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Month: September 2024
US pledges support for Africa’s AI goals
Abuja, Nigeria — The two-day pan-African AI conference co-hosted by the United States concluded Wednesday in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial hub.
Hundreds of delegates including public officials, tech leaders, policy makers academics and entrepreneurs attended the conference to hold talks about the development and use of safe, secure and trustworthy AI systems in Africa.
The U.S. deputy secretary of state, Kurt Campbell, spoke at the summit about the opportunity at hand.
“A global technology revolution is well under way — the race to develop and deploy new technologies, including artificial intelligence, is already shaping everything about our lives,” said Campbell. “We aim to foster collaborations between the United States and Africa AI researchers, policy makers and industry leaders, so that we can work together to drive innovation and address common challenges. This will enable us to share the benefits of AI globally.”
The conference is a significant step in Africa’s technological future.
Campbell said artificial intelligence can be used to address problems like global health, food security, education, energy and climate change, and asserted the conference has provided the ground for African voices in AI to shape emerging global AI systems.
“I cannot overstate Africa’s growing importance in the global technology landscape,” said Campbell. “By developing human capital and strengthening research and innovation ecosystems and building and AI ready institutional and regulatory environment, we can help AI work for Africa. The African Union’s landmark AI strategy sets the roadmap for African countries to harness AI’s potential to achieve developmental aspirations in education, health, agriculture, infrastructure, peace and security and good governance.”
In July, the African Union launched the continent’s Artificial Intelligence Strategy, saying AI is pivotal in transforming Africa into a global technology hub, and it called on member states to adopt the strategy.
On Tuesday, Nigeria’s minister of communication, innovation and digital economy, Bosun Tijani, announced a $61,000 grant for Nigeria’s brightest AI startups.
“For us to truly harness artificial intelligence for our collective benefits, we must be deliberate and collaborative in our approach,” said Tijani. “We just ensure that our digital transformation journey is inclusive, equitable and human focused.”
Africa currently represents 2.5% of the global AI market, according to the Artificial Intelligence for Development Africa, or AI4D.
But analysts say with more talks about safe use, AI applications could boost Africa’s economy by $2.9 trillion by the year 2030 with Kenya, South Africa and Nigerian markets taking the lead.
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International arms embargo on Darfur renewed as fighting rages
United Nations — The U.N. Security Council unanimously renewed for another year an arms embargo on parties in the Darfur region of Sudan, where the war between rival generals has intensified in recent months, exacerbating a dire humanitarian crisis.
Sudan’s envoy welcomed the extension but urged the council to go further and sanction the entire Rapid Support Forces militia, the rival of the government-backed Sudanese Armed Forces.
“The militia, in its entirety, really needs to be listed, because it fulfills all the conditions,” Ambassador Al-Harith Idriss Al-Harith Mohamed said. “There also needs to be an end to the financing of the militia.”
The RSF as it is known, has captured most of Darfur, and a battle has been going on since May over North Darfur’s capital, El Fasher, which is the only Darfuri regional capital not to have fallen to the RSF.
Sudan’s military has repeatedly accused the United Arab Emirates of supplying the RSF with arms and ammunition smuggled in through neighboring Chad. The UAE strongly denies the accusations.
A report by a United Nations panel of experts earlier this year said there was substance to media reports that cargo planes originating in the UAE capital had landed in eastern Chad with arms, ammunition and medical equipment destined for the paramilitary group.
At the meeting, Sudan’s envoy accused the UAE of profiting from his nation’s natural resources, including gold and uranium, and he urged the Security Council to act.
“We are calling for clear measures to be taken against those who seek to sabotage the Sudanese economy — namely businesses and companies whose headquarters are in the UAE,” Mohamed said.
“The repetition of baseless allegations does not make them true,” Emirati Ambassador Mohamed Abushahab told the council. He urged the army, known as the SAF, to show “political courage” and participate in peace talks to end the war.
The SAF sat out U.S.- and Saudi-brokered talks in Geneva in August because the UAE was invited to participate.
The United States led the negotiations in the council on the renewal of the Darfur arms embargo, which was first put in place in 2004 during the genocide carried out by Arab Janjaweed fighters against non-Arab ethnic groups in Darfur. Janjaweed fighters make up elements of today’s RSF.
“Renewing the sanctions measures will restrict the movement of arms into Darfur and sanction individuals and entities contributing to, or complicit in, destabilizing activities of Sudan,” U.S. envoy Robert Wood said. “All of this is critical to helping end the escalating conflict, alleviate humanitarian catastrophe and put Sudan back on the path to stability and security.”
The U.S. also has proposed that the Security Council sanction two RSF commanders, but their designation remains in limbo after Russia put a hold on it on August 31.
Rights groups said the embargo renewal did not go far enough and should include the whole of Sudan.
“The council should correct this failure as soon as possible and expand the arms restrictions to cover all of Sudan, to limit the flow of arms and curb widespread atrocities being committed in the country,” said Human Rights Watch’s Jean-Baptiste Gallopin.
Sudan is facing a massive humanitarian crisis as a result of the war between the rival generals that began in April 2023. More than 10 million people have fled their homes in search of safety, and last month, international monitors confirmed famine in North Darfur. Across the country, the United Nations says, 26 million people are in crisis levels of hunger.
Human rights violations are also rife. In June, the RSF and SAF were added to an annual U.N. blacklist for perpetrators of grave violations against children. They were named for violations committed last year, including the killing and maiming of children, for attacking schools and hospitals, and in the case of the RSF, for sexual violence and recruiting and using children in their ranks.
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Soyuz craft heads to space station with 2 Russians, 1 American
MOSCOW — A Soyuz spacecraft carrying two Russians and an American blasted off Wednesday for an express trip to the International Space Station.
The space capsule atop a towering rocket set off at 1623 GMT from Russia’s manned space launch facility in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, and was scheduled to dock with the space station three hours later, in contrast to some missions that last for days.
The mission commander is Alexei Ovchinin, with Russian compatriot Ivan Vagner and American Donald Pettit in the crew.
The blast-off took place without obvious problems and the Soyuz entered orbit eight minutes after liftoff, a relief for Russian space authorities after an automated safety system halted a launch in March because of a voltage drop in the power system.
On the space station, Pettit, Vagner and Ovchinin will join NASA’s Tracy Dyson, Mike Barratt, Matthew Dominick, Jeanette Epps, Butch Wilmore, and Suni Williams, and Russians Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin, and Oleg Kononenko.
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US House Republicans cancel vote on stopgap funding measure
WASHINGTON — U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson canceled a vote scheduled for Wednesday on his stopgap funding bill, saying more work is needed to build support for a measure, less than three weeks before a government shutdown deadline.
“No vote today, because we’re in the consensus-building business here in Congress, with small majorities, and that’s what you do,” Johnson told reporters at the Capitol.
The vote had been set for later on Wednesday.
Johnson added that Republicans will be working through the weekend to find a bill that would gain enough votes for passage, now that his measure, opposed by President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats, has faltered.
House Republicans have attached a controversial provision requiring people to provide proof of citizenship to register to vote, a measure meant to force Democrats to take stances on the politically charged issue of non-citizen voting, which is already illegal in federal elections.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who continues to falsely claim his 2020 loss was the result of fraud, has urged Republicans to pass the voting measure ahead of the November 5 election.
The federal government’s fiscal year ends on September 30, when funding for many agencies expires. Without some sort of extension, federal programs not deemed essential would have to suspend many of their operations, forcing thousands of government workers to go on leave.
Success for the funding bill was not guaranteed in the chamber that Republicans control by a narrow 220-211 margin. Several House Republicans have said they would vote against the measure, citing spending concerns, and many members of the caucus generally oppose stopgap spending measures.
Two Republicans joined Democrats on Tuesday in voting against a procedural move to advance the bill.
Democrats broadly see the citizenship registration requirement as meant to undermine confidence in administering elections.
“We’re watching a movie we’ve seen over and over again,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Tuesday. “House Republicans are trying to pass a bill so partisan that it even splits their own caucus. This proposal isn’t even serious.”
The White House on Monday said Biden would veto this funding package were it to pass, citing the “unrelated cynical” voting requirement. The administration also wants a temporary funding period shorter than six months, as well as more money for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to fix infrastructure damaged by natural disasters.
Lawmakers face an even more critical self-imposed deadline on January 1, before which they must act to raise or extend the nation’s debt ceiling or risk defaulting on more than $35 trillion in federal government debt.
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Samsung Electronics plans global job cuts of up to 30%, sources say
SEOUL/NEW DELHI — Samsung Electronics, the world’s top maker of smartphones, TVs and memory chips, is cutting up to 30% of its overseas staff at some divisions, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
South Korea-based Samsung has instructed subsidiaries worldwide to reduce sales and marketing staff by about 15% and the administrative staff by up to 30%, two of the sources said.
The plan will be implemented by the end of this year and would impact jobs across the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa, one person said. Six other people familiar with the matter also confirmed Samsung’s planned global headcount reduction.
It is not clear how many people would be let go and which countries and business units would be most affected.
The sources declined to be named because the scope and details of the job cuts remained confidential.
In a statement, Samsung said workforce adjustments conducted at some overseas operations were routine, and aimed at improving efficiency. It said there are no specific targets for the plans, adding that they are not impacting its production staff.
Samsung employed a total of 267,800 people as of the end of 2023, and more than half, or 147,000 employees, are based overseas, according to its latest sustainability report.
Manufacturing and development accounted for most of those jobs and sales and marketing staff was around 25,100, while 27,800 people worked in other areas, the report said.
The “global mandate” on job cuts was sent about three weeks ago, and Samsung’s India operation was already offering severance packages to some mid-level employees who have left in recent weeks, one of the direct sources said.
The total employees who may need to leave the India unit could reach 1,000, the person added. Samsung employs some 25,000 people in India.
In China, Samsung has notified its staff about the job cuts that are expected to affect about 30% of its employees at its sales operation, a South Korean newspaper reported this month.
Big challenges
The job cuts come as Samsung grapples with mounting pressure on its key units.
Its bread-and-butter chip business has been slower than its rivals in recovering from a severe downturn in the industry that drove its profit to a 15-year low last year.
In May, Samsung replaced the head of its semiconductor division in a bid to overcome a “chip crisis” as it seeks to catch up with smaller rival SK Hynix in supplying high-end memory chips used in artificial intelligence chipsets.
In the premium smartphone market, Samsung is facing stiff competition from Apple and China’s Huawei, while it has long lagged behind TSMC in contract chip manufacturing. And in India, which earns Samsung around $12 billion in annual revenue, a strike over wages is disrupting production.
One of the sources familiar with the plans said the job cuts were being made in preparation for a slowdown in global demand for technology products as the global economy slows. Another source said Samsung is seeking to shore up its bottom line by saving costs.
It was not immediately clear if Samsung will also cut jobs in its headquarters in South Korea.
One of the sources said Samsung would find it difficult to lay off workers in South Korea because it was a politically sensitive issue. Conglomerate Samsung Group, of which the electronics giant is the crown jewel, is the country’s biggest employer and plays a key role in its economy.
Job cuts could also stir labor unrest at home. A South Korean workers’ union at Samsung Electronics recently went on strike for several days, demanding higher wages and benefits.
Shares in Samsung Electronics, South Korea’s most valuable stock, are trading at their lowest level in 16 months on Wednesday, as some analysts cut their profit estimates for the company recently, citing a weak recovery in demand for smartphones and personal computers.
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Generation Z drives far-right support in Europe
Support for the far-right among young voters appears to be growing in several European countries – not least in Germany, where the AfD party is hoping to secure another victory in an upcoming state election. Henry Ridgwell has more from London. (Videographer: Henry Ridgwell)
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Workers call off protest that grounded flights at Kenya’s main airport
Nairobi, Kenya — Kenya’s airport workers’ union has called off a strike that grounded flights in the country’s main airport on Wednesday over awarding the contract for its modernization and operations to an Indian firm.
The decision came after daylong talks between the union leaders and the government.
The workers were protesting a build-and-operate agreement between the Kenyan government and India’s Adani Group that would see the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport modernized, with an additional runway and terminal constructed, in exchange for the group running the airport for 30 years.
The union wrote on X that a return-to-work agreement had been signed and union secretary general Moss Ndiema told journalists and workers that the union would be involved in every discussion moving forward.
“We have not accepted Adani,” he said.
Transport Minister Davis Chirchir told journalists that the government would protect the interests of Kenyan citizens during the quest to upgrade and modernize the main airport.
Hundreds of workers at Kenya’s main international airport demonstrated on Wednesday as planes remained grounded, with hundreds of passengers stranded at the airport.
Kenya Airport Workers Union, in announcing the strike, said that the deal would lead to job losses and “inferior terms and conditions of service” for those who will remain.
Kenya Airways on Wednesday announced there would be flight delays and possible cancellations because of the ongoing strike at the airport, which serves Nairobi.
The strike affected local flights coming from the port city of Mombasa and the lake city of Kisumu, where delays have been reported by local media.
At the main airport, police officers had taken up security check-in roles with long lines seen outside the departure terminals and worried passengers unable to confirm if their flights would depart as scheduled.
The Kenya Airports Authority said in a statement that it was “engaging relevant parties to normalize operations” and urged passengers to contact their respective airlines to confirm flight status.
The Central Organization of Trade Unions’ secretary-general, Francis Atwoli, told journalists at the airport that the strike would have been averted had the government listened to the workers.
“This was a very simple matter where the assurance to workers in writing that our members will not lose jobs and their jobs will remain protected by the government and as is required by law and that assurance alone, we wouldn’t have been here,” he said.
Last week, airport workers had threatened to go on strike, but the plans were called off pending discussions with the government.
The spotting of unknown people moving around with airport officials taking notes and photographs raised concerns that the Indian firm officials were readying for the deal, local media outlets reported last week.
The High Court on Monday temporarily halted the implementation of the deal until a case filed by the Law Society and the Kenya Human Rights Commission is heard.
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US inflation reaches 3-year low as Federal Reserve prepares to cut interest rates
Washington — The post-pandemic spike in U.S. inflation eased further last month as year-over-year price increases reached a three-year low, clearing the way for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates next week.
Wednesday’s report from the Labor Department showed that consumer prices rose 2.5% in August from a year earlier. It was the fifth straight annual drop and the smallest such increase since February 2021. From July to August, prices rose just 0.2%.
Excluding volatile food and energy costs, so-called core prices rose 3.2% in August from 12 months earlier, the same as in July. On a month-to-month basis, core prices rose 0.3% last month, a pickup from July’s 0.2% increase. Economists closely watch core prices, which typically provide a better read of future inflation trends.
For months, cooling inflation has provided gradual relief to America’s consumers, who were stung by the price surges that erupted three years ago, particularly for food, gas, rent and other necessities. Inflation peaked in mid-2022 at 9.1%, the highest rate in four decades.
Fed officials have signaled that they’re increasingly confident that inflation is falling back to their 2% target and are now shifting their focus to supporting the job market, which is steadily cooling. As a result, the policymakers are poised to begin cutting their key rate from its 23-year high in hopes of bolstering growth and hiring.
A modest quarter-point cut is widely expected next week. Over time, a series of rate cuts should reduce the cost of borrowing across the economy, including for mortgages, auto loans and credit cards.
The latest inflation figures could inject themselves into the presidential race in its final weeks. Former President Donald Trump has heaped blame on Vice President Kamala Harris for the jump in inflation, which erupted in early 2021 as global supply chains seized up, causing severe shortages of parts and labor. Harris has proposed subsidies for home buyers and builders in an effort to ease housing costs and backs a federal ban on price-gouging for groceries. Trump has said he would boost energy production to try to reduce overall inflation.
A key reason why inflation eased again in August was that gas prices tumbled by about 10 cents a gallon last month, according to the Energy Inflation Administration, to a national average of about $3.29.
Economists also expect the government’s measures of grocery prices and rents to rise more slowly. Though food prices are roughly 20% more expensive than before the pandemic, they have barely budged over the past year.
Another potential driver of slower inflation is that the cost of new apartment leases has started to cool as a stream of newly built apartments have been completed.
According to the real estate brokerage Redfin, the median rent for a new lease rose just 0.9% in August from a year earlier, to $1,645 a month. But the government’s measure includes all rents, including those for people who have been in their apartments for months or years. It takes time for the slowdown in new rents to show up in the government’s data. In July, rental costs rose 5.1% from a year ago, according to the government’s consumer price index.
Americans’ paychecks are also growing more slowly — an average of about 3.5% annually, still a solid pace — which reduces inflationary pressures. Two years ago, wage growth was topping 5%, a level that can force businesses to sharply raise prices to cover their higher labor costs.
In a high-profile speech last month, Fed Chair Jerome Powell noted that inflation was coming under control and suggested that the job market was unlikely to be a source of inflationary pressure.
Consumers have propelled the economy for the past three years. But they are increasingly turning to debt to maintain their spending and credit card, and auto delinquencies are rising, raising concerns that they may have to rein in their spending soon. Reduced consumer spending could lead more employers to freeze their hiring or even cut jobs.
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European business confidence in China is at an all-time low, report says
HONG KONG — China must reprioritize economic growth and reforms and boost investor confidence by leveling the playing field for all companies in the country, a European business group said Wednesday.
With “business confidence now at an all-time low” over lagging domestic demand and overcapacity in certain industries, the annual European Business in China Position Paper called on China to open its economy and allow a more free market to determine resource allocation. It also recommended introducing policies to boost domestic demand.
Profit margins in China are at or below the global average for two-thirds of the companies surveyed earlier in the year, according to the paper published Wednesday by the European Chamber of Commerce in China.
In August, China filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization over European Union tariffs on electric vehicles made in China. It also launched anti-dumping and subsidies investigations of European dairy products, brandy and pork exports. The tit-for-tat actions have raised fears that a trade war may break out.
Many European businesses are deciding that the returns on investments in the world’s second-largest economy are not worth the risks, due to issues including China’s economic slowdown and a politicized business environment.
“For some European headquarters and shareholders, the risks of investing in China are beginning to outright the returns, a trend that will only intensify if key business concerns are left unaddressed,” Jens Eskelund, president of China’s European Union Chamber of Commerce, said in a message at the beginning of the paper.
The European Chamber’s paper proposes over 1,000 recommendations for China to resolve challenges and problems faced by European businesses operating in the country and boost investor confidence. Among them are calls for China to refrain from punishing companies for the actions of their home governments. Others include ensuring that policy packages for attracting foreign investment are followed by implementation, and refraining from “erratic policy shifts.”
The report also recommended that the EU proactively engage with China and keep its responses “measured and proportionate” when disagreements arise.
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Wagner lost veteran fighters in Mali ambush, in setback to Russia’s Africa campaign
LONDON/DAKAR — Among the dozens of Wagner mercenaries presumed dead after a lethal battle with Tuareg rebels during a desert sandstorm in Mali in July were Russian war veterans who survived tours in Ukraine, Libya and Syria, according to interviews with relatives and a review of social media data.
The loss of such experienced fighters exposes dangers faced by Russian mercenary forces working for military juntas, which are struggling to contain separatists and powerful offshoots of Islamic State and Al Qaeda across the arid Sahel region in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
The Mali defeat raises doubts over whether Moscow, which has admitted funding Wagner and has absorbed many of its fighters into a defense ministry force, will do better than Western and U.N. troops recently expelled by the juntas, six officials and experts who work in the region said.
By cross-referencing public information with online posts from relatives and fighters, speaking to seven relatives and using facial recognition software to analyze battlefield footage verified by Reuters, the news agency was able to identify 23 fighters missing in action and two others taken into Tuareg captivity after the ambush near Tinzaouaten, a town on the Algerian border.
Several of the men had survived the siege of Bakhmut in Ukraine, which Wagner’s late founder Yevgeny Prigozhin called a “meat grinder.” Others had served in Libya, Syria and elsewhere. Some were former Russian soldiers, at least one of whom had retired after a full-length army career.
Grisly footage of dead fighters has now circulated online, and some of relatives told Reuters the bodies of their husbands and sons had been abandoned in the desert. Reuters could not confirm how many of the men it identified were dead.
Margarita Goncharova said her son, Vadim Evsiukov, 31, was first recruited in prison where he was serving a drug-related sentence in 2022. He rose through the ranks in Ukraine to lead a platoon of 500 men, she said. After coming home, he worked as a tailor but struggled with survivor’s guilt and secretly traveled to Africa in April to join his former commander, she said.
“He wanted to fly to Africa many times. I discouraged him as much as I could,” Goncharova said in an interview with Reuters. “I told him ‘fate has given you a once-in-a-million chance. You can start your life again; you’ve won such a crazy lottery’.”
The Russian Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Wagner did not respond to requests for comment for this story.
After Prigozhin died in August last year, Wagner employees were invited to join a newly created group called the Africa Corps, under the defense ministry, “to fight for justice and the interests of Russia,” according to the Africa Corps channel on social-media platform Telegram.
On the channel, Africa Corps says about half its personnel are former Wagner employees who it allows to use Wagner insignia. Wagner’s social media channels remain active.
The Russian government has not publicly commented on the Tinzaouaten battle.
Mali’s armed forces-led government said the defeat had no impact on its goals. The Malian Armed Forces “are committed to restoring the authority of the state throughout the country,” army spokesman Colonel Major Souleymane Dembele told Reuters.
Wagner has acknowledged heavy losses in the Mali ambush but gave no figure. The Malian army, which fought alongside the Russians, also did not give a toll. Tuareg rebels, who are fighting for an independent homeland, said they had killed 84 Russians and 47 Malians.
Reuters could not independently establish how many were killed in battle. One video, out of more than 20 sent to Reuters by a Tuareg rebel spokesman, showed at least 47 bodies, mostly white men, in military-style uniforms lying in the desert. Reuters verified the location and date of the video.
Mikhail Zvinchuk, a prominent blogger close to the Russian defense ministry, said on social media platform RuTube in August that the defeat showed Wagner fighters who arrived from Ukraine had underestimated the rebels and the Al Qaeda fighters.
Missing in action
Wagner-linked Telegram accounts named two of the dead as Nikita Fedyakin, the administrator of The Grey Zone, a popular Wagner-focused Telegram channel with over half a million subscribers, and Sergei Shevchenko, who the accounts described as the unit commander. Reuters could not verify the identity of Shevchenko.
Reuters separately identified 23 Wagner operators missing in Mali via relatives who posted in an official Wagner Telegram chat group, checking the names against social media accounts, publicly available data and facial recognition software. All the relatives received calls from Wagner recruiters on Aug. 6 to notify them their men were missing in action, they said in the chat group.
Lyubov Bazhenova told Reuters she had no idea her son Vladimir Akimov, 25, who had briefly served in Russia’s elite airborne forces as a conscript, had signed up. She was angry with Wagner for sharing no further information about his fate or the whereabouts of his body. She said letters to the prosecutor’s office, defense ministry and foreign ministry had gone unanswered.
Facial-recognition software was used to identify another two men captured by Tuareg fighters, based on photographs and videos of the ambush site published by Tuareg sources. The Tuareg rebels posted videos and photos of the two captives on social media. Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, a spokesman for the rebel alliance, confirmed the men were in rebel captivity as of late August.
One of the missing fighters, Alexei Kuzekmaev, 47, had no military experience, his wife Lyudmila Kuzekmaeva told Reuters.
“Neither my hysterics, nor tears, nor persuasion – nothing helped. He just confronted me a month before he left home. He said ‘I bought a ticket and will be leaving.'”
Among the most experienced men was Alexander Lazarev, 48, a Russian army veteran who served in wars against Chechen separatists in the 1990s and 2000s, according to his wife’s posts in the Wagner channel.
She declined to comment. Lazarev appears in many photos on the Russian Facebook equivalent VKontakte wearing military uniform, with symbols linked to several army subdivisions.
Parastatal mercenary force
Democratic governments in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger were overthrown since 2020 in a series of coups driven by anger with corrupt leaders and a near decade of failed Western efforts to fight insurgencies that have killed thousands and displaced millions.
The military juntas have kicked out French and U.S. troops and U.N. peacekeepers.
In Africa, Wagner emerged in Sudan in 2017 as the deniable face of Russian operations. Its enterprises soon ranged from protecting African coup leaders to gold mining and fighting jihadists. Wagner is also active in Central African Republic. It first appeared in Mali in late 2021.
Wagner’s fortunes rose and fell last year. In May, the group led Russia to its first significant Ukrainian battlefield victory in almost a year with the capture of Bakhmut. But after his criticism of Russian military leaders and his effort to lead a rebellion weeks after the Bakhmut victory, Prigozhin died in a fiery plane crash in August. The Kremlin has rejected as an “absolute lie” U.S. officials’ claim that Putin had Prigozhin killed.
Eric Whitaker, the top U.S. envoy to Burkina Faso until retiring in June, who previously served in Niger, Mali and Chad, said the Putin administration has achieved complete control over the Wagner brand in the post-Prigozhin era.
“Africa Corps earns (the Russian government) hard-currency payments from host governments for its services and also gains a significant sources of revenue from gold derived from its activities in the Sahel,” he said.
Russian mercenary activity soared in Mali after Africa Corps was formed, according to data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), a U.S.-based crisis-monitoring group. Based on media reports and social media documenting, the data shows violent events linked to Russian mercenaries rose 81% and reported civilian fatalities rose 65% over the past year, compared to the year before Prigozhin’s death.
Wagner does not publish recruitment figures. Jędrzej Czerep, an analyst at Warsaw-based think tank Polish Institute of International Affairs, estimated that around 6,000 Russian mercenaries serve in Africa, while three diplomatic sources said about 1,500-2,000 were in Mali.
“When Africa Corps started to promote and recruit, they were flooded with applications,” said Czerep.
“Being sent to one of the African missions was seen as far safer than Ukraine,” he said.
Tuareg spokesman Ramadane said the rebel alliance was preparing for more clashes.
Further losses could eventually drive Russia out, said Tibor Nagy, the top U.S. envoy to Africa in 2019, when Wagner withdrew from northern Mozambique months after around a dozen of its men were killed during a conflict with an Islamic State affiliate.
“They were out of there very quickly,” said Nagy.
Wagner has not publicly commented on its plans in Mali.
your ad hereChina, Philippines to discuss South China Sea dispute amid clashes
Taipei, Taiwan — As China is set to host bilateral talks with the Philippines this month, their South China Sea dispute is expanding from sea to air, increasing the risk of military confrontation, analysts warn.
The Chinese Communist Party’s People’s Daily newspaper on Monday published an article warning that “China-Philippines relations stand at a crossroads” over the South China Sea dispute.
The warning came after Filipino Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo told reporters at a diplomatic reception on September 4 that Beijing will host the next round of the Bilateral Consultative Mechanism meetings designed to manage differences between the two countries.
Manalo did not say on which date the talks would start this month but expressed hope the two countries would discuss an incident in late August when coast guard ships from both sides collided at a disputed shoal. Both countries blame the other for the collision, though video released by the Philippine coast guard appears to show the Chinese coast guard ship ramming their vessel, BRP Teresa Magbanua.
It was the second such collision of their coast guard ships in August at the disputed atoll.
Vincent Kyle Parada, a former defense analyst for the Philippine Navy and a graduate student at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, says the frequency of the sea clashes is pushing the two sides to expand their operations to the air.
“Over the past few weeks, China has been actively working to disrupt resupply missions to the ship and crew, to the point that after one such failed attempt, the Philippine government announced that essential supplies reached critical levels,” he told VOA Mandarin. “Manila did manage to resupply BRP Teresa Magbanua through a helicopter, signaling this potential shift.”
Parada added, “This potential shift from maritime to aerial resupply emissions in the future is obviously a risk because China has also been escalating aerial operations in the South China Sea.
“Beijing would increase its aerial presence in the Spratlys and send fighter jets to its artificial islands for extended deployments. I think the goal there really would be to make aerial resupply emissions an incredibly dangerous policy option for Manila. That way, it limits Manila’s ability to sustain a long-term presence in the disputed territories.”
According to the latest data from the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs, the administration of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has lodged 176 diplomatic protests with the Chinese government, which claims almost the entire South China Sea, putting it in conflict with Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and researcher at Xuanyuan (Hong Kong) Science and Technology Exchange Center, says any Chinese military moves in the airspace over the South China Sea are due to what he calls “illegal expansion” by the Philippines.
“Whether it’s Scarborough Shoal, Second Thomas Shoal or Sabina Shoal, these are all China’s sovereign territories,” he told VOA Mandarin, repeating Beijing’s claims. “If the Philippines wants to conduct patrols or resupply by air, this in itself is violating the security of China’s airspace, and China will inevitably take certain measures to intercept it.”
An article published on September 2 by the Beijing-based think tank South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative says since 2024, the Philippines has “repeatedly dispatched military aircraft to invade the islands and reefs of Spratly Islands and Macclesfield Bank” and also sent military aircraft to carry out airdrops and replenishment missions over the sea, indicating that “air intrusion is becoming another major path for the Philippines to cause trouble in the South China Sea.”
The article warned that if the Philippines insists on carrying out an “air invasion,” China will have to take corresponding measures, and “once there is friction or even collision, the consequences will be much more serious than the collision with a ship.”
Su Tzu-yun, a research fellow and director at the Division of Defense Strategy and Resources in Taiwan, says China is more likely to take coercive actions in the air, making it difficult for the Philippines to defend its sovereignty.
“China may first take measures to interfere, as it does with the United States and Australian military aircraft, and it will scatter thermal flares to interfere so that Philippine helicopters may not be able to get close,” Su told VOA Mandarin. “It may use jets to create turbulence, meaning it uses air from the jet tail to interfere with the Philippine helicopter when it’s flying.”
Su says Beijing is taking more aggressive interception actions, which greatly increase the risk of accidental conflict.
“The number of Chinese ships has increased. Second, coupled with the previous conflict between China and the Philippines in the sea, which caused injuries to Philippine coast guards, and now it threatens to use stronger means against the Philippine so-called aircraft, so it is moving the definition of gray zone operations closer to the direction of war.”
Philippine National Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro in August said the Philippines plans to purchase 40 new multirole fighter jets and mid-range missiles to strengthen its territorial defense, Reuters reported.
The U.S. in July repeated its commitment to the Philippines’ security after China’s increasingly assertive actions in the South China Sea. US reiterates ‘ironclad’ commitment to Philippines amid China actions in South China Sea.
Parts of the disputed South China Sea are believed to be rich in oil and gas, and the waters are an important transit point for trillions of dollars in annual shipping.
The Hague-based intergovernmental Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016 unanimously ruled that China’s claim to almost all the South China Sea had “no legal basis,” which Beijing rejected.
Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report. Some information for this report came from Reuters.
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Hurricane Francine takes aim at Louisiana coast
BATON ROUGE, La. — Hurricane Francine barreled early Wednesday toward Louisiana and is expected to make landfall in coming hours as forecasters raised threats of potentially deadly storm surge, widespread flooding and destructive winds on the northern U.S. Gulf coast.
Francine drew fuel from exceedingly warm Gulf of Mexico waters to jump from a tropical storm to a Category 1 hurricane on Tuesday night. The National Hurricane Center said Francine might even reach Category 2 strength with winds of 155 to 175 kph before crashing into a fragile coastal region that still hasn’t fully recovered from a series of devastating hurricanes since 2020.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry warned at midday Tuesday — when Francine was still a tropical storm — that residents around south Louisiana and in the heavily populated state capital of Baton Rouge and nearby New Orleans — should “batten down all the hatches” and finish last preparations before a 24-hour window to do so closed.
Once Francine makes landfall, Landry said, residents should stay in place rather than venture out into waterlogged roads and risk blocking first responders or utility crews working to repair power lines.
The governor said the Louisiana National Guard is being deployed to parishes that could be impacted by Francine. They are equipped with food, water, nearly 400 high-water vehicles, about 100 boats and 50 helicopters to respond to the storm, including possible search-and-rescue operations.
Francine was centered Wednesday morning about 395 kilometers southwest of Morgan City, Louisiana, and was moving northeast at 17 kph with maximum sustained winds of 90 150 kmh, the Miami-based hurricane center said. Some additional strengthening is expected Wednesday morning and then Francine is expected to weaken quickly after it moves inland.
A hurricane warning was in effect along the Louisiana coast from Cameron eastward to Grand Isle, about 80 kilometers south of New Orleans, according to the center. A storm surge warning stretched from the Mississippi-Alabama border to the Alabama-Florida border Such a warning means there’s a chance of life-threatening flooding.
In downtown New Orleans, cars and trucks were lined up for blocks on Tuesday to collect sandbags from the parking lot of a local YMCA. CEO Erika Mann said Tuesday that 1,000 bags of sand had already been distributed by volunteers later in the day to people hoping to protect homes from possible flooding.
One resident picking up sandbags was Wayne Grant, 33, who moved to New Orleans last year and was nervous for his first potential hurricane in the city. The low-lying rental apartment he shares with his partner had already flooded out in a storm the year before and he was not taking any chances this time around.
“It was like a kick in the face, we’ve been trying to stay up on the weather ever since,” Grant said. “We’re super invested in the place, even though it’s not ours.”
Francine is the sixth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. There’s a danger of life-threatening storm surge as well as damaging hurricane-force winds, said Brad Reinhart, a senior hurricane specialist at the hurricane center.
There’s also the potential for 10 to 20 centimeters of rain with the possibility of 30 centimeters locally across much of Louisiana and Mississippi through Friday morning, Reinhart said.
The hurricane center said parts of Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle were at risk of “considerable” flash and urban flooding starting Wednesday, followed by a threat of possible flooding later in the week into the lower Mississippi Valley and lower Tennessee Valley as the soggy remnants of Francine sweep inland.
Francine is taking aim at a Louisiana coastline that has yet to fully recover since hurricanes Laura and Delta decimated Lake Charles in 2020, followed a year later by Hurricane Ida.
A little over three years after Ida trashed his home in the Dulac community of coastal Louisiana’s Terrebonne Parish – and about a month after he finished rebuilding – Coy Verdin was preparing for another hurricane.
“We had to gut the whole house,” he recalled in a telephone interview, rattling off a memorized inventory of the work, including a new roof and new windows.
Verdin, 55, strongly considered moving farther inland, away from the home where he makes his living on nearby Bayou Grand Caillou. After rebuilding, he said he’s there to stay.
“As long as I can. It’s getting rough, though,” he said.
Francine’s storm surge on the Louisiana coast could reach as much as 3 meters from Cameron to Port Fourchon and into Vermilion Bay, forecasters said. They said landfall was likely somewhere between Sabine Pass — on the Texas-Louisiana line — and Morgan City, Louisiana, about 350 kilometers to the east.
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Trump, Harris exchange barbs on debate stage
In the U.S. presidential election, the Republican Party’s presidential nominee, Donald Trump, clashed with his Democratic Party rival, Kamala Harris, Tuesday evening over issues such as abortion, immigration and foreign policy. VOA’s chief national correspondent Steve Herman has details from the candidates’ first debate in Philadelphia.
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Vietnam’s export hub factories may face weeks of disruption after Typhoon Yagi
HANOI, VIETNAM — Typhoon Yagi severely damaged a large number of factories and flooded warehouses in northern Vietnam’s export-oriented industrial hubs, forcing plants to shut, with some expected to take weeks to resume full operations, executives said.
The typhoon, the strongest in Asia this year, made landfall in Vietnam’s northern coast on Saturday and was still causing deadly floods and landslides on Wednesday, killing dozens and ravaging key infrastructure, including power networks and roads.
The disruptions could affect global supply chains as Vietnam hosts large operations of multinationals that mostly export their products to the United States, Europe and other developed countries.
In the coastal city of Haiphong, one of the areas worst hit by the typhoon, 95% of businesses were expected to resume some activities on Tuesday, the body managing Haiphong industrial zones said on its website.
“Many businesses had their roofs blown off, some walls were torn and collapsed, gates, fences, signs, camera systems, garages and sliding metal doors were overturned, water flooded into factories,” said a report on its website.
In the DEEP C industrial zones, which host factories in Haiphong and the neighboring province of Quang Ninh, 20 out of 150 investors’ plants will be out of service for at least a few weeks, said Bruno Jaspaert, head of DEEP C industrial zones.
Based on a review of his clients, he expected power consumption at those facilities would remain one-third below normal for weeks or months because many companies were busy rebuilding their damaged factories.
Goods ready for export or delivery to clients were flooded in warehouses in the area, companies said.
In another industrial park in Haiphong, South Korea’s LG Electronics said it had partly resumed work on Tuesday, although the factory’s walls were crushed on Saturday and a warehouse with refrigerators and washing machines had been flooded.
“Many of them are gone with the wind,” said Calvin Nguyen, head of Vietnamese logistics firm WeDo Forwarding Co., referring to products that were to be delivered to the United States and the European Union, without specifying which goods.
The company’s three warehouses in Haiphong had their roofs blown off and on Wednesday were still flooded, he said.
The industry ministry did not reply to a request for comment.
Power cuts
Power outages were still affecting several areas in the north, as Vietnam’s state-owned power distributor EVN worked to restore dozens of damaged electricity lines.
In Quang Ninh, along the coast north of Haiphong, many factories still had no electricity or water service, Jaspaert said.
Chinese solar panel maker Jinko Solar’s factory in Quang Ninh was severely damaged, one of its workers said, noting on Tuesday work had not resumed as windows had been smashed and the roof had been blown away.
Jinko was not immediately available for a comment.
Far from the coast, the industrial hubs of Thai Nguyen and Bac Giang which host large factories of multinationals such as Samsung Electronics and Apple supplier Foxconn were also facing severe flooding.
Samsung’s large facilities in Thai Nguyen had not been visibly affected on Tuesday evening, according to a Reuters witness.
Water was receding on Wednesday in the province, about 60 kilometers north of Hanoi, but more rain was expected.
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Pope Francis’ visit puts Indonesia’s religious freedom under spotlight
JAKARTA, INDONESIA — During his three-day visit to Indonesia last week, Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church, urged Indonesians to live up to the promise represented by the nation’s own motto — “Unity in Diversity.”
While praising Indonesia’s constitution, which guarantees religious freedom, Francis also warned in an address following a meeting with President Joko Widodo that the diversity of the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation can also lead to conflict.
Francis emphasized the importance of interfaith dialogue to eliminate prejudices and build mutual respect. “This is indispensable for meeting common challenges, including that of countering extremism and intolerance, which through the distortion of religion attempt to improve their views by using deception and violence,” Francis said.
Indonesia’s statistical agency says that 87% of the country’s 280 million people are Muslim. However, 2.9% of the total population is Catholic, making its Christian community the third largest in Asia after the Philippines and China.
Indonesia’s struggle against religious intolerance
Despite legal guarantees of religious freedom, which includes a Religious Harmony bill signed into law in 2006, research by Human Rights Watch indicates a flare-up of religious intolerance.
Examples include the imprisonment of Jakarta’s Christian governor for blasphemy in 2016, violence against religious minorities; and problems faced by some Christian groups seeking to secure building permits for churches.
Novi from Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, a Catholic, who traveled to Jakarta to witness Pope Francis’ visit to Istiqlal Mosque, hopes the visit can encourage a revival of religious tolerance in the country.
“I’m really sad when I hear news reports saying that churches faced difficulties in setting up a church and require approval of the majority from the surrounding community and municipal and provincial office,” she said.
In 2006, a group of religious and community leaders established the Religious Harmony Forum (FKUB), dedicated to protecting religious harmony, including making recommendations to the mayor or regent on the construction of any new house of worship.
But according to Andreas Harsono, a senior Indonesian researcher at Human Rights Watch, the forum has been politicized over the years.
In hopes of quelling religious intolerance, Minister of Religious Affairs Yaqut Cholil Qoumas said a new presidential regulation is being developed that will no longer allow the FKUB to recommend the establishment of a house of worship. That right will remain with the Ministry of Religious Affairs.
Andreas Harsono of the Human Rights Watch sees this as a “step in the right direction.”
“The FKUB recommendations are proven to be the most damaging of the 2006 regulations on religious harmony. The religious harmony regulation basically makes the so-called majority have veto power over the minorities in Indonesia. It’s turning Indonesia into an intolerant Muslim-majority country,” he said.
Halili Hasan, executive director of the SETARA Institute, agrees with abolishing the FKUB’s right to recommend. He added that FKUB has not been able to prevent and handle various violations of freedom of religion and belief.
SETARA Institute is a think tank that advocates for democracy and human rights in Indonesia and releases an annual report on the condition of freedom of religion and belief.
The report in 2023 listed at least 65 places of worship that experienced disturbances throughout that year, ranging from objections to the construction of a house of worship to the sealing off of places of worship. That compares to 50 such incidents in the previous year.
Still, the Ministry of Religious Affair’s Religious Harmony Index survey for 2023 found a steady increase in religious harmony from 2020 to 2023. The index was scored from 0 to 100, with 100 being the most harmonious. The national score for 2023 was 76.02, the highest score recorded in the last five years.
Eli Trisiana is a Muslim and government civil servant who came to see Pope Francis.
“We need to hold a heart-to-heart dialogue with those deemed religious intolerant,’’ Eli Trisiana said. ‘’We cannot deal with them using violence. I think that is the best method to solve differences of opinion. In Islam there are verses taught to us that reconcile with non-believers, which is “unto you your religion and unto me my religion.”
Interfaith dialogue
During an interfaith dialogue at Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, 87-year-old Pope Francis met with representatives of Indonesia’s six officially recognized religions — Islam, Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism, Protestantism and Catholicism — along with a representative for traditional beliefs.
Francis and the grand imam of the Istiqlal Mosque, Nasaruddin Umar, signed a “Human Fraternity” document declaring their commitment to interfaith harmony. The document calls for religious leaders to overcome two serious crises faced by the world: dehumanization and climate change.
The grand imam said he won’t let this signing be in vain and that he plans to follow up with a future plan of action that supports interfaith dialogue and true religious harmony.
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Arrested Nigerian workers’ union leader freed
Abuja, Nigeria — The Nigerian secret police released labor union leader Joe Ajaero on Tuesday after hours of interrogation over alleged terrorism financing.
Ajaero’s arrest Monday sparked criticism about what critics see as a government crackdown on dissent.
Ajaero, was released by the Department of State Services, or DSS, after he was arrested at the Abuja airport while on his way to the United Kingdom to attend a labor conference.
He said Tuesday that DSS kept his passport.
He said the police questioned him for hours about alleged terrorism financing involving British national Andrew Wynne and last month’s anti-government protests in Nigeria.
Ajaero is a prominent critic of the Nigerian government and has led many demonstrations to denounce reforms introduced by President Bola Tinubu last year.
Hamisu Santuraki, the spokesperson of the United Action Front of Civil Society, a coalition of civil society groups, said the government should have asked Ajaero to come in for questioning.
“It’s not done anywhere — arresting somebody without sending him an invitation, it is wrong, they should’ve sent him a letter,” Santuraki said. We just want them to release his passport, so we’re having a meeting. Nigeria is our country.”
Later Tuesday, a government spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, said Ajaero was invited to speak to a law enforcement agency and was stopped from traveling abroad because he “snubbed” that invitation.
In a statement released on X, Onanuga also said Nigeria “categorically denies any human rights abuse.”
Santuraki said the coalition and the Labor Congress are deciding on what steps to take.
The Nigerian government is facing a wave of criticism from rights groups who accuse it of trying to stifle dissent and free expression. Investigative journalist Isaac Bristol was recently detained on charges of leaking classified and restricted documents, sedition, and tax evasion, among other allegations.
Another journalist, David Hundeyin, was declared wanted by the police last week.
Ajaero’s arrest came days after he criticized a decision by Nigerian officials to increase the gasoline price by 39 percent.
Nigerian authorities said global oil market forces determined the new pump price of refined petrol, which had more than quadrupled in Nigeria since President Tinubu scrapped fuel subsidies last year.
On Monday, the Socio-Economic Rights Accountability Project, or SERAP, said state operatives also raided their offices. The group this week called for a probe of the national oil company.
“We consider this an act of aggression, intimidation and harassment by the government, and it might not be unconnected with the statement that SERAP had issued over the weekend calling on the president to direct the NNPC to reverse the price of petroleum,” said Kolawole Oluwadare, a deputy director at SERAP. “We consider this as an instance of the escalation of attacks against the civic space and this of course is not acceptable in a democracy.”
Ajaero was also arrested in November by police in southeastern Imo state, moments before he was to lead a rally.
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Taylor Swift endorses Kamala Harris for president after debate ends
WASHINGTON — Taylor Swift, one of the music industry’s biggest stars, endorsed Kamala Harris for president shortly after the debate ended on Tuesday night.
“I think she is a steady-handed, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos,” Swift wrote in an Instagram post.
She included a picture of herself holding a cat and signed the message “Childless Cat Lady,” a reference to comments made by JD Vance, Donald Trump’s running mate.
Swift has a dedicated following among young women, a key demographic in the November election.
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US, UK top diplomats head to Ukraine with eye on weapons
Przemysl, Poland — The top U.S. and British diplomats headed together into Ukraine on Wednesday to discuss further easing rules on firing Western weapons into Russia, whose alleged acquisition of Iranian missiles has raised new fears.
In a rare joint trip, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was taking the train to Kyiv with Foreign Secretary David Lammy, whose 2-month-old Labor government has vowed to keep up Britain’s role as a key defender of Ukraine.
The pair, who boarded the train early Wednesday at the Polish border town of Przemysl, are expected to meet in Kyiv with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has kept pressing the West for weapons with more firepower and fewer restrictions.
U.S. President Joe Biden, asked in Washington whether he would let Ukraine use longer-range weapons, said: “We’re working that out right now.”
Biden, while strongly supportive of Ukraine, has previously made clear he wants to avoid devolving into direct conflict between the United States and Russia, the world’s two leading nuclear powers.
Blinken, speaking Tuesday in London alongside Lammy, said the United States was committed to providing Ukraine “what they need when they need it to be most effective in dealing with the Russian aggression.”
But Blinken, who is on his fifth trip to Kyiv since the war, said it was also important to see if Ukrainian forces could maintain and operate particular weaponry.
Pressed later in an interview with Sky News on whether the United States would green-light long-range weapons, Blinken said, “We never rule out, but when we rule in, we want to make sure it’s done in such a way that it can advance what the Ukrainians are trying to achieve.”
The renewed talk about long-range weapons comes after the United States said that Iran has sent short-range missiles to Russia, which could strike Ukraine with them within weeks.
The Iranian shipments have raised fears that Moscow would be freed up to use its long-range missiles against comparatively unscathed areas in western Ukraine.
Western powers announced new sanctions against Iran’s clerical state over the sale, which defied repeated warnings.
The United States earlier this year gave its blessing for Ukraine to use Western weapons to hit Russian forces when in direct conflict across the border.
But Ukraine last month launched a surprise, daring offensive directly into Russian territory in Kursk, hoping to restore morale and divert Moscow as Russian troops trudge forward in the front lines of eastern Ukraine.
British media reports said Biden, who meets Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Friday, was set to end objections to letting Ukraine fire long-range Storm Shadow missiles into Russia.
Britain has repeatedly pushed the United States, by far Ukraine’s biggest military supplier, to be more forward on weapons.
One key ask of Ukraine is to loosen restrictions on U.S.-supplied Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, which can hit targets up to 300 kilometers away.
In a joint letter to Biden, leading members of Congress from the rival Republican Party asked him to act on ATACMS immediately.
“As long as it is conducting its brutal, full-scale war of aggression, Russia must not be given a sanctuary from which it can execute its war crimes against Ukraine with impunity,” said the letter signed by Representative Mike McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Republicans, however, are deeply divided over Ukraine, and a victory in November by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump over Biden’s political heir Kamala Harris could dramatically shift US policy.
Trump aides have suggested that if he wins, he would leverage aid to force Kyiv into territorial concessions to Russia to end the war.
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