The United States has imposed fresh sanctions on Sudan’s military-led government, accusing it of deploying chemical weapons in its ongoing conflict with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The measures, now in effect, restrict U.S. financing and exports and bar Sudanese state-owned carriers from American airspace. Khartoum has dismissed the allegations as “baseless.” The war, which erupted in April 2023 from a power struggle between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti), has triggered what the United Nations calls the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, leaving nearly 20 million people facing acute food insecurity. Washington has previously sanctioned both leaders and accused RSF commanders of genocide in Darfur.
In Zimbabwe, the ruling ZANU-PF’s Harare Province has called for President Emmerson Mnangagwa to remain party leader until 2037. The push comes days after he signed the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 3) Act, which postpones the next harmonized elections from 2028 to 2030, extending presidential, parliamentary, and council terms by two years. At a rally in Epworth, provincial chairperson Godwills Masimirembwa announced the province would table a resolution at the next party conference seeking to retain Mnangagwa beyond 2030. Opposition parties have challenged the amendment in court, arguing it is unconstitutional.
Neighbors of the Democratic Republic of the Congo—including Uganda, Rwanda, and Zambia—have tightened border screening, disease surveillance, and emergency response measures as the DRC’s Ebola outbreak expands. Since the Bundibugyo strain was declared in May, the DRC has recorded 2,344 cases and at least 930 deaths, though the World Health Organization warns actual infections could be four times higher. Health authorities have ramped up screening at crossings, activated rapid response teams, and expanded laboratory capacity. Uganda remains on high alert after confirming cases linked to the outbreak. Regional bodies including the East African Community, Africa CDC, and WHO are coordinating preparedness, though experts caution that conflict, insecurity, and funding shortfalls continue to hamper containment in eastern DRC.
West African leaders have formally greenlit the long-awaited Nigeria-Morocco Atlantic Gas Pipeline, a 6,000-kilometer project designed to transport Nigerian natural gas through 14 African countries to Morocco before linking to Europe’s network via Spain. The $25 billion pipeline, with construction slated to begin in 2028, aims to deliver up to 30 billion cubic meters of gas annually to roughly 400 million people. Proponents say the project will bolster regional energy security, spur industrialization, create jobs, and reduce Africa’s dependence on exporting raw gas for processing abroad. Significant hurdles remain, however, including financing, security, political stability, and shifting European energy demand.
In Nigeria, two senior leaders of the Ansaru terrorist group have been sentenced to life imprisonment after pleading guilty to 32 terrorism-related charges before the Federal High Court in Abuja. The defendants, identified as the group’s leader and deputy, admitted to offenses including terrorism, terrorism financing, kidnapping for ransom, illegal mining, and manufacturing improvised explosive devices. The court convicted them on all counts, handing down life sentences for the most serious charges. Their arrest in a 2025 intelligence-led operation was hailed as a major breakthrough against the Al-Qaeda-linked group.
President Yoweri Museveni has dismissed six senior officials from Uganda’s Ministry of Works and Transport and the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) as part of an expanding anti-corruption drive targeting alleged procurement and governance irregularities. Those removed include three ministry engineers linked to major road projects and three senior UCAA officials—the heads of contracts, airports, and legal affairs. The dismissals follow earlier suspensions over alleged financial irregularities on a major expressway project, with investigations continuing into the management and costing of key public infrastructure works.
