Bola A. Akinterinwa 

International life is currently fraught with many problems that are partly man-made and partly nature-induced. The nature-induced problems are basically the disasters like global warming, the origin of which can still be traceable to man-made activities. It is generally believed that the generation of electricity and heat by particularly burning fossil fuels like natural gas, coal, and oil necessarily and largely explains the current climate change and global warming. In other words, when greenhouse gas is emitted, it covers the Earth. The man-made problems include environmental degradation, food crisis, cyber-insecurity, transnational crimes and international terrorism. Most of these problems result from bad governance.

Of all the man-made problems, international terrorism is the most critical because it is both an act of State and individual. When it is considered an act of the individual, it is  criminally and therefore internationally condemned and sanctioned. When it is state-led, it is generally seen within the framework of self-defence. As such, Article 2(4) which not only prohibits any threat or use of force by Member States of the United Nations against one another but also requires the respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of other States, becomes inapplicable. So is Article 2(7) of the UN Charter on non-intervention in the domestic affairs of other sovereign states inapplicable. 

And more concernedly, Article 51 specifically provides that ‘nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and security.’ The problem in this case is that no Member State wants to wait for an armed attack before acting on the basis of self-defence. More often than not, emphasis is placed on preventive self-defence. It is against this background that the States use terror to counter individual terrorism and that both state and individual terrorism threaten global peace and security. 

Manifestations of State Terrorism

State terrorism is a direct negation of the various international efforts made to contain terrorism in its various ramifications. Many are the agencies and fora created and conventions signed with the objective of defeating terrorism but which have been to no avail. The United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership (TSCTP), Partnership for Regional East Africa Counterterrorism (PREACT), International Convention for the suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft signed in The Hague on 16 December 1970, are examples of international agreements that have been breaches from the perspective that international terrorism is still rearing its ugly head as at today. Member States of the international community have not been able to do the necessary to contain terrorism.

Without doubt, terrorism varies in causal factors, design, origination, objectives, and manifestations. Classical terrorism is generally motivated by political objectives. It was initially an instrument of protest, especially against the major western powers. The diplomatic agents of the great powers (France, United Kingdom and the United States in particular) were the main targets. They were either kidnapped or sent letter and parcel bombs. Classical terrorism involved hijacking and skyjacking of planes, hostage takings and suicide bombings. The principal objectives were then very political. Today, terrorism has been technologized. There are also cyber terrorism and atomic terrorism. Financial terrorism has become another critical issue. 

The causal factors of individual or private terrorism varies from political oppression, and ideologies to religious persecution, ethnic discrimination, opposition to human rights violations, and poverty. As for state terrorism, it is the quest by sub-nationals for autonomy by use of force and opposition to political dictatorship, especially supported externally, that often prompts state terrorism. State terrorism can be manifested more cruelly when the agitators are critical of government or engaged in the use of force illegally. Recall the killing of a Saudi dissident. Jamal Khashoggi, on 2 October, 2018 at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. An embassy is considered exterritorial in international law, implying that the host state cannot enter an embassy forcefully without the consent of the Chief of Mission. However, being exterritorial also means it is an extension of the Sending State and therefore the sending state can do and undo. This was what happened to Khashoggi in 2018. He went to the Saudi consulate and was ambushed and slaughtered like a cow by a 15-member squad of Saudi agents. 

Many points are interesting about the dismemberment of Khashoggi: the Saudi Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, claimed innocence of the assassination. Did the conviction of five persons (Fahad Shabib Albalawi, Turki Muserref Alshehri, Waleed Abdullah Alshehri, Maher Abdulaziz Mutreb and Salah Mohammed Tubaigy) and the verdict of death for murder for covering up the murder imply the innocence of the Saudi government that made fruitless efforts to cover up the murder? In fact, the Turkish authorities also bugged the Saudi consulate. Was the act of bugging not a violation of international diplomatic law?

In essence, the act of disagreeing with or criticising the Saudi government warranted the capital punishment of Khashoggi because he was a critic of the Saudi government. The United States and allies condemned the killing but acquiesced to it and nothing happened thereafter. The journalist was seen when he entered the Saudi consulate but never seen to have come out of it. This was state terrorism per excellence. As brutal as this state terrorism might be, religious and Israelo-Palestinian terrorism are not less brutal in manifestation.  

On 7 July, 2005 at about 8.50 am during rush hours, three London Underground trains were victims of suicide bomb attacks by some ‘ordinary British citizens’ who shared the al-Qaeda philosophy. It was not clear why the British citizens were described as ‘ordinary’. However, a non-ordinary or extraordinary British citizen cannot and should not be expected to launch terrorist attacks on his or her country even in the absence of patriotism. In the attacks, 39 people were killed. At about 10 am another bomb was detonated on the upper deck of a bus at the Tavistock Square. There were four attacks in all and more than 700 were injured. A real British citizen, a genuine citizen of Britain must not be seen or heard engaging in terrorism against his people in the absence of any declared struggle for political autonomy. 

Whatever is the case, the bombers were not foreigners. They were British that had been radicalised. They were three British who travelled from Leeds to join a fourth British in Luton en route London. They were publicly seen as ordinary people carrying backpacks filled with explosives but never seen as threats to public safety. As noted in the report of the official inquiry, the ordinary British citizens ‘carried out the attacks by using inexpensive readily available materials. These factors made advance detection of the plot by authority extremely unlikely and forced a sea change in British counterterrorism policy, which was previously focused on foreign threats’ (vide Michael Ray, “London Bombings of 2005,” Encyclopaedia Britannica, last updated on September 4, 2024).

Put differently, the policy understanding before the 7/7 attacks was that threats to the UK were foreign. The people residing within the United Kingdom were never seen as enemies. Consequently, security threat would be immediately redefined. Prime Minister Tony Blair saw the bombing as an expression of hatred. As he put it, ‘there is no hope in terrorism nor any future in it worth living. And it is hope that is the alternative to this hatred.’ This statement gives the impression that terrorism can be an objective by considering the possibility of any hope in it. Terrorism is more of an instrument of a struggle. If we are talking about hope in terrorism, it cannot but be a hope in the use of terrorism as a means for attaining political objectives. Consequently, interpretatively, what Prime Minister Tony Blair is saying is that there is no hope, or no likely good outcome, in the use of terrorism to attain whatever objective. He is simply condemning terrorism in all ramifications. But does condemnation put an end to terrorism, especially when the British State is also aiding terrorism directly or indirectly?

International politics is necessarily fraught with dishonesty in design and practice. This is because international politics is a conflict system. It is a system of order and counter-order, amounting to disorder. For instance, terrorism is internationally prohibited. Use of force to settle disputes in international relations is also banned. However, the guarantors of international law happen to be the first countries breaching the same laws. At the level of the UN Security Council, the right of veto is used to promote the national interest to the detriment of the promotion of global peace and security. The more powerful countries preach the gospel of democratic values but refuse the democratisation of the UN system. In fact, it is a truism that Israel acquires weapons from the UK and the US to commit genocidal crimes in its so-called legitimate self-defence war on Palestinian Hamas. The international shame has not only prompted the taking of Israel and Germany to the ICJ but also why the UK has unilaterally decided to suspend the export of certain weapons to Israel who is believed to be using the weapons to terrorise internationally protected persons. Israel uses terror allegedly in self-defence which should not be.

Implications for Global Peace

First, international terrorism is politics in itself and therefore cannot engender global peace. When the liberation movements in southern Africa engaged in armed struggle, with Nigeria actively engaging in the combat diplomatically and financially, the then US president,  Donald Reagan, described the armed struggle as terrorism but the whole of Africa, led by Nigeria, refuted and rejected it. In the same vein, Israel is apparently killing and maiming internationally protected persons, children, non-combatants under the pretext of self-defence against the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks in which 1200 Israelis lost their lives.

In fact, the argument of self-defence is presented as an unprovoked attack by Hamas. It is difficult to rightly argue the case of non-provocation in light of the fact that the Palestinian Hamas, though considered by the West as a terrorist organisation, have been subjected to Israeli occupation, misrule, and oppression, a situation that appears to have pushed them to the wall in probably deciding to damn the consequences of their attack. Israeli terrorism is aimed at wiping out an ethnic community under the guise of self-protection and the international community not only condones it but is also surreptitiously supporting Israel in its genocidal crimes. With this type of situation, global peace and security cannot but remain a quest or dream. 

Secondly, the danger posed by the invisible terrorists is deadlier than that danger of the visible terrorist carrying weapons. Explained differently, there are the visible terrorists and the unseen terrorists who guide and fund the criminal acts. Who is funding terrorism? Is it only private individuals that are doing so? Are States not also funding the use of terror? A terrorist is not only the suicide bomber and the kidnapper. All those who aid and abet the use of terror are also invisible terrorists. They are terrorists because of the many international agreements already done on it and which prohibit both the visible and invisible terrorists. Efforts should not be made in the open to combat the use of terror and then some financiers of terrorism would be promoting terror in the secret. By implication, the real anti-terrorism battle should be more at the level of the invisible terrorists.

Thirdly, there is the breach of the many international anti-terrorism agreements. There is the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Internationally Protected Persons, including Diplomatic Agents, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations (UNGA) on 14 December 1973. There are also the International Convention against the Taking of Hostages, adopted by the UNGA on 17 December, 1979; the International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings, adopted by the UNGA on 15 December 1997; the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism done on 9 December 1999; and the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism done on 13 April 2005. There are still more agreements, but they are also generally not adhered to. Why is it that the agreements are only respected in the breach? Does this not also suggest that the breaching will continue in the foreseeable future? 

Fourthly, there is also the aspect of international complicity in state terrorism. When Israel opted to attack the Iranian Embassy in Syria, was it that the Tel Aviv authorities did not know that Article 2 (1) (b) of the International Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Internationally protected Persons, Including Diplomatic Agents, prohibits any ‘intentional commission of a violent attack upon the official premises, the private accommodation or the means of transport of an internationally protected person likely to endanger his person or liberty?’ The implication of Israel’s attack on Iran in Syria is that the sovereignty of any country can be violated in self-defence of an attack launched by a third party. In other words, Syria was not in conflict with Israel per se as at the time of the attack. There was no good basis to have attacked Iran in Syria even if the principle of hot pursuit in international law were to be considered. There is also no good basis for supporting Israel’s state terrorism which does not allow for a 2-state solution to the Palestinian question.

Fifthly, there is the implication of a likely rise in terrorist attacks in the foreseeable future especially in the West Africa region of Africa. The United States and France who are said to be assisting in the containment of terror in the Sahel have been declared unwanted. They are replaced by Russia but the extent to which sub-regional, not to say regional, security will not be bleak is a matter of conjecture.

For instance, the Institute for Economics and Peace uses data from terrorism tracker and other sources to rank countries on the impact of terrorism in its Global Terrorism Index (GTI) reports. The GTI report scores each country on a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 represents no impact at all and 10 represents the highest measurable impact of terrorism. In the GTI 2024 report, ‘deaths caused by terrorism increased by 22% to 8,352, the highest level since 2017. Attacks are more deadly as the number of terrorist incidents fell by 22% to 3,350 and number of countries reporting an incident fell to 50.’

Explained differently, the scoring of more points simply implies more terrorist challenges to address, especially in terms of the number of terrorist casualties. For instance, even though terrorist incidents are on the decline, the attacks are also becoming deadlier. Terrorists are able to inflict more deadly attacks without having to organise many attacks. Besides, in terms of impact, in the year 2023, West African countries were unequally impacted upon. Burkina Faso was the most impacted upon with 8.571 on 10 points. Mali came second with 7.998, while Nigeria with 7.575 points, and Niger with 7.274 followed in that order.

In Nigeria’s neighbourhood, Cameroun was placed third after Nigeria and Niger with 6.98 points, followed by Chad with 4.987 points and Benin with 4.898 points. This means that Nigeria is at the epicentre of terrorist impact. One would have expected that, since Nigeria and her immediate neighbours are seriously impacted upon, they would want to come closer together to fight international terrorism in a more strategic manner and beyond the Lake Chad Commission’s framework. 

Other countries in the ECOWAS region were not even impacted by terrorism. For instance, Ghana, Guinea, The Gambia,  Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Senegal, and Sierra Leone all scored 0 point on ten. So did Mauritania, Equatorial Guinea, Lesotho, Morocco, Mauritania,   Senegal, and Sierra Leone in West Africa, and Malawi, Namibia, South Sudan, Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, and Gabon in other regions of Africa. 

Additionally, it should be pointed out that international terrorism is not peculiar to Africa alone. The great powers are similarly impacted by terrorism in the way Nigeria and her neighbours are impacted: the United States scored 4.141 points, compared to Russia’s 3.016 points, France’s 2.647 points, UK 2.373 points, and China’s 0.582 points. If international terrorism has become a major concern for the global community, for how long can it be expected to be eventually contained if it is containable?  If truth be told or asked for, who really is interested in global peace and security? Are the manufacturers of weapons sincerely interested in peace? If there is peace, if there is security, who will be interested in the purchase of arms and weapons? If there are no weapons, what will be the responsibility of military advisers or the defence attachés? When there is peace and security, why will the military powers not take interest in fomenting troubles in order to create a basis for relevance? Apart from this, Africa is currently searching for a new order of political governance and Professor Akinwande Bolaji Akinyemi, CFR, has been holding discussions on the matter and is specially to speak on it on the occasion of the 200th edition of his Thrumyeyes Programme on Thursday 18 September, 2024 at 7pm. Can there really be peace when individual and state terrorism cohabit? Can there be regional or global peace when the international system is that of a conflict system, that of order and counter order amounting to disorder? If there is disorder, why will there not be business for weapons manufacturers? Why should anyone expect global peace when Africa has not shown any seriousness of purpose in nipping in the bud colonial legacy? Time will tell.

Bola A. Akinterinwa 

Repudiation of validly contracted agreement, contrarily to the principle of sanctity of agreement or pacta sunt servanda, is not taken with kid gloves in international law and relations. When an agreement is done by a sovereign State and the obligations created are not respected by the signatories, the international responsibility of the concerned signatory may be raised. The same is true when the constituent parts of a nation-state do an international agreement. This is because the constituent parts are not recognised to act on behalf of the Federal Government. It is Nigeria that has to be internationally held responsible.

Explained differently, the dispute between the Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment in China and the Ogun State in south-west Nigeria over the development of a free-trade zone as a basis to attract international investments, is a case in point. Ogun State cannot enter, as a state government, into international relations. It is not a sovereign State recognised internationally as such. In fact, the other contracting party is also a private entity. However, if we admit that the contracting parties cannot enter into international relations, how do we explain the fact that Nigeria’s property were attached or seized internationally? All aircraft have nationality. Nigeria’s presidential jets are Nigerian in registration, citizenship, ownership, and belong to the Government of Nigeria. They have the insignia of Nigeria.

The attachment of the three jets is currently raising questions: why is it always that policy makers, signatories to international agreements, and civil servants cannot reckon with international obligations the country has subscribed to? The Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) is statutorily designated to be the depository of all agreements negotiated and signed by the Government of Nigeria. Why is this not complied with? What makes it difficult to have a joint research, monitoring, and protection committee, to comprise the NIIA, Federal Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to compile and organise all agreements done by Nigeria, and to draw attention to them, especially when they are falling due in terms of payment of assessed payments to international organisations, etc.? 

Sino-Nigerian Ties and the Attachment

Sino-Nigerian ties are generally warm at the governmental level, but still characterised by strains and constraints. Warmth and irritants are the two sides of the Sino-Nigerian relations. Both countries have warm collaboration at the levels of trade, science and technology, education and culture, development aid, health, politics, investment and military. The dynamics of the good relationship include October 1 as their National Day during which, in Nigeria, the Chinese Embassy in Nigeria often celebrates their day before October 1 in deference to Nigeria. The Government of Nigeria appreciates this. Besides, doing so prevents sharing of guests on the same day. In other words, the likely guests to be invited by China and the Nigerian government are the same. The diplomatic community is generally invited to the celebration of Nigeria’s Independence Day. And true enough again, Nigeria-China relations is at the epicentre of the China-Africa relations. More interestingly, since the signing of special agreements with the Beijing authorities by the Olusegun Obasanjo administration in 2005, politico-economic ties have been waxing stronger.

For instance, an agreement (MoU) was done in 2018 on the Chinese BRI (Belt and Road Initiative) cooperation which enabled Nigeria to accede to the membership of the BRI forum. The involvement of the Chinese in the economic, and particularly in the infrastructural, sector, is considerable. The Chinese built the Abuja Metro Line and the Lagos Rail Mass Transit. They are also the builders of the Zungeru Hydropower Plant, National Data Centre in Kano, the industrial parks in Lekki, Lagos State, and in Ogun State.  

At the level of economic ties, Nigeria is China’s second largest export market and major investment destination in Africa. On bilateral trade, the OEC has it that ‘in 2022, China exported $21.48bn (worth of goods and services) to Nigeria. The main products that China exported to Nigeria were Non-Knit Women’s Suits ($792m), Rubber Footwear ($566m), and Broadcasting Equipment (503m). Over the past five years, the exports of China to Nigeria have increased at an annualised rate of 11.9%, from $12.2bn in 2017 to $21.48bn in 2022.’

Additionally, the OEC says ‘in 2022 China did not export any services to Nigeria…In 2022, Nigeria exported (goods worth) $1.52bn to China. The main products that Nigeria exported to China were petroleum Gas ($451m), crude petroleum ($299m), and Lead Ore ($94.6m). Over the past five years the exports of Nigeria to China have decreased at an annualised rate of 0.4%, from $1.56bn in 2017 to $1.52bn in 2022.’ And more interestingly, China’s export to Nigeria as at June 2024 was valued $1.44bn, while imports were valued $131m, hence a positive trade balance of $1.31bn in favour of China. In the same vein, Chinese foreign direct investments in Nigeria was $2.7bn in 2022. It declined to $2.3bn in 2021. Nigeria’s indebtedness to China was $4.73bn as at June 30, 2023. In fact, ‘the top five partner countries of origin for imports to Nigeria was China (N1,973.34bn (https://www.nigerianstat.gov.ng). 

Besides, there is the Chinese Police Station in Benin City, also referred to as ‘Service Station’ in some other countries. It is an organ of the Beijing authorities to control the criminal activities of Chinese living outside of China. For instance, ‘from April 2021 to July 2022, 230,000 nationals had been “persuaded to return” to face criminal proceedings in China, says the Safeguard Defender. Explained differently, the existence of a Chinese police station in Nigeria is both good and bad: good in the sense that it helps the Government of Nigeria to monitor and contain criminal activities by Chinese in Nigeria, and bad because it creates a parallel police system within Nigeria. It is nothing more than a competing sovereignty. But whatever it is or how it is taken, it clearly reflects an entente between the two governments.  

Culturally and educationally, an increasing number of Nigerians are learning Chinese language being a working language of the United Nations. There are two Confucius Institutes in Nigerian universities. There are more than 7,500 Nigerian students in China. Both countries have co-hosted the ‘Happy Chinese New Year,’ Temple Fair,’ the Chinese Film Festival,’ the Chinese Bridge,’ and the ‘Chinese Proficiency Competition.’

In essence, as told by the Chinese new ambassador to Nigeria, H.E. Dunhai, ‘China’s development plays an important role for the stability and prosperity of a multi-polar world. We (China) will also continue to support Nigeria’s social and economic development with concrete action and share our development benefits with the country.’ In this regard, if the relationship is generally good at the governmental level, why is it not so at the level of people-to-people and contractual relations? The case of Ogun-Guangdong Free Trade Zone dispute serves as one explanation.

In 2007, the Ogun State government contracted the Chinese firm to manage a Free-trade Zone. For one reason or the other, a misunderstanding arose in 2015 which prompted the quest for an arbitration in 2016 and eventually to the arbitral award of over $60m against the Federal Government in 2019. It was this factor of contractual discontinuity that has prompted the Chinese attachment of Nigeria’s aircraft. And true enough, there is no disputing the fact that Nigeria of today is heavily indebted to China and the debt service has always been on the increase. Solving the problem of indebtedness cannot be by disregarding contractual obligations. Government cannot but seek diplomatic mediation of the saga as desideratum.

The three aircraft were flown to France for routine check and the Federal Government only learnt about their attachment on August 14, 2024 during the routine service and based on the orders of the Judicial Court of Paris dated March 7, 2024 and August 12, 2024 at the instance of the Chinese party. On the one hand, the Special Adviser to the President, Bayo Onanuga, reportedly accused the Chinese of employing subterfuge to acquire offshore assets of the Federal Government and that the Federal Government was not under any contractual obligation with the Chinese company. 

As much as the Federal Government might have not directly reached any contractual agreement with the Chinese company, the truth remains that, under the rules of public international law, the Federal Government of Nigeria necessarily accounts for the activities and derogations of international law by its citizens and sub-nationals and private individual. In other words, Nigeria’s international responsibility cannot but be called to question. In fact, no important international project agreement is done and consented to without the Federal Government serving as a witness and guarantor. A case in point is that of the Lagos Metro Line (see supra) for which the Government of Lagos had to pay the double price for a metro line that was never allowed to see the light of day because of military poor governance of the project as a result of breach of contract.

Beyond Aircraft Sovereign Immunity

Following the attachment of the three Nigeria’s presidential jets, the Federal Government argued that the attached aircraft were sovereign assets; that they were part of the presidential fleet; and therefore, they should not have been seized for whatever reason. This position raises a conflict between the rule of sanctity of agreement or the spirit of pacta sunt servanda, on the basis of which the court in France gave its arbitral award of over $60m against the Federal Government of Nigeria as a co-defendant, on the one hand, and the principle of sovereign immunity, also referred to as State Sovereignty, provided for in the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, on the other hand. This is nothing more than a case of conflict of international laws. 

Put differently, sovereign immunity is a principle of international law according to which a sovereign state and its property are exempt from the jurisdictional competencies of foreign national courts. With the existence of this law, why should the French court still ignore it? Why should priority be given to the French municipal law, so to say? Admittedly, the contracting parties to the agreement are stricto sensu not directly subjects of international law. The Chinese firm involved, Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co Ltd, is not governmental in ownership. The Ogun State which is governmental in Nigeria cannot enter into international relations unless through the Federal Government of Nigeria. This simply means that, in the foreseeable future, arbitral proceedings are not likely to give primacy to sovereign immunity when it comes to breaches of valid contractual agreements. The question here is why the disregard for the principle of sanctity of agreements at the level of Nigeria?

Secondly, the answer to the foregoing question is bad governance. Political governance in Nigeria is done on the basis of sustainable memory or sustainable continuity in Nigeria. Whatever a particular government does and achieves is hardly sustained by its successor. As a result, lessons are not learnt from the past.

 If lessons are learnt, there cannot be any good reason to justify the attachment of Nigeria’s jets in France. It is important to note here that the attachment of the three jets was not the first time Nigerian planes had been attached in France. There was the time two Nigeria Airways aircraft flew to France for C and D checks and were seized. 

The SOGERMA (Société Girondine d’Entretien de Matériel Aéronautique), a subsidiary company of the Airbus Industrie, was contracted in 1984 to service and repair Nigeria’s fleet of airbus. The Sogerma complied with its own contractual obligations in the period from 1984 through 1987 but the Nigerian party did not. This prompted the referring of the matter to the court as provided under the French law. As provided in Article R 123-9 of the French Civil Aviation Code, ‘when the owner of an aircraft is of foreign nationality, any creditor has the right to effect a seizure as security with the authority of the examining Judge of the Court of Instance of the place where the aircraft landed.’ In this regard, on 14 February, 1988 Messieurs Jean Drouhaut and Marie-Claude Drouhaut, who were associated court bailiffs, went to the premises of the SOGERMA to effect seizure of Nigeria Airways’ aircraft no. A310-221, serial number 285 and with registration number 5N-AUF. Mr. Maurice Marais was appointed the custodian of the seized aircraft on behalf of the SOGERMA while the SOGERMA withdrew its fifteen technical members posted to the Nigeria Airways in April 1988.

Perhaps most disturbingly, on 9 May, 1988, SOGERMA’s counsel, Mr. Bruno Mareille, again applied to Madam Danièle Ferrier, the presiding Judge of the Court of Instance in Bordeaux, for the attachment of another Nigeria Airways airbus 5N-AUG, serial number 329 and christened Lekki Peninsula, which was flown to Bordeaux on April 28, 1988 for C Check following an accident it sustained in Port Harcourt. As we have also noted elsewhere, ‘even though the Nigeria Airways expressly recognised on 27 November, 1987 that it was indebted to the SOGERMA to the tune of 65,796,884 French francs (being cost of the different services rendered and spare parts supplied to the Nigeria Airways), “steps taken by the applicant (that is, the SOGERMA) to recover this considerable amount of money owed it have not yielded result” (vide Bola A. Akinterinwa, Nigeria and France, 1960-1995: The Dilemma of Thirty-five Years of Relationship (Ibadan: Vantage Publishers, ©, 1999, p. 173 et s).

 From the foregoing, if Nigeria’s aircraft had always been attached for various reasons of non-compliance with contractual obligations, coming to hide under governmental ownership of an aircraft, and therefore laying claim to aircraft immunity cannot be tenable on a serious note. It only raises a critical conflict between two principles of international law: sovereign immunity and pacta sunt servanda. In this regard, how does Nigeria address this problem within the context of her foreign policy and strategic calculations? How does she intend to address the issue of deepening lack of credibility? To what extent can the multinational corporations in Nigeria trust the government or expect the Government to have a good, if not a better, international image? 

These questions are raised in light of the fact that the Lagos State Government under Governor Lateef Jakande administration signed an agreement with Interinfra, a consortium of French companies, to construct a Lagos Metroline Line (LML). Feasibility studies were carried out. Work actually started and substantial financial deposit for the commencement of the rail was paid. At the end of the day, the Federal Government that stood as guarantor for the LML reneged on the agreement on the basis of the military government that succeeded the Jakande government, who argued that the costs of the project were too prohibitive. Interinfra referred the cancellation of the project to European arbitration and Nigeria was not only found guilty, but also compelled to pay twice the initial cost of the turn-key project that was said to be too expensive as compensation (vide Bola A. Akinterinwa, op cit.). Nigeria that did not want to pay about N600 million initially paid the double as damages and without having any LML at the end of the whole exercise. Thus, the current attachment of Nigeria’s presidential jets in France is really not a big deal but another renewal of the public embarrassment to which the people of Nigeria have always been subjected to by the Government of Nigeria.

Thirdly, Sino-Nigerian relationship is characterised by mutual suspicion. As noted by the Governor of Ogun State, His Excellency Dapo Abiodun, Nigerians should not ‘be fooled by the open romance and China’s interest in Africa. China is a friend only as long as its own interests are served. This is what African leaders do not understand. Our institutions in Africa are also weak.’

 And perhaps more interestingly, Governor Abiodun noted further that he ‘never trusted the Chinese and their Belt and Road Initiative, or their debt trap diplomacy’ and that he blames ‘African leaders who lack the capacity to read between the lines. Nobody should ever rely on the same Chinese who have seized assets in Zambia and Djibouti, and also have challenges with Kenya and Angola’ (vide Tuesday with Reuben Abati, ThisDay, Tuesday, August 20, 2024, back page et s). It is against this background of mistrust that the so-called warmth in the relationship should be understood.

Fourthly, it is a settled principle of international aviation law that the airspace above every sovereign state belongs to the sovereign state, and by implication, the state has absolute sovereignty over its airspace. Any airline flying over a sovereign state risks being forced down or shot down if prior approval had not been given before flying over. The further implication of this point is that, for the three Nigerian jets (Dassault Falcon 7X, Boeing 737-7N6, and Airbus A330) to have been attached while on ground simply meant they had the required approval to land. 

In other words, none of the three attached jets falls within the purview of Article 96 of the 7 December, 1944 Chicago Convention on International Aviation, which came into force on 4 April, 1947. This is because the aircraft did not perform any scheduled air service for public transport of passengers (Article 96(a); nor pass through the airspace over the territory of more than one State (Article 96(b), meaning that it was not an international air service, and therefore they are not an international air service (Article 96(c) and should not have been eligible for attachment. However, a problem still arises at the point of approval to take off or leave the airport of disembarkation, as it is being manifested by French aviation authorities.  

Fifthly, as observed by Dr Joseph Adeshola Adekeye and Dr Oluwatobi O. Adeyemi in their “Challenges and Prospects in Nigeria-China Relations,” published online on 1st October 2023, trade relations between Nigeria and China under Nigeria’s Fourth Republic ‘were beneficial to the two countries to some extent, both economically and politically. However, China has a higher comparative advantage over Nigeria. This is so because China focuses on the exchange of secondary products for Nigeria’s primary products. The high disparities in the value trade relations resulted into the collapse of most local industries, underemployment, capital flight, and a vicious circle of poverty in Nigeria’ (vide Sabinet African Journals, https://hdl.handle.net/10520/ejc-aa_afren_v2023_nsi1_a9). Thus, there is the issue of how not to only exporting primary products in exchange for secondary products from China which are purchased at very high costs when compared to the cost of purchase of the primary products.

Bola A. Akinterinwa 

Diplomatic rupture is synonymous with strained relations which inhibit cooperation at various levels. It is an expression of misunderstanding, which, more often than not, is a resultant from serious foreign policy disagreement. In an attempt to prevent such disagreements, the 1963 OAU Charter sought ‘a common determination to promote understanding among our peoples for brotherhood and solidarity in a larger unity transcending ethnic and national difference.’ This was what was considered as an ‘inspiration by common determination’ in the fifth paragraph of the preamble to the Charter of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU).

More importantly, in pursuance of this determination and translating it into ’a dynamic force in the cause of human progress, conditions for peace and security must be established and maintained.’ And perhaps most significantly, Article II (2a and 2b) of the Charter stipulated that the OAU ‘shall coordinate and harmonise their general policies, especially in the fields of ‘political and diplomatic cooperation’ and ‘Cooperation for defence and security.’ In other words, defence and security was taken as a top priority, not simply as an objective, but also as a means of sustainable development in Africa.

With the transformation of the OAU to the African Union (AU), cooperation for defence and security is still maintained as a top priority. As noted in the preamble to the AU Constitutive Act, the AU is ‘conscious of the fact that the scourge of conflicts in Africa constitutes a major impediment to the socio-economic development of the continent and of the need to promote peace, security and stability as a prerequisite for the implementation of our development and integration agenda.’ In spite of these provisions, governance has been fraught with recidivist insecurity in Africa. And to a great extent, it has not only engendered foreign interference and intervention, the foreign intervention has also prompted solidarity-driven diplomatic rupture in the foreign relations of many African countries.  

Diplomatic Rupture in Practice

Diplomatic rupture, as noted above, is lato sensu an off-shoot of misunderstanding and disagreement. Rupture can exist as a result of legitimate self-defence, reciprocity, and abuse of diplomatic privileges and immunities. The increasing concerns about diplomatic ruptures in international relations has apparently prompted the 11th European Workshop in International Studies (EWIS) to focus its attention on ”Workshop on Deviation: Ruptures and Changes in/via Diplomatic Encounters,” and to also call for papers. In explaining diplomatic rupture as a noisome problem and a resultant of faux pas in a particular situation, the EWIS noted in its concept note that diplomatic rupture ‘is produced performatively for the purpose of signalling to the other and to wider observing audience. It can also be deployed with the objective of disruption, of upending existing hierarchies and social relations, or of initiating a broader recasting of order and international politics. But it may also emerge unexpectedly, as a result of a variety of aspects affecting diplomatic intercourse, either as fleeting, irrelevant diplomatic incidents, other times fuelling old rivalries or provoking new ones.’

Without iota of doubt, several examples of diplomatic ruptures have existed since classical to contemporary times in international relations. For example, Mexico strained its diplomatic relations with the United States in 1845 when the United States annexed Texas. This led to a dispute over the southern Texas-Mexico border. While Texas argued that  its southwest boundary extended to the Rio Grande, Mexico claimed that the boundary was the Nueces River, which is about 160 km eastward. Based on this disagreement, Mexico strained its diplomatic ties with the United States. This lends credence to the observation that any type of disagreement can precipitate rupture in diplomatic relations.

It is on record that Yugoslavia and Albania strained their diplomatic relations in July 1927 when an attaché of the Yugoslav Legation in Tirana was arrested based on allegations of espionage. In the words of Professor Frederic A. Ogg of the Political Science Department of the University of Wisconsin, ‘the Yugoslav Chargé d’Affaires, with his staff, left Albania Minister at Belgrade, Cena Bey, was handed his passport with forty-eight hours’ notice… The French Legation agreed to protect the Yugoslav interests in Albania and Italy consented to act in a similar capacity for Albania in Belgrade.’ 

More importantly, Professor Ogg had it that ‘both Albania and Yugoslavia laid their respective versions of the case before the League of Nations, the former immediately, the latter on June 12, on the eve of the forty-fifth session of the League Council… At all events, the Italian press openly denounced the attitude of Yugoslavia, and unquestionably the action of Belgrade played directly into Italian hands, especially because of its precipitateness and its uncertain justification.’ It is clear from the foregoing that several reasons can account for diplomatic rupture. There is the allegation of espionage. There is also the catalytic factor of the Italian media in the matter. This simply means that the media can always in a significant manner impact on diplomacy. 

Again in 1948, there was another diplomatic rupture as a result of border conflict which lasted from 1948 to 1954. When the border was closed, 7,877 border incidents occurred out of which there were 142 substantive clashes that led to armed conflicts at the border. For more than 40 years, Albania-Yugoslavia border was closed.

The OAU’s directive to all its Member States following Ian Smith’s Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) is quite relevant here. As revealed on 18 December, 1965, by the Directorate of the Central Intelligence Agency in its declassified report with reference number OCI NO 2956/65 on ‘Implications of Ghana’s Diplomatic Rupture with the UK,’ ‘although Nkrumah’s speech in the National Assembly on 16 December kept open the door for Ghana to participate in any early Commonwealth meeting on Rhodesia, such as Nigeria has proposed, Nkrumah had officially informed British Prime Minister Wilson on 14 December that a break with Britain “would mean Ghana’s withdrawal from the Commonwealth.” UDIis the reason for diplomatic rupture in this case.

Like many others, Mexico strained its diplomatic ties with Ecuador on 6 April 2024 following the Ecuadorian government’s abuse of international diplomatic law: the law enforcements agents, particularly the policemen of Ecuador forced themselves into the Mexican Embassy without the consent of the Ambassador of Mexico, in order to arrest the Ecuadorian Vice President, Jorge Glas, who was accused of several acts of indiscipline.  

The Vice president went to the Mexican embassy in Quito to seek diplomatic refuge and, as well to take the opportunity to check out of Ecuador. The Ecuadorian government did not want its Vice President to escape and therefore opted to use an extraordinary force to enter the Mexican Embassy and arrest Mr Jorge Glas who had been in the embassy since December 2023. Breaking into the diplomatic premises of Mexico in Quito is a very serious violation of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. The Mexican President, Andrés Manuel López, announced the severance of diplomatic relations with Ecuador in protest and with a promise to also refer the matter to the International Court of Justice. 

The Vice President was quickly removed from the Office of the Attorney-General the following day to the maximum-security prison in the port city of Guayaquil. Sonia Vera, the attorney to the Vice President, narrated the brutality of the arrest thus: the Ecuadorian policemen broke into his room, Jorge Glas resisted when they attempted to put his hands behind his back, then they ‘knocked him to the floor, kicked him in the head, in the spine, in the legs, in the hands,’ and when he couldn’t walk, they dragged him out.’ In this case, Mexico has the full responsibility to protect an asylee in his diplomatic premises in compliance with the obligations created by the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

What is noteworthy in this case was that when President Daniel Noboa of Ecuador considered Glas ‘imminent flight risk’ and the difficulties in having any dialogue with Mexico, he gave instruction on the need to violate the Embassy of Mexico. The argument given by the Ecuadorian Foreign Minister, Gabriela Sommerfield, was that, ‘it is not legal to grant asylum to people convicted of common crimes and by competent courts.’ This argument is surely ridiculous in light of the consideration of a diplomatic mission as exterritorial, and therefore inviolable.

On August 9, 2024 Soner Cagaptay, in his “Israel-Turkey Relations Nearing a Rupture,” (vide the Washington Institute’s Policy Watch no 3910) explained the many pointers to the nearing rupture in Turkey’s relationship with Israel because of Israel’s assassination of a Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran. While Israel-Turkey relations are yet to resort to diplomatic rupture, that is, while the relationship is still at the level of diplomatic crisis, and reportedly just nearing diplomatic rupture, it should be simply said that vested national interest generally defines the parameters for straining diplomatic ties. It is only the nature of the national interests involved that also defines the rigidity, sophistication, duration, modalities for resolution and implications. 

What is observable here is that the world is currently witnessing a shift from espionage, disputes, wars, disagreements, economic sanctions, etc. as excuses for resorting into diplomatic rupture to political solidarity as a new rationale.

Niger’s Solidarity-Driven Diplomatic Rupture  

One immediate rationale for Niger’s solidarity-driven diplomatic rupture with Ukraine is the new entente cordiale predicated on the Alliance of Sahel States (ASS), a defence and security pact. Three complementary factors largely explain the development of the ASS. First is the rejected roles of France, their former colonial master, whose efforts through Barkhane Operation to contain the Jihadists and the Tuareg insurrection are perceived to have failed. Besides, rather than seeing France as a helper and solution to their problems, France is seen as an exploiter of their national resources for the development of France and Europe and not for their own development.

The second rationale is the factor of the ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States), from which the three Member States of the ASS have given notice of withdrawal. The ECOWAS has zero tolerance for unconstitutional changes of government in Africa and particularly in the West African region. Article 30 of the Constitutive Act of the African Union on Suspension, says ‘Governments which shall come to power through unconstitutional means shall not be allowed to participate in the activities of the Union.’

More importantly, any form of unconstitutional change of government is no longer simply a political issue but a legal matter. It is now a crime within the framework of the jurisdiction of the African Criminal Court that is still in the making. Article 28E of the Malabo Protocol was provided to serve as the legal basis of the African Criminal Court. The article explains what may constitute a crime as follows: a) a putsch or coup d’état against a democratically-elected government; b) an intervention by mercenaries to replace a democratically elected government: c) any replacement of a democratically elected government by the use of armed dissidents or rebels or through political assassinations; d) any refusal by an incumbent government to relinquish power to the winning party or candidate after free, fair and regular elections; e) any amendment or revision of the Constitution or legal instruments, which is an infringement on the principles of democratic change of government or is inconsistent with the Constitution; f) any substantial modification to the electoral laws in the last six months before the elections without the consent of the majority of the political actors (vide Article 23 of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance; the Malabo protocols; and Harmen van der Wilt, “Unconstitutional Change of Government: A New Crime within the Jurisdiction of the African Criminal Court,” cambridge.com).

Thus, unconstitutional change of government has become a very critical issue in Africa’s intra and inter-state relations. It was because of this issue of zero tolerance for unconstitutional change of government that led to the withdrawal of the ASS countries from the ECOWAS. It began with Mali, followed by Burkina Faso, and again by Niger. The three regimes in the three countries came to power unconstitutionally. But most surprisingly, they all enjoy popular support, especially in Burkina Faso, where, if democratic elections were to be held today, the likelihood of Captain Ibrahim Traoré being elected with more than 80% votes cannot be easily wished away. As Mali has strained diplomatic ties with Ukraine and Niger has followed the same path, that Burkina Faso will not also follow suite is a moot question and a matter of time. Russia is now a regional influential in the Sahel sub-region.

The third rationale for the break in diplomatic ties is the statement reportedly ascribed to a Ukrainian official spokesman for Ukrainian military intelligence, Andriy Yusov, that the rebels and anti-Malian government received ‘the necessary information they needed’ to launch attacks on Wagner and Russian interests in Mali. In other words, Ukrainian government has openly claimed responsibility for carrying out attacks on Russians and the Wagner group on the sovereign land of Mali, an attack that has continued to be generally condemned.

The Malian government accused Ukraine of violating its territory and therefore announced the breaking off of diplomatic ties with Ukraine ‘with immediate effect. In the eyes of Amadou Abdramane, the spokesman to the Government of Niger Republic, the statement by the Ukranian spokesperson was unacceptable, and therefore, on Tuesday, August 6, 2024 Niamey similarly announced the breaking off of diplomatic ties with Ukraine. The politics of the Ukrainian July attack in Mali has been quite interesting: Mali’s decision to strain ties with Kyiv is seen as ‘short sighted and hasty and that it is the Russians that have been engaged in war crimes and not Ukraine that has been respectful of international law. Russia has responded that Presdient Zelensky of Ukraine is not only opening a second war front in Africa, but that he is only ‘pandering to terrorist groups in countries on the continent friendly to Moscow.’ Most unfortunately in all these cases,  Ukrainian government is seeking more alliances with Africa, more African support for its war against Russia, but the Ukrainian intervention in Mali has been generating more of hostility rather than friendship. It is against this background that the implications of straining diplomatic ties are explicated. 

The first implication of Niger’s decision to strain diplomatic ties with Ukraine in sympathy with Mali is the acceptability of a third party that will have the responsibility to protect the interests of the two countries. As stipulated in Article 45 of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, ‘if diplomatic relations are broken off between two States, or if a mission is permanently or temporarily recalled, a) the receiving State must, even in case of armed conflict respect and protect the premises of the mission, together with its property and archives.’ Article 45 says further in paragraph b) that the ‘sending State may entrust the custody of the premises of the mission, together with its property and archives, to a third State acceptable to the receiving State.’ 

In the context of both Niger and Mali, can the relationship between Niger and Nigeria  be quickly improved enough to qualify Nigeria to offer to protect the interests of the Niamey authorities in Kiev? It is not likely. Benin Republic is also not likely. Niamey would normally prefer anti-France countries to protect their interests in Kiev. Paragraph c) of Article 45 says ‘the sending State may entrust the protection of its interest and those of its nationals to a third acceptable to the receiving State. In this regard, the ECOWAS is already divided against itself, with the likelihood of further split along linguistic lines. Besides, most African countries are expressing discontentment with Ukraine’s attack on its enemies on African, sovereign territory. The emerging challenge for global governance is the internationally non-condemned Israeli military policy of killing opponents on foreign soil which Ukraine is now following. Anywhere, everywhere is global theatre of war for Israel. This policy derogates the principle of non-intervention enshrined in Article 2(7), non-threat and use of force in Article 2(4) and collective self-defence provided for in Article 51 of the United Nations Charter. Without jot of doubt, diplomatic rupture is the crescendo in the continuum of peaceful methods of conflict resolution. Diplomatic rupture is an escalator of tensions and a pointer to possible military confrontations. When there is diplomatic rupture, it simply means putting a stop to all direct bilateral or plurilateral official communications and cooperation. As we have seen above, reasons for diplomatic rupture can vary from sanctions, aggression, violations of human rights and humanitarian law to politico-economic disputes and competing influences. The new development in Africa’s international relations is the issue of sympathy, or diplomatic rupture by solidarity. Will Burkina Faso not join by solidarity? How will the ECOWAS respond? What is the policy attitude of the ECOWAS towards unprovoked aggression and abuse of the sovereignty of African states on their own soil?

Bola A. Akinterinwa 

There is currently a cold war between the Alliance des États du Sahel (AES), that is, Alliance of Sahel States (ASS), on the one hand, and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), on the other. In reality, the cold war is also a colder war between France and the United States, on the one hand, and Russia and China, on the other hand. Franco-American relations is partly, if not largely, fraught with mutual suspicion. For example, France and the United States are original signatories to the 1949 North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). 

The NATO was initially headquartered in Paris 10è. When France realised that she could no longer withstand the US mania of military directives to Member States, that is, France’s non-preparedness to accept American hegemonic control of the NATO, France opted out of the military integration membership of the organisation. France wanted to be consulted in all decision-making processes concerning deployment of troops in the context of Article 5 of the NATO Charter. This disagreement prompted the transfer of the NATO headquarters from Paris to Brussels and the turning of the headquarters into University of Paris-Dauphine (Paris 10è). Thus, France-US relationship has always been that of a friendly enmity. They compete for influence in Africa, where they readily unite against Russia in various ramifications. However, Franco-American military presence and bases have been declared unwanted by the AES. Russia has become the new beautiful damsel that is being courted in replacement of France and the United States. And more interestingly, China has displaced all of them as the new biggest supplier of arms to Africa as at today. It is against this background that we discuss one year of the AES and raise Professor Jean-Baptiste Duroselle of the University of Paris Sorbonne’s theory of Tout Empire Périra.’

One Year of Anti-France and Beyond

Tout Empire Périra means ‘Every Empire Shall Perish.’ The implication of this is that the replacement of France’s empire status with that of Russia cannot but have the potential to also perish one day.  But when will it come to an end? Without doubt, the AES is a resultant from the mutual defence pact done on 16 September 2023, meaning that it is not yet one year of its existence. It will be one year old on 15 September, 2024. 

However, there is no disputing the fact that the coups d’état in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger largely prompted the unity of purpose of the three countries in the struggle to resist the mainmise of the ECOWAS which had sanctioned them for acquiring state power through unconstitutional means, coup d’état. It was the July 26, 2023 coup d’état in Niger Republic that brought the intolerance of the ECOWAS to its crescendo. It was the intolerance or the zero tolerance for unconstitutional change of government that prompted the ECOWAS’ threat of use of force on the Abdourahamane Tchiani junta in order to compel the return to civilian in the country. But in reaction to the ECOWAS threat, the consideration of establishing the AES became a desideratum. Thus, analysing one year of the AES cannot but reckon with the background to the formation of the AES.

The background is explainable at three complementary levels. First is the belief in the failure of France’s Operation Barkhane in its fight against the jihadist insurgency. The second is the unnecessary French exploitation of Nigerien mineral resources. Third is General Abdourahamane Tchiani military experience and feats, and fourth is the emergence of a deepening Francophobia in contrast to the increasing Russophilia in the Sahel sub-region. 

As regards the failure of France’s Operation Barkhane, it is largely one of the two rationales for the weakening Francophile spirit in the Sahel. The peoples of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger are frequently harassed and killed by the insurgents. The Operation Barkhane is a French counter-insurgency operation initiated by France. It lasted from 1 August 2014 to 9 November, 2022. France is unhappy with the military junta in Mali, the Malians are unhappy with the French. This enabled the military junta to challenge both France and the ECOWAS by disregarding their threats of sanctions. 

As explained by the Harvard International Review (30 January. 2023, hir.harvard.edu) the real reason for France’s withdrawal from Mali is ‘the junta’s unwillingness to solve its growing security issues. Conversely, the junta blamed France for its failure to keep its promise in their partnership. They then reported that Mali had no choice but to seek other partners, referring to their hiring Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group.’ The two arguments are quite interesting. First, if the French are saying that Malians are not willing to address their security concerns, how do we explain the fact of the Malians accepting Operation Barkhane which was specifically set up to help fight terrorism and the Tuareg insurrection? The French arguments clearly suggests that France and Mali do not agree on the methodological approach to solving the problem. In other words, at what juncture did Mali refuse to dance to the security tunes of the French? Secondly, Mali posited that France had not respected the principle of sanctity of the partnership agreement. Can it not be rightly argued that it was because France acted contrarily to the obligations provided in the partnership agreement that Mali also decided to take the bad end of the stick?

The essential point is the belief that since 2014 to date, the French have not been able to neutralise the jihadist insurgency. What Malians have been faced with the unending killings by the Tuareg insurgents It is against this background the third complaint, mineral resources exploitation by France, is raised in the three ASS countries. The peoples cannot easily see much benefit in terms of better standard of living as a result of gains from the exploitation of their resources by France. They frequently argue that their uranium is exploited to provide stable electricity in metropolitan France while the sources of the uranium is without electricity. This was the genesis of the immediate and growing animosity vis-à-vis France began.

At the third level, General Abdourahamane Tchiani’s military experience and feats, he was the first officer to be at the site of the crash of the UTA Flight 772 that crashed in 1989. His prompt arrival was much appreciated and was decorated militarily as a result. He also took active part in the fight against drug trafficking in Zinder, Agadez, Agadez and Diffa regions. He led the forces and also actively participated in the UN peacekeeping missions in the Côte d’Ivoire, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as in the Multinational Joint Task Force set up by Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria.

Apart from being accused in 2015 of involvement in a coup plot against Mahamadou Issoufou, an accusation he denied in the law court and was discharged, he was on record to have also led the unit that thwarted an attempted coup to seize the Presidential Palace two days before Mahamadou Issoufou stepped to allow for the election of Mohammed Bazoum. And perhaps most importantly, his appointment in 2011 as the Commandant of the Presidential Guards and his promotion to the grade of a General in 2018 by President Issoufou, brought Tchiani closer to the presidency and to have much influence. It cannot therefore be surprising that, when he probably learnt that he might be removed from his position as the presidential commandant on July 28 or 29, he quickly organised the July 26, 2023 coup. The point is that if he had not been planning a coup, it might have not have been possible within 48 hours to detain President Bazoum with much success and support.  

Finally, on the emergence of a deepening Francophobia in contrast to the increasing Russophilia in the Sahel sub-region, Francophone Africa’s honeymoon with France appears to be coming to an end while the honeymoon with Russia is being given a new foundation. Will the honeymoon bring terrorism and insurrection in the Sahel to an end? Will the ASS countries have known and shown readiness to solve their security problems? In other words, is it not because Malians, Burkina Faso, and Niger have shown willingness to solve their security problems by opting to change alliance and move in the direction of Russia? The choice of changing alliance is loaded with many consequential implications: first, it is essentially about sustaining foreign dependency but changing the tactics of the dependency. The policy of changing within continuity cannot be expected to have any constructive and meaningful changed outcome. Secondly, as theorised by Professor Duroselle, the new Russian influence cannot but come to an end one day. The question to still address remains whether a strengthened Russian presence can put an end to the sub-regional insecurity in the Sahel in the immediate and long run. Thirdly, the choice gives a wrong impression that a fresh rapprochement with France is no longer possible. Does it mean that the junta leaders cannot be removed in another coup or gunned down by sponsored by their foreign enemies, and by so doing, prompting another change of government?

It should be recalled that, in Ukraine, it was initially a pro-Russia leader that was elected before he was removed in controversial circumstance. It is against this background that the replacement of the pro-Russian leader seriously irked Russia and that Russia’s special military intervention in Ukraine took place. In this context, the intervention is quite far from resolving the dispute with Ukrainian. Neither Russia nor Ukraine, not to mention the Western supporters of Ukraine, has known peace. The war in Ukraine is still deepening with threats of possible use of nuclear weapons. In the Sahelian sub-region, can Russian and Franco-American proxy war be ruled out in West Africa? Time and future will tell.

Challenges beyond One Year

As a former doctoral student of Professor Jean-Baptiste Duroselle at the University of Paris 1, Panthéon Sorbonne, I am more than convinced that it is still early to see the extent to which the replacement of France with Russia can last. I do agree with the astute diplomatic historian that every empire, no matter for how long it exists, always has the potential to come to an end. True, it is consistent with the common saying that whatever has a beginning cannot but have an end. And true enough again, France was more of an emperor in Africa with special privileges conceded in her ties with Francophone Africa. Today, the beginning of the end to the privileged relationship enjoyed by France is what is being witnessed in the relationship between France and the AES countries. This clearly illustrates Professor Duroselle’s argument that every empire shall perish.

And perhaps more concerning is the replacement of the French empire with a Russian empire in the making in West Africa. The whole world is currently witnessing the making of a Russian empire in West Africa but without knowing for how long it will last. In the same vein, the likelihood of a major rivalry between Russia and China in Africa, and particularly in the West African region, cannot be ruled out. As noted earlier, China has become the biggest arms supplier to Africa. The implication of this is that Chinese military cooperation with Africa cannot but be on its ascendancy. 

Besides, Africa is being supplied arms by Asia, Europe and America to kill themselves in defence of Western values. By not only opening the door, but also widening it for the Russians to come in, the AES is simply changing the incumbent empire. A new foundation is not only being laid for re-colonisation in a new format, but also turning the West African region into a future battle field. Already, reports had it about three weeks ago that the Ukrainian battle fields have been extended to Mali. The Ukrainian agents attacked the Wagner Group in Mali and killing many Russians in the country. By further implications, Russia cannot but be expected to also reciprocate, not necessarily in Mali but possibly in ASS and other countries. This is the first challenge to be reckoned with in the immediacy. We do know that, sooner or later, the current Russianisation shall also belong to the garbage of history. But before then, there is the need to address some other foreseeable critical scenarios.

First, the 5-point agenda set by the ASS for itself is education and youth employment; agricultural development; food security, rural development; and energy and climate. To an extent, the aspect of development of agriculture and food security is receiving attention to the delight of the peoples. As revealed by Inter Vlog, 400 tractors and 239 tillers (manual tractors that can be pushed like wheelbarrows), 710 motor pumps for irrigation, 714 motorcycles for agricultural agents, 10,000 tonnes of fish feed, 68,964 tonnes of fertilisers, 10,000 litres of sanitary products, 18,000 tonnes of plant seeds, 2003 tonnes of seeds, 10,000 tonnes of concentrated products and other agricultural equipment, have been acquired by Ibrahim Traoré of Burkina Faso either for itself or for the ASS in the spirit of the Alliance. Thus, in essence, the objective is to boost agricultural productivity in the rural areas, boost employment, and boost economic development in general.

As Captain Traoré explained it to the people, whoever has land in Burkina Faso should simply provide it to be given mechanised assistance: heavy working tractors and tillers are bought to assist farming without any payment of service charges by the people. For these reasons, most Burkinabé are said to be deeply in love with their leader. In terms of future challenges, it cannot be easily expected that the Burkinabé would prefer the Nigerian or ECOWAS leader to Ibrahim Traoré. In other words, the likelihood of Burkina Faso wanting to return to the ECOWAS is more of a dream than likelihood. Unlike other ECOWAS leaders, the Burkinabé leader is using an old jeep, 2001 model, and does not engage in vehicle convoy diplomacy. In fact, if there were to be any democratic election today, Captain Traoré will not have any opposition to contest against.

Perhaps more admirably, on July 25, 2024 Captain Traoré again handed over mobile hospital clinics that are well equipped and given to the Ministry of Health. As explained by the leader, there is no need waiting until Government would be able to build hospitals everywhere. There is the need to take hospitals or healthcare to the door steps of everyone, especially where there are no hospitals. The people were provided 15 mobile clinics, 36 vehicles, including 11 pick-ups, for mammography, ultra-son, echography, etc. The immediate objective is to destroy the malaria-breeding areas. If the ASS countries are all thinking along this new direction, the policy option for the ECOWAS is to acquiesce to the existence of the ASS as an integrating partner. 

Above all, Captain Traoré has also acquired massive weapons which many people believe he may not be able to manage. Questions have also been raised about who the enemy targets are? Who is funding the acquisition? Can the ECOWAS still afford the luxury of using force to compel the three junta regimes to return to civilian rule? In fact, what is the future of unconstitutional change of government in the ECOWAS region? Can the ECOWAS fight Russia directly or indirectly in the ECOWAS region?

Although the ASS countries are still members of the ECOWAS, and therefore are still obligated by ECOWAS rules until December 2024, there is no disputing the fact that, as from January 1, 2025, the situation has the potential to be more difficult for the ASS citizens who will no longer be Community Citizens. As we have previously noted in this column, the ASS citizens are most likely to suffer from the non-application of the ECOWAS Protocol on Free Movement of People and from the Protocol on the Right of Establishment. Nigeria has generally been the pole of attraction for Community Citizens because of Nigeria’s market economy. The first challenge here is what to do with the ASS citizens that are already settled in Nigeria. Will they have to be asked to return home? Will they prefer to remain Nigerian by seeking to change their status through acquisition of Nigerian citizenship by marriage, naturalisation, etc.?

Francophone West Africa is a major market for Nigeria’s industrial products, especially plastics. Mali has a population of about 22.59 million as at 2022. Burkina Faso had 22.67 million, just slightly more than that of Mali in 2022, while Niger had 26.21 million people in 2022. This means that the three countries have a total estimated population of 71.47 million. The entire ECOWAS region has an area of 5,114,162 square kilometres and an estimated current population of 424.34 million. Interpreted otherwise, the ASS countries account for 16.84 of ECOWAS population and, territorially, they account for the lion share of ECOWAS land space. Apart from Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger are bigger than Nigeria even though Nigeria still has the biggest arable land in Africa. These are some of the issues that cannot but be reckoned with after the eventual, effective withdrawal from the ECOWAS. Nigeria’s relationship with the Republic of Niger is the most difficult as at today, and most unfortunately, it is also the most populous amongst them. It is the country with which Nigeria had the warmest ties before the coup imbroglio. Even if the Côte d’Ivoire and the ASS countries play host to substantial Nigerian goods, relationship with Niger cannot but require a special attention.

In seeking a possible return of the ASS, the strategy should be to accept the ASS as a sub-region and give it an observer status in ECOWAS if not full membership as a body corporate. In this regard, the ASS cannot but be required to pay taxes. Its citizens will require visas to ECOWAS countries. Though the ECOWAS may be weakened in the immediate, membership of the ASS as a corporate member has the potential to strengthen the ECOWAS in the long run. However, the strengthening of economic and security interests with Russia cannot be undermined.

Imagine a military coup in Nigeria and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (PBAT) is still the Chair of ECOWAS Authority. Who will sanction Nigeria? What about the trinity of conflicting interests? First is Franco-Nigerian interests. Are they common? PBAT-Emmanuel Macron rapprochement would want to ride on the back of PBAT to fight the ASS, and particularly Niger Republic. At the level of Nigeria-Niger, can Nigeria afford the luxury of fraternising with France and at the same time seek a meaningful reconciliation with Niamey? What about the ASS countries’ perception of PBAT as a stooge of the West, and particularly of France? Is Niger-Nigerian relations more important than Franco-Nigerian relations? Put differently again, should Nigeria promote ECOWAS interests to the detriment of Nigeria’s interest? Nigeria initiated the idea of ECOWAS in 1972 and in collaboration with Togo, actualised it in 1975. Can Nigeria afford the luxury of supporting the disintegration of the ECOWAS which she initiated and co-founded? More interestingly, at the level of Russia and the United States, there is no way Russia would not want to sanction Ukraine for killing many Russians on the soil of Mali a fortnight ago. This situation is globalising the war and hardening the animosity vis-à-vis France. Quo vadis for Nigeria?

Bola A. Akinterinwa 

On  Sunday, 9th July, 2023 President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (PBAT) was unanimously elected the Chairperson of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Bissau, Guinea Bissau, one of the two Lusophone Member States of the ECOWAS. On 9th July, that is, in two days’ time, it will be one year of PBAT as the primus inter pares of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government. In the same vein, the Nigerien leader, Brigadier General Abdourahamane Tchiani, who was Commander of the Presidential Guards when he ousted President Mohammed Bazoum, took over power on July 26, 2023 and will also be marking one year as the leader of the Conseil national pour le sauvegard de la patrie (National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland), which the ECOWAS and the French President, Emmanuel Macron, refused to recognise. A Tchiani-PBAT confrontation is likely if, reportedly, PBAT continues as ECOWAS Chair in 2024-2025. 

Continuation is welcome for many reasons. First, the initiative to form the ECOWAS was Nigerian and was implemented in collaboration with Togo. Since the inception of the ECOWAS on 28 May 1975, Nigeria has generally accounted for about one-third of the ECOWAS’ assessed dues. Nigeria has been playing active parts in the development of the organisation. However, in 2023, the foundation for partial dismantlement of the ECOWAS was laid under the chairmanship of PBAT. The ECOWAS Treaty was reviewed in Cotonou, Benin Republic, on 24 July 1993, meaning that the review will be 30 years old this month, and yet, the ECOWAS is increasingly still found wanting. Consequently, PBAT needs to be given the opportunity to re-polish Nigeria’s and ECOWAS image. 

Secondly, PBAT is a strong proponent of development of democracy and, particularly, true federalism. His dream of possibly taking the advantage of the ECOWAS to consolidate democratic values in Nigeria is yet to be realised. In fact, all that he declared as a newly elected ECOWAS chairman are still far from being accomplished. Therefore, and without any whiff of doubt, there is nothing wrong in seeking another year of service. However, there is the challenge of how to manage the next one year of both PBAT’s order and Tchiani’s counter-order to prevent the encounter emanating from it from resulting into another disorder.

First One Year of PBAT 

The first one year of PBAT as ECOWAS chairperson was largely fraught with the intention to promote the development of democratic culture, nationally, regionally or plurilaterally. He wanted to be seen as a genuine agent of democracy in various ramifications. His first year was also fraught with ECOWAS’ zero tolerance for unconstitutional changes of government in the ECOWAS region. His personal animosity for dictatorial, military rule in Africa was necessarily exacerbated with the July 26, 2023 coup by Brigadier General Tchiani. 

Earlier, Mali had recorded two coups within one year and ECOWAS could not prevail on Mali in spite of its politico-economic sanctions. While still finding a way out, the Burkinabe coups followed. And as if these coups were not enough, the Tchiani coup also reared its ugly head in Niger. All of these gave a basis for PBAT to want to take the bad end of the stick.

And true enough, he did take the bad end of the stick. As clearly noted in an Aso Rock press release (vide ehouse.gov.ng), PBAT made it clear that threats to regional security were   destabilising and should be quickly taken more seriously. As he put it, ‘on peace and security, the threat has reached an alarming level, and needs urgent actions in addressing the challenges. Indeed, without a peaceful environment, progress and development in the region will continue to remain elusive. In this regard, we must remain committed to the utilisation of all regional frameworks at our disposal to address the menace insecurity.’

What is noteworthy about this statement is that it was made on July 9. 2023, that is, about 16 days before the Niger coup. Besides, it was made about 43 days after his inauguration as Nigeria’s Number One Citizen. And perhaps more importantly, in the strong belief that the ECOWAS had the necessary wherewithal to do battle with the putschists and easily win, PBAT noted in his post-appointment statement that ECOWAS security architecture ‘covers a wide range of areas that involved kinetic and non-kinetic operations, including preventive diplomacy.’ Most noteworthy, PBAT said ‘there is also the Regional Plan of Action on Fight against Terrorism 2020-2024, as well as the operationalization of the ECOWAS Standby Force on Fight Against Terrorism.’

It was against this background that PBAT promised to ensure he, along with other Heads of State ‘immediately harmonize these plans and mobilise resources, as well as the political will towards the actualisation of the initiatives. As terrorists do not have boundaries, we must work collectively to have an effective regional counterterrorism measure.’ It couldn’t have therefore been surprising to know that PBAT expressed ‘unalloyed commitment to provide the necessary leadership with dedication to serve the interest of the Community.’

PBAT was willing to do his best but the environmental conditionings would not enable: destructive strategic miscalculation, domestic hostility in Nigeria, the court case instituted by Kayode Ajulo, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, and Professor Bola A. Akinterinwa at the ECOWAS Court against PBAT, ECOWAS et al to prevent any military assault on Niger Republic, etc. The ECOWAS gave a 7-day ultimatum to Niger to release President Mohammed Bazoum and return to constitutional democracy or face the wrath of the ECOWAS as a collective. The ultimatum was considered by the ASS as very offensive, very illegal, and very unacceptable. The ECOWAS Treaty, originally and as amended, did not provide for threat and use of force in settling disputes. In fact, what was considered most annoying was the perception of the ECOWAS, and particularly PBAT, as being used as a tool to fight Niger Republic with which Nigeria has the warmest ties in the neighbourhood. The damage to the relationship appears to have been damaged beyond immediate diplomatic repair in the immediate. The statement of Omar Alieu Touray, the President of the ECOWAS Commission since 2022, lends much credence to this observation.

At the recently concluded 92nd Ordinary Session of the Council of Ministers on Thursday, July 4, 2024 in Abuja. President Touray noted that, since January 24, 2024, when Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger gave notice of their withdrawal from the ECOWAS, several efforts had been made to appease them but to no avail. In the words of President Touray, ‘despite our entreaties, in the form of softening of sanctions, invitation of the governments to technical meetings, and request for meetings, we have not yet gotten the right signals from these Member States.’

Additionally, The Gambia-born Touray also had it that ‘it has become evident that changes in the international system, which is significantly affecting our Member States, are playing a role. To this end, we are proposing a Special Summit on the Future of our Community to examine the developments in the world and their impact on our community to rethink our integration in terms of governance, relations with external partners, our Community norms and values, and approach to emerging.’

From PBAT’s policy intendment to President Touray’s observation of recalcitrant attitude of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger to re-join the ECOWAS, there is no disputing the fact that the last one year of PBAT as ECOWAS chairperson is a failure. For three countries to withdraw their membership of the ECOWAS, regardless of the rationales, is a manifestation of a big failure. Although the failure can still serve as a catalyst for a more quickened integration, the one year of PBAT raises many issues of governance and survival.

First, should the ECOWAS not begin to promote more of sub-regional integration? This question is raised in light of Article 1(e) of the 1991 Abuja Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community which provides for the establishment of sub-regions? The ECOWAS already has the Alliance of Sahel States (ASS/AES) region to contend with. Even though Chad and Cameroon are geo-politically located in the Central Africa region, shouldn’t PBAT begin to think of Nigeria and her immediate neighbours as a second sub-region to be created? In other words, rather than begin continental integration from the regional level, why not begin from the sub-regional level? Nigeria, Benin, Togo and Ghana can also constitute a sub-region. Rather than seeking to confront the ASS sub-region, there is the need for re-strategy for PBAT as Nigeria’s and ECOWAS’ leader. Thirdly, Article 1 (d) of the 1991 Abuja Treaty divided Africa into five regions while Article 1(e) enables the creation of sub-regions out of the regions. The current thinking of African leaders is that the Caribbean should be considered as the sixth region of Africa. This point cannot be ignored in Nigeria’s foreign policy calculations.

Again, even though PBAT became the ECOWAS Chairperson in July 2023, the ECOWAS did not record any major achievement at the economic development level before then. The final communiqué of the 64th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority done on 10th December 2023 in Abuja, Nigeria admitted our observation: ‘notably the regional growth rate slowed to 3.7% in 2023, compared to 3.9% in 2022, annual average inflation peaked at 20.0%, compared to 17.3% in 2022 and public debt deteriorated further to 48.8% of GDP, compared to 36.8% of GDP in 2022.’ 

Besides, the launch of the Eco currency was postponed until the 65th Session of the ECOWAS Authority. In fact, on regional peace and security, the Authority only noted the ‘continued challenges of insecurity and instability in the region that have been engendered by terrorism, violent extremism, transnational organised crime, as well as ‘Unconstitutional Changes of Government.’ If there was not much to say about economic transformations and containment of violent extremism and insecurity in 2023, what about the first half of 2024 and the following one year?  

Tchiani-PBAT Confrontation, 2024-2025 

As noted earlier, there is nothing wrong in PBAT’s aspiration to continue to chair the ECOWAS Authority, but for as long as the quest will not place a heavier financial burden on Nigeria. There is nothing to suggest that there will not be heavier burden for PBAT to carry. First, the ECOWAS military Chiefs of Staff have recommended that supporting Member States in fighting terrorists and containing threats to constitutional changes of government would require two options: establishing a 5,000-strong brigade at an annual cost of $2.3bn or deployment of troops on demand of $360m annually (aljazeera.com). Whatever is the choice, there is always a financial burden to carry.

Secondly, there is likely to be direct confrontations between Niger and Nigeria. This is because all the ECOWAS’s diplomatic engagements aimed at pacifying the ASS countries have been to no avail as of now. The recalcitrance may be due to the consideration that neither Nigeria, in particular, nor the ECOWAS, in general, is in position to stop the expanding the Sahel-based terrorist groups from reaching the coastal states. 

The ASS is promising to do what the Multinational Joint Task Force in the Lake Chad Basin, the Accra Initiative, the ECOWAS Standby Force, the United Nations Integrated Strategy for the Sahel (UNISS), etc. have not been able to do, by re-committing themselves to stop the terrorists

For instance, the incumbent President of the ECOWAS Commission, Omar Touray, 

First told the United Nations Security Council in July 2023 that about 500,000 people in the ECOWAS region were refugees and 6.2 million were internally-displaced. Explained differently, in Burkina Faso for example, there were 2,725 attacks in between January and June 30, 2023. In the same period, Mali recorded 844 attacks while Niger had 77 compared to Nigeria’s 70 attacks. In the eyes of Omar Touray, this situation is due to organised crimes, armed rebellion, unconstitutional change of government, illegal maritime activities, and fake news. These are challenges that are still begging for sustained attention and which whoever becomes the next chairperson of the ECOWAS must deal with.

Additionally, Omar Touray also noted at the opening ceremony of the 92nd Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers, chaired by Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, OON, that ‘the developmental goal of ECOWAS integration is being questioned due to various crises. Unity and solidarity are crucial. The upcoming Summit aims to establish minimum cooperation points for Member States to address community-wide issues.’

Foreign Minister Tuggar lent further credence to Omar Touray’s observation by also noting that ‘our region still faces complex challenges that require dedication, commitment, and concerted action. I implore all of us to maintain the strength of unity and cooperation that has always guided our deliberations.’ Thus, many are the challenges waiting for PBAT to attend to in his next tenure in office as ECOWAS Chairperson.

Under normal practice, chairmanship of the ECOWAS is rotated, especially on the basis of alphabetical order. But several times, Member States can ask to play host to an ECOWAS summit. Besides, when the regional body is fraught with financial challenges, a willing country can be pleaded with to accept the chairmanship of the organisation. It was within this framework that General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida served as Chairman consecutively from 27 August 1987 through 1989. General Sani Abacha similarly served from 27 July 1996 to 8 June 1998. Umaru Musa Yar’Adua served from 19 December 2008 to 18 February 2010. Goodluck Jonathan also served for two years consecutively from 18 February 2010 to 17 February 2012. While it can be observed that Yar’Adua couldn’t complete two years in office, Nigeria was still given the opportunity to complete his tenure with the election of Goodluck Jonathan for an extra two years.

Apart from the issue of likely financial burden for Nigeria to carry, there are also the implications of the carving out of a sub-region from the ECOWAS region. As a result of the breakaway of the ASS members from the ECOWAS, the organisation has decided to cancel the $500m development projects in ASS countries for refusing to re-join the ECOWAS. Will the cancellation or withdrawal from the G-5 engender any setbacks in the confederation and eventually the federation agenda of the ASS countries?

As earlier noted by the ECOWAS Commission President that the ASS countries did not respond to the peace-making efforts of the ECOWAS Authority in 2023, the decision of the Authority to empanel a committee of Heads of State comprising H.E. Faure Gnassingbe of Togo, H.E. Julius Maada Bio of Sierra Leone, and Representative of Nigeria and the Beninois President to engage with the Conseil national pour le sauvegarde de la patrie, cannot but be a necessity. The engagement and the impact of the Committee is yet to be felt.

In fact, the problem at the West Africa regional level became more complicated with the establishment of the ASS in September 2023, and the withdrawal of Burkina Faso and Niger Republic from the Group of 5 for the Sahel Joint Force (FC-G5S). The FC-G5S was created in 2017. Chad, Mali, and Mauritania were members. The aim was to contain organised crimes and terrorism. In June 2022, Mali withdrew from the G-5-Sahel while the three ASS/AES countries came up with a new Joint Force to fight terrorist groups on 7 March 2024.

Following their withdrawal from the ECOWAS on 28 January 2024, the ECOWAS Authority lifted the economic sanctions placed on Niger and eased those on Mali but to no avail. The lifting of sanctions has its own challenges. One main challenge here is that, following the replacement of the Wagner Group, a Russian security firm, with the Africa Corps, Russia took advantage of Niger’s directive to the US forces to leave the country on 16 March 2024 to strengthen its military cooperation with the ASS: deployment of about 100 personnel of Africa Corps to Burkina Faso; arrival of Russian forces in Niger on 10 April; signing on 25 May of a Charter that extended the return to civilian rule by 5 years with effect from July 2, 2024, etc. All these developments are the challenges to be faced by PBAT in the second half of 2024.

In the same vein, on 25 January 2024, the 2015 Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in Mali was terminated and replaced with an ‘Inter-Malian Dialogue for Peace and National Reconciliation’ which recommended an extension of Mali’s transition agenda by 3 years, that is, until 2027. Another challenge for PBAT is the closure of Niger’s border with Benin Republic purportedly because of Benin’s support for the ECOWAS closure of borders with Niger Republic. True enough, Niger is aggrieved but for how long can the grievance be sustained? If Mauritania withdrew from the ECOWAS and still find the need to come back and seek the status of an observer, it simply means that the ECOWAS has other advantages that cannot be easily done away with. In the same vein, the breakaway of the ASS countries does not mean that they will not come back either as full original members or otherwise. The next six months can still witness a fundamental change of position. 

Grosso modo, the continuation of PBAT’s chairmanship of the ECOWAS is really a desideratum for three main reasons. First, Nigeria should not be remembered as being the initiator of the regional organisation and also be remembered for the disintegration of the same ECOWAS under the leadership of a Nigerian Chairperson. PBAT should continue to do the necessary to amend. Secondly, the breakaway of the ASS countries is consistent with the regional and sub-regional integration processes provided for in Article 1 (d) and (e) of the 1991 Abuja Treaty Establishing an African Economic Community. Consequently, the ASS is legal and legitimate. The challenge for PBAT is how to manage the ASS as a sub-region and still as a constitutive member group of the ECOWAS. In this regard, the ASS countries cannot but still come back sooner or later but subject to their not being seen or treated as underdogs.  Thirdly and most importantly, the strategic miscalculation of giving a 7-day ultimatum to Niger has the potential to be a source of greater strength for the ECOWAS. It affords the opportunity to rejig the ECOWAS Standby Force, to strengthen the anti-terrorism fight, and to see more clearly henceforth. The dilemma of the next one year, however, is how to reconcile ECOWAS interests with foreign interests. PBAT is at the epicentre of all these questions and should be allowed to find answers to them.

Taiwan conducted an air defence test on Tuesday deploying US-made Patriot missiles and its anti-aircraft artillery systems, saying it will ramp up training in the face of Chinese military “intrusions” around the self-ruled island.

Beijing claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has said it will not rule out using force to bring the island under its control.

Chinese warplanes and ships maintain a near-daily presence around the island, as Beijing has ramped up military pressure against Taipei using what experts say are “grey zone” actions — tactics that stop short of outright acts of war.

Taiwan’s Air Force Command said it conducted an exercise between 5:00 and 7:00 a.m. (2100-2300 GMT Monday) that included the island’s domestically made Sky Bow and U.S.-made Patriot surface-to-air missiles along with army and navy units.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen rejected China’s claim over the island, causing Beijing to cut all high-level communications since she came into power in 2016.

Tuesday, Tsai oversaw the handover of two domestically made warships — both Tuo Chiang-class corvettes — at Suao port in northeast Yilan county.

New Zealand Links Parliament Hacking to China-Backed Group

New Zealand said Tuesday a Chinese state-sponsored hacking operation targeted New Zealand’s parliament in 2021, an allegation that came a day after the United States and Britain took actions in response to their own attacks by China-backed hacking groups.

New Zealand’s Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) said it linked malicious cyber activity against the country’s parliament to the group Advanced Persistent Threat 40, which the GCSB said is linked to China’s Ministry of State Security.

“The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for the GCSB Judith Collins said in a statement.

China’s Embassy in Wellington rejected New Zealand’s accusations, calling them “groundless and irresponsible.”

Trump Faces Gag Order in New York Hush Money Criminal Case

Donald Trump on Tuesday was hit with a judge’s gag order sought by prosecutors in his upcoming criminal trial involving hush money paid to a porn star, restricting him from publicly commenting about witnesses and court staff.

Ahead of the former U.S. president’s trial, which is scheduled to begin April 15 in the New York state court, Justice Juan Merchan granted a request for the order made last month by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office.

The prosecution sought an order blocking Trump from “making or directing others to make” statements about witnesses concerning their role in the case and from commenting on court staff and prosecutors other than Bragg himself.

Silencing Trump was necessary because of his “longstanding history of attacking witnesses, investigators, prosecutors, judges and others involved in legal proceedings against him,” prosecutors said.

Trump’s lawyers argued that a gag order would violate his right to free speech under the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment, leaving him defenceless against attacks by political opponents over the case.

Ship’s Collision Crashes Major US Bridge After Mayday Call

Pilots of the cargo ship that crashed into a major bridge in the U.S. city of Baltimore, Maryland, issued a mayday call shortly before the structure collapsed into a river, enabling authorities to save lives, according to the state’s governor.

“We can confirm that the crew notified authorities of a power issue,” Maryland Governor Wes Moore told reporters Tuesday morning, hours after the incident. Moore said the Singapore-flagged container ship Dali had no power before smashing into one of two main columns supporting the Francis Scott Key Bridge and causing the bridge to collapse.

Moore said the crew’s warning enabled transportation officials to quickly halt traffic along the interstate highway crossing over the bridge. “These people are heroes. They saved lives last night,” the governor said. The ship’s crew also dropped its anchors in a futile attempt to avert the disaster.

Even so, eight people on the bridge, reportedly all part of a construction repair crew filling highway potholes, were believed to have plummeted into the Patapsco River during the incident, which occurred at 1:30 a.m. Tuesday.

UK Court: Assange Can’t Be Extradited Until US Rules out Death Penalty

A British court ruled Tuesday that Julian Assange can’t be extradited to the United States on espionage charges unless U.S. authorities guarantee he won’t get the death penalty, giving the WikiLeaks founder a partial victory in his long legal battle over the site’s publication of classified American documents.

Two High Court judges said they would grant Assange a new appeal unless U.S. authorities give further assurances within three weeks about what will happen to him. The ruling means the legal saga, which has dragged on for more than a decade, will continue — and Assange will remain inside London’s high-security Belmarsh Prison, where he has spent the last five years.

Judges Victoria Sharp and Jeremy Johnson said the U.S. must guarantee that Assange, who is Australian, “is afforded the same First Amendment protections as a United States citizen, and that the death penalty is not imposed.”

The judges said that if the U.S. files new assurances, “we will give the parties an opportunity to make further submissions before we make a final decision on the application for leave to appeal.” The judges said a hearing will be held May 20 if the U.S. makes those submissions.

US Sanctions Assad Supporters over Drug Trafficking

The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned 11 people and companies on Tuesday that it said were involved in illicit financial transfers and drug smuggling in support of the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Many of those sanctioned were involved in the trade of the highly addictive amphetamine captagon, which is illegally trafficked throughout the Middle East and Europe, the Treasury Department said in a statement.

Syria has become the world’s leading producer of the powerful drug, and its trade has helped bolster the Assad government’s coffers during the country’s long-running civil war.

“The revenue from the illicit Captagon trade has become a major source of income for the Assad regime, the Syrian armed forces, and Syrian paramilitary forces,” the Treasury Department said in a statement.

Those sanctioned include a Syrian national called Taher al-Kayali, who allegedly operates a company that purchased vessels to smuggle captagon and hashish.

Maya Exchange Company, another Syria-based firm, is alleged to have facilitated “millions” of dollars of illicit transactions to benefit the Syrian government.

China Files WTO Dispute Against US over ‘Discriminatory’ EV Subsidies  

China began dispute settlement proceedings against the United States at the World Trade Organization on Tuesday, accusing Washington of “discriminatory” electric vehicle subsidies.

The subsidies, starting this year under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, render U.S. car buyers ineligible for tax credits ranging from $3,750 to $7,500 if certain battery components were made by Chinese, Russian, North Korean or Iranian manufacturers.

China’s permanent mission to the WTO said the policies are “under the disguise of responding to climate change,” but are “in fact contingent upon the purchase and use of goods from the United States, or imported from certain particular regions.”

According to a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce, Beijing has urged Washington to “promptly correct discriminatory industrial policies and maintain the stability of the global industrial and supply chains for new energy vehicles.”

In an online statement, the Ministry of Commerce said the subsidy restrictions excluded Chinese products but also negatively impacted the global supply chain and fair competition in the EV market.

Suicide Bombing Kills 5 Chinese Citizens in Pakistan

Police in northern Pakistan said Tuesday that at least five Chinese nationals and their local driver were killed when a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden car into their convoy.

The attack occurred on the main highway linking Pakistan to China.

Beijing swiftly denounced what it called a terrorist attack and demanded that Pakistani authorities bring the perpetrators to justice.

Local police officer Bakht Zahir told VOA an investigation into the “suicide blast” was underway.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for one of the deadliest attacks on Chinese nationals in recent years.

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the attack and conveyed his condolences to the victims’ families and the government in neighbouring China.

Ex-President Bolsonaro Stayed at Hungarian Embassy After Revelations of Coup Investigation

Lawyers for former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro are denying speculation that their client may have been attempting to evade arrest when he stayed at the Hungarian embassy for two nights last month.

The New York Times reported Monday on its website that Bolsonaro stayed at the embassy between February 12 and 14, highlighted by security camera video depicting Ambassador Miklós Halmai greeting the former president when he arrived at the embassy, Bolsonaro walking in the parking lot at various times, and ending with footage of him leaving the embassy.

His lawyers issued a statement late Monday saying Bolsonaro was invited to stay at the Hungarian embassy to maintain contacts with officials of “the friendly country” and to share “updates on the political situation of both nations.” They said any other interpretation about the visit is “fictional” in nature.

Bolsonaro is a close ally of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a fellow leader of a global far-right movement.

Bolsonaro’s stay at the embassy came days after investigators seized his passports and arrested two of his aides on suspicion they plotted to ignore his loss to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the 2022 presidential election and keep Bolsonaro in office.

Brazil’s foreign ministry summoned Halmai Monday night to explain why he hosted Balsonaro at the embassy.

UNICEF: Climate Change Leaves ‘Dire Situation’ for 45 Million African Children

The United Nations children’s fund says there is a “dire situation” in several eastern and southern African countries, where at least 45 million children are dealing with severe food insecurity made worse by climate change.

In a statement, Eva Kadilli, the UNICEF director for eastern and southern Africa, said millions of people are living through multiple and often overlapping crises intensified by the 2023-24 El Nino weather phenomenon, one of the strongest on record.

Christiane Rudert, a nutrition adviser for UNICEF in eastern and southern Africa, told VOA that many countries in her region have very high rates of child stunting or acute malnutrition. She said the rates are getting worse because of extreme weather patterns associated with climate change, such as a prolonged heat wave and droughts.

South Sudan Opposition Parties Criticize New Election Laws 

A new electoral regulation in South Sudan has received harsh criticism from opposition parties, which see the move as a way to lock them out of the forthcoming general election, which will be a first for the world’s youngest nation.

Key opposition parties in South Sudan have branded the contentious electoral law a government scheme to prevent them from participating in the upcoming December elections.

The Coalition of Opposition Parties petitioned the country’s Political Party Council Monday, demanding revocation of the $50,000 registration fee imposed on parties seeking to field candidates in the upcoming polls.

The world’s youngest nation is set to have its first democratically elected government in December this year.

But parties like the People’s Progressive Party, SSOA, Coalition of Opposition Parties, and United People’s Party now see the new registration fee as an attempt by the government to stifle democracy and restrict opposition parties’ participation in the polls.

Opposition politician Lam Akol is the leader of the National Democratic Movement (NDM) and had challenged President Salva Kiir in the first election held in 2010 when South Sudan was seceding from Sudan.

The UN Security Council broke months of deadlock Monday and adopted a resolution demanding an “immediate” ceasefire in Gaza.

“This must be a turning point. This must lead to saving lives on the ground,” an emotional Palestinian UN envoy, Riyad Mansour, told the council. “This must signal the end of this assault of atrocities against our people.”

The resolution “demands” an immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan, which is half over, “leading to a lasting sustainable ceasefire.” It also demands the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, the lifting of all barriers to the provision of more humanitarian aid, and the protection of civilians in Gaza.

The text, put forward by the 10 elected members of the 15-nation council, was adopted by 14 votes to 14, with the United States abstaining, allowing the measure to pass. This was the eighth time the council attempted to agree on a ceasefire resolution, and it was greeted with applause in the packed council chamber.

Trump to Face April 15 Hush Money Criminal Trial

Donald Trump was ordered Monday to stand trial in a criminal case, the first ever against a U.S. president, on April 15 in New York.

The hush money case is perhaps the only one of four unprecedented indictments against Trump that will go to trial before the November election when he will face President Joe Biden for a new term in the White House.

Trump had sought to delay the New York case, but Judge Juan Merchan rejected his efforts to postpone it or dismiss the entirety of the allegations that he covered up a hush money payment to a porn star just ahead of the 2016 presidential election to hide it from voters before he unexpectedly won the presidency.

Merchan rejected Trump’s lawyer’s claim that a lengthy trial delay was necessary to give Trump’s lawyers and prosecutors more time to review thousands of pages of newly disclosed documents from a previous federal investigation of the case. A prosecutor told Merchan that most of the documents were irrelevant.

North Korea Says Japan’s Prime Minister Proposed Summit

North Korea said Monday that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has proposed a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Kim’s sister and senior official, Kim Yo Jong, made the comments in a state media dispatch. She said Kishida used an unspecified channel to convey his position that he wants to meet Kim Jong Un in person at an early date.

Kim Yo Jong said whether to improve bilateral ties hinges on Japan. She said if Kishida sticks to his push to resolve the alleged past abductions of Japanese nationals by North Korea, he cannot avoid criticism that he would only pursue talks to boost his popularity.

Some experts say North Korea is seeking to improve ties with Japan as a way to weaken a trilateral Tokyo-Seoul-Washington security partnership, while Kishida also wants better ties with North Korea to increase his declining approval rating at home.

The U.S. and South Korea have been expanding their military drills and trilateral exercises involving Japan in response to North Korea’s provocative run of weapons tests since 2022.

Earlier Monday, North Korea’s state media reported that Kim Jong Un had supervised a tank exercise and encouraged his armoured forces to sharpen war preparations in the face of growing tensions with South Korea.

Italy Raises Security After IS-Claimed Russian Concert Hall Attack

Italy followed France on Monday in stepping up security following the attack on a suburban Moscow concert hall and the claim of responsibility by an affiliate of the Islamic State group.

The attack renewed attention in Europe on the risk from extremists, particularly the Central Asian affiliate, as the continent gears up for big events such as the Paris Olympics and the European Championships in Germany.

France increased its security alert posture to the highest level on Sunday. In Italy, a national security council meeting on Monday decided to increase security around Holy Week observances leading up to Easter this weekend.

Both surveillance and checks will be increased, “paying the most attention to the places of greatest aggregation and transit of people, as well as sensitive targets,’’ the Italian Interior Ministry said in a statement. Pope Francis has a busy schedule of events in Rome and at the Vatican in the days leading up to Easter Sunday.

In Germany, Interior Ministry spokesperson Cornelius Funke said the threat from Islamic extremists “remains acute,” but authorities’ risk assessment hasn’t changed so far as a result of the Moscow attack.

German Industry Skeptical of China’s Vow to Treat Foreign Firms Equally 

A fresh pledge by Beijing to treat foreign companies like domestic rivals drew a cool response from one of its biggest trading partners, Germany, where industries called for concrete actions rather than words to create a true level-playing field.

Germany’s engagement in the world’s No.2 economy has been in focus, partly because China remains its biggest trading partner but also because Berlin has asked companies to diversify away from what it calls “partner, competitor and systemic rival.”

Beijing’s efforts to ensure international companies stay engaged come as inbound foreign direct investment shrank by 8% in 2023, partly due to broader anti-espionage laws, exit bans, and raids on consultancies and due diligence firms.

However, German direct investment in China rose to a record high of 11.9 billion euros ($12.9 billion) last year, underscoring how relevant the market remains despite efforts to reduce exposure.

To attract more foreign money, Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Guo Tingting told the China Development Forum in Beijing that the country would “fully guarantee national treatment for foreign companies” without elaborating further.

China Proposes Dialogue with Australia Amid Rising Tension in South China Sea

China said it may propose talks on maritime issues with Australia amid ongoing tensions in the South China Sea.

Following Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s trip to Australia last week — during which he exchanged views on trade, consular affairs, and regional security with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong — the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on March 21 that Beijing is actively considering “launching a dialogue on maritime affairs” with Australia.

In response to Beijing’s proposal, Australia’s Foreign Affairs and Trade Department told VOA in a written response that Wang and Wong exchanged views on maritime safety and security during their meeting on March 20, adding that Canberra will “consider the most practical and useful format for dialogue on maritime issues.”

The announcement comes amid efforts from Beijing and Canberra to improve bilateral relations after China imposed sanctions worth $12.7 billion on Australian products, most of which have been lifted in recent months.

While China and Australia have agreed to stabilise trade relations, regional security remains a sensitive issue between the two countries. Following her meeting with Wang, Australia’s Wong told journalists that she reiterated Canberra’s “serious concern” about unsafe conduct at sea.

China Releases South Korean Soccer Star After Detention over Bribery Suspicions

Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said Monday that a star South Korean soccer player who was detained and investigated in China for nearly a year over bribery allegations has been released and returned home.

Son Jun-ho, a former South Korean national team member who had played professionally in China, was detained by Chinese authorities at the Shanghai airport in May on suspicion of taking bribes.

The Foreign Ministry confirmed that Son was back in South Korea but didn’t provide further details, including when he returned or whether the charges against him were proven.

South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo newspaper, citing anonymous sources, reported that Son returned Monday afternoon.

Son had played for Shandong Taishan and won the 2021 Chinese championship with the Jinan-based club. Hong Kong newspaper the South China Morning Post reported last year that the bribery allegations concerned suspected match-fixing involving the team’s coach, Hao Wei.

Son, 31, played seven seasons with South Korea’s Pohang Steelers and Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors before signing a four-year contract with Shandong Taishan in 2021, according to industry website transfermarket.com. He has played for South Korea 18 times, including the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Chinese soccer has struggled for years to rid itself of a reputation for corruption.

Security Concerns in Haiti Hinder Creation of Council That Will Choose Country’s Next Leader

Fresh turmoil involving a transitional presidential council that will be responsible for choosing Haiti’s new leader triggered a flurry of meetings with Caribbean leaders and officials from the U.S., Canada and France, officials said Monday.

A regional official who was not authorised to talk to the media on condition of anonymity told The Associated Press that the council has yet to be sworn in, given concerns over the security of its members, among other things. The official is based in Guyana, which serves as headquarters for the regional trade bloc known as Caricom, which is helping create the transitional council.

The delay in establishing the council comes as gangs continue to launch attacks across Haiti’s capital. Since February 29, gunmen have burned police stations, opened fire on the main international airport that remains closed and stormed the country’s two biggest prisons, releasing more than 4,000 inmates.

Scores of people have been killed, and more than 33,000 people have fled the capital of Port-au-Prince as a result of the attacks. Next Leader

Philippines Says Chinese Envoy Summoned Over ‘Aggressive Actions’ Off Reef

The Philippines said Monday it had summoned a Chinese envoy over “aggressive actions” by the China Coast Guard and other vessels near a reef off the Southeast Asian country’s coast.

Beijing and Manila have a long history of maritime territorial disputes in the South China Sea, and in recent months, their vessels have repeatedly confronted each other near disputed reefs.

The latest incident took place Saturday near Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands during a regular Philippine mission to resupply Filipino troops garrisoned on the BRP Sierra Madre, a grounded navy ship.

The Philippines said the China Coast Guard blocked its supply vessel and damaged it with a water cannon, injuring three crewmembers.

The China Coast Guard has defended its actions, describing them as “lawful regulation, interception and expulsion” of a foreign vessel that “tried to forcefully intrude” into Chinese waters.

Second, Thomas Shoal is about 200km from the western Philippine island of Palawan and more than 1,000km from China’s nearest major landmass, Hainan Island.

New Zealand, EU Trade Agreement to Take Effect on May 1

New Zealand said Monday a free trade agreement with the European Union would come into effect on May 1, after the country’s parliament ratified the deal.

Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay said in a statement that New Zealand notified the European Union earlier on Monday that it had ratified the agreement.

Wellington and Brussels signed the deal in July 2023, with the European Parliament ratifying its side of the agreement in November.

New Zealand expects the deal to benefit its beef, lamb, butter, and cheese industries and remove tariffs on other exports, such as its iconic kiwi fruit.

The EU will see tariffs lifted on its exports, including clothing, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, cars, and wine and confections.

According to government data, the EU is New Zealand’s fourth-largest trade partner, with two-way goods and services trade worth $12.10 billion in 2022.

The United States and Japan on Monday proposed a UN Security Council resolution stressing that nations should comply with a treaty that bars putting nuclear weapons in space, a message that appeared aimed at Russia.

Washington believes Moscow is developing a space-based anti-satellite nuclear weapon whose detonation could cause havoc by disrupting everything from military communications to phone-based ride services, a source familiar with the matter has said.

Russia, a party to the 1967 Outer Space Treaty that bars putting “in orbit around the earth any objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction,” has previously said it opposes deploying nuclear weapons in space.

Russia’s defence minister has also denied it is developing such a weapon. Deploying a nuclear weapon in orbit is barred by the treaty; developing one, however, is not prohibited.

In their resolution seen by Reuters, the United States, the only nation to use a nuclear weapon in war, and Japan, the only nation attacked with one, urged countries bound by the treaty not to place such weapons into space and also not to develop them.

NATO Chief Visits Georgia to Discuss Cooperation, Path to Membership

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg travelled to Georgia on Monday, where he met with leaders to discuss strengthening cooperation between the nation and the alliance and a path to eventual membership.

Stoltenberg held meetings with President Salome Zourabichvili and Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze in the capital, Tbilisi. Kobakhidze was elected to his position last month and has sometimes been critical of the West, though he has expressed a desire to join both NATO and the European Union.

At a joint news conference after their talks, Stoltenberg expressed his appreciation for Georgia’s “substantial contributions to NATO” and said NATO fully supports Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

He said South Ossetia and Abkhazia are part of Georgia, despite Russia’s insistence they are independent. The Russian military seized control of the territories in a brief 2008 war.

Stoltenberg also called Russia’s efforts to organize elections in parts of Georgia and Ukraine “completely illegal” and called Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent reelection as “clearly neither free nor fair.”

Pakistani Fighter Planes Bomb ‘Terrorist Sanctuaries’ in Afghanistan

Pakistan confirmed Monday that its military had carried out “intelligence-based” aerial strikes inside Afghanistan to punish “terrorists” responsible for killing hundreds of civilians and security forces in cross-border raids.

A foreign ministry statement said the counterterrorism operation had targeted fugitive commanders allied with Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, a globally designated terrorist organization operating out of Afghan sanctuaries.

Afghanistan’s Taliban government denounced the pre-dawn strikes in the southeastern Paktika and Khost border provinces, claiming they resulted in the deaths of eight civilians, mostly women and children. The identities of the slain people could not be verified from independent sources.

“We have repeatedly urged the Afghan authorities to take concrete and effective action to ensure that the Afghan soil is not used as a staging ground for terrorism against Pakistan. We have also called on them to deny safe havens to TTP and to hand over its leadership to Pakistan,” the Pakistan Foreign Ministry stated.

Rights Violations in Iran May Be Crimes Against Humanity, UN Investigators Find

Iran’s violent repression of peaceful protests and widespread, systematic violations of human rights could, in many cases, amount to crimes against humanity, according to a UN fact-finding mission.

The three-member team on the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, in its first report to the UN Human Rights Council, accuses the Iranian government of a litany of crimes in connection with the protests that erupted following the death in custody of Mahsa Amini on September 16, 2022.

The mission, which was established two months later to investigate the crackdown on the protests, accuses Iranian authorities of “egregious human rights violations.”

They include unlawful deaths, extra-judicial executions, arbitrary arrests, rape, sexual violence, and enforced disappearances.

The chair of the mission, Bangladeshi lawyer Sara Hossain, who also presented the report, said these acts were conducted in the context of a “widespread and systematic attack against women and girls” and others expressing support for human rights.

Famine Imminent in Northern Gaza, Food Security Experts Warn

Famine is imminent in the northern Gaza Strip between now, and May, and the rest of Gaza’s population is facing crisis levels of hunger and worse, a United Nations-backed food security report concluded Monday.

“More than half of all Palestinians in Gaza —1.1 million people — have completely exhausted their food supplies and are facing catastrophic hunger, according to the report,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters Monday after the release of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report.

“This is the highest number of people facing catastrophic hunger ever recorded by the Integrated Food Security Classification system — anywhere, anytime,” Guterres said.

The U.N.-backed IPC report says famine could occur at any time in the coming weeks, with an estimated 210,000 people in northern Gaza facing the most catastrophic danger.

In the southern governorates of Deir al-Balah, Khan Younis and Rafah, where about 1.5 million Palestinians have fled the fighting, the experts say they are a step away from famine.

Israel Launches Operation at Gaza City Hospital

Israel’s military said Monday it was conducting an operation at the Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, an area where it came under international criticism for a November raid.

Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in a statement that Israeli forces were acting Monday because senior Hamas officials were using the hospital to command attacks against Israel.

“We will conduct this operation with caution and care while ensuring that the hospital continues its important function,” Hagari said.

Witnesses reported airstrikes in the area of the hospital, which is the largest in the Gaza Strip, as well as the presence of Israeli tanks.

European Union foreign policy chief Joseph Borrell said Monday that Israel “is provoking famine” in Gaza and using starvation “as a weapon of war.”

“In Gaza, we are no longer on the brink of famine. We are in a state of famine, affecting thousands of people,” Borrell told a conference on humanitarian aid for Gaza in Brussels.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said his government “allows extensive humanitarian aid into Gaza by land, air, and sea for anyone willing to help,” and he accused Hamas militants of “violently disrupting aid convoys.”

Haitian Gangs Launch New Attacks Amid Transitional Council Delays

Gangs attacked affluent neighbourhoods in Haiti early Monday, killing at least a dozen people, according to witnesses.

The upscale neighbourhood of Petionville outside the capital, Port-au-Prince, was one of those attacked, and at least 12 bodies were found, according to residents and media.

Gunmen looted homes in the Laboule and Thomassin communities before sunrise, forcing residents to flee. Until now, both communities had been mainly peaceful amid the gang attacks in Port-au-Prince.

The attacks also targeted Haiti’s power company, which said Monday that four substations “were destroyed and rendered completely dysfunctional.” The attacks have left much of the capital without power.

According to The Associated Press, the recent attacks have led to concerns that gang violence would not subside in Haiti, even though Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced last week that he would resign once a transitional council was established. The gangs had demanded that Henry resign.

Pentagon: US Warned Niger About Russia, Iran Ties Before Junta Revoked Accord

U.S. officials travelled to Niger last week to express concerns about the country’s potential development of ties to Russia and Iran before the ruling junta Saturday revoked an accord governing the roughly 1,000 U.S. military personnel there, the Pentagon said Monday.

The Pentagon added it was seeking clarification about the way ahead. Niger said Saturday it had revoked “with immediate effect” its military accord with the United States that had allowed Pentagon personnel to operate on its soil.

Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said the U.S. government had “direct and frank” conversations in Niger ahead of the junta’s announcement and was continuing to communicate with Niger’s ruling military council known as the CNSP.

“The U.S. delegation was there to raise a number of concerns. … We were troubled (about) the path that Niger is on. And so, these were direct and frank conversations, to have those in person, to talk about our concerns and to also hear theirs,” Singh said.

“U.S. officials expressed concern over Niger’s potential relationships with Russia and Iran.”

Since its July 2023 coup, the military junta that seized power in Niamey has kicked out French and European forces and quit the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) regional bloc. Like juntas in neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso, it has strengthened military ties with Russia.

Gambian Lawmakers to Vote on Bill to Repeal FGM Ban

A Monday vote could make Gambia the first country to repeal its ban on female genital cutting. Also referred to as female genital mutilation or FGM, the procedure includes the partial or full removal of external genitalia. The practice has been rising worldwide in recent years despite moves to outlaw it.

According to a report from the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, earlier this month, around 30 million women globally have undergone the procedure in the past eight years. It largely occurs in Africa, some parts of Asia, and the Middle East. The procedure often occurs between infancy and adolescence to control women’s sexuality.

The World Health Organization says the procedure has no benefits. It can lead to serious bleeding and death, and long-term effects can include urinary tract infections, menstrual problems, pain, decreased sexual satisfaction and childbirth complications, as well as depression, low self-esteem and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Jaha Dukureh, the founder of Safe Hands for Girls, a local group in Gambia that aims to end the practice, told The Associated Press she worried repealing the 2015 ban on FGM could lead the way for more backsliding on women’s rights. Dukureh says she underwent the procedure herself and watched her sister bleed to death.

“If they succeed with this repeal, we know that they might come after the child marriage law and even the domestic violence law. This is not about religion but the cycle of controlling women and their bodies,” she said.

According to UN data, the prevalence of FGM in Gambia has fallen steeply since the ban. Gambia’s former leader, Yahya Jammeh, banned the practice in 2015 without public explanation, imposing steep fines and jail sentences, surprising activists.

However, the new repeal bill is backed by religious conservatives, a powerful majority in the small Muslim nation. The bill’s text says, “It seeks to uphold religious purity and safeguard cultural norms and values.”

Lawmaker Almameh Gibba, who presented the repeal bill, argued the ban violates citizens’ rights to practice their culture and religion.

When the first people were convicted under the law last August for performing FGM on eight infant girls, the Gambia Supreme Islamic Council responded by saying female circumcision was one of the virtues of Islam.

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China, Russia and Iran are holding joint naval exercises this week near the Gulf of Oman, according to the Chinese defence ministry.

According to a ministry statement Monday, the exercises, dubbed “Security Bond-2024,” will take place from Monday to Friday and aim to “strengthen maritime cooperation” and “jointly safeguard regional maritime security.”

A similar round of drills was held last year in the same area between the three countries.

According to Iran’s state news agency, IRNA, the drills are set to start Tuesday, with naval representatives from Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Oman, India, and South Africa also set to observe the exercises.

Iranian state media added that the purpose of the drills is to “consolidate security and its foundations in the region and expand multilateral cooperation among the participating countries.”

In a statement published Monday, Beijing announced that China will be sending the “guided missile destroyer Urumqi, guided missile frigate Linyi and comprehensive supply ship Dongpinghu.”

According to Russian news agencies, Moscow’s defence ministry said, “The practical part of the exercise will take place in the waters of the Gulf of Oman in the Arabian Sea.” Moscow also added that the drills would facilitate maritime safety.

India Successfully Tests Domestically Produced Multi-Warhead Missile

In a message posted to social media Monday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that his nation has successfully tested its first domestically produced missile capable of carrying multiple warheads.

From his account on X, formerly known as Twitter, Modi said he was “Proud of our DRDO scientists for Mission Divyastra, the first flight test of indigenously developed Agni-5 missile with Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) technology.”

DRDO stands for India’s Defense Research & Development Organisation. Defence officials said the test flight, Mission Divyastra, was carried out from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island, off the coast of Odisha state.

The island, named for a former Indian president, is home to the nation’s top missile testing range.

A statement said the test missile was tracked by various telemetry and radar stations and reported the mission accomplished the designed parameters.

Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States are among the nations that use MIRV technology. Pakistan tested it in 2017, according to the Washington-based advocacy group Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.

MIRV technology can deliver multiple warheads from a single missile.

Four European Countries Seal Free Trade Pact with India, Pledge $100bn Investment  

India has signed a free trade pact with four European nations that aims to attract $100 billion in investment over the next 15 years.

The deal announced Sunday with the European Free Trade Association, whose members are Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein, comes weeks ahead of India’s national elections in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made economic growth a key poll plank as he seeks a third term in office.

The trade deal is one of several New Delhi is pursuing as it steps up efforts to grow its exports and take advantage of geopolitical shifts that are seeing many Western countries trying to reduce trade dependence on China.

The pact was sealed after about 16 years of negotiations. 

“The pact is significant because it is India’s first with developed countries,” said Biswajit Dhar, trade analyst and Distinguished Professor at the Council for Social Development in New Delhi. “So far India, which has many protectionist barriers, only had such agreements with developing countries.”

To ease access to its vast market of 1.4 billion people, India will reduce tariffs on goods ranging from industrial imports to processed foods, beverages and items such as Swiss watches. New Delhi hopes to boost its exports in information technology and business services.

Swedish Flag Raised over NATO Headquarters

The Swedish flag was raised for the first time over NATO headquarters in Brussels Monday ahead of the formal ceremony welcoming the Nordic country as the 32nd member of the alliance.

At a news conference immediately after, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson joined NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in touting a stronger, more unified NATO.

“The security situation in our region has not been this serious since the Second World War, and Russia will stay a threat to Euro-Atlantic security for a foreseeable future,” Kristersson said. “It was in this light Sweden applied to join the NATO defence alliance to gain security, but also to provide security.”

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 prompted both Sweden and Finland to seek membership in NATO after years in which both countries maintained military neutrality. Stoltenberg said, once again, that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s goals when he began the invasion have backfired.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken formally welcomed Sweden into NATO last Thursday. About 20,000 Swedish military personnel participated in NATO exercises alongside Finnish and Norwegian troops last week in Norway and Finland.

Biden Calls for $7.3tn US Budget for Fiscal 2025

U.S. President Joe Biden laid out his 2025 government spending priorities on Monday in a $7.3 trillion plan that has little chance of being enacted by the politically divided Congress.

It does, however, set the stage for a political debate with former President Donald Trump as they head to the November national election against each other.

Biden’s budget for the fiscal year starting October 1 calls for a liberal wish list of policies favoured by many Democrats — sharply higher taxes on corporations and wealthy individuals and more assistance for low- and middle-income earners to help them pay for high housing and child care costs.

The president’s plan would raise the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%, impose a rate increase on individuals earning more than $400,000 a year and force those with more than $100 million in wealth to pay at least a 25% income tax.

At the same time, Biden wants to increase the government’s authority to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies to lower the cost of drug prices. 

Palestinians Mark Ramadan as Israeli Strikes Hit Gaza Strip

As Palestinians marked the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on Monday, Israel reported carrying out attacks across the Gaza Strip.

The continued violence followed weeks of negotiations that included Egypt, the United States and Qatar to secure a new ceasefire between Israel and the militant group Hamas before Ramadan, which would have included a release of hostages held by militants in Gaza and Israel setting free Palestinian prisoners.

Hamas negotiators said when departing talks in Cairo last week that ceasefire negotiations would resume this week.

In New York, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reiterated his appeal for a ceasefire for the Muslim holy month to speed adequate aid to Gazans and secure the release of all hostages held by Hamas.

“The eyes of the world are watching. The eyes of history are watching,” Guterres told reporters. “We cannot look away. We must act to avoid more preventable deaths.”

He said desperate civilians need “immediate action.”

First European Climate Risk Assessment Finds Continent Unprepared

The European Environment Agency said in its first-ever risk assessment for the bloc on Monday that Europe is facing growing climate risks and is unprepared for them.

The agency said Europe is prone to more frequent and more punishing weather extremes — including increasing wildfires, drought, more unusual rainfall patterns and flooding — and needs to immediately address them to protect its energy, food security, water and health.

These climate risks “are growing faster than our societal preparedness,” Leena Ylä-Mononen, the EEA’s executive director, said in a statement.

The report identified 36 major climate risks for the continent, such as threats to ecosystems, economies, health and food systems, and found that more than half demand greater action now. It classified eight as needing urgent attention – like conserving ecosystems, protecting people against heat, protecting people and infrastructure from floods and wildfires, and securing relief funds for disasters.

The report said Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent and has been heating up twice as fast as other regions since the 1980s. The heat has been linked to more intense rains and floods, and the report predicts rainfall decline and more severe droughts in southern Europe.

Chinese Government Cracks Down on Academic Fraud

China is cracking down on academic research fraud following revelations in January that publishers have retracted thousands of works by Chinese academics in recent years. However, observers say addressing the problem will be difficult because it is pervasive.

According to the scientific journal Nature, some 14,000 papers were retracted from English language journals in 2023 alone, three-quarters of which involved a Chinese co-author.

Last month, the Chinese Ministry of Education gave universities a deadline to submit a full list of academic articles that journals have retracted over the past three years, allowing the ministry to audit the retracted research and determine how widespread fraud is in Chinese academic settings.

Although the Education Ministry’s review findings have yet to be released, Chinese academics, students, and professors say the problem is pervasive.

They say part of the issue is that it is easy to pay for research to be ghostwritten and published in low-quality journals.

China Concludes Annual Parliamentary Meetings as Xi Consolidates Power

China concluded its week-long annual parliamentary meetings in Beijing on Monday, passing amendments that will further consolidate Chinese President Xi Jinping’s power and vowing to adopt several new pieces of legislation to safeguard China’s sovereignty and security interests.

China’s rubber-stamp parliament passed revisions to the Organic Law of the State Council on Monday. The revisions include clauses stipulating that the council shall uphold the leadership of the ruling Chinese Communist Party and safeguard the centralized leadership of the Communist Party’s Central Committee, led by Xi.

“Under the strong leadership of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee with comrade Xi Jinping at its core, we must adhere to Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as our guide and unswervingly push forward the Chinese-style modernization,” Zhao Leji, the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, said at the closing ceremony of the week-long meeting.

The amendments come after the Chinese Communist Party announced an abrupt cancellation of Premier Li Qiang’s annual press conference at the end of the week-long parliamentary meetings.

India Announces Steps to Implement Citizenship Law That Excludes Muslims

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government announced on Monday the rules to implement a 2019 citizenship law that excludes Muslims, weeks before the Hindu nationalist leader seeks a third term in office.

The Citizenship Amendment Act provides a fast track to naturalization for Hindus, Parsis, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Christians who fled to Hindu-majority India from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan before December 31, 2014. The law excludes Muslims, who are a majority in all three nations.

The law was approved by the Indian Parliament in 2019, but Modi’s government held off on its implementation after deadly protests broke out in the capital, New Delhi, and elsewhere. Scores were killed during days of clashes.

The nationwide protests in 2019 drew people of all faiths who said the law undermines India’s foundation as a secular nation. Muslims were particularly worried that the government could use the law, combined with a proposed national register of citizens, to marginalize them.

The National Register of Citizens is part of the Modi government’s effort to identify and weed out people it claims came to India illegally. The register has only been implemented in the northeastern state of Assam, and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has promised to roll out a similar citizenship verification program nationwide.

As the Republican Party primary contests continue into their third month, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley is the only remaining challenger to former U.S. President Donald Trump.

The primaries will determine who is the GOP’s nominee for president and who will challenge President Joe Biden in November’s presidential election.

Trump has won all but one of the 11 primaries and caucuses so far, racking up 276 total delegates to Haley’s 43. (Haley earned her first victory in Washington D.C. this past weekend, a contest long predicted to go her way.) With 15 states casting their votes for a nominee on March 5, a day known as “Super Tuesday,” Republicans are divided on whether Haley should remain in the race or get out of the former president’s way.

“If you’re a Democrat, you probably want Haley to stay in the race because she’s distracting Trump from focusing on defeating Biden,” explained Bob Carreto, a Trump supporter from Chalmette, Louisiana. “But if you’re a real Republican, you want her to drop out of the primaries as fast as possible.”

“She’s forcing Trump to spend money defeating her, and it’s not good for the Republican Party,” Carreto said. “But the reality is, she doesn’t stand a chance, so she should just quit.”

Even though Trump has won each of the contests so far, not all voters who could cast their ballot this November for a Republican think Haley should exit.

“I think she’s incredibly brave for staying in the race, especially given that Trump is a maniacal egoist who attacks anyone who challenges him,” Abby LaCombe, an independent voter from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, told VOA.

“She’s facing a lot of attacks for refusing to withdraw, and she’s giving people who vote Republican a choice — the ability to choose someone other than Trump, a politician who has shown he has no respect whatsoever for democracy,” LaCombe said.

Princess of Wales Announces First Confirmed Official Duty Since Surgery

British officials said Tuesday that Kate, the Princess of Wales, will attend a Trooping the Color ceremony in June. It is her first confirmed major official duty since the royal underwent abdominal surgery.

Kate, Prince William’s wife, has been out of the public eye since January, when palace officials announced that she was admitted to a private London hospital for planned surgery. At the time, they did not provide more details but said she would not return to public duties until after Easter.

The ceremony is celebrated on June 8 and the weekend that follows. The events, annual highlights in the royal calendar, are pomp-filled birthday parades to honour the reigning monarch and usually draw huge crowds each June to watch the display. The tradition dates back more than 260 years.

The Ministry of Defence said Kate, 42, will inspect soldiers on parade during the June 8 ceremony. Hundreds of foot guards, horse guards and members of military bands will participate in the spectacle at central London’s Horse Guards and along The Mall, the promenade outside Buckingham Palace.

ICC Issues Arrest Warrants Against Top Russian Commanders over Alleged War Crimes 

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants Tuesday for two top Russian commanders over alleged war crimes in Ukraine.

Sergei Kobylash and Viktor Sokolov, an army lieutenant general and a navy admiral, are suspected of crimes between October 2022 and March 2023.

The Hague court says there is evidence to believe that the men were responsible for missile strikes against Ukrainian electric infrastructure, which led to civilian harm.

Although Russia denies targeting civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, the ICC noted that the recorded attacks were excessive to any expected military advantage. According to the Geneva conventions and international court protocols, attacks on civilians are forbidden.

The two men “are each allegedly responsible for the war crime of directing attacks at civilian” targets and “crime against humanity of inhumane acts,” the court said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the ICC’s decision.

This is not the first time warrants have been issued for officials related to the war in Ukraine.

A warrant was issued for President Vladimir Putin and Children’s Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova for alleged war crimes related to the abduction of Ukrainian children, a claim the Kremlin rejects.

The Kremlin reacted to the warrant by saying Russia does not recognize the ICC.

Ghana’s President to Await Court Decision Before Signing Anti-LGBTQ Bill

Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo said on Tuesday he will wait to act on an anti-LGBTQ bill that parliament passed last week, saying in a statement that the measure is being challenged in the Supreme Court.

He was quoted as saying, “It would be as well for all of us to hold our hands and await the decision of the court before any action is taken.”

He said a citizen challenged the bill’s constitutionality.

Akufo-Addo said Ghana will not be backsliding on its human rights record, as many express concerns about the measure.

In Ghana, gay sex is illegal and carries a three-year prison sentence. The bill would further criminalize the LGBTQ community by imposing at least a 10-year sentence on members of the community who show public displays of affection or those who promote and fund LGBTQ activities.

Those who oppose the bill are concerned about a decline in human rights and reduced international aid from organizations like the World Bank.

Human Rights Watch Researcher Larissa Kojoue said the bill is “inconsistent with Ghana’s longstanding tradition of peace, tolerance, and hospitality and flies in the face of the country’s international human rights obligations.”

Philippines Reports New Incident with Chinese Coast Guard in South China Sea

The Philippines Coast Guard says one of its ships was damaged after a collision with a Chinese Coast Guard vessel in the South China Sea Tuesday.

In a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Jay Tarriela said Chinese coast guard ships carried out “dangerous manoeuvres” against two Philippine coast guard ships, one of which sustained minor structural damage.

A separate statement by the Philippines’ task force on the South China Sea said four crewmen aboard the other vessel were injured when it was hit by water cannons from the Chinese Coast Guard ships.

The two ships were escorting two civilian vessels carrying supplies and a fresh rotation of troops to a Philippine warship intentionally grounded on the Second Thomas Shoal to maintain the archipelago’s claims on the submerged reef.

The Chinese coast guard issued a statement accusing the Philippine ships of illegally intruding into the waters around the shoal, which it calls Ren’ai Reef, prompting their vessels to take “control measures.”

China has claimed sovereignty over nearly the entire South China Sea, ignoring competing claims by its regional neighbours, including the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.

Death Stalks Children in Gaza as Famine Looms, Life-saving Aid Denied, UN Says

More than a dozen children in Gaza have starved to death, and many more are at risk as malnutrition soars, infectious diseases spread, and urgently needed life-saving humanitarian aid is blocked from entering the Palestinian enclave, UN, aid agencies warn.

“As of 3 March, the Ministry of Health in Gaza reports that 15 children have died of malnutrition and dehydration at Kamal Adwan Hospital, the only pediatric hospital in northern Gaza, and expressed fear for the lives of six other infants who are suffering from acute malnutrition,” said Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, a representative for the World Health Organisation in occupied Palestinian areas, citing the Hamas-controlled agency.

Speaking from his post in Jerusalem, Peeperkorn told journalists in Geneva on Tuesday that without a sustained cease-fire, “2.2 million people in Gaza are in the midst of an epic catastrophe and facing inhumane conditions.”

“There is a risk of famine. There is a risk of disease. There is an enormous amount of desperation, and the scarcity has led to a regular breakdown of law and order,” Peeperkorn said, adding that internally displaced people are facing acute shortages of food, water, shelter and medicine.

Hungarian President Signs Sweden’s Bid to Join NATO

Hungary’s president on Tuesday signed the law on Sweden’s bid to join NATO, a final technical step before the Nordic country becomes the alliance’s 32rd member.

Hungary’s parliament ratified Sweden’s bid on February 26, ending more than a year of delays that frustrated other alliance members in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“Tamas Sulyok, the president of the republic, today signed the decision taken by the National Assembly on February 26, 2024, regarding Sweden’s membership in NATO,” a statement on the presidential website read.

Sweden, which has been militarily neutral for two centuries, will then be invited to accede to the Washington Treaty and officially become NATO’s 32nd member.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine two years ago prompted Sweden and neighbouring Finland to apply to join the trans-Atlantic bloc, ending their longstanding stance of non-alignment.

Every NATO member has to approve a new country’s membership.

Finland joined in April last year, but Hungary and Turkey stalled Sweden’s bid, with Ankara only approving Stockholm’s candidacy in January.

Vietnamese Real Estate Tycoon on Trial for Embezzlement, Faces Death Penalty

The trial of a real estate tycoon accused of embezzling billions of dollars began in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Tuesday.

Prosecutors say Truong My Lan, the chairwoman of real estate development firm Van Thinh Phat, siphoned $12.5 billion from Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank between 2012 and 2022. Lan, who controlled a majority stake in SCB, allegedly embezzled the money by arranging fake loans to numerous shell companies.

Another 85 people are being prosecuted in connection with the case, including Lan’s husband, a wealthy Hong Kong businessman, and several former bank executives and government officials, including at least one ex-government official who allegedly received $5.2 billion in bribes. Nearly 200 lawyers will be involved in the trial.

The scope of the fraud nearly equals 3% of Vietnam’s 2022 gross domestic product. Lan is facing the death penalty if convicted.

Lan’s arrest is part of the Vietnamese government’s anti-corruption drive known as Blazing Furnace, which has led to the arrests of thousands of government officials and business leaders in recent years, as well as the resignation of President Nguyen Xuan Phuc last year.

Israeli Strikes Hit Khan Younis Amid Push for Ceasefire 

Israel’s military reported raids Tuesday in the Khan Younis area of southern Gaza, while Palestinian officials said Israeli airstrikes in the same location killed at least 17 people.

The Palestinian officials said the strikes happened near the European Hospital in the Hamad neighbourhood.

The Israeli military said it targeted terrorist infrastructure in Hamad and that it arrested dozens of Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters who were hiding among civilians.

The fighting in Gaza went on amid a sustained push to achieve a cease-fire in the conflict, including talks in Egypt.

Israel has stayed away from the Cairo negotiations and has faulted Hamas for not providing a list of the names of hostages that militants are still holding in Gaza.

A senior Hamas official told reporters Tuesday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to blame for a lack of a deal and that it is in the hands of Israel’s ally, the United States, to push for action.

Ukraine’s military said Tuesday it shot down 11 Russian drones and two guided missiles that Russia launched in overnight attacks.

The Ukrainian air force said Russia used a total of 13 drones and five missiles in its latest round of aerial assaults targeting the Kharkiv, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Khmelnytskyi and Kirovohrad regions.

There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address Monday that a meeting of European leaders included discussion of Ukraine’s military arsenal, its ability to produce weapons, the supply of weapons from allies to Ukraine and continuing support for Ukraine’s battle against the Russian invasion.

“Everything we do together to defend against Russian aggression adds real security to our nations for decades to come,” Zelensky said. “Because each of Russia’s losses and each of Russia’s defeats teaches Russia and any other enemy of Europe and the free world at large that aggression does not and cannot yield results.”

French President Emmanuel Macron convened the meeting with 20 European leaders in Paris and said, “Russia cannot and must not win that war.”

UN Seeks $674m for Crisis-hit Haiti in 2024

The United Nations launched an appeal for $674 million on Tuesday for humanitarian projects in Haiti, as the Caribbean nation faces soaring violence and a severe food crisis.

A nation of at least 10 million, Haiti has been in turmoil for years, with armed gangs taking over parts of the country and unleashing brutal violence, leaving the economy and public health system in tatters.

The 2021 assassination of the country’s president plunged the country further into chaos.

The crisis deepened last year, the UN warned in its humanitarian plan for 2024, as gang violence spread to rural areas and the government’s presence eroded further.

The plan, estimated to help 3.6 million of those people, would require $673.8 million to do so — an ambitious goal, with international humanitarian operations chronically underfunded.

Pakistani Court Indicts Ex-PM Khan, Wife in Corruption Case

An anti-corruption court in Pakistan indicted former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Tuesday on charges that he had received land as a bribe while in office.

The trial was conducted in a prison centre near the capital, Islamabad, where Khan has been serving lengthy sentences since last August following convictions on multiple charges, including graft, leaking state secrets, and fraudulent marriage.

Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI, party condemned Tuesday’s indictment, saying the couple pleaded not guilty after the charges were read to them and dismissed them as frivolous, just like in all the previous convictions.

“Trials conducted behind prison walls, only meant to pave the way for miscarriage of justice, particularly in fabricated and politically motivated cases, only to keep Imran Khan behind bars,” said a PTI statement.

The latest corruption case centres on the non-profit charitable Al-Qadir University Trust, which Khan and his wife established months after he took office in 2018.

Prosecutors allege the trust was a front for the deposed prime minister to obtain the valuable land for the school from Malik Riaz Hussain, a major real estate developer and one of Pakistan’s wealthiest and most powerful businessmen.

The prosecutors say that in exchange for the land, Riaz received a favor from Khan.

They allege the quid pro quo involved the settlement of Riaz’s assets, set to be worth $240 million, in a money laundering case.

Modi Says India’s First Astronauts Will Inspire Nation

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday toasted the four astronauts preparing for the nation’s first crewed orbital mission, saying the latest advance in spacefaring would inspire the next generation.

“The countdown of the rocket inspires thousands of children in India, and those making paper planes today dream of becoming scientists like you,” Modi said.

The Gaganyaan — or “Skycraft” — mission is slated to launch the astronauts into Earth’s orbit in 2025, an important measure of the Indian Space Research Organization’s technical capabilities.

“All of you are opening new doors of future possibilities,” Modi told ISRO scientists on Tuesday.

Visiting the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in the southern state of Kerala, Modi presented “astronaut wings” to the four men: Ajit Krishnan, Prashanth Balakrishnan Nair, Angad Pratap and Shubhanshu Shukla.

“They are not just four names or individuals, they are four ‘shakti’ [the Hindu goddess of power] carrying the aspirations of 1.4 billion Indians into space,” he added.

Saudi Arabia Executes 7 for ‘Terrorism’ Offences

Saudi Arabia executed seven people for “terrorism” offenses on Tuesday, state media said, the highest single-day figure since 81 were put to death in March 2022.

The seven were convicted of “creating and financing terrorist organizations and entities”, the official Saudi Press Agency said, citing the Gulf kingdom’s interior ministry.

Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s most prolific users of capital punishment, has now executed 29 people this year according to an AFP tally of official announcements, after putting 170 to death in 2023.

The kingdom, notorious for beheadings, drew a wave of condemnation from around the world with 81 executions in one day nearly two years ago.

The nationalities of the seven executed on Tuesday were not revealed, but their names and titles indicated they were Saudi.

They were convicted of “adopting a terrorist approach that calls for bloodshed, establishing and financing terrorist organizations and entities, and communicating and dealing with them with the aim of disrupting the security and stability of society” and endangering national security, the official news agency said.

Airbus Plane Grounded Three Days Due to Rat on Board

Sri Lanka’s national airline on Tuesday blamed a rat for grounding a plane for three days, sparking chaotic delays and fears it will scare off investors for the cash-strapped carrier.

The stowaway rodent was spotted enjoying the SriLankan Airlines Airbus A330 flight from the Pakistani city of Lahore on Thursday, triggering an aircraft search to ensure it had not chewed through critical components.

An airline official said the plane had resumed flights, but that the grounding had an effect on the entire schedule.

The aircraft was grounded for three days at Colombo,” an airline official said, declining to be named. “The plane could not be flown without making sure that the rat was accounted for. It was found dead.”
The state-owned airline, which had accumulated losses of more than $1.8 billion at the end of March 2023, has three other aircraft grounded for over a year out of a fleet of 23.

Peru Declares Health Emergency Amid Rising Dengue Outbreak

Peru has declared a health emergency due to the rapidly rising cases of dengue fever across the South American country.

Health Minister Cesar Vasquez said Monday that more than 31,000 cases of dengue have been recorded in the first eight weeks of 2024, including 32 deaths.

Vasquez said the emergency will cover 20 of Peru’s 25 regions.

Dengue is a mosquito-borne illness that is passed to humans from a mosquito bite. Symptoms of dengue include fevers, severe headaches, fatigue, nausea, vomiting and body aches.

Peru has been experiencing high temperatures and heavy rains since 2023 due to the El Nino weather pattern, which has warmed the seas off the country’s coast and helped mosquito populations grow.

US, UK Target Iran, Houthi Militants with New Sanctions

The United States and Britain on Tuesday sanctioned an Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps deputy commander and a Houthi militant, linking them to missile attacks launched from Yemen targeting Red Sea shipping.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis have been targeting shipping in the Red Sea area for months, only rarely hitting vessels but forcing threatened cargo shippers to abandon the shortest passage from Asia to Europe through the Suez Canal and instead taking the much longer route around the tip of Africa.

U.S. and British airstrikes on Houthi missile sites have failed to halt the attacks.

The sanctions specifically target Mohammad Reza Falahzadeh, the current deputy commander of the IRGC Quds Force, and Houthi militant Ibrahim al-Nashiri.

The Treasury also announced sanctions against the owner and operator of a vessel used to ship Iranian commodities — Hong Kong-based Cap Tees Shipping Company — to support the Houthis and IRGC Quds Force.

Medical Evacuation Convoy in Gaza Blocked by Israeli Forces, Says UN

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has accused Israeli forces of blocking a medical evacuation of hospital patients in Gaza, preventing them from reaching another medical facility in the Rafah area bordering Egypt for several hours Sunday.

OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke said Tuesday that the medical convoy was transporting 24 patients, including one pregnant woman and one mother and newborn, from Al Amal Hospital in Khan Younis.

“Despite prior coordination for all staff members and vehicles with the Israeli side, the Israeli forces blocked the WHO-led convoy for many hours the moment it left the hospital,” Laerke said. “We were forced to leave 31 non-critical patients” in the hospital.

The Israeli military has not commented on this incident, saying it was checking on the details described by OCHA.
World Health Organization spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said several of the people on the convoy could not walk, “but everybody else had to get out of the ambulance.”

Biden, Congressional Leaders Discuss Ukraine Aid, Averting Government Shutdown

U.S. President Joe Biden hosted congressional leaders Tuesday for talks at the White House amid a push to secure billions of dollars in aid for Ukraine and avoid a looming U.S. government shutdown.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries took part in the discussion.

The Democrat-led Senate passed a bipartisan $95 billion security bill earlier this month that includes $61 billion for Ukraine, $14 billion for Israel, nearly $5 billion to support partners in the Indo-Pacific, including Taiwan, and other assistance.

Johnson has pledged not to bring the bill up for a vote in the House, saying the American people want lawmakers to focus on domestic problems, including border security, instead of sending assistance overseas.

Schumer said Tuesday that not supporting Ukraine will show allies they cannot depend on the United States.

The leaders face a Friday deadline to agree on funding for some parts of the government, including agriculture, transportation and some veterans’ services. Another deadline awaits a week later when funding for the rest of the government is set to expire.

Israel’s military on Tuesday reported intense fighting in the Khan Younis area of the Gaza Strip, while the United States vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that calls for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, scaled up aid access and rejects the forced displacement of Palestinians.

“Demanding an immediate, unconditional ceasefire without an agreement requiring Hamas to release the hostages will not bring about a durable peace,” said U.S. Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield of the Algerian-drafted resolution.

For weeks, the United States, Egypt, Qatar and Israel have been involved in delicate negotiations aimed at the release of all hostages and an extended pause in the fighting.

“Instead, it could extend the fighting between Hamas and Israel, extend the hostages’ time in captivity, an experience described by former hostages as ‘hell,’ and extend the dire humanitarian crisis Palestinians are facing in Gaza,” Thomas-Greenfield said, adding “none of us want that.”

Senegal Leaves Presidential Election List Mainly Unchanged 

On Tuesday, Senegal’s Constitutional Council published an amended list of candidates for a presidential election delayed from February 25 to an undecided date, removing just one candidate from the initial list because she withdrew her application.

Last week, the council overturned a bill that delayed the vote to December — a move that had plunged the West African country into unchartered constitutional territory and stoked public anger against the government.

President Macky Sall, who said the postponement was needed due to a dispute over the candidate list, later pledged to abide by the court’s decision and hold consultations to organize the vote as quickly as possible.

The new candidate list was almost unchanged from the original list for the February 25 vote, apart from removing opposition contender Rose Wardini, bringing the number of candidates down to 19 from an initial 20.

The council said Wardini had withdrawn her application without providing further details.

Prominent opposition figures, including the firebrand jailed politician Ousmane Sonko and Karim Wade, the son of former president Abdoulaye Wade, remained excluded.

Navalny’s Mother Begs Putin to Release Her Son’s Body

The mother of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny pleaded Tuesday with President Vladimir Putin to intervene and release her son’s body to her so he can be buried with dignity.

A black-clad Lyudmila Navalnaya appeared in a video outside the barbed wire of the Arctic penal colony where the 47-year-old Navalny died on Friday.

“For the fifth day, I have been unable to see him,” Navalnaya said in the video. “They wouldn’t release his body to me. And they’re not even telling me where he is.”

“I’m reaching out to you, Vladimir Putin,” she said in the video posted on social media by Navalny’s team. “The resolution of this matter depends solely on you. Let me finally see my son. I demand that Alexey’s body is released immediately so that I can bury him like a human being.”

She said authorities have refused to tell her even where Navalny’s body is. Navalny’s team says Russian authorities have said the cause of death is unknown and refused to release the body for two weeks while an inquest into his death continues.

Swedish PM to Meet Hungary’s Orban Before Vote on Sweden’s NATO Bid

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson will visit Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Budapest on Friday, three days ahead of the Hungarian parliament’s expected vote on approving Sweden for membership in NATO.

Orban said on Tuesday that it would be a “pleasure” to welcome Kristersson to Budapest, saying in a post on the X platform that they will be discussing how to strengthen “the defence and security policy cooperation between Hungary and Sweden.”

He added that during the meeting, they would also talk about “plans for the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union and the EU’s Strategic Agenda.”

On Tuesday, Hungary’s ruling party proposed holding the February 26 vote on the ratification of Sweden’s NATO bid and said it would support Sweden’s accession. Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson said the development is “very welcome.”

Sweden, along with Finland, applied to join the Atlantic Alliance in May 2022 in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Finland became a NATO member in April of last year.

Taiwan Says Chinese Naval Forces Board Taiwan Tourist Boat

Taiwan says the Chinese coast guard boarded a tourist boat from the self-ruled island.

Taiwan’s coast guard says the boat carrying 34 passengers and crew was boarded for just over 30 minutes while on a sight-seeing trip near the Kinman archipelago, located just off the southern Chinese coastal city of Xiamen but controlled by Taiwan.

Kuan Bi-ling, the head of Taiwan’s Ocean Affairs Council, told reporters Tuesday in the capital, Taipei, that China’s actions harmed people’s feelings, created panic and went against the best interests of people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, the 160-kilometer-wide waterway that separates the China and Taiwan.

Monday’s incident comes days after two Chinese fishermen drowned after their vessel capsized as they were fleeing Taiwan’s coast guard after they entered into restricted waters near Kinmen. Two other fishermen on board the vessel were taken into custody.

In response, China announced Monday that it would increase coast guard patrols in the waters of the Kinmen archipelago.

Australia Unveils Multibillion-dollar Navy Overhaul

Australia Tuesday announced a multibillion overhaul of its navy, which senior officials say is in response to “increasing geostrategic uncertainty.”

Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles told reporters Tuesday that the overhaul would give the navy the largest surface fleet since World War II.

The plan’s total cost over the next 10 years is estimated at $35.25 billion.

The revamp of Australia’s naval fleet intends to more than double the number of warships. Analysts say the reforms will help prepare the military for possible armed conflict in the Indo-Pacific region and a growing unease in Canberra about China’s military and territorial ambitions.

Under the Australian plan, up to 11 new general-purpose frigates and a fleet of drone-like boats can be operated remotely without sailors on board.

Last year’s review found Australia’s defence force was no longer “fit for purpose” and that the navy needed a more strategic combination of smaller and larger warships.

Zelensky Welcomes Sweden’s $683m Military Aid Package

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed a $683 million military aid package from Sweden on Tuesday as Ukrainian leaders continue to push for more international help in their fight against Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Zelensky called Sweden’s support “a significant contribution to Ukraine’s resilience in the face of Russian aggression and a powerful investment in preserving peace and freedom in Europe.”

“Artillery ammunition, air defence, grenade launchers, combat boats, armoured vehicles, and other items are meeting some of our frontline warriors’ most pressing needs,” Zelensky posted on social media.

Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson said the aid package was the largest yet his country is supplying to Ukraine and that the equipment and weapons meet “some of Ukraine’s most pressing needs.”

“Ukraine is not only defending its own freedom but that of all of Europe,” Jonson said. “Sweden will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes. Russia cannot be allowed to win this war.”

On Tuesday, Ukrainian Prime Minister Shmyhal said that while Ukraine’s military has gotten U.S. and European support, it needs more long-range missiles to bolster its air defences against Russian attacks.

Ukraine’s biggest supplier of military aid, the United States, has not delivered a new round of aid since December, when funding ran out.

UN Experts Push to Criminalise Gender Apartheid

A panel of United Nations experts is calling for the international community to officially recognize “gender apartheid” as a crime against humanity, highlighting the severe oppression of women and girls under regimes like the Taliban in Afghanistan.

The five-member group of experts from the United States, China, Mexico, Uganda and Serbia, affiliated with the UN human rights body, say this recognition is already long overdue.

“Gender apartheid is not merely a theoretical possibility or legal construct but a real threat and lived reality for millions of women and girls around the world — a reality that is currently not explicitly codified in international law,” the experts said in a UN statement on Tuesday.

Drawing attention to Afghanistan as a stark example, the experts claim the de facto Taliban government has institutionalized a system of gender-based “discrimination, oppression, and domination.”

Since seizing power, the Taliban have barred women and girls from secondary education, most workplaces, many recreational activities and unaccompanied travel over longer distances.

Supreme Court Rejects Appeal from Trump-Allied Lawyers over 2020 Election Lawsuit

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court rejected an appeal from Sidney Powell and other lawyers allied with former President Donald Trump over $150,000 in sanctions they were ordered to pay for abusing the court system with a sham lawsuit challenging the 2020 election results in Michigan.

The justices did not comment on leaving in place the sanctions against seven lawyers who were part of the lawsuit filed on behalf of six Republican voters after Joe Biden’s 154,000-vote victory over Trump in the state.

Among the lawyers is L. Lin Wood, whose name was on the lawsuit. Wood has insisted he had no role other than to tell Powell he would be available if she needed a seasoned litigator.

The money is owed to the state and Detroit for their costs in defending the lawsuit. The sanctions initially totalled $175,000, but a federal appeals court reduced them by about $25,000.

In October, Powell pleaded guilty to state criminal charges in Georgia over her efforts to overturn Trump’s loss in the state. She pleaded guilty to six misdemeanours accusing her of conspiring to interfere with the performance of election duties intentionally.

Assange Lawyers Make Last Bid to Prevent Extradition

Lawyers for Julian Assange on Tuesday made a last-ditch effort to prevent his extradition to the United States after fighting it for more than a decade.

Facing espionage charges, the WikiLeaks founder has already seen several attempts to fight extradition rejected. Addressing the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Assange’s legal team sought a new appeal hearing as hundreds of supporters rallied outside with “Free Julian Assange” signs.

His lawyers contend that his actions uncovered significant criminal misconduct by U.S. authorities and that their client risks “flagrant denial of justice” if forced into the U.S.

“He is being prosecuted for engaging in the ordinary journalistic practice of obtaining and publishing classified information, information that is both true and of obvious and important public interest,” Edward Fitzgerald, Assange’s lead lawyer, told the court.

WHO: Gaza’s Health System Hanging by a Thread Amid Ongoing Hostilities, Restrictions

The World Health Organisation warns that Gaza’s health system is hanging by a thread as health facilities throughout the Palestinian enclave cease to function, restrictions to access increase, medical supplies dwindle, and cuts in other humanitarian aid essential for patient care grow.

Gaza’s Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, where an Israeli military operation is ongoing, is one of the latest casualties. WHO, together with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the Palestine Red Crescent Society, recently conducted a high-risk mission to the medical facility to bring fuel and other essential supplies and evacuate patients in danger from the facility.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi started a visit to the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday to inaugurate the Middle East’s largest Hindu temple and boost investment and trade links.

The two governments signed deals, including a framework agreement on a major trade and transport route, at the start of Modi’s two-day visit, the third in the past eight months.

His trip comes ahead of India’s national election, which is expected to begin in April.

He was due to inaugurate the region’s largest Hindu temple on Wednesday, a day after he addresses thousands of expatriates in a community event in Abu Dhabi.

The visit is largely focused on galvanizing the diaspora, according to experts, even though Indians in the UAE can’t vote from abroad.

The UAE is home to about 3.5 million Indian nationals — the largest expatriate community in the Gulf country.

Modi met UAE president Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Tuesday, according to the Indian foreign ministry and local state media, their fifth meeting in eight months.

India’s foreign ministry said they inked several deals, including a bilateral investment treaty, building on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement signed in 2022.

They also signed an “intergovernmental framework agreement” on the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, a ship-to-rail transit network that will supplement existing sea and land routes.

Ex-Thai Prime Minister Granted Parole

Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been granted parole after serving six months of a one-year prison sentence.

News reports in Thailand say the 74-year-old Thaksin was on a list of 930 prisoners being granted early release because they were either ill or elderly.

He could be released from jail as early as Saturday.

Thaksin was detained last August after returning to Thailand from 15 years of self-imposed exile to avoid imprisonment after being convicted of several corruption-related charges.

He had been sentenced to eight years in prison, but his sentence was commuted to one year by King Maha Vajiralongkorn.

He has served nearly all his sentence in a police hospital for treatment of an undisclosed condition.

The media tycoon was first elected prime minister in 2001 and gained a loyal following among Thailand’s rural poor for such policies as universal health care and cash payments to farmers.

But he was overthrown in a coup in 2006 by a military aligned with members of Thailand’s pro-monarchy elite who saw him as a threat to their longstanding grip on the social order.

US Senate Approves Aid Package for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan

The U.S. Senate voted early Tuesday to approve a $95 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, but the measure faces opposition in the Republican-led House of Representatives.

The Senate bill passed 70-29 with more than a dozen Republicans joining the majority Democrats in support.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky quickly expressed gratitude, saying U.S. aid “helps to save human lives from Russian terror.”

“American assistance brings just peace in Ukraine closer and restores global stability, resulting in increased security and prosperity for all Americans and all the free world,” Zelensky said on X.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the measure will “greatly impact not just our national security, not just the security of our allies, but the security of Western democracy.”

“With this bill, the Senate declares that American leadership will not waiver, will not falter, will not fail,” Schumer said after the final vote total was announced.

EU Eyes Export Ban on Three Chinese Firms 

The EU has proposed imposing export bans on firms in mainland China, India and Turkey accused of supplying Russia with military technology as part of a new round of sanctions over the war in Ukraine, according to a document seen by AFP.

Officials in Brussels are currently hammering out a 13th package of sanctions on Russia to coincide with the second anniversary of its all-out invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

As part of the push, the EU’s diplomatic service has proposed adding around 20 firms, including three in mainland China, one in Turkey and one in India, to an export blacklist of those providing support to Russia’s military.

That would mean firms in the 27-nation bloc would be prohibited from doing business with the companies as Brussels steps up efforts to crack down on the circumvention of its sanctions on Russia.

The EU has already placed similar export bans on over 600 firms, including three based in the Chinese territory of Hong Kong and firms in Armenia, the United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan.

If EU member states agree to the proposal, it will be the first time that firms in mainland China will be targeted to help Russia get around sanctions on acquiring technology that can be used on the battlefield.

Brussels proposed putting five Chinese firms on the list last year, but they were dropped in the face of opposition from Beijing and reluctance from some EU capitals.

Zimbabwe Will Attempt to Establish Gold-Backed Currency

Zimbabwe’s government said Monday it is introducing a gold-backed currency to replace the country’s nearly worthless dollar, which most businesses have shunned, preferring the U.S. dollar or South African rand.

Minister for Finance and Economic Development Mthuli Ncube told reporters in an online press conference that Zimbabwe was making the move to ensure sustained growth.

“Really this is a quest for currency stability,” Ncube said. “What has emerged over the years is the U.S. [dollar] being the most dominant.

“Going forward, we want to make sure that the growth we have achieved so far — which is very strong — is maintained and even increased,” he said. “We can only do that if we have further stability in the domestic currency. … And the way to do that is perhaps to link the exchange rate to some hard asset such as gold.”

He did not say when Zimbabwe will introduce the gold-backed currency.

Police Fire Tear Gas at Protesting Farmers Marching to Delhi

Police in India fired tear gas shells at hundreds of farmers who were marching Tuesday toward the capital, New Delhi, in a mass protest demanding crop price guarantees.

Spearheaded by farmers from the North Indian states of Punjab and Haryana, known as India’s breadbasket, the protestors said the government failed to meet promises it made after they called off a year-long protest in 2021.

Television images showed plumes of smoke at a border point that lies about 200 kilometres north of Delhi after security forces dropped tear gas canisters from a drone to disperse the farmers.

The Indian capital has been turned into a virtual fortress with barbed wire, cement blocks and metal spikes installed at its borders to prevent the farmers from reaching the city. Thousands of security personnel and police guarded Delhi, where large gatherings have been banned. Internet service has been suspended in some districts of neighbouring Haryana state.

The heavy security measures aim to prevent a repeat of a massive protest that began in September 2020 when tens of thousands of farmers camped on Delhi’s borders for nearly one year until the government conceded their demand to scrap three controversial laws.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday rejected a plan offered by Hamas to end the war in Gaza, instead vowing to push forward with its attack on the militants until it achieves “absolute victory.”

The Israeli leader ruled out an offer by Hamas for an end to four months of fighting accompanied by a staged, 4½-month release of about 100 hostages held by Hamas in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. But the Hamas offer also called for the militants to retain governing control of the narrow territory along the Mediterranean Sea and the right to rebuild its military capability.

“We are on the way to an absolute victory. There is no other solution,” Netanyahu said at a news conference after meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. He said the Jewish state’s war effort would take months, not years.

The top US diplomat, who is holding his own news conference later Wednesday, is on his fifth round of talks with Mideast leaders in a so-far fruitless effort to end the warfare that erupted with the shock October 7 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people. 

Bomb Blasts Kill 30 in Pakistan Ahead of Thursday’s Elections

Authorities in Pakistan said Wednesday that at least 30 people are dead and dozens more injured in two bomb blasts targeting election campaign offices in southwestern Baluchistan province.

The deadly bombings in Pishin and Qilla Saifullah districts have fueled security concerns ahead of Thursday’s national elections in the country of about 241 million people.

“It is important to emphasize that the scheduled elections will proceed as planned,” said Jan Achakzai, the provincial government spokesperson. He added that “terrorists” would not be allowed to undermine the “crucial democratic process.”

A regional affiliate of Islamic State, known as Islamic State-Khorasan or IS-K, claimed the Pishin bombing, but no group took credit for the second blast. The violence came a week after a bomb explosion hit an election rally in another Baluchistan district and killed five people. IS-K claimed responsibility for that attack.

Pakistan’s caretaker prime minister, Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, condemned Wednesday’s bombings and reaffirmed his government’s commitment to ensuring peaceful elections in the country, according to a statement released by his office in Islamabad.

US, NATO Reaffirm Need to Support Ukraine

US and NATO officials on Wednesday reaffirmed their support for Ukraine’s continued battle against Russia’s invasion, as humanitarian leaders denounced missile attacks that Ukraine’s president said killed at least five people in the capital and the southern port city of Mykolaiv.

Speaking at NATO headquarters, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan sounded confident despite Tuesday’s dramatic collapse of a US Senate deal to fund Ukraine’s defence and buttress the southern border of the United States.

In remarks delivered before the bill cratered, US President Joe Biden said the lapse in US support is “just what Putin wants.”

But Sullivan said he is hopeful.

“Even in the last 24 hours, you’ve seen a significant number of Republicans come out and say that no matter what else happens, we need to move forward a package of support for Ukraine,” he said. “As President Biden said yesterday, history will record any failure to deliver the type of assistance that’s contained in the package that was put forward this week.”

NATO Allies Pressure Hungary over Blocking Sweden’s Accession

Hungary’s NATO allies are putting pressure on Prime Minister Viktor Orban to swiftly approve Sweden’s accession to the alliance after his MPs refused an opportunity to vote on the issue this week.

Sweden applied to join the alliance in May 2022 in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February of that year. But Hungary has repeatedly delayed ratification.

Hungary is now the only country preventing Sweden from joining NATO after Turkey finally gave its approval last month. Ankara had initially raised concerns over Sweden’s purported harbouring of Kurdish separatist groups, which Turkey considers terrorists.

With Hungary’s parliament currently on winter recess, opposition MPs convened an extraordinary session of lawmakers Monday to force a vote.

Lawmakers from Orban’s Fidesz Party refused to attend, despite Orban declaring last month that he supports Sweden’s accession to NATO and would urge his party to approve the application at the first opportunity.

Tompos Marton of Hungary’s Momentum Party was among the opposition lawmakers pushing for Monday’s vote.

UN Launches Appeal to Aid Millions in War-torn Sudan

As Sudan is about to enter its 10th month of conflict, United Nations agencies launched a $4.1 billion appeal Tuesday to provide urgent aid for 14.7 million people inside Sudan and 2.7 million people who have taken refuge in five neighbouring countries.

The UN launch in Geneva got off to a poignant start with a video of Sudanese victims who recounted the terrible impact the war has had on their lives. Mena, a young Sudanese refugee in Egypt, said the war has robbed her and other children of their education.

“How can we build our future in this situation? No school, which means no studying, no education, no medical service and most importantly,” she said. “We lost our childhood. This is our future, and it must be preserved.”

UN officials at the conference agreed that Sudan’s conflict has fueled “suffering of epic proportions.” 

Prince William Back to Work After Kate’s Surgery, King Charles’ Cancer

Britain’s Prince William returned to public duty on Wednesday following his wife Kate’s surgery and news that King Charles had cancer, as his younger brother Prince Harry was set to return to the United States after a flying visit to see their father.

William, the heir to the throne, had postponed all his planned engagements to look after his three children after Kate, 42, underwent planned abdominal surgery on January 16 and spent two weeks in hospital recovering.

Since then, his father has undergone treatment at the same hospital for an enlarged prostate before Buckingham Palace announced on Monday that subsequent tests on the 75-year-old monarch had revealed he had a form of cancer.

On Wednesday, William, 41, made his first official public appearance since the series of health blows to the royals when he carried out an investiture – a ceremony to hand out state honours – at Windsor Castle and will later attend a gala dinner for London’s Air Ambulance Charity.

Taiwan Stops New Group Trips to China Amid Tourism, Air Route Spat

Taiwan’s Tourism Administration on Wednesday told travel agents to stop organizing new group tours to China since Beijing has yet to allow such trips to the island by Chinese tourists and has altered a flight path in the sensitive Taiwan Strait.

Post-pandemic, China has largely resumed permission for its nationals to visit a host of popular tourist destinations, including Japan, but has yet to add Taiwan back on its approved list amid ongoing tensions between Beijing and Taipei.

China claims democratically-governed Taiwan as its own territory despite the government’s strong objections in Taipei.

Taiwan had planned to resume group tours for Taiwanese to China from March 1 after they were suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the tourism authority said those already organized from that date to May 31 could go ahead.

But “considering the change in the situation,” including China not allowing Chinese to visit Taiwan and China’s altering of a flight route through the Taiwan Strait last week, Taiwanese travel agencies cannot arrange any more tours, the Tourism Administration said in a statement.

China’s Taiwan Affairs Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Report: China Increasing Digital Surveillance of Tibetans

A new report by Tibetan activist groups and experts shows new evidence that the Chinese government is increasing digital surveillance of Tibetans through practices such as the mandatory installation of apps at police checkpoints or utilizing big data policing platforms supported by technologies from American tech firms.

Some analysts say these new findings provide a glimpse into Beijing’s security apparatus in Tibet. “The Chinese government’s apparatus in Tibet remains a black box in nature, but this report provides [the outside world] with a glimpse into how these systems work,” Greg Walton, senior investigator at U.K.-based security consulting firm Secdev Group and one of the report’s authors, told VOA by phone.

The report from Tibet Watch and a Tibet-focused research network called Turquoise Roof found that authorities have been asking residents in Tibet to install an app called “National Anti-Fraud Center” on their smartphones since 2021.

According to some testimonies from Tibetans, police would routinely ask residents to install the security application on their smartphones at checkpoints while local authorities have been teaching the public how to download and use the app. Some Tibetans have expressed concern that the app may be used to track their movements and potentially access data on their phones.

Ex-Chilean President Sebastian Pinera Killed in Chopper Crash

Former Chile President Sebastian Pinera was killed Tuesday in a helicopter crash.

The 74-year-old Pinera was travelling with three other people when the helicopter went down in Lake Ranco in southern Chile. The other three passengers survived the crash and managed to swim to shore. It was unclear who was piloting the helicopter, but Pinera often flew himself in his own helicopter.

Pinera entered politics in the 1990s after amassing a fortune that began when he introduced credit cards to Chile during the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet, who ruled from 1973 until 1990. He invested in a variety of ventures, including real estate, banking and broadcasting.

His election in 2010 represented a return of Chile’s conservative faction to political power after the Pinochet dictatorship. 

But his first term was consumed by recovery efforts from a powerful earthquake and tsunami that killed 525 people, as well as the successful recovery of 33 miners trapped for more than three months in a collapsed mine in the northern Atacama Desert.

US Intelligence Warns of Growing Iranian-Houthi Weapons Cooperation

The United States is offering fresh evidence that Houthi attacks on international shipping are being carried out with weaponry designed by Iran, though some analysts and experts warn the findings raise concerns about the effectiveness of the US actions against the Houthis and what it portends of Iran’s weapons development program.

The Defense Intelligence Agency late Tuesday issued an unclassified report with details on the drones and missiles the Houthis have used in their more than 40 attacks since mid-November. The report also sheds light on missiles the Houthis have in their arsenal but have yet to unleash.

“Analysis confirms that Houthi forces have employed various Iranian-origin missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles against military and civilian targets throughout the region,” the DIA said in a statement, pointing to an ever-tighter relationship between Tehran and Houthi leadership.

“Since 2014, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force [IRGC-QF] has provided the Houthis a growing arsenal of sophisticated weapons and training,” DIA said. “Iran’s aid has enabled the Houthis to conduct a campaign of missile and UAV attacks against commercial shipping in the Red Sea since November 2023.”

Former U.S. President Donald Trump is not immune from being prosecuted on charges that he illegally plotted to overturn his 2020 reelection loss to stay in power, a U.S. appellate court panel in Washington unanimously ruled Tuesday.

The 3-0 decision rejected Trump’s claim that special counsel Jack Smith cannot prosecute him for the actions Trump took in the waning days of his presidency to upend his loss to Democrat Joe Biden because they were related to his official duties as president.

“Former President Trump has become citizen Trump, with all of the defences of any other criminal defendant,” the court ruled. “But any executive immunity that may have protected him while he served as President no longer protects him against this prosecution.”

In a four-count indictment, Smith accused Trump of using false claims of voter fraud to pressure state election officials, the Justice Department and his vice president, Mike Pence, to thwart congressional certification of the election results showing he had lost.

Trump, the first president accused in a criminal case, has denied wrongdoing in the election subversion case and three other indictments he is facing that encompass a total of 91 charges. Some of the trials in the cases could occur this year as Trump, the leading 2024 Republican presidential candidate, seeks to reclaim the White House in the November election, again facing Biden.

King Charles III’s Cancer Caught Early, UK PM Says

King Charles III’s cancer was caught early and the whole country is hoping for a speedy recovery, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Tuesday, as the monarch’s son Prince Harry reportedly flew from the U.S. to visit his father.

Buckingham Palace announced Monday evening that the king has begun outpatient treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer. It was found during his recent hospital treatment for an enlarged prostate but is a “separate issue” and not prostate cancer, the palace said.

“Thankfully, this has been caught early,” Sunak told BBC radio, adding that as prime minister he would “continue to communicate with him as normal.”

Less than 18 months into the reign that he’d famously waited decades to begin, the 75-year-old monarch has suspended public engagements but will continue with state business — including weekly meetings with the prime minister — and won’t be handing over his constitutional roles as head of state.

The palace said Charles, who has generally enjoyed good health, “remains wholly positive about his treatment and looks forward to returning to full public duty as soon as possible.”

Opposition Protests Postponement of Senegal Election

Opposition leaders in Senegal are protesting the move to postpone elections set for February 25, while some analysts say the delay hurts Senegal’s reputation as a beacon of democracy.

President Macky Sall announced the delay this past weekend, saying it was necessary because of allegations of corruption in election-related cases and the disqualification of some leading candidates, including Ousmane Sonko, who came third in the 2019 elections, and Karim Wade, son of former President Abdoulaye Wade.

Lloyd Kuveya, assistant director at the Center for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria law school in South Africa, said, “Some people are saying because of the chaos that is prevailing in Senegal, where some opposition party leaders are imprisoned, including Sonko, which is really disturbing … the elections will not be a legitimate election.”

Senegal’s parliament voted Monday to delay the election until December. The parliamentary process was chaotic as security forces escorted out some opposition lawmakers as they tried to block the vote.

On Monday, two opposition parties filed a court petition challenging the delay.

Millions of Survivors of 2023 Turkey-Syria Quakes Remain Destitute, Traumatised

On the first anniversary of devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, millions of survivors remain destitute and traumatised while still awaiting the pledged assistance they desperately need, say UN and relief organisations.

“A year since a series of earthquakes killed 50,000 people in Turkey and 5,900 people in Syria, thousands of families have yet to heal from the impact of the devastation,” Martin Griffiths, the UN’s undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, said Tuesday.

“Survivors live with the loss and trauma of those frightful days,” he said. “As I saw firsthand in both countries, entire communities lost their homes and thousands of buildings were flattened, with schools, hospitals, mosques and churches destroyed or damaged.”

Turkey is one of the world’s most active earthquake regions.

The government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said hundreds of thousands of new homes would be built as a result of the quake, but so far, only a fraction has been constructed.

Gallup Poll: 70% of Pakistanis Lack Trust in Elections, Gallup

A new survey indicates that more than two-thirds of Pakistan citizens lack faith in the integrity of their electoral process and government ahead of Thursday’s parliamentary elections.

The U.S.-based Gallup polling company found that Pakistanis are increasingly discouraged by economic, political, and security challenges threatening their country’s stability, with discontent reaching a record high before the vote.

The survey said the political atmosphere “is equally as glum as the economic one” ahead of Pakistan’s first general election since 2018. “Seven in 10 Pakistanis lack confidence in the honesty of their elections,” it added.

In addition to their scepticism about elections, 88% of Pakistanis also believe corruption is widespread within their government.

Pakistanis’ economic pessimism has hit an 18-year high, with 70% believing conditions are worsening where they live.

Gallup said it conducted face-to-face interviews with a random sample of 1,000 adults aged 15 and older in Pakistan between September and October 2023.

Death Toll Rises to 131 in Central Chile Wildfires

The death toll from a series of wildfires that have burned across central Chile now stands at 131 people.

Authorities say hundreds of people remain unaccounted for after several days of fires that have destroyed thousands of homes near the popular coastal cities of Vina del Mar and Valparaiso.

Residents who fled the fires have begun returning to their destroyed or damaged homes, picking through the rubble to recover any possessions that survived.

President Gabriel Boric announced two days of national mourning on Monday.

U.S. President Joe Biden issued a statement late Monday saying that he and his wife, Jill, were “deeply saddened by the loss of life and devastation” in Chile and that the “United States is ready to provide necessary assistance to the Chilean people.”

Afghan Oil Production Jumps with $49m Chinese Investment

A Chinese energy company’s investment of $49 million in Afghanistan’s oil production has helped boost the country’s daily crude oil output to more than 1,100 metric tons. But the funding is just one-third of what Beijing originally pledged.

One year ago, China’s Xinjiang Central Asia Petroleum and Gas Co, or CAPEIC, signed a major oil extraction contract with Taliban authorities in Afghanistan. That 25-year contract requires CAPEIC to invest $150 million by the first year and $540 million by 2026.

According to a top Taliban official who spoke to VOA on condition of anonymity, the company fell short of its investment target due to inaccurate estimates of material and labour costs and a three-month delay in the approval of its financial plan by Afghan authorities.

“The investments will add up as the contract stipulates,” the official said, adding that the Taliban’s treasury earned about $26 million from the project last year.

The Amu Darya basin, spanning Afghanistan and Tajikistan, is estimated to contain 962 million barrels of crude oil and 52,025 billion cubic feet of natural gas, according to a 2011 assessment by the U.S. Geological Survey.

EU’s Borrell Visits Kyiv After New Ukraine Aid Deal

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said he would discuss the EU’s “unwavering” military and financial support for Ukraine as he visited Kyiv on Tuesday.

The visit comes days after the EU approved a four-year, $54 billion aid package for Ukraine.

Borrell said he would also use the meetings in Kyiv to talk about reforms in Ukraine as the country works toward EU membership.

Tuesday also brought a visit from Rafal Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, who was due to visit the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Grossi said he would be talking with officials and assessing “the still fragile nuclear safety and security situation at the site,” which is in an area of Ukraine under Russian control.

In addition to worries about the safety of nuclear fuel at the site, the IAEA has also expressed concern about a reduced number of staff working there.

Colombian Government, Rebel Group Agree to Extend Ceasefire

The Colombian government and fighters with the National Liberation Army rebel group have agreed to extend their current ceasefire for another six months while they negotiate a peace deal.

The agreement was announced Tuesday in Havana, where negotiators have been holding a sixth round of peace talks. The rebel group, known by its acronym ELN, will suspend kidnappings for ransom under the agreement.

The initial ceasefire pact was reached last August. It expired last Wednesday, but the two sides agreed to extend it for five days.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro took office in 2022, vowing to bring an end to six decades of war between the government and numerous armed groups that have left more than 450,000 Colombians dead.

The government reached a landmark peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, IN 2016.

The negotiations between ELN and the government were nearly derailed when the rebel group kidnapped the father of Colombian football star Luis Diaz and held him for several days.

US Pushing for Ceasefire Progress in Egypt, Qatar Talks

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was holding talks Tuesday with Egyptian and Qatari leaders amid a push for a new temporary ceasefire in Gaza and an increase in humanitarian aid for Palestinian civilians.

In Cairo, Blinken met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and was due to travel to Doha for talks with Qatar’s ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani.

The U.S., Egypt and Qatar helped craft the ceasefire proposal that is currently under consideration, which would include a pause in fighting lasting several weeks and the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

“The ball right now is in Hamas’ court,” a senior U.S. State Department official told reporters. The official said Egypt and Qatar have pushed Hamas to accept what the U.S. described as a “strong, compelling proposal,” but ultimately Hamas has to decide.

Houthis Fire Six More Anti-ship Missiles into Red Sea

Iranian-backed Houthi militants have once again ignored U.S. calls to stop attacking international shipping lanes or face consequences, this time firing six anti-ship missiles from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen into the Red Sea, a U.S. official tells VOA.

The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said U.S. naval forces had shot at least one of the missiles down on Tuesday, with others falling into the sea.

According to the British security firm Ambrey, one of the Houthi weapons caused minor damage to the port side of a Barbados-flagged, UK-owned cargo ship during Tuesday’s attacks.

The Houthi launches came hours after the U.S. military said it conducted its latest self-defence strikes against two Houthi kamikaze drone boats that were laden with explosives.

Bola A. Akinterinwa 

Day after day, Tinubuplomacy is challenged by varying policy threats in the area of policy reform, national and regional integration. When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (PBAT) became President of Nigeria on May 29, 2023, his first policy pronouncement was the annulment of the controversial fuel subsidy, which a school of thought says is an economic fraud. Nigerians are still suffering from the fraudulent controversy. 

Another policy, also with foreign policy implication, is the diplomacy of smart delegations and convoys, adopted following public complaints. For example, 1,411 Nigerians participated in the COP28 Climate Change Conference and Summit held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). In self-defence, PBAT explained that only 422 of the 1,411 delegates were sponsored by the Government. This was not good enough to appease the public. PBAT has been compelled to give special instruction on the matter. As noted by Presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, ‘the official trips that will be undertaken within the country, that is when Mr. President or the Vice President travels to any State within the country, the massive bills that accrued due to allowance and estacode for every security detail coming from Abuja, going and travelling into those states, will be massively cut due to the directive of the President…’

Tunji Adegboyega, in his column (The Nation, Sunday January 14, 2024, p.11), quoted Ajuri Ngelale as follows: ‘invariably, not more than 25 persons would accompany the president from Abuja in any part of the country he’s travelling to, the Vice President 15, while the First Lady and the Vice President’s wife would have 10 persons each. ‘As regards foreign trips, ‘Tinubu’s delegation will now be capped at 20 people, down from the previous 50-man delegation. The Vice President, the First Lady and the Vice President’s wife are entitled to just five members each. Every Minister is limited to having just four members of staff on any foreign trip, while chief executive officers of government agencies are limited to two.’

Even though the monitoring of the policy is left to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, 100% compliance still remains the challenge. More so are the factors of France, Morocco and Mauritania in Nigeria’s foreign policy.

Mauritanian Lesson and Franco-Moroccan Threats

One major threat to Nigeria’s Tinubuplomacy is not only the intended official withdrawal of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger Republic from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), but also their intended withdrawal from the UEMOA (Union Économique et Monétaire Ouest Africaine, that is, West African Economic and Monetary Union) which uses the CFA currency pegged to the Euro. The withdrawal of the three countries from the ECOWAS has the great potential to seriously undermine political cohesion, economic integration, and African Union’s Agenda 2063. If we admit that unity is strength, then disunity cannot but be an expression of weakness. This potentiality exists because Nigeria does not appear to have learnt any good lessons from the Mauritanian experience.

When the ECOWAS was established in 1975 to fast track regional economic integration, it had sixteen original members: Nigeria as main sponsor and Togo as secondary sponsor, Benin Republic, Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta), Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia (The), Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Conakry, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger Republic, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo. The weakening of the ECOWAS began when Mauritania gave notice of withdrawal of its membership from the ECOWAS on December 26, 1999.

Mauritania gave ‘the decisions adopted by the organisation (ECOWAS) in its last summit,’ which took place on 15th December 1999 in Lomé, Togo, as one reason for its withdrawal. One ungiven reason for the withdrawal is the fact that since the time of its independence in 1960, Mauritania was comprised of the dominant ‘White Maurs’ of Arab extraction and Arabic-speaking Muslim black Africans referred to as the ‘Black Maurs. The problem in this case is that ‘for centuries, black Africans were subjugated and taken as slaves by both White and Black Maurs.’ The ECOWAS openly frowned at this and Mauritania had to take the bad end of the stick as a result.

Besides, Mauritania had difficult ties with France, the former colonial master. In 1999, it was alleged that a Mauritanian officer undergoing training in France was accused by the French of torturing two people in a Mauritanian prison in the early 1990s. This led to the expulsion of the French military advisers in Mauritania and the recalling of the Mauritanian officers under training in France. This situation could not be ignored in understanding Mauritania’s frustration that led to withdrawal from the ECOWAS. Mauritania’s notice of withdrawal eventually expired in December 2000 and Mauritania ceased to be a member. 

Interestingly, Mauritania’s withdrawal from the ECOWAS generated much political opposition and contradictions. The opposition parties, particularly Ahmed Ould Daddah, the Secretary General of the Union of Democratic Forces – the New Era, stated that the decision to withdraw from the ECOWAS is ‘a continuation of the series of systematic destruction of Mauritania’s historical and natural relations with its partners in the Arab world, Africa and Europe.’ 

What is particularly noteworthy is that, in annoyance with the ECOWAS, Mauritania preferred to join the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) of four members: Morocco, Algeria, Libya, and Tunisia. The AMU is a politico-economic union set up to foster economic and political unity among Arab countries that are geo-politically located in the North African region. The AMU could not work well primarily because of the misunderstanding between Morocco and Algeria on who has sovereignty over the former Spanish Sahara. The problem has become too critical to the extent that no high-level meetings of the AMU has taken place since 3 July 2008.

Thus what Mauritania expected to gain from the AMU became more of a dream. Mauritania eventually has to do a retour en arrière by seeking cooperation partnership agreements with the ECOWAS with the objective of fostering economic development and security in the West African region. In fact, the language of diplomacy changed for the better. The then President of the ECOWAS Commission, Marcel Alain de Souza, and the Mauritanian Minister of Commerce, Naha Mint Mouknass, could happily recall ‘the strong ties which had existed for centuries, characterised by brotherhood, friendship and good neighbourliness.’ Both parties wanted free flow of goods and people, jointly fight terrorism, and have a single tariff policy applicable to all goods moving across the region.

Additionally, and more interestingly, in August 2017, Mauritania came back to sign a new associate membership agreement with the ECOWAS. Were the reasons given initially for withdrawal good enough? Were they really in the national interest of Mauritania? Shouldn’t the Mauritanian experience and the new membership withdrawals be a good and special opportunity for Tinubuplomacy to reunite all the sixteen original members of the ECOWAS? This is one good lesson to be drawn from the Mauritanian experience. PBAT and his Foreign Minister should take advantage of the Alliance of the Sahel States.

This is necessary because the making of the ECOWAS was, ab initio, the brainchild of Nigeria. ECOWAS without Nigeria cannot but create a big vacuum. The failure of the ECOWAS is necessarily also the failure of Nigeria in various ramifications. Nigeria will need to learn from the failure of the Maghrebin Union, by particularly seeking an understanding of what prompted Morocco to seek membership of the ECOWAS when it geo-politically belongs to the North African region?  By virtue of the 1975 Lagos Treaty, membership of the ECOWAS is restricted to sovereign States in West Africa. Morocco does not fall under West Africa, even by the classification of Article 1(d) of the 1991 Abuja Treaty Establishing the African Community. 

When Morocco applied to join the ECOWAS in February 2017, the application enjoyed much of Francophone members’ support. However, for various other considerations, the application has to be thrown into desuetude. The issue of Morocco’s membership of the AMU, the likelihood of the use of Morocco as a possible transit route for industrial goods from Europe to the ECOWAS possibly free of tariffs, likely rivalry between Morocco and Nigeria in the West African region, review of the ECOWAS new treaty to be able to accommodate Morocco, Morocco’s policy on the Spanish Sahara, opening of ECOWAS borders to imported goods to Africa through Morocco, etc., cannot but all serve as obstacles to the consideration of the application. The application has to be suspended for four years. Now that it is already over four years since the suspension of the application, 

Morocco is reportedly renewing the efforts at joining the ECOWAS. There are yet to be confirmed reports of Morocco joining the Alliance of the Sahel States. The likelihood of the application sailing through is still remote in both cases because the considerations that informed the initial suspension by the ECOWAS are still there. Besides, Morocco cannot be considered to fall under the Sahel region. In fact, if it is recalled that the European Union’s Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) done with the ECOWAS countries could not enter into force because of Nigeria, the targeted market, which has refused to ratify the agreement. It was partly for this reason that Morocco is being encouraged to join the ECOWAS so that products emanating from Europe can go freely to Nigeria through other Member States.

France and Morocco as Challenges

France and Morocco are critical challenges to Tinubuplomacy. France is the fifth immediate neighbour of Nigeria by territorial contiguity and geo-political propinquity. France, as argued by Professor Rafiu Ayo Akindele and Professor Bola A. Akinterinwa, is a contiguous neighbour of Nigeria by virtue of France’s special and privileged relations with the Francophone neighbours of Nigeria. France is actively culturo-politically present in Nigeria’s immediate neighbourhood. France’s foreign policy attitude towards Nigeria is basically to prevent Nigeria from being able to undermine French interests particularly in the neigbouring countries of Nigeria. 

In the same vein, Nigeria is also vehemently opposed to the use of her immediate neighbours against Nigeria’s foreign policy interests in Africa as a whole. Africa was, and still is, the centrepiece of Nigeria’s foreign policy. France wants to remain or operate as a great power in Africa and this cannot but conflict with Nigeria as defender of African and Black interests in international relations. This is the first source of the French challenge to Tinubuplomacy. Franco-Nigerian relationship is largely predicated on mutual suspicions. This is why the current rapprochement between PBAT and the French president, Emmanuel Macron is raising interesting questions.

A second source of the French challenge is the withdrawal of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger Republic’s withdrawal from the ECOWAS. French investments in Nigeria are generally more than French investments in Francophone West Africa put together. This is one major reason the French have adopted the policy of dichotomy in their relationships with Nigeria. France can accept political misunderstanding with Nigeria but not economic misunderstanding. Nothing must disturb the protection of the economic interests.

In this regard, to what extent can Nigeria relate happily with France when the Francophone former colonies of France are increasingly developing much animosity towards France? On Thursday, 1 February, the Mali’s High Authority for Communication (HAC) banned the French Television Channel, France 2, from broadcasting packages for four months over the security situation in the country. The ban is coming on the heels of the suspension of the French television network, France 24, and Radio France Internationale in 2022.

One particular observation about the withdrawal of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger from the ECOWAS is Nigeria as a major causal factor. As revealed in the Press Release No.000001/MAE/NE issued on Sunday January 28, 2024, by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Nigeriens Abroad, ‘the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Nigeriens Abroad expresses its surprise at the denial of reality and international law in which the Nigerian authorities seem to be moving in refusing to admit for the sovereign Republic of Niger, the ability to withdraw from a regional organisation which, moreover, has been truly diverted from the noble missions and no longer meets the legitimate aspirations of the Nigerien people and all the peoples of the Alliance of Sahel States.’

Many issues are raised in the statement. First is the fact that the Niamey government holds the Government of Nigeria directly responsible for all its problems: Nigeria does not accept that the Republic of Niger has the sovereign right to withdraw from any regional organisation like the ECOWAS. Second is the allegation that the ECOWAS has diverted from its noble missions. Third is the complaint that the ECOWAS no longer meets the legitimate aspirations of the people of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso. Whether the Republic of Niger is accusing Nigeria in its capacity as Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority or Nigeria as an immediate neighbour of Niger Republic is not clear. However, some other points made in the joint communiqué speak volumes on the rationales for the withdrawal.

At the level of the ECOWAS as a regional body, Niger Republic and others have considered that the ECOWAS ‘has never truly demonstrated the slightest compassion towards the battered people of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger’ since the more than a decade of security crisis in the Sahel. They also noted that not only is the ECOWAS under the influence of certain foreign powers and no longer truly in control of its decisions, but also that the ‘ECOWAS has become a threat to all the peoples of the Sahel and its member states… by deciding irresponsibly to illegally and unjustly sanction Niger and to undertake military intervention against our country.’

The complaints against Nigeria as a neighbour are most serious: Niger Republic ‘rejects with serenity, the impertinent and condescending remarks contained in the press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Nigeria dated January 29, 2024. Indeed, these remarks are not nature to contribute to the necessary dialogue between our two brother countries and are, in reality, carried by a small group of individuals in the pay of foreign powers; the very ones who frustrated all efforts for a negotiated solution to the resulting crisis to the events of July 26, 2023 in Niger.’ These complaints actually constitute the major challenges for Tinubuplomacy to address.

And perhaps most disturbingly, Niger Republic reminded Nigeria that France wanted the partitioning of Nigeria ‘yesterday.’ In the words of the Tchiani military junta, France, ‘just yesterday aimed at the partition of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, to the great dismay of the sister Republic of Niger whose strong commitment during the Biafran war was decisive in the safeguarding of territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.’ Based on this consideration, the Niamey authorities believe that ‘Niger has no moral lessons, much less democracy, governance or patriotism to receive from the current Nigerian authorities. Also, Niger urges them to exercise restraint and pull themselves together so as not to endanger our age-old bonds of fraternity which fully deserve to be preserved in the best interests of our two peoples.’

There is no disputing the fact that the age-old bonds of fraternity between Niger and Nigeria deserve to be preserved in the best interests of Nigeriens and Nigerians. The preservation of bonds of fraternity is a desideratum. Niger Republic is the only immediate neighbour with which Nigeria does not have any border conflict. Nigeria’s relationships with the immediate neighbours are warmest with Niger Republic. In fact, as early as the 1970s, both countries established the Niger-Nigeria Joint Commission to address issues in national development. What happens to the gas project that passes through Niger Republic to Morocco and Europe that is currently in the making? With the withdrawal of Burkina, Mali, and Niger, their citizens are no more Community Citizens. Should they begin to apply for visas at the expiration of their notice of withdrawal from the ECOWAS? From ECOWAS of 16 to an ECOWAS of 12, is regional integration advancing or retrogressing? From Niger’s complaints, PBAT is perceived to have Nigeria and the ECOWAS as a stooge. Niger holds PBAT directly responsible for the deterioration of Niger-Nigeria relations. Consequently, Tinubuplomacy must take more seriously the complaints and embark on special shuttle diplomacy to Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger for unconditional reconciliation. Nigeria cannot afford the luxury of building and destroying the ECOWAS at the same time.

United Nations agencies warn the Gaza Strip is slipping into an ever more disastrous situation as the Israel-Hamas war continues unabated, and hundreds of thousands of people suffering from a chronic lack of food and water face an acute risk of famine.

“We have more than half a million people in Gaza facing catastrophic food insecurity levels. The risk of famine increases each day as the conflict limits the delivery of life-saving aid to people in need,” said Abeer Etefa, World Food Program senior communications officer and spokesperson for the Middle East and North Africa.

Speaking to journalists in Geneva on Tuesday from Cairo, Etefa said WFP has procured 21,000 tons of food supplies from across the region — enough for around 2 million people inside Gaza for one month.

“The problem is that all the food is on the border outside in Egypt, but not yet inside Gaza.”

Israel has repeatedly said that humanitarian aid is entering Gaza but is being stolen by Hamas or is not being efficiently distributed. Israeli government spokesman Elon Levy said Tuesday there were “no limitations on the admission of humanitarian aid.”

Russia Blames Ukraine for Shooting Down Plane Carrying 74 People

Russia on Wednesday accused Ukraine of shooting down a military transport plane that Moscow said was carrying 74 people, including 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war who were set to be swapped for Russians held by Kyiv.

Ukrainian officials did not immediately confirm or deny the Russian claim but said they were investigating the crash of the Il-76 transport. Russia said a crew of six and three prisoner escorts were also on board.

“We currently do not have reliable or comprehensive information on who was on board the plane or in what number,” Ukraine’s main intelligence directorate said in a statement.

Video of the crash posted on social media showed a plane falling from the sky on its side before crashing into a massive fireball as it hit the ground in Russia’s snowy, rural, western Belgorod region.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is in New York this week for meetings at the United Nations. He accused Ukraine of carrying out a “terrorist attack.”

Putin Eyes Nuclear Weapons After Military Losses in Ukraine: Report

Russia’s heavy losses in its full-scale invasion of Ukraine mean that Moscow now sees its battlefield nuclear weapons as increasingly important in deterring and defeating NATO, according to a new report from the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), which warns that the West must wake up to the rising nuclear threat.

On February 24, 2022, as the first tanks rolled over the Ukrainian border at the outset of the invasion, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave a televised address warning the world of “consequences you have never faced in your history” if anyone tried to stop Russia, a threat widely seen as nuclear sabre-rattling by the Kremlin.

The IISS report says fear of escalation with Russia has caused the West to hesitate in supplying arms to Kyiv. But nearly two years on, a declassified U.S. intelligence report last month estimated Russia had lost around 315,000 troops in Ukraine since the outset of the invasion, nearly 90% of its pre-war army – much of it at the hands of weapons donated by the West.

“Russia has less confidence now in their conventional capabilities because of everything they’ve lost in the Ukraine war,” said William Alberque, the report author and Director of Strategy, Technology and Arms Control at IISS.

South Korea Says North Korea Fired Several Cruise Missiles into Sea

South Korea’s military said Wednesday that North Korea fired several cruise missiles into the waters off its western coast. An analysis of commercial satellite images suggested that the North has torn down an arch in its capital that symbolised reconciliation with war-divided rival South Korea.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last week described the Pyongyang monument as an eyesore and called for its removal while declaring that the North was abandoning long-standing goals of a peaceful unification with South Korea and ordered a rewriting of the North’s constitution to define the South as its most hostile foreign adversary.

The Wednesday missile launches marked North Korea’s second known launch event of the year, following a January 14 test-firing of the country’s first solid-fuel, intermediate-range ballistic missile, which reflected its efforts to advance its lineup of weapons targeting U.S. military bases in Japan and Guam.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday that the U.S. and South Korean militaries were analysing the latest launches. It did not immediately confirm the exact number of missiles fired or their specific flight details.

“Our military has increased surveillance and vigilance and is closely coordinating with the United States while monitoring for further signs and activity from North Korea,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

Erdogan: Turkey, Iran Agree on Need to Avoid Escalating Mideast Tensions

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he and Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi agreed at a meeting on Wednesday on the need to avoid steps that could further threaten Middle East stability three months into the Gaza war.

Turkey, which supports a two-state solution to the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict, has harshly criticised Israel for its attacks on Gaza, called for an immediate cease-fire, and backed legal steps for Israel to be tried for genocide.

Unlike its Western allies and some Arab nations, NATO member Turkey does not consider the Palestinian militant group Hamas, whose October 7 attack on Israel led to the retaliatory Israeli military campaign on Gaza, a terrorist group.

Iran leads what it calls the Axis of Resistance, a loose coalition that includes Hamas and armed Shiite Muslim groups around the region that have militarily confronted Israel and its Western allies. It has voiced support for Hamas.

Speaking at a news conference after meeting Raisi in Ankara, Erdogan said the two leaders had discussed ending Israel’s “inhumane” attacks on Gaza and the need to take steps for a fair and lasting peace in the region.

Over 70 Dead After Gold Mine Collapses in Mali

An official in Mali says more than 70 people are dead after an informal gold mine collapsed late last week, and a search continues amid fears the toll could rise.

Karim Berthe, a senior official at the government’s National Geology and Mining Directorate, confirmed the details to The Associated Press on Wednesday and called it an accident.

It was not immediately clear what caused the collapse that occurred on Friday and was reported on Tuesday in a Ministry of Mines statement that estimated “several” miners dead. The collapse occurred in Kangaba district in the southwestern Koulikoro region.

Such accidents are common in Mali, Africa’s third-largest gold producer. Artisanal miners — small-scale, informal — are often accused of ignoring safety measures, especially in remote areas.

“The state must bring order to this artisanal mining sector to avoid these kinds of accidents in the future,” Berthe said.

The Ministry of Mines statement “deeply regretted” the collapse and urged miners and communities living near mining sites to “comply with safety requirements.”

Iran Bans Ex-President Rouhani from Running for Elite Assembly

Iran’s hardline watchdog body has banned former pragmatist President Hassan Rouhani from standing again in an election in March for the Assembly of Experts, which appoints and can dismiss the supreme leader, state media said Wednesday.

The 88-member assembly, founded in 1982, supervises the most powerful authority but has rarely intervened directly in policymaking.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is 84, so the new assembly is expected to play a significant role in choosing his successor since its members are only elected every eight years.

In a statement, Rouhani criticised the Guardian Council’s ruling as “politically biased … [one] that will undermine the nation’s confidence in the system.”

Close to moderates, Rouhani was elected president in a landslide in 2013 and 2017 on a promise to reduce Iran’s diplomatic isolation.

But the mid-ranking cleric angered political hardliners who opposed any rapprochement with the U.S. “Great Satan” after reaching a 2015 nuclear pact with six major powers.

Fire in China’s Jiangxi Province Kills at Least 39

At least 39 people died and nine people were injured after a fire broke out in China’s southeastern Jiangxi province, state media said on Wednesday.

According to state broadcaster CCTV, rescuers are still trying to reach people trapped in the building. The broadcaster said the fire broke out inside a building that houses an internet cafe in the basement and tutoring centres on the upper floors. It is unclear how many remain trapped in the building.

Officials for the Yushui district of Jiangxi province said the fire broke out in the basement of a shopping area at 3:24 p.m. on Wednesday. They said 120 rescue, firefighters, police and local government officials were deployed to the scene.

The local government said that search and rescue operations are underway and that the cause of the fire is under investigation.

Over the weekend, a fire in a boarding school dorm in central Henan province killed 13 children.

20 Casualties in Mongolia Gas Explosion

Six people were killed and 14 injured in a gas explosion caused by a vehicle crash in Mongolia’s capital, Ulaanbaatar, on Wednesday, authorities said.

A truck carrying 60 tons of liquefied natural gas collided with a car and exploded in the early hours, the Mongolian National Emergency Management Agency said on its website.

“According to preliminary results, three people died in the fire,” NEMA said, adding that three firefighters had also been killed while 14 people had been sent for medical treatment.

Ten of those were taken for treatment for burns, while one child was being treated for poisoning, and three other infants were being cared for.

It added that rescue teams were dispatched to the scene, and the fire had been extinguished.

Images shared by NEMA showed emergency services at the scene of the fire early morning as huge flames engulfed the street.

Pictures also showed the burned-out husks of two vehicles and widespread damage to the street, with windows blown out at a nearby school.

Tank Shelling Kills Nine, Wounds 75 at UN Training Centre in Gaza

At least nine people were killed and another 75 wounded Wednesday in Khan Younis as tank shelling hit a United Nations training centre, where 800 displaced Palestinians were housed in the southern Gaza City, a UN relief official said.

Israeli forces were reported advancing through the city in the fourth month of the war with Hamas militants. Palestinian officials said Israeli forces cut off access to southern Gaza’s main hospitals and the key escape route for hundreds of thousands of people who have sought refuge in Khan Younis from fighting in central and northern Gaza.

Palestinians displayed a video showing black smoke pouring into the sky above the training centre run by UNRWA, the UN relief organisation for Palestinians.

The U.S., which has been a key Israeli ally in its war against Hamas, condemned the latest assault that killed civilians, with the State Department saying, “We deplore today’s attack on the UN’s Khan Younis training centre.”

Iyke Bede

Orijin recently unveiled its highly anticipated limited edition pack at the Guinness Nigeria HQ, Ikeja,  Lagos, during a launch event graced by the incoming Managing Director, Guinness Nigeria, Adebayo Alli, Brand Ambassador, Basket Mouth, select lifestyle influencers, and distinguished members of the press.

In a celebration of resilience and cultural artistry,  the launch event featured a variety of engaging activities, with attendees witnessing the dramatic unveiling of the packs in an awe-inspiring moment punctuated by fine music, enchanting neon lights, and sumptuous finger food options.

The redesigned pack showcases enlarged versions of intricate mask designs of Nigerian origin, ones that reflect the fighting spirits of the forebears, inspiring attendees to tap into their roots to fuel their resilience as they navigate everyday life’s challenges.

Marketing and Innovations Director, Guinness Nigeria, Mark Mugisha, noted:

“We’re committed to telling the vibrant story of Guinness Nigeria and our brands. Yet, nothing compares to the 200 million unique stories of Nigerians, showcasing exceptional resilience. Today, I proudly join in amplifying Orijin’s ‘Orijinality,’ a brand deeply rooted in our culture and celebrating the exceptional Nigerian spirit.”

Hosted by Forever (Akuidolo Orevaoghene), other notable guests include  Efe Money, Neo Akpofure, and Jenni Frank. Highlights from the event included captivating performances by an Atilogu dance troupe, as well as an insightful mini-Art talk by Dadee Daniel, the artistic mind behind the new label design. 

*Promise gradual easing of sanctions on Niger, sets up committee

*Tinubu stresses need to re-engage nations under military rule
*Says move key to fast-tracking return to civil rule 

*Hails Weah for conceding defeat in Liberian poll

Deji Elumoye and Michael Olugbode in Abuja

Heads of State and Government of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have agreed to review efforts to activate a standby force for counterterrorism operations in areas troubled by terrorist groups in the sub-region. This was one of the resolutions of the West African leaders in a communiqué read by President of ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar Touray, at the end of the 64th ordinary session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS on Sunday in Abuja.

The leaders, who reiterated their commitment to the eradication of terrorism and other threats to peace, security, and stability in the region, also promised to gradually ease sanctions on Niger Republic and set up a committee to that effect.

The decisions came as President Bola Tinubu, weekend, said there was need for ECOWAS to re-engage West African nations under military rule on the basis of realistic and short transition plans that could deliver democracy and good governance to the peoples as well as fast track the return to civil rule.
Tinubu also charged West African leaders to prioritise good governance and collective prosperity as essential tools to prevent authoritarianism and unconstitutional changes of government in the region.

Addressing the 64th ordinary session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government at the Conference Hall of State House, Abuja, on Sunday, Tinubu commended President George Weah of Liberia for conceding defeat during a recent national election.
Regarding the fight against terrorism and other related security matters, the leaders instructed the commission to expedite the convening of the meeting of ministers of finance and defence to agree on the modalities for the mobilisation of internal financial, human, and material resources on a mandatory basis to support the deployment of the regional counterterrorism force.

The communique read, “The Authority takes note of the commencement of assignment by the Special Envoy on Counterterrorism, Ambassador Baba Kamara, and directs the commission to facilitate his mission.
“The Authority directs the commission to intensify collaboration with sub-regional counterterrorism initiatives, such as the Accra initiative and MTJN, and urges member states to increase funding for joint maritime operations and exercises in the region and to improve coordination and collaboration among various ministries, departments, and agencies responsible for maritime security.”

The West African leaders also resolved to hold an extraordinary summit on unconstitutional changes of government aimed at promoting peace, security, and democracy in the region. They directed the commission to embark on deep reflection and explore the possibility of convening the extraordinary summit.
The commission immediately established a committee of Heads of State to engage with CMSP, the military junta in Niger Republic, on the need for a short transition roadmap and the emplacement of monitoring mechanisms.

The Authority promised a gradual easing of sanctions on that country based on outcomes of the engagement, and emphasised the need for the immediate and unconditional release of detained President Mohammed Bazoum.

The communique said, “The Authority deeply deplores the continued detention of President Mohammed Bazoum, his family and associates by the CMSP regime.
“The Authority further deplores the lack of commitment on the part of the CMSP to restore constitutional order. Consequently, the Authority calls on the CMSP to release President Mohammed Bazoum, his family, and associates immediately and without precondition.

“The Authority decides to set up a committee of Heads of State made up of the President and Head of State of the Republic of Togo, the President and the Head of State of the Republic of Sierra Leone, the President and Head of State of the Republic of Benin, to engage with the CMSP and other stakeholders with a view to agreeing on a short transition roadmap, establishing transition organs as well as facilitating the setting up of a transition monitoring and evaluation mechanism towards this speedy restoration of constitutional order.
“Based on the outcomes of the engagement by the committee of Heads of state with the CMSP, the Authority will progressively ease the sanctions imposed on Niger.
“In the event of failure by the CMSP to comply with the outcomes of the engagement with the committee, ECOWAS shall maintain all sanctions, including the use of force, and shall request the African Union and all other partners to enforce the targeted sanctions on members of the CMSP and their associates.”
The regional leaders commended efforts by member states and the ECOWAS commission to work on the consolidation of democracy, peace, security, and stability in the region.
The Authority noted, in particular, the peaceful elections that took place during the year in Nigeria, Guinea Bissau, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. It welcomed the peaceful resolution of the electoral disputes in Nigeria, as well as the peaceful outcome of the dialogue between the opposition and the government in the Republic of Sierra Leone.
On The Gambia, ECOWAS leaders implored the government and stakeholders to expedite the adoption of the new constitution ahead of the 2026 general election, as well as implementation of the white paper on the recommendations of the Truth, Reparation, and Reconciliation Commission.
They extended the mandate of the ECOWAS mission in The Gambia by one year and instructed the mission to continue to support the country in the implementation of the white paper and defence on security sector reforms.
On Guinea Bissau, the leaders condemned the violence that erupted in the country on December 1, and all attempts to disrupt constitutional order and rule of law in the country.
Condemning the attempted coup in Sierra Leone on November 26, the leaders expressed sadness over the loss of lives and destruction of property and called for a thorough and transparent investigation to identify and bring perpetrators to justice.
They applauded the signing of the agreement for national unity resulting from mediated dialogue between the government and the opposition in Sierra Leone, and called on all parties and stakeholders to implement the agreement in good faith within the specified timeframe.
On Senegal, the Authority took note of preparations for the February 25, 2024 presidential election in the country, and urged inclusivity and transparency in the electoral process.
The leaders also called on the Senegalese government and stakeholders to adhere strictly to constitutional norms, ECOWAS protocols, and the rule of law in managing all electoral processes.
Meanwhile, Tinubu, who is Chairman of ECOWAS, told the 64th ordinary session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, “The delivery of good governance is not just a fundamental commitment; it is also an avenue to address the concerns of our citizens, to improve their quality of life, and create a stable environment conducive to the achievement of sustainable development.
“By providing good governance that tackles the challenges of poverty, inequality and other concerns of the people, we would have succeeded in addressing some of the root causes of military interventions in civilian processes in our region.”
Recalling decisions taken by West African leaders to further strengthen the region’s democratic achievements and uphold the right of the people to elect the leaders of their choice, Tinubu said the bloc had outlined specific measures to be taken against any member state opting for unconstitutional change of government.
He said, “While the imposition of punitive sanctions may pose challenges, it is important to underscore that the struggle to protect the fundamental liberties of our community’s citizens must be upheld and respected.
“To this end, I would like to reiterate the imperative of re-engaging with the countries under military rule on the basis of realistic and short transition plans that can deliver democracy and good governance to the innocent populations in those countries.
“On our part, we should be prepared to provide them with technical and material support, to ensure the achievement of these strategic goals.”
The president applauded Weah for conceding victory and congratulating his opponent during the last presidential election in Liberia. He invited leaders at the summit and other participants to give a standing ovation to Weah while he also acknowledged the presence of former President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria, who in 2015, displayed a similar commitment to democratic ideals after losing his re-election to the opposition candidate, Muhammadu Buhari.
“I would also like to seize this opportunity to extend my heartfelt congratulations to the people of the Republic of Liberia for the successful conduct of the presidential election, widely adjudged to be free, fair and credible,” Tinubu said.
He added, “Let me also commend my brother and colleague, His Excellency, George Weah, for his exemplary leadership and conduct throughout the electoral process.
“By accepting defeat and congratulating his opponent, President Weah has left a legacy to be emulated by politicians in our region and beyond.”
Tinubu further responded to the recent decision by some ECOWAS member-states under military rule to float a so-called “Alliance of Sahel States”, describing it as distracting. He emphasised his commitment to pursuing ECOWAS integration.
He stated, “The phantom pushback alliance appears intended to divert our attention from our mutual belief in and commitment to democracy and good governance that will impact the lives of our people.
“We refuse to be distracted from pursuing the collective dreams, aspirations, and the noble path of ECOWAS integration as it is laid out in our institutional and legal frameworks.
“I take this opportunity to also emphasise that despite the numerous challenges faced in our region, ECOWAS has achieved significant milestones for the betterment of our community.
“ECOWAS activities have always been people-oriented, with a future of raising the living standard of our people. We have to do that through a relentless focus on qualitative service delivery and good governance.”
On the recent disturbances in Sierra Leone and Guinea Bissau, the ECOWAS chairman asked fellow leaders to pay attention to protecting democracy. He reiterated ECOWAS’ zero tolerance for unconstitutional changes of government.
The Nigerian president told the West African leaders, “I urge all of us to stand strong and be highly committed in the face of any challenge in Sierra Leone and Guinea Bissau. The message must go down clearly that we support a democratically elected government, not an unconstitutional exercise.
“The re-elected president of Sierra Leone is present here. We are saying loud and clear that we are with you. Without let or hindrance, democracy will win, if we fight for it, and we will definitely fight for democracy.”

•Palestinian envoy urges international bodies to ensure Israel vacates occupied territory

Michael Olugbode in Abuja

The Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria, Michael Freeman, yesterday, said Israel was presently not at war with her neighbour, Palestine, but rather has declared a total war with Hamas and would do everything to wipe the group out.

The envoy, while stating that Israel was ready to do everything that it takes to ensure that the group goes into extinction, lamented that Saturday’s attack on Israel was the worst after the Holocaust.

He asked the international community to support the push of Israeli government to wipe out Hamas from the face of the earth.

He said Israel was only doing what any other nation would have done if its territory was invaded and its citizen slaughtered, adding that “I am not going to give a description of Hamas, but would want everyone to describe what the group is with what he has been doing so far,” he added.

Freeman, while alleging that Hamas was not only after Jews and Israelis, but every other groups including Muslims and Christians, said he expected the rest of the world to support Israel move to wipe off the threat.

He said there was no other option, but to make sure that the group never exists again, revealing that Israel was ready to roll out everything needed to put an end to Hamas and its madness and barbarism.

He admitted that civilian casualties should be expected in the war against Hamas as there was no war without civil casualties, but assured that Israel would not target civilians but Hamas though he noted that Hamas has threatened to put Israelis children and women in the warfront in the battle against Israel.

His words: It is important to state at this point that this is not a war that is between Israel and Palestine, this is not about Israel and Palestine.

“This is about Israel and Hamas, this is about good and evil, this is about civilisation and barbarism.

“Either you stand with people who are defending themselves or you stand with those who cut the heads of babies.

“That is what this is about, it is not about anything else.”

He assured of Israel’s plan to do everything within its ambit to avoid civilian casualties in the cause of the war against Hamas.

He mentioned that the Israeli move would not be about religion or Islam, Judaism or Christianity, but evil and good.

The ambassador further said that Israel does not desire war in any circumstances, but would remain committed to protecting its citizens in all possible ways.

“If Hamas will surrender this will be over tomorrow morning, if terrorism will be over that is not realistic.

“I am not asking the Palestinians anything, I am saying to the Palestinians I want a better day. I am saying this with focus on Hamas.

“I am focused on dealing with Hamas and I am focused on stopping it.”

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Ambassador to Nigeria, Abdallah Shawesh, has called on the international community to breathe down the neck of Israel and ensure the siege on Palestinian territory was immediately stopped.

He requested for the application of international laws to resolve the lingering crisis between his country and Israel, while calling on the international community to stop treating Israel as a nation above the law, calling for fair treatment of all parties.

Shawesh, said the lives of all individuals matter and condemned the killings ongoing in both countries.

On whether the Palestinian government was in support of the Hamas group, he said the group was not a terrorist organisation but fighting the course of the people to liberate their land from Israeli occupation.

The Palestinian Ambassador to Nigeria said a ceasefire agreement between the warring parties depends on Israel which he said owns a comprehensive military formation with support from allies like the United States.

He said many women and children were killed, medical doctors displaced and Ambulances destroyed in the renewed onslaught, alleging that one of the oldest churches in the world was destroyed by the Israeli forces.

•Insists supreme court should be allowed to allow to resolve case

•Calls out media houses for encouraging such discussions

Wale Igbintade

A former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), has called on the current president of the association to call out lawyers that breach rules of ethics of the profession by turning the media into a court of law over President Bola Tinubu’s alleged certificate forgery.

Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last elections, Atiku Abubakar, has been challenging Tinubu’s victory at the February 25 poll and the verdict of the election tribunal upholding the outcome of the vote.

Atiku had alleged that Tinubu’s academic records were fraught with discrepancies and forgeries, as such, his request for the US court for the northern district of Illinois to compel Chicago State University (CSU) to release Tinubu’s academic records was subsequently granted.

To this end, the former vice-president has applied to file the academic records as fresh evidence at the supreme court.

However, there have been heated debates in the mainstream and social media onwhether or not Tinubu’s academic records were relevant to Atiku’s appeal and if the apex court would admit the fresh evidence.

Against this backdrop, Agbakoba, in a statement yesterday, said he was ashamed to see lawyers on national television arguing and debating the merits or demerits of the allegations.

The senior lawyer expressed displeasure with what he described as the cacophony of discordant voices on Tinubu and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar surrounding the controversy over the CSU records.

He warned that armchair lawyers were heating up Nigeria dangerously, urging people to keep their opinions and views to themselves while awaiting a decision from the Supreme Court.

His words: “The cacophony of discordant voices on Tinubu/Atiku over the certificate matter is completely out of hand. This utter nonsense from armchair lawyers is heating up Nigeria dangerously. Please, can we keep our opinions and views to ourselves, awaiting a decision of the Supreme Court?

“I am so ashamed to see lawyers on television arguing one way or the other on the merits or demerits of the Chicago State University matter. This is most unhelpful! I call out all media that tolerate this nonsense of adjudicating the CSU matter on TV and newspapers.

“I urge the President of the Nigerian Bar Association to call out lawyers that breach rules of ethics by turning the media into a Court of Law.

“Can we please stop heating up our country!!! Let us allow the Supreme Court of Nigeria to make a judicial pronouncement which is binding on us all!!!! This public nonsense must stop.”

Sam Ojei

Embarking on the journey of entrepreneurship is like setting sail on an uncharted sea – unpredictable, exhilarating, and ripe with possibilities. For those with an insatiable appetite for innovation and a penchant for navigating unexplored waters, the path of a serial entrepreneur beckons. In this article, we unravel the secrets and strategies that define the trajectory of a serial entrepreneur, examining the mindset, challenges, and victories that come with serial ventures.

Becoming a serial entrepreneur is not merely about launching multiple ventures; it’s about cultivating a mindset that thrives on innovation, resilience, and a perpetual appetite for learning. Serial entrepreneurs see failures not as setbacks but as stepping stones toward refinement and improvement. The ability to pivot, adapt, and extract lessons from each venture is a hallmark of the entrepreneurial mindset.

Serial entrepreneurs have a keen sense for identifying opportunities in the market. They possess an innate ability to spot gaps, inefficiencies, or underserved needs and are quick to conceptualize solutions. This keen awareness allows them to pivot from one venture to another, applying their skills and experiences to new challenges and industries.

Failure is an inevitable part of the entrepreneurial journey, but serial entrepreneurs view it as a valuable teacher. Each setback provides an opportunity to reassess, pivot, and refine their approach. The ability to extract lessons from failure and apply them to future endeavors is a distinguishing factor for those on the path of serial entrepreneurship.

Serial entrepreneurs often find success by diversifying their skill sets. While expertise in a specific industry is valuable, the ability to adapt and learn quickly across various domains is a key trait. Whether it’s technology, finance, marketing, or leadership, a diverse skill set equips serial entrepreneurs to navigate the complexities of different industries.

Successful serial entrepreneurs understand the power of networking and strategic partnerships. Building a robust network allows them to access valuable resources, insights, and potential collaborators. Whether it’s seeking mentorship, forming alliances, or attracting investors, effective networking is a vital tool in the arsenal of a serial entrepreneur.

Serial entrepreneurs excel at efficient resource management. Whether it’s financial capital, human resources, or time, the ability to allocate resources judiciously is crucial. Serial entrepreneurs understand the delicate balance between taking calculated risks and ensuring sustainable growth.

Passion is the driving force behind every successful entrepreneur, and serial entrepreneurs are no exception. The ability to maintain enthusiasm and determination across multiple ventures, even in the face of challenges, is a defining characteristic. Perseverance in the pursuit of one’s vision is what sets serial entrepreneurs apart.

Becoming a serial entrepreneur is a journey laden with challenges, triumphs, and an unwavering commitment to innovation. It’s not just about starting and running multiple businesses; it’s about embracing the inherent uncertainty of entrepreneurship with a mindset that values growth, learning, and adaptability. Aspiring serial entrepreneurs should view each venture as a chapter in a larger narrative, building upon past experiences and leveraging a diverse skill set to navigate the dynamic seas of entrepreneurship. In the end, it’s not just about the ventures launched but the lessons learned, the networks built, and the legacy left behind in the ever-evolving landscape of business.

Dutch King Willem-Alexander issued a historic royal apology Saturday for the Netherlands’ involvement in slavery, saying he felt “personally and intensely” affected.

His speech before thousands of descendants of slaves from the South American nation of Suriname and the Caribbean islands of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao got a positive reception, but many said they wanted the Netherlands to pay compensation.

“Today I’m standing in front of you as your king and as part of the government. Today I am apologising personally,” Willem-Alexander said to loud cheers.

“I am intensely experiencing this with my heart and soul,” the monarch said.

The “Keti Koti” (“breaking the chains” in Surinamese) event to commemorate 150 years of the abolition of slavery in former Dutch colonies, was held under a light drizzle in the capital’s Oosterpark gardens.

Many of the participants wore colourful Surinamese clothes.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte had officially apologised in December on behalf of the government.

It was not certain whether the monarch would follow suit for a trade that had brought vast riches to his ancestors in the House of Orange.

But the king said, “Slave trading and slavery is recognised as a crime against humanity. The monarchs and rulers of the House of Orange took no steps against it,” he said.

“Slavery illustrates the injustices of these laws,” prevalent at the time which allowed trade in human beings, the king said in his speech, aired live on television.

“Today, I am asking for forgiveness for the crystal-clear lack of action. We need reparations’ Those present widely welcomed the apology.

“He told the people from Suriname he was sorry,” said Abmena Ryssan, 67, who was dressed in bright robes and exotic headgear — a three-legged cooking pot adorned with Surinamese flags.

“Maybe he can now do something for black people,” Ryssan told AFP. We need reparations,” added Lulu Helder, a teacher whose ancestors were slaves.

“He took responsibility, so I forgive him,” said Arnolda Vaal, 50, dressed in a slave woman’s traditional outfit.

Since the Black Lives Matter movement emerged in the United States, the Netherlands has embarked on an often difficult debate about its colonial and slave trading past that turned it into one of the world’s richest countries.

Dutch royals have often found themselves at the centre of the debate. A study released in June found that the royal family earned 545 million euros ($595 million) in today’s terms between 1675 and 1770 from the colonies, where slavery was widespread.

The current king’s ancestors, Willem III, Willem IV and Willem V, were among the biggest earners from what the Dutch report called the state’s “deliberate, structural and long-term involvement” in slavery.

Slavery funded Dutch ‘Golden Age’

In 2022 King Willem-Alexander announced that he was ditching the royal Golden Coach that traditionally transported him on state occasions because it had images of slavery on the sides.

One side panel had a picture called “Tribute of the Colonies” depicting kneeling black people handing over produce like cocoa and sugarcane to their white masters.

Rutte in December also described slavery as a “crime against humanity” when he delivered the long-awaited apology, and Dutch ministers travelled to seven former colonies.

The king said days later, in his Christmas address, that the government apology was the “start of a long journey.”

Slavery was formally abolished in Suriname and other Dutch-held lands on July 1, 1863, but only ended in 1873 after a 10-year “transition” period.

The Dutch funded their “Golden Age” of empire and culture in the 16th and 17th centuries by shipping around 600,000 Africans as part of the slave trade, mostly to South America and the Caribbean.

Last week we reported on the story of Spotify venturing heavily into the Afrobeats space, and this week we hear of a dedicated record label that promises to reshape the African music industry, Decadence Records has emerged as a beacon of hope for aspiring artists across the continent. Led by industry veteran Lloyd Perrin and headed by renowned A&R expert David Yeboah, the label is dedicated to providing fair deals and an international focus to African talent.

Decadence Records has a boutique style with a major punch, thanks to its innovative marketing strategies. Going beyond traditional approaches, the label has forged unique partnerships with businesses in the heart of Africa, ensuring that the artists’ songs receive unparalleled exposure and opportunities. These partnerships not only showcase the diversity of African talent but also enable Decadence Records to tap into the rich cultural landscape of the continent, resulting in a truly authentic and enduring music experience.

With a philosophy that puts the songs first, Decadence Records aims to sign exceptional tracks rather than binding artists to exclusivity clauses. This approach allows artists to retain full control over their careers, enabling them to choose their own paths and explore various avenues. By prioritising the creative freedom of African artists, the label ensures that their unique voices are heard on an international stage, captivating audiences worldwide.

Lloyd Perrin, the CEO and founder of Decadence Records, brings a wealth of experience to the table, having spent two decades navigating the intricacies of the music industry. His passion for fair deals and transparency stems from a deep understanding of the challenges artists face in an industry often mired with exploitative agreements that fail to prioritise their interests. “The African music scene is bursting with incredible talent, and it’s high time we create a platform that empowers artists to shine on a global stage,” says Perrin. “We believe in fair deals, transparency, and giving artists the freedom to make their own choices.
Decadence Records is committed to creating an environment where artists can thrive and express themselves authentically.”

In their pursuit of unearthing exceptional music from Africa, Decadence Records has dispatched A&R head David Yeboah to explore the continents’ vibrant music landscape. Yeboah’s mission is to discover extraordinary songs that capture the essence of African creativity and bring them to the attention of a global audience. His visit represents an exciting opportunity for African artists to showcase their talent and potentially secure a spot on the international stage.

To ensure that no talent goes unnoticed, Decadence Records has established a submissions page on their website. The label is committed to carefully listening to every single song submitted, affirming their dedication to giving each artist a fair chance at recognition and success.

Their innovative marketing strategies and unique partnerships provide an added advantage, creating new avenues for artists to break into the global music scene. Decadence Records’ vision goes beyond just signing artists; it’s about fostering an environment that nurtures creativity, supports growth, and respects the artist’s right to chart their own course.

With their international focus and dedication to fair deals, the label is poised to revolutionise the African music industry and open up new avenues of opportunity for aspiring artists. If you are an aspiring African artist looking to make your mark on the global stage, Decadence Records could be the stepping stone you’ve been searching for. Visit their website to submit your music and be a part of this pioneering movement that seeks to empower and uplift African talent like never before. www.decadencerecords.com/submissions.

Decadence Records is setting a new standard for the music industry, one that values the artist’s voice, celebrates their creativity, and ensures that fair deals and global opportunities are within reach. With their unwavering commitment to African artists, the label is destined to shape the future of African music for years to come.

Could you or one of your friends and family be the next Burna or Wizkid. Submit your tracks today….for all enquiries email hello@decadencerecords.com

Olusegun Adeniyi in Freetown  

Presidential candidate of the main opposition All People’s Congress (APC) in last Saturday’s presidential election in Sierra Leone, Dr Samura Kamara, has vowed not to accept “any skewed, manipulated and unverified results.” Kamara, who yesterday alleged rigging, however, assured his “supporters and the citizens of Sierra Leone that the APC is on an irreversible path to an overwhelming victory.”

His statement came against claims by the ruling Sierra Leonean Peoples Party (SLPP) that from preliminary reports, the incumbent president, Julius Maada Bio “is confident of a landslide victory.” According to the SLPP National Secretary General, Umaru Napoleon Koroma, “Results tabulated in our party centres indicate that there will be no runoff. The people have spoken overwhelmingly and have done so by entrusting President Bio with the nation’s fate for a further five years.”  

Ahead of the declaration of results today, there are fears of protest by the opposition.

For some weeks now, APC members had organised street protests, calling for the removal of Mohamed Kerewui Konneh, as Chairman, Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone (ECSL), after alleging bias in favour of the ruling SLPP. When he voted in the Freetown neighbourhood of Lumley last Saturday, Kamara complained about the congested nature of the polling unit, saying, “Don’t be surprised if there is confusion.”  

Yesterday, Kamara called on the ECSL to tally the results using projectors. “This is also best practice. However, the ECSL is fiercely resisting to use projectors, making it extremely impossible for us and other political parties to compare, reconcile and verify the RRFs as recorded at polling centers,” he said.

According to Kamara, “The people of Sierra Leone have spoken loudly, and the message is very clear in the results coming in. We, the APC, therefore, urge the ECSL to respect the due process, adhere to international best practice as well as to what we agreed at Bintumani on the transparent, inclusive, and accountable counting and tallying of results.”  

The opposition candidate alleged that the ECSL was deliberately putting obstacles before the party. “At the Northwest Regional Tally Centre in Port Loko, the Northern Regional Tally Center in Makeni, and at the Western Regional Tally Centre at Wellington, our representatives have not been allowed into the main halls and therefore unable to monitor the tallying process. With our representatives being subjected to observe the tallying behind a glass barrier and without the results being projected,” he claimed.  

While vowing not to accept defeat, Kamara called on the international observers, especially those from ECOWAS in particular, “to ensure that the decline of democracy in West Africadoes not continue under their watch in Sierra Leone.”  

Countering Kamara’s claim, the SLPP accused the main opposition party of instigating violence. “Despite the relatively peaceful conduct of the elections, the SLPP wishes to draw the attention of the public to the unprovoked attacks of its polling agents by top-ranking members of the APC,” Koroma alleged, saying, “These attacks sought to undermine the peaceful conduct of the elections.”

After casting his ballot at the Wilberforce Barracks in Freetown Saturday morning, an upbeat President Bio, had encouraged Sierra Leoneans to participate peacefully. “Go out and vote – it’s your right,” he said, adding: “Vote safely. If you win, celebrate safely.”  

In the March 2018 general election, Bio had contested against Kamara, then Minister of Foreign Affairs as candidate of the then ruling APC. No presidential candidate received the mandatory 55 percent of total votes cast in the first round of the election. Bio led others with 41 percent of the total votes cast followed by Kamara with 40 percent. Bio was subsequently elected with 51.8% of the vote in the second round of the poll.  

Announcement of results commenced yesterday, and the process continues today. Besides the presidency, elections were held for 135 parliamentary seats, 22 Mayor/Chairmen of Council and 493 councilors. Independent candidates can contest in any of the elections except the presidency.