Africa Daily Focus on Africa: Russia's Wagner Group leaves Mali

Russia says the paramilitary group Wagner has accomplished its mission and has left Mali, although a Russian presence remains in the West African country, through the Africa Corps. So what did the Wagner Group achieve?
Why has a separatist movement on the tiny, remote island of Annobón that is part of Equatorial Guinea, appealed to Argentina for support with its independence claim?
And new research shows that Africa now has more Christians than any other continent, surpassing Europe for the first time. We discuss what is driving that growth.
Presenter: Audrey Brown
Producers: Tom Kavanagh, Alfonso Daniels, Nyasha Michelle, Victor Sylver and Joseph Keen
Technical Producer: Craig Kingham
Senior Producer: Patricia Whitehorne
Editors: Alice Muthengi and Andre Lombard

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The Sun

5 hours ago

• The Sun

Vladimir Putin rages ‘all of Ukraine is ours' as he threatens to seize key city while Kyiv slams tyrant as ‘deranged'

TYRANT Vladimir Putin cemented his territorial ambitions by proclaiming "all of Ukraine" belonged to Russia and threatening to invade more land. Ukraine slammed Putin's comments as "deranged" and called for Kyiv's allies to slap "devastating sanctions" on Russia. 10 10 10 10 Speaking at Russia's flagship economic forum in Saint Petersburg, Putin reaffirmed his long-held claim that Russians and Ukrainians are "one people". He declared: "In that sense, all of Ukraine is ours. "There is a saying: wherever a Russian soldier sets foot, that is ours," he added. The narrative is central to Putin's rhetoric, which he has used to justify his invasion of Ukraine. However, he said Russia is ready to recognise Ukraine's sovereignty. But he reiterated his demand that Kyiv accept the realities of Moscow's territorial gains and abandon plans to join Nato. Putin said: "We aren't seeking Ukraine's surrender, we want them to recognise the realities on the ground," adding that Moscow has repeatedly warned Kyiv to make a deal. Asked about Moscow's goals in Ukraine, Putin threatened to take Sumy - a key Ukrainian city - as part of the creation of a "buffer zone". He repeated that Moscow was "advancing on all fronts" and that his troops had penetrated up to seven miles into the Sumy region. Putin said: "We have to create a security zone along the border. Putin has lost a MILLION men - Ukraine has killed so many it is running out of ammo "We have no objective to take Sumy, but in principle I do not rule it out... They pose a constant threat to us, constantly shelling the border areas." Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga described Putin's comments as "deranged" and called for Kyiv's allies to slap "devastating sanctions" on Russia. "The only way to force Russia into peace is to deprive it of its sense of impunity," he wrote in a post on X. Putin's widening territorial ambitions are likely to roil Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has accused Moscow of not wanting to end the fighting. The two sides held rounds of direct talks in Istanbul in May and in June, but Kyiv accused Moscow of sending "dummy" negotiators with no real power to enact a peace deal. Putin has declined to take part in the peace talks in person and on Thursday said he would only meet Zelensky during a "final phase" of negotiations on ending the three-year conflict. He has also insisted that Ukraine give up territory it already controls for peace. Kyiv says it cannot and will not accept Russian occupation of any part of its land. 10 10 10 It comes as Putin's battlefield casualties have soared past the bloody one million milestone after 40 months of meatgrinder war. Ukraine's fierce resistance forced Russia to pay a mighty toll for every inch of land it has taken, and its advances remain painfully slow. The staggering milestone includes troops who have been killed or wounded so severely that they cannot fight on. According to the Ukrainian General Staff, one million Russian military troops have been put out of action since February 24, 2022, with 628,000 of those casualties occurring in the last six months. Burning through a million troops has won Putin just 20 per cent of Ukraine's total territory - mainly in southern and eastern areas - which is a humiliating conversion rate. Despite the devastating losses which have already ripped a scar in Russian society, experts fear that Putin is likely unaffected by the numbers. Zelensky confirmed that Moscow has been attempting to gain ground in the border regions of Sumy in the northeast. Even with the death toll climbing higher by the day Putin appears to be doubling down. The bloody milestone comes as Putin calls for a major upgrade to Russia's ground forces, Ukrainian outlet Pravda reports. 10 The Kremlin tyrant declared them the 'dominant force' in modern warfare and demanded faster development of 'advanced weapons systems' with 'the highest tactical and technical specifications.' In a meeting on the state armaments programme, Putin also directed resources toward strengthening Russia's navy, further signalling his long-term military ambitions. It all comes as Russia is reportedly building up a 50,000-strong force alongside the border of Kharkiv amid fears of a fresh summer offensive to attack the city. With the US backing out of direct negotiations to broker a peace deal and Putin stalling ceasefire talks, experts fear a major Russian offensive could mobilise in the coming weeks. The Ukrainian military in April reported that the Kremlin was amassing troops to prepare for a fresh assault on Kharkiv - Ukraine's second largest city. Military analysts believe he is trying to press home his advantage and capture more Ukrainian land. They warn that Putin only has a "four-month window" to get a breakthrough in Ukraine this year. And this could be the beginning of Russia's summer offensive targeting the border city of Kharkiv - the "fortress" city of Ukraine which put up the maximum resistance at the start of the invasion. 10 10

Sky News

7 hours ago

• Sky News

Putin says 'Ukraine is ours' and threatens nuclear strike - showing how he feels about Trump

He may have been speaking at an economic forum, but that didn't stop Vladimir Putin from issuing his most hawkish comments on Ukraine in a very long time. During a Q&A at Russia's flagship investment event in St Petersburg, the Kremlin leader was asked what his end game was in the conflict. He replied: "I have said many times that I consider the Russian and Ukrainian people to be one nation. In this sense, all of Ukraine is ours." The answer received rapturous applause from an auditorium full of fawning politicians and business figures. And there was more. "There is an old rule," he said. "'Where a Russian soldier sets foot, that is ours'." In short, he was saying that he wants the whole lot. The comments came as a surprise because they are in sharp contrast to the Kremlin's recent rhetoric. Ever since Donald Trump began his push for a peace deal, Moscow has adopted a softer tone, more conciliatory - in an apparent attempt to show Washington that it is interested in a settlement. But there was none of that kind of language here. Quite the opposite. The Russian president even, for the first time in months, threatened a nuclear strike on Ukraine. Asked how Moscow would respond if Kyiv used a dirty bomb against Russian forces, he promised "catastrophic" consequences for his enemy. "This would be a colossal mistake on the part of those whom we call neo-Nazis on the territory of today's Ukraine," he said. "It could be their last mistake. "We always respond and respond in kind. Therefore, our response will be very tough." The Kremlin's nuclear sabre-rattling was an almost weekly feature during the last days of the Biden administration, but the sabres stilled when Mr Trump came to power. But now, all of a sudden, he's returned to it. It felt like a very deliberate message from Vladimir Putin that, despite peace talks, Russia has no intention of backing down, neither on the battlefield nor at the negotiating table. I think it shows that Moscow is not too worried about upsetting Donald Trump. The American leader appears to have distanced himself from trying to mediate the conflict, but still seems to be pursuing warmer ties with Moscow.

The Independent

7 hours ago

• The Independent

Stunning map shows the lengths pilots go through to avoid conflict zones

A stunning map of current global flight routes has shown the lengths pilots have to go through to avoid conflict zones. As the Russia-Ukraine war rages on and the Israel-Iran conflict intensifies, the world has become more chaotic, and so has its airspace. A live flight tracking map from Flightradar24 showed planes bustling in western Europe and most of Asia. But there are startling holes in the map, which happen to be where the world's major conflicts are currently taking place. Ukraine had no planes in its airspace, and there were very few planes flying over Russia late Friday afternoon, according to Flightradar24's map. Some Middle Eastern countries, including Israel, Iran and the surrounding nations of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Kuwait, also had no flights coming in or out based on the map. The lack of air travel can be linked to the air strikes Russia and Ukraine as well as Israel and Iran have been launching against each other in respective conflicts. It's been more than three years since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The missile and drone strikes and their counterattacks have been non-stop. Earlier this week, Russia launched an overnight attack on Kyiv, killing 28 people and injuring over 100 more, The Associated Press reported, citing local officials. Israel had already been at war with Hamas when it struck Iran's nuclear facilities and hit military targets in the region last Friday. The attacks killed several of Tehran's top military leaders and leading nuclear scientists, and Iran subsequently launched heavy retaliatory strikes against Israel. Besides man-made conflict, natural disasters can also make the jobs of pilots more difficult. 'Airspace closures have become quite common,' Singapore -based aviation consultant Brendan Sobie told CNN. 'It's almost like the new normal for airlines to have to navigate this kind of thing.'