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BBC News
11 minutes ago
- BBC News
Trump dey host five African leaders - which kontris dey di list
President of di United States Donald Trump go host five leaders from African nations for Washington next week. According to White House official wey tok on Wednesday, e say di discussion wit Trump na to tok 'commercial opportunities'. Dis dey come afta Trump bin don sama different African kontris wit tariffs. Some of di African kontris wey Trump sama wit tariffs early dis year also dey among dose wey e go host next week 9 July, 2025. According to Reuters, Trump go host di five kontris for a summit from 9 - 11 July and dia focus go be on commercial benefits. Di White House official tok say di reason why Trump dey host di African leaders na for opportunities wey go benefit America and oda African partners. Also aleast 25 African kontris dey face partial and total US travel bans inside one new anti-immigration measure by US President Trump administration. According to one internal State Department memo wey Reuters see, America goment dey extend dia travel restrictions on 36 more kontris, wey go potentially ban citizens of these kontris entry into di US. Some of di African nations wey e invite come di US dey among dose wey dey face di travel ban. "President Trump believe say African kontris dey offer ogbonge commercial opportunities wey dey benefit both di American pipo and our African partners," di official tok. Meanwhile, Trump administration don cut several foreign aids to Africa including di USAID. Di US president say di spending cut na wetin e consider as wasteful and e no align wit im policy. Di five kontris wey Trump go host Di five kontris wey Trump go host for America na: Gabon, dey on di west coast of Africa and don get few leaders since dia independence from France for 1960, wit Omar Bongo ruling as president for more dan four decades until e die for 2009. Gabon na major oil producer but a third of dia population dey live for poverty, according to di World Bank. Dia population na around 2.3 million. Dem comot Ali Bongo for a coup for August 2023. Gabon military leader Gen Brice Oligui Nguema wey bin lead di 2023 coup wey end almost 60 years dynasty bin win di April presidential election wit more dan 90% of di votes, provisional results show. Liberia na Africa oldest republic, but dem sabi am for 1990s during di long-running, civil wars and dia role for a fight for neighbouring kontri Sierra Leone. Although e dey founded by freed American and Caribbean slaves, Liberia dey mostly inhabited by indigenous Africans, wit di slaves' descendants comprising 5% of di population. Life expectancy for Liberia na 59 years for men and 62 years for women. Dem get population of about 5.3 million. Di opposition leader Joseph Boakai bin defeat di incumbent George Weah for di November 2023 presidential election run-off—to become di incumbent leader.
The Guardian
20 minutes ago
- The Guardian
America is over neoliberalism and neoconservatism. Trump is not
The convergence of the US Senate's passage of Donald Trump's so-called 'big, beautiful bill' in domestic policy with his strike on Iran in foreign policy has finally resolved the meaning of his presidency. His place in history is now clear. His rise, like that of a reawakened left, indicated that America is ready to move on from its long era of neoliberalism and neoconservatism. In office, Trump has blocked the exits by doubling down on both. The first of those slurs, neoliberalism, refers to the commitment across the political spectrum to use government to protect markets and their hierarchies, rather than to moderate or undo them. The second, neoconservatism, is epitomized by a belligerent and militaristic foreign policy. The domestic policy bill now making its way through Congress, with its payoff to the rich and punishment of the poor, is a monument to neoliberalism, the Iran strike a revival of neoconservatism. Up to now, uncertainty about Trump's place in history has prevailed, in part because he has done little and dithered so much. From before he took office, apocalyptic premonition of the doom he might bring reigned supreme. Everyone assumed that the Trump era was going to be different, disagreeing only about the exact shape of the horror. On the right, some projected their hopes for transformation on the president, anticipating a different future, wishcasting without knowing whether (or when) their leader would side with them. Now, with his bill and his bombing, Trump has confirmed beyond any doubt that he is a man of a familiar past instead. Though the damage that neoliberalism and neoconservatism wrought helped make Trump's charlatanry a credible choice for millions, the man himself stands for the eternal return of those very same policies. Trump's appeal to the working class and more measured rhetoric about war from the start of his political career suggested that he might renege on these two dominant creeds from the beltway 'swamp'. He renewed them both instead. This is where Trump's ultimate significance so clearly lies: in continuity, not change. He busted a lot of norms from the first in 2017. Cries of abnormalcy and authoritarianism arose before there was evidence to back them – and evidence has accumulated through both terms. Charlottesville and January 6 in the first – intimations of deeper reservoirs of hate that could come out of American woodwork, with Trump coyly pandering to the mobs – were preludes to both mass and targeted immigration roundups in this term, reminiscent of classical fascism. Yet climactically, and when it mattered most, Trump has chosen to walk in lockstep with the dead consensus in domestic and foreign policy of the past half century – not merely among conservatives, but among many liberals. Americans do best when the rich do best of all, with the poor punished for crime and sloth: that has long been our outlook. And the country must go it alone with military force, in order to back our interests or principles or both, Americans have long presumed. Neoliberalism and neoconservatism each has more complexity than this – but, leaning into both, Trump has shown in recent weeks they are not much more complicated either. And if so, Trump is far more a politician of American continuity with the past 50 years than many originally feared (or hoped). The 'beautiful' domestic policy bill is one of the morally ugliest in American history. Making Trump's signature tax cuts from his first term permanent requires both draconian cuts to programs (Medicaid for the poor, worst of all) and piling up even more debt for future generations to figure out. It turns out that Ronald Reagan and the Democrats who followed him in lowering taxation and 'reforming' welfare (including by imposing work requirements, as this bill does) were not in another world from Trump. He is in theirs. Revealingly, the main trouble that Trump faced in getting the obscenity of a bill passed – and that he still faces in the House – is convincing Republicans who claim to hate deficit spending so much to rationalize even greater cuts to welfare. On the world stage, Trump has longed for the recognition of a Nobel peace prize. But the deals he thinks will deserve it have proved elusive. In Israel/Palestine, the ceasefire he helped force has broken down and the civilian toll has worsened. In Ukraine, the considerable distance between the warring parties has meant that Trump has not managed to either antagonize or lure either to come to terms. Unlike during his first four years, his Iran intervention means that, rather than bringing peace, exacerbating war is his foreign policy legacy for now. Squandering the inclinations of his base and outraging many more lukewarm supporters sick of foreign entanglements, it was a surprise that he acted with the reckless militarism that was once American common sense. He is no doubt open to any deals that come his way – apparently thinking that Canada or Greenland should clamor to be annexed. But it was foolish in response to the early rhetoric of his second term to expect Trump to revert to expansionist war by sending troops. But in sending B-2 bombers on so escalatory a mission to Iran, he clarified his support for war – incurring risks like no other presidents have taken. If the peace he wants to brag about doesn't materialize, he is not above a dose of coercive violence. Ironically, Trump's warlike turn meant that a long list of his neoconservative 'never Trump' scourges became 'sometimes Trump' supporters overnight. Where populist Republicans have had to grit their teeth and support a neoliberal bill – so much for the working-class party they promised – it was even more spectacular that neoconservatives overcame the hatred for Trump that had helped them launder their former reputations for catastrophic warmongering. With neocon scion Bill Kristol in the lead, after the Iran strike they fawned over the man whom they had spent years castigating as irresponsible, or malignant, or both. No wonder: Trump, far from acting as an isolationist or realist, was executing one of the longest-held and longest-denied neoconservative fantasies: that bombing Iran's nuclear program off the map would work, and might have the fringe benefit of causing the regime to fall. It remains a fantasy. But Trump's place in history is now defined by that fantasy more than by any other foreign policy choice he has made so far. Like in his first term, when he ordered the assassination in Iraq of Iranian general and terror master Qassem Suleimani in 2020, Trump's strike on Iran's nuclear facilities was illegal. But as the saying goes, Trump's escalatory and risky use of bunker-busting munitions to wipe Fordow and other sites off the map was worse than a crime; it was a mistake. At best, it elicited a face-saving attack from Iran so that it could come to the negotiating table with a nuclear program to continue in the future; at worst, it will prompt Iran to intensify its efforts to achieve the weapon. And while Israel has certainly set back Iran's regional designs and capacity for sponsoring terror, there are no signs the regime will relent in its policies. With hopes that he might stand for restraint shredded, it is likelier that a lackey will find a place on Mount Rushmore than that Trump will get the call from Oslo he badly wants. But like the politicians whose faces are already carved in the granite of South Dakota, Trump is a man of the past – and never more clearly than in recent weeks, as America continues to look for someone to liberate it from the zombie neoliberalism and neoconservatism that still define their disastrous present and president. Samuel Moyn is the Kent professor of law and history at Yale University, where he also serves as head of Grace Hopper College
The National
an hour ago
- The National
Zohran Mamdani is showing how a progressive left vision can succeed
After all, Barack Obama was American born yet vilified because of a Kenyan dad. American Kamala Harris didn't get elected – in part because of a mixed-race parentage. Yet here we have Zohran Kwame Mamdani – born in Kampala, Uganda – and contesting the Democratic nomination for New York City mayor. Whit? At a time like this? Spin doctors would doubtless advise against even standing for public office as Donald Trump's feared Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) operatives pull up to 3000 suspected 'illegals' off the streets every day and strip international students of their visas. READ MORE: I knew the welfare state was broken — I became an MP to fix it And yet the 33-year-old former housing counsellor and hip-hop musician has ignored the doomsayers, professional pundits and experienced political hacks not only to stand but also to clinch the Democratic nomination against all expectations on Tuesday night. Immediately a vicious, racist whirlwind of panic-induced vitriol has descended upon Mamdani. Why? Because this self-declared social democrat has brought the prospect of genuinely progressive politics to the USA. He stood on a platform to freeze rent; provide free public transport; free childcare; create council-owned affordable grocery stores; 200,000 more council flats; $30/hr minimum wage; and hike taxes on the wealthy. He was endorsed by repeat left-wing presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders. He motivated 37,000 new voters to register compared to 3000 new voters last time round. He has activated young people – the largest voting bloc this week were 18-24-year-olds, which is unprecedented. He has pledged to 'stop masked' Ice agents 'from deporting our neighbours'. And he won – according to one backer: 'Because he ran a campaign laser-focused on putting power back in the hands of working people.' Zohran Mamdani (Image: ANGELA WEISS, AFP via Getty Images) No-one saw it coming. And absolutely every part of the establishment on both sides of the political divide and either side of the Big Pond now feels threatened. Look at yesterday's headlines in the wake of his win: 'Mamdani is wrong – of course billionaires should exist' – Financial Times. 'It's disgusting – top Democratic donors rant about Mamdani primary win' – The Independent. 'Trump calls Mamdani a 'communist lunatic' and says he'll 'save' New York City' – The Hill. 'Mamdani could face civil rights investigation if he revamps New York property tax rates based on race' – The New York Sun. 'Mamdani's New York victory sparks Islamophobic backlash' – Al Jazeera. READ MORE: David Pratt: In a dangerous era journalism needs to show some backbone again Texas congressman Brandon Gill said Mamdani should 'go back to the third world' after the candidate was seen eating rice with his hands in an old video. The Republican congressman said 'civilised people' in America don't eat with their hands and told Mamdani to 'adopt Western customs". This provoked a speedy backlash, with one Twitter/X user asking, 'How do you eat tacos, French fries and burgers then?' To cap it all, Trump has called him 'a pure communist,' threatened to cut off funds to New York if Mamdani becomes mayor and raised the possibility Mamdani could be stripped of his US citizenship as part of a crackdown against foreign-born citizens convicted of certain offences. I kid you not. At a news conference in Florida, Trump referred to allegations Mamdani had obtained his citizenship 'illegally', saying: 'We don't need a communist in this country, but if we have one, I'm going to be watching over him very carefully on behalf of the nation. We're going to be watching that very carefully. A lot of people are saying, he's here illegally.' One in particular is Andy Ogles, a right-wing Republican representative for Tennessee who has called for Mamdani's 2018 citizenship to be revoked because he supposedly concealed support for 'terrorism' during the naturalisation process. As evidence, Ogles cites a rap song by Mamdani, entitled, My Love To The Holy Land Five, in which he calls members of a foundation convicted of supporting Hamas 'my guys'. He also cites Mamdani's refusal to condemn the phrase 'globalise the intifada'. Ogles wrote on Twitter/X: 'Zohran 'little muhammad' Mamdani is an antisemitic, socialist, communist who will destroy the great City of New York. He needs to be deported.' This should ring a loud bell in Britain as the authorities here trawl through past posts of the band Kneecap to find something that crosses the boundaries of polite discourse – while life is being crushed out of Gaza. And just as defiantly as Mo Chara, Mamdani is not lying low but fighting back. He posted on Twitter/X: 'The president of the United States just threatened to have me arrested, stripped of my citizenship, put in a detention camp and deported. Not because I have broken any law but because I will refuse to let Ice terrorise our city. His statements … send a message to every New Yorker who refuses to hide in the shadows: if you speak up, they will come for you. We will not accept this intimidation.' At last, game on. US president Donald Trump (Image: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS, AFP via Getty Images) A Democrat ready to tackle Trump and able to take young working New Yorkers with him. The klaxons of race war are sounding in New York State. Yet the big guns of the Democratic Party remain silent. The Democratic senator for Connecticut, Chris Murphy, said: 'Trump will stop at nothing to protect billionaires and price gouging corporations, even racist bullshit like this.' But the Democratic senator for New York, Chuck Schumer, has refused to endorse Mamdani. And New York's other senator, Kirsten Gillibrand, falsely implied that the newly nominated mayoral candidate would target Jewish-owned businesses. To be fair, the phrase 'globalise the intifada' is indeed incendiary. For Palestinian activists, it refers to resisting Israeli occupation; for many Jewish people it demands a global violent uprising against Zionists and Jews more broadly. Yet Mamdani isn't ducking or disowning his statement: 'To me, ultimately, what I hear … is a desperate desire for equality and equal rights in standing up for Palestinian human rights.' READ MORE: 'It wouldn't have happened to men': Inside a Waspi woman's fight for justice Also, challenged over his unwillingness to support Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state, he said: 'I support Israel's right to exist as a state with equal rights, because I'm not comfortable supporting any state that has a hierarchy of citizenship on the basis of religion or anything else. Equality should be enshrined in every country in the world.' This must be the most politically sensitive and dangerous area for any Democrat to occupy, and yet Mamdani did it, beat his mainstream opponent, former governor Andrew Cuomo, and in the process has become a lightning rod for the rage of the alt-right. Yet, in standing up to their attacks with his authentic charm and easy smile, Mamdani could yet draw some of their poison from the body politic and – given America's malign presence in all our lives – offer respite and hope to the rest of the world. He has certainly shown old, tired, establishment, nominally 'left' parties how to win again – and that's relevant here in Scotland. Power walking to the election. 4 days left. — Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@ZohranKMamdani) June 21, 2025 Because this underdog won by taking a side, sticking to it, using social media to energise his base and shanks pony to meet them. Famously he walked the entire length of Manhattan – starting at 19:00 and ending at 02:30am. Video of this big walk on social media captured New Yorkers embracing him as he told them that New Yorkers deserve a mayor they can 'see, hear and even yell at'. So, can Mamdani become New York mayor in November? Will Trump try to deport him – and might that produce the first real moment of formal democratic resistance to Trump? It's a lot of expectation to heap on relatively young, inexperienced shoulders. But Zohran Kwame Mamdani could surprise us all.
