'Shocked' Pogba to appeal four-year doping ban

ROME, Italy

France star Paul Pogba has been given a four-year ban from football by Italy's anti-doping tribunal after testing positive for testosterone last August, his club Juventus said on Thursday.

A spokesman for the club told reporters it had been notified of the decision against the 30-year-old World Cup winner, who had been provisionally suspended in September.

"We received notification from the tribunal this morning," the spokesman said.

Pogba announced he would appeal the ruling, which risks bringing a premature end to his career.

"I am sad, shocked and heartbroken that everything I have built in my professional playing career has been taken away from me," he posted on Instagram.

Declaring the verdict was "incorrect", he denied ever using performance-enhancing substances.

ALSO READ: Paul Pogba is banned from football for four years for doping

"When I am free of legal restrictions the full story will become clear, but I have never knowingly or deliberately taken any supplements that violate anti-doping regulations", he insisted.

"As a consequence of the decision announced today I will appeal this before the Court of Arbitration for Sport."

The ban means Pogba will not be able to play again until the 2027/28 season, by which time he will be 34.

Anti-doping prosecutors had called for the four-year ban to be imposed on the former Manchester United midfielder, who tested positive following Juventus's opening match of the Italian Serie A season against Udinese on August 20, during which he was an unused substitute.

A month later a B sample confirmed the presence of testosterone, and he had been provisionally suspended since.

Pogba's representatives said the testosterone came from a food supplement prescribed by a doctor he consulted in the United States.

The ban could have been limited to two years if Pogba had been able to prove he was not at fault, or even just a few months if the use of the substance took place "out of competition and (was) not related to his level of performance".

Pogba, who returned to Juventus for a second spell in 2022 after six years at United, was a key member of the France team that won the World Cup in Russia in 2018, scoring in the final against Croatia.

His positive doping test came as he was trying to put behind him a difficult first season back at Juve, in which he struggled with fitness problems and made just 10 appearances, while also missing France's defence of the World Cup in Qatar due to injury.

He made two substitute appearances for Juventus at the start of this campaign before being suspended.

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Terrorists boast of murdering 70 people in Mozambique

MAPUTO, Mozambique

The jihadist groups who claim affiliation to the “Islamic State” (ISIS) terrorist network have boasted of murdering 70 people, in 27 attacks against what it described as “Christian towns” in Chiùre district, in the northern Mozambican province Cabo Delgado.

According to Thursday’s issue of the independent newsheet “Carta de Moçambique”, citing the Islamic State propaganda channels, the raiders destroyed 500 buildings, including houses, churches and public facilities.

According to the Chiure district administrator, Oliveira Amimo, the latest wave of terrorist attacks began on 3 February, when jihadists entered the region, coming from the neighbouring district of Mecufi.

The jihadists are thus claiming to have undertaken 27 separate attacks in 25 days. The figure of 500 buildings destroyed is only possible, if most of them were houses – which, in rural Mozambique, means simple huts. There are certainly nowhere near 500 churches in Chiure.

ALSO READ: 67,000 displaced in Mozambique by latest wave of insurgent attacks – Government

“Carta de Mocambique” also writes that the residents of Macomia district have been terrified since Monday due to an alleged message from terrorists to the people of Mucojo administrative post, promising to attack at any moment. Because of the threat, some families are no longer sleeping in their homes or are spending sleepless nights in the bush.

The terrorists are believed to be hoping to find food supplies in Mucojo. “We don’t know when the attack will come, but everyone is going anyway, even though we’re counting on the presence of the soldiers. However, last year, they attacked Napulubo village, even though troops were there”, one source said.

“That’s why I didn’t stay in Macomia. They (the authorities) tell people to go to the town of Macomia, but since the terrorists can reach almost anywhere, I chose to travel to Pemba (the provincial capital) instead of staying in Macomia”, said another source.

According to government figures, the latest wave of attacks by Islamist terrorists in Cabo Delgado has displaced more than 60,000 people over the provincial boundary into the neighboring province of Nampula.

However, on Thursday Defence Minister Cristovao Chume downplayed the jihadist threat, and said there had been no resurgence in terrorist activity.

Cited by the independent television station STV, Chume said that what had really happened in Cabo Delgado was that small groups had left their bases and moved to the southern districts of the province to create panic among the population.

This was quite unlike previous terrorist offensives, in which district capitals such as the town of Palma had been seized. Chume guaranteed that this would not happen again.

Meanwhile, the Mozambican Relief Agency, the National Disaster Management Institute (INGD), has warned displaced people to be on their guard against possible infiltration by jihadists.

INGD chairperson Luisa Meque, speaking on Wednesday to a crowd of displaced people, who had fled over the provincial boundary to Erati district, in Nampula province, said “We must continue to be vigilant, to know who is on our side. Otherwise, we might be fleeing from Chiure to Erati in the company of those bandits”.

Meque stressed that the food aid distributed in the accommodation centres in Erati was intended exclusively for those who had fled from Cabo Delgado. She warned against residents of Erati passing themselves off as displaced people in order to obtain extra food.

Zambia declares state of disaster due to drought

LUSAKA, Zambia

The Zambian government on Thursday declared a national state of disaster and emergency to enable a rapid response to the prolonged drought, which threatens national food security and electricity shortages.

President Hakainde Hichilema said the decision was made following an assessment of the prolonged drought, which has affected 84 of the country's 116 districts. "The disaster and emergency are severe, and the government is responding with urgency," he said during a national address on the drought situation.

He said that an assessment conducted revealed that about 1 million hectares out of the planted 2.2 million hectares of farmland have been impacted by the dry spell, affecting over 1 million farming households.

He noted that the situation entails a shift of resources toward humanitarian assistance and called for prudent resource utilization.

The government, he said, will implement measures to import electricity and rationing as the country faces an electricity deficit of 430 megawatts, which may reach 520 megawatts by December 2024. He also requested assistance from cooperating partners to moderate the negative effects of the drought caused by climate change.

The Zambian president said that the government, as a long-term measure, will enhance water harvesting mechanisms to enable precision and other irrigation development to stimulate agricultural production.

UN chief condemns Israel’s killing of Palestinians waiting for humanitarian aid

TORONTO, Canada

The United Nations chief on Thursday condemned Israeli forces who opened fire on Palestinians waiting for humanitarian aid south of Gaza City, killing more than 100 victims and injuring 700 others. 

"The Secretary-General condemns the incident today in northern Gaza in which more than a hundred people were reportedly killed or injured while seeking life-saving aid," Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for Antonio Guterres, said in a briefing.

Dujarric reiterated Guterres' demand for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire and said the UN chief "once again calls for urgent steps so that critical humanitarian aid can get into and across Gaza to all those in need."

ALSO READ: Strike on Palestinians waiting for aid kills 80

"The continued hostilities and other challenges continue to impede our efforts to reach civilians in Gaza with life-saving health and nutrition care," Dujarric added.

Refraining from mentioning Israel in the condemnation of the attack, Dujarric said the UN is aware of deaths related to dehydration and malnutrition in Gaza and urged a thorough investigation.

Early Thursday, Israeli forces shelled a crowd of Palestinians waiting for humanitarian aid south of Gaza City at the "al-Nabulsi Roundabout" area, leaving at least 104 dead and 760 injured, according to the Gaza-based Health Ministry.

The Israeli military said an initial investigation found that Palestinians approached a military checkpoint overseeing the entry of the aid trucks when soldiers fired warning shots and shot at the legs of Palestinians who continued to move toward the troops.

Dujarric commented on the ongoing investigation of UNRWA by the UN's Office of Internal Oversight Services and said it reviewed initial information from Israeli authorities and is planning to visit Israel to obtain additional details.

Israel has launched a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack led by Hamas in which less than 1,200 people were killed.

At least 30,035 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, and 70,457 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the coastal enclave, leaving its population, particularly residents in the north where the shootings on Thursday took place, on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

Kenya, Ethiopia vow stronger ties

NAIROBI, Kenya

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said Wednesday he wanted to resolve problems facing both his country and Kenya in order to elevate the economic standard of both countries.

Speaking at a luncheon hosted by Kenyan President William Ruto in Nairobi, Ahmed added that their bilateral ties were a role model that would work to "liberate Africa not only politically but also economically."

Ruto welcomed Ahmed to Nairobi on Wednesday, where the leaders discussed Ethiopia’s negotiations with the breakaway region of Somaliland to secure access to a seaport.

Ethiopia signed a memorandum of understanding with Somaliland on Jan. 1.

The document has rattled Somalia, which said it's prepared to go to war over it because it considers Somaliland part of its territory.

Somaliland says Ethiopia agreed to recognise its independence in return for a naval port.

Tanzanian military vehicles hit by DR Congo rebels - sources

GOMA, DR Congo

Two Tanzanian military armoured vehicles have been hit by shells fired by M23 rebels in the Congolese town of Sake, witnesses have told our reporter.

A Congolese military source and an eye witness said the attack occurred on Thursday, leaving one Tanzanian soldier injured. A civilian has reportedly been injured as well.

However, the Tanzanian army spokesperson told the BBC that they were not aware of the attack.

Tanzania, South Africa and Malawi have sent troops to DR Congo under the banner of the 16-member regional bloc, the Southern African Development Community (Sadc).

Sadc troops and the Congolese army have been battling M23 rebels since early February, particularly around Sake.

Two South African soldiers were killed in an attack earlier this month.

The Sadc mission replaced the East African Community force which Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi ordered to withdraw last year, accusing it of failing to push out the M23 from their positions.

Recently, the Congolese army has been advising residents to evacuate Sake. While some have chosen to stay, the majority have fled to the outskirts or to the main regional city, Goma 25km (15 miles) away.

According to the latest UN estimates, the recent fighting has forced 215,000 people to flee towards Goma, which already hosts approximately half a million refugees.

Chad opposition leader Yaya Dillo killed in shooting

N'DJAMENA, Chad

An Opposition leader in Chad Yaya Dillo has been killed in a clash with security forces in Chad, officials report.

Dillo was accused by the government of involvement in a deadly attack on the country's security agency, which he denied.

Heavy gunfire erupted near his party's headquarters in the capital, N'Djamena, on Wednesday.

Dillo, a vocal critic of President Mahamat Déby, had opposed him since Déby took office in 2021, succeeding his father, who was killed by rebels after ruling for thirty years.

The violence comes ahead of presidential elections scheduled for May 6, aimed at restoring constitutional rule.

Communications Minister Abderaman Koulamallah told AFP that Dillo refused to surrender and fired on law enforcement before his death at his party's headquarters.

On Wednesday, Mr Dillo said the accusation he was behind the attack on the National Security Agency (ANSE) headquarters was intended "to make me afraid so that I don't go to the election".

One of Mr Dillo's colleagues, the general secretary of his Socialist Party Without Borders (PSF), told Reuters news agency that PSF members had come under attack from soldiers outside the ANSE building while trying to retrieve the body of their colleague Ahmed Torabi.

The PSF official said Mr Torabi was arrested and shot dead on Tuesday, before his body was dumped outside the ANSE building.

According to the government, Mr Torabi had attempted to assassinate the president of the Supreme Court.

Former second president of Tanzania Ali Mwinyi is dead

By Osoro Nyawangah, DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania 

Former second President of Tanzania, Ali Hassan Mwinyi is dead, the country's President Samia Hassan has announced this evening.

According to president Hassan, the 98-year-old man died at Mzena Hospital in Dar es Salaam on Thursday at around 1700hrs and his burial is scheduled for Saturday 3rd March in Zanzibar.

"On behalf of the government, I would like to convey my condolences to the family, relatives, friends and all Tanzanians for this loss," President Hassan said.

He succeeded Tanzania's first post-independence president, Julius Nyerere, who left office in 1985 after 22 years in power.

Mwinyi was credited with introducing free market policies and was in turn succeeded by the late Benjamin Mkapa in 1995.

President Hassan said Mwinyi who ruled the country between 1985 to 1995 died in hospital in Dar es Salaam where he was receiving treatment for lung cancer. 

He had been receiving treatment since November 2023, Hassan said.

The government has declared seven days for national mourning in honour of the late president and the flags will be flown at half-mast.

Mwinyi joined Zanzibar political party, Afro Shiraz Party (ASP) in 1964 and held different positions for the Government of Zanzibar and United Republic of Tanzania such as Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education of Zanzibar in 1963. 

In 1970 he was Minister of State in the President’s Office of the United Republic of Tanzania and between 1982-83 he was Minister of Health, Home Affairs, Natural Resources and Ambassador of the United Republic of Tanzania in Egypt from 1977 to 1982.

In 1983 he was appointed Minister of State in Vice President’s Office and in 1984 he was elected the President of Zanzibar and Vice President of the United Republic of Tanzania.

His son Hussein Mwinyi, is the current President of Zanzibar, in the Tanzanian archipelago.

"Mozambican President cannot be sued in Britain over corruption allegations" - Court

LONDON, England

Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi cannot be sued in Britain over allegations he accepted unlawful payments as part of his nation’s litigation over the decade-long "tuna bond" scandal, London's Court of Appeal ruled on Thursday.

Emirati Lebanese shipbuilder Privinvest wanted to drag Nyusi into a $3.1-billion lawsuit brought by Mozambique, which accuses it of paying bribes to officials and Credit Suisse bankers.

London's High Court has yet to rule on the case following a trial last year. Mozambique settled with Credit Suisse's new owner UBS on the eve of the trial in October.

Shortly before last year's trial began, the High Court ruled that Nyusi had not been properly served with Privinvest's lawsuit and that he was entitled to immunity as a head of state.

Privinvest wanted to sue the Mozambican president for allegedly accepting $11 million in campaign payments from Privinvest, which says the payments were lawful.

The company says if the court finds the payments unlawful, Nyusi should contribute to any damages it may be ordered to pay.

But the Court of Appeal ruled on Thursday that Nyusi was not properly served with the case.

Judge Julian Flaux also said in a written ruling that Nyusi "has immunity from the jurisdiction of the English courts whilst he is the head of state of Mozambique."

Paul Pogba is banned from football for four year for doping

ROME, Italy

Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba has reportedly been handed a four-year ban from football after failing a drugs test last August.

The 30-year-old tested positive for testosterone after Juventus's first game of the season against Udinese, and was given his hefty punishment by an anti-doping prosecutor's office in Italy on Thursday.

Pogba's lawyers had rejected a plea deal and hoped to get their client a lighter sentence after claiming that he had accidentally ingested the substance that caused the positive test.

However, the prosecution did not believe Pogba's defence, and he has now been given a ban that could potentially end his career.

Pogba will turn 31 next month, meaning he would not be able to return to the pitch until he is almost 35. 

Pogba's suspension completes a dramatic fall from grace for a player who was once the most expensive footballer in the world.

After coming through United's academy, Pogba moved to Juventus on a free transfer in 2012 and proceeded to win four straight Serie A titles. 

Strike on Palestinians waiting for aid kills 80

GAZA, Palestine

The death toll of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces while waiting for food aid in Gaza has risen to 81 with about 700 people wounded, Gaza’s Health Ministry says.

It added that, given that dozens of injuries range from serious to critical, the death toll may rise to more than 100.

Hundreds of Palestinians were waiting to receive aid near Dowar al-Nablusi, south of Gaza City when they came under Israeli fire, eyewitnesses said.

Israel has launched a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 Hamas attack, which Tel Aviv says killed nearly 1,200 people.

More than 30,000 Palestinians have since been killed and over 70,000 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

Burundi detains troops who refused to fight in Congo

BUJUMBURA, Burundi

Dozens of Burundian troops have been detained for refusing to be deployed to eastern DRC in the fight against the M23 rebel group. That's according to army officers, prisons officials and other witnesses.

The dissenting soldiers were being held in at least four prisons across the tiny central African country, they told The Associated Press.

Clashes between M23, which the U.S. says is backed by Rwanda, and DRC troops have intensified in recent weeks with the rebels threatening the DRC city of Goma on the Rwanda border.

Burundian President Évariste Ndayishimiye, in a public broadcast on December 29, acknowledged the presence of Burundian troops in eastern DRC under the terms of a defense pact with DRC authorities.

“If you do not help your neighbor put out the fire when his house is burning, tomorrow, if it is your turn, he will not come to help you,” he said. “If Burundi is going to help (DRC), it is defending itself.”

He said in that address that it was “normal for Burundian soldiers to be killed on Congolese territory.”

Tensions have been rising in Africa's Great Lakes region as Rwanda, Burundi and DRC trade accusations over support for violent rebel groups operating in the lawless areas of eastern DRC.

DRC President Felix Tshisekedi has accused Rwanda's government of actively supporting M23, which controls territory near the Rwanda border. U.N. experts have cited “solid evidence” that members of Rwanda’s armed forces were conducting operations in support of the rebels in eastern DRC. Rwanda denies supporting the M23.

At the same time, Burundi is accusing Rwanda of supporting another DRC-based rebel group opposed to Burundi's government. The group, known as RED-Tabara, has claimed responsibility for multiple deadly attacks inside Burundi. The latest attack, in which at least nine people were killed, happened on Sunday.

Burundi last month suspended diplomatic relations with Rwanda and closed their border, calling it a response to Rwanda’s alleged backing of RED-Tabara, which is based in DRC's South Kivu province. Rwanda denies the allegation.

Burundian authorities have not revealed how many troops have been deployed to eastern DRC. They also haven’t commented on the arrests of soldiers who refuse deployment across the border. Brig. Gaspard Baratuza, the Burundian military spokesman, did not respond to requests for comment.

According to two army officers and multiple prison guards who spoke to the AP, the arrests of dissenting soldiers started in December, with more than 200 detained. They include at least 103 in the Rumonge prison in the southwest, two prison guards there said. Others were being held in remand centers in Ngozi in the north, Ruyigi in the east, and Bururi in the south, according to prison guards in each of those penal institutions.

An army colonel in Bujumbura, the commercial capital, said many soldiers have been imprisoned “for having refused to fight alongside the (DRC army) against the M23." Some also face additional charges of stealing war funds, he said, without elaborating.

“Some have already been dismissed from the army, but there are also some who have been acquitted. It is no secret that many soldiers are detained for these acts,” he said.

The colonel, like others who spoke about the detentions, requested anonymity because of safety concerns.

A Burundian army captain told the AP he had deserted the military after refusing to be sent to DRC. “For a professional soldier to engage in combat, there must at least be the motive for the conflict," he said. "He must also measure his strengths and weaknesses and those of the enemy. But in the current situation we are being asked to go and fight blindly.”

Washington has urged de-escalation of tensions in eastern DRC, where M23 is one of more than 100 armed groups active there, seeking a share of the region’s gold and other resources as they carry out mass killings.

Many M23 fighters, including Tutsis in DRC, were once members of the country's army. The group’s leaders say they are fighting to protect local Tutsis from extremist Hutu groups such as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, whose members were among the perpetrators of the 1994 genocide against minority Tutsis in Rwanda.

Rwandan authorities cited concerns over this armed group in a statement last week rejecting U.S. calls for Rwanda to withdraw its troops and missile systems from DRC territory.

Ghana's parliament passes anti-LGBTQ law

ACCRA, Ghana

Ghana's parliament passed a bill on Wednesday that further clamps down on the rights of LGBTQ people in the West African country.

The "Human Sexual Rights and Family Values" bill enjoys support from a majority of lawmakers in Accra and has been sponsored by a coalition of Christian, Muslim, and Ghanaian traditional leaders.

Same-sex intercourse in Ghana was already punishable by up to three years in prison, but while discrimination against LGBTQ people is common, no one has ever been prosecuted under the colonial-era law.

The new bill, commonly referred to as the anti-gay bill, now also imposes a prison sentence of up to five years for the "wilful promotion, sponsorship, or support of LGBTQ+ activities."

The bill has been sent to the president's desk to be signed into law. Opposition lawmaker Sam George, the main sponsor of the bill, called on President Nana Akufo-Addo to approve it. 

"There is nothing that deals with LGBTQ better than this bill that has been passed by parliament," George said. "We expect the president to walk his talk and be a man of his words."

The bill has been widely condemned by rights activists and still has to be validated by the president before entering into law, a move observers believe is unlikely before an election in December. President Akufo-Addo has not confirmed if he will sign the bill into law.

Members of Ghana's LGBTQ community are worried about the implications of the bill and an umbrella group of lawyers and human rights activists in Ghana known as the "Big 18" has condemned it.

"You cannot criminalize a person's identity and that's what the bill is doing and it's absolutely wrong," said Takyiwaa Manuh, a member of the coalition. "We want to impress on the president not to assent to the bill, it totally violates the human rights of the LGBT community."

Founder and director of "LGBT+ Rights Ghana" Alex Donkor said the passing of this bill would "further marginalize and endanger LGBTQ individuals in Ghana."

"It not only legalizes discrimination but also fosters an environment of fear and persecution," he said. "With harsh penalties for both LGBTQ individuals and activists, this bill threatens the safety and well-being of an already vulnerable community."

UNAIDS executive director Winnie Byanyima said if the bill becomes law, it "will obstruct access to life-saving services, undercut social protection, and jeopardize Ghana's development success."

Amnesty International has said the proposed legislation "poses significant threats to the fundamental rights and freedoms of LGBT+ persons."

South Sudan blames fighting in neighbouring Sudan for its crisis

JUBA, South Sudan

South Sudan's government on Tuesday blamed the country's economic crisis in part on the fighting in neighbouring Sudan and the instability in the Red Sea, where Yemen's Houthi rebels have been attacking international shipping.

With most government workers not having been paid for the past of five months and the cost of living skyrocketing, Information Minister Michael Makuei Lueth told reporters that outside factors have impacted South Sudan's oil exports — the country's main source of revenue.

The news conference by Lueth was meant to provide an update on South Sudan's sluggish economy since the 2018 signing of a peace deal that ended the country's own internal conflict.

Lueth also said that oil wells, which were water-logged by heavy floods over the past rainy season, are not yet fully operational.

The low levels of productivity have been compounded by the fact that the pipeline taking South Sudan's crude through Sudan to its main Red Sea hub, Port Sudan, has been blocked in areas where there is fighting, he said.

But even if the crude oil were to reach Port Sudan, it would still not be possible to ship it because of the ongoing threats to shipping in the Red Sea, Leuth said.

"So, apart from low production, there are physical difficulties confronting the oil sector," he said. "The combination of all these factors has seriously affected" South Sudan.

Neighboring Sudan plunged into chaos in mid-April when clashes erupted in the capital, Khartoum, between rival Sudanese forces — the country's military, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and a paramilitary faction known as the Rapid Support Forces, under the command of Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo.

The fighting quickly spread across the African country, especially urban areas but also the restive western Darfur region, and has so far killed at least 12,000 people and sent over 8 million fleeing from their homes.

South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011 following decades of civil war that cost millions of lives. Soon after independence, South Sudan fought its own civil war from 2013 to 2018, when rivals President Salva Kiir and Vice President Riek Machar signed a power-sharing agreement and formed a coalition government.

South Sudan, a landlocked country, produces around 150,000 barrels of fuel a day and uses Sudanese pipelines to transfer its oil to the global market in an agreement with the government of Sudan. Sudan pockets $23 per barrel as transit fees for oil exports from South Sudan.

Many Nigerians struggle to afford food amid record inflation

LAGOS, Nigeria

The streets of Lagos, Nigeria's largest city, are packed with angry demonstrators calling to "end hardship now!" amid the West African country's worst economic crisis in more than two decades.

The protests kicked off on Tuesday after one of the country's main unions, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), called for Nigerians to come out to the streets.

‘'There is suffering in the land, there is suffering for the workers, no worker can live on 30,000 naira ($18.40) minimum wage and over 150 million Nigerians are living below the poverty line," NLC president Joe Ajaero told demonstrators.

When Nigerian President Bola Tinubu took office in May 2023, he removed a fuel subsidy as part of his economic reforms. But the measures sent fuel costs soaring and the prices of food and transport almost tripled. 

The naira lost around 70% of its value and dropped to record lows after Tinubu last year scrapped the pegging of the naira to the US dollar.

Last May, 10,000 naira would buy $22 — now it will only fetch around $6.40.

The plunging naira has resulted in a rise in the price of all imported products — and inflation has soared to 30%.

But Nigerian economist Tunji Andrews told DW that the fuel subsidy's scrappage was not what tipped the Nigerian economy over the edge. 

"The downturn had been before he came into office," said Andrews. "The removal just made it harder. It increased inflation, which is natural. It just made it harder for most people to be able to live."

And it is ordinary citizens who have been bearing the brunt of the slump because Nigerian wages have not kept up with the rising cost of living. 

"The hardship in the land is very, very alarming," one protester in Lagos told DW. "The masses of Nigerians are suffering, and the federal governments are not doing the needful. They made a lot of promises and they have not fulfilled one."

Tinubu inherited a range of challenges from his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari. High unemployment, record inflation and widespread insecurity. 

During Tinubu's election campaign, he vowed to deal with these issues, but the unions say his government has failed to deliver on his promises — including a monthly wage increase for all workers, payments to millions of vulnerable households, and the rollout of gas-powered buses for mass transit.

Andrews said that Nigerians all need basics such as food, transport and power. 

"I think if they can have that, Nigerians are very resilient, and they will create jobs for themselves," he told DW.

"If they can get adequate power, if the food prices can reduced and the removal of petrol prices, then I'm sure that there will be some short-term succor for the average Nigerian.

Andrews acknowledged that the crisis started even before Tinubu's government came into power.

"There had been the challenge of liquidity, the economy had experienced some fragility," the economist told DW.

"So there was fire, and we then put petrol on it, and it exacerbated the scenario. It is my genuine thought that it is not a Tinubu issue per se, but maybe the fact that his policies could have been differently implemented for a better result."

Tinubu's government says it is working to address the crisis.

ICC orders reparations for victims of Ugandan rebel chief

THE HAGUE, Netherlands

Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) have awarded victims of Ugandan child soldier-turned-commander Dominic Ongwen more than €52 million ($56 million) in compensation.

Ongwen, who was himself abducted by Joseph Kony's notorious Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) at the age of 9 before rising through the ranks, was convicted on 60 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity in 2021, including rape, murder and child abduction. He was sentenced to 25 years in jail and is currently serving his term in Norway.

On Wednesday, the ICC calculated the total value of reparations for an estimated 50,000 eligible victims to be approximately €52,429,000, a record sum whereby each victim will receive a symbolic €750, paid collectively.

"The direct victims of the attacks, the direct victims of sexual and gender-based crimes and the children born out of those crimes as well as the former child soldiers suffered serious and long-lasting, physical, moral and material harm," said ICC judge Bertram Schmitt, saying women and children especially suffered "serious and long-lasting harm."

Ahead of the ruling, Louis Lakor, a 29-year-old Ugandan who the LRA kidnaped as a boy, told the Reuters news agency that reparations could only ever be symbolic "because in reality there's no amount of money that can compensate for the crimes the LRA committed."

The rebels murdered his parents and forced him to kill his sister, he said. "How can you compensate those who died, or those with invisible wounds or victimhood like the children who were born in the bush, those whose parents were killed?" he asked.

Ongwen, now in his mid-40s but whose precise date of birth is unknown, became a senior commander in Kony's LRA under the nom de guerre of "White Ant."

Prosecutors portrayed him as a leading figure in the LRA's reign of terror in northern Uganda in the early 2000s, personally ordering the massacres of more than 130 civilians at five refugee camps between 2002 and 2005.

In total, the LRA is considered responsible for the deaths of more than 100,000 people and the kidnapping of 60,000 children, with boys transformed into child soldiers and girls kept as sex slaves.

Ongwen's trial was the first time that the ICC had dealt with a former victim, a child soldier, who became a perpetrator. Since Ongwen does not have the resources to pay the compensation, the court asked the tribunal's own Trust Fund for Victims to help cover the cost.

The judges cautioned that, given the record scale of the reparations, "Victims cannot expect payments to be executed soon after the issuance of this reparations order."

After fighting the government of President Yoweri Museveni from bases in northern Uganda and neighboring countries for nearly 20 years, the LRA has been largely wiped out, but commander Kony remains one of the ICC's most wanted fugitives.

ICC prosecutor Karim Khan in 2022 said he would ask judges to confirm charges against Kony despite his absence, as the rebel leader is still at large.

Several killed in attack on Chad's intelligence services headquarters

N’DJAMENA, Chad

Blaming the overnight assault on activists from the opposition Socialist Party Without Borders (PSF), headed by Yaya Dillo, the government said that "the situation is now completely under control" and "the perpetrators of this act have been arrested or are being sought and will be prosecuted".

The attack came after a party member was arrested and accused of an "assassination attempt against the president of the supreme court", it said.

Dillo is a fierce opponent of Chad's transitional president, his cousin Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno.

He denounced the attack against the supreme court president as "staged".

The ANSE attack comes a day after the announcement that Chad will hold a presidential election on May 6, which both Mahamat Deby Itno and Dillo intend to contest.

Mahamat Deby Itno took power in Chad after his father, Idriss Deby Itno, was killed while fighting rebels in 2021, after ruling the desert nation for three decades.