NIAMEY: Niger’s president defiantly declared Thursday that democracy would prevail, a day after mutinous soldiers detained him and announced they had seized power in a coup over the West African country’s deteriorating security situation.
While many people in the capital of Niamey went about their usual business, it remained unclear who was in control of the country and which side the majority might support. A statement tweeted by the army command’s account declared that it would back the coup in order to avoid a “murderous confrontation” that could lead to a “bloodbath.” It was not possible to confirm that the statement was genuine.
Meanwhile, President Mohamed Bazoum — who was elected in 2021 in Niger’s first peaceful, democratic transfer of power since its independence from France and is a key ally of the West — appeared to have the backing of several political parties.
“The hard-won achievements will be safeguarded. All Nigerians who love democracy and freedom will see to it,” Bazoum tweeted early Thursday morning.
Foreign Minister Hassoumi Massoudou issued a similar call on news network France 24, asking “all Nigerien democratic patriots to stand up as one to say no to this factious action.”
He demanded the president’s unconditional release and said talks were ongoing. The Economic Community of West African States regional grouping sent Benin President Patrice Talon to lead mediation efforts.
Bazoum is a key ally in the West’s efforts to battle militants linked to Al-Qaeda and the Daesh group in Africa’s Sahel region. Extremists in Niger have carried out attacks on civilians and military personnel, but the overall security situation is not as dire as in neighboring nations.
The fight against extremism in the region has become a major arena in which the West and Russia have vied for influence.
Bazoum was seen by many as the West’s last hope for partnership in the Sahel after Mali turned away from former colonial power France and instead sought support from the Russian mercenary group Wagner. Wagner appears to be making inroads in Burkina Faso as well.
Western countries have poured aid into Niger, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited in March, seeking to strengthen ties. American, French and Italian troops are currently stationed in the country to train its soldiers, while France also conducts joint operations.
But the threat to Bazoum has raised concerns that Niger could also turn away from the West.
On Thursday, several hundred people gathered in the capital and chanted support for Wagner while waving Russian flags. Later, they began throwing rocks at a passing politician’s car.
A day earlier, protesters had voiced support for Bazoum.
Underscoring the importance of Niger to the West, Blinken said Thursday that he had spoken with the president, saying that he “made clear that we strongly support him as the democratically elected president of the country.”
Blinken, who was in New Zealand, repeated the US condemnation of the mutiny and said his team was in close contact with officials in France and Africa.
On Wednesday morning, members of the presidential guard surrounded Bazoum’s house and detained him.
The mutinous soldiers, who call themselves the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Country, took to state television and announced they had seized control because of deteriorating security and poor economic and social governance in the nation of 25 million people. They said they had dissolved the constitution, suspended all institutions, and closed all the borders.
The attempted coup was reportedly led by the head of the presidential guard, General Tchiani, who the president had planned to relieve from his position, Niger analysts say.
According to someone close to the president who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the situation, the president has not and will not resign and is safe in his residence.
In a statement Wednesday, several political parties expressed their support for him, calling the coup attempt “suicidal and anti-republican madness.”
The “country, faced with insecurity, terrorism and the challenges of underdevelopment, cannot afford to be distracted,” they said.
In an interview with the Associated Press in December, Bazoum said that while there’s always the possibility of a coup in the face of the extremist threat, Niger had the situation under control. “We are doing well in managing our own situation,” he said.
The international community strongly condemned the attempted takeover.
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna tweeted that France is concerned about the events in Niger and following the situation closely. France “firmly condemns any attempt to take power by force,” the minister said.
UN Human Rights chief Volker Türk called for Bazoum’s release and said “all efforts must be undertaken to restore constitutional order and the rule of law.”
Russia also called for the president’s release and Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the country wants to see “a speedy resolution of this internal political crisis.”
Niger’s president vows democracy will prevail after mutinous soldiers detain him and declare a coup
https://arab.news/9puxk
Niger’s president vows democracy will prevail after mutinous soldiers detain him and declare a coup
- A statement tweeted by the army command’s account declared that it would back the coup in order to avoid a “murderous confrontation”
- “The hard-won achievements will be safeguarded. All Nigerians who love democracy and freedom will see to it,” Bazoum tweeted early Thursday morning
Heavy rain hits China’s flood-stricken Guizhou for second time in a week
Located at the confluence of three rivers and home to 300,000 residents, Rongjiang was inundated earlier this week by record downpours that left six dead and forced more than 80,000 people to flee their homes. The amount of rain that fell over 72 hours was double the city’s average for June.
In response to the new round of flooding, authorities raised the city’s flood emergency response level to the highest level on Saturday.
The benchmark hydrological station on one of the rivers estimated that the peak water level would hit 253.50 meters (832 ft) at around 5 p.m. (0900 GMT), exceeding the safety threshold by 2 meters, state broadcaster CCTV said.
Earlier this week, the peak water level reached 256.7 meters, the highest since 1954, the Guizhou provincial government said in a statement to Reuters on Friday, blaming “the extreme climate” for the flooding.
The floods in southwest China are set to hit local economies.
Rongjiang was removed from the national poverty list in 2020. It then saw an unexpected tourism boom after a local soccer league nicknamed “Village Super League” became a social media sensation, attracting thousands of fans and tourists. On Tuesday, the soccer pitch was up to seven meters under water.
China has battled with summer floods for millennia, but some scientists say climate change is resulting in heavier and more frequent rain. Massive flooding could set off unforeseen “black swan” events with dire consequences, such as dam collapses, Chinese officials say.
In southern China over the past two days, 13 major rivers in Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi and Hainan were hit by storms and had risen above their warning levels, CCTV reported, citing the Ministry of Water Resources on Saturday.
Sandal scandal: Prada credits new design’s Indian legacy amid furor
- A Prada spokesperson issued a statement acknowledging the sandal’s inspiration from India, adding the company has “always celebrated craftsmanship, heritage and design traditions"
NEW DELHI/MILAN: Luxury fashion powerhouse Prada has acknowledged the ancient Indian roots of its new sandal design after the debut of the open-toe footwear sparked a furor among Indian artisans and politicians thousands of miles from the catwalk in Italy.
Images from Prada’s fashion show in Milan last weekend showed models wearing leather sandals with a braided design that resembled handmade Kolhapuri slippers with designs dating back to the 12th century.
A wave of criticism in the media and from lawmakers followed over the Italian brand’s lack of public acknowledgement of the Indian sandal design, which is named after a city in the western state of Maharashtra.
Lorenzo Bertelli, son of Prada’s owners, responded to the sandal scandal in a letter to a trade group on Friday recognizing their Indian heritage.
“We acknowledge that the sandals... are inspired by traditional Indian handcrafted footwear, with a centuries-old heritage,” Bertelli, Prada’s head of corporate social responsibility, wrote in the letter to the Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce, seen by Reuters.
The sandals are at an early stage of design and it is not certain they will be commercialized, but Prada is open to a “dialogue for meaningful exchange with local Indian artisans” and will arrange follow-up meetings, he wrote.
A Prada spokesperson issued a statement acknowledging the sandal’s inspiration from India, adding the company has “always celebrated craftsmanship, heritage and design traditions.”
Prada products are beyond the reach of most Indians. Its men’s leather sandals retail for $844 and up, while the Kolhapuri slippers, sold in Indian shops and street markets, start at about $12.
India’s luxury market is small but growing fast, with rising numbers of rich people buying Louis Vuitton bags, Lamborghini cars, luxury homes and watches.
Conversely, Indian culture and crafts are increasingly finding their way into global brand designs. High-end jeweller Bulgari offers a $16,000 Mangalsutra necklace inspired by a chain traditionally worn by married women.
Bertelli’s homage to Indian design was sent in a response to a complaint from the head of the trade group that represents 3,000 Kolhapuri sandal artisans, as the online uproar gathered momentum.
“From the dusty lanes of Kolhapur to the glitzy runways of Milan... will the world finally give credit where it’s due?” India’s DNA News posted on X.
SambHajji Chhatrapati from the Kolhapur Royal family told Reuters by phone he was upset that craftsmen had not been acknowledged for the “history and heritage of 150 years.”
Kolhapur-based businessman Dileep More, however, said images of the Prada sandal were bringing cheer to some artisans as they show their traditional product going global.
“They are happy that someone is recognizing their work,” he said.
France bans smoking in beaches, in parks and bus shelters
PARIS: France will ban smoking on beaches and in parks, public gardens and bus shelters from Sunday, the government said.
The decree, published in the official government gazette on Saturday, will also ban smoking outside libraries, swimming pools and schools, and is aimed at protecting children from passive smoking.
The decree did not mention electronic cigarettes. Violaters of the ban will face a fine of 135 euros ($158).
“Tobacco must disappear from places where there are children,” Health and Family Minister Catherine Vautrin had said in May, underscoring “the right of children to breathe pure air.”
Cafe terraces are excluded from the ban.
Some 75,000 people are estimated to die from tobacco-related complications each year in France.
According to a recent opinion survey, six out of 10 French people (62 percent) favor a smoking ban in public places.
‘Waiting for others’: Belarusians hope for more prisoner releases
- A popular blogger, Tikhanovsky, 46, was jailed in 2020, weeks before he was due to stand in presidential elections against Belarus’s long-time leader, Alexander Lukashenko
WARSAW: Belarusian exile Asya watched from the sidelines in central Warsaw as a crowd greeted and applauded Sergei Tikhanovsky, the Belarus opposition figure who was unexpectedly released, barely recognizable after five years in prison.
A popular blogger, Tikhanovsky, 46, was jailed in 2020, weeks before he was due to stand in presidential elections against Belarus’s long-time leader, Alexander Lukashenko.
His arrest was the opening salvo in a sweeping crackdown that escalated after Lukashenko claimed victory over Svetlana Tikhanovskaya – Tikhanovsky’s wife, who ran in his place – in a ballot widely decried by critics and rights groups as rigged.
Asya was among several hundred fellow Belarusians, living in exile in neighboring Poland, celebrating his surprise release under pressure from the United States.
But her mind was with others still incarcerated.
“I am happy for those who are freed, but with each release I always look for the names of my friends,” she said.
There are 1,169 political prisoners in Belarus, according to the Viasna rights group.
The sight of Tikhanovsky – who lost almost half his weight and appeared to have drastically aged behind bars – has given even more urgency to securing their release, Asya said.
“Honestly, regime change is needed. But for me, the priority is for people to be freed and for them to be safe,” she said.
Having been held incommunicado since March 2023, many had long feared for how Tikhanovsky was being treated.
His emaciated appearance was still a shock.
“I cried all day when I saw him,” said Alexandra Khanevich, a 71-year-old activist who fled Belarus in the wake of the protests.
“My mother went through concentration camps... This is what I thought of.”
Tikhanovskaya said the couple’s young daughter did not recognize him.
The bones on his face and fingers are visible, and the 46-year-old looks far older.
“Only when we heard his voice, we knew it was really him,” said Yulia Vlasenko, who had protested in 2020 against Lukashenko in the eastern city of Vitebsk.
Others said they knew him by his distinctive ears.
Tikhanovsky has broken down in tears several times when talking about his ordeal in prison, describing alleged torture and being held in solitary confinement.
Prison officials had attempted to “fatten him up” in the months before his release by giving him “meat, fats, butter,” he told a rally in Warsaw.
He believes there will be more releases.
Officers from the KGB state security service – which has retained the feared Soviet-era name – were touring prisons pressuring people to sign statements asking for pardons from Lukashenko, he said.
Many were hopeful his release could give a new energy to the mostly exiled Belarusian opposition movement.
Tikhanovsky, who has pledged not to get in the way of his wife, said he has “even more energy” than before he was jailed.
The couple are radically different in style.
Svetlana has spent five years touring Western capitals, meeting leaders in polished suits.
Sergei is known for his tongue-in-cheek colloquialisms, having famously called Lukashenko a “cockroach” in one YouTube broadcast.
“Svetlana is more of a diplomat... Sergei is like from the street,” said protester Alexandra Dobrovaya, giggling.
Vitaly Moisa, a 42-year-old in construction, said he hoped the pair would be a “double hit” for the regime, with the opposition boosted by Tikhanovsky’s “charisma.”
He drove more than six hours from southern Poland to see “hero” Tikhanovsky.
“It’s hard to imagine he was not broken by such conditions,” he said.
Many came to the rally with masks on, fearing retribution for their families back home if they were recognized attending the rally.
Ukrainian Oleg Abrashim – who has never been to Belarus – had come with a mission: to give Tikhanovsky a hand-written letter from his Belarusian girlfriend.
“She did not want to come as it will be full of the KGB and she has not got her parents out yet,” he told AFP.
Listening to Tikhanovsky, he was reminded of the style of someone back home he had voted for in 2019: Volodymyr Zelensky.
“I understand why they followed him,” Abrashim said.
From Ukraine’s Kharkiv, which has been pounded relentlessly by Belarus’s ally Russia since it invaded, he was inspired by the messages of hope.
“Belarus and Ukraine should be free,” he said, clutching the letter.
Drilling for water in Venezuela’s parched oil town
- No water came out of the taps in certain parts of the city for over a month at the start of 2025
- Experts blame the nationwide shortage of drinking water on corruption and years of underinvestment and mismanagement by national and local governments
MARACAIBO: In Venezuela’s oil capital of Maracaibo, a drilling frenzy has led to dozens of new wells — but the valuable liquid being pumped out is just water, not petroleum.
In a symbol of the woes of Venezuela’s crumbling economy, the once flourishing oil town of 2 million people is parched.
Experts blame the nationwide shortage of drinking water on corruption and years of underinvestment and mismanagement by national and local governments, resulting in frequent water cuts.
The corroding infrastructure has led to schools, homes, businesses, churches and health centers all digging their own wells — at a huge expense.
A private well costs between $1,000 and $6,000, a fortune in the sanctions-hit Caribbean country where the minimum monthly wage is around $200.
As a result, homes that come with a ready-made well and generator — Venezuelans also live with recurring power cuts — sell for a premium.
While water rationing has been in place in Venezuelan cities for years, the situation in Maracaibo has become critical, as pumping stations break down, old pipes leak and reservoirs run dry.
No water came out of the taps in certain parts of the city for over a month at the start of 2025.
Manuel Palmar and six other families in the lower-middle-class neighborhood of Ziruma saw the writing on the wall four years ago.
They each paid $2,500 to build a 12-meter-deep (40-foot) well, which can store up to about 80,000 liters (21,000 gallons) of spring water each week.
Now when Palmar turns on the tap, water gushes out for free.
The water is not fit for drinking due to its high salinity — saltwater from the Caribbean Sea seeps into Lake Maracaibo, a coastal lake used as a freshwater source — but “it’s perfect for washing clothes and flushing toilets,” he explained.
“It’s a blessing!” the 34-year-old accountant said.
There’s a solution of sorts for every budget.
Some residents fill 200-liter drums at official filling stations or communal taps for $2-$3.
Others order a water truck to fill their building’s tank for between $40 and $60.
Some even recycle the water produced by the tropical city’s ubiquitous air conditioners or collect rainwater.
But those are all quick fixes.
Over the past six years, more and more residents have begun digging wells to guarantee their long-term supply for the future.
Gabriel Delgado has built about 20 wells in Maracaibo, including at a heart disease clinic and four private schools.
He also built one at his mother-in-law’s home: a gray cement cylinder, one and a half meters in diameter, buried under metal sheeting and rocks.
Cobwebs dangle just above the water level, but as soon as he activates the pump, water pours forth.
It’s crystal clear, unlike the yellowish liquid that flows from the city’s taps during the rainy season, and Delgado eagerly sips it.
Venezuelans must receive authorization from health and environmental authorities before drilling a well, and they are required to provide water samples for testing to ensure it is fit for consumption once it’s built.
But not everyone bothers.
Javier Otero, head of Maracaibo’s municipal water department, told AFP that he had come across shallow artisanal wells built near sewers or polluted ravines.
“Some people drink water that is not potable, that is brackish,” he told AFP.
The municipality has built seven wells to supply Maracaibo’s poorer neighborhoods.
