South Sudan conflict The hungry emerge from swampland for aid

Thousands have been hiding from the fighting in swampland

Three years of civil war in South Sudan have driven thousands of families into the marshes of the Nile to hide from the fighting. A famine has been declared some parts. The BBC's Alastair Leithead has been to the rebel-held town Thonyor in Leer County, where people have been told to gather to get help.

They emerged from the marshlands of the Nile in their thousands, as word spread that help had come.

Forced by fighting to live on the isolated islands of the Sudd swamps, they have been surviving for months on wild plants.

Now they sat on the dry, cracked earth in long lines under a brutal sun - mostly women and children - waiting to register for the food aid which would be air-dropped in a few days time.

"We are only surviving by eating wild honey and water lilies from the river," said Nyambind Chan Kuar as she sat with 16 of her children and grandchildren.

"The fighting has been disastrous - children have been killed, they are taking our things, our cattle, our goats, taking everything, even though we have nothing to do with this war."

Each person is given a card that entitles them to 30 days of food rations when supplies arrive. Their finger is then stained with ink to avoid duplication.

"People are dying because of this hunger," said Mary Nyayain. "That's why we are here queuing for these tokens."

The town of Thonyor in Leer County was chosen as the central point for distributing aid after long negotiations with both sides in the civil war.

It's one of the four counties in Unity State suffering pockets of famine, which the latest hunger assessment says is affecting 100,000 people.

Leer is the birthplace of the former vice-president turned rebel leader Riek Machar which is perhaps why it has been the center of so much fighting.

People in Unity State say they have been eating water lilies to survive

Thonyor is controlled by the rebels or the "IO" as they're known - forces "In Opposition" - but the government troops are just 20 minutes up the road.

"The war has been so difficult for us," said another woman waiting in line for a cholera vaccination.

"Especially for the old women who are not able to run to the river to survive in the islands. Our cows and goats were taken so that's why we are only able to survive through the food agency."

Under each tree is a different medical post - with health checks for the children.

The worst cases of malnutrition are treated straight away.

About 36,000 people are expected to be registered - but the UN says thousands more are cut off by rivers or fighting

"You may think this child is actually very healthy - he's fat, he's looking OK," said James Bwirani from the Food and Agriculture Organisation.

"But this is just water accumulating in the body and he has not been consuming adequate food for some time."

The child has a distended belly and his face and limbs ae swollen.

"If left untreated for between a week to two weeks, this child is going to be dead," Mr Bwirani said.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) is coordinating this emergency response, expecting about 36,000 people to come in from the swamps for help.

But there are many thousands more who are too far away, cut off by rivers or in areas where the government and the rebels have not agreed to provide access.

"For many, many months humanitarian agencies have not been able to make it into this area. This is first time we're doing so," said George Fominyen from the WFP.

"Without safety, without assurance of security for the people that are in need and the aid workers, we'll be having a catastrophic situation down the line."

The UN describes this as "a man-made famine" - created by the civil war which has divided the army and the country largely along ethnic lines.

A political row between President Salva Kiir and Mr Machar led to killings in the capital and fighting which has spread across the country.

The war has displaced millions of people, many into neighbouring countries, and 40% of the population now depends on international aid.

Mr Machar fled South Sudan in July when a fragile peace deal collapsed.

He is currently in South Africa, unable to return but apparently still commanding his troops by phone.

Leer county commissioner Brig Gen Nhial Phan said there won't be peace until Mr Machar is allowed back to take part in a proposed national dialogue.

He believes President Kiir wants to drive people out of his county.

"The government kills people - their militia is raiding, taking cows, killing and burning the church and the houses, forcing people into the islands," he said.

There are scorch marks where the market used to be and the remains of a Medecins Sans Frontieres clinic, destroyed when the government forces took the town for two days last November.

By getting help in fast, aid agencies hope to pull this region back from famine and stop the famine from spreading - if they are allowed to access to the worst affected areas.

Mekseb Debesay wins Tour de Langkawi stage 4th

Mekseb Debesay Wins

The 4th stage, and Queen stage of the Tour de Langkawi couldn’t have gone any better for Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka as Mekseb Debesay won a top the Cameron Highlands. Cameron Bayley (IsoWhey Sports) was 2nd with our African Team’s race leader, Ryan Gibbons taking third on the stage and kept the overall race lead.

The 4th stage of the Tour de Langkawi was always touted as the Queen stage of this year’s race with the 30km climb up to the Cameron Highlands set to be the main decider for the overall classification. Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka couldn’t have asked for a better day, controlling the peloton for the first 140km of the stage, Nic Dougall and Adrien Niyonshuti were incredible.

When it came to the final 30km climb, the experience of Jacques Janse van Rensburg helped guide Gibbons, Debesay and Ben O’Connor in the lead group. As the peloton slowly started to lose numbers, the quartet from our African Team held firm. With 5km to go, the main group was down to just 15 riders and all 4 Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka were there, and in control.

The Colombian climbers in the group set a tough pace over the closing kilometers which whittled the group down further still. Gibbons would lose contact with the leaders periodically but Janse van Rensburg was on hand to drop back and pace him back to the head of the race. The most telling attack came at 1km to go when Bayley made a surge for victory. Debesay was onto him in a flash though and as a small gap opened up, Debesay was in a prime position sitting on the Australian’s wheel.

As they reached the final 150m, Debesay was able to kick around Bayley to take a fantastic victory. Today’s stage win is the first professional win for our 25-year old Eritrean. Gibbons led the main group home to take 3rd on the stage, and kept the overall race leader’s yellow jersey. O’Connor took 6th place, also a fine performance by the first year pro. Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka now have 3 riders in the top 10 overall and are in 2nd place in the team competition but joint on time with IsoWhey Sports.

Mekseb Debesay – Rider
I am very happy. Today was not an easy day but for us that was very good. There were some very good riders on the final climb and they were attacking us but we did just what the team asked of us. The sprint finish was really good for me. With 1km to go the Iso rider attacked and I followed him. I was feeling comfortable and confident and right in the final I could beat him. 

Ryan Gibbons – Rider
Today went perfectly for us, the team was absolutely amazing. We sat on the front all day and in the final we had 4 of us up the climb. We couldn’t have asked for anything better, Mekseb 1st, me 3rd and keeping the jersey makes us all very happy. The last climb was really hard and I was in the red the whole time. I kept getting distanced but nobody committed when attacking so fortunately I could keep on getting back to the group, slowly but surely. Only right at the end Cam and Mekseb got away, I am happy with 3rd and to keep the jersey which we will hopefully keep right to the end now.  

White House blocks news organizations from press briefing

CNN blocked from White House press briefing

CNN and other news outlets were blocked on Friday from attending an off-camera White House press briefing that other reporters were hand-picked to attend, raising alarm among media organizations and First Amendment watchdogs.

The decision struck veteran White House journalists as unprecedented in the modern era, and escalated tensions in the already fraught relationship between the Trump administration and the press.

The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Politico and BuzzFeed were also among those excluded from the meeting, which was held in White House press secretary Sean Spicer's office. The meeting, which is known as a gaggle, was held in lieu of the daily televised Q-and-A session in the White House briefing room.

When reporters from these news organizations tried to enter Spicer's office for the gaggle, they were told they could not attend because they were not on the list of attendees.

In a brief statement defending the move, administration spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said the White House "had the pool there so everyone would be represented and get an update from us today."

The White House press pool usually includes representatives from one television outlet, one radio outlet and one print outlet, as well as reporters from a few wire services. In this case, four of the five major television networks -- NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox News -- were invited and attended the meeting, while only CNN was blocked.

And while The New York Times was kept out, conservative media organizations Breitbart News, The Washington Times and One America News Network were also allowed in.

"This is an unacceptable development by the Trump White House," CNN said in a statement. Apparently this is how they retaliate when you report facts they don't like. We'll keep reporting regardless."

New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet wrote, "Nothing like this has ever happened at the White House in our long history of covering multiple administrations of different parties. We strongly protest the exclusion of The New York Times and the other news organizations. Free media access to a transparent government is obviously of crucial national interest."

The White House press office had informed reporters earlier that the traditional, on-camera press briefing would be replaced by a gaggle in Spicer's office, reporters in attendance said. Asked about the move by the White House Correspondents Association, the White House said it would take the press pool and invite others as well.

The WHCA protested that decision on the grounds that it would unfairly exclude certain news organizations, the reporters said. The White House did not budge, and when reporters arrived at Spicer's office, White House communications officials only allowed in reporters from specific media outlets.

CNN reporters attempted to access the gaggle when it began at about 1:45 p.m. ET. As they walked with a large group of fellow journalists from the White House briefing room toward Spicer's office, an administration official turned them around, informing them CNN wasn't on the list of attendees.

Reporters from The Associated Press, Time magazine and USA Today decided in the moment to boycott the briefing because of how it was handled.

Asked during the gaggle whether CNN and The New York Times were blocked because the administration was unhappy with their reporting, Spicer responded: "We had it as pool, and then we expanded it, and we added some folks to come cover it. It was my decision to expand the pool."

Several news outlets spoke out against the White House's decision.

"The Wall Street Journal strongly objects to the White House's decision to bar certain media outlets from today's gaggle," a Journal spokesman said. "Had we known at the time, we would not have participated and we will not participate in such closed briefings in the future."

"Selectively excluding news organizations from White House briefings is misguided and our expectation is that this action will not be repeated," said Politico editor-in-chief John Harris.

"While we strongly object to the White House's apparent attempt to punish news outlets whose coverage it does not like, we won't let these latest antics distract us from continuing to cover this administration fairly and aggressively," said BuzzFeed editor-in-chief Ben Smith.

The Associated Press said it "believes the public should have as much access to the president as possible."

The White House Correspondents Association also protested the move.

"The WHCA board is protesting strongly against how today's gaggle is being handled by the White House," it said in a statement. "We encourage the organizations that were allowed in to share the material with others in the press corps who were not. The board will be discussing this further with White House staff."

Related: Trump rips media, repeats 'enemy of the people' line

Hours earlier, at the Conservative Political Action Conference outside Washington, President Trump mocked and disparaged the news media. He said that much of the press represents "the enemy of the people."

"They are the enemy of the people because they have no sources," Trump said. "They just make them up when there are none."

He also said reporters "shouldn't be allowed" to use unnamed sources.

Read More

South Africa clashes at anti-foreigner protest in Pretoria

The Police mainly succeeded in keeping the rival groups apart

South African police have used rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannon to disperse crowds at an anti-immigrant march in the capital, Pretoria.

A low-flying police helicopter was deployed to break up a stand-off between local protesters and foreigners, with both groups armed with sticks, bricks and knives.

President Jacob Zuma said the protests were "anti-crime" not "anti-foreigner".

Many unemployed South Africans accuse migrants of taking their jobs.

Mr Zuma has condemned recent acts of violence and intimidation directed at African immigrants living in South Africa.

Earlier this week, angry mobs attacked Nigerians and looted shops belonging to Somalis, Pakistani and other migrants in townships around Pretoria and parts of Johannesburg.

"They [foreigners] should know that this they are a guest in my house. I am treating them with respect. They should treat me with respect," one angry protester told the BBC's Nomsa Maseko at the scene.

Nigerians in South Africa were "notorious" for dealing drugs, he added, calling for greater checks on foreigners coming into the country.

'Foreigners arrogant'

Somali and Bangladeshi immigrants in the western part of the city told the BBC that their shops had been looted during Friday's protests.

Shopkeeper Omar Adawi said it was the third time his business had been targeted: "I am not feeling happy... Now my shop is nothing. They took everything. I have lost everything. I have nothing left in my hands," he said.

Some protesters were driving around looking for foreigners

The main group behind the Pretoria protests, Mamelodi Concerned Residents, has blamed foreign nationals for taking jobs and accused them of being involved in prostitution rings and drug cartels, accusations denied by immigrant communities.

The petition delivered by the group to the home affairs ministry alleged worshipers from Zimbabwean apostolic churches, who congregate in the open, were "destroying our public parks", and accused them of defecating, urinating and burning fires.

It also said foreigners were "arrogant and don't know how to talk to people, especially Nigerians".

A Somali man armed with a rock is separated by police from anti-immigrant protesters 

But President Zuma said many foreign citizens living in South Africa were law-abiding and contributed to the economy.

"It is wrong to brandish all non-nationals as drug dealers or human traffickers. Let us isolate those who commit such crimes and work with government to have them arrested, without stereotyping and causing harm to innocent people," Mr Zuma said in a statement.

Speaking to media after the protest, the president denied that South Africans were xenophobic and that the event "was anti-crime in the main. It was not an anti-foreigners march."

"The number of foreigners in South Africa are far more than the numbers that Europe is fighting about... but nobody calls them xenophobic," he added.

The opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) blamed poor leadership for the unrest.

"The root cause of this rise in xenophobic violence is the ANC government's failure to create jobs and to equip our people with the necessary quality education and skills to gain employment," the DA said in a statement.

The home affairs minister announced plans on Thursday to inspect workplaces to see if firms are employing undocumented foreigners.

Police in Pretoria say they have made more than a hundred arrests in the past 24 hours, amid the unrest.

'March of hatred'

In a statement, they blamed a group from the Atteridgeville township in Pretoria, who were not part of the sanctioned protest, for this morning's violence.

The foundation of late South African leader Nelson Mandela says it was shocked at the decision by police to give the go-ahead for Friday's anti-foreigner protest, calling it "a march of hatred".

Official government figures say the number of immigrants in South Africa has declined in recent years.

Figures released last year said there were 1.6 million foreign-born people in the country, down from 2.2 million in 2011.

South Africa experienced its worst outbreak of violence against foreigners in 2008, when more than 60 people died.

Two years ago, similar xenophobic unrest in the cities of Johannesburg and Durban claimed seven lives as African immigrants were hunted down and attacked by gangs.

EAT FIRST President Mugabe

Eat First

Merhawi Kudus The Eritrean sensation dreaming of turning his love of riding into Grand Tour success

Eritrean Rider Merhawi Kudus 

Dimension Data's Merhawi Kudus loves nothing more than riding his bike, and now his trying to turn his ample talent into race results

Eritrean Merhawi Kudus sticks out, and rightfully so. The 23-year-old recently logged second place on a Valenciana mountain stage behind Nairo Quintana and battled with Fabio Aru, Rui Costa and Romain Bardet in the Tour of Oman. They are some of the best performances ever by a black professional cyclist.

Kudus comes from one of Africa’s poorest countries, with Eritrea reporting a GDP per capital of $754.90. Yet with his long, skinny toothpick-like limbs he will be riding with Quintana, Bardet, Aru and Alberto Contador – all from cycling-rich first-world countries – in the Abu Dhabi Tour. And this is expected to be the start of Kudus’s winning season.

“I can’t explain it,” he tells Cycling Weekly of his motivation. “It’s not about a contract or winning. It’s my habit, it doesn’t matter the race.

“When I jump on the bike to ride, I really enjoy it. Since I was a kid, I was really dreaming to be professional racing in Europe. I have it now. Now, I am dreaming of being a Grand Tour stage winner or taking another big win. That’s my dream.”

He is one of only a handful black African professionals. He and fellow Eritrean Daniel Teklehaimanot became the first black African professionals to race in the Tour de France in 2015, with Steve Cummings picking up a stage win on Nelson Mandela Day for their South African MTN-Qhubeka team.

MTN was promoted to WorldTour level in 2016 where they continue to race as Dimension Data, now boasting new names like Mark Cavendish. That top-tier licence opens the door for it to race in any event, and Kudus has now completed all three Grand Tours, including the Vuelta a España twice, and raced against every star.

“Now, it’s Aru and Bardet,” Kudus says of his star rivals. “Races like Valenciana are definitely motivating, especially with Quintana, who is already world-class among the GC contenders.”

A long way from Musanze

Kudus – with his welcoming smile, brown skin and cropped frizzy hair – came a long way from Eritrea. The third-world country is rich is cycling culture thanks partly to Italian colonization, but struggles to support any sort of infrastructure enjoyed by budding US or British cyclists.

When I first met Kudus, it was at the 2012 Tour of Rwanda racing for the UCI World Cycling Center's African branch. He blasted away to win the first road stage and nearly won the race overall. He only folded under pressure from the South Africa team.

One night when the race arrived in Musanze, famous for its gorillas living in the volcanic hillsides, I went to interview to Kudus in his room. It was filled with a jasmine or lavender scent from an oil one of his team-mates used to massage the other’s legs. Four of them bunked in the same room that night.

He mostly only spoke his local Tigrigna language at that time. He was shy and quiet, but had that same hair, smile and motivation you see today.

Merhawi Kudus With Eritreans-Fans

Afterwards, the head coach of the team and the Africa centre, J.P. Van Zyl stopped me in the hallway. “This kid, 18 years old, he’s going places,” Van Zyl said. “He’s a born cyclist. He was born with a brain for cycling.”

“I remember that,” Kudus says. “It was one of the first times out of my country, after only going to South Africa first.

“Everything was quite difficult for me. The communication, the food in the races. I’d only been to South Africa for three months and then we went to Rwanda.”

A couple of pieces fell into place for Kudus. First, he earned chance to race and train at UCI’s main development center in Switzerland and second, at the same time in South Africa, Doug Ryder was slowly building the MTN-Qhubeka team that would offer many Africans a path into the professional ranks.

Tour success

Kudus bases himself in Lucca, Italy, with the Dimension Data team and many other professionals, but he calls Asmara, the capital city of Eritrea in Africa’s east, home.

He lives in the city situated on a rocky plateau at 2325 meters. It is ideal because he sleeps at altitude and trains below. He cuts through the palm-lined streets with elegant buildings reminiscent of southern Italy and descends switch backed roads resembling those you would see in the Alps. He will ride to Massawa along the Red Sea and back up to the Kebessa Plateau.

“In December, when I was riding in the early mornings, there would be fog and it would cover the plain,” he continues. “I really enjoy those months. I ride through the fog and you cannot see in front of you. And then I descend into the sunshine.”

When Doug Ryder received the wildcard invitation from the Tour DE France, he wanted to make sure his team consisted of home riders as well as Europeans like Cummings. Kudus, then 21, made the nine-man team.

He was the youngest rider of the 2015 Tour, which was a success for Eritrea’s debutants. Teklehaimanot wore the polka-dot mountains jersey for four days, the first African to do so. The Eritreans following the Tour sang and danced loudly in their country’s colors

Merhawi - Kudus

The duo returned to a hero’s welcome, paraded through Asmara’s streets and greeted at the national stadium by President Isaias Afwerki. State television ERI-TV beamed the images live around Eritrea. Kudus’s popularity remains high.

“The big thing is communication when he’s back in Eritrea,” says Dimension Data coach Trevor Court. “They have to go to internet cafes and telephones don’t work at times.

“Sometimes, it’ll be a week or two until I can get training data from him and then it’s too late to make a change. Now, he’s going to the internet cafe to send his data almost every day. We are used to having internet all the time to interact. It’s a big difference there in Eritrea.”

“It’s totally different than Europe, where the internet is fast,” explains Kudus. “We have normal telephone signals, but we don’t have data. If you need internet, you can go to the internet cafe.

“That’s why I really like my country, because I need to be off the internet. We spend too much time on it.

“In Eritrea, I’ll go and check my e-mail and send my training files, but I’ll never chat. When you are in Europe, you are with your phone 24 hours a day. In Eritrea, you can switch off, no Whats App, just time with your family and friends. You can read a book or watch TV, or walk some where. We are not busy by the internet. I like it.”

Eritrea retains many Italian touches from the days when it was colonized. Cycling is one of them. Kudus’s dad started him down the road. He has one sister and four brothers, his younger 14-year-old brother shares the same desire.

The country has many local races and boasts around 1800 registered cyclists. At night, you can turn on the television at 9pm for news in the Tigrinya language. And every night, the general news is followed by sport: first cycling, then running and football.

“Asmara is really small, but I’m usually quite lazy after training so I use the car just to get to the internet cafe. Also because people are celebrating the cyclists and you have to hide out. If you’re walking around or on your bicycle, everybody stops you, so you have to hide and that’s easier 

with the car. In the coffee shop, I am left alone. I will give the owners five minutes or so of my time for photos. When I am busy, I have to secretive.”

The Lucca learning curve

Kudus and Dimension Data call Lucca home in Europe. He lives with Natnael Berhane in the small Tuscan town with around 50,000 inhabitants spread out from the city’s famous oval piazza. Mekseb Debesay is near by. Also Daniel Teklehaimanot, who now has his wife and child living with him.

Some Eritreans from Milan will travel to Tuscany with care packages and support every so often. Kudus relies on them, his team-mates, and of course Dimension Data’s support. He speaks some Italian. And his English, like his riding, has improved tremendously.

“I’ve been there for three years and it feels like my second home. I know where I can go and have fun. I’m alone, but not lonely,” he says.

“A girlfriend? Not yet. They call me because when I was in Eritrea, there were many ladies. That’s part of life, but I haven’t got it right yet. It’s not like cycling. It’s harder than winning a grand tour stage!”

Dimension Data scheduled him in several week-long stage races through the spring and summer. From Abu Dhabi, he heads to Europe and will race the País Vasco next. His programme includes the Tour de Romandie, the Tour of California, the Tour de Suisse, and some races like Coppi e Bartali.

“He’s keen to follow the big guys, staying with Contador and Quintana motivates him,” Court says.

“Over time he’s become more calculated. He’s so feisty, though. At the start, he would go after everything. It’s taken some time for him to learn to be calculating.”

Kudus agrees: “Yeah, you have to be calculated. You have to go off of power and watts.

“In the past, I’d follow any guys until there was a big explosion and afterwards I wouldn’t even be able to ride my tempo. So you just need to sit there riding close, but not in the red. Stay in the yellow.”

EU's 93rd birthday present for Mugabe - fresh sanctions

President Celebrating His 93 Birthday

As the world's oldest ruler - Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe - celebrates his 93rd birthday today, the European Union has voted to extend economic sanctions against him. 

The measures restrict travel, freeze assets and prohibit military trade between EU member states and President Mugabe, his wife Grace and the defence industry. 

However, the EU council voted yesterday to partially lift its arms embargo. It will now allow exports of explosives that are used in civilian mining and infrastructure development.  

The sanctions will be reviewed again next year. The EU first imposed sanctions on President Mugabe in 2002 following invasion of white-owned farms, alleged electoral fraud and violence against the main opposition party and human rights activists.  

President Mugabe says the sanctions have caused untold suffering in his country, and were part of a plan by the UK government to remove him from power.