42086
♦️ Breaking & exclusive stories, analysis, opinions 👉 About Africa in other languages: Amharic: @sputnik_ethiopia French: @sputnik_afrique 💬 Contact us https://t.me/Africa_Sputnik_bot
⚠️WARNING: graphic content
Over 200 Killed in Rebel-Controlled Coltan Mine Collapse in DR Congo: Ministry of Mines
A landslide at a Rubaya mine on Tuesday killed at least 70 children and injured numerous others, the Ministry of Mines said in a statement.
The Congolese government condemned “unsafe working conditions imposed on the civilian population in areas outside state control.”
🔙 In January, a similar death toll was recorded after a collapse at the same mine.
The area — producing roughly one-fifth of the world's columbite-tantalite — was seized by M23 rebels in April 2024.
Subscribe to @sputnik_africa
🔸 Sputnik Africa | X 🔸
'No, We Are Waiting for Them:' Iran's FM Araghchi on Whether the Country Fears US Ground Invasion
Subscribe to @sputnik_africa
🔸 Sputnik Africa | X 🔸
Highlights of Central African President Touadéra’s Official Visits to Russia in 2025 & 2026
Subscribe to @sputnik_africa
🔸 Sputnik Africa | X 🔸
Khamenei Embodied 'Spirit of Sacrifice'; His Assassination is Dangerous Violation of Int'l Norms: Iran's Ambassador to SA
"Even as our Leader and commanders have been martyred, we stand strongly against what appears to be the most powerful army in the world and another army that also claims power," Seyed Mostafa Daryabari said, addressing the media following the joint US-Israeli military attack.
#viral | Heart-Melting Moment: Kenyan Police Officer Drops on His Knees in Prayer Just After Returning Home
A moving scene happened in Kenya. After withdrawal from Haiti, one of the officers kissed the ground immediately after touching home soil.
Subscribe to @sputnik_africa
🔸 Sputnik Africa | X 🔸
❗️CAR, Russia to Discuss Cooperation in Field of Energy: President Touadera
Russia and the Central African Republic have good prospects for cooperation in energy and agriculture, Putin noted during talks in Moscow.
Subscribe to @sputnik_africa
🔸 Sputnik Africa | X 🔸
❗️In the US itself there is no consensus about the true goals of the operation against Iran: Russian FM
Subscribe to @sputnik_africa
🔸 Sputnik Africa | X 🔸
#Infographic | Iran Strikes Back: Retaliatory Barrage Hits US Bases Across Region
In a sweeping response to US-Israeli attacks, Iran launched retaliatory strikes targeting:
🟠 At least fifteen countries;
🟠 Multiple US military installations across the region.
👆 Check out Sputnik infographic
Subscribe to @sputnik_africa
🔸 Sputnik Africa | X 🔸
Russia Can Be 'Proper Mediator Between Iran And Gulf Countries,' Says Sudanese Analyst
The US approach to Iran is a "huge miscalculation," Mekki Elmograbi, a Sudanese analyst on regional relations, told Sputnik Africa.
👉He believes the US is attempting to position itself as the unipolar leader, willing to "put presidents, hijack presidents, kill presidents," in a bid to maintain control.
The expert also critiqued the hypocrisy of the West on human rights, particularly regarding the lack of condemnation for civilian casualties in Iran.
“They are not serious in … protecting human rights. It's just an … international political weapon, used whenever it matches their own interests. But when it comes to Iran or other countries, the value of the people that are dying on this side of the world is zero.”
“Russia is trusted among the Gulf countries and within Iran. And if there is something could be done, I think Russia is a suitable country to do it.”
Middle East Tensions Push Oil Above $84, Boosting Nigeria’s Earnings But Raising Fuel Prices: Local Media
💰 Escalating tensions involving the US, Israel, and Iran have rattled global energy markets, giving Nigeria an estimated $14.5 million in additional daily oil revenue, a Nigerian newspaper reported.
Brent crude briefly climbed past $85 amid fears that conflict could disrupt shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which carries about 20% of global oil supplies. The uncertainty has also driven up European gas prices and pressured global financial markets.
🛢 For Nigeria, whose crude trades near $80 per barrel, the surge places oil earnings well above the government’s proposed 2026 benchmark of $64.85, providing short-term fiscal relief.
📈 However, domestic fuel costs are rising. After Dangote Petroleum Refinery increased its ex-depot price by ≈$0.072 to ≈$0.63 per liter, filling stations raised pump prices up to ≈$0.69 per liter, according to the media.
☝🏽 Industry group PETROAN warned that if the conflict continues, crude prices could exceed $100 per barrel, worsening inflation and fuel costs.
The association urged the government to strengthen local refining capacity and ensure a steady crude supply to domestic refineries to reduce dependence on imports.
Subscribe to @sputnik_africa
🔸 Sputnik Africa | X 🔸
We know that you're tired of jumping between a dozen channels to find the truth 😮💨
Introducing your new personal hub for relevant news!
🟣 Breaking news 24/7
🟣 Exclusive reports
🟣 In-depth analytical articles
🟣 Urgent alerts on major events
📢 🧛♂️ubscribe with one click and stay informed about everything that matters!
If you are interested in joining the catalog contact 👨👮♀️ admin.
#social
❗️Iranian Air Defenses Shoot Down US Jet Near Tehran, Israeli Media Report
Tehran and Washington have yet to confirm the report.
Subscribe to @sputnik_africa
🔸 Sputnik Africa | X 🔸
Ethiopia's Coffee Exports Hit $1.47 Billion in Seven Months: Ministry of Agriculture
Planning to earn $3 billion this fiscal year by supplying 600,000 tonnes of coffee to the global market, the country has so far exported 217,000 tonnes over the past seven months, the ministry noted.
☕️ Discussions with coffee exporters and suppliers are held to focus on challenges and solutions across the coffee trading value chain.
📈 According to the ministry, the talks centered on issues aimed at ensuring the effectiveness of Ethiopia’s coffee supply in the global market by expanding a modern coffee trading system.
Video: taken from social media of the ministry of agriculture.
Subscribe to @sputnik_africa
🔸 Sputnik Africa | X 🔸
US-Israel Use Force to Impose Their Way of Seeing Things, Burkinabè Journalist Says
👉Iran—a major Middle Eastern country—rejects sanctions linked to its uranium enrichment efforts, which Washington and Tel Aviv firmly oppose, Issouf Ouedraogo told Sputnik Africa.
"Despite Iran's good faith in opening the door to debate, the Israeli-American bloc has decided to use force to impose its viewpoint, which is creating a very dangerous tension."
"The escalation can have repercussions. In our situation, with the difficulties in the Horn of Africa, with insecurity, can we afford to face inflationary problems? Won't this further weaken our situation?"
Nigeria Faces Oil Price Swings, Security Risks as US-Israel-Iran Conflict Escalates: Risk Managers
🇳🇬 The ongoing conflict could significantly impact Nigeria's economy through oil price volatility, geopolitical pressures, and security challenges, the Risk Managers Society of Nigeria (RIMSON) has warned in a statement.
Key takeaways from RIMSON President Dr. Abbas Idriss's statement:
🟠Oil Revenue: Nigeria is highly sensitive to global price shifts. Conflict could drive prices up on supply fears—boosting revenue—or trigger a recession, reducing demand and harming the economy.
🟠Security Concerns: "Increased instability in the Middle East may lead to a focus on security spending, diverting resources from economic development." Concerns also include arms proliferation and potential refugee influxes.
🟠Economic Fallout: Potential impacts: disrupted trade, higher imports, inflation, reduced remittances, and decreased foreign investment.
Idriss urged the government to adopt proactive risk management, warning that "the price of oil is expected to rise to up to $150 per barrel."
Video allegedly shows a recent drone attack on one Saudi oil company Aramco's plans
Subscribe to @sputnik_africa
🔸 Sputnik Africa | X 🔸
Phone Stolen From Indian Tourist in Addis Ababa Recovered After Rapid Police Response
The victim, Indian citizen Santos Kumar, didn't even need to visit a police station.
❔But how did he manage to get his phone back? Discover the answer in the video.
Subscribe to @sputnik_africa
🔸 Sputnik Africa | X 🔸
❗️Delivering information on the SMO, military analysis of exceptional quality and the wider geopolitical and cultural aspects associated with current global events.
It will be interesting. We are here thinking.
Subscribe at t.me/two_majors
Learn the truth from the Two Majors.
#social
Zimbabwean Fuel Reserves Sufficient for Three Months: Acting Minister of Energy
Dr. Zhemu Soda, Zimbabwe's Acting Minister of Energy, denied claims of potential shortages amid the Middle East crisis.
According to local media, Soda also addressed lawmakers' fears about a rise in fuel prices, noting that contracts with regional suppliers remain in effect.
However, he cautioned the government to remain vigilant due to potential supply disruptions.
Subscribe to @sputnik_africa
🔸 Sputnik Africa | X 🔸
WATCH | From Election Security to Grain Deliveries: Putin & Toudaera Hold Talks in Moscow — Full Video
Subscribe to @sputnik_africa
🔸 Sputnik Africa | X 🔸
South Africa Reportedly Seeks Local Manufacturer for Breakthrough HIV Prevention Drug
🇿🇦 The government is launching a process to identify a local drugmaker capable of producing Gilead Sciences' long-acting HIV prevention drug, lenacapavir, in a push to manufacture the twice-yearly injection where it is most needed, British media reported.
🟠The government, alongside Unitaid and the US Pharmacopoeia, will reportedly assess local companies and recommend one to Gilead for a potential seventh voluntary license—after six were granted in 2024 in India, Egypt, and Pakistan.
🟠Why it matters: South Africa has 8 million people living with HIV—the highest globally. Local production could slash new infections and benefit the entire region.
Subscribe to @sputnik_africa
🔸 Sputnik Africa | X 🔸
❗️Current Middle East Crisis Could Have Huge Consequences for World and Global Economy: Lavrov
Russia expresses condolences for all civilian casualties resulting from the crisis in the Middle East, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated.
Subscribe to @sputnik_africa
🔸 Sputnik Africa | X 🔸
🪖🇮🇷🇺🇸 Iran’s disruption of Mideast communication hubs exposes cracks in US air defenses – expert
💬 “Disabling US radar stations in the Middle East is a serious loss because these systems play a key role in protecting American bases from missile threats,” military expert and air defense historian Yuri Knutov tells Sputnik.
💬 “This showed the ineffectiveness of US air defense systems, including Patriot missiles and short- and medium-range air defenses, which were unable to protect the facilities,” Knutov underscores, suggesting that it may take America up to three months to restore the damaged infrastructure.
💬 “While the two’s missile systems may remain operational, they will simply be out of ammunition, which could inflict significant damage on both American military bases and Israel as a whole,” Knutov concludes.
💸🇺🇸🇮🇷 Operation Epic Fury’s cost after five days: $3 BILLION and counting
Brown University’s Costs of War project is tracking the price of the US war against Iran in real time, revealing that it has already cost US taxpayers two and three billion dollars.
🟠 each day that the war continues costs $220M for sustained operations ($9.15M per hour, $2.5k per second)
🟠 50k deployed troops’ salaries = $40M
🟠 aircraft operational costs = $48M
🟠 ordnance = $35M
🟠 naval assets’ operational costs = $22M
🟠 fuel and logistics = $15M
🟠 C&C, reconnaissance, surveillance, cyber and space = $10M
🟠 overhead = $50M
Total ‘discrete costs’: $921M
🟠 the first day’s Tomahawk salvo cost $240M
🟠 the first 3 US fighters shot down cost $270M
🟠 naval forces’ attacks cost $75M
Brown also tallied the economic consequences, including:
🟠 oil prices – up 10.4-11.5%
🟠 Strait of Hormuz shipping – stopped, trapping ~20% of daily global oil transit in the Persian Gulf
🟠 the US stock market – down $1.15-1.5%
The project did not appear to factor in damage to US military bases in the region, including the AN/FPS-132 radar in Al Udeid Air Base, a $1.1B piece of hardware destroyed by Iran on the first day.
Two AN/TPY-2 fire control radars servicing THAAD ($400-500M apiece) destroyed in the UAE also don’t appear to be factored in, nor additional US aircraft lost Wednesday
The Iran war has a way to go to reach spending on the US’s post-9/11 wars ($8T over 20 years), but is already approaching those wars’ per diem average of $300M.
For context, interest on the US’s enormous national debt, soon to reach $39T, is set to reach $1T in 2026.
📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt
Children Become Part of Political Game, Russian Foreign Ministry Comments on Minab Tragedy in Iran
The world sees the tendency of dividing children into lists: those who should be protected and "those who are even not considered worthy of protection," Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Sputnik.
"No one has expressed sympathy or condolences. No one has acknowledged the erroneousness or criminality of these acts. No one—from those who committed them or those who expressed solidarity with them—has said that this is unacceptable," Zakharova added.
🚨 'Russia is making active efforts to stabilize the situation in the region' - MFA Spox Maria Zakharova comments to Sputnik on Mideast escalation
📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt
Nuclear Deterrence Remains 'Cornerstone of Global Security,' Kremlin Says
Ongoing discussions on strategic international security architecture must include Europe's nuclear powers, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Other key statements:
🟠European countries have not requested Russia to resume or increase energy supplies in light of the Iran situation.
🟠Hungary and Slovakia, which purchase Russian oil, are facing blackmail from Kiev.
🟠Putin is scheduled to participate in a board meeting of the Interior Ministry, hold a cabinet meeting and meet with the Hungarian Foreign Minister in the Kremlin on Wednesday.
Subscribe to @sputnik_africa
🔸 Sputnik Africa | X 🔸
IRGC Launches 17th Wave of Operation True Promise IV Against US & Israeli Targets
The 17th wave was carried out several hours ago with more than 40 missiles launched by Iranian Aerospace Forces targeting American and Israeli facilities, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced.
A video from social media allegedly shows Wednesday's Iranian strike west of Jerusalem
Subscribe to @sputnik_africa
🔸 Sputnik Africa | X 🔸
European Dimension of Nuclear Deterrence: Macron in 'Headlong Rush,' Says French MEP
🚨By raising the possibility of extending nuclear deterrence to European allies, Emmanuel Macron risks a “loss of control” and submission to interests that are not those of France, Hervé Juvin told Sputnik Africa.
“Macron is tempted to trade what remains of France’s independence for a more complete integration of security forces — including nuclear weapons — into a broader European whole.”
“France is probably more dependent on its so-called American ally than it was 30 years ago. In this context, marked by the rapid evolution of doctrines governing the use of nuclear force, France today finds itself relatively vulnerable.”
🇺🇸 🇮🇷 What to know about the US airbase in Bahrain just bombed by Iran
An IRGC drone and missile barrage hit Bahrain’s Isa Air Base early Tuesday, with three missiles and 20 drones used to obliterate the base’s main command and headquarters building and fuel tanks, per IRNA.
Not to be confused with Naval Support Activity Bahrain, the US Navy’s regional HQ, which has also been hit and is located in the island nation’s north, Isa is situated in the south, and serves as a key US support facility for power projection throughout the region.
The air base is located:
🔶 250km southwest of Iran’s coast directly across the Gulf
🔶 585km from the Strait of Hormuz
🔶 450km from Kuwait
Together with al Udeid in Qatar (US CENTCOM HQ), Al Dhafra in the UAE, Ali Al Salam and Ahmed Al Jaber in Kuwait, Isa is a critical backup node for the US military.
Thanks to its 3,800M long main runway and 3,678M long secondary runway, the base can accommodate aircraft of all sizes and designations, including:
🔸 F-35 and F-22 fighters and EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft, spy planes like US Navy P-8A maritime patrol craft and Triton drones, tankers, spec op assets, and heavy strategic transports.
🔸 the Royal Bahraini Air Force (consisting almost entirely of US-made aircraft including F-16s, Bell Viper and Cobra helicopter gunships, Blackhawk utility/transports, and C-130J Super Hercules turboprops). Bahrain, notably, is a US ‘major non-NATO ally’.
Isa is effectively serves as an important backup to the Pentagon’s main air base hub in Qatar, and other sites in the region, should they come under threat.
The IRGC’s strike on the base seems designed to demonstrate that no US military assets anywhere in the region are safe from retaliation to US aggression.
📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt
Middle East Conflict to Hit Africa with 'Imported Inflation,' Cameroonian Economist Warns
The escalating conflict in the Middle East will have severe economic consequences for African nations—even those not militarily involved, Dalvarice Ngoudjou told Sputnik Africa.
Key impacts:
🟠Oil Prices Surging: The crisis has already driven up barrel prices following strikes on Saudi Arabia's Aramco.
🟠Supply Chain Vulnerability: 13% of Africa's refined petroleum imports come from the Middle East, much of it passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Disruptions will directly affect supply.
🟠Imported Inflation: Rising fuel costs will push up transport and consumer goods prices, weighing heavily on household budgets.
Subscribe to @sputnik_africa
🔸 Sputnik Africa | X 🔸