MACKY SALL

The war in Ukraine and its global fallout transfixed the meeting of world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly this year.

Virtually everyone involved agrees that the powerful U.N. Security Council needs to expand and include more voices.

Leaders from Europe, the Americas and Africa are calling for urgent action and funding to ease a growing global food security crisis.

African Union chairperson Macky Sall said Tuesday that Africa “does not want to be the breeding ground of a new Cold War,” alluding to the pressure mounting on the continent's leaders to choose sides over the war in Ukraine. Many African countries depend heavily on grain imports from Russia and Ukraine. Amid market shortages, Russia’s foreign minister has sought to portray the West as the villain, blaming it for rising food prices.

UNITED NATIONS — (AP) — The Latest on the opening day of the United Nations General Assembly's annual high-level meeting (all times EDT):11 a.m.Senegalese President Macky Sall has told the U.N. General Assembly that Africa must play a larger role in international decision-making. Sall, the current chairperson of the African Union, called for the continent to have a seat in the influential G20 group of nations. 10:45 a.m.Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro, who is seeking reelection next month, used his speech at the U.N. General Assembly to promote the merits of his administration. Bolsonaro’s speech Tuesday focused heavily on the economy, starting with the welfare program distributed to millions of Brazilians during the pandemic. Bolsonaro was the first world leader to speak during debate on the first day of the U.N. General Assembly’s meeting.

Senegalese President Macky Sall has told the U.N. General Assembly that Africa must play a larger role in international decision-making

The world’s problems are seizing the spotlight as the U.N. General Assembly’s yearly meeting of world leaders opens.

World leaders are gathering at the United Nations this week under the shadow of Europe’s first major conflict since World War II.

Senegal’s government has signed a peace agreement with separatist rebels from the southern Casamance region that aims to end more than four decades of conflict

Senegal’s ruling coalition party has lost an absolute majority in the national assembly, according to official provisional results released by the electoral commission

Senegal Election People line up to cast their ballot for legislative elections in Dakar, Senegal, Sunday, July 31, 2022. (AP Photo/Leo Correa) (Leo Correa)DAKAR, Senegal — (AP) — Senegal’s ruling coalition says it has won 30 of 46 departments in Sunday’s legislative election, giving it a majority over the opposition. The head of the ruling coalition and former Prime Minister Aminata Toure claimed the victory late Sunday. The head of President Macky Sall’s coalition, Benno Bokk Yaakar, stressed that the information is “precise, accurate, fair and not invented” with wins in Senegal's North, West and Central areas. The opposition has focused its campaign on the need to vote against the ruling coalition to prevent Sall from trying to secure a third term in the 2024 presidential elections.

Senegal’s ruling coalition says it has won 30 of 46 departments in Sunday’s legislative election, giving it a majority over the opposition

Senegal’s ruling coalition says it has won 30 of 46 departments in Sunday’s legislative election, giving it a majority over the opposition.

Senegal Election FILE - Senegal's President Macky Sall speaks during a media conference at the conclusion of an EU Africa summit in Brussels, Friday, Feb. 18, 2022. It's a vital test for opposition parties in the West African nation who are trying to minimize the ruling party's influence before the 2024 presidential election. They are worried that President Macky Sall may seek a third term. Even though Sonko’s candidacy was rejected by the Constitutional Council, he has organized opposition supporters across Senegal. Senegal's former prime minister and head of the ruling party, Aminata Touré, appealed to the country's youth to vote.

Senegal is holding a legislative election.

Ukraine's leader has told the African Union that the continent has been "taken hostage” in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine amid catastrophically rising food prices.

Foreign governments are struggling for options to release Ukraine’s immense supply of agricultural products, particularly wheat.

Block-by-block fighting is raging in two key eastern Ukrainian cities on the 100th day of Russia’s war, grinding them to rubble.

“Africa has no control over production or logistics chains and is totally at the mercy of the situation,” Sall said recently. While food and fertilizer are exempt, sanctions have targeted Russian shipping and made international shipping companies reluctant to transport Russian cargoes. Putin hailed Russia's warm ties with African nations in brief televised remarks at the start of his talks with Sall, but didn't mention grain exports. Ukrainian authorities and the West have accused Russia of blocking Ukrainian ports to halt exports, endangering world food supplies. World Trade Organization Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said about 25 million tons of Ukrainian grain is in storage and another 25 million tons could be harvested next month.

The chairman of the African Union, Senegal’s President Macy Sall, has told Russian President Vladimir Putin that the fighting in Ukraine and Western sanctions had worsened food shortages, He appealed to other countries to ensure grain and fertilizer exports aren’t blocked.

DAKAR, Senegal — (AP) — Senegalese officials have arrested two health workers from a neonatal unit where a fire killed 11 newborns last week. The arrests took place Sunday, days after President Macky Sall promised a police and general state inspector investigation to determine the cause of the fire. Health Minister Abdoulaye Diouf Sarr was fired last week and replaced by senior ministry official Marie Khemesse Ngom Ndiaye, the government said. The Abdoul Aziz Sy Dabakh Hospital is located in Tivaouane, a town 120 kilometers (75 miles) northeast of the capital, Dakar. The deadly fire comes a year after four other newborns died in a hospital fire in Linguere in northern Senegal.

Ukraine War Africa Food Crisis FILE - Farm employees spread fertilizer on a farm in Gerdau, North West province, South Africa, Nov. 19, 2018. Families across Africa are paying about 45% more for wheat flour as Russia's war in Ukraine blocks exports from the Black Sea. But the United Nations is warning that the price hikes are coming as many parts of Africa are facing drought and hunger. The U.N. World Food Program says food shortages could worsen when the lean season arrives in late summer. ___Follow all AP stories on the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraineCopyright 2022 The Associated Press.

Families across Africa are paying about 45% more for wheat flour as Russia's war in Ukraine blocks exports from the Black Sea.

It now costs Ayan Hassan Abdirahman twice as much as it did just a few months ago to buy the wheat flour she uses to make breakfast each day for her 11 children in Somalia's capital. Nearly all the wheat sold in Somalia comes from Ukraine and Russia, which have halted exports through the Black Sea since Moscow waged war on its neighbor on Feb. 24. The timing could not be worse: The U.N. has warned that an estimated 13 million people were facing severe hunger in the Horn of Africa region as a result of a persistent drought.

The deadly fire comes a year after four other newborns died in a hospital fire in Senegal, a nation known for having some of the best hospitals in the region.

The nation's president said only three infants could be saved from the blaze, which a local official blamed on an electrical short circuit.

The flames tore through Abdou Aziz Sy Dabakh Hospital in the city of Tivaouane, about 60 miles northeast of the capital, Dakar.

DAKAR, Senegal — (AP) — A fire in the neonatal unit of a hospital in Senegal has killed 11 newborns, President Macky Sall said. The deadly fire comes a year after four other newborns died in a hospital fire in Linguere in northern Senegal. A series of other deaths also have raised concerns about maternal and infant health in the West African nation known for having some of the best hospitals in the region. Last year a pregnant woman died in Louga, in the north of the country, after waiting in vain for a cesarean section. Health Minister Abdoulaye Diouf Sarr, who was attending the World Health Assembly in Geneva, cut short his trip to return to Senegal.

Senegal’s president says 11 newborns have died in a fire that broke out in the neonatal unit of a hospital

Senegal's president says 11 newborns have died in a fire that broke out in the neonatal unit of a hospital.

A group fighting homophobia in soccer has called on the French league and Paris Saint-Germain to ask player Idrissa Gueye for an explanation after he missed a game last week amid reports that he refused to play because he did not want to wear a rainbow-colored number on the back of his jersey.

DAKAR, Senegal — (AP) — To start his three-nation tour of West Africa, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on rich countries to increase their investments in African nations as the continent recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic and is impacted by the war in Ukraine. “This war is aggravating a triple crisis: food, energy and financial, for the region and well beyond,” Guterres said. Guterres said he is concerned about how the war in Ukraine is affecting the African continent. He also urged better action on climate change, saying that African nations suffer the most while contributing the least to the problem. The three countries have been suspended by the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States, which has urged the juntas to return the countries to democratic rule as soon as possible.

To start his three-nation tour of West Africa, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on rich countries to increase their investments in Africa as the continent recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic and is impacted by the war in Ukraine

The U.N. says Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will head to West Africa on Saturday to join Muslims marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan and to highlight the impact of the Ukraine war on the African continent

Mali’s ruling junta is demanding the immediate departure of French and European forces, a day after France announced that it will withdraw its troops from the West African country

Mali’s ruling junta is demanding the immediate departure of French and European forces, a day after France announced that it will withdraw its troops from the West African country.

(Olivier Hoslet, Pool Photo via AP) (Olivier Hoslet)BRUSSELS — (AP) — The first African countries selected to receive the technology necessary to produce mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 are Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia, a summit meeting of European Union and African Union nations heard on Friday. The six countries will receive the technology from the World Health Organization's global mRNA vaccine hub based in South Africa, with the aim to help them start producing vaccines as soon as possible. In a bid to help poor countries to produce their own vaccine, the World Health Organization last year teamed up with local companies and scientists to replicate the mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine. In addition to transferring the vaccine technology, the EU has been exporting millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses to Africa. The EU remains opposed to the move, favoring instead individual deals with companies for technology transfers and know-how.

EU African Union Summit Preview FILE - French President Emmanuel Macron, center, salutes Ethiopia's President Sahle-Work Zewde, left, and Senegal's President Macky Sall at the Summit on the Financing of African Economies on May 18, 2021 in Paris. So it's the first time EU and African Union leaders meet in that format since 2017. (Photo by Ludovic Marin, Pool via AP) (Ludovic Marin)BRUSSELS — (AP) — European Union leaders want to re-engage with African nations and counter the growing influence from China and Russia across the continent during a two-day summit in Brussels. It will be the first time EU and African Union leaders meet in that format since 2017. “We will demonstrate that the European Union is Africa’s most trusted partner,” said Josep Borrell, the EU’s top diplomat, ahead of the summit.

European Union leaders are hosting their African counterparts during a two day-meeting in Brussels starting Thursday.

DAKAR, Senegal — (AP) — Senegal's National Assembly has rejected a proposed law that would have doubled the jail time for people convicted of homosexuality, which is illegal in the country, though proponents of the bill vowed to press ahead with their efforts. The proposed legislation backed by about a dozen members of parliament would have increased the maximum sentence from five years to 10. But legislative members of President Macky Sall's coalition already had said they found the measure unnecessary and on Wednesday it was formally rejected. Prosecutions for homosexuality in Senegal had been rare, though human rights activists say arrests are on the rise. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

“When South African scientists discovered omicron ... they immediately took on the responsibility of informing the world, the entire world, that a new variant is coming through. Ramaphosa said such countries have resorted not to science but their own self-interests. The pandemic, access to vaccines and inequalities for the African continent were major points for the leader in addressing peace and security for the continent. The emergency is here.”Sall said no individual government or nation or continent can ensure collective security, only international solidarity. “This means that peace and security in Africa are an integral part of peace and security in the world.”___Follow all AP stories on the pandemic at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic.

US Senegal Blinken US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, meets with Senegalese President Macky Sall at the Presidential Palace in Dakar, Senegal, Saturday, Nov. 20, 2021. Blinken is on a five day trip to Kenya, Nigeria, and Senegal. On a trip overshadowed by crises elsewhere on the continent, Blinken was in Senegal on Saturday promoting American-built infrastructure projects, sustainable development, women’s empowerment and other human rights initiatives to bolster faltering democracies across Africa. In a private meeting with Sall, Blinken was expected to address security issues, particularly a rise in jihadi violence across Africa's Sahel region and increasing authoritarianism that many believe is fueling extremism. Senegal is a key partner in the fight against extremism and a last year it hosted the U.S. military’s annual counterterrorism exercise, Flintlock.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is warning a shadowy Russian group with connections to the Kremlin against interfering in efforts to restore democracy in the West African nation of Mali.

The Biden administration’s competition with China for influence hasn't gotten off to a great start in Africa.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Africa next week as the Biden administration intensifies diplomatic efforts to resolve crises in Ethiopia and Sudan and seeks to boost counterterrorism cooperation.

Ambulance services in the West African nation of Senegal say about 90% of their calls right now are responding to COVID-19 patients with trouble breathing.

The number of infected sailors on a South Korean destroyer on an anti-piracy mission off East Africa has soared to 247, the largest cluster for the country’s military during the coronavirus pandemic.

Health officials warn that COVID-19 cases are surging in Senegal as millions in the West African nation prepare for the Tabaski holiday.

More than 20 African heads of state and top officials from European governments, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund have agreed to seek an additional $100 billion for reviving Africa’s economies crippled by the COVID-19 pandemic.

President Idriss Deby Itno, who ruled Chad for more than 30 years and became an important ally to Western nations in the fight against Islamic extremism in Africa, has died.

Senegal and Spain signed a memorandum of understanding to encourage circular migration as part of efforts to mitigate migration flows that have been increasing amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Deadly protests have erupted over the past week in the West African nation of Senegal, long considered a bastion of democracy and a regional leader on diplomacy issues. Anti-government protesters have set supermarkets ablaze and lobbed rocks at riot police in a rare display of violence on the streets of the capital, Dakar. Sonko's supporters say Senegalese President Macky Sall is trying to derail the opposition leader's political future. The protesters see Sonko's arrest as just one example of corruption in a government beset by greed. Sall went on national television late Monday, six days after the protesters first began demonstrating.

Demonstrators shout slogans in front of riot policemen during a protest against the arrest of opposition leader and former presidential candidate Ousmane Sonko, Senegal, Monday, March 8, 2021. Senegalese authorities have freed opposition leader Ousmane Sonko while he awaits trial on charges of rape and making death threats. Upon his release, the 46-year-old politician blamed his arrest on President Macky Sall, accusing the incumbent leader of seeking to sideline his future political prospects before the country's 2024 election. While Sonko publicly accused the president of plunging Senegal into an unprecedented crisis, the opposition leader said his goal wasn't to force Sall from power. Karim Wade, the son of the president Sall defeated in 2012, was once widely seen as the heir apparent before he was charged with corruption the following year.

A demonstrator holds up a Senegalese flag during protests against the arrest of opposition leader and former presidential candidate Ousmane Sonko in Dakar, Senegal, Friday, March 5, 2021. Days of violent protests in Senegal have killed at least one person, local reports say, as young people take to the streets nationwide in support of the main opposition leader who was detained Wednesday. This week’s unrest in Dakar has been the worst seen in years in a country known for its stability. Police moved in to disperse crowds throwing objects at security forces and setting tires, pieces of wood and other objects on fire near the tribunal where opposition leader Ousmane Sonko appeared. Demonstrators reappeared after prayers to be confronted by authorities lobbing tear gas cannisters.

A demonstrator throws a rock at riot police during protests in support of main opposition leader and former presidential candidate Ousmane Sonko in Dakar, Senegal, Wednesday, March 3, 2021. Sonko was arrested Wednesday on charges of disturbing the public order after hundreds of his supporters clashed with police while he was heading to the court to face rape charges. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)DAKAR – Senegal’s main opposition leader Ousmane Sonko was arrested Wednesday on charges of disturbing the public order after hundreds of his supporters clashed with police while he was heading to the court to face rape charges. Sonko, who placed third in the 2019 elections, was accused of rape last month by an employee at a beauty salon. Ad“My car has been blocked for over an hour by the gendarmerie commanded by the prefect of Dakar.

(AP Photo/Javier Bauluz)DAKAR – Spain’s foreign minister met Sunday with Senegal's president in the West African country’s capital Sunday to discuss the sudden increase of Senegalese migrants attempting to reach the Canary Islands by boat. Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha González Laya met with President Macky Sall in Dakar to discuss migration and border cooperation between Spain, the European Union and Senegal. Human rights groups have been warning about the reopening of the Atlantic route to the Canary Islands since late 2019, when arrivals began increasing slowly. He participated in the meeting between Spain's foreign minister and Senegalese counterpart Aïssata Tall Sall. Sarr said they would work with Spain to increase legal ways for Senegalese to work in Europe, including circular migration programs.

That includes Covax, an ambitious but troubled global project to buy and deliver virus vaccines for the world’s poorest people. France and the European Union's executive commission each promised 100 million euros (about $118 million) for the WHO vaccine efforts. Spain promised 50 million euros (about $59 million), and the Gates Foundation promised $70 million (about 59.3 million euros). The new financing is in addition to the funds that countries previously contributed to Covax. Many European countries are back under various levels of lockdowns and with their hospitals under heavy strain.

FILE - In this Thursday, Jan. 15, 2009 file photo, President of Mali Amadou Toumani Toure gestures after a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the chancellory in Berlin, Germany. Mali's former president Amadou Toumani Toure, who served as Mali's president from 2002 until March 2012 when he was deposed by a military coup, has died at the age of 72, according to Senegal's President Macky Sall on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2020. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, File)BAMAKO – Mali’s former president Amadou Toumani Toure has died at the age of 72. Toure served as Mali’s president from 2002 until March 2012 when he was deposed by a military coup. He then became known as the “soldier of democracy.”Toure then served as a general under Mali’s president Alpha Oumar Konare, who was elected in 1992.

An investigator stands in the doorway of a home in suburban Denver on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020, where five people were found dead after a fire. Three people escaped the fire by jumping from the home's second floor. Witnesses told firefighters that three people on the second floor of the burning home jumped to safety. Three people escaped Wednesday morning's fire by jumping from the homes second floor and are recovering from non-life-threatening injuries. The Denver coroner's office has not released the names or ages of the victims, who immigrated from Senegal in recent years.

India records the highest spike of more than 15,000 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, with Mumbai and New Delhi as the worst-hit cities in the country. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)NEW DELHI India has registered another record daily high in new virus cases as New Delhi emerged as its worst-hit city. Steve Sisolak says the state will begin mandating the use of face-coverings in public places in an effort to stem a rise in coronavirus cases four weeks after casinos, restaurants and other businesses started reopening. Nevada has reported more than 14,300 coronavirus cases and 494 deaths from COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic. Of the new cases reported Thursday, 13 were in Beijing and one in the neighboring province of Hebei.