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☆ Top diplomats, former UN officials seek to fix 'Wild West' of peacemaking
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

But the framework's proponents, who have just completed a two-year consultation period in dozens of countries, say today's peace brokers are applying the wrong strategy. "You could say 'Why the hell are people talking about peace when the whole thing falls apart?' "Right now the peacemaking space is like the Wild West," said Hiba Qasas, the executive director of the Principles for Peace Initiative, who is Palestinian and a former U.N. official. Current shortcomings are widely acknowledged and U.N. chief Antonio Guterres is working on a so-called "New Agenda For Peace" this year. (This story has been corrected to change "UN officials" to "former UN officials" in the headline)Reporting by Emma Farge; Editing by Hugh LawsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Over 60 women, children freed in Burkina Faso after kidnapping
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Thiam Ndiaga | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

OUAGADOUGOU, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Sixty-six women and children kidnapped by armed assailants in northern Burkina Faso last week have been freed, national broadcaster Radiodiffusion Télévision du Burkina (RTP) said on Friday. The mass kidnapping was unprecedented in Burkina Faso, which is facing a violent Islamist insurgency that spread from neighbouring Mali in 2015. Security forces staged a rescue operation and found 27 adult women and 39 babies, children and young girls in the adjacent Centre-North province. Burkina Faso is one of several countries in West Africa battling a rampant insurgency with links to al Qaeda and Islamic State. Frustration over the authorities' failure to restore security and protect civilians were contributing factors to military coups in Burkina Faso and Mali.

☆ Madagascar solar firm secures funding to connect 50,000 households
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Duncan Miriri | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NAIROBI, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Madagascar's WeLight, an off-grid solar company, has secured 19 million euros ($20.57 million) to connect 50,000 households to electricity in the next two years, it said on Tuesday. Off-grid solar power, spearheaded by a variety of start-ups, has gained in popularity in Africa because it can affordably connect millions of homes which are left off mainstream electricity grids to clean power. The project is being financed by the European Investment Bank (EBI), EDFI ElectriFI and Triodos Investment Management, WeLight said in a joint statement. WeLight, which is owned by Madagascar's Axian Group, Norwegian investment fund Norfund and Sagemcon, already provides solar power to 9,000 rural Malagasy households. WeLight builds small solar power plants, storage units, distribution lines and installs a meter at each customer's premises, offering round the clock electricity, it said.

☆ Former Russian mercenary commander fled to Norway and is willing to give evidence of its worst crimes in Ukraine, lawyer says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A former commander for the notorious Wagner Group fled Russia and is now seeking asylum in Norway. Andrey Medvedev left Russia fearful for his life after leaving the group, his lawyer told Insider. Risnes told Insider that Medvedev enlisted with the Wagner Group last summer. The Wagner Group, which is increasingly recruiting from Russian prisons, is alleged by a variety of organizations to have committed actions in Ukraine that would constitute war crimes. The Wagner Group has previously been deployed in Libya, Syria, and in other destinations across the world.

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, center, with soldiers in what they said was a salt mine in Soledar, Ukraine in this image released on Jan. 11. By contrast, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov neither confirmed that Soledar had fallen to Russian forces or mentioned the Wagner group’s involvement in attempts to take it. Russia has consistently denied the involvement of the Wagner Group in its official military operations. Prigozhin during the funeral of Wagner group fighter near St. Petersburg, on Christmas Eve. To date, the hawks have been far louder than the pragmatists, and a chorus of hard-right bloggers have excoriated Russia’s military performance, while television pundits have called for a tougher approach.

☆ French minister says France still committed to Burkina Faso despite tension
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Benoit TessierOUAGADOUGOU, Jan 10 (Reuters) - A French minister said on Tuesday her government would not stop supporting Burkina Faso in its fight against Islamist militants and wished to remain involved despite growing anti-French sentiment and diplomatic tensions. Relations between France and Burkina Faso, a former French colony, have deteriorated following two military coups this year that were partly spurred by local authorities' failure to protect civilians from jihadist attacks. Tensions flared last month, when the Burkina Faso government requested the replacement of France's ambassador. Protests by opponents of the French military presence surged this year, partly linked to perceptions that France has not done enough to improve security. Zacharopoulou said French troops would remain in Burkina Faso "as long as their presence is desired".

☆ The financial prize of huge salt mines could have driven Russia's Wagner Group to sacrifice 1,000 men to capture the city of Bakhmut, says White House
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A White House official told Reuters that the head of Wagner Group wants salt and gypsum from Bakhmut. Mercenaries from Wagner Group, the private paramilitary group, have been fighting on the front lines in Bakhmut, in eastern Ukraine, along with Russian armed forces. The Wagner Group has paid a bloody price in the fighting around Bakhmut. Ukrainian soldiers walk to the frontline in Bakhmut, Ukraine on December 16, 2022. The Wagner Group, which is aligned with the Kremlin, has an active presence in several African countries.

☆ Putin ally Prigozhin grants freedom to first Russian convicts who fought in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of Russia’s most powerful mercenary group, bade farewell on Thursday to former convicts who had served out their contracts in Ukraine and urged them to avoid the temptation to kill when back in civilian life. Wagner Group, originally staffed by battle-hardened veterans of the Russian armed forces, has fought in Libya, Syria, the Central African Republic and Mali as well as in Ukraine. After President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24, Prigozhin emerged from the shadows and recruited thousands of men from prisons, offering them the chance of freedom in return for serving in some of the most dangerous battles in Ukraine. “Don’t booze too much, don’t take drugs, don’t rape women — (sex) only for love or for money as they say,” Prigozhin was shown saying to the former convicts, who laughed. “The police should treat you with respect.”“You have learned a great deal — first of all: how to kill the enemy,” Prigozhin told them on a bus.

☆ U.S. thinks Putin ally Prigozhin wants control of salt, gypsum from mines near Bakhmut
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Steve Holland | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A destroyed house is seen, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine January 5, 2023. REUTERS/Anna KudriavtsevaWASHINGTON, Jan 5 (Reuters) - The United States is of the view that Russian President Vladimir Putin's ally Yevgeny Prigozhin, who is the founder of Russia's most powerful mercenary group, is interested in taking control of salt and gypsum from mines near the Ukrainian-held city of Bakhmut, a White House official said on Thursday. There are indications that monetary motives are driving Russia's and Prigozhin's "obsession" with Bakhmut, the official added. Prigozhin is the owner of private Russian military company Wagner Group. Reporting by Steve Holland; writing by Kanishka Singh; Editing by Leslie Adler and Cynthia OstermanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Final farewell: From Sidney Poitier to Pope Emeritus Benedict a look back at the influential figures who died in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +55 min

Other world leaders who died in 2022 include former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who died in August. The final days of 2022 saw the loss of some exceptionally notable figures, including Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Here is a roll call of some influential figures who died in 2022 (cause of death cited for younger people, if available):___JANUARY___Dan Reeves, 77. A Cuban-born artist whose radiant color palette and geometric paintings were overlooked for decades before the art world took notice. A prolific character actor best known for playing villains and tough guys in “The Manchurian Candidate,” “Ocean’s Eleven” and other films.

☆ Mali sentences 46 Ivorian soldiers to 20 years for conspiring against government
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BAMAKO, Dec 30 (Reuters) - A court in Mali sentenced 46 soldiers from Ivory Coast to 20 years imprisonment on Friday for conspiring against the government, and three others to death in absentia. Forty-nine Ivorian soldiers were arrested at the airport in Mali's capital Bamako in July, three of whom were later released. Mali's ruling junta said the soldiers were acting as mercenaries, while Ivory Coast said they were part of a United Nations peacekeeping mission. Ivory Coast said its troops were being held hostage, and has made repeated pleas for their release. The country announced last month it would withdraw its remaining soldiers from the U.N. peacekeeping mission.

☆ Exclusive: US says Russia's Wagner Group bought North Korean weapons for Ukraine war
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Steve Holland | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"We can confirm that North Korea has completed an initial arms delivery to Wagner, which paid for the equipment. Last month, North Korea delivered infantry rockets and missiles into Russia for use by Wagner," the official said, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity. The Biden administration on Wednesday unveiled new curbs on technology exports to the Wagner Group in a bid to further choke off supplies to the contractor. The Wagner Group, staffed by veterans of the Russian armed forces, has fought in Libya, Syria, the Central African Republic and Mali, among other countries. "It is apparent that Wagner is emerging as a rival power center to the Russian military and other Russian ministries," the official said.

☆ Burkina Faso summons Ghanaian ambassador over Wagner allegations
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

OUAGADOUGOU, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Burkina Faso summoned the Ghanaian ambassador on Friday morning for "explanations" after Ghana's president alleged that Burkina Faso had hired the Russian mercenary group Wagner, Burkina Faso's foreign ministry said. Burkina Faso has now entered into an arrangement to go along with Mali in employing the Wagner forces there," Akufo-Addo said, adding that it was a distressing development for Ghana. Akufo-Addo also alleged that Burkina Faso had offered Wagner a mine as payment. In a statement issued after the meeting with the ambassador, Burkina Faso's foreign ministry said it had "expressed disapproval" about the statements made by the Ghanaian president. Burkina Faso also recalled its ambassador from Ghana for a meeting, the spokesperson said.

☆ Founder of Russian private militia accuses France in Central African Republic attack
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Dec 16 (Reuters) - The head of a Russian private militia accused France of attempting to assassinate the head of a Russian representative office in the Central African Republic, who was seriously injured on Friday after opening a mail bomb. Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the once-secretive Russian private military contractor Wagner Group, which has supported Central African Republic's (CAR) army since 2018 but gained wider attention with its role in Russia's war in Ukraine, blamed France for the attack. He said he had asked Russian Foreign Ministry to open the procedure for declaring France a state sponsor of terrorism. Prigozhin called Syty "a patriot of Russia and the Central African Republic". Last year, a United Nations report said Russian military instructors and local troops in the Central African Republic had targeted civilians with excessive force, indiscriminate killings, occupation of schools and large-scale looting.

☆ Burkina Faso aware of the dangers of Wagner force -France
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( John Irish | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Speaking to reporters alongside U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday, Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo alleged that Burkina Faso had hired the mercenaries. Burkina Faso has now entered into an arrangement to go along with Mali in employing the Wagner forces there," he said. Prime minister of Burkina Faso in the last 10 days has been in Moscow. Officials from Burkina Faso did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Burkina Faso has not said publicly that it would consider hiring Wagner mercenaries.

☆ EU to discuss Russia, Iran sanctions, top up of Ukraine arms fund
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, Dec 12 (Reuters) - European Union foreign ministers will meet on Monday to try to agree on further sanctions on Russia and Iran and an additional 2 billion euros ($2.11 billion) for arms deliveries to Ukraine. However, it remained unclear whether Hungary will block some decisions, resorting to what diplomats have denounced as "blackmail diplomacy" due to a dispute over locked EU funds for Budapest. Foreign ministers will discuss a ninth package of Russia sanctions that is set to place almost 200 more individuals and entities on the EU sanctions list. They are also due to review new sanctions on Iranian people and organisations over human rights abuses in Tehran's crackdown on protesters and the supply of drones to Russia. Before their meeting, ministers will talk with the counterparts from the Eastern Partnership - Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine - nations the EU has sought to stabilise in the face of Russia's war in Ukraine.

Fawaz Ould Ahmed was taken into custody by the United States and brought to New York on Friday, the Justice Department said in a statement. Ahmed received a death penalty in Mali after pleading guilty to planning and executing the deadly attacks targeting Westerners. The Justice Department said a total of 38 people had died in the three incidents. "The defendant's alleged actions — inhumanely plotting and carrying out ruthless terrorist attacks — were not forgotten and will not be forgiven," said FBI assistant director-in-charge Michael Driscoll. Ahmed told the Malian court that he did not regret the attacks and that he had been seeking revenge for cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad printed in Charlie Hebdo.

☆ German aid worker freed after kidnapping four years ago in Niger, says employer
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DAKAR, Dec 10 (Reuters) - A 63-year-old German aid worker, Joerg Lange, has been freed more than four years after he was kidnapped in western Niger near the Malian border, his employer, humanitarian organisation Help, said in a statement on Saturday. "We are very relieved and grateful that our colleague Joerg Lange can return to his family after more than four and a half years," Help Managing Director Bianca Kaltschmitt said. She thanked the German Foreign Office and other German authorities, as well as "authorities and friends in Mali, Niger and neighbouring countries". An engineer by training, Lange had worked in the humanitarian sector for more than thirty years before he was kidnapped. Reporting by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Peter Graff and Jan HarveyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UK sanctions 30 people, targeting corruption and human rights abuse
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Britain on Friday announced sanctions targeting 30 people around the world who it described as "corrupt political figures, human rights violators and perpetrators of conflict-related sexual violence." It said the sanctions were coordinated with international partners to mark International Anti-Corruption Day and Global Human Rights Day and included individuals involved in activities including the torture of prisoners and the mobilisation of troops to rape civilians. "Today our sanctions go further to expose those behind the heinous violations of our most fundamental rights," Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said in a statement. They included targets from 11 countries, including:- 10 Iranian officials connected to Iran’s judicial and prison systems- Figures involved in the Myanmar military junta- Russian Colonel Ibatullin for his role as the commander of the 90th Tank Division- Mali's Katiba Macina group, also known as the Macina Liberation Front, over what Britain said was links to sexual violence- Officials in South Sudan over what Britain said were links to sexual violenceReporting by William James, Editing by Kylie MacLellanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ West African leaders plan peacekeeping force to counter 'coup belt' reputation
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Felix Onuah | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Afolabi SotundeABUJA, Dec 4 (Reuters) - West African leaders said on Sunday they would establish a regional peacekeeping force to intervene in member states to help restore security and constitutional order in a region that has witnessed several coups in the past two years. West and Central Africa has made strides in the past decade to shed its reputation as a "coup belt", but the Economic Commission for West African States (ECOWAS) wants to do more to boost constitutional government in its member states. The ECOWAS leaders also expressed concern over the continued detention of 46 Ivorian soldiers in Mali. They asked Malian authorities to release the soldiers by the end of this month. Reporting by Felix Onuah; Writing by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by David HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Mysterious aircraft dropped bombs near a base for Russia's Wagner Group mercenaries fighting in Central African Republic
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

An unknown aircraft dropped bombs near a Wagner Group base in the Central African Republic. The Wagner Group is a Kremlin-linked private military contractor founded by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Specifically, in the Central African Republic, the Russian fighters work with the country's military. The International Crisis Group, a non-profit think tank, says up to 2,000 Wagner fighters are in the country and have helped to combat rebel groups. Additionally, Wagner fighters have been accused of atrocities in other African nations — like killing hundreds of civilians in Mali or committing war crimes in Libya.

☆ Vatican court hears cardinal's secretly taped phone call with pope
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Vatican Media/Handout via REUTERS/File PhotoVATICAN CITY, Nov 24 (Reuters) - A court at a Vatican corruption trial on Thursday heard a secretly recorded telephone call between the main defendant, embattled Cardinal Angelo Becciu, and Pope Francis. The money was sent to a company she had set up in Slovenia and she received some in cash, the court has been told. He told the court how he was ordered to make payments he considered unusual. The trial revolves around the purchase of a building in London by the Secretariat of State. The 10 defendants include former Vatican employees and Italian middle men who the prosecution says extorted the Vatican.

☆ France's Macron accuses Russia of 'predatory' influence in Africa
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

PARIS, Nov 20 (Reuters) - President Emmanuel Macron accused Russia of feeding anti-French propaganda in Africa to serve "predatory" ambitions in troubled African nations, where France has suffered military setbacks and a wider loss of influence over recent years. "This perception is fed by others, it's a political project," Macron told TV5 Monde in an interview. France, the former colonial power in most of Western and central Africa, has longstanding military ties across Francophone Africa and French troops were stationed in Mali for a decade as part of a counter-terrorism operation. It has also been jockeying for influence with Russia in recent years, with the deployment of private military contractor Wagner Group in several countries, including in the Central African Republic (CAR) and in Mali. "It's done with the complicity of a Russian military junta," he said.

☆ Sledgehammer execution of Russian mercenary who defected to Ukraine shown on video
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Nov 13 (Reuters) - A video purportedly showing the sledgehammer execution of a former Russian mercenary who switched sides to back Ukraine was circulated on Russian social media on Sunday, with pro-Russian bloggers saying it was revenge for his alleged treachery. In an unverified video distributed on Telegram channels which Russian media said were linked to the Wagner mercenary group, the man identified himself as Yevgenny Nuzhin, 55, and said he had changed sides to "fight against the Russians". Wagner group, originally staffed by veterans of the Russian armed forces, has fought in Libya, Syria, the Central African Republic, Mali and Ukraine, among other countries. Wagner has been recruiting convicts in Russian jails in recent months, according to a video which showed Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner mercenary group, speaking to convicts in a Russian jail. Asked to comment on the execution video, Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner mercenary group, said in remarks released by his spokeswoman that the video should be called "A dog receives a dog's death."

☆ World’s best spicy foods: 20 dishes to try
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Terry Ward | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

When it comes to the world’s best spicy dishes, we have some of the world’s hottest peppers to thank, along with incredible layers of flavor and a long, spice-loving human history. Peppers – a headliner for heat – are rated on the Scoville Heat Units scale, which measures capsaicin and other active components of chile peppers. And it’s the perky red pepper of the same name that brings the spiciness to this complex, layered and delicious dish. “The peperoncino (red chile pepper) is what makes this sauce ‘angry’ (arrabbiata) or spicy,” Chris MacLean of Italy-based Open Tuesday Wines said via email. FomaA/Adobe StockThe fiery Ethiopian spice blend called berbere – aromatic with chile peppers, basil, cardamom, garlic and ginger – is instrumental to the flavor chorus that’s doro wat, Ethiopia’s much-loved spicy chicken stew.

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