Friday, May 15, 2026
Thursday, May 14, 2026
Mali's army carries out overnight strikes on rebel-held city of Kidal
BAMAKO, Mali
Mali’s army reportedly carried out several strikes overnight Wednesday to Thursday on the town of Kidal in the desert region in the north of the country.
It has been under the control of Tuareg rebels and their allies from the JNIM jihadist group since their large-scale coordinated attacks across the country in late April.
Their rare alliance enabled a rapid campaign that saw several strategic military bases overrun across northern Mali.
Residents have told our Correspondent they heard at least four explosions in Kidal on Wednesday night which caused material damage.
One strike reportedly hit a house near a former market, destroying it, while another struck the governor’s compound.
A Malian army officer says the armed forces are targeting specific objectives and warned the strikes will be intensifying in the coming days.
Witnesses say Kidal was unusually calm on Thursday morning with very little traffic on the roads.
The strategic town served as an unofficial headquarters of the Tuareg Azawad Liberation Front coalition for more than a decade
It was captured by Mali's army in late 2023 with the help of Russian mercenaries.
How China changed Rubio name to let him join Trump summit despite sanctions
BEIJING, China
How did United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio enter China despite being under sanctions by Beijing?
Well, this became possible thanks to a linguistic workaround and diplomatic protocol by China, which had sanctioned Rubio twice when he was still a senator.
Rubio accompanied US President Donald Trump on his first trip to China after Beijing changed the transliteration of Rubio’s name.
“China has done that using a sleight of hand: His name is spelled different."
The Chinese government appeared to have used a diplomatic workaround to let the secretary of state in, transliterating the first syllable of his surname with a different Chinese character for “lu”.
The name change to “Marco Lu” enabled Beijing to welcome Rubio without lifting the sanctions, which could be enforced on another occasion.
The Chinese government and official media began transliterating Rubio’s surname with a different Chinese character shortly before he took office as secretary of state in January 2025.
In March, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated it was willing to relax those sanctions against Rubio if he were to travel with Trump for a summit in Beijing.
“China’s sanctions were aimed at Mr Rubio’s words and deeds concerning China during his tenure in the United States Senate,” Lin Jian, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said on March 16.
The sanctions date back to when Rubio served as a US senator in Florida, from 2019 up to his nomination to join Trump’s administration.
The Chinese government sanctioned him twice in 2020 for speaking out against Beijing’s crackdown in Hong Kong, a former British colony that is demanding greater autonomy from China’s grip.
Rubio, a Cuban American and a stark critic of communism, also slammed China’s alleged abuse of the mostly Muslim Uighur minority in Xinjiang, an autonomous territory in northwest China.
As senator, Rubio was also one of the proponents of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, a congressional bill approved in 2021 that required companies to prove that goods imported from China’s Xinjiang region were not produced with forced labour.
“Many companies have already taken steps to clean up their supply chains,” Rubio said at the time. “For those who have not done that, they’ll no longer be able to continue to make Americans – every one of us, frankly – unwitting accomplices in the atrocities, in the genocide.”
"Differences over Taiwan could bring US and China to conflict more" - Xi warns Trump
By Will Weissert, BEIJING China
Chinese leader Xi Jinping offered stark warnings about avoiding possible clashes between his nation and the U.S. on Thursday, and even cautioned visiting President Donald Trump that Washington’s handling of its relations with Taiwan could lead to “conflicts.”
His tone was a sharp contrast to Trump, who opened the highly anticipated summit with Xi by praising his Chinese counterpart and declaring that “it’s an honor to be your friend.”
It underscored just how far apart the leaders remain on thorny issues including the war in Iran, trade disputes and Taiwan — and suggested that Trump’s three-day visit to China is likely to be longer on pageantry and symbolism than major bilateral breakthroughs.
The pair met for about two hours behind closed doors at the Great Hall of the People and discussed trade and other issues.
According to a readout posted on X by Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning, Xi told Trump that “the Taiwan question is the most important issue in China-U.S. relations.”
“If it is handled properly, the bilateral relationship will enjoy overall stability. Otherwise, the two countries will have clashes and even conflicts, putting the entire relationship in great jeopardy,” she wrote.
That came after a brief public exchange before the meeting began in which Trump offered platitudes, telling Xi: “You’re a great leader. Sometimes people don’t like me saying it, but I say it anyway, because it’s true.”
“It’s an honor to be with you. It’s an honor to be your friend,” Trump said before promising that “the relationship between China and the USA is going to be better than ever before.”
Xi was darker in his opening remarks, expressing hope that the U.S. and China could avoid conflict and asking “whether the two countries can transcend the ‘Thucydides Trap’ and forge a new model for relations between major powers.”
He used a term popular in foreign policy studies, referring to the idea that when a rising power threatens to displace an established power, the result is often war.
“Cooperation benefits both sides, while confrontation harms both,” Xi said. “The two countries should be partners rather than rivals.”
Xi has mentioned “Thucydides Trap” before with regards to U.S.-China relations, dating back to as early as 2014.
France to host conference on financing AU peace efforts, says Macron
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia
A conference on financing the African Union's peace efforts will be held in Paris by the end of this year, French President Emmanuel Macron said while on a visit to Ethiopia.
Macron has been in Africa on a five-day visit this week, including for a two-day economic summit in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.
On Wednesday, he held informal talks with AU chairman Mahamoud Ali Youssouf and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
"An international conference to raise additional funds and mobilise new public and private partners" for the African Union Peace Fund will be organised "in the last quarter of this year in Paris", he added.
The fund, set up in 1993 by the AU's predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity, is reliant on contributions from AU member states, the private sector and individuals.
It was blocked for two decades until 2018 and some $400 million was raised in 2024.
Macron also called for the effective implementation of UN Resolution 2719, which was adopted in 2023 and provides for mandatory contributions from United Nations member states to finance AU peace operations.
During his Africa tour, the French head of state said he wanted the AU to have "more capacity" for peacekeeping operations and to "build its own mediation efforts".
Macron, who reaffirmed his support for permanent seats for Africa on the UN Security Council, said he planned to raise mediation efforts in the conflict-hit eastern Democratic Republic of Congo with the UN and AU.
Kenya's President William Ruto has been invited to represent Africa at next month's G7 meeting in France, he said, adding that Paris would also assist Africa in the fallout from the US-Israeli war against Iran and closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
"The entire global economy is obviously affected by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, but the African continent particularly so," Macron said, without elaborating on the initiative.
Wednesday, May 13, 2026
East Africa richest man takes on Coca Cola with Sh6.5bn Kenya plant
By Our Correspondent, NAIROBI Kenya
In a move that could reshape Kenya’s fiercely competitive beverage sector, East Africa’s richest man, Mohammed “Mo” Dewji, is preparing to challenge Coca-Cola and Pepsi head-on.
The Tanzanian billionaire, whose net worth Forbes pegs at $2.1 billion (Sh271 billion), is investing Sh6.5 billion ($50 million) in a new soft-drinks plant in Mombasa through his conglomerate, Mohammed Enterprises Tanzania Limited (MeTL Group).
The facility will produce MeTL’s signature affordable brands — Mo Cola, Mo Xtra, and Mo Malto — targeting price-sensitive consumers long overlooked by multinational giants.
Dewji, speaking on the sidelines of the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi this week, confirmed the project is at the “drawing table” stage.
“We cannot afford to ignore Kenya because it is the largest economy in our region,” he told Business Daily. “Yes, Kenya is more advanced, more competitive, but if you’re taking a long-term tenure, then it is definitely a country that you cannot ignore.”
Construction could break ground within 12 months, with the company weighing a full greenfield build or possible acquisitions and mergers.
The strategy mirrors MeTL’s runaway success in Tanzania, where its low-cost beverages overtook Coca-Cola sales within a decade by offering 300ml bottles of Mo Cola for roughly Sh15 — less than half the industry average of Sh40 in Kenya.
In a market where Coca-Cola and Pepsi dominate, local challengers have struggled. Kevian Kenya (Pick n Peel) holds just 4.8 percent share, while smaller players like Excel Chemicals and Highlands trail far behind.
Analysts note that past entrants, including the once-promising Softa Bottling Company, collapsed under the weight of distribution battles and marketing muscle from the giants.
Stephen Mutoro, secretary-general of the Consumers Federation of Kenya, sees opportunity in the gap. “What is needed is a beverage product that focuses on poor consumers,” he said.
“Most of the brands available do not cater for that consumer group. But also, fair trade practices will help a newcomer survive.”
MeTL’s entry is the latest in a wave of Tanzanian big-ticket investments in Kenya, including the acquisition of Bamburi Cement and expansions in LPG and energy.
Dewji is also eyeing independent power production and hotel developments, capitalising on President William Ruto’s push to lease land for hospitality projects.
For Kenya, the plant promises jobs, technology transfer, and intensified competition that could lower prices.
For East Africa’s business landscape, it underscores growing intra-regional capital flows and the rising clout of Tanzanian tycoons in Nairobi’s economy. Yet challenges remain: building deep distribution networks, sustaining marketing spend, and navigating regulatory hurdles in a market long accustomed to duopoly dominance.
Dewji, who built MeTL into one of Tanzania’s largest conglomerates serving everyday needs from sugar to fuel, is no stranger to disruption.
His low-price model has already democratised soft drinks for millions of low-income Tanzanians.
If the Mombasa plant delivers similar results, Kenya’s beverage aisles may soon look very different — and Coca-Cola’s regional supremacy could face its stiffest test yet.
The announcement comes as East African economies seek greater self-reliance and intra-African investment under the African Continental Free Trade Area.
Dewji’s bet signals confidence in Kenya’s long-term growth despite short-term competitive pressures.
Whether Mo Cola becomes a household name in Kenya remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: East Africa’s richest man is playing to win.
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