Latest news with #Sahara
Bloomberg
8 hours ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Niger Junta Seizes French Nuclear Giant Orano's Uranium Mine
Niger's military government took control of Orano SA 's uranium mine, escalating a standoff with the French nuclear-power company. The junta took action after accusing Orano of violating its shareholder agreement by extracting more uranium than its 63.4% stake in a local affiliate allows, according to cabinet meeting minutes published in the capital, Niamey, on Thursday. It also criticized the company for halting operations, repatriating French staff and signaling that it may sell off its assets.
Telegraph
12 hours ago
- Telegraph
Thousands of migrants abandoned in the desert without food, water or shoes
Thousands of migrants including hundreds of unaccompanied children have been kicked out of Algeria and left in the desert without food, water or shoes, aid groups have said. Over 7,000 people including more than 700 children have been trucked over the border by the Algerian authorities since April in a dramatic escalation of the migrant crisis in the Sahara, according to data from the Agadez governorate in northern Niger. While Nigerien nationals among them are driven to a transit centre, those from countries across Sub-Saharan Africa are stripped of their belongings, including mobile phones, passports and shoes, and dumped in a remote area of the Niger desert known as Point Zero. From here, they have to make a 15km journey to the transit centre in Assamaka, a dusty border village, facing 40 degree heat and frequent sandstorms without food or water. Many migrants abandoned at Point Zero succumb to the extreme conditions before they ever reach help, said Azizou Chéhou, who helps run Alarmephone Sahara (APS), a group which monitors migration across the region. He said a 'humanitarian emergency' was unfolding along the treacherous migration routes that lead up from sub-Saharan Africa towards the Mediterranean. Survivors of the arduous desert trek report suffering beatings, dehumanising abuses and rape at the hands of Algerian border guards. Solène, a woman from Cameroon, told APS that Algerian border guards sexually assaulted her during an aggressive strip search. 'They say: 'You've hidden money up there',' she said. 'We've experienced so much wickedness.' Norbert, a Cameroonian man, was stopped by the Algerian border guards while trying to cross into Morocco with a group of migrants. He said he witnessed authorities rape dozens of the women, only sparing those who were visibly pregnant. 'The women who were with us were all raped. More than 30 women, all of them were raped. Those who escaped rape were the pregnant ones. [It was done] in front of our eyes,' he told APS. Fatima, 32, from Cameroon, said the border guards used dogs to taunt the men in her group and filmed it to post on TikTok. 'They were made to stand up, they were stripped naked, the dogs were biting their feet,' she told APS, adding that the guards boasted that it would 'bring them a lot of views'. Marou, 22, a Nigerien migrant expelled from Algeria, told Doctors of the World: 'I knew repatriation conditions could be tough, but I never imagined such extreme violence.' Under a 2014 agreement between Algeria and Niger, only Nigerien citizens are meant to be sent back across the border. Nigeriens rounded up by the Algerian border guards are sent in official 'convoys' to Assamaka, where they are formally handed to Nigerien authorities and transported to a UN-run transit centre in Agadez, northern Niger. But the testimonies collected by aid groups operating in the area reveal that large numbers of migrants from third countries are being kicked out in unofficial operations. Those that make it to the transit centre in Assamaka, which is little more than an outpost, receive food, water and basic medical care from the UN's International Organization for Migration (IOM). Marshall Patsanza, an IOM spokesperson, said the lack of provision for primary healthcare makes it particularly difficult to treat patients with chronic illnesses or victims of gender-based violence. This has also led to outbreaks of diseases including measles, which has led to several deaths among young children, according to APS. After arriving at Assamaka, migrants, including pregnant women and children, are crammed into open cattle trucks and transported to Agadez around 450 kilometres away. 'The conditions are terrible,' said Zalika, a young woman interviewed by Doctors of the World, adding that one man died of dehydration during the journey. 'As soon as we pass through a town, we scream for the driver to stop so we can get water. But he never stops. Some faint, others succumb to their injuries […] it's horrible,' she said. 'The scale of need exceeds our resources' Doctors of the World said they typically receive 400 people at the Agadez site each month, but this surged by 2,600 in April. There is now no longer any space in the transfer centre, leaving the migrants stranded in the town. Unaccompanied children are either taken in by host families or left to fend for themselves on the streets of Agadez, a town rife with people smugglers. Doctors of the world also reported a rise in sexual violence against minors. Doctors of the World and local medical teams, who provide water points at the site for those turned away by the UN, have warned that many migrants arrive on the brink of death. 'Sometimes they are in a state where they cannot walk,' said Dr Toupou Lancinet, who heads the Niger team of Doctors of the World, adding they recently received around 1,000 migrants in a single weekend. Yet still the migrants continue to arrive. 'Every day, more children arrive – younger, more vulnerable – and the scale of the needs exceeds our resources,' Djanabou Mahondé, the Unicef representative in Niger, told The Telegraph. North African countries including Tunisia, Libya and Morocco have for years been aggressively pushing back migrants trying to reach Europe, leading to numerous accusations of human rights abuses. In 2024, more than 30,000 people were expelled from Algeria – including thousands abandoned at Point Zero. Dr Lancinet said there had been 'an unprecedented wave' of mass expulsions from Algeria in April and May. 'While these expulsions are frequent, this is the first time that so many migrants have been expelled from Algeria at once,' he told The Telegraph from his base in Agadez. The surge was reportedly triggered by a diplomatic row that broke out in March when a Malian military drone came down in the border area, which has become a stronghold for Tuareg separatists opposing Mali's ruling junta. Aid groups are now calling for greater support in tackling the neglected migrant crisis in the Sahara. 'Now is the time to step up,' said Mr Mahondé. 'Every child, whether in transit or in exile, deserves dignity, protection, and a future.'
Al Jazeera
4 days ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Wagner vs Africa Corps: The future of Russian paramilitaries in Mali
This month, the Russian mercenary outfit Wagner Group announced its total withdrawal from Mali, claiming it had completed its mission after three and a half years of operations in the West African country. For years, Wagner had been battling rebels and armed groups on behalf of the Malian government, as well as asserting Russia's interests in the Sahel. But as Wagner leaves, security advisers from the Africa Corps, a Kremlin-controlled paramilitary group, will remain in their place, ensuring a lingering presence of Russian forces. So, what does this change mean for Mali, and is there a difference between the two Russian paramilitary groups and their mission in Africa? Mali's government has, for decades, been embroiled in a conflict with ethnic Tuareg separatists in the Sahara Desert, as well as fighters affiliated with ISIL (ISIS) and al-Qaeda. Previously, French forces assisted the Malian government, but they withdrew after a military coup in 2021. The latest round of fighting erupted in 2023 when Bamako's military government mounted a new offensive against the rebels. 'The Malian junta invited Wagner and Russia to support them in Mali – this really stemmed from frustration with the [military] support provided by France and other Western partners,' Flore Berger, a senior analyst at the Global Initiative's North Africa and Sahel Observatory, told Al Jazeera. 'They felt that, despite years of help, the security situation hadn't improved, and Western countries kept pressuring them to return to civilian rule, organise elections, etc. Russia, through Wagner, on the other hand, offered support without those conditions. It was seen as a more respectful and reliable partner that wouldn't interfere in Mali's political choices.' The separation from France also appeared to bolster Malian sovereignty. 'France is Mali's former colonial overlord and there's a tense relationship, to say the least,' International Crisis Group's Sahel researcher Franklin Nossiter told Al Jazeera. 'Long story short, they break up, and Mali kicks out the French troops … The deployment in Mali was pretty opportunistic, upstaging the West; it was a big black eye for France.' While Moscow maintained an active presence in Africa during the Cold War, its footprint diminished in the post-communist collapse of the 1990s as Russia dealt with its own problems. But it has been revived in recent years, as President Vladimir Putin has sought a more assertive role on the world stage. 'The original push into Africa largely came through Wagner,' said John Lechner, author of Death Is Our Business: Russian Mercenaries And The New Era Of Private Warfare. 'Over time, as the programme became successful … the interest within the Kremlin more broadly grew, especially after the full-scale war in Ukraine in 2022, when it was a useful narrative that not only is Russia not isolated, but there are African countries that continue to seek its assistance.' Experts say mercenaries have been a tool of Russian interests in Africa, capitalising on discontent with the former colonial and neocolonial powers, as well as offering security in exchange for resources, especially in the Central African Republic. This was less so in Mali, however, where, despite some small-scale gold mining operations, some Wagnerites were so hard-pressed for cash they were purportedly pictured selling discount canned sardines at local markets. There, the priority was seemingly more about Russian influence over the Sahel. 'Now, it is exclusively a question of geopolitics, ousting the collective West from Africa, creating an anti-Western coalition,' explained Sergey Eledinov, a former Russian peacekeeper turned independent Africa specialist based in Dakar, Senegal. Last year saw another foreign player appear in the Malian conflict. A contingent of Wagner and Malian troops was ambushed by Tuareg rebels in Tinzaouaten, near the Algerian border, in July, claiming the lives of 84 Russian mercenaries and 47 Malian soldiers, including Nikita Fedyanin, a blogger behind the Wagner-linked Telegram channel, Grey Zone. Ukraine's spy agency, the GUR, admitted it provided crucial intelligence to the rebels against Russia. There were also reports that Ukrainians taught the rebels how to operate drones. In response, Mali broke off diplomatic relations with Ukraine. 'We're not really sure if it's still ongoing,' Nossiter said about Ukraine's support. 'At the time, there were reports that other Ukrainian allies were pressuring Ukrainians not to do that,' he explained, noting that the perceived 'close ties between the jihadist groups and some of the separatists' may have made Kyiv's Western backers nervous. Now, given recent upsetting defeats against Malian and Russian troops, and the intensifying violence in northern Mali, it's questionable to many whether Wagner's mission was a success. 'The biggest crowning victory of the Malian military in the last couple of years was retaking this town, Kidal [in 2023], which was a long-time separatist stronghold,' Nossiter said. 'It's the kind of victory people point to and say: without Wagner, it wouldn't have been possible.' But at the same time, insecurity continues to be a major challenge, the Sahel researcher emphasised. 'The jihadists, just in the last two weeks, have attacked three major Malian military camps. They also attacked the city of Timbuktu, and they put an IED [improvised explosive device] at a joint Malian-Wagner training camp just outside of the capital city of Bamako,' he said. Meanwhile, the mercenaries have been accused of the deliberate deaths and disappearances of civilians in their counter-rebellion campaign. In February, a Tuareg convoy returning from a wedding reportedly came under fire from Wagner and Malian forces, killing at least 20 civilians, including children and elderly people. 'Overall, the Russian presence has helped the junta stay in power and appear strong, but it hasn't solved the deeper security problems, and it's led to more isolation from the West and international aid,' added Berger. The Russian position has also been weakened by developments elsewhere. 'Russia's position has become more precarious following the collapse of key logistics hubs in Syria, specifically the Tartous port and Khmeimim airbase, after the downfall of its protege Bashar al-Assad,' noted Alessandro Arduino, author of Money for Mayhem: Mercenaries, Private Military Companies, Drones, and the Future of War. In 2023, then-Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin mutinied against the Russian military leadership before he subsequently perished in a suspicious plane crash in August that year. Fearing another uprising, the Kremlin reined in Wagner and other paramilitaries, which have since been more tightly integrated into the command structure and the Africa Corps rose to prominence. According to Eledinov, this sparked some tension. 'Some of the Wagner fighters went over to the Africa Corps, but most of them stayed to serve in the assault squads,' he said. 'After the death of Prigozhin, the majority of fighters and commanders did not want to go over to the Africa Corps, as a result of which the Wagner assault squads remained in Mali to this day. I assume that now they had no choice [but to withdraw].' While there's substantial overlap between the two paramilitary groups, with some estimates claiming 70-80 percent of Africa Corps personnel being Wagner veterans, they are different organisations. 'A lot of reporting on this – especially in the early months after Africa Corps was first announced – assumed that Africa Corps and Wagner were the same thing, and that AC was just Wagner 'rebranded',' said Julia Stanyard, another analyst at the Global Initiative. 'In fact, they are separate entities. Africa Corps is more closely managed by the Russian Ministry of Defence and [Russia's military intelligence agency], the GRU, than Wagner ever was. However, they do have similarities, and many of those recruited to Africa Corps, including many of their commanding officers, are former Wagner mercenaries.' While Wagner actively engaged on the battlefield, the Africa Corps is set to serve in a more advisory capacity. 'Even after the death of Prigozhin and his mutiny, the Russian government is formalising its presence in the Sahel,' Lechner observed. 'It will be interesting to see how, now that Africa Corps is fully taking over the mission, to what extent Russia's military presence will have a different character within Mali. The Wagner units were extremely aggressive, operationally very often independent, often going out in direct combat on their own without even being accompanied by [Malian soldiers]. Africa Corps has been designed as more of a training mission, a force that is supposed to protect fixed assets. And it will probably be more bureaucratic because it's part of the MOD and risk-averse.' Although Wagner served Russian interests, as mercenaries, they still allowed the Kremlin plausible deniability. 'If earlier, everyone understood that Wagner was Russia, but formally, it was a private company, now, it is entirely Russia. And accordingly, Russia bears much more responsibility [for] all the ensuing consequences, namely purges of civilians, looting and so on,' said Eledinov. 'There is no military resolution to this conflict by force. Without negotiations, it only escalates the degree of the conflict.'
BBC News
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Bradford's Bhangra daytimers pioneers reunite for legacy gig
In 1980s Bradford, hundreds of young people would skip school or college to see their favourite bands and DJs at nightclubs hired for the afternoon, as Bhangra music swept across the events, known as "daytimers", were often held in secret and paved the way for the growing popularity of afternoon for a whole generation who grew up in the 1980s and 90s, they were taboo-smashing, trailblazing spaces for proud self-expression, confidence and former Bhangra DJs Moss Sheikh and Mick Chandsoor have organised a special event to honour the cultural legacy of the daytimers as part of a celebration gig on Friday. Mick recalled how the daytimers scene started in about 1987 with small, clandestine parties on college and university campuses, but soon evolved into a major cultural revolution."From there it just grew and grew," he Mick and Moss, the legacy gig on Friday at the Majestic in Manningham, which was formerly The Maestro and before that the Palace, will be personal and deeply nostalgic."It's about celebrating the people from that era and marking the struggles that we went through," Mick said. The event will feature performances from Bradford Bhangra legends like the band Sahara, who forged their careers in the city's underground scene before going on to huge daytimers DJ Moey Hassan, who later presented Bhangra Beat on Channel 4, is also expected to event, which starts at 18:00 BST, will also feature an exhibition showcasing an archive of Bradford's daytimers said it was when the original daytimers events moved into a new venue at the Palace that people realised their money-making potential - and the scene Javed Maher and Jimmy Dean became involved and the raves became discos, which people would travel to from across the country. Young South Asian people from different faiths and backgrounds would gather in one room together to celebrate a shared musical heritage, Moss said, adding that this was an "absolutely important" part of the movement's legacy."Back in the day we had that unity, we never looked at any differences between us," he said. For homegrown performers like Sahara, and other trailblazers like RDB and Fun-Da-Mental, the daytimers led to huge success."Some of these artists became international performers," said Mick."Bradford became known within the music industry for producing talent."Among the global success stories was Tariq Shaikh, better known as DJ T, who grew up mixed race and said he was unsure of where he belonged until he found the daytimers."I was kind of in between, kind of a mashup," he said."Music helped me find where I was going", he said, adding that it took him across genres, countries, and generations."I've DJ'ed abroad, in Greece, Spain, Miami, all these places. But it really all started in Bradford."Rashad Khan, meanwhile, joined the scene in 1999. "I was like this lost little boy, you know, didn't know what I was doing with my life," he said."I got involved with a few different promoters at the time who I just met and they took a shine to me and then handed me a couple of flyers and said 'there you go, start promoting our shows'."He recalled handing flyers to musicians like RDB before he knew who they were. "They were taking the mickey out of me because I was a young kid," he recalled fondly. Moss, a Bhangra DJ who also travelled the world, eventually came home to Bradford and now works with young said the legacy event was about honouring the people who were part of the "foundations" of the scene but are no longer here, and about preserving their cultural contributions for future generations."These last few years, Mick and myself have had some close friends pass away, people from the scene," he said."This is part of their story that was left untold. We want to tell that story." Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater Is Getting An All New Multiplayer Mode Over 20 Years Later
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater isn't just a 4K remake of the original PlayStation 2 game, it turns out. The Unreal Engine 5 upgrade of MSG 3 is also getting some entirely new content, including a multiplayer mode called Fox Hunt. Revealed during a Konami Press Start showcase on Thursday, Fox Hunt takes place online in the same world as the single-player story but with different gameplay. Mode director Yu Sahara, who's worked on Metal Gear in the past, distinguished it from Metal Gear Online, a multiplayer spin-off of Metal Gear Solid 4 that featured tactical stealth takes on traditional scenarios like team deathmatch and capture the flag. 'The landscape of multiplayer games has changed a lot,' he said during the livestream. Indeed it has, but the most appealing about Metal Gear getting multiplayer again is how old-school it might end up feeling compared to the current glut of extraction shooters, battle royales,and battle passes. Here's a quick teaser from the showcase: Instead of bringing that back, Sahara and the team at Konami worked on updating what Metal Gear Online might look like decades later. The focus will still be on camouflage and staying hidden before choosing the right time to go after an objective or surprise an opponent, and footage in a brief teaser showed characters getting into what look like small D-Walker-type mechs on the battlefield. Also lots of operatives crawling around in leaf shrouds. Konami didn't have anything else to reveal about the mode other than it will be arriving with the rest of Metal Gear Solid Delta at launch on August 28. In addition to Fox Hunt, the remake also features a Snake vs. Bomberman mode and one where he has to round-up monkeys from Ape Escape. Despite the new content, however, much of the base game appears to be an exceedingly faithful retread of the 2000s-era stealth thriller, just with modern controls and other tweaks to make it more approachable for new audiences. The original is still available to play as part of the Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection released back in 2023. . For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
