Speaking in interviews with Jeune Afrique and The Africa Report during a two-day economic summit in Nairobi, Macron said Europe remained committed to multilateralism, the rule of law and open trade while global powers increasingly pursued confrontational economic policies.

“Europe defends the international order, effective multilateralism, the rule of law, free and open trade,” Macron said, drawing a distinction between European policy and the intensifying trade rivalry between the United States and China.

The French leader accused China of creating economic dependencies through its control of critical minerals and rare earth supply chains, arguing that Beijing prioritizes domestic processing while limiting broader industrial development elsewhere.“China operates according to a predatory logic,” Macron said, adding that Europe instead aimed to build “a strategy of autonomy” shared between African and European economies.

Macron’s remarks come as France attempts to recalibrate its relationship with Africa after years of deteriorating influence in several former colonies, particularly in the Sahel region where anti-French sentiment and military coups have weakened Paris’ regional standing.

France withdrew troops from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger following military takeovers between 2020 and 2023 that brought juntas to power and led to demands for French forces to leave.Macron defended France’s former military deployments in the Sahel, saying French troops had operated there at the request of local governments to combat jihadist insurgencies.

“When our presence was no longer wanted after the coups, we left,” Macron said. “That wasn’t a humiliation but a logical response to a given situation.”Despite acknowledging the enduring legacy of colonialism, Macron argued that Africa’s current political and economic difficulties could not be attributed solely to European imperial history.

“We must not exonerate from all responsibility the seven decades that followed independence,” he said, urging African governments to strengthen governance and institutional accountability.Macron, who has previously described colonialism as a “crime against humanity,” has sought since taking office in 2017 to redefine France’s relationship with Africa through economic partnerships and reduced military dependence.

He also called for reforms to international financial systems aimed at expanding guarantees capable of attracting larger volumes of private investment into African economies.

“A new era is about to start,” Macron said, expressing confidence that the Sahel region would eventually return to democratic governance under elected civilian leadership.

For decades, women in fishing communities along Lake Victoria were expected to stay on shore, selling fish rather than catching them. In Kagwel village in Kenya’s Kisumu County, stepping into a fishing boat was seen not only as unusual but as a violation of deeply rooted social beliefs.

That changed in 2002 when Rhoda Ongoche Akech, then a 39-year-old mother of seven, decided to enter the lake herself.At the time, Akech had spent years working as a fishmonger, buying fish from male fishermen and reselling them in local markets.

But rising costs for fish purchases, cooking oil, firewood and transport were reducing her earnings and making it harder to support her family.“People were alleging that when women go into the waters accompanied by men, they would engage in sexual intercourse,” Akech, now 61. She said community members initially treated her decision with suspicion, but after realising she was determined to learn fishing rather than challenge morality, opposition gradually faded.

Her decision followed an encounter in 2001 when women from neighbouring Homabay County came to Kagwel and began fishing. Watching them convinced her that the work was possible despite local resistance.“I sought the help of two young men by then to assist me with fishing as I learned,” she said.The cultural restrictions around women fishing in Lake Victoria communities are rooted in longstanding beliefs tied to gender and ritual purity.

According to Kagwel village elder William Okedo, one of the strongest taboos concerned menstruation.“It was believed that if women went into the lake while on period, they would scare away the fish and that would cause losses to people who are fishing,” Okedo said.The restrictions extended to men as well. Fishermen were traditionally discouraged from having sexual relations with their wives the night before fishing trips, based on beliefs that it would reduce their catch.

For 16 years, Akech remained the only woman fishing regularly in Kagwel, working alone among male crews.It was not until 2018 that another woman joined her. Faith Awuor Ang’awo, a 37-year-old mother of four, had also been working as a fishmonger and was facing similar financial strain.“My husband refused the idea at first,” Ang’awo said, citing fears of social backlash from the fishing community.

“But later on allowed me to join Rhoda.”In 2020, Dorcas Awiyo, then a 22-year-old mother of three, followed. Her husband, himself a fisherman, initially opposed the decision but later agreed after the family’s need for additional income became more urgent.“At first, my husband was not receptive to the idea, but later on allowed me,” she said.By 2022, when Janet Ndweyi joined the group, resistance had largely disappeared.

“I didn’t face any challenge or receive any warning when joining them because the community around was used to seeing Rhoda and Faith fishing,” Ndweyi said.Without a husband to support her and with fish trading becoming less profitable, fishing offered her a more stable income. She now uses her earnings to pay college fees for both of her children.

“Through fishing, I am able to cater for my household’s basic needs and also pay for children’s school fees that are in college,” she said.Economic necessity has been the strongest force behind the social shift.According to Wilson Onjolo, fisheries officer for Seme subcounty, boat owners at Kagwel Beach can earn between 6,000 and 8,000 Kenyan shillings ($46 to $62) on productive days. Crew members earn between 500 and 800 shillings ($3.88 to $6.20), while traders such as fishmongers may earn up to 1,000 shillings ($7.75).

That compares favourably with the roughly 500 shillings women like Akech earned daily when they relied solely on fish trading.Village elder Okedo said the economic pressure facing households has made communities more willing to reconsider long-held norms.“This is all because of economic hardships that the community is facing; it is pushing women to break the taboo,” he said.

Fisherman Dalmas Onyango said most male fishermen now support women entering the trade.“The majority of my fellow fishermen now support their decision to fish,” he said, adding that changing economic realities have made old restrictions less practical.At the same time, the lake itself is becoming less reliable.

Lake Victoria, which supports more than 42 million people for food, employment and drinking water, is under increasing pressure from overfishing, pollution, invasive species and climate change. Annual harvests remain around one million tonnes, but per capita catch rates have declined significantly.Akech said she has seen the change directly over the past two decades.

The amount of fish she catches today is noticeably lower than when she first entered the lake in 2002.Chris Mutai, senior meteorologist in charge of the Kisumu meteorological station, said rising water temperatures are contributing to the decline by encouraging algae growth and reducing oxygen levels in the lake.

“To reverse this, people should keep off riparian land to allow undergrowth that will serve as the breeding ground of fish, and avoid pollution of the lake that traps more heat than plain, clear water,” Mutai said.He warned that temperatures could rise by another 0.5 degrees Celsius over the next 10 to 20 years, reaching between 29.5C and 31C.

Without stronger environmental controls, including protection of riparian zones and regulated fishing, fish stocks are expected to continue falling.Weather forecasting has become increasingly important for fishing communities. Mutai’s office distributes five-day forecasts through WhatsApp groups and local government channels, helping fishermen and fisherwomen prepare for dangerous lake conditions.

Despite their success, Akech and her team still operate in a legal grey area.Susan Claire, acting director of fisheries and blue economy for Kisumu County, said women officially participate as boat owners and fish traders, but not as night fishermen or crew members.“We have women who own boats and women traders, but they are not involved in night fishing or as boat crew members,” Claire told Al Jazeera.

That leaves women like Akech without formal recognition or equal access to support available to male fishermen.However, Christopher Aura of the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute said in 2023 that Lake Victoria had more than 47,000 fishermen, including 1,000 women, suggesting official county records may not fully reflect women’s participation.

Claire acknowledged that declining fish stocks remain a major concern and said the county is working with meteorological services and Beach Management Units to improve awareness, climate adaptation and enforcement against illegal fishing.For Akech, the debate is less about recognition than survival.She continues to leave before dawn with the same determination that first took her to the water more than two decades ago.

Some days the catch is poor, and the income barely covers the effort. On better days, it is enough to keep going.The lake has changed, but so has the community around it.

The United States is restructuring how it delivers life-saving medical supplies for HIV and malaria to low-income countries, a shift that officials and health experts warn could disrupt treatment access across parts of Africa and Asia.

The changes centre on winding down the Global Health Supply Chain Program – Procurement and Supply Management, a U.S.-funded initiative run by Chemonics, which has coordinated the delivery of critical medicines and prevention tools since 2016. According to internal communications and multiple sources familiar with the matter, U.S. officials have been instructed to begin halting implementation of the programme by May 30.

From its inception through 2024, the programme distributed more than $5 billion worth of HIV and malaria-related commodities to 90 countries, with a primary focus on sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia. The supplies included antiretroviral drugs, malaria treatments and insecticide-treated bed nets, forming a key component of global disease control efforts.The restructuring follows broader changes to U.S.

foreign aid policy under the administration of Donald Trump, which has prioritised reducing reliance on contractors, cutting budgets and shifting toward direct agreements with recipient governments. The overhaul also comes after the dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development, which had previously overseen much of Washington’s development assistance.

Five sources familiar with the transition said the pace of the changes risks creating supply gaps for essential medicines, particularly in countries with fragile health systems. An internal email reviewed by Reuters warned that accelerating the transition without a clear implementation plan could jeopardise continuity of services.

The communication, sent by the U.S. State Department to staff in 17 African countries and Haiti, directed country teams to prepare for the end of programme operations while outlining potential risks. It did not provide a detailed roadmap for replacement mechanisms, instead asking local offices to identify vulnerabilities and report back to Washington.

A State Department spokesperson said the agency had not issued technical instructions for Chemonics to cease operations by May 30, though the contract is set to expire on September 30 in line with other USAID awards. The official end date is listed as November.

The uncertainty has revived concerns stemming from earlier disruptions. In January last year, a freeze on international aid left millions of dollars’ worth of medical supplies stranded in ports and warehouses worldwide, including HIV drugs and malaria prevention tools. Distribution resumed only after waivers were granted for life-saving interventions.

Six sources said the United States has been in discussions with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria about potentially using its procurement and distribution systems to replace the existing programme. The Geneva-based institution already manages approximately $2 billion in annual purchases for HIV, tuberculosis and malaria programmes through partnerships with national governments and implementing agencies.

However, two sources said earlier plans had envisaged a transition timeline extending to November 2027, allowing sufficient time for procurement cycles and logistical adjustments. Compressing this timeline into a matter of months could create operational bottlenecks, they said, noting that delivering medical supplies to remote areas can take up to a year from order to distribution.

The Global Fund declined to comment on the discussions. The State Department did not directly confirm the talks but said it would rely on pooled procurement mechanisms to secure supplies at competitive prices from private manufacturers.The policy shift is part of a broader “America First” approach to global health funding, which aims to reduce what officials describe as inefficiencies in the existing system.

A strategy document released in September argued that contractor-led programmes had contributed to waste and inflated costs, and emphasised direct funding for frontline services and national governments.

Under the new approach, Washington has signed 28 bilateral health agreements with partner countries and is increasingly channeling funds directly to national authorities. It also plans to use private logistics firms to handle distribution rather than relying on large development contractors.

Recent agreements with countries such as Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda include commitments to increase domestic health spending alongside U.S. funding. However, implementation has encountered obstacles. In Kenya, a proposed deal faces legal challenges from activists concerned about data privacy, while negotiations with Zambia have been delayed as officials seek to safeguard national interests.

Health experts and aid practitioners say the transition risks compounding existing vulnerabilities in global disease control programmes. Previous disruptions linked to funding changes have already contributed to shortages of malaria treatments for children and gaps in HIV prevention services in several countries.

The State Department defended the overhaul, describing the current system as outdated and inefficient. A spokesperson said the new model would prioritise value for American taxpayers while maintaining support for critical health interventions.

Despite those assurances, several sources involved in programme delivery said the lack of a detailed transition plan remains a central concern. They warned that without clear coordination between donors, governments and implementing partners, the shift could interrupt supply chains that millions depend on for survival.

The Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces it is fighting have received multiple international mediation offers, but none have succeeded in ending or even significantly pausing the fighting that broke out on April 15.

Earlier this month, IGAD, an East African regional bloc of which Kenya is a member, proposed an initiative that would include the deployment of peacekeepers in the capital Khartoum.

The Sudanese army has repeatedly rejected the Kenyan-led initiative, accusing the regional power of supporting the RSF.

It has said it would consider any foreign peacekeepers as enemy forces.

“Leave the East African forces where they are. Bring the Kenyan army … I swear to god, not one of them would make it back,” said Sudanese General Yassir al-Atta in comments to troops.

He also accused Kenya of being bought off by a third country, which he did not identify.

“This statement is unworthy of our comment,” Kenya’s foreign affairs principal secretary Korir Sing’Oei said. The accusations were unfounded, he said, and that his country was neutral.

“By insisting that durable peace will only be realised through the inclusion of civilian actors in any mediation process and calling on accountability for atrocities, some in Sudan may find these principles difficult to accept,” he added.

The fighting in Khartoum State continued on Monday. A neighbourhood committee in Ombada said at least 15 people had been killed in strikes in Omdurman.

In the Kalakla area in southern Khartoum, the local committee said that RSF forces had besieged the area.

This week’s visit by Brian Nelson, Treasury’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin prepares to host African leaders in St. Petersburg on Thursday and Friday and promises them free Russian grain “to replace Ukrainian grain.”

“He will highlight the exemptions in U.S. sanctions that have always allowed the continued flow of food and agriculture transactions,” the Treasury spokesperson added of Nelson’s trip, first reported by Reuters.

Nelson’s second trip to Africa as undersecretary and his first to East Africa follows visits by several senior Biden administration officials to the continent this year after President Joe Biden pledged in December that the U.S. was “all in” on Africa’s future.

While in Nairobi and Somalia’s capital Mogadishu from Monday to Saturday, Nelson will discuss strengthening anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism frameworks as Treasury looks to strengthen capacity across the continent.

Enhancing partnerships to address regional security, including to combat the Islamic State and al Shabaab militant groups, will also be a focus, the spokesperson said.

Nelson will discuss ways to work with governments on combating illicit financial flows associated with crises in the region such as in Sudan, according to the spokesperson, where over 1,100 people have been killed and more than 3 million uprooted since fighting broke out in April.

Black Sea Grain Deal

Russia quit the deal allowing Black Sea exports of Ukrainian grain last week, saying that demands to improve its own food and fertilizer exports had not been met, and that not enough Ukraine grain had reached the poorest countries under the Black Sea deal.

Since Russia quit the deal and began attacking Ukrainian food-exporting ports on the Black Sea and Danube river, global wheat and corn futures prices have risen sharply.

The Black Sea grain deal was brokered by the U.N. and Turkey a year ago to combat a global food crisis worsened by Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine and Russia are both leading grain exporters.

Somalia received 84,000 tonnes of wheat from Ukraine in 2022, up from 31,000 tonnes in 2021, according to U.N. trade data, as donors stepped up assistance to fend off a looming famine in certain areas.

Famine in parts of the Horn of Africa was averted this year as the rainy season, projected to fail for a fifth consecutive year, beat expectations. But aid officials say some 60 million people are still food insecure in seven east African countries and worry about the impact of a further blow.

While Russian exports of food and fertilizer are not subject to sharp Western sanctions, Moscow has said restrictions on payments, logistics and insurance have amounted to a barrier to shipments.

African nations have largely remained neutral on the Ukraine war.

Raisi’s trip to Africa, which will also take him to Uganda and Zimbabwe, is the first by an Iranian president in more than a decade, and represents a bid to diversify economic ties in the face of crippling U.S. sanctions.

Iran stepped up its diplomatic outreach to developing world countries after then-U.S. President Donald Trump ditched a nuclear pact in 2018 and reimposed sanctions.

In June, Raisi visited three Latin American countries to shore up support with allies also saddled with U.S. sanctions.

Iran’s trade with African countries will increase to more than $2 billion this year, its foreign ministry said on Saturday, without providing a comparative figure for 2022.

Raisi was welcomed by an honour guard at Kenya’s presidential palace before joining Ruto for a meeting, video posted on social media by Kenya’s presidency showed.

His trip to Kenya, East Africa’s economic powerhouse, will provide the two countries an “opportunity to review and re-energise their bilateral relations for the mutual benefit of the people of the two countries,” Kenya’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

Raisi is expected to next fly to Uganda to discuss trade and bilateral relations with President Yoweri Museveni, and then to Zimbabwe.

The last Iranian leader to visit Africa was Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2013.

The auction in Nairobi will be conducted by the Regional Voluntary Carbon Market Company (RVCMC), which was founded by the Saudi Public Investment Fund and Saudi Tawadul Group.

The certified credits that are sold will fund either projects that avoid emissions by using sustainable technologies or remove carbon from the atmosphere, RVCMC said in a statement, without naming the specific companies that will participate.

“This includes the supply of improved clean cookstoves to communities in Kenya and Rwanda and renewable energy projects in Egypt and South Africa,” it said.

Critics of carbon markets have in the past cited concerns including poor transparency, a limited supply of credits and questions over the quality of projects.

RVCMC held its first auction in Riyadh last October, where 1.4 million tonnes of carbon credits were sold.

Nairobi was chosen to host the second event to showcase the potential of voluntary carbon markets in attracting investments into frontier economies, RVCMC said.

The World Bank said last week that Kenya could turn the threat it faces from climate change into an opportunity by courting green investments from international investors.

The East African nation contributes less than 1% of the annual global greenhouse gases emissions, the bank said, offering it opportunities to increase offerings of carbon credits.

Nairobi (AP) — A court in Kenya on Friday gave police five more days to hold a pastor facing possible terror-related charges in the deaths of more than 100 his congregants, many of whom are believed to have starved to death.

Police rescued 15 emaciated parishioners from the 800-acre Kilifi County property of Paul Mackenzie last month. Four of them died after the group was taken to a hospital, and survivors told investigators the pastor had instructed them to fast to death before the world ends so they could meet Jesus.

A search of Mackenzie’s property, located in a remote forested area, found more than 100 bodies and dozens of mass graves dug out, authorities have said. Autopsies on the bodies were ongoing, but completed ones showed some of the buried people had died of starvation, strangulation or suffocation.

Mackenzie was arrested two weeks ago for alleged links to cultism. A lower court freed him this week but he was rearrested and presented to a higher court. Police have said their investigations pointed to signs of radicalization.

The court that ordered Mackenzie held for five more days is considering an application for a further 90-day detention.

The pastor was arrested twice before — in 2019 and in March of this year — in connection with the deaths of children. He was released on bond both times, and those cases are still proceeding through the court system.

Kenyan President William Ruto on Friday formed a committee of inquiry into the deaths.

Ruto tasked the committee with establishing the circumstances under which people died and identifying other individuals and organizations that may bear responsibility and making recommendations.

The country’s broadcast regulator, the Kenya Film and Classification Board, sounded the alarm in 2017 on content televised by Mackenzie that might promote radicalization. The board’s former chairperson, Ezekiel Mutua, told local media that the content was taken off the air and law enforcement agencies were notified.

Another pastor in the same county, Ezekiel Odero, was arrested last week in connection with the deaths of congregants at his coastal megachurch. On Thursday, a court said Odero could be released from jail if he posted a bond in the amount of 3 million Kenyan shillings (about $22,000) or cash bail of 1.5 million shillings ($11,000).

Odero’s lawyers acknowledged after his arrest that 15 people died at his church but said the deaths were reported at a police station as required by law. Police have said there was no evidence at the time to suggest a crime was involved.

The pastor remains under investigation for his ties to Mackenzie, from whom he bought a television channel in 2019.

Kenya’s national communications authority last week suspended Odero’s TV channel for airing inappropriate content on exorcism during hours when adult programming is not allowed. (

The scheme to distribute dates and Iftar was launched by the Saudi Embassy in Kenya’s religious attache, and Nasser bin Mohammed Al-Faridi, the Saudi Deputy Ambassador to the nation, was there.

Al-Faridi thanked King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for their support of the ministry’s work on behalf of Muslims around the world, particularly during the fast-month of Ramadan.

A total of 10 tonnes of dates will be distributed, and more than 15,000 Muslims will participate in the Iftar event.

The Iftar project was also started by the Islamic Higher Institute in the Senegalese province of Louga.

Sheikh Wahid bin Mohammed Majribi, the religious attache at the Saudi Embassy in Senegal, applauded the Kingdom’s government for supporting Islam and Muslims and the ministry’s careful selection of programme participants.

Ministry tweeted that, “In implementation of the directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, the ministry has started sending the fourth batch of gift amounting to 32,700 copies of the Holy Quran in various sizes, and translations of the Holy Quran from the publications of King Fahd Complex for Printing Quran to the Republic of Kenya, bringing a total of 59,450 copies”.

In April 2021, Kingdom began shipping 1.2 million copies of the Holy Quran in various sizes and 21 languages to 29 countries around the world as part of Custodian of Two Holy Mosques’ gifts program.

King Fahd Complex produces about 10 million copies a year, and it has published 55 different translations of the Quran in 39 languages. The complex has made over 128 million books of the Quran since 1985, which is fully accepted by all sects of Islam.

Saudi Arabia is revered in the Muslim world for its incredible services in promoting the message of Quran and Prophetic Hadiths, and the moderate principles of Islam.

After Mohammed bin Salman’s appointment as a crown prince, Kingdom has been relentlessly working to protect the values of Islam by promoting moderation and mutual coexistence, against extremism and terrorism.