Global Pulse

标签： Africa

非洲

  • Editor of top Ethiopian independent news site seized by police, publisher says

    Editor of top Ethiopian independent news site seized by police, publisher says

    A coordinated multi-day crackdown by Ethiopian security forces has targeted one of the country’s most prominent independent news outlets, Addis Standard, leaving its editor-in-chief abducted, assaulted, and subjected to lengthy interrogation, according to the outlet’s parent company.

    Jakken Publishing, which owns Addis Standard, released a formal statement Thursday detailing the sequence of actions that unfolded over three days starting August 2. The first incident saw editor-in-chief Yonas Kedir forcibly seized by two plainclothes agents on Saturday. In a written statement obtained by Agence France-Presse, Yonas described the abduction as a violent encounter: the pair struck him before forcing him into a double-cab pickup truck, where they accused him of “selling the country out.” He was held in custody for 24 hours during which he endured prolonged interrogation, Jakken Publishing confirmed.

    The repression continued the following day, August 3, when an armed security team raided Addis Standard’s Addis Ababa newsroom without presenting any legal warrants or following due process. During the raid, the team confiscated critical production equipment from the outlet’s multimedia studio, crippling its on-site operations. On the third day of action, August 4, local police delivered an official eviction order, giving the outlet just 72 hours to vacate its long-held offices — a space where Addis Standard had operated for 16 years.

    The crackdown marks the latest escalation in a year-long campaign against independent media in Ethiopia that began earlier this year. Back in February, the Ethiopian Media Authority revoked Addis Standard’s official media registration, claiming the outlet had violated journalistic ethics and posed unspecified threats to national interests. The outlet never received clarification on which specific reports prompted the action, but it has continued publishing while legally challenging the revocation in Ethiopian courts. To date, the outlet’s website remains operational, and it continues to update readers with on-the-ground coverage of the crackdown and its aftermath, as outlet leadership consult legal and strategic advisors to determine their next steps.

    International press freedom and human rights organizations have condemned the coordinated action, framing it as part of a wider pattern of silencing critical journalism in the East African nation. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) described the recent incidents as an alarming escalation of the Ethiopian government’s systematic campaign to dismantle one of its leading independent news sources.

    Human Rights Watch (HRW) echoed that criticism, noting that the harassment of Addis Standard fits into a broader government effort to eliminate any critical coverage of state policy. Over the past 12 months, HRW data shows Ethiopian authorities have arbitrarily detained dozens of journalists, held many of them in incommunicado detention without access to lawyers or family, and stripped multiple independent outlets of their operating licenses. Most recently, the national media authority issued final formal warnings to two other independent outlets — broadcaster Arts TV and radio station Ahadu FM — threatening to suspend or revoke their operating licenses over allegations of repeated violations of national media regulations.

    As of Thursday, the Ethiopian government had not responded to repeated requests for comment from the BBC on the recent crackdown against Addis Standard.

  • One man works to slow the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in history, and he’s doing it unpaid

    One man works to slow the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in history, and he’s doing it unpaid

    In the conflict-scarred, remote heart of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Ituri province, the epicenter of the country’s surging Ebola outbreak, 29-year-old infection control specialist Wiza Bondele reports for duty every day. His mission is unwavering: slow the spread of the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak ever recorded. But since the outbreak was declared in mid-May, he has worked without pay, joining hundreds of other frontline responders from burial teams to ambulance drivers who put their lives on the line every day with no financial compensation.

    Bondele, a veteran of the 2018-2020 Congo Ebola response, volunteered to return to duty when the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola reemerged earlier this year. Ituri province accounts for nearly 90% of all confirmed cases in this current outbreak, and his years of experience on the frontlines made him a critical asset to the response. Today, his daily routine includes decontaminating high-risk treatment areas, screening visitors for fever, and enforcing mandatory handwashing protocols—work that brings him into regular contact with patients who are bleeding or vomiting, the bodily fluids that transmit the deadly virus. Even with this constant exposure, he and hundreds of fellow workers have yet to receive the $510 monthly salary they were promised when they signed on.

    While authorities have promised to resolve backlogged payments via mobile money transfers, only a small fraction of workers have received any compensation, and even those who were paid have not received their full wages. For Bondele, who supports his wife, child, and extended family, the financial strain has reached a breaking point. On one recent morning, he ran out of fuel for his motorcycle while commuting to work. With no cash to refill the tank, he left the bike with neighbors and walked the remaining 8 miles to the hospital, arriving with his shoes completely worn through.

    Latest government data puts this outbreak at more than 4,000 confirmed cases, with over 1,800 deaths recorded. This makes it the second-largest Ebola outbreak in recorded history, outpaced only by the 2014-2016 West Africa outbreak that killed more than 11,000 people, and deadlier than the 2018-2020 Congo outbreak that claimed at least 2,200 lives. Complicating the response further, the outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, for which no approved vaccines or targeted treatments currently exist.

    In recent weeks, hundreds of unpaid workers including Bondele have joined strikes and protests to demand back pay, at times abandoning treatment facilities and leaving critical response gaps as the virus continues to spread faster than responders can track it. Workers warn that months of unpaid wages have crushed morale and directly undermined patient care, with one treatment center’s staff announcing they would remain on strike until concrete solutions to the pay crisis were implemented. Government Ebola response officials have acknowledged the issue, blaming logistical delays for the backlog and stating they expect to clear all outstanding payments soon after switching from cash to mobile money disbursements. But for Bondele, these promises have done little to ease his anxiety over his and his family’s future.

    The pay crisis comes at a time when the Ebola response is already battling multiple overlapping challenges. Ituri province is gripped by ongoing armed conflict, and widespread misinformation has fueled deep public mistrust of health workers. Bondele says he has been threatened and even beaten while conducting community awareness outreach, as many residents reject basic prevention measures like regular handwashing. Restrictions on traditional burials, which require avoiding contact with highly contagious deceased patients, have stoked resentment, while persistent false rumors claim the outbreak is a hoax, that health workers are profiting from the crisis, or that hospitals withhold treatment from infected patients.

    This misinformation has repeatedly turned violent: crowds have burned down treatment centers, stormed hospitals to retrieve the bodies of deceased relatives, and attacked teams conducting safe burials. Public mistrust has also made contact tracing—one of the most critical tools for stopping Ebola spread—far more difficult, especially in remote communities already destabilized by rebel violence.

    Even with all these hardships, Bondele and hundreds of his colleagues continue to show up for work seven days a week, convinced their work is too important to abandon. “Working this job takes a lot of courage,” he said. “But today, I am discouraged.” He still holds out hope that authorities will follow through on their promises to pay workers what they are owed: “I hope their conscience tells them that I deserve to be paid.”

    This reporting was supported by the Gates Foundation, with The Associated Press retaining full editorial control over all content. Banchereau contributed reporting from Dakar, Senegal.

  • Farmers in Kenya dispute that cyanide poisoning could have killed 15 elephants

    Farmers in Kenya dispute that cyanide poisoning could have killed 15 elephants

    In the sunbaked Kimana region bordering Kenya’s iconic Amboseli National Park, grim signs of a wildlife tragedy stretch across the landscape: the bloated carcass of one elephant abandoned on a dirt track, and little more than a sun-bleached skull left of another, picked clean by scavengers. These are two of 15 elephants that have died in the Amboseli ecosystem over the course of one month, with preliminary investigations pointing to cyanide poisoning contracted from eating tomatoes grown on adjacent smallholder farms.

    The sudden, mass mortality event has reignited long-simmering tensions between conservation authorities and local farming communities, while throwing a harsh spotlight on the accelerating human-wildlife conflict that has emerged as one of the biggest threats to Kenya’s recovering elephant population.

    Preliminary postmortem examinations carried out by the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) found tomato residues in the elephants’ stomachs, and initial lab testing detected traces of cyanide in the animals’ systems. Dr. Isaac Lekolool, head of veterinary services at KWS, reported that the elephants displayed clear symptoms of cyanide toxicity before death: progressive paralysis and severe respiratory distress. While follow-up testing is still underway to confirm cyanide concentration and pinpoint the source of the toxin, Lekolool noted that the elephants also consumed watermelons from nearby farmland, and has called for stricter oversight of pesticide handling and use in agricultural areas bordering the park.

    Contrary to early speculation that the cyanide originated from unregulated illegal mining operations within the ecosystem, Lekolool has publicly dismissed that theory. Currently, samples taken from the elephants’ stomach contents are undergoing further toxicology analysis, with blood testing still ongoing to confirm initial findings.

    Local farmers, however, have pushed back hard against claims that cyanide from their crops killed the 15 animals, arguing the toxin is not used in local agriculture and is not available to regional growers. Elvis Muchai, a tomato farmer who has worked on the edge of Amboseli for 20 years, says he has never encountered cyanide among the regulated agricultural chemicals sold to farmers in the area, and notes that local communities have coexisted with migrating elephants for generations, even amid repeated crop raids.

    “Even when elephants destroy our crops, we have never turned to poisoning them,” Muchai explained. In the last growing season alone, elephants raided and destroyed half an acre of his tomato crop, costing him an estimated $3,800 in lost income — losses he says he has never received compensation for, despite years of living with the risk. Another local farmer, Rymondy Mrosso, added a key question to the debate: if contaminated crops were the source of the poisoning, why have only elephants died? Goats, cows, and wild species like gazelles also graze and feed on farm produce in the area, he noted, and none have reported similar mass deaths.

    The tragedy comes as Kenya has been widely lauded for its successful elephant conservation work over the past two decades. After decades of poaching pushed the national elephant population to historic lows, aggressive anti-poaching policies and habitat protection have grown the population to more than 36,000 elephants today. But even as poaching has declined, expanding agriculture along park borders has pushed human-wildlife conflict to become the second leading cause of elephant deaths in the country, according to Kenya’s National Elephant Plan. Between 2000 and 2020, at least 1,160 elephants were killed in retaliatory or self-defense incidents as communities sought to protect their crops, property, and lives from invading animals. Even so, KWS communications director Duncan Juma argues that retaliation is not a factor in this case, saying “the community loves these animals.”
    Kimana, the region at the center of the investigation, is one of Kenya’s most productive high-value agricultural zones, growing tomatoes, onions, and French beans for distribution to markets in Nairobi and beyond. As demand for agricultural land has grown, farms have steadily expanded closer to Amboseli’s park boundaries, shrinking the buffer between wildlife habitats and cultivated land and increasing the frequency of elephant incursions, particularly during dry seasons when wild forage is scarce.

    Conservation groups say the mass elephant death highlights the urgent need for systemic action to address the root causes of human-wildlife conflict in the region. The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) says the tragedy underscores that as human and elephant ranges increasingly overlap, protecting wildlife and supporting local livelihoods cannot be separated. “As people and elephants increasingly share space, protecting wildlife and safeguarding communities’ livelihoods must go hand in hand,” IFAW said in a statement.

    Ben Wandago, IFAW’s East Africa Director, called for a full, transparent, and urgent investigation into the source of the cyanide, and pushed for the rapid implementation of coexistence strategies that protect both communities and wildlife near Amboseli. He also emphasized the urgent need for stricter regulatory control of highly toxic substances, to prevent the chemicals from leaking into vulnerable wild ecosystems.

    With investigations still ongoing, the tragedy has made clear that the fragile balance between wildlife conservation and smallholder agriculture in one of Africa’s most protected ecosystems is growing increasingly strained, demanding coordinated action to prevent further mass deaths.

  • Sudan’s invisible children – born in war with no legal identity

    Sudan’s invisible children – born in war with no legal identity

    Eight months after holding her newborn son for the first time, 17-year-old Amira – her name changed to protect her from harm – still cannot secure the one document that would guarantee her son a shot at basic rights: a birth certificate. Her story, one of thousands unfolding across war-ravaged Sudan, lays bare the invisible crisis plaguing children born from sexual violence amid the country’s 28-month civil war.

    Sudan’s brutal power struggle between the national military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted in April 2023, turning the Darfur city of el-Fasher into one of the conflict’s bloodiest battlefields. For 18 months, the city held out as the military’s last major stronghold in Darfur, before falling to the RSF and its allied Arab militias in October 2024. For the tens of thousands of civilians trapped through the months-long siege, daily life was a cycle of relentless bombardment, violent street clashes, and crippling hunger. Desperate to survive, Amira and her family joined a wave of displaced residents fleeing the city in early 2025. But their escape turned to horror when three armed RSF fighters abducted Amira as the group snuck along a southwestern road out of el-Fasher.

    “They blindfolded me and took me to the Tabit area south of el-Fasher. I was locked in a room for two months, and every day one of them raped me in turn,” Amira recounts quietly, her trauma still raw. Weeks into her captivity, she discovered she was pregnant and fell severely ill. When her captors chose to abandon her, they dumped her near the site of her abduction, where other fleeing el-Fasher residents found her and arranged for emergency medical care. Months later, she gave birth at an International Medical Corps-run hospital in a humanitarian hub outside RSF control, where local Sudanese aid group Nada Al-Azhar Foundation for Disaster Prevention and Sustainable Development (Nada) stepped in to support her and help track down her displaced family, who had reached a sprawling refugee camp hosting hundreds of thousands of other el-Fasher escapees. The reunion was a moment of profound relief for the whole family, but new, ongoing struggles quickly took its place.

    Under current Sudanese administrative rules, birth registration requires formal identification details for the child’s father – information Amira cannot provide. Even the initial birth notification from her delivery hospital demands this data, locking her son out of official legal recognition before he can even access basic services. “I can’t get him vaccinated, or enrol him in nursery or school,” Amira explains. “I’m afraid for his future because he isn’t registered at all. My economic situation is very difficult, and I can’t afford his treatment or care. I can’t even go to work for fear of being exposed to violence again.”

    Amira’s ordeal is far from unique. Aid workers report this pattern repeats across every conflict zone in Sudan, where widespread sexual violence by armed groups has left hundreds of underage and adult survivors pregnant, with no path to register their children. “Many children are being born in complex circumstances, often without the knowledge of the father – meaning their births cannot be registered,” explains Abu Bakr Yousif Yaqoub, Nada’s director of protection programmes. “Registering a child requires identity information, a national number and a birth certificate. But when the father is absent or unknown, it becomes extremely difficult. The mother is often alone, and sometimes she herself is still a child who needs care, which limits her ability to care for her baby. There are also health challenges related to the lack of follow-up on essential vaccinations, which begin at birth and continue through the child’s early years.”

    Yaqoub warns the impact stretches far beyond early childhood: unregistered children are barred from formal education, blocked from travel, and unable to obtain any official identity documents as adults, leaving them effectively stateless for life.

    Capturing an accurate count of these children is nearly impossible. Deep social stigma attached to sexual assault in Sudan prevents most survivors from coming forward, meaning the true scale of the crisis remains unrecorded. “Women who experience such assaults do not feel comfortable reporting them,” says Shaza Ahmed, Nada’s director general, speaking from the army-held eastern city of Port Sudan. “Unfortunately, most of the mothers of these children are themselves children – girls under the age of 18. Therefore, they cannot make the decision to go officially to court or the police, as they need a guardian to accompany them.” Ahmed adds that 90% of the cases Nada has documented involve families refusing to allow official reporting of the assaults that led to pregnancy, out of fear of social judgment.

    “As a Sudanese woman, my greatest fear and concern for children born as a result of rape is that we are facing a whole generation that will live under stigma, danger and fear,” Ahmed says. “These children will not receive respect from society, their well-being will not be truly protected, and above all, they will not have access to services or their rights. For Ahmed they are not being treated as if they are “fully human”, even though Sudanese law does grant all children the right to obtain an identity.

    On paper, Sudan’s 2010 Child Act already protects the right to birth registration for children born outside of marriage, including those conceived through rape. The law allows for children to be registered under their mother’s name if she files a formal report of assault, which triggers a social services documentation process before the civil registry issues the birth certificate. But the collapse of state institutions across large swathes of Sudan, particularly conflict-ravaged Darfur, has rendered this legal protection meaningless on the ground. Civil registry offices are shuttered, administrative systems are broken, and many survivors lack the access or support to navigate the fragmented remaining bureaucracy.

    “The absence of documents does not just mean the absence of a piece of paper – it means denying the child access to education, healthcare and legal recognition,” explains Sudanese lawyer Majida Idris. She says urgent action is needed: civil registry operations must be reactivated in safe, accessible areas, and expanded legal support must be offered to survivors to help them secure their children’s rights.

    For now, Amira and her son remain stuck in administrative limbo in Darfur, their future uncertain. While Amira’s grandmother says the reunion of the family after Amira’s captivity is a miracle she never expected, the weight of the unregistered child’s future hangs over the entire household. Nada has provided Amira with psychological counseling and practical guidance, a small source of comfort amid ongoing hardship. But without a birth certificate, Amira’s son remains locked out of the basic rights every child is owed – one of hundreds, likely thousands, of Sudanese children growing up invisible in their own country.

  • Does Africa still back Infantino as Fifa president?

    Does Africa still back Infantino as Fifa president?

    FIFA President Gianni Infantino, whose leadership has been thrown into the global spotlight following the collapse of his controversial private stake sale plan for FIFA’s international competitions, continues to hold firm allies across the global football landscape – particularly in Africa, where dozens of lower-resource national associations have reaped tangible benefits from his decade in office.

    Infantino’s position has faced intense scrutiny since the unpopular FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal was pulled after fierce pushback from multiple regional football governing bodies. While the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has not yet released an official institutional position, a large bloc of senior African football leaders have publicly thrown their weight behind the FIFA president, with five of the seven African seats on the FIFA Council – representing Egypt, Morocco, Niger, Mauritania and Comoros – already declaring open support.

    This widespread backing across the continent traces directly to FIFA’s Forward programme, the landmark funding initiative Infantino launched in 2016 that has become a critical financial lifeline for many African federations. In regions where commercial investment and government sports funding are severely limited, the scheme has underwritten grassroots and high-performance football projects across the continent.

    ### Morocco: A Key Strategic Partner Reaffirms backing
    Morocco, one of Africa’s most high-profile modern football success stories, has built deep ties with FIFA alongside its domestic government-driven growth. The North African nation hosts FIFA’s regional African office in Rabat, has staged multiple FIFA tournaments including the Club World Cup and 2022 Women’s U-17 World Cup, and is set to co-host the 2030 men’s World Cup with Spain and Portugal.

    Fouzi Lekjaa, president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF), reaffirmed his support for Infantino in the wake of the FFE proposal’s withdrawal last week. In an official statement, Lekjaa called Infantino’s choice to pull the plan “wise”, noting that the decision prioritized unity across FIFA’s 211 member associations. Senior African football executives also formally backed Infantino at a closed-door meeting held in Morocco on Wednesday, wrapping a turbulent period triggered by the failed proposal.

    ### Egypt: A Staunch Institutional Ally With Growing Expectations
    As the host nation of CAF’s headquarters, Egypt stands as one of Infantino’s most reliable institutional allies on the continent. This close partnership has been strengthened by Hany Abo Rida, a long-serving FIFA Council member and one of Africa’s most influential football administrators, who has maintained close working ties with Infantino since the latter was first elected in 2016.

    Over Infantino’s tenure, Egypt has benefited substantially from Forward programme funding, which has supported major infrastructure projects, youth talent development, coach training programs and the expansion of women’s football. Like other African member associations, the Egyptian Football Association has also received increased development grants under FIFA’s expanded investment strategy, while new and expanded regional competitions have opened up additional commercial and competitive opportunities for Egyptian clubs and national teams.

    Even as support holds firm, Egyptian football stakeholders say expectations for deeper engagement are growing. Many officials and observers argue that FIFA’s work in Africa must move beyond direct financial assistance, with greater priority placed on improving governance, increasing transparency, advancing long-term sustainable development, and granting CAF more autonomy to set the continent’s own football priorities.

    ### DR Congo: Full Public Commitment to Infantino’s Leadership
    The Congolese Football Federation (Fecofa) was among the first African bodies to praise Infantino’s decision to withdraw the FFE proposal, calling the move “wise” in an early August statement. The federation emphasized that the controversy around the abandoned plan should not overshadow Infantino’s 10-year track record of expanding football access and support, particularly for lower-resourced African nations.

    Fecofa noted that it has “greatly benefited” from FIFA’s development programs, citing major investments in local football infrastructure and grassroots growth. The statement was signed by Véron Mosengo‑Omba, who was elected Fecofa president in May 2026, ending a five-year period of institutional uncertainty that followed the 2021 resignation of Constant Omari Selemani and the 2023 appointment of a FIFA-run normalization committee. Mosengo‑Omba confirmed Fecofa’s “full support” for Infantino will extend beyond the 2027 FIFA presidential election, aligning DR Congo firmly with the FIFA leadership at a time of deep global divisions over the organisation’s future.

    ### Nigeria: Support Anchored by Critical Development Funding
    Despite widespread global backlash against Infantino’s proposal, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has also aligned with the pro-Infantino bloc. For the NFF, which has long struggled with chronic funding shortages and massive unmet infrastructure needs, Infantino’s investment-focused agenda has been difficult to reject.

    Amaju Pinnick, former NFF president and current deputy chairman of FIFA’s Men’s National Teams Competitions Committee, has argued that Infantino’s plans would deliver much-needed financial support to every member association, reducing overreliance on underfunded local governments. Nigeria qualifies for up to $8 million in current Forward programme funding, even after missing out on qualification for the last two men’s World Cup tournaments. The largest ongoing Forward project in the country is the $4.88 million redevelopment of the NFF Technical Centre in Abuja, which includes rebuilding training pitches and constructing a modern accommodation complex for all of Nigeria’s national teams.

    ### Broader African Backing and Isolated Opposition
    Across the continent, other senior political and sports leaders have added their voices to the support for Infantino. South African Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie wrote on social media platform X that Infantino “has been very good to African football”, urging the continent to avoid joining what he called a “public lynching” of the FIFA president. “We can debate his ideas but let’s not forget who has been a friend to us. Many of those calling for his head want the old status quo back too,” McKenzie wrote.

    In interviews with the BBC after the FFE proposal was made public, senior officials from Malawi and Uganda said FIFA investment has transformed football on and off the pitch across Africa, noting that this funding is irreplaceable given the severe budget constraints most African nations face. “Malawi needs money. Malawi needs stadiums, our government cannot manage to give us even $1m every year for football,” Malawi Football Association president Fleetwood Haiya told BBC Newsday. “Our government is not able to make sure that they have medical supplies in hospitals [and] at the same time to look at football.”

    Lamin Kaba Bajo, president of the Gambia Football Federation, told BBC Sport that most African federations support Infantino remaining in office and plan to back his re-election in 2027. “As far as I’m concerned, most of my colleagues are concerned, we’ll encourage him [Infantino] to stay, and we’ll do everything within our means to ensure that he is re-elected come next year, 2027,” Bajo said. “That’s my personal opinion as president of the federation, and a good number of African memberships also stand on that line. He is here to stay.”

    Support for Infantino is not universal across Africa, however. Former Sierra Leone FA president and ex-FIFA Council member Isha Johansen was one prominent African voice to oppose the FFE plan, warning that it risked pushing excessive commercialization into African football. “What price does one have to pay in order to get to this elevated development for football in Africa?” Johansen asked, urging African football leaders to carefully consider the long-term future of the sport on the continent.

    CAF president Patrice Motsepe has also publicly praised Infantino, calling his work after this year’s World Cup “excellent” and describing him as a loyal friend to Africa in a late July statement. “He is loyal to Africa,” Motsepe said. “When people have been loyal to you, you never stab them in the back.”

    A number of prominent African football nations, including Senegal – which boasts the second-highest ranked men’s national team on the continent, behind only Morocco – have not yet issued a public position on Infantino’s leadership.

  • Uganda approves sending troops for international force in Gaza

    Uganda approves sending troops for international force in Gaza

    KAMPALA, Uganda — In a landmark parliamentary vote held Thursday, Ugandan authorities have secured legislative backing to contribute military personnel to the proposed International Stabilization Force for Gaza, an international security mission first put forward by former U.S. President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace in the wake of the devastating two-year Israel-Hamas conflict.

    The motion, introduced by Uganda’s Defense Minister Kiryowa Kiwanuka, passed successfully, marking the first public confirmation of Uganda’s willingness to join the multilateral stabilization mission. Morocco has already publicly committed its own troops to the deployment, joining a small but growing group of nations that have signaled participation.

    Even as the vote concluded, key questions remain unanswered about the drivers behind Uganda’s decision. Details of any potential underlying agreements or reciprocal arrangements have not been disclosed to the public, prompting immediate pushback from opposition lawmakers who have challenged the government’s stated rationale. Opposition lawmaker Hassan Kirumira raised pointed objections during parliamentary debate, noting that as a member state of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Uganda’s participation in the mission could trigger significant diplomatic friction. “The big question that supporters of this deployment must answer is: On which side is our army going to fight?” Kirumira told the chamber, underscoring the uncertainty surrounding the force’s operational mandate.

    Defending the proposal to lawmakers, Kiwanuka pointed to Uganda’s long track record of international peacekeeping operations, most notably its decades-long deployment in Somalia, to argue the country has the trained military capacity to contribute effectively to the Gaza mission.

    The 20,000-strong stabilization force was first unveiled by Trump’s Board of Peace in February, and is set to be commanded by U.S. Major General Jasper Jeffers. In comments made in May, Jeffers stated the force’s core mission would be to lay the groundwork for “future prosperity and enduring peace” in Gaza following the end of major hostilities.

    The deployment plan is tied to a broader ceasefire framework reached last year, which was updated last week when Trump announced a new agreement that would see Hamas fully disarm and Israeli forces complete a phased withdrawal from Gaza. Under the terms of the deal, the international stabilization force will only enter the territory once Israeli troops have completed their staged drawdown. The framework requires Israel to halt all offensive military operations, while Hamas and all affiliated militant groups in Gaza must end all armed activity. It also includes general guidelines for the process of disarming militant factions.

    Since the text of the new agreement was published, Israeli officials have publicly stated they hold “serious security concerns” about the terms, and have already communicated those worries to U.S. negotiators. Tensions remain high even under the existing ceasefire, which ended large-scale combat in October: data shows that 1,250 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza since the ceasefire agreement took effect.

  • Real Madrid sign Diomande from RB Leipzig

    Real Madrid sign Diomande from RB Leipzig

    In one of the most high-profile transfer moves of the 2026 European summer window, La Liga and Champions League giants Real Madrid have secured the signing of 19-year-old Ivory Coast international winger Yan Diomande from German Bundesliga side RB Leipzig, in a deal that could reach a total value of £120 million (140 million euros).

    The teenage sensation has put pen to paper on a seven-year contract with the Spanish capital club. If all performance-based add-ons are triggered, Diomande’s transfer fee will exceed the £115 million (133.9 million euros) Real Madrid paid Borussia Dortmund for English midfielder Jude Bellingham in June 2023, marking the club’s new record outgoing transfer for a teenager. This valuation would also see Diomande become the fourth most expensive footballer in the history of the sport, trailing only Neymar’s 2017 move to Paris Saint-Germain, Kylian Mbappe’s subsequent permanent transfer to the French champions, and Alexander Isak’s transfer from Newcastle United to Liverpool.

    Additionally, the transfer makes Diomande the most expensive African player in history, breaking the previous record of £72 million set when Arsenal signed fellow Ivorian Nicolas Pepe from Lille in 2019.

    The race for Diomande’s signature captured global football attention for weeks. Paris Saint-Germain was long considered the frontrunner to land the winger, but the French side pulled out of negotiations on Sunday after their £102.5 million bid was rejected by Leipzig. Liverpool, who had been searching for a replacement for Mohamed Salah following his move to Turkish side Trabzonspor earlier this week, also held an interest in Diomande, seeing their initial £69 million offer rejected back in June.

    Diomande’s move to the Santiago Bernabéu is the sixth summer signing for Real Madrid under new head coach Jose Mourinho, joining a group of high-profile new arrivals including Bernardo Silva, Ibrahima Konate, Denzel Dumfries, Marc Cucurella and Carlos Espi. As confirmed by club insiders, Diomande is set to be deployed primarily on the right side of Real Madrid’s attack, filling a long-running gap for consistent output in that position.

    In an official statement released following the completion of the deal, Diomande expressed gratitude to RB Leipzig and its fanbase for their support during his tenure. “I want to thank every RB Leipzig supporter for the incredible welcome and backing I’ve received since joining the club,” he said. “Who knows? Maybe we’ll meet again one day in the Champions League. Moving to Real Madrid is a childhood dream come true. I am all the more grateful to the management at RB Leipzig for making this move possible despite my current contract.”

    Diomande’s rapid ascent to the top of European football has been nothing short of remarkable. Just a year ago, he joined RB Leipzig from Spanish second-tier side Leganes in 2025, after moving from his native Ivory Coast to a youth academy in the United States, then signing his first European professional contract with Leganes earlier that same year. In his debut full Bundesliga season in 2025-26, Diomande scored 12 goals and registered 8 assists in league play, earning him the league’s Young Player of the Season award. Across all competitions, his output climbed to 13 goals and 10 assists, drawing attention from every major club across the continent. He also featured in all four of Ivory Coast’s matches at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, where the side was eliminated in the round of 32 by Norway.

    Football analysts note that Diomande’s transfer is a reflection of Real Madrid’s long-standing strategy of signing elite young talent before they reach their peak, betting on their development to become cornerstones of the squad for a decade or more. At 19, Diomande already boasts a rare skill set headlined by explosive pace, creative dribbling, one-on-one defensive beating ability and consistent attacking output. His biggest asset is his positional versatility: he is comfortable playing on either wing, capable of cutting inside from the left onto his dominant right foot to test goal, while using his acceleration and crossing quality to create chances for teammates when deployed on the right. This flexibility makes him an ideal fit for Real Madrid’s search for consistent production in the right-wing position.

    The 140 million euro price tag underscores just how highly Real Madrid rate Diomande’s upside, with club leadership convinced he can develop into a key long-term starter for the side. During his time at Leipzig, Diomande built a strong attacking chemistry with right-back Ridle Baku, and tactical analysts predict his attacking threat will only grow at Real Madrid, where he will link up with creative, experienced full-backs including Trent Alexander-Arnold and new signing Marc Cucurella.

  • DR Congo river boat under quarantine for Ebola after five deaths

    DR Congo river boat under quarantine for Ebola after five deaths

    Congolese public health officials have halted the Chinese-operated cargo-passenger vessel *Yingfeng 2* on the Congo River, 65 kilometers upstream from the capital Kinshasa near Bende Bende port, launching immediate Ebola and cholera screenings for all 255 people on board. The interception comes after a passenger who displayed fever and diarrhoea – symptoms consistent with both Ebola and cholera – disembarked at an earlier stop along the route and later died in hospital, with four additional deaths (two adults, a three-year-old child, and a newborn) also linked to the incident.

    Joint response teams from the Congolese Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO) have boarded the intercepted vessel and deployed a mobile testing laboratory to process samples from all passengers and crew. As of the latest update, Health Minister Roger Kamba confirmed that none of the tested individuals have returned positive results for either virus. “For now, no-one has tested positive, and it is likely no one will be positive after 21 days of incubation has elapsed,” Kamba told reporters.

    According to BBC intelligence, the *Yingfeng 2* departed Kisangani – the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) third-largest city – approximately two weeks ago, travelling more than 1,700 kilometers downstream toward Kinshasa before the interception. Recent Ebola transmissions have been recorded in Kisangani, accounting for at least four local deaths. Kamba also clarified a key point of earlier misreporting: the deceased passenger disembarked in Mongala Province, which has not recorded any confirmed Ebola cases to date.

    To comply with WHO public health protocols, security forces have been ordered to quarantine the vessel offshore, preventing any potential movement of people that could spread the virus into the densely populated capital. Public health response teams remain on high alert to take further action once the quarantine perimeter is fully secured.

    The interception comes as the DRC grapples with its 17th Ebola outbreak, declared on 15 May this year. Caused by the rare Bundibugyo Ebola species – a variant not detected globally for more than a decade – the outbreak has continued to spread three months after it was first announced, with infections and fatalities still rising.

    As of current official counts, the outbreak has recorded 3,973 confirmed cases and 1,801 deaths, making it the second deadliest Ebola outbreak in the country’s history. No specific antiviral treatments or approved vaccines exist for the Bundibugyo variant, though the first human clinical trials for a candidate vaccine are currently ongoing in the United Kingdom. More than 17,000 people who have had close contact with confirmed cases remain under active public health monitoring, 674 patients are currently in isolation or receiving treatment across five affected provinces, and 776 people have recovered from infection, per DRC health authority data.

    In Kinshasa, officials have stepped up preparations for a potential response to a Bundibugyo introduction, reinforcing disease surveillance and rapid response capacity at Maluku, the capital’s main overland and river entry point. While officials stress that the interception and quarantine of the *Yingfeng 2* are strictly precautionary measures, they underscore the severe public health risk the ongoing outbreak poses to the country.

  • Cameroon’s president draws concern and criticism by staying abroad for 2 months

    Cameroon’s president draws concern and criticism by staying abroad for 2 months

    In Yaoundé, Cameroon, a growing political storm has erupted as 93-year-old President Paul Biya marked two full months outside his country’s borders this Thursday, leaving the Central African nation grappling with unanswered questions about his health and a looming power vacuum. As the world’s oldest sitting head of state, Biya has held uninterrupted power since 1982, and just began his eighth term in office after a deeply contested November 2024 election that drew widespread international and domestic criticism of electoral irregularities.

    Biya first departed Cameroon on June 9 for what his office framed as a short private visit to Europe, a trip that has already grown into one of the longest overseas absences of his decades-long tenure. Long-running speculation about Biya’s health has intensified in recent years, as the president has increasingly spent weeks at a time in European locations including France and Switzerland, delegating day-to-day governance of the country to senior ruling party officials and members of his inner circle.

    Cameroon’s constitution does not explicitly bar a sitting president from extended stays abroad, but the absence of a vice president to step in has left the country effectively operating on “autopilot,” according to opposition leaders. Issa Tchiroma Bakary, the opposition’s 2024 presidential candidate and a former long-time ally of Biya who now lives in exile in The Gambia, told reporters this Thursday that a widespread consensus has emerged across Cameroon that “all is not well” with the president. Biya’s prolonged stay in Switzerland, he added, only further erodes the already fragile legitimacy of a leader clinging to power through force.

    The legacy of Biya’s 42-year rule has left the country deeply fractured. Decades of stagnant economic growth, a years-long armed insurgency waged by Boko Haram in northern Cameroon, and a violent separatist movement seeking independence for the country’s western Anglophone regions have left the nation’s large youth population deeply disillusioned with the aging leadership. More than 70% of Cameroon’s nearly 30 million residents are under the age of 35, meaning the vast majority of the population has never known a different head of state.

    Wilson Tamfuh, a professor of public and international law at the University of Dschang, compared Cameroon’s current governance structure to a “seriously sick” human body. “Even if Biya still proves to be strong at this age, it is clear that his health challenges are taking a toll on his leadership,” Tamfuh explained. He added that frequent cabinet reshuffles over the past 15 years have done little to drive reform, amounting to nothing more than moving the same entrenched political figures between different ministries.

    Tensions between the youthful population and Biya’s government boiled over after the 2024 election, when widespread nationwide protests left at least four people dead. In a last-minute, unexpected move this week, Biya, acting remotely from Europe, ordered a reshuffle of the country’s top military command: he replaced the heads of four out of five national joint military regions, and promoted multiple senior officers to higher ranks. No official explanation was provided for the shakeup, though government sources confirmed two of the posts were already vacant due to the death and scheduled retirement of the previous commanders.

    Biya first rose to the presidency in 1982, following the resignation of Cameroon’s founding post-independence president Ahmadou Ahidjo. A controversial 2008 constitutional amendment eliminated presidential term limits, clearing the way for Biya to extend his rule indefinitely. If he completes his current eighth term, he will leave office at nearly 100 years old. The extended absence has deepened already existing fractures in Cameroon’s political landscape, leaving both opposition and independent analysts questioning the long-term stability of the country in the absence of its sitting leader.

  • Why has Mohamed Salah chosen Trabzonspor?

    Why has Mohamed Salah chosen Trabzonspor?

    After months of swirling transfer speculation, one of the most decorated players in Premier League history has finalized his next chapter: Egyptian star Mohamed Salah has signed a two-year contract with Turkish Super Lig side Trabzonspor, following the expiration of his deal at Liverpool. The move has upended widespread expectations, which for years linked Salah to lucrative offers from Saudi Pro League sides and Major League Soccer clubs, instead seeing the 34-year-old opt to remain in European football with a club far from the expected Istanbul heavyweights that usually attract global stars.\n\nMoney was not the deciding factor in Salah’s choice. Saudi clubs had long prioritized signing the winger, with Al-Ittihad launching a last-minute bid to secure his services, while MLS side Sporting Kansas City was also among the suitors ready to offer a massive financial package. While Salah’s compensation in Turkey is substantial, it falls short of what he could have earned in Saudi Arabia. Trabzonspor confirmed in a public filing to the Turkish stock exchange that Salah will earn £14.5 million per season, with an additional 20% cut of all revenue generated from Salah-branded merchandise; local reports put his base salary closer to £7.3 million annually, with performance bonuses and merchandise revenue making up the difference.\n\nThe opportunity to continue competing in UEFA club competition was a major draw for Salah, who enters this move fresh off helping Egypt reach the knockout round of the 2026 World Cup. Trabzonspor finished third in the 2025-26 Super Lig and will kick off their European campaign this month in the Europa League play-off round. A two-legged victory will see them advance to the competition’s league phase, while a defeat will drop them into the UEFA Conference League.\n\nTrabzonspor was not the first Turkish club in the running for Salah. Istanbul powerhouse Besiktas initially held negotiations to sign the winger, but talks collapsed over disagreements on the financial structure of the deal, opening the door for Trabzonspor to step in with a successful bid. While the club does not carry the same global brand recognition as Turkey’s traditional “big three” of Galatasaray, Fenerbahce and Besiktas, it has a storied history of its own: seven-time Turkish champions, Trabzonspor won the Super Lig most recently in 2021-22 and lifted the Turkish Cup in the 2025-26 season, boasting a passionate fanbase that turned out in hundreds to welcome Salah upon his arrival in the country.\n\nDuring his official unveiling, Salah first wore a symbolic number 61 shirt to honor the city of Trabzon, the number corresponding to Trabzon’s regional vehicle registration code that holds special cultural meaning for local fans, who traditionally celebrate the 61st minute of every home match. For the 2026-27 competitive season, however, Salah will wear the number 10 shirt – the same number he wears for the Egyptian national side. Teammate Ernest Muci voluntarily ceded the jersey to the club’s new marquee signing as a gesture of respect.\n\nSalah’s high-profile transfer is the latest in a growing trend of elite established players moving to the Turkish Super Lig. Victor Osimhen, Leroy Sane, Ilkay Gundogan, Nathan Ake and Leandro Trossard are just a few of the big names already plying their trade in the division, while Trabzonspor’s current squad already counts Andre Onana, Ruslan Malinovskyi and Stefan Savic among its ranks. Last summer, the Super Lig recorded the third-highest net transfer spend in global football, trailing only the English Premier League and Saudi Pro League, a clear sign of the league’s rising ambition.\n\nThe financial model that allows Turkish clubs to compete for top names is unique. Top Turkish clubs earn most of their competition revenue in euros from UEFA participation, while the vast majority of their domestic operating costs are paid in Turkish lira. Years of high inflation in Turkey have also eroded the relative value of existing domestic debt, giving clubs far more financial flexibility than outside observers might expect, allowing them to put together competitive salary packages for global stars while retaining access to European football – a key draw for players in the later stages of their careers.\n\nFormer Rangers midfielder Ryan Jack, who has spent the past two seasons playing in Turkey, told BBC Sport the growing profile of the Super Lig is no surprise. \”That’s one thing about Turkish football – the fans are incredibly passionate. The big clubs have huge support and they really get behind their teams,\” Jack said. \”The league is getting stronger every year and you’re seeing more and more big names joining. Salah is probably the biggest name to move to Turkey in recent years. It shows the league is growing and it might persuade other top players to consider going there. There are great stadiums, great cities and it’s a competitive league.\”\n\nStill, the Super Lig lags behind Europe’s top competitions in global rankings. Opta currently ranks the Turkish top flight as the 14th strongest domestic league in the world, behind the top divisions of Denmark, Poland and even England’s second-tier Championship. Turkish clubs have also struggled to find sustained success on the European stage: since Galatasaray won the UEFA Cup in 2000, only one Turkish side has reached the semi-final of a major UEFA competition, highlighting the gap that remains between Turkish clubs and Europe’s elite.\n\nFor Salah, the move represents a deliberate compromise that allows him to continue competing at a high level in Europe rather than retiring to a less competitive league for a larger paycheck. While age has seen Salah enter the twilight of his career, he still retains significant quality: he notched one goal and two assists to guide Egypt to the 2026 World Cup knockout stages, and just two seasons ago delivered one of the best campaigns of his career, scoring 34 goals and adding 23 assists across all competitions to lead Liverpool to the Premier League title. His final season at Anfield was underwhelming, with just 12 goals across all competitions as Liverpool finished fifth and Salah fell out of favor under manager Arne Slot, but his pedigree remains unmatched among any recent incoming transfers to the Super Lig.\n\nTrabzonspor is expected to build its entire attacking system around Salah. The club typically deploys a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Salah set to occupy his familiar role on the right wing, cutting inside onto his strong left foot – the position that made him one of the most prolific forwards in European football over the past decade. Manager Fatih Tekke can also shift to a 4-3-3 without majorly altering Salah’s role, leaving the Egyptian as the undisputed focal point of the club’s attacking threat.\n\nSalah is expected to make his competitive debut on August 15, when Trabzonspor opens its 2026-27 Super Lig campaign away to Kasimpasa. Shortly after, the club will turn its attention to its Europa League play-off tie against either Hungary’s Ferencvaros or Poland’s Gornik Zabrze.\n\nFor Trabzonspor, the impact of Salah’s signing extends far beyond his on-pitch contributions. His arrival instantly elevates the club’s global profile, opens massive new commercial opportunities, and adds one of the most marketable footballers of his generation to the club’s roster. Jack added that the signing will also draw new international audiences to the entire league: \”I think Liverpool fans, and people who love watching Salah, will definitely take notice and start following the league. When I moved there, my family and friends started watching games because they didn’t really know much about Turkish football before. Salah’s move will make people sit up and watch more of the league.\”\n\nFor Salah, the move delivers something more valuable than another mega contract: the chance to remain in Europe, compete for domestic and European honors, and serve as the undisputed face of one of Turkey’s most historic clubs. While the destination was not the one most pundits and fans predicted, it offers both player and club a rare opportunity to write an ambitious new chapter together.