EAST AFRICA NEWSPAPERS 31/8/2026

 

Dozens of soldiers arrested in Niger after attempted mutiny

NIAMEY, Niger 

After nearly 24 hours of unrest dozens of soldiers in Niger’s capital were arrested or killed on Saturday after attempting a mutiny.

The revolt was reportedly staged by young soldiers angry about worsening militant violence under the country's present government.

Russia’s Africa Corps provided aerial and ground support to local forces to resist the rebellion, according to analysts and diplomats.

State broadcaster RTN showed footage of dozens of mostly young soldiers being paraded in public after sustained gunfire and explosions were heard overnight into Saturday at a key military base.

The base is located within Niamey’s main airport and near the presidential palace.

The whereabouts of military leader Abdourahamane Tchiani were unclear.

Senior Nigerien military officers visited the Africa Corps base at the airport “and expressed gratitude to its servicemen for their assistance in suppressing the rebellion,” Russian media quoted Moscow’s Ambassador to Niger Viktor Voropayev as saying.

The rebelling soldiers had camped at the military base until late Saturday while the presidential guard secured the presidential palace and was deployed to regain control of the base, analysts and diplomats said.

The loyalist forces have regained the “upper hand at least at the airport (and base),” according to Wassim Nasr, a senior research fellow at the Soufan Center.

Some forces were, however, heading to the capital and it remained unclear if they were coming to support the mutiny or government, Nasr added. 

Once order was restored, hundreds of people gathered in Niamey to show their support for the country's leader, Abdourahmane Tiani.

Ibrahim Boubacar is head of a pro-government association:

"We do not accept that ill-intentioned individuals try to destabilize us, or try to undermine this emancipatory process that we have embraced. Because the external enemies we drove out have vowed to take all necessary measures to destabilize us and create divisions among us."

Tiani came to power in a 2023 coup which he said was prompted by the elected government’s inability to stem jihadist violence.

Since then Niger has severed ties with longtime Western security partners, turning instead to Russia.

But the militant violence and rampant killing of security forces has continued, reportedly fueling unrest within the military.

Some of the mutinous soldiers came from the southwest of the country, among the regions worst-hit by insecurity, diplomats and analysts said.

Guinea-Bissau votes in referendum to expand presidential powers

BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau 

Voters in military-run Guinea-Bissau cast their ballots on Sunday in a referendum that could give the president more powers ahead of a general election meant to restore civilian rule later this year.

Voting got off to a slow start in some neighbourhoods when polls opened at 0700 GMT, AFP correspondents said, after a heavy early morning downpour.

Security was stepped up at strategic points in the capital, with members of the national guard and the police stationed at key locations.

Voting closes at 1700 GMT, with the first provisional results due from Tuesday.

The referendum comes less than 10 months after a coup in which the military seized power in the impoverished Portuguese-speaking west African country.

Shopkeeper Halimatou Traore told AFP she hoped the new constitution would bring positive changes.

"The successive crises the country has gone through have had a very negative impact on my earnings. If everything goes well, Guinea-Bissau will set off on new paths," she said as she waited to vote.

Braima Seidy, 76, a veteran of the war of independence against Portugal, emerged smiling from the polling booth.

"I truly believe that this new Constitution can bring stability to the country," he told AFP.

The junta says the change seeks to stabilise institutions before new presidential and parliamentary elections designed to hand power back to civilians scheduled for December 6.

But the political climate is tense in the coup-prone coastal nation, where the opposition has urged voters to boycott the referendum "in a context of restrictions on public freedoms".

The ruling junta has unanimously approved a constitutional amendment for the country to switch to a presidential system from a parliamentary one, and now the public will be asked to back it.

The new text proposes abandoning the old system whereby the prime minister came from the parliamentary majority, which has led to uncomfortable power-sharing.

It would also allow the head of state to appoint and dismiss the prime minister and members of the government, and to dissolve parliament.

On Sunday, voters will answer "yes" or "no" to the question: "Do you agree with the entry into force of the new constitution approved by the National Transitional Council?"

After the junta seized power last November it appointed General Horta N'Tam as transitional president, under a transitional charter which bars him from running for election.

Nepal flood death toll rises to 734, disaster authority says

KATHMANDU, Nepal 

The death toll from flash floods in Nepal rose to 734 and 2,498 remain missing, its disaster authority said on Sunday (August 30, 2026), as rescue efforts entered a fifth day. 

Chinese state media had earlier confirmed 16 dead in Tibet and 546 people missing. That takes the overall toll to 750 dead and 3,044 missing. 

The number of missing in Nepal rose from the 2,426 recorded in its last update on Saturday evening. 

That list included 589 foreigners, an increase from the 517 previously listed as out of contact. 

It also included 933 workers on hydropower projects along the river which the torrent crashed through, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.

The country's Prime Minister,  Balendra Shah, said the government is with the flood-affected citizens of the country and its priority is to save the life of every citizen.

Nepal’s Foreign Minister and the UN climate chief warned of the growing threat from global warming to the Himalayas, as rescuers race to find thousands missing after torrential flooding along the border with China.

EAST AFRICA NEWSPAPERS 30/8/2026

 

At least 37 dead and hundreds evacuated after strike on Kyiv weapons depot

KYIV, Ukraine

Thirty-seven people have died and almost 400 have been evacuated after a Russian drone strike hit a depot storing weapons for Ukraine's military near a residential area on the outskirts of Kyiv.

The strike caused shells, mines and drones to detonate late on Friday, triggering a blast that damaged nearby properties including a care home for the elderly and disabled, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

He said the storage site "definitely shouldn't have been there" and that an investigation had been launched into "terrible negligence on the part of those who stored explosive right next to people".

The attack is the second to hit a munitions depot near Kyiv in recent months, prompting renewed anger.

Four children are among the 42 people injured in Friday night's explosion, according to regional head Tymur Tkachenko, with a rescue operation ongoing at the site, in the Bucha district, on Saturday.

Russia's Ministry of Defence said in a statement that its forces had targeted "an ammunition depot" in Myla, a village to the west of the Ukrainian capital, holding "components and launch boosters for FP-1/FP-2 long-range unmanned aerial vehicles".

"Everything is completely damaged," local resident Liubov Pavlenko, 45, told our reporter after inspecting her home.

"There are cracks all around the entire perimeter, and cracks around the windows. Basically, the structural integrity has been compromised."

Zelensky said the decision to store explosives in the village was "absolutely unacceptable", adding: "Criminal proceedings have been opened on charges of official negligence."

The office of Ukraine's prosecutor general earlier said it was reviewing the "legality of the placement and storage of explosive objects and materials" near residential buildings in Myla.

It said the "actions of officials who made the relevant decisions" would also be investigated.

However, Zelensky earlier stated that "there are regulations in place - ammunition cannot be stored near homes or other residential areas", adding "appropriate conclusions will certainly be drawn".

He referenced the strike on an ammunition warehouse in Vyshneve in July, which caused a secondary detonation that killed nine, injured dozens more and damaged more than 280 homes.

Friday night's explosion has raised fresh questions about why munitions were being stored so close to people's homes, especially given the regularity of Russian aerial attacks.

"The authorities, the Ministry of Defence - why was this allowed at the depots, in a place where there used to be food?" Borys Daniyluk, 61, said.

"Why were ammunition and weapons stored there, next to a populated village? There are no words, just emotions."

Ukrainian Prime Minister Sergiy Koretsky expressed regret that a "lesson" had not been learned following the explosion in Vyshneve.

The investigation into that incident revealed serious failings on the part of a state-owned company that had not complied with regulations regarding storage of explosives near residential buildings.

Zelensky indicated that the Myla depot had been operated by Ukraine's armed forces.

"In the fifth year of the full-scale invasion, making the same mistakes over and over is criminal negligence," Koretsky said on Telegram.

"Everyone responsible, without exception, must face severe punishment so that such situations never happen again."

US to control 65bn barrels of Venezuela's oil

WASHINGTON, United States 

The United States has reached a deal with Venezuela to control more than 65 billion barrels of its proven oil reserves, President Donald Trump announced.

"This Historic Transaction MORE THAN DOUBLES American Oil Reserves, greatly increases our Oil Supply, and will substantially lower Gas Prices for all Americans," Trump posted on social media.

Venezuela's interim President, Delcy Rodriguez, hailed the agreement as one that would help her nation's economic revival.

Trump vowed to tap Venezuela's reserves, the world's largest, after the US captured its then-President Nicolás Maduro this year. 

More recently, Trump has been under pressure to tame domestic petrol prices, which spiked amid the Iran conflict.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the oil deal "a huge win for both the American and Venezuelan people". Few details were released.

"For the Venezuelan people, this deal will bring nearly $100 billion in private investment, support thousands of high-paying jobs, and drive the reconstruction of Venezuela's economy," Rubio said on social media.

In his own post, Trump said Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth had reached the agreement with Venezuela's leadership "through a partnership with private business".

He did not elaborate on the partnership or describe possible commitments and terms for the US in the deal, but he claimed the agreement was reached "at no cost to the American Taxpayer".

Venezuela's interim president said in a statement that the agreement would have "a significant impact on our nation's revival".

The deal calls for the development of 17 strategic oil fields with a proven potential of 65 billion barrels, as well as "an investment of more than $100 billion, and more than $209 billion in taxes for the State", Rodriguez said.

"These investments will contribute not only to the recovery and modernization of our industry, but also to our country's economic growth, the energy security of our hemisphere, and greater balance in international markets," she said.

Under the deal the US government will retain 55% control of a joint venture with an "experienced private operator in Venezuela", a US official said.

Rodriguez gave the venture a 100-year concession to operate in the oil fields, according to the official.

Trump gave few specifics of the highly unusual agreement, which apparently grants the US direct governance over a foreign country's sovereign national resources.

The deal would also appear to be wider in scope than the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority's control over Iraq's oil revenues after Saddam Hussein was ousted in an American-led invasion in 2003.

But it is unclear whether the Venezuela agreement could face legal and constitutional challenges in the South American nation. The official text of the agreement between Washington and Caracas has not been released.

President Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were seized in a US special forces operation authorised by Trump on 3 January.

In the hours after the raid, Trump said his administration would run Venezuela until a "safe, proper and judicious transition" could take place, adding that the US would indefinitely control the sale of the country's oil.

Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves in the world - an estimated 303 billion barrels. However, production has plummeted since its peak in the late 1990s.

Trump has asked US oil firms to invest at least $100bn (£75bn) to restore the country's oil industry.

He has also claimed the rights to Venezuela's oil after saying that the country had in the past "unilaterally seized and sold American oil, American assets and American platforms, costing us billions and billions of dollars".

EAST AFRICA NEWSPAPERS 29/8/2026

Zambian opposition leader Mundubile taken into custody on treason charges

LUSAKA, Zambia 

Zambian opposition leader Brian Mundubile and his presidential running mate Makebi Zulu have been taken into custody over allegations of treason, police said on Thursday.

Mundubile reportedly surrendered to police after two weeks in hiding following a summons over an alleged national security threat.

The 55-year-old lawyer was runner-up in this month’s presidential election that saw incumbent Hakainde Hichilema re-elected with 60 percent of the vote, according to official results.

Mundubile, who received 38 percent, had vowed to challenge the result but Zambia closed down its entire judiciary on Monday, the last day for filing an objection, citing “security reasons.”

International NGO Human Rights Watch said the closure was “without credible explanation,” calling it “a blow to the administration of law, transparency, and due process in Zambia.”

The Constitutional Court said on Tuesday it had not received any petition challenging the election outcome, clearing the way for Hichilema's inauguration.

However, Chief Justice Mumba Malila said he had received a petition from a member of the public on his private email address.

He called the submission "highly irregular" but said he had referred it to the Constitutional Court for consideration.

Mundubile took refuge the day after the August 13 election at an international human rights organisation after police raided his home.

Former cabinet minister Mutotwe Kafwaya was shot and killed during the operation, and 11 people were arrested. Police alleged they were involved in insurgency or militia activity, allegations Mundubile dismissed as “fabricated.”

U.S. deports dozens to Haiti as migrants arrive in unfamiliar country

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti 

More than 50 people have been deported from the United States to Haiti, arriving in the northern city of Cap-Haïtien as the country grapples with deadly gang violence and insecurity.

Among those on Thursday’s flight was Jay Dabelus, a professional boxer who was born in the Bahamas and says he has never lived in Haiti.

“I just arrived in Haiti. I don’t know much about Haiti. Actually, I don’t know anything about Haiti. I was born in the Bahamas, and I had been living in the U.S.A. for about 20-something years.”

Dabelus said he left the Bahamas as a child and spent more than two decades in the United States before being detained and deported.

Now in Haiti, he says he has no family or resources to rely on.

“Other than that, I’m in the land of Haiti. It is nice here, but I am trying to move on. I don’t have any resources, family members, or people to aid me, so I am trying to see how I can go from there.”

The flight carried more than 50 deportees, including two minors, according to Haiti's National Office of Migration.

It arrived in Cap-Haïtien because the main airport in Port-au-Prince is considered too dangerous amid widespread gang violence.

The deportation comes days after a gang attack in Haiti left 47 people dead and more than 50 kidnapped.

It is the second U.S. deportation flight to Haiti since Temporary Protected Status was ended for some 350,000 Haitians living in the United States.

The first flight, on August 20, carried more than 160 people.

As with previous arrivals, several deportees covered their faces after landing, highlighting the security fears they face in a country many may have little or no connection to.

'High risk' of lake breaching and causing second flood, warns China

TIBET, China 

China has warned there is a "high risk" that a lake which formed after the recent landslide near the Nepal-Tibet border may breach its banks, causing a second flood downstream.

The warning comes after Wednesday's deadly flash flood in the same area which scientists say was triggered by the collapse of a mountain glacier into a river.

As of Friday morning, an estimated 2.5 million cubic metres of water had accumulated at the barrier lake, according to state broadcaster CCTV. A barrier lake is a body of water formed when debris dams up a river.

Officials said that three million cubic metres of water is expected to flow into the lake between Thursday and the weekend, posing a "high risk of breach".

The barrier lake, which formed at the confluence of the Chhochen Khola and Purepu Tsangpo rivers, has already started to overflow, according to China's Ministry of Water Resources. 

The area has also seen heavy rain.

Authorities have sent engineering teams to monitor the lake's water levels and the atmospheric conditions.

A CCTV report on Friday morning said that most of the Chinese emergency services were stuck at a village about 7km (4 miles) from Gyirong Port, the major land crossing linking Nepal and China which was hit by Wednesday's massive flood.

This was because the barrier lake was "overflowing non-stop" which could lead to fresh floods or debris flows.

Due to the risks, search and rescue operations had to be suspended near the Nepal-Tibet border, according to the report.

The lake is in the same region as the Langtang Lirung peak, where the collapsed glacier is believed to have originated, and several kilometres upstream from Gyirong Port.

Separately, Nepali authorities have warned of the risk of blockages causing further floods along the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli rivers.

They have warned people to stay away from the rivers until further notice.

Scientists have said that the flood on Wednesday was likely to have been caused by part of a glacier near Langtang Lirung collapsing into the river below, which in turn caused a massive surge downstream carrying water and debris.

Several hundred people have died in Nepal and with hundreds more still missing after the flash flood. On the Tibet side of the border alone, more than 550 are missing - nearly half of which are foreigners.