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"We need to bring this to a responsible end. We need to restore deterrence, restore peace, and get ahead of this escalation ladder, rather than responding to it," said Mike Waltz, Trump's pick for the influential role of US national security advisor (NSA).

In recent days, Washington has authorized Kyiv to use US-supplied missiles to strike targets in Russian territory and agreed to supply it with landmines, prompting Moscow to respond with the use of an experimental medium-range ballistic missile. Waltz, a noted foreign policy hawk and former US special forces officer, has been critical of Russia but has, like Trump, opposed increasing aid to Ukraine.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has in the past ruled out ceding any territory to Russia, and told Fox News on Tuesday that Ukraine would lose the war if Washington pulls funding. President Joe Biden's administration has promised a smooth transition to Trump, who has pledged major shake-ups on both foreign and domestic policy.

On Sunday, Waltz said he had met Biden's NSA Jake Sullivan and warned adversaries abroad against thinking they could gain an advantage in the months before Trump takes office in January. "For our adversaries out there that think this is a time of opportunity that they can play one administration off the other. They're wrong... we are hand in glove."

Niger's junta issued a statement on Friday accusing the EU ambassador in the West African country of dividing a 1.3 million euro fund to assist flood victims between several international NGOs in an non-transparent manner, and without collaborating with the authorities. It ordered an audit into the fund's management as a result.

"The European Union expresses its profound disagreement with the allegations and justifications put forward by the transitional authorities," the EEAS said in a statement. "Consequently, the EU has decided to recall its ambassador from Niamey for consultations in Brussels."

Niger has been under military rule since the junta seized power in a coup in July 2023. Since taking power, the Sahel nation's military rulers have turned their backs on former colonial ruler France and have grown increasingly frosty towards the European Union.

Participants, including landmine victims and deminers, repeatedly chanted for "a mine-free world" during the four-kilometre (2.5-mile) walk around the famed temple complex in Siem Reap. The march was held a day before an anti-landmine conference convenes in Cambodia, which is awash in unexploded ordnance as a legacy of civil war.

Hundreds of delegates are expected in Siem Reap to assess progress on the 1997 Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty, which neither Russia nor the United States are party to.

The march and conference come after Washington announced this week that it would send anti-personnel landmines to Ukraine in a major policy shift that was immediately criticised by human rights campaigners.

In Cambodia, where the relics of civil war continue to claim lives and maim people, landmine victims told AFP they fear the casualties that could come of the decision. "There will be more victims like me," said Horl Pros, a former soldier who lost his right leg to a landmine in 1984. "I am sad and feel shocked."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the mines "very important" to halting Russian attacks.

When asked about the supply of US mines to Ukraine, Vice President of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority Ly Thuch said: "We regret that any countries, any people continue to use landmines. Anti-personnel mines are not good for our humanity."

After nearly three decades of civil war from the 1960s, Cambodia was left one of the most heavily bombed and mined countries in the world. Around 20,000 people have been killed there by landmines and unexploded ordnance since 1979, and twice as many have been injured.

"I feel it is fundamentally wrong to have a weapon that has a long-term effect on the civilian population," Chris Moon, a former British Army officer who lost an arm and a leg in 1995 while clearing landmines in Mozambique, told AFP in Siem Reap.

Two-and-a-half years after putting 20,000 Afghanis ($300) earned from teaching sewing classes into a carpet weaving enterprise, she now employs around a dozen women who lost their jobs or who had to abandon their education due to Taliban government rules.

Ferozi is one of many women who have launched small businesses in the past three years to meet their own needs and support other Afghan women, whose employment sharply declined after the Taliban took power in 2021. Before the Taliban takeover, women made up 26 percent of public sector workers, a figure that has effectively decreased to zero", according to UN Women. Girls and women have also been banned from secondary schools and universities under restrictions the UN has described as "gender apartheid".

Touba Zahid, a 28-year-old mother-of-one, started making jams and pickles in the small basement of her home in the capital Kabul after she was forced to stop her university education. "I came into the world of business... to create job opportunities for women so they can have an income that at least covers their immediate needs," Zahid said.

While women may be making the stock, running the shops in Afghanistan remains mostly a man's job. Saleswomen like Zahid "cannot go to the bazaar to promote and sell their products" themselves, said Fariba Noori, chairwoman of the Afghanistan Women's Chamber of Commerce and Industry (AWCCI). Another issue for Afghan businesswomen is the need for a "mahram" -- a male family member chaperone -- to accompany them to other cities or provinces to purchase raw materials, said Noori. After 40 years of successive conflicts, many Afghan women have been widowed and lost many male relatives.

Despite these challenges, the number of businesses registered with AWCCI has increased since the Taliban takeover, according to Noori. The number went "from 600 big companies to 10,000" mainly small, home-based businesses and a few bigger companies, said Noori, herself a businesswoman for 12 years. "I am proud of every woman who is giving a hand to another woman to help her become independent," said the 26-year-old.

the salaries ranging from 5,000 to 13,000 Afghanis, cannot cover all costs and many women are still stalked by economic hardship. Qamar Qasimi, who lost her job as a beautician after the Taliban authorities banned beauty salons in 2023, said that even with her salary she and her husband struggle to pay rent and feed their family of eight.

The closure of beauty salons was not only a financial blow, but also removed key spaces for women to socialise. Zohra Gonish decided to open a restaurant to create a women-only space in northeastern Badakhshan province. [...] But starting her business in 2022, aged 18 was not easy in a country where the labour force participation for women is 10 times lower than the world average, according to the World Bank.

Aside from helping their families and having space to socialise, some women said work has given them a sense of purpose. Sumaya Ahmadi, 15, joined Ferozi's carpet company to help her parents after she had to leave school and became "very depressed". "(Now) I'm very happy and I no longer have any mental health problems. I'm happier and I feel better."

In March 2022, Ephrem Fidèle Yalike Ngonzo was sitting in the back of a 4x4 which suddenly veered off a road on the outskirts of the CAR's capital, Bangui, and plunged into the forest. When it came to a stop, a white man named Michel drew a gun and warned Yalike: “I’m only going to repeat myself once. If you lie to me, I’ll kill you right here.” This confrontation came two and a half years after Yalike began collaborating with Russia's information service in the CAR.

He had opted for a career as a journalist over the priesthood, studying law and international relations at the Bangui seminary and going on to work for news site Le Potentiel Centrafricain. This pro-government publication covered events organised by the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, which began operating in the CAR in early 2018.

Yalike’s journey into his collaboration with Moscow began when he received a mysterious phone call requesting a meeting at a local cafe. There he met Michel, who introduced himself as the "director of communications" for the Russian mission in the CAR. Through an investigation led by the Forbidden Stories consortium, Michel has been identified as Mikhail Prudnikov – a pro-Putin youth activist turned regional manager in Sudan for a group associated with Wagner's founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Initially, Yalike was asked to write articles about the achievements of the Central African Armed Forces (Faca). It was an attractive offer, in financial terms. “In the Central African media, very few people earn more than 150,000 CFA francs,"he said – approximately €225. Working with the Russians, his own situation improved significantly, as he found himself earning a salary of €760 per month. But as the collaboration deepened, Yalike was drawn into a complex web of propaganda.

As his role expanded, he provided press reviews on Russian activities and was tasked with rebutting any criticism. He also engaged with other local media outlets, facilitating payments for articles that supported Russian perspectives – all the time operating under strict orders to keep this collaboration confidential. He met with Michel frequently at the Roux military camp, Wagner's Bangui headquarters, where he collected payments and coordinated propaganda efforts – including radio broadcasts that featured "experts" paid to deliver pro-Russian opinions. At the camp, the Russians also prepared pro-Moscow placards and banners used in the demonstrations they organised and financed.

To maximise his developing role as a "communications officer", Yalike was given 30 Android phones at the start of 2020, which he distributed to "influencers" – young people who would rally demonstrators and share, comment on or "like" fake news posts on social media platforms.

By late October 2022, he had arranged for experts to defend controversial decrees from the Central African government, collaborating closely with Russian operatives to manipulate public messaging. Yalike's involvement also extended to logistics for demonstrations targeting foreign powers. He organised an event protesting against French influence in the country, distributing both slogans and funds, and ensuring media coverage. The objective was to manufacture a narrative of public dissent against perceived external interference – specifically targeting France, the United States and the United Nations.

But the financial rewards were no longer enough to dispel Yalike's unease, especially once he began to detect mistrust from his Russian handlers. The tipping point came when he inadvertently disclosed information that upset Michel. One morning, he was summoned to the Roux camp, where Michel confronted him over a publication detailing a Russian misstep. It was that day that he found himself in the 4x4 in the forest, with Michel demanding that he confess to his alleged infractions.

His escape from the country followed in early 2024 – but only after a tense airport encounter with police, through which he finally understood the full extent of Russian influence and the danger he had been facing. [...] Today – as a refugee in France – Yalike is seeking redemption through his testimony, while recognising that many in the CAR already recognise the disinformation strategies employed by the Wagner group and the Kremlin.

"We have the biggest humanitarian crisis on the planet in Sudan, the biggest hunger crisis, the biggest displacement crisis... and the world is giving it a shrug," he said in an interview from neighbouring Chad after a visit to Sudan this week.

The United Nations says that nearly 26 million people inside Sudan are suffering acute hunger. "I met women barely surviving, eating one meal of boiled leaves a day," Egeland said.

One of few organisations to have maintained operations in Sudan, the NRC says some 1.5 million people are "on the edge of famine". "The violence is tearing apart communities much faster than we can come in with aid," Egeland said. "As we struggle to keep up, our current resources are merely delaying deaths instead of preventing them."

Two decades ago, allegations of genocide brought world attention to Sudan's vast western region of Darfur where the then government in Khartoum unleashed Arab tribal militias against non-Arab minorities suspected of supporting a rebellion. "It is beyond belief that we have a fraction of the interest now for Sudan's crisis than we had 20 years ago for Darfur, when the crisis was actually much smaller," Egeland said.

He said Israel's wars in Gaza and Lebanon and Russia's war with Ukraine had been allowed to overshadow the conflict in Sudan. But he said he detected a shift in the "international mood", away from the kind of celebrity-driven campaigns that brought Hollywood star George Clooney to Darfur in the 2000s. "More nationalistic tendencies, more inward-looking," he said of Western governments led by politicians compelled to "put my nation first, me first, not humanity first."

According to the UN, both sides are using hunger as a weapon of war. Authorities routinely impede access with bureaucratic hurdles, while paramilitary fighters have threatened and attacked aid workers. "The ongoing starvation is a man-made tragedy... Each delay, every blocked truck, every authorisation delayed is a death sentence for families who can't wait another day for food, water and shelter," Egeland said.

The objects, dating to the 19th century, are symbols of governance, chiefship and royal heritage. Originally crafted by Asante court artisans, they include swords, linguist staffs, palace security locks, rings, necklaces and gold weights. The artefacts were authenticated by historian and associate director of the Manhyia Palace Museum, Ivor Agyeman-Duah.

The objects had been part of the company's Gold of Africa Museum in Cape Town, South Africa, before being transferred to the Javett Art Centre at the University of Pretoria. Their return to Kumasi was approved three weeks ago by the Reserve Bank of South Africa, the statement added.

This restitution brings the total number of cultural objects returned to the Asante Palace this year to 67, the largest repatriation of artefacts in Africa in recent years. Earlier this year, seven items looted during the 1874 Anglo-Asante War were returned by the Fowler Museum at UCLA in California. A further 32 were restituted from the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Neighbouring Nigeria is also negotiating the return of thousands of 16th- to 18th-century objects looted from the ancient kingdom of Benin and held by museums and art collectors across the United States and Europe. And, two years ago, Benin received two dozen treasures and artworks stolen in 1892 by French colonial forces.

The new legislation will be a strong motivation for some to join up, experts said, as Russia seeks new ways to recruit fighters for the nearly three-year conflict grinding through troops. The new legislation will allow those who sign a one-year contract to fight in Ukraine after December 1 to free themselves of existing bad debts. It also covers their spouses.

The law concerns debts where a court order for collection was issued and enforcement proceedings began before December 1, 2024. The total amount of unpaid debt that can be covered is 10 million rubles, around $96,000 at current rates.

The legislation will largely concern younger Russians of fighting age, since those in their 30s and younger are most likely to have loans.

Russia has extremely high interest rates for loans and many Russians have almost no cash savings, although the proportion of home owners is relatively high.

Over 13 million Russians have three or more loans, according to a central bank report released last month covering the first two quarters. This was up 20 percent on the same period last year. The average amount owed by those with three or more loans is 1.4 million rubles ($13,400 at current rates).

Ukraine also has legislation allowing those fighting to get preferential terms for loans and in some cases to write off debts.

Under sanctions for human rights abuses, Ortega himself had proposed the change, which also increases the Central American country's presidential term from five to six years.

Ortega, 79, has engaged in increasingly authoritarian practices, tightening control of all sectors of the state with the aid of his powerful wife, 73-year-old Vice President Rosario Murillo in what critics describe as a nepotistic dictatorship.

The ex-guerrilla had first served as president from 1985 to 1990, returning to power in 2007. Nicaragua has jailed hundreds of opponents, real and perceived, since then. Ortega's government has targeted critics, shutting down more than 5,000 NGOs since 2018 mass protests in which the United Nations estimates more than 300 people died. Thousands of Nicaraguans have fled into exile, and the regime is under US and EU sanctions. Most independent and opposition media now operate from abroad.

Ortega and Murillo accuse the Church, journalists and NGOs of having supported an attempted coup d'etat, as they describe the 2018 protests. The change also allows for stricter control over the media and the Church, so they are not subject to "foreign interests." And it gives the co-presidents the power to coordinate all "legislative, judicial, electoral, control and supervisory bodies, regional and municipal" -- formerly independent under the constitution.

The Geneva-based UN human rights office (OHCHR) in its annual report on Nicaragua warned in September of a "serious" deterioration in human rights under Ortega. The report cited violations such as arbitrary arrests of opponents, torture, ill-treatment in detention, increased violence against Indigenous people and attacks on religious freedom.

"Everything in the reform is what has actually been happening in Nicaragua: a de facto dictatorship," Dora Maria Tellez, a former comrade in arms of Ortega turned critic, told AFP from exile in the United States. When it was proposed by Ortega earlier this week, Organization of American States secretary general Luis Almagro described the amendment as "an aberrant form of institutionalizing the marital dictatorship."

Ambassador Antoine Michon faced Haiti's foreign minister on Thursday over what officials called "unfriendly and inappropriate" comments made by Macron on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Brazil.

Macron was caught on camera criticising the Caribbean country's decision to oust the prime minister earlier this month. "Frankly, it's the Haitians who have destroyed Haiti by letting in drug trafficking," he said while speaking to a bystander about Haiti's political and humanitarian crisis. "They are completely dumb, they should never have fired him," he added, describing the former prime minister as "great".

The comments referred to Garry Conille, who was removed on 10 November after five months in office amid worsening gang warfare. He was replaced by entrepreneur and former senate candidate Alix Didier Fils-Aimé.

Haiti's transitional presidential council expressed "indignation at what it considers unfriendly and inappropriate remarks which ought to be rectified" [...] During the meeting, the French ambassador acknowledged the remarks were "unfortunate", the Haitian Foreign Ministry said.

France has a complex relationship with Haiti, which gained independence in 1804 after a successful slave revolt. The country later paid France a "debt" for lost property – including slaves – that activists estimate at over $100 billion. Many believe this debt has contributed to Haiti's persistent economic and political struggles, with calls for reparations continuing today.

The nation's leadership has been wracked by infighting and three members of the transitional presidential council – tasked with restoring security and paving the way for elections – have been accused of corruption. They remain in their posts.

France has pledged 4 million euros to a UN fund financing a deeply under-resourced security mission mandated to help restore security in Haiti, as well as funding for French and Creole classes for its troops.

Gunfire erupted on Thursday evening in the capital Juba, sparking concerns about the stability of the world's youngest country that is already plagued by power struggles, ethnic infighting and a deep economic malaise. The shooting around the home of Koor, who was fired by Kiir in early October and placed under house arrest, caused panic among local residents before it was contained after about an hour.

Following the meeting, South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SSPDF) spokesman Lul Ruai Koang said the incident took place after a "misunderstanding" between security forces attempting to relocate the ex-head of the National Security Services.

He said four people, two civilians and two soldiers, had been killed during the confrontation.

The meeting convened by Kiir included the heads of defence, police, national security and military intelligence. A source in the presidency press unit said Koor was also present. The Sudans Post newspaper quoted a security official as saying the meeting had "resolved all outstanding tensions" and that the spy chief and his family "have been assured of their safety".

Koor became head of the feared National Security Services (NSS) after South Sudan's independence in 2011 but was sacked in October leading to widespread speculation he had been planning to overthrow Kiir. After his dismissal from the NSS, Koor was appointed governor of Warrap State, Kiir's home state, but this was abruptly revoked by the president before he took the oath of office.

Koang said there had been a "misunderstanding" between two security services forces present at Koor's residence when a third unit arrived for the relocation. "That was the start of the armed confrontation that you heard," he said.

Koor's sacking came just two weeks after Kiir again postponed by two years, to December 2026, the first elections in the nation's history. The delay has exasperated the international community, which has been pressing the country's leaders to complete a transitional process, including unifying rival armed forces and drawing up a constitution.

The NSS was at the centre of controversy in July when parliament approved amendments to legislation allowing the agency to continue to arrest -- without a warrant -- anyone accused of offences against the state, raising alarm among rights groups and South Sudan's international partners.

The country has struggled to recover from a brutal civil war between forces loyal to Kiir and his now deputy Riek Machar from 2013 to 2018 that killed about 400,000 people and drove millions from their homes. It remains one of the poorest and most corrupt countries on the planet and continues to be plagued by chronic instability and climate disasters.

The warrants – issued late Thursday – mark the first time a sitting leader of a major Western ally has been accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity by a global court of justice. Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant are accused of "starvation as a method of warfare" by restricting humanitarian aid and targeting civilians during Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in Gaza since 7 October 2023.

Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif is accused of war crimes, including orchestrating the October attack on Israel and "sexual and gender-based violence" against hostages. Israel said it killed Deif in July, but Hamas has not confirmed his death.

The ICC's 124 member states must arrest suspects on their territory, though the court has no power to enforce this.

The ICC decision has sparked starkly different reactions across the globe. US President Joe Biden condemned the move, calling it "outrageous." He said: "There is no equivalence – none – between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security."

France offered a measured response, acknowledging the court’s independence but declining to comment on potential enforcement. "True to its long-standing commitment to supporting international justice, it reiterates its attachment to the independent work of the court," the foreign ministry said. But Christophe Lemoine, a ministry spokesman declined to say whether France would arrest Netanyahu if he came to the country, saying it was "legally complex".

The EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell defended the court’s authority, stating: "It is a decision of a court of justice... and has to be respected." Austria rejected the warrants as "absurd", while Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a staunch ally of Netanyahu, described them as "outrageously impudent" and invited the Israeli leader to visit Hungary. [...] Netanyahu on Friday thanked Orban for showing "moral clarity" and "standing by the side of justice and truth".

Hamas, meanwhile, welcomed the move as a step towards justice. Senior official Basem Naim said it was "an important step" but warned that it must be "backed practically by all countries" to have real impact.

German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit reiterated Berlin’s support for the ICC, calling it a product of "German history". However, he acknowledged that Germany’s unique relationship with Israel demands careful consideration of the warrant’s implications. "At the same time, it is a consequence of German history that we share unique relations with and a great responsibility towards Israel," Hebestreit said in a statement. Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said they were examining exactly what the warrant means for "implementation in Germany".

Meanwhile South Africa praised the ICC’s actions as "a significant step towards justice for crimes against humanity and war crimes in Palestine." The country is also pursuing a case at the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, which it claims violates the UN Genocide Convention.

Of the 56 warrants issued since the creation of the ICC in 2002, only 21 have been executed.