Rwanda: landlocked nation with influence beyond its borders

A small landlocked African nation playing in the big league: with military might, image branding and political influence, Rwanda under President Paul Kagame has become a major strategic player with tentacles spread far and wide.De facto leader since the 1994 genocide and running for a fourth term as president in elections Monday, Kagame has established a sphere of influence far outweighing Rwanda’s size to develop the country and entrench his own power base.Unlike many other African nations, “Rwanda is pursuing a real foreign policy strategy”, says Paul-Simon Handy, East Africa director at the Institute for Security Studies. This strategy is similar to “smart power”, says Handy, combining hard power — the use of military and economic means for influence — and soft power.The Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) is one of the pillars of this policy, though its role is contradictory. The Democratic Republic of Congo has for years accused its neighbour of fomenting instability in the east and supporting armed groups.A recent UN experts report said 3,000-4,000 Rwandan soldiers are fighting alongside M23 rebels and that Kigali had “de facto control” of the group’s operations.Questioned repeatedly on the issue, Kagame has not explicitly denied the presence of Rwandan forces in DRC, instead pointing to the “persecution” of the Tutsi minority and the risk of instability on Rwanda’s border. “By nature, Rwanda’s security posture has always been defensive, not offensive. We only act when trouble is brought on us,” he said this month.Its murky role in the DRC has however cost Kigali some financial support from the West, which since 2012-2013 has cut development aid and investment.At the same time, Kagame has established his army as the “policeman of Africa”.Since 2024, the RDF has taken part in numerous UN peacekeeping missions. With 5,894 men deployed as of March 31, Rwanda is the fourth largest contributor, with forces in South Sudan and the Central African Republic.“By participating in and leading peacekeeping and unilateral military missions, Rwanda has significantly enhanced its global image and strategic relevance beyond its historical association with the 1994 genocide,” said Federico Donelli, assistant professor of international relations at the University of Trieste.It also reaps a financial windfall. The UN pays contributors $1,428 per soldier per month, meaning Kigali receives more than $100mn a year. The RDF has also been deployed under bilateral deals with, for example, CAR and Mozambique.These military commitments are often accompanied by economic agreements, offering development opportunities for Rwanda, which does not have its own natural resources or industrial base, and is reliant on international funding.In CAR, Rwandans enjoy privileged investment access to sectors such as mining, agriculture and construction, often led by Crystal Ventures, an investment firm owned by Kagame’s ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF).DIPLOMATIC LEVERThese deals also represent a valuable diplomatic lever to ward off sanction threats over the DRC or its dismal human rights record.“Rwanda has never hidden its threat to withdraw from peacekeeping operations if it were to be sanctioned,” said Handy. “It has proven its effectiveness: DRC efforts to have Rwanda sanctioned for its support for the M23 were unsuccessful.” Donelli said Kagame has an ability to read global dynamics.“He knows that Western actors are increasingly reluctant to get involved in African crises,” he added.“In an increasingly chaotic regional context, he is using Rwanda’s role as a reliable partner in crises to reduce Western criticism and divert attention from domestic issues such as the lack of democratic development, centralisation of power and human rights concerns.” Kagame is accused of muzzling the media and political opposition, while according to the World Bank almost half the population lives on less than $2.15 a day.But he has sought to burnish Rwanda’s image abroad — selling itself as an African flagship for new technology, a hub for conferences and major sporting events, and a leading ecotourism destination.Sponsorship deals have seen “Visit Rwanda” emblazoned on the shirts of European football teams Arsenal, PSG and Bayern Munich.Rwanda has also boosted its presence in global organisations.In 2009, it became a member of the Commonwealth and hosted its 2022 summit, while a former minister is head of the International Organisation of La Francophonie (French-speaking union), another serves as deputy chair of the African Union Commission.Handy says Rwanda’s “smart power” was illustrated by the controversial deal to take in asylum seekers deported from Britain.“The interest was essentially financial but it was also the projection of an image of a peaceful country where it would be good for refugees to live.”Widely condemned by rights groups and blocked by UK courts, the scheme has now been scrapped by Britain’s new government — but Rwanda insists it is not obliged to return the £240mn ($311mn) payment already sent by London.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/686664/international/rwanda-landlocked-nation-with-influence-beyond-its-borders

Nepal recovers first body from buses lost in landslide

Nepali rescue teams recovered on Saturday the first body from around 50 people missing after monsoon rains triggered a landslide that swept two buses off a highway and into a river.

The force of Friday’s landslide in central Chitwan district pushed the vehicles over concrete crash barriers and down a steep embankment, at least 30m (100’) from the road.

“One body has been found about 55km (35 miles) from the accident site,” police spokesman Kumar Neupane told AFP.

District official Khimananda Bhusal told AFP that roughly 50 people remained unaccounted for, revising down the number of missing from the 63 reported by authorities on Friday.

“It is hard to confirm the total number because we don’t know if the buses stopped to add or remove passengers along the way,” he said.

Dozens of rescuers spent hours struggling to comb the raging Trishuli river with rafts, sensor equipment and dive teams to find any trace of the passengers or the vehicles.

Teams also moved downstream on Saturday in hope of locating the missing passengers.

Fierce currents made worse by this week’s torrential downpours have hampered their efforts so far.

Chitwan district chief Indra Dev Yadav said that all authorities in the area have been instructed to stay on alert for any signs of the missing.

“The river is narrow here and very deep,” he told AFP. “The water level is high, its speed is high and its turbidity is also high.”

The accident happened before dawn on Friday along the Narayanghat-Mugling highway, around 100km west of Kathmandu.

One bus was heading from the capital to Gaur in Rautahat district in southern Nepal, and the other was en route to Kathmandu from southern Birgunj.

A driver was killed in a separate accident on the same road after a boulder hit his bus.

He died as he was being treated at a hospital.

Deadly crashes are common in the Himalayan republic because of poorly constructed roads, badly maintained vehicles and reckless driving.

Nearly 2,400 people lost their lives on Nepal’s roads in the 12 months to April, according to government figures.

Twelve people were killed and 24 injured in an accident in January when a bus heading to Kathmandu from Nepalgunj fell into a river.

Road travel becomes deadlier during the annual monsoon season as rains trigger landslides and floods across the mountainous country.

Monsoon rains across South Asia from June to September offer respite from the summer heat and are crucial to replenishing water supplies, but also bring widespread death and destruction.

The rainfall is hard to forecast and varies considerably, but scientists say climate change is making the monsoon stronger and more erratic.

Floods, landslides and lightning strikes have killed 88 people across the country since the monsoon began in June, according to police figures.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/686606/international/nepal-recovers-first-body-from-buses-lost-in-landslide

Qatar's UN Permanent Representative attends media stand supporting UNRWA

HE Qatar's Permanent Representative to the UN Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif al-Thani took part in a media stand following the meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee of the General Assembly for the Announcement of Voluntary Contributions to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA Pledging Conference), at the UN headquarters in New York. The group expressed its solidarity and full support for UNRWA's work, highlighting its indispensable role as the backbone in providing humanitarian aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip. (QNA)

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/686585/international/qatars-un-permanent-representative-attends-media-stand-supporting-unrwa

Landslide in Vietnam kills 9 people

At least nine people were killed today and four others were critically injured in a landslide that took place in the North of Vietnam.The people were in a vehicle trapped by a landslide in Bac Me district, the Vietnam News Agency reported, the sand from the landslide buried the people in the vehicle. Rescue work is ongoing to rescue the people that are still under the debris.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/686568/international/aseanphilippines/landslide-in-vietnam-kills-9-people

UN Secretary-General renews call to end Gaza war

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has reiterated his call for an end to the war in the Gaza Strip, urging all parties to quickly reach an agreement.In a post on the social media platform X today, Guterres said, it was time to end the war in Gaza, and that the parties involved had to demonstrate political courage and the will to finally reach an agreement.Guterres's call coincides with a message from Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations Riyad Mansour, urging the international community and the UN to stop the Israeli massacre of the Palestinian people and ensure the protection of Palestinians in accordance with international law and the binding provisional measures issued by the International Court of Justice.US President Joe Biden emphasized last Thursday that the war in Gaza should end now and that there should be no Israeli occupation of the strip afterward.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/686567/international/un-secretary-general-renews-call-to-end-gaza-war

Nearby exoplanet could be first known ocean world

A planet relatively close to Earth could be the first ever detected with a potentially life-sustaining liquid ocean outside our Solar System, according to scientists using the James Webb space telescope.More than 5,000 planets have been discovered outside of the Solar System so far, but only a handful are in what is called the 'Goldilocks zone' — neither too hot or too cold — that could host liquid water, a key ingredient for life.The exoplanet LHS 1140 b is one of the few in this habitable zone, and has been thoroughly scrutinised since it was first discovered in 2017.It sits 48 light years from Earth, which equates to more than 450tn km (280tn miles) — relatively close in the vast distances of space.The exoplanet had been thought to be a small gas giant called a 'mini-Neptune' with an atmosphere too thick with hydrogen and helium to support alien life.However, new observations from the Webb telescope have confirmed that the exoplanet is in fact a rocky 'super-Earth'.It is 1.7 times bigger than Earth, but has 5.6 times its mass, according to a study published late Wednesday in *The Astrophysical Journal Letters.The Webb telescope was able to analyse the planet's atmosphere as it passed in front of its star.There were no signs of hydrogen or helium, which ruled out that the planet was a mini-Neptune.The density of the planet indicates that it 'actually has large quantities of water,' study co-author Martin Turbet of France's CNRS scientific research centre told AFP.It could be a truly immense amount of water.All the water in Earth's oceans represent only 0.02% of its mass. But 10 to 20% of the exoplanet's mass was estimated to be water.Whether or not this water is in liquid or ice form depends on the planet's atmosphere.'We do not have direct evidence that it has an atmosphere, but several elements point in that direction,' Turbet said.Lead study author Charles Cadieux, a PhD student at the University of Montreal, said that 'of all currently known temperate exoplanets, LHS 1140 b could well be our best bet to one day indirectly confirm liquid water on the surface of an alien world'.One positive is that the planet is gently warmed by its red dwarf star, which is one-fifth the size of the Sun.The exoplanet's surface temperature should be fairly similar to that on Earth and Mars, Turbet said.The presence of gasses such as carbon dioxide will play a key role in determining whether the planet is covered in ice or water.One possibility is that the surface is mostly ice, but there is a vast liquid ocean where the planet is most exposed to its star's heat.This ocean could measure about 4,000km in diameter, around half the surface area of the Atlantic Ocean, modelling suggested.Or the liquid water could be hidden under a thick shell of ice, like on the moons Ganymede, Enceladus or Europa orbiting around Jupiter and Saturn.Webb's instrument spotted signs that suggest 'the presence of nitrogen,' Cadieux said, adding that more research was needed to confirm the finding.Nitrogen is found everywhere on Earth, and is thought to be another potentially ingredient for life.The researchers are hoping to get a few more hours of the Webb's telescope's precious time to find out more about LHS 1140 b.It will take at least a year to confirm whether the exoplanet has an atmosphere, and two or three more to detect the presence of carbon dioxide, the researchers estimated.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/686511/international/nearby-exoplanet-could-be-first-known-ocean-world

Bangladesh suspends job quotas after protests

Bangladesh’s top court on Wednesday temporarily suspended quotas for coveted government jobs after thousands of students staged nationwide protests against what they call a discriminatory system, lawyers said.The quota system reserves more than half of well-paid and massively over-subscribed civil service posts, totalling hundreds of thousands of government jobs, for specific groups including children of liberation heroes.Students launched protests earlier this month, demanding a merit-based system, with demonstrations on Wednesday blocking highways and railway lines.“We will not return to classrooms until our demand is met,” protest leader Rasel Ahmed of Chittagong University said.The quota system was abolished in 2018 after weeks of protests, but reinstated in June by Dhaka’s High Court, sparking fury from students. The Supreme Court on Wednesday suspended that order for a month, said lawyer Shah Monjurul Hoque, who represents two students seeking to end the quota system.Hoque said chief justice Obaidul Hassan had also requested that students return to class.Despite the call, student groups continued to block key highways and railway tracks, bringing traffic movement in much of the capital Dhaka and several major cities to a halt. “This (court) order is temporary. We want a permanent executive order from the government, saying that the quotas are abolished, except some quotas for the disabled and minorities,” said Parvez Mosharraf, a student at Dhaka University.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/686444/international/bangladesh-suspends-job-quotas-after-protests

Libya says ‘cannot continue’ hosting Europe-bound migrants

Authorities in Libya said yesterday that up to four in five foreigners in the North African country are undocumented, and hosting migrants hoping to reach Europe has become “unacceptable”.Libya, about 300 kilometres from Italy, is a key departure point for migrants, primarily from sub-Saharan African countries, risking perilous Mediterranean Sea journeys to seek better life in Europe.But with mounting efforts by the European Union to curb irregular migration, many have found themselves stranded in Libya.“Today, there are approximately 2.5mn foreigners in Libya,” said Imad Trabelsi, the interior minister in the war-torn country’s Tripoli-based administration.He told a news conference that “70 to 80% of them entered the country illegally”. “The issue of immigration concerns our national security,” said Trabelsi.“It’s time to resolve this problem”, he added, because “Libya cannot continue to pay its price”.According to Trabelsi, the country has turned from a “transit country to a country of settlement”, and undocumented migrants “don’t pay taxes”.“The resettlement of migrants in Libya is unacceptable.” Libya is still struggling to recover from years of war and chaos after the 2011 overthrow of longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi.Smugglers and human traffickers have taken advantage of the climate of instability which has dominated the vast country since.Since the start of 2024, Libyan authorities have “repatriated 6,000 migrants” through a UN scheme, the minister said.Tripoli is set to host the Trans-Mediterranean Migration Forum on July 17, bringing together African and European governments and aiming to forge “a new strategy for development projects in the countries of departure”, the Libyan government said on Facebook.The meeting comes as the EU and Italy have ramped up efforts to combat irregular migration.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/686442/international/libya-says-cannot-continue-hosting-europe-bound-migrants

India PM tells Putin deaths of children in war ‘terrifying’

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday that the death of innocent children was painful and terrifying, a day after a lethal strike on a children’s hospital in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.The visiting Indian leader used emotive language to deliver an implicit rebuke to Putin at a summit intended to underscore the deepening partnership between their two countries.Winding up his two-day trip, the two sides set out nine key areas for closer co-operation, ranging from nuclear energy to medicine, and said they aimed to boost bilateral trade by more than half to hit $100bn by 2030.But given that Putin has rarely been publicly criticised face-to-face over the war in Ukraine by the leader of a country that Russia sees as a friend, Modi’s televised comments were striking.“Whether it is war, conflict or a terrorist attack, any person who believes in humanity is pained when there is loss of lives,” Modi said.“But even in that, when innocent children are killed, the heart bleeds and that pain is very terrifying.”Ukraine says it has recovered fragments of a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile at the Kyiv children’s hospital which was hit on Monday during a wave of Russian attacks that killed 44 Ukrainians, including four children, across the country.At the hospital itself, two adults were killed and Interfax Ukraine said eight children were among about 50 people wounded.Russia said, without providing evidence, that it was a Ukrainian anti-missile system that struck the hospital.Modi appeared to criticise Russia once before over its actions in Ukraine when he told Putin in September 2022 that “today’s era is not an era of war”. Putin said at that time he understood Modi’s concerns.India, however, has not condemned Russia’s invasion and has taken the opportunity to buy record amounts of discounted Russian oil as sanctions have decimated Moscow’s trade with the West.Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra, accompanying Modi on the trip, said India wanted to further strengthen energy ties and could seek deals with Rosneft and other leading Russian oil firms. The two countries said they were also exploring an increase in Russian coal sales to India.In joint statements, they further outlined plans for closer co-operation in developing the Northern Sea Route through Arctic waters and for working together in space exploration, among other areas.For Russia, India has become an increasingly important partner, both economically and diplomatically, as Moscow seeks to demonstrate that Western attempts to isolate it over the war in Ukraine have failed.Putin, speaking before Modi, said their two countries enjoyed a “particularly privileged strategic partnership”.“I thank you for the attention you are paying to the most acute problems including trying to find ways to resolve the Ukrainian crisis, above all by peaceful means, of course,” he said.Modi told him: “Solutions are not possible on the battleground. Amidst guns, bullets and bombs, peace talks cannot be successful. We have to find the path to peace only through talks.”Putin did not visibly react to Modi’s remarks and it was not clear if they had influenced the summit’s course. The Kremlin said an expected round of delegation-level talks would not take place as the two leaders had covered the agenda in full.SENSITIVE TIMINGThe timing of the Ukrainian hospital incident was embarrassing for Modi, just as he began his visit on Monday.As Modi shared his image hugging Putin on social media, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said it was a “huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts to see the leader of the world’s largest democracy hug the world’s most bloody criminal in Moscow on such a day”.The US State Department said on Monday it had raised concerns with India about its relationship with Russia.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/686364/international/india-pm-tells-putin-deaths-of-children-in-war-terrifying

Starmer goes to Washington on first foreign trip as PM

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer jets off to Washington to attend Nato’s 75th anniversary summit, his first foreign trip since becoming British leader last Friday following a landslide election victory.He will reaffirm Britain’s enduring support for the Western military alliance and Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression.Starmer, 61, told a meeting of his top team that the summit represents an opportunity to “reset relationships, reinvigorate our unshakeable commitment to the alliance and demonstrate the strength of Britain on the world stage”.The visit kicks off a whirlwind of international diplomacy in Starmer’s first two weeks in power, with the UK also hosting a European leaders’ conference next week.“It will be an opportunity for him to learn and get to know other leaders as much as to communicate any particular messages,” foreign policy expert James Strong told AFP. Britain’s previous Conservative government was one of Ukraine’s staunchest allies, providing money, weapons and troop training to help it repel Russia’s invasion.Starmer has pledged continued support for Kyiv under Labour, and is expected to reaffirm that message in person to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Nato meeting. Starmer’s Defence Secretary John Healey has already visited Ukraine since last Thursday’s election, and Foreign Secretary David Lammy has been visiting European Nato members.Labour is committed to the alliance and wants to match the Conservatives’ promise to raise defence spending to 2.5% of GDP, above the Nato target of two %.“We can expect lots of talk about ‘business as usual’,” added Strong, a lecturer at Queen Mary University of London.While Starmer will stress continuity on the main foreign policy issues, he will also be keen to signal a reset in relations with allies that were soured by Brexit.Labour has pledged closer co-operation with European neighbours, including on bilateral deals with France and Germany but also on agreements with the EU bloc as a whole. “We can expect to hear a lot of talk about improving relations, about being a more reliable partner, and above all about being more stable and predictable,” said Strong.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/686359/international/starmer-goes-to-washington-on-first-foreign-trip-as-pm

Democrats divided over Biden's candidature

Joe Biden's faltering reelection bid received some much needed support from senior Democrats on Tuesday, even as the party's lawmakers fell short of reaching a consensus on keeping the president as their 2024 White House nominee. While the 81-year-old tries to shore up his international reputation in a speech at the Nato alliance's 75th anniversary summit in Washington, his own party is in crisis mode weighing whether to jettison Biden as their election candidate. Most top Democrats have so far publicly rallied behind Biden but the party remains divided over a debate performance watched by some 51mn Americans. The leader of the Democratic minority in the US House, Hakeem Jeffries, huddled with members from districts where fears over Biden's age -- exacerbated by his disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump -- threaten their seats in November. One participating lawmaker, speaking to US media on condition of anonymity, described the meeting as 'intense,' with another member saying the mood was 'pretty much unanimous' that Biden should step down. 'He just has to step down,' House Democrat Mike Quigley told CNN on the way into Tuesday's meeting. But in the party's full caucus meeting later Tuesday there were signs that Biden was able to firm up some support, with several lawmakers walking past rows of reporters and declaring their allegiance to the president. Jerry Nadler, the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, backed Biden despite having reportedly said at the weekend that he should step aside. 'He said he's going to remain in, he's our candidate, and we're all going to support him -- hopefully we're all going to support him,' Nadler told reporters. Biden is committed to serving a full second term if reelected, the White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. The president spoke by phone with the influential Congressional Black Caucus late Monday and the grouping's vice chair, House Democrat Troy Carter, concluded that 'this president is ready, and we stand with him.' Senate Democrats were also discussing Biden's candidacy.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/686354/international/uslatin-america/democrats-divided-over-bidens-candidature