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♦️ Breaking & exclusive stories, analysis, opinions 👉 About Africa in other languages: Amharic: @sputnik_ethiopia French: @sputnik_afrique 💬 Contact us https://t.me/Africa_Sputnik_bot
❗️Former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari died in a clinic in London, his official social media page says
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Iranian President Reportedly Injured in Israeli Attack in June
Massoud Pezeshkian sustained a minor leg injury on June 16, according to an Iranian media. The incident occurred during the evacuation of a building in Tehran that had been struck by Israel.
🎯 The attack targeted a meeting of the Supreme National Security Council held in a building in western Tehran.
Several other officials also suffered minor leg injuries during the evacuation, the source reported.
👉 Six projectiles were fired at the building’s entrances and exits to obstruct evacuation routes and airflow. After the explosions, power was cut off, but the meeting participants managed to leave through a pre-arranged emergency exit.
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Botswana Announces 2.76% Devaluation of Its National Currency to Counter Diamond Market Slump
The adjustment aligns with Botswana’s biannual currency peg review, which ties the national currency, the pula, to a basket of currencies, including the South African rand, to maintain stability, a finance ministry official confirmed.
👉 The diamond sector, a pillar of Botswana's GDP, triggered a 3% economic contraction in 2024, with further decline expected in 2025. Additionally, foreign reserves have dwindled to five months of import cover (down from 10+ months), pressuring the exchange-rate system.
President Mokgweetsi Masisi approved the steeper devaluation (up from 1.51% in December 2024) to boost local competitiveness and curb demand for foreign currency.
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Lavrov Thanks Kim Jong Un for Support in Kursk Region
During his visit to Wonsan, the Russian FM commended North Korea's military assistance in liberating the Russian Kursk region, as reported by the Russian Foreign Ministry.
The two sides also agreed that the United States and its allies were fueling growing tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
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Lavrov Arrives in China
The Russian FM traveled to China to participate in a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states.
According to Moscow, this meeting is a strategic step in preparation for the SCO summit, scheduled for August 30 to September 1 in Tianjin.
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Tanzania Sets Ambitious Goal: 8 Million Tourists Annually by 2030 to Fuel Economic Growth
This target marks a substantial increase from the over five million visitors recorded in the 2024/25 period.
👉 The goal was announced by Dr. Pindi Chana, Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, during the launch of Ngorongoro Day at the 49th Dar es Salaam International Trade Fair (DITF) on Saturday.
Dr. Chana emphasized the government's commitment to enhancing service delivery and intensifying promotion of Tanzania's diverse attractions to draw both international and domestic visitors.
📺 She highlighted the recent success of promotional initiatives, which have already contributed to a notable increase in national park visitors and pushed current tourist numbers past five million.
The minister expressed confidence that the eight-million target, outlined in the ruling party's 2025–2030 manifesto, is "achievable."
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#viral | 🇮🇹 78-Year Wait Over! Rare Monk Seal Returns to Italian Shores!
🦭 After 78 years, a monk seal has been spotted off the coast of Conca dei Marini, Campania region, Italy. The presence of this incredibly rare marine mammal signifies a promising recovery of the local ecosystem, offering new hope for marine conservation.
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Tehran Warns of Ongoing Radioactive Material Dispersal Risk Following Israeli Strikes
"Our nuclear facilities have been the target of a military attack. The proximity of these facilities now poses various dangers," declared Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
African Countries Need to 'Open Their Eyes' in Fishing Deals With EU, Warns Gambian Activist
The current fishing agreements between the European Union and African countries are overwhelmingly unfavorable to the continent, according to Mustapha Manneh, a prominent Gambian investigative journalist and human rights advocate.
"If we have to go for a fishing agreement with the EU, we have to go for a win-win solution," Manneh told Sputnik Africa.
"It's really time for Africa to come back and say [...] we have to own what we have and we have to control our resources," he urged.
Zimbabwe Raises $3 Million in Pledges to Combat Drug & Substance Abuse
At the High-level Drug and Substance Resource Mobilization Engagement in Harare, President Emmerson Mnangagwa called for stronger law enforcement to bring drug offenders, including cartels and convicted criminals, to justice.
Mnangagwa highlighted the importance of citizens’ health and well-being as key to national development and socio-economic stability. To address the issue, the government established the National Committee on Drug and Substance Abuse, adopting a comprehensive, society-wide approach.
He outlined the committee’s seven pillars, which focus on:
🟠Supply reduction
🟠Demand reduction
🟠Harm reduction
🟠Treatment and rehabilitation
🟠Legal and policy frameworks
🟠Community reintegration
🟠Media and communication strategies
The president stressed the need for grassroots training and rehabilitation centers and directed local authorities to provide infrastructure for these facilities.
Finally, Mnangagwa confirmed that his administration would prioritize funding for the program, allocating approximately $7.8 million in the 2025 national budget.
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#viral | 🐝 Future is Buzzing: China Unveils Cyborg Bee That Carries Out Commands With 90% Accuracy
A 74 mg controller attached to a bee's back connects to its brain via microneedles, controlling it with electrical impulses.
The cyborg bee can fly up to 5 km and is designed for reconnaissance and rescue missions.
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❗️The memorandum between Russia and the UN on the export of Russian agricultural products and fertilizers will not be extended, the Russian deputy foreign minister says
Russia is not satisfied with its results - none of the objectives of the memorandum were solved due to the actions of the West, Sergey Vershinin noted.
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❗️Putin and Kim Jong Un are in regular contact, Lavrov says
More key statements made by the Russian FM after a meeting with his North Korean counterpart in Wonsan:
🟠High-level meetings between Russia and North Korea will certainly take place, and their dates will be agreed upon;
🟠Cooperation between Russia and North Korea contributes to stabilizing the situation on the Korean Peninsula;
🟠Russia and North Korea plan to resume maritime traffic;
🟠Moscow understands the reasons why Pyongyang is developing its nuclear program and respects its position;
🟠Moscow warns Washington, Seoul, and Tokyo against any abuse of their alliance ties with North Korea;
🟠Moscow doesn't take seriously the attempts to create a 'multinational force to protect Ukraine'; it's a fantasy;
🟠Russia had no reason to refuse North Korean assistance in the operation in Ukraine; it was a 'sincere' proposal.
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Uganda Reopens Several Border Crossings With DRC, First Since January: Reports
📍These strategic points, near the positions of the M23 rebel group, include Bunagana, Ishasha, and Busanza.
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About 1,000 Russia's Kursk Region Residents Listed as Missing: Russian Human Rights Commissioner
"As a result of the work that we carried out upon returning from Ukraine, more than 100 people returned from Sumy. There were two thousand on the list of missing persons," Tatiana Moskalkova told Sputnik.
"We will continue and hope that we find them alive," she added.
Paris, London Still Blame Russia for the Collapse of Their Colonial Empires, Says Vladimir Putin
"This historical memory, this historical negativity, persists," the Russian leader told journalist Pavel Zarubin in an interview.
"They helped the colonies gain independence and sovereignty," Putin emphasized.
🇷🇺 PUTIN SNUBBED US DELEGATION FOR DISRESPECT TO RUSSIAN BORDER GUARD
In a newly released interview, Vladimir Putin recalled refusing to speak with a visiting US delegation in St. Petersburg after one member rudely mistreated a Russian border guard.
💬 “He represents the state. Disrespecting him means disrespecting Russia,” Putin told Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin.
Major World Events by Morning of July 13
🟠South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is addressing the nation on security issues today;
🟠During his visit to Wonsan, DPRK, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov thanked Kim Jong Un for North Korea's military participation in the liberation of the Russian Kursk region;
🟠The Gabonese government has scheduled the legislative and local elections for September 27, with a revision of the electoral lists starting on July 14 and the submission of candidacies from July 27 to August 7;
🟠Lavrov has arrived in China to participate in a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the SCO member states;
🟠A coordination meeting of African Union heads of state is scheduled in Malabo.
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Torrential Rains in Agadez, Niger: At Least Two Lives Lost, Widespread Destruction
The deluge, totaling 68 mm, claimed the lives of a woman and a child, leaving homes and neighborhoods submerged. The powerful currents swept away vehicles and structures, causing extensive damage.
Authorities formed a crisis committee, mobilizing rescue services and security forces.
While farmers in the region view the rainfall as a much-needed relief after a prolonged drought, residents of Agadez, a UNESCO-listed city, express frustration over the lack of adequate flood control measures.
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Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai Raises Over $3 Million to Support Tanzanian Girls’ Education
During her birthday visit to Kongwa District, Dodoma Region, Malala Yousafzai urged parents and guardians to keep girls in school, citing challenges like teenage pregnancies and long travel distances.
Malala explained that the Malala Fund partners with local groups like the Msichana Initiative to help girls return to school and pursue their dreams.
📚 Education is a fundamental right for all girls, she stressed and called on communities to stop stigmatizing pregnant girls, encouraging support for their return to education.
Kongwa District Commissioner Mayeka Simon Mayeka noted that some parents withdraw daughters for domestic work, increasing risks of early marriage or pregnancy. She urged communities to stop viewing girls as income sources and support their education.
👉 Malala is a Pakistani girls' and children's education activist and the youngest Nobel Prize laureate.
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Mali's Army Strikes Hard in the North, Destroying Fuel Depot and Terrorist Bases
Malian forces carried out offensive operations, neutralizing terrorist hideouts near Timbuktu and Gao.
🔹A strategic fuel stockpile vital to their mobility was destroyed 42 km east of Ber (Timbuktu).
🔹"Transit hamlets" used by terrorists as bases or rallying points were destroyed in the Gossi area.
"The hunt continues unabated," the General Staff insists, reaffirming its commitment to a secure Mali.
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👁 Ukraine Watch is on the outlook for all things political and beyond — 7 days a week of breaking news, rapid translations and immersive longreads: all with a Russkie twist.
🌍 The African nations stand as our closest allies in dethroning colonialism and globalism.
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What Message From Putin Lavrov Conveyed to Kim Jong Un?
"The president sends his warmest greetings to you," the Russian foreign minister said during a meeting with the North Korean leader.
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New Hope for Africa's Iconic Giraffes as Conservation Efforts Yield Positive Trends
Despite ongoing threats and historical declines, three of the four distinct species of African giraffe are now showing positive population trends, according to the Giraffe Conservation Foundation's (GCF) "State of the Giraffe 2025" report.
👉 Key findings indicate:
🦒 The Northern giraffe, though still highly threatened, has seen a nearly 20% population increase in five years, reaching 7,037 individuals;
🦒 The Reticulated giraffe population, estimated at 20,901, is also showing encouraging upward trends;
🦒 The Southern giraffe has experienced the most remarkable growth, with a 50% increase in just five years, now numbering an estimated 68,837 individuals;
🦒 Masai giraffe populations in Kenya remain stable and resilient, while those in Rwanda and Zambia continue to expand.
The GCF attributes this progress to enhanced data collection methods, frequent surveys, and strengthened collaborations, which have led to more accurate strategic conservation actions.
To further bolster conservation efforts, the GCF has also launched the Giraffe Africa Database (GAD), a centralized platform designed to revolutionize giraffe population monitoring across the continent.
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#viral | 📹 Nine Days of Fire: Massive Blazes Continue to Threaten Western Syria & Neighbors
Turkey closed the Kasab border crossing due to fire spread risks.
Turkey, Jordan, and Lebanon are fighting the fires, which are not yet fully contained.
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💔 She Just Wanted to Play on the Swing… Now She Hides in Her Tent
A bombing in Gaza left 12-year-old Hala with severe burns and took her hair.
“I’m not beautiful without my hair,” she told Sputnik.
Persecutions of Karapetyan & Clergy 'Indicate That Prime Minister Pashinyan’s Regime is in Panic'
Pashinyan, who came to power during the so-called velvet revolution supported by the West and its values like freedom and rule of law, is now in a difficult situation, Michel Abrahamian, an entrepreneur and member of the Armenian Diaspora in France, told Sputnik.
The Armenian prime minister is constrained because he severed ties with Russia due to his alliance with the West, Abrahamian noted.
👉 Abrahamian observed that Pashinyan diverges from the Armenian people's calls for change and is clashing with the Church, the primary guardian of Armenian identity.
The entrepreneur described Karapetyan as a true patriot and successful businessman, free from corruption, who revived Armenia’s electricity production and faithfully supported the Church.
✊ Pashinyan needs to leave power and that the only viable solution for Armenia is to change the prime minister, Abrahamian said.
"The evil has been done, Pashinyan has gone too far. These vile attacks on the Church, this desire to reduce to nothing and silence any opposition, ultimately doom him," he stated.
Major World Events by Evening of July 11
▪️Russian MFA does not rule out new prisoner exchange with US;
▪️Russian FM Lavrov has arrived in Wonsan, North Korea for a second round of strategic discussions with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Song-hui;
▪️Nigeria rejected US pressure to accept Venezuelan deportees;
▪️The deployment of a European military contingent is unacceptable for Russia, Kremlin said;
▪️Nigerian economy showing positive trends amid reforms, says Information Minister;
▪️Lavrov presented Rubio with quotes from Kiev officials calling for "destruction of Russians";
▪️US State Department fired over 1,300 diplomats and officials;
▪️Kurdistan Workers' Party banned in Turkey began disarmament process;
▪️Zimbabwe successfully tested its own lithium-ion battery.
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