Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa made the call during a speech at the United Nations General Assembly marking the 25th anniversary of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action.

“The ICC needs our protection, not our condemnation,” he said, adding that there must be severe consequences for those who commit crimes against humanity and flagrantly violate the declaration’s principles.

Ablakwa said the anniversary demanded action on racism, racial discrimination, and historical injustice.

Twenty-five years after the Durban Declaration was adopted, he argued, the world was still confronting anti-Black racism, xenophobic attacks, and devastating crises in Palestine and Sudan.

He also questioned why Africa, with a population of 1.4 billion, still had no permanent seat on the UN Security Council.

Turning to reparatory justice, the Minister said the consequences of slavery and the trafficking of enslaved Africans continued to shape present-day inequalities. He cited this year’s adoption of a Ghana-led UN resolution declaring the trafficking of enslaved Africans the gravest crime against humanity.

Ghana was now seeking a sincere apology, the return of what was looted, repair for continuing harm, and a commitment that such atrocities would never happen again, he said.

“The Durban Commitments must become reality, not a mere slogan,” Ablakwa told the General Assembly.

The latest bodies were found in Ekurhuleni between Saturday and Monday morning, according to local police.

Police have made arrests in three of the cases, which do not appear to be related to the others. Nevertheless, police have said they cannot rule out the possibility of a serial killer.

The discoveries have caused widespread alarm in Ekurhuleni, particularly around Kempton Park, and come against the backdrop of longstanding concerns about high levels of violence against women in South Africa.

Here’s what we know.

Busisiwe Mahlangu

Case 1

Busisiwe Mahlangu’s body was found in Kempton Park on 15 July 2026, the first of a string of bodies found in Ekurhuleni within a two-month period. The 37-year-old was found naked with her hands bound with cable ties.

Police arrested a suspect, believed to be her partner, two days after her murder. He has been in police custody since then and has not been linked to the other deaths that followed.

Itumeleng Kekana

Case 2

Itumeleng Kekana, 32, was the second woman whose body was found in the same area on 3 August 2026.

The young mother disappeared in July and her body was found badly bruised, partially clothed and dumped on a bridge in Kempton Park.

No arrests have been made so far.

Nomfesane Mjobo

Case 3

Nomfesane Mjobo’s body was found on 26 August, also in Kempton Park.

Few details around her death have been released but like most of the victims, she was found partially or fully naked with bruises.

No arrests have been made.

Unknown woman

Case 4

Police confirmed the discovery of an unknown woman, in her 20s, on 7 September. The woman’s body was found floating in a river in Olifantsfontain wearing only her underwear.

No further details have been shared about her death and no arrests have been made.

Gracious Nkomo

Case 5

Gracious Nkomo was the fifth woman whose body was discovered, again in the Kempton Park area.

Her partially clothed body was found on 10 September along a road close to South Africa’s busiest airport. No arrests have been made in the 28-year-old’s death.

Elizabeth “Tsontso” Moselakgomo

Case 6

Elizabeth Moselakgomo was the sixth woman to be found, after a highly publicised nationwide search for her. The 38-year-old went missing while out for a daily run near her home in Kempton Park.

Her body was found badly bruised and partially clothed on 12 September. It was the discovery of her body that really raised the alarm about the spate of killings. No arrests have been made in her case.

Unidentified woman

Case 7

Police confirmed the discovery of another body just two days after Moselakgomo was found. The body was found in Olifantsfontein on 14 September, but police have withheld her name as her family has not yet been informed.

No arrests have been made.

Dineo Motapane

Case 8

The body of Dineo Motapane, 38, was discovered on 15 September just two days after she was last seen alive.

Motapane’s battered and partly burned body was found on the side of the road in Springs, another part of Ekurhuleni.

She leaves behind a young child. No arrests have been made in her case.

Jabulile Ntimba

Case 9

The body of Jabulile Ntimba, in her 30s, was discovered half-naked and wrapped in a sheet on the side of a road in Boksburg on 17 September. This was the ninth body found in Ekurhuleni.

According to police, it appears Ntimba was killed because of a possible love triangle. Three people, two women and a man, were initially arrested for her grisly murder but the man was released due to insufficient evidence.

The two women have been charged with premeditated murder and defeating the ends of justice.

Ntombifuthi Nxumalo

Case 10

The body of Ntombifuthi Nxumalo, the 10th body found in Ekurhuleni, was discovered at a cemetery in the Tembisa neighbourhood north-east of central Johannesburg on 26 September. She was found naked with serious head injuries as well as stones near her body.

This has led to police believing she may have been stoned to death.

A 36-year-old man was arrested a day after Nxumalo’s death after he had travelled to another province. He faces a murder charge.

Unidentified woman

Case 11

The body of a yet-to-be identified woman was found in Springs on Sunday – the 11th body found in Ekurhuleni.

The grim discovery was made by a security company patrolling the area.

The woman was found in an open field, but no further details have been shared.

No arrests have been made.

Unidentified woman

Case 12

Another woman was shot and killed on Monday in Tembisa Ekurhuleni, this time in an apparent robbery. The 23-year-old woman was on her way to work when she was gunned down and her belongings were also taken.

She has not yet been named.

This is the 12th body found in the same area but police have not found any link between this case and the discovery of the other bodies.

While most of the bodies were found in the same area, police confirmed the discovery of another body about 39 miles (63 km) away from Ekurhuleni on 20 September.

The body of a young woman, believed to be in her 20s, was found wrapped in a duvet in a dam in Soweto, south-west of Johannesburg.

It’s unclear if her murder is linked to those in Ekurhuleni.

President Cyril Ramaphosa said the killing of these women and others was a “stain on our national conscience”.

South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates, with 5,427 people murdered between April and June this year alone.

South African police statistics do not differentiate victims by gender but the South African Human Rights Commission said last week that 569 women were killed between April and June this year. This works out as an average of six women killed each day.

Police have set up a task team to investigate these murders and have offered a reward of 400,000 rand ($24,000; £18,000) for information that could lead to arrests.

Also read:

• 10th woman found dead in South Africa’s string of killings

• Two mass shootings in South Africa leave 27 dead

The victims, identified as Rev. Abiodun David and his wife, Funmilayo Bamidele, were travelling with four others on Saturday evening, September 26, 2026, when gunmen reportedly intercepted their vehicle.

The group had attended an engagement ceremony in Eruku and was returning from the event when the incident occurred.

Sources familiar with the incident said the group was initially expected to use the Isanlu Road. However, the driver reportedly opted for a back road to allow him to drop off the best man and other members of the group at Iyamoye.

The vehicle was intercepted by the gunmen after the change of route, with all six occupants reportedly taken away.

The incident has heightened concerns among residents and travellers who use the route, while efforts are reportedly underway to locate the victims and secure their release.

Further details on the identities of the other four victims and the circumstances surrounding the abduction remain unclear.

Audio firm Taction Technology claimed in 2021 that Apple had infringed two of its patents for haptics systems, which enable vibrations for actions such as receiving a message or pressing a button.

This tech is built into devices like the iPhone and Apple Watch.

Apple has been approached for comment. In a statement given to news outlets including CNBC, the company said it had not used Taction’s vibration tech and would appeal the verdict.

“While we thank the jury for their consideration, we strongly disagree with today’s verdict and the damages awarded, which are entirely unsupported by the facts,” Apple said.

“Apple’s Taptic Engine is fundamentally different from Taction’s technology, which Taction’s own testing of Apple’s products confirmed during trial.”

Haptics allow people to interact with devices by simulating the sense of touch or feel through vibrations.

They have become a hallmark of modern devices, with smartphones, watches and video game controllers among those containing small motors that move in response to specific electronic signals.

Apple’s “Taptic Engine” system—enabling haptic feedback in its devices—first debuted with the Apple Watch in 2014.

Since then, it has improved its underlying system, and with that expanded haptics in its devices.

Taction, which makes headphones and gaming headsets, claimed in 2021 that these improvements infringed patents it was issued in 2020.

It wrote in its complaint that by producing better haptic vibrations in its devices, Apple had been able to improve its overall user experience.

As such, the tech giant had been “capitalising on Taction’s innovation and success by selling devices that infringe [its] patents”, Taction said.

It also accused Apple of using its inventions “without license or authority.”

A San Diego judge ruled in 2023 that Apple did not infringe upon Taction’s patents.

However, an appeal was subsequently taken up by a federal appeal circuit – resulting in a September jury trial at the US District Court for the Southern District of California which found in its favour.

In Friday’s verdict, jurors did not find that Apple had infringed the patents in question willingly.

It marks one of many similar lawsuits the tech giant has defended itself against in recent years.

In November 2025 a judge ordered Apple to pay $634m to medical tech firm Masimo after a jury found it had infringed a patent for blood-oxygen reading tech.

The discovery adds to growing concern over violence against women in a country long plagued by violent crime, while police work to establish whether the killings are connected.

The semi-naked body was found near a cemetery in the Tembisa township, police said.

“At this stage, we can only confirm the discovery of the body. Crime scene management and all the necessary role players are currently on the scene,” police spokeswoman Brigadier Brenda Muridili said.

Provincial police chief Tommy Mthombeni said the victim appeared to have been stoned to death, and a post-mortem examination would be conducted to determine the cause of death.

“We have put highly capable investigators on this case,” he told reporters at the scene, vowing to find those responsible for the killings.

The nine other victims were mostly in their 20s and 30s, with some found stripped of their clothes and showing signs of sexual assault.

The first victim, a 37-year-old woman, was found naked and bound with cable ties on July 15. A suspect was arrested two days later.

Two other suspects, women aged 31 and 38, were arrested in connection with the ninth victim and charged on Monday.

Police have said that killing may have stemmed from a relationship-related matter.

Police have offered a 400,000 rand ($25,000) reward for information leading to the arrest of the killer or killers, while the Democratic Alliance, South Africa’s second-largest political party, has put up a further $31,000.

Gender-based violence is endemic in South Africa, despite years of government pledges to tackle the problem and the declaration of gender-based violence as a national disaster.

Last week, the South African government said the national Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Command Centre received 6,782 distress calls between September 1 and 16, an average of 424 a day. 

That was a 21 percent increase from the same period in August, when the centre averaged 350 calls a day.

South Africa, a nation of 62 million people, has one of the world’s highest murder rates, with more than 60 killings a day on average.

In his first comments on the recent military developments, Army Chief of Staff Field Marshal Berhanu Jula said the army was responding to what he called provocations from the Tigray front with “wisdom and restraint”.

He accused Eritrea of funding and supporting armed groups to weaken Ethiopia, describing the “Tsimdo” alliance as an extension of a longstanding pattern of hostile alliances, which he said cannot confront the state without outside backing.

Eritrea, wary that landlocked Ethiopia may be seeking to invade it to gain access to the Red Sea, denied the accusations.

The fighting has spread from Tigray into neighbouring Afar and Amhara regions after seven armed groups announced an alliance, the Ethiopian Peoples’ Forces Alliance for Survival, committed to removing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government.

In Afar, the latest battles have taken place around Abala, where the military has been trying to prevent rebels from seizing control.

Separately, in North Wollo, a zone of Amhara bordering Tigray, the army said on Thursday it had killed 272 Tigrayan fighters and wounded 260 in a counter-offensive, reporting heavy losses for the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).

The TPLF’s Tigray Army said the federal government had launched a “full-scale offensive” involving infantry, mechanised units and drones.

Addisalem Balema, a TPLF central committee member, told Al Jazeera the situation had become a “full war”.

Fighting has also continued around Sama, Soqota and Raya Alamata, with government forces reportedly closing in on the town of Alamata.

The army command said it prefers a strategy of “strategic calm” over a large-scale military confrontation, arguing the Tigray front’s popular support is dwindling and its leadership divided.

Internet access was reportedly cut across northern Ethiopia on Friday, a day after the UN said it was alarmed by reports of drones being used against civilians there.

The renewed fighting has put the 2022 Pretoria Agreement, which ended a brutal two-year civil war in Tigray, under severe strain. It comes weeks after Washington lifted sanctions on Ethiopia and Eritrea tied to atrocities from the last war, saying the “national emergency … has expired”.

It marks the most serious challenge yet to that agreement, raising fears of a wider regional conflict that could draw in armed groups from across Ethiopia.

Addressing the UN General Assembly, Ethiopia’s president sought to portray the country as a force for regional stability, accusing unnamed external actors of meddling in Ethiopia’s affairs while highlighting Addis Ababa’s role in supporting peace efforts in neighbouring Sudan.

Alemayehu Weldemariam, a professor of law at Indiana University, told Al Jazeera that the federal government bears much of the blame for the collapse of the Pretoria Agreement.

“This war has been in the making for a while now. Much of the provisions in the cessation of hostilities [in the 2022 agreement] were primarily sabotaged by the federal government itself,” he said, citing fuel, service and cash restrictions imposed on Tigray, and the government’s failure to set up the interim administration the deal had promised.

“What was supposed to be an interim arrangement turned out to be permanent,” with Tigray excluded from national elections since,” he added.

Seventeen people were killed when eight gunmen stormed a bar close to Johannesburg on Saturday evening, with 15 more injured.

In a separate shooting in the early hours of Sunday morning, 10 people were killed outside an entertainment venue in a township near Cape Town and a further 11 were injured.

South Africa has one of the highest murder rates in the world and has struggled to contain gang-related gun violence in recent years. Police have not indicated a motive for either of the latest attacks.

In Johannesburg, gunmen opened fire on customers outside the bar before continuing the attack inside and torching two vehicles before fleeing.

Police said thirteen men and four women were killed, adding that the motive was not clear.

In Cape Town, five victims died at the scene and a further five people died in hospital.

No arrests had been made in either case on Sunday morning.

The two mass shootings came days after 11 people were killed in the city of Durban when gunmen stormed a house in the KwaMakhutha township.

Illegal weapons are prevalent in South Africa and gun violence has been a persistent problem for decades, with about 60 murders recorded every day in the country of 62 million.

But a recent spate of mass shootings has raised fears that the problem is deepening, with violence often linked to turf wars between gangs engaged in drug trafficking and illegal mining.

In February, President Cyril Ramaphosa called organised crime “the most immediate threat to our democracy, our society and our economic development”.

Earlier this year the military was deployed alongside police in areas with the highest murder rates in an effort to reduce armed violence.

Services provided by state-owned telecoms operator Ethio Telecom have been completely cut, although those from the smaller private firm Safaricom remain operational.

Internet monitoring group NetBlocks earlier posted on X that network data indicated a sub-national internet shutdown in northern Tigray.

“Last night telecommunications got knocked out,” Duke Burbridge, an American humanitarian worker in Tigray’s capital, Mekelle, told the BBC’s Newsday programme.

The BBC has contacted Ethiopia’s authorities for comment.

Sources have told the Reuters news agency that the group which controls Tigray, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), ordered the communications blackout, with one suggesting it was to disrupt government drones.

The TPLF has not commented.

The BBC is unable to report from Tigray and surrounding areas.

Even before the current disruption, finding video and images to establish what is happening on the ground has been a challenge.

So far, other than footage from Mekelle, most of what has been shared online has been from outside the region.

Burbridge said there had been a scarcity of cash in Tigray for the past eight months, with people unable to access ATMs so the lack of internet services would be “devastating for everybody”.

Many people rely on banking and mobile money applications for transactions, with the majority using Ethio Telecom and Safaricom’s networks to access these services.

On Thursday a Mekelle resident who we are only identifying as Fitsum made a similar point.

He told the BBC “there is almost no cash” in the city.

With the outbreak of war, people were limiting their movements and the city was all quiet – “it’s like a curfew has been placed,” he said.

Clashes between Tigrayan forces and their allies and Ethiopia’s federal troops broke out on Wednesday, prompting fears of a return to a full scale civil war and reports of panic buying.

A humanitarian source in the neighbouring region of Afar told the AFP news agency there was “heavy fighting overnight”, including drone strikes, around the town of Abala in the mountains between Afar and Tigray, as “federal forces pushed the rebels from entering the town”.

There have also been reports of fighting near the town of Lalibela in the Amhara region, which is home to churches hewn out of rock, recognised as a UN World Heritage site. The US has warned against travel to all three regions.

During the two-year conflict which ended in 2022, Tigray was totally cut off from the outside world.

Limited access to cash, food and medicine pushed hundreds of thousands into famine-like conditions.

It was one of the most deadly conflicts this century – with estimates that some 600,000 people died as the fighting drove the region to the precipice of famine.

On Sunday, the TPLF announced an alliance with six other armed groups to oust the government.

On Wednesday, its forces seized control of three airports from federal police.

Following the seizure of the airports, Ethiopian Airlines has cancelled all flights to Tigray.

The unnamed woman filed a lawsuit in 2024 claiming she had been drugged and raped by Jay-Z, real name Shawn Carter, and Sean “Diddy” Combs at a party after the MTV Video Music Awards in 2000.

The stars denied the allegation and she dropped the lawsuit last year. Carter then sued her and her lawyers.

In a statement filed in that case on Thursday, she wrote: “Shawn ‘Jay-Z’ Carter never raped me. I have never met or spoken to Mr. Carter. Mr. Carter never engaged in any inappropriate conduct toward me whatsoever.”

The woman, known in court documents by the pseudonym Jane Doe, also said: “My claims that Mr Carter and Mr Combs raped me while a third celebrity, [name redacted] watched are false. There is no truth to any of my claims against Mr Carter.

“I understand my false accusations have caused Mr Carter immense pain, suffering, and damage that can never be fully undone.”

Jay-Z and family’s ‘trauma’

Carter had vehemently denied the accusations, saying they were a “blackmail attempt” and describing them as “frivolous, fictitious and appalling allegations”.

When the accuser dropped her case in February 2025, the rapper, who is married to singer Beyoncé, said: “The trauma that my wife, my children, loved ones and I have endured can never be dismissed.”

The woman, from Alabama, has now been removed from Carter’s lawsuit.

She said she had not received any money from the rap superstar or anyone acting on his behalf, and had not been paid to make her latest declaration.

The rapper is still suing the woman’s former lawyers, led by Tony Buzbee.

In a statement to Rolling Stone, which first reported Jane Doe’s new declaration, Buzbee said he had not seen it.

He said: “We have multiple lawyers (at least four) who dealt with Ms Doe long before she met me. She gave the exact same story to each. If for some reason now she is claiming she lied to us and the court, that’s new information.”

When Carter filed his lawsuit against the woman and her lawyers in February 2025, Buzbee claimed at the time that Carter’s investigators had “repeatedly harassed, threatened and harangued this poor woman for weeks, trying to intimidate her and make her recant her story”.

In her new declaration, the woman said: “I never received any threat from Mr Carter or anyone acting on his behalf.”

‘No due diligence’

Setting out the events that led to her allegation, the woman said she saw an advert on Facebook in September or October 2024 looking for people who might have sexual assault claims against Combs. “The ad triggered memories of being raped when I was 13 years old,” she said.

She was contacted by a law firm but was not provided with a draft of the lawsuit containing her allegations and did not authorise it before it was filed in October 2024, she said.

She also said Buzbee and other lawyers acting on her behalf filed it “without conducting any independent investigation, background inquiry, or due diligence, and without obtaining any corroboration of the allegations”.

She said: “The October Complaint alleges that Mr Carter and Mr Combs raped me when I was a minor while an unnamed celebrity watched. As discussed above, these allegations were false.”

Buzbee also represents numerous other people who have made allegations against Combs.

Combs denied Jane Doe’s claims, which his lawyer described at the time as one of a number of civil cases “pushed forward by an attorney more focused on media headlines than legal merit”.

The BBC has contacted Buzbee for comment.

In July 2025, Combs was convicted by a criminal court on prostitution-related charges involving his two ex-girlfriends, and is currently serving a four-year prison sentence.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs disclosed this following a meeting between Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, James Gyakye Quayson, and Morocco’s Ambassador to Ireland and Dean of the African Diplomatic Corps in Dublin, Dr Lahcen Mahraoui.

The meeting formed part of Mr Quayson’s official working visit to Ireland ahead of the planned reopening of Ghana’s Mission there.

The two diplomats discussed matters of mutual interest, including opportunities to strengthen Ghana-Ireland relations and promote closer cooperation among African diplomatic missions in Ireland.

The Ministry said the engagement reflects Ghana’s commitment to sustained dialogue and collaboration as it works to deepen diplomatic partnerships and advance shared interests.

The reopening of the mission is expected to provide a stronger platform for Ghana to engage with Ireland on areas of mutual interest.

Also read:

• Ghana to establish Trade House in the UK — High Commissioner

• Mahama launches first-ever KPIs for Ghana’s heads of missions

• The agreement, signed in New ​York on Wednesday by Alake and ​US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, ⁠covers geological data, mineral exploration, mineral development ​and processing, infrastructure, and technical capacity building
• The deal ​follows Washington’s push to strengthen ties with mineral-producing countries and diversify supply chains for critical minerals used ​in technologies such as electric vehicle batteries ​and renewable energy infrastructure
• Nigeria estimates its mineral resources are ‌worth ⁠about $700 billion and is seeking to diversify the economy away from oil
• “Nigeria cannot remain a source of raw materials while others capture ​most of ​the value. ⁠We want more local processing, quality jobs, stronger skills and greater ​opportunities for Nigerian businesses,” Alake said ​in ⁠a statement
• Nigeria hopes the partnership will help attract investment into its largely underdeveloped mining industry, ⁠including ​the emerging lithium sector, ​where Chinese companies have been among the most active foreign ​investors

“But we do not ​wish to continue. It’s America that must choose whether ​it wants to end this or not,” Pezeshkian said, ⁠responding to the question in an interview aired on ​Thursday on Fox News’ “Special Report with Bret Baier” show.

Iran’s president ​told the UN General Assembly on Wednesday Tehran would never surrender to US pressure as the two sides have remained far apart on how ​to end the war.

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday ​he could “annihilate” Iran if there is no deal to end the war, ‌but ⁠also suggested an agreement could come soon.

Trump has offered shifting goals and timelines for the war that began on February 28 when the US and Israel attacked Iran and Tehran responded ​with its own ​strikes on ⁠Israel and Gulf states that host US bases.

US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks on Lebanon ​have killed thousands and displaced millions.

Trump has cited weakening ​Iran’s nuclear ⁠capabilities as one of his war objectives.

Iran, which does not have nuclear weapons, denies seeking them. The US is nuclear-armed.

Tehran ⁠says it ​has the right to develop nuclear ​technology for peaceful purposes as a party to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

For Saturday’s afternoon celebration, an altar has been built on the Place de la Concorde, and police have sealed off a large area around the Champs-Élysées.

Some 600,000 Catholic faithful are expected to cram the avenue up to the Arc de Triomphe and beyond.

Large crowds are also expected at other stages of the Pope’s itinerary, reflecting an enthusiasm the Church attributes to growing spiritual thirst among the French and other Europeans.

President Emmanuel Macron will greet the Pope at Orly airport on Friday morning, and then hold talks with him at the Élysée Palace on geopolitical issues and artificial intelligence (AI). He will also deliver a speech with the Pope in Metz.

However, the president will not be at any of the Pope’s Masses, largely to avoid breaching France’s strict separation of state and religion.

Instead, his wife Brigitte and Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu will attend the Champs-Élysées Mass. Several candidates for next year’s presidential election are also due, including Marine Le Pen of the nationalist right, centrists Edouard Philippe and Gabriel Attal, and conservative Bruno Retailleau.

There were reports of tensions between Macron and the Vatican team sent to make arrangements, with the president allegedly frustrated in his wish for a more ceremonial aspect to the visit.

This was dismissed this week by Élysée officials, who said it was customary to offer a visiting head of state – which the Pope is – a range of high-profile events, such as a cavalry escort down the Champs-Élysées. But they said they never expected the Pope to take the offer up.

They did confirm that Pope Leo turned down Macron’s idea of a meeting with artisans who helped rebuild the fire-devastated Notre-Dame cathedral. They said his agenda was too tight.

After a Popemobile ride through crowds to Notre-Dame Cathedral on Friday afternoon, Pope Leo XIV will be joined in the evening by 80,000 young people at the Stade de France in northern Paris.

On Sunday 150,000 have signed up to attend mass in the Pyrenean sanctuary of Lourdes.

On Monday the Pope will be in Metz, in northeast France, where he will pay tribute to Robert Schuman (1886-1963), a founding father of the European Union and a fervent Catholic who is today a candidate for beatification.

The Pope will also meet a group of migrants in Paris, and in Lourdes some victims of sexual abuse by members of the Catholic clergy.

Born in Chicago in 1955, Pope Leo XIV was originally called Robert Prevost – a French name.

In fact his paternal grandmother was born in Le Havre in Normandy in 1894. When she married in the US many years later, she and her Italian husband took the name Prevost, her mother’s maiden name.

France has a historically complex relationship with the Catholic Church of Rome. The country was long known as the “Eldest Daughter of the Church” because, supposedly but inaccurately, it was the first kingdom to convert to Christianity. Actually, Armenia, Georgia and Ethiopia preceded it.

In the 14th century, the papacy came into exile in Avignon in southern France, and over the following centuries French armies periodically intervened in Italian politics, where popes were secular rulers as well as heads of the Church.

Napoleon held two popes in captivity.

Recent popes have all come to France, most notably John-Paul II, who came several times between 1980 and 2004, and Pope Francis who came three times, but avoided Paris, going instead to Strasbourg, Marseilles and Corsica.

Today France has secularised with the rest of Europe, and less than half of the population identifies as Catholic.

The number of regular worshippers has fallen from 35% of the population in 1960 to less than 5% today, while the number of priests has shrunk by two-thirds from 25,000 in 1990 to fewer than 9,000.

But in recent years there have been signs of a growing interest in religious tradition, with the number of adult baptisms more than doubling in five years to hit 10,000 in 2025.

“France has indeed secularised, but there is a void where God and values used to be,” said Cardinal François Bustillo, Bishop of Ajaccio.

“People are searching for something. Maybe they go to India or Tibet or the Amazon. And now the Pope comes here from Rome, bringing a reminder to people of their own roots.

“It was John-Paul II who awoke the East. Now Leo XIV will awake the West,” he said.

Natalie and Joshua Strong say they spent years navigating injections, hormones, medication and the emotional strain of fertility treatment before finally welcoming their long-awaited baby girl in 2025.

But what should have been one of the happiest moments of their lives quickly turned into a devastating discovery.

According to the couple and their lawsuit, routine blood work conducted after their daughter was born showed that her blood type was incompatible with Joshua being her biological father. A subsequent DNA test reportedly found a zero per cent probability that Joshua was the child’s biological father.

The couple now alleges that Brown Fertility in Jacksonville, Florida, mistakenly used another man’s sperm to create the embryo that resulted in their daughter.

The clinic has denied the allegation.

Natalie said the discovery was particularly difficult because it came almost immediately after she had given birth.

“I was so happy I had her and I love her more than anything in the world. But to hear that right after you have your baby is devastating,” she told CBS News.

Despite the circumstances surrounding her conception, Natalie stressed that the revelation has not changed how she feels about her daughter.

The couple’s IVF journey began in 2023, when they sought to have a biological child together. Their first attempt was unsuccessful, forcing Natalie to go through another round of injections, hormones and medication before the second attempt resulted in a pregnancy.

“We finally got our beautiful baby girl, and it was the best day of my life,” she recalled.

Their happiness, however, was short-lived.

Joshua said he became suspicious after being told their newborn daughter was B positive, while both he and Natalie have negative blood types. The lawsuit alleges that the result raised questions about the child’s biological parentage.

“Within a day they told us her blood type and I pretty much knew immediately that something was messed up at that point,” Joshua said.

The subsequent DNA test confirmed that suspicion, leaving the couple searching for an explanation for how an embryo created through their IVF treatment could have resulted in a child who was not biologically related to Joshua.

They are now suing Brown Fertility and lead physician Dr Samuel Brown as they seek answers about the identity of their daughter’s biological father and what happened to Joshua’s sperm.

The case has also raised another deeply troubling question for the couple: whether Joshua’s sperm could have been mistakenly used in another patient’s IVF treatment.

“We have no idea if they still have it, if they’ve used it elsewhere,” Joshua told CNN. “If there are other potential children somewhere, we have no idea.”

The Strongs say they still have three embryos stored at the clinic, but they do not know whose sperm was used in those embryos.

For Joshua, the uncertainty has added another layer to an already painful situation. While he says he loves his daughter and is grateful to have her, he has described the experience as an emotional struggle that remains difficult to process.

“I think about it every day,” he said at a press conference. “It’s just overwhelming at times.”

The couple’s lawsuit now seeks to establish what went wrong during the IVF process, identify the biological father of their daughter and determine whether any other embryos or patients may have been affected.

For Natalie and Joshua, the questions go far beyond a laboratory error. They say the discovery has changed their understanding of the family they spent years fighting to build, even as they remain determined to raise and love the daughter they had long hoped for.

In a major setback for Trump in one of his biggest battles with the media, US District Judge Tim Kelly issued his order in a lawsuit that the news organizations filed contesting the ban that the Republican president announced on September 18.

Kelly ordered the Trump administration to ​immediately return the outlets’ press passes and blocked officials from enforcing the ban for 14 days. The judge rejected the government’s assertion that the ​ban was motivated by national security concerns.

“The record lacks factual support for defendants’ contention that the revocation of plaintiffs’ hard ⁠passes will in fact protect national security or that national security will be endangered if the court orders their passes reinstated while this litigation proceeds,” he ​said, adding that Trump himself had stated the ban was due to “alleged lack of truthfulness and negativity” of the outlets’ reporting.

The White House and representatives for the ​outlets did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Trump had said on social media that the three outlets “shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES,” and Justice Department lawyers had sought to justify the ban on national security grounds.

The three outlets sued Trump and other members of his administration in federal court in Washington on Monday, saying the ban ​violated the US Constitution’s First Amendment protections for free speech and a free press, as well as their due process rights.

They requested a temporary restraining ​order that would immediately reinstate their White House access while their legal challenge plays out.

The legal battle has unfolded just weeks before the November 3 midterm elections in which Trump’s ‌fellow Republicans ⁠are fighting to retain control of Congress. Trump’s job approval ratings are at record lows in opinion polls amid concerns over issues such as the Iran war and inflation.

Kelly said at a Wednesday hearing that two precedents from the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit made clear that journalists are entitled to due process before their White House press passes can be revoked.

The judge added that it did not appear that the White House had given the ​targeted news outlets a meaningful opportunity to ​contest the revocation of their access.

A ⁠lawyer for the news outlets told Kelly that they were banned without legally required advance notice or opportunity to contest the decisions, which he said were unprecedented, unreasonable and severe punishments.

A Justice Department lawyer told the judge that the Trump administration provided a sufficient explanation for the revocation of press passes in letters sent to news outlets on Tuesday. But the judge ⁠signalled scepticism about that argument, noting that the letters were sent after the revocation and the lawsuit were filed.

In a legal filing on Tuesday, the Justice Department argued that access to the White House is a privilege, not an entitlement, and that the president has the authority to suspend access by news organisations.

A coalition of press ⁠freedom groups ​and dozens of news organizations filed a legal brief on Wednesday supporting the three news outlets. ​They asserted that “stripping journalists and news outlets of their rights because of perceived editorial viewpoint violates decades of Supreme Court jurisprudence.”

The brief was signed by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Reuters, The Washington Post, and Fox News, among others.

The demonstration, held on Wednesday, September 23, under the theme “GHANA AYƐ MMƆBƆ”, brought together Ghanaians from different political parties, movements and associations at Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza near the UN Headquarters.

The organisers said the protest was intended to draw international attention to issues they believe require urgent action and to demand measurable progress on commitments made during the 2024 election campaign.

Ahead of the demonstration, one of the organisers, Kwasi Obeng-Fosu, told Asaase Radio that the group would focus on freedom of speech, illegal mining, job creation, education, the 24-hour economy, support for women-owned businesses and the automatic posting of newly qualified teachers and nurses.

Illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, featured prominently during the protest, with the demonstrators expressing concern about the continued destruction of Ghana’s forests and water bodies.

They questioned why President John Dramani Mahama had not declared a state of emergency over illegal mining, recalling his previous calls for such a measure while in opposition.

The protesters also turned their attention to what they described as delays in fulfilling key campaign commitments, particularly the 24-hour economy.

They called for clear timelines, targets, and measurable outcomes for the policy, which they said had raised expectations among young people seeking employment.

The group also raised concerns about jobs created under the previous administration, which they alleged were terminated after the change of government. They questioned whether such actions were consistent with the government’s campaign commitment to job creation.

Other programmes and commitments cited included the proposed Women’s Development Bank, the Adwumawura initiative, the pledge to support 10,000 businesses annually, and the planned abolition of the double-track system in senior high schools.

The organisers said they wanted government to provide evidence of implementation, timelines for outstanding commitments, and measurable results rather than simply promises.

Freedom of expression was another major issue raised at the demonstration.

The protesters expressed concern over the arrest and prosecution of social media commentators and other citizens over statements they said were critical of the government.

They also questioned the circumstances surrounding the handling of some recent cases, including the transportation of suspects to the Adenta Circuit Court.

The organisers called for consistency and fairness in the application of the law, arguing that citizens should not feel intimidated from expressing views critical of the government.

They further raised concerns about recent reports of large quantities of suspected cocaine being trafficked from Ghana to other countries.

The demonstrators said the reports raised questions about Ghana’s international reputation and called for decisive measures to identify and dismantle networks involved in the illegal drug trade.

The organisers stressed that their objective was not simply to criticise the government but to demand evidence of progress on its campaign commitments.

They said a petition would be presented to Ghanaian representatives in the United States and that the demonstration marked the beginning of a broader diaspora-led accountability campaign.

The group said it would continue monitoring the government’s response to the issues raised and document progress on outstanding commitments, particularly in employment, environmental protection, education and governance.

He made the call on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, at a high-level side event on reparatory justice in New York, held as part of activities marking the 81st United Nations General Assembly.

President Mahama said laws and procedures in countries holding African cultural properties should be reviewed to reduce the legal and administrative barriers that make restitution difficult.

He argued that the continued possession of African artefacts and human remains was not merely a question of ownership, but also one of dignity, identity and justice.

“Human remains are not collectibles. They are not specimens. They are our ancestors. They are our fathers, mothers, kings, and elders,” he said.

According to the President, generations of Africans have been separated from important elements of their history and cultural identity following the removal of artefacts and human remains during conquest, punitive expeditions and colonial rule.

He cited the 1874 British destruction and looting of the Asante Royal Palace in Kumasi, noting that some of the heritage taken from Ghana has since been returned, including the Mpomponsuo sword in 2024.

President Mahama also referred to the case of King Badu Bonsu II of Ahanta, who was executed by Dutch authorities in 1838 and whose head was taken to the Netherlands for phrenological studies before his remains were returned to Ghana in 2009.

He said such cases demonstrate the need for restitution efforts to cover not only cultural objects but also the human remains of Africans held abroad.

“Restoring them is not a matter of legal ownership; it is a fundamental test of our shared human dignity,” he said.

President Mahama said Africa was prepared and had the capacity to receive and preserve returned cultural properties and human remains.

He indicated that Ghana was prepared to commit to the development of appropriate museum facilities to preserve and safeguard such items.

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He made the call at a high-level side event on the next steps for reparatory justice held on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.

According to President Mahama, the focus should now shift to implementing the Accra Next Steps Commitments on Reparatory Justice, which he described as a framework for turning the United Nations’ recognition of the historical injustices linked to the trafficking and enslavement of Africans into practical action.

“We must move from acknowledgement to action, from commitments to implementation,” he said.

The President identified the establishment of a permanent and institutionalised global system for restitution as the first priority.

He urged the United Nations and countries that hold African cultural property to develop clear and standardised legal and diplomatic procedures to support provenance research, improve access to historical archives and address legal obstacles that hinder restitution.

He also called for the unconditional return of human remains to Africa as an immediate priority.

The second proposal focuses on strengthening Africa’s ability to receive, preserve and manage cultural artefacts returned to the continent.

President Mahama rejected the argument that restitution should be postponed until African countries have sufficient facilities to preserve returned items.

“Capacity constraints must never be used as a justification for continued possession. Capacity must serve as a bridge to return, not a barrier to justice,” he said.

He noted that efforts were already underway to develop the required infrastructure, citing initiatives such as the African Union’s Great African Museum and the AU-EU Museum Partnership.

The third pillar seeks to make cultural heritage a driver of economic and social development.

President Mahama appealed to multilateral development banks, international financial institutions, foundations and private-sector organisations to support investments in Africa’s cultural infrastructure.

Such investments, he said, should include regional archives, conservation laboratories, digitisation initiatives and professional training programmes.

He argued that properly preserved and presented cultural heritage could contribute significantly to education, national identity, tourism and the creative economy.

The proposals come after the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 80/250 on March 25, a development Ghana has described as an important step in efforts to advance the global reparatory justice agenda.

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Brazilian President Lula commends Mahama for leading global reparatory justice push

Mahama asks MFWA, GJA to lead national dialogue on hate speech

Masaisai, from Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), began his “Pedals for Peace” journey on May 1, with plans to cycle approximately 14,000 kilometres from Goma to Rabat, Morocco.

He had covered more than 6,500 kilometres and reached Kinshasa before continuing his journey into neighbouring Congo-Brazzaville.

However, tragedy struck on September 18 after a mechanical problem developed with his bicycle.

Masaisai reportedly boarded a taxi to get the bicycle repaired. The taxi was later involved in a crash with a truck near Ouesso, close to the Congo-Cameroon border.

Masaisai died in the crash alongside the taxi driver and two other passengers.

His death brings a tragic end to a journey that was intended to use cycling to promote peace and unity across the continent.

Masaisai was no stranger to long-distance cycling. In 2025, he completed a separate cycling journey from Goma to Cape Town, South Africa, demonstrating his commitment to using cycling to connect communities across Africa.

His “Pedals for Peace” journey was intended to take him through 17 African countries before reaching Morocco, but he died before completing the ambitious mission.

The cleric, identified as Kedi Samuel Kenechukwu, also known as Ekedi Samuel, is the founder of Mercy of God Ministry and has reportedly been operating in Cameroon since 2018.

According to Cameroon Tribune, police officers from the Nkoabang Special Police Station discovered the body on September 19 at about 9 a.m. during investigations involving Kenechukwu.

The discovery was made at a property in Nkoabang, where investigators reportedly uncovered a white-and-gold coffin buried about 1.5 metres beneath a concrete slab.

Inside the coffin was a body believed initially to be that of a woman. The remains were reportedly dressed in a traditional blue outfit with gold embroidery and appeared to have been deliberately preserved.

The investigation reportedly began after vandalism by residents exposed part of the property, prompting authorities to examine the area more closely.

Authorities have yet to establish the identity of the deceased or determine the circumstances surrounding the death.

Cameroonian authorities are reportedly awaiting the necessary authorisation to conduct further searches of the property amid concerns that additional remains could be found.

The latest discovery comes days after investigators searched the same property on September 9. During that operation, they reportedly found five vehicles, several hundred kilogrammes of food, functioning freezers, about 30 rooms and a pit measuring about two metres deep.

Earlier, on September 6, security operatives reportedly discovered 20 people; 10 women, eight men and two children aged six and seven, in a basement at another property allegedly linked to the ministry in Ngousso, Yaoundé.

Kenechukwu is reportedly wanted by Cameroonian authorities in connection with allegations including human trafficking, kidnapping and unlawful arrest.

With investigations ongoing, authorities are searching for the Nigerian cleric to assist with inquiries into the activities at the properties associated with his ministry.

Three men were said to have entered and opened fire at a property in KwaMakhutha, situated around 19 miles (30km) south of the city of Durban on the east coast, on Tuesday night.

One of the victims was a woman who was believed to be pregnant, police said in a statement. Three other people were wounded.

Police said they were searching for the suspects and no arrests had been made.

The South African Police Service said, “Information available at this stage suggests that 13 men and one woman, who is believed to be pregnant, were reportedly having a party inside a house when three men arrived and opened fire on them.

“Ten victims, including the woman, died at the scene, and four were taken to the hospital, where one of them succumbed to gunshot injuries.”

The motive for the shooting is not clear, but police said some of the people at the house were known to them as part of investigations into criminal activity.

Police said they were unable to give out more information on those investigations.

“Although the motive of the shooting cannot be confirmed yet, a feud between rival groupings cannot be ruled out,” police said.

The charges relate to allegations that Lt Gen Shadrack Sibiya sexually groomed a 16-year-old girl and raped an 18-year-old woman. He is also facing a charge of trafficking, which could mean that others may be arrested in relation to this case.

The suspended deputy police commissioner, who was detained on Monday, has made no comment.

The 59-year-old is due to appear in court again on 29 September for a bail application. Prosecutors are expected to oppose bail.

The state has also requested that the court change the prison where Sibiya will be held in the meantime, as there are indications of a potential escape plan, the national broadcaster SABC reports.

The case comes as the police service is in the spotlight at a major public inquiry over allegations of corruption and collusion with criminals.

The inquiry, known as the Madlanga Commission, began last September and has heard accusations that Sibiya received a gift of 20 impalas from an alleged criminal kingpin in exchange for a police contract.

He denied the allegation.

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The 48-year-old was fatally wounded in a shooting reported near Lake Road, between Murphysboro and Carbondale, at about 5 p.m. on Saturday.

The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office said deputies who responded to the scene found Akamani injured, and he was subsequently taken to Memorial Hospital of Carbondale, where he was pronounced dead.

Dr Akamani was a professor in SIU Carbondale’s Department of Forestry, where he taught subjects including forest recreation and conservation social science.

His death has triggered an investigation by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, which said his 35-year-old wife, Betty Akamani, had been arrested in connection with the incident and was facing multiple charges.

Authorities said the circumstances surrounding the shooting remain under investigation and cautioned that the case was still in its early stages.

The Jackson County Ambulance Service, Jackson County Coroner’s Office and Jackson County State’s Attorney’s Office assisted the sheriff’s office with the investigation. No further details have been released by authorities.

Dr Akamani’s academic journey began in Ghana at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Development Planning with a specialisation in Urban Planning.

He later obtained an MPhil from the University of Oslo’s Centre for Development and the Environment in 2006 before earning a PhD in Natural Resources from the University of Idaho.

During his doctoral studies, he returned to Ghana for six months to research collaborative forest management and its impact on the social and ecological resilience of two forest-dependent communities in the Ashanti Region

The suspect, identified as Nwachukwu Chidubem Blessing, was reportedly abducted along the Onitsha–Asaba Expressway on August 29, 2026.

According to the Anambra State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, the family paid ₦3 million to secure her release. However, she was not released after the payment, prompting police to intensify investigations into the case.

The police subsequently traced the alleged victim to a room in Asaba, Delta State, where she was found and rescued on September 18 by operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS), Awkuzu.

Preliminary investigations, according to the police, have since taken a different turn, with investigators alleging that Blessing was not actually kidnapped.

Police said their findings indicate that the 22-year-old allegedly conspired with a female associate identified only as Onyinye, whose other names are yet to be established, and an unidentified male accomplice to stage the kidnapping.

The group allegedly devised the scheme to obtain money from Blessing’s family as ransom.

Blessing is currently assisting police with investigations as authorities work to establish the full circumstances surrounding the alleged self-kidnapping and identify the other persons believed to be involved.

The police have not disclosed whether the ₦3 million allegedly paid by the family has been recovered.

The curfew takes effect immediately after the Friday Jumu’ah prayers and will remain in force until further notice.

Residents were urged to remain indoors and avoid all unnecessary movements during the period of the curfew.

Security agencies have also been urged to enforce the directive and ensure the protection of lives and property across the metropolis.

The development follows Thursday’s protest and unrest linked to the deaths of suspected illegal miners who reportedly died while in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, in Minna.

Similarly, the governor said the state government had constituted a committee of inquiry to investigate the circumstances surrounding the deaths.

According to him, the NSCDC commandant in Niger State and his team have been suspended to allow for a proper investigation into the incident.

“The most important is that people died in the custody of the Nigerian Civil Defence Corps. They were detained in their cells, and this morning we woke up to the news that 37 of them had died,” Bago said.

The governor said the cause of the deaths had not been officially established, adding that it was too early to conclude.

He said possible causes being investigated included suffocation arising from overcrowding in the detention cell and exposure to hazardous chemicals associated with illegal mining.

“It could be as a result of suffocation because there were so many in a cell. The second issue could be because of exposure to maybe lead poisoning or other very hazardous chemicals that are used to do the illegal mining,” he said.

Bago said forensic examinations, medical examinations and autopsies were being conducted to establish the scientific cause of the deaths.

He also disclosed that committees constituted by the NSCDC, the Inspector General of Police and the Director-General of the Department of State Services were investigating the incident alongside the committee set up by the state government.

The governor said reports that some of the deceased had peeling skin and were foaming at the mouth with blood were among the issues being examined by investigators.

However, he cautioned against concluding until the forensic and medical investigations are completed.

Bago also announced the closure of the illegal mining site in the MiOshishi area, saying mining activities there had been conducted without appropriate technology and safety equipment.

He appealed for calm following the movement of the bodies to the mortuary, which he said triggered emotional reactions and violence among some youths.

Interior Minister Orders Probe

The Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, on Friday ordered a full-scale investigation into the circumstances surrounding the deaths of illegal miners in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Niger State.

The minister also directed the NSCDC Commandant General, Prof. Ahmed Abubakar Audi, to conduct a “full-scale, transparent and unhindered investigation” into the incident.

Following the directive, Audi ordered the Niger State Commandant to step aside with immediate effect and report to the NSCDC National Headquarters in Abuja to appear before the panel of inquiry constituted to investigate the incident.

The state commandant was to be accompanied by the Heads of Operations, Mining, Legal, Intelligence and Investigation, who had also been directed to report to the panel.

Audi also ordered a new commandant to proceed to Niger State and assume immediate command of the state command.

In a statement signed by the NSCDC National Public Relations Officer, Babawale Afolabi, the corps said the investigation would be conducted thoroughly and that personnel found to have breached the law or established professional standards would face appropriate sanctions.

FG Condoles Families Of Deceased Miners

The Federal Government expressed condolences to the government and people of Niger State over the deaths of persons arrested during enforcement operations against suspected illegal mining activities in the Wushishi/Lukoto axis of the state.

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, conveyed the Federal Government’s condolences to Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago, the traditional leadership and people of Wushishi, as well as the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives.

Idris said the Federal Government regarded the protection of the lives, dignity and fundamental rights of Nigerians as a solemn responsibility, stressing that the circumstances surrounding the deaths required a thorough, transparent and impartial investigation.

The minister assured the families of the deceased and the people of Niger State that the Federal Government shared in their grief and remained committed to establishing the circumstances surrounding the tragedy.

Babatunde Odutola, who has no fixed address, was sentenced at Manchester Magistrates’ Court on Monday, September 14, after pleading guilty to one count of outraging public decency and breaching a suspended sentence order.

The sentence came just three days after the incident, which occurred at about 7pm on Friday, September 11.

Odutola approached a woman who was travelling alone and allegedly looked her up and down in an intimidating manner before becoming aggressive when she refused to engage with him.

He then exposed himself while sitting in a wheelchair, masturbated while looking at the woman and told her to “come over”.

A fellow passenger subsequently helped the distressed woman leave the carriage.

CCTV footage showed Odutola continuing the act as other passengers moved through the carriage. Police were called and British Transport Police officers arrested him after the train arrived at Manchester Piccadilly.

British Transport Police Detective Constable Leonidas Christoforou described Odutola’s conduct as disturbing and said his behaviour must have been terrifying for the woman, whom he had singled out while she was travelling alone.

According to the officer, Odutola initially denied the allegations during a police interview but was confronted with CCTV footage and witness accounts before eventually pleading guilty.

The officer also said the incident was not an isolated case, noting that Odutola was already a registered sex offender.

He warned that such behaviour would not be tolerated on the railway and said the force remained committed to holding offenders accountable.

Under the plans, there would be a gradual approach to children using social media which would include banning under-13s from accessing platforms.

Those aged 13 to 15 would only be able to access platforms for an hour per day via “mini accounts” set up through their parent’s or guardian’s social media account.

The European Commission said social media companies would need to prove platforms were safe by design or face fines of up to 6% of their global sales. EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said the move would “put parents back in the driving seat”.

She added the legislation – called the EU Kids Act – would give parents “the tools to help their children navigate a safer world”.

The restrictions would not just affect well-known apps such as TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat but also YouTube and other video sharing platforms as well as AI chatbots and online games.

“Too many children are being exposed too early to an online world they are not ready to navigate – an environment where bullying can follow you home, where every mistake can be recorded forever,” von der Leyen said.

Under the act, only children aged 15 and over would be able to set up their own social media accounts.

But von der Leyen told the EU Parliament on Thursday that “an age limit does not mean letting tech companies off the hook for the content on the platform.”

She added that under the legislation, if it is approved, companies would be required to submit detailed child safety plans.

“For every person under 18, the platforms must follow the principle of safety by design, no toxic or addictive features, no traps, etc,” she said.

Some individual EU countries have already announced their own plans to restrict social media for children, including France and Spain.

The proposed EU-wide legislation would supersede those, and member states will not be able to opt out from what would be a legally binding regulation.

It is understood the Commission has warned some member states they would need to repeal any national laws passed before the EU Kids Act comes into effect.

The new plans need to be agreed by EU member states and approved by the European Parliament.

Already there are questions about how this EU-wide legislation would be enforced and the plans are likely to face opposition in the months to come.

France provides an indication of how the path ahead could be bumpy as individual member states may try to strengthen or weaken the proposals.

The Macron government drew up legislation for a ban on social media for under-15s but last month the country’s top court blocked it, ruling that it infringed upon freedom of expression.

French ministers have now amended their original plans.

Some critics of social media bans for children cite privacy concerns.

They worry about teenagers being forced to submit personal information as they go through an age verification process to prove they are old enough to access platforms.

The Commission has said age would be verified using the EU’s preexisting age verification app, and no personal data would be collected or shared.

Social media companies will also make their position on the restrictions clear as the act is debated in the months to come.

Von der Leyen had previously proposed a social media “delay” for children in Europe, saying in May that “the discussion about a minimum age for social media can no longer be ignored.”

The policy, formally outlined on Thursday, was also trailed in the EU chief’s annual address on Wednesday.

In July, the EU said Meta must change the “addictive” design of Facebook and Instagram or face a heavy fine.

In preliminary findings, the European Commission said features such as infinite scroll, autoplaying videos and personalised recommendations could encourage “compulsive use”, particularly among children and teens.

A spokesperson for the tech giant told the BBC it disagreed with the findings, “which don’t accurately take into account the significant steps we’ve taken to protect teens.”

In a separate case, Meta agreed in August to a $18bn (£13.3bn) settlement with US states and territories to resolve claims that Facebook and Instagram harmed children. It denied any wrongdoing as part of the settlement.

The European Commission said its proposed legislation built on findings from its special panel on child safety online, which recommended age-appropriate regulation for children, with different guidance for each age group.

It also cited recent EU survey data, which found 92% of respondents considered the need to strengthen children’s protection online as a top policy priority.

Von der Leyen said the Commission had “looked at Australia,” which banned social media platforms for under-16s last year, when putting together the proposal.

The ban has been difficult for the country to enforce, with its Communications Minister Anika Wells admitting earlier this month that so far no tech firm had been fined despite research showing many under-16s were still on platforms.

A similar ban for under-16s is set to come into force in the UK in spring next year.

Nusrat Osman, 47, was freed on Thursday during an operation on the outskirts of the southern city of Blantyre, police said.

Officers exchanged gunfire with the suspected kidnappers, who police said were armed with an AK-47 rifle and a pistol.

“The criminals got shot and were rushed to the hospital where they succumbed to the injuries,” the Malawi Police Service said in a statement.

Deputy Inspector General of Police Noel Kayira, who was involved in the operation, also sustained gunshot injuries and is being treated in hospital. The police statement said he was in a stable condition.

Osman was reunited with her family following the rescue and was also taken to hospital for treatment, and for physical and mental health assessments, local media reported.

Osman’s younger brother, Shobi Jiwa, praised the Malawian police for securing her release, telling the UK’s Sun newspaper that the family was deeply grateful for the force’s efforts in investigating the kidnapping.

He also paid tribute to Kayira, the police chief who was shot during the rescue operation, describing him as the family’s “hero” for putting his own life at risk to save her.

Police have not identified the four suspected kidnappers who were killed and have not provided further details about how officers located the group.

Osman was abducted by four unidentified men in Blantyre’s Mount Pleasant neighbourhood on 11 September.

Police said she had been driving home when the men blocked her vehicle, forced her into another car and drove away.

Her disappearance prompted a major search operation, with authorities offering a reward of 30 million Malawian kwacha ($17,000; £12,500) for information leading to her rescue and the arrest and conviction of those responsible.

Osman, who is from Leicester in the UK, has lived in Malawi for several years and works for an auditing firm. She is married and has two young children.

The UK Foreign Office earlier told the BBC that it was aware of reports that a British national had been abducted in Malawi and was in touch with local authorities.

The case had puzzled investigators because police said there had been no known ransom demand or communication from the kidnappers following her disappearance.

Her family had made emotional public appeals for her safe return, describing the disappearance as deeply distressing and urging anyone with information to contact police.

The kidnapping also caused concern among Malawi’s business community and British nationals living in the southern African country, where abductions of foreign nationals are relatively uncommon.

Police have not disclosed a possible motive or said whether they believe other people were involved.

They said investigations were continuing to establish the full circumstances surrounding the kidnapping and the subsequent rescue operation.

Authorities have urged the public to remain calm while the investigation continues.

Police have set up an investigation into the deaths, which the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) blamed on an apparent disease outbreak.

However, an intelligence report shared with the AFP news agency suggested the group died because of overcrowding and poor ventilation inside the detention facility in the Nigerian state of Niger.

State governor Mohammed Umaru Bago called the deaths “sad and tragic” during a press conference on Thursday.

An NSCDC commander has been detained following the deaths, Bago also said.

He declared three days of mourning and postponed the start of campaigning for elections scheduled for January.

Officials had arrested the group of young men on Tuesday for suspected illegal mining near Borgu, in the mineral-rich state of Niger. The region is known for small-scale gold mining.

Two days later, 37 people detained as part of the suspected unlawful operation were found dead inside the detention centre run by the NSCDC.

The NSCDC said the detainees were possibly victims of a diphtheria outbreak, a serious bacterial infection that can be fatal.

But relatives of the deceased have disputed the official explanation of events, claiming they were deliberately killed.

Niger’s police chief ordered an immediate investigation into “the unfortunate death of suspected illegal miners while in the detention facility of the NSCDC”, spokesman Wasiu Abiodun wrote in a statement.

The victim’s bodies have since been taken to the general hospital in nearby Minna for examination.

The scramble for gold reserves dug up in illegal mines in Niger State has been blamed for fuelling criminal gang violence, according to officials and experts.

Much of the gold in the region is trafficked through global supply chains, a 2024 SwissAid report found.

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Ramaphosa returned to South Africa on Monday following the summit and has been advised by his doctors to rest and recover.

His office said that where necessary, ministers would represent him at scheduled engagements while he recuperates.

The development comes as Deputy President Paul Mashatile is also recovering from a minor medical procedure, leaving both of South Africa’s top leaders temporarily away from public duties.

Mashatile said on Tuesday that his recovery was progressing well and that he was regaining strength each day.

He added that, on the advice of his doctors, he would continue resting until cleared to resume his duties, while work and delegated responsibilities continued through his office and other government stakeholders.

Ramaphosa’s absence follows his participation in the BRICS summit in New Delhi, which concluded on Sunday after two days of discussions involving leaders from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The summit focused on issues including inclusive global growth and developments in the Middle East.

The simultaneous absence of the President and Deputy President comes as South Africa prepares for a busy political period ahead of local government elections scheduled for November 4.

The suspect, Ukasha Yahaya, popularly known as UK International, was arrested after the Hisbah Board received intelligence that he had entered Kano.

Hisbah Deputy Commander General, Dr Mujahid Aminuddeen, confirmed the arrest on Thursday, saying Yahaya is currently in custody as investigations continue.

Yahaya, who hails from Gusau in Zamfara State but resides in Abuja, reportedly admitted during questioning that he could not remember the number of videos he had produced featuring women.

According to him, some of his videos had attracted between one million and three million views, with the women allegedly approaching him because of his work as a content creator.

Yahaya also admitted that his mother and others had repeatedly warned him against producing such content.

When asked whether he would involve his sisters in similar videos, he said they were all married and disclosed that he had been considering quitting such content as he prepares for marriage.

He apologised for his actions and promised not to repeat them.

Dr Aminuddeen said the suspect would be taken to court after investigations are completed.

He also warned young people against producing TikTok content that violates the moral and religious standards enforced by the Hisbah Board.

Conflict in Ukraine and the Middle East has tightened oil and gas supplies globally, ​driving fuel prices to record highs in some countries ahead of peak harvest ​and winter demand.

The Reuters Power Up newsletter by columnist Ron Bousso provides everything you need to know about the global energy industry.

Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger depend heavily on fuel imports ⁠from coastal neighbours including Ghana and Ivory Coast. The three Sahelian countries are ​ruled by military governments that seized power in coups and are battling Islamist insurgencies linked ​to al Qaeda and Islamic State.

BOST managed to supply only half of the 80,000 metric tons of fuel Burkina Faso requested in July and August, Awoonor told Reuters on the sidelines of an ​energy conference in Bangkok.

During the same period, BOST exported 10,000 tons of fuel to ​Mali, though the country had requested an extra 40,000 tons for August and September, he added.

In Ghana, where fuel importer and distributor BOST holds a 30% market share, diesel consumption continues to grow as economic activity expands, Awoonor said.

“Supply is available, but it’s at a high cost,” Awoonor said, adding that sharp increases in demand had strained supplies and complicated efforts ​to keep domestic fuel ​prices stable. Diesel accounts ⁠for two-thirds of BOST’s supplies.

Ghana’s fuel prices rose earlier this year on global supply fears but have since eased, helped ​by a stronger currency and government intervention.

Awoonor also said BOST plans to build a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) terminal in the industrial city of Tema by the fourth quarter next year and to start importing cooking gas.

The company plans to build an LPG ⁠storage ​facility in Kumasi, Ghana’s second-largest city, to distribute the ​fuel, he said, adding that the plan was to build terminals at six locations in phases.

Brent crude futures dropped $1.24, or 1.2%, to $104.59 a barrel by 0049 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were down $1.14, or 1.1%, at $101.29. Both contracts ​fell about $3 on Wednesday.

“Concerns over supply tightness eased slightly following news that Saudi Arabia would ​ship cargo via Oman,” said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, chief strategist of Nissan Securities Investment, ⁠a unit of Nissan Securities.

“Expectations of progress toward easing tensions in the Middle East ahead of ​the U.S.-China summit next week are also capping price gains,” he added.

Saudi Arabia is offering more crude oil loadings to Asian refiners via ship-to-ship transfers off Oman’s Sohar port, people familiar with the matter said, blunting some of the impact on global supply from attacks on Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline to the Red Sea.

Oil prices rose ​to about four-month highs earlier this week after shipping industry sources said crude loadings at Saudi ​Arabia’s Red Sea export hub of Yanbu had been suspended and Riyadh had cancelled some cargo deliveries to European customers. The ‌suspension followed attacks ⁠on the East-West pipeline, which feeds the Saudi port of Yanbu.

Yanbu became Saudi Arabia’s main outlet for oil exports after Iran began blockading the Strait of Hormuz after the U.S. and Israel attacked the country at the end of February. Prior to the war, Hormuz was the conduit for one-fifth of ​the world’s oil supply.

Two pumping stations serving the East-West pipeline were damaged in an attack last week, with the repair timeline unclear, according to assessments from three oil and security sources.

Despite the oil price decline on Thursday, worries about the intensifying war in the Middle East remain.

Saudi warplanes pounded ​Yemen and ⁠Houthi fighters launched drones and missiles at Saudi cities, the Iran-backed movement said on Wednesday, after a lightning advance that has extended Tehran’s reach in the Middle East war.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Energy Information Administration on ⁠Wednesday reported ​a smaller-than-expected draw from U.S. crude inventories last week. Crude oil ​stocks in the top-producing nation fell about 640,000 barrels last week, the EIA data showed, compared to expectations of a 1.62 ​million-barrel draw according to a Reuters poll of energy analysts.

According to the entertainer, his outspoken activism came at a personal cost, with his family becoming increasingly worried about their safety.

Mr Macaroni said his mother would frequently call him in tears after noticing what she described as strange movements around the family home.

“The threats here and there were serious threats. My family, no time. They were every time calling me, crying,” he said in a viral video.

He revealed that the situation became so worrying that members of his family wanted him to leave the country for his own safety.

“They wanted to fly me out of the country. I said, for what? I’m not running anywhere,” he recalled.

Mr Macaroni said the threats intensified around the period leading up to Nigeria’s 2023 general election, when he continued to speak publicly about the need for citizens to vote wisely.

He stressed that when he publicly expressed his preferred presidential candidate at the time, he was exercising his personal right to vote and was not ordering Nigerians to support the same candidate.

However, he said the backlash that followed was intense, with people insulting and attacking him over his political position.

The comedian said his decision to speak out had always been driven by his desire for a better Nigeria, but the experience eventually made him question how much more he could say publicly.

He also recalled that people continued to tag him on social media asking why he was no longer speaking about issues affecting the country.

“What will I say? We said it, but it looked as if we were the ones that didn’t know what we were saying,” he said.

Mr Macaroni has previously spoken about receiving threats over his activism and political views. In 2022, he publicly alleged that threats had been made against him and his family over his refusal to endorse a particular presidential candidate.

His latest comments offer further insight into the personal pressure behind his reduced political commentary, even as he maintains that his concerns about Nigeria and its leadership have not disappeared.

The entertainer has also previously said he has little interest in entering Nigerian politics himself, arguing that the political environment can negatively affect people who were once widely respected.

The Trump administration has criticised South Africa over several issues, including policies aimed at addressing racial inequality that it says discriminate against Afrikaners, descendants mainly of Dutch and French settlers.

South Africa has repeatedly denied the claim.

“The South African government has not adequately addressed the previously laid ​out concerns,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement announcing the restrictions on Tuesday.

He said the visa restrictions would target those who promote “race-based discrimination, incite violence, or enable land confiscation without compensation in South Africa.”

Rubio did not immediately name any individuals targeted by the restrictions.

Relations between the two countries have been on a downward spiral since President Donald Trump returned to office early last year, with the US leader cutting aid, expelling the South African ambassador and offering “refuge” to white South Africans fleeing “persecution.”

But the South African government has repeatedly rejected allegations that it is persecuting white people or confiscating their land.

It said claims of a white genocide had been widely discredited and lacked reliable evidence.

South Africa’s latest crime statistics do not indicate that more white people have fallen victim to violent crime than other racial groups.

Trump offered refugee status to Afrikaners last year after South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed a law allowing the government to seize land without compensation in rare instances.

The legislation allows the state to expropriate property in the public interest and provides for circumstances in which compensation may be set at zero. But it also requires authorities, in most cases, to first try to reach an agreement with property owners, and disputes can be taken to court.

Land ownership remains a highly sensitive issue in South Africa more than three decades after the end of apartheid, under which the black majority was dispossessed of land and denied many basic rights.

The government says land reform is necessary to address those historic inequalities and insists the new law does not permit arbitrary seizures.

Most private farmland is owned by white South Africans, who make up just over 7% of the population.

In a separate social media post on Tuesday, Rubio accused South Africa’s government of pursuing “racial grievance against the Afrikaner minority” and said those responsible for what he described as injustices “have no place in the United States”.

He said the South African government had failed to adequately address US concerns about what Washington describes as “government-sponsored discrimination” against Afrikaners and other minorities.

“The United States will not allow such behaviour to go unchecked,” he added.

He said the actions targeted by the policy undermined “peace, economic stability and the rule of law.”

The South African government is yet to respond to the US restrictions.

The US embassy in Pretoria said Washington believed dialogue with South Africa had run its course and accused the African country of failing to demonstrate a commitment to strong bilateral relations.

It warned that the new visa restrictions were the beginning of tougher measures, adding: “This visa restriction policy is only the first step in a series of escalatory measures that will show America’s firm resolve in this matter.”

South Africa made efforts to soothe tensions with US, with Ramaphosa going to the White House last May with a large delegation that included white members of his coalition government and also famous white South African golfers.

But Trump ambushed the Oval Office meeting with claims that white South African farmers were being killed and “persecuted” – producing unsubstantiated evidence that has been widely discredited.

Further efforts by South Africa to mend the relationship have failed, with Africa’s largest economy being hit in August with 30% tariffs on goods being exported to the US – the highest rate in sub-Saharan Africa.

The latest visa restrictions are being imposed under a provision of US immigration law that allows the secretary of state to bar foreign nationals whose entry is considered potentially damaging to US foreign policy interests.

A photo posted on Telegram by a regional governor showed a white vehicle with blown-out windows and a line of what appeared to be blood streaming down its side. Reuters has not verified the image.

“There is no military ​logic to this, just another act of brutality,” Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on social media, urging the ​U.S. and Europe to press ahead with toughening sanctions against Russia.

ESCALATING STRIKES ON ECONOMIC TARGETS

Moscow ⁠and Ukraine have traded escalating strikes in recent months on logistics and other economic targets, aimed at hampering each ​other’s war effort and damaging morale.

With Ukraine’s airspace closed since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, buses and trains have become ​a vital transport link for ordinary Ukrainians and businesses.

The drone attack on the passenger bus near the frontline city of Nikopol killed four men and a woman early on Wednesday, police said.

A further seven people were injured in the attack, said the governor of the ​surrounding Dnipropetrovsk region, Oleksandr Hanzha, who posted the photo.

There was no immediate comment from Russia on the attack. Both ​Ukraine and Russia deny deliberately targeting civilians in the war, triggered by Moscow’s full-scale invasion of its neighbour.

ATTACK ON PASSENGER TRAIN

A Russian ‌drone ⁠also attacked a passenger train in Ukraine’s southern Mykolaiv region, the acting regional governor said.

All 168 passengers and crew were evacuated and no one was injured, Heorhii Reshetilov said on Telegram. The train was attacked twice more after the first strike, he said.

Zelenskiy said that, in addition to the Mykolaiv train attack, a locomotive in Kovel — near the border ​with Poland — was also struck.

The ​incidents follow similar attacks recently, ⁠including on a train near Ukraine’s border with NATO-member Poland on Sunday, shortly after European diplomats and political figures had used the same line.

Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukrainian ​railways, hitting 120 passenger wagons, 304 locomotives and 43 railway stations so far this ​year, the state ⁠rail operator told Reuters.

The company said that Russia has attacked 1,700 railway facilities in total since the start of the year, up from 1,206 facilities in 2025 and 842 in 2024.

“Russian forces strike passenger trains, locomotives, stations, and railway routes knowing ⁠exactly how ​essential they are for civilians, evacuations, and Ukraine’s economy,” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister ​Andrii Sybiha said on X.

“This is not collateral damage. It is a systematic hunt for people and an attempt to paralyse civilian life,” he ​said.

The effective interest rate on US government bonds with a 10-year maturity, known as the 10-year Treasury yield, rose as high as 5.04% but has since eased.

Government bond yields have been rising globally for months, driven by concerns that inflation from the oil price surge since the start of the US-Israel war with Iran will lead to higher interest rates.

The US has been buying back bonds in a bid to drive Treasury yields down, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent calling the intervention “successful”.

The global benchmark wholesale oil price rose to over $109 a barrel on Tuesday, up from around $86 at the end of August, after renewed concerns about Saudi Arabia’s ability to export oil following rising tensions in the region.

Investors are anticipating the US Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh will raise interest rates to combat the inflation caused by higher oil prices.

However, US President Donald Trump opposes a rate hike, having long argued lower rates are great for boosting the economy.

He fell out with Warsh’s predecessor Jerome Powell over his decision not to cut rates.

Higher interest rates and inflation tend to drive up the yields bond investors demand on government borrowing.

Bond yields can also indicate how much faith investors have in a given government, with higher yields reflecting lower confidence.

Competition for debt from artificial intelligence (AI) firms is also driving up yields.

Tech giants are borrowing massive piles of cash to build huge data centres. This raises interest rates on tech firms’ debt, which increases government bond yields in response.

Carol Schleif, chief market strategist at BMO Wealth Management, said bond markets had been signalling for weeks that higher interest rates may be needed.

While the rise in borrowing costs has been “orderly” this year, rather than sudden, she said rates could remain elevated if geopolitical tensions and high energy prices remain “front and centre”.

Brent crude futures fell 93 cents, or 0.86%, to $107.82 a barrel at 0028 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were down 97 cents, or 0.92%, at $104.86 a barrel.

Both benchmarks settled more ​than $3 higher and at their highest levels since May 19 on Tuesday, as ​the Yanbu loading suspension stoked supply concerns and Saudi Arabia cut oil shipments ⁠to Europe

U.S. crude oil, gasoline and distillate inventories all rose last week, market sources said on ​Tuesday, citing data from the American Petroleum Institute.

Crude inventories rose by 7.1 million barrels in ​the week ended September 11, the sources said, citing API data. That compared with analysts’ expectations for a draw of about 1.6 million barrels, according to a Reuters poll.

API’s data showed unexpected builds in gasoline and diesel inventories, which have weighed on prices, but regional stock increases do not change the underlying tightness in the global crude market, Haitong Futures said in a note.

Sources said on Tuesday that oil loadings ‌at ⁠Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu port had been suspended after the world’s biggest crude exporter shut its East-West pipeline following an attack by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis on Friday.

Saudi Arabia has used the pipeline to reroute around 4 million barrels per day, or about 4% of global supply, to the Red ​Sea port.

The U.S. energy ​secretary said crude ⁠should resume flowing through Saudi Arabia’s vital East-West pipeline within days.

However, sources who spoke to Reuters gave varying estimates of how long the pipeline could ​remain offline. One said repairs could take five to six weeks, ​while another said ⁠the pipeline could resume partial pumping sooner as repairs continue.

In Libya, unrelated to the Iran conflict, the National Oil Corporation (NOC) said operations at three oil fields were suspended after protesting members of the Petroleum Facilities Guard shut off a valve on the Hamada-Zawiya crude export pipeline.

However, Libya’s oil production has not been significantly affected by the shutdowns and remains at about 1.4 million ​barrels per day, NOC Chairman Massoud Suleman told Reuters.

Also read:

• Oil prices slide 2% on Iran-Oman talks to reopen Strait of Hormuz

• Oil prices jump more than 2% after new strikes on Saudi, Strait of Hormuz

He said government is focused on creating a conducive business environment that will attract investors and support projects capable of driving national development.

Speaking at the sod-cutting ceremony for the Sentuo Airport Garden City Project on Tuesday, September 15, Mr Ibrahim urged investors to take advantage of Ghana’s strategic position and the opportunities available in the country.

He described Ghana as the “gateway to Africa” and said the country remained committed to working with the private sector to accelerate development.

“Ghana is the home of investors and is the most attractive place. The heart of the world, all investors are welcome. We are in business,” he said.

The Minister noted that public-private partnerships would remain an important part of government’s strategy to address the country’s infrastructure and housing challenges.

He said increased private sector investment, supported by government initiatives, would be essential to expanding housing delivery and improving access to decent accommodation.

Mr Ibrahim also expressed optimism that the collaboration between government and private developers would contribute significantly to reducing Ghana’s housing deficit, currently estimated at about 1.8 million housing units.

He said government is working towards substantially narrowing the gap in the coming years, with the potential of reducing the deficit to below one million units.

The Minister therefore encouraged investors to explore opportunities in Ghana and partner with government in delivering projects that meet the country’s growing housing and infrastructure needs.

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His appointment was approved at the ECOWAS Assembly in Abuja, Nigeria, where the regional bloc endorsed a new management team for the 2026–2030 term.

Mr Sulemani will oversee key areas including infrastructure, energy, transport and digital development as ECOWAS works to deepen regional integration and economic cooperation among member states.

He will serve under the new leadership of the ECOWAS Commission, headed by Senegal’s General Birame Diop, who has assumed office as President of the Commission.

His portfolio covers three directorates: Digital Economy and Post, Energy and Mines, and Transport.

A major part of his mandate will be to support the implementation of the ECOWAS Regional Infrastructure Development Plan, which seeks to improve connectivity and promote integrated infrastructure projects across the sub-region.

The plan focuses on transport networks, energy infrastructure and digital connectivity, with the broader objective of facilitating trade, investment and economic integration.

Mr Sulemani brings extensive experience in engineering, public administration and diplomacy to the new position. He previously served as Ghana’s Minister for Roads and Highways and has also held diplomatic responsibilities.

His appointment gives Ghana a senior role in one of the ECOWAS Commission’s key portfolios at a time when the region continues to face challenges in infrastructure development, energy supply and digital connectivity.

The new ECOWAS leadership is expected to focus on strengthening cooperation among member states and mobilising investment for regional development during its four-year tenure.

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A post on her Instagram account – attributed to the couple – said that two nights of their three-day wedding festivities on a private island in the Bahamas were partially funded by Umar Kremlev, a Russian oligarch with close ties to Putin.

The statement was released Monday after investigative journalism outlet ProPublica published a story detailing that Kremlev paid “hundreds of thousands of dollars” for the celebration.

Donald Trump Jr., one of the US president’s sons, is a private citizen, so it’s not illegal for him to accept gifts from a foreign national.

“Our dear friend Umar very generously hosted two incredible nights of celebrations for us AFTER our wedding. It was an extraordinarily generous wedding gift from a friend, and something for which we were and remain incredibly grateful,” the couple said in the statement.

But ethics watchdog groups said it still presented the appearance of a conflict of interest for the president’s son to accept lavish gifts from someone associated with a foreign head of state – even if he is not a US government employee.

“People don’t just give hundreds of thousands of dollars to a random acquaintance without wanting something,” said Jordan Libowitz, vice president of communications for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).

“You can see how [Putin] would enjoy all this press about how people in his circle are cozying up to people in the president’s circle.”

According to the ProPublica article, the couple was married on a private island in the Bahamas, then held a two-day celebration on a separate island that rents for approximately $100,000 per night. Kremlev also paid other costs for the party, including a roughly $70,000 fireworks display, the report found.

Kremlev runs the International Boxing Association (IBA), an organization funded by the state-backed Gazprom energy company. The Olympic Committee suspended the group in part over its failure to report its ties to the Russian energy giant.

Earlier this year Kremlev was part of a delegation that visited China with Putin. The Russian president also gave Kremlev the Order of Friendship, a top state honor, according to ProPublica.

A spokesperson for Trump Jr. told the news outlet that the president’s son and Kremlev were personal friends and did not have “a business relationship.”

An ally of Trump Jr. referred the BBC to the Instagram statement.

In a statement to ProPublica, Kremlev’s office said “Mr. Kremlev and Mr. Trump Jr have a friendly relationship.” The statement said the men met a few years ago.

Kremlev attended part of the wedding, the outlet reported. Other attendees included one of the US president’s daughters, Ivanka Trump, and her husband, Jared Kushner, who has worked for the US on diplomatic negotiations with Iran, Russia and in the Middle East.

The Trump campaign and family faced controversy for potential ties to Russia during the 2016 presidential election, resulting in a special counsel investigation. During the campaign Donald Trump Jr. brokered a meeting at Trump Tower with a Russian operative that was closely scrutinized during the probe.

Libowitz, of CREW, said either the president, who is a billionaire, or Trump Jr. — who is worth $300 million, according to Forbes — could have paid for the full wedding to avoid a conflict of interest.

“His father is worth billions he could have picked up the tab. Clearly they just didn’t want to pay for it,” Libowitz said. “They don’t really care about the ethical ramifications.”

Speaking at the ongoing UNESCO Global Forum on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the Minister said Africa could no longer remain a passive participant in conversations shaping the future of AI.

He said Ghana’s experience with the UNESCO Readiness Assessment Methodology (RAM) had helped the country identify its strengths and weaknesses as it implements its 10-year National AI Strategy.

According to him, the assessment has provided Ghana with a foundation to develop an implementation framework that builds on existing strengths while addressing critical gaps in the country’s AI ecosystem.

African values must shape AI ethics

Mr George argued that conversations about AI ethics must extend beyond technical considerations to examine the values embedded in AI systems.

He questioned whose values are reflected in AI models being developed and deployed around the world, stressing that ethical standards are ultimately influenced by the values of the societies that develop them.

He raised concerns that some AI systems may struggle to properly recognise African cultural practices because they have not been sufficiently trained on African datasets.

He cited a hypothetical example in which an AI system could distinguish between a Western woman wearing a bikini and an African woman participating in a traditional cultural rite, potentially classifying the latter as nudity because of inadequate understanding of the cultural context.

The Minister said such outcomes demonstrated the risks associated with developing AI systems without adequate representation of African data, cultures and traditions.

He therefore urged UNESCO to take a leading role in ensuring that African perspectives and values are adequately reflected in global standards for AI ethics.

Mr George also drew comparisons with social media governance, questioning whether global community standards established by technology companies sufficiently account for African cultural values.

He maintained that Africa must have a stronger voice in determining the standards that will govern emerging technologies.

Africa must invest in computing infrastructure

The Minister also called for greater investment in computing infrastructure across Africa, stressing that the continent needs the capacity to develop and deploy AI without excessive dependence on infrastructure located outside the continent.

He disclosed that Ghana is committing US$250 million over the next two years towards the development of AI computing infrastructure.

However, he stressed that the investment was not intended to serve Ghana alone.

According to him, Ghana could develop into a regional computing hub that provides access to high-performance computing resources for neighbouring countries, universities, researchers and technology start-ups.

“We’re not building for Ghana. Ghana is just 35 million people. We’re building that infrastructure with a mindset of Africa as a continent,” he said.

Mr George cautioned against a situation where every African country attempts to build its own expensive computing infrastructure, arguing that such an approach could place additional pressure on the continent’s already constrained energy systems.

Instead, he advocated the development of regional infrastructure hubs capable of serving multiple countries.

Under such a model, he said, countries including Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and The Gambia could access computing infrastructure hosted in Ghana while contributing to and benefiting from the wider ecosystem.

He said the arrangement would give African researchers and start-ups access to affordable, sovereign computing resources located on the continent rather than relying entirely on infrastructure hosted abroad.

One Million Coders programme

On human capital development, Mr George said Ghana was also investing in the skills required to develop, operate and govern emerging technologies.

He cited the government’s One Million Coders programme, which seeks to train one million Ghanaians in future-oriented digital skills.

He explained that the programme goes beyond coding to include areas such as artificial intelligence, data security and cybersecurity.

The Minister said the government was working with the Ministry of Education to extend the initiative to secondary schools and had already established partnerships with universities across the country.

He added that AI-related courses were being incorporated into university programmes, with students in 20 major universities required to complete designated AI courses as prerequisites for graduation.

“If you don’t do it, you don’t graduate from the university,” he stated.

Mr George said the policy reflected the government’s commitment to building a critical pool of AI-skilled professionals capable of driving Ghana’s digital transformation.

He further disclosed that, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Ghana had trained all Chief Directors in AI skills.

The training, he said, is now being extended to directors and assistant directors across the civil service.

He explained that officials responsible for supervising and regulating AI deployment must themselves possess the requisite knowledge and skills to effectively manage the technology.

Sam George pushes for African consensus on AI

Beyond Ghana, the Minister called for a continental consensus on AI governance, infrastructure and Africa’s engagement with major global technology companies.

He said Ghana’s upcoming leadership roles within the African Union (AU) presented an opportunity to advance a collective African position on AI and digital technologies.

Mr George noted that Ghana is expected to assume the chairmanship of the African Union from February next year, while he is expected to chair the AU Specialised Technical Committee on ICT and Communications.

He said these platforms could be used to build consensus around Africa’s priorities and strengthen the continent’s negotiating position with major technology companies.

According to him, individual African countries may have limited influence when engaging global technology giants such as NVIDIA and Huawei, but a unified continental position could give Africa greater leverage.

“Ghana alone cannot bring Nvidia or Huawei to the table to meet our position. But when we take a collective position as Africa, then we can have a voice at the table through the African Union,” he said.

Mr George expressed appreciation to UNESCO for providing a platform for countries to deliberate on the ethical, technical and developmental dimensions of artificial intelligence.

He reaffirmed Ghana’s commitment to working with UNESCO, the African Union and other international partners to ensure that the development of AI advances Africa’s interests while contributing to inclusive and sustainable development.

Here ​are some facts about the transaction:

* The Dangote refinery was built by Dangote Group, which ‌is controlled by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, over a period of 10 years at a cost of $20 billion.

* Dangote first said he would offer the public shares in the 700,000 barrels-per-day facility last year, as the plant was ramping up production ​after starting operations in the previous year. It attained full capacity this year.

* The group has ​said it will price the deal at 525 naira per share, implying a valuation ⁠of about 63 trillion naira ($47.59 billion) for the refinery, which is known as the Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals ​FZE.

* The shares will be listed on Nigeria’s main stock exchange.

* Refinery executives say the valuation is justified, ​citing growing demand for petroleum and fertiliser products on the continent and beyond, as well as its proximity to crude supply. Nigeria is Africa’s biggest oil producer.

* Dangote sold $2.5 billion worth of shares in the refinery through a private placement in July, ​securing institutional investors like the Africa Finance Corporation.

* The offering targets retail investors, with the minimum subscription being ​set at 10 shares. Investors will be able to apply and pay for their shares through digital channels such as mobile ‌phones, ⁠to try to make it accessible to the local population and Nigerians living abroad.

* Dangote will use the cash raised to finance expansion, including a doubling of the capacity to process 1.4 million barrels-per-day, over the next three years.

* The group also wants to increase the ownership of the refinery and boost the ability of ​the business to raise funds ​from capital markets in ⁠the future, it said in a copy of the prospectus seen by Reuters.

* Dangote Group has declined to comment on the content of the prospectus, which will be ​published on Monday.

* Dangote’s refinery has benefited from the disruption caused by the ​conflict in the Middle ⁠East to secure markets for its refined petroleum products in Africa and Europe.

* The refinery delivered a net profit of $1.82 billion in the first half of this year on revenue of more than $13 billion, the prospectus showed, up ⁠from a ​loss of $476 million in the whole of 2025.

* Investors will ​be able to apply to buy shares of the refinery until October 13 when the books will close. Trading for the shares could ​begin in late November, the prospectus showed.

The justices upheld a federal judge’s order that temporarily blocked the US Postal Service (USPS) from moving forwards with new requirements for postal ballots.

But it is unlikely to be the final word on the matter. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a conservative, agreed with the ruling, but indicated he might later rule in Trump’s favour as litigation in the case continues.

Trump, who argued the rules would combat electoral fraud, signed an executive order in March directing the USPS to deliver ballots only to voters on lists of citizens.

Legal challenges argued that the move violated states’ constitutional rights to run elections.

Justice Kavanaugh wrote in the opinion that there was “at least a fair prospect that the final rule falls within the Postal Service’s statutory authority.” But he argued that “applying the rule in the 2026 elections would be arbitrary and capricious.”

Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, also conservatives, dissented. They wrote that the challenge to Trump’s order was a “Hail Mary pass” that was ultimately unlikely to succeed.

“The Postal Service has broad authority to regulate the mail,” they added.

The White House did not immediately comment on the decision.

About 30% of voters, mostly Democrats, cast postal ballots in the general election two years ago.

Since returning to the White House, Trump has sought to restrict voting by mail. While he himself has voted by post, he has long claimed this method allows non-citizens to cast ballots and is prone to fraud.

In March’s executive order, the president directed USPS to introduce unique barcodes on postal ballot envelopes.

State and local election officials would also be required to supply information to an online portal about voters who receive mail ballots.

Twenty-three states and Washington DC sued to stop Trump’s order.

The postal workers’ union also said clerks could not be trained in time for the election.

In court filings, the Trump administration maintained the new USPS rules were constitutional.

It said states “cannot choose to use the federal mails to carry out their elections but then insist that their election-related mail is somehow exempt from the Postal Service’s rule-making authority, conferred by Congress”.

Boston-based Judge Indira Talwani imposed an injunction on 4 September blocking Trump’s order. She ruled that implementing the measures close to November’s elections could disenfranchise voters.

Last week, a US appeals court refused to put Judge Talwani’s order on hold.

On Sunday, another federal judge, Judge Carl Nichols, ruled against Trump’s order.

Some states have already begun distributing mail-in ballots ahead of the midterm elections, which will decide which party controls Congress.

It is not the first setback for Trump’s postal ballots before the Supreme Court.

In June, the justices ruled that states may count ballots postmarked by election day, rejecting the Trump administration’s push to block votes being tallied when they are received after polls close.

Trump has previously made false claims that he lost the 2020 election owing to widespread electoral fraud.

Citizens deemed to have “harmed” China’s national security or interests while overseas can also be barred from leaving China for up to three years after they return, while those who violate technological import and export regulations may also be banned from leaving.

Chinese authorities say the rules are to “safeguard national sovereignty and security” and deny that they restrict the travel of “ordinary citizens”.

But critics say the new rules could further boost Beijing’s ability to exert pressure on its nationals’ activities abroad.

“This is another tool designed to control what Chinese citizens do and say overseas,” Professor Tom Kellogg, Executive Director of the Centre for Asian Law at Georgetown University, told BBC Chinese.

“In some cases, in order to prevent individuals from criticising the Chinese government overseas or to punish their rights advocacy activities, state security authorities directly refuse to issue passports,” Kellogg adds.

According to the rules taking effect on Tuesday, Chinese citizens may be prohibited from leaving the country if they violate technology import and export regulations that “may endanger national industrial or technological security.”

Piyao, a Chinese government “rumour-refuting” platform, posted a statement last week saying the new rules “do not restrict the travel of ordinary citizens, but rather serve as a preventative measure against high-risk destinations and individuals with unusual travel patterns”.

The regulations were issued to address “problems” such as people being deceived into leaving the country or engaging in illegal gambling and scam activities abroad, the statement said.

But some Chinese nationals have reported facing murky travel restrictions for years.

One 26-year-old Chinese citizen, who wished to be identified only as Pipi, told BBC Chinese that his passport application in 2023 was rejected and he believes it was because he attended the massive pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong in 2019.

According to Pipi, he was interviewed by Hong Kong media outlets during the protests. When he returned to mainland China, he was questioned by state security police.

He said one immigration official told him that he could not get a passport “because of the Hong Kong issue” – but this was not confirmed in writing to him.

“If they have given me an official document, I could apply for administrative reconsideration. But all they said was one sentence: ‘You can’t go,'” Pipi said.

Pipi said he did not dare to escalate the matter, fearing he would “end up in prison”.

“I’m just an ordinary person, right? I’m a young man, and I haven’t done anything bad,” he said.

“I don’t know whether I’ll ever be able to leave [China].”

According to publicly available information, Chinese citizens currently cannot check whether they are subject to exit controls on their own.

Unless official written or verbal notification is issued, people generally only discover they are restricted from leaving when applying for documents or attempting to depart.

Under China’s Administrative Licensing Law, when an administrative authority decides not to grant an administrative licence, it should explain the reasons in writing. But some people interviewed by the BBC said this requirement is not enforced.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and immigration authorities did not respond to enquiries from BBC Chinese.

Chinese authorities have drastically tightened exit bans on their citizens in recent years, according to data provided to the BBC by the rights group Safeguard Defenders.

While China’s supreme court database showed only 89 records mentioning exit bans in 2016, a figure that rose to 188,760 by last year.

The percentage of civil verdicts involving exit bans surged more than 30-fold between 2019 and 2025, from around 0.23% to 7.3%. The actual volume of such cases are believed to be even higher, owing to an increasing number of withheld judgments.

Under the new rules taking effect on Tuesday, border officials are now also required to advise Chinese nationals against travelling to countries and regions deemed “high-risk”.

But prior to this, some in China – ranging from civil servants and state-owned enterprise employees to ordinary citizens – already faced restrictions from going to certain countries.

A man identified by his pseudonym, Xiao Wang, who works at a state-owned financial institution in Beijing, told BBC Chinese that his fellow employees have long been required to surrender their passports and get approval for overseas travel.

The 32-year-old said managers have verbally reminded staff that “sensitive countries such as Japan are definitely off-limits”.

Some of his civil servant friends, even those working in museums, find it “very difficult” to travel abroad and have been told they cannot directly apply for passports because of their jobs, Xiao Wang said.

Kellogg, the legal expert, called the expanding travel restrictions “deeply concerning” and said they reflect a “growing ideological control under Chinese leader Xi Jinping”, which is reminiscent of Mao Zedong’s era.

China was largely cut off from the world under Mao’s decades-long regime, and international travel only became a part of life for Chinese people in the 1990s, after China underwent a series of reforms and opening up.

Today’s various travel restrictions, Kellogg said, “bring back memories of that painful era”.

The initial public offering (IPO) is for roughly 3% of the Dangote refinery, with the billionaire saying he wanted to give ordinary Nigerians the chance to share in the plant’s success.

The refinery, which started production in 2024, is one of the largest in the world and took more than a decade to complete.

It now supplies more than 70% of Nigeria’s energy consumption, and many Nigerians have expressed excitement at the prospect of owning a part of it.

Among them is Isah Salisu, who told the BBC he withdrew 50,000 naira (£28; $37) from his savings to invest.

“My hope is that my small money will one day grow big. I don’t want to miss out as many I know are also investing,” he said.

The IPO lasts for a month and the minimum purchase is 10 shares, costing about $4.

Economy and business expert Dr Abdulrazak Ibrahim Fagge told the BBC that Monday’s event was historic.

But he warned investors that the price of the shares could fall, meaning people could lose some of their money.

“What prospective buyers, especially first-time buyers, should know is that they shouldn’t invest all their money or money they would need in a couple of months,” he said.

“They should invest something they could do without for the next three, four, five years.”

He also warned people to be wary of scammers, saying there are people who would want to take advantage of those without good knowledge of the process.

“I will advise people to only deal with the institutions that have been listed,” he said.

Nigeria is Africa’s biggest oil producer but until the refinery was opened, most of the country’s fuel had to be imported because of a lack of refining capacity in the country.

Born in Kano, Dangote, 67, has a net worth of around $28bn, according to Forbes magazine.

He made his fortune in cement and sugar in Nigeria before expanding to 16 other African countries.

His company Dangote Cement is Africa’s largest cement producer.

The Lagos refinery was first announced in 2013 with an initial estimated cost of around $19bn, but construction did not begin until 2017. It was further delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The site, in the Lekki Free Zone near Lagos, required massive land reclamation, with 65 million cubic metres of sand moved.

The refinery has a processing capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, making it the seventh-largest in the world.

The money raised by the share offer is intended to help double its capacity.

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Brent crude futures rose $2.90, or 2.77%, to $107.51 per barrel as of ​2313 GMT. WTI futures rose $2.27, or 2.27%, to $102.32 per barrel. Prices had initially risen more than 3% at ​market open.

Saudi Arabian state media on Sunday released video footage of damage to homes ⁠and a mosque from what it said was a Houthi attack on the country’s southern Jazan province. The Houthis ​said they had also struck a Saudi military base in a neighbouring province.

A vessel in the Strait of ​Hormuz was struck by a projectile, causing a fire and forcing the crew to be evacuated, the British maritime security agency UKMTO said on Sunday.

Iran said one person was killed and four crew wounded aboard an Iranian commercial vessel struck off its ​coast.

Oil prices had been expected to rise on Monday amid growing concerns about risks to supply from Saudi ​Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, whose East-West oil pipeline was shut on Friday by a drone strike that originated in ‌Iraq.

The ⁠loss of the pipeline, which helped Saudi Arabia re-route its exports avoiding the Strait of Hormuz, threatens up to 4% of global oil supply.

Meanwhile, Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis had reached the strategic island of Perim on Friday, moving to tighten their control over the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, another key oil transit lane that has been shipping ​4-5% of global supply in ​recent months.

Oil surged 8% ⁠higher on the week due to the disruptions, rising above $100 for the first time since July.

“Looking ahead, unless this week’s talks in Oman produce something operational — or ​the East-West pipeline is brought back online quickly — the risk is that crude oil ​continues to ⁠extend its gains toward the $119.48 high of early March,” IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said in a note on Sunday.

Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said on X later on Sunday, however, that a scheduled Monday meeting in ⁠Oman between ​Gulf countries and Iran to discuss the Strait of Hormuz had ​been postponed.

No peace talks have been held in the war, launched six months ago by the United States and Israel, since an ​interim agreement in June collapsed after a few weeks.

The Virgo Transport 8 ship carrying 243 people went missing in bad weather early on Sunday, the rescue agency said. Authorities have since rescued 108 people from the ship, which was travelling from Surabaya in East Java to Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan.

Choppy waters with high waves and strong winds were impeding the search on Monday, ​said Mohammad Syafii, head of the national rescue agency.

The agency has deployed at least 622 personnel, 17 ships, five helicopters and aircraft to find the ​missing passengers, Syafii added. Some of the ships have arrived at the location but it was difficult for rescuers to make their ⁠way into the capsized and partially submerged ship, he said.

“We would also deploy personnel with underwater rescue skills but the current conditions do not allow us to,” he ​said.

“While waiting for the weather conditions to improve, we are identifying more personnel with special skills,” he said, adding the death toll remained at six.

In a video shared by ​the rescue agency, a large red-and-black ship was capsized and partially submerged in choppy blue water, with its red-painted underside visible above the surface.

Two small boats, each carrying people, were seen floating in rough waters near the capsized ship.

The location of the capsized boat is around 80 nautical miles (nearly 150 km) from the command centre at Trisakti Port in Banjarmasin, another official at the rescue agency told Reuters.

“The ​conditions there are quite windy, making it difficult for the (rescue) vessels to dock,” the official, Arianto Ardi, said.

As of Monday afternoon, none of the 129 missing people ​have been found, Arianto said, adding that rescuers are still unable to conduct a search for the victims due to the weather.

THREE-METRE WAVE CRASHES INTO SHIP

The weather was very poor when the ‌incident happened, ⁠with waves as high as three metres crashing into the ship, Syafii said.

It takes around five hours to reach the location from Trisakti Port in good weather but requires up to nine hours in rough conditions.

On Sunday, Edy Prakoso, another official at the agency, said the ship leaned heavily to one side after strong waves hit its starboard side.

Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi said the capsized boat had the capacity to contain 500 passengers, so it was not overloaded.

The incident took place in the Java Sea – the waters between ​Indonesia’s four most populated islands of Java, ​Sumatra, Sulawesi and Borneo – has been ⁠the site of some of Indonesia’s deadliest maritime disasters.

A portion of the sea – around the Masalembo islands – is often referred to as Indonesia’s Bermuda Triangle, given the number of air and maritime accidents that take place there.

In 1981, the ship Tampomas II ​sank in the area, killing nearly 600 people by some estimates. There was also an air plane crash in the ​same area in 2007 ⁠that killed over 100 people.

Freddy Manuhua has been anxiously awaiting news of his brother Stefiyansah at Surabaya port since Sunday. His brother had worked as a keyboard player for the ship’s entertainment show for the past two months.

He remembers taking his brother, who was very excited about his new job, to Surabaya port last Saturday before the vessel left for ⁠Banjarmasin.

“I will accept ​whatever happens and would be grateful if I can still see my younger brother again, no matter ​what condition he is in,” he said.

Indonesia relies on ferries across its 17,000 islands, with sea travel cheaper and more accessible than flying, but there have been numerous accidents.

Last month, two passenger ferries caught fire in ​separate incidents, killing six people — five off Madura island and one on a route from the island of Bali.

Lawrence Wong will see an increase of 1.4 million Singapore dollars ($1.1m; £818,000) in his annual pay package. He has said he will donate this pay increase to charity over the next five years.

Wong said that raising the pay of ministers was necessary to attract better talent. The government has previously argued that paying ministers high salaries deters corruption.

But the move has attracted criticism in Singapore where there is deep concern about job security and the rising cost of living.

Even before his pay raise kicks in, Wong is still by far the highest paid world leader.

He currently receives an annual salary of S$2.2m and will now see his pay go up by more than 60% to S$3.6m ($2.8m).

Next is Hong Kong chief executive John Lee, who earns about $719,000, followed by Switzerland’s president Guy Parmelin with $606,000.

US president Donald Trump earns $400,000 a year, while British PM Andy Burnham takes in $230,000.

On Tuesday, Wong acknowledged that Singapore ministers’ salaries have attracted scrutiny given that they were much more than what most citizens earn. The median monthly income in the country is S$5,775.

But he argued that he has faced difficulty convincing business leaders and top civil servants to run for political office.

While the government cannot match what some of these people earn, “we do not make the financial hurdle unnecessarily high” for them to give up their careers and join  politics, he said.

“Overall, I believe this will give me and future prime ministers a better chance of persuading capable Singaporeans to step forward, and of building the strongest possible team for Singapore,” he said.

Currently, the base pay package of ministers is about S$1.1m. With the new pay scheme, that will increase to around S$1.2m.

But Wong said he expects most of these ministers to receive even more than that – around S$1.35m – by the end of the current term of government, as pay will increase based on performance.

Part of their pay package is determined by whether the country reaches certain targets for unemployment rate, income growth, and GDP growth.

The topic of high salaries for Singapore’s ministers has long been a lightning rod of criticism for the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP), which has led the country since independence.

In a landmark general election in 2011 the PAP saw its lowest vote share in decades, fuelled partly by voters’ unhappiness over ministers’ pay as well as immigration policies. The following year, the government slashed ministers’ salaries.

Wong’s predecessor, Lee Hsien Loong, had also pledged to donate his salary increase to charity for several years back in 2007.

The government has for years pointed to its lack of corruption – Singapore consistently ranks near the top of Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perceptions Index – as proof that the ministerial pay system works, arguing that it reduces the temptation for ministers to accept bribes.

But in a country where the average income is far below such sums, the issue continues to rankle and the latest announcement is no exception.

On Tuesday many online posted comments critical of the pay raise, saying it was “tone deaf” given current concerns about retrenchments, jobs for fresh graduates and inflation.

Retrenchments in Singapore hit their highest level in more than five years in the last quarter, according to government figures.

But there were a few who agreed with the move, saying it was necessary to have “the best of the best” running the country.

Raids took place in 12 provinces over the weekend as part of a campaign dubbed “My Family is Safe” that the Turkish government says has been designed to protect family values.

One of the targets of the operation was LGBTQ+ association Kaos GL.

Same-sex marriage is not recognised in Turkey, with growing pressure on gay couples. Human rights groups in Turkey have accused the government of using the campaign to target the LGBTQ+ community.

Officers detained 26 people and seized drugs, digital equipment, smuggled alcohol and a firearm during the raids, according to the Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office.

In a separate statement, the Ankara chief prosecutor’s office said another 21 people had been detained as part of an investigation into Kaos GL.

The organisation said 50 activists had been detained, more than 10 taken after police raids on their homes.

It said that authorities had blocked several websites and social media accounts linked to LGBTQ+ organisations.

According to the group, authorities have accused Kaos GL of making “obscenity” in online posts that are available to children and had demanded the shutting down of the Kaos GL X account, as well as those of around 15 other LGBTQ+ organisations.

Same-sex relations are not an offence in Turkey but homophobia is common, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan describing LGBTQ people as “perverts” responsible for the falling birth rate.

As part of “My Family is Safe”, Turkish Justice Minister Akin Gurleksays legal proceedings have been started against more than 160 people and a number of organisations and companies across the country.

Gurlek did not say how many people had been taken into custody, but said the raids came in the context of the “Decade of the Family” campaign.

However, the Turkish Human Rights Association says the Turkish government has been using the campaign to target the LGBTQ+ community in recent years.

“The real name of this operation is not ‘My Family is Safe’; it is state-led discrimination, politics of fear and the dismantling of civil society,” the organisation said on X.