Yemen separatists plan transition to independence by 2028

Alex Berry 

DW with Reuters, AFP

02/01/2026 

The Southern Transitional Council said independence would be "immediate" if attacks against them continue.

The STC separatists were able to make sweeping, largely unopposed gains last month Image: AP Photo/picture alliance

UAE-backed separatists in Yemen announced on Friday a two-year transition to independence following a lightning grab of land in the war-torn country.

The Southern Transitional Council (STC) said it plans to hold a referendum on an independent state that could see Yemen once again split between the north and south, as was the case between 1967 and 1990.

The announcement comes following deadly airstrikes carried out by the Saudi-led coalition that backs the Yemeni government as it sought to recapture land lost to the STC.

What are the Yemeni separatists' plans for independence?

STC President Aidaros Alzubidi said the transition would include dialogue with Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen's north.

However, he warned that independence would be declared "immediately" if dialogue was refused or if STC forces again came under attack.

An attack by the Saudi-led coalition earlier on Friday targeted STC military bases and an airport, killing seven and wounding 20, the AFP news agency reported.

"We announce the commencement of a transitional phase lasting two years, and the Council calls on the international community to sponsor dialogue between the concerned parties in the South and the North," Alzubidi said in a televised address.

"This constitutional declaration shall be considered immediately and directly effective before that date if the call is not heeded or if the people of the South, their land, or their forces are subjected to any military attacks," he added.

The separatists plan to call the new country South Arabia.

Who are the key players in the war in Yemen?

The UAE and Saudi Arabia had previously sided together against the Houthis, but following years of bitter war, the Iran-backed rebels remain in place.

The two regional powers subsequently saw their interests diverge, with the UAE backing the separatists and Saudi Arabia backing the government in Aden, of which the STC is nominally also a part.

The separatists took control of resource-rich Hadramawt province along the border with Saudi Arabia, which has its eyes on the region as a potential corridor for rerouting oil exports away from the Hormuz Strait and the threat of Iranian blockades.

The UAE said on Friday it had withdrawn all of its forces from Yemen following a pledge to do so that came after a coalition strike on Tuesday hit a UAE shipment at Mukalla port.

The UAE government also said it "remains committed to dialogue, de-escalation, and internationally supported processes as the only sustainable path to peace."

Edited by: Kieran Burke

Alex Berry Writer and Editor in DW's online newsroom.

Yemen is back from the brink, but frenemies Saudi Arabia and UAE have much to negotiate

ANALYSIS

The UAE this week announced a withdrawal of its troops from southern Yemen, marking a de-escalation in year-end tensions with its ally Saudi Arabia. But 2026 offers little hope for a strategic patch-up between the two Gulf powerhouses. That could mean more trouble for Yemen, the region, and the international community in the world’s chokehold zone.


Issued on: 02/01/2026

FRANCE24
By: Leela JACINTO

Southern Transitional Council (STC) soldiers under a South Yemen flag man a check point, in Aden, Yemen, December 31, 2025. 

The New Year kicked off with Yemen, an unstable country straddling a strategic maritime corridor between the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, seemingly back from the brink.

After an explosive, public blowout in the last weeks of 2025 that saw Saudi Arabia bomb an alleged arms shipment from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to its proxies in Yemen, tensions have cooled. Abu Dhabi denied the arms shipment accusations, but nonetheless complied with a 24-hour deadline to withdraw its forces in southern Yemen.

READ MOREWhat we know about the Saudi-led air strikes in Yemen

Saudi Arabia and the UAE came together in a military coalition in 2015 to prevent a takeover of Yemen by Iran-backed Shiite Houthi rebels. But a decade later, the two Gulf powerhouses, who officially refer to each other as “brotherly” countries, have turned into frenemies. Ambition has driven a wedge between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan and a once-close relationship between the two royals has been ripped by a divergence of strategic vision.

The Houthis have not been vanquished, but the coalition against them is hanging by a thread. Riyadh backs the internationally recognised Yemeni government under the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), an unwieldy umbrella body that includes the Islah party, which the UAE accuses of ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and the party denies. Abu Dhabi supports the Southern Transitional Council (STC), which is also within the PLC, but has secessionist aspirations that are at odds with its coalition partners.

The year may have begun with the UAE pulling its “counterterrorism teams” from southern Yemen, but few expect Abu Dhabi to stop wielding its influence and economic heft in a geostrategic coastal zone.

On the regional front, Emirati interests in the Red Sea area are increasing exponentially. Its co-signatory to the Abraham Accords, Israel, ended 2025 with the surprise recognition of the breakaway region of Somaliland, just across the Gulf of Aden from Yemen. Meanwhile the Houthis continue to target Red Sea shipping lanes and Israeli cities under Iran’s “axis of resistance” banner.

Finally, the latest Saudi-UAE spat in Yemen unfolded in the volatile southern region that has long been an al Qaeda stronghold and offers ideal terrain for jihadist groups.

It may not be a very happy new year for Yemenis who have borne the brunt of a devastating conflict, nor for the international community scrambling to cope with the fast-moving pieces on the Middle East chessboard. By the end of the week, Saudi air strikes had already slammed southern separatist camps, causing deaths and injuries, according to a senior STC official.

‘Mixed messaging’

In southern Yemen, this week's de-escalation came just as swiftly as the dramatic escalation. On Thursday, the UAE-backed STC said Saudi-aligned government forces would enter territories it had seized in recent weeks.

In its statement, the STC said it would continue to operate in the regions but had agreed to the deployment of the Riyadh-backed National Shield government force. “Today, we launched an operation to integrate the southern National Shield forces so that they can assume the responsibilities and missions that fall to our armed forces,” they announced.

But in Yemen, the devil lies in the official statement details. “We are seeing mixed messaging,” said Mohammed Al-Basha, founder of the Basha Report, a US-based risk advisory, in a post on X, noting that while Saudi-aligned figures claimed National Shield forces “will take over security” in Hadramawt, “STC influencers say an agreement was reached to share security responsibilities, tasks, and even garrisons and bases”.

The current crisis was sparked by the STC’s lightening sweep in early December from its heartlands around the southwestern port city of Aden towards the east, seizing parts of the resource-rich Hadramawt and Al Mahra provinces.

Yemen’s history has been marked by a north-south divide, with its southern coastal regions – centred around the ancient strategic port of Aden – culturally distinct from the northern area which includes the capital Sanaa. The STC is the latest iteration of longstanding southern secessionist movements fed by grievances against the north.

Over the past few years, “the STC ran most of the south”, said Basha. “Any diplomat, envoy, journalist going to the south did not see any symbols of the Republic of Yemen, it existed only on paper.”

STC supporters hold a poster of UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan at a rally in Aden, Yemen, January 1, 2026. © Fawaz Salman, Reuters

Defining ‘the south’

The “southern question”, as it’s known in Yemen policy circles, is a legitimate issue, analysts concede. But in its current form, there are two “major points of contention”, according to Elisabeth Kendall, president of Girton College at the University of Cambridge and a seasoned Yemen expert.

“One is, does the southern cause mean a separate southern region, or does it mean a separate southern state that's independent and sovereign? And two, how big is that southern region or state? Is it just the southern heartlands, the four governorates that are in and around Aden? Or does it include the two vast eastern governorates of Hadramawt and Al Mahra? The Saudis would argue that it does not include Hadramawt and Al Mahra because they border Saudi Arabia,” she added.

The easternmost Al Mahra governorate also borders Oman, a neutral Gulf country that has strained to contain a spillover of the Yemeni conflict into its own Dhofar region that has seen rebellions in the past. “Neither Saudi Arabia nor Oman want a UAE-influenced state on their borders,” Kendall said.

Within Yemen, there are divides between the southwestern and eastern states, notes Basha. “There's no cohesiveness, even though the STC is the largest political bloc. In theory they could run the south, but they don't have the support of the east,” he noted.

While the eruption of the “southern question” exposed the faultlines with the east, it did little to address Yemen’s core security issues. “Two groups are benefiting from everything that's happening right now in the east and the south. It's the Houthis and AQAP,” noted Basha, referring to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. “The Houthis are sitting back, watching the anti-Houthi coalition fight each other, watching the two regional backers have a very public divorce,” he explained. “And al Qaeda loves to flourish wherever there's a vacuum.”

File photo taken October 20, 2020, of the picturesque Haid al-Jazil village perched on a rock in Dawan directorate in the Hadramawt governorate. © AFP file photo

One of the key reasons for the STC’s lightening sweep to the east in December was the fear that the Saudis could reach a peace deal with the Houthis, leaving the Shiite rebels in a commanding position in the north while sidelining southern powerbrokers.

A prisoner swap between the Houthis and the Yemeni government last year sparked some hopes for a peace deal. But given the complexities of the conflict, expectations are low.

“In 2026, will we see a peace deal between the Saudis and the Houthis? Absolutely, yes. Is it going to be implementable on the ground? I am not sure,” said Basha. “The real problems in Yemen will appear after a peace agreement is signed,” he added, predicting that the country’s myriad armed groups are likely to “just either fight each other for territory and resources, or collapse, or join AQAP, or form other militant groups”.
Realpolitik sidelines nation-building

While the UAE agreed to troop withdrawal from southern Yemen to avert a military confrontation with Saudi Arabia, analysts question whether it will mark an end to Abu Dhabi’s funding and support for its proxies in the region.

The 2025 crisis in Yemen has put a spotlight on the UAE’s increasingly assertive foreign policy and extension of its sphere of influence in Middle East, Africa and the seas in between.

“These maritime locations are supremely important geopolitically. The area that the UAE seeks to extend its influence in, via the STC, is right on that very important corner of the Arabian Peninsula, where the Gulf of Aden meets the Red Sea,” explained Kendall.

Yemeni territory includes the island of Perim, located in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which is a gateway for oil tankers heading to Europe via the Suez Canal. Further east lies Socotra, an archipelago and UNESCO World Heritage Site that is also a part of Yemen.

Sand dunes plunge into the sea on the Yemeni island of Socotra on September 21, 2024. © AP file photo


Satellite imagery reveals an expanded network of airstrips, military and intelligence bases built by the UAE, according to investigative reports. They extend from Socotra in the Indian Ocean to Yemen’s Arabian Peninsula coast to the Horn of Africa.

The UAE’s strategic partnership with Israel, strengthened by the Abrahams Accord, has also come under the spotlight during the recent tensions in Yemen.

Israeli media last month speculated about the resulting benefits of an independent southern Yemen under Abu Dhabi’s patronage. Arab outlets noted The National’s interview with Aidarous Al Zubaidi, head of the UAE-backed STC and also vice president of the Saudi-backed PLC, wherein he said he believed “we will be part of the [Abraham] accords”.

While this may be music to the Trump administration’s ears, it adds credence among local populations to the Houthis' self-declared role as defenders of the Palestinian cause.

Last month, when Israel suddenly recognised Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland, it raised eyebrows in Middle Eastern capitals and policy circles – and protests in Mogadishu.

Israel's recognition of Somaliland drives divides

It also drew attention to the UAE’s goals in the region. Noting Abu Dhabi’s strategic sweep from Perim island in the west to Socotra in the east, Kendall remarked that the UAE “has a stranglehold on the Gulf of Aden. Add to that, the fact that it was silent when its ally in the Abraham Accords, Israel, expressed its solidarity with the breakaway ‘nation of Somaliland’ on the other side of the Gulf of Aden, and it looks like that whole area is encircled by the UAE.”

Meanwhile across the Red Sea in Sudan, UN sanctions monitors have described what they deemed credible allegations that the UAE provided military support to Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the civil war against the Sudanese army. Abu Dhabi denies the allegations.

The problem, many analysts say, is not Abu Dhabi’s goal of increasing strategic influence, but its effects on weak states. The UAE bases its foreign policy on “realpolitik and doesn't mind working with secessionist movements or with minorities”, said Basha. “You see that with the Rapid Support Forces. You're seeing that with the southerners in the STC. The Saudis are completely against that.”

This year, until and unless the two Gulf brotherly nations-turned-frenemies manage to sort out their differences, Yemen – and the wider Middle East – is unlikely to enjoy a lasting peace.

Gulf countries edgy after very rare and very public spat between Saudi Arabia and UAE

2 January 2026

COMMONSPACE.EU



The very public, and very rare, spat between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which saw Saudi planes bombarding cargo in Mukalla in Southern Yemen, which had just been unloaded from two ships that arrived from the UAE port of Fujairah, has caused concern among the four other GCC countries, and other neighbours in the region.

Omani Foreign Minister Badr Al Busaidi visited Riyadh on Wednesday for talks with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan on the developments in Yemen, which have raised concern across the region.

Oman's Foreign Ministry said the meeting between the ministers “addressed efforts to contain the escalation of violence and ways to support the political process aimed at addressing the root causes of the crisis”.

Tension has risen in recent weeks after the military takeover of Mahra and Hadhramaut, which share a 700km border with Saudi Arabia, by the Southern Transitional Council. The STC is the largest faction within the forces of the ruling Presidential Leadership Council, led by Rashad al-Alimi.

In Riyadh, Mr Al Busaidi and Prince Faisal discussed “achieving a comprehensive and sustainable settlement that preserves the sovereignty of the Republic of Yemen over its security and stability, while also taking into account the aspirations of its people and the higher national security interests of neighbouring countries and the rest of the region”, Oman's Foreign Ministry said.

Oman has played a vital mediation role in Yemen since Houthi rebels seized the capital, Sanaa, in 2014, forcing the government to flee south. A Saudi-led coalition, including the UAE, intervened at the request of the government to counter the Houthis, who control most of the north.

On Monday ( 28 December) the UAE announced that it was heeding calls by Mr Alimi, backed by Saudi statements, which called for the withdrawal of UAE forces from Yemen. This in turn raised concerns about internationally backed efforts to counter terror groups there.

Gulf countries have called for calm and restraint following the recent escalation. GCC members, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait, said they were monitoring the situation closely, highlighting the important role played in the past by Saudi Arabia and the UAE in supporting “stability and security” in Yemen.

Bahrain expressed its “confidence in the leadership of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and their ability to contain any differences in viewpoints within the framework of a unified Gulf

Qatar and Kuwait commended statements issued by the UAE and Saudi Arabia, which reflected “a commitment to prioritising the interests of the region, strengthening the principles of good neighbourliness and adhering to the foundations and principles upon which the GCC Charter is based”, Qatar's Foreign Ministry said.

Beyond the Gulf, Egypt said it was confident that the UAE and Saudi Arabia would approach the recent developments “wisely”, adding that it will continue to work with all sides towards de-escalation.

Jordan's Foreign Ministry said it held in high regard the “wisdom of the leaderships of the sisterly kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in addressing the situation in Yemen”, which reflects their keenness to preserve Yemen's security and interests.

The STC, which is seeking to re-establish a separate state in southern Yemen, said on Wednesday that “the south does not harbour any hostility towards any country in the region or its Arab surroundings, especially the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with which the south has deep and long-standing historical ties”.

Source: commonspace.eu, with the National (Abu Dhabi), Al Jazeera (Doha) and agencies.

Picture: Oman's Foreign Minister Badr Al Busaidi and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan in Riyadh on Wednesday, 31 December. (Photo courtesy of the Foreign Ministry of Oman).

England's extreme patriots: Inside the growing nationalist movement

FRANCE24
Issued on: 02/01/2026 - 11:46

Across England, a new wave of nationalist activism is reshaping the political landscape. From demonstrations outside asylum-seeker hotels to mass rallies drawing tens of thousands in London, groups draped in Union Jacks and St George's Cross flags are making their presence felt. FRANCE 24's Clovis Casali and Claire Paccalin report.


They say they're defending their identity and Christian values against what they see as unchecked immigration and cultural erosion. But these English nationalists' methods – confrontational street protests, social media campaigns, and increasingly mainstream political momentum – are causing divisions and raising questions about who gets to define patriotism.

Local residents, business owners and even some who would proudly display the flag themselves, say the groups are spreading hate and weaponising national symbols.

This investigation takes you inside the movement, from nighttime flag operations in a Birmingham suburb to baptisms in a canal preached as acts of national revival, revealing a country grappling with its identity in an age of anxiety.

BY:
Clovis CASALI

Claire PACCALIN

Russia makes largest territorial gains in Ukraine since 2022 invasion

Russia captured more than 5,600 sq km of Ukrainian territory in 2025, its largest advance since 2022, as Kyiv prepares to host allied security talks. As pressure on the battlefield continues to build, President Volodymyr Zelensky named Kyrylo Budanov his new top aide, proposed Mykhailo Fedorov as defence minister and ordered the evacuation of thousands from frontline settlements.


Issued on: 02/01/2026 
By: FRANCE 24

Firefighters and emergency workers look towards a damaged residential building following an air strike in Kharkiv on January 2, 2026. © Sergey Bobok, AFP



Russia's battlefield gains in Ukraine last year were the highest since 2022, an AFP analysis showed, as Kyiv was set to host security advisers from allied states on Saturday despite Moscow's unrelenting strikes.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said around 15 countries would attend the talks, along with representatives from the European Union and NATO, with a US delegation joining the meeting via video link.

The talks – and a subsequent summit of leaders from the so-called coalition of the willing planned for next week in France – are the latest in a flurry of efforts to end the nearly four-year war.

Zelensky said in a New Year's Eve address that a US-brokered peace deal was "90 percent" ready, though the important issue of territory remains unresolved.


The diplomatic push comes as Russia presses its advantage against outmanned and outgunned Ukrainian troops on the battlefield.

The Russian army captured over 5,600 square kilometres of Ukrainian territory in 2025. © Valentin Rakovsky, Julie Pereira, AFP


The Russian army captured more than 5,600 square kilometres, or nearly one percent, of Ukrainian territory in 2025, according to an analysis of data from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), which works with the Critical Threats Project.

This includes areas that Kyiv and military analysts say are controlled by Russia, as well as those claimed by Moscow's army.

READ MORERussia’s hybrid-warfare attacks in Europe dropped this year, but could they pick up in 2026?

The land captured is more than in the previous two years combined, though far short of the more than 60,000 square kilometres Russia took in 2022, the first year of its all-out invasion.
'Heinous'

Moscow has kept up its aerial barrage of Ukraine, with the latest strike on a residential area of the major city of Kharkiv, reducing parts of multi-storey buildings to smouldering piles of rubble.

AFP images from the site showed firefighters tackling the blaze and rescuers scrambling to evacuate people to safety.

The local authorities said a three-year-old child was killed and at least 19 people were wounded in the attack, which Zelensky slammed as "heinous".

A Russian strike on Kharkiv killed a three-year-old child and wounded 19 others. © Sergey Bobok, AFP


"Unfortunately, this is how the Russians treat life and people – they continue killing, despite all efforts by the world, and especially by the United States, in the diplomatic process," he said on social media.

Russia's defence ministry rejected Ukraine's claim, saying in a statement its forces "did not plan or carry out strikes using missiles or air strikes within the city limits of Kharkiv".

Underlining the deadly risks for civilians, Ukrainian officials on Friday ordered the evacuation of more than 3,000 children and their parents from 44 front-line settlements in the Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions, where Russian troops have been advancing.

More than 150,000 people have been evacuated from front-line areas since June 1, said Ukrainian Restoration Minister Oleksiy Kuleba.

On Thursday, Russia accused Kyiv of a strike on a hotel and a cafe in Ukraine's occupied south that killed 28 people, and warned of "consequences" – but Ukraine said the attack targeted a military gathering that was closed to civilians.

AFP was not able to verify either account.
Zelensky names top aide

On Friday, Zelensky named military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov as his new top aide, after the president's previous chief of staff resigned in November over a corruption scandal.

Military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov was named as President Volodymyr Zelenksy's new chief of staff. © Sergei Supinsky, AFP

Budanov has built up a legendary reputation in Ukraine, credited with a series of daring operations against Russia.

When formally appointed, he will succeed Andriy Yermak, who resigned in November after investigators raided his house as part of a sweeping corruption probe.

Zelensky also said he wanted to replace Defence Minister Denys Shymgal, who was only appointed six months ago, with 34-year-old political novice Mykhailo Fedorov, who is currently minister of digital transformation.

"Mykhailo is deeply involved in issues related to drones and is very effective in the digitalisation of state services and processes," the president added.

Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, describing it as a "special military operation" to prevent the expansion of the NATO alliance – a war aim that Kyiv has called a lie.

Moscow has since captured large swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine, while firing on Ukrainian towns and cities in daily drone and missile attacks.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie meets Gaza aid workers at Rafah crossing

Angelina Jolie visited the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing on Friday, meeting Red Crescent voluntees and aid truck drivers delivering supplies to Gaza. The Hollywood star assessed conditions for injured Palestinians and the flow of humanitarian aid, highlighting the urgent challenges at the border amid the ongoing blockade.

Issued on: 02/01/2026 - 
By: FRANCE 24

American actor and film producer Angelina Jolie, front left, greets Red Crecent workers during her visit to the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip in Rafah, Egypt, on January 2, 2026. © Mohammed Arafat, AP

Hollywood star Angelina Jolie on Friday visited the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing into Gaza, where she spoke with members of the Red Crescent and truck drivers ferrying humanitarian aid.

Accompanied by an American delegation and greeted by former and current officials, Jolie said she was "honoured" to meet aid volunteers at the crossing.

A Red Crescent volunteer told the Oscar winner that "there are thousands of aid trucks just waiting" at the border crossing.

According to local media, the actor and former special envoy for the UN refugee agency made the visit to see the condition of injured Palestinians transferred to Egypt and to look into aid deliveries into the devastated territory.

Jolie and the Egyptian authorities have yet to officially comment on the visit.

The Rafah border crossing was set to be reopened under the ceasefire in effect in Gaza since October, but has so far remained closed.

In a joint statement on Friday, Egypt and six other countries, including Saudi Arabia, "urged the international community to pressure Israel, as the occupying power, to immediately lift the constraints on the entry and distribution of essential supplies" to Gaza.

In early December, Israel announced that the Rafah crossing would be opened only for those wishing to leave Gaza, prompting Cairo to swiftly deny that it had approved such a move.

Jolie, one of Hollywood's most iconic figures, stepped down from her role as special envoy for the United Nations refugee agency at the end of 2022 after more than 20 years of service, saying she wanted to work on broader humanitarian issues.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

DRC returns to UN Security Council as non-permanent member after 35 years

The Democratic Republic of Congo returns to the United Nations Security Council as a non-permanent member for the 2026-2027 term for the first time in more than three decades, hoping to keep the armed crisis in its eastern provinces high on the council's agenda.


Issued on: 02/01/2026 - RFI

The United Nations Security Council refreshes about a third of its non-permanent members each year. © Eduardo Munoz / Reuters

A third of the non-permanent seats on the UN Security Council change hands each year – and from January 2026, Algeria, South Korea, Guyana, Sierra Leone and Slovenia will be replaced by Bahrain, Latvia, Colombia, Liberia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Elected in June 2025 as a non-permanent member for the 2026–2027 term, the DRC won 183 votes out of 187 at the UN headquarters in New York.

DRC's seat at the table coincides with Somalia’s rotating presidency and marks its third term on the council, following two mandates in 1982-83 and 1990-91.

“We will carry the voice of the DRC, but also that of Africa,” said the country's foreign minister Thérèse Wagner.

Its return comes as Kinshasa described the security situation in the east of the country as a “war of aggression waged by Rwanda”.

The DRC authorities aim to keep the crisis high on the United Nations agenda and to secure the implementation of Resolution 2773, adopted in February 2025, which calls for the withdrawal of the AFC/M23 armed group and Rwandan forces.

DRC's agenda

The non-permanent seat is a timely win for Congolese diplomacy. Kinshasa will sit alongside Liberia and Somalia, as part of the so-called African three or “A3” caucus.

In previous sessions, the A3 has acted as a swing bloc capable of bridging positions between permanent and elected members.

Since the conflict in eastern DRC broke out between the Congolese army and rebel forces in 2022, securing decisive action from the UN has “proved difficult for Kinshasa”, a source close to the presidency said.

Rwanda and DR Congo begin complex peace process after signing US-brokered deal

By joining the "A3" group in its own right, Kinshasa now hopes to reverse that trend and “keep the Congolese issue on the Security Council’s agenda”, says Christian Moleka, coordinator of the DRC Political Scientists’ Network (Dypolrdc).

“There is currently a dynamic of mediation and conflict resolution in [DRC] that continues to attract international attention, even if other priorities are taking precedence, with tensions today in Venezuela and probably tensions in the Middle East,” he told RFI.

“The Congolese issue could disappear overnight, given the evolution of global security challenges. So for [DRC], the aim is to keep the Congolese agenda on the Security Council table so that Resolution 2773, which was adopted unanimously, can be implemented and allow a return to peace.”

EU carbon border tax redraws rules for trade in carbon-heavy goods

The European Union’s new carbon border tax is now in force, reshaping how some of the world’s most polluting industrial goods enter the EU market. The system, which took effect on 1 January, applies to products such as steel, aluminium, cement, hydrogen and fertiliser.


Issued on: 02/01/2026  RFI

The Butachimie chemical in Chalempe, eastern France, in 2022. It's one of the industries under pressure to reduce greenhouse gases emissions. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias) AP - Jean-Francois Badias

Importers of these goods must declare the carbon dioxide emissions embedded in their products. If those emissions exceed EU standards, they must pay a levy.

The policy, known as the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), is designed to ensure foreign producers face a carbon cost similar to that already paid by European companies under the EU’s internal emissions trading system.

Some trading partners argue the measure restricts trade and favours European manufacturers. The EU says the system encourages cleaner production because countries can avoid the levy by imposing an equivalent carbon price on their own industries.

"Pricing carbon is something that we need to pursue with as many as possible, as quickly as possible," the EU's climate commissioner, Wopke Hoekstra, said at the Cop30 UN climate negotiations in Brazil in November.

For more than 20 years, European producers in highly polluting industries have had to buy pollution permits if they fail to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

Until now, foreign producers were not subject to the same costs. European officials and economists have long described this gap as unfair competition that weakened EU industry.

Amazon summit seals climate deal without fossil fuel plan
Climate ambitions

The EU says the aim of the border tax is to incentivise heavy industry to decarbonise and help combat global warming by correcting this imbalance.

Economist Christian Gollier said aligning the treatment of European and foreign producers was essential if the EU was to continue cutting emissions “without collapsing economically”.

The European Union has raised its climate ambitions, setting a target of a 90 percent reduction in emissions by 2040.

“To achieve these objectives, we will have to increase incentives for decarbonisation and therefore we will have to increase the price of carbon,” Gollier told RFI. “If we don’t correct this inequity in the market with these importers who wouldn’t pay this increasingly high price, it won’t be possible.”

Carbon pricing has already pushed European polluting industries to change how they produce goods, said Frédéric Ghersi, a climate policy specialist at France’s National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS).

“Either foreign producers adapt their production processes and continue to sell as much in Europe, or European production will have to compensate for the reduced imports from these more polluting countries,” he said.

From the perspective of controlling global emissions, the measure “seems effective”, Ghersi added.

He said the overall impact could remain limited because the number of products covered by the border tax is relatively small.

Mixed global response

Aurora D'Aprile, who studied the global response to CBAM for the Swiss-based International Emissions Trading Association, told French news agency AFP there had been "a clear step change in the reaction" over the past 12 months.

“Several key trade partners of the European Union actively expanded their carbon-pricing schemes, for instance China, or launched emissions trading schemes after being in the making for many years, such as Turkey,” she told AFP.

Japan has cited the EU measure in its reasoning for advancing its own climate policies, said Nicolas Berghmans, a climate and energy researcher at the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations in Paris.

The United Kingdom and Canada are also considering similar mechanisms.

Record surge in CO2 puts world on track for more long-term warming

Diplomatic pushback

The CBAM – originally adopted by the EU in 2022 – was not the only influencing factor on other countries, says Marios Tokas, a trade lawyer at the Brussels-based law firm Cassidy Levy Kent.

But given the size of the European market it "sharpened" the urgency of the global policy response.

Russia has argued the policy breaches global trade rules and has taken its complaint to the World Trade Organisation. China and other emerging economies have criticised what they call a “unilateral trade measure” and pushed to place the issue on the agenda at the Cop30 climate talks in November.

But criticism at a global level "doesn't mean that the action on the compliance or adaptation side" isn't also being undertaken, said D'Aprile, pointing in particular to China.

Georg Zachmann, a specialist in European energy and climate policy at the Brussels-based think tank Bruegel, said the border tax could be described as “a political success for the EU”.

He told AFP that its long-term impact would depend on how many countries introduce their own carbon pricing schemes and how effective those policies prove to be.

D’Aprile cautioned against declaring victory before the EU finalises and implements the remaining “complex” steps of the system. Berghmans said differing carbon pricing schemes would pose “a big challenge” in the years ahead.

“We will have to support progress with a significant diplomatic effort,” he said.

Some European industrial groups have also raised concerns that foreign producers could under-report the emissions linked to their products, undermining the system’s effectiveness.

Tech campaigner decries US 'punishment' after visa sanctions

Washington (United States) (AFP) – British tech campaigner Imran Ahmed on Friday decried a US visa ban as "punishment" for his organization's work combating disinformation and holding major online platforms accountable, telling AFP that Washington's actions amounted to "tyrannical behavior."


Issued on: 02/01/2026 - RFI

Imran Ahmed was among five European figures whom the State Department recently said would be denied visas © Brendan Smialowski / AFP


Ahmed, a US permanent resident, heads the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), a nonprofit watchdog that researches the harmful effects of online disinformation. He was among five European figures whom the State Department recently said would be denied visas.

The department accused the group of attempting to "coerce" tech platforms into censoring Americans' viewpoints, a charge they reject. The European Union and several member states strongly condemned the US sanctions.

The US announcement came after the International Fact-Checking Network said last month it was "deeply concerned" by reports the State Department had instructed staff to deny visas to people engaged in fact-checking and content moderation.

AFP spoke with Ahmed after he sued President Donald Trump's administration in a New York court.

The interview was edited for length and clarity.

QUESTION: How do you interpret the US visa restrictions over "censorship" concerns?

ANSWER: This appears to be a punishment for my advocacy and for the research that CCDH does, looking into social media platforms, looking into AI platforms, identifying harms, informing the public, and then urging lawmakers and regulators, both in the US and globally, to take action.

Governments are the only entity that can censor people with the threat of overwhelming force. A nonprofit speaking -- that's the opposite of censorship. That's what the First Amendment is there to protect -- our ability to speak, without fear or favor. However, in this instance, it does appear that I'm being punished precisely for my speech, which would be an act of censorship.

QUESTION: How do you seek to challenge the visa ban?

ANSWER: What we've done initially is take up a restraining order against the government to prevent them from taking any action against me, detaining me or arresting me, and that's important, because previously, when the Trump administration has sought to cancel green cards for legal permanent residents, it has arrested them through ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement). It has sent them hundreds or thousands of miles away from their friends, family and support networks. And we wanted to make sure that did not happen in this instance.

The first Trump administration was under no obligation to award me an extraordinary ability visa, and it did. My green card (permanent residency) has been given to me because I'm married to a US citizen and I have American children now, and they have to abide by both the law and the constitution in how they treat me as a legal permanent resident, and that's precisely why we've gone to court.

QUESTION: Why has disinformation research emerged as a political lightning rod?

ANSWER: We do vital research that shows the potential harms of online platforms, and we know that that puts the noses out of joint for some very powerful people.

In the past, we've been sued, for example, by Elon Musk, which was unsuccessful for him. And so we expect this kind of scrutiny from big tech. What we didn't expect was that the combination of big tech and big money means that the government itself is now seeking to punish us for our speech.

QUESTION: Musk, who owns the platform X, has praised the US sanctions, saying: "This is so great." What personal toll have the sanctions taken on you?

ANSWER: I think it takes a sick mind to celebrate a father being taken away from their children, or to call it great. Organizations like CCDH have done studies showing that the hate speech after Elon Musk took over that platform soared.

That kind of research is vital. It's a crucial part of American discourse. Advertisers have the right to know where their content is appearing next to and they have a right to take decisions as to where they place their adverts. That is fundamentally the freedom of association.

I have two jobs. I have one which is to continue to ensure that the watchdog brief of CCDH continues, and the second job is to make sure that we do not accept governments behaving in this sort of way. This is tyrannical behavior, and we need to ensure that we're standing up against it.

© 2026 AFP

Milei eyes regional LatAm bloc to tackle 'cancer of socialism'

Argentina's president says he is working with up to 10 regional right-wing leaders to form a bloc that will "embrace the ideas of freedom" and tackle "the cancer of socialism."

President Javier Milei said he is working with his regional allies to create a new bloc that "embraces the ideas of freedom" and confronts "the cancer of socialism."

In an interview with CNN, Argentina's head of state said that around 10 countries were interested in forming an alliance to coordinate policies.

"We haven't given it a name yet, but there is already a group of 10 countries we are working with and will continue to move forward," Milei told the news network in an interview, without naming the nations.

Milei said the bloc would take on "the cancer of socialism in its different versions, whether 21st-century socialism or woke ideology – not to mention the more extreme versions."

The remarks were made during an interview Milei granted to journalist Andrés Oppenheimer. The full recording, which was taped last week at the Casa Rosada, is due to be aired on January 11.

Oppenheimer later said on social media that the interview includes Milei's views on the crisis in Venezuela, Argentina's relationship with China and whether he "wants to perpetuate himself in power."

Asked about recent victories for right-wing or centre-right presidential candidates in South America, such as José Antonio Kast in Chile, Rodrigo Paz in Bolivia or Daniel Noboa in Ecuador, Milei told CNN: 'It seems the region has woken up from the nightmare of 21st-century socialism – people are discovering that it is, in fact, a sham, that the whole veneer of supposed goodwill is nothing more than a sentimental, lying and deceptive narrative, designed so that a group of outlaws can seize power and impoverish the population."

Milei has shown great ideological affinity with rightist regional leaders, voicing support for Paraguayan President Santiago Peña, El Salvador's Nayib Bukele and the recently elected Nasry Asfura in Honduras.

Outside the region, Milei has expressed his willingness to forge alliances with leaders including Donald Trump of the United States, Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, Viktor Orbán of Hungary and Giorgia Meloni of Italy.

During Meloni's visit to Argentina in November 2024, Milei said he wanted to create "an alliance of free nations, united against tyranny and misery," though that idea later lost momentum.

Milei is scheduled to take part in the World Economic Forum, which will be held in Davos, Switzerland, between January 19 and January 23.


– TIMES/AFP/NA

Understanding Iran’s protest chants: What are demonstrators’ demands?


Iran has entered the sixth day of protests that began with shopkeepers decrying the rising cost of living, but have become increasingly political as students have joined the demonstrations. The most popular protest chants are now directed at the country’s law enforcement and leadership – FRANCE 24 explains what the protesters are calling for.


Issued on: 02/01/2026 - 
FRANCE24
By: Bahar MAKOOI

Shopkeepers and traders protest against their economic conditions and Iran's embattled currency in Tehran on December 29, 2025. © AFP

A protest movement, which began in Iran on Sunday with a strike and demonstrations by Tehran's shopkeepers, continued Friday in multiple towns and cities across the country, with university students joining the protests. 

Demonstrations are spreading from major cities to smaller provincial towns and are increasingly fraught.

At least seven people died on Thursday in clashes between protesters and security forces in western Iran, local media reported. 

The Iranian authorities have ordered the closure of public institutions, placing much of the country on holiday, officially citing the cold weather and the need to save energy.

The discontent is not, so far, on the same scale as the unprecedented national protests seen in the wake of Mahsa Amini’s death in 2022, during which demonstrators called for increased rights for women and the overthrow of the Islamic Republic.

But videos posted on social media show demonstrators from different social groups taking to the streets to express widespread discontent and voice demands for political, social and economic change. Here is what they are calling for:

"Not Gaza, not Lebanon, may my life be sacrificed for Iran"

This chant, taken up by protesters in the early days of the demonstrations, reflects growing anger over Iran's foreign policy.

For decades, Iran has pursued a policy of regional engagement by supporting the militant groups Hamas in the Palestinian territories and Hezbollah in Lebanon. 

The protesters argue that these alliances are diverting resources away from domestic needs at a time when Iran is undergoing a severe economic crisis.

A sharp currency slide has crippled sales of imported goods – sparking unrest among Iran’s shopkeepers – while rampant inflation is affecting the wider population.

Prices rose by an average of 52 percent year-on-year in December, according to the Statistical Centre of Iran, and this average masks even more dramatic increases in the cost of basic necessities, fuelling popular anger against the regime.

"Don’t be afraid, we are all together!"

On the third day of demonstrations, a young woman, dressed in trainers and with her hair up in a ponytail, led a group of protesting shopkeepers through a throughfare of Tehran’s Grand Bazar.

With her fist raised, video footage shows her turn to the crowd behind her and shout: “Don’t be afraid! Don’t be afraid! We are all together!”

Her courageous rallying cry shocked bystanders and was immediately picked up by the other, mostly male, demonstrators. As the protest passed by, the person filming the scene was impressed. “Well done! That girl is so brave,” they said.

The words the female demonstrator used are familiar – they have been heard at protests in Iran for years. But the sight of a young woman among the bazar traders, who appear to be supporting her, shows how two separate strands of dissent are starting to intertwine.

The bazar traders typically belong to more religious and traditional sections of society, making them unlikely allies of the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement, sparked by Amini’s death, which calls for the end of repression and discrimination against women.

The joint protest in the Grand Bazar has been echoed in recent days by other chants calling for social unity. 

At Yard University in central Iran, female students gathered on December 30 shouted: “Iranians, speak up and demand your rights!”, “Don't just stand by and watch, join us!” and “Anyone who says they are neutral is dishonourable.”

READ MOREThree years after Mahsa Amini's death, Iranian women have seized 'irreversible' liberties

"Freedom! Freedom! Freedom!"

This chant, typically heard among university students, has resurfaced in recent days. In a video from December 30, students in the hallways of the Khajeh Nasir Toosi University of Technology in Tehran beat a rhythm with their feet as they chant the words.

Universities in Iran are under high surveillance but remain hotbeds of protest. Students from dormitories at the University of Tehran on Monday evening were heard chanting “Protest, free students! Protest!” 

Security forces quickly surrounded their building and blocked the entryways. But they could not prevent student marches spreading to a dozen other major universities in the capital the next day. 

"Police officers! Support us!"

Female students at Tehran’s Shahid Beheshti University attacked security forces who had come to break up a gathering in their halls of residence on Wednesday night with cries of “Without honour! Without honour!”, French journalist Armin Arefi reported.

The chant has been heard repeatedly at demonstrations since Sunday, breaking out near police roadblocks, during detonations of tear gas, and as the police performed violent arrests. 

It can be heard in a video from December 31 showing a student being apprehended in front of his classmates by plainclothes security forces.

Shopkeepers and traders who took to the streets on Thursday started shouting insults at police officers before their cries turned to an exhortation for the forces of order to join the protest.

“Police officers! Support us!” they chanted, hopeful that some officers might switch allegiance and tip the balance of the movement in the protesters' favour.

"This year will be the year of blood, Ali [Khamenei] will be overthrown!"

Young protesters were filmed shouting a direct threat to Iran’s supreme leader on January 1, in the city of Marvdasht in southern Iran. The video has since been shared widely online.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, leader of the Islamic Republic, has long been the target of protesters' anger. “Death to the dictator” is a popular chant in Tehran and other provinces.

At the University of Tehran, students were also heard shouting “Death to the principle of Velayate Faqih!”, openly criticising Khamenei’s vision of the Islamic Republic. 

Velayate Faqih (or the Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist) is a concept that gives religious leaders more power than their political counterparts and places the supreme leader at the head of State.

The chant targets not just the Khamenei but his entire political system.

Political chants have also referenced the former regime, which was led by Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, until he was overthrown by the Islamic Revolution in 1979. His son, Reza Pahlavi, now lives in the US and is a controversial opposition figure, supported by some protesters.

Chants of “this is the final battle, Pahlavi will return!” and “Reza Shah, may your soul rest in peace,” have been heard at some demonstrations.

Opponents of Reza Pahlavi point to his close ties with Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu. Israeli media outlet Haaretz recently reported on an influence operation aimed at reinstalling him as Shah during the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June.

Demonstrators who reject both the current and former regime have been heard chanting “Neither Shah nor Mullah [a title for Muslim clergy]”. 

Beyond political allegiance, the majority of protesters are united around a broader aspiration: to turn the page on the Islamic Republic and build a different future.

This article was adapted by Joanna York. Click here to read the original in French.