Global Pulse

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  • Niger pulls out of International Criminal Court after calling it neo-colonialist

    Niger pulls out of International Criminal Court after calling it neo-colonialist

    Nine months after jointly announcing plans to abandon the International Criminal Court alongside two neighboring Sahel nations, Niger has formally submitted its official request to leave the permanent international tribunal, court officials have confirmed.

    The Hague-based ICC confirmed in a statement accessed by Agence France-Presse that it received Niger’s formal “instrument of withdrawal” on June 18. Under the court’s governing rules, any withdrawal takes full effect exactly one year after the notification is submitted. The ICC also emphasized that Niger remains bound by all its existing obligations to the tribunal through the entire 12-month transition period.

    Back in September 2025, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso — all three currently ruled by military juntas that rose to power via coups earlier in the 2020s — released a joint declaration rejecting the ICC’s authority over their territories. The trio framed the court as a tool of “neo-colonialist repression” against sovereign states, and announced plans to develop what they called “indigenous mechanisms” to advance peace and deliver justice across the Sahel region. The ICC’s recent statement did not reference any formal withdrawal submissions from Mali or Burkina Faso, leaving Niger’s application as the only one currently processed by the tribunal.

    Established in 2002, the ICC was created to investigate and prosecute the world’s most severe offenses: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and acts of aggression. It currently counts 125 member states around the globe, though major powers including the United States, China, Russia, and Israel have never joined the institution.

    This latest move follows a broader regional realignment for the three Sahel nations. Last year, all three simultaneously withdrew from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), West Africa’s leading regional integration bloc, and launched their own new cooperative body, the Confederation of Sahel States. As former French colonies, the three nations have grown increasingly estranged from Western powers in recent years and have deepened political, economic, and military ties to Moscow.

    Russia itself is not an ICC member, and the court has an active arrest warrant outstanding for Russian President Vladimir Putin over alleged war crimes connected to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Armed forces from all three Sahel juntas have faced repeated international accusations of committing human rights abuses against civilian populations amid a years-long escalating campaign against jihadi insurgents linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.

    If Niger’s withdrawal is finalized next year, it will become only the third country to formally exit the ICC, following the departures of Burundi in 2017 and the Philippines in 2019.

  • US cut to South Africa’s HIV response could cost lives, UNAids chief warns

    US cut to South Africa’s HIV response could cost lives, UNAids chief warns

    A looming public health crisis is building in South Africa after the Trump administration confirmed it would draw down all United States HIV and AIDS funding to the country, a move that the head of the UN’s leading HIV agency warns will put countless lives at risk and undo decades of critical progress.

    Speaking to reporters on the eve of a high-level UN meeting focused on global HIV response efforts, UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima issued an urgent plea to Washington to reverse course and pursue a planned phase-out of funding instead of an abrupt withdrawal. “Please do not take money away because you are taking lives away,” Byanyima stressed, adding that the sudden cut to life-saving programs puts the most vulnerable populations directly in harm’s way.

    For decades, the U.S. President’s Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has poured approximately $400 million annually into South Africa’s national HIV response, covering around 17% of the country’s total HIV programming budget. While South Africa has built domestic capacity to supply antiretroviral HIV drugs independent of U.S. funding, PEPFAR resources have anchored a wide range of prevention programs that have slowed transmission dramatically across the country, which is home to more than 8 million people living with HIV — the highest national caseload globally.

    Byanyima warned that eliminating this core contribution risks reversing all the gains the global public health community has made against the epidemic in South Africa over the past two decades. She also noted that financing cuts to global HIV assistance are not isolated to the U.S., calling on all UN member states to uphold their commitment to protecting the human rights of people living with HIV.

    The funding withdrawal is tied to rising diplomatic tensions between the Trump administration and the South African government. U.S. officials confirmed the phased drawdown last week, citing Pretoria’s failure to meet Washington’s policy demands, specifically over unsubstantiated claims that the South African government has failed to protect the white-minority Afrikaner community. The Trump administration has previously pushed widely discredited claims of a “white genocide” in South Africa, and has condemned the country’s Black Economic Empowerment policy, which Pretoria has defended as a necessary correction to deep economic inequality rooted in the apartheid era. South African officials reject all accusations of discriminatory policy against minority groups.

    While South Africa’s health ministry says it has not received formal notification of the funding cut, it noted that the country has been developing a national HIV self-reliance plan for years to reduce dependence on international aid. Even so, public health experts warn that an abrupt end to U.S. funding would leave a crippling gap in prevention programming that South Africa’s domestic budget cannot fill overnight.

    Byanyima emphasized that the U.S. has long been the world’s largest contributor to global HIV response efforts, and expressed hope that Washington would reconsider its decision to withdraw PEPFAR funding from South Africa. “Taking it away is taking life-saving support from the most vulnerable people, so that is sad and I would like the United States to reconsider their position,” she said.

  • A legal battle over a former Zambian president’s burial might be over

    A legal battle over a former Zambian president’s burial might be over

    More than a year after the death of former Zambian President Edgar Lungu, a months-long cross-border legal fight over the final resting place of his remains has taken a decisive turn, with South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal siding with his family and rejecting custody claims brought by the Zambian government. Tuesday’s appellate ruling reverses an earlier lower court decision that had ordered Lungu’s relatives to turn over his body to Zambian authorities for repatriation to his home country.

    Lungu, who led the southern African nation from 2015 to 2021, passed away in South Africa on June 5, 2025, at the age of 68. What should have been a peaceful period of mourning has instead stretched into a public, politically charged conflict that extends the bitter rivalry between Lungu and his long-time political foe, current Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema, beyond Lungu’s death.

    The Zambian government has argued that long-standing national custom and protocol require that former heads of state be interred at a designated national cemetery reserved for the country’s fallen leaders. But Lungu’s family has pushed back against this claim, saying they are upholding the former president’s explicit final wishes: he explicitly barred Hichilema from accessing his remains and refused to allow a state funeral led by the incumbent administration on Zambian soil. The family chose instead to lay Lungu to rest in South Africa.

    The dispute left Lungu’s body held at a local mortuary for more than a year as legal proceedings moved through South Africa’s court system. A planned funeral service held by the family in South Africa last June was abruptly cut short when Zambian authorities filed an urgent court motion to seize the remains, prolonging the standoff.

    Delivering the panel’s majority ruling this week, appellate judges stated that the common law and constitutional rights of the deceased’s family take legal precedence over the Zambian government’s claim to custody. As South Africa’s second-highest judicial body, the Supreme Court of Appeal’s ruling leaves the door open for further legal action: the Zambian government retains the right to launch a subsequent appeal to the country’s Constitutional Court if it chooses to do so.

    The underlying political tensions that fueled this posthumous conflict stretch back years. Lungu defeated Hichilema in two consecutive presidential elections during his time in office, and when Hichilema was still leader of the opposition, he was jailed for four months on treason charges that were ultimately dismissed. The dynamic shifted in the 2021 presidential election, when Hichilema defeated Lungu to claim the presidency. In the years after his election loss, Lungu alleged that he had been placed under de facto house arrest by security forces acting on Hichilema’s orders, deepening the enmity between the two political rivals.

  • Niger becomes the third country to leave the International Criminal Court

    Niger becomes the third country to leave the International Criminal Court

    THE HAGUE, Netherlands — In a formal step that underscores growing rejection of international judicial oversight among West Africa’s military-ruled states, Niger has officially initiated its departure from the International Criminal Court, leveling accusations that the Hague-based institution practices systemic selective justice.

    The West African nation delivered an official withdrawal notification to the United Nations on Monday, activating the one-year departure process outlined in the ICC’s founding legal document, the Rome Statute. The notification letter, released publicly through UN channels, voiced disillusionment with the court, which was established to deliver accountability for the world’s worst atrocities. “While the court had raised great hopes among peoples who cherish peace and justice, it has been misused and exploited,” the document read.

    Niger’s exit was not unexpected: the country joined Mali and Burkina Faso in announcing their collective intent to withdraw from the court last year. All three nations have undergone seismic political shifts since 2020, when Mali’s military first seized power. In Niger’s case, a 2023 coup overthrew the country’s democratically elected civilian government, installing a nationalist military junta that has cut ties with long-time Western and regional partners and forged new strategic alliances with actors including Russia — a country whose leader, Vladimir Putin, currently faces an ICC-issued arrest warrant over the forced deportation of Ukrainian children during Moscow’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

    Niger’s completed departure will make it the third sovereign state to formally exit the ICC, following prior withdrawals by Burundi and the Philippines. Only Hungary launched a similar exit process last year, but the country reversed its decision following a national election that saw anti-withdrawal forces take power.

    ICC officials responded to Niger’s announcement with measured disappointment, emphasizing that the court’s core mission relies on collective global participation. “We regret any decision to depart from the collective effort to end impunity for the most serious international crimes,” the court said in an official statement following the notification.

    Under the terms of the Rome Statute, Niger’s withdrawal will not take full effect until one year after the UN received the official notification. Importantly, the ICC will retain full jurisdiction over any crimes committed on Nigerien territory before the withdrawal enters into force.

    Niger’s exit comes as the country faces escalating security instability linked to jihadi insurgent groups operating across the Sahel region. Earlier this month, a brazen armed attack on Niamey’s main international airport — a critical strategic hub that houses the military junta’s air force base, its fleet of drones and combat aircraft, and the headquarters of a new regional security alliance between Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso — left more than 30 people dead. The assault marked the second major attack on the airport this year, part of a growing trend of insurgent groups expanding their operations from rural border areas to major urban centers across the Sahel.

  • From non-league to the World Cup – the Semenyo story

    From non-league to the World Cup – the Semenyo story

    Twenty-six-year-old Antoine Semenyo will step onto the 2026 FIFA World Cup pitch on June 23 to face England for Ghana, capping one of the most remarkable underdog stories in modern football. But long before he scored the FA Cup final winning goal for Manchester City and secured a £65 million transfer to the Premier League giants, Semenyo was a disheartened 16-year-old ready to walk away from the sport he loved — a turn of fate that would never have happened without a chance encounter with former manager David Hockaday.

    Born in London to Ghanaian parents who both had roots in top-flight Ghanaian football, Semenyo grew up kicking any object he could find from toddlerhood, trained to use both feet equally by his father. By age six, his dream of professional football was set. Over the following decade, he earned trial after trial at some of England’s biggest clubs — Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Millwall, and an eight-week stint at Crystal Palace at 15 — but every door slammed shut. By 16, the repeated rejection left him deflated, disillusioned, and prepared to abandon his lifelong dream.

    That same year, Semenyo reluctantly attended a trial session at Bisham Abbey, saying later he only went to measure his fitness against other hopeful prospects. It was there that he crossed paths with Hockaday, the former Forest Green Rovers manager who happened to be on-site helping run the trials. While other coaches overlooked the raw, unconfident teenager, Hockaday spotted something special: natural two-footed control, good movement, and the raw physical frame that could turn into something extraordinary with the right nurturing. Hockaday could not shake the feeling he had missed an opportunity to help the kid, describing Semenyo as “an itch that I just couldn’t get rid of.” He tracked down Semenyo’s family, earned their trust, and brought the teenager into his program at South Gloucestershire and Stroud (SGS) College, competing in the South West Counties League.

    In the early days of their partnership, Hockaday would drive 5am every Saturday from Swindon to pick Semenyo up for matches, banging on the door to wake the young player when needed. Car rides became informal coaching sessions, where Hockaday instilled two core principles that would become Semenyo’s lifelong mantra: hunger and belief. It did not take long for that mantra to take root. Semenyo’s confidence grew rapidly, and he quickly outmatched non-league opponents, progressing so fast that he forced Hockaday to adapt his coaching to keep up. By the time SGS College played a pre-season slate of matches against professional academy sides, Semenyo dominated every game, and professional clubs began circling.

    Semenyo signed his first professional contract with Bristol City in January 2018 at 18, but his road to the top was far from smooth. He was immediately loaned out to non-league Bath City, where manager Jerry Gill transformed his game, moving him from central striker to the wing and teaching him how to compete against hardened, physically mature adult opponents. Gill remembers Semenyo as a “sponge” for feedback, with a warm attitude that made him an instant fan and teammate favorite. A subsequent loan at League Two’s Newport County brought impressive FA Cup displays that linked him to Chelsea, prompting Bristol City to recall him — but early opportunities at the Championship club were underwhelming, including a premature substitution in his first start and a red card in his second appearance. A loan at Sunderland followed with underwhelming results, and a revolving door of managers at Bristol City kept Semenyo from locking down a regular spot in the squad.

    The turning point came when Nigel Pearson took over at Bristol City, forced to lean into youth to cut the club’s wage bill. Semenyo emerged as a key starter, with experienced striker Nahki Wells stepping into a mentor role. Wells, who now calls Semenyo a close friend, recalls a raw but extraordinarily talented young player who was just putting the pieces of his game together. By the 2021-22 season, everything clicked: Semenyo notched eight goals and 12 assists, earning interest from top-flight clubs, including Crystal Palace — the side that had rejected him just six years earlier.

    In January 2023, Semenyo secured his first Premier League move, signing with Bournemouth for £10 million on a four-and-a-half-year deal. He quickly became the club’s standout star, notching 32 goals and 13 assists across 110 appearances in all competitions, fitting perfectly into Andoni Iraola’s high-octane counter-pressing system. By the first half of the 2025-26 season, his 10 goals caught the eye of Pep Guardiola, and Manchester City secured his transfer for £65 million in January 2026. Before heading to the World Cup, Semenyo cemented his place in City folklore, scoring the winning goal against Chelsea in the 2026 FA Cup final at Wembley.

    Now, ahead of his first World Cup appearance against England, Semenyo has not forgotten the man who launched his career. When he signed for Bournemouth, he sent Hockaday a bottle of Champagne, with those two foundational words printed on the label: hunger and belief. For Hockaday, who still meets Semenyo at the end of every season to chat through football and life, the moment is almost overwhelming. “When I see this young lad and I see what he’s created, where he’s got to and where he’s going to now it’s a bit mind-blowing for me,” Hockaday told BBC Sport. “I just feel pride being able to say that I’ve been part of his journey.”

    The highly anticipated Group Stage match between England and Ghana kicks off at 21:00 BST on June 23, with full coverage across BBC platforms. Fans can watch live on BBC One, BBC iPlayer, and the BBC Sport website and app starting at 20:00 BST, listen to live commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds, and access live text commentary, in-depth analysis, and video highlights on the BBC Sport digital platforms.

  • Ethiopia certifies results for watershed election

    Ethiopia certifies results for watershed election

    One month after Ethiopians headed to the polls for the country’s seventh general parliamentary election, the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) has officially certified the final results, marking what observers and local officials are calling a defining milestone in the East African nation’s ongoing democratic evolution.

    Held on June 1, 2026, the election saw more than 50 million registered Ethiopians eligible to cast ballots across national constituencies, though voting was delayed in a small number of districts due to unresolved local security threats. When votes were counted, the ruling Prosperity Party secured a commanding position in the 547-seat House of Peoples’ Representatives, the country’s lower parliamentary body, taking 438 seats to retain its absolute governing majority.

    Under Ethiopia’s constitutional framework, the political party or coalition that wins a majority in the House of Peoples’ Representatives is granted the mandate to form a new national government and appoint the country’s prime minister. The official certification of results clears the way for the transition to the new administration to move forward.

    International observers have framed the election as a step forward for Ethiopia’s democratic institutions. Bankole Adeoye, African Union Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, emphasized that the successful completion of the vote demonstrates significant progress in Ethiopia’s work to strengthen its democratic governance systems. He reaffirmed the AU’s longstanding commitment to supporting credible, inclusive electoral processes across the African continent, and expressed firm confidence that Ethiopia will continue advancing toward lasting domestic peace.

    Local political analysts, while acknowledging the democratic progress the election represents, have outlined clear priorities for the incoming government. Terecha Balcha, an Ethiopian researcher specializing in political science and international relations, noted that the vote marks another incremental advance along the country’s democratic journey, but stressed that the new administration must now center its work on fulfilling campaign pledges to voters and rebuilding widespread peace and stability across regions.

    Mekdes Mesfin, a lecturer in political science and international relations at Ethiopia’s Madda Walabu University, echoed that perspective, noting that Ethiopian voters will now expect the newly mandated government to turn its electoral support into measurable, tangible development gains for communities across the country. Addressing persistent peace and security challenges in fragmented regions of the country must sit at the top of the incoming administration’s policy agenda, she added.

    This report included contributions from Afework Eyayu on the ground in Ethiopia.

  • Armed group in Nigeria kills at least 20 people and exchanges gunfire with police

    Armed group in Nigeria kills at least 20 people and exchanges gunfire with police

    Fresh reports from Nigeria confirm that a deadly armed attack on a rural community in the country’s north-central Plateau State has claimed at least 20 lives, police authorities confirmed Monday. The violent incident unfolded Sunday in Kawel, a small community located within Bokkos Local Government Area, according to an official statement released by Plateau State police spokesperson Alfred Alabo.

    Responding to emergency calls about the attack, law enforcement personnel were deployed to the scene rapidly, where they engaged the unidentified assailants in an exchange of gunfire. The shootout ultimately forced the attackers to withdraw from the area, Alabo confirmed. As of Monday, no suspects have been taken into custody, and no militant or armed organization has issued a claim of responsibility for the killing.

    Following the attack, local authorities have moved forward with processing the victims’ remains. Alabo noted that the bodies of those killed have already been turned over to their next of kin for burial, after family members requested to forgo formal autopsies.

    Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang has ordered an immediate coordinated response to support affected residents, according to a statement from the governor’s spokesperson Joyce Ramnap. Mutfwang directed state emergency management and humanitarian assistance agencies to deploy all available resources to provide urgent relief, support, and aid to survivors and the families of the deceased.

    The attack is the latest episode of recurring intercommunal and insurgent-linked violence that has plagued central and northern Nigeria for years. According to United Nations data, a long-running insurgency centered in Nigeria’s northeast has killed more than 10,000 people and displaced millions from their homes since the conflict began. Armed criminal gangs have also maintained a persistent presence across the country’s northwest and north-central regions, carrying out frequent attacks on civilian communities. This killing marks the second deadly assault in Plateau State that has left 20 people dead so far this year: a nighttime raid on the Gari Ya Waye community in March also claimed 20 lives.

  • Unpaid bonuses and food issues – what’s going on inside Senegal camp?

    Unpaid bonuses and food issues – what’s going on inside Senegal camp?

    Four appearances at the FIFA World Cup now under their belt, Senegal entered the 2026 edition with high hopes: the West African nation aimed to surpass its iconic 2002 quarter-final run, the highlight of its World Cup debut, and carry forward the momentum of its run to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final. Instead, two back-to-back defeats have left the Teranga Lions pointless after two group-stage matches, on the brink of an early first-round exit. Only a win against Iraq on Friday can keep their knockout stage hopes alive.

    Rumors of disarray within the national team camp have overshadowed Senegal’s on-pitch struggles, with multiple off-field controversies leaking into public view in the lead-up to the tournament’s opening matches. Reports of bonus disputes, sudden staff changes, catering conflicts and a drawn-out contract row with head coach Pape Thiaw have fueled speculation that internal friction is to blame for the team’s underwhelming start. To separate fact from speculation, a closer look at the issues roiling the Senegal camp reveals a more nuanced picture.

    One of the most widely reported issues surrounded the quality of team catering at the squad’s New Jersey base, where the team is staying at a four-star Hyatt Regency close to their training ground at Rutgers University – a step down from the five-star venue they used at the 2025 Afcon in Morocco, but not a source of complaint from the playing core. The team originally traveled with their long-time personal chef, who had planned menus for the camp months in advance, but he departed for private family reasons after the team’s final pre-tournament warm-up friendlies against the United States and Saudi Arabia. When a replacement was brought in, core players have not raised issues with the new catering arrangements. Instead, dissatisfaction with the lack of traditional Senegalese cuisine has come from non-playing delegation members staying at the team hotel, some of whom have ordered external meals in response to their disappointment.

    Other minor disruptions have stemmed from accompanying travel parties: some Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) officials brought family members to the United States at their own cost, who have stayed near the team hotel and at times drawn criticism for overly close proximity to the squad. Players’ families are housed separately at a nearby hotel, with all accommodation and breakfast costs covered by the federation.

    Claims of unpaid performance bonuses, another widely circulated controversy, have already been resolved: the unpaid funds were disbursed by the Senegalese government just days before Senegal’s third group match. Long-running tension over Thiaw’s contract, however, created the most significant deadlock for the side ahead of the tournament. The 2002 World Cup veteran, who took the reins of the national team in 2024 on an annual salary of roughly £210,000, saw his original contract expire immediately after the 2025 Afcon, where he guided Senegal to a controversial final that later stripped the side of their title, with an appeal pending to regain the crown.

    Buoyed by his strong tournament run, Thiaw entered contract extension talks from a strengthened position, but negotiations stalled for months. Under Senegalese sports governance, while the head coach negotiates directly with the federation, all contract signings and salary payments require final approval from the state through the ministries of sport and finance. Prolonged political upheaval in Senegal, triggered by the dismissal of the previous government and removal of the prime minister, created cascading delays across public sectors, leaving Thiaw without a signed new contract as the team departed for the United States.

    As pressure mounted through local media, with hints that Thiaw might refuse to travel for the tournament, Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye intervened personally, contacting the coach to guarantee a swift resolution. After newly appointed Sports Minister Djireye Clotilde Coly traveled to the U.S. to meet with the squad ahead of the opening match against France and reaffirm the administration’s commitments, negotiations moved forward, and a deal was finally reached: Thiaw’s new contract carries an annual salary of £480,000 plus an additional £80,000 annual performance bonus.

    “It’s true it took too long, but it was never a money issue. It was more a principles and respect issue, but it’s been resolved,” Thiaw told reporters on Sunday. “As Senegalese people, patriotism is more important than anything else and the questions around the contract are in the past now. It’s been signed. It is true there have been a couple of creases that need to be ironed out.”

    Ranked 17th in the world, Senegal entered this World Cup as one of Africa’s top contenders, but dropped their opening two matches: a 3-1 loss to defending champions France followed by a dramatic 3-2 defeat to Norway that sealed their early point drought. Despite the off-field noise, both Thiaw and senior players have emphasized that the squad remains fully focused on Friday’s must-win match.

    “All these are problems that are resolved internally. I don’t think you need to be across what we say internally. We have a group of players who are professional,” goalkeeper Mory Diaw explained at Sunday’s press conference. “We’re here to represent our country. There’ll be nothing that will make us lose our heads when it comes to our common objective.” Before the tournament, Thiaw had made his commitment clear: “If I lose even a second of my belief that I can win the World Cup with Senegal, I will step down.”

    Long-time Senegalese football journalist Babacar Diarra, who has covered the national team for more than a decade, told BBC Sport that internal friction behind the scenes is not entirely unprecedented for the side. “Senegal hasn’t been in this type of situation for a while. You might have had some bonus issues in the past, but it wasn’t out in the press. I don’t think this will impact the players or the team. They will stay focused on the tournament. I’m not totally surprised by this. Even if they got to the final at Afcon and everything looked fine, it was a bit messy there too.”

    Off the pitch, tensions have also emerged over fan access to the tournament. Traditionally, the Senegalese state covers all travel, accommodation and ticket costs for official main supporter groups to attend major international tournaments, but travel restrictions for this World Cup have blocked those groups from making the trip. That left the North American Senegalese diaspora hoping to pick up the slack, but only 400 tickets were allocated to the local community, a number many see as far too small. Many diaspora members have also complained about a lack of transparency in ticket distribution, with a group of Senegalese national association representatives gathering outside the team hotel on Sunday to formally voice their grievances. The BBC has reached out to the FSF for additional comment on the camp issues.

    For now, all focus rests on Friday’s match: Senegal’s only path to extending their 2026 World Cup run runs through a decisive win against Iraq, with the side desperate to turn their turbulent campaign around before it is cut short.

  • South Sudan sets December date for long-delayed first-ever election

    South Sudan sets December date for long-delayed first-ever election

    More than 15 years after South Sudan seceded from Sudan to become the world’s youngest sovereign nation, the country’s electoral commission has locked in December 22 as the date for its first democratic general election since independence — a vote that has already been delayed for more than a decade, and still faces major threats of further postponement or renewed large-scale conflict.

    Prior to 2011, South Sudan existed as an autonomous region within Sudan, and its current ruling leadership has never faced a national electorate. Incumbent President Salva Kiir has held executive power for 15 years, and while he is widely expected to seek re-election, he has not yet made his official candidacy announcement. This long-awaited poll was originally scheduled to take place in 2015, but a devastating civil war that broke out shortly after the planned vote date forced an indefinite delay.

    A 2018 power-sharing peace agreement established a unity government, with Kiir retaining the presidency and his long-time political rival Riek Machar taking the post of vice president. That deal set a new election timeline for 2022, however, ongoing tensions between the two leaders derailed all preparations for the poll, and no vote was organized that year. Persistent friction between Kiir and Machar still stands as one of the biggest barriers to a smooth, timely election today.

    Last year, Machar was removed from the vice presidency, arrested, and hit with a slew of serious charges including murder, treason, and crimes against humanity — all of which he has denied. Since March 2024, Machar has been held under house arrest in the capital city of Juba, while low-intensity armed conflict continues to simmer across multiple regions of the country. The United Nations and other international actors have repeatedly warned that ongoing unrest could escalate back into a full-blown national civil war if political tensions are not resolved.

    When announcing the official December election date last week, Electoral Commission Chair Abednego Akok Kacuol openly admitted that two major issues continue to hinder poll preparations: unpassed legal amendments required to govern the electoral process, and a persistent, major gap in funding for the commission’s work. “The political will to move this process forward does not rest with our commission; it lies with the national government,” Kacuol stated. When asked about what would happen if the required funding was not secured within the next six months, the electoral chief said his team would continue preliminary work while adjusting to a “more realistic timeline” for the vote if necessary.

    In an official statement released Monday, the South Sudanese presidency reaffirmed Kiir’s commitment to upholding the terms of the 2018 peace agreement and keeping the country on a path toward peaceful, democratic elections. The statement added that preparations for cross-party dialogue focused on election-related issues are advancing, and the talks will serve as a platform to build consensus among all major political stakeholders.

    Despite these assurances from the sitting government, opposition groups and domestic civil society organizations have raised widespread alarm over poor security conditions, restrictions on political freedoms, and the lack of meaningful progress on election preparedness. Machar’s main political party, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO), has issued a stark warning over the poll, describing any attempt to hold the current vote as inherently dangerous. Nathaniel Pierino, the group’s acting chairperson, said in a public Facebook post that any election officials attempting to register voters or run campaign events in territories controlled by the SPLM-IO would be treated as prisoners of war. “Be reminded, the country is at war,” Pierino added.

  • Egypt detains hundreds of workers near the Sudan border in a crackdown on illegal gold mining

    Egypt detains hundreds of workers near the Sudan border in a crackdown on illegal gold mining

    CAIRO – In a major security crackdown along Egypt’s southern border with Sudan, Egyptian security forces have apprehended hundreds of people, including dozens of foreign nationals, on allegations of involvement in unauthorized gold mining and cross-border smuggling, military officials confirmed in a public statement released Monday.

    Egypt’s underdeveloped southern frontier holds some of the country’s most significant untapped gold reserves, and in recent years the Egyptian government has prioritized expanding formal, large-scale mining activity in the region. Flagship projects include the massive Sukari gold mine, one of the largest industrial mining operations in North Africa, which is central to Cairo’s plans to boost mineral exports and drive economic growth.

    According to the official military communique, the detained population is made up of 87 Egyptian citizens and 136 foreign nationals. The statement did not disclose the nationalities of the foreign detainees. Alongside the arrests, security forces seized a large cache of heavy machinery and specialized mining equipment that authorities confirmed was being used to carry out unlicensed extraction operations in the border zone.

    This cross-border illicit mining trade has been fueled dramatically by the ongoing three-year civil war in neighboring Sudan, which shares a long, porous border with Egypt’s southern gold-bearing region. Sudan is also endowed with extensive gold deposits, but the collapse of state authority amid ongoing conflict between Sudan’s formal military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has left most of the country’s mining sector completely unregulated.

    A 2024 United Nations Panel of Experts report estimates that more than half of all gold extracted in Sudan is illegally smuggled out of the country annually, and gold exports account for roughly 70% of Sudan’s total state revenue when formally recorded. For warring factions, unregulated gold smuggling has become a critical source of funding: the RSF and Sudanese military have both smuggled thousands of tons of gold from conflict-affected regions in Darfur and Kordofan to bankroll their military operations, turning the illicit gold trade into a core driver of the continuing war.

    Unverified video footage circulated on social media platforms in recent days showed hundreds of people gathered at a formal border crossing between the two countries, with Sudanese local media outlets reporting that the group consists of miners detained by Egyptian authorities who are being processed for expulsion back to Sudan.

    Egyptian military officials noted that a small number of suspected illegal miners who turned themselves in to security forces have already been repatriated to their home countries, but offered no additional details on the breakdown of nationalities among either the detained or expelled groups. In a closing warning, the Egyptian military emphasized that it “retains all available options to deal with all threats” to the country’s border security and legitimate mining sector, signaling that additional crackdowns on unauthorized activity may be underway in the coming weeks.