Foreign News
Coup: ECOWAS Nations Close all Borders with Mali, Shut Embassies, Freeze Assets
Nigeria and other members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have shown a strong resolve against undemocratic change of power within the region.
Rising from an Extraordinary Summit, held in Accra, the capital of Ghana on Sunday, the leaders of the West African States shut all doors of relationship with the Mali military junta which has shown an indication that it wants to illegally hold on to power in the country.
A litany of sanctions was imposed on the Mali illegitimate regime including:
a) Withdrawal of all ECOWAS Ambassadors in Mali.
b) Closure of land and air borders between ECOWAS countries and Mali.
c) Suspension of all commercial and financial transactions between ECOWAS Member States and Mali, with the exception of the following products: essential consumer goods; pharmaceutical products; medical supplies and equipment, including materials for the control of COVID-19 products, and electricity.
d) Freezing of assets of the Republic of Mali in ECOWAS Central Banks.
e) Freeze of assets of the Malian State and the State Enterprises and Parastatals in Commercial Banks.
f) Suspension of Mali from all financial assistance and transactions from financial institutions.
The Mali military junta recently announced a transition plan that would see t be in power for a minimum of five years.
The communique also disclosed that the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government “instructs all Community institutions to take steps to implement these sanctions with immediate effect.”
It noted that the sanctions will only be gradually lifted “after an acceptable and agreed transition chronogram is finalised and monitored-satisfactory progress is realised in the implementation of the chronogram for the elections.”
Regarding Guinea, ECOWAS noted that it remained concerned about the slow progress of the transition process four months after the coup.
According to the communique issued at the end of the meeting, “The Authority regrets the absence of chronogram for the election and the non-setting up of the National Council of Transition (CNT).
It also directs that a mission be fielded to Conakry to discuss the transition.”
In his remarks at the opening session of the Summit, Chairman of ECOWAS, President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana, praised the commitment and support of West African leaders to the progress and prosperity of the sub-region.
President Akufo-Addo recalled that, “as you did through the entire year of 2021, you continue to demonstrate your commitment to responding to urgent and critical evolving situations in the region.
“This is the 6th Extraordinary Summit since I assumed the chair of the Authority that Your Excellencies have participated in concerning the vexed issues of Mali and Guinea. It is a strong testimony to your leadership and concern to the progress of ECOWAS.”
Aside Vice President Yemi Osinbajo who represented President Muhammadu Buhari and the Ghanaian President – who presided at the Summit – other West African leaders present at the Summit were Presidents Macky Sall of Senegal; George Weah of Liberia; Patrice Talon of Benin Republic; Roch Marc Christian Kaboré of Burkina Faso, and Alassane Ouattara of Cote d’Ivoire.
Other Heads of State present include Umaro Embalò of the Republic of Guinea Bissau; Mohamed Bazoum of Niger Republic; Julius Maada Bio of Sierra Leone, and the Vice President of The Gambia, Isatou Touray.
The session was also attended by former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, who is the ECOWAS Mediator for Mali; the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Jean-Claude Kassi Brou; among other representatives of international organisations.
Osinbajo told journalist at the summit that ECOWAS had not lost its bite as it was concerned about issues of good governance and democratic enterprise in the ECOWAS region.He said this was why the sanction against Guinea and Mali were imposed.
According to him, “I think what is being done is unprecedented; in the years gone by, African Union, then known as Organisation of African Unity, never came down heavily on coup d’etat.
“But it is evident now; there is very strong resolve that the ECOWAS, and indeed the international community, will not accept unconstitutional takeovers of government in the form of coup d’etat and other such unconstitutional means of taking over governments.
“So, it is very evident that there is a very strong resolve which is why we are here today,” Osinbajo said.
He expressed optimism that the efforts being made to resolve the situation in Mali would yield a positive result.
Speaking further in a statement released by his media aide, Laolu Akande, Prof Osinbajo noted that “With its latest stand against unconstitutional seizure of power, leaders of member states in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have shown strong resolve and commitment to issues of good governance and democracy in the sub-region,” adding that “that there is a strong resolve by ECOWAS Member States to stand against coup d’états in the sub-region.”
After reviewing the situation in Mali at the Extraordinary Summit, the sub-regional leaders rejected the transition schedule proposed by the Malian military junta, noting that “the proposed chronogram for a transition is totally unacceptable”.
Foreign News
Horrors Must Never be Repeated, Says UN Chief
UN Secretary General António Guterres on Monday called for a peaceful future for Israelis and Palestinians ahead of the third anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks by the militant organisation Hamas on Israel.
“Let this anniversary mark not only another year of mourning, but also a renewed determination to build a different future,” Guterres said in New York.
He said Israelis and Palestinians should be able to “live side by side in peace and security, with their rights, dignity, and aspirations fulfilled. “These horrors must never be repeated, “He added.On October 7, 2023, Hamas and other armed groups killed more than 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals and abducted 251 people to Gaza.The attacks triggered the Gaza war, in which more than 74,000 Palestinians have since been killed, according to the Hamas-controlled health authority in Gaza.
A ceasefire has been in place since October 2025, although deadly attacks have continued.
Relations between the Israeli government and the United Nations remain deeply strained, with Israel accusing Guterres of bias and the UN chief repeatedly criticising Israel’s conduct in Gaza.
Guterres also paid tribute to the victims of the Oct. 7 attacks.
“Nothing can justify these atrocities,” he said.
“Their suffering, and the enduring grief of their families, must never be forgotten.”
The UN chief also highlighted the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza following the war.
“Their suffering, too, demands an end, now,” he said.
Guterres said the ceasefire had brought some relief but had yet to deliver security, adequate humanitarian assistance or a credible path to recovery and peace.
He urged all sides to fully implement their commitments and move to the next phase of the ceasefire.
“It is time for the ceasefire to become permanent. It is time to allow humanitarian assistance at scale.
“And it is time to respect international law,” he said.
“We must build the political path to lasting peace across the whole region.”
Foreign News
Kenya Confirms its First Ebola Death as Outbreak Spreads
Kenya has confirmed its first case of Ebola, a Kenyan citizen who has been living in the Democratic Republic of Congo for the past seven years.
Health Minister Aden Duale said the patient, who fell ill a month ago, and was treated in several hospitals in DR Congo, died days after arriving in Nairobi.
Duale said the patient boarded a flight on Saturday and underwent normal public screening at the main airport in Nairobi before he was transferred by a relative to a hospital in the city.
More than 4,000 people have died from Ebola in DR Congo this year, in what is the second most deadly known outbreak of the disease.
Shortly after DR Congo declared an outbreak of Ebola in May, it was also reported in Uganda, where two people have died. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the county free of the disease in August.
Since then, all cases of the disease have been declared in DR Congo.
The current outbreak has been caused by the Bundibugyo species of Ebola, which is relatively rare, with no known vaccine.
Duale confirmed that the Kenyan national had tested positive for the Bundibugyo species.
According to the minister, the patient first travelled by road from DR Congo to the Ugandan capital Kampala, where he boarded a flight to Nairobi
Duale said that after being taken to the Nairobi Hospital, the patient was transferred to an isolation facility which was built during the Covid-19.
It was there that the patient “developed fever, chills, intense fatigue and weakness, painful swallowing, muscle pain and bleeding under the skin”.
The patient died at 23:30 (20:30 GMT) on Monday and his burial is planned for later on Tuesday in line with public health safety protocols.
At least 28 contacts, including family members and healthcare workers, have been identified, while health authorities are tracing a further 23 passengers and four crew members who travelled on the same flight.
So far, WHO has recorded 4,082 deaths out of 8,463 cases since the emergence of the Bundibugyo species of the virus.
There are currently no approved vaccines or treatments for the species, which is highly infectious.
Foreign News
Trump Escalates Media Fight after Week of Setbacks
President Donald Trump has infused his ongoing feud with the White House press with a new level of acrimony.
Journalists from three major media outlets – CNN, Politico and MS Now – were denied access and had their press credentials confiscated on Saturday morning as they attempted to enter the White House grounds for work.
As media watchdog organisations and the White House Correspondents Association cry foul, Trump appears set to press ahead with a sweeping effort to punish these outlets.
In his Truth Social post announcing his decision on Friday, he said he was “banning” the organisations because “of their constant ‘reporting’ of fake news”.
In remarks later that day, he complained that “something is wrong with a country that can allow people to write purposely negative stories”.“If they want to write them, that’s fine,” he continued. “I don’t have to let them into the people’s house”, he said, referring to the White House.
The president’s frustration at the media, however, came after a week of setbacks in which major institutions handed him a series of losses across his agenda.
First, the Supreme Court blocked his plan to restrict mail-in voting ahead of the midterms. This prompted Trump to lash out at the court’s justices including those he had appointed. “These are not the people I interviewed to serve on the United States Supreme Court,” he said.
The Federal Reserve, the US central bank, then raised interest rates after Trump had spent months arguing they should be cut. This was followed by a judge ordering his administration to give 30 days’ notice before making any changes to the Kennedy Center arts venue in Washington DC after the president warned it could be “ripped down”.
These headlines, combined with approval ratings that recently sunk to record lows for his second term, suggest Trump is facing challenging political headwinds.
His latest attack on the press, however, raises clear legal questions.
The First Amendment to the US Constitution forbids Congress from “abridging” the freedom of the press. It is language that courts have long interpreted as preventing the government from discriminating against the media based on the content of their coverage.
All three targeted news outlets have promised to file lawsuits challenging Trump’s decision.
Although the breadth of this move is unprecedented, it is far from the first time the Trump administration has attempted to limit or deny access to the White House to members of mainstream media outlets.
In his first term, the administration revoked CNN correspondent Jim Acosta’s press credentials, setting off a legal battle that was ultimately resolved in the journalist’s favour. It also temporarily suspended the pass of a reporter who had a heated argument with White House adviser Sebastian Gorka – a move that also was subsequently blocked by the courts.
Last year, the White House banned reporters for the Associated Press from participating in the president’s press pool – which allows media outlets access to smaller in-town and travelling presidential appearances – because the newswire service would not follow Trump’s move to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.
That dispute also led to a protracted – and yet to be fully resolved – legal battle, prompting the White House to change press pool rules to drop the guaranteed spot for all wire services.
The White House bans, however, represent a dramatic escalation.
The restrictions include access to the entirety of the White House grounds, not just the press pool. And they target entire news organisations, not just a single disfavoured correspondent.
While Trump has been clear about the motives behind his decision, he has shed little light on why he has acted now. He has regularly criticised his press coverage since he first entered national politics more than a decade ago, but he said on Friday there was no specific incident that prompted his announcement.
At the moment, however, the president is embattled.
Even beyond the week of clear setbacks, he is in the midst of an unpopular and difficult-to-resolve war of choice in Iran, which has led to a surge in energy and other consumer prices, deflating his standing with the American public.
Polls also suggest his party faces an uphill battle to retain control of the House of Representatives and perhaps the Senate in November’s crucial midterm congressional elections.
His attempts to improve the public’s mood by touting his accomplishments in campaign events and at his Republican Party’s convention earlier this month in Texas have, at least so far, proven ineffective.
There may be more behind Trump’s decision to lash out at the media this weekend. But it could also simply be an indication of presidential frustration in the face of events and circumstances, some of his own making, that are turning against him.


