Malian court sentences 46 Ivorian 'mercenary' soldiers to 20-year jail – Newstrends
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Malian court sentences 46 Ivorian ‘mercenary’ soldiers to 20-year jail

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The Malian judiciary has sentenced to 20 years in prison 46 soldiers from neighbouring Ivory Coast who were arrested at Bamako airport in July after being accused by the military junta of being “mercenaries”.

The Bamako Court of Appeal also ordered the defendants to pay a fine of two million francs for the crimes of attacking the government, attacking state security and transporting arms or ammunition with the aim of “disturbing public order”.

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On the other hand, the Malian justice has condemned to death for the same offenses, but in absentia, three Ivorian soldiers released last September, according to the news portal aBamako.

Ivory Coast assured that the soldiers were in Mali “as part of the operations of the logistics of the national support elements” to the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA).

For his part, MINUSMA spokesman Olivier Salgado said that the detained soldiers “were not part of one of the MINUSMA contingents.” “These soldiers have been deployed for years in Mali as part of a logistical support on behalf of one of our contingents,” he stressed.

Source: (EUROPA PRESS)/News 360

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Senegal begins voting for new president

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Senegal begins voting for new president

Senegal began voting Sunday for a new president in an unpredictable race following three years of turmoil and political crisis.

Around 7.3 million voters are registered in the West African nation where two favourites have emerged: the governing coalition’s former prime minister Amadou Ba and anti-establishment candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye.

They were both once tax inspectors but now appear to have little in common. Ba, 62, is offering continuity while the 43-year-old Faye promises profound change and left-wing pan-Africanism.

Both say they will claim a first-round victory – but a second round looks probable with 15 other candidates in the field, including a sole woman, at a date yet to be decided.

Former Dakar mayor Khalifa Sall, 68, is considered to have an outside chance.

“It’s a symbolic and historic day for me because it wasn’t easy to hold these elections, it was gained through a great fight,” voter Mohamed Bop, 42, told AFP in Dakar.

“So, I’m very relieved and proud,” he added.

The eventual winner will be tasked with steering traditionally stable Senegal out of its recent troubles, and managing revenues from oil and gas reserves that are shortly to start production.

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Voting will end at 1800 GMT and provisional results could be known overnight. The first official results are expected during the coming week.

Senegal has traditionally been considered a beacon of democracy and stability in the coup-hit region, where Russia is strengthening its influence.

Raucous campaign
Hundreds of observers will be out representing civil society, the African Union, the ECOWAS regional group and the European Union.

A raucous campaign, lasting just two weeks after being shortened, followed a dramatic last-minute delay to the election date, originally scheduled for February 25.

President Macky Sall’s intervention to delay the presidential vote sparked unrest that left four people dead.

Sall, who won praise abroad last year by renouncing a possible third-term bid, said he called off the vote over fears it would not go smoothly.

After weeks of political crisis, the country’s top constitutional body stepped in and forced him to reset the date to March 24, despite clashing with the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Sall’s hand-picked would-be successor Ba has positioned himself as a last bastion against “bandits” and urged people to vote “for experience and competence instead of entrusting the reins of the country to adventurers”.

“We don’t need officials who need two years of apprenticeship,” Ba said at his final campaign rally on Friday.

“We need to consolidate what we have. We need to go even faster and further,” he said, with a vow to create one million jobs in five years.

But he must also face the darker side of Sall’s legacy that includes mass arrests, persistent poverty and 20 percent unemployment, and thousands of migrants setting off on the perilous voyage to Europe each year.

Senegal begins voting for new president

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Niger revokes military accord with US, junta spokesperson says

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Niger revokes military accord with US, junta spokesperson says

NIAMEY, March 16 (Reuters) – Niger’s ruling junta has revoked with immediate effect a military accord that allows military personnel and civilian staff from the U.S. Department of Defense on its soil, junta spokesperson Colonel Amadou Abdramane said on Saturday.

The decision follows a visit by U.S. officials this week which was led by Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Molly Phee and included General Michael Langley, commander of the U.S. Africa Command.

Abdramane, speaking on television in the West African nation, said the U.S. delegation did not follow diplomatic protocol, and that Niger was not informed about the composition of the delegation, the date of its arrival or the agenda.

He added that the discussions were around the current military transition in Niger, military cooperation between the two countries and Niger’s choice of partners in the fight against militants linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State.

A U.S. official, speaking on the condition anonymity, said senior U.S. officials had “frank discussions” in Niamey earlier this week about the trajectory of Niger’s ruling military council – known as the CNSP.

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“We are in touch with the CNSP and will provide further updates as warranted,” the official added.

Since seizing power in July last year, the Niger junta, like the military rulers in neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso, have kicked out French and other European forces, and turned to Russia for support.

“Niger regrets the intention of the American delegation to deny the sovereign Nigerien people the right to choose their partners and types of partnerships capable of truly helping them fight against terrorism,” Abdramane said.

“Also, the government of Niger forcefully denounces the condescending attitude accompanied by the threat of retaliation from the head of the American delegation towards the Nigerien government and people,” he added.

There were about 1,100 U.S. troops in Niger as of last year, where the U.S. military operates out of two bases, including a drone base known as Air Base 201, built near Agadez in central Niger at a cost of more than $100 million.

Since 2018 the base has been used to target Islamic State militants and Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen, an al Qaeda affiliate, in the Sahel region.

Abdramane said the status and presence of U.S. troops in Niger was illegal and violated constitutional and democratic rules because, according to the spokesperson, it was unilaterally imposed on the African nation in 2012.

He said Niger was not aware of the number of U.S. civilian and military personnel on its soil or the amount of equipment deployed and, according to the agreement, the U.S. military had no obligation to respond to any request for help against militants.

“In light of all the above, the government of Niger, revokes with immediate effect the agreement concerning the status of United States military personnel and civilian employees of the American Department of Defense on the territory of the Republic of Niger,” Abdramane said.

Niger revokes military accord with US, junta spokesperson says

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Anti-gay, Lesbian bill: Ghana to lose $3.8billion world bank funding

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Anti-gay, Lesbian bill: Ghana to lose $3.8billion world bank funding

The Ghanian government is posed to lose the total of $3.8 billion in World Bank funding over a recent Anti-LGBTQ bill passed by its parliament last week.

The finance ministry of Ghana has appealed to the president to withhold his signature from the contentious bill against LGBT rights, which was approved by parliament.

According to the BBC, the financial authorities in Ghana is suggesting that President Nana Akufo-Addo postpone the enactment of the bill until a Supreme Court decision verifies its compliance with the constitution.

Meanwhile, human rights organizations filed a legal challenge against the bill even before its approval by parliament, though it’s anticipated that the Supreme Court won’t hear the case for a while.

The US, UK and various human rights groups have already condemned the bill, which was backed by both of Ghana’s two main political parties.

On his part, Akufo-Addo is said to be engaging in consultations with important governmental departments and donors to gauge the effects of the Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values legislation.

According to the IMF, diversity and inclusion are values it embraces.

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“Our internal policies prohibit discrimination based on personal characteristics, including but not limited to gender, gender expression, or sexual orientation. Like institutions, diverse and inclusive economies flourish.

“We are watching recent developments in Ghana closely.

“We cannot comment on a bill that has not yet been signed into law and whose economic and financial implications we have yet to assess,” IMF told Bloomberg in response to the bill.

What you should know
Ghana heavily leans on the IMF for its financial well-being. In the aftermath of a debt default, it requested a $3 billion lifeline and is now involved in the process of rearranging its debt obligations.

On January 19, the IMF sanctioned the disbursement of an additional $600 million to Ghana as part of its three-year crisis intervention plan.

Meanwhile, officials warn that Ghana might forfeit around $850 million in aid this year with the recent bill, a loss expected to further strain the struggling economy, deplete foreign reserves, and impact the stability of the exchange rate.

Uganda adopted a similar policy the last year, imposing stricter penalties that include life imprisonment and even the death penalty. Following this, the nation was subjected to severe economic sanctions from diverse international groups.

The World Bank then stopped its financial support for Uganda in response to concerns over human rights, specifically regarding the country’s anti-homosexuality law.

The United States also removed Uganda from the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a trade initiative started in 2000 aimed at enhancing economic ties between the U.S. and African nations.

Anti-gay, Lesbian bill: Ghana to lose $3.8billion world bank funding

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