Africa Daily Focus on Africa: Russia's Wagner Group leaves Mali
Russia says the paramilitary group Wagner has accomplished its mission and has left Mali, although a Russian presence remains in the West African country, through the Africa Corps. So what did the Wagner Group achieve?
Why has a separatist movement on the tiny, remote island of Annobón that is part of Equatorial Guinea, appealed to Argentina for support with its independence claim?
And new research shows that Africa now has more Christians than any other continent, surpassing Europe for the first time. We discuss what is driving that growth.
Presenter: Audrey Brown
Producers: Tom Kavanagh, Alfonso Daniels, Nyasha Michelle, Victor Sylver and Joseph Keen
Technical Producer: Craig Kingham
Senior Producer: Patricia Whitehorne
Editors: Alice Muthengi and Andre Lombard
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Telegraph
37 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Boris Johnson: ‘Feeble' defence budget will leave us at Russia's mercy
Boris Johnson has said Labour's 'feeble' spending on defence leaves Britain at the mercy of Russia. The former prime minister told The Telegraph that Rachel Reeves's claims that defence spending would rise to 2.6 per cent of GDP by 2027 had left him 'very puzzled' and that the Chancellor's reluctance to pump more money into the sector suggested she did not view it as a priority. On Wednesday, Ms Reeves said defence spending would rise to 2.6 per cent by April 2027, but did not confirm whether it would climb higher, as demanded by Nato. 'This is feeble,' Mr Johnson said. 'They [Labour] have wasted a big opportunity. 'My view is that this Government is completely failing to show the leadership that is needed to defend Britain and defend Europe. 'Labour are congenitally hostile to defence spending. Their grass roots are still basically Corbynistas who think Russia is a great thing. Those views are still highly influential in Labour.' At the start of this year, Sir Keir Starmer pledged to send British troops into Ukraine in the event that a ceasefire between the two warring nations was negotiated by Donald Trump. A ' coalition of the willing ' was also established between European nations, with the UK said to be leading the group that would establish a road to peace in Ukraine. However, talk on both of these subjects appears to have gone quiet. Mr Johnson, who was prime minister when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in Feb 2022, and has remained close with Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, since leaving government, said: 'What's happened to the boots on the ground initiative? 'As with Ukraine, the way to peace is through strength. If you talk to people in Ukraine or the US, they will say leadership on protecting Ukraine is now being offered by Germany and France.' Mr Johnson also said the Chancellor's increase in the welfare budget was 'out of control' and that such sums should be invested in defence instead. At a summit in the Hague later this month, which Mr Trump will attend, all Nato members will be expected to agree to committing 5 per cent of GDP on defence. Mark Rutte, the Nato secretary-general, has called for all alliance members to get to 3.5 per cent by 2032 and 5 per cent by an unspecified date. Earlier this week, Mr Rutte told The Telegraph that if Nato nations failed to achieve this percentage, then they needed ' to start learning to speak Russian '. Ms Reeves told the Commons: 'A new era in the threats we face demands a new era for defence and security. That's why we took the decision to prioritise our defence spending by reducing overseas development aid so that defence spending will now rise to 2.6 per cent of GDP by April 2027, including the contribution of our intelligence agencies. 'That uplift provides funding for the Defence Secretary, with a £11 billion increase in defence spending and a £600 milllion uplift for our security and intelligence agencies.' However, Tory sources claimed that by adding the single intelligence agencies budget in with the defence budget, it was eating into what money was left for the Armed Forces and did not account for 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence. 'Labour have taken money from a different department and pretended it was going to the Armed Forces,' one said. However, a Labour source accused the Tories of 'getting their numbers wrong' and insisted Wednesday's announcement was 'not a cut to defence' based on the Nato qualifying spend.
Reuters
42 minutes ago
- Reuters
Rubio marks Russia Day, reaffirms calls for peace with Ukraine
June 12 (Reuters) - The United States supports Russians' aspirations for a brighter future, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on the occasion of Russia Day, reaffirming a desire for constructive engagement in efforts to bring about peace in the war with Ukraine. The Russia Day holiday marks the country's 1990 declaration of sovereignty, more than a year before the collapse of the Soviet Union. "The United States remains committed to supporting the Russian people as they continue to build on their aspirations for a brighter future," Rubio said in a statement on the State Department website. "We also take this opportunity to reaffirm the United States' desire for constructive engagement with the Russian Federation to bring about a durable peace between Russia and Ukraine," he added. "It is our hope that peace will foster more mutually beneficial relations between our countries." On Wednesday, Russian news agencies said Moscow's new ambassador to the United States, Alexander Darchiev, pledged to work to fully restore ties with Washington as he formally presented his credentials to President Donald Trump. Ties between Moscow and Washington have improved since Trump took office, as the two discuss a possible resolution to the Ukraine conflict.
The Independent
3 hours ago
- The Independent
Ukraine-Russia war latest: US warned that cut to military aid to Kyiv ‘will lead to more casualties'
Cuts to US aid for Ukraine in the Trump administration's forthcoming defence budget will lead to more casualties for Kyiv, a top Kyiv MP is warning. US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said military aid to Ukraine would be reduced – the latest sign of Washington's waning support for Kyiv's war effort. But Oleksandr Merezhko, head of Ukraine's parliamentary foreign affairs committee, said cuts would play into Russia 's hands. "Such a reduction will lead to more casualties on the Ukrainian side, including casualties among [the] civilian population," he told Newsweek. And he warned: "Anyone in the US who is acting in support of the reduction of the military aid to Ukraine becomes morally responsible for the increased casualties among civilians." A massive Russian overnight drone strike killed three people and injured more than 60 others in the eastern city of Kharkiv. Mr Hegseth said the to the conflict despite Russia's having launched some of its largest aerial attacks of the war so far in the past week.
