Machar trial renews fears of civil war
Nairobi — The treason trial of South Sudan’s suspended first vice-president Riek Machar opened on Monday under tight security in the capital, Juba, with his lawyer arguing the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case.
Machar’s detention under house arrest since March has ignited fears of a renewal of a devastating 2013-18 civil war between his ethnic Nuer forces and Dinka fighters loyal to his longtime rival President Salva Kiir.
Machar’s SPLM-IO party rejects the charges against him and 20 others which include murder, treason and crimes against humanity for their alleged involvement in raids by the Nuer-dominated White Army militia in the northeast earlier this year.
At the special court, Machar appeared in a dark suit and cobalt blue tie behind a row of black bars, the first time he has been seen in public since his house arrest.
Kiir suspended him by decree earlier this month as the charges were revealed. Media access to the court, which was held in an event space often used as a wedding and concert venue, was restricted to the state broadcaster. Reuters
Putin willing to extend arms control treaty
Moscow — Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that he was ready to extend by one year the last arms control treaty between Washington and Moscow that limits the number of nuclear weapons each side has if US President Donald Trump does the same.
The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or New START, which caps the number of strategic nuclear warheads that the US and Russia can deploy, and the deployment of land- and submarine-based missiles and bombers to deliver them, is due to run out on February 5 2026.
Putin told a meeting of Russia's Security Council that he was ready to extend it by one year in the interests of global non-proliferation and to help spur dialogue with Washington about the treaty’s successor. Reuters
UK’s Reform party pledges tougher residency rules
London — Nigel Farage’s populist Reform UK party will make it harder for foreign nationals to move to Britain if it wins the next election, tailoring the system to higher earners with strong English and reducing the number of migrants.
Under the plans, Reform would scrap the current “indefinite leave to remain” status which migrants can claim after five years, and replace it with a five-year renewable work visa, which would prevent holders from accessing welfare benefits.
“There will be a route to citizenship, but a much tougher route to citizenship than we currently have,” Farage told a press conference on Monday.
Reform UK has just five legislators in the 650-strong British parliament but leads opinion polls, with 28% of people saying they would vote for the party, a lead of eight points over the governing Labour party. The next election is expected in 2029. Reuters
Britain warns over Russia incursions in Nato airspace
New York — Britain’s foreign minister warned on Monday that Russia’s incursions into Nato territory risked triggering an armed conflict, drawing an immediate rebuke from Moscow, which dismissed Europe’s concerns as groundless and hysterical.
Confronting Russia at a meeting of the UN Security Council, foreign secretary Yvette Cooper said: “Your reckless actions risk direct armed confrontation between Nato and Russia. Our alliance is defensive but be under no illusion we stand ready to defend Nato’s skies and Nato’s territory.
“If we need to confront planes operating in Nato space without permission then we will do so,” she said.
Over the past month, Poland, Estonia and Germany have taken action after Russian aircraft and drones entered their airspace.
The UN Security Council convened on Monday to discuss the issue. Nato consultations are due to take place on Tuesday. Reuters
Trump’s TikTok deal ‘will meet requirements’
Washington — President Donald Trump will sign an executive order later this week declaring a deal to divest TikTok’s US operations from its Chinese owner ByteDance will meet requirements set out in a 2024 law, a White House official said on Monday.
The US is confident China has approved the deal and does not plan further talks with Beijing about its details, the official told reporters on a conference call, but added additional paperwork is required from both sides to approve the deal.
The official said the valuation of TikTok’s US assets will be “many billions of dollars.”
The US government will not take a board seat or get a golden share in the new entity that will own TikTok US but it is unclear if the US government will get payments as a condition of approval. Reuters
SAP offers concessions to avoid antitrust probe
Brussels — SAP, Europe’s largest software maker, has offered concessions to address EU antitrust concerns related to its business practices, sources with direct knowledge of the matter said, as it seeks to stave off an investigation and potential fine.
Germany’s SAP is the world leader in enterprise resource planning software used by companies to manage their finances, human resources, supply chains, sales and procurement.
It has been on the European Commission’s radar for several years after some companies voiced concerns over software vendors’ complex terms and licensing conditions, bundling of applications that lead to higher costs and difficulties in switching to rival suppliers. Reuters
US government agencies to use Meta’s AI system
Washington — US government agencies will be able to use Meta Platforms’ AI system Llama, a senior administration official said, as the Trump administration pushes to integrate commercial AI tools into government operations.
The General Services Administration (GSA), the government's purchasing arm, will add Llama to its list of approved AI tools for federal agencies, said Josh Gruenbaum, the GSA’s procurement lead, in an interview ahead of announcing the initiative.
Agencies will then be able to experiment with Llama, a free tool, with GSA's assurance that it meets the government's security and legal standards.
Llama is a large language model capable of processing data, including text, video, images and audio. Reuters
Ecuador may become second-largest grower of cocoa
London — Ecuador is on course to produce more than 650,000 tonnes of cocoa in the 2025/26 season and could surpass Ghana as the world’s second-largest grower of the chocolate ingredient, the chair of the country’s cocoa exporters association said.
Anecacao’s Ivan Ontaneda said via email that thanks to soaring world cocoa prices, farmers — backed by the public and private sector — are investing more and more in their plots and getting increased yields.
Cocoa prices more than doubled last year, reaching record highs above $12,000/tonne after failed harvests and disease in West African producers Ivory Coast and Ghana, which supply about half of the world’s cocoa. Reuters
Argentina to remove export taxes on grains
Buenos Aires — Argentina will remove export taxes on all grains for more than a month to boost the supply of dollars during that period, government spokesperson Manuel Adorni said on Monday.
Argentina is the world’s top exporter of soya bean oil and meal and the third-largest exporter of maize.
The measure will include grains and by-products such as soya bean oil and meal, according to the country’s Official Gazette. Reuters
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