Governance

WASHINGTON— The president of the Democratic Republic of Congo joined the United States on Tuesday in blaming climate change for major floods that have claimed around 100 lives in the capital Kinshasa.   “The DRC is under pressure but unfortunately it’s not sufficiently heard or supported,” President Felix Tshisekedi told Secretary of State Antony Blinken as they met at a US-Africa summit in Washington.   The flooding is an example of “what we have been deploring for some time,” he said.   “Support must come from countries that pollute and unfortunately trigger the harmful consequences in our countries that lack

With dozens of African leaders descending on Washington this week, the Biden administration is offering a not-so-subtle pitch in its economic competition with China on the continent: The U.S. offers a better option to African partners. Ahead of Tuesday’s start of the three-day U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, Deputy Commerce Secretary Don Graves acknowledged that the U.S. has fallen behind as China has surged past American foreign direct investment in Africa but argued that the U.S. remains the “partner of choice” in Africa. “We took our eye off the ball so to speak, and U.S. investors and companies are having to play

Saudi Arabia threw out the proverbial red carpet for Chinese President Xi Jinping for a series of summits that could have lasting repercussions for the United States and other Western nations. In addition, the Arab states that attended the final summit Friday are hoping to participate in Beijing’s Silk Road Initiative, linking Asia to Africa via the Arab world. Ultimately, the Silk Road Initiative will also tie into China’s Belt and Road Initiative linking China to Europe. Xi told Arab leaders Friday that the gathering had “worked to strengthen mutual efforts to confront the food, energy and climate crises and

KINSHASA — Democratic Republic of Congo said it will hold presidential and parliamentary elections on Dec. 20, 2023, kicking off a year of complex preparations in the vast Central African country, large parts of which are overrun by militia violence.   Announcing the date at a ceremony in Kinshasa Saturday, the electoral body, CENI, outlined several challenges, including the logistics of transporting ballot materials thousands of miles, health concerns about Ebola and COVID-19, and unrest that has forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes.   But the government has pledged to stick to the timetable in the country of

The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights on a visit to Sudan has urged authorities to respect human rights as a core of the country’s transition to democracy. At the end of his four-day visit to Sudan, Volker Tuerk said justice and accountability must be expedited for victims and survivors of rights violations. The U.N. rights chief said his office has documented serious human rights violations in Sudan in the last few years and yet no one has ever been held accountable. Speaking at a press conference late Wednesday in Khartoum, Tuerk also cited more recent excessive use of force

Riyadh – FAO Director-General QU Dongyu today held talks in Riyadh with Abdulrahman Abdulmohsen A. AlFadley, the Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Minister expressed his appreciation to FAO and his commitment to further enhance Saudi Arabia’s partnership with the Organization. Meanwhile, the Minister acknowledged many positive outcomes achieved in Sustainable Rural Agriculture Development Programme, which is being technically supported by FAO. The Minister would like FAO to maximize the impacts of this programme and benefit more targeted communities. The Director-General thanked the Minister for Saudi Arabia’s hospitality and expressed his expectation that the country

Addis Ababa: The Chairperson of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat is pleased to announce the launch in South Africa of the first direct talks between the Government of the Federal Government of Ethiopia and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, as part of the ongoing AU-led process to support the Parties find a political solution to the conflict in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. The Talks are facilitated by H.E. Olusegun Obasanjo, the AU High Representative for the Horn of Africa and former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, along with former President Uhuru Kenyatta of the Republic

Members of the Canadian Parliament have urged the government to expedite the resettlement to Canada of Uyghur refugees now living in third countries.   The Parliament voted Tuesday on a motion from Conservative MP Garnett Genuis to reaffirm its recognition of the Uyghur genocide in China and to call for special immigration measures to assist Uyghur refugees at risk of deportation to China from third countries.   “House of Commons thankfully endorsed that motion,” Genuis told VOA.   Almost 50,000 Uyghur refugees are living in Turkey, and smaller numbers of Uyghurs who fled China are in countries such as Egypt

Rishi Sunak ran for Britain’s top job and lost. Then he got another shot — and the chance to say, “I told you so.” The former U.K. Treasury chief was runner-up to Liz Truss in the contest to replace the scandal-plagued Boris Johnson as Conservative Party leader and prime minister. But Truss quit after a turbulent 45-day term, and Johnson has abandoned a comeback attempt. That left Sunak out front, and he won the race Monday to be leader of the Conservative Party and will assume the office he missed out on less than two months ago. Victory in the

Peace talks on the war in Ethiopia will start on Monday in South Africa, the African Union said Friday, following earlier commitments by the government and Tigray forces to participate. The Ethiopian government and its allies, which include Eritrea’s military, have been fighting Tigray forces in the north of the country on and off since late 2020. The conflict has killed thousands, displaced millions and left hundreds of thousands on the brink of famine. Both sides had committed to talks earlier this month, but they were delayed for logistical reasons. The African Union’s Peace and Security Council said Friday it