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Saturday, December 31, 2022

Former Pope Benedict XVI dies at 95

VATICAN CITY

The 95-year-old Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI passed away on Saturday at 9:34 AM in his residence at the Vatican's Mater Ecclesiae Monastery.

The Holy See Press Office announced that the Pope Emeritus died at 9:34 AM on Saturday morning in his residence at the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery, which the 95-year-old Pope emeritus had chosen as his residence after resigning from the Petrine ministry in 2013.

"With sorrow I inform you that the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, passed away today at 9:34 AM in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican. Further information will be provided as soon as possible.  As of Monday morning, 2 January 2023, the body of the Pope Emeritus will be in Saint Peter's Basilica so the faithful can bid farewell." 

Already for several days, the health conditions of the Pope Emeritus had worsened due to advancing age, as the Press Office had reported in its updates of the evolving situation.

Pope Francis himself publicly shared the news about his predecessor's worsening health at the end of the last General Audience of the year, on 28 December.

The Pope had invited people to pray for the Pope Emeritus, who was "very ill," so that the Lord might console him and support him "in this witness of love for the Church until the end."

Following this invitation, prayer initiatives sprung up and multiplied on all continents, along with an outpouring of messages of solidarity and closeness from secular leaders.

In the next few hours, the Holy See Press Office will communicate details for the funeral rite.

Benedict, who in 2013 became the first pontiff to resign in six centuries, has almost entirely withdrawn from public view.

The few photographs that have emerged have shown him to be in increasingly frail health.

He had cited his declining physical and mental health back in 2013 in his decision to become the first pope since 1415 to give up the job as head of the worldwide Catholic Church.

The German pope emeritus, whose real name is Joseph Ratzinger, has been living a quiet life in a former convent inside the Vatican.

His resignation created an unprecedented situation in which two popes — Benedict and his successor, Pope Francis — have co-existed within the walls of the tiny city state.

In April, Benedict's long-time secretary, Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, told Vatican News the ex-pope was "physically relatively weak and fragile", but "in good spirits".

Benedict was 78 when he succeeded the long-reigning and popular John Paul II in April 2005.

His papacy was beset by Church infighting and outcry over paedophilia.

He became the first pontiff to apologise for the scandals that emerged around the world, expressing "deep remorse" and meeting with victims in person.

But while he took key steps to tackling clerical child abuse, he was criticised for failing to end Church cover-ups.

The abuse scandal has returned to haunt him in retirement.

A damning report for the German church in January 2022 accused him of personally failing to stop four predatory priests in the 1980s while archbishop of Munich.

Benedict has denied wrongdoing and the Vatican has strongly defended his record.

Friday, December 30, 2022

Mali court sentences 46 Ivorian soldiers to 20 years in prison

BAMAKO, Mali

A court in Mali has sentenced 46 Ivorian troops whose detention in Mali sparked a diplomatic row between the two countries to 20 years in prison, the public prosecutor said Friday.

Three women soldiers among the original group detained in July, and who were freed in early September, were sentenced to death in absentia.

The trial of the 46 Ivorian troops had wrapped up earlier on Friday after opening in the capital Bamako on Thursday.

The court proceedings came in the run-up to a January 1 deadline set by West African leaders for Mali to release the soldiers or face sanctions.

The Ivorians were found guilty of an "attack and conspiracy against the government" and seeking to undermine state security, public prosecutor Ladji Sara said in a statement.

The court proceedings were held behind closed doors and under heavy security, an AFP journalist noted.

Forty-nine troops from Ivory Coast were detained after they arrived at Bamako airport on July 10. Three of them, all women, were later freed.

Those remaining, branded by Mali's junta as "mercenaries", were charged the following month with seeking to undermine state security.

Ivory Coast and the United Nations say the troops were flown in to provide routine backup security for the German contingent of the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali.

The row escalated in September, when diplomatic sources in the region said Mali wanted Ivory Coast to acknowledge its responsibility and express regret for deploying the soldiers.

Bamako also wanted Ivory Coast to hand over people who had been on its territory since 2013 but who are wanted in Mali, they said.

Ivory Coast rejected both demands and was prepared for extended negotiations to free the men, the sources said.

An Ivorian delegation travelled to Mali last week for talks on the crisis, and the Ivorian defence ministry said it was "on the way to being resolved".

An agreement reached last week between Mali and Ivory Coast leaves the possibility open of a presidential pardon by Mali's junta leader Assimi Goita, who is due to make a national address on Saturday.

On December 4, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) set New Year's Day as a deadline for the soldiers' release, failing which the bloc would impose new sanctions against Mali.

Top stories that shaped Africa in 2022

By Osoro Nyawangah, MWANZA Tanzania

The year of 2022 has been a challenging year for Africa, but one that has had many bright spots too. When the bell for the year 2023 is about to ring, let’s look back at top stories that shaped Africa in the past year.

This year started with the Russian-Ukraine conflict that had an impact on the Africa. The conflict led to the food prices increase, which jeopardized food security in the continent.

The year of 2022 was meant to be the year of climate action with many pledges being made by world leaders in Glasgow during COP26 last year. however, as the year ends, it wraps up a year that set grim new records on climate change which saw Africa batter record-breaking floods and droughts.

Democratically, the year saw US president, Joe Biden inviting 50 African leaders to a 'US, Africa leaders' summit' where he commited financial support and had a special meeting with leaders of Congo, Gabon, Liberia, Madagascar, Nigeria and Sierra Leone where they discussed their upcoming elections during what the White House says is a "critical time for democracy globally."

Politically, Africa witnessed two coups in Burkina Faso and one attempted coup in Guinea-Bissau.

The province of North Kivu in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has faced significant instability due to the resurgent March 23 Movement (M23), which has resumed clashes with the Congolese armed forces (FARDC) in the territories of Rutshuru and Nyiragongo since June 2022.

The Congolese government claims the aggression is orchestrated by Rwanda, using M23 as a cover, arguing that M23 would otherwise have neither the manpower nor the material capacity to confront the FARDC.

In Chad, protesters took to the streets in October to demand that the ruling military junta stick to its promises to hold elections. Security forces reportedly opened fire on protesters in several cities across the country, including N’Djamena, the capital, killing at least 50 people and injuring dozens more.

In Sudan, protests against military rule continued throughout the year. Sudan’s military and civilian leaders in December signed an initial deal aimed at ending the crisis that followed a coup a year ago.

In Sierra Leone, dozens of protesters and police officers were killed in August as people vented their anger over the soaring cost of living. The West African political and economic bloc ECOWAS condemned the violence.

In 2022, Ethiopian government and the TPLF signed a peace agreement in a bid to stop a conflict that has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands and displaced millions more. One month on, the guns have fallen silent and there’s been a resumption of basic services like water and electricity in parts of the Tigray region.

Though 2022 has not entirely been a year riddled with political instability for the continent, there have also been a few bright spots. A number of African countries went to the polls this year and despite some disputes were able to navigate the process successfully.

In this year, relations between China and Africa continued to grow as the two sides collaborated in various sectors, including partnering to fight the COVID pandemic, addressing food security challenges and generating economic development and empowerment.

The year saw over 20 million people, including 10 million children, in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia facing water and food shortage due to drought.

As severe malnutrition and the risk of water-borne disease collide, children could die in devastating numbers unless urgent support is provided. - Africa

Botswana issues arrest warrant for former president

GABORONE, Botswana

A court in Botswana has issued an arrest warrant for former President Ian Khama for the possession of illegal firearms.

The judge issued orders that Mr Khama should be arrested on sight.

The 69-year-old left the country last year and has been residing in neighbouring South Africa.

He has denied the charges and says they are part of a political conspiracy after he fell out with his successor President Mokgweetsi Masisi.

Mr Khama left office in 2018 after two five-year terms.

He is facing 14 charges including allegations of money laundering and handling stolen property. The warrant issued is only for the possession of five illegal firearms.

He is jointly charged with the former heads of intelligence and police services.

The arrest warrant follows Mr Khama's failure to appear for trial earlier this year. It could pave the way for Botswana to seek his extradition from South Africa.

Mr Khama, the son of Botswana's first President Seretse Khama, told Botswana's Mmegi news site he would welcome an extradition request as it would give him the chance to expose the "lies" being told about him, in a foreign court.

He told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme in April that the charges were "fabricated" and that he suspected people in Mr Masisi's government intended "to do me harm".

"He wants to eliminate me before the 2024 elections because he views me as his biggest stumbling block to his re-election," Mr Khama said of his successor.

The government called his allegations of a planned assassination "outrageous".

"The narrative that the former president and his family members are being persecuted is devoid of any truth," government spokesperson John-Thomas Dipowe said in May. - BBC

Thursday, December 29, 2022

Pelé, Brazil’s mighty king of ‘beautiful game,’ has died

SAO PAULO, Brazil

Pelé, the Brazilian king of soccer who won a record three World Cups and became one of the most commanding sports figures of the last century, died Thursday. He was 82.

The standard-bearer of “the beautiful game” had undergone treatment for colon cancer since 2021. The medical center where he had been hospitalized for the last month said he died of multiple organ failure as a result of the cancer.

"Pelé changed everything. He transformed football into art, entertainment,” Neymar, a fellow Brazilian soccer star, said on Instagram. “Football and Brazil elevated their standing thanks to the King! He is gone, but his magic will endure. Pelé is eternal!”

A funeral was planned for Monday and Tuesday, with his casket to be carried through the streets of Santos, the coastal city where his storied career began, before burial.

Widely regarded as one of soccer’s greatest players, Pelé spent nearly two decades enchanting fans and dazzling opponents as the game’s most prolific scorer with Brazilian club Santos and the Brazil national team.

His grace, athleticism and mesmerizing moves transfixed players and fans. He orchestrated a fast, fluid style that revolutionized the sport — a samba-like flair that personified his country’s elegance on the field.

He carried Brazil to soccer’s heights and became a global ambassador for his sport in a journey that began on the streets of Sao Paulo state, where he would kick a sock stuffed with newspapers or rags.

In the conversation about soccer’s greatest players, only the late Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are mentioned alongside Pelé.

Different sources, counting different sets of games, list Pelé’s goal totals anywhere between 650 (league matches) and 1,281 (all senior matches, some against low-level competition.)

The player who would be dubbed “The King” was introduced to the world at 17 at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, the youngest player ever at the tournament. He was carried off the field on teammates’ shoulders after scoring two goals in Brazil’s 5-2 victory over the host country in the final.

Injury limited him to just two games when Brazil retained the world title in 1962, but Pelé was the emblem of his country’s World Cup triumph of 1970 in Mexico. He scored in the final and set up Carlos Alberto with a nonchalant pass for the last goal in a 4-1 victory over Italy.

The image of Pelé in a bright, yellow Brazil jersey, with the No. 10 stamped on the back, remains alive with soccer fans everywhere. As does his trademark goal celebration — a leap with a right fist thrust high above his head.

Pelé’s fame was such that in 1967 factions of a civil war in Nigeria agreed to a brief cease-fire so he could play an exhibition match in the country. He was knighted by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II in 1997. When he visited Washington to help popularize the game in North America, it was the U.S. president who stuck out his hand first.

"My name is Ronald Reagan, I’m the president of the United States of America,” the host said to his visitor. “But you don’t need to introduce yourself because everyone knows who Pelé is.”

Pelé was Brazil’s first modern Black national hero but rarely spoke about racism in a country where the rich and powerful tend to hail from the white minority.

Opposing fans taunted Pelé with monkey chants at home and all over the world.

"He said that he would never play if he had to stop every time he heard those chants,” said Angelica Basthi, one of Pelé’s biographers. “He is key for Black people’s pride in Brazil, but never wanted to be a flagbearer.”

Pelé’s life after soccer took many forms. He was a politician -- Brazil’s Extraordinary Minister for Sport -- a wealthy businessman, and an ambassador for UNESCO and the United Nations.

He had roles in movies, soap operas and even composed songs and recorded CDs of popular Brazilian music.

As his health deteriorated, his travels and appearances became less frequent. He was often seen in a wheelchair during his final years and did not attend a ceremony to unveil a statue of him representing Brazil’s 1970 World Cup team. Pelé spent his 80th birthday isolated with a few family members at a beach home.

Born Edson Arantes do Nascimento, in the small city of Tres Coracoes in the interior of Minas Gerais state on Oct. 23, 1940, Pelé grew up shining shoes to buy his modest soccer gear.

Pelé’s talent drew attention when he was 11, and a local professional player brought him to Santos’ youth squads. It didn’t take long for him to make it to the senior squad.

Despite his youth and 5-foot-8 frame, he scored against grown men with the same ease he displayed against friends back home. He debuted with the Brazilian club at 16 in 1956, and the club quickly gained worldwide recognition.

The name Pelé came from him mispronouncing the name of a player called Bilé.

He went to the 1958 World Cup as a reserve but became a key player for his country’s championship team. His first goal, in which he flicked the ball over the head of a defender and raced around him to volley it home, was voted as one of the best in World Cup history.

The 1966 World Cup in England — won by the hosts — was a bitter one for Pelé, by then already considered the world’s top player. Brazil was knocked out in the group stage and Pelé, angry at the rough treatment, swore it was his last World Cup.

He changed his mind and was rejuvenated in the 1970 World Cup. In a game against England, he struck a header for a certain score, but the great goalkeeper Gordon Banks flipped the ball over the bar in an astonishing move. Pelé likened the save — one of the best in World Cup history — to a “salmon climbing up a waterfall.” Later, he scored the opening goal in the final against Italy, his last World Cup match.

In all, Pelé played 114 matches with Brazil, scoring a record 95 goals, including 77 in official matches.

His run with Santos stretched over three decades until he went into semi-retirement after the 1972 season. Wealthy European clubs tried to sign him, but the Brazilian government intervened to keep him from being sold, declaring him a national treasure.

On the field, Pelé’s energy, vision and imagination drove a gifted Brazilian national team with a fast, fluid style of play that exemplified “O Jogo Bonito” -- Portuguese for “The Beautiful Game.” His 1977 autobiography, “My Life and the Beautiful Game,” made the phrase part of soccer’s lexicon.

In 1975, he joined the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League. Although 34 and past his prime, Pelé gave soccer a higher profile in North America. He led the Cosmos to the 1977 league title and scored 64 goals in three seasons.

Pelé ended his career on Oct. 1, 1977, in an exhibition between the Cosmos and Santos before a crowd in New Jersey of some 77,000. He played half the game with each club. Among the dignitaries on hand was perhaps the only other athlete whose renown spanned the globe — Muhammad Ali.

Pelé would endure difficult times in his personal life, especially when his son Edinho was arrested on drug-related charges. Pelé had two daughters out of wedlock and five children from his first two marriages, to Rosemeri dos Reis Cholbi and Assiria Seixas Lemos. He later married businesswoman Marcia Cibele Aoki.

30,000 flee ethnic violence in South Sudan, UN says

JUBA, South Sudan

Armed raids in a region of South Sudan plagued by ethnic clashes have forced around 30,000 civilians to flee their homes, the UN’s emergency response agency said Thursday as international partners demanded an end to the violence.

On December 24, armed men from Jonglei state, an eastern region beset by gun violence, attacked communities in nearby Greater Pibor Administrative Area, the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement.

The violence followed clashes last month in South Sudan’s far north that uprooted thousands in Upper Nile state.

"People have suffered enough. Civilians, especially those most vulnerable -– women, children, the elderly and the disabled –- bear the brunt of this prolonged crisis,” said Sara Beysolow Nyanti, the UN humanitarian coordinator in South Sudan.

Some 5,000 people have sought shelter in Pibor town, OCHA said, adding that the humanitarian response was severely stretched.

The clashes in Upper Nile state have also seen villagers seek shelter in swamps to escape the bloodshed, amid reports of civilians being raped, kidnapped or murdered.

International partners including the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and the regional IGAD bloc, said in a joint statement Thursday that they were “gravely concerned” by the escalating violence.

They called on South Sudan’s leaders to step in, stressing “the need to investigate and hold accountable all perpetrators of the conflict, including those who are instigating and inciting violence.”

One of the poorest countries on the planet despite large oil reserves, South Sudan’s leadership has faced fierce criticism for failing its people and stoking violence.

Western powers including the United States and European Union said this month that South Sudan’s leaders bore responsibility for the deadly clashes.

Since achieving independence from Sudan in 2011, the world’s newest nation has lurched from one crisis to another, including a brutal five-year civil war between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and his deputy Riek Machar that left nearly 400,000 people dead.

A peace deal was signed in 2018 but sporadic bursts of violence between government and opposition forces continue to occur, while conflict between rival ethnic groups in lawless parts of the country exacts a terrible toll on civilians. - Africa

Wednesday, December 28, 2022

At least 57 killed in South Sudan ethnic violence

JUBA, South Sudan 

At least 57 people were killed and more than a dozen others injured during recent ethnic violence in South Sudan’s eastern Jonglei region, a local official said Wednesday.

Armed groups of youths from the Nuer tribe attacked members of the Murle ethnic group in the Greater Pibor administrative area, Greater Pibor’s information minister Abraham Kelang said.

South Sudan, which gained independence from Sudan in 2011, has been blighted by political and communal violence and clashes over cattle and land disputes for decades.

Kelang said the fighting started on Sunday when armed youths from Jonglei attacked Lanam village.

He said members of both groups were killed while 17 people on the Murle side were among the injured.

Murle community youth association chairperson David Ngiro condemned the fighting and urged humanitarian groups to intervene.

"We also call on the central government and the government of Jonglei State to take action to stop this act of genocidal nature aimed towards the Murle tribe,” he said on Wednesday.

Jonglei State information minister John Samuel Manyuon also condemned the fighting and ordered state youth to withdraw immediately.

He further called on the national government in Juba to intervene, saying the situation is out of the local state’s control.

“This is a cycle of violence that has been going on for many years, and we want that support from the national (government) and our partners to see the solution in ending (it),” Manyuon said.

The Jonglei youths also attacked a military barracks. Military spokesperson Maj. Gen. Lul Ruai said the “rebellion” would be dealt with accordingly.

Recently, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan warned about reported mobilization of armed Nuer youths in the Greater Jonglei area. It said that could trigger violent attacks that can undermine recent peace gains achieved through a rapprochement between the leaders of Jonglei state and Pibor area.

In March 2020, similar fighting between the two communities displaced thousands.

Insecurity remains rife across the landlocked East African country despite the formation of a transitional government in February 2020, which reinstalled Riek Machar as the country’s first vice president. - AP

Ghana to fight for CHAN title after six-year absence

ACCRA, Ghana

Ghana will return to the 2022 TotalEnergies African Nations Championship after a six-year absence with hopes of replicating their previous praiseworthy performances in the tournament in Algeria.

The Black Galaxies hopes of excelling in the tournament have been boosted by the presence of two players Danlad Ibrahim and Afriyie Barnieh who were part of the Black Stars squad at the just-ended 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

They were impressive in their qualifying campaign sparking hopes that they would replicate their showing in the 2009 and 2014 edition of the tournaments where they reached the final competition exclusively for home-based players.

The intentions were made clear during the qualifiers as they got a smooth run over Benin in the preliminary round, claiming back-to-back wins in both legs in Cape Coast and Cotonou to progress with a 4-0 aggregate score line.

Ghana then faced arch-rivals and continental giants Nigeria in the next round in a keenly contested tie with the Ghanaians sailing through via the post-match penalty shootouts.

The first leg ended 2-0 in Ghana's favour in Cape Coast, and a similar score line was registered in favour of Nigeria in Abuja before the penalties decided the winner.

The victory sealed the Black Galaxies’ place to give them another chance to make as they seek to fight for the ultimate in their fourth appearance in the tournament.

Ghana have been handed a tough draw to play title holders Morocco as well as Sudan and Madagascar in Group C.

"Ex-pontiff Benedict 'very ill'" - Pope Francis

VATICAN CITY

Pope Francis said Wednesday that former pontiff Benedict XVI, 95, whose health has steadily been deteriorating, is "very ill" and called on the faithful to pray for him. 

Benedict, who in 2013 became the first pontiff to resign in six centuries, has almost entirely withdrawn from public view.

The few photographs that have emerged have shown him to be in increasingly frail health.

"I would like to ask all of you to pray a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict," Francis said at the end of his general audience.

He called on people to "remember him, because he is very ill, asking the Lord to console and support him".

Benedict had cited his declining physical and mental health back in 2013 in his decision to become the first pope since 1415 to give up the job as head of the worldwide Catholic Church.

The German pope emeritus, whose real name is Joseph Ratzinger, has been living a quiet life in a former convent inside the Vatican.

His resignation created an unprecedented situation in which two popes — Benedict and his successor, Pope Francis — have co-existed within the walls of the tiny city state.

In April, Benedict's long-time secretary, Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, told Vatican News the ex-pope was "physically relatively weak and fragile", but "in good spirits".

Benedict was 78 when he succeeded the long-reigning and popular John Paul II in April 2005.

His papacy was beset by Church infighting and outcry over paedophilia.

He became the first pontiff to apologise for the scandals that emerged around the world, expressing "deep remorse" and meeting with victims in person.

But while he took key steps to tackling clerical child abuse, he was criticised for failing to end Church cover-ups.

The abuse scandal has returned to haunt him in retirement.

A damning report for the German church in January 2022 accused him of personally failing to stop four predatory priests in the 1980s while archbishop of Munich.

Benedict has denied wrongdoing and the Vatican has strongly defended his record. - AFP

South Sudan to send 750 troops to DR Congo to fight rebels

By Our Correspondent, JUBA South Sudan

South Sudan will send 750 soldiers to the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo soon to join a regional force fighting a rebel offensive, a military spokesman said Wednesday.

Fierce fighting in recent months between Congolese troops and the M23 rebel group prompted the East African Community (EAC) bloc to deploy a joint regional force to quell the violence, with Kenya and Uganda also sending soldiers to the DRC.

South Sudanese soldiers "will leave for the DR Congo as soon as possible," a spokesman for the South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SSPDF), Major General Lul Ruai Koang, said during a ceremony in the capital Juba.

The 750-strong battalion has been undergoing training for more than six months for their deployment, he added.

At the Juba event, President Salva Kiir instructed the troops to "keep order", urging them to "protect the civilians and their properties from any harm".

The ceremony came barely four months after thousands of fighters including former rebels loyal to Kiir and his rival, Vice President Riek Machar, were integrated into South Sudan's army -- a key condition of a peace deal to end the country's brutal civil war.

Nearly 400,000 people died during the 2013-2018 conflict.

"I want to tell you that you are one army and no matter which division that you come from, now you are going as soldiers of South Sudan," Kiir said on Wednesday.

The fighting in the DRC has also reignited regional tensions, with Kinshasa accusing its smaller neighbour Rwanda of backing the M23, allegations supported by UN experts as well as the United States, France and Belgium.

Kigali denies supporting the M23, which has conquered swathes of territory from the Congolese army and allied militias and advanced towards Goma, the capital of North Kivu province.

It delivered the strategic town of Kibumba to a regional military force last week after heavy international pressure to cease fighting, saying the move was a "goodwill gesture done in the name of peace".

But the Congolese army dismissed the withdrawal as a "sham" aimed at reinforcing the group's positions elsewhere.

The M23, a largely Congolese Tutsi militia, first leapt to prominence 10 years ago when it captured Goma in 2012, before being driven out and going to ground. 

But it re-emerged late last year, claiming the DRC had failed to honour a pledge to integrate its fighters into the army, among other grievances.

The EAC regional force is expected to include soldiers from Kenya, Burundi, Uganda and South Sudan. But its intended total size remains unclear.  

Kenyan soldiers arrived in the country on November 12, with the Ugandan military later announcing that it would deploy 1,000 troops by the end of November.

Gambia sets up investigative panel to examine coup attempt

BANJUL, Gambia

The Gambia on Tuesday (Dec. 27) established an "investigative panel" following the arrest of alleged coup plotters. The panel will have 30 days to report back on last week’s coup attempt.

The 11-member inquiry group was sworn in and includes members from the justice ministry, the office of national security, military forces, the police, and intelligence agencies, a spokesman stated.

A captain and lieutenant are among military men who've been arrested. According to an official statement, they're “helping unearth allegations of plans to overthrow" President Adama Barrow's government.

Momodou Sabally, the minister of presidential affairs under former leader Yahya Jammeh, has been imprisonned. He appeared in a video in which he allegedly suggested president Barrow would be deposed prior to the upcoming municipal elections.

His party, the United Democratic Party, demanded his immediate release.

Since 2020, military takeovers in Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso have shaken West Africa.

Adama Barrow was elected to a second term in 2021.

Ivory Coast jail four life terms for 2016 jihadist attack

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast

A court in Ivory Coast on Wednesday handed down life terms to four men convicted of abetting a jihadist attack on a resort that left 19 people dead.


The court in Abidjan, the country's commercial hub, found the four "guilty of the deeds for which they are accused and sentences them to life imprisonment," Judge Charles Bini announced.

The March 13, 2016 assault was the first jihadist attack in Ivory Coast, one of West Africa's economic powerhouses.

Three men wielding assault rifles stormed the beach at Grand-Bassam, a resort town 40 kilometres (25 miles) east of Abidjan popular with Europeans, before attacking hotels and restaurants.

The 45-minute bloodbath ended when Ivorian security forces shot dead the three attackers.

The 19 people killed comprised nine Ivorians, four French citizens, a Lebanese, a German, a Macedonian, a Malian, a Nigerian and a person who could not be identified.

Thirty-three people of various nationalities were wounded.

Al-Qaeda's North African affiliate, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), claimed responsibility the same day.

The four men -- Hantao Ag Mohamed Cisse, Sidi Mohamed Kounta, Mohamed Cisse and Hassan Barry -- were convicted of providing support for the operation.

None of those suspected of playing a higher role in the attack were present in court.

The court has issued an international arrest warrant against the alleged mastermind, Kounta Dallah.

Egypt’s population hits 104.4 million

CAIRO, Egypt

Egypt recorded a 1.6 million increase in its population in 2022, reaching 104.4 million in December, up from 102.8 million in January, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS).

A street in Cairo, Egypt (courtesy)

In a statement on Wednesday, CAPMAS confirmed that the capital, Cairo, was still the most populated governorate, with some 10.2 million residing there.

Giza, located on the west bank of the Nile, was the second-most populated governorate with a population of 9.5 million, followed by Sharqiya at 7.9 million, Daqahliya at 7 million, and Beheira at 6.8 million.

Minya and Sohag governorates recorded populations of 6.3 million and 5.7 million respectively.

These were followed by Qalioubiya (6.1 million), Alexandria (5.5 million) and Gharbiya (5.4 million).

The number of Egyptians who reside abroad was approximated to be in the region between 10-14 million.

In 2021, CAPMAS said it expected Egypt’s population to reach 192 million in 2052, based on the growth trends recorded at the time.

Ahram however reports that in August the agency reported a 20 percent drop in the North African country’s fertility rate, from 3.5 births per woman in 2014 to 2.8 in 2021.

Egypt now aims to further reduce the fertility rate to 1.6 births per woman, according to adviser to the chairman of CAPMAS Hussein Abdel-Aziz.

DR Congo sentences soldiers to death for killing two Chinese nationals

BUNIA, DR Congo

Eight soldiers and one civilian in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s war-torn northeast have had death sentences for murder and embezzlement confirmed, court documents showed Tuesday.

In a case at Bunia high military court, two colonels, three other soldiers and a civilian were on Monday given capital punishment for murdering two Chinese gold workers.

All had been found guilty of murder and criminal association, including colonels Mukalenga Tsendeko and Kayumba Sumahili.

Three other soldiers who had been sentenced to 10 years in jail over the case were acquitted.

The two senior officers were accused of organising an attack on a convoy carrying four gold bars, $6,000 in cash and Chinese workers through Irumu territory in Ituri province.

The convoy, returning from a goldmine, came under assault at Nderemi village on March 17, 2022. Two Chinese men died and their civilian driver was wounded.

In a separate finding, DR Congo’s highest military court sentenced Lieutenant Colonel Marcel Kaligamire and two soldiers to die for “embezzling war munitions destined for military operations.”

Four more soldiers and three civilians charged in the same case had their sentences reduced from death to 10 years, while two other civilians were jailed for five years.

According to the prosecution, the munitions were sold by the Cooperative for the Development of the Congo (CODECO) which has since 2017 sowed violence across Ituri province’s gold fields.

The political-religious group has been blamed for killing large numbers of civilians in recent years in Ituri, which has been under a “state of siege”, along with its neighbour North Kivu, since May 2021.

Death sentences are routinely handed down in the Democratic Republic of Congo but are systematically commuted to life in prison. -AFP

Tuesday, December 27, 2022

Angolan court orders seizure of Isabel dos Santos' $1 billion assets

LUANDA, Angola

The Angola Supreme Court (ASC) has ordered the preventive seizure of several assets of  former president's daughter Isabel dos Santos, valued at $1 billion, as requested by the Public Ministry,  media reported Tuesday.

According to the state-owned Jornal de Angola, the order comes after indications of embezzlement and other crimes.

"There are indications of embezzlement, influence peddling, economic participation in business and money laundering, foreseen and punishable", it says adding that Isabel should only be notified after the seizure of assets.

The publication quoted the order signed by Justice Daniel Geraldes, dated December 19 which states that "all the balances of the current accounts with title or co-title, headquartered in all the banks, including term deposit accounts, other financial applications that are associated to those, including dossiers of securities in the name of the defendant Isabel dos Santos, are seized”.

Some of these accounts are in countries such as Mozambique, Cape Verde and Sao Tome and Principe, it added.

ASC also ordered the freezing of 70 per cent of the shares of Mozambique telecommunications company Mstar, in which Isabel dos Santos "is the effective beneficiary," and authorised the seizure of 70 per cent of the defendant's shares in Upstar Comunicação.

The Court also ordered the seizure of 100 per cent of the shares of the companies UnitelL T+ in Cape Verde and Unitel STP in Sao Tome and Principe, in which the Angolan businesswoman is also the beneficial owner.Embalvidro, Unitel International Honding and Unitel International are other companies named in the court order.

Isabel dos Santos, 49, who was once celebrated as the richest woman in Angola and in Africa, is currently seeing the Luanda government turning its back on her.

Isabel, who is also a Russian national, was for a long while celebrated in her country, especially during her late father's 38-year regime.

She was born in Baku, Azerbaijan, during the Cold War era to a Russian mother Tatiana Kukanova, who met with her father José Eduardo dos Santos while attending university.

President dos Santos ruled Angola from 1979 to 2017.

During his time in office, senior dos Santos ruled the country like his personal firm. His close allies including family members were largely accused of embezzling state institutions.

President Eduardo dos Santos marriage with Kukanova didn’t last.

In 1979, Kukanova moved to London with her daughter Isabel where she spent her teenage years attending an elite prep school and wentto King’s College London, where she got an engineering degree and met her husband-to-be Sindika Dokolo.

Mr Dokolo was a wealthy Congolese businessman.