Mark Anderson

Some personal news: I'm thrilled to share that I’ve joined Bloomberg News as an Asia Technology Editor based in Hong Kong.

Ethiopia risks sliding into another civil war after Fano militias took control of several towns and cities in the Amhara region, prompting Addis to send in the army and declare a state of emergency. Western diplomats say Fano may have Eritrea's backing. buff.ly/44s3Syd

The African Development Bank has admitted that a $55mn integrity fund launched with great fanfare seven years ago has still not been put into operation and has not disbursed any money on its stated anti-corruption purpose. buff.ly/45pri87

We reported on the scandal three years ago for @OCCRP. A confidential Nigerien government audit into arms purchases from Russian, Ukrainian, and Chinese state-owned defence companies found the country lost at least $137 million to corruption. buff.ly/39ZXJP3

Niger's coup was launched after senior officials restarted investigations into the country's biggest ever procurement scandal, which diverted nearly half the defence budget, @Africa_Conf reports. Military leaders may have struck to pre-empt a fresh probe. buff.ly/3OUtFuo

The UAE has sent dozens of covert arms shipment to support Hemedti's forces in Sudan, the @WSJ reports. Abu Dhabi is likely betting on the RSF leader to protect their interests in the country, which include a stake in a planned $6bn port on the Red Sea. buff.ly/45o8beM

Nigeria's broad political opposition to military intervention in Niger has complicated President Bola Tinubu's efforts to find a way out of the unfolding crisis and re-establish his country as a regional force. buff.ly/3qqum53

Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum calls on the US and the intl community to “help us restore our constitutional order”. A successful coup will have a devastating impact on the entire central Sahel region, which could fall to Russian influence, he says. buff.ly/45cR0wr

The African Union demanded Niger's military "return to their barracks and restore constitutional authority" within 15 days as the EU intensified pressure on the coup leaders Saturday by suspending security cooperation with the jihadist-hit country. buff.ly/3q2WACT

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will use a Russian summit with African leaders to try to dissuade Vladimir Putin from attending next month’s BRICS meeting in Johannesburg while under ICC indictment for war crimes, his deputy says. buff.ly/3DfMLnY

Mozambique’s former Finance Minister Manuel Chang pleaded not guilty to US charges stemming from his role in a $2 billion bond fraud scandal that embroiled Credit Suisse and created a financial crisis in the African country. buff.ly/44HqxGZ

Chinese cyberspies hacked into email accounts at the US Commerce and State departments, including that of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, by exploiting a fundamental gap in Microsoft’s cloud, the @washingtonpost reports. buff.ly/3PRWlEY

Putin is trying to seize control of Wagner's global business and mercenary network from Prigozhin and his lieutenants, @WSJ reports. The group exports Sudanese gold to Russia, diamonds from the Central African Republic to the UAE and wood to Pakistan. buff.ly/3r9irbW

The US has slapped sanctions on four companies and one individual over their links to Russia’s Wagner group, accusing them of funding the mercenary force through illicit gold deals. The companies are registered in the UAE, CAR and Russia. buff.ly/3r7YVMT

Thousands of men who worked as intelligence operatives under ex-president Omar al-Bashir and have ties to his Islamist movement are fighting for the army in Sudan's war, @Reuters reports. An Islamist resurgence could worsen conflict and intl isolation. buff.ly/3JvdiBm

The Wagner Group has played a central role in a campaign of killings, torture and rape in the Central African Republic and has driven civilians away from areas where its affiliated companies have been awarded mining rights, @TheSentry_Org reports. buff.ly/3PxqOYJ

Kenya’s President William Ruto has called for the creation of a global green bank separate from the World Bank and IMF, warning that traditional multilateral lenders were “hostage” to rich world interests and unable to solve the climate crisis. buff.ly/43Tkboc

Militants linked to the Islamic State group have killed 25 students in western Uganda in the country's worst such attack in years, police and local officials said Saturday. The army said it was pursuing militants from the Allied Democratic Forces. buff.ly/3Jhs0vz

China is planning major steps to revive the country’s flagging economy, including the possibility of billions of dollars in new infrastructure spending, and looser rules to encourage property investors to buy more homes, @WSJ reports. buff.ly/42InGwe

An intensely hot summer and unprecedented drought are straining energy supplies in northern Vietnam, prompting rolling blackouts and sudden power outages that have led to "uncountable" losses among local firms and foreign manufacturers. buff.ly/43ZtMta