Air Strike Kills at Least 24 Civilians in North Kordofan, RSF Attack Leaves Nine Dead

30/07/2026 20:33 BARA 

EL JAMAMA

Eyewitnesses told Radio Dabanga that Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) warplanes bombed the populated Sharshar area, causing heavy civilian casualties.

The Advocating for Darfur Victims organisation said the strike killed around 24 civilians and blamed the SAF, urging the UN Security Council to take immediate action to protect civilians. It also called on all parties to respect international humanitarian law and end the war.

The RSF-aligned Sudan Founding Alliance (Tasees) also condemned the bombing, saying women, children and elderly people were among the victims. Tasees spokesperson Ahmed Tagad Lisan called for an independent international investigation.

The Dar Hammar Emergency Room said the SAF carried out  air strikes against RSF positions in El Jamama, El Mazroub, Sharshar, and Abu Hadid, claiming dozens of RSF vehicles were destroyed and many fighters killed or injured. Radio Dabanga could not independently verify the claim.

RSF attack leaves nine dead Military

In a separate incident, the Sudan Doctors Network said an RSF attack on El Jamama, west of Bara, killed nine civilians, including two women, and injured 14 others.

The network said RSF fighters attacked the area after accusing residents of supporting the SAF, looting the local market, health centre and private property before forcing many families to flee.

The Emergency Lawyers group also accused the RSF of attacking civilians, looting homes and vandalising El Jamama market, describing the assault as a serious violation of international humanitarian law.

Hundreds of Migrants Are Swimming from Morocco to the Spanish Territory of Ceuta

By RENATA BRITO

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Hundreds of migrants are swimming from Morocco to the tiny Spanish territory of Ceuta at the country’s northern tip, overwhelming border security, local authorities said Wednesday.

While good weather usually brings a surge in migrant crossings by sea in the summer, Ceuta authorities said the current number of swimmers is unusual.

“In the last few days, more than 1,500 migrants, including adults and minors, have reached Ceuta by sea,” the leader of Ceuta’s government, Juan Jesús Vivas, told journalists. “The reception centers are collapsed and saturated.”

Vivas said migrants previously died in the attempt, with 60 bodies being spotted at sea in the last year.

Spain’s interior ministry, which oversees borders and tracks irregular migration, would not confirm the number of crossings or say how many migrants had reached the territory by swimming. It referred journalists to its bimonthly migration report, with the next one expected on Aug. 3.

Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, in an interview with Spanish television channel laSexta, acknowledged authorities were facing “an extraordinary, exceptional situation.” He asserted that “we are dealing with it with the means that we already have deployed there permanently.”

Spain’s Civil Guard, maritime Rescue Services and even the Red Cross have been using boats to pick up swimmers before taking them to Ceuta. Hundreds of migrants are now sleeping outside a migrant reception center that is over capacity.

Those attempting the crossing are mainly Moroccans, along with a small number of Algerians who had been living in Morocco while trying to migrate to Europe, according to activists in Morocco and Ceuta.

It was not clear what prompted so many migrants to swim to Ceuta.

Vivas lamented a Spanish Supreme Court ruling that earlier this month established that migrants who arrive by sea cannot be immediately pushed back across the border without due process, unlike those who cross into Spain by land — by climbing over the border fence, for example.

But some activists including Omar Naji, president of the Moroccan Association of Human Rights in Eastern Morocco, expressed doubt that the ruling was behind the surge. Most Moroccans would have been unaware of such legal decisions, he said.

The timing of the crossing, occurring after Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez met with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune last week, reminded Naji of the border crisis of May 2021 when more than 8,000 migrants poured into Ceuta in just two days.

At the time, Morocco was accused of easing border controls and allowing migrants to cross into the enclave after Spain allowed Polisario Front leader Brahim Ghali to receive medical treatment at a Spanish hospital, triggering a diplomatic crisis between Rabat and Madrid. The pro-independence Polisario Front for decades has claimed to be the legitimate representative of the indigenous Sahrawi people of disputed Western Sahara.

On Wednesday, Spain’s interior minister praised Moroccan authorities, saying they were cooperating and that the relationship with the kingdom was “close and based on loyalty.”

“They are also limiting irregular departures,” he told laSexta.

___

AP journalist Akram Oubachir in Casablanca, Morocco, contributed to this report.

Tens of Thousands of Migrants Voluntarily Leave After Crossing into Spanish Territory of Ceuta

By SERGIO RODRIGO RUÍZ, RENATA BRITO and SUMAN NAISHADHAM

4:46 PM EDT, July 31, 2026

CEUTA, Spain (AP) — Tens of thousands of migrants who crossed into Spain’s tiny Ceuta territory returned voluntarily to Morocco on Friday, a day after the influx triggered chaos in the North African city and reignited the immigration debate in Europe and beyond. At least 57 migrants died on the journey.

Ceuta’s president put the number of migrants at 60,000, which was equivalent to 70% of the territory’s population. But most of them soon went back, the Spanish government said, after the sudden arrival of so many people sparked a humanitarian crisis.

Some migrants swam several miles through the sea and faced down authorities who tried to turn them back with water cannons, tear gas and warning shots. Those who died included some who drowned or were killed in a stampede to cross a breakwater barrier near a border checkpoint.

Spain deployed its armed forces and additional police to restore order in Ceuta, which sits on the Strait of Gibraltar at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea and has been a Spanish possession since 1580. On the Moroccan side of the border, security forces clashed with migrants. The chaos also had ripple effects abroad, with Italy and France pledging to tighten their controls on people arriving from Spain.

A migrant runs from Spanish police officers as they cordon off access to the beach for people crossing from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Friday, July 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Sempere)

A migrant runs from Spanish police officers as they cordon off access to the beach for people crossing from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Friday, July 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Sempere)

“The situation that Ceuta is going through is absolutely unsustainable,” Ceuta President Juan Jesús Vivas told journalists.

Meanwhile, migrants from Morocco also attempted to cross into Melilla, Spain’s other territory at the tip of North Africa, where they clashed with police.

Spanish prime minister condemns border breach

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited Ceuta on Friday and condemned the border breach, which he described as “a violation of Spain’s territorial integrity.”

Sánchez blamed human smugglers for the crisis, saying they “deceive so many young people and ultimately lead many of them to their deaths,” whether in the ocean or in the city.

The Spanish Interior Ministry released its own figures shortly after Vivas spoke, estimating that some 50,000 people had crossed from Morocco since Thursday. It added that 48,300 had already returned to Morocco by Friday evening, with hundreds more going back by the hour.

Rachid Sbihi, who leads a local workers association representing Civil Guard officers, described the situation as a “serious humanitarian crisis,” saying thousands of migrants, including unaccompanied children, were left sleeping in parks and on sidewalks, while others roamed the streets aimlessly.

“It’s chaotic,” Sbihi said.

The Moroccan Interior Ministry did not respond to a request for comment on the migrant figures released by the Spanish authorities.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the images from Ceuta were “unacceptable.”

“We cannot allow anyone to come to our Union without abiding by our rules,” she said Friday in an online statement. “Dangerous crossings must stop immediately. Smuggling networks must be dismantled. And returns must be swift, as our rules allow.”

Dozens died in the chaos

Some of the 57 people who died had drowned, Sbihi said, but some were also killed in a stampede to cross the breakwater fence at Tarajal Beach, an urban beach near a border checkpoint with Morocco. The waters near the border fence were littered with buoys, shoes and other abandoned belongings.

Many young Moroccans who crossed into Ceuta told The Associated Press that they had hoped to find better work opportunities in Spain but were returning given the mayhem in Ceuta.

“There’s nothing at home. I’d have to work 12-hour shifts for a meager wage. That’s why I came here,” said 21-year-old Abdulah Buji, who hails from the city of Tetouan. “But I haven’t found any opportunities here either, so I have to go back.”

Moroccan police used water cannons and fired warning shots into the air to prevent migrants from crossing into Ceuta, according to rights groups in Morocco.

Morocco’s ambassador to Spain said the situation in Ceuta had unfolded against Morocco’s wishes.

“We have always prioritized legal, orderly and safe migration for all,” Karima Benyaich said. She did not comment on what prompted the migrants to cross into Ceuta.

To reach Ceuta, on the northern African coast, migrants often swim from the Moroccan town of Fnideq, covering about 3 miles (5 kilometers) to reach Spanish territory. Others attempt the crossing from the nearby town of Belyounech, where the distance is shorter.

Authorities in Ceuta and Madrid have linked the border surge to a recent decision by the Spanish Supreme Court, which ruled that migrants arriving by sea could not be summarily deported, unlike those who cross by land or climb the border fence.

Sánchez said migrant smugglers misinterpreted the ruling.

The interpretation of the Supreme Court’s ruling “spread like wildfire over the past few hours through the networks of human trafficking organizations,” triggering the surge, Sánchez said.

Spain has bucked anti-immigration trend

Sánchez has bucked the anti-migration trend that has gained ground across Europe and in the U.S.

Earlier this year, his government moved to give residency and work permits to hundreds of thousands of migrants already living in the country without permission.

Sánchez, a Socialist, argued that it would be good for the economy and the demographics of an aging Spain. Migrants who entered irregularly after Jan. 1 this year were not included.

His critics jumped at the opportunity to attack his policy, saying it encouraged more migrants to come.

“Sánchez allows Spain to be invaded through Ceuta,” Spanish conservative politician Isabel Díaz Ayuso wrote on X.

The U.S. expressed its support for “the people of Spain, and all Europeans, against this egregious violation of their sovereignty and human rights.”

In a post on X, the State Department added that “this unacceptable incident is the direct result of the Spanish Government’s deliberate efforts to enable and facilitate mass illegal migration into Europe.”

Sánchez on Friday defended his migration policy and distanced it from the events in Ceuta.

In the tumult, Italy temporarily suspended its open-border Schengen agreement with Spain, reimposing border controls for air and sea. The Interior Ministry said the decision amounted to a “closure” of the borders, but experts said it was merely a resumption of border controls. The agreement allows travelers to fly between the two countries without presenting passports.

French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said France would also strengthen border checks with Spain.

The crisis in Ceuta “has nothing to do with the regularization of migrants adopted by the Government of Spain, as is being falsely claimed by some,” the Spanish government said in a statement late Thursday after Meloni’s announcement.

Pressure grows on second Spanish territory in Africa

Migrants from Morocco also attempted to cross into Melilla, the other Spanish territory at the tip of North Africa.

There was widespread chaos in Bni Nsar, the Moroccan town bordering the Spanish territory, where migrants clashed with police, throwing rocks and setting police vehicles ablaze, according to local media and rights groups. They reported injuries among security forces and the arrest of dozens of people attempting to cross.

Like Ceuta, Melilla is a self-governing Spanish city. Many Moroccans consider both cities to be occupied territory.

___

Naishadham reported from Madrid. Brito reported from Barcelona, Spain. Associated Press journalists Joseph Wilson in Barcelona, Spain; Akram Oubachir in Casablanca, Morocco; and Antonio Sempere in Ceuta, Spain, contributed.

Migrant Crossing in Spain’s Ceuta Breeds Unsubstantiated Claims

By JOSEPH WILSON and RENATA BRITO

3:58 PM EDT, July 31, 2026

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — A crisis at the border in Ceuta, a tiny Spanish territory in North Africa, has resulted in unsubstantiated claims about Spain’s migration policies and the causes of the border surge at the territory’s frontier with Morocco.

Some 60,000 migrants entered Ceuta from Morocco on Thursday and Friday, local Spanish officials have said, equivalent to 70% of the city’s regular population. At least 57 migrants died attempting the crossing either by drowning while trying to swim to Spanish territory or in a stampede.

Here’s a look at the facts.

CLAIM: Spain’s move to legalize the status of immigrants caused the rush.

THE FACTS: Spain’s government is carrying out an amnesty for immigrants without residency permits who could prove they had been living in the country for at least five months and arrived before Jan. 1, 2026. Over 1 million people applied before the window closed at the end of last month.

Critics, including U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration, say that the amnesty sparked the rush to the Ceuta border by sending the message that Spain is lenient on migrants.

Spain’s “weak law, bad management” was to blame, Trump said Friday. The U.S. State Department doubled down in a post on X, saying that “this unacceptable incident is the direct result of the Spanish Government’s deliberate efforts to enable and facilitate mass illegal migration into Europe.”

Spain’s government strongly rejects that premise, saying that criminal gangs were behind the border crisis. Madrid has tried to maintain a hard line on illegal attempts to cross its borders while encouraging orderly arrivals of workers, who the government says are needed to keep up the country’s strong economy.

Poverty and youth unemployment are high in neighboring Morocco, particularly away from coastal cities that have experienced some development in recent years. Gen Z-led protests last year called for social justice and better public services. The inequality has prompted many young Moroccans to attempt to leave for Europe in search of better economic opportunities.

Still, it isn’t fully clear what caused the sudden surge in crossings at Ceuta.

CLAIM: A misconstrued Spanish court ruling is to blame.

THE FACTS: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has pushed the argument that a recent ruling by Spain’s Supreme Court had been intentionally misconstrued by migrant smugglers to convince thousands of people to cross the border by swimming around the border fence.

That court ruling said migrants arriving by sea could not be summarily deported without due process, unlike those who cross by land or climb the border fence because they had not crossed a physical barrier.

Migration and human rights activists said social media posts and misinformation helped fuel the departures.

“The departures were promoted in a certain way. At first, people were hearing that the border was open, and then everyone started referring to the Spanish court decision. That contributed to the crossings,” said Achraf Maimouni, a human-rights activist.

CLAIM: Morocco intentionally opened the border

THE FACTS: In 2021, more than 8,000 people crossed the Ceuta border when Moroccan border officials dropped their guard, sparking a diplomatic crisis between the neighbors.

The move was broadly interpreted as retaliation from Morocco for Spain’s decision to allow a pro-independence leader from the disputed Western Sahara region to receive medical treatment at a Spanish hospital. Sánchez defused the crisis when he shifted his country’s long-standing position on Western Sahara, and met with Moroccan King Mohammed VI the following year.

In this most recent crisis, which dwarfs the one five years prior, the first response by Spanish officials was to say that Moroccan counterparts were working alongside them to stop the rush. Whatever those efforts were, they proved ineffective as migrants kept steadily coming from all over Morocco to the border, with thousands breaching the frontier on Thursday and Friday.

An Associated Press freelance photographer witnessed Moroccan gendarmes standing aside with their arms crossed on Thursday as thousands of migrants passed near them into Ceuta. Eventually, Moroccan security forces stepped up, employing tear gas, batons and water cannons to disperse large groups of migrants reaching the border on Friday.

Morocco’s ambassador to Spain expressed hope that those who crossed from Morocco into the Spanish territory would return, saying the situation had unfolded against Rabat’s wishes.

Yet Morocco has never officially recognized Ceuta and its sister Spanish enclave, Melilla, as European territories even though they have been under Spanish control for centuries.

CLAIM: The surge in migrants is payback for Sánchez’ position on Iran and Gaza.

The mass crossing has given birth to conspiracy theories online, including one take that sees Trump and Israel encouraging a friendly Morocco to let this happen as payback for Spain’s position on immigration and its harsh criticism of their joint attack on Iran and the Israeli military campaign in Gaza.

THE FACTS: Trump has for months raged against Spain and recently threatened to end trade with the European country, and the Israeli leader has accused Spain of waging a diplomatic war against his country. But there is no evidence to support claims of a U.S. or Israeli hand in the Ceuta crisis.

CLAIM: Those who crossed will end up in mainland Europe.

THE FACTS: The Ceuta crossings have led to political leaders in Italy, France and other EU nations to take measures that appear aimed at stopping people from entering their countries. Premier Giorgia Meloni threatened to suspend Italy’s open-border Schengen agreement with Spain even though Italy doesn’t share a border with Spain and receives many more migrants crossing the Mediterranean than Spain. French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said France would also strengthen border checks with Spain.

While the influx is clearly unmanageable for the city of Ceuta, the impact of the crossing will mostly be limited to the Spanish territory and have limited impact on mainland Spain.

By Friday evening, the majority of migrants had already returned to Morocco voluntarily, Spanish authorities said. Those who remain in Ceuta will either be sent back eventually or face a long period of legal limbo and possibly spells in government-run centers.

EU migration commissioner Magnus Brunner posted on X that “not a single person has crossed to mainland EU” and that the Schengen Borders Code already includes special border checks for people traveling from Ceuta and Melilla.

___ Associated Press journalist Akram Oubachir contributed to this report from Casablanca, Morocco.

Oprah Winfrey Says She Will Close Her School for Girls in South Africa Next Year

Oprah Winfrey talks to students at her Leadership Academy for Girls at Henley-On-Klip South Africa, Friday, Jan. 13, 2012 on the eve of the first graduation at her school. (AP Photo/Denis Farrell, file)

By MICHELLE GUMEDE

8:07 AM EDT, July 31, 2026

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Oprah Winfrey says she will close the school for underprivileged girls she set up in South Africa two decades ago at the end of next year.

Winfrey opened the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in 2007 after being inspired by conversations with former South African President Nelson Mandela about the transformative power of educating girls. He was among the guests at the school’s opening ceremony.

Winfrey’s charitable foundation ran and funded the school, but it was always part of the agreement that the academy campus near Johannesburg be ultimately handed over to the provincial education department, the academy said.

“The dream was never simply to build a school,” Winfrey said in a statement issued by the academy on Wednesday. “It was to invest in the limitless potential of young women. That mission doesn’t end with one campus. It continues in every girl whose future can be transformed through education.”

The academy said Winfrey’s commitment to educating South African girls would continue through an expanded national scholarship program supporting academically talented girls at leading schools across the country.

More than 500 girls have graduated from the academy and some have attended top universities in South Africa, the United States and Europe, according to the Oprah Winfrey Charitable Foundation.

The Gauteng provincial government will take over the 52-acre academy campus, which has 21 classrooms, six science and computer laboratories, a 10,000-volume library and a 600-seat theater. It did not immediately say what the plans for the property were.

Gauteng Provincial Minister for Education Lebogang Maile said those currently enrolled in the school will be able to complete their education with uninterrupted financial support.

The academy drew international attention shortly after opening in 2007 when several students accused a dormitory matron of physically and sexually abusing them.

Winfrey traveled to South Africa to meet with students and parents, publicly apologized, and commissioned an independent investigation.

The matron was acquitted of criminal charges in 2010.

What to Know About the Conflict in Mali and the World’s Most Terrorized Region

By OPE ADETAYO

1:03 AM EDT, July 31, 2026

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Mali is facing its most serious security crisis in years as al-Qaida-linked militants and separatist rebels join forces to intensify attacks against its military.

The partnership between the JNIM jihadi rebels and the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) is the latest twist in a decades-long conflict in what is already the world’s most terrorized region.

It has resulted in some of the largest attacks Malian security forces and their partners have seen in years, analysts say.

The rebels and separatists launched massive simultaneous attacks across the country in April for the first time in a decade. Earlier this month, they partnered to ambush a Malian military convoy, capturing or killing dozens of soldiers, and mounting pressure on the ruling junta.

Fatalities from militant attacks increased by 35% to 3,435 in the first seven months of this year, compared with 2,546 in the same period in 2024, according to data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED), an independent conflict monitor.

“The JNIM and FLA see the benefit of working with each other because they function as force multipliers for each other,” said Heni Nsaibia, a senior analyst for West Africa at ACLED.

Both groups, Nsaibia said, have the same goal of “finishing the common enemy,” which they see as being the Malian armed forces and its partner, Russia’s Africa Corps paramilitary group.

The relationship between the groups is “a form of tactical coordination” focusing on military operations, FLA spokesperson Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane told The Associated Press.

He said the groups had agreed that after securing independence of the northern region of Mali the communities would decide what version of sharia is applied.

The latest dimension to the Mali conflict began in 2012 with the northern Tuareg rebellion, which opened the field for jihadis, setting the country and the wider Sahel — a vast strip of semi-arid desert stretching from North Africa to West Africa — on a violent path.

Soldiers took over Mali’s civilian government in 2020, citing the security crisis, setting off a series of coups across the Sahel, which is considered the deadliest region in the world with a record of up to half of all terror-related deaths globally, according to the Institute for Economics and Peace.

The period of military rule has fared worse than previous civilian governments, analysts say, with armed groups increasing their footprint across the country and the Sahel.

Here is a guide to the groups fighting in Mali and their goals:

Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM)

JNIM is the most potent of the armed groups in the Sahel region and one of the deadliest local affiliates of al-Qaida globally, according to researchers.

It was formed in 2017 after the merger of four separate al-Qaida-affiliated groups in Mali, creating one bigger entity. One of its stated goals was to drive out French forces which, at the time, were helping Malian forces to fight the jihadis.

The group is led by Iyad Ag Ghaly, a veteran of the Tuareg rebel group and a former Malian diplomat. It operates across much of Mali in the north, south, west and central axis. Last year, it imposed a blockade on fuel imports into the country, disrupting fuel supplies to the capital Bamako to date.

JNIM is also active in neighboring Niger and Burkina Faso, and has been expanding its presence to coastal West Africa.

Analysts say JNIM has forced the Malian military to disperse across wider territories, stretching its operational capacity on multiple fronts. Recently, it has been presenting itself as an alternative legitimate authority to the government.

“JNIM has progressively expanded its influence, becoming an increasingly unavoidable interlocutor for some local communities and exercising de facto authority in certain areas where state institutions have only a limited presence,” said Beatrice Bianchi, an adviser for the Sahel-Sahara Security Strategies Centre.

Azawad Liberation Front (FLA)

The FLA, which was formed in 2024, is fighting for the independence of northern Mali. It is the latest iteration of the complex formations of several Tuareg separatist rebel groups that have emerged in the north.

Its roots date back to the 1960s following Mali’s independence from France, when it claimed that the central government marginalized the northern region politically and economically.

In April 2012, a coalition of Tuareg rebel groups under the Coordination of Azawad Movements declared independence and sparked a rebellion alongside Islamic militants.

A 2015 accord signed in Algeria between the Malian government and the rebels led to a cessation of fighting between the group and government forces. In 2024, however, the Malian junta exited the accords as tensions flared between the junta and the rebels, leading to renewed hostilities.

Several officials of multiple rebel groups then came together to form the FLA.

Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP)

The Sahel-based arm of the Islamic State group, the ISSP was formed by defectors from al-Mourabitoun, one of the four al-Qaida affiliates that came together to form the JNIM.

In Mali, it is considerably less prominent compared to JNIM, and most of its operations are in the Menaka region, which borders Niger.

The Islamic State group acknowledged the ISSP’s allegiance in 2022. Unlike JNIM, which tries to present itself as a better alternative to the government, ISSP’s stated goal is to build an Islamic caliphate in the region, and it’s considered more coercive in its relationship with civilians.

“Both organizations are responsible for significant violence against civilians, but JNIM has generally sought to combine coercion with efforts to build local acceptance, while the Islamic State has relied more heavily on overt violence and intimidation,” Bianchi said.

Both groups are also often at loggerheads as they violently compete for territories and differ on jihadi philosophies, reflecting the global rivalry between al-Qaida and the Islamic State.

Africa Corps

The Africa Corps is a Russian paramilitary group that succeeded the disbanded Wagner Group. After coming into power, the Malian military junta expelled French forces from the country in 2022, citing protection of national sovereignty and a worsening security crisis.

Mali then turned away from its traditional Western partners to Russia — first to the Wagner Group, a private organization that acted as Russia’s diplomatic proxy.

Russia has since replaced Wagner with the Africa Corps, answerable to the Russian Ministry of Defense. The Africa Corps fights alongside the Malian army and has been accused of gross human rights violations.

Other pro-government forces

Other smaller ethnic auxiliary groups support the government.

They include the Dozo militias, former hunters that have become militarized, and some Tuareg groups, such as the Imghad Tuareg Self-Defense Group and Allies (GATIA) and the Movement for the Salvation of Azawad (MSA), in the Menaka region.

The support can also be fluid. Dan Na Ambassagou, a militia group that fights against Fulanis, accusing them of harboring Islamist groups, was once embraced by the government but has now been denounced.

OPE ADETAYO

Adetayo is a West and Central Africa reporter for The Associated Press. He covers news and regional development across West and Central Africa.

49th Ordinary Session of AU Executive Council Wraps Up in Addis Ababa

Addis Ababa, July 29, 2026 (ENA) —A two-day 49th Ordinary Session of the African Union (AU) Executive Council concluded in Addis Ababa after high-level deliberations on the continent’s development priorities, institutional reforms, and sustainable financing.

The session, held under the African Union’s 2026 Theme of the Year, “Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safely Managed Sanitation Systems to Achieve the Goals of Agenda 2063,” focused on the AU’s policy agenda ahead of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government.

The meeting also explored ways to forge coordinated strategies to address Africa’s pressing development challenges while accelerating the continent’s long-term vision for integration, prosperity, and sustainable development.

The opening ceremony was attended by senior African and international leaders, including African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, Ethiopia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Gedion Timothewos, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) Claver Gatete, and Burundi’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation, Édouard Bizimana, who chaired the Executive Council session.

Foreign ministers from AU member states, senior government officials, diplomats, and representatives of regional and international organizations participated in the meeting.

During the two-day session, ministers deliberated on a wide range of strategic priorities aimed at deepening regional integration, strengthening cooperation among member states, and advancing the implementation of Agenda 2063, the African Union’s blueprint for an integrated, prosperous, and peaceful continent.

Key agenda items included reviewing progress in the implementation of Agenda 2063, assessing decisions and institutional frameworks adopted under both the former Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and the African Union, and evaluating achievements made under the AU’s 2026 Theme of the Year.

The Executive Council also formulated policy recommendations and draft decisions for consideration and adoption by the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government, reinforcing its central role in shaping the continent’s political, economic, and development priorities.

African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf welcomed the decision on enhanced member-state contributions, describing it as a demonstration of the commitment to financing Africa’s development agenda despite prevailing global economic challenges.

“I want to seize this opportunity to thank Kenya and Ethiopia for their decision to join Tier 1. This shows that, with the conviction of our member states to move Agenda 2063 forward, the Commission will have the necessary resources,” he said.

“I am particularly encouraged by the decision of our member states to revise the scale of assessment. I know that this decision is a difficult one given the economic situation and the impact of the current geopolitical environment on the continent. As the economic situation is difficult for everybody, these efforts are truly appreciated.”

Closing the session, Executive Council Chairperson and Burundi’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation, Ambassador Édouard Bizimana, praised the spirit of consensus demonstrated throughout the meeting and said the latest financing commitments reflected growing African solidarity and determination to build a stronger and more self-sustaining Union.

“I want to express satisfaction at a major achievement, namely the sovereign decision of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the Republic of Kenya to increase their annual contribution and join the first category, Tier 1, for 2027–2029 under the Harmonized Scale of Assessment. 

This exemplary gesture of African solidarity and Pan-Africanism reaffirms their unwavering commitment to sustainable financing and strengthens our collective resolve to build a strong, united African Union capable of financing its own ambitions,” Bizimana said.

The decisions adopted during the two-day session will now be transmitted for implementation across the African Union Commission, AU organs, and member states, while also shaping the agenda for the upcoming AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government.

The resolutions are expected to guide the Union’s work on institutional reform, sustainable financing, regional integration, peace and security, and the implementation of Agenda 2063 in the months ahead.

National Dialogue Conference Delegates Say Process Catalyst for Shared Consensus, Unity

Addis Ababa, July 30, 2026 (ENA) — Participants of the National Dialogue Conference said that they are freely forwarding ideas that build the nation and bring about national consensus.

With every perspective given equal weight, this collective process is playing a pivotal role in shaping long-term consensus.

The participants emphasized that the forum will lay a solid foundation for a stronger Ethiopia, offering immense promise to usher the country into a new chapter of enduring peace and prosperity.

One of the participants, Mohammed Amin Mahadi highlighted the inclusive nature of the national dialogue, noting that representatives from all walks of life are taking part in a free discussion. 

 He emphasized that participants are freely forwarding constructive ideas that strengthen nation-building efforts and forge national consensus.

With every perspective given equal weight, this collective dialogue is playing a vital role in building long-term consensus on critical national priorities.

Mohammed added that the forum lays a solid foundation for a stronger Ethiopia, offering immense promise to guide the country into a new era of enduring peace and development.

For his part, Gizaw Kebede noted that the dialogue is progressing smoothly across all levels by ensuring that every viewpoint is integrated into the discussions and extensive are held.

 Nebiyou Mihretu underscored the inclusive nature of the consultation process, which involved broad cross-section of the society.

He added that the process is actively building trust, unity, and a shared sense of purpose as delegates work together to craft constructive solutions for the nation's future.

 Nebiyou expressed deep confidence that the talks will deepen solidarity and brotherhood among all Ethiopians, ultimately paving the way for enduring peace.

Saudi Arabia Executes 5 Ethiopians Over Drug-related Charges, Rights Group Says

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

9:39 AM EDT, July 29, 2026

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Five Ethiopians were executed in Saudi Arabia this week on drug-related charges following a trial that allegedly did not follow due process and lasted a few minutes without a translator, according to Human Rights Watch.

The rights organization said Tuesday at least 79 other Ethiopians remain at imminent risk of execution on similar charges. It cited the European Saudi Organization for Human Rights, which said at least 116 people have been executed this year.

Human Rights Watch said the five were charged with possessing hashish, a type of cannabis.

“Saudi authorities are executing marginalized Ethiopian migrants after court hearings that sometimes barely last a few minutes without a lawyer or a translator,” said Joey Shea, senior Saudi Arabia researcher at Human Rights Watch. Many Ethiopians migrate to Gulf countries in search of work.

“Dozens of vulnerable migrants remain at risk of imminent execution after trials that were barely trials at all, in a system that treats their lives as disposable,” she said.

There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia in response to the report.

Saudi Arabia is one of several countries in the Middle East, including Iran, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, that can levy the death penalty on drug-related charges. The kingdom remains one of the world’s top executioners behind China and Iran.

Last week, Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry said it remained “closely engaged” with Saudi authorities on matters affecting Ethiopians. The ministry said it was looking into individuals facing legal proceedings and judicial measures but did not specify whether they included people sentenced to death for drug offences.

In May, the patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church appealed to Saudi authorities to halt the execution of Ethiopian nationals.

Tsehay Wolay, whose son Kidane Angesom was executed by Saudi authorities on April 21, said she heard the news through his cellmate.

“They murdered my son,” she lamented in an interview last month. “I can’t even receive my son’s corpse so I can bury him properly.”

Kidane, 32, had stayed in Saudi Arabia for nine years, four of them behind bars. His mother never got to know what he was accused of.

“If they were going to kill him, why was all that suffering necessary?” his mother asked.

Human Rights Watch said Saudi Arabia’s use of the death penalty is contrary to international human rights law, which upholds every human being’s “inherent right to life” and limits the death penalty to “the most serious crimes.”

Ugandan Opposition Leader Besigye is Unconscious in Hospital After Collapsing in Court, Wife Says

Ugandan opposition leader and four-time presidential candidate Kizza Besigye, second left centre, arrives in a civilian court in Kampala, Uganda on Feb. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Hajarah Nalwadda)

By RODNEY MUHUMUZA

4:14 AM EDT, July 30, 2026

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye has been hospitalized and is unconscious after he collapsed during a courtroom session of his treason trial, according to his wife and others who are urging authorities to set him free after repeated bail denials.

Besigye fell in the dock on Wednesday while protesting his trial without lawyers of his own choosing, after authorities detained his main attorney, Erias Lukwago, and charged him with alleged failure to report acts of treason.

Besigye’s wife, UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima, said in a post on X that Besigye is unconscious in an intensive care unit at a public hospital in the Ugandan capital of Kampala. “Before he collapsed, he cried out that he was being injured,” she said.

Ingrid Turinawe, a close confidant of Besigye, told The Associated Press that she and others were not allowed to see Besigye at the Mulago Hospital.

“He is in the ICU, and he is not responding to anything,” she said, adding that Besigye’s personal physician was able to see him several hours after he collapsed.

A spokesperson for the Ugandan prison system didn’t respond to a request for comment.

The case against Besigye is controversial as Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni and his son, military chief Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, have already weighed in against him.

Kainerugaba, alleging that Besigye plotted to kill his father, has previously described the opposition figure as “a dead man walking.” And Museveni himself has said Besigye must answer for “the very serious offenses he is alleged to have been planning.”

In recent days, prosecutors have moved to present evidence they say will prove Besigye and others plotted to overthrow the government. Besigye’s political party says the charges against him are fake and politically motivated.

Besigye, once Uganda’s most prominent opposition figure, last contested the presidency in 2016, later saying that elections were a waste of time in a country with an authoritarian leader who depends more on the armed forces.

Besigye went missing in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, in November 2024 but was later presented before a military tribunal in Kampala to face charges related to threatening national security. The criminal case was transferred to a civilian court and the charge amended to treason, which carries the death penalty.

Besigye once was a trusted ally of Museveni in the guerrilla war that propelled him to power in 1986, and even served as Museveni’s personal doctor and military assistant.

He later became a fierce critic of the president, condemning what he saw as a descent into authoritarianism that betrayed the democratic promise of Museveni’s early years. Term and age limits on the presidency have since been scrapped.

Museveni, who won reelection in controversial polls in January, is serving a seventh consecutive term in office. Bobi Wine, Museveni’s main opponent in that election, has since gone into exile out of fear for his safety.

DR Congo Says the Death Toll in Fastest-growing Ebola Outbreak Has Passed 1,500

By PROSPER HERI NGORORA and MARK BANCHEREAU

11:05 AM EDT, July 30, 2026

BUNIA, Congo (AP) — Ebola has killed more than 1,500 people in eastern Congo in the fastest-growing outbreak of the disease, data released Thursday showed, marking a 50% increase in around a week as the emergency continues to outpace response efforts.

As of Tuesday, 3,442 cases had been recorded, with 1,521 deaths, according to the latest government update. The sharp rise since last week partly reflects a backlog of cases and deaths that had not yet been confirmed or recorded, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.

The outbreak, declared on May 15, has been linked to the Bundibugyo virus for which there are no approved vaccines or treatments. Delays in contact tracing, difficulties accessing affected areas, mistrust from communities and violence by armed groups and some residents have hampered the response, the Africa CDC said.

The outbreak is mostly concentrated in eastern Congo’s remote Ituri province, which accounts for nearly 90% of cases, but there have been others confirmed in five provinces, including one of the country’s largest cities, Kisangani.

Neighboring Uganda declared itself free of Ebola on Tuesday following the discharge of the country’s last patient in mid-June.

Ebola is rare, but highly contagious and can be contracted via bodily fluids such as vomit, blood or semen. The disease it causes is severe and often fatal.

Africa CDC Director-General Dr. Jean Kaseya said Thursday that 63% of confirmed deaths in the last two weeks occurred outside of treatment centers.

Kaseya said this is largely due to the “unsafe handling of infected bodies” by residents. Traditional burial practices in some communities involve touching the bodies of the deceased, which can be highly contagious.

The restrictions that health authorities have placed on such funerals, along with widespread misinformation asserting that the deadly virus isn’t real, have angered some residents and led to attacks on health facilities.

In Ituri’s Nyakunde health zone, international partners supporting the Ebola response had to temporarily relocate after a July 15 attack on a hospital and a treatment center, sparked by a patient’s death.

Officials say the relocation of these partners, including Africa CDC and Mercy Corps, has disrupted surveillance, contact tracing and supplies.

Dr. Désiré Duabo, chief medical officer for the health zone, said foreign aid groups and agencies had provided much of the supplies, equipment and operational support, and warned that the small stocks left are “almost depleted.”

Attacks such as the one in Nyakunde are causing anxiety among health workers and making it difficult for them to carry out their duties, said Pierre Akilimali, the Ebola response incident manager at the National Public Health Institute of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

“They are working amidst risks of infection as well as risks to their personal safety,” he said.

Local health officials say security has since stabilized and are urging partners to return, with Africa CDC saying teams could redeploy as soon as next week.

The latest outbreak has killed more people at a quicker rate than any previous outbreak, including in 2014-2016 when 28,000 cases were reported, of which over 11,000 people died. That outbreak took about eight months to reach 1,000 deaths.

The World Health Organization says the global risk of spread remains low because Ebola does not travel through the air, making it much harder to spread than respiratory viruses. Cases detected outside the affected region have so far been quickly identified and contained without leading to sustained transmission, the agency said.

In Congo, however, the risk of the spread remains “very high,” according to the WHO.

——

Banchereau reported from Dakar, Senegal.

Ebola Outbreak Is Now the Second-Deadliest Ever, and in Record Time

The disease has killed more than 1,500 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo in just over two months, causing deaths faster than officials have ever recorded.

By Zane Irwin and Stephanie Nolen

July 30, 2026

3:40 p.m. ET

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has already become the second-worst on record, and it is spreading much faster than previous outbreaks, the nation’s health ministry reported on Thursday.

The official death toll has jumped to 1,521 people in fewer than three months. Put another way, the species of Ebola behind the current outbreak, Bundibugyo, has killed more than five times as many people as previous outbreaks did in the same amount of time, officials from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said at a press briefing on Thursday.

The last outbreak, which began in 2018 and was declared over in 2020, took more than 10 months to reach the same death toll.

“I’m not in a position to tell you we are in total control of this outbreak today,” said Dr. Jean Kaseya, the director general of the Africa C.D.C.

The virus ripping through eastern Congo is on pace to surpass the number of infections and deaths of the 2014-2016 Ebola crisis in West Africa, the worst outbreak ever that killed more than 11,000 people.

On Tuesday, Uganda, which borders Congo, declared an end to its related Bundibugyo outbreak after four weeks with no new cases. There were 20 cases and three deaths in Uganda.

Swift action and rigorous contact tracing in Uganda are credited with quickly controlling its outbreak. But across the border in Congo, the situation is rapidly deteriorating.

Since the current outbreak was first declared in May, Congo has confirmed 3,442 cases. As of Wednesday, the nation’s health ministry had counted 797 people who were hospitalized or in isolation. More than 80 percent of beds in treatment centers are occupied, and officials warn they could soon be overwhelmed.

Early surveillance and testing failed to spot the disease’s emergence, delaying the response. Tracing the virus was also made harder by fighting in eastern Congo that has displaced millions of people.

Africa C.D.C. officials said on Thursday that contact tracing efforts remained far off target. More than 80 percent of new cases in the epicenter of the disease were “not linked to known contacts,” officials said.

Every confirmed case from an urban area is expected to have 40 contacts, which means the current roster of exposed people being followed should be 134,400 people. Instead, it’s only 17,558 people, just 13 percent of what it should be.

And of those on the list, about a fifth are not being followed, either because there is a lack of health personnel to do the job or because armed conflict makes it impossible to check on them regularly.

Sixty percent of those who have died of the virus succumbed in a community, not in a health center, Dr. Kaseya said, in another indicator that the virus is spreading unchecked.

Efforts to save lives and slow the virus are nevertheless progressing.

While there are no vaccines or treatments for Bundibugyo, clinical trials of possible treatments, and of a drug that could prevent infection in people exposed to the virus, have begun in Congo. More than 40 patients are testing a combination of therapeutics.

And in a separate trial, 19 people have been started on a 10-day course of an experimental anti-viral drug to prevent people exposed to the virus from getting sick. This trial aims to enroll 1,200 people. If data analysis after 600 patients show promising results, the goal will be to extend access to the drug to all contacts.

“This is the hope we have,” Dr. Kaseya said.

In addition, a clinical trial of a first-ever vaccine for Bundibugyo began at Oxford University this month, where the first of 50 adult volunteers was immunized and will be monitored for vaccine safety.

On Thursday, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations announced that it would fund a Singapore-based research firm, Hilleman Laboratories, to develop another potential vaccine and make doses for testing. The goal is to get it into swift clinical trials in Congo. This vaccine uses the technology behind one made by Merck, already approved by regulatory agencies to prevent another species of Ebola.

Zane Irwin is an international reporter and a member of the 2026-27 Times Fellowship, a program for journalists early in their careers.

Stephanie Nolen is a global health reporter for The Times.

State Department Map Mislabels African Countries at AIDS Conference

Nigeria, a coastal country in western Africa, was landlocked in the Sahara, among other errors. The department said it had been “hastily altered.”

A projector screen showing a map below a title saying “Current APS Funding Opportunities.” The map shows the continent Africa, with several countries highlighted in different colors.  

A map presented by the State Department at AIDS 2026, a conference in Brazil this week. Credit...Picture Obtained By Reuters/UGC

By Remy Tumin

July 30, 2026

3:53 p.m. ET

A senior health official with the State Department presenting at an international AIDS conference in Brazil this week used a map of Africa to illustrate U.S. government funding for H.I.V. programs on the continent.

There was only one problem. The map incorrectly identified several African countries:

Nigeria, a coastal country in western Africa, was landlocked in the Sahara;

Mozambique, a coastal state in southeastern Africa, was similarly landlocked and relocated to the Horn of Africa;

Ivory Coast, a coastal country in western Africa, was made into a southern African state;

Uganda and Malawi were roughly in the correct vicinity of the continent, but the borders were inaccurate.

The legend also referenced Cameroon, but the map did not include the country.

The map appeared to show where the State Department might direct health grants during a pre-conference event at AIDS 2026, which is being hosted by the International AIDS Society in Rio de Janeiro. The session focused on the status of U.S. government relations with governments in Africa.

An analysis by Reuters, which obtained images from the session, found that the map contained an artificial intelligence watermark associated with tools from OpenAI. Screenshots of the map were first published ​in a Substack post by Emily Bass, an AIDS expert and writer, and were widely shared on LinkedIn.

The State Department called the misprint “an unfortunate error” in a statement and said it resulted from a team member who “hastily altered” a slide before the presentation. The department said it took “full responsibility” for the misprint.

Kenneth Ngure, the president-elect of the International AIDS Society, called the use of the map at the conference “disheartening.”

“African countries must be taken seriously,” he said in a statement. “The African continent continues to bear the greatest burden of the H.I.V. pandemic, and our focus must now return to advancing the H.I.V. response.”

The Trump administration’s cuts to the largest global H.I.V. program last year have resulted in drastic drops in both prevention efforts and treatment. The program, known as the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, supported treatment for about 77,000 fewer children in 2025 than it had the previous year, a 14 percent decline, according to a study, the results of which are expected to be presented at the conference this week.

A State Department spokesman said the department was shifting away from a “legacy assistance model” to “genuine country ownership.”

Spain Mobilizes Military as Thousands of Migrants Cross Into Ceuta

The arrivals in Ceuta, a six-mile-long peninsula on Morocco’s northern coast that Spain has governed for centuries, have fueled political tensions.

Thousands of Migrants Cross Into Spain’s North African Territory

By Jason Horowitz

July 30, 2026

8:25 p.m. ET

Thousands of migrants climbed over a border fence or swam onto the shores of Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta on Thursday, prompting a mobilization of the Spanish military and fueling political tensions on the Spanish mainland.

In recent days, 1,500 migrants had entered Ceuta, a six-mile-long peninsula on Morocco’s northern coast that Spain has governed for centuries, according to the area’s president, Juan Jesús Vivas. At least 18 people have died attempting to enter the territory, a spokesman for the Spanish government said on Thursday.

The arrivals were so numerous — and the potential political and security ramifications so serious — that the Spanish government on Thursday evening said that it had mobilized its armed forces to reinforce the police in Ceuta. It said in a statement that it was dispatching military platoons to enforce border security, increasing air and naval support, and sending diving teams to patrol the waters. The European Union offered to send Spain support from Frontex, its border and Coast Guard agency, to reestablish order.

“We are in a situation of total humanitarian and social emergency,” Mr. Vivas told a Spanish radio station on Thursday.

On Thursday evening, the Ceuta government added in a statement that “this is an unprecedented situation that is testing our institutional response capacity and causing profound concern among the entire citizenry.” Fernando Rodríguez Contreras, an official in the government, said the working estimate for the number of people who had crossed was in the tens of thousands, though that figure could not be confirmed.

Migration at Ceuta, and at Melilla, another autonomous Spanish city in North Africa, has long been a point of tension between Morocco and Spain. The two areas constitute the European Union’s sole land border with Africa, and can draw large numbers of young men and other migrants seeking to enter the bloc. More than 10,000 people came over the border in two days in 2021, when the migration crisis reached its peak. In 2022, at least 23 migrants died in a stampede during an attempted mass crossing in Melilla. Many others have died at sea.

It was unclear on Thursday evening what had prompted the latest amassing of people in Ceuta. Analysts said it was too soon to draw conclusions but that Morocco, which controls migration flows across the border, may have been upset about Spain’s recent effort to deepen ties with Algeria. Right-wing critics blamed the Spanish government’s new plan to give undocumented migrants already in the country a path to legal status for attracting illegal arrivals.

What is clear is that the border, on the African mainland, has also been a major source of domestic political tension for Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez — both with anti-immigrant and conservative political opponents who accuse him of being lax on border control as well as pro-immigrant advocates who criticize the government for harsh immigration enforcement tactics.

Unlike the United States and some European neighbors defined by tough immigration stances, Spain’s left-wing government has projected an image of itself as the West’s new melting pot. It has embraced immigrants, especially Latin Americans who speak Spain’s language, share its religion and understand its culture. Some activists have argued that the warm welcome doesn’t extend to many Africans, and that Spain has a complicated historical relationship with Morocco, which accounts for the largest number of legal immigrants to Spain.

But the government made clear on Thursday that the high volume of illegal crossings was not part of its vision.

“The Spanish government is fully committed to providing an immediate response to the situation in Ceuta,” Mr. Sánchez wrote on social media on Thursday, as Spanish television stations broadcast footage of overwhelmed Spanish authorities watching as thousands of excited migrants streamed by.

The right-wing opposition seized the moment.

“This is an invasion,” said Santiago Abascal, the leader of the far-right party Vox, who accused Mr. Sánchez’s government of purposefully inviting in the migrants, who he suggested, without evidence, were criminals and rapists and potential left-wing voters.

The leading opposition party took a more measured tone but called on Mr. Sánchez to declare a national emergency.

“The situation in Ceuta is desperate,” said Alberto Núñez Feijóo, who leads the conservative Popular Party. “The government cannot shirk its responsibilities.”

Spain, eager to keep good relations with Morocco, in part to maintain its cooperation in deterring migrant arrivals, has downplayed criticism of the Moroccan government, saying that Morocco is helping prevent more people from entering Spanish territory. The Spanish government also said in a statement that it was directing more resources to the border, where the overwhelmed Spanish police and emergency services had been forced to focus only on treating those injured during the crossing.

Mr. Vivas, the Ceuta president, said the area’s reception centers and facilities for unaccompanied minors were overflowing.

Spain’s interior ministry said human-smuggling networks were seizing on a recent Supreme Court decision to encourage migrants to try to enter Europe through Spain. That decision barred the summary return of migrants intercepted at sea ​while attempting to reach the Spanish territories.

Spanish news media reports from Ceuta described some of those who had successfully completed the sea crossing as exhausted from the journey and near death, but others as jubilant, cheering “Long live Spain!” as they tossed flip-flops in the air or knelt to kiss Spanish soil.

But the footage of thousands of people, the vast majority of them young men, walking unencumbered onto Spanish territory touched a nerve for some in Spain and throughout Europe.

“The protection of the Union’s external borders is a crucial part of our efforts to fight illegal migration,” Magnus Brunner, the European Union’s commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration, wrote on social media. “We are in contact with the relevant authorities on the evolving situation in Ceuta.”

Carlos Barragán contributed reporting from Madrid

Jason Horowitz is the Madrid bureau chief for The Times, covering Spain, Portugal and the way people live throughout Europe.

Mamdani Leaves Door Open to Paying Reparations to Black New Yorkers

The mayor said in recent interviews that it was important to acknowledge the city’s role in slavery but that he could not commit to payouts before his racial equity commission completes its report.

Zohran Mamdani smiles as he glances to his left while striding into a room for a news conference.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani said this week that New York City’s effort to determine potential reparations was “critically important.” Credit...Dave Sanders for The New York Times

By Jeffery C. Mays

July 30, 2026, 7:53 p.m. ET

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Mayor Zohran Mamdani said this week that he supported reparations efforts in New York City but that it was too early to commit to making monetary payouts to descendants of slavery.

In a recent interview on The Root, Mr. Mamdani was asked whether he would support cash reparations if the city’s Commission on Racial Equity, which is currently studying the matter, recommended them. The mayor said he would have to wait for the commission’s report but acknowledged the city’s complicity in slavery.

“We often think about slavery and the complicity in slavery as being exclusively to certain geographic areas of the country,” Mr. Mamdani told the former New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow in the interview. “Here in New York City, we were very complicit. And so, I look forward to whatever those findings are.”

“I can’t give you an answer in advance of them,” the mayor continued, “but I can tell you that this is critically important because this is also what it looks like to acknowledge what history truly was.”

He told Mr. Blow that he stood by a pledge, written when he was running for mayor, that he would support the descendants of slavery in, as the pledge states, “rectifying historical discrimination” and “repairing ongoing inequalities.”

In another interview this week on Sirius XM’s Urban Views channel, Mr. Mamdani said that “if we are taking an honest and accurate approach to what New York City’s role was, you will see that complicity is something that cannot be debated.”

When asked about the mayor’s recent comments, Jeremy Edwards, a spokesman for the mayor, said Mr. Mamdani’s statements spoke for themselves.

There are currently separate city and state commissions studying reparations and reconciliation. In 2023, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a law creating the New York State Community Commission on Reparations Remedies to study the legacy of slavery and the ongoing impact on descendants dealing with extreme wealth gaps and other social issues that are the consequences of the loss of generational wealth. The group is not expected to release its findings for at least two years.

The New York City Commission on Racial Equity, created in 2022 by public ballot, is also studying reparations and creating “a public process for truth, healing and reconciliation” that will offer New Yorkers a way to “publicly acknowledge the history and harm of slavery,” according to the commission.

The group is expected to issue a report on its plans for the truth, healing and reconciliation process next June and the reparations study the following month.

The Commission on Racial Equity has recently clashed with Mr. Mamdani regarding the release of the city’s first legally mandated racial equity report.

The commission criticized the administration for not including crucial elements required by city law, such as a plan to increase racial equity in budgeting and policymaking. It also took issue with the deletion of references to diversity, equity and inclusion in the report, done to avoid antagonizing the Trump administration, which has systematically dismantled diversity and equity initiatives.

Tyrik Washington, a strategist for the commission who is helping to lead the reparations study, said the mayor was right to not jump ahead of the commission as it carefully studies the issue and develops a plan for reparations and a legal and educational arm to fight for them.

“You can’t talk about the question of affordability without talking about the racial wealth gap,” Mr. Washington said. “You can’t talk about question of the racial wealth gap without talking about reparations.”

“You don’t get Mamdani without the fight for reparations,” he added.

Keris Lové, the organizing strategist for New Yorkers for Reparations, a statewide coalition, says that many people regard slavery as a “footnote that happened, instead of being recognized as the root of everything that was built afterward.”

She said she preferred an approach in which cash reparations and other changes, such as investments in housing or education, were both on the table.

“We know that there’s immediate needs right now,” said Ms. Lové. “We also know that if we don’t fix the structural issues, the next generation of Black New Yorkers will still find themselves at the bottom of the caste system.”

New York was a focal point of slavery in the country. New York City had more enslaved Africans before the American Revolution than any other U.S. city except Charleston, S.C., according to the governor’s office.

New York is the financial capital of the world in part because of the benefit it derived from the slave trade. Enslaved Africans were traded at a market on Wall Street. Banking, insurance and shipping also flourished in the city because of chattel slavery. New York abolished slavery in 1827.

Anthony Vidal Torres, the director of communications at Get Free, a group dedicated to making reparations a national issue, said, “We know that entities like Citibank, New York Life Insurance and some others that have been here since the early days of the colony that became New York directly made their founding profits on the financing of enslavement.”

Jeffery C. Mays is a Times reporter covering politics with a focus on New York City Hall.

Trump Threatens to Withdraw Blanche as Attorney General, Dealing Blow to Nomination

President Trump’s threat followed a day of fruitless negotiations with two Republican holdouts, Senators John Cornyn and Thom Tillis.

By Glenn Thrush Michael Gold and Carl Hulse

Reporting from Washington

July 30, 2026

6:27 p.m. ET

Todd Blanche’s nomination to become attorney general suffered a serious blow on Thursday when President Trump threatened to withdraw Mr. Blanche’s name rather than place limits on a tax immunity deal that would benefit himself and his family, as demanded by two Republican senators.

Mr. Trump’s threat, posted on social media, followed 24 hours of frenetic and fruitless negotiations among Mr. Blanche, the White House and the two senators, John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who are not returning to Congress next year.

“I have no objection to temporarily withdrawing Todd’s name, if they do not do the right thing, and putting him back after Cornyn and Tillis are out of office,” Mr. Trump wrote, in a fight that has exposed the limits of his power over Congress.

That set off a late-day scramble to rescue Mr. Blanche’s nomination, and the semblance of intraparty, interbranch comity. Mr. Tillis and Mr. Cornyn met privately with Mr. Blanche Thursday afternoon in the offices of the National Republican Senatorial Committee near the Capitol. It was not immediately clear if they broke the impasse.

Mr. Cornyn and Mr. Tillis object to a deal negotiated by Mr. Blanche and Mr. Trump’s personal lawyers to resolve a lawsuit the president had filed against the I.R.S. The deal gave Mr. Trump, his family and his businesses broad immunity against I.R.S. audits, potentially saving them at least $100 million in penalties. Democrats and even some Republican lawmakers criticized the deal as a giveaway to the Trump family.

The two senators want to narrow the deal in order to advance Mr. Blanche’s nomination, demanding that he put in writing what he acknowledged at his confirmation hearing: that the provision applies to only Mr. Trump, two of his sons and the Trump Organization, and that it would be limited to audits of past tax returns. But the administration so far has refused.

Mr. Blanche cannot afford a single Republican defection on the Senate Judiciary Committee if he hopes to advance his confirmation to the Senate floor. The opposition of Mr. Cornyn and Mr. Tillis leaves him two short, forcing the committee to scrap its scheduled vote on Thursday.

Mr. Trump would have ways to allow Mr. Blanche, the president’s former top defense lawyer, to effectively remain as acting attorney general indefinitely.

But the fact that some Republicans, emboldened by Mr. Trump’s declining popularity and alarmed by his lack of concern for their own political fortunes, even temporarily derailed a flagship nominee raised questions about Mr. Trump’s capacity to sustain the dominance over congressional Republicans that has allowed him to exert unmediated control over the department.

Mr. Trump’s threat is unusual, in at least two respects. First, there is no guarantee that Republicans will maintain their commanding majority in the upper chamber, or be more willing to accede to his demands after the midterms. Second, pulling Mr. Blanche’s nomination, even temporarily, would demonstrate Mr. Trump’s willingness to advance his personal interests over the institutional stability embodied by a Senate-confirmed attorney general.

The tax deal, tacked onto a Blanche-backed plan to create a $1.8 billion fund to compensate people who said they were victims of unfair prosecution by the government, pushed Senate Republicans to the brink. The fund raised the possibility of the government making gigantic payments to the people who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, and forced Mr. Blanche to declare it was dead, even as he declined to put that commitment in writing. But he gave no ground on the tax immunity deal.

At a closed-door meeting in May, several Republican senators browbeat Mr. Blanche for signing off on a wide-ranging agreement they saw as a vast conflict of interest that would be perceived by voters as an effort to line the pockets of Mr. Trump, his family and his political allies.

Mr. Trump nonetheless cast the objections as a personal vendetta against him. He accused Mr. Cornyn and Mr. Tillis of a sour-grapes revolt aimed at punishing him for withholding his kingmaker endorsement in their contested Republican primaries. Mr. Tillis decided not to seek another term after repeated public attacks from the president, while Mr. Cornyn lost his re-election bid to a challenger backed by Mr. Trump.

“John Cornyn, of Texas, and Thom Tillis, of North Carolina, both of whom I refused to Endorse, and whose political careers have been ended by my action, are refusing to vote for this Great Nominee, who will remain, in any event, as Acting,” the president wrote on Truth Social.

Mr. Cornyn quickly pushed back, suggesting that he and Mr. Tillis represented a much larger group of Senate Republicans who had reservations about the implications of the tax deal, but could not incur the political risk to publicly oppose the White House that their status afforded them.

“There are more than just two people who have reservations about the weaponization fund and about the scope of the settlement decree,” Mr. Cornyn said. “And you know, after the midterms, who knows who’s going to be the next United States senator from North Carolina or Texas?”

“This is not popular,” Mr. Tillis said at the Capitol. “The president’s not winning on this issue. It is killing some of our candidates because they can’t explain it. And now, it looks like they weren’t being honest when they said it was inoperative.”

Before Mr. Trump’s social media post, Mr. Cornyn told reporters that he believed “higher-ups at the White House” were blocking efforts to reach a deal to modify the settlement in Mr. Trump’s lawsuit against the I.R.S.

Mr. Cornyn said he had sent a proposal to the Justice Department that included limits on the provision in the settlement protecting Mr. Trump from I.R.S. audits, a guarantee he said he needed before voting to advance Mr. Blanche’s confirmation.

“I thought we were pretty close to landing the plane last night,” Mr. Cornyn said. “But this morning there’s been some more complications.”

Doubling down on his critique of the White House, Mr. Cornyn said pulling Mr. Blanche’s nomination would not resolve the president’s problems over the Senate confirmation. “I think the D.O.J. needs a Senate-confirmed attorney general,” he said. “And Todd Blanche is probably about as good as we’re going to get.”

Senator John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican who serves on the Judiciary Committee, said on Thursday that he was not surprised that the president said he may temporarily pull Mr. Blanche’s nomination.

“Obviously, the White House did not want to comply with what Cornyn and Tillis wanted,” he said.

The tax provision, signed by Mr. Blanche and dated May 19, appeared to be twofold. It ordered the I.R.S. to drop any criminal investigations or audits of Mr. Trump, his family and their businesses, as well as any “affiliated individuals.” It also told the agency to not start any new investigations into tax returns they had already filed.

Mr. Cornyn wants Mr. Blanche, in writing, to limit who receives protection. Only Mr. Trump, two of his sons and the Trump Organization should be subject to the order, Mr. Cornyn has said. That would mean that other members of Mr. Trump’s family beyond Don Jr. and Eric Trump, as well as other companies they work with, would no longer be potentially covered by Mr. Blanche’s order.

Mr. Cornyn also wants Mr. Blanche to clarify that the I.R.S. must abandon only audits of past tax returns — meaning that Mr. Trump could still be audited in the future — and state that the I.R.S. is the only agency bound by the order.

During his confirmation hearing this month, Mr. Blanche, under questioning by Mr. Cornyn, verbally conceded all three points. But, so far, he has been unwilling to reflect that in writing.

Even with Mr. Cornyn’s requested changes, the audit protection for Mr. Trump would still be an unprecedented gift to a sitting president, effectively exempting him from the legal requirement for all Americans to comply with the nation’s tax laws — or face I.R.S. scrutiny.

Mr. Trump and his family members have aggressively avoided taxes for years, repeatedly facing I.R.S. audits as a result. Just one known dispute with the agency, which was still going on before Mr. Blanche’s order, could have cost Mr. Trump more than $100 million if the I.R.S. prevailed.

Andrew Duehren, Maggie Haberman and Olivia Diaz contributed reporting.

Trump Administration Reportedly Considering Military Operations in Mali

These attacks are purportedly being planned against an Islamist rebel grouping, yet the military government has been a target of the West along with neighboring Niger and Burkina Faso of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES)

By Abayomi Azikiwe

Editor, Pan-African News Wire

Wednesday July 29, 2026

Geopolitical Analysis

In a recent Washington Post article, it reports that the United States administration of President Donald Trump has been weighing possible military strikes in the West African state of Mali. (https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/07/22/trump-administration-weighs-military-options-mali-officials-say/)

The purported airstrikes would be aimed at the Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an al-Qaeda affiliated rebel grouping who have been involved in numerous armed attacks on the central government in Mali.

Earlier the JNIM grouping had established a fuel blockade against the southern capital city of Bamako. The Malian government has broken military ties with the former colonial power of France and is now relying on security assistance from the Russian-based Africa Corps.

Since late 2023, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have operated under the Liptako-Gourma Charter which was formed by the AES. There is cooperation between these three landlocked states on the military, security and economic level.

Since the expulsion of French and US troops from the AES, both Paris and Washington have been hostile towards this West African alliance which has broken with the decades-old Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). However, the Trump administration which took power for the second non-consecutive term during January 2025, has engaged the Malian government around providing intelligence assistance against the JNIM.

During the early months of 2026, the JNIM launched a joint attack with the Tuareg separatist group, the Azawad Liberation Front, on several northern and southern regions of the country. The Minister of Defense was killed in the attacks. Rebels were able to penetrate the capital of Bamako attacking the airport and the military headquarters.

Although the attacks were repelled by the Malian military with the assistance of the Africa Corps, the threats still remain. Any US involvement in Mali or any other AES country should be examined critically.

There is widespread agreement among various geopolitical analysts and historians that the origins of al-Qaeda are within US intelligence during the Washington-led attempts to overthrow the socialist-oriented government in Afghanistan during the late 1970s and early 1980s. In subsequent years, al-Qaeda has taken responsibility for numerous bombings which resulted in many deaths primarily of civilians. 

The September 11, 2001 attacks which destroyed the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York City have been attributed to al-Qaeda. 19 men, many of whom were from Saudi Arabia and Egypt, hijacked four planes crashing them into the WTC and the Pentagon. One of the planes went down in the state of Pennsylvania. 

Thousands of people were killed in these attacks including the entire crews and passengers on the flights. The 19 al-Qaeda operatives were all killed during the operation and therefore the hijackers, using knives and box cutters, could not be interrogated on their motivations. 

The 9-11 attacks in 2001 provided a rationale for the massive bombing and invasion by the Pentagon into Afghanistan. Although none of the individuals identified as the rebels responsible for the hijackings were from Afghanistan, this same country which had been targeted for destabilization under socialism then became the culprits in the attacks on the WTC and the Pentagon then being dominated by the Taliban, an Islamist movement. 

Under the leadership of then President George W. Bush, Jr. in 2001, the occupation war against Afghanistan was launched. A US-backed regime was installed and coordinated for two decades.

In 2021, the US was forced to withdraw from Afghanistan under the then President Joe Biden. Consequently, after a 20-year occupation and the deaths of thousands of Afghans and US troops along with its NATO allies, the operation was considered a complete failure which resulted in the triumph of the Taliban whom established the Islamic Emirates of Afghanistan which is still in place after five years.

Mali Operation Would Also be Disastrous

One important factor to consider involving the situation in Mali and the AES countries is the role of the US in destabilizing the state through the Washington-backed regime in Ukraine. Reports during 2024 revealed that Ukraine had provided assistance to the Malian rebels in their operations. (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/8/8/malis-spat-with-kyiv-is-the-russia-ukraine-war-spilling-over-into-africa)

Since the Africa Corps was aiding the Mali government of General Assimi Goita, the Ukrainian regime began to boast about its operational support to JNIM. These developments prompted the severing of diplomatic relations between Kyiv and Bamako. 

Therefore, why would the US offer to provide intelligence assistance to Mali at this stage? Obviously, Washington would want to lure Bamako back into the western imperialist camp. In previous years, Mali had housed troops from the US Africa Command (AFRICOM). In addition to the presence of AFRICOM, France had intervened with thousands of troops in early 2013 under the guise of fighting terrorism.

Yet the problems of rebel insurgencies in Mali took place after the US-backed counter-revolution in the North African state of Libya. The Islamist rebel groupings were utilized by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), NATO and the Pentagon as ground troops while the imperialists and their allies bombed Libya from the air for eight months.

Tens of thousands of Libyans were killed while two million were displaced. Longtime leader Col. Muammar Gaddafi and other Libyan leaders were killed in targeted assassinations during 2011. The US under the administration of then President Barack Obama took full responsibility for the overthrow of the Jamahiriya administration under Gaddafi and the consequent destruction of what was Africa’s most prosperous state. 

Many of these rebels then fled into Mali initiating a destabilization policy in this neighboring state as well. Therefore, the current security crisis in Mali and the other AES countries is the direct result of the interventions by the US, France and other NATO states. 

Operation Barkane, a French military and intelligence operation, brought in several regional states ostensibly to counter the rebel insurgents. However, between 2013 and 2020 the security situation in the Sahel states worsened. In 2020, Goita and his allies took power and began to reorient the security apparatus of Mali.

The Malian military government rightfully began to blame France and other NATO states as being responsible for the destabilization in the region. Russia was asked to assist Mali in security matters. Diplomatic relations were strengthened between the AES and the Russian Federation.

Any dialogue between Bamako and Washington around security questions could never be beneficial to the people of Mali and the AES. The same justification for interventions by Washington has taken on similar story line as in Mali. 

In Libya there was the false claims that the Gaddafi government was planning a massacre of the people in Benghazi where the counter-revolution was started. Afghanistan was said to have been a threat to US and world security. At present, the Islamic Republic of Iran has been accused of attempting to build nuclear weapons. The genocide against the Palestinians is falsely justified by accusing them of being terrorists. After the killings of more than 73,000 Palestinians, the US government refuses to condemn the State of Israel for violations of the Genocide Convention while still supplying the zionists with billions of dollars in weapons and diplomatic assistance. 

There Can be No Peace Under Imperialism and Neo-colonialism

The only way peace can be achieved in West Africa and West Asia is for the people themselves to take control of their security apparatus and to remove imperialist influence from these geopolitical regions. Despite the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the US and the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Trump administration does not want to accept defeat in their failed attempt at fomenting a counter-revolution in Tehran.

Mali and other AES governments have pledged to maintain their transformational process of nationalizing industries and reforming trade regulations to benefit the people of the region. Even though the western imperialists have continued to back the rebels waging war on the AES countries, the economic situation has improved in Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali.

The events in the AES should serve as a lesson to all 55 member-states of the African Union (AU). Until the continent can unite to form its own formidable security apparatuses and independent foreign policy and economic programs, the region will remain under neo-colonialism and its consequent indebtedness, underdevelopment and deepening impoverishment.