Namibia honours victims of colonial genocide as reparation calls grow
In tonight's edition: Namibia marks the mass killings of Indigenous people in the early 20th century by former colonial ruler Germany with its first genocide remembrance day. Also, leaders of West African regional bloc ECOWAS celebrate 50 years since its formation. And as war rages elsewhere in the country, the scale of the destruction in Sudan's capital Khartoum is laid bare.
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France 24
3 days ago
- France 24
Namibia honours victims of colonial genocide as reparation calls grow
In tonight's edition: Namibia marks the mass killings of Indigenous people in the early 20th century by former colonial ruler Germany with its first genocide remembrance day. Also, leaders of West African regional bloc ECOWAS celebrate 50 years since its formation. And as war rages elsewhere in the country, the scale of the destruction in Sudan's capital Khartoum is laid bare.
France 24
4 days ago
- France 24
At 50, West African bloc teeters amid shifting alliances, security woes
The anniversary could not have come at the worst of moments for the Economic Community of West African States -- once internationally respected as a force for stability. ECOWAS is now fractured following the departure of junta-led countries Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger earlier this year. It is also grappling with its security challenges with jihadists exploiting strained relationships between members and gaining ground in the Sahel and Lake Chad region. Benin and Nigeria have experienced a wave of attacks in recent months. And the Sahel region was in 2024 ranked the epicentre of global "terrorism" for the second straight year, accounting for more than half of deaths put down to terror attacks worldwide, according to the Global Terrorism Index published in March. Coups and attempted putsches - driven by widespread public discontent and distrust in political elites - have rocked nearly half of original ECOWAS countries in the last decade, putting democracy on the ropes and straining relations among neighbours. The departure of the three countries from ECOWAS dealt a blow to the bloc's credibility and regional influence, experts say. The exit "is a major dent on this organisation's capacity to harness the optimism and hopes of its birth", said Kwesi Aning, an expert in international cooperation at the Accra-based Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre. "It reflects a disastrous level of leadership amongst ECOWAS leaders," he added. Turmoil and trade Nigeria's President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the current head of the rotating ECOWAS presidency, and the 89-year-old ECOWAS co-founder and former Nigerian military leader, General Yakubu Gowon, are due to address the gathering at a hotel in Lagos. As the region's largest economy and most populous nation, Nigeria was expected to be ECOWAS's "stabilising force", but it is "faltering", said SBM Intelligence in a report released Wednesday. "Its internal crises — including economic mismanagement, political instability, the Boko Haram insurgency, and governance failures — have significantly diminished its ability to lead", said the report. Overall, ECOWAS "finds itself at a critical juncture between its foundational aspirations of economic integration and peace and the stark realities of regional insecurity, democratic backsliding, and internal fragmentation," said SBM Intelligence. The impact of the turmoil on trade among countries is stark. Before relations between neighbours Nigeria and Niger soured following a coup in Niamey in July 2023, Nigerian traders shipped out several truckloads of edible grains from the bustling Dawanau market in the northwestern state of Kano daily. While the volume of grains supplied from the Kano market into Niger has not changed much, it is the cost of doing so that is now biting. Multiple traders and truckers told AFP in Kano that taxes paid on Nigerian goods imported into Niger have increased fivefold, fuelling a spike in smuggling activities across porous borders. "We were paying an equivalent of 100,000 naira (about $64) as import duty on each truck before they left ECOWAS, but we now pay around 500,000 naira," said 40-year-old trucker Aliyu Abubakar.
France 24
5 days ago
- France 24
King Charles to give historic speech to Canada parliament amid US tensions
Prime Minister Mark Carney has said he intends to use the king's first visit to the British Commonwealth nation since his coronation to highlight Canada's sovereignty. "This historic honor matches the weight of our times," Carney said. It was at the prime minister's invitation that the 76-year-old monarch, who is battling cancer, traveled to the Canadian capital, accompanied by Queen Camilla. King Charles has never publicly commented on Trump's repeated talk of making Canada the 51st US state, but his speech will be closely watched for any comments on the topic. Trump has also ripped up the world trade order and launched tariff wars against friends and foes alike, particularly targeting northern neighbor Canada. The so-called "throne speech" will be delivered in the Senate -- a former railway station that has been converted while parliament undergoes major renovations. Although it will be read by the king as if it were in his own words, it was, in fact, written by the prime minister's office and will set out the government's priorities to "build Canada strong" and how it aims to achieve them. Canada's Liberal Party, led by Carney, a technocrat with no prior political experience, won legislative elections on April 28, after a campaign entirely focused on who would be best to deal with Trump. Carney has vowed to oversee the biggest transformation of Canada's economy since the end of the Second World War to enable it to "stand up" to Trump. In cautious diplomatic language, the throne speech should also contain a reaffirmation of Canada's sovereignty, which Trump has threatened repeatedly by suggesting the country should be annexed by the United States. 'Extraordinary' symbolism "In terms of symbolism, it's extraordinary because this is only the third time the sovereign has read this speech," said Felix Mathieu, a politics professor at the University of Quebec in Outaouais. The throne speech has only twice before been personally delivered by Canada's monarch, in 1957 and 1977, both by Charles's mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II. "What will also be interesting is everything surrounding the speech from the throne," Mathieu added, in reference to the "message to Donald Trump" to show him that "Canada is not alone in this fight." Thousands flocked to the capital on Monday to greet the king and queen on their first day of the brief visit. For Shrikant Mogulala, 32, the king was here to deliver "a clear message to Trump that we are not for sale." Retiree Dave Shaw, 60, said it was "a great time for (the king) to be here now at this particular time given the geopolitical circumstances, given the circumstances of our country right now." On Monday, the monarchs visited a farmer's market and were treated to Indigenous music and military honors before the king held private audiences with Carney and Indigenous leaders. They were scheduled to ride to the Senate Tuesday morning in a four-wheeled carriage escorted by 28 horses from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's fabled "Musical Ride" unit. There will be a 21-gun salute and a flypast by fighter jets, and the monarchs will also lay a wreath at a war memorial.
