NAIROBI, Aug 22 : South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir has fired the country’s finance minister, state-owned radio announced, the seventh replacement to the position since 2020.
Kiir gave no reason for firing Marial Dongrin Ater, who had held the post since July 2024. State radio said late on Thursday that Athian Ding Athian would take up the position, which he previously held between 2020 and 2021.
Kiir also fired the minister in charge of investment, the radio reported.
South Sudan’s economic performance has faced hurdles in recent years amid communal violence, with crude oil export revenue having dwindled since a 2013-2018 civil war and more recently export disruptions due to war in neighboring Sudan.
The International Monetary Fund forecasts a 4.3 percent contraction of the economy for 2025, and inflation of 65.7 percent for the same period.
Kiir became South Sudan’s first president in 2011 when it gained independence from Sudan.
In March, First Vice President Riek Machar was put under house arrest, eliciting fears of renewed conflict.
Information Minister Michael Makuei said the arrest was due to Machar contacting his supporters and “agitating them to rebel against the government with the aim of disrupting peace so that elections are not held and South Sudan goes back to war.”
Machar’s party denies the accusations.
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South Sudan’s president fires finance minister, seventh since 2020
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South Sudan’s president fires finance minister, seventh since 2020
- South Sudan’s economic performance has faced hurdles in recent years amid communal violence, with crude oil export revenue having dwindled since the 2013-2018 civil war
Australian police charge alleged Bondi killer with terrorism, 15 murder counts
SYDNEY: Police charged alleged Bondi gunman Naveed Akram with terrorism, 15 counts of murder and a litany of other crimes on Wednesday after Australia’s deadliest mass shooting in decades.
“Police will allege in court the man engaged in conduct that caused death, serious injury and endangered life to advance a religious cause and cause fear in the community,” New South Wales state police said.
“Early indications point to a terrorist attack inspired by Daesh, a listed terrorist organization in Australia,” they said in a statement, using another name for the Daesh group.
Authorities say Naveed and his father Sajid Akram opened fire on a Jewish festival at Sydney’s famed Bondi Beach on Sunday evening, killing 15 people and wounding dozens more.
Among the victims were a 10-year-old girl, two Holocaust survivors and a married couple shot dead as they tried to thwart the attack.
Naveed was critically wounded by police during the shooting, and local media reported he woke from a coma on Tuesday night. Sajid Akram was killed in a shootout with police.
Police said Naveed had also been charged with 40 counts of causing grievous bodily harm to a person with intent to murder, as well as public display of the symbol of a prohibited terrorist organization.
Two homemade Islamic State flags were found in a car registered to Naveed and parked near the beach.
Naveed remains in hospital and will face court by audiovisual link on Wednesday, police said.
“Police will allege in court the man engaged in conduct that caused death, serious injury and endangered life to advance a religious cause and cause fear in the community,” New South Wales state police said.
“Early indications point to a terrorist attack inspired by Daesh, a listed terrorist organization in Australia,” they said in a statement, using another name for the Daesh group.
Authorities say Naveed and his father Sajid Akram opened fire on a Jewish festival at Sydney’s famed Bondi Beach on Sunday evening, killing 15 people and wounding dozens more.
Among the victims were a 10-year-old girl, two Holocaust survivors and a married couple shot dead as they tried to thwart the attack.
Naveed was critically wounded by police during the shooting, and local media reported he woke from a coma on Tuesday night. Sajid Akram was killed in a shootout with police.
Police said Naveed had also been charged with 40 counts of causing grievous bodily harm to a person with intent to murder, as well as public display of the symbol of a prohibited terrorist organization.
Two homemade Islamic State flags were found in a car registered to Naveed and parked near the beach.
Naveed remains in hospital and will face court by audiovisual link on Wednesday, police said.
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