Author: Jideofor Elumogo

Bangladesh’s president dissolved parliament Tuesday, clearing the way for new elections to replace the longtime prime minister who resigned and fled the country following weeks of demonstrations against her rule that descended into violent unrest.

The streets of Dhaka appeared calmer Tuesday, with no reports of new violence as jubilant protesters thronged the ousted leader’s residence. Some posed for selfies with soldiers guarding the building where a day earlier angry protesters had looted furniture, paintings, flower pots and chickens.

The weeks of protests had begun peacefully as frustrated students demanded an end to a quota system for government jobs, but they turned into an unprecedented uprising against Hasina and her ruling Awami League party. Anger also lingered from January’s election, which saw the jailing of thousands of opposition members.

The government responded to the protests with force, leaving nearly 300 people dead and fueling further outrage. The prime minister had called the protesters criminals and said they should be treated with an iron hand.

Over the weekend, protesters called for a “non-cooperation” effort, urging people not to pay taxes or utility bills and not to show up for work. The weekend of violence left dozens of people dead in the predominantly Muslim nation of over 160 million people.

On Monday, protesters defied a military curfew to march into the capital’s center. This time, troops pulled back. As internet access was restored, people began to celebrate in the streets. Thousands stormed the prime minister’s official residence, and Hasina fled.

The Israel Olympic team said athletes have received threats as they compete in the Paris Games amid tensions over the human toll in Gaza and as the Middle East teeters on the edge of a larger regional conflict.

On Tuesday, Yael Arad, the President of the Israeli National Olympic Committee, told the AP that the team had received “centralized” threats meant to generate “psychological terror” in athletes.

Paris prosecutors opened an investigation into emailed death threats to athletes last week after the personal data of some Israeli athletes was leaked online.

The prosecutors also opened an investigation into inciting racial hatred after it said Israeli athletes received ‘’discriminatory gestures” during an Israel-Paraguay match.

Tom Reuveny, a 24-year-old Israeli athlete who won gold in windsurfing over the weekend, was among those who said he’s received threats.

He added that politics “should be put aside” during the Games, speaking to the Associated Press during a memorial for Israeli athletes killed in a massacre during the 1972 Summer Olympics.

“I don’t think any politics should be involved in sport, especially in the Olympic Games,” Reuveny told the Associated Press.

“Unfortunately, there is a lot of politics involved, not in the games of the people who don’t want us to compete and don’t want us to be here. I’ve gotten quite a few messages and threats.”

While Israel has called for the Olympics to remain a neutral space, Palestine’s delegation has used the summer Games as a way to generate conversation about the day-to-day struggles of those in Gaza.

The Israel-Hamas war has claimed more than 39,000 Palestinian lives and wiped out entire Palestinian families.

As global leaders have raised alarm over the mounting human toll in Gaza and called for a ceasefire, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he would accept nothing less than a “total victory” against Hamas.

The world is coming together in Paris at a moment of global political upheaval, multiple wars, historic migration and a deepening climate crisis, all issues that have risen to the forefront of conversation in the Olympics.

Palestine’s Olympic team has demanded that the International Olympic Committee ban Israel from competing in the Olympics, alleging the country has violated the Olympic charter.

Last week, the Palestinian delegation said that it has still not received a response from the IOC and that they planned to take their plea to higher sports courts.

Israel’s team has been met by jeers in stadiums during the country’s national anthem and athletes have arrived at events under a heavy police escort including riot police vans.

“It’s not easy to be an Israeli athlete in the international arena these days,” said Arad.

The spokesperson for the Niger government accuses Kiev of providing “support” to “terrorist groups” following a significant defeat of the Malian army at the end of July during clashes with separatists and jihadists.

Niger’s Military junta announced on Tuesday that it has cut diplomatic ties with Ukraine, claiming that remarks from Ukrainian officials demonstrated support for factions involved in the fighting in neighbouring Mali, which led to the deaths of many soldiers and Russian Wagner fighters in July.

This action follows Mali’s decision on Sunday to end its relations with Kyiv, prompted by comments from Ukraine’s military intelligence about the clashes in northern Mali, where Tuareg rebels reported killing at least 84 Wagner mercenaries and 47 Malian soldiers.

In a broadcast statement, spokesperson Abdourahamane Amadou announced that Niger had chosen to sever its connections with Ukraine immediately, in support of the Malian government and its citizens.

On Monday, Ukraine expressed disapproval of Mali’s decision to end diplomatic relations, describing it as a hasty and ill-considered action, and dismissed the allegations of Ukrainian support for international terrorism.

Tensions escalated following televised statements by Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, indicating that Malian rebels had acquired the “necessary” information to execute the attack.

The comments about the conflict made by Ukraine’s ambassador have drawn condemnation from Niger, Mali, and other West African countries, including Senegal, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, and Liberia.

The clash happens as Ukraine endeavours to attract worldwide support, with a specific emphasis on increasing its presence in the Global South.

Ukraine on Monday August 5 criticized Mali’s decision to sever diplomatic ties, calling it short-sighted and hasty. Kyiv stated that no evidence had been provided to implicate Ukraine in the fighting that resulted in the deaths of Malian soldiers and Russian mercenaries last month.

The West African nation announced on Sunday it was immediately ending relations with Ukraine following comments from Ukraine’s military spy agency regarding the late July clashes in northern Mali.

Tuareg rebels claimed responsibility for the incident, reporting they had killed at least 84 Russian Wagner mercenaries and 47 Malian soldiers. This incident appears to be Wagner’s most significant defeat since they began assisting Mali’s military authorities against insurgent groups two years ago.

“It is regrettable that Mali decided to sever relations without thoroughly examining the facts and circumstances of the incident and without providing any evidence of Ukraine’s involvement,” the Ukrainian foreign ministry stated.

Following the clashes, Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s military spy agency, mentioned on television that Malian rebels had received the “necessary” information to carry out the attack.

Ukraine, which has been fending off Russian troops for over 29 months since Russia’s full-scale invasion, did not confirm its involvement in the incident in its statement.

Mali expressed “deep shock” over the “subversive remarks,” interpreting them as an admission of involvement. Mali condemned these actions as violations of its sovereignty and equated them to supporting international terrorism.

Over the weekend, Senegalese authorities summoned Ukraine’s ambassador, Yurii Pyvovarov, accusing him of supporting the attack in a since-deleted video posted on the Ukrainian embassy’s Facebook account.

The accusations against Kyiv come at a time of fraying relations between the West and coup-affected Sahel nations. Following military takeovers in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger in recent years, the juntas have expelled French and U.S forces and turned to Russia’s mercenary units for security assistance.

Concerns are rising over the influence of Russia in the ongoing demonstrations in Nigeria.

Some protesters have been seen wielding Russian flags as they demonstrate in various states in Nigeria.

Authorities in the country have termed the act treasonous to the country’s sovereignty.

The Russian embassy in Nigeria has distanced itself from allegations that it is influencing the demos.

Protests against economic hardship have persisted in several Nigerian states despite the president calling for an end to the demonstrations that have faced a crackdown from security forces.

At least 13 people have been reported dead in the protests which began on Thursday against the West African nation’s worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation and against the corruption and alleged bad governance that have stifled its development.

Nigerian security forces have been accused of using excessive force in the protests.

On Monday, President Bola Tinubu met with security chiefs in Abuja’s capital. A curfew was declared in northern Kaduna state — the sixth state to take such a measure since the protests began — after reports of looting.

The cost-of-living crisis is fueled by surging inflation, at a 28-year high, and government economic policies that have pushed the local currency to record lows against the dollar.

Tinubu on Sunday said his government was committed to addressing citizens’ concerns. But he provided no plan, according to the Lagos-based SBM Intelligence research firm.

A few protesters were seen waving Russian flags over the weekend and again on Monday in northern Nigeria, whose population is among the worst affected. The Russian embassy in Nigeria denied any responsibility, saying in a statement that the flags are personal choices of the protesters and “do not reflect any official position or policy of the Russian Government.”

The Russian flags being waved constitute treason and would be treated as such, Nigeria’s military chief Christopher Musa said after meeting with Tinubu.

Pro-Russian sentiments have been growing in parts of West Africa, where Moscow is increasingly welcomed by militaries that have staged coups and severed ties with the West. One is in Nigeria’s northern neighbor, Niger, where French and American troops have been asked to leave and Russia has been chosen as a new security partner.

On Sunday, Tinubu warned protesters not to let “the enemies of democracy use you to promote an unconstitutional agenda” in Nigeria, which currently holds the rotational chairmanship position of West Africa’s regional bloc.

Nigeria’s secret service said it had apprehended some tailors in northern Kano state it said were responsible for making Russian flags being distributed in the area. It said an investigation was ongoing.

The US will hand over its last military base in Niger Monday, ahead of the September 15 deadline for US forces to leave the country under an agreement with Nigerien authorities.

Airbase 201 in the city of Agadez is one of two hubs the U.S. has used for counterterrorism operations in Niger. Last month, US troops withdrew from Airbase 101, a small drone base in Niger’s capital, Niamey.

German troops are also set to leave this month. The withdrawals are part of a larger trend of Western troops leaving the Sahel, a vast region south of the Sahara desert where groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group operate.

Niger’s 2023 military takeover followed coups in Mali in 2020 and in Burkina Faso in 2022, and the three countries soon joined forces in expelling foreign troops and taking a hard stance against France and its allies.

Aneliese Bernard is the director of Strategic Stabilization Advisors, a risk consulting group based in Washington D.C. with field teams based across the Sahel and coastal West Africa.

She said that while counterterrorism operations by Western powers in the region have been problematic, the absence of French, European and American forces in Niger will leave a huge security vacuum, affecting everything from doing business in the Sahel to humanitarian aid.

“Anything extractive is going to be outside of a major city, you’re lacking security at this point,” she said. “Unless you have your own private security situation set up in a place as far away as outside of Agadez where a lot of the uranium is, you’re operating blindly out there.”

Bernard said it’s not completely clear at this point how the junta will handle partnerships going forward, particularly with regard to accessing natural resources.

The Nigerien government recently pulled the permit for French fuel producer Orano to operate in one of the country’s largest uranium mines.

“There still are quite a few assumptions made that the CNSP is taking a very strategic move with regards to ‘we’re going to pull back all of our, you know, things that we can trade with and prioritize partners that can sell us security in return for getting monopoly shares of said industries,’” Bernard said, giving the example of Turkey providing military equipment and private military contractors in exchange for access to Niger’s oil.

She added that these assumptions have been challenged recently as there are rumors of American and Canadian companies speaking to SOPAMIN, the Nigerien company in charge of the uranium mines, about working in Niger.

Bernard warned that those most likely to be harmed by the security vacuum are the most vulnerable citizens of a country that is already one of the poorest in the world.

She said humanitarian workers are now required to have military escorts when working outside of major cities, which can lead to them being targeted by armed groups in conflict with the military.

This will lead to many NGOs choosing not to work outside of major cities or working in the field less often, she added, “so people who are in the periphery, who are the ones who are in the most vulnerable groups… are going to have the least access to humanitarian aid