Steenhuisen said Ramaphosa needed to accept that the ANC was now just another minority party, and that the DA were partners in the GNU, who won over 3.5 million votes.
Why apartheid victims are suing South Africa’s government
In June 1985, the ‘Cradock Four’ were beaten, strangled with telephone wire, stabbed and shot to death by apartheid-era security officers in one of the most notorious killings of South Africa’s apartheid era. In 1999, the country’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) denied six security officers amnesty for their role in the killings. They were never prosecuted and have all since died. Now, as part of a group of 25 families and survivors of apartheid-era deaths and violence, Lukhanyo Calata, son of Fort Calata, one of the ‘Cradock Four, is suing South Africa’s government for failing to bring his father’s alleged killers to court.
How the roots of the ‘PayPal mafia’ extend to apartheid South Africa
Elon Musk is part of the “PayPal mafia” of libertarian billionaires with roots in South Africa under white rule now hugely influential in the US tech industry and politics. They include major Trump donor Peter Thiel, the German-born billionaire venture capitalist and PayPal cofounder, who was educated in a southern African city in the 1970s where Hitler was still openly venerated. Thiel, as a student at Stanford, defended apartheid as “economically sound”. David Sacks, formerly PayPal’s chief operating officer and now a leading fundraiser for Trump, was born in Cape Town and grew up within the South African diaspora after his family moved to the US when he was young. A fourth member of the mafia, Roelof Botha, the grandson of the apartheid regime’s last foreign minister, Pik Botha, and former PayPal CFO, has kept a lower political profile but remains close to Musk.
NORTH AFRICA
EGYPT
Alaa Abd el-Fattah’s mother weeks away from collapse
Laila Soueif’s blood sugar count has dropped dangerously as she marks the 117th day of her hunger strike to demand her son’s release. Soueif sits on a camping chair outside the gates of Downing Street, with her tiny frame swaddled in a puffer jacket. She is resolute. Her son, imprisoned British-Egyptian writer and activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah, played a key role in the 2011 Egyptian revolution that ousted then-President Hosni Mubarak. Since then, he has been hounded by the Egyptian authorities, spending the best part of a decade in prison. On 29 September, Abd el-Fattah was due to complete a five-year sentence for “spreading false news”, but the authorities failed to release him, refusing to count the two years he spent in pre-trial detention towards his sentence. Soueif launched her hunger strike that day.
Hoda Abdelmoneim: Egyptian rights lawyer facing slow death in prison
Fourteen years ago, on 25 January 2011, human rights lawyer Hoda Abdelmoneim led a women’s protest marching in the iconic Tahrir Square in Cairo, chanting for a democratic and free Egypt. Today, like tens of thousands of political prisoners in her country, she is languishing in jail in circumstances rights advocates describe as slow murder. Abdelmoneim, who turns 66 this month, was detained during a dawn raid on her home in Cairo on 1 November 2018 by security forces, who took her away blindfolded. For three weeks, her family had no idea where she was. Abdelmoneim, who has suffered a stroke and heart attack behind bars, is being held in detention past the end of her sentence on recycled charges.
Oped: How Sisi’s decade of failure could spur his political demise
LIBYA
Hanna Serwaa Tetteh appointed UN’s Special Representative for Libya
UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, on Friday appointed Hanna Serwaa Tetteh as Special Representative for Libya and head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL). Tetteh will succeed Abdoulaye Bathily, who served in the role until May 2024. “Ms. Tetteh brings to this position decades of experience at the national, regional and international levels including, most recently, as the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Horn of Africa from 2022 until 2024,” UN said in a statement. Tetteh, former foreign minister for Ghana, was Guterres’ Special Representative to the African Union and Head of the United Nations Office to the African Union (UNOAU) from 2018 to 2020.
Italy says Libyan wanted by ICC was sent home due to ‘social dangerousness’
Italy’s interior minister said on Thursday a Libyan man detained under an international war crimes arrest warrant and then unexpectedly released had been swiftly repatriated because of his “social dangerousness“. Osama Najim, also known as Almasri, was detained on Sunday in Turin under an arrest warrant issued by The Hague-based international criminal court (ICC). Najim, who is chief of Libya’s judicial police, is wanted by the ICC for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, as well as alleged rape and murder. He also presides over Mitiga prison, a facility near Tripoli condemned by human rights organisations for the arbitrary detention, torture and abuse of political dissidents, migrants and refugees. The ICC demanded an explanation for his release “without prior notice or consultation with the court”.
TUNISIA
Police kill a man who set himself on fire outside a Tunisian synagogue
A man set himself on fire in front of the Grand Synagogue in the Tunisian capital and was killed by police, the Interior Ministry said. A police officer and a passerby suffered burns. The man started the fire after sundown Friday, around the time the synagogue holds Sabbath prayers. Tunisia was historically home to a large Jewish population, now estimated to number about 1,500 people. Jewish sites in Tunisia have been targeted in the past. A national guardsman killed five people at the 2,600-year-old El-Ghriba synagogue, and later that year, pro-Palestinian protesters vandalized a historic synagogue. Tunisia’s recent history was also marked by the self-immolation of a street vendor in 2010 in a protest linked to economic desperation.
Europe overhauls funding to Tunisia after migrant abuse is exposed
The European Commission is fundamentally overhauling how it makes payments to Tunisia after a Guardian investigation exposed myriad abuses by EU-funded security forces, including widespread sexual violence against migrants. Officials are drawing up “concrete” conditions to ensure that future European payments to Tunis can go ahead only if human rights have not been violated. The conditions will affect payments worth tens of millions of pounds over the next three years. Last year, the Guardian detailed allegations that Tunisia’s national guard had raped hundreds of migrants, beaten children and colluded with people smugglers. The EU had previously vigorously denied accusations of wrongdoing with Tunisia.
UNITED NATIONS
United Nations confirms US will leave World Health Organization in 2026
The United States is set to officially withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO) in January 2026 after the UN body received a formal letter from US President Donald Trump this week. UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq said on Thursday that the withdrawal was now set in motion after Trump pledged on Monday – his first day in office – to withdraw the US from the WHO and to put an end to future funding of the organisation. With the departure of the US, the WHO will lose its most important financial backer. Trump had accused the WHO of mishandling the COVID-19 pandemic during his first term in office…
AFRICA-GENERAL NEWS
Interest payments on debt in Africa skyrocketing
Interest payments on long-term debt in sub-Saharan Africa rose nearly seven-fold to $26 billion between 2010 and 2023, according to the World Bank. The increase came as the region’s foreign borrowing doubled to $864 billion within the period. Mozambique and Senegal grappled with particularly severe debt pressure. The continent’s worsening debt crisis has left some countries spending more on debt repayments than vital services such as health care or education. Though China is one of the continent’s major creditors and is often vilified for its lending practices, Africa has also borrowed heavily from multilateral financiers such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
Why Africa’s bid for Power starts at home
Dar es Salaam will host a major energy summit the 27 and 28 January, drawing governments, development finance institutions and the private sector together to tackle Africa’s immense power infrastructure deficit. Part of the Mission 300 initiative, next week’s energy summit in Tanzania aims to connect 300 million people to electricity by 2030. Central to achieving this goal is a new model of “compacts” with African countries, ensuring governments remain in the driving seat while international partners provide technical support and mobilise new financing. Franz Drees-Gross, the World Bank’s director for infrastructure in West and Central Africa, explains why the focus is on sub-Saharan Africa. “If we had been talking about this 25 years ago, it would have been a global problem,” he says. “In 2025, that picture has changed. Those without access predominantly live in sub-Saharan Africa. Of the 680 million people globally without electricity access, 570 million live in sub-Saharan Africa.”
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