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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio boards a military airplane on March 12, 2025.

SAUL LOEB/Pool via REUTERS

Out of Africa? US may be planning to pull diplomats

The Trump administration may be planning the most far-reaching overhaul of the US State Department in generations. A leaked draft executive order obtained by The New York Times outlines a sweeping restructuring plan that would prioritize “transnational threat elimination,” downsize the foreign service, and hire personnel who are in “alignment with the president’s foreign policy vision.” Climate, refugee, democracy, and public diplomacy offices would be eliminated, as would diversity-based fellowships. And instead of regional bureaus, America’s foreign service would be divided into four specialized “corps” regrouping the major regions of the world.

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Members of the M23 rebel group stand guard as people attend a rally addressed by Corneille Nangaa, Congolese rebel leader and coordinator of the AFC-M23 movement, in Bukavu, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, on Feb. 27, 2025.

REUTERS/Victoire Mukenge

Could peace finally come to the DRC?

Representatives of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the M23 rebel group held peace talks in Doha, Qatar, last week to resolve the armed conflict that has engulfed eastern DRC since January. Qatari mediators began facilitating private discussions ahead of the first formal meeting between the two groups, planned for April 9. It is the second such attempt since March, and a source close to the negotiations described the talks as “positive,” as evidenced by the M23’s withdrawal from the town of Walikale as a gesture of goodwill.

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FILE PHOTO: Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan arrives at Beijing Capital International Airport before the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit, in Beijing, China September 3, 2024.

REUTERS/Florence Lo/Pool/File Photo

US sanctions Sudanese leader

The United States on Thursday imposed financial sanctions on Sudan's army chief, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. The move came a week after Washington imposedsimilar sanctions on the leader of the rebel Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, whose militia has been warring with government forces for the past 18 months, ina conflict that has killed up to 150,000 people,displaced 11 million, and caused 26 million to go hungry.

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FILE PHOTO: Members of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) stand guard against the M23 rebel group in Lubero, North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo October 27, 2024.

REUTERS/Djaffar Al Katanty/File Photo

Rwanda-backed rebels seize towns in Congo

The rebel March 23 Movement, aka M23, reportedly supported by Rwanda,captured the strategic town of Masisi in the Democratic Republic of Congo's North Kivu province from the army and pro-government militias on Saturday. Masisi, population 40,000, sits just 50 miles north of Goma, the provincial capital, home to two million Congolese — and is a key sanctuary for refugees.

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US President Joe Biden shakes hands with Angolan President João Lourenço at the Presidential Palace in Luanda, Angola, on Dec. 3, 2024.

REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz

Why is Joe Biden in Angola?

With seven weeks left as US president, why was Joe Biden in Angola on Tuesday to meet with President João Lourenço? It’s the very first visit of a US president to this former Portuguese colony – now a player in global energy markets. More importantly, Biden was following through on a plan to compete more effectively with China across much of Africa. Via its Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing has invested heavily in sub-Saharan African infrastructure, and Biden has long argued that competing for those opportunities is good for America’s economy.
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A person holding smartphone

Will AI help or hurt Africa?

At the annual World Bank-International Monetary Fund Annual Meetings in Washington, DC, this week, delegates will discuss how AI could “unlock” opportunities in developing nations. This was also a hot topic at last month’s UN Summit of the Future. And nowhere is that discussion more ripe than the African continent.
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UN Security Council: Liberia’s top diplomat joins calls for Africa’s representation

Will Africa's push for permanent representation on the UN Security Council succeed? Liberia’s Foreign Minister Sara Beysolow Nyanti echoed the region’s calls for reform, challenging the council’s control by wealthy nations.

The UN Security Council was originally set up post-WWII when many African nations were still under colonial rule, but today they feel sidelined in global governance.

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Sara Beysolow Nyanti, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Liberia, delivers a speech at the high-level panel discussion on ''Education in Peril: The Human Cost of War'' during the opening session of the 5th Observance of the UN International Day to Protect Education from Attack at Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC) in Doha, Qatar, on September 9, 2024.

Noushad Thekkayil via Reuters Connect

Liberia’s top diplomat calls for “total overhaul” of UN Security Council

UNITED NATIONS – African countries are ramping up calls for permanent representation on the UN Security Council, contending that it’s a paralyzed institution dominated by a few wealthy countries and in desperate need of reform.

When the Security Council was first established in the aftermath of World War II, many African countries were still under colonial rule. In the time since, the framework of the Security Council has largely remained the same, but the world it represents has changed dramatically.

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