Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the conflict, which began nearly two years ago and is considered the world’s biggest current humanitarian catastrophe, had escalated beyond a war crimes and ethnic cleansing determination he made in December 2023.

Blinken said that based on more recent reporting, he found that the Rapid Support Forces group is committing genocide.

“The RSF and RSF-aligned militias have continued to direct attacks against civilians,” Blinken said. “The RSF and allied militias have systematically murdered men and boys — even infants — on an ethnic basis, and deliberately targeted women and girls from certain ethnic groups for rape and other forms of brutal sexual violence.”

“Those same militias have targeted fleeing civilians, murdering innocent people escaping conflict, and prevented remaining civilians from accessing lifesaving supplies,” he said in a statement. The genocide determination has no legal implication by itself, but it was accompanied by a Treasury Department announcement that RSF leader Mohammad Hamdan Daglo Mousa, also known as Hemedti, had been targeted for sanctions as well as seven RSF-owned companies in the United Arab Emirates, including one handling gold likely smuggled out of Sudan.

The UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula and a U.S. ally, has been repeatedly accused of arming the RSF, something it has strenuously denied despite evidence to the contrary.

The RSF and Sudan’s military began fighting each other in April 2023.

Their conflict has killed more than 28,000 people, has forced millions to flee their homes and has left some families eating grass in a desperate attempt to survive as famine sweeps parts of the country.

Other estimates suggest a far higher death toll in the civil war.

Emirati officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday night. The RSF did not immediately acknowledge the sanctions nor a request for comment from The Associated Press passed through an intermediary.

Blinken said his determination was not intended to support either side in the conflict but rather to promote accountability for war crimes and other atrocities.

However, some experts believe the RSF is directly to blame for the situation.

“The RSF is responsible for some of the most heinous atrocities being committed anywhere in the world today,” said John Prendergast, co-founder of The Sentry, a US-based watchdog group. “Today’s actions by the Biden administration are an important start to creating that accountability, which hopefully can provide leverage both for deterring future human rights crimes as well as for helping to drag the RSF into treating ceasefire negotiations more seriously.”

By Agencies

The post US says Sudanese rebel force has committed genocide, and it imposes sanctions on the group’s leaders appeared first on KahawaTungu.

In a social media post, Biden said Venezuela deserved a “peaceful transfer of power”.

González fled to Spain in September after turmoil following Venezuela’s election, in which incumbent President Nicolás Maduro claimed victory – something disputed by González and many sections of the international community.

The Maduro government reacted to the meeting with fury, calling it “grotesque” and accusing Biden of backing a violent anti-democratic project, Reuters news agency reports.

Tension has been rising in the country as the day of the presidential inauguration – set for Friday – approaches, with both Maduro and González telling their supporters that they will be sworn in.

The Maduro government, which has been in power since 2013, has deployed thousands of police and cut off major roads leading into the capital, Caracas, in what is widely seen as a tactic to deter any anti-government protests.

But González, who has been living in exile in Spain since September, says he will defy an arrest warrant which has been issued for him and return to his homeland to take up office.

However, he has not given any details as to how he plans to enter Venezuela, where the government is offering a $100,000 (£80,000) reward for information leading to his arrest.

González has also not said how he plans to be sworn in when the National Assembly – the legislative body where the presidential oath is performed – is firmly in the hands of government loyalists.

The opposition has nevertheless remained defiant and called on its supporters to take to the streets on Thursday.

It has also rallied key international support with González’s visit to the White House – the latest stop in a tour which has also seen him meet with the Argentine and Uruguayan presidents.

In all three countries, he was met by cheering crowds of Venezuelans who held up signs reading “freedom”.

Almost eight million Venezuelans have left their homeland in recent years to escape economic hardship and political persecution, and many of them are living in Latin America and the US.

Following Biden’s meeting with González on Monday, the White House said it would be “closely” following the response Venezuela’s authority will give to the opposition protests planned for Thursday.

In the aftermath of July’s election, thousands of Venezuelans who had expressed their anger at Maduro’s claim of election victory were arrested and charged with “terrorism”. Many remain behind bars.

Opposition leader María Corina Machado, who was barred from running in the election and who threw her weight behind Edmundo González, told AFP news agency on Monday that all the Maduro government had left was fear.

“If we all come out, millions, how can a few hundred or a few thousand armed people [prevail] against 30 million Venezuelans?” she asked.

Referring to the voting tallies that the opposition has made public, she also insisted that the “whole world knows” González is “the rightful president-elect”.

The voting tallies – a detailed official breakdown of the votes from each polling station – have been at the centre of the dispute over who won the election.

The government-aligned National Electoral Council declared Maduro the winner on 29 July, the day after the vote, but it has to this day failed to provide the tallies to back up its claim.

With the help of accredited election witnesses, the opposition managed to collect and publish more than 80% of the voting tallies.

Independent observers and media, including US outlets the New York Times and CNN, have reviewed the tallies and say they suggest that Edmundo González won the election with 67% of the votes, compared to Maduro’s 30%.

In December, the UN Human Rights Committee ordered Venezuela “to refrain from destroying” the voting tallies.

By BBC News

The post Biden Meets Exiled Venezuelan Opposition Candidate appeared first on KahawaTungu.

The ban announced by Biden covers the entire Atlantic coast and eastern Gulf of Mexico, as well as the Pacific coast off California, Oregon and Washington and a section of the Bering Sea off Alaska.

It is the latest in a string of last-minute climate policy actions by the Biden administration ahead of Trump’s return to the White House.

During his campaign, Trump pledged to “unleash” domestic fossil fuel production in a bid to lower gas costs, despite the US already seeing record high extraction rates.

Biden said in a statement: “My decision reflects what coastal communities, businesses, and beachgoers have known for a long time: that drilling off these coasts could cause irreversible damage to places we hold dear and is unnecessary to meet our nation’s energy needs.

“It is not worth the risks.”

Trump has pledged to reverse Biden’s conservation and climate change policies when he takes office later this month. However the new ban does not have an end date and could be difficult for the Republican to overturn.

Biden is taking the action under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act of 1953, which allows presidents to withdraw areas from mineral leasing and drilling.

The law, however, does not grant them the legal authority to overturn prior bans, according to a 2019 court ruling.

Trump himself used the law to ban sales of offshore drilling rights in the eastern Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida until 2032. Biden’s decision will protect the same area with no expiry date.

The ban covers more than 625 million acres (253 million hectares) of waters.

After it was reported last week that Biden would issue the ban, Trump’s incoming press secretary Karoline Leavitt called the move “a disgraceful decision”.

She said it was “designed to exact political revenge on the American people who gave President Trump a mandate to increase drilling and lower gas prices”.

Environmental groups, however, welcomed the decision.

Joseph Gordon, from conservation organisation Oceana, said: “This is an epic ocean victory.

“Our treasured coastal communities are now safeguarded for future generations.”

By BBC News

The post Biden Bans Offshore Drilling Across Vast Area of US appeared first on KahawaTungu.

The Argentine World Cup winner and eight times Ballon d’Or winner, now plays in the United States for Major League Soccer’s Inter Miami.

Messi is the first Argentine to receive the honor and the first male soccer player.

But while other recipients of the award, including U2 singer and activist Bono, former basketball star Earvin “Magic” Johnson and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, attended the ceremony at the White House, Messi was absent.

Messi’s representatives said in a statement distributed by Inter Miami that Messi had a prior commitment.

“The White House informed FIFA, who informed the club at the end of December that Leo was going to be awarded with this recognition,” the statement read.

“Leo, through the club, sent a letter to the White House saying that he is deeply honored and that it is a profound privilege to receive this recognition but that due to scheduling conflicts and prior commitments he was going to be unable to attend.

“He appreciated the gesture and noted that he hopes to have the opportunity to meet in the near future,” the statement added.

The award is given to individuals who have made “exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values or security of the United States, world peace or other significant societal, public or private endeavors,” according to the White House.

The White House statement said that Messi had been given the award as “the most decorated player in the history of professional soccer. He supports healthcare and education programs for children around the world through the Leo Messi Foundation and serves as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.”

Biden handed USA women’s soccer star Megan Rapinoe the medal in 2022, the first time a soccer player has been given the honor.

By Agencies

The post Messi misses presidential medal award ceremony with Biden appeared first on KahawaTungu.

Speaking at the White House, Biden said the US must first pinpoint the location of Austin Tice, with Syria in chaos.

Mr Tice, a freelance journalist, is thought to have been taken captive close to Damascus on 14 August 2012 while he was covering the country’s civil war.

On Sunday, rebel fighters seized the Syrian capital in the culmination of a lightning offensive launched two weeks ago. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has fled the country.

Biden said Assad’s exit was a “fundamental act of justice” after decades of repression, but also “a moment of risk and uncertainty” for the Middle East.

“We are mindful that there are Americans in Syria,” Biden said on Sunday, “including those who reside there, as well as Austin Tice, who was taken captive more than 12 years ago.

“We remain committed to returning him to his family.”

On his way out of the room, Biden turned to answer a question from the media about Tice.

“We believe he’s alive,” said the president. “We think we can get him back, but we have no direct evidence of that yet.”

The president added: “We have to identify where he is.”

Mr Tice, 43, was last seen in a video, blindfolded and in apparent distress, posted online weeks after his capture.

While no government or group claimed responsibility for his disappearance, US officials soon said they believed that the former US Marine was being held by the Syrian government.

Mr Tice’s sister, Abigail Edaburn, told the BBC on Friday they believe he is still in Syria.

“We don’t know the exact circumstances of the place that he’s being held, but we do know it is in Syria and that he is healthy and well,” she said.

“I don’t know how much I can say, but there have been independent, trusted sources that have been able to verify this information,” she added.

The FBI said in a statement on Sunday that a $1m reward was still on offer for information that leads to Mr Tice’s “safe location, recovery and return”.

The US has about 900 troops in Syria, and Biden said on Sunday he planned for those forces to remain.

The president also said US forces had conducted “dozens” of what he called “precision air strikes” on Sunday against Islamic State group camps and operations in eastern Syria.

President-elect Donald Trump said on Saturday that the US should not intervene militarily in Syria. “THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT,” he wrote on social media.

The Syrian opposition that brought down Assad is led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which has been designated a terrorist group by the Biden administration.

The US, UK, UN and others consider HTS to be an al-Qaeda affiliate, though HTS says it broke off ties with the Sunni Islamist organisation years ago.

By BBC News

The post Biden Says US Hostage Austin Tice is Alive in Syria appeared first on KahawaTungu.

As things stand, China is the main foreign player in Democratic Republic of Congo’s mining sector, which exports minerals considered critical for batteries and other industrial components key to transitioning away from fossil fuels.

The United States has provided a $550 million loan to support the Lobito venture, which involves refurbishing an existing railway through Angola and extending it into Congo’s mining heartland as part of the first phase.

No date has been given for its completion yet, while a second phase that would link Lobito to Zambia via a new railway line is still at the preparation stage, with an aim to break ground in 2026 according to Washington. The presidents of Angola, Congo and Zambia and the vice president of Tanzania joined Biden for a summit in Lobito on the last day of his first and only trip to Africa as president.

Biden and Congo’s Felix Tshisekedi affirmed their commitment to promoting investment and peace to allow the central African nation to make the most of its vast mineral wealth, according to a note from the White House issued after the two met.

Biden and Zambian counterpart Hakainde Hichilema also met to discuss the Zambian component of the Lobito project and other issues.

“This corridor is of vital importance to opening up our countries, to opening up our regions, the continent, and truly the global economy,” Hichilema said. “This project is a huge opportunity for investment, for trade.”

“The presidents underscored their conviction,” a White House statement said, “that countries should not be held back from investing in their development by the need to service unsustainably high debt, and together committed to continue advocating for reform.”

In June, Zambia’s international bondholders voted through their part of a $13.4 billion debt restructuring deal, making Zambia the first to complete a full-blown rework under the G20-led “Common Framework” architecture.

THE CHINA FACTOR

The Lobito Atlantic Railway concession, awarded in 2022 to a consortium of Western companies, has been presented as a win against China, as Washington is increasingly concerned about the Chinese grip on critical minerals, including Congo’s vast reserves of copper and cobalt.

The second phase of the project envisions extending the Lobito corridor railway through Zambia and connecting it to Tanzania’s Indian Ocean port of Dar es Salaam.

The U.S. has funded feasibility studies for the second phase, but critics say it could offer China a rival route eastwards, undermining the entire project from Washington’s perspective.

After Donald Trump is sworn in as U.S. president in January, Washington is expected to take a harsher line with China and some officials have questioned whether U.S. support for the eastern route will continue.

Trump will likely back at least parts of the Lobito project and remain a close partner to Angola when he returns to the White House, according to two officials who served under the previous 2017-21 Trump administration.

The details relating to the funding and construction of the second phase of the project are still in question.

The Lobito project is backed by global commodities trader Trafigura, Portuguese construction group Mota-Engil (MOTA.LS) and railway operator Vecturis. There is no date yet for its completion.

A senior U.S. official said on Tuesday that the Lobito project could be completed by the end of the decade, without providing further details.

The U.S. Development Finance Corporation has provided the $550 million loan to refurbish the 1,300-km (800-mile) rail network from Lobito to Congo.

U.S. officials announced fresh financing for the first phase of the venture this week through the Development Finance Corporation worth $600 million for projects including solar, minerals and telecommunications.

Biden pledged lasting U.S. engagement with Africa on the continent’s own terms as he met with his Angolan counterpart Joao Lourenco in Luanda on Tuesday. Biden’s trip delivered on a promise to visit Africa, but came only weeks before his presidency ends.

Despite his repeated pledges to be “all in on Africa”, U.S. influence in Africa has declined during his term in office. Washington has lost a military base in the Sahel region and made little progress breaking China’s commercial domination in minerals seen as critical to national security.

Angola has long nurtured close ties with China and Russia but has recently moved closer to the West. It aims to expand its collaboration with the United States on security and military initiatives, Lourenco said during Biden’s visit on Tuesday.

By Agencies

The post Biden Meets African Leaders in Angola to Advance Lobito Railway Project appeared first on KahawaTungu.

In a statement, the president said his son had been “singled out”, and called his cases “a miscarriage of justice.”

“From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted,” he added.

Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to tax charges earlier in September, and was found guilty of being an illegal drug user in possession of a gun in June – becoming the first child of a sitting president to be a convicted of a crime.

The full and unconditional pardon comes after the president had previously said he would not give his son clemency.

Just a couple of months ago, in September, the White House press secretary said that Biden would not issue a pardon for his son.

But on Sunday evening, President Biden said although he believed in the justice system, “politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice”.

He added: “once I made this decision this weekend, there was no sense in delaying it further.”

“I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision”, President Biden said.

In a reaction statement, Hunter Biden said mistakes he made during the darkest days of his drug addiction had been “exploited to publicly humiliate and shame” his family for political sport.

“I will never take the clemency I have been given today for granted and will devote the life I have rebuilt to helping those who are still sick and suffering,” he added.

By BBC News

The post Biden Issues Official Pardon for Son Hunter appeared first on KahawaTungu.

A US official has confirmed the move, a major change of US policy, to the BBC’s US partner CBS.

For months, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has been urging that the restrictions on the missiles, known as ATACMS, be lifted – allowing Kyiv to strike outside its own borders.

On Sunday he reacted to the reports, saying “such things are not announced, missiles speak for themselves”.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously warned Western nations against such a move, saying it would represent the Nato military alliance’s “direct participation” in the Ukraine war.

He was yet to comment on Sunday’s reports although other senior Kremlin politicians described it as a serious escalation.

Washington’s decision on ATACMS is couched in terms of being limited to the defence of Ukrainian forces inside Russia’s Kursk region, where Kyiv launched a surprise incursion in August.

In effect, the Biden administration is telling Ukraine that it will support its efforts to hold onto the small chunk of Russian territory it currently occupies, as a powerful bargaining chip for any possible negotiations in the future.

Serhiy Kuzan, chairman of the Kyiv-based Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Centre, told the BBC that Joe Biden’s decision was “very important” to the country.

“It’s not something that will change the course of the war, but I think it will make our forces more equal.”

ATACMS can reach up to 300km (186 miles). Unnamed US officials have told the New York Times and the Washington Post that Biden’s approval of Ukraine’s use of the ATACMS came in response to Russia’s decision to allow North Korean soldiers to fight in Ukraine.

Mr Kuzan said Sunday’s decision had come ahead of what was an expected assault by Russian and Korean troops, designed to dislodge Ukrainian forces from Russia’s Kursk region. The offensive was expected within days.

Ukraine had earlier estimated there to be 11,000 North Korean soldiers in Kursk.

President Biden’s decision will also finally enable Britain and France to grant Ukraine permission to use long-range Storm Shadow missiles inside Russia.

Neither the UK nor France has yet responded to Biden’s decision.

Last month, Zelensky confirmed that Ukraine had used US-supplied long-range missiles for the first time to strike Russian targets in the country’s east.

For months, Ukraine has been battling to push back Russian troops who have been slowly advancing in the eastern Donetsk region towards the key city of Pokrovsk – a major supply hub for Ukrainian forces.

Moscow has also massively increased its number of drone strikes on Ukraine. More than 2,000 were launched in October, according to Ukraine’s general staff – a record number in the war.

Overnight on Saturday, Russia launched what is thought to be its biggest co-ordinated assault in months, killing at least 10 people. Around 120 missiles and 90 drones were launched, according to Zelensky.

Attacks continued on Sunday evening, with officials in Sumy region – near the Russian border – reporting another eight killed, including two children, after a missile hit a residential building.

Russian officials in the border region of Bryansk reported a Ukrainian drone attack on Sunday night but said its defences had shot down 26 drones.

Ukraine had for months argued that its allies had not provided the country with enough support to allow it to effectively defend itself.

Joe Biden, who will leave the White House in January, has been seeking to expedite further aid to Ukraine.

There are concerns that his successor, Donald Trump, will slow or halt any further support. He has described the military support as a drain on US resources and has signalled he will end the war, without explaining how this would happen.

The US has been the greatest supplier of arms to Ukraine. Between the start of the war and the end of June 2024, it delivered or committed to send weapons and equipment worth $55.5bn (£41.5bn), according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German research organisation.

By BBC News

The post Biden Allows Ukraine to Strike Inside Russia with Missiles appeared first on KahawaTungu.

The two met on Saturday on the sidelines of the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Peru where they acknowledged “ups and downs” in relations over Biden’s four years in office.

But both highlighted progress in lowering tensions on issues such as trade and Taiwan.

Analysts say US-China relations could become more volatile when Trump returns to office in two months, driven by factors including a promise to raise tariffs on Chinese imports.

The president-elect has pledged 60% tariffs on all imports from China. He has also appointed prominent China hawks to top foreign and defence positions.

During his first term, Trump labelled China a “strategic competitor”. Relations worsened when the former president labelled Covid a “Chinese virus” during the pandemic.

Speaking on Saturday at the meeting held at his hotel in Lima, the Chinese president said Beijing’s goal of a stable relationship with Washington would remain unchanged.

“China is ready to work with the new US administration to maintain communication, expand cooperation and manage differences,” Xi said.

Biden said strategic competition between the two global powers should not escalate into war.

“Our two countries cannot let any of this competition veer into conflict. That is our responsibility and over the last four years I think we’ve proven it’s possible to have this relationship,” he said.

Biden’s time in office did see flare-ups in relations with China, including a spy balloon saga and displays of Chinese military firepower around Taiwan triggered by the visit of a senior US official.

China says its claim to the self-ruling island is a red line.

However, the Biden administration aimed to “responsibly manage” rivalry with Beijing after Trump’s first term.

Beijing is likely to be most concerned about the president-elect’s unpredictability, analysts say.

“The Chinese are ready to negotiate and deal, and probably hope for early engagement with the Trump team to discuss potential transactions,” said Bonnie Glaser, managing director of the German Marshall Fund’s Indo-Pacific Program.

“At the same time, however, they are ready to retaliate if Trump insists on imposing higher tariffs on China.”

She added that China may also be “likely worried that that they lack reliable back channels to influence Trump’s policy”.

Biden on Saturday acknowledged there had always been disagreements with Xi but added that discussions between him and the Chinese leader had been “frank” and “candid”.

The pair held three face-to-face meetings during Biden’s time in the White House, including a key summit last year in San Francisco where both sides came to agreements on combatting narcotics and climate change.

But Biden’s White House also continued Trump-era tariffs. His government imposed duties in May targeting China’s electric cars, solar panels and steels.

He also strengthened defence alliances across Asia and the Pacific to counter China’s increasing assertiveness in the region. The outgoing president has also said the US would defend Taiwan if it were invaded by China.

By BBC News

The post Xi Says He Will Work with Trump in Last Meeting with Biden appeared first on KahawaTungu.

Trump will take office on Jan. 20 after defeating current Vice President Kamala Harris in the Nov. 5 presidential election.

“At President Biden’s invitation, President Biden and President-elect Trump will meet in the Oval Office on Wednesday,” Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

Biden, a Democrat, had initially sought reelection but dropped out of the race in July after a disastrous debate against the Republican Trump.
“I’m going to see him on Wednesday,” Biden told reporters on Saturday, when asked whether Trump was a threat to democracy.

Biden spoke after leaving a church service in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, where he traveled for the weekend.

The president did not respond to questions about what he would say to Trump.

By Reuters

The post Biden, Trump to meet at the White House on Wednesday appeared first on KahawaTungu.