Month: January 2025

Two months after Chad severed its defence agreement with Paris, the French army has handed over its last military base in the country, the Kossei base, in N’Djamena.

Though it was Chad who announced the end of the defence pact, the head of the French Armed Forces’ Africa Command stated that the handover was partly France’s decision.

Pascal Ianni, head of French Armed Forces’ Africa Command, said, “The transfer of the (Adji) Kossei base today marks a new stage. It is part of the French decision to end permanent (military) bases in Central and West Africa.”

”This structural change is necessary to adapt to the evolution of the world, and the evolution of Africa. We are reaffirming our partnerships in a dynamic Africa whose youth carries a lot of hope. We must act differently,” he added.

It comes after France handed over its two other military bases in the country. The Chadian army’s chief of staff has hailed the end of defence ties with Paris.

Abakar Abdelkerim Daoud, Chadian Army’s Chief of Staff, said, “I thank the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who gives us the opportunity to make this dream a reality. I announce to you today that the work of the French army is coming to an end and the Chadian army is capable of taking over the role that the French army plays in Chad.”

Before the end of the agreement, France had around 1,000 personal in Chad.

After battling Islamic extremists alongside regional soldiers, French forces have also been expelled from Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.

On Wednesday, a set of ancient artefacts stolen by illegal traffickers were returned to Iraqi authorities in a ceremony held in Rome. The items, which had been seized in Italy, were handed over in the presence of police officials and Iraq’s Ambassador to Italy.

Michele Minetti, commander of the Monza Carabinieri Cultural Heritage Protection Unit, provided details about the items.

“These five archaeological pieces date back to before 2000 BC,” Minetti said. “There are four cones and a terracotta tablet. The tablet is an administrative document containing records of prisoners, while the cones commemorate the builders of various temples where they were originally placed.”

The investigation to recover the artefacts began after the Iraqi embassy in Italy learned that the items had appeared for sale in an auction house.

Iraq’s Ambassador to Italy, Saywan Sabir Mustafa Barzani, explained that the items were among thousands stolen from Iraq, particularly in 2003. “The embassy identified these five artefacts in an auction house, where they were being sold. After a lengthy investigation, we were able to work with the Cultural Heritage Protection Unit to have them returned to us. Even now, we are finding other stolen objects being sold, as we discovered another auction house with similar items for sale just today,” Barzani said.

In recent years, the Carabinieri Cultural Heritage Unit has returned about 19 stolen Iraqi artefacts to the Iraqi embassy in Italy, highlighting ongoing efforts to fight the illegal trade of cultural treasures.

Nigeria’s main labour union, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), has rejected the government-approved 50% hike in telecommunications tariffs and announced a nationwide protest on February 4.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) recently approved the first tariff adjustment in over a decade, citing inflation and naira depreciation. However, the increase remains below the 100% hike operators had sought for six years.

NLC President Joe Ajaero condemned the hike as “insensitive” amid soaring living costs and demanded its immediate suspension. The union warned of a possible telecom service boycott and strike if authorities refuse dialogue.

The NCC defended the increase as essential for industry growth while ensuring consumer protection. It mandated operators to clearly communicate changes and improve service quality.

Consumer advocacy groups have also vowed to contest the hike, as the economic crisis deepens.

A small plane crashed in a remote part of South Sudan, killing at least 18 people on Wednesday, an official said.

The flight, chartered by Chinese oil firm Greater Pioneer Operating Co., had 21 people on board, including two pilots, said Gatwech Bipal, the minister of information in the oil-rich Unity state, where the crash happened earlier on Wednesday.

The plane crashed while it was taking off near an oil field to head to the international airport in Juba, the South Sudanese capital, he said.

Local media reported that the plane was carrying oil workers.

The U.N.-affiliated Radio Miraya, citing the flight manifest, reported that the victims included mostly South Sudanese, one Indian and two Chinese nationals.

It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the crash, and authorities had not yet revealed the victims’ identities.

South Sudan, which gained independence from Sudan in 2011, is a major oil producer in the region. The East African nation has been trying to ramp up oil production and exports amid persistent cash flow issues for the government.

A Nigerian man has been extradited to the United States to face charges in a sextortion case linked to the death of a 17-year-old American.

Hassanbunhussein Abolore Lawal, 24, from Osun state, arrived in the U.S. on Saturday after Nigerian authorities secured an agreement that he would not face the death penalty if convicted.

He appeared in a South Carolina federal court on Monday, wearing an orange jumpsuit and shackled, pleading not guilty to charges including child exploitation resulting in death. The charge carries a mandatory 30-year prison sentence and could lead to life behind bars.

Investigators say Lawal posed as a young woman online to lure Gavin Guffey, a teenager, into sending intimate images. He then allegedly blackmailed and harassed him for money, even targeting the boy’s family. Guffey later took his own life.

Lawal remains in custody without bail, with his next hearing set for Monday.

His extradition follows a growing crackdown on sextortion scams linked to Nigerian cybercriminals. Last year, two Nigerian brothers were sentenced in the U.S. for a similar scheme, marking the first successful prosecution of Nigerians for sextortion. Tech giant Meta has also removed thousands of accounts targeting victims in Nigeria.

Nigeria’s National Cyber Crime Centre has pledged more action, saying millions have been invested in technology to fight such crimes.

Kenya’s National Seed Bank stores more than 50,000 varieties of seed.

Founded in 1988, the facility has the goal of protecting seeds for research and reintroduction to farms.

The centre has become all the more important in the face of climate change, which has led to some traditional varieties being lost.

Desterio Nyamongo, Director of Genetic Resources Research Institute, says, “we realize that some of the traditional varieties that we had abandoned them are actually more resilient to climate change, so when you introduce them especially in marginal areas, those varieties outperform the improved varieties and therefore famers find them very useful.”

Some farmers argue that a 2012 law barring seed sharing has hampered efforts to improve the country’s seed system.

Among them is Francis Ngiri.

“I am practicing agro-ecology (organic farming) or that type of farming without using chemicals. That is what we have been practicing and also, I am also saving my own seeds. Indigenous seeds,” Ngiri says.

For the director of the National Seed Bank, farmers who cannot afford fertilisers needed for hybrid seeds should plant traditional varieties.

“It would be wrong for farmers, especially farmers in marginal areas, to start thinking that using the indigenous seed is backward. Far from it, because some of the indigenous varieties have adapted over time to the local conditions and therefore, they are more resilient,” Nyamongo says.

Seed sharing in Kenya is punishable by two years in prison or a fine; more than a dozen farmers have filed a case to challenge the law.

Inflation in Zimbabwe hiked up in January in dollar and local currency terms, rising by 14.6% and 10.5% respectively in a year-on-year comparison.

According to independent economist Prosper Chitambara, the increase in inflation is due to higher taxes and a regional drought last year, which put pressure on food prices.

The Finance Ministry notably introduced a 0.5% tax on fast food and a 10% tax on sports betting proceeds in its latest budget, which came into effect this month.

Zimbabwe launched a new gold-backed currency in April last year, but it was sharply devalued in September.

Most local transactions still rely on foreign currencies like the U.S. dollar.

Since the devaluation, the Zimbabwe Gold currency has fallen further.

It was trading around 26.3 to the dollar on Tuesday, according to the central bank’s website.

On Monday, a fire tore through the Booysens shack settlement in Johannesburg, South Africa, leaving hundreds of people homeless and destroying some 1,500 makeshift homes. Many of the shacks, which were built from flammable materials, quickly burned to the ground. Residents said the fire started when a paraffin stove exploded. Some were able to save their belongings, but most lost everything. Firefighters, assisted by local residents, brought the blaze under control, but relief efforts continue to help displaced families.

President Donald Trump said Monday evening that Microsoft is among the U.S. companies looking to take control of TikTok to help the popular app avert an effective ban that could kick-in in April.

“I would say yes,” Trump told reporters when asked if Microsoft was one of the companies interested in helping to bring about a new ownership of TikTok, a requirement set by Congress to keep the app functioning in the U.S.

Trump added that other companies were also interested in purchasing TikTok, but wouldn’t provide a list.

“I like bidding wars because you make your best deals,” Trump said as he spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One while flying back to Washington from Miami, where Republican House members were holding a conference.

Microsoft declined to comment. Representatives for TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In one of his first acts in office last week, Trump extended the deadline for TikTok to find new ownership that satisfies the government by 75 days, to April 4 from January 19.

The president has said that he’s looking for the ultimate purchaser to give the U.S. a 50% stake in the company, which is owned by China-based ByteDance. But the details remain murky, and its unclear whether he’s proposing control of the app by the government or another U.S. entity.

Last week, the artificial intelligence startup Perplexity AI presented a new proposal to ByteDance that would allow the U.S. government to own up to 50% of a new entity that merges Perplexity with TikTok’s U.S. business, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Several other investors — including billionaire Frank McCourt and Trump’s former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin — have spoken publicly about their desire to purchase TikTok’s U.S. platform. Trump has also said he’s spoken to “many people” privately about the company.

After the bipartisan law was signed by former President Joe Biden in April, ByteDance said it did not have plans to sell the platform and fought the statute in court for months. China also rebuked Washington over the divestment push, though more recently it appears to be softening its stance.

In media interviews last week, Bill Ford, the chairman of the global investing firm General Atlantic and a ByteDance board member, said the company is prepared to engage with the Trump administration and Chinese officials to find a solution that keeps TikTok available. He also floated the idea that there could be a solution short of a full divesture by ByteDance.

Lawmakers and officials in both parties have raised national security concerns about Chinese ownership and potential manipulation on the immensely popular platform, which is used by more than 170 million U.S. users.

Trump was in favor of a TikTok ban before he reversed his position last year. He credits the platform with helping him win more young voters during the recent presidential election.

Microsoft, along with Walmart, made a failed bid for TikTok during Trump’s first term after Trump tried to ban the app. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella later described it as the “strangest thing I’ve ever worked on.”

Hundreds of young Congolese men took to the streets of Kinshasa to express their outrage at the entry of the M23 rebels in the eastern city of Goma.

They barricaded roads and attacked the embassies of Rwanda, Uganda, France, and the United States.

The French embassy was set on fire and vandalized.

The locals accuse the governments of the foreign missions of supporting Rwanda which UN experts earlier said was backing the M23 rebels.

Rwanda has denied the charge and blamed the DRC of supporting a Hutu militia seeking to topple its government.

On Monday the M23 rebels marched into the city of Goma and said they had captured it from government forces.

But fighting has been going on for the control of the strategic city that is the capital of the mineral-rich province of North Kivu.

The African Union and the United Nations Security Council are set to hold emergency meetings to discuss ways of preventing the conflict from escalating further.