Tanzania’s First Gentleman Hafidh Ameir Laid to Rest at Burial Attended by Joho, Sudi

By BRUHAN MAKONG 

7th Sep 2026 

Tanzania’s First Gentleman Hafidh Ameir laid to rest at burial attended by Joho, Sudi

Hafidh, who died on Monday, was buried in his home area of Kizimkazi, leaving behind two widows, four children and 15 grandchildren/Swahili Times

NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 7 — Tanzania’s First Gentleman Hafidh Ameir Hassan was buried in Kizimkazi, South Unguja, on Monday, hours after his death, as political and religious leaders from across Tanzania joined President Samia Suluhu Hassan and her family to mourn his passing.

The funeral prayer was led by Zanzibar Grand Mufti Sheikh Saleh Omar Kaabi, with senior government officials, political leaders and religious figures attending the ceremony.

Among those present were Zanzibar President Hussein Ali Mwinyi, Vice President Deogratius Ndejembi and Prime Minister Mwigulu Nchemba.

The funeral brought together senior figures from Tanzania’s political establishment, including Second Vice President Hemec Suleiman Abdullah, former President Jakaya Kikwete and former Zanzibar presidents Amani Abeid Karume and Ali Mohammed Shein.

Kenya was represented at the funeral by Mining and Blue Economy Cabinet Secretary Hassan Joho and Kapsaret MP Oscar Sudi, who attended on behalf of the Kenyan government and people.

Former Zanzibar First Vice President Othman Masoud Othman also attended, alongside ministers and deputy ministers from the Union Government and the Zanzibar Revolutionary Government.

Hafidh, who died on Monday, was buried in his home area of Kizimkazi, leaving behind two widows, four children and 15 grandchildren.

A life in teaching and agriculture

Reading his biography at the funeral, Deputy Director of State House Communications Shabaan Kisu said Hafidh was born on January 1, 1946, in Kisakasaka village in West B District, Urban West Region, Unguja.

He completed his primary education at Kombeni Shakani School in 1960 before joining Tumekuja Secondary School in Mkunazini, where he graduated in 1965.

Hafidh joined Zanzibar Teachers’ College in 1970 and graduated in 1973. He subsequently worked as a teacher in several schools in Tanzania.

Hafidh had been receiving treatment for a heart condition before his death.

Regional leaders mourn

Hafidh’s death triggered an outpouring of condolences from leaders across Africa, with President Samia receiving messages of sympathy from Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Somalia and Zambia.

Kenyan President William Ruto said he received the news with “deep sorrow”, describing Hafidh as a distinguished Tanzanian.

“President Samia has lost a lifelong companion, her children a beloved father, and Tanzania a distinguished son,” Ruto said.

Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame, Burundi’s President Evariste Ndayishimiye, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema also sent condolences to President Samia and the Tanzanian people.

Former Senegalese President Macky Sall also mourned Hafidh, describing him as the “beloved husband” of President Samia.

The funeral came just hours after Tanzania’s Vice President announced Hafidh’s death.

“It is with great sadness that I inform you of the passing of Honorable Hafidh Ameir Hassan, husband to the President of the United Republic of Tanzania, Her Excellency Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan,” Ndejembi said.

He said Hafidh had been receiving treatment for a heart condition before his death.

“I offer my deepest condolences to Her Excellency the President, the family, relatives, friends, and all Tanzanians during this time of mourning,” he said.

The late Hafidh largely maintained a low public profile as the husband of Tanzania’s President.

Tanzania’s First Gentleman Hafidh Ameir Hassan Dies in Zanzibar

September 7, 2026 1:18 pm

Pan African Visions

Despite his historic position as Tanzania’s first First Gentleman, Hafidh Ameir Hassan maintained a largely private life away from the political spotlight.

Hafidh Ameir Hassan, husband of Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan and the country’s first First Gentleman, has died in Zanzibar.

Mr Ameir died at around 8 a.m. on Monday at Emilio Mzena Memorial Hospital, where he had been receiving treatment for a heart condition, Vice-President Deogratius Ndejembi announced.

Ndejembi conveyed condolences to President Samia, the family, relatives and friends of the deceased, as well as Tanzanians mourning the loss.

Funeral preparations were immediately set in motion in Kizimkazi, Zanzibar, following the announcement of his death.

Mr Ameir, an agricultural academic, maintained a remarkably private life despite his wife’s rise to Tanzania’s highest political office. He rarely appeared at major public functions and largely stayed away from the political spotlight.

His place in Tanzania’s history changed in March 2021 when Samia became president following the death of President John Magufuli. Her accession made her Tanzania’s first female president and Mr Ameir the country’s first First Gentleman.

The couple married in 1978, decades before Samia rose to the presidency, and had four children — three sons and a daughter.

Their daughter, Wanu Hafidh Ameir, followed a path into public life and serves in Zanzibar’s House of Representatives.

Before becoming First Gentleman, Mr Ameir was known primarily for his work in agriculture and academia. Even after his wife emerged as one of East Africa’s most prominent political leaders, he maintained the quiet profile that had characterised much of his professional and personal life.

His death brings to a close the life of a man who rarely sought public attention but occupied a unique place in Tanzania’s history as the husband of the country’s first female president.

Husband of Tanzania's President Dies While Undergoing Treatment

President Samia Suluhu and husband Hafidh Ameir Hassan

Tanzania

The husband of Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan died Monday while undergoing treatment in a hospital in Zanzibar, the country’s vice president said.

Hafidh Ameir Hassan became Tanzania’s first gentleman in 2021, when his wife took office as the country's first female president following the death of President John Magufuli. Hassan had been receiving treatment for a heart condition.

Vice President Deogratius Ndejembi announced Hassan's death and expressed his condolences to the family. He said arrangements were being made for his burial in the family’s native Zanzibar, a semiautonomous archipelago that is part of Tanzania.

President Hassan is serving a second term after winning a disputed election in 2025 with more than 97% of the vote. Candidates from the two main opposition parties were barred from running.

The couple had four children, three sons and a daughter who is a lawmaker.

Kenyan President William Ruto expressed sorrow on behalf of his government and people. “President Samia has lost a lifelong companion, her children a beloved father, and Tanzania a distinguished son,” he wrote.

Burundi’s President Evariste Ndayishimiye also sent condolences to President Hassan and the people of Tanzania.

Husband of Tanzania’s President Dies While Undergoing Hospital Treatment

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan speaks at a plenary session at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia, on June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky, File)

8:12 AM EDT, September 7, 2026

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania (AP) — The husband of Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan died Monday while undergoing treatment in a hospital in Zanzibar, the country’s vice president said.

Hafidh Ameir Hassan became Tanzania’s first gentleman in 2021, when his wife took office as the country’s first female president following the death of President John Magufuli. Hassan had been receiving treatment for a heart condition.

Vice President Deogratius Ndejembi announced Hassan’s death and expressed his condolences to the family. He said arrangements were being made for his burial in the family’s native Zanzibar, a semiautonomous archipelago that is part of Tanzania.

President Hassan is serving a second term after winning a disputed election in 2025 with more than 97% of the vote. Candidates from the two main opposition parties were barred from running.

The couple had four children, three sons and a daughter who is a lawmaker.

Kenyan President William Ruto expressed sorrow on behalf of his government and people. “President Samia has lost a lifelong companion, her children a beloved father, and Tanzania a distinguished son,” he wrote.

Burundi’s President Evariste Ndayishimiye also sent condolences to President Hassan and the people of Tanzania.

Carbon Credit Financing Emerges as Africa’s Biggest Bet for Expanding Clean Cooking

By ALLAN OLINGO

11:58 PM EDT, September 6, 2026

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Every morning, Mary Kavutha prepares breakfast for her two young children using an induction cooker in her Nairobi home. Two years ago, the businesswoman relied on a charcoal stove that filled her kitchen with smoke and cost about $1.15 in fuel each day.

Today she says, for 80 cents in electricity tokens she can cook several meals.

“It cooks much faster, and is much safer because I have young children,” Kavutha said. “With charcoal there was always smoke in the house. Now I can cook indoors comfortably, and I spend much less.”

Nearly 1 billion Africans still rely on charcoal or firewood for everyday cooking. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that household air pollution from these fuels contributes to about 850,000 deaths annually on the continent.

Like millions of other Africans, Kavutha switched not out of climate concerns but because the stoves are affordable since they are underwritten by carbon credit financing, which allows clean cooking companies to raise capital against future revenues from emission reductions.

Clean cooking companies are betting that carbon finance, long criticized over concerns about the credibility of some projects, could become Africa’s most important tool for expanding cleaner household energy and reducing pressure on forests.

Africa is moving faster to adopt clean cookstoves

In June, the IEA announced Africa had secured $900 million in new financial commitments towards clean cooking technologies.

More than 30 governments in countries accounting for about 80% of Africans who still lack access to clean cooking have introduced 121 new clean cooking policies since the Paris climate summit in 2015, the energy agency said.

Clean cooing is not a luxury, but an everyday necessity affecting every household, Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu said after co-hosting an IEA conference on clean cooking in Dar es Salaam earlier this year. That followed the African Union’s Dar es Salaam Declaration on Clean Cooking, adopted by 30 governments last year.

Carbon financing is making clean cooking affordable

Carbon finance has transformed what was once an expensive clean-energy product into one that millions of low-income households can afford, said Peter Scott, founder and CEO of BURN, which makes eco-friendly cookstoves.

“The only way clean cooking is going to scale on the continent is through carbon project finance,” Scott said. “Governments earn revenue and customers get a product they would never have been able to afford without that subsidy.”

The Nairobi-based firm said it has distributed more than 7.3 million cookstoves in 11 African countries.

“Our biggest innovation is not the stove itself, but the financing behind it,” Scott said. “Without that financing, many families cannot afford to switch.”

An efficient biomass stove that would normally retail for about $40 can cost customers as little as $5 after carbon subsidies. More expensive induction cookers are financed through carbon credits and short-term pay-as-you-go plans that spread payments over several months.

“Investors provide upfront capital that subsidizes the retail price of our stoves. In return, they receive revenue from carbon credits generated as households reduce their use of charcoal, wood and other polluting fuels,” he said.

Credit markets are still under scrutiny

The industry has adopted strict standards and more sophisticated measuring of emissions, including Bluetooth monitoring, digital verification and real-time usage data to address criticism of carbon credits.

Critics of the approach say relying too heavily on carbon credits to finance clean cooking is still risky.

In one setback, the Kenyan clean cooking firm Koko Networks, hailed as a poster child of Africa’s green transition, closed in February after failing to win a government letter of authorization to sell carbon credits.

Carbon money can help but should not be the foundation of the transition, said George Mwaniki, WRI Kenya representative and head of Air Quality for WRI Africa.

The problem, he said, is that carbon finance generally comes after the investment required to put cleaner cooking equipment into households.

“Carbon financing is more of a second financing source,” Mwaniki said. “That creates a problem for clean-cooking companies as they need money to manufacture and distribute equipment before they can generate the emissions reductions that ultimately produce carbon credits.”

“If we depend wholly on carbon credits to support the transition, it will be extremely slow and will not happen at the pace that we need it to,” he said.

Clean cooking is expanding despite the shortcomings

Companies are adapting their approach to suit local conditions. BURN, for example, says its electric cooking is more viable in Kenya and Tanzania, while biomass stoves are preferred in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Madagascar.

Eco Safi, which operates in Uganda, Kenya, and Malawi, offers forced-draft pellet stoves and clean, renewable fuel made from agricultural waste. In Rwanda, BioMassters produces smokeless, locally manufactured, solar-powered pellet stoves and biomass-residue fuel, while ENEDOM manufactures agricultural-residue briquettes in Kigali.

For households like Kavutha’s, what matters is that a cleaner stove now costs less to own and operate than the charcoal she once depended on.

“My kitchen is cleaner, my children are safer, and I spend less,” Kavutha said. “That is all that matters.”

IRGC: Missiles Struck US Carrier, Destroyer in Gulf

By Al Mayadeen English

Iran's IRGC says its Aerospace Force struck a US aircraft carrier and a destroyer with ballistic missiles, part of a widening naval confrontation in the Gulf.

Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) said Saturday that its Aerospace Force fired ballistic missiles at a US aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer in Gulf waters, revealing that the two vessels were harassing Iranian shipping as part of Washington's naval blockade.

In a statement numbered "Announcement No. 10," the IRGC said the missiles damaged both warships and forced them to withdraw from the area out of fear of a follow-up strike.

The Guard Corps said Washington was compelled into an official admission that its vessels had come under attack, calling this proof of the enemy's strategic defeat and a demonstration of its own offensive capability.

It vowed that Iran's armed forces would keep defending the country "with determination," declaring, "Victory belongs to the resistant nation of Islamic Iran."

Part of a widening naval confrontation

The strike on the carrier and destroyer came the same day the IRGC Navy said it had separately hit three tankers transiting an unauthorized route through the Strait of Hormuz, along with three US-affiliated vessels elsewhere, in retaliation for earlier US strikes on Iranian oil tankers.

The IRGC Navy warned commercial operators against being "deceived by the US terrorist military" and cautioned that any vessel crossing unauthorized waterways in the Strait or the wider Gulf would be targeted.

The US military has acknowledged striking three Iranian crude tankers Saturday, with CENTCOM saying two were permanently disabled and a third destroyed.

Iran's leadership escalates warnings

Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters issued a broader warning alongside the IRGC's statement, with spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Ebrahim Zolfaghari saying continued US strikes, interference with Iranian shipping, and enforcement of the naval blockade would draw retaliation against American warships "more severe than before," and that operations could expand in scope if Washington persists.

Iran's Foreign Ministry separately condemned the tanker strikes as part of Washington's naval blockade and "economic war" against Iran, describing the attacks as a violation of the UN Charter's prohibition on the use of force and a war crime.

The Ministry said Iran would continue defending its territory, commercial vessels, and economic interests, and held Washington and any states assisting its campaign responsible for the consequences of further escalation.

Washington's blockade on Iranian oil exports

Saturday's exchanges unfolded against the backdrop of a US naval blockade targeting Iranian oil exports, which has intensified confrontations in the Strait of Hormuz.

Washington imposed the restrictions, eased them briefly during a diplomatic push, then reinstated the blockade in July.

Iranian officials say exports and revenue have continued regardless, with the Central Bank reporting close to $9 billion in oil revenue made available since the start of the year.

Chimpanzees Once Used for Vaccine Research Get Health Checks as Part of Long-term Care

By CHINEDU ASADU

8:57 AM EDT, September 5, 2026

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — A group of chimpanzees once used in laboratory hepatitis B vaccine experiments has received health checks at their new home in Liberia, in hopes of giving them a second chance at a normal life.

The West African chimpanzees received checks ranging from teeth cleaning to X-rays and pedicures at the Humane World for Animals’ Second Chance Chimpanzee Refuge in central Liberia, Liliana Pacheco Ricote, director of the sanctuary, told The Associated Press.

More than 400 of the chimpanzees had been used by American researchers in Liberia in the hepatitis B vaccine experiments from the 1970s until the early 2000s, Ricote said, many of them captured in the wild as infants.

Liberia has the second-highest number of chimpanzees in West Africa, after Guinea. The West African chimpanzees are classified as a critically endangered species because of their rapidly declining numbers.

“They were used in very invasive research … (and) went through a lot of experiments and pain,” Ricote said.

Humane World for Animals said that in 2015, it assumed permanent responsibility for 60 of the chimpanzees that were remaining at the end of the research program. The chimps now mostly live at the sanctuary on a series of mangrove forest-covered islands.

The tests included dental examinations, the heart, lungs, and nervous system, as well as blood tests. They get booster vaccinations and fingernail trims, it said, adding that plans are in place to carry out the checks on the remaining ones.

“The health checks are a vital part of caring for these chimpanzees who have been through so much,” said Belen Perez Hernando, the sanctuary’s veterinarian.

The chimpanzees’ experiences in the labs illustrate the broader risks animals face, according to Dr. Mark Ofua, a veterinarian and West Africa representative for the Wild Africa conservation group. “Animals used in research are rarely the intended beneficiaries, suffering confinement, social disruption, and lasting psychological and physical harm,” he said.

Ofua called for strict regulations on animals used for experimental research, adding that reviews have found most chimpanzee experiments “made no significant contribution to developing treatments for human diseases.”

The extent of the experiments’ impact on the West African chimps, whose average age is 30 to 35, is unclear, as findings from the assessments are yet to be concluded. However, “for those who were under experiments, you could still feel the hurt and the pain that they went through,” Ricote said.

“Seeing how much they hurt about what we’ve done, it gives me a lot of pleasure … to give them this second chance to live with dignity the life that they deserve,” she added.

Africa’s Mother Tongues are Finding New Life as Youth Connect with Roots and Relatives

By Farai Mutsaka and DAN IKPOYI

9:03 PM EDT, September 5, 2026

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — A television game show in Nigeria’s commercial hub of Lagos has an unforgiving rule: Speak English and you lose. For a U.S.-born millennial in the audience and a student of her parents’ mother tongue, the high-stakes setting is a perfect classroom.

Meanwhile, a 15-year-old Canadian speaks to a teacher about 13,000 kilometers (8,000 miles) away in Zimbabwe, learning a language her parents feared she would never speak.

“Mhoroi,” Nyashadzashe Machingura says cheerfully with a pronounced Canadian accent while greeting in Zimbabwe’s vernacular Shona.

The scenes capture a new generation of interest and entrepreneurship around African languages once pushed to the margins by decades of colonialism. Often seen as secondary to English, French and Portuguese, they are enjoying a renaissance that is also creating business opportunities.

There are between 1,500 and 3,000 languages in Africa

Africa is home to over 1 billion people speaking roughly a third of the world’s languages, with between 1,500 and 3,000 across 54 countries, according to UNESCO.

Experts say the revival in some of them is driven partly by second- and third-generation Africans in the diaspora finding it easier to reconnect with their roots and communicate with older relatives, thanks to social media, online learning and entertainment.

“There were times I definitely felt left out because my family around me were all speaking Shona. And I just couldn’t understand them,” Nyashadzashe said after a lesson covering traditional greetings, proverbs and ancestral clan symbols. She said she had eaten the food and worn the traditional clothing but still felt left out.

But now her conversations with her grandparents in Zimbabwe are growing longer.

“Being able to connect with them on that level makes me really proud of my heritage,” she said.

African languages were never ‘modernized’

Her Zimbabwe-based tutor, Shungu Chidovi, left her banking career in January to focus full-time on ZimbOriginal, an online platform that teaches Shona through storytelling, book clubs and “buddy pairing” exchanges.

Now she teaches about two dozen learners in Zimbabwe, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Ireland and Scotland, charging $50 a month.

The business, part of a small but growing number of online initiatives teaching African languages, emerged almost by accident. Chidovi began writing a blog about Zimbabwean traditions in 2016. Readers began asking whether she taught Shona.

“I didn’t see it at the time that I was really writing about the Shona language,” Chidovi said.

Western languages were prioritized

Like many in Africa, she grew up with the understanding that to get ahead she had to embrace Western languages instead of her mother tongue. English remains the dominant language for education, business and government affairs in the southern African nation that officially recognizes 16 mostly Indigenous languages.

“When you talk of Africa, you talk of English, French, Portuguese,” said Believe Mubonderi, a linguistics lecturer at Zimbabwe Open University. His research notes the importance of ensuring that African languages have a place in technologies shaping how people communicate, learn and trade.

“In most cases, African languages were sidelined. They were never exposed or modernized to be used in commerce, science and technology,” he said. “When a language has a very low status, there’s a danger that that language eventually becomes endangered.”

Culture and connection are driving the new interest

Governments and international organizations are trying to reverse that trend.

The African Union’s 2022 decision to adopt Kiswahili, spoken in much of east Africa, as an official working language has raised its international profile. The United Nations declared 2022-2032 the International Decade of Indigenous Languages.

And the AU continental body and UNESCO are supporting efforts to document and revitalize African languages, including using artificial intelligence to generate and translate children’s books and teacher guides.

But there’s a steep digital disadvantage. UNESCO says only 10 languages around the world dominate the “internet ecosystem,” while less than 2% of African languages have a meaningful online presence. That leaves many with too little data to train artificial intelligence systems.

Still, momentum for change is growing, with much of it from Africans abroad.

“People of African descent have come to realize that we also have our own identity which we need to embrace and be proud of. You go on Facebook, you go on TikTok, you are seeing many different efforts,” Mubonderi said. Younger diaspora Africans “are trying by all means to revive, to revitalize, to make use of these languages.”

Chindovi said she hears that desire from children and their parents.

“When people are away from home, they long for home more than when they are home,” she said.

Nigerian game show penalizes English speakers

That hunger for connection is also reshaping culture.

In Nigeria, a game show called “Masoyinbo,” meaning “Do not speak English,” has turned Yoruba, one of the country’s most widely spoken languages, into prime-time entertainment. Contestants, including diaspora Nigerians, are tested on Yoruba language and culture, with prizes reaching thousands of dollars.

Host Olalekan Fabilola, who started the show in 2024, sees its popularity as part of a wider shift.

“If ‘Masoyinbo’ had started like 10 years ago, it wouldn’t have been what it is now,” he said. “But we are in the age of cultural resurgence. People want to go back to their roots. Everyone wants to know why, where they are from, and so it’s timely.”

Tomi Adeshokan, a New Jersey resident who is learning to perfect her Yoruba with Fabilola as a tutor, was part of the audience during a recent recording of the show. She said she lost daily exposure to Yoruba after moving out of her father’s home before the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, she joined Clubhouse just to hear the language and later began taking classes. Now she was back visiting family.

“It’s very important for us to immerse ourselves in our culture and not to fully identify with other cultures, like the American, the Western culture,” Adeshokan said.

___

Ikpoyi reported from Lagos, Nigeria.

A Wedding Party Fire in DR Congo’s Capital Kinshasa Leaves at Least 22 Dead

By SALEH MWANAMILONGO

4:28 PM EDT, September 5, 2026

A fire at a wedding party in Congo ‘s capital Kinshasa left at least 22 people dead, the regional mayor said Saturday. Several others were injured.

The fire started Friday night and continued into early Saturday in a building in Lingwala in northern Kinshasa. The building’s narrow hallways were constricted by people trying to escape the fire.

Several people — some alive and some dead — were laid by the roadside as attendees tried to help those who were still alive.

The mayor of Lingwala, Norbert Mushinga, told the Congolese Press Agency that the provisional death toll was 22. He said the toll could rise further.

The exact cause of the fire was unconfirmed. “It is a tragedy,” Jacquemin Shabani, Congo’s deputy prime minister and interior minister, said. The minister visited the site Saturday morning.

Deadly fires are common in densely populated areas of Kinshasa where urban development is often implemented without provisions such as fire services. Fires are common during the dry season and several have taken place this year, according to local media.

US Phases Out $45M Annual Support for Namibia HIV Program

President of the Republic of Namibia

By SONJA SMITH

9:04 AM EDT, September 5, 2026

WINDHOEK, Namibia (AP) — The United States will start phasing out its financial support for Namibia’s HIV response programs, the latest among southern African countries to feel the effects of the withdrawal of foreign aid by the U.S. administration.

The U.S. will provide Namibia with $45 million for its HIV response in the 2027 fiscal year but the country will then start funding its own HIV programs, with the U.S. only providing “technical cooperation,” both countries said in statement.

Namibia has received around $45 million annually through the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief in recent years. The United States says it has contributed more than $1.1 billion to Namibia’s HIV response since 2003.

While the withdrawal of the funding was expected since the Trump administration’s “America First” approach to foreign aid was announced, it follows Namibia’s rejection of proposed provisions for sharing health data and biological specimens with the United States. Namibia cited privacy, sovereignty and legal concerns for its decision.

The Trump administration has been entering into country-by-country agreements that Washington says will reduce donor dependency, increase domestic financing and safeguard American interests. The U.S. has signed agreements with about 30 countries since late last year, many of them in Africa.

But Ghana rejected a proposed agreement over access to sensitive health data, Zimbabwe withdrew from a $367 million package over similar concerns, and a court challenge has put Kenya’s $2.5 billion agreement on hold. Zambia has also objected to data-sharing demands.

Namibian officials previously said the proposed provisions in their original form were “not in compliance with Namibia’s national laws” and infringed constitutional privacy protections and national sovereignty over biological resources.”

Both government are reported to be negotiating a new bilateral health agreement.

The joint statement said Namibia had surpassed UNAIDS targets by achieving a target of 96% of people living with HIV knowing their status, 98% of those diagnosed receiving treatment, and 98% of those treated having achieved viral suppression.

“Over the next year, this support will transition into a technical cooperation model as the HIV response is fully integrated into Namibia’s sustainable national health system, in line with Namibia’s national laws,” the governments said in a joint statement.

The U.S. recently announced the phasing out of more than $400 million in support annually for South Africa’s HIV programs. It has also started a “phased drawdown” of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, a program that has supported South Africa’s battle against HIV and AIDS for the past 20 years and is widely credited with saving more than 20 million lives over that period.

China-Egypt Partnership Offers a Valuable Model for Global South: Former Egypt PM

By Global Times

Sep 04, 2026 08:15 PM

Illustration: Xia Qing/GT

China-Egypt ties Illustration: Xia Qing/GT

Editor's Note:

China and Egypt are "no longer talking only about individual projects; we are increasingly talking about shared development priorities and a long-term partnership looking toward the future," Essam Sharaf (Sharaf), former Egyptian prime minister, told Global Times (GT) reporter Chen Qingqing in an interview during Chinese President Xi Jinping's just-concluded visit to Egypt. What is the significance of the visit, particularly as China and Egypt celebrate the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations? Sharaf shared his insights. 

GT: How would you assess the transformation of bilateral ties over the past decade, and what has changed most significantly compared with 10 years ago?

Sharaf: President Xi Jinping's visit comes at a very meaningful moment 10 years after his previous visit and as Egypt and China celebrate 70 years of diplomatic relations. But the importance of this visit goes far beyond symbolism. Over the past decade, we have seen the relationship grow from strong political ties into a much deeper and broader strategic partnership. Today, cooperation covers infrastructure, industry, trade, investment, technology, energy, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges. For me, however, the most important development has been the growing trust between the two leaderships. This trust gives the relationship strength and continuity. We are no longer talking only about individual projects; we are increasingly talking about shared development priorities and a long-term partnership looking toward the future.

GT: Which areas offer the greatest potential for future breakthroughs in China-Egypt cooperation?

Sharaf: I think the most important lesson from China is not that Egypt or any other country should simply copy the Chinese model. The real lesson is that development needs a clear long-term vision, the ability to turn plans into action, and continuous investment in both infrastructure and people.

China-Egypt cooperation can play an important role in Egypt's modernization, especially if we move beyond traditional infrastructure projects toward local industry, technology transfer, and knowledge creation. I see great potential in areas such as renewable energy, electric mobility, artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, and space technology.

The next stage should be moving from building projects to building capabilities. The real success will come when cooperation helps create local knowledge, skilled people, and competitive industries that can support Egypt's development for generations to come.

GT: How do you assess China's role in Middle Eastern affairs? What can China bring to the region's peace efforts that may be different from the approaches of traditional major powers?

Sharaf: I believe China can play an increasingly constructive role in the Middle East because its approach places strong emphasis on dialogue, development, and respect for national sovereignty. The region has experienced decades of conflict, and we have seen repeatedly that military solutions alone cannot bring lasting peace. China brings a somewhat different perspective: Security and development are closely connected, and regional problems ultimately need political solutions shaped by the countries and peoples of the region themselves. China also maintains relations with different and sometimes competing regional actors, which gives it valuable diplomatic space. I believe China's most important contribution can be to encourage dialogue, reduce tensions and polarization, and help create a regional environment where peace, development, and economic cooperation support each other. In the end, sustainable peace needs development, and sustainable development needs peace.

GT: What significance does closer China-Egypt cooperation have for the Global South? 

Sharaf: Egypt has a unique position because it stands at the crossroads of several worlds, the Arab world, Africa, the Mediterranean, and the broader Global South. China, at the same time, has become one of the most important development partners for many countries of the Global South. This means that China-Egypt cooperation has importance beyond the bilateral relationship itself. It can show how two countries with different histories, cultures, and systems can work together around shared development priorities while respecting each country's national priorities. Egypt can also play an important role as a bridge, connecting China's cooperation with Africa, the Arab world, and the Mediterranean. In this sense, I believe the China-Egypt partnership can offer a valuable model for the Global South, not based on dependence, but on mutual benefit, connectivity, development, and shared opportunities for the future.

GT: You have had extensive engagement with China and have been involved in promoting China-Egypt cooperation for many years. How has your own understanding of China evolved over time? 

Sharaf: My understanding of China has changed enormously since my first visit more than two decades ago. In the beginning, what impressed me most was what I could see such as the infrastructure, the changing cities, and the extraordinary speed of development. But with every visit, I became more interested in what was behind this transformation: long-term thinking, continuity, strong institutions, and a clear commitment to development. If I were introducing China to Egyptians today, I would say: Don't look only at the economic numbers. Try to understand the civilization, the culture, and the thinking behind them. And to my Chinese friends, I would say: Egypt is also much more than its ancient history. It is a living civilization seeking modernization while preserving its identity. Ultimately, our two peoples need to know each other as we really are not through stereotypes, but through greater understanding, dialogue, and human connection.

First Tunnel Completed on Kyrgyzstan Section as China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway Makes Major Progress

By Global Times

Sep 05, 2026 04:08 PM

An aerial drone photo taken on Aug. 15, 2026 shows a construction site of a grand bridge above the Kec-Alat River along the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway in Jalalabad, Kyrgyzstan. (Xinhua/Li Renzi)

Construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway has made fresh progress, with the No.2 North Koshtobe Tunnel in Kyrgyzstan recently broken through, the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway Co said. Phased advances achieved on other key projects including the Naryn No.1 Tunnel.

The No.2 North Koshtobe Tunnel is 209.6 meters long, with a maximum burial depth of 41 meters. Designed as a single-track tunnel, it was completed on schedule, with the construction team maintaining safety and quality standards throughout the project, an official of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway Co said.

The official said environmental protection has been integrated into the railway's planning and construction. The route was designed to avoid the Saimaluu-Tash National Park and other ecologically sensitive areas, while culverts were added to facilitate wildlife movement and local herding.

The official said major temporary roads and power facilities along the Kyrgyzstan section have been completed and put into operation, ensuring construction of the railway itself. Construction has begun on 27 tunnels, one being completed, as well as 43 bridges and 88 roadbed sections. Foundation work is also under way at 20 stations.

The company has also hired more than 2,000 Kyrgyz employees for railway construction and related work, the official said. Three vocational training centers have been set up in Jalal-Abad Region, Manas and Suzak, providing training in civil engineering, machinery and steel structures to more than 1,800 local workers, with qualified trainees offered jobs on the project, according to the official.

The project has sourced more than 10 billion som ($114 million) worth of materials and equipment locally, the official said. All fuel is purchased in Kyrgyzstan, while more than 60 percent of key construction materials, including cement, are locally sourced. The project has also rented over 1,700 pieces of local machinery, supporting related industries along the route.

The company has invested about 156 million som in local community projects, including village road upgrades, water and power supplies, telecom facilities, medical services and education support, the official said.

The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway is a flagship Belt and Road cooperation project among the three countries. The route starts in Kashgar, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, enters Kyrgyzstan through the Torugart Pass, runs west via Jalal-Abad, and ends in Andijon in eastern Uzbekistan.

Global Times

GT Voice: Boom in Hard‑tech IPOs Testifies to China's Chip Innovation Drive

By Global Times

Sep 03, 2026 11:47 PM

Unitree Robotics' application for an IPO on the STAR Market is accepted by the Shanghai Stock Exchange on March 20, 2026. Photo: VCG

Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) chipmaker Shanghai Enflame Technology Co Ltd on Wednesday kicked off online and offline subscriptions for its IPO on Shanghai's tech-heavy Star Market, with the online tranche oversubscribed by about 6,109 times, according to a filing with the exchange. The high demand amounted to an initial allotment rate for the online offering of about 0.016 percent.

It's another high-profile hard-tech enterprise seeking a public listing following the IPOs of Chinese memory chipmaker CXMT and Chinese robotics company Unitree Robotics. Market expectations are running high for Enflame, often dubbed one of the "four little Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) dragons" in China's AI chip sector. The other three - Moore Threads, MetaX, and Biren Technology - all went public last year to stellar first-day gains, setting a bullish tone for Enflame's debut.

The strong response in the capital market reflects growing confidence in the prospects of Chinese AI chipmakers. As Enflame Technology noted in its prospectus, Nvidia's future sales in the domestic market are subject to notable uncertainties, and the trend toward an increasing share of shipments by local AI chip companies will continue.

Beyond the subscription frenzy, however, the company's financials offer a more nuanced picture. Enflame Technology's sales have been expanding at an impressive pace: its total revenue climbed from 301 million yuan ($44.8 million) in 2023 to 990 million yuan in 2025, according to its prospectus. The company estimated a substantial year‑on‑year increase in operating revenue in the first half of 2026, which it said likely reached the level achieved for the entire year of 2025.

Enflame also said in its prospectus that the funds raised in this offering would be used for the research and development (R&D) and industrialization of the fifth‑ and sixth‑generation AI chip product lines, along with the cutting‑edge AI hardware‑software synergy innovation program. 

These investments will support the ongoing evolution of the company's flagship products, reinforce its supply chain resilience, and lay the foundation for the realization of the company's business strategic goals. From 2023 through 2025, the company invested 3.676 billion yuan in R&D, representing 182.55 percent of its aggregate operating revenue over that period. 

Enflame's upcoming listing on the STAR Market is not merely a critical milestone in the company's development, but also a vivid microcosm of China's high-end semiconductor industry pushing against external pressure and accelerating its breakthroughs. This is not about the short term gains from a few IPOs; rather, it signals that hard tech has become a top priority for the capital market. 

In the face of overseas technology blockades, China's semiconductor sector has not stalled. On the contrary, external headwinds have strengthened the nation's resolve for domestic innovation, driving a path toward self reliance and indigenous alternatives.

The question that frequently captures international attention is this: how far has China's chip industry actually advanced? The wave of high-profile hard-tech IPOs on domestic exchanges offers a compelling signal - not because an IPO in itself proves commercial maturity, but because it indicates that years of R&D have reached a stage where products are being deployed and subjected to real-world market validation. This is particularly significant when multiple firms across the same sector reach this threshold in quick succession, suggesting a critical mass of technological readiness rather than isolated cases.

The STAR Market's framework - which allows pre-profit companies with long R&D cycles to go public - has opened a channel for patient capital to flow into high-tech sectors. This provides a vital financial base that, if effectively deployed, can accelerate iteration and shorten catch-up timelines. When capital markets assign high premiums to local hard-tech enterprises genuinely committed to foundational innovation, this positive financial feedback can, in turn, fuel sustained R&D efforts across the supply chain.

Some of the market's enthusiasm stems from not just high hopes for domestic AI chip substitution, but also short‑term market sentiment, which may have led to valuation premiums. Challenges persist - from technology upgrades and ecosystem building to client expansion, and the journey ahead is far from smooth. Yet, the industry's direction is clear, and China's strategic pivot toward technological breakthroughs and innovation‑led development remains steadfast.

Global Times

China Unveils First Wheeled-legged Guide Robot, with 99% Indoor Obstacle Avoidance Rate, Can Even Climb Stairs

By Shen Sheng and Zhang Yiyi

Sep 05, 2026 05:21 PM

Xiaoyuan, the country’s first wheeled-legged guide robot. Photo: Courtesy of Yuanshan Zhixing Technology

China’s Yuanshan Zhixing Technology has unveiled Xiaoyuan, the country’s first wheeled-legged guide robot, which can glide on flat ground and climb stairs, offering a new mobility solution for people with visual impairments, GT learned from the company.

The robot features a hybrid wheeled-legged design. It can move on wheels across flat surfaces and switch to legged mode to climb stairs, allowing it to navigate both up and down steps. It also operates with low noise to avoid interfering with users’ ability to identify their surroundings through sound, the company told the Global Times on Saturday.

Xiaoyuan can detect overhead obstacles such as low-hanging branches and scaffolding, which can be difficult for conventional white canes to detect. It can identify such hazards in advance and automatically slow down or detour around them, the company said.

The robot has an indoor obstacle-avoidance success rate of at least 99 percent and an outdoor success rate of at least 96 percent, while its outdoor positioning error is controlled within 30 centimeters, according to the report.

Its functions include route navigation, voice interaction, as well as companionship and reminders. In emergencies, users can also initiate an alert and request assistance from volunteers remotely.

Designed to resemble a guide dog, Xiaoyuan is intended to match users’ normal walking habits in terms of its walking rhythm and leash-based control.

China has more than 17 million people with visual impairments, while only about 400 guide dogs are currently available, according to the report. Training a guide dog is a lengthy process, making it difficult for many visually impaired people to obtain one. Robotic guide devices such as Xiaoyuan could help fill the gap, according to the company.

The product has already begun cooperation with disabled persons’ federations in several regions. Hangzhou’s Xihu district in East China’s Zhejiang Province launched a pilot program, opening up city roads, commercial areas and parks for field testing of the robotic dog, with experiments also being conducted in subway stations and shopping malls, said the company.

The system is connected to disabled persons’ federation service platforms, accessible maps and a remote volunteer assistance portal.

Chinese National Rescued from Hydropower Tunnel in Nepal Following Mudslide

By Xinhua

Sep 05, 2026 04:42 PM

Photo: CCTV

A Chinese national has been rescued from a hydropower tunnel in Nepal following mudslide, the Xinhua News Agency reported Saturday, citing the Chinese embassy.

According to Nepal’s prime minister’s office, rescuers saved a Chinese national from a 225-meter tunnel at the Trishuli Hydropower Project which is inside the reach of the Nepal 8.26 mudslide. The saved man received medical check and was transferred by a helicopter. 

The saved person recalled that during the waiting, he saw light multiple times and “called out loudly” every time to catch attention. But perhaps because of the distance, the rescuers didn’t hear him, CCTV News reported.

When the rescuers finally approached and the light was in front him, he could not even believe it.

The man has been sent to hospital and in stable condition. Chinese ambassador to Nepal Zhang Maoming paid a visit to the rescued, per CCTV News. 

On August 26, a glacier on the southern slope of Langtang Lirung in Nepal fractured at about 5,200 meters, triggering an ice-rock avalanche that plunged to around 4,000 meters, scoured the mountainside and evolved into a massive debris flow. The disaster has led to severe casualties on both sides. 

As of Friday, 31 people have been confirmed dead and 531 others remain missing after the mudslide struck Gyirong Port on the China-Nepal border in Southwest China’s Xizang Autonomous Region, according to local authorities, who have been conducting risk assessment.

Nepali police said on social media on Saturday that 1,344 victims have been discovered in areas under mudslide impacts, and another 4,898 were missing. 

UN General Assembly Endorses a New World Map that Shows More Accurately Africa’s Size

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

7:35 PM EDT, September 4, 2026

The United Nations General Assembly on Friday endorsed a new world map that represents Africa more accurately in its larger size, a culmination of a recent campaign led by African countries and advocacy groups.

Friday’s resolution, which was sponsored by Togo and backed by members of the African Union, was passed with 164 member states voting in favor. Only the U.S. voted against it while six other countries — Serbia, Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova and Ukraine — abstained.

The vote encourages governments and institutions around the world to replace the traditional Mercator map, commonly used since the 16th Century, with the Equal Earth projection that advocates and geographers say shows locations more accurately.

The Mercator projection shows Greenland and Africa as appearing to be about the same size whereas in the Equal Earth projection that shows continents in their true proportions, Africa is 14 times larger than Greenland.

Friday’s resolution does not ban the Mercator projection or impose a replacement, but only encourages the use of the Equal Earth projection, the U.N. said in its report.

“Maps shape our understanding of the world,” the global body quoted Togo’s Foreign Minister Robert Dussey as saying before the vote. “They guide education, nourish the imagination, and influence collective perceptions.”

Africa No Filter, one of the lead campaigners for the adoption of the new map, hailed the resolution, adding: “We want to see accurate maps in schools, textbooks, newsrooms, businesses and on the digital platforms billions of people use every day.”

Several countries hailed the adoption and urged the adoption of the Equal Earth map. “Changing the map obviously doesn’t change the world. But correcting a representation that distorts it is already an act of truth,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on X after the vote.

The Mercator map was designed by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator to help European navigators at sea, but advocates say it distorted landmasses by enlarging regions near the poles such as North America and Greenland while shrinking Africa and South America.

The 2018 Equal Earth projection, on the other hand, follows the Earth’s curvature and shows continents in their true proportions.

Geographers say the traditional map is only useful for navigation.

“Outside of that very narrow navigation application, there is no point in using it,” according to Mark Monmonier, a Syracuse University professor of geography.

Former RFI Journalist Disappears in Niger After Attempted Coup

Moussa Kaka, a Nigerien journalist, director of the media group Radio Télévision Saraounia (RTS) and former correspondent for Reporters Without Borders (RSF), has been missing since 31 August.

3 September 2026

Radio France Internationale

By RFI

Reporters Without Borders has called for an investigation into the disappearance of Moussa Kaka, the director of a television station in Niger and a former correspondent for Radio France International, days after a failed coup in the country.

Kaka, who worked for many years as an RFI correspondent in Niger and now directs private broadcaster Radio Télévision Saraounia, left his office in Niamey on Monday evening and never arrived home.

According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), his relatives and colleagues have been unable to contact him.

"The disappearance of Moussa Kaka, a well-known journalist, is particularly concerning at a time when Niger is going through a period of heightened political and security tensions," Sadibou Marong, director of RSF's sub-Saharan Africa bureau, said in a statement.

"RSF is following the situation closely and calls on Nigerien authorities to immediately open an investigation in order to find him and establish the circumstances of his disappearance without delay."

Attempted coup

Kaka's disappearance comes after an attempted coup over the weekend that Niger said it shut down with military support from Russia.

Authorities have accused several foreign countries, including France, of being behind the unrest, without providing evidence.

RSF editorial director Anne Bocandé told RFI the lack of information about Kaka's disappearance was particularly worrying.

"At this point we have no information about the circumstances, the context or where Moussa Kaka could be today. And given the context of political instability in Niger in recent days, this is clearly an additional source of concern for us," she said.

Growing pressure

Journalists in Niger, as well as activists and civil society figures, have come under increasing pressure since a military junta seized power in July 2023.

Kaka was one of six journalists arrested in October 2025 and accused of "complicity in distributing documents likely to disturb public order" - believed to be an invitation to a press briefing by the Solidarity Fund, a body Niger's military government set up to seek donations from the public.

After the junta used the briefing to announce workers would have to make new, mandatory contributions to the fund, critics shared the invite widely on social media.

Kaka was later released provisionally, while the last journalist still detained in the case was freed on Friday.

Relations between Niger and former colonial power France have deteriorated since the military took power.

In May, Niger suspended all access to RFI as part of a broader crackdown on French media. RFI's FM radio broadcasts were suspended days after the 2023 coup.

Clashes in Southern Sudan Leave at Least 21 Dead, Medical Group Says

This is a locator map for Sudan with its capital, Khartoum. (AP Photo)

By FATMA KHALED

8:21 AM EDT, September 4, 2026

CAIRO (AP) — Clashes in southern Sudan have killed at least 21 people, including women and children, a doctors’ group said Friday.

Sudan Doctors Network, which tracks violence throughout the war in Sudan, said that the rebel group Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North, or SPLM-N, launched an attack on Thursday in the areas of Debi and Luweri in the town of Kauda in South Kordofan.

Rebel leader Abdel Aziz al-Hilu has aligned his fighters with the Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which has been battling the Sudanese military since 2023. The war killed at least 59,000 people, displaced some 13 million and pushed parts of the country into famine.

Al-Hilu’s group has been active in South Kordofan and joined a local government set up by the RSF. The group is a breakaway faction of the SPLM, the ruling party of neighboring South Sudan.

Thursday’s attack was part of clashes that erupted between SPLM-N and the Otoro tribe, a minority group in the Nuba Mountains of South Kordofan.

The fighting came despite a ceasefire initiative backed by the RSF last month. The medical group said the attacks by al-Hilu’s forces “constitute a clear violation of the agreement, a resumption of hostilities, and the targeting of civilians on an ethnic basis.”

Al-Hilu didn’t commit to the ceasefire agreement, and his forces launched attacks on 10 Otoro villages, displacing hundreds of civilians between Aug. 20 and 26, the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data, a think tank, said in an analysis last week. It added that SPLM-N claimed in a video that it took control of Kauda.

Ali Mahmoud Ali, the group’s Sudan analyst, said that the latest clashes risk bringing in more Nuba clans into the fight and could increase divisions across South Kordofan, where communities are facing an already dire humanitarian situation.

The group said it has recorded the killings of at least 158 people since violence erupted in March over land disputes.

5 EU Nations Agree on Model to Send Rejected Migrants to ‘Return Hubs’ as Early as 2027

By CLAUDIA CIOBANU and RENATA BRITO

1:57 PM EDT, September 4, 2026

Denmark and four other European Union countries agreed Friday on a model for “return hubs” in non-EU nations and hope to begin sending migrants to the facilities as early as 2027, an official said Friday.

The announcement, made after a one-day meeting in Copenhagen, is the latest development in an effort by EU states to send people whose asylum requests have been rejected to third countries outside the bloc.

“We are moving forward toward what is actually a fundamental transformation of the common European migration and asylum system,” said Morten Bødskov, Denmark’s minister of immigration and integration.

He briefed reporters alongside counterparts from Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Greece. The five countries have been negotiating with governments mainly in Africa over potential sites, pioneering the initiative for the whole of the EU.

Human rights groups have criticized plans to deport migrants to centers or prisons in third countries, arguing that European nations cannot guarantee their rights will be respected there.

Bødskov rejected the idea that “return hubs” were a euphemism for detention and deportation centers and said the International Organization for Migration and the U.N. Refugee Agency would monitor the centers.

“We are not talking about camps, we are talking about opportunities, for a new chance for irregular migrants who cannot return to their own country today and who have no legal grounds to be in our countries,” Bødskov said.

The UNHCR told The Associated Press that it “has not been approached with details of such a proposal,” and therefore “cannot comment on the specific arrangements being discussed or on what any potential role for UNHCR might entail.”

IOM told AP that no decision had been made on IOM’s potential role in “return hubs.” “Discussions remain exploratory,” and IOM had provided only “technical advice to some EU Member States on safeguards and operational considerations.”

“We have consistently underscored that any such initiative must comply with EU regulatory and legal frameworks, protect migrants’ rights, respect partner countries’ interests, and ensure individuals’ access to meaningful, sustainable solutions,” an IOM spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

‘Return hubs’ abroad would be first for EU migration policy

Although the ministers did not specify which third countries were being considered, Bødskov said they expect to reach their first deal by early 2027.

He acknowledged that the concept of “return hubs” was mocked only a few years ago and deemed incompatible with EU and international law.

EU laws, however, have changed due to public and political pressure for tougher measures against irregular migration.

European lawmakers voted in June to allow member states to set up centers outside the EU on their own or in small coalitions, and send rejected asylum seekers there instead of to their home countries.

“This is something new and it’s groundbreaking,” said Bart van den Brink, the Netherlands’ minister of asylum and migration.

Rwanda in negotiations with European nations

In early August, a spokesperson for the Rwandan government said it “was natural” for her government to negotiate with European countries and others to potentially host asylum seekers who are not allowed to live elsewhere.

Speaking to Royal FM Kigali, Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo cited an emergency transit mechanism established in Gashora in 2018 for people evacuated from Libya, who could stay there until they were resettled in third countries.

Makolo said one of the ideas discussed was to offer a “safe place” where people who have nowhere else to go could get medical care, training and rest while their asylum applications were processed, until they could go back home if safe or get resettled to yet another country.

“We want to be part of a solution to a big global problem,” Makolo said.

It remained unclear what countries in negotiations with EU nations would gain in return for taking Europe’s rejected migrants.

Rights groups concerned about enforcement of law outside EU

Migrant rights groups have criticized European efforts to set up migrant centers abroad where it may be difficult to monitor and enforce human rights.

In an emailed statement, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O’Flaherty, said “vague assurances of compliance with human rights law are not enough.”

“States need to commit to the guardrails necessary to prevent setting up human rights black holes,” he said.

The European ministers in Copenhagen emphasized the new hubs would abide by European and international law.

Van den Brink, the Dutch immigration minister, said technical talks and missions to potential partner countries would be used “to gain more insight into the human rights situation and the living conditions of the refugees.”

“Because we want to do this in a European way, in line with our values and international law and human rights at its core,” he said.

Brussels-based rights group PICUM condemned the meeting in Copenhagen.

“EU leaders may call these centers an ‘innovative solution,’ but outsourcing migration control is an old tactic to simply move people out of sight and evade human rights obligations,” director Michele LeVoy said. ___

Ciobanu reported from Warsaw, Poland, and Brito reported from Barcelona, Spain. Philipp Jenne in Vienna and Sam McNeil in Brussels contributed to this report.

Tunisia’s Top Court Upholds Opposition Convictions in a State Security Case

11:12 AM EDT, September 4, 2026

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Tunisia’s highest court has upheld the convictions of dozens of prominent opposition figures, lawyers and human rights defenders in a high-profile conspiracy case against state security.

The Court of Cassation rejected the defendants’ appeals, upholding prison sentences of up to 45 years handed down by an appeals court last year, Tunisia’s state-owned news agency TAP reported late Thursday, quoting judicial sources.

The case has drawn international criticism and further deepened concerns over judicial independence and political freedoms in Tunisia. It’s part of a broader crackdown that has seen opposition activists, journalists and lawyers arrested or prosecuted since President Kais Saied consolidated power in July 2021, when he suspended parliament, sacked the government and began ruling by decree.

Faiza Rahem, the wife of detained opposition activist Issam Chebbi, said in a news conference on Friday that the families’ legal battle would now become political.

“After four years of harassment and persecution, we will continue defending the detainees. We will not tire or give up,” she said, adding that repression had only strengthened the families’ resolve. “Our numbers have grown as authoritarianism has become more brutal, and our voices grow louder every time they try to silence us.”

The charges included conspiracy against the internal and external security of the state, forming or joining a terrorist organization and offenses related to attempts to change the form of the state.

The defendants have denied the allegations and their lawyers have repeatedly challenged the proceedings and the charges.

The president backed the charges

Saied has defended the prosecutions as part of efforts to protect national security and hold accountable those he accuses of conspiring against the state. He has previously described some of his opponents as “traitors” and “terrorists” and accused those detained in the case of seeking to destabilize the country and fuel social unrest.

Saied, who was elected in 2019 on a promise to uproot a failing political system, has rejected accusations that he is seeking to suppress the opposition. He has repeatedly defended the measures as necessary to combat corruption and protect the country from foreign threats.

Lawyers representing the defendants had criticized the timing of the hearing, saying they were notified only three days before Thursday’s court hearing, arguing that the short notice was hasty and left them without time to prepare their defense.

Amnesty expresses concern for detainees’ conditions

Among those sentenced are prominent opposition figures Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, Chaima Issa, Jaouhar Ben Mbarek, Ghazi Chaouachi, Ayachi Hammami, Khayam Turki and Abdelhamid Jelassi.

Several defendants had spent years in pretrial detention. Others had been released on bail while the case proceeded through the courts. They were later arrested to serve their sentences after the appeals court verdict.

Amnesty International had called on the Court of Cassation to overturn the convictions, describing the case as politically motivated and saying the trial was marred by due process and other violations.

Amnesty said many of those imprisoned were experiencing deteriorating health and that successive heat waves had worsened conditions inside poorly ventilated prison cells. The daughter of 82-year-old Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, lawyer Haifa Chebbi, said in August that her father had shortness of breath and severe fatigue and that prison officials were monitoring his condition.

Russian Presidential Adviser Speaks on Ukraine Facing Point of No Return, West at Dead End

Western countries have already provided $600 billion to Ukraine to continue the conflict, Anton Kobyakov said

Russian Presidential Adviser Anton Kobyakov Vladimir Smirnov/TASS

© Vladimir Smirnov/TASS

VLADIVOSTOK, September 4. /TASS/. Ukraine has passed the point of no return on its path to extinction due to the conflict, and only Russia can save the country, Russian Presidential Adviser and the Eastern Economic Forum Organizing Committee Executive Secretary Anton Kobyakov said at a press briefing following the EEF.

He also pointed out that the West’s economic and ideological dead end is now clear to all.

TASS has compiled the key statements by the presidential adviser.

Eastern Economic Forum

The Eastern Economic Forum draws more than 9,300 participants: "More than 9,300 people are taking part, as of 1 p.m. local time [3 a.m. GMT]. The forum has 1,200 media representatives and more than 2,000 exhibitors from 78 countries, including 18 unfriendly countries."

"Everything discussed at the forum and all the tasks we set over these days serve one key objective: improving people’s lives. The Russian president spoke at length about this yesterday. We will also accomplish other national goals related to the Russian Far East based on the success we achieve in this area."

Russia’s shift toward the Asia-Pacific

Asia-Pacific countries should closely assess developments in Ukraine and the Middle East: "Asia-Pacific countries, the new global center, should now carefully assess what is happening not only in the Middle East but also in Ukraine. Everything there is moving toward a clear outcome at this stage of the West’s global adventure."

Ukraine’s point of no return

Ukraine has passed the point of no return on the path to extinction: "Ukraine has passed the point of no return. Extinction is the only outcome left. And only Russia can save this country."

The Kiev regime will never join NATO because the West will not allow it: "It is already clear to the world that the West will never accept Ukraine into NATO, if these structures even survive."

Funding for Ukraine

Western countries have already provided $600 billion to Ukraine to continue the conflict: "The West has spent $600 billion on the Ukrainian adventure. Of course, they will do everything they can to prolong this conflict. They will evade, intimidate, pressure, flatter, deceive and engage in intrigue."

Nationalism in Ukraine

Western Ukraine is a breeding ground for nationalism: "The Russian president noted that Ukraine will sooner or later lose its western territories. These territories belonged to Poland, Romania and Hungary before World War II and are a hotbed of evil and a place where Ukrainian nationalism is nurtured. <...> We fought the fascists together. How did it happen that they ended up leading the Ukroreich? We fought our way to Berlin together, and now Ukraine is the vanguard of European fascism. I want to stress that Kiev was and will remain the mother of Russian cities. And that is inevitable."

Zelensky is a ‘fascist with a grenade’ and a madman: "Some kind of madman has appeared in Ukraine today. Well, is Ukraine itself really unfriendly toward us? If he is a drug addict, what can we do about him? What can we do about him if he is a fascist with a grenade?"

US policy

People in other countries are losing trust in the former hegemonic powers: "Obviously, the main geopolitical events are unfolding in this part of Asia and these seas, and new trends are taking shape that are not good news for the former hegemons. Of course, they still consider themselves hegemons, but their hysteria over military coups around the world does not bode well for them. People around the world are losing trust in these hegemons, not to mention that they have practically lost the respect of the entire world."

The world would be different if US President Donald Trump had sent Zelensky to Guantanamo in 2024: "Of course, if Trump had listened to some of his advisers in 2024 and sent Zelensky to Guantanamo, <…> the world would be different now. And Trump might even have received the Nobel Prize."

US policy is aimed at creating conflict zones across Eurasia: "The plan is as follows: America is creating long-term conflict zones across Eurasia. Europe, through the poor judgment of its politicians, is already in conflict with Russia."

Monetary policy

Central Bank should bring current monetary policy back to common sense: "It is difficult to accomplish all the tasks we have outlined without a solid foundation. That foundation is usually sound fiscal and monetary policy. This requires the government to make fighting cost-push inflation a priority. <…> This cost-push inflation can and should be regulated, while the Central Bank should create conditions for growth. This is possible only by bringing current monetary policy back to common sense."

Ukraine Loses over 1,660 Troops in Battlegroup North Responsibility Area over Past Week

The Russian Defense Ministry reported that damage was inflicted on manpower and equipment of five mechanized and motorized infantry brigades, two airborne brigades, an assault regiment of the Ukrainian armed forces

© Alexander Polegenko/TASS

MOSCOW, September 4. /TASS/. The Ukrainian armed forces lost more than 1,660 troops in the responsibility areas of Russia’s Battlegroup North over the past week, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.

"Damage was inflicted on manpower and equipment of five mechanized and motorized infantry brigades, two airborne brigades, an assault regiment of the Ukrainian armed forces, three territorial defense brigades, and a National Guard brigade. In total, within the area of responsibility of the Battlegroup North, the enemy lost more than 1,660 military personnel, 13 armored fighting vehicles, 63 motor vehicles, 10 field artillery weapons, and nine electronic warfare and counter-battery stations," the ministry said in a statement.

Russia’s Battlegroup East inflicts over 2,230 casualties on Ukrainian army in week

Russia’s Battlegroup East inflicted more than 2,230 casualties on Ukrainian troops and destroyed six enemy armored combat vehicles in its area of responsibility over the week in the special military operation in Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.

"The Ukrainian armed forces lost more than 2,230 personnel, six armored combat vehicles, and 50 motor vehicles in that frontline area over the week," the ministry said in a statement.

Russia’s Battlegroup West inflicts over 1,415 casualties on Ukrainian army in week

Russia’s Battlegroup West inflicted more than 1,415 casualties on Ukrainian troops and destroyed 15 enemy armored combat vehicles in its area of responsibility over the week in the special military operation in Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.

"The enemy lost more than 1,415 personnel, 15 armored combat vehicles, 112 motor vehicles and 10 field artillery guns in that frontline area over the week," the ministry said in a statement.

Russia’s Battlegroup Center inflicts up to 2,700 casualties on Ukrainian army in week

Russia’s Battlegroup Center inflicted up to 2,700 casualties on Ukrainian troops in its area of responsibility over the week in the special military operation in Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.

Over the past week, Battlegroup Center units "inflicted losses on formations of four mechanized brigades, an airmobile brigade, an airborne brigade, an assault brigade, a jaeger brigade, three assault regiments of the Ukrainian army, two marine infantry brigades and three National Guard brigades," the ministry said in a statement.

The Ukrainian army lost more than 2,685 personnel, 18 armored combat vehicles, 80 motor vehicles, eight field artillery guns and six electronic warfare stations in that frontline area over the week, it specified.

Russian forces liberate 15 communities in past week

"Last week, units of Russia’s Battlegroup North carried out active operations, taking control of the settlements of Khrapovshchina, Sadki and Veliky Pomol in the Sumy Region, as well as Kazachya Lopan, Vasilyovka, Dolzhanka and Blagodatnoye in the Kharkov Region," Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a statement. <…> "Operations by Battlegroup West resulted in the liberation of Svyatogorsk in the Donetsk People’s Republic. <…> Units of Battlegroup South moved to more advantageous positions and liberated the settlement of Izhevka, followed by Nikanorovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic on September 3," the statement reads.

Units of Battlegroup Center liberated the settlements of Rubezhnoye and Novoandreyevka over the past week, while Gruzskoye was liberated in the past day, it said.

Units of Battlegroup East continued advancing deeper into enemy defenses over the week, liberating Chervonaya Krinitsa in the Zaporozhye Region. Battlegroup Dnepr improved its tactical position and liberated Novopavlovka in the Zaporozhye Region, the ministry stated.

Russian forces carry out one massive strike, 17 group strikes over past week

Over the past week, the Russian Armed Forces carried out one massive strike and 17 group strikes, targeting, among other things, defense industry enterprises, logistics centers, and fuel, energy, and transport infrastructure facilities used by the Ukrainian military, the Defense Ministry reported.

"From August 29 through September 4, the Russian Armed Forces carried out one massive strike and 17 group strikes using high-precision ground-based and air-based weapons and long-range drones, resulting in the destruction of Ukrainian military-industrial complex enterprises, logistics centers, fuel, energy, and transport infrastructure facilities used by the Ukrainian military, production facilities and storage sites for UAVs and their components, ammunition depots, fuel depots, and supply depots, as well as temporary deployment sites for Ukrainian servicemen and foreign mercenaries," the statement said.

Russian air defenses intercept over 6,000 Ukrainian UAVs in past week

Russian air defense forces intercepted and destroyed over 6,000 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), 19 rockets of the US-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket system and eight Flamingo cruise missiles over the week, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported.

"Air defense capabilities shot down 49 guided aerial bombs, 19 rockets of the US-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket system, eight Flamingo long-range cruise missiles and 6,093 fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles," the ministry said in a statement.

Battlegroup South wipes out over 1,365 Ukrainian troops over past week

Russia’s battlegroup South wiped out more than 1,365 Ukrainian servicemen over the past week, the Defense Ministry reported.

"Over the past week, the battlegroup South destroyed more than 1,365 Ukrainian servicemen, 20 armored fighting vehicles, 181 vehicles, and 17 field artillery guns," the statement said.

Kiev loses over 330 troops in area of operation of Russia’s Battlegroup Dnepr in past week

Ukraine lost more than 330 troops in the area of responsibility of Russia’s Battlegroup Dnepr over the past week, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

"More than 330 service members were eliminated in the past week, along with six armored combat vehicles, 120 motor vehicles, and 15 electronic warfare systems," the statement reads.

Russian Black Sea Fleet destroys 14 enemy drone boats over week

The Russian Navy’s Black Sea Fleet destroyed 14 Ukrainian drone boats over the week, the Defense Ministry reported.

"The Black Sea Fleet has destroyed 14 Ukrainian Navy drone boats in the Black Sea," the statement said.

Russian forces hit Novoodesskaya power substation in Odessa Region

Russian forces have struck the Novoodesskaya power substation in Mirnoye, Odessa Region, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.

"During the night of September 4, high-precision air-launched weapons and attack drones hit the Novoodesskaya electrical substation in the Mirnoye settlement, Odessa Region," the ministry said in a statement.

Russian forces strike logistics center in Kiev Region

Russian forces struck the Eso-Autotechnics logistics center in the Kiev Region, which stored and distributed dual-use goods, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

"Overnight to Friday, air-launched precision weapons and attack drones struck the Eso-Autotechnics logistics center in Gatnoye, Kiev Region, which stored and distributed dual-use goods," the Defense Ministry said.