The Richest Person In Human History

Mansa Musa is widely considered the richest person in history. HOME WORLD HISTORY FACTS Copy Share to email Twitter Share to Facebook EMPEROR OF MALI EMPIRE Move over, modern-day billionaires — the wealthiest person of all time lived seven centuries ago. Musa I of Mali was a 14th-century king (called a “mansa”) who came into power in 1312 CE. He greatly expanded the Mali Empire, culminating in a large swath of West Africa, from the Atlantic Ocean to Timbuktu and beyond. The empire had significant reserves of salt and gold (nearly half of the world’s supply of gold at the time), and it became incredibly wealthy. Mansa Musa also controlled some of the biggest trade centers in Africa, establishing Timbuktu as a major hub. Some sources speculate that Musa’s wealth was equivalent to roughly $400 billion today — by comparison, the wealthiest modern billionaires have net worths of around $200 billion. Though an exact figure is impossible to calculate, many historians believe Musa to be the wealthiest person in history. Advertisement In 1324, the Muslim ruler decided to make a pilgrimage to Mecca. He traversed the Sahara Desert with tens of thousands of followers dressed in Persian silk (including soldiers, enslaved people, merchants, and the entire royal court). Adding to the spectacle, 100 camels carrying hundreds of pounds of gold were also in tow. The caravan reportedly spent three months in Cairo, Egypt, where Musa handed out gold as if it were candy. In fact, Musa’s trek through the Middle East caused the price of gold to plummet in Egypt due to the sheer amount of treasure he brought into the region. Although Musa died sometime in the 1330s, his legacy continued. He made Mali a well-known empire, and it was added to the Catalan Atlas (one of the most popular medieval maps) for the first time in 1375. On the map, a golden-crowned Musa is depicted holding a scepter and a gold nugget.

Tunisia Has A Migrant Problem and a Democracy At Risk

Last Stop Before Paradise TUNISIA Sixteen-year-old Adam migrated with his father and younger brother from Sierra Leone in West Africa to Tunisia on the Mediterranean coast two years ago. Today, after their father was arrested in Algeria, the two brothers live on the street in Al Amra, a coastal city in eastern Tunisia. Adam, whose name was changed in the Guardian, and his brother are two of at least 1,500 migrant children living in Tunisia, a major disembarkation point for Middle Eastern, African, and South Asian migrants seeking safety and economic opportunities in Europe. Many of these migrants die when the rickety, overburdened boats carrying them sink in the Mediterranean, as Le Monde noted. The migrant crisis in Tunisia is one of the many destabilizing factors now rocking the country, which was, until recently, one of the few functioning democracies in the region following the Arab Spring, when Tunisians ousted dictator President Ben Ali in 2011 after 23 years in office. Instead, protests are breaking out, such as one earlier this month in the capital Tunis protesting deteriorating living conditions under President Kais Saied. Detailing those conditions is a recent French broadcaster’s investigation called, “Between Poverty and Dictatorship, The Grand Step Backwards”. The one-hour documentary highlights how Saied has allegedly undermined human rights, promoted racism and violence toward sub-Saharan migrants, and mismanaged the economy since he won office in 2019, the New Arab reported. Tunisian Prime Minister Ahmed Hachani lambasted the film as a hit job produced by the country’s enemies. Human rights groups like Amnesty International, however, have echoed the film’s accusations, such as Saied’s racist and xenophobic comments last month that prompted a series of attacks on Black individuals as well as summary arrests of foreign sub-Saharan nationals. Saied has also had arrested political dissidents, opposition leaders and others who criticize or challenge his rule, which many in Tunisia and internationally view as a de facto coup d’état, added World Politics Review. Regardless, the leader’s crackdown on civil society and focus on migrants are designed to draw attention away from the inflation, food shortages, and the government’s debt challenges, say analysts. Saied has called on the Central Bank of Tunisia to help plug the country’s deficits and the need for additional debt, but critics suggest the move will further harm the economy, wrote Al Jazeera. Foreign investors certainly will think twice before lending Tunisia money when the country needs the Central Bank to pay its bills. The move would probably cause the value of Tunisia’s currency, the dinar, to drop like a stone. In 2022, the International Monetary Fund loaned the country $2 billion, Agence France-Presse wrote. Yet, at present, the Tunisian economy is barely growing and the rate of unemployment is one of the highest in the region. Meanwhile, as the migrants remain stuck in this hostile and impoverished weigh station, protests broke out in the small coastal village of El Hancha near Sfax: The village is missing about three dozen people under the age of 35, Al Jazeera reported, and their families want to know what happened to them. Like thousands of migrants from Africa, in January these young Tunisians boarded a boat to try to make the dangerous route to Europe to win a better life. Their boat was lost. The government has said nothing.

36 Hours In Cape Town

ump to: Recommendations Itinerary Google Map Share full article 86 By John Eligon Photographs by Samantha Reinders John Eligon is the Johannesburg bureau chief for The New York Times. March 21, 2024 As far as beauty goes, Cape Town is nothing short of spectacular: a city built on the Atlantic Ocean, around a mountain, allowing for stunning views in every direction. The elephant in the room, though, is the harsh legacy of apartheid, when South Africa’s white-minority government pushed the Black majority to the fringes of the city. Areas where most visitors tend to go still have a largely white population. To this day, navigating Cape Town as a person of color can bring uncomfortable moments. But South Africa celebrates 30 years of democracy this year and has, for all of its challenges, tried to embrace the mantra of the “rainbow nation” — a place of racial and ethnic diversity. In that spirit, Cape Town is shedding its Eurocentric identity and emerging as a culturally rich African hub. Recommendations Key stops Chapman’s Peak Drive, one of the world’s most beautiful drives, is a 5.5-mile sojourn along a rocky coastline set against the turquoise ocean and mountain views. See Langa, one of South Africa’s oldest townships, with a walking tour led by the artist and guide Tozamile Mnapu. The African Food and Storytelling Tour, led by the food writer and activist Dennis Molewa, gets you away from the chichi European restaurants and takes you to casual African eateries that will leave your belly full and spices lingering on your tongue. Selective Live provides an intimate setting, with a mountain view, to watch music performances from an array of genres that include Afro jazz, African folk and hip-hop. Museums and attractions Restaurants and bars Where to stay Getting around It’s easiest to use a car in Cape Town. Taking Uber won’t break the bank, though it will cost you a little more to go out to wine country, about 45 minutes outside the city center. Bolt is another ride-hailing app that is widely used and reliable. Itinerary Friday A close-up view of a colorful mural spray-painted onto a brick wall. A mural by Tozamile Mnapu in Langa 3 p.m. Take an art tour through a township The apartheid government prohibited Black and colored (a multiracial ethnic classification) South Africans from living in cities, instead forcing them to live in established townships in the least desirable areas. But township residents often turned their communities into areas of vibrant resistance and robust arts and culture. Langa, about 30 minutes outside central Cape Town, is one of the nation’s oldest townships. Tozamile Mnapu, a local painter, offers three-hour tours into the community (450 rand, or $24, per person). Starting from iKhaya le Langa, a community center where he also hosts art workshops, Mr. Mnapu takes visitors past street graffiti to a small art gallery above a narrow home, and another one near a gritty town center with a large monument to the resistance that residents put up against the apartheid police. Book directly with him at tozart.langa@gmail.com or at +27 73 073 3529. People sit at a long wooden table inside a dining hall. There are different restaurant vendors — one sign reads "Ramenhead," another reads "Sushiya." 7 p.m. Enjoy local cuisine at a waterfront food market Time Out Market, the chain of upmarket food halls in several major world cities, opened its first location in Africa last year in an airy, industrial space on the main waterfront promenade. Stop by Mlilo to try the chef Vusi Ndlovu’s global twists on a traditional “shisanyama,” or South African barbecue. Order the Senegalese lamb (180 rand) or grilled hake with Ghanaian dressing (250 rand). Just across the hall, at Barakat, the wife-and-husband team of Yolani Abrahams and Anwar Abdullatief offers takes on Cape Malay cooking, a cuisine born in the kitchens of Southeast Asians often enslaved by South Africa’s colonizers. You can’t go wrong with the pan-fried kingklip fish (195 rand) or bobotie, a casserole of sweet, curried minced beef topped with egg custard (80 rand). Have a koesister (10 rand), like a doughnut ball, for dessert. A band performs in a small carpeted area of a room that is lit with a pink hue. The performers play the saxophone, guitar, keyboard and drums. Selective Live 9 p.m. Tune into the South African sound You can stick around at Time Out Market (cocktail specials begin at 4 p.m.), where you can dance to tunes spun by a D.J. until 10 p.m. Or catch a short Uber ride to Selective Live, an intimate performance space and recording studio in the Gardens neighborhood near the city center. Some nights the live music could be African folk, others it could be hip-hop, and still others it could be Afro jazz. Settle into this second-floor space that feels more like someone’s living room — rather than on a stage, artists perform in a nook with a fireplace and a bookshelf. Then step out onto the balcony for fresh air and — what else? — a picturesque mountain view. Tickets start at 60 rand. A person is suspended in the air while kite surfing. The sky behind them is orange and the sun is low. The powerful southeasterly winds make Dolphin Beach, in the Blouberg area, one of the world’s most legendary kite-surfing spots. Saturday A view looking up at a mountain peak on a clear blue day. A signpost reads "Bailey's Kloof." 7 a.m. Hike up a mountain Trails are aplenty in this mountainous city. The most famous peaks are Table Mountain and Lion’s Head, and indeed trekking up them can provide plenty of exercise and adventure. But to avoid the crowds and get uninterrupted coastal views try Bailey’s Kloof, another scenic trail that starts along the coast about 30 minutes outside downtown. The first half hour or so is steep and moderately intense. But once you make it past that, it’s a delightful roughly two-hour loop through thick vegetation, including colorful irises, mimetes and cape snow flowers. There are detours for a pond, a cave and a rock formation. Stop and take in the delicious ocean views. Before you go, download an offline version of the area in Google Maps (in case cell service is unavailable) to help you navigate as parts of the trail are not well marked. 10 a.m. See art in a grain silo, then visit a ceramics studio Cape Town hosts several art fairs annually, but even if you can’t make it to one, there are lots of opportunities to see great art. One obvious stop is the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (entry, 250 rand), the largest contemporary African art museum on the continent. Housed in a former grain silo on the waterfront, Zeitz includes an exhibition that offers commentary on African liberation movements and their connection to the Palestinian struggle, as well as photography and film works that explore connections to the spiritual world. For something more intimate, head to the Salt River neighborhood and visit Imiso Ceramics, a studio and gallery that features large-scale sculptures by the founders Zizipho Poswa and Andile Dyalvane. Their works are inspired by their Xhosa heritage, which they share with arguably South Africa’s most famous person, Nelson Mandela. Three people sit on couches facing a low table. On the table is a shallow basket holding curries and rolled injera bread. 11:30 a.m. Fill up your plate Cape Town’s dining scene may best be known for high-end restaurants. But there are also plenty of casual eateries serving classical African dishes. Dennis Molewa, who is from Germany but has lived in South Africa for 15 years, offers three-hour-long African food tours (starting at about 1,400 rand per person) through downtown that include interesting stories about the city’s history and culture. He takes you to a Somali restaurant for chapati, spaghetti and beef stew, but also a blunt conversation about anti-immigrant sentiment in South Africa. At Nobantu Restaurant you’ll enjoy a traditional hearty Xhosa Sunday lunch, or what locals call a seven-colors meal (named for the array of colors on the plate). You’ll also meet flower vendors descended from enslaved Cape Malay people, sip tea in a Methodist church and indulge in stewed meats at Fatima’s, a pan-African restaurant owned by a couple from Mali. A blue car — blurred in the photograph — makes its way along a road that curves on a cliff. The ocean is visible beyond the road. 3 p.m. Take one of the most scenic drives in the world Chapman’s Peak Drive runs five and a half miles along the winding Atlantic seaboard from Hout Bay to Noordhoek, and it is often heralded as one of the most beautiful drives on the planet. That’s hard to dispute. It’s a mix of rocky coastline and green water as far as the eyes can see. Get entranced by the ocean and mountain backdrops, but be careful not to get blown away by the stiff winds when you step out to take pictures at one of the many viewpoints. At the end of the route, stop at Noordhoek beach and take a walk. It is a vast, flat plain of sand, and almost feels as if you’re in a desert on the ocean. (Note that the road has tolls, starting at 61 rand.) 6 p.m. Unwind with a comforting meal Kloof Street was once a dirt road leading from the city center to outlying farms. Today, it’s an eclectic and busy mix of clothing boutiques, art galleries, restaurants and nightlife. For dinner and drinks, you can’t go wrong with Therapy, a sophisticated space that opened last year with sleek, plush banquettes and marble tabletops. It was founded by two D.J.s, Loyiso Mdebuka and Vincent Mvelase Manzini, who are from Cape Town and were raised in the Black township of Khayelitsha. As young Black creatives, they wanted to create a hip vibe and a therapeutic experience, challenging what they saw as an African taboo against therapy. The menu delivers a range of transformed comfort food, like lamb ribs with couscous salad and harissa mayo. Three courses without drinks, about 550 rand per person. A person dances on a stage that is illuminated with a dim, blue light. 8 p.m. See emerging performers in an old church Housed in an old Methodist church a short drive from downtown, Theater Arts is an intimate venue to see a play. Shows tackle a variety of themes, from South Africa’s regular, frustrating power outages to the efforts of young people trying to achieve success, told through a comical tale of life in Lagos, Nigeria. Built on what it says are “the tenets of affordability, inclusivity and accessibility,” the theater company provides space for emerging artists from various cultural, social, economic and skill backgrounds to develop their craft onstage. Tickets start at 150 rand. Waves crash against rocks on a beach. On the far shore, there are buildings and a mountainous landscape behind. The Twelve Apostles mountain range, visible from Camps Bay, forms the back of Table Mountain. Sunday 9 a.m. Learn about South Africa’s history The Castle of Good Hope was built as a fort starting in 1666 by the colonists of the Dutch East India Company. It now stands as the oldest colonial building in South Africa. It served many purposes over the years, including a military base, a slave port and a government headquarters. Today, the castle houses nine mini-museums that tell the story of the diverse people who shaped the Cape and the nation. The Cape Heritage Museum was created by Igshaan Higgins, a human rights lawyer, during the pandemic. With artifacts that Mr. Higgins assembled over 25 years, the museum tells the stories of settler colonialism and the various groups who struggled through that oppression, including the Indigenous Khoi and San people, the Cape Muslims and the Xhosas. The castle also houses the William Fehr Collection, an assemblage of oil paintings and decorative art created by settlers that reflects on themes including slavery and the wars of dispossession. 10:30 a.m. Travel beneath the surface Tune out the noise with a subterranean journey. At Earthbox, which opened last year as an immersive art exhibit on the Lourensford Wine Estate in the suburb of Somerset West, visitors walk into a bunker of sorts carved into the ground. The high walls of dirt, changing mood lighting and lulling soundtrack provide a perfect opportunity to relax, meditate or just let your mind go. Tickets range from 170 rand to 250 rand. For an additional 50 rand, you can purchase an audio guide — there’s one for meditation, and another that teaches about the ancient rocks and sediment surrounding you. Earthbox hosts regular music concerts and private dinners with local high-end chefs. After your visit, you can roam the wine estate, which includes restaurants, a wine tasting room and a market with live music, food stalls, and arts and crafts vendors. A close-up of fried dumplings, garnished with orange and green oils and herbs, on a rectangular white plate. Reuben’s Restaurant and Bar 12 p.m. Lunch in wine country Lose yourself in the serenity of wine country at Hari Kitchen, on the Topiary Wine Estate, with one of the best meals in the Franschhoek Valley. The chef and owner Munashe Kwaramba did not attend culinary school, but learned his style of Afro-fusion cooking by observing high-end chefs and by cooking with his grandmother in Zimbabwe. Another option just down the road is Klein Goederust, the first fully Black-owned winery in Franschhoek. On weekends, you can pair a wine tasting with a Cape Malay buffet (495 rand per person) where spit-roasted lamb is a highlight. Or on Franschhoek’s quaint main street, pop into Reuben’s Restaurant and Bar, where the chef and owner Reuben Riffel serves refined dishes like dukkah-spiced lamb and pickled fish inspired by the culinary traditions of colored families like his own. READ 86 COMMENTS

Sengegal Could Return to Democracy and a Sane Government

Defying the Odds SENEGAL An anti-establishment candidate is predicted to win Senegal’s long-awaited presidential election on Monday, signaling potential radical change in one of coup-prone West Africa’s more stable democracies, the Guardian reported. Early returns showed opposition candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye far ahead of other candidates in Sunday’s vote. While other candidates conceded defeat, Amadou Ba of the ruling party has already asked for a runoff vote. In Senegal’s two-round system, a runoff is held if no candidate wins an absolute majority in the initial race. Final results are expected later this week. Faye’s victory would imply radical change for Senegal, said analysts. He has promised voters he would address systemic issues facing the country, including its relationship with its former colonial power, France. His pledges include abandoning the CFA Franc, a single currency used in eight West African countries. Critics have described the CFA Franc, which is pegged to the euro, as a legacy of French colonialism – CFA initially was an acronym for French Colonies in Africa, but now means “Financial Community in Africa.” Faye also pledged to renegotiate mining, gas, and oil contracts with foreign companies ahead of hydrocarbon production starting later this year. Senegalese expect this to boost their economy after years of stagnation. The early returns also mirrored popular frustration with the administration of incumbent President Macky Sall, who backed Ba in the election. He faced criticism for failing to address economic woes, such as unemployment and widespread poverty, and harassing the country’s political opposition. Sall’s decision to cancel the presidential election in February heightened political instability, triggering a wave of deadly protests before the government and the top court agreed on the new election date of March 24. Numerous political opponents were jailed in the months leading up to the vote. Faye himself was only released a few days ago and ran on behalf of Ousmane Sonko, an opposition figure disqualified from the race by the courts at the government’s prompting. Sonko enjoys massive support from Senegal’s youth. More than half of Senegalese are under 25. Senegal has long been held as a model for the region. But more recently, concerns arose about democratic backsliding in the country, which is surrounded by neighbors now ruled by military juntas following coups.

Guinea Has An Iron Junta

Iron Junta GUINEA The leader of the junta that runs Guinea, Gen. Mamadi Doumbouya, recently sacked the head of the state electricity company and his deputies. Doumbouya, who read the announcement on national television, made the decision after power cuts triggered deadly protests in the West African country, reported Bloomberg. An eight-year old and 14-year-old died in the protests, added Agence France-Presse, noting that, while Guinea is blessed with mineral and natural resources, it suffers from energy shortages. Doumbouya’s dictatorial rule hasn’t helped, either. Last month, security officers killed two other young people during demonstrations against the government, Al Jazeera wrote. The demonstrations were part of an open-ended general strike that kicked off a week after the junta dissolved the transitional government running the country since July 2022. The government was put in place nine months after Doumbouya had led a coup overthrowing President Alpha Condé, who had clung to power in spite of term limits. People took to the streets to call for the release of human rights activists, government action to reduce food prices, and the ceasing of media censorship. The junta never gave a reason for dissolving the government. Doumbouya had appointed the country’s previous former prime minister, Bernard Goumou, noted the BBC. It’s possible that the general could no longer tolerate power struggles within the government, suggested Africa Report. Justice Minister Alphonse Charles Wright, for instance, was calling for prosecutions against corrupt public officials, according to Agence de Presse Africaine. The new prime minister whom Doumbouya appointed, Ahmadou Oury Bah, has a reputation as a skillful executive who can reconcile the county’s disparate factions, wrote World Politics Review. He’s appointed a diverse cabinet that includes junta leaders, seven women, and a human rights activist to oversee elections. The cabinet also includes a new mining minister, Bouna Sylla, reported Reuters. Sylla will be charged with making sure the junta and the country in general receive the revenues they need to improve Guinea’s economy. The recent protests have impacted mining, a crucial source of foreign capital in the country, added Mining Magazine. Guinea has important opportunities that Doumbouya could help the country to exploit. Australian-British mining giant Rio Tinto, for example, recently announced that the company’s board had approved a $20 billion project that will include the biggest iron ore mine in the world in Simandou, southern Guinea, as well as a nearly 350-mile-long rail line and a new port, reported the Financial Times. Seven other companies, including five Chinese firms, are partners in the massive mine project. Chinese demand for metals from the mine for infrastructure, especially electric vehicles and charging stations, will likely remain strong for years. Unfortunately, added the Financial Times, that likely won’t bring ordinary Guineans more liberty or prosperity.

Rwanda-Justice Delayed

Absent Justice NETHERLANDS The International Criminal Court (ICC) will hold its first in absentia hearing when it tries infamous Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony later this year, nearly 20 years after seeking his arrest, the Associated Press reported. The Netherlands-based tribunal announced this month prosecutors will present evidence to support war crime and crimes against humanity charges against Kony, the alleged leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) that operated in Uganda and neighboring nations decades ago. Kony faces 12 counts of crimes against humanity, including murder and rape, as well as 21 counts of war crimes, including cruel treatment of civilians and drafting child soldiers. The Oct. 15 hearing is not a trial, but will allow ICC prosecutors to outline their case in court. A defense lawyer will represent Kony. If he gets captured after the hearing, he will face trial at the court based in the Hague. Kony remains at large, even after he gained international notoriety in 2012 when a video about his alleged crimes went viral. The LRA began its attacks in Uganda in the 1980s when Kony sought to oust the country’s government. The rebel group was later pushed out of Uganda, but its fighters terrorized villages in Congo, Central African Republic and South Sudan. It was known for using child soldiers, mutilating civilians and enslaving women. Although it still operates and is believed to have up to 2,000 fighters, the LRA has been weakened and fractured, Al Jazeera noted. In 2021, the ICC convicted LRA commander Dominic Ongwen on charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes. Last week, the court awarded reparations of more than $56 million to thousands of Ongwen’s victims. Share this story

South Africa Will Prosecute Its Citizens Participating In The Gaza War In Israel

The Blacklist SOUTH AFRICA The foreign minister of South Africa this week said that citizens of the country taking part in Israel’s war on Gaza will face prosecution when they return home, adding to tensions with Israel after South Africa accused it of genocide at the International Court of Justice, the Associated Press reported. At an event discussing South Africa’s support for Palestine and the petition filed at the United Nations’ Hague-based top court, Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said she “already issued a statement alerting those who are South African and who are fighting alongside or in the Israeli Defense Force,” or IDF. “We are ready. When you come home, We’re going to arrest you,” she warned. The foreign ministry added that dual citizens of Israel and South Africa arrested for participating in the war could have their South African citizenship revoked. While the number of South Africans participating in Israel’s war effort is unclear, numbers published in other countries, such as France, have sparked discussions over creating similar measures, the Anadolu Agency noted. Meanwhile, Israel has declined to provide the number of foreign soldiers in the IDF’s ranks. Nonetheless, the IDF is currently attempting to determine which nations might follow South Africa’s lead, Israel’s Haaretz reported. It plans to contact soldiers with dual nationality and advise them on visiting their home countries. Citizens of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Latvia are already banned from flying to these countries for security reasons. South Africa’s latest move has deepened a rift with Israel, following a court case launched by the former against the latter on charges of genocide, ongoing in the Hague. In response, Israel has accused South Africa of being complicit with the Palestinian militant group Hamas, whose attack on Israel on Oct. 7 left more than 1,200 dead and triggered the current war. Pandor rejected claims that her government had a political agenda in its support for Palestinians in the run-up to elections later this year. She said that the relationship between her country and Palestine is one “of freedom fighters, of activists, of nations that share a history. A history of struggle for justice and freedom,” referring to South Africa’s history of racial segregation, known as Apartheid. South Africa has accused Israel of conducting an apartheid against Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Share this story

More Trouble Between The Congo And Rwanda

The Crows Gather DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO Rwanda’s incursion into the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has sparked violence, massive displacement and concerns about the possibility of a new war in one of the poorest, most unstable regions in the world. Irredentist Rwandan leaders claim that colonial mapmakers cleaved off sections of their country and mistakenly gave these territories to the DRC, wrote African Arguments. These claims are partly responsible for the First Congo War of 1996-1998 that kicked off years of suffering and more alterations to the region. Also responsible was the DRC’s bloody history of colonialism and dictatorship, as University of Johannesburg visual art lecturer Ruth Sacks described in the Conversation. Now Rwanda is supporting M23 rebels whom Western leaders claim would grant Rwanda access to the DRC’s vast mineral resources in the lawless eastern regions of the country, reported Agence France-Presse. The DRC possesses an estimated $24 trillion of raw minerals like cobalt and lithium, which are crucial for electric batteries and other green energy technologies, added Crux. Rwanda has a history of economic-based disputes with another neighbor, Burundi, noted World Politics Review. A coalition of forces from the DRC, as well as Burundi, Malawi, South Africa, and Tanzania, has been fighting the M23 rebels in the eastern DRC, Xinhua explained. The DRC has also allegedly hired American, Romanian, and other mercenaries to fight its battles against the M23 rebels and other threats, according to the New Times, a Rwandan news outlet. The rebels most recently have been vying for control of Goma, a provincial capital, near the Rwandan border. Thousands have fled the region as the fighting has grown more intense and the number of casualties has risen in what the Red Cross called an “extremely worrying” and “unprecedented” situation. “We’re scared of dying of hunger,” Sandrine, a 32-year-old mother of eight, told the Norwegian Refugee Council after she fled her village near Sake, a town around 15 miles from Goma. “We also hear gunfire every day. We don’t have anything to eat and the food in the markets is too expensive to buy. We have nowhere to sleep – we had to leave everything behind, including our mattresses.” The suffering has also angered many Congolese who feel as if their country is under attack. In the capital of Kinshasa, demonstrators have taken to the streets, burning flags and protesting outside embassies, to criticize the West for not deterring Rwanda from stirring up a rebellion, the BBC wrote. They say that Rwanda has been the West’s darling, allowing the US and Europe to ignore its actions. Meanwhile, Western critics have also blasted major American and European governments and corporations for not ensuring that high-tech and other supply chains respect the human rights of workers in the DRC and elsewhere, said Vogue magazine. But, it added, everyone – the Russians, the Chinese, Europe and the US – is happy to look away from the misery, as long as the mining goes on.

Zimbabwe Hit with US Sanctions

Shunned ZIMBABWE The US government this week imposed sanctions against Zimbabwe’s newly reelected president, his vice president and other senior officials, based on their alleged involvement in corruption and human rights abuses in the southern African country, Al Jazeera reported. On Monday, the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced a series of sanctions targeting three companies and 11 people, including President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, aimed at “Mnangagwa’s criminal network of government officials and businesspeople.” Mnangagwa and his officials are accused of protecting gold and diamond smugglers operating in Zimbabwe, taking bribes and aiding smugglers in the sale of those precious resources on illegal markets. Gold is the country’s biggest export. The government is also suspected of committing various human rights abuses, including abductions, physical abuse and unlawful killings, according to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The new measures follow a review by the US Treasury of a previous sanctions program that had been in place since 2003. Those sanctions were imposed after the appropriation of land from white farmers by Mnangagwa’s predecessor, Robert Mugabe. Only those on Monday’s list will be sanctioned. Following the US move, Zimbabwean government spokesperson Nick Mangwana welcomed the removal of the 2003 sanctions, calling them “a great vindication” of Mnangagwa’s foreign policy. However, he described the new measures as “illegal,” adding that as long as the president and others are under sanctions, “we are all under sanctions.” Still, Zimbabwe’s neighbor, Zambia, also welcomed the lifting of the 2003 sanctions, with President Hakainde Hichilema describing the decision as “further evidence that (President Joe) Biden listens to his African partners.”

A Tiny African Country WIth A Most Strategic Location

Location, Location DJIBOUTI An Iranian ship named the Behshad was docked off Djibouti near a Chinese military base for weeks, allegedly transmitting commercial shipping information to the Houthis, a Yemeni militant group that has been attacking ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The Behshad received at least four shipments of supplies, according to TradeWinds, a news outlet that covers global shipping. Despite the small Horn of Africa nation’s tolerance of the Behshad, however, Djibouti still isn’t immune to the chaos that the Houthis are sowing to assert their influence in the region, especially as the West continues to support Israel’s war against Hamas, another Iran-backed group, in the Gaza Strip, regardless of the toll on civilians. The Iranian-supported Houthis, for example, have cut undersea telecommunications cables that run between Djibouti and Saudi Arabia, added i24 News, citing Israeli media reports. These lines connected Europe, Africa, and India. Ships struck by Houthi missiles have leaked their toxic cargoes into the region’s water, too, added Agence France-Press. American and British forces have conducted strikes to dissuade the Houthis from continuing their piracy and aggression, but those efforts have yet to yield success. Djibouti, a Muslim-majority nation, appears to have allied with China to help reduce its risk exposure to these problems, however. As the London-based newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat explained, Chinese ships appear to have immunity from Houthi attacks, leading to a boom at Djibouti’s ports as more shippers hire Chinese carriers to move their products through the Red Sea to the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean. Meanwhile, as he navigates these developments at sea, Djiboutian President Ismail Omar Guelleh has become increasingly concerned about events transpiring in Ethiopia, his country’s neighbor to the west and south. Currently, Ethiopian trade passing through Djibouti and vice versa comprises 75 percent of the latter country’s gross domestic product. But, as World Politics Review wrote, Ethiopian leaders are moving ahead with plans to build a new port in Somaliland, an unrecognized independent state that is technically part of Somalia. Ethiopia lost its access to the sea when nearby Eritrea won its independence in 1993. Five years later, after a war with Eritrea ended, Ethiopia moved its export routes to Djibouti. Now, however, Ethiopia plans to gain access to the port of Berbera in Somaliland as well as a 13-mile stretch of coastline where Ethiopia – an otherwise landlocked country – could establish a naval base. Somalian officials have panned the idea, Al Jazeera reported, saying Ethiopia has no right to sign a deal with Somaliland. Somali leaders are warning Ethiopia to not move forward, saying it risks regional harm, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud told Al Jazeera. In what looks like a policy to engage – rather than let events transpire without attempting to influence them – Guelleh has tried to play a mediating role between Ethiopia and Somalia to help them hash out their disagreement. As world leaders tread carefully in this minefield, Djibouti worries about its lost income from the port deal being realized. The country of about one million has few natural resources, an authoritarian leadership and a GDP, of $3 billion annually, equivalent to China’s output every two hours, wrote Brookings. But it does have one key resource that the American and the Chinese militaries, as well as the French, Japanese, Italians, Spanish, Russian, Indians, and Saudi Arabian all covet, and as a result, inspired another great power rivalry: its strategic location that comes with a deep-water port complex. Share this story