Canada, Mexico and China face tariffs on Saturday, White House says

WASHINGTON,  United States 

US President Donald Trump will impose tariffs on Saturday of 25% on Mexico, 25% on Canada and 10% on China, says the White House.

But Trump said on Friday that Canadian oil would be hit with lower tariffs of 10%, which could take effect later, on 18 February.

The president also said he planned to impose tariffs on the European Union in the future, saying the bloc had not treated the US well.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Canada and Mexico duties were in response to "the illegal fentanyl that they have sourced and allowed to distribute into our country, which has killed tens of millions of Americans".

Trump has also repeatedly said the move was to address the large amounts of undocumented migrants that have come across US borders as well as trade deficits with its neighbours.

Ms Leavitt told a news briefing at the White House on Friday: "These are promises made and promises kept by the President."

During the election campaign, Trump threatened to hit Chinese-made products with tariffs of up to 60%, but held off on any immediate action on his first day back in the White House, instead ordering his administration to study the issue.

US goods imports from China have flattened since 2018, a statistic that economists have attributed in part to a series of escalating tariffs that Trump imposed during his first term.

Earlier this month, a top Chinese official warned against protectionism as Trump's return to the presidency renews the threat of a trade war between the world's two biggest economies - but did not mention the US by name.

Addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Ding Xuexiang, Vice Premier of China, said his country was looking for a "win-win" solution to trade tensions and wanted to expand its imports.

China, Canada and Mexico are the top US trading partners, accounting for 40% of the goods imported into the US last year, and fears are rising that the new steep levies could kick off a major trade war as well as push up prices in the US.

SADC bloc backs Congo’s territorial integrity amid M23 rebel offensive

HARARE, Zimbabwe

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) backed the independence, sovereignty and territorial sovereignty of the Democratic Republic of Congo on Friday amid an offensive by the M23 rebel group.

The regional bloc also urged the immediate dispatch of ministers and defense chiefs to ensure the SADC peace mission in Congo (SAMIDRC), that troops are safe and to facilitate that immediate repatriation of dead and injured troops.

Zimbabwe hosted the SADC summit Friday as M23 rebels claim control over Goma, the capital of North Kivi province, which borders Rwanda.

It also called for a joint meeting with the East African Community (EAC) bloc to deliberate the conflict in eastern Congo.

The EAC held a separate virtual summit Wednesday and demanded that Kinshasa directly engage with the M23.

The rebel group launched a major offensive last week in Goma, home to around 3 million people.

Kinshasa accused Rwanda of sending troops to support the rebels. Rwanda denied the accusation, but regional leaders have urged an immediate ceasefire, as dozens have died with hundreds injured.

Uganda has also been accused of backing the rebels, a claim it rejects.

Reports by Unite Nations claimed nearly 700 deaths in the past week.

Thousands have been displaced, many fleeing to Rwanda, including staff from international organizations like the UN and World Bank.

Rwanda said nine of its citizens died in alleged cross-border fire from Goma. At least 17, including 16 from SAMIDRC, peacekeepers have also been killed since last week.

At least 700 killed in DR Congo fighting since Sunday - UN

KINSHASA,  DR Congo 

United Nations says at least 700 people have been killed in intense fighting in Goma, the largest city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, since Sunday.

UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said 2,800 people have been injured, as M23 rebels - backed by Rwanda - captured the capital of North Kivu province.

The rebels are now reported to be moving south towards Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu.

The conflict in eastern DR Congo dates back to the 1990s but has rapidly escalated in recent weeks.

M23, which is made up of ethnic Tutsis, say they are fighting for minority rights, while DR Congo's government says the Rwanda-backed rebels are seeking control of the eastern region's vast mineral wealth.

On Friday, Dujarric said the casualty figures came from an assessment made by the World Health Organization and its partners, alongside the DR Congo's government, between Sunday and Thursday.

The UN spokesman also warned the death toll would rise further.

In an attempt to halt M23's progress, the DR Congo military has set up a defensive line on the road between Goma and Bukavu, according to the AFP news agency.

Hundreds of civilian volunteers have been enlisted to defend Bukavu.

One young man told the AFP: "I am ready to die for my country."

Jean-Jacques Purusi Sadiki, the governor of South Kivu - the province M23 are marching on - told Reuters news agency the government army and its allies were holding back the rebels, though that claim has not been independently verified.

Earlier this week, M23 vowed to continue its offensive until it reached the capital Kinshasa, about 2,600km (1,600 miles) to the west.

Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, the country's foreign minister, told reporters that Rwanda was illegally occupying her country and attempting to orchestrate regime change.

Wagner said the international community had allowed Rwandan President Paul Kagame decades of impunity and failed to hold him accountable for violating international law.

Rwanda's government spokeswoman Yolande Makolo denied the accusation, saying the country's troops were only deployed to prevent the conflict spilling over to its territory.

"We're not interested in war, we're not interested in annexation, we're not interested in regime change," Makolo said.

UN experts estimated last year that Rwanda had between 3,000 and 4,000 troops operating alongside the M23 in eastern DR Congo.

On Friday, the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) regional bloc declared its support for DR Congo at a crisis summit in Zimbabwe.

In a statement, the 16-member group "reaffirmed its solidarity and unwavering commitment to continue supporting the DRC in its pursuit of safeguarding its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity".

Sadc has sent peacekeeping troops, primarily from South Africa, to DR Congo to combat armed groups like the M23 and restore peace in the mineral-rich region after decades of unrest.

Sixteen soldiers from southern African countries have been killed in clashes with the M23 around Goma in the past week.

The fighting has also worsened the humanitarian crisis in eastern DR Congo. - Africa 

Uganda's supreme court halts civilian prosecutions in military courts

KAMPALA,  Uganda 

Uganda's highest court declared on Friday that the trial of civilians in military courts is unconstitutional, ordering an immediate halt to any ongoing prosecutions.

This decision brings relief to prominent opposition leader Kizza Besigye, who has been facing trial in the military's general court martial.

His attorney, Erias Lukwago, confirmed that Besigye will not appear in court on Monday as previously planned.

Chief Justice Alphonse Owiny-Dollo stated that all charges and ongoing criminal trials involving civilians in military courts must cease immediately.

He emphasized that these cases should be transferred to civilian courts.

Besigye, a long-time critic of President Yoweri Museveni, was arrested in Kenya last November and later returned to Uganda, where he faced multiple charges related to firearms and security, some of which could result in the death penalty.

He has been held in a maximum-security facility in Kampala.

The court had earlier dismissed arguments from Besigye's legal team questioning its authority to try civilians.

Owiny-Dollo noted that military courts lack the legal capacity to conduct fair and impartial criminal trials as mandated by the constitution.

Justice Elizabeth Musoke, another member of the panel, pointed out that military courts are only authorized to deal with disciplinary matters concerning military personnel.

Besigye's wife, Winnie Byanyima, who leads the U.N. agency UNAIDS, has claimed that the charges against him are politically motivated, a sentiment echoed by his lawyers, who have labelled the accusations as unfounded.

Human rights advocates and opposition figures have accused Museveni's administration of utilizing military courts to target political opponents and their supporters with politically charged allegations.

In a 2011 report, Human Rights Watch stated that Uganda's military courts infringed on the basic rights of defendants by trying civilians and utilizing evidence acquired through torture.

The government has denied any claims of rights abuses.

EAST AFRICA NEWSPAPERS 01/02/2025

 

Rwanda-backed M23 rebels pledge to 'march all the way to Kinshasa'

GOMA, DR Congo

The Rwanda-backed M23 armed group vowed Thursday to "continue the march of liberation" to the DR Congo capital Kinshasa, as its fighters made further advances in the mineral-rich east of the country.

M23 Rebels President Bertrand Bisimwa (L),  group’s journalist Paluku Magloire and the Alliance Commander Corneille Nangaa (R)

The group's capture of most of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, is a dramatic escalation in a region that has seen decades of conflict involving multiple armed groups. 

Rwanda says its primary interest is to eradicate fighters linked to the 1994 genocide but is accused of seeking to profit from the region's reserves of minerals used in global electronics. 

"We will continue the march of liberation all the way to Kinshasa," Corneille Nangaa, head of a coalition of groups including the M23, told reporters in Goma.

"We are in Goma and we will not leave... for as long as the questions for which we took up arms have not been answered," he said.

He went on to promise that the group would restore electricity and security in the city in the coming days, adding they would establish humanitarian corridors to help the displaced return.

It comes after Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi pledged to continue fighting in an address to the nation late Wednesday, promising a "vigorous and coordinated response against these terrorists and their sponsors is under way".

Local sources told our reporter late Wednesday that Kigali-backed fighters were advancing on a new front and had seized two districts in South Kivu province.

The Congolese army has yet to make a statement about the M23 advances.

After days of intense clashes that left more than 100 dead and nearly 1,000 wounded, according to unofficial tally, some Goma residents on Thursday ventured out to take stock.

"We do not want to live under the thumb of these people," one person, who wished to remain anonymous, told our reporter.

France tells Rwanda to 'immediately' leave DR Congo

PARIS, France

France on Thursday called on Rwandan forces and Kigali-backed M23 rebels to withdraw from the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Rwandan army officers lead surrendered members of the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC) into Rwanda

It comes days after M23 claimed control over the key eastern Congolese city of Goma.

Paris reiterated its condemnation of the M23 offensive in Congo.

"The sovereignty and territorial integrity of [Congo] are not negotiable," French Foreign Ministry spokesperson Cristophe Lemoine said.

"The M23 must immediately withdraw from the territories it has taken control of. Rwandan forces must urgently leave the territory of the DRC," he said.

He said that Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot had travelled to Rwanda's capital, Kigali, after having visited Kinshasa.

The spokesperson said that Paris supported diplomatic efforts by Angola and Kenya to mediate peace talks between Congo and Rwanda.

The minister's visit comes after protesters stormed the French embassy and other diplomatic missions in Congo's capital.

The M23 group pledged that it would continue its offensive in Congo after capturing the North Kivu provincial capital of Goma.

"We will continue the march of liberation all the way to Kinshasa," said Corneille Nangaa, head of a coalition of groups including M23, according to the AFP news agency and Rwandan media.

"We are in Goma and we will not leave... for as long as the questions for which we took up arms have not been answered," he said.

The statement comes after Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi vowed a "vigorous and coordinated response" against M23 and Rwandan forces.

Also on Thursday, Rwandan President Paul Kagame said that Kigali was ready for "confrontation" with South Africa over Pretoria's condemnation of the M23 offensive.

13 South African soldiers, who are present in eastern Congo as part of a UN peacekeeping, have been killed since the escalation of hostilities last week. 

France ends military presence in Sahel region with handover of last base in Chad

N'DJAMENA, Chad

The French army has handed over its last base in Chad in a military ceremony in the capital N'Djamena, the general staffs of both countries announced Thursday.

The central African country in late November abruptly ended military cooperation with its former colonial ruler, and French troops began leaving the country in late December.

Thursday's handover of the Kossei base marks the end of France's military presence in the African country "according to the wishes of the high authorities" in N'Djamena, a statement from the Chadian high command said.

"The Kossei camp was handed over today to the Chadian army," said Colonel Guillaume Vernet, spokesman for the armed forces' general staff in Paris.

French troops withdrew from their Faya-Largeau base in the north of the country on December 26, and on January 11 pulled out of a second base at Abeche.

During the handover in Abeche, Chadian authorities declared that a January 31 deadline for the French withdrawal from the country was "non-negotiable".

President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, in power since 2021, said the cooperation agreements with France had become "completely obsolete" in light of "the political and geostrategic realities of our time".

Soldiers and fighter aircraft from France have been stationed in Chad almost continuously since the country's independence in 1960, helping to train the Chadian military.

The largely desert country had been a key link in France's military presence in Africa and its last foothold in the wider Sahel region after the forced withdrawal of French troops from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger in the wake of military coups.

The military authorities in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have pivoted towards Russia in recent years.

At its height, France's Sahel contingent numbered more than 5,000 troops as part of the anti-jihadist Operation Barkhane, which ended in November 2022.

French President Emmanuel Macron irked France's allies in a New Year's speech to diplomats, lamenting that African countries "forgot to say thank you" for France's decade-long deployment to fight an Islamist insurgency.

Senegal is also negotiating the withdrawal of French forces by the end of 2025. At the same time, Paris's military presence in the Ivory Coast and Gabon is being cut back, in line with a restructuring plan for France's presence in West and Central Africa.

A French base in Djibouti, which hosts 1,500 troops, is being developed as a launching pad for future missions in Africa following the forced withdrawal from the Sahel.

Trump threatens BRICS with tariffs if they replace US dollar

WASHINGTON, United States

United States President, Donald Trump, threatened BRICS member states with 100% tariffs on Thursday to dissuade them from replacing the US dollar as reserve currency.

Trump had made a similar statement right after winning the November 2024 elections. 

"We are going to require a commitment from these seemingly hostile countries that they will neither create a new BRICS currency, nor back any other currency to replace the mighty US dollar or, they will face 100% Tariffs," he said on his Truth social media platform.

"There is no chance that BRICS will replace the US dollar in international trade, or anywhere else, and any country that tries should say hello to tariffs, and goodbye to America!" he added.

The BRICS group consists primarily of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. In the last few years, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Iran and Indonesia have also joined the group, bringing the number of members to eleven. 

It was formed in 2009 as a counter to dominance by the US and western allies.

BRICS represents nearly half of the world's population and is considered as a counterpart to the G7 group of countries.

The economic bloc has been in talks about introducing another reserve currency, but the idea took momentum especially after the West imposed sanctions on Russia due to its war in Ukraine.

The power of the US dollar in the world has strengthened recently. It remains the world's primary reserve currency and there is a huge worldwide reliance on it.

Hamas confirms death of military wing's leader

GAZA, Palestine

The Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, announced Thursday that its military chief, Mohammed Deif, was killed by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip.

In a statement, Abu Obeida, spokesperson for the brigades, also confirmed that Marwan Issa, Al-Qassam's deputy chief of staff, had been killed.

"The enemy has assassinated two of our great leaders, but their legacy and resistance will continue," Obeida said.

He added that the assassination of Hamas military leaders will not stop the Palestinian resistance against Israel.

No additional details were provided.

ALSO READ: Mohammed Deif, architect of attack in Israel, killed in airstrike

On Aug. 1, 2024, Israel's military claimed that it had killed Deif in an airstrike in southern Gaza's Khan Younis. Israel has accused Deif of being one of the masterminds of the Hamas attack on southern Israeli towns on Oct. 7, 2023.

Israel says Deif was one of the figures responsible for planning the 7 October attacks in southern Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage.

Deif was widely seen as the second-ranking Hamas official in Gaza, behind Yahya Sinwar, the group's leader in the territory, who was also killed by Israeli forces last year.

Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) last year issued an arrest warrant for Deif, alongside Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant.

Deif was known to have helped engineer the construction of tunnels that have allowed Hamas fighters to enter Israel from Gaza. He was also credited with designing Hamas's signature weapon, the Qassam rocket.

In its statement on Thursday, Hamas also announced the death of deputy military commander Marwan Issa.

EAST AFRICA NEWSPAPERS 31/01/2025

 

Israel releases Palestinian prisoners after delay over chaotic hostage handover

JERUSALEM, Israel 

Hamas freed three Israeli and five Thai hostages in Gaza on Thursday and Israel began releasing 110 Palestinian prisoners after delaying the process in anger at the swarming crowds at one of the hostage handover points.

Arbel Yehud, 29, abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz in the Hamas-led assault on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, looked fearful and struggled to walk through the crowd as armed militants handed her to the Red Cross in a tense scene in the southern city of Khan Younis.

 Another Israeli hostage, Gadi Moses, 80, was also released along with five Thai nationals working on Israeli farms near Gaza when the militants burst through the border fence.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the sight of their handover amid the swarming crowds was shocking and threatened death to anyone hurting hostages.

After urging mediators to ensure the scene would not be repeated, the prime minister’s office said mediators had committed to ensuring the safe passage of hostages in future releases.Later on Thursday, buses arrived in the West Bank city of Ramallah carrying some of the 110 Palestinian prisoners expected to be freed as part of the phased agreement that halted fighting in the shattered coastal territory earlier this month.

Netanyahu and the Defense Minister Israel Katz said they had ordered the delay in releases “until the safe exit of our hostages in the next phases is assured.”

Palestinian health officials said at least 14 Palestinians were hurt by Israeli fire, some with live and rubber bullets, others from gas inhalation, as they gathered at the entrance to Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, to welcome the freed detainees. There was no immediate comment from Israel.

Some prisoners from East Jerusalem had arrived at their homes while others, who were due to be taken to Gaza or deported to Egypt, had yet to reach their destinations.

Man who burned Quran 'shot dead in Sweden'

STOCKHOLM,  Sweden  

A man who sparked violent protests after burning the Quran has been shot dead in Sweden.

Salwan Momika was killed in an apartment in Södertälje, Stockholm, on Wednesday evening, prosecutors told our reporter.

Unrest broke out after Mr Momika set fire to a copy of Islam's holy book outside Stockholm Central Mosque in 2023.

Stockholm police said in a statement that five people had been arrested after a man in his 40s was shot dead overnight.

Officers were called to a suspected shooting at an apartment in Hovsjö around 23:11 local time (22:11 GMT) on Wednesday.

The man, who has not been named by police, was found with gunshot wounds and taken to hospital. The force announced he had died on Thursday morning.

Local media reported that Mr Momika had been livestreaming on social media around the time he was shot.

Mr Momika, an Iraqi living in Sweden, was charged in August alongside one other with "agitation against an ethnic group" on four occasions in the summer of 2023.

The verdict, due to be delivered on Thursday, was postponed after it was "confirmed that one of the defendants had died", Stockholm District Court said.Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Sweden's security services were involved in the investigation because there was "obviously a risk that there were links to foreign powers," SVT reported.

Mr Momika carried out a series of anti-Islam protests, sparking outrage in many Muslim-majority countries.

Unrest took place at the Swedish embassy in Baghdad twice, while the Swedish ambassador was expelled from the city amid a diplomatic row.

Swedish police had given Mr Momika permission for the protest in which he burnt the holy book, in accordance with the country's free-speech laws.

The government later pledged to explore legal means of abolishing protests that involve burning texts in certain circumstances.

Nurse dies as Uganda confirms new Ebola outbreak

By Dorcas Wangira, KAMPALA Uganda 

Uganda's ministry of health has confirmed a new outbreak of the Ebola virus in the capital, Kampala, with one reported death.

The victim was a 32-year-old male nurse whose symptoms included "high fever, chest pain, and difficulty in breathing" and "bleeding from multiple body sites".

He died of multi-organ failure on Wednesday at Mulango National Hospital, located in the city's central business district.

This marks Uganda's eighth recorded Ebola outbreak since the first infection was documented in 2000.

The Sudan Ebola Virus Disease (SUDV) is a highly infectious haemorrhagic fever which is transmitted through contact with infected bodily fluids and tissues. It is one of several strains of the Ebola virus known to cause outbreaks.

In the days before his death, the nurse went to multiple health facilities as well as a traditional healer, before the diagnosis was confirmed.

He also went to a public hospital in Mbale, a city which borders Kenya.

The ministry said 44 contacts of the deceased man, including 30 healthcare workers, have been identified for tracing.

Rapid response teams have been deployed to try to contain the disease.

But contact tracing may be difficult since Kampala, a bustling city of over four million people, serves as a major hub for travel to South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and other neighbouring countries.

Uganda's last Ebola outbreak was in September 2022, which was also caused by SUDV. Centred in Mubende district, it was declared over after four months.

There are six known types of the Ebola virus. Four of them, Zaire, Bundibugyo, Sudan, and Taï Forest, are known to cause disease in humans.

The Reston and Bombali strains primarily affect non-human primates.

Unlike the more common Zaire Ebola virus, there is no approved vaccine for the Sudan strain.

Symptoms of Ebola infection include fever, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and sore throat, followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, rash, and internal and external bleeding.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that, on average, Ebola kills five in every 10 infected individuals.

However, past outbreaks have shown a case fatality rate ranging from 25% to 90%, depending on the circumstances and response measures.