Could the next pope come from Africa?
Alan Kasujja speaks to Reverend Professor Paulinus Odozor, a Professor of Theology and African Studies at Notre Dame University.
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Reuters
20 minutes ago
- Reuters
Rwandan rebels' fate clouds Trump's vision for mineral-rich Congo
July 23 (Reuters) - Moves to end fighting in eastern Congo that are essential to U.S. President Donald Trump's plans for a mining bonanza in the region are meant to get underway by Sunday, but the future of a small rebel group has emerged as one of the major obstacles. A U.S.-brokered peace agreement signed last month by the Congolese and Rwandan foreign ministers was designed to halt violence that escalated this year with a lightning advance in the Democratic Republic of Congo by M23 rebels. Rwanda denies allegations from the U.N. and Western governments that it is fighting alongside the M23 rebels to gain access to Congo's minerals. Rwanda says its troops are there to tackle what it describes as an existential threat from thousands of Rwandan Hutu rebels known as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). Security experts and diplomats say the FDLR, which includes remnants of Rwanda's former army and militias that carried out the 1994 Rwandan genocide, boasts only a few hundred combatants and is not a significant battlefield force. But the peace agreement explicitly requires Congo to "neutralise" the FDLR as Rwanda withdraws from Congolese territory, underscoring the group's importance to the fate of Trump's diplomacy. Both the Congolese operations against the FDLR and the Rwandan withdrawal are supposed to start by Sunday and conclude by the end of September. U.N. experts said in a report this month that Rwanda, along with M23, is trying to seize control of mineral-rich territory. Kigali responded that the presence of the "genocidal" FDLR "necessitates the defence posture in our border areas". The U.N. experts also accused the Congolese military of relying on the FDLR in its fight against M23. A spokesperson for Congo's government did not respond to a request for comment on that question, but Kinshasa has said it is on board with ensuring any threat posed by the FDLR is "definitively eradicated", including by voluntary disarmament. It has also accused Rwanda of using the FDLR as a pretext for deploying on Congolese territory. Congolese researcher Josaphat Musamba said it was not possible for Congo to rid the region of FDLR fighters given that M23 holds much of the territory where the FDLR now operates. "It would be feasible if the Rwandan-backed rebellion were not active and threatening to conquer other territories," said Musamba, a Ph.D. candidate at Ghent University who is from eastern Congo and studies the conflict there. Jason Stearns, a political scientist at Simon Fraser University in Canada who specialises in Africa's Great Lakes region, said lack of progress against the FDLR could be cited by Rwanda as a reason to keep its troops deployed in eastern Congo past September, throwing off Washington's timeline. "It would be fairly easy for Rwanda to claim that Congo is not abiding by its side of the deal - that its operations against the FDLR are not serious enough, have not been successful enough - and therefore to drag its feet," Stearns said. A spokesperson for Rwanda's government did not respond to a request for comment on its approach to the FDLR. Rwandan President Paul Kagame said on July 4 that Rwanda was committed to implementing the deal, but that it could fail if Congo did not live up to its promises to neutralise the FDLR. Trump said on July 9 the Congolese and Rwandan presidents would travel to the United States in the "next couple of weeks" to sign the peace agreement. They are also expected to sign bilateral economic packages that would bring billions of dollars of investment into countries rich in tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper, lithium and other minerals. There has been no further word on a date. While Washington has hosted negotiations between Congo and Rwanda, Qatar has hosted separate direct talks between Congo and M23. On Saturday the two sides agreed to sign a separate peace deal by August 18. M23 currently has no concrete plans to withdraw from the territory it controls. The FDLR has urged Trump not to green-light a Congolese offensive against it. A July 2 letter to Trump from Victor Byiringiro, the FDLR's acting president, said attacking the FDLR would jeopardise the safety of Congolese civilians as well as more than 200,000 Rwandan refugees. In written responses to questions from Reuters, FDLR spokesperson Cure Ngoma said only "a frank, sincere, and inclusive dialogue among Rwandans" could bring peace, though Rwanda has repeatedly ruled out such talks with the group. Trump expects Congo and Rwanda to abide by the peace deal "which will foster lasting stability and prosperity in the region," Anna Kelly, a White House spokesperson, said in response to Reuters questions about the FDLR's future. "All armed groups must lay down their arms and work within the framework of the peace process." The fighting has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands more this year, while escalating the risk of a return to the kind of full-scale regional war which led to the deaths of millions of Congolese in 1998-2003.
Reuters
20 minutes ago
- Reuters
US lawmakers advance bill that could sanction South Africa over its foreign policy
JOHANNESBURG, July 23 (Reuters) - United States lawmakers have voted to advance a bill that proposes reviewing the U.S. relationship with South Africa due to objections over its foreign policy and potentially imposing sanctions on South African officials. The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee voted 34-16 on Tuesday to send the "U.S.-South Africa Bilateral Relations Review Act" to the full House of Representatives, where it could be subject to a vote, according to a video of the proceedings. The measure would need to pass both the House and the Senate before it could be signed into law. Many bills at this stage never go to a vote. However, the committee's approval took the bill a step further and underscored tensions between Washington and Pretoria as South Africa seeks to fend off a looming 30% U.S. tariff and counter false claims of white "genocide" made by President Donald Trump. South Africa's foreign ministry and a spokesperson for President Cyril Ramaphosa declined to comment. The bill was introduced in April by Ronny Jackson, a Republican congressman from Texas who cheered the move on X, writing: "South Africa made its choice when they abandoned America and our allies and sided with communists and terrorists". The bill accuses South Africa of undermining U.S. interests by maintaining close relationships with Russia and China, which are among its allies and trading partners. It also accuses South Africa of backing Palestinian militant group Hamas that is at war in Gaza with Israel, which South Africa has denied. South Africa has long been a supporter of the Palestinian cause and filed a case accusing Israel of genocide at the International Court of Justice in 2023, which is mentioned in the bill as one of its concerns. The bill proposes "a full review of the bilateral relationship" and to "identify South African government officials and ANC leaders eligible for the imposition of sanctions". It later says that these would be people determined by Trump to have engaged in corruption or human rights abuses. No individuals are named. South Africa's relationship with the United States has sharply deteriorated during Trump's second term, during which he has accused the government of anti-white racism and started a refugee programme for Afrikaners, who are descendants of European settlers.
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Ethiopian official denies Donald Trump's claim that US funded Gerd - the River Nile dam
An Ethiopian official has denied Donald Trump's claim that the United States helped fund Ethiopia's new megadam on the River Nile, saying it is false and "destructive". Last week, President Trump said the controversial dam was built "with United States money, largely".Officially known as the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (Gerd), the project is Africa's biggest hydro-electric plant and a major source of pride for the 14 years it has taken to complete Gerd, the Ethiopian authorities have repeatedly said that the dam was funded by the government, along with contributions from the Ethiopian people. The dam has, however, angered Egypt and Sudan, which lie upstream on the River Nile and fear the dam could lead to less water flowing into their BBC has asked the White House to expand on Trump's Tuesday, Fikrte Tamir, deputy director of the Gerd Coordination Office, dismissed Trump's remarks, saying the dam was built "without any foreign aid".Why is Egypt worried about Ethiopia's dam on the Nile?How Ethiopia was 'betrayed' over Nile damEthiopia's pop stars weigh in on Gerd rowAlthough technically an independent body, the Gerd Coordination Office was set up by the government to mobilise resources for the dam."Regarding what Donald Trump claimed, the government should respond with far-sighted and carefully considered diplomatic procedures," Ms Fikrte Ms Fikrte's comments, some Ethiopians have questioned how privy the Gerd Coordination Office would be to any potential deal between the government and the US, given its independent government has not responded to Trump's comments about funding the dam, which began generating electricity in 2022 and was fully completed earlier this is not the first time Trump has claimed US involvement in Gerd. Last month, in a post on his Truth Social online platform, the president said the dam was "stupidly financed by the United States of America" and "substantially reduces the water flowing into The Nile River".Trump was referring to concerns from Egypt and Sudan that the megadam would disrupt the flow of water they get from the River than a mile long and 145m high, Gerd lies on the Blue Nile in the northern Ethiopia highlands, from where 85% of the River Nile's waters wants the dam to produce desperately needed electricity, as the majority of its population - about 60% - have no the construction of Gerd has led to tensions with Egypt - an ally of the Trump administration - and scheduled to be completed within six years with a $4bn (£2.9bn) budget, Gerd generated excitement among the Ethiopian public. The authorities capitalised on this interest to raise money for the dam - bonds were sold to companies, employees pledged deductions from their salaries and Ethiopia's huge diaspora sent in the project running significantly behind schedule, and consequently overbudget, it has continued to draw 1 April this year, 1.7 billion birr ($12.3 million; £9.1 million) have been collected from the public, the Gerd Coordination Office says. You may also be interested in: Dam plan busted? World's biggest hydropower project in the balanceThe spectacular failures and successes of massive damsWho benefits from Lesotho's 'white gold'? Go to for more news from the African us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
