Beijing reacted in fury Thursday at the US government’s vow to revoke Chinese students’ visas, condemning president Donald Trump’s crackdown on international scholars as “political and discriminatory”. Trump’s administration on Wednesday said it would “aggressively” remove permissions for Chinese students, one of the largest sources of revenue for American universities, in his latest broadside against...
KINSHASA – The Democratic Republic of Congo’s Senate was yesterday scheduled to debate lifting the immunity of ex-president Joseph Kabila, who the government accuses of supporting a Rwanda-backed militia in the mineral-rich east. A vote in favour could expose the 53-year-old to prosecution on charges of supporting the M23 armed group, which has seized swathes...
JERUSALEM – Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday said he had ordered stepped-up security measures at Israeli diplomatic missions worldwide after a gunman who shouted “free Palestine” shot dead two embassy staff outside a Jewish museum in Washington. Foreign minister Gideon Saar attributed the killings to a wave of anti-Semitic and anti-Israel “incitement”, saying European governments...
When Russian president Vladimir Putin recently remarked that Russia and Western Europe would “sooner or later” restore constructive relations, it was less a statement of policy than a reminder of historical inevitability. For now, there are no signs of readiness on the part of the EU. But history is full of unexpected reversals, and diplomacy...
Hilda Mahagama DAR ES SALAAM – President of Namibia Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah arrived in the country on Tuesday for a two-day working visit that is expected to strengthen political, economic and social ties. The Namibian Head of State landed at Julius Nyerere International Airport at around 17h00. She was received by Minister for Foreign Affairs and...
BRUSSELS – The EU yesterday unveiled plans to make it easier to send asylum seekers to certain third countries, in the latest overhaul aimed at reducing migration to the bloc, sparking criticism from rights groups. The European Commission said it proposed broadening the so-called “safe third country” concept, which allows member states to “consider an...
KYIV – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky yesterday accused Russia of delaying peace talks in a bid to press on with its three-year invasion, even as US President Donald Trump pushes for an immediate ceasefire. Trump spoke by phone Monday with Zelensky and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, while Russian and Ukrainian officials met in Istanbul Friday...
KHARTOUM – Clashes erupted yesterday in Omdurman as Sudan’s army launched a “large-scale” offensive to dislodge the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces from its last positions in Khartoum state. Explosions were heard in eastern Omdurman, about 25 kilometres from RSF positions in the south and west of city, an AFP correspondent reported. The paramilitary forces had...
DAR ES SALAAM – Leading Kenyan and Ugandan activists were deported from Tanzania yesterday after trying to attend an opposition leader’s treason trial, a rights’ group said. Boniface Mwangi — a prominent campaigner against corruption and police violence in Kenya — was among several regional activists who travelled to Tanzania to show solidarity with opposition...
MELBOURNE – Authorities in the Australian city of Melbourne will not replace a damaged monument of British explorer James Cook, for fear it will inevitably be vandalised again. The granite-and-bronze memorial in the southeastern Australian city has been a favourite target of vandals, who tore the monument down last year, and scrawled “cook the colony”...