By Erika Noely Moreno, trans activist from Argentina 9 August 2025 Erika Noeli Moreno, a member of Las Historicas, leads an event at the Plaza de Mayo, in front of the Government Palace in Buenos Aires on 24 May 2025. ©Josefina Salomon Content Warning: This story includes examples of discrimination and abuse towards trans women.   We are publishing these details to bear witness to Erika’s experience and evoke positive change for trans women in Argentina.   Erika Noely Moreno is a trans woman and human rights activist from Argentina. She has lived in Ushuaia, in the south of the country, for 30 years and was one of the first trans women to change her gender on her ID card. She is also part of Las Históricas, a movement of older trans women demanding reparations for the discrimination and violence they suffered for much of their lives. She says that authoritarian governments are putting all of their wins at risk, but that today they are more active and determined than ever. This is her story.   I am a survivor. I have been surviving since I was five years old. Just by existing as a trans child, I was already a human rights activist. I was born in 1974, just before the military dictatorship began in Argentina (1976-1983). Those were very difficult times. My family and I moved out of the capital of Córdoba because life there became very hard. When I was 12, we moved to Villa Maria, another city, but that’s where the real hell began because it was a place where there was a lot of discrimination. It was then that I was forced into the closet, but it didn’t last long. I always say that I began my transition at the age of five and finished it at 18. I went to Buenos Aires for a while and then I moved back to Córdoba to live alone.   ‘I was trapped’   In the city, I was a sex worker. I was locked in a private apartment 24 hours a day, where sex was exchanged for money. I had no contact with society because I knew that if I went out on the street, I would end up in prison or dead, so I stayed inside, always having to be available for clients. If someone arrived at 3 a.m., I had to wake up and serve them.   I feel I was trapped in that system, which is imposed on us because of the lack of opportunities, for two years. Then I went out to work on the streets for a few months, and it was very difficult because the police treated us very badly. That’s when I met someone who was looking for people to work in bars in Río Gallegos, in Patagonia. I didn’t think twice and I went with him. Two years later I came to Ushuaia to do the same thing. There was a lot of work because many men came to the ports in the city.  Life in Ushuaia   Things were a little different in Ushuaia. People accepted me because I commanded respect. Soon after, I met a hairdresser who offered me a job, and I stayed with them for eight years. People fell in love with me, and that changed my life.   I came to Ushuaia for 15 days and stayed for 30 years. Now I’m married, I have my husband and the whole city is my family. But this is not the same as what happens to other trans women, particularly the older ones many of whom are still trying to survive by working on street corners.  In 2012, when the gender identity law was passed, the government of Tierra del Fuego wanted to give the first ID card to someone from the community. I told them that there was another trans woman, Laura Aixa Xuxú Aguilar Millacahuin, who had transitioned in her place of birth, which is very difficult. So, they gave us both our new I Ds together ( Laura was murdered by her ex-partner in 2013 ) .    For us, the only option has always been to fight. We are survivors. Nothing can stop us.  Las Históricas In Argentina, much progress has been made in terms of trans rights, but there is still a long way to go and now everything is in jeopardy.   Trans women have very difficult stories and now, those of us who have survived discrimination, violence, police beatings and murders are still demanding justice and reparations.   Las Históricas is a collective that was formed many years ago by these survivors. One day they were walking together and said, “We are still alive, we are the historic ones.”  My comrades adopted me, they opened their doors to me. They are my sisters, my aunts, my mothers, and we work for justice on behalf of ourselves and our dead. We fight in the streets, we occupy public spaces, and we work to change the laws.  The reality of life as a trans person in Argentina   We fought and won laws such as gender identity, for the non-binary ID cards, equal marriage and the quota for  trans workers in the public sector , but there are many of our sisters who still cannot find work. We work all our lives and we are an active part of society, but we continue to be the outcasts of a society that continues to punish us for who we are, for our identities. We have been expelled from the education system, from the justice system. We have been killed, we have been expelled from the private sector, we have been discriminated everywhere – it is for all this and more that we demand reparations. Older trans people wake up in the morning and ask themselves, “What am I going to do to eat today?” Many continue to have to exchange sex for money. We are still in the same situation. ‘We have seen it all’ I am 51 years old, but sometimes I feel like I am 300, with everything I have been through. Imagine those who are 60 and 70. We have been through everything, physically and psychologically. We have seen it all. But now we are seeing a change in society. People are understanding us more because everyone in Argentina is losing their rights. This was clearly seen with the global anti-fascist march. When we heard Milei’s speech in Davos we said “no!” and that was a tipping point. We are activists all the time. As soon as I leave the house, I educate everyone I talk to about our struggle and all the struggles of others like us. ‘Not just banners’ Trans women have nothing to lose because we have already lost everything. Without the strength we have, we would not have survived. We are indomitable and they will never silence us.   To the younger generations, I say that much progress has been made, but there is still a long way to go. You have to participate, occupy political spaces, raise your voices in the streets.   And to trans youth, I say that we are here to take care of you, to protect you and encourage you to fight, to fight for your rights and to occupy political spaces to achieve real public policies, not just banners.  This story was originally published in  ElDiarioAr . © 2025 Amnesty International

By Reuters, August 5th, 2025. A graffiti is seen near the UN-controlled buffer zone in Nicosia, Cyprus July 17, 2025. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou/File Photo Decades-old property disputes stemming from Cyprus's unresolved division are stirring tensions on the island, threatening to derail fragile progress in United Nations-led reconciliation attempts. Recent detentions on both sides over disputed property claims have exposed the enduring grievances of tens of thousands of internally displaced people. "I'm very concerned. I fear the property issue will cause major problems in the coming months," outgoing U.N. envoy Colin Stewart said in an interview with Turkish Cypriot daily Yeni Duzen. Five Greek Cypriots have been in Turkish Cypriot custody since July 19 and face charges of trespass for visiting Trikomo, a predominantly Greek Cypriot area before the island was split by a Turkish invasion in 1974, triggered by a brief Greek-inspired coup. Now known by the Turkish name Iskele, it has attracted considerable development in recent years. A property developer active in the region holding joint Israeli and Turkish citizenship has been in custody for more than a year in Cyprus's south on accusations of cashing in on Greek Cypriot properties. In May, a court jailed two people from Hungary for brokering sales of Greek Cypriot-owned properties in the north. Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides called the arrest of the Greek Cypriots an "act of piracy". In response, Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar - who had previously accused Greek Cypriots of weaponising the property issue by prosecuting the developer - criticised Christodoulides for showing disrespect to Turkish Cypriots and the judicial process. Both are key players in a U.N.-backed process to foster trust-building between Cyprus's Greek and Turkish communities, but progress has been slow. The cases highlight the complexity and sensitivity over territory on the island, where the seeds of partition were sown after independence from Britain in the early sixties, when a power-sharing administration fell apart. Most people who fled communal conflict could never return, and in many cases in the north properties were re-distributed."This underlines the need for a settlement, because the only way to address the property issue is to solve the Cyprus problem," a diplomatic source told Reuters. Reporting By Michele Kambas; Editing by Alex Richardson © 2025 Reuters.

By UN News, August 10th, 2025. © UNOCHA/Ali Haj Suleiman | A building burns in Sweida City in western Syria, as hostilities broke out during July 2025. Unrest began on 12 July when mutual kidnappings escalated into armed conflict between Druze groups and Bedouin tribes, drawing in Syrian security forces. The violence spiralled, with reports of extrajudicial executions, desecration of corpses and looting. Footage circulated widely on social media fanned sectarian tensions and disinformation. Nearly 200,000 displaced In a presidential statement adopted on Sunday, ambassadors said they were “deeply concerned” by the recent fighting, which has included “mass killings” and led to the internal displacement of some 192,000 people. The Council “strongly condemns the violence perpetrated against civilians…and calls on all parties to adhere to the ceasefire arrangement and to ensure the protection of the civilian population.” The 15-member body reminded all sides of their obligations under human rights and international humanitarian law, stressing in particular the duty to “respect and protect” all medical and humanitarian personnel. Council members urged all parties to allow “full, safe, rapid and unhindered humanitarian access” to affected communities in the heavily-Druze Sweida area and across Syria, in line with the principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence. They also underscored the need to ensure the humane treatment of all combatants, including those who have surrendered, are wounded, detained, or have laid down their arms. Protection for all The statement called on the Syrian interim authorities to protect all Syrians “regardless of ethnicity or religion” and warned that “there can be no meaningful recovery in Syria without genuine safety and protection for all Syrians.” The Council welcomed the interim authorities’ condemnation of the violence and their commitment to investigate those responsible, but urged them to ensure “credible, swift, transparent, impartial, and comprehensive investigations… in line with international standards.” Reaffirming resolutions including 2254 (2015), the Council reiterated its “strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic” and called on all States to avoid “negative or destructive interference” that could further destabilise the country. The statement also recalled the 1974 Disengagement Agreement and the mandate of the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) tmonitoring and patrolling the contested Golan on the Syria-Israel border, urging all parties to abide by its terms to maintain calm. On the threat of terrorism, the Council cited the latest report of its Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team, voicing “grave concern over the acute threat posed by foreign terrorist fighters” in Syria. It urged the country to take decisive measures against ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida, in line with relevant resolutions. Looking ahead, the Council repeated its call for “an inclusive, Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process” based on resolution 2254, to safeguard the rights of all Syrians and enable them to “peacefully, independently and democratically determine their futures.” ©UN News, 2025.

Mr. Kasuwa Paje, a civilian guard injured in Margif, Mushere on August 5th. Credit Kopmut Monday Shadrach. Fulani Ethnic Militia by the Hundreds Advancing Without Opposition: Eyewitnesses By Masara Kim In Nigeria’s Northwest, where the military has intensified operations, terrorists are reportedly backing down and opting for dialogue. However, in the Christian Middle Belt region, civilian residents endure daily assaults by militants who have reportedly seized control of dozens of communities and established camps, according to town leaders. Monitoring groups report that more than 500 Christians have been killed across central Nigeria since a Father’s Day attack left more than 200 refugees dead in the town of Yelewata in Benue state. The latest violence in Plateau State has targeted a farming area near the border with Nasarawa state, where terrorists seeking to overrun vast areas have established camps, according to tribal lawyer Farmasum Fuddang. TruthNigeria learned that at least five residents, including a pastor, have been killed between August 4th and 7th in a group of villages known as Mushere. It is the latest in a series of ongoing assaults displacing thousands in the Bokkos county (Local Government Area), Fuddang wrote in a press statement. “More than ten [local]villages have been completely deserted, with terrorists looting and demolishing homes and food storage facilities,” Fuddang wrote. “Across the [Mushere] district, crops including corn, potatoes, and sugar cane nearing harvest have been destroyed across thousands of acres.” Fuddang, who serves as the Chairman of the Bokkos Cultural Development Forum (BCDF) Vanguard, fears the militants are preparing to occupy these areas in the coming months. “The strategy apparently is to keep pounding the surviving communities until they are completely annihilated or they get tired and flee, enabling them to take over,” he wrote, noting that more than 100 people have been killed in ongoing assaults in the Bokkos county since April alone. The farming county known for potato production, borders Mangu, Barkin Ladi, Riyom, and Quanpan counties. In recent years, it has been a center of sustained violence by Fulani-speaking militants, including a six-day village-burning during the Christmas season two years ago. “Despite this, the world continues to overlook the imminent threat of annihilation faced by the remaining residents of Bokkos, whose presence at the border between Plateau State and Nasarawa State is the only barrier preventing terrorists from the Northwest and Northeast from overrunning Plateau State,” Fuddang wrote. Five Dead, Church Burned The latest violence took place between August 4 and 7, leaving five people, including a pastor, dead in the southern part of Bokkos, TruthNigeria learned. According to a local youth leader, Kopmut Monday Shadrach, the attacks in a group of villages known as Mushere started in the early hours of August 4, targeting returning residents who had been previously displaced by terrorists. “In the early hours of Monday, August 4, 2025, a troop of armed Fulani terrorists launched a brutal invasion on the peace-loving villages of Kopmur and Mbor at about 1 a.m.,” Shadrach told reporters in Jos. “The attackers unleashed unprovoked violence, leaving scores of villagers grievously injured, while Mrs. Rifkatu Ayuba tragically lost her life amidst the chaos.” Shadrach, the President of the Mushere Youth Movement, said the assailants continued their campaign the next day, August 5, targeting Margif Community. “There, they burned homes; raped women, destroyed cultivated farmlands, and launched a frenzied attack on innocent civilians. Approximately 12 individuals, including women and children, sustained varying degrees of gunshot and machete wounds as they fled for their lives,” he said, noting four additional fatalities including a Pastor were recorded as the attacks escalated the following two days. “On Wednesday, August 6, 2025, at about 4:30 pm, the terrorists escalated their atrocities by invading Ndimar Community in Ik’ngwakap, the very heart and headquarters of Mushere Chiefdom. This daylight assault left numerous villagers dead and saw the COCIN Church (Church of Christ in Nations), alongside several homes, set ablaze,” he said. Shadrach alleged that soldiers of Operation Safe Haven, a joint military task force located in the immediate vicinity failed to respond to distress calls. “These heinous acts occurred a few meters away from a military checkpoint at Horop Community, yet no intervention were made by the security personnel stationed there. The attackers were neither apprehended nor neutralized, casting a dark shadow of doubt over the efficacy and willingness of security forces to protect our people,” he said. A witness, Kasuwa Paje, who was among a group of 10 to 15 civilian guards defending the area with homemade single-shot pipe guns, recounted being overwhelmed by dozens of terrorists armed with assault rifles. “Those who invaded my house alone were more than 20,” Paje told TruthNigeria. “They shot me in the back and in the leg as I tried to escape, leaving me for dead,” he said. Paje was rescued by his friends minutes after the militants retreated. ‘Daylight Assaults’ Police and army authorities in Plateau State have not responded to queries from TruthNigeria. However, the Chairman of Bokkos county, Samuel Amalau, has defended a Forward Operating Base in Bokkos. “Residents confirmed that while the swift intervention of security agents on Monday morning helped to prevent what could have been a larger tragedy, Tuesday’s attack was far more devastating,” Amalau said in a press statement. “Eyewitnesses recounted over 500 armed Fulani militias descended on the community in a coordinated onslaught, resulting in widespread destruction,” he said, adding “What began under the cover of darkness has now escalated into coordinated daylight assaults, continuing from Monday through Tuesday with increased intensity.” Amalau condemned the attacks, stating, “This is not just an attack on Mushere—it is an attack on the soul of Bokkos. We cannot continue to watch our people be slaughtered and their livelihoods destroyed in broad daylight. Enough is enough.” Barr. Farmasum Fuddang fears that the attacks in Mushere could have wider implications for the entire state. He accused local authorities of not doing enough to stop the violence, which he believes could enable militants to “move freely from the Northwest and Northeast, where military operations have recently intensified, to capture territory and establish safer camps throughout Plateau State.” Fuddang claims that several communities have already been seized and turned into no-go zones for Christian natives, with abandoned homes belonging to the Berom, Mwagavul, and Ron ethnic groups now occupied without modification. He said government authorities have witnessed this land grab and ethnic displacement but seem to ignore it. However, Governor Caleb Mutfwang has recently established a committee to investigate claims of land seizures and has promised to recover lands forcibly occupied by trespassers. © Newspaper WordPress Theme by TagDiv

The state court accepted a plea from Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, who was sentenced to a year in prison and given a six-year ban on holding political office, to convert his jail term to a fine of 18,660 euros. Selma Melez, August 12, 2025 Milorad Dodik in the Republika Srpska parliament. Photo: BIRN. The Bosnian state court on Tuesday accepted a proposal from Milorad Dodik’s defence to convert his one-year prison sentence for disobeying the decisions of the High Representative, the international overseer of the implementation of the peace deal that ended the Bosnian war, into a fine. Dodik will now pay 36,500 Bosnian marks (around 18,660 euros) instead of serving time behind bars, as Bosnia’s criminal code allows. He is also barred from holding office as president of the country’s Serb-dominated entity Republika Srpska for six years. After the verdict was handed down, the Central Election Commission stripped Dodik of his mandate as president of Republika Srpska. However, the Election Commission’s decision can be appealed. Dodik described the electoral body’s ruling as “more bullshit from Sarajevo” and vowed to keep fighting. “Surrender is not an option,” he declared. Dodik was convicted on August 1 of knowingly defying decisions issued by the High Representative, Christian Schmidt, in July 2023. Bosnia’s international overseer had blocked implementation of two laws adopted by the Republika Srpska authorities – one preventing enforcement of state-level Constitutional Court rulings in the entity, and another amending legislation on publishing official acts. Despite this, Dodik continued legislative procedures in defiance of Schmidt’s decisions, pushing forward his secessionist Serb agenda and seeking to undermine state-level institutions. Copyright BIRN 2007

South African women celebrate Women's Day 2025 By Pregs Govender Women’s Day is a time to honour our ancestors’ love for humanity’s freedom, justice, equality, peace and dignity. Love inspired the courage to educate, organise, unite and resist those who stole land, water, abundant natural and mineral resources; those who killed and raped, silencing laughter and joy; those who manipulated culture, relegating thousands to apartheid’s barren Bantustans and ghettoes, home to those too sick or too old to continue serving white homes, factories, mines and farms. Dora Tamana, founder of the Federation of SA Women, motivated the women’s march in 1956, arguing: “We have seen unemployment, lack of accommodation and families broken because of passes. We have seen it with our men. Who will look after our children when we go to jail for a small technical offence – not having a pass?” Apartheid normalised the imprisonment, beating and criminalisation of “the dark peoples”, as then prime minister BJ Vorster described people in apartheid Israel and South Africa after being hosted by Israel in 1976. Today, flash floods and fires characterise climate change that endangers the world and humanity. Fascist forces deny yet exploit these and other real problems, including gender-based violence, corruption and unemployment, to destroy economies and countries – to unleash the “dogs of war”. SA is punished for its case against Israel’s genocide of Palestinian people at the International Court of Justice. The argument is that, contrary to Israel’s own recorded statements, there is no genocide and this has got nothing to do with us. If the women of 1956 had accepted that reasoning, women would never have united. Apartheid wanted to extend passes to women it classified as Bantu. The Federation of SA Women organised and united women that apartheid classified as Bantu, coloured, Asian and white. Lilian Ngoyi, Sophia Williams-de Bruyn, Rahima Moosa, Helen Joseph and 20 000 women embodied Martin Luther King’s internationalism, the idea that “injustice anywhere affects justice everywhere”. Women’s Day 2025 is the time to thank the insubordinate women of the 1956 women’s march and the generations before and after. The 1976 generation embraced Steve Biko’s call for apartheid’s oppressed to identify as black, not non-white. Many joined armed resistance wings of political movements, the trade union, community and women’s organisations and the United Democratic Front. The Federation of SA Women’s Women’s Charter inspired the Women’s National Coalition’s campaign during SA’s transition to democracy that ensured more than 2 million women influenced the negotiations and the final Constitution. After the democratic elections in 1994, black women who’d previously entered Parliament as cleaners, cooks and servers, entered as public representatives in large numbers. Women’s voices crafted gender-responsive laws, budgets and institutions. Apartheid’s draft Country Report to the UN Conference in Beijing had excluded African women in apartheid’s homelands, rendering them invisible. "SA’s final 1994 report recognised and included all the women of SA. The country’s new Constitution, laws, institutions and budgets upheld nonracism, nonsexism, dignity, equality, justice, non-discrimination; and substantive socioeconomic, civil, political and cultural rights. Statistics made crucial care work visible." From 1994, larger numbers of black people entered untransformed, unwelcoming higher education institutions, yet qualified as scientists, engineers, archaeologists, doctors, architects, digital experts and more. There are parents, mainly still mothers, who nourish and care alongside farmers, and healthcare and social workers. They are teachers, artists, poets, musicians, writers, film-makers and sportswomen who inspire movements, institutions and individuals across SA. They work for universal healthcare for everyone’s wellbeing, providing reproductive choice and ensuring no one dies of preventable illness. They work for food sovereignty and security instead of hunger; employment beyond poverty wages and precarious working conditions; and for comprehensive social security, including basic income and care for children, the elderly and those who live with disabilities. Researchers develop economic alternatives, including the full implementation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s wealth tax. There are those who work daily with survivors of gender-based violence and understand how critical it is to transform spatial planning that served capitalist, patriarchal apartheid, trapping millions of black South Africans in poverty. The absence of secure homes with water and sanitation, safe transport and paved, well-lit roads exposes everyone, especially women and girls, to the threat of criminal, misogynistic violence that needs urgent redress. There are workers trying to ensure decent wages and working conditions in increasingly precarious jobs. Often, they see beyond the specific areas, rights and issues they work on, to the intersections between their struggles in SA, across Africa and the rest of the world. They connect the dots between gender-based violence and the global misogynistic culture that enables the trillion-dollar arms industry to commit genocide with utter impunity, while using the power of empire to divide and rule. They see the dictators who destroy women’s rights supported by the US and the UK (which previously banned them as terrorists), and the resource wars beneath the lies of “liberating women”. Archbishop Desmond Tutu asserted that when the true history of SA is written, Lilian Ngoyi’s name must be written in “letters of gold”, not to deify her, but to understand the lessons of her leadership, including in the Garment Workers’ Union of SA, the Federation of SA Women and the ANC, and as an internationalist who understood the power of solidarity. Today, in the battle for our minds, hearts, institutions and history, our ancestors, including Tutu, are turned into cuddly teddy bears, the substance of their love white-washed and reduced to fudge. The Desmond Tutu International Peace Lecture in November 2023 took place 43 days after Israel had murdered 11 500 Palestinian people, most of whom were children and women. Today, that number exceeds 60 000 Palestinian people, not counting the thousands buried under their homes, schools, universities and hospitals by US, UK and German bombs and tanks. The horror of Israel’s weapons of starvation or of shooting children, like seven-year-old Hind Rajab who, alongside two paramedics, was killed after pleading for help after Israel killed her family. Palestinian feminist Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian calls this a reproductive genocide aimed at “unchilding Palestinians and the future”. "On the eve of Melinda Gates’ lecture on the theme of Women’s Voices on 17 November 2023, I’d written to the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation, quoting Tutu’s clear call for the freedom of Palestine from apartheid Zionist racism, Israel’s colonial settler occupation and ethnic cleansing." My letter quoted the voices of Palestinian women’s organisations, including their call for UN protection. It included Jewish and South African feminists like then international relations and cooperation minister Naledi Pandor, who took SA’s genocide case against Israel to the International Court of Justice, and Judge Navi Pillay, chairperson of the UN Commission of Inquiry into the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Israel. The letter ended with a call: “May Melinda Gates use her power to act for a just peace by calling for a ceasefire now, an end to genocide, urgent humanitarian support and non-violent boycott, divestment and sanctions, to peacefully end apartheid, as Tutu did, for Palestine.” Gates did not call for any of this. In her response to Gates, historian and author Athambile Masola spoke through her grief and anger at Israel’s genocide, honouring Desmond and Leah Tutu’s legacy. She said: ‘Why can’t we tell the truth about how hard it feels … we must have honesty … we can be courageous … it is possible to imagine that once upon a time, Palestine might be free … I do believe there will be a future … there are Palestinian children in the future … Sudanese children … Congolese children … African children…” The foundation’s CEO and chair’s Women’s Month statement does not mention SA’s International Court of Justice case or demand Israel ends its genocide, nor does it call for the release of Palestinians, including hundreds of Palestinian children who were kidnapped, tortured and raped in Israeli prisons every year, long before October 2023. In December 2023, a Love and Insubordination Podcast episode, titled Free Palestine and Humanity, added the voice of Queers from Palestine. My guest, Palestinian feminist Sarah Ihmoud, read Mosab Abu Toha’s poem: “We love what we have, no matter how little, because if we don’t, everything will be gone. If we don’t, we will no longer exist… Someday soon… we will be the trees that will give shade to children sleeping inside or playing on swings.” Govender is an activist and author To learn more about Pregs Govender's work visit https://www.pregsgovender.com/ © 2025 News24

Governor of Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State Credit: Facebook. Governor Sule Insists His State Is not a Terrorist Sanctuary By Ekani Olikita (Makurdi) Nasarawa State, rarely cited in terrorism news until recently, has gained increasing mention as a key staging ground for cross-border terrorist attacks in the neighboring states of Benue and Plateau. Eyewitnesses of the June 13-14 attack on Yelewata in Benue State claimed that the Fulani invaders originated in Nasarawa State. TruthNigeria had the most complete account of the massacre on June 14 and noted that the armed killers “came from Rukubi in Doma, Keana, Obi and other counties in Nasarawa State. The growing security threat centered in Nasarawa has been noted alarm noted not only in Nigeria’s Middle Belt but among international observers tracking ethnic and religious violence across West Africa. Nasarawa is in Nigeria’s North-Central region, commonly referred to as the Middle Belt—a geographically diverse area that marks the cultural transition from the predominantly Muslim north to the largely Christian south. It shares borders with Benue and Kogi to the south, Plateau and Taraba to the east, Kaduna to the north, and the Federal Capital Territory (which includes the city of Abuja) to the west. The state is roughly the size of Vermont and home to about 2.5 million people, split almost evenly between Muslims and Christians. The state is heavily agrarian and ethnically diverse, made up of over a dozen tribes with distinct languages and traditions. Nasarawa has recently become notorious as a haven for one dominant tribe, the Fulani, who number up to 10 million in Nigeria. Militant groups within this ethnicity —armed factions often associated with herder communities – have staged atrocities against Christian farming populations in neighboring areas, according to former Benue State governors, tribal kings, and Nigerian subject experts in the United States. Troubled History, Strategic Location Map of Nigeria, showing middle Belt Region Credit: Google. Nasarawa’s central position and level terrain have made it attractive to armed groups seeking access to multiple neighboring states. Its porous borders and overstretched federal police have allowed these groups to operate with relative freedom. Five counties within Nasarawa—Awe, Keana, Doma, Obi, and Nasarawa—lie directly across the River Benue from Benue State, one of Nigeria’s hardest-hit regions for ethnic and religious violence. These counties are now being described by local leaders as incubators and operational bases for Fulani militants. Fulani Militants and Their Targets Celebrated as semi-nomadic cattle herders, the Fulani ethnicity are spread across West and Central Africa. In recent years what was once regarded as a resource conflict has taken on the contours of religious extremism and Islamization. Sedentary farmers in five counties in Benue—Agatu, Gwer-West, Makurdi, Guma, and Logo—have borne the brunt of village burnings and massacres for years. Militants often cross the River Benue at night, raid villages, and return before dawn. Victims and community leaders say that attackers are well-armed and highly coordinated. Former Benue Governor Gabriel Suswam stated in a televised interview in July 2025 that most attacks in his state originated from Nasarawa. He accused Nasarawa of “harboring Fulani terrorists” who retreat across state lines after each raid. State Officials on Defense against Accusations Nasarawa’s Governor Abdullahi Sule has faced mounting criticism for what some see as a failure—or even complicity—in addressing the growing militancy. In 2024, the leader of a Fulani advocacy group, Bello Bodejo, claimed in a confessional statement that Governor Sule pressured him into forming a Fulani ethnic militia group, “Kungiya Zaman Lafiya.” The governor has denied the allegation, but Bodejo is currently on trial for terrorism. Professors, lawyers, traditional kings and civil rights activists—including U.S.-based academic Barrister Franc Utoo—have accused Governor Sule of providing safe havens for militants. Utoo, a native of Yelewata in Benue, claims that in 2022 he helped identify a Fulani terror camp just four kilometers from the village of Gidan-Sule in Nasarawa, which was later bombed by the Nigerian Air Force. Benue Attackers Originate from Nasarawa State: Paramount Ruler The Paramount Ruler of the Tiv Kingdom in Benue State, His Royal Majesty Prof. James Iorzua Ayatse on Tuesday, July 29, 2025, told the visiting First Lady of Nigeria, Sen Oluremi Tinubu, in Makurdi that the Fulani Terrorists killing the people in Benue come from neighboring Nasarawa State, corroborating the accusation by Prof Gundu and others. “Your Excellency Ma, our attackers come from Nasarawa State. After attacking us, they withdraw and go back to Nasarawa State,” Prof. Ayatse told the First Lady in the presence of state dignitaries and traditional council members meeting in Makurdi,” the King said. The visibly angry First Lady in her response, assured the people of the state that, their message would be delivered. For his part, Governor Sule has acknowledged that after some attacks Fulani terrorists were regrouping in Nasarawa and that weapons proliferation was a serious problem. Yet, he has also threatened legal action against accusers, insisting that his state is not a sanctuary for terrorists. Inaction and Civilian Outcry The Nigerian military has been accused of selective enforcement. Middle Belt Forum President Dr. Bitrus Pogu told TruthNigeria that while local Christian youths are arrested for attempting to defend their communities with shot guns, known terrorist camps are left untouched. The failure to conduct a comprehensive security sweep of Nasarawa’s forest enclaves is emboldening terrorists and further destabilizing the region, according to Pogu. Launchpad Crossings on River Identified Fulani Jihadists in Nasarawa State cross the Benue River to attack, kidnap, and kill Benue residents then retreat to their safe havens at identified crossings, according to a security expert speaking anonymously to TruthNigeria. Heavily armed gunmen cross chiefly from Obi, Keana, Nasarawa and Doma counties through Rukubi to Riverine communities of Kwatan-Bala, Obendo, Achepe, Olegokpa, Ijiwo, Otiya, Olegangbulu, Odenyi, Loko in Nasarawa State. The invading mercenaries attack unarmed farming families in Makurdi, Gwer-West, Gwer-East, Agatu, Apa and Guma Counties through the Riverine communities of Lower-Basin, Mbaku in Makurdi, Oleg’Ada’Gomowe, New Nigeria, Olegijamu, Ogbowu, Achukpa, Gidan-Pepa, Ogbaji in Gwer-West, Olego-makwu, Onahe, Ocholonya, Abugbe, Mwenyi, Adana, Olegadapati, Alada-Echono, Oweto, Okpanchenyi, Ikpele, Okpokpolo in Agatu County A Warning for the Region—and the World The fallout from this unchecked violence is staggering. Residents are leaving villages across Benue State in droves. Thousands have been killed or displaced, and economic activity—especially farming—has ground to a halt in many regions. Conflict analysts warn that if nothing is done, Nasarawa could become a permanent staging ground for extremist violence, destabilizing Nigeria’s entire Middle Belt and potentially influencing cross-border conflict dynamics in Cameroon, Niger, and Chad. © Newspaper WordPress Theme by TagDiv

COURT BATTLE Illustrative Image: Eswatini flag. (Photo: Freepik) | Handcuffed person (Photo: Istock) The Eswatini Litigation Centre, the Swaziland Rural Women’s Assembly and the Southern Africa Litigation Centre (Salc) based in Johannesburg filed an urgent application in the High Court of Eswatini on Thursday, 14 August, seeking to declare the secretive pact between the Kingdom of Eswatini and the US unconstitutional. Human rights organisations in Eswatini and South Africa have launched a legal challenge against the Eswatini government over its confidential agreement with the Trump administration to accept five hardened third-country criminals from the US. The Eswatini Litigation Centre, the Swaziland Rural Women’s Assembly and the Southern Africa Litigation Centre (Salc) based in Johannesburg filed an urgent application in the High Court of Eswatini on Thursday, 14 August, seeking to declare the secretive pact between the Kingdom of Eswatini and the US unconstitutional. The groups had previously threatened legal action if the Eswatini government did not back out of the deportee deal with the US. The application argues that the terms of the high-level agreement are concealed and have been implemented without public participation and the ratification of Parliament, constituting a violation of provisions such as section 238 of the Eswatini Constitution. “The circumstances under which this agreement has been concluded raise serious concerns about executive overreach, human rights and national security,” the organisations said in a statement on Thursday. Section 238 of the Constitution provides that international agreements, including treaties, conventions and protocols, require either an Act of Parliament or a two-thirds majority resolution passed in a joint sitting of both chambers of Parliament to become binding on the Eswatini government. The respondents in the case include Eswatini’s prime minister, its correctional services commissioner, minister of home affairs, minister of foreign affairs and attorney-general. ‘African nations are not dumping grounds’ The Trump administration sent five criminals from Vietnam, Jamaica, Laos, Yemen and Cuba to Eswatini last month, resuming the practice of so-called third-country deportations after the US Supreme Court rubber-stamped the practice in late June. The deportees had criminal records which included convictions for murder, homicide and child rape. Since returning to the White House, US President Donald Trump has embarked on a wide campaign to get countries to accept the US’s deportees. A New York Times investigation in June detailed how the Trump administration had been looking to get more than 50 nations, including Eswatini, to take third-country migrants. A Department of Homeland Security memo revealed that a US diplomat met with Eswatini government officials in March to push them to take expelled citizens of other nations, according to the publication. On Wednesday, 13 August, CNN reported that the number of US planes carrying Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees had “skyrocketed” in recent months, but these planes had become increasingly difficult to track. Most of the people on these flights had no links to the countries to which they were being flown, the publication reported. Following the five deportees’ arrival on 16 July, the Eswatini government confirmed that they had been detained, claiming that they presented no threat to the people of Eswatini. However, it has refused to disclose the terms of the agreement, other than to say the US was covering the costs of keeping the men imprisoned and that they would work with the International Organization for Migration to deport them back to their home countries, according to a report in The Guardian. Eswatini’s Prime Minister, Russell Dlamini, has, however, said his country is open to receiving more deportees if requested to do so by the US and if Eswatini has the capacity. In their statement on Thursday, the human rights organisations said the court application was a signal to the world that African countries would no longer act as dumping grounds for the Global North’s unresolved issues. “Powerful nations like the US increasingly outsource contentious policies such as third-country deportations to less powerful states, often through opaque arrangements that exploit economic vulnerabilities and bypass democratic safeguards. This litigation signals to the continent and the world that African nations cannot serve as dumping grounds for unresolved issues,” they stated. The Salc civic rights cluster lead, Melusi Simelane, told Daily Maverick that countries in the Global North, including the US, had been using African states “as conduits to whatever political gymnastics might be happening in the Global North”. The tiny southern African kingdom was spared earlier this year from Trump’s sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs that have hurt economies around the globe, and there’s been some speculation that Eswatini had agreed to accept the convicts in exchange for avoiding the trade tariffs. In addition to their request that the agreement be declared unconstitutional and invalid, the organisations are also seeking an order from the high court compelling Dlamini to make the terms and financial details of the agreement public. They are also seeking to interdict further deportee arrivals pending the outcome of the case. “Whatever agreement exists between the Kingdom of Eswatini and the United States must be public, [and] must be scrutinised by our Parliament,” said Simelane. ‘Destabilising international relations’  In the application, the organisations argue that the agreement between the US and Eswatini poses the risk of “negating international relations” with other countries. “An agreement to accept nationals from third countries who have no ties to Eswatini risks our international relations with neighbouring countries and the countries from where those five nationals are citizens. The agreement further risks the best interests of Eswatini and our commitments under international law,” read the application. It noted that South Africa had raised concerns about the agreement and its potential security risks for the country. In a statement on 5 August, the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) said it was “deeply concerned” about the profiles of the five deportees and the “potential adverse impact on South Africa’s national security and immigration policy, given the geographical proximity” between SA and Eswatini. It added that it had raised its concerns with the Kingdom of Eswatini. According to an SABC report , Pretoria summoned the Eswatini high commissioner last week to seek clarity on the agreement. Daily Maverick requested confirmation from Dirco spokesperson Chrispin Phiri, but a response had not been received by the time of publication. At a press conference on Thursday evening, Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said that engagements between South Africa and Eswatini on the matter would continue, adding that “there have been some assurances that have been given by Eswatini”. “South Africa’s concerns about the whole exercise are well documented and well known, and Eswatini has so far undertaken to ensure that none of those individuals escape their care and find themselves in South Africa,” said Magwenya. In response to questions from Daily Maverick, Eswatini government acting spokesperson Thabile Mdluli said: “We will allow the courts to do their job and can’t comment further on the matter since it’s now sub judice.” © 2025 Daily Maverick

Belarusian army servicemen. The photo is for illustrative purposes only. Photo: Vayar Military Information Agency Belsat By Anna Kaltygina August 5, 2025 A bill “On amendments to laws on military security and defense” has been submitted to the House of Representatives. The document has been published in the database of draft laws on the National Legal Internet Portal. It provides for amendments to three key laws: “On Defense,” “On the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus,” and “On Martial Law.” We outline the main changes. Armed defense as the basis of defense. The new version of the law “On Defense” explicitly states that the armed defense of Belarus is the central element of defense policy. Previously, the definition emphasized a combination of legal, political, economic, and social measures, but now the use of force is a priority. The tasks in wartime have also been clarified: in a conflict, the army must not only repel aggression but also defeat the enemy with the aim of concluding peace on terms that do not contradict the national interests of Belarus. Strengthening the role of the General Staff. The General Staff will be given powers to coordinate the entire military system - from planning mobilization to proposing measures to Alyaksandr Lukashenka in response to military threats, including non-military means of conflict resolution. It will also become the main body for interaction with other security and paramilitary structures. Updated tasks of the army in peacetime. The article on the functions of the Armed Forces significantly expands the list of tasks. Among the new ones are: prevention of internal armed conflict; participation in information warfare in the interests of the state; response to crises in Belarus and among allies; countering border incidents and provocations. The grounds for martial law have been expanded. Now, not only aggression against Belarus, but also an attack on the Union State or a member country of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) can be grounds for its introduction. The law also introduces the concept of “militarized organizations.” This will allow structures outside the Armed Forces, such as the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the KGB, or the Ministry of Emergency Situations, to be involved in defense. The bill is intended to bring national legislation into line with the new Military Doctrine approved in 2024. The bill must be passed in two readings in the House of Representatives and then approved by the Council of the Republic. After that, it will be sent to Lukashenka for signature. Once officially published, the new law will come into force. © Belsat.

For a fifth night in a row, protests in Serbia were marked by clashes between demonstrators and police – with each side accusing the other of provoking conflict. Katarina Baletic, August 14, 2025 Numerous members of the public, police officers and soldiers were injured on Wednesday night during another night of protests in Belgrade, Novi Sad and other cities. Clashes erupted between demonstrators, ruling Serbian Progressive Party activists and police near local headquarters of the ruling party, as they also did on Tuesday. The unrest followed previous clashes during the weekend in the northern Serbian towns of Vrbas and Backi Petrovac. The clashes represent the latest development in months of student-led protests that erupted last November amid anger over high-level corruption in the wake of the Novi Sad railway station disaster. Most of the protests again took place in front of local offices of the ruling party, where party activists had gathered. Riot police officers stand guard during an anti-government protest in Belgrade, Serbia, August 13 2025. Photo: EPA/ANDREJ CUKIC There is still no exact information about the total number of injuries, but dozens of photos and videos on social media showed members of the public who were beaten by the police. A student protest group from the southern city of Nis said that one student was severely beaten by riot police and later detained. They published a video on X of riot police surrounding the student and beating him, with one of the policemen striking his neck with his elbow. Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic in a press release on Wednesday night condemned “an attack on the state”, claiming the protesters had attacked the police for no reason. “There are many injured citizens, six injured police officers. Those who were heading toward the offices of the Serbian Progressive Party – the blockers, the demonstrators – were attacking both citizens and the police without any reason,” Dacic said. He insisted the police had responded with minimal force, adding that those who had attacked the police would be detained for 48 hours. Anti-government protesters stand-off with riot police officers during an anti-government protest in Belgrade, Serbia, August 13 2025. Photo: EPA/ANDREJ CUKIC Videos and photos published by the media and members of the public show various incidents in which police can be seen attacking and pushing people, including women, and beating people on the ground. Andrej Vucic, brother of President Aleksandar Vucic, was filmed entering a pro-government tent camp that was set up in the centre of Belgrade near the National Assembly in March. Andrej Vucic was filmed there calling the demonstrators “Ustase”, a pejorative expression referring to World War II Croatian fascists who killed tens of thousands of Serbs in concentration camps. In recent months, the ruling party has routinely used the term to slur opponents of President Vucic’s regime. Anti-government protesters stand-off with riot police officers during an anti-government protest in Belgrade, Serbia, August 13 2025. Photo: EPA/ANDREJ CUKIC Student protest organisers, meanwhile, blamed the government and police for the night of violence. “Tonight, the authorities tried through clashes to finally provoke a civil conflict,” protest organisers Students Blockade wrote on Instagram, adding that “the regime has long since determined the culprit – the students and the citizens are to blame”. “The state leadership no longer hides behind phrases about dialogue; the President has announced a purge,” they added. “The police once again protected the regime’s loyalists, who were throwing stones and launching fireworks at the demonstrators.” They called for renewed protests. A protester holds a banner reading ‘Truth’ during an anti-government protest in Belgrade, Serbia, August 13 2025. Photo: EPA/ANDREJ CUKIC Students Blockade also called attention to one incident in Novi Sad where fireworks were used against members of the public and a man was seen pointing a gun into the sky. After a video of the man with the gun spread on social media, the director of the Military Security Agency, Lieutenant General Djuro Jovanovic, on Thursday identified him as Vladimir Brkusanin, a member of the army’s Kobra unit, responsible for the close protection of officials. Jovanovic added that seven Kobra members had been injured in the protests in Novi Sad, four of them seriously. Brkusanin said later at a press conference that he and his colleagues were attacked on Wednesday night in Novi Sad by nearly 100 people, and he had fired his gun into the air when he felt their lives were in danger. “At the moment when they surrounded us from three sides, with a wall behind us, I assessed that my life and the lives of my colleagues were in danger. I used a firearm and fired a shot into the air in a safe direction. At that moment, the attackers scattered,” he said. A protester holds a banner reading ‘Your hands are bloodied’ during an anti-government protest in Belgrade, Serbia, August 13 2025. Photo: EPA/ANDREJ CUKIC Copyright BIRN 2007

People queue in a cemetery as they visit the tomb of Ilie Lacatusu, one of the Romanian Orthodox Church's latest saints, bearing the flag with the insignia of the Iron Guard, one of Europe's most violent antisemitic movements in the 20th century, in Bucharest, Romania April 13, 2025. REUTERS/Andreea Campeanu/File Photo BUCHAREST, July 11 (Reuters) - A Romanian Jewish legislator said he would return his national order of merit on Friday in protest after the centrist president challenged a bill seeking harsher punishment for antisemitism and hate speech in the country's top court. Romania's parliament  updated existing legislation  outlawing the celebration of fascist leaders or imagery in June at the proposal of Jewish lawmaker Silviu Vexler, introducing prison sentences for the promotion of antisemitism and xenophobia via social media platforms. The bill also raised jail terms for creating or belonging to racist organisations. Romania had one of Europe's most  violent antisemitic movements  of the 1930s, the Iron Guard, known for political assassinations and pogroms. The country was also an ally of Nazi Germany until August 1944, when it changed sides. The centrist President Nicusor Dan challenged the bill at the Constitutional Court, saying it raised freedom of speech concerns and arguing it did not include a proper legal definition of fascists or Iron Guard members, which would force judges to interpret the law arbitrarily. The top court has rejected a similar challenge against the bill by hard-right parties. "The impact of the Romanian president's act will directly or indirectly encourage continuing to promote Iron Guard ideology, the leaders of extremist organisations and inevitably antisemitism and all forms of extremism," Vexler said. The presidency did not reply to a request for comment. The National Order of Merit which Vexler said he would return recognises important civil or military services to Romania. Romania cancelled a presidential election in December after allegations of Russian interference – denied by Moscow - in favour of far-right contender  Calin Georgescu , who was later banned from running in the May ballot re-run and has since been  sent to trial  for promoting Romania's wartime fascist leaders. Dan  ultimately won the presidential re-run against a hard-right leader who had replaced Georgescu. Reporting by Luiza Ilie; Editing by Alex Richardson © 2025 Reuters.  All rights reserved

By  Monica Machicao  and  Lucinda Elliott An Aymara man bangs an empty utensil in a symbol of protest, as the country faces one of its worst economic crises in a long time, pushing Bolivian Indigenous voters away from the ruling party, in La Paz, Bolivia June 2, 2025. REUTERS/Claudia Morales/File photo LA PAZ, Aug 7 (Reuters) - The rise in power and influence of the Indigenous Aymara in Bolivia has been the country's biggest political shift of recent decades, driven by the success of former President Evo Morales and the leftist party he founded. But as Bolivia prepares for a general election on August 17, it seems increasingly clear that Indigenous voters are abandoning the ruling Movement to Socialism, or MAS, the party that once claimed to champion them. Voters from inner-city Aymara and Quechua communities say their loyalty to MAS has been eroded over the country's worst  economic crisis  in decades, and younger Bolivians in particular say questions of identity now loom less important. "Most Indigenous people are having to deal with how to earn money," said Sayuri Loza, an Aymara social media influencer and daughter of Remedios Loza, the first Indigenous woman elected to Bolivia's national legislature. "The need for economic stability, for education, for healthcare — none of those are being met," said the 42-year-old, who does not plan to cast her vote for MAS. Bolivia has the highest Indigenous population proportionally of any country in Latin America, at about 62%, according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. Made up of diverse ethnic groups, the largest are Aymara and Quechua, long the backbone of MAS, which has dominated the country's politics for nearly two decades. Now support for leftist and MAS-affiliated candidates is trailing the right-wing opposition. A July survey by Ipsos CIESMORI showed  Andronico Rodriguez , the leading leftist contender, with just 6% support in July, from 19% earlier this year. Another candidate of Aymara heritage, Eva Copa, stood down from the race last week. Such is the rout that the official MAS candidate is polling around 2%, while Rodriguez has distanced himself from the party. President Luis Arce  is not seeking reelection. Nearly half of the electorate is under 35 - a generation that has known no political era other than that shaped by Morales, Bolivia's first Indigenous leader, and Arce, his successor. Younger voters like Lirio Fuertes, 29, who runs a fashion brand and teaches the Quechua language on TikTok, said the party's promises fell short. "Indigenous identity was paraded in speeches, flags, and festivals," said Fuertes, who on social media goes by T'ikita Wara, meaning little flower in Quechua. "But it never translated into better healthcare, education, or justice." Loza, a historian who promotes Indigenous traditions on social media, also said public services and financial stability rather than her identity were the key drivers of her vote. Bolivia's emerging middle class, much of it Indigenous, has moved beyond identity politics, and the younger generation spanned diverse professions, said Bolivian sociologist Renzo Abruzzese. "Bolivia's social structure has transformed," he said. TENSIONS EMERGE The 2006 election of Morales was a historic moment for a nation where  Indigenous groups  for centuries had felt like second-class citizens. They were forbidden, until the mid-1950s, from entering the square outside the presidential palace. Serfdom was only abolished in 1945. Before his first inauguration, Morales received the chieftain's staff at the pre-Inca site of Tiwanaku, pledging to grant rights to the Amerindian majority. "Today begins a new era for the native peoples of the world," Morales said at the time, surrounded by Indigenous activists who had traveled from as far as the United States. Tensions first emerged with some Indigenous groups in 2011, when Morales  wanted to build a highway through Indigenous territory in the Bolivian Amazon. Protests broke out and relations between MAS and those groups suffered. Morales, who served three terms until 2019, is  barred from running  after a failed attempt to change the constitution to allow a fourth term. He is now in hiding in the coca-growing region of the Chapare, after a court in December issued a warrant for his arrest on child abuse and terrorism charges. The former president denies the allegations. Instead of standing for hope, Morales is now associated with disillusionment, Fuertes said. "Sadly, Evo Morales and this radicalized group that refuses to relinquish power have caused the Indigenous movement to be associated with anti-democracy, with corruption and abuse," she said. MAS did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. The official MAS candidate, Eduardo del Castillo, said last month that the problems in Arce's administration had been "identified." "There are people who believe in us and trust us," he told EFE in an interview last month. 'WALLET VOTE' This election comes as Bolivia faces its worst economic crisis since the mid-1980s. Natural gas exports have plummeted, inflation is at a 40-year high, and dollars are scarce. The boliviano currency has lost half of its value on the black market this year, even as the official exchange rate has been held artificially steady by government intervention. Urban, business-minded Indigenous voters were questioning the relevance of MAS, and many blamed the ruling party's spend-to-grow model for the downturn, said Quechua political analyst, Andres Gomez. "The 'wallet vote' is starting to outweigh the identity vote," said Gomez. It was still unclear, he said, how that would manifest on election day. Polls show conservative contenders Samuel Doria Medina and Jorge "Tuto" Quiroga leading the race, but neither commands more than 30% support, while around a third of Bolivians remain undecided. If no candidate wins the August vote outright the election will head to a runoff scheduled for October 19. Some Indigenous voters who are passing over MAS were also skeptical of the alternatives. "The right doesn't understand Indigenous Bolivia either," Loza said. Reporting by Monica Machicao in La Paz and Lucinda Elliott in Montevideo. Editing by Daina Beth Solomon and Rosalba O'Brien Our Standards:  The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. © 2025 Reuters.  All rights reserved