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From fatigues to finery: A West African power grab masterclass

From fatigues to finery: A West African power grab masterclass

IN what political scientists are calling "a textbook case of how to keep your day job," Guinea's coup leader, Mamady Doumbouya, has pulled off the rather neat trick of transforming himself from military strongman to democratically elected president, with a positively North Korean 86.72% of the vote, no less. The former special forces commander, who in 2021 decided the previous president had overstayed his welcome (after a mere 11 years), has now completed what transition experts are euphemistically calling a "return to civilian rule." One might say he's simply swapped his combat boots for presidential loafers, though the grip on…
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How a Chinese energy firm funnelled millions to Botswana’s mining minister

How a Chinese energy firm funnelled millions to Botswana’s mining minister

THE anatomy of alleged corruption rarely presents itself so starkly. Former Botswana Minister Lefoko Maxwell Moagi now stands accused of receiving a portfolio of kickbacks from Chinese entities that won lucrative government contracts and mineral rights under his watch - payoffs that prosecutors say were disguised through front companies, foreign intermediaries, and a peculiar payment method: cattle. The Kickback Portfolio According to court filings by the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC), the catalogue of alleged benefits flowing to Moagi includes: The Livestock: More than 100 heifers and one prize bull, purchased for P435,000 (approximately $32,000 USD) through a…
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Nigerian President calls hospitalized boxing champion Anthony Joshua after fatal crash

Nigerian President calls hospitalized boxing champion Anthony Joshua after fatal crash

NIGERIAN President Bola Ahmed Tinubu personally telephoned British boxing champion Anthony Joshua in the hospital on Monday following a devastating car crash that killed two of the athlete's associates and left the former heavyweight champion injured. "I spoke with AJ on the phone to personally convey my condolences over the death of his two associates. I wished him well and prayed for him. He assured me that he is receiving the best care in the hospital," President Tinubu said in a statement released by his office. The president, who is currently abroad, also reached out to Joshua's mother to offer…
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Israel’s Somaliland gambit: a nation stands alone against global condemnation

Israel’s Somaliland gambit: a nation stands alone against global condemnation

ISRAEL’S recognition of Somaliland as an independent state has triggered what may be the most unified international rebuke the country has faced in recent memory. Not a single nation has endorsed the move. Even Israel's closest ally, the United States, has explicitly distanced itself from the decision. The scale of opposition is remarkable. Twenty-one countries spanning the Islamic world - from Algeria to Yemen, from Iran to Saudi Arabia - issued a joint condemnation through the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. The African Union, Arab League, Gulf Cooperation Council, and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) all rejected the recognition. At…
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Botswana, Ethiopia sign US health deal halted by Kenyan court over data transfer, privacy fears

Botswana, Ethiopia sign US health deal halted by Kenyan court over data transfer, privacy fears

BOTSWANA has become the latest African country to sign a major health cooperation agreement with the United States, joining a growing list of nations entering controversial partnerships that have sparked alarm over data sovereignty and citizen privacy rights. The US Embassy in Botswana announced a P1.3 billion (approximately $95 million) health cooperation Memorandum of Understanding under Washington's "America First Global Health Strategy" — the same framework that triggered a legal challenge in Kenya, where a High Court has suspended implementation over concerns about transferring citizens' intimate medical data to foreign control. Ethiopia separately signed a $1.466 billion health cooperation deal…
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When Morocco got two kinds of goals: Football fever and frozen peaks

When Morocco got two kinds of goals: Football fever and frozen peaks

WHILE Africa's finest footballers are busy turning up the heat in the knockout stages of the Africa Cup of Nations - where temperatures aren't the only things rising as nations battle for continental glory - Mother Nature decided Morocco needed a reminder that she doesn't care much for scheduling conflicts. Picture this: across the continent, fans are sweating through nail-biting matches, jerseys clinging to backs, stadiums pulsing with tropical tension. Meanwhile, up in Morocco's High Atlas Mountains, someone apparently forgot to tell the weather gods that this was supposed to be football season, not ski season. A cold front has…
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Cybercrime sweep across Africa nets 574 arrests, recovers $3 million

Cybercrime sweep across Africa nets 574 arrests, recovers $3 million

A month-long coordinated operation across 19 African countries has resulted in 574 arrests and the recovery of approximately $3 million, authorities announced Thursday, marking one of the continent's most significant cybercrime crackdowns. Operation Sentinel, which ran from October 27 to November 27, targeted business email compromise schemes, digital extortion and ransomware attacks that have plagued African nations. The INTERPOL-coordinated initiative dismantled criminal networks responsible for an estimated $21 million in financial losses. The operation's reach was extensive: authorities took down more than 6,000 malicious links, decrypted six ransomware variants, and shut down 4,318 social media accounts linked to extortion schemes.…
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Global outcry as Israel recognises Somaliland, threatening regional stability

Global outcry as Israel recognises Somaliland, threatening regional stability

A wave of international condemnation has swept across Africa and the Middle East following Israel's controversial recognition of Somaliland as a sovereign state, with major regional powers warning that the unilateral action threatens to destabilise the Horn of Africa and undermine the global legal order. Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry issued a sharp rebuke, affirming the Kingdom's "full support for the sovereignty of the brotherly Federal Republic of Somalia, and for its unity and territorial integrity." The statement rejected what it termed "the announcement of mutual recognition between the Israeli occupation authorities and the Somaliland region," describing it as an action…
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Unanswered questions: The US bombing of Nigeria and the crisis of sovereignty

Unanswered questions: The US bombing of Nigeria and the crisis of sovereignty

WHEN American Tomahawk missiles struck targets in northwest Nigeria on Christmas Day 2025, President Donald Trump framed it as a gift to terrorists. But for many Nigerians who watched debris fall near their homes and heard explosions echo through villages where no terrorist activity had been documented, the strikes raised more questions than they answered. Three days later, those questions have only multiplied, exposing troubling gaps in intelligence, consent, and compliance with international law. The Intelligence Question: Why Jabo? The village of Jabo in northwestern Sokoto State was among the locations hit, with residents reporting that projectiles landed approximately 500…
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Former Ghana finance minister faces extradition after Interpol red notice

Former Ghana finance minister faces extradition after Interpol red notice

THE long arm of international law has caught up with Ghana's former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, who now faces forcible return to his home country to answer corruption charges involving millions of dollars in public funds. Interpol issued a red notice for Ofori-Atta's arrest on June 2, four days after Ghana's Office of the Special Prosecutor declared the 65-year-old a wanted person for failing to appear at a scheduled interrogation. The red notice requests law enforcement agencies worldwide to locate and detain the former minister pending extradition proceedings. Ofori-Atta, who served as Finance Minister under former President Nana Akufo-Addo for…
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