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2,000 UN peacekeepers to leave eastern Congo in first phase of withdrawal 

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The United Nations has confirmed that about 2,000 of its troops will depart the troubled eastern areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo by the end of April.

The head of mission, Bintou Keita, stated on Saturday that the withdrawals were part of the peacekeeping mission’s initial phase of its scheduled withdrawal from the nation.

Keita told a joint press conference with government officials on Saturday, “We have a ceiling of 13,500 troops authorised by the Security Council; as of April 30th, with the start of the withdrawal underway, we will reach 11,500.”

At the same press conference in Kinshasa, the Congolese Foreign Minister Christophe Lutundula stated that the remaining U.N. forces are anticipated to leave the nation by December 31.

“The withdrawal of MONUSCO does not necessarily mean the end of the fight we are undertaking to protect the territorial interests of our country, we must continue to struggle,” Lutundula said.

Felix Tshisekedi, the president of the Congo, requested in September that the peacekeepers’ exit be expedited, and the UN Security Council granted his request, approving the mission’s termination in December.

The mission has faced intense pressure in recent months to conclude its operations due to widespread criticism over its inability to bring peace to the country’s eastern regions, where various armed groups have been operating for three decades, killing, raping, and looting the area’s rich mineral resources, including gold and diamonds.

The 13,500-strong mission, known as MONUSCO, replaced a previous UN operation in 2010 to aid in reducing insecurity in the country of Central Africa’s east, where armed factions battle for resources and territory. It has also drawn criticism for being larger and more costly than any of the 12 UN peacekeeping operations deployed worldwide. Many have also urged for its termination.

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Musings From Abroad

Prince Harry, Meghan treated to street-style dances in Nigeria as their trip winds down

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On Sunday, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan were treated to street-style dances in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, where they announced a partnership between their Archewell Foundation and the non-profit Giants of Africa, which utilizes sports to empower young people.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are making their first visit to Nigeria, where they were welcomed by the country’s chief of defence staff. The couple watched basketball practice at Ilupeju Senior Grammar School on Lagos Mainland, where Harry participated in ball-bouncing drills and shot a hoop.

“What you guys are doing here at Giants of Africa is truly amazing,” he said. “The power of sport can change lives. It brings people together and creates community and there are no barriers, which is the most important thing.”

The couple watched basketball practice at Ilupeju Senior Grammar School on Lagos Mainland, and Harry stepped on the court for some ball-bouncing drills and to shoot a hoop.

Former Toronto Raptors star Masai Ujiri, president of Giants of Africa, wished Meghan a happy Mother’s Day and said his organization was uniting communities and uplifting young people through sport, especially. Archewell Foundation and Giants of Africa will construct a basketball court in Nigeria’s capital Abuja.

“Talk about full circle again – never did I think we would be able to be here all those years later supporting the expansion of this incredible organization,” she said.
Harry and Meghan were set to round off their Lagos trip by attending a reception for a local charity. The couple live in the United States with their two children after Harry gave up working as a member of the royal family in 2020.

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Musings From Abroad

Binance accuses Nigeria of setting dangerous precedent with detention of its executives

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After its executives were invited to Nigeria and subsequently arrested as part of a crackdown on cryptocurrencies, the CEO of cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, warned that the African nation was creating a dangerous precedent.

The largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, Binance, and two of its executives are being tried separately for tax evasion and money laundering, charges that the business is contesting.

CEO Richard Teng declared in a statement that it was time to voice opposition to the imprisonment of a US citizen and head of financial crime compliance at Binance, Tigran Gambaryan.

Former executive, Nadeem Anjarwalla, a British Kenyan who works as a regional manager for Africa, escaped detention in Nigeria last month. While in Nigeria, Anjarwalla and Gambaryan were arrested by the country’s anti-corruption body, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), after arriving on February 26, after which the country banned several websites that traded cryptocurrencies.

In a follow-up meeting on February 26, he stated that the authorities had declared the Binance concerns to be matters of national security and that they wanted the exchange to remove the naira from its site and disclose “granular-level” information on every Nigerian user. After that, Gambaryan and Anjarwalla were taken into custody.

“To invite a company’s mid-level employees for collaborative policy meetings, only to detain them, has set a dangerous new precedent for all companies worldwide,” Teng said, in his strongest comments yet since the case started in February.

“For spurious reasons,” Teng said that Gambaryan had been detained in Nigeria for almost two months. Early in March, Binance declared that it will no longer be accepting any new naira transactions.

“Our hope when we took this drastic step was that our colleagues would be released and Binance could continue to work with the Nigerian government to resolve any further concerns. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen,” said Ten.

He stated that Gambaryan ought to be permitted to return home while Binance and the Nigerian government work out any kinks. “We will continue engagement with Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) on resolving potential historic tax liabilities,” he said.

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