US deports five migrants convicted of crimes to Eswatini
And tensions are mounting in Durban as G20 finance ministers prepare to meet without U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, who has skipped the gathering for the second time. South Africa, which is holding the G20 presidency for the first time, is promoting an 'African agenda', with a focus on climate change, cheaper capital and a cross-border payment system designed to boost intra-African trade. However, discussions are overshadowed by Donald Trump's tariff threats, including a 10% tariff on all U.S. imports and potential penalties for BRICS nations promoting alternatives to the dollar.
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France 24
4 hours ago
- France 24
South Africa warns global turmoil threaten development goals
The blueprint, adopted by all United Nations member states in 2015, includes 17 targets on areas such as education, climate action and gender equality. But progress has been uneven and is at risk as the world faces growing uncertainty and mounting threats to multilateralism. South Africa is chairing the G20 group of nations until November 2025, a complex task that involves coordinating a broad and fractious membership that includes the United States, China, Russia, the European Union and the African Union. "While inflation is gradually moderating and financial conditions have started to stabilise in some regions, uncertainty continues to weigh heavily on global growth prospects," Pretoria's finance minister Enoch Godongwana told G20 finance chiefs and central bank governors. "Rising trade barriers, persistent global imbalances and new geopolitical risks are significant concerns," he said. These challenges, coupled with climate-related shocks, risk pushing the development targets "further out of reach", he added. The group has scrambled to respond to drastic policy shifts by its richest member, the United States, which has upended global trade rules since Donald Trump's return. Washington -- next in line for the G20 presidency -- has imposed tariffs on countries it labels "anti-American" and announced foreign aid cuts that are hammering development projects especially in Africa. 'Inclusive dialogue' US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is not attending the two-day meeting in the port city of Durban, with Washington instead represented by an undersecretary for international affairs. Bessent also skipped a similar meeting in February and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio snubbed a meeting for G20 foreign ministers. "We have a critical role to play in revitalising and strengthening multilateralism by fostering inclusive dialogue, reinforcing rules-based cooperation, and driving collective action on global challenges that no country can solve alone," said Godongwana. Germany said it was committed to the course, underscoring the importance of the bloc whose resolutions are non-binding in nature. "We as the federal government, are using all possibilities... to also discuss how, especially in these times of international upheavals and uncertainty, we can strengthen our partnerships within the multilateral world order," Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil told journalists. The G20 is made up of 19 nations and two regional organisations and accounts for more than 80 percent of the world's economic output.
France 24
4 hours ago
- France 24
France returns military base to Senegal marking the end of its presence in West Africa
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France 24
7 hours ago
- France 24
French army to leave Senegal amid Africa downsizing
Ending the French army's 65 years in Senegal, the pull-out comes after similar withdrawals across the continent, with former colonies increasingly turning their backs on their former ruler. Around 350 French soldiers, primarily tasked with conducting joint operations with the Senegalese army, will leave the west African nation after a three-month departure process. France started ceding its bases to Senegal in March. After storming to victory in 2024 elections promising radical change, Senegal's President Bassirou Diomaye Faye demanded France withdraw troops from the country by 2025. Unlike the leaders of other former colonies such as junta-run Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, however, Faye has insisted that Senegal will keep working with Paris. In a ceremony in Dakar, France will return Camp Geille, its largest base in the country, and its airfield at Dakar airport. Senegal's Chief of General Staff, General Mbaye Cisse, and General Pascal Ianni, who commands France's troops in Africa, will attend. 'Sovereignty' After gaining independence in 1960, Senegal became one of France's staunchest African allies, playing host to French troops throughout its history. Faye's predecessor, Macky Sall, continued that tradition. Faye, who ran on a ticket promising a clean break with the Sall era, has said that Senegal would treat France like any other foreign partner. Pledging to make his country more self-sufficient, the president gave a deadline of the end of 2025 for all foreign armies to withdraw. "Senegal is an independent country, it is a sovereign country and sovereignty does not accept the presence of military bases in a sovereign country," Faye said at the end of 2024, while maintaining that "France remains an important partner for Senegal". Faye has also urged Paris to apologise for colonial atrocities, including the massacre on December 1, 1944 of dozens of African troops who had fought for France in World War II. Continent-wide pull-out With governments across Africa increasingly questioning France's military presence, Paris has closed or reduced numbers at bases across its former empire. In February France handed back its sole remaining base in Ivory Coast, ending decades of French presence at the site. The month before, France turned over the Kossei base in Chad, its last military foothold in the unrest-hit Sahel region. Coups in Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali between 2020 and 2023 have swept military strongmen to power. All have cut ties with France and turned to Russia instead for help in fighting the Sahel's decade-long jihadist insurgency. The Central African Republic, also a former French colony to which the Kremlin has sent mercenaries, has likewise demanded a French pull-out. Meanwhile the army has turned its base in Gabon into a camp shared with the central African nation. Only the tiny Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti will be home to a permanent French army base following Thursday's withdrawal.
