Abidjan — Ivory Coast’s Coffee and Cocoa Council has sold more than 400,000 tonnes of cocoa export contracts to local grinders in the 10 days since exporters resumed purchases for the mid-crop, sources at the regulator and exporters said on Tuesday.
Exporters’ association Gepex, which includes Barry Callebaut, Olam and Cargill, agreed on a solution with the regulator in late February.
Only 10,000 tonnes have been previously sold for the mid-crop due to a sharp drop in global prices, an official at the CCC said, highlighting “a great performance” after the resumption.
Last week, the world’s biggest cocoa producer cut the fixed farm-gate price paid to cocoa farmers to 1,200 CFA francs ($2.13) per kg for the mid-crop season, which started earlier than usual on March 1, in order to boost sales. Reuters
Group linked to al-Qaeda kills 12 Mali truck drivers
Dakar — Islamist militants from an al-Qaeda-linked group killed 10 long-haul truck drivers and two teenage apprentices who were travelling through Mali’s western Kayes region in late January, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Tuesday.
Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) attacked a military-escorted fuel convoy of at least 40 trucks, the HRW report said.
JNIM, which mainly operates in Mali and Burkina Faso, has emerged as the region’s strongest militant group. It aims to impose Islamic rule across the Sahel and extend its influence to coastal West Africa. Reuters
UN: Russia’s deportation of Ukrainian children a crime
Geneva — A UN investigation found on Tuesday that the deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children by Russian authorities since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of the country in 2022 amounted to crimes against humanity.
“In this report, the commission concluded that crimes against humanity and war crimes by Russian authorities have targeted children, who are among the most vulnerable victims. These crimes have irreversible consequences on their lives and their future,” according to the report to be presented to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Thursday.
The report by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine studied the cases of 1,205 children from five oblasts, or regions, in Ukraine and said that 80% of them have yet to return to Ukraine. Reuters
Chinese electric trucks to challenge Europe’s market in 2026
Antwerp/Sodertalje, Sweden — Chinese electric freight trucks are rolling into Europe at pace this year, following the trail blazed by Chinese EVs and threatening to upend the market with better technology and lower prices.
Reuters has identified more than half a dozen Chinese manufacturers planning to launch European heavy truck sales in 2026. They include EV giant BYD; Geely Holding unit Farizon; China’s top-selling electric truck brand Sany; Sinotruk; and startups Windrose and SuperPanther. Founded in 2022, Windrose will build trucks in Europe and is exploring U.S. production with Xos, which makes delivery trucks for UPS and FedEx. That would put it in direct competition with Tesla’s Semi big rig, which CEO Elon Musk recently said will start mass production this year, nine years after its 2017 unveiling. Reuters
Chocolate sales rise among US users of weight-loss drugs
Kilchberg — Chocolate sales are rising faster among US users of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs than in the rest of the population, Swiss chocolatier Lindt & Spruengli said on Tuesday, citing data that defied forecasts the drugs would reduce confectionery demand.
The company said an internal study, based on February data from market researcher Circana, found 15% of US households use GLP-1s, representing 17.5% of chocolate sales.
GLP-1s include weight-loss drugs such as Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro.
Consumers cutting back on high-calorie intake categories, such as pasta, pizza and potato chips, are still looking for some kind of indulgence, CEO Adalbert Lechner told a news conference on Tuesday.
“They are upgrading to premium products. Less is more — small rewards with moments of bliss rather than mindless munching,” said Lechner.
Lindt, which makes chocolate Easter bunnies, said US sales of premium chocolate increased among GLP-1 users by nearly 17% in 2025, compared to a 6.5% rise among non-GLP-1 users. Reuters
Islamophobia complaints hit record high in US
Washington — Record-high Islamophobia in the US in 2025 was driven in part by President Donald Trump’s crackdown against pro-Palestinian protests and immigration, a Muslim advocacy group said on Tuesday.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair) said it recorded 8,683 anti-Muslim and anti-Arab complaints in 2025, the highest since it began publishing data in 1996, compared to 8,658 in 2024.
Most complaints were about employment discrimination (12.7%), immigration and asylum (6.5%), hate incidents (6.4%), and travel discrimination like government watchlists and screenings (5.6%), Cair’s report noted.
Over the years, advocates have attributed Islamophobia to the September 11, 2001, attacks and, more recently, to anti-immigration sentiment, white supremacy and the fallout of Israel’s war in Gaza. Reuters
