UN Warns Sudan Gum Arabic Trade Helps Sustain Civil War
The United Nations human rights office on Wednesday called on states, businesses and parties linked to Sudan’s globally-relevant gum arabic industry to uphold international law, warning that profits from the sector are helping sustain the country’s civil war. The conflict between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), now in its fourth year, has displaced millions and devastated much of the country. Sudan produces around 80% of the world’s gum arabic, a natural substance harvested from acacia trees and widely used to mix, stabilise and thicken ingredients in mass-market products including soft drinks, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. In a report, the U.N. said significant amounts of the commodity had been taken from areas controlled by the RSF and smuggled into neighbouring transit countries, from which they are exported as locally produced items – making it hard to track. Some gum arabic has also been taken from areas controlled by the Sudanese Armed Forces and transported to Port Sudan for export, it added. Reuters
Suspected RSF Drone Strike Hits Power Station, Military Sites in Sudan’s Al-Dabbah
A suspected Rapid Support Forces (RSF) drone attack targeted an electricity substation and military sites in the town of Al-Dabbah in Sudan’s Northern State on Wednesday, cutting power and injuring one person, local sources and officials said. Local sources told Sudan Tribune that the drone fired approximately four missiles, hitting the power substation and positions held by the Sudanese army and the allied Joint Force. The attack triggered a fire at the substation, knocking out electricity across the strategic town, the sources said. … Al-Dabbah has become a vital hub in Northern State due to its proximity to the Darfur and Kordofan regions. It hosts the state’s largest concentration of displaced people, including tens of thousands of families in the Al-Affad camp who fled fighting in El Fasher after the RSF seized the city in October last year. The town also holds significant military value as the headquarters of the Sudanese army’s 73rd Infantry Brigade. The area is defended by a coalition of forces, including the Joint Force of armed movements, tribal fighters loyal to Musa Hilal, and local Popular Resistance units. Sudan Tribune
Wagner’s Remnants Are Running an Opioid Empire in the Center of Africa
The remnants of the Russian mercenary group Wagner have established a new foothold along the upper reaches of the Oubangui River, where they run a drug empire in the Central African Republic beyond the reach of law enforcement, or even Moscow itself. This fief is based on tramadol. The painkiller is usually prescribed for relatively minor conditions, such as aching joints or people recovering from surgery. But when taken in sufficiently high doses, this opioid becomes a highly addictive stimulant known as the poor man’s cocaine. Miners at Wagner’s gold mines rely on it to work long hours. Demonstrators rallying in support of Russia’s involvement in the region take the pills to stave off hunger and fatigue. Fighters involved in the country’s yearslong insurgency take it in high doses to make themselves braver in battle. … The Central African Republic is now both a destination and a redistribution point for high-dose tramadol products across West and Central Africa, according to the Global Initiative. … The cash is enabling Wagner to import more weapons for its forces and its network of militias. … Before going into battle, Wagner commanders distribute high doses of tramadol to fighters to enhance aggression and suppress fear, researchers say. The growing use of the drug has coincided with rising death tolls, with fatalities in battles for control of mineral-rich regions rising by nearly 20% to about 500 over the past year, according to data from Uppsala University in Sweden. Wall Street Journal
Nigeria: NAF, Police Deepen Strategic Communication to Boost National Security
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) and the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening inter-agency collaboration through enhanced strategic communication to support national security objectives. The renewed commitment was made during a courtesy visit by the newly appointed Force Public Relations Officer, Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Anietie Okokon Edem Iniedu, to the Director of Public Relations and Information of the Nigerian Air Force, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, at the NAF Headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday. The meeting highlighted the importance of coordinated communication, information sharing and public engagement in promoting national security and strengthening public confidence in Nigeria’s security institutions. During the engagement, both senior public affairs officials stressed the need for closer collaboration in communicating the activities and strategic objectives of their respective organisations. They noted that improved synergy would help reinforce public trust, counter misinformation and project a unified national security narrative. PR Nigeria
Uganda Opposition Leader Refuses Court-appointed Lawyers at Treason Trial
Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye refused to accept the lawyers being forced upon him for his treason trial on Wednesday after his chosen advocates were arrested or barred from the country. Besigye, 70, a long-time rival of President Yoweri Museveni, has been in jail since late 2024 when he was kidnapped in Kenya and smuggled back to Uganda. Last month, his main lawyer, former Kampala mayor Erias Lukwago, was seized by the army and thrown in jail, while his other lead lawyer, Kenya’s Martha Karua, was barred from entering the country. When his treason trial began on Monday, the court said he had to choose from a list of state-approved lawyers, but Besigye has refused. “The legal team we had is one in whose competence we placed full confidence,” he told the court on Wednesday. The judge said he had two weeks to accept the lawyers and adjourned the case until July 29. Human rights lawyer Eron Kiiza told AFP that Besigye’s “chosen lawyers have been deported, abducted and terrorised” and the court has become “an instrument of the very power it exists to restrain”. Uganda has seen mounting political repression in recent months, with the army arresting opposition figures, lawyers and shutting down a major media group. Africanews
Two Nigerien Journalists Freed after Months in Detention
Two journalists in Niger have been released from prison, their families and a court source confirmed Wednesday. Youssouf Seriba, editor-in-chief of the news site Les Echos du Niger, and Oumarou Kane, who edits the newspaper Le Herisson, had been held since November 2025. … The case centered on a leaked invitation. It was for a press briefing held by the Solidarity Front, a body Niger’s military government set up to seek donations from the public. The invitation ended up circulating on social media. Supporters of ousted president Mohamed Bazoum then used it to criticize the ruling junta. A third journalist, arrested over the same leak, remains in custody. Niger has been under military rule since 2023, when the army removed elected president Mohamed Bazoum from power. Since then, journalists, activists, and civil society figures have increasingly found themselves behind bars. The United Nations says 13 journalists were arrested in Niger in 2025. Three were released in May, including a correspondent for Germany’s Deutsche Welle. Africanews with AFP
The Ugandan City where the Race for a New Ebola Vaccine Will Be Won or Lost
The small Ugandan city of Masaka is known mostly for its coffee, grown on rich volcanic soils that produce beans which have a caramel-chocolate flavour. But it will soon be known for something very different: it is here where the UK’s bid to be first to produce a new Ebola vaccine will be won or lost. In the coming weeks, 110 volunteers in Masaka are set to receive an experimental shot against the rare Bundibugyo species of Ebola. … The Phase I trial, designed primarily to establish whether the jab is safe, is a vital step towards creating a much-needed vaccine. … The study is a collaboration between the University of Oxford and a leading research unit in Uganda, a branch of the UK’s Medical Research Council (MRC) that is situated inside the Ugandan Virus Research Institute (UVRI). … The scientists say they have built up strong relationships with communities in and around Masaka, which are essential when asking volunteers to take part in clinical trials. The team will shortly be required to present their ethical case to Uganda’s National Ethics Committee, in which they will need to prove that participants have given informed consent and understand the risks involved. Telegraph
‘Moment of Joy’ as Uganda Discharges Last Ebola Patient
The last patient being treated for Ebola in Uganda has been discharged from hospital, leaving the country with no active confirmed cases of the deadly disease. A 42-day countdown now begins before Uganda can officially be declared Ebola-free, as long as no new infections emerge. The first case in this outbreak of the Bundibugyo species of the virus in Uganda was confirmed in May. The patient was a man who had travelled from neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, the outbreak’s epicentre, for medical treatment. In all, Uganda recorded 20 confirmed cases, mostly among visitors from DR Congo, and two deaths. … Speaking after Uganda’s last Ebola patient left hospital, Health Minister Dr Chris Baryomunsi described it as “a moment of joy”. “It demonstrates that with early detection, prompt treatment and a strong health system, Ebola can be defeated.” Nevertheless, the ministry of health has urged people to “remain vigilant”. BBC
Morocco Releases Dissident Journalist Ali Lmrabet
A Moroccan prosecutor said on Wednesday he had ordered the release of veteran journalist and political commentator Ali Lmrabet after questioning him, although an investigation continues following allegations of defamation and libel. Lmrabet, 66, who holds French nationality and lives in Spain, was arrested on Sunday on arrival at Tangier airport. He is a political commentator on social media and has been an outspoken critic of Morocco’s political system for decades. … In an earlier statement, the prosecutor’s office said Lmrabet’s arrest was on the basis of several notices issued against him over online content suspected of constituting criminal offences under Moroccan law, including alleged defamation and libel targeting individuals and institutions. In 2003, Lmrabet was jailed after being convicted on charges that included offending King Mohammed VI. In 2005, a Moroccan court banned him from practising journalism in Morocco for 10 years. Reuters
A Boat Carrying Migrants Capsizes off Libya’s Coast, with at Least 50 Dead or Missing
A boat carrying about 60 migrants, including women and children, bound for European shores capsized off the coast of eastern Libya in the latest maritime tragedy off the North African country. At least 50 are dead or missing, authorities said. The shipwreck occurred on Tuesday near Bardaa Island, off the coastal city of Tobruk, according to Coast Guard authorities in eastern Libya. They said 10 survivors managed to swim to the island to save themselves. The search for others continues, the Coast Guard said. It was the latest tragedy off Libya, one of the main departure points for migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea and reach European shores for a better life there. Last month a shipwreck off eastern Libya left 51 migrants dead or missing. … More than 800 migrants were reported dead or missing in the central Mediterranean route between Jan. 1 and May 16 this year, according to the International Organization for Migration. Last year saw more than 1,300 migrants perish or go missing on that route, it said. AP