After a reference to Trump's impeachments is removed from a history museum, complex questions echo
The latest example of that came Friday, when the Smithsonian Institution said it had removed a reference to the 2019 and 2021 impeachments of President Donald Trump from a panel in an exhibition about the American presidency. Trump has pressed institutions and agencies under federal oversight, often through the pressure of funding, to focus on the country's achievements and progress and away from things he terms 'divisive.'
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Winnipeg Free Press
4 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Islamic State-linked fighters displace over 46,000 people in northern Mozambique, UN says
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Attacks by insurgents in Mozambique's northern Cabo Delgado province displaced more than 46,000 people in the space of eight days last month, the United Nations migration agency said Monday. The International Organization for Migration said nearly 60% of those forced from their homes were children. There have been no reports of deaths in the attacks. In a separate report, the U.N.'s humanitarian office said the wave of attacks between July 20 and July 28 across three districts in Cabo Delgado caused the surge in displacements. The southern African nation has been fighting an insurgency by Islamic State-affiliated militants in the north for at least eight years. Rwandan soldiers have been deployed to help Mozambique fight them. The jihadis have been accused of beheading villagers and kidnapping children to be used as laborers or child soldiers. The U.N. estimates that the violence, and the impact of drought and several cyclones in recent years, has led to the displacement of more than 1 million people in northern Mozambique. Doctors Without Borders said it has launched an emergency response to help thousands of recently displaced people who now live in camps in Chiure, the district that experienced the worst of the attacks. Cabo Delgado has large offshore natural gas reserves, and the insurgency caused the suspension of a $20 billion extraction project by French company TotalEnergies in 2021. ___ AP Africa news:
Winnipeg Free Press
34 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
US tariffs put 30,000 South African jobs at risk, officials say
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — U.S. reciprocal tariffs have put an estimated 30,000 jobs at risk, South African authorities said Monday, four days before a 30% U.S. tariff on most imports from South Africa kicks in. South Africa was slapped with one of the highest tariff rates by its third-largest trading partner — after China and the EU — creating uncertainty for the future of some export industries and catapulting a scramble for new markets outside the U.S. Tariffs come into effect on Aug. 8. In an update on mitigation measures, a senior government official warned that an estimated 30,000 jobs were in jeopardy if the response to the higher tariffs was 'mismanaged'. 'We base this on the ongoing consultations that we have with all the sectors of the economy from automotive, agriculture and all the other sectors that are going to be impacted,' said Simphiwe Hamilton, director-general of the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition. South Africa is already grappling with stubbornly high unemployment rates. The official rate was 32,9% in the first quarter of 2025 according to StatsSA, the national statistical agency, while the youth unemployment rate increased from 44,6% in the fourth quarter of 2024 to 46,1% in the first quarter of 2025. In his weekly public letter on Monday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said that South Africa must adapt swiftly to the tariffs since they could have a big impact on the economy, the industries that rely heavily on exports to the U.S. and the workers they employ. 'As government, we have been engaging the United States to enhance mutually beneficial trade and investment relations. All channels of communication remain open to engage with the US,' he said. 'Our foremost priority is protecting our export industries. We will continue to engage the US in an attempt to preserve market access for our products.' President Donald Trump has been highly critical of the country's Black-led government over a new land law he claims discriminates against white people. Negotiations with the U.S. have been complicated and unprecedented, according to South Africa's ministers, who denied rumors that the lack of an ambassador in the U.S affected the result of the talks. The Trump administration expelled Ebrahim Rasool, South Africa's ambassador to Washington, in mid-March, accusing him of being a 'race-baiting politician' who hates Trump. International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola highlighted that even countries with ambassadors in the U.S. and allies of Washington had been hard hit with tariffs. However, Lamola confirmed that the process of appointing a replacement for Rasool was 'at an advanced stage'. The U.S. accounts for 7.5% of South Africa's global exports. However, several sectors, accounting for 35% of exports to the U.S., remain exempt from the tariffs. These include copper, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, lumber products, certain critical minerals, stainless steel scrap and energy products remain exempted from the tariffs. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. The government has been scrambling to diversify South Africa's export markets, particularly by deepening intra-African trade. Countries across Asia and the Middle East, including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia have been touted as opportunities for high-growth markets. The government said it had made significant progress in opening vast new markets like China and Thailand, securing vital protocols for products like citrus. The government has set up an Export Support Desk to aid manufacturers and exporters in South Africa search for alternate markets. While welcoming the establishment of the Export Support Desk, an independent association representing some of South Africa's biggest and most well-known businesses called for a trade crisis committee to be established that brings together business leaders and government officials, including from the finance ministry. Business Leadership South Africa said such a committee would ensure fast, coordinated action to open new markets, provide financial support, and maintain employment. 'U.S. tariffs pose a severe threat to South Africa's manufacturing and farming sectors, particularly in the Eastern Cape. While businesses can eventually adapt, urgent temporary support is essential,' said BLSA in a statement.
Globe and Mail
34 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
Kremlin plays down Trump order to move U.S. nuclear submarines
Russia said on Monday that everyone should be 'very, very careful' about nuclear rhetoric, responding to a statement by U.S. President Donald Trump that he had ordered a repositioning of U.S. nuclear submarines. In its first public reaction to Trump's comments, the Kremlin played down their significance and said it was not looking to get into a public argument with him. Trump said on Friday he had ordered two nuclear submarines to be moved to 'the appropriate regions' in response to remarks from former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev about the risk of war between the nuclear-armed adversaries. 'In this case, it is obvious that American submarines are already on combat duty. This is an ongoing process, that's the first thing,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. 'But in general, of course, we would not want to get involved in such a controversy and would not want to comment on it in any way,' he added. 'Of course, we believe that everyone should be very, very careful with nuclear rhetoric.' The episode comes at a delicate moment, with Trump threatening to impose new sanctions on Russia and buyers of its oil, including India and China, unless President Vladimir Putin agrees by Friday to end the three-and-a-half-year war in Ukraine. India will continue buying Russian oil despite Trump tariff threats, government sources say Putin said last week that peace talks had made some positive progress but that Russia had the momentum in the war, signalling no shift in his position despite the looming deadline. Trump has said he may send his envoy Steve Witkoff to Russia on Wednesday or Thursday. Witkoff has held long conversations with Putin on several previous visits but failed to persuade him to agree to a ceasefire. The Kremlin declined to say if his latest proposed trip was taking place at Moscow's request, and did not say what it hoped might emerge from it. 'We are always happy to see Mr. Witkoff in Moscow and we are always happy to have contacts with Mr. Witkoff. We consider them important, meaningful and very useful,' Peskov said. Trump, who frequently promised to end the war within 24 hours while campaigning for the U.S. presidency last year, has spoken admiringly of Putin in the past but voiced increasing frustration with him of late. Russia has stepped up the ferocity of its bombing attacks on Ukrainian cities, while three brief sessions of direct peace talks in Turkey have yielded no progress beyond exchanges of prisoners and war dead. Some security analysts in both Russia and the West have criticized Trump for escalating an online spat with former president Medvedev – an arch-hawk whose statements are frequently designed to shock and provoke – to the point of publicly discussing U.S. nuclear deployments. Peskov, however, said Russia did not see Trump's statement as marking an escalation in nuclear tension. 'We do not believe that we are talking about any escalation now. It is clear that very complex, very sensitive issues are being discussed, which, of course, are perceived very emotionally by many people,' he said. Peskov declined to answer directly when asked whether the Kremlin had tried to warn Medvedev to tone down his online statements. 'The main thing, of course, is the position of President Putin,' he said.
