President Felix Tshisekedi declared winner of DRC election

KINSHASA, DR Congo

Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi won reelection with more than 70% of the vote, the country's election commission said Sunday.

The preliminary results of the Dec. 20 election were announced in the capital, Kinshasa, amid demands from the opposition and some civil society groups for the vote to be rerun due to massive logistical problems that put the validity of the outcome into question.

Tshisekedi was followed by businessman Moise Katumbi, who received 18% of the vote, and Martin Fayulu, who received 5%. Nobel Peace Prize winner Denis Mukwege, a physician renowned for treating women brutalized by sexual violence in eastern Congo, got less than 1%.

The election had more than a 40% turnout with some 18 million people voting. The results will be sent to the constitutional court for confirmation, election chief Denis Kadima said.

Opposition candidates opposing the results have two days to submit their claims, and the constitutional court then has seven days to decide. The final results are expected on January 10, and the president is scheduled to be sworn in at the end of that month.

Congo has a history of disputed elections that can turn violent, and there’s little confidence among many Congolese in the country’s institutions.

Before the results were announced Sunday, opposition candidates, including Katumbi, said they rejected the results and called on the population to mobilize.

The logistical problems included many polling stations being late in opening or not opening at all. Some lacked materials, and many voter cards had smudged ink that made them illegible.

Voting in the election had to be extended into a second day— something local observers and civil society organizations have called illegal — and parts of the country were still casting ballots five days after election day.

“If a foreign country considers these elections to be elections, there’s a problem,” Fayulu said at a news conference in the capital Sunday before the results were announced. “It’s a farce, don’t accept (the results).”

Earlier this week, clashes erupted between some of Fayulu’s supporters and police officers who fired tear gas at protesters who threw rocks and barricaded themselves inside the opposition headquarters.

Tanzania coach names 30 Taifa Stars for Cote d'Ivoire mission

By Our Correspondent, DAR ES SALAAM Tanzania

Adel Amrouche, the head coach of Tanzania, has named the 25 players who could represent the Taifas in the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations in Côte d'Ivoire 2023.

The Tanzanian team finds itself in Group F alongside Morocco, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The 30 Tanzanians called up for the Africa Cup of Nations and their teams in bracket are:

Aishi Manula (Simba), Metacha Mnata (Yanga), Kwesi Kawawa  (Karlslunds,  Sweden), Beno Kakolanya (Singida Fountain Gate FC),  Mohammed Hussein (Simba), Ibrahim Hamadi Bacca (Young Africans), Dickson Job (Young Africans), Bakari Mwamnyeto (Young Africans), Sospeter Banyana (Azam FC), Feisal Salum (Azam FC), Novatus Dismas (Shakhtar Donesk, Ukraine).

Saimon Msuva (Js Kabylie, Algeria),  Mzamiru Yasin (Simba), Mudathir Yahaya (Young Africans), Ben Starkie (Likeston Town, England), Miano Danilo ((Vilena, Spain), Lusajo Mwaikenda (Azam FC), Kibu Dennis (Simba),  Mbwana Samatta (Paokm Solanika, Greece), Twaliq Abdillahi (Telford United, England).

Others are Morice Abraham (RFK Novi, Serbia), Khleffin Hamdoun (Muscat Club, Oman), Himid Mao (Taka’ea El Gaish, Egypt),  Abdul Suleiman Sopu (Azam FC), Banda, Haji Mnoga (Aldershot Town, England), Abdi Banda (Richardson Bay, South Africa), Cyprian Kachwele (Vancouver FC, Canada), Abdulmalik Zakaria (Namungo), Charles M’mombwa (Macarthur FC, Australia),Mohammed Ali Omar (Boreham Wood, England na Tarryn Allarakhia (Wealdstone, England).

Deadly Israeli shelling reported near Gaza hospital

GAZA STRIP, Palestine

Israeli shelling near a southern Gaza hospital has killed 41 people over the past two days, the Palestinian Red Crescent said, after Israel stepped up its attacks in the centre and south of the besieged territory.

The UN humanitarian office said Thursday that an estimated 100,000 more displaced people had arrived in the already-teeming southern border city of Rafah in recent days following the intensification of fighting around Deir al-Balah and Khan Yunis.

The extra displacements came as Egyptian officials prepared to receive a high-level Hamas delegation in Cairo on Friday for talks on a new proposal aimed at putting an end to nearly three months of war that has devastated Gaza.

The Palestinian Red Crescent on Thursday condemned what it said was Israeli shelling near the Al-Amal hospital in Khan Yunis that "led to the martyrdom of ten people and the injury of at least 21 others", adding the attack followed one in front of the hospital the day before that killed 31.

"Among the casualties are individuals present in front of the hospital and displaced persons seeking shelter at the PRCS (Red Crescent) premises," the group said in a statement.

Later in the day, Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry said Israeli shelling had killed 20 people, most of them women and children, at the Shaboura camp in Rafah, on the southern border with Egypt.

AFP footage from the city showed bloodied people being rushed through the streets to the nearby Kuwaiti hospital, where medical staff raced to treat a flood of wounded patients, including children. AFP could not immediately confirm whether they were victims of the same strike.

The war in Gaza, which started with Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel, has left much of the territory's north in ruins, while the battlefront has shifted ever further to the south.

Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas in retaliation for the attack, which left about 1,140 people dead, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.

Around 250 hostages were also taken during the attack, more than half of whom remain captive -- a source of intense anxiety for their families, who protested in Jerusalem on Thursday with the demand to "bring them home".

Israel's relentless aerial bombardment and ground invasion in Gaza have killed at least 21,320 people, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

The Israeli army says 167 of its soldiers have been killed inside Gaza in its fight against Hamas, which Israel, the United States and the European Union consider a "terrorist" group.

The Israeli army recently said it had deployed an additional brigade to Khan Yunis, hometown of Hamas's Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar, where AFP correspondents reported sustained air and artillery strikes.

"The missions that our forces are carrying out in Khan Yunis are unprecedented -- our forces reach areas that we have never been before, taking over control rooms and eliminating terrorists," Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant told soldiers on Thursday.

Israel has repeatedly said that one of the chief goals of the war is the return of the hostages.

On Thursday a kibbutz announced that a 70-year-old US-Israeli national thought to be the oldest woman held captive had died in the October 7 attacks.

US President Joe Biden said he was "devastated" by the news that Judith Weinstein Haggai was dead, and pledged that Washington would "not stop working" with its ally Israel to bring the remaining hostages home.

More than 80 percent of Gaza's 2.4 million people have been driven from their homes, the UN says, and many now live in cramped shelters or makeshift tents in the far south around Rafah.

Residents there combed through rubble for survivors on Thursday after an air strike that one witness said left "several casualties".

"We were sitting [at home] peacefully and all of a sudden we heard a loud explosion and debris started falling on us. The apartment was completely destroyed and my daughters were screaming," said Tayseer Abu Al-Eish.

An Israeli siege imposed after October 7, following years of crippling blockade, has deprived Gazans of food, water, fuel and medicine.

The severe shortages have been only sporadically eased by humanitarian aid convoys entering primarily via Egypt.

Israel said Thursday it had given preliminary approval to the Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus for a "maritime lifeline" to ship aid to Gaza.

A Hamas delegation was due in Cairo on Friday to give its "observations" about an Egyptian plan for a ceasefire recently put to officials from Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which is also battling Israeli forces in Gaza.

Sources close to Hamas say Cairo's three-stage plan provides for renewable ceasefires, a staggered release of hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israel, and ultimately a ceasefire to end the war.

It also provides for a Palestinian government of technocrats after talks involving "all Palestinian factions", which would be responsible for governing and rebuilding in post-war Gaza.

Homes flattened in northern Gaza's Beit Lahia after air strikes

A Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP on Thursday that the delegation would "give the response of the Palestinian factions, including several observations" regarding details of the exchanges and "guarantees for a complete Israeli military withdrawal".

Diaa Rashwan, who heads Egypt's State Information Services, said the plan was "intended to bring together the views of all parties concerned, with the aim of ending the shedding of Palestinian blood".

Iran executes 4 over Israel 'collaboration' - Judiciary

TEHRAN, Iran

Iran on Friday December 29, hanged four people convicted of spying for arch foe Israel, the judiciary said, less than two weeks after authorities had executed a man on similar grounds.

"Four members of a sabotage group related to the Zionist regime (Israel)... were hanged this morning" in Iran's northwestern province of West Azerbaijan, the judiciary's Mizan Online website reported.

It identified them as three men -- Vafa Hanareh, Aram Omari and Rahman Parhazo -- and one woman, Nasim Namazi, who had all been sentenced to death on charges of "moharebeh", or waging war against God, and "corruption on Earth" through their "collaboration with the Zionist regime".

The group "committed extensive actions against the country's security under the guidance of the Mossad", Israel's spy agency, Mizan said.

Iran does not recognise Israel and the two countries have engaged in a shadow war for years.

On December 16, a man also convicted of working for Mossad was executed in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan.

The judiciary at the time did not identify the man but said he had been convicted of "intelligence cooperation and espionage for the benefit for the hostile Zionist regime".

In December 2022, the Islamic republic hanged another four people who had been convicted of collaborating with Israel's intelligence services.

Tehran accuses Israel of carrying out a wave of sabotage attacks and assassinations targeting its nuclear programme.

According to rights groups including Amnesty International, Iran executes more people per year than any other nation except China.

Rwanda’s Anne Rwigara is Dead

By Claver Ndushabandi, KIGALI Rwanda

Anne Rwigara, the sister of Diane Rwigara who attempted to contest for president in Rwanda, is dead. She was 41. 

Anne Rwigara, who was a daughter of deceased prominent Rwandan businessman, Assinapol Rwigara, passed away on Thursday in the United States where she lived.

The cause of her death remains unclear. 

Anne’s mother was quoted by the media as saying her daughter’s death was a “mystery” since she was not sick. 

It is understood that Anne complained of stomach complications before she died a few days later. 

Anne and her mother Adeline Rwigara spent a year in jail in Rwanda over alleged tax evasion and electoral malpractices. 

A wave of shock and grief has swept through social media platforms as reports surface about the untimely death of Anne Rwigara, a vocal opposition figure in Rwanda.

Multiple users are sharing heartbreaking details of her passing, alleging that after eight hours of complaining about stomach pain, she succumbed to multi-organ failures, fueling speculation of poisoning.

These online accounts are pointing fingers at the Kagame regime, accusing it of silencing dissent, especially as Rwanda gears up for elections.

In May 2017, Anne’s sister Diane Rwigara announced she would run in the presidential election against President Kagame.

The National Electoral Commission would later stop Diane from participating in the election, ruling that the hundreds of signatures she submitted to validate her candidacy were forged.

The Rwanda Revenue Authority subsequently notified the Rwigara family that they owed $6.7 million in taxes.

As a result, the government closed the family business and froze their bank accounts.

Egypt urges citizens to leave Sudan amidst escalating conflict

CAIRO, Egypt

The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has urged its citizens to swiftly depart Sudan due to escalating clashes between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF)

The ministry issued a statement on Wednesday emphasizing the need for all Egyptian nationals, regardless of their location in Sudan, including areas not directly affected by the violence, to leave the country as soon as possible.

The statement further advised Egyptian nationals to refrain from travelling to Sudan altogether at this time to ensure their safety.

The ministry’s call for evacuation comes on the heels of the Egyptian embassy in Sudan’s successful rescue of 18 students and their family members who were stranded in the city of Wad Madani, the latest hotspot for clashes between the two rival forces.

The embassy, in coordination with the Sudanese authorities, facilitated the students’ evacuation from Wad Madani, their safe arrival at the Egyptian Consulate in Port Sudan, and their subsequent travel back to Egypt.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry’s urgent recommendation to leave Sudan stems from the ongoing armed confrontations between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces, which have resulted in numerous casualties.

In the meantime, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed met with Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo “Hemetti”, Commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), in Addis Ababa today, Thursday.

Abiy and Hemetti discussed the ongoing conflict in Sudan and explored potential avenues for resolving the crisis, which has persisted since mid-April.

” Earlier today I received Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo and his delegation for a discussion on securing peace and stability in the Sudan,” said the Ethiopian prime minister after the meeting in a short post released on X.

Hemetti offered no public remarks following the meeting with Abiy.

This visit falls within the scope of Hemetti’s international efforts to articulate his perspective on IGAD’s ongoing efforts to resolve the Sudanese conflict.

He previously met with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni in Kampala, on Wednesday.

Hemetti’s foreign trip commenced concurrently with the postponement of a scheduled meeting between himself and Sudanese Army Commander in Chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in Djibouti.

Following his meeting with President Museveni, Hemetti indicated that he presented his vision for negotiations, ceasefire, and the construction of a Sudanese state founded on “new, just foundations.”

Russia Launches Strikes Across Ukrainian Cities

KYIV, Ukraine

Russia launched a wave of missile strikes on Friday across Ukrainian cities, including the capital, authorities said as they raised a nationwide air alert.

The overnight attacks came days after Ukraine struck a Russian warship in the occupied Crimean port of Feodosia.

Explosions were reported in Kyiv, city mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a post on Telegram.

Missiles also struck at least five other Ukrainian cities, including Kharkiv in the northeast, Lviv in the country's west as well as Odesa in the south, the cities' mayors and police said.

"Today, at five o'clock in the morning, the fascists' followers hit the peaceful city with S-300 missiles. 10 explosions rang out in Kharkiv. Specialized services quickly arrived at strike spots," Kharkiv region police said.

Overnight attacks were also reported in Sumy and Konotop.

In southern Odesa, a high-rise building caught fire after being struck by debris from a downed drone, the city's mayor said.

"As a result of another enemy attack, one of the high-rise buildings was damaged. The fire was promptly extinguished," mayor Gennady Trukhanov said in a social media post.

The attacks came after Kremlin on Tuesday acknowledged a Ukrainian attack had damaged a warship in the occupied Crimean port of Feodosia in what Ukraine and its Western allies called a major setback for the Russian navy.

Ukraine has said its air force destroyed the Novocherkassk landing ship, with President Volodymyr Zelensky joking on social media that the vessel had now joined "the Russian underwater Black Sea fleet".

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu informed "about the damage to our large landing ship" to President Vladimir Putin in "a very detailed report".

Russia's defence ministry said that the ship was damaged by guided aerial missiles.

Ukraine's military said its air force destroyed the Russian naval ship in a missile attack on the eastern Crimean port.

On Thursday, Zelensky thanked the United States for releasing the last remaining package of weapons available for Ukraine under existing authorisation, as uncertainty surrounds further aid to his war-torn country.

Zelensky had warned that any change in policy from the US -- Kyiv's main backer -- could have a strong impact on the course of the war.

"I thank President Joe Biden, Congress, and the American people for the $250 million military aid package announced yesterday," Zelensky said on social media.

"To defend freedom and security not only in Ukraine and Europe but also in the United States, we must continue to respond to ongoing Russian aggression," he said.

An explosion of a gas tanker kills at least 40 in Liberia

MONROVIA, Liberia

More than 40 people have been killed and dozens badly burned when a petrol tanker exploded in central Liberia, the country’s chief medical officer has said.

Witnesses said people clambered on to the lorry to try collect petrol leaking from its tank after it crashed and tipped into a ditch along a road in Totota, about 130 kilometres (80 miles) from the capital Monrovia on Tuesday.

Local Aaron Massaquoi told AFP that “some of them had irons hitting the tanker for it to burst for them to get gas.

“People were all around the truck and the driver of the truck told them that they could take the gas that was spilling,” Massaquoi said.

“He told them not to climb on top of the tanker and that they should stop hitting the tanker …. but some people were even using screwdrivers to put holes on the tank.”

The grisly task of establishing the death toll has been made more difficult because the victims were so badly burned, said Liberia’s chief medical officer Francis Kateh.

He told AFP that his teams were “going door-to-door to establish the number of missing people”.

Liberia is the tenth poorest country in the world, with more than half its five million people living in often dire poverty.

President George Weah, the former AC Milan striker who is due to step down as head of state on 22 January, sent his “profoundest sympathy” to the families of victims.

“So far more than 40 deaths have been recorded,” the presidency said in a statement.

“It is reported that some locals in the area attempted to scoop the contents of the trapped tanker when the explosion happened,” it added.

Police initially thought about 15 people had died with another 30 hurt, but the death toll has shot up since. “There were lots of people that got burned,” said Prince B Mulbah, deputy inspector general for the Liberia national police.

Another police officer, Malvin Sackor, said some locals were collecting the leaking petrol when the tanker exploded.

Chief medical officer Kateh said dozens had been badly burned.

Among the “patients most badly hurt are children and a pregnant woman”, local health chief Cynthia Blapooh told the newspaper Front Page Africa.

“Dozens of injured people from the incident have been transported to various hospitals,” the presidential statement confirmed.

“The President has said health authorities have got his full backing to beef up manpower and equipment where necessary in their frantic attempt to save lives.”

DR Congo name squad for African Cup of Nations finals

KINSHASA, DR Congo

Chancel Mbemba will captain the Democratic Republic of Congo at next month’s African Cup of Nations finals, named in a 24-man squad for the tournament in the Ivory Coast, but there was no place for Luton Town striker Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu in the selection named by coach Sébastien Desabre.

Henock Inonga (R) - Simba, Tanzanie

He also left out former England under-21 international Axel Tuanzebe, who had been named in the pre-selected earlier this month plus ex-Fulham midfielder Neeskens Kebano.

But the squad still has a familiar look about it as they prepare to take on Morocco, Tanzania and Zambia in Group F. They play their first match at the finals against Zambia in San Pedro on Jan. 17.

The Congolese will prepare for the tournament in Abu Dhabi from Jan. 1 with two friendly matches planned against Angola and Burkina Faso.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Dimitri Bertaud (Montpellier), Lionel Mpasi (Rodez), Baggio Siadi (TP Mazembe)

Defenders: Dylan Batubinsika (Saint Etienne), Brian Bayeye (Ascoli), Rocky Bushiri (Hibernians), Henock Inonga (Simba, Tanzanie), Gedeon Kalulu (Lorient), Joris Kayembe (Racing Genk), Arthur Masuaku (Besiktas), Chancel Mbemba (Marseille)

Midfielders: Theo Bongonda (Spartak Moscow), Grady Diangana (West Bromwich Albion), Gael Kakuta (Amiens), Edo Kayembe (Watford), Samuel Moutousamy (Nantes), Charles Pickel (Cremonese), Aaron Tshibola (Al Hatta)

Forwards: Simon Banza (Sporting Braga), Cedric Bakambu (Galatasaray), Meschack Elia (Young Boys Berne), Silas Katompa (VfB Stuttgart), Fiston Mayele (Pyramids), Yoane Wissa (Brentford).

US releases final package of authorized military aid for Ukraine

WASHINGTON, US

The US government on Wednesday announced what it said was the last remaining package of weapons available for Ukraine under existing authorization, with Congress now needing to decide whether to keep supporting Kyiv’s battle against Russian invasion.

“The year’s final package” includes air-defense and artillery munitions, the State Department said in a statement. It added that Congress, where Republicans are split on supporting Ukraine, should “act swiftly” to renew the flow.

President Joe Biden has made backing Ukraine a priority and US weapons and financial assistance have been crucial in helping the pro-Western country battle against a far larger attacking Russian force.

However, right-wing Republicans have led a push to halt the effort, refusing to authorize new budget outlays if the Democrats don’t first agree to sweeping, tough new measures against illegal migration over the US southern border.

The final tranche of aid is worth up to $250 million and includes “air-defense munitions, other air-defense system components, additional ammunition for high mobility artillery rocket systems, 155mm and 105mm artillery ammunition, anti-armor munitions, and over 15 million rounds of ammunition,” the State Department said.

The statement underlined the US-led coalition helping Ukraine, noting that “more than 50 countries” are involved.

“It is imperative that Congress act swiftly, as soon as possible, to advance our national security interests by helping Ukraine defend itself and secure its future,” it said.

In Kyiv, Ukrainian presidential aide Andriy Yermak welcomed the aid.
“Thank you for your help. We will win,” Yermak wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

A week ago, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby made clear that the upcoming drawdown of US military aid would be the last available, leaving “no more replenishment authority.”

“We’re going to need Congress to act without delay,” he said.
Democrats in the Senate, where they hold a narrow majority, tried to push Republicans in December for a last-minute deal, but with little progress the two parties left for the end-of-year holidays.

Congress reconvenes on January 8.
However, finding agreement on immigration — one of the most complex and longest-running headaches in US politics — is expected to be difficult in the Senate.

Even then, a deal would have to be approved in the House of Representatives where Republicans — dominated by a hard-right faction — hold their own narrow majority.

North Korea leader orders military to accelerate war preparations -state media

SEOUL, South Korea

North Korea leader Kim Jong Un has ordered his country’s military, munitions industry and nuclear weapons sector to accelerate war preparations to counter what he called unprecedented confrontational moves by the US, state media said on Thursday.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends the December 2023 plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, in Pyongyang, North Korea

Speaking on the policy directions for the new year at a key meeting of the country’s ruling party on Wednesday, Kim also said Pyongyang would expand strategic cooperation with “anti-imperialist independent” countries, news agency KCNA reported.

North Korea has been expanding ties with Russia, among others, as Washington accuses Pyongyang of supplying military equipment to Moscow for use in its war with Ukraine, while Russia provides technical support to help the North advance its military capabilities.

“He (Kim) set forth the militant tasks for the People’s Army and the munitions industry, nuclear weapons and civil defense sectors to further accelerate the war preparations,” KCNA said.

On Thursday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol visited a frontline military unit in the eastern county of Yeoncheon to inspect its defense posture and called for an immediate retaliation if there was any provocation from North Korea.

“I urge you to immediately and firmly crush the enemy’s will for a provocation on the spot,” Yoon told troops.

During the party plenum, North Korea’s Kim also laid out economic goals for the new year, calling it a “decisive year” to accomplish the country’s five-year development plan, KCNA said.

“He ... clarified the important tasks for the new year to be dynamically pushed forward in the key industrial sectors,” and called for “stabilising the agricultural production on a high level.”

The North has suffered serious food shortages in recent decades, including famine in the 1990s, often as a result of natural disasters. International experts have warned that border closures during the COVID-19 pandemic worsened food security.

North Korea’s crop output was estimated to have increased year-on-year in 2023 due to favorable weather conditions. But a Seoul official has said the amount was still far below what is needed to address the country’s chronic food shortages.

The 9th plenary meeting of the 8th central committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea kicked off on Tuesday to wrap up a year during which the isolated North enshrined nuclear policy in its constitution, launched a spy satellite and fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile.

The days-long assembly of the party and government officials has been used in recent years to make key policy announcements. Previously, state media released Kim’s speech on New Year’s Day.

China slams Taiwan content in US defense authorization act

BEIJING, China

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said early this week that despite China's opposition, the United States passed and signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 that contains negative China-related content, and that China strongly deplores and firmly opposes this and has made serious demarches to the U.S. side.

In response to a media query, spokesperson Mao Ning told a daily news briefing that the Act interferes in China's internal affairs, preaches U.S. military support to Taiwan, and violates the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiques.

China urges the United States to honor the commitment of its leader of not supporting "Taiwan independence," stop manipulating the Taiwan question and stop endangering peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, she said.

The Act pictures China as a threat, suppresses Chinese companies, and limits normal economic, trade and people-to-people exchanges between China and the United States, which serves no one's interest.

“The United States needs to abandon its Cold War mentality and ideological prejudice and create a favorable environment for China-U.S. cooperation in trade and other sectors.” Mao said.

"We urge the United States to work with China to deliver on the important outcome and common understandings of the San Francisco summit. Negative China-related content in the Act should not be implemented," Mao said, adding that if the United States insists on going ahead with it, China will take resolute and strong measures to firmly safeguard its sovereignty, security and development rights and interests.

Guinea oil depot fire put out after nine days as Ivory Coast pledges support

CONAKRY, Guinea

The explosion and fire at Guinea's main fuel depot that killed 24 people and injured 454 has been "completely extinguished" nine days after it started, the government said in a statement.

The fire had already been brought under control, but not fully put out.

"Operations to cool all the petrol installations are continuing" and "the accident zone remains closed to permit an investigation," it said. 

Of the 24 dead, 11 have yet to be identified. Among the injured, 31 are still being treated in hospital and 423 have been discharged.

Air quality has improved, the government said, but wearing a mask is still recommended.

Fuel distribution resumed Saturday with limits of 25 litres per car and 5 litres per two- or three-wheel vehicles. Filling jerrycans is banned. 

Tanker trucks are no longer being escorted by police.  

According to a preliminary count, about 800 buildings have been damaged, most of them within a radius of 500 metres around the incident.

The government has already handed out 460 survival kits, with the intention to eventually distribute them to 2,141 affected households, the statement said.

In total, about 11,000 people were directly affected by the fire.

Meanwhile, Ivory Coast has pledged to deliver 50 million litres of petrol a month to Guinea, Ivorian state media announced Wednesday.

"Ivory Coast has undertaken to deliver 50 million litres of petrol per month to Guinea," said a journalist from Radio Television Ivoirienne (RTI), without specifying the duration of shipments.

Guinea's Finance Minister Moussa Cisse met with Ivorian Minister of Mines, Petroleum and Energy Mamadou Sangafowa Coulibaly in Abidjan on Wednesday.

A contract will be signed Thursday, RTI reported, adding that Guinea needed 70 million litres of petrol a month.

Uganda’ President meet RSF leader to discuss ways to end Sudan conflict

KAMPALA, Uganda

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and Sudanese General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, popularly known as Hemetti, held talks at Museveni’s Rwakitura country home to discuss strategies for ending Sudan’s long-running conflict.

In a statement released from Kampala, Hemetti disclosed his meeting with President Museveni, saying they discussed recent developments in Sudan and the resulting suffering of the Sudanese people.

Hemetti, who arrived in Uganda on Tuesday, also said that he presented his vision to negotiate, stop the war, and build a new Sudan.

He stressed his commitment to the outcomes of the extraordinary meeting of IGAD heads of state and government held in Djibouti on December 9, 2023.

Sources close to the meeting said that Hemetti requested that the direct meeting be attended by IGAD leaders. Initially, the meeting was supposed to be attended by only the President of Djibouti and the Chair of IGAD.

He underscored his He said he would continue to implement what he committed to in order to end the war, alleviate the suffering of the Sudanese people, and restore security and stability to the country.

For his part, President Museveni released a short post on X confirming his meeting with Hemetti.

“I welcomed Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, the former Deputy Chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council of Sudan, to my country home in Rwakitura. During our meeting, he briefed me on the current situation in Sudan.”

The planned face-to-face meeting, which was supposed to occur in Djibouti on December 28th, has been postponed to January, but the exact date remains undisclosed.

Chad's President vows to uphold referendum, pave way to civilian rule

YAOUNDE, Cameroon

Chad's Supreme Court will today declare definitive results of the country's constitutional referendum that paves the way for a return to civilian rule.

Chad's military leader said he will respect the verdict, which is likely not going to be different from provisional results published on Sunday indicating the central African state’s new constitution was approved by 86% of voters.

Some opposition leaders challenge the figures, saying the constitution approved in a referendum does not guarantee that the military leaders are ready to hand power to civilians.

Chad's transitional military government said the large turnout of voters in the central African state’s constitutional referendum indicates that civilians overwhelmingly adhere to Gen. Mahamat Idriss Deby’s plans to hand power to civilian rule by December 2024.

Deby spoke on Chad’s National Television this week after provisional results of the constitutional referendum were announced.

He congratulated civilians, political actors and civil society activists who helped Chad’s constitutional referendum to unfold peacefully from November 25, when the campaign was launched, through December 17, when the referendum took place, up to December 24, when the National Commission Charged with the Organization of the Constitutional Referendum, CONOREC, announced provisional results.

According to the provisional results, the new constitution was approved by 86% of voters.

CONOREC reports that more than 63% of the more than 8.3 million voters took part in the December 17 referendum.

But Chad's opposition leaders and civil society groups say a majority of voters did not turn out to vote.

Opposition parties, including the Union of Democrats for Development and Progress, report that several million voters did not even collect their voter cards.

Before the referendum, CONOREC reported that it had launched a campaign for several million voters to collect their voter cards to be eligible to vote in the referendum.

Many opposition leaders and civil society groups described the referendum as a sham to prepare for an eventual election of Deby, a 39-year-old military general.

Deby assumed power in April 2021 following the death of his father, Gen. Idriss Deby Itno, who took power in a 1990 coup.

Chad's opposition and civil society say the younger Deby started showing his intention to hold onto power after he failed to organize elections within 18 months from April 2021 as he had promised. He instead extended his rule until November 2024.

Saleh Kebzabo is Chad's civilian transitional prime minister, appointed by Deby.

He said opposition parties and civil society groups that claim that Deby is doing everything possible to illegally continue his family's 31-year autocratic rule are ill-intentioned.

He said it would be better for political parties and civil society groups to prepare for elections that will hand power to civilians by December 2024 instead of wasting their time in unnecessary political quarrels.

Kebzabo said the referendum is key for a return to civilian rule by 2024. The opposition argued it does not bar Deby from running for president.

Chad's military rulers said voters in the referendum also decided that Chad would continue as a decentralized system of government, with the country's 23 regions to have greater financial autonomy with elected regional officials.

Chad's Supreme Court has until Thursday to examine provisional results and declare definitive results of the December 17 referendum.

The opposition, CONOREC, military government and civil society groups said they do not expect any changes from the provisional results declared on Sunday.

Israel presses on with intensified attacks as Gaza death toll soars

GAZA STRIP, Palestine

Israeli forces pressed on with intensified attacks in the Gaza Strip's biggest southern city and a central refugee camp, after the territory's Hamas-run health ministry reported more than 21,000 people had been killed in 11 weeks of war.

The continued air strikes and the expansion of operations in the south came as the WHO warned on Wednesday that Gaza's population was in "grave peril", with France's president calling for a long-term ceasefire.

Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said on Wednesday that strikes on a central refugee camp in Gaza had entered a third day, and that an additional brigade had been deployed to the southern city of Khan Yunis, the recent focus of heavy urban combat.

He also hinted at a possible "expansion of fighting in the north" along the Lebanese border, which has seen repeated exchanges of fire between Israeli troops and Hezbollah since the offensive against Gaza broke out.

Following a visit to the border earlier in the day, army chief Herzi Halevi said the military had "approved plans for a variety of contingencies, and we need to be prepared to strike if required".

Calls for an end to the hostilities continued to mount on Wednesday, with French President Emmanuel Macron emphasising in a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "the need to work towards a lasting ceasefire".

He also expressed his "deepest concern at the very heavy civilian toll" in Gaza, his office said in a statement, adding that France would be working with Jordan to carry out humanitarian operations in the territory "in the coming days".

Since Israel imposed a siege at the outset of the war, Gazans have faced severe shortages of food, water, fuel, and medicine.

WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus echoed calls for a ceasefire on Wednesday.

He pressed the international community to take "urgent steps to alleviate the grave peril facing the population of Gaza and jeopardising the ability of humanitarian workers to help people with terrible injuries, acute hunger, and at severe risk of disease".

In the same statement, the WHO said its staff had reported that "hungry people again stopped our convoys today in the hope of finding food".

An estimated 1.9 million Gazans have been displaced, the UN says.

One of them, Iman al-Masry, recently gave birth to quadruplets in a hospital in southern Gaza after fleeing her family's home in the territory's devastated north early in the war.

The journey "affected my pregnancy", the 28-year-old said on Wednesday, and she gave birth by C-section on December 18 to two girls and two boys.

She was quickly asked to leave the hospital to make room for other patients, but had to leave behind one son who was too fragile to go with them.

"They are very slim," she said of the infants from a cramped schoolroom turned shelter in Deir al-Balah.

"Because of the lack of... baby formula, I try to breastfeed them, but there's no nutritious food I can eat to breastfeed the three babies," she added.

Not far away, at the Al-Maghazi refugee camp, a UN-run school doubling as a shelter was hit by shelling in the night.

"They tell you there are green zones and other zones with other colours. All those are rumours, there are no safe zones in Gaza," one man told AFP on Wednesday, without giving his name.

The war has raised fears of a broader regional conflict, with the deadly cross-border exchanges between Israel and Hezbollah, as well as recent attacks on shipping by Huthi rebels in Yemen acting in solidarity with Hamas. All three groups are backed by Iran.

Israel wants Hezbollah – which says it is acting in support of Hamas – to withdraw further away from the border, and has threatened to achieve that goal by overwhelming force, if necessary.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned Israel on Wednesday that it or its allies would take "direct action" to avenge the killing of senior commander Razi Moussavi, who died Monday in a missile strike in Syria blamed on Israel, the local Mehr news agency reported.

Meanwhile, a drone crashed near a village in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights, the Israeli army said today, with an Iraqi faction close to Hamas claiming responsibility for an attack in the area.

Violence has also flared across the occupied West Bank, with more than 310 Palestinians killed by Israeli troops or settlers since October 7, the health ministry there said.

An Israeli operation in a refugee camp in the northern West Bank killed six people Wednesday, the ministry said. The army said it had struck the Nur Shams camp from the air.

The army's operations continued overnight into Thursday, notably in Jenin and Ramallah, according to the official news agency Wafa.

Former Burkina Faso foreign minister kidnapped

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso

Ablassé Ouédraogo, former Burkina Faso foreign minister and former deputy director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), was kidnapped on Sunday by "individuals" claiming to belong to the "national police", his political party announced on Wednesday, calling for his "immediate release".

Ablassé Ouédraogo, aged 70, "was taken by individuals claiming to be members of the national police force from his home in Ouagadougou on Sunday 24 December at around 6.30pm", wrote the party he chairs, Le Faso autrement, in a press release.

Three days after his abduction, the party said it had "no news of its president and no one has been able to speak to him" or "know exactly where he is", it added.

It called for his "immediate and unconditional release".

Le Faso autrement, which "strongly condemns and denounces the kidnapping" of the former minister, says it will "hold the perpetrators of this kidnapping responsible for any attack on the physical or moral integrity of Mr Ouédraogo".

In early November, the party denounced the army's decision to "requisition its president, Ablassé Ouédraogo" to "send him to the front" in the "fight against terrorism".

According to Faso Autrement, this requisition is "a sanction" applied in response to the "stances" taken by the politician.

Ablassé Ouédraogo, Blaise Compaoré's former Minister of Foreign Affairs (1994-1999), has gone over to the opposition and set up his own party. He is highly critical of the military regime installed since a coup d'état at the end of September 2022 and led by Captain Ibrahim Traoré.

In an open letter published at the beginning of October, he denounced "the restrictions on individual and collective freedoms, the muzzling of the press" and "the retreat of democracy" that he had observed since the coup.

The NGO Human Rights Watch said in November that at least a dozen dissidents had been "requisitioned" in Burkina Faso to "participate" in the fight against the jihadists. In addition, several cases of kidnapping have been reported in recent months by local sources in Ouagadougou, including that of Daouda Diallo, a human rights defender kidnapped by men in civilian clothes at the beginning of December.

Since 2015, Burkina Faso has been caught up in a spiral of violence perpetrated by jihadist groups linked to the Islamic State and al-Qaeda. More than 17,000 civilians and soldiers have been killed, according to the latest estimates by the international NGO Armed Conflict Location Action (Acled), which records the victims of conflicts around the world.