Wednesday, January 28, 2026
Rwanda says UK owes $130 million over scrapped asylum scheme
THE HAGUE, Switzerland
Rwanda has filed an arbitration case against the United Kingdom saying it’s owed more than 130 million dollars as part of a cancelled asylum scheme.
In a submission to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, the East African nation says Britain has breached the terms of the “migration partnership” agreed in 2022.
Under the controversial deal, London would pay Kigali to accept asylum seekers and immigrants who arrived in Britain illegally.
Introduced by the Conservative government, current Prime Minister Keir Starmer scrapped the plan when he took office in 2024.
Kigali says it agreed to forgo further payments if the treaty was terminated and new financial terms were agreed. But according to Rwanda's filing at the court of arbitration, those discussions never took place.
Britain is also accused of reneging a promise to resettle vulnerable refugees with complex needs already being hosted by Rwanda.
Before being scrapped, the treaty faced a number of legal challenges. The UK’s Supreme Court ruled that Rwanda wasn’t a safe country and said the transfer of asylum seekers to Rwanda would breach domestic and international law.
Tuesday, January 27, 2026
Nigeria president 'in great shape' after falling at Turkey reception
ANKARA, Turkey
Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu is "in great shape" despite falling over at a reception ceremony in Turkey, one of his aides said.
Tinubu, 73, was being welcomed by his Turkish counterpart at an official ceremony in the capital, Ankara, when he stumbled.
After walking past a line of soldiers and dignitaries Tinubu can be seen on the official video on the Turkish president's X account moving to his right when he stumbles and falls.
The film briefly shows people helping the president before cutting to an aerial shot and 45 seconds later Tinubu and Recep Tayyip Erdogan are seen next to each other.
Tinubu appeared unhurt and aide Sunday Dare said he was able to continue with a bilateral meeting.
Video clips of the incident are being shared on social media.
A spokesman for the president, Bayo Onanuga, later said that Tinubu had stepped on a metal object "on the floor, which made him lose his balance".
"This is not a big deal, except for those who want to make mischief out of a fleeting incident. It was a mere stumble, thank God, not a fall," he added.
The last time the president fell over in public, in June 2024, he made a joke about it, saying people thought he was doing a popular dance move.
At that time the incident was described as a "mild misstep" by an aide, and there was also a lot of sympathy for Tinubu, including from leading opposition politician Atiku Abubakar, who called it an "unfortunate incident".
Another politician, Shehu Sani, said that it showed the president was a human being and no different to anyone else.
In an apparent move to allay concerns on Tuesday afternoon, in an all capital letters headline, Dare said on X: "President Tinubu in great shape as state visit proceeds smoothly.
"After a stately welcome ceremony in Ankara [he] proceeded to scheduled bilateral meetings with President of Turkey and other senior government officials from both countries."
He did not give further details.
Tinubu's visit to Turkey was "aimed at strengthening the existing cordial relations", the president's office said in a statement before he left for Ankara on Monday.
After the two presidents met, Turkey announced new economic, trade and defence cooperation agreements with Nigeria.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Tinubu, Erdogan said both countries had reaffirmed a target of increasing total bilateral trade to $5bn (£3.6bn).
The two countries also exchanged agreements on defence cooperation. Turkey pledged support for Nigeria's fight against militants, as well as deeper collaboration in military training and intelligence sharing.
"Nigeria remains open for serious partnership. Open to trade without barriers. Open to ideas, skills, and investment that create value and shared prosperity," Tinubu posted on X later.
Tinubu took office in 2023 after beating Abubakar in a presidential election.
Mali takes majority control of civil explosives producer
BAMAKO, Mali
The Malian government has announced that it is taking majority control of a new company dedicated to producing civil-use explosives inside the country.
Following a recent cabinet meeting at the Koulouba Palace, authorities approved the state’s 51 percent stake in the “Société Industrielle du Centre du Mali FARATCHI-CO-SA,” created in partnership with the Chinese firm Auxin under a shareholder pact signed in November 2024.
The project aims to reduce Mali's dependence on imports and secure supplies for the mining sector, quarries and major civil engineering works, while tightening oversight of these sensitive products.
Since 2022, Bamako has toughened regulations on explosives amid the fight against terrorism and the spread of improvised explosive devices. Companies now face stricter rules on prior authorisation, traceability, storage, transport and stock monitoring.
Trade data show Mali imported about 5.2 million dollars’ worth of explosives and pyrotechnic products in the second quarter of 2023, mainly for authorised industrial use.
No official figures have yet been released on the plant’s production capacity or when it will come on stream, but the move fits into wider mining reforms and a new mining code designed to boost state participation and local economic benefits.
Russia reportedly pulling forces out of bases in Syria's north-east
DAMASCUS, Syria
Russia has reportedly begun pulling out of positions in north-eastern Syria, moving to end its military presence in an area that is still under the control of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.
Government troops under President Ahmed al-Sharaa have taken swathes of northern and eastern Syria from the SDF this month, as it aims to assert its authority over the whole country.
A fragile ceasefire between the two sides was extended on Saturday for 15 days.
SDF fighters at one base next to the Qamishli airport told journalists on Tuesday that the Russians had begun moving their equipment out in recent days.
Inside what had been living quarters for the soldiers was largely empty, with scattered items left behind, including workout equipment, protein powder, and some clothing.
"They took away their equipment by planes and by land, but we don't know whether it's going to Hmeimim air base [in the Syrian coastal province of Latakia] or Russia,” said SDF fighter, Ahmed Ali.
There has been no official statement from Russia about the withdrawal of its forces from Qamishli.
It was a close ally of ousted President Bashar al-Assad during the civil war, but has established ties with al-Sharaa since he seized power over a year ago.
Moscow did not try to counter the rebel offensive in late 2024 but gave asylum to Assad after he fled the country.
Russia is expected to retain a presence at its air and naval bases on Syria’s Mediterranean coast.
The Syrian interim president is due to meet with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Moscow on Wednesday.
South Sudanese government insists it is not at war despite heavy fighting
JUBA, South Sudan
Despite heavy fighting against rebel forces over the past few days, the South Sudanese government insisted on Tuesday that it was not at war.
The United Nations has said the clashes are occurring at a scale not seen since before the 2018 peace agreement.
This latest fighting between factions loyal to President Salva Kiir and his long-time rival, Riek Machar, erupted in late December in Jonglei State, north of the capital Juba.
"The ongoing security operation in northern Jonglei State is a lawful and necessary measure aimed at halting the advance of rebel forces, restoring public order, and safeguarding civilians," said Information Minister Ateny Wek Ateny.
President Kiir's forces and those loyal to his first vice president Machar fought a brutal civil war from 2013 to 2018.
In September of that year, they reached a peace deal known as the "Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan” (R-ARCSS).
This saw the creation of a unity government which has been unravelling over the past year amid ongoing clashes.
Machar has been kicked out of the power-sharing government and is on trial for "crimes against humanity".
But Ateny insisted on Tuesday that "the peace agreement has not collapsed".
“The government calls upon the SPLM/A in Opposition to immediately cease hostilities,” he said.
“Actions that undermine the [2018] agreement pose a serious threat to peace and jeopardise the ongoing transitional process," he added.
The fighting in Jonglei state has already caused the displacement of more than 180,000 people and threatens to reignite the civil war.
A spokesman for UN Secretary‑General Antonio Guterres said its mission in South Sudan, UN-MISS, is concerned that the clashes could put hundreds of thousands of civilians at risk.
"What we are witnessing in Jonglei is not an isolated security incident. It is a dangerous escalation which is manifesting in other parts of the country as well," a member of the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, Barney Afako, said last week.
South Sudan is the world's youngest country and has been beset by civil war, poverty, and massive corruption since it was formed in 2011.
Monday, January 26, 2026
Ex-FIFA president Sepp Blatter joins those calling for boycott of World Cup in United States
WASHINGTON, United States
Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter on Monday backed a proposed fan boycott of World Cup matches in the United States because of the conduct of President Donald Trump and his administration at home and abroad.
Blatter was the latest international soccer figure to call into question the suitability of the United States as a host country. He called for the boycott in a post on X that supported Mark Pieth’s comments in an interview last week with the Swiss newspaper Der Bund.
Pieth, a Swiss attorney specializing in white-collar crime and an anti-corruption expert, chaired the Independent Governance Committee’s oversight of FIFA reform a decade ago. Blatter was president of the world’s governing body for soccer from 1998-2015; he resigned amid an investigation into corruption.
In his interview with Der Bund, Pieth said, “If we consider everything we’ve discussed, there’s only one piece of advice for fans: Stay away from the USA! You’ll see it better on TV anyway. And upon arrival, fans should expect that if they don’t please the officials, they’ll be put straight on the next flight home. If they’re lucky.”
In his X post, Blatter quoted Pietha and added, “I think Mark Pieth is right to question this World Cup.
The United States is co-hosting the World Cup with Canada and Mexico from June 11-July 19.
The international soccer community’s concerns about the United States stem from Trump’s expansionist posture on Greenland, travel bans and aggressive tactics in dealing with migrants and immigration enforcement protestors in American cities, particularly Minneapolis.
Oke Göttlich, one of the vice presidents of the German soccer federation, told the Hamburger Morgenpost newspaper in an interview on Friday that the time had come to seriously consider boycotting the World Cup.
Two weeks ago, travel plans for fans from two of the top soccer countries in Africa were thrown into disarray when the Trump administration announced a ban that would effectively bar people from Senegal and Ivory Coast from following their teams unless they already have visas. Trump cited “screening and vetting deficiencies” as the main reason for the suspensions.
Fans from Iran and Haiti, two other countries that have qualified for the World Cup, will be barred from entering the United States as well; they were included in the first iteration of the travel ban announced by the Trump administration.
South Sudan asked US backing for Machar trial, documents show
JUBA, South Sudan
After agreeing last year to accept deportees from the United States, South Sudan’s government sent Washington a list of requests that included US support for the prosecution of an opposition leader and the lifting of sanctions on a senior official accused of diverting more than a billion dollars in public funds, according to documents seen by our reporter.
The requests, contained in two diplomatic communications reviewed this week, provide a rare glimpse into the type of benefits some governments may have sought while negotiating with Washington over accepting deportees.
In the documents, the United States expressed “appreciation” to South Sudan for receiving the deportees and listed their names, nationalities and the crimes for which each individual had been convicted.
In July, South Sudan became the first African country to accept third-country deportees from the United States. Rwanda, Eswatini, Ghana and Equatorial Guinea have since also received deportees.
The eight men sent to South Sudan included nationals of Mexico, Cuba, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and South Sudan itself.
They arrived in the South Sudanese capital, Juba, after spending weeks on a US military base in Djibouti, where they were held after a US court temporarily blocked their deportation. Six of the eight remain in Juba.
South Sudanese national Dian Peter Domach was later freed, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while Jesus Munoz-Gutierrez, a Mexican national, was repatriated in September.
South Sudanese officials have not publicly outlined any long-term plan for those still in custody. The third-country deportations proved highly contentious, drawing criticism from rights groups and others who warned that South Sudan risked becoming a dumping ground.
Details of the deal between Washington and Juba remain unclear. It is not known what, if anything, South Sudan actually received or was promised in return. The documents offer only a partial picture of what the South Sudanese government hoped to secure.
In other cases, Human Rights Watch said it had seen documents showing the United States agreed to pay Rwanda around $7.5 million to accept up to 250 deportees. Washington will give Eswatini $5.1 million to take up to 160 deportees, according to the group.
For South Sudan, a communication dated May 12, 2025, and marked confidential, shows the Ministry of Foreign Affairs raised eight “matters of concern which the Government of South Sudan believes merit consideration.” These included easing visa restrictions for South Sudanese nationals, building a rehabilitation centre and “support in addressing the problem of armed civilians”.
Among the most striking requests was a call for the lifting of US sanctions on former vice president Benjamin Bol Mel, as well as American support for the prosecution of opposition leader Dr. Riek Machar, the now-suspended first vice president, who faces treason, murder and other charges in a controversial case.
The accusations against Machar stem from violence in March, when the White Army militia, which has historical links to him, attacked a government army garrison in Nasir, Upper Nile state. Machar’s supporters and some activists have described the charges as politically motivated.
Bol Mel is accused of diverting more than $1 billion earmarked for infrastructure projects into companies he owned or controlled, according to a UN report. He wielded significant influence within the government and was viewed by some as President Salva Kiir’s likely successor until he was dismissed and placed under house arrest in November.
Bol Mel was also widely seen as a key figure behind the prosecution of Machar.
Machar was Kiir’s deputy when the two fell out in 2013, triggering a civil war as forces loyal to Kiir clashed with those backing Machar.
A 2018 peace deal returned Machar to government as the most senior of five vice presidents. His prosecution has been widely criticised as a violation of that agreement and has coincided with a surge in violence that the United Nations says killed more than 1,800 people between January and September 2025.
The UN has also warned that renewed fighting has pushed the country “back to the edge of a relapse into civil war.” Machar remains under house arrest in Juba as his criminal trial proceeds.
In its communications with Washington, the South Sudanese government also asked for sanctions on South Sudanese oil companies to be lifted “to encourage direct foreign investments,” and urged the United States to consider investing in sectors including fossil fuels, minerals and agriculture.
The US embassy in Juba could not immediately be reached for comment.
A spokesman for South Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thomas Kenneth, declined to comment, saying he could only comment on documents originating from his office.
Senegalese Prime minister dismisses AFCON tensions with Morocco
RABAT, Morocco
Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko on Monday dismissed post-Africa Cup of Nations tensions between his country and Morocco as "excesses" only caused by "sporting emotions."
Sonko spoke alongisde his Moroccan counterpart Aziz Akhannouch during the 15th Morocco–Senegal Joint Commission for Cooperation held from January 26 to 28 in Rabat.
"This visit therefore comes at a time charged with sporting emotions, regrettable excesses, and images that are sometimes painful for two peoples deeply connected," said Sonko
"The missteps seen here and there should neither be denied nor dramatised. They should be reframed as emotional excesses born of fervour, not as political or cultural rifts," he added.
Hostility rose between football fans on both sides after Senegal’s 1-0 win over Morocco, the tournament's host nation, in the AFCON final on January 18.
Sonko and Akhannouch meet for their countries' first Joint Commission in 12 years. While Sonko said the date for the commission was already set in December, the three-day event provides both countries with a timely opportunity to ease tensions.
"Our conviction is that true victory is measured not only by results, but by our ability to invest in sport as a tool for human and economic development—and to strengthen all of our positions on the world stage," said Akhannouch.
The Moroccan prime minister described this year's AFCON as "a landmark moment in the history of the continental competition."
Morocco and Senegal enjoy a strong bilateral partnership in various fields. Both countries hope to strengthen their relations during the Rabat summit.
Interpol busts global human trafficking network, rescues 4,400 victims
LYON, France
Cross-border law enforcement agency Interpol says it has arrested more than 3,700 people as part of a global crackdown on human traffickers and migrant smugglers.
More than 4,400 potential victims have been protected by the operation, the organisation said on Monday.
Operation Liberterra III took place over eleven days last November, across 119 countries and involved 14,000 police officers.
Interpol highlighted cases involving South Americans and Asians in Africa, saying there appeared to be an emerging change in human trafficking that contrasts with past patterns of African victims being trafficked abroad.
“Criminal networks are evolving, exploiting new routes, digital platforms and vulnerable populations," Interpol Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza said in a statement.
"Identifying these patterns allows law enforcement to anticipate threats, disrupt networks earlier and better protect victims.
Trafficking scams remained a serious concern, with migrants intercepted from dangerous routes along the coasts of Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Morocco and Algeria and land networks in Peru, Brazil and other countries, Interpol said.
Victims in Africa often are recruited through the pretext of foreign employment. Traffickers charge high fees and force victims to recruit friends and family in exchange for improved conditions, furthering a pyramid scheme model, Interpol said.
Authorities in the West and Central African countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Senegal and Sierra Leone reported law enforcement action that rescued more than 200 victims and disrupted "multiple recruitment and exploitation hubs.”
A 2025 cybercrime crackdown in Africa led to the arrest of 1,209 suspects who targeted 88,000 people.
In Asia, authorities discovered 450 workers in a single raid on a compound in Myanmar, Interpol said.
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