Category: International News

Rwanda has cut diplomatic ties with Belgium, saying it has been “consistently undermined” by the European nation during the ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Brussels has been leading calls for European nations to sanction Rwanda over its support for the M23, a rebel group at the centre of DR Congo’s crisis.

The authorities in Kigali, Rwanda’s capital, have given Belgian diplomats 48 hours to leave the country.

Belgium, which is the former colonial power, has said it will respond to these measures and labelled Rwanda’s decision “disproportionate”.

Despite assertions from the UN and US, Rwanda has denied backing the M23.

In its statement on Monday, Kigali accused Brussels of attempting to “sustain its neo-colonial delusions”.

“Belgium has clearly taken sides in a regional conflict and continues to systematically mobilise against Rwanda in different forums, using lies and manipulation to secure an unjustified hostile opinion of Rwanda, in an attempt to destabilise both Rwanda and the region,” the statement said.

Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot responded to Rwanda’s measures on social media, saying: “This is disproportionate and shows that when we disagree with Rwanda they prefer not to engage in dialogue.”

Prevot said Rwandan diplomats in Belgium will be declared “persona non grata”.

This declaration can lead to the removal of diplomatic status and often results in the expulsion or the withdrawal of recognition of envoys.

Around 7,000 people have been killed in the fighting between the M23 and DR Congo’s armed forces in the east of the country since the beginning of the year, the Congolese authorities have said.

According to the UN children’s agency, Unicef, more than 850,000 people have been forced to flee their homes since the conflict increased in intensity in January.

In the past two months, the M23 have taken control of two key cities – Goma and Bukavu.

In an attempt to pressure Rwanda into withdrawing its support for the M23 Britain has cut some of its aid to the country.

Last month, the UN Security Council demanded that the M23 end hostilities and that Rwanda should pull its troops out of DR Congo.

Before Kigali cut ties with Brussels, Rwandan President Paul Kagame vowed that his country would “stand up” to Belgium.

“We would ask [Belgium]: ‘Who are you by the way? Who put you in charge of us?’ Rwandans believe in God, but did God really put these people in charge of Rwanda?” Kagame asked in an address on Sunday.

Greenland’s outgoing leader, Múte B Egede, has strongly condemned US President Donald Trump’s renewed comments about annexing the world’s largest island.

“Now the US president has once again floated the idea of annexing us. I cannot accept that under any circumstances,” Egede wrote on Facebook. Expressing his frustration, he announced plans to convene other political leaders as soon as possible to issue a stronger rejection of Trump’s remarks.

He stressed that such disrespect toward Greenlanders could no longer be tolerated, declaring, “Enough is enough.”

Jens-Frederik Nielsen, the potential successor to Egede and leader of the centre-right Demokraatit (Democrats) party, also criticized Trump’s statement and described it as inappropriate, emphasizing the need for Greenlanders to stand together in response. Reinforcing his party’s stance on Greenland’s sovereignty, Nielsen pointed to their election manifesto, which firmly states, “Greenland is not for sale. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not ever.”

Despite repeated pushback, Trump has continued to express his interest in taking control of Greenland, which remains a territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
During a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House on Thursday, he reignited the issue by responding to a reporter’s question about annexation, saying, “I think it will happen.”

He highlighted the island’s strategic importance and its geographical distance from Denmark.

Egede has consistently reiterated that Greenlanders seek neither Danish nor American rule, but rather recognition of their identity and autonomy.

The government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels will hold talks next week, mediator Angola has announced.

A statement from President Joao Lourenco’s office on Wednesday said the two parties would begin “direct peace negotiations” in the Angolan capital Luanda on March 18.

Angola has previously acted as a mediator in the eastern DRC conflict that escalated in late January when the M23 took control of the strategic eastern Congo city of Goma. In February, M23 seized Bukavu, eastern Congo’s second-biggest city.

Rwanda denies backing the M23 armed group in the conflict, which is rooted in the spread of Rwanda’s 1994 genocide into DRC, and the struggle for control of DRC’s vast mineral resources.

DRC President Felix Tshisekedi was in Angola on Tuesday to discuss the possibility of talks and his spokesperson Tina Salama told the Reuters news agency on Wednesday that the government had received an invitation from Angola but did not say whether it would participate in the talks.

M23 leader Bertrand Bisimwa wrote on X that the rebels had forced Tshisekedi to the negotiating table, calling it “the only civilized option to resolve the current crisis that has lasted for decades.”

The government has said at least 7,000 people have died in the conflict since January.

Last week, the United Nations refugee agency reported that nearly 80,000 people have fled the country due to the armed conflict. Since January, 61,000 have arrived in neighbouring Burundi, the agency’s deputy director of international protection, Patrick Eba, said.

M23 is one of about 100 armed groups vying to control resources in eastern Congo, home to vast reserves of strategic minerals such as coltan, cobalt, copper and lithium.

DRC’s neighbours, including South Africa, Burundi, and Uganda, have troops stationed in east Congo, increasing fears of an all-out regional war that could resemble the Congo wars of the 1990s and early 2000s that killed millions of people.

A woman who was falsely declared dead has appeared in court via videolink from Nigeria to stop a convicted fraudster from seizing her £350,000 London home.

June Ashimola, 55, was reportedly deceased since February 2019, sparking a bizarre legal battle over her estate. However, she appeared before High Court judge John Linwood to declare she was alive and a victim of fraud.

The court heard that Ms. Ashimola left Britain for Nigeria in 2018 and never returned. In her absence, Power of Attorney over her estate—including a house in Woolwich, southeast London—was granted to associates of convicted fraudster Tony Ashikodi.

In October 2022, Power of Attorney was assigned to Ms. Ruth Samuel on behalf of Mr. Bakare Lasisi, who claimed to have married Ms. Ashimola in 1993. However, the judge ruled that Ms. Ashimola had been the victim of fraud and that Mr. Lasisi did not even exist.

It was claimed Ms. Ashimola had died in Nigeria in 2019 without leaving a will, with a death certificate produced in court. Some even alleged that reported sightings of her were of an imposter.

But Ms. Ashimola told the court she was “allegedly deceased,” calling the death certificate “false and fraudulent” and stating that the estate grant was “improperly obtained.”

“This is an unusual probate claim in that the deceased says she is very much alive,” Deputy Master Linwood noted.

“The root of this claim is a long-running battle waged by Mr. Tony Ashikodi for control and ownership of the property. This claim involves wide-ranging allegations of fraud, forgery, impersonation, and intimidation.”

To determine her request to revoke the grant, the judge had to consider key questions: “Is June Ashimola alive? Is the person claiming to be her really her? Did Mr. Lasisi marry June Ashimola?”

To the judge’s frustration, Ms. Ashimola could not appear in person due to visa issues, which made parts of her evidence “unsatisfactory.” However, he accepted her identity, verified through passport photos, and found her account credible.

After reviewing testimony from Mr. Ashikodi—who was jailed for three years in 1996 for obtaining property by deception—the judge ruled that he had “orchestrated” the fraud and attempted to “mislead the court.”

Among the more shocking revelations, the judge found that Ms. Ashimola’s alleged husband, Mr. Lasisi, was completely fictitious despite numerous emails supposedly from him.

“I find Ms. Ashimola is alive and that the death certificate was forged or fraudulently produced,” he ruled.

“Her alleged death was part of Mr. Tony Ashikodi’s attempts to wrest control of the property from her.”

He concluded that Mr. Lasisi and the supposed marriage certificate were fabricated, stating, “I do not accept Mr. Lasisi exists, or if he does, that he was aware his identity was being used.”

“The probate power of attorney submitted by Mr. Lasisi and Ms. Samuel was fraudulently produced.”

Based on his findings, Deputy Master Linwood revoked the grant related to the Power of Attorney.

The court heard that both parties had already accumulated legal costs exceeding £150,000—an amount that could surpass the property’s equity.

Al-Shabab gunmen have stormed and laid siege to a hotel in central Somalia as government officials and tribal elders met to discuss action against the outfit.

The armed group claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s attack on the Cairo Hotel in the town of Beledweyne in a statement. Several people are reported to have been killed.

The gunmen detonated a car bomb before storming into the building firing. An intense battle with Somali security forces was triggered, and a siege was ongoing in the early afternoon.

Varying claims

Ali Suleiman, a shopkeeper who witnessed the attack, told the Reuters news agency that he heard “a huge blast followed by gunfire. Then another blast was heard.” The witness said part of the hotel was reduced to rubble.

Al-Shabab said in a statement that it had killed more than 10 people in the attack. However, reports on the death toll varied.

Quoting Dahir Amin Jesow, a federal lawmaker from Beledweyne, Reuters reported that at least four people had been killed. The Associated Press news agency, quoting a resident in the area, reported that six people have been killed, including “two well-known traditional elders.”

Born of anarchy

Born out of Somalia’s many years of anarchy after a 1991 civil war, al-Shabab, which has ties to al-Qaeda, has been waging war against the Somali government for more than 16 years.

The armed group frequently carries out attacks targeting government officials and military personnel in the country as it tries to topple the government to establish its own strict interpretation of Islamic law although civilians are also at risk.

Controlling parts of rural Somalia, the group has continued to pose a threat to the country despite sustained military operations by the government and an African Union peacekeeping force, which pushed it out of the capital, Mogadishu.

Tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump on imports of steel and aluminium have taken effect in a move that will likely escalate tensions with some of America’s largest trading partners.

The measure raises a flat duty on steel and aluminium entering the US to 25% and ends all country exemptions to the levies.

Several countries, including the UK and Australia, have tried to secure carve-outs without success. Others, including Canada and the European Union, have said they will retaliate.

Trump hopes the tariffs will boost US steel and aluminium production but critics say it will raise prices for US consumers and dent economic growth.

The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), a group representing US steelmakers, welcomed the tariffs saying they will create jobs and boost domestic steel manufacturing.

The group’s president Kevin Dempsey said the moved closed a system of exemptions, exclusions and quotas that allowed foreign producers to avoid tariffs.

“AISI applauds the president’s actions to restore the integrity of the tariffs on steel and implement a robust and reinvigorated program to address unfair trade practices,” Mr Dempsey added.

The US is a major importer of aluminium and steel, and Canada, Mexico and Brazil are among its largest suppliers of the metals.

The tariffs mean that US businesses wanting to bring the metals into the country will have to pay a 25% tax on them.

This is likely to lead to higher costs for a large number of US industries, including aerospace, car manufacturing and construction.

Michael DiMarino runs Linda Tool, 17-person Brooklyn company that makes parts for the aerospace industry. Everything he makes involves some kind of steel, much of which comes from American mills.

“If I have higher prices, I pass them onto my customers. They have higher prices, they pass it onto the consumer,” Mr DiMarino said, adding that he supports the call for increased manufacturing in the US but warning the president’s moves risk backfiring.

The American Automotive Policy Council, a group that represents car giants such Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, also echoed such concerns.

“We are still reviewing and awaiting all of the details of the proposed tariffs, but are concerned that specifically revoking exemptions for Canada and Mexico will add significant costs for our suppliers,” said Matt Blunt, organisation’s president said.

Some economists are warning that the tariffs could help the US steel and aluminium industries but hurt the wider economy.

“It protects [the steel and aluminium] industries but hurts downstream users of their products by making them more expensive,” said Bill Reinsch, a former Commerce Department official who is now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

‘No exceptions’

In 2018, during his first term as president, Trump imposed import tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminium, but he eventually negotiated carve-outs for many countries.

Several countries, including the UK and Australia, which had previously been exempted from paying such tariffs were looking to avoid them once again.

But President Trump has said he will not be granting the same sort of exclusions and exemptions that he did in his first term.

Responding to the tariffs that are coming into effect, Australia’s Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, said in a press conference that the Trump administration’s decision to go ahead with the new tariffs is “entirely unjustified.”

“It’s against the spirit of our two nations’ enduring friendship and fundamentally at odds with the benefits that our economic partnership has delivered over more than 70 years,” he added.

Albanese also said Australia will not be imposing reciprocal tariffs on the US because such a move would only push up prices for Australian consumers.

Meanwhile, Canada’s Energy Minister, Jonathan Wilkinson, told CNN his country would relaliate but added that Canada is not looking to escalate tensions.

Canada is one of America’s closest trade partners, and the largest exporter of steel and aluminium to the US.

The European Union has also previously said it would hit back against Trump’s mov

Last month, the UK government signalled that it was seeking an exemption to the tariffs and added that it would not retaliate immediately.

Recession fears

Fear of the economic cost of Trump’s trade tariffs has sparked a selloff in US and global stock markets, which accelerated this week after the US president refused to rule out the prospect of an economic recession.

The S&P 500 index of the largest firms listed in the US fell a further 0.7% on Tuesday after dropping 2.7% on Monday, which was its biggest one-day drop since December.

The UK’s FTSE 100 share index, which had edged lower earlier on Tuesday, fell further and closed down more than 1%. The French Cac 40 index and German Dax followed a similar pattern.

Meanwhile, economic research firm, Oxford Economics, said in a report it had lowered its US economic growth forecast for the year from 2.4% to 2% made even steeper adjustments to Canada and Mexico.

“Despite the downgrade, we still expect the US economy to outperform the other major advanced economies over the next couple of years,” its report added.

“Uncertainty around the path for US tariffs is higher than ever”.

Ontario showdown

Earlier on Tuesday, the US and Canada stepped back from the brink of a major escalation in the trade war.

That was after Trump said he had halted a plan to double US tariffs on Canadian steel and metal imports to 50%, just hours after first threatening them.

The move by the president came after the Canadian province of Ontario suspended new charges of 25% on electricity that it sends to some northern states in the US.

Despite the climbdown, Canada will still be facing Trump’s 25% tariff on steel and aluminum imports that have just come into effect.

Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says it recovered nearly $500 million in proceeds of crime last year and secured more than 4,000 criminal convictions, the highest since its establishment over two decades ago.

As Africa’s biggest energy producer, Nigeria has struggled for decades with endemic corruption, which many citizens blame for widespread poverty.

In a report released on Monday, the EFCC stated that part of the recovered funds had been reinvested in government projects.

Nigeria is currently ranked 140 out of 180 on Transparency International’s latest Corruption Perception Index.

Beyond cash recoveries, the EFCC also seized 931,052 metric tons of petroleum products, 975 real estate properties, and company shares.

A 10-year-old Indiana boy was crushed to death after his foster mother, who weighed 340 pounds, allegedly sat on him for several minutes because he was “acting bad.”

Jennifer Lee Wilson, 48, was sentenced in January to six years in prison, with one year suspended to be served on probation, according to WMAQ. She was charged with reckless homicide in the death of Dakota Levi Stevens.

On April 25, police responded to a home in Valparaiso, Indiana, after receiving a report that the boy was not breathing. Officers found him unresponsive with no pulse and observed bruising on his lower neck and chest. Despite efforts to resuscitate him, he was transported to a hospital, where he later died.

Wilson told police that Dakota had recently run away but was found at a neighbor’s house and brought back home. She claimed he continued misbehaving, threw himself on the ground, and threatened to leave again.

According to a court filing, Wilson stated that while trying to stop him, she was unsure if she tackled him or if they both fell. Her intention, she claimed, was to restrain him.

She admitted to sitting on his midsection for about five minutes. When he stopped moving, she believed he was pretending. “Are you faking?” she asked before rolling him over and noticing his pale eyelids. She then attempted CPR and called 911.

On April 27, South Bend Memorial Hospital confirmed Dakota had died. An autopsy determined his cause of death as mechanical asphyxia, with organ and soft tissue damage, liver and lung hemorrhaging, and other injuries. His death was ruled a homicide.

A neighbor later told officers that before the medical emergency, Dakota had run to her house and asked her to adopt him, claiming his parents hit him in the face. However, the neighbor did not observe any visible injuries. Wilson then arrived to take him back home.

At the time of his death, Dakota was 4’10” and weighed 91 pounds, while Wilson was listed as 4’11” and 340 pounds.