International

Temba Bavuma and Rassie van der Dussen hit centuries to set up a 31-run win for South Africa in the first one-day international against India at Boland Park in Paarl yesterday. South Africa made 296 for four after winning the toss and batting on a slow pitch. India were on target for the first half of their reply but lost wickets in clusters and finished on 265 for eight. South African captain Bavuma made 110 off 143 balls but admitted that he struggled to time the ball consistently. He settled for playing a supporting role to a dazzling Van der Dussen, who hit a career-best 129 not out off 96 deliveries and was named man of the match. “It seemed like he was batting on a different wicket,” said Bavuma. “The energy and intensity he brought really gave our innings impetus. My focus was to try and partner him for as much as I can.” Van der Dussen said his confidence had been boosted by being involved in two high-pressure run chases in the Test series won by South Africa last week. Van der Dussen and Bavuma finished off the Test series with an unbeaten stand of 57 last Friday and carried that form through to the one-day game, putting on 204 for the fourth wicket off 190 balls. The partnership came after South Africa struggled to 68 for three in the 18th over. “We started off really well but we couldn’t get wickets in the middle (of the innings), which is quite a problem,” said stand-in Indian captain KL Rahul. India stutter But the match seemed to be swinging towards India during a free-scoring second-wicket partnership of 92 between Shikhar Dhawan (79) and Virat Kholi (51). The Indian pair took the total to 138 for one in the 26th over – well ahead of the South African total at the equivalent stage in their innings. “We were on course to chase it but the middle order didn’t get going,” said Rahul. “It was a good wicket to bat on but the South Africans bowled well.” Fortunes changed dramatically when the left-handed Dhawan was bowled by a ball from left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj which spun back sharply. Kohli fell tamely in the next over when an attempted sweep against left-arm wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi looped gently to Bavuma at midwicket. Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer added 29 for the fourth wicket but they too fell in successive overs, Pant to a spectacular stumping by Quinton de Kock off a leg-side wide by Andile Phehlukwayo. A hard-hitting 50 not out by Shardul Thakur gave the Indian total some respectability as he and Jasprit Bumrah (14 not out) shared an unbeaten ninth-wicket partnership of 51. The match is not part of the World Cup Super League, which is a qualifying tournament for the 2023 Cricket World Cup, but Rahul said the series was important. “We have the World Cup in mind and we want to get our best team on the pitch,” said Rahul. Scoreboard South Africa Q. de Kock b Ashwin 27 J. Malan c Pant b Bumrah 6 T. Bavuma c Rahul b Bumrah 110 A. Markram run out (Iyer) 4 H. van der Dussen not out 129 D. Miller not out 2 Extras (lb6, nb3, w9) 18 Total (4 wkts, 50 overs) 296 Fall of wickets: 1-19 (Malan), 2-58 (De Kock), 3-68 (Markram), 4-272 (Bavuma) Bowling: Bumrah 10-0-48-2 (1w), Kumar 10-0-64-0 (4w), Thakur 10-1-72-0 (3nb, 2w), Ashwin 10-0-53-1 (2w), Chahal 10-0-53-0 India K. Rahul c De Kock b Markram 12 S. Dhawan b Maharaj 79 V. Kohli c Bavuma b Shamsi 51 R. Pant st De Kock b Phehlukwayo 16 S. Iyer c De Kock b Ngidi 17 V. Iyer c Van der Dussen b Ngidi2 R. Ashwin b Phehlukwayo 7 S. Thakur not out 50 B. Kumar c Bavuma b Shamsi 4 J. Bumrah not out 14 Extras (b2, w11) 13 Total (8 wkts, 50 overs) 265 Fall of wickets: 1-46 (Rahul), 2-138 (Dhawan), 3-152 (Kohli), 4-181 (S. Iyer), 5-182 (Pant), 6-188 (V. Iyer), 7-199 (Ashwin), 8-214 (Kumar) Bowling: Markram 6-0-30-1 (1w), Jansen 9-0-49-0 (1w), Maharaj 10-0-42-1 (1w), Ngidi 10-0-64-2 (4w), Shamsi 10-1-52-2 (3w), Phehlukwayo 5-0-26-2 (1w) Result: South Africa won by 31 runs Series: South Africa lead the three-match series 1-0.

South African-American businessman Patrick Soon-Shiong opened a new vaccine plant in Cape Town yesterday, intended to help his local NantSA company make Covid-19 shots in future and address the continent’s deadly dearth of manufacturing capacity. The pandemic has exposed a global lack of access to life-saving vaccines, particularly in Africa, where just about 10% of the population has been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 compared to over half the world’s population. “Africa should no longer be last in line to access vaccines against pandemics. Africa should no longer go cap in hand to the Western world, begging and begging for vaccines,” said South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who attended the opening. Soon-Shiong, who is also a medical doctor, will transfer technology and materials from his California-based NantWorks to scientists in South Africa, where they will also work on vaccines targeting cancer, TB and HIV. “Greater self-sufficiency is essential,” Matshidiso Moeti, World Health Organisation (WHO) regional director for Africa, said in a message of support for the plant, which aims to produce 1bn Covid-19 vaccine doses a year by 2025. Soon-Shiong said he would transfer bioreactors stockpiled at his US factories, with first production of vaccines seen later this year. To ensure a pipeline of skilled workers, he has pledged 100mn rand ($6.5mn) for scholarships. “We have now the capability to use the human capital of South Africans to build 21st century medicine,” Soon-Shiong told Ramaphosa, as he entered one of two warehouses, currently empty, in the semi-industrial area of Brackenfell near Cape Town. Scientists in South Africa have been at forefront of combating the pandemic, alerting the world to both the Beta and Omicron variants of concern after detecting them quickly. But health experts have warned obstacles, including electricity and water shortages that hamper manufacturing processes, must be tackled before Africa can wean itself off imported vaccines. Pharmaceutical firms, like Pfizer, as well as the WHO, have sought to bridge the gap in poorer countries’ access to vaccines by upgrading existing production lines or developing new manufacturing hubs. South Africa’s Aspen Pharmacare makes Johnson & Johnson’s Covid vaccine while part state-owned Biovac will start the final stages of production of Pfizer’s shot later this year.

Sudanese shuttered shops and barricaded streets with burning tyres and rocks yesterday, staging angry rallies to protest against one of the bloodiest days since a coup derailed the country’s democratic transition. Security forces on Monday opened fire killing at least seven people as thousands marched against the army’s October 25 takeover, taking the total number killed in a crackdown since the coup to 71, according to medics. “No, no to military rule,” protesters chanted yesterday in southern Blue Nile state, where some carried banners daubed with the slogan “No to killing peaceful protesters”, said witness Omar Eissa. The protests come as Washington ramps up pressure in a bid to broker an end to the months-long crisis in the northeast African nation, with top US diplomats expected to arrive in the capital Khartoum for talks. Sudan’s main civilian bloc, the Forces for Freedom and Change, called for two days of civil disobedience to begin yesterday. “Shop closed for mourning,” signs read at Khartoum’s sprawling Sajane construction supplies market. One of the merchants, Othman el-Sherif, was among those shot dead on Monday. Protesters — sometimes numbering in the tens of thousands — have regularly taken to the streets since the coup led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan nearly three months ago. The military power grab derailed a fragile transition to civilian rule following the April 2019 ouster of Omar al-Bashir, with prime minister Abdalla Hamdok resigning earlier this month warning that Sudan was at a “dangerous crossroads threatening its very survival”. The United Nations special representative Volker Perthes condemned the use of live ammunition on Monday, while the US embassy criticised the “violent tactics of Sudanese security forces,” the latest such appeals by world powers. Yesterday, police fired tear gas at dozens of protesters setting up roadblocks in east Khartoum, an AFP correspondent said. “We took to the streets to express our opinion peacefully but the military forces confronted us with live bullets,” said protester Tarek Hassan. “We call on all the Sudanese people, and to all the free revolutionaries, to barricade all the streets to announce the civil disobedience until the putschists fall.” Outside the capital, hundreds of protesters also staged demonstrations in other cities, including in the states of Blue Nile and Kassala in the east, witnesses said. Burhan yesterday formed a fact-finding committee to probe Monday’s violence, with its findings to be submitted within 72 hours, Sudan’s ruling Sovereign Council said in a statement. It comes as US Assistant Secretary of State Molly Phee and special envoy for the Horn of Africa, David Satterfield, were expected in Khartoum, where they would “reiterate our call for security forces to end violence and respect freedom of expression and peaceful assembly,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said.

A Somali government spokesman was wounded yesterday in an attack by the Al Shebaab militant group, though his wounds are “not serious,” the prime minister’s office said. Yesterday’s attack, which Al Shebaab said it was behind, came after Somali leaders agreed this month to wrap up parliamentary elections by February 25, following repeated delays that have threatened the stability of the troubled country. More than a year of delays had deepened bitter tensions between Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble and President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, better known by his nickname Farmajo, amid fears their squabbling could erupt into violence. “The spokesman of the Somali Federal government was wounded in a terrorist attack, his injuries are not serious and we wish him quick recovery,” the office said in a statement. Multiple sources said the attacker, who was killed in the incident, attempted to get onto the spokesman’s car before detonating explosives, partially destroying the vehicle. “A suicide bomber jumped onto a vehicle transporting the spokesman of the government Mohamed Ibrahim, he was lucky to have survived with light injuries,” said a policeman at the scene of the attack, Mohamed Farah. “Two other people got injured in the blast.” Witnesses confirmed that the attacker had pressed himself against the car before a loud explosion was heard. One witness, Abdirahman Moalin Ali, said he had seen “human body parts strewn across the area”. Al Shebaab swiftly claimed the attack.

Sudanese doctors protested yesterday against violent attacks by security forces targeting medical personnel during pro-democracy rallies following last year’s military coup. “During every protest they fire tear gas inside the hospital where I work,” one doctor, Houda Ahmad, said at the rally in Khartoum. “They even attack us inside the intensive care unit,” she added at the rally, where medical personnel carried pictures of colleagues they said had been killed. The demonstration was the latest in the crisis-hit north-east African country, where protesters in the north also blockaded roads to vent their anger against an electricity price hike announced last week, and that has since been frozen. Sudan’s October 25 coup led by military leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan derailed a fragile transition to civilian rule, that had started with the 2019 ouster of strongman Omar al-Bashir following youth-led mass protests. The military power grab has sparked an international outcry and triggered a new wave of street demonstrations, with another rally expected today. During the turmoil of recent months, prime minister Abdulla Hamdok was detained and later reinstated but then quit, warning that Sudan was at a dangerous crossroads threatening its very “survival”. Deadly crackdowns have claimed the lives of 64 protesters, according to pro-democracy medics. A police general has also been killed in the street violence that has rocked Sudan, one of the world’s poorest countries. The UN World Health Organisation said last week there had been 11 confirmed attacks on Sudanese health facilities since November. The WHO said it was “also aware of the interception of ambulances, medical personnel and patients during their attempts to seek safety”. It called for the attacks to “stop now”, pointing out that they threaten healthcare services needed more than ever during the Covid pandemic. Covid-19 is a “grave threat” for Sudan, where 94% of the population has not been vaccinated, said the WHO. Sudan has confirmed 93,973 coronavirus infections and about 4,000 deaths. In September, it said 64% of about 1,000 health workers tested had been found to be Covid-positive. Sudan’s 45mn people have also been dealing with a severe economic crisis and inflation approaching 400%. Yesterday, hundreds blocked key roads in the Northern Province, 350 kilometres from the capital, angered by recent news electricity prices would double — a move that was then frozen, but not officially abolished. “No vehicle will pass until the authorities have cancelled this increase, because it signs the death certificate of our agriculture,” protester Hassan Idriss said by phone.The protests that led to the 2019 ouster of Bashir had started after the government decided to triple the price of bread. During the recent protests, Sudan has also often shut down the Internet and moved to limit reporting on the unrest. In the latest move it revoked the licence of Al Jazeera Mubasher, the live TV unit of the Qatar-based network, the channel said. The United Nations is now seeking to organise talks involving political, military and social actors to resolve the crisis. UN special representative Volker Perthes announced the bid last week saying it was “time to end the violence and enter into a comprehensive consultative process”. The mainstream faction of the Forces for Freedom and Change, the leading civilian pro-democracy group, said yesterday it would accept the offer of dialogue if it were to revive the transition to civilian rule. Sudan’s military in April 2019 put an end Bashir’s three-decade rule, leading to the arrest and imprisonment of the ruler and many regime officials. Bashir is also wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. An imprisoned former foreign minister under Bashir, Ibrahim Ghandour, has begun a hunger strike along with several ex-regime officials, his family said yesterday. They will only end it “once they have been freed or brought before an impartial tribunal”, his family said in a statement. The public prosecutor’s office had recently ordered the release of several ex-officials, but Burhan instead ordered they stay in detention. Ghandour’s family decried the “interference in judicial affairs”. The protester movement however accuses Burhan, who was Bashir’s ground forces commander, of helping old regime figures come back to power.

Mali's former president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who led the West African country from 2013 until he was ousted in a coup in 2020, died at the age of 76 in the capital Bamako on Sunday, his family said. "President IBK died this morning at 0900 GMT in his home" in Bamako, a family member told AFP using the ex-leader's initials, with several other family members confirming his passing.

Ethiopia’s foreign ministry has called on the World Health Organisation (WHO) to investigate its leader for supporting rebellious forces fighting the Ethiopian government. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who previously served as the Ethiopian health minister and foreign minister, said earlier this week that aid was being blocked from getting through to his home region of Tigray, where rebellious forces are fighting the central government. “Tedros Adhanom’s moral, legal and professional standing that threatened the WHO’s organisational standing,” Ethiopia said in a statement late on Thursday. “He has spread harmful misinformation and compromised the WHO’s reputation, independence, credibility which is evident from his social media postings.” The WHO said in an e-mailed response to Reuters request for comment that it is aware that Ethiopia’s foreign affairs ministry had sent a diplomatic communication, called a note verbale. It said that the WHO “will continue to ask the Ethiopian government to allow access to deliver humanitarian supplies and services to the 7mn people in Tigray, Ethiopia”. The “WHO and partners have been repeatedly calling for urgent and unimpeded access to deliver humanitarian heath supplies and services to the people in Tigray”. The government has denied blocking aid and has accused the rebellious forces of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) of requisitioning trucks sent in previously. Ethiopia’s army chief has previously accused Tedros of trying to procure arms and diplomatic backing for the TPLF. He denied that. Thousands have been killed in the conflict in Tigray, which spread to two neighbouring regions in northern Ethiopia before Tigrayan forces were forced to withdraw back to Tigray in December. The United Nations says the government is operating a de facto blockade of humanitarian aid to Tigray; no trucks have entered the region since December 15. More than 90% of the population needs food aid and doctors told Reuters last week that many people – including malnourished children – are dying because no medicine has been permitted to enter Tigray. On Thursday, Tedros tweeted: “People in #Tigray #Ethiopia, living under de facto blockade for over a year, are dying from lack of medicine & food, & repeated drone attacks.@WHO & partners call for safe, unimpeded access to deliver humanitarian aid to the millions of people in great need.” The WHO said that its main call and that of the international community was to get access to those affected and for all parties to use political action to achieve peace and security. “This is true for Tigray and elsewhere in northern Ethiopia,” it said. Ethiopia’s foreign ministry said that Tedros failed to show integrity and professionalism and was a member of the TPLF, which dominated Ethiopian politics for nearly 30 years before Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s appointment in 2018. “Tedros encourages the TPLF in his media engagements and celebrates what is presumed to be a military success of the group, besides engaging in selective outrage where he discriminately addresses the humanitarian concerns in Ethiopia,” the ministry said. The government designated TPLF a terrorist group after the war erupted in November 2020. Tedros, a Tigrayan, was a member of the TPLF. Abiy also served as an intelligence chief under the previous TPLF-led government. Tedros was elected the WHO’s first African director-general in May 2017 with strong Ethiopian and African support. He ran again as the sole nominee in October. Ethiopia withheld its support, and 28 other countries appointed Tedros for a second five-year term.

Southern African countries agreed at a summit yesterday to extend their troop deployment in Mozambique to help the government fight an Islamic State-linked insurgency, a communique said. The countries, linked in the Southern African Development Community, agreed in June to send troops to help Mozambique tackle the insurgency, which is concentrated in the northern province of Cabo Delgado and has claimed thousands of lives since it broke out in 2017. “Summit noted the good progress made since the deployment of the SADC Mission in Mozambique and extended its mandate,” the communique said after leaders met in Malawi’s capital Lilongwe. It did not say how long the extension was for. The SADC troop deployment was initially for three months from mid-July but it was extended in October. Rwanda, which is not a SADC member, has also sent soldiers to Mozambique. Last year the insurgency brought a multibillion-dollar liquefied natural gas project by France’s TotalEnergies to a halt, after militants attacked the town of Palma. Mozambique’s military had been losing ground to the insurgency until it accepted the foreign help. A number of areas previously held by militants have been cleared, including the town of Mocimboa da Praia, more than a year after the insurgents first seized it. Insurgent bases have also been destroyed, according to the security forces.

On the afternoon of Dec 30, security forces banged on the windows of Khartoum Teaching Hospital then fired tear gas into an emergency room packed with protesters injured in a nearby demonstration. “We were around the corner trying to hide, it came right past our heads,” said a nurse who asked to withhold her name for fear of retribution. “We couldn’t breathe and had to rush out.” Attacks on medical facilities seen during an uprising in Sudan three years ago have re-emerged during rallies against an October coup, deepening anger among the protest movement and further straining a chronically under-resourced health system. The coup ended an agreement between the military and major political parties to share power following a 2019 uprising that toppled Omar al-Bashir after three decades of rule. Continuing violence against demonstrations could complicate efforts to resolve a standoff between military leaders and a large protest movement that wants civilian rule. Hundreds of protesters have been injured since the coup, mainly from live gunshot and tear gas canisters, and at least 63 have died, according to the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors (CCSD), a medics’ union aligned with protesters. Military leaders justify their coup as saving Sudan from chaos and have said they will protect the right to peaceful protest. In a statement on Saturday, the Khartoum State security committee expressed regret at the “violations” of hospital grounds and committed to providing high-ranking officers inside facilities to monitor any breaches. Assaults on medical facilities have centred on hospitals which lie along main protest routes and routinely treat injured protesters. Near Khartoum Teaching Hospital, security forces have repeatedly tried to disperse protesters and chase them down side streets as they march towards the presidential palace, about 1.2km away. Khartoum Teaching Hospital has been attacked with tear gas three times, said its director Dr Elfatih Abdallah. “This is immoral, inhumane, and not acceptable at all,” he said, pointing at a circular dent in the wall caused by a tear gas canister. Patients and their friends and relatives have also been assaulted and arrested inside the hospital, and security forces have chased protesters into wards, said deputy hospital director Emad Mamoun. Asked for comment, a police official who requested not to be named said: “We do not assault any doctors and doctors are well-respected by us as we consider them colleagues. We do not assault citizens as our role is to protect them.” Medics say it is not always clear which part of Sudan’s security apparatus is responsible. They say that even when security forces do not enter the hospital, tear gas is often fired nearby, making it difficult to work. CCSD has accused security forces of besieging hospitals and blocking the entrance and exit of ambulances during protests. On Sunday, medics marched in lab coats to submit a report to the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights documenting more than 20 alleged incidents of security forces impeding medical care across the country since the coup. The attacks caused the caretaker health minister to submit his resignation, though colleagues later persuaded him to stay. While the security presence at protests on Sunday was lighter than usual, witnesses said they saw tear gas fired once more near Khartoum Teaching Hospital. During a visit to the hospital to show solidarity with medical staff, Norwegian ambassador Therese Loken Gheziel said attacks would impede the international community’s engagement with authorities. “Trust has to be rebuilt, people need to see justice, and the violence has to stop. Then we can facilitate consultations,” she said.

A man suspected of starting a fire that gutted South Africa’s parliament made a second court appearance yesterday to face a new charge of terrorism, in addition to robbery and arson charges. Zandile Christmas Mafe, 49, was arrested around the parliament complex in Cape Town after the fire broke out on January 2 and appeared in court three days later. Magistrate Zamekile Mbalo granted prosecutors a month’s delay to determine Mafe’s mental state and “if he is fit for trial” following a diagnosis that he was schizophrenic. Mafe was initially charged with breaking into parliament, arson and intention to steal property, including laptops, crockery and documents. Prosecutors said the additional terrorism charge was introduced after investigators viewed CCTV footage from parliament on Monday. The new charge said the “accused is guilty” of contravening laws on the “protection of constitutional democracy against terrorist and related activities”, according to a court document. “The accused did unlawfully and intentionally deliver, place, discharge or detonate an explosive, or other lethal device in... parliament building with the purpose...of causing extensive damage,” it said, without giving further details. The blaze broke out before dawn on January 2, spreading to the National Assembly, the roof of which collapsed. Defence lawyer Dali Mpofu said Mafe underwent mental observation on January 3 and was diagnosed with “paranoid schizophrenia.” Mpofu is one of South Africa’s most famous lawyers, whose high-profile clients have included former president Jacob Zuma. He said Mafe was seeking bail. Mafe has vowed that if “he is not released from custody, as from this moment, he will embark on a hunger strike,” Mpofu said in the small courtroom. Mpofu said that Mafe, who has been widely described as homeless in local media, “does not understand why the government, which was not able to feed him when he was poor outside and fending for himself, now is so keen to feed him for a further period of time.” Mpofu said his client believed he was being “victimised and targeted particularly because he is poor”. Another defence lawyer Luvuyo Godla told reporters they are appearing pro-bono for Mafe. In contrast to his first court appearance where he was bearded and dressed in a grey shirt with knee-length denim shorts, yesterday Mafe came in clean shaven in a light blue shirt and a dark jacket. He turned towards photographers when he entered the court, later repeatedly shaking his head from side-to-side and taking off his mask. Since his arrest, debate has raged in South Africa over whether Mafe was responsible for setting the building on fire. Protesters outside the court yesterday demanded his release, saying he was a scapegoat. A group of around 30 people picketed outside, brandishing hand-written signs saying “free Mafe,” “he is innocent” and “he is not guilty”. Surveillance cameras placed Mafe in the building precinct at around 2:00am (0000 GMT). “However, security only saw him at 6:00 am, when they looked at the screens after being alerted by the smoke,” Public Works Minister Patricia de Lille told AFP last week. “Certainly, there was a security breach,” she said. A preliminary report by the city of Cape Town last week said the fire detection system appeared “faulty,” and that “sprinklers did not activate”. It took scores of firefighters more than two days to extinguish the blaze, which tore through the wood-panelled legislature chamber where parliamentary debates are held.

The United Nations said it was starting consultations in Sudan yesterday to try to salvage the country’s move to democracy after a military coup. UN officials were contacting parties to look for a way forward, and the army had raised no objections to the initiative, UN special representative Volker Perthes told reporters. “We want to move quickly,” he said. The UN plan amounts to the only substantial effort at present to resolve the political crisis. The military takeover in October wrecked a power-sharing arrangement with civilian leaders that was meant to pave the way to elections after the overthrow of Omar al-Bashir in 2019. The coup also halted a Western-backed opening up of the economy after decades of isolation and sanctions. Protesters have regularly taken to the streets demanding civilian rule, and medics aligned with the protest movement say more than 60 people have died in clashes with security services. “I do hope that these consultations can become something like a confidence-building measure and would help to at laeast reduce the violence,” Perthes said. Protest groups and the political parties ousted by the coup have so far refused to negotiate directly with the military. So the United Nations would start by approaching groups individually, in the hope of moving onto to a second phase of direct or indirect negotiations, Perthes said. The first sessions would involve civil society groups. “We will have every day a mix of stakeholders we are talking to,” he said. United Nations officials have asked the groups to present their visions for a way forward, with the aim of producing a consensus on points of agreement and disagreement at the conclusion of talks. Perthes said that only Bashir’s former ruling party and the Sudanese Communist Party had rejected the initiative outright, while the military had not objected to the process. He said it would be tricky to set a timeframe for concluding talks and starting negotiations and that if one or two more weeks were needed, hard deadlines would not be imposed. “Time is precious, we know that. There’s a lot of pressure on the situation in Sudan and on us.” Unless a new course for the transition and a path to credible elections is found, Sudan’s economic plight could worsen and instability could spread inside and outside its borders, analysts and diplomats say. Perthes told Reuters that he would find ways to make use of offers of support from international players including the United States and Saudi Arabia, both key donors, and that others including European states and Kenya had also offered backing. “The US, the Saudis, and a couple of others are very heavily involved, they helped in developing some ideas,” he said. More mass protests against the military are planned, with another round expected tomorrow.

The United Nations said it was starting consultations in Sudan yesterday to try to salvage the country’s move to democracy after a military coup. UN officials were contacting parties to look for a way forward, and the army had raised no objections to the initiative, UN special representative Volker Perthes told reporters. “We want to move quickly,” he said. The UN plan amounts to the only substantial effort at present to resolve the political crisis. The military takeover in October wrecked a power-sharing arrangement with civilian leaders that was meant to pave the way to elections after the overthrow of Omar al-Bashir in 2019. The coup also halted a Western-backed opening up of the economy after decades of isolation and sanctions. Protesters have regularly taken to the streets demanding civilian rule, and medics aligned with the protest movement say more than 60 people have died in clashes with security services. “I do hope that these consultations can become something like a confidence-building measure and would help to at least reduce the violence,” Perthes said. Protest groups and the political parties ousted by the coup have so far refused to negotiate directly with the military. So the United Nations would start by approaching groups individually, in the hope of moving onto to a second phase of direct or indirect negotiations, Perthes said. The first sessions would involve civil society groups. “We will have every day a mix of stakeholders we are talking to,” he said. United Nations officials have asked the groups to present their visions for a way forward, with the aim of producing a consensus on points of agreement and disagreement at the conclusion of talks. Perthes said that only Bashir’s former ruling party and the Sudanese Communist Party had rejected the initiative outright, while the military had not objected to the process. He said it would be tricky to set a timeframe for concluding talks and starting negotiations and that if one or two more weeks were needed, hard deadlines would not be imposed. “Time is precious, we know that. There’s a lot of pressure on the situation in Sudan and on us.” Unless a new course for the transition and a path to credible elections is found, Sudan’s economic plight could worsen and instability could spread inside and outside its borders, analysts and diplomats say. Perthes told Reuters that he would find ways to make use of offers of support from international players including the United States and Saudi Arabia, both key donors, and that others including European states and Kenya had also offered backing. “The US, the Saudis, and a couple of others are very heavily involved, they helped in developing some ideas,” he said. More mass protests against the military are planned, with another round expected tomorrow.

Uganda ended the world's longest school closure on Monday, ordering millions of students back to the classroom nearly two years after learning was suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic. Students poured through school gates that had been shuttered in March 2020 when Covid-19 swept the globe, greeting teachers and friends after 83 weeks outside the classroom. "I am so happy because I was missing school, my teachers, my friends and my studies," 10-year-old Nawilah Senkungu told AFP at Nakasero Primary School in Kampala, where teachers encouraged students to wear face masks and wash their hands. Education Minister John Muyingo said all primary and secondary students would automatically resume classes a year above where they left off, and urged schools to follow health protocols. "All schools have implemented guidelines and standard operating procedures to ensure the safe return of children to schools, and measures have been put in place to ensure those who don't comply do so," he told AFP. But for some parents, the return to school has been difficult after the economic pain caused by pandemic curfews and lockdowns.  Everyln Nyakato, a salon worker and 42-year-old single mother of five, said she worried about covering fees and other school costs. "Even before the Covid-19 outbreak, I was struggling to pay school fees. Since the pandemic, I was out of work as the government closed our businesses," she told AFP at a crowded bus stop in Kasubi, a suburb of Kampala. "I know I am not alone in this... it's a nightmare for us, especially the poor." Muyingo said any schools demanding fees above pre-pandemic rates would be sanctioned.   - 'Never again' -   The closures affected at least 10 million primary and secondary pupils and lasted 83 weeks, according to the UN's education and cultural body UNESCO. Children's rights groups had criticised the extreme length of the shutdown, warning that closures had far-reaching consequences for learning and put vulnerable students at higher risk of child marriage or forced labour. "We can't let this happen again. We must keep schools open for every child, everywhere," the UN children's agency UNICEF said on Twitter. The charity Save the Children said students would struggle after falling so far behind, and warned there could be high dropout rates in coming weeks unless special efforts were made to help the youngsters adapt. Remote learning was available only for the privileged few during Uganda's school closures. Senkungu, the 10-year-old, spent the long closure helping on her grandparents' small farm, tending chickens and digging the fields. "I am very happy to see my children back to school. They have been missing their teachers plus learning," said her father, Siraj Senkungu. Richard Aburo, deputy head at Nakasero Primary School, said schools and students had fared differently during closures, but those in rural and poorer settings had been hardest hit. "The effect of the Covid pandemic is enormous. It has affected the quality of education, so to bridge that gap will take some time," he said.  "Some schools up-country did not study anything, so the effects differ," he said, adding teachers in many locations had also not been paid and abandoned the profession. Uganda has recorded 153,762 cases of Covid-19 with 3,339 deaths, according to the latest government figures issued on January 7.

South Africa’s ruling ANC, a storied liberation movement, marked its 110th anniversary yesterday in low-key fashion as the country reels from parliament’s destruction, last year’s deadly riots and emerging details of official corruption. In the stands of a stadium in Polokwane, in northeastern Limpopo province, a few hundred party members sporting the African National Congress’ signature yellow, green and black dotted the terraces. It was a far cry from the noisy and large crowds of supporters that are traditionally bused in for the annual festivities, thanks to Covid-19 restrictions that limit outdoor gatherings to just 2,000 people. Also weighing heavily on the party atmosphere are acts described by President Cyril Ramaphosa described as having “the effects of subverting our constitutional democracy”.  “These acts include blatant acts of state (corruption) and criminality... the concerted campaign of public violence and destruction that took place in July last year, as well as ongoing theft, destruction and obstruction of infrastructure,” Ramaphosa told party loyalists. “This anniversary takes place just a few days after a devastating fire swept through our parliament in Cape Town. “The entire country has been shocked, outraged and saddened by the destruction because the institution of parliament is a repository of our democracy – and symbol of democratic stability of our people,” Ramaphosa said.  He added his government was “in the process of reforming our law enforcement agencies, our security sector, so that it’s better positioned to defend the gains of our democracy”. The party of Nelson Mandela, which led the liberation of South Africa from the shackles of white-minority apartheid rule, has been weakened by historically poor electoral showings and factionalism. A more than 800-page report containing nearly four years of testimonies collected by a judicial panel on graft was handed to Ramaphosa on Tuesday. The ANC is accused in the report of turning a blind eye to graft in state-owned companies which play a significant role in the South African economy. Ramaphosa declared in his speech yesterday that “those who are guilty of corruption, ill-discipline, factionalism and undermining our democracy find no home” in the ANC, adding the party had been guilty of ignoring “acts of indiscipline”. In last November’s local elections, a majority of registered voters did not bother to cast votes, and the ANC’s support at the ballot box fell below 50% for the first time in its history. Now party officials are haunted by the possibility of an outright defeat in the 2024 general election. “The ANC is bleeding. Either we renew the party or we perish,” said party supporter Themba Ubisi, 40, after the celebrations. Another supporter, Khathu Mathoho, 45, was more optimistic. “The party is self correcting. There’s a will to do things differently, but (some) elements are resisting change,” they said. Ramaphosa vowed the party would be renewed. “Let us cleanse the ANC,” he said. The party’s finances are also in shambles, with one political source confirming the ANC is indeed “broke” and that in addition to unpaid taxes, the party has a deficit of at least 400mn rand ($26mn). On the eve of the ANC’s celebrations, the party held a traditional fundraising dinner attended by businesspeople and senior party supporters. But Ramaphosa’s dinner speech to the gathering was interrupted by an unexplained power outage. Ramaphosa tried to downplay the blackout, which local media is speculating was a security risk and which Police Minister Bheki Cele said is under investigation.

Gunmen known locally as "bandits" killed at least 140 people in multiple raids this week in northwest Nigeria, four residents told AFP Saturday, but there was no official confirmation. Northwest and central Nigeria have been plagued by criminal gangs for years but violence has become more widespread now. On Wednesday, the Nigerian government officially labelled bandits as terrorists. "We buried a total of 143 people killed by the bandits in the attacks," said one of the four sources, Balarabe Alhaji, a community leader in one of the affected villages in Zamfara state. Hundreds of motorcycle-riding gunmen rampaged through ten villages in Anka and Bukkuyum districts on Wednesday through Thursday, shooting residents, looting and burning homes, locals said. Officials and security agencies have not yet commented on the attacks. Babandi Hamidu, a resident of Kurfa Danya village said the militants who rode into the villages were shooting "anyone on sight". "More than 140 people were buried across the ten villages and search for more bodies in ongoing because many people are unaccounted for," Hamidu said. Idi Musa, resident of another village, Kurfa Danya, said "the death toll is huge. We are taking of around 150 people killed by the bandits." Another resident who only gave his first name Babangida gave a similar account. All four sources said they were present at burials in their respective villages.

An air strike in Ethiopia's Tigray region killed 56 people and injured 30, including children, in a camp for displaced people, two aid workers told Reuters on Saturday, citing local authorities and eyewitness accounts. Military spokesman Colonel Getnet Adane and government spokesman Legesse Tulu did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The government has previously denied targeting civilians in the 14-month conflict with rebellious Tigrayan forces. The strike in the town of Dedebit, in the northwest of the region near the border with Eritrea, occurred late on Friday night, said the aid workers, who asked not to be named as they are not authorised to speak to the media. Earlier on Friday, the government had freed several opposition leaders from prison and said it would begin dialogue with political opponents in order to foster reconciliation. Both aid workers said the number of dead was confirmed by the local authorities. The aid workers sent Reuters pictures they said they had taken of the wounded in hospital, who included many children. One of the aid workers, who visited Shire Suhul General Hospital where the injured were brought for treatment, said the camp hosts many old women and children. "They told me the bombs came at midnight. It was completely dark and they couldn't escape," the aid worker said. Ethiopian federal troops went to war with rebellious Tigrayan forces in November 2020. Since the war erupted, Reuters has reported atrocities by all sides, which the parties to the fighting have denied. One of the aid workers said that one of the wounded in Friday's strike, Asefa Gebrehaworia, 75, burst into tears as he recounted how his friend was killed. He was being treated for injuries to his left leg and hand. Fighting had forced Asefa out of his home and now the air strike had destroyed the camp, where even though he was facing hunger at least he had shelter, he told the aid worker. He had arrived in the camp for displaced people from the border town of Humera. Before the latest strike, at least 146 people have been killed and 213 injured in air strikes in Tigray since Oct. 18, according to a document prepared by aid agencies and shared with Reuters this week. In Friday's reconciliation move, the government freed opposition leaders from several ethnic groups. They included some leaders of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), the party fighting Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's central government. The TPLF expressed scepticism about Abiy's call for national reconciliation. "His daily routine of denying medication to helpless children and of sending drones targeting civilians flies in the face of his self-righteous claims," TPLF spokesman Getachew Reda tweeted on Friday. The TPLF accuses federal authorities of imposing an aid blockade on the region, leading to hunger and shortages of essentials like fuel and medicines. The government denies blocking the passage of aid convoys.

Ethiopia has freed several opposition leaders from prison, the state broadcaster reported yesterday, as the government said it would begin dialogue with political opponents after 14 months of war when thousands of people have been arrested. The move to free leaders from several ethnic groups is the most significant breakthrough since war broke out in the northern Tigray region, threatening the unity of Africa’s second-most populous state. Some leaders of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the party fighting Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s central government, are among those freed. “The key to lasting peace is dialogue,” a statement from the government communications office said.”One of the moral obligations of a victor is mercy.” The state-run Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation’s list of those being freed included two senior political leaders from Oromiya: Bekele Gerba, a senior leader of the Oromo Federalist Congress party, and Jawar Mohamed, founder of the Oromiya Media Network. Bekele Gerba’s son Samuel Bekele later tweeted the two men were freed. The two men were charged in September 2020 with terrorism offences. Oromiya is home to Ethiopia’s biggest ethnic group and is Abiy’s political heartland. Oromiya has a long-running insurgency rooted in grievances about perceived political marginalisation and rights abuses by the security services. The leader of the Balderas for Genuine Democracy opposition party, Eskinder Nega, has been released, his party announced on Twitter. Eskinder, an ethnic Amhara journalist and blogger, was charged alongside Jawar, Bekele and more than a dozen other political activists. Among those freed are Abay Weldu, a former president of Tigray, and Sebhat Nega, the founder of the TPLF. Getachew Reda, spokesman for the TPLF, could not be reached immediately for comment. Will Davison, senior Ethiopia analyst at the Brussels-based think-tank International Crisis Group, said the announcement was “the first signs in some time that the federal government is looking to take serious actions towards political reconciliation.” But he warned that the release of a few prisoners did not mean the resolution of the war. After war broke out in November 2020, Abiy’s forces — supported by the Eritrean military — quickly captured the main cities. The government declared victory three weeks later. Months of fighting and reports of grave rights abuses followed. The Ethiopian and Eritrean militaries withdrew from most of Tigray at the end of June, but the UN said a “de facto government blockade” prevented aid from entering. The government has denied blocking aid. Saying they wanted to reopen supply lines for humanitarian aid, Tigrayan forces then pushed south and east into the neighbouring regions of Afar and Amhara in July, leaving reports of rights abuses in their wake. They announced an alliance with the insurgent Oromo Liberation Army in August, threatened the capital and tried to cut a key transport corridor. But the military — with support from newly bought drones — pushed Tigrayan forces back into Tigray in December. Some sporadic fighting and airstrikes in parts of Tigray continue. No humanitarian aid has entered since Dec 15; doctors in the region’s main hospital say it is a week from collapse. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said yesterday that he looks forward to improvement in humanitarian access to all areas affected by the conflict as he welcomed the release of opposition leaders. He called for parties to the conflict to build on what he said was a “significant confidence-building step.”

Hunching over her work, Marissa shells peanuts under a blazing sun, sweat dripping down her face. Growing peanuts is a mainstay activity in the Paoua region in the Central African Republic, about 500km northwest of the capital Bangui. But for many growers, life is a daily battle. First, they have to coax the plants from the ground, harvest the nuts and shell them. And then they have to survive theft, extortion or worse, in a region where rebels and pro-government forces are at war. The town of Paoua is regularly targeted by armed groups, notably the powerful 3R movement (Return, Reclaim, Rehabilitation), among several in the region that are seeking to control the peanut business. The rebels that have ravaged the deeply poor, landlocked country for years have adopted guerrilla tactics after being driven back from large towns. For the past several months, they have been planting explosive devices along the main roads to delay the advance of pro-government forces. “There are too many threats and thefts,” says Celestine Inforo, 33, shelling peanuts along with Marissa and a dozen others on the outskirts of Paoua. “We had to sell our production very quickly and at a low price.” The women separate the nuts’ fine skins by pouring them onto the ground from shoulder height. Inforo and her co-workers each fill several sacks in a few hours, then a pair of oxen haul the day’s production to a secure storeroom loaned by the Oxfam non-governmental organisation. Outside the storeroom, each bag is weighed and recorded at between 35 and 45kg. In the town, a sack of shelled nuts fetches around 10,000 CFA francs, the equivalent of $17. This is a far cry from the prices in distant Bangui, where a sack can sell for between 20,000 and 30,000 CFA francs, says Jean-Paul Ndopaye, president of the Paoua Rice Growers Union. Production greatly exceeds demand in the region, bringing down prices. The impact is dramatic in a town of some 40,000, since “80 % of the population of Paoua has an activity related to peanuts”, according to Noel Zingani, head of the local Oxfam office. When low prices affect the entire industry in Paoua, Marissa barely gets 250 CFA francs, around 43 cents, for each bag she fills. The CAR is one of the poorest countries in the world, in the grip of a civil war since 2013. The conflict has diminished in intensity in recent years, but it flared up again during the last presidential election a year ago. In the greater Ouham-Pende region, the World Food Programme (WFP) says malnutrition is at unprecedented levels, measured on the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). “Sixty-one percent of the population is in phase 3 of crisis and in phase 4 of food emergency,” states Mahoua Coulibaly, local manager of the UN agency. In the shade of a mango tree, three women turn peanuts into oil, butter and “kuli-kuli” sticks, which have a high nutritional content thanks to the natural proteins and fibres. Marie roasts the nuts, stirring them while taking care not to burn herself. Kneeling beside her, Lena kneads peanut butter on a wooden board. “Extracting oil with this method is physically exhausting, it can take hours,” says Moussa Issoufou, Oxfam’s food security manager. “We must find modern equipment to facilitate their work,” he adds, convinced that this is the only way for the women to earn more from their labour. “The problem is processing. This is what must be invested in for the well-being of the population, but for the moment the funds are lacking,” Coulibaly says.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen met Myanmar’s military ruler Min Aung Hlaing yesterday amid criticism of the first visit by a head of government since the army seized power from an elected government last year.  Hun Sen was greeted by an honour guard and red carpet when he arrived yesterday, just as protests by coup opponents broke out in other parts of the country over fears his trip will provide more legitimacy to the ruling junta. Myanmar state television later showed images of the two leaders bumping elbows and sitting down for talks in gilded chairs. Hun Sen’s two-day visit was the first by a head of government since the army overthrew the civilian administration of Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb 1 last year, sparking months of protests and a bloody crackdown. The Cambodian leader, who has been criticised over crackdowns on his political opponents at home, has said he was making the visit to press a Myanmar peace plan sponsored by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). Cambodia is current chair of the 10-member Asean, which adopted a five-point “consensus” peace plan in April.  Some other Asean countries including Indonesia have expressed frustration at the junta’s failure to implement the plan, including allowing an envoy to meet Suu Kyi, who has been in detention since the coup. In Myanmar, opponents of military rule have said Hun Sen, who seized power in Phnom Penh in a 1997 coup, is backing the junta by making the trip. In Depayin, about 300km north of the capital, Naypyidaw, protesters burned a poster of the Cambodian prime minister and chanted “Hun Sen don’t come to Myanmar. We don’t want dictator Hun Sen”, photographs on social media showed. There were also reports of protests in the second city of Mandalay and the Tanintharyi and Monywa regions. In a speech on Wednesday before his trip, Hun Sen called for restraint from all sides in Myanmar and for the peace plan to be followed. “Brothers in Myanmar, do you want your country to fall into a real civil war or want it solved?” he said. After a phone call this week with Hun Sen, Indonesian President Joko Widodo said in messages on Twitter if there was no significant progress on the peace plan, then only non-political representatives from Myanmar should be allowed at Asean meetings. In October, junta leader Min Aung Hlaing was barred from attending an Asean summit for his failure to cease hostilities, allow humanitarian access and start dialogue, as agreed with Asean. But in a further sign of divisions in the 10-member bloc, Hun Sen last month said junta officials should be allowed to attend Asean meetings. Min Ko Naing, a leading activist in Myanmar, said in a social media post that Hun Sen would face massive protests over his visit, which would hurt Asean. Hun Sen is one of the world’s longest serving leaders and Western countries and human rights groups have long condemned him for crackdowns on opponents, civil rights groups and the media in Cambodia. His party now holds all seats in parliament after a court banned the main opposition party ahead of a 2018 election. Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Research Emerlynne Gil said the trip risked sending mixed messages to Mynamar’s military leader and Hun Sen should instead lead Asean to strong action to address the country’s “dire human rights situation”. US-funded Radio Free Asia cited a junta spokesman as saying Hun Sen would not meet Suu Kyi, who has been detained since the coup and is on trial, facing nearly a dozen cases that carry a combined maximum sentence of more than 100 years in prison.

Sudanese security forces shot dead three protesters yesterday during the latest mass demonstrations demanding a transition to civilian rule after a coup, medics said. The latest killings bring to 60 the death toll in a security clampdown since the October 25 military takeover, said the Central Committee of Sudan Doctors, which is part of the pro-democracy movement. One of the slain demonstrators took a “live bullet to the head by the putschist forces as he took part in demonstrations” in the capital’s twin city of Omdurman, the doctors said. The second, who also has not been identified, “was hit by a live bullet to the pelvis” during the Omdurman protests while the third was killed in North Khartoum due to “live bullets to the chest”, they added. The medics also counted more than 300 wounded including by live rounds, rubber bullets, and other injuries due to the persistent firing of tear gas. Their deaths came a day after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken appealed on Twitter for Sudanese security forces to “cease using lethal force against demonstrators”. Authorities have regularly denied using live rounds in confronting protests. Singing, beating drums, and holding up posters of others killed in demonstrations since the military takeover, protesters in the capital Khartoum shouted defiant slogans against the army. Many protesters in Khartoum were seen wounded and struggling with breathing difficulties due to the heavy firing of tear gas, according to the witnesses. Demonstrators remain undeterred by the risks, which on November 17 saw 15 protesters shot dead in the bloodiest day so far. “We will not stop until we get our country back,” shouted one protester, Samar al-Tayeb, 22. Other demonstrators set fire to tyres to create burning barricades on the streets. Crowds were marching towards the presidential palace in Khartoum when security forces fired volleys of tear gas that formed thick and choking clouds, witnesses said. Protesters hurled back stones at security forces, they added. “Our marches will continue until we restore our revolution and our civilian government, even if martyrs fall among us,” said Mojataba Hussein, a 23-year-old protester. The power grab by military chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan was one of several in Sudan’s post-independence history. It dismantled a precarious power-sharing arrangement between the military and civilians established in the wake of the April 2019 ouster of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir. The protests yesterday came days after prime minister Abdalla Hamdok resigned, leaving the military fully in charge. Hamdok had been held under house arrest for weeks following the coup, before being reinstated in a November 21 deal after international pressure. The protest movement called the November pact a “betrayal” for providing what they said was a cloak of legitimacy for Burhan’s coup, and kept up its rallies. When Hamdok stepped down on Sunday, he said Sudan was at a “dangerous crossroads threatening its very survival”. Western nations say the solution is dialogue, a point made in a tweet on Wednesday by Blinken who urged “an immediate, Sudanese-led, and internationally facilitated dialogue”. Demonstrations again took place yesterday in other cities as well as the capital, witnesses said. “The authority is that of the people,” protesters chanted in Wad Madani, demanding soldiers “go back to the barracks”. In Atbara, protesters called on Burhan to “hand over the country’s keys and leave”, witnesses said. Crowds in the central state of North Kordofan chanted “No, no to military rule” while waving and draped in the national flag. Others took to the streets in Central and South Darfur states, according to witnesses. On Tuesday the United States, European Union, Britain and Norway warned the military against naming their own successor to Hamdok, saying that without involvement of “a broad range of civilian stakeholders” such a move could plunge the country into conflict. Yesterday state-media quoted Burhan’s media adviser Taher Abouhaga as saying, in an apparent reference to the absence of a government: “The void must be filled in the least possible time.”  Web monitoring group NetBlocks said that the mobile Internet was cut from mid-morning yesterday, and wider Internet access and phone lines were also disrupted, a tactic repeatedly used in an attempt to disrupt activists.