Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has accused Ukraine of trying to “destabilize” the Sahel region on Thursday.

Lavrov made the comments at a news briefing in Moscow following talks with three of his counterparts from the Confederation of Sahel States.

“Some players outside the sahel continue attempts to destabilize the region. Besides former colonizers, this also includes the recently Kyiv regime, which openly supports terrorist groups in this part of Africa while its Western sponsors turn a blind eye to it.” Sergey Lavrov told reporters.

Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop echoed his comments, saying his country considered Ukraine a “terrorist state”.

It comes after Mali’s government cut diplomatic ties with Ukraine last year over allegations that Kyiv aided an attack by armed groups in the West African country in which Malian soldiers and Russian mercenaries suffered heavy losses.

U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed a hefty 50% reciprocal tariff on Lesotho, a small, landlocked kingdom in southern Africa.

This makes Lesotho the country facing the highest tariff among all those on Trump’s long list of trade targets.

Despite being dismissed by Trump in March as a nation “nobody has ever heard of,” Lesotho, with a gross domestic product of just over $2 billion, has a significant trade relationship with the U.S.

The country has a trade surplus with the United States, largely made up of exports such as diamonds and textiles, including Levi’s jeans.

In 2024, Lesotho’s exports to the U.S. totaled $237 million, which accounts for over 10% of its GDP, according to Oxford Economics.

However, Trump’s new trade policies are set to upend this relationship. By imposing a broad range of tariffs on global trading partners, Trump is reversing decades of trade rules, which could drive up costs for consumers. Trump’s move is framed as a response to other countries’ trade barriers and tariffs against U.S. goods. Lesotho, for instance, imposes a steep 99% tariff on American products.

This situation highlights the end of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a trade agreement intended to provide African nations with preferential access to U.S. markets to foster their economic growth.

Trade experts see this shift as a major setback for African economies. It is compounded by cuts to USAID, the U.S. government agency that has long supported Africa with development aid.

Lesotho, which has a population of about 2 million and is entirely surrounded by South Africa, did not immediately comment on the tariffs.

However, the country’s foreign minister had previously expressed concerns that the reduction in foreign aid, particularly from the U.S. government, was hurting the nation’s health sector, which has been heavily reliant on international support.

Lesotho also struggles with one of the highest HIV/AIDS infection rates in the world, adding to the country’s difficulties.

The formula for calculating these tariffs takes into account the U.S. trade deficit with each country, using this figure as a measure of alleged unfair trade practices.

The ratio of the deficit to U.S. imports from each country determines the tariff, with the resulting rate being half of that ratio.

The sweeping tariffs declared by Trump could increase prices for Americans who depend on citrus from 1400 producers across southern Africa, according to Boitshoko Ntshabele, chief executive of the Citrus Growers Association in Johannesburg.

“South Africa does not compete with the citrus producers of the US,” Ntshabele said. “In fact, quite the opposite — we sustain customers’ interest when their local citrus is out of season, benefitting US citrus growers in the end.”

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said Trump’s 30% tariffs on U.S. imports of South African products shows the urgent need for a new bilateral trade deal

Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced Thursday that his country will withdraw from the International Criminal Court, just as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived to red carpet treatment in the country’s capital despite an ICC warrant for his arrest.

Netanyahu’s visit to Hungary, which is scheduled to last until Sunday, was only his second foreign trip since the ICC issued the warrant against him in November.

During a joint news conference after their meeting, at which journalists were not permitted to ask questions, Netanyahu praised Hungary’s decision to withdraw from the ICC, thanking Orbán for taking a “bold and principled decision.”

“The ICC directs its actions against us fighting a just war with just means,” Netanyahu said.

“You are the first … state that walks out of this corruption and this rottenness, and I think it’ll be deeply appreciated, not only in Israel but in many, many countries around the world.”

The ICC, based in The Hague, Netherlands, said when issuing its warrant there was reason to believe Netanyahu and former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant had committed crimes against humanity in connection with the war in Gaza, which Israel launched after Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023.

Currently, all countries in the 27-member European Union, including Hungary, are signatories of the ICC, but the court relies on member countries to enforce its rulings.

Hungary joined the court in 2001 during Orbán’s first term as prime minister.

Defending his decision to pull Hungary out, Orbán said he believes the ICC “is no longer an impartial court, not a court of law, but a political court. And this was most clearly shown by the decisions regarding Israel”.

The Hungarian leader, regarded by critics as the EU’s most intransigent spoiler in the bloc’s decision-making, is seen as using some of the tactics that Netanyahu has been accused of employing in Israel: subjugation of the judiciary, antagonism toward the EU and cracking down on civil society and human rights groups.

The Israeli leader’s visit to Hungary was his second opportunity to travel abroad following the issuing of the warrant after he met with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington in February.

It was also a chance to project an image of statesmanship while he faces mounting discontent at home.

Netanyahu has faced mass protests by Israelis who fear his decision to resume the war in Gaza endangers the lives of the remaining hostages held by Hamas.