“The #Rwanda Defense Force is a #militia, not an army.”

because all regular and respected forces involved in international peacekeeping operations cannot support a rebel group as the RDF militias are doing now, they killed the army of 'peace from South Africa in the #DRC, this must end with force!

Reporter: Phiwe mpaka

Statement by President Cyril Ramaphosa on the recent developments in the eastern DRC and deaths of South African soldiers.


Wednesday, 29 January 2025

Fellow South Africans,

Following the recent intensification of fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), South Africa has lost 13 brave soldiers who were dedicated to their mission and committed to peace. The fighting is the result of an escalation by the rebel group, M23 and Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) engaging the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC) and attacking peacekeepers from the SADC Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (SAMIDRC).

On behalf of the Government and the people of our country, I express our sincerest condolences to their families, their loved ones and colleagues. We bow our heads in honor of their heroic and gallant fight for peace.

We honour and mourn them.

All necessary support is being provided to the families of the deceased and the families of the injured. The process to repatriate the remains of the deceased is underway.

The attacks on peacekeepers resulted in the deaths of SAMIDRC members from other troop contributing countries, namely; Malawi and Tanzania, as well members of the UN Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) brigade. We honour all the lives that were lost and pass our condolences to their families, governments and citizens. The situation in Goma and Sake, where our troops and their counterparts are stationed, remains very tense, volatile and unpredictable.

The Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Ms Angie Motshekga and the Chief of the SANDF, Gen Rudzani Maphwanya and SAMIDRC Force Commander, Maj Gen Monwabisi Dyakopu are working to ensure that the SAMIDRC forces remain well equipped and sufficiently supported during this critical mission.

We are concerned about the speculation about the state of our troops and the battle conditions. All South Africans must rally behind our brave men and women who have dedicated their lives to bringing peace in our continent.

South Africa’s military presence in the eastern DRC is not a declaration of war against any country or state. The members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) that are in the DRC are part of both SADC and United Nations (UN) efforts to bring peace and protect thousands of lives that are constantly threatened by the conflict in the DRC. The presence of the SAMIDRC forces demonstrates a commitment of SADC member states to supporting the DRC in its efforts to achieve lasting peace and stability and ultimately, create an enabling environment for sustainable development and prosperity.

We welcome the position that was recently adopted by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) during its special sitting on the situation in the DRC, which calls for an immediate end to hostilities, the reversal of territorial expansion by the M23, the exit of external forces from the DRC and the resumption of peace talks under the Nairobi Process.

The territorial integrity of the DRC must be respected in accordance with the United Nations Charter on the respect of sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of other states.

We call on all parties to this conflict to fully embrace the current diplomatic efforts that are aimed at finding a peaceful resolution, including honoring the Luanda Process agreements. We must silence the guns on our continent for the attainment of inclusive development and prosperity.

THE #CONGO FIASCO: INSIDE ZIMBABWE’S MILITARY MISADVENTURE IN THE GREAT WAR OF AFRICA.

Mandela calls for SADC summit

South African President Nelson Mandela on Thursday called for a ceasefire in the fighting in the DRC and said he planned to hold a summit of Southern African Development Community (SADC) leaders to discuss a peaceful end to the conflict, Reuters reported. “We have been asked to call a summit of SADC leaders … I want President Robert Mugabe (of Zimbabwe) to be involved,” Mandela said in Cape Town. He also announced that he and Deputy President Thabo Mbeki had spoken to President Laurent-Desire Kabila on the telephone. “I am convinced we are making headway in bringing about a peaceful solution,” Mandela added.

Earlier Mugabe had pledged to help Kabila militarily in a move that appeared to split SADC members. He accused Rwanda of “direct involvement” in the rebellion, a charge described by Rwandan government officials as “highly irresponsible and dangerously inflammatory”. Pro-government media in Zimbabwe carried inflammatory articles about “Tutsi-empire building” in the region.

Kagame does not want Kivu buffer zone

Rwandan Vice-President Paul Kagame has rejected the idea of creating a buffer zone in the Kivu region, neither does he want to annex the territory. In an interview with the Belgian newspaper ‘Le Soir’ published on Wednesday, Kagame said he wanted the authorities in Kinshasa to be “strong enough, representative enough and capable of monitoring security in border regions” He denied Rwanda’s involvement in the current DRC rebellion, but admitted he was disappointed by Kabila’s government which had been unable to prevent rebel incursions from the east into Rwanda and unable to resolve the Congolese Tutsi nationality issue.

Rebels offer to negotiate

Rebel leaders on Thursday offered to negotiate with President Laurent-Desire Kabila, amid reports they had captured the town of Mbanza Ngungu, some 130 km southwest of Kinshasa and the last major town on the way to the capital. Kabila’s erstwhile foreign minister Bizima Karaha told a news conference in Goma that the president was “part of the problem and can therefore be part of the solution”. Ernest Wamba dia Wamba, chairman of the newly-announced Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RDC) said Congo’s problems were political “and we do not intend to settle them militarily”.

Regional analysts told IRIN they believed the offer of talks was a “delaying tactic” by the rebels, coming in the wake of proposed military intervention on Kabila’s side by some members of the Southern African Development Community. Earlier in the week, more towns reportedly fell to the rebels including Aru in the northeast.

Kabila in Lubumbashi

Kabila was reported to be in Lubumbashi and members of his government denied reports he had fled. Information Minister Didier Mumengi claimed rebels in the west of the country were “in retreat and disarray”. Kinshasa was without power and water for several days, following the rebel capture of the Inga hydroelectric dam, although supplies were restored on Thursday. The government announced that troops were regrouping and a counter-offensive was being prepared.

Rebellion formalised

Meanwhile, the rebellion formally announced itself as the Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD), whose chairman was Ernest Wamba Dia Wamba (an academic and member of the Bakongo people from the Matadi area), deputy chairman Moise Nyarugabo (a Munyamulenge, formerly in the DRC government) and executive secretary Jacques Depelchin (a Congolese academic who taught in Tanzania and in the US). Former DRC foreign minister Bizima Karaha was named member of an executive council and also charged with foreign affairs.

A Congolese analyst told IRIN the rebellion had changed its strategy. Instead of having a single leader, it had decided on a joint leadership to encompass as many sections of Congolese society as possible, he said. He pointed out the leading members represented well-known politicians and representatives of DRC society from various provinces.

Foreigners evacuated

Foreign nationals continued to evacuate Kinshasa and diplomatic sources told IRIN the Burundian community, which had been holed up in the Burundi ambassador’s residence since the start of the conflict, managed to return to Bujumbura by plane over the weekend. People who left Kinshasa spoke of panic in the city, saying young men recruited into the army by Kabila’s administration were “spreading fear” and the army itself appeared “disjointed”. Sources in the capital told IRIN “nervous soldiers” were patrolling Kinshasa’s streets and some government members were preparing to flee.
Zimbabwean, Angolan troops arrive to back Kabila

21 August 1998

Zimbabwe and Angola appear to have ignored South African calls for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and are mobilising for a direct military intervention to rescue embattled President Laurent-Desire Kabila.

Military technicians and advisers from Zimbabwe have begun to arrive in Kinshasa, news reports say. DRC state TV filmed battle-ready soldiers disembarking from aircraft at Kinshasa’s N’djili airport last night. AP quoted a senior DRC official as confirming they were Zimbabweans, but denied they were combat troops.

“They are here to help with logistics and communications,” the official said.

Michael Quintan, editor of the Harare-based Africa Defence Journal, told IRIN he believed the soldiers were advance elements of Zimbabwe’s elite Special Air Service. Analysts speculated they may have arrived from the southern city of Lubumbashi where they had been working with Kabila’s presidential guard.

Reuters reported today eyewitness accounts of more than 100 Angolan commandos, backed by tanks, moving from the Cabinda enclave into western DRC. Media accounts also said there were Portuguese-speaking soldiers among the arriving Zimbabweans in Kinshasa yesterday.

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has ignored rebel offers for ceasefire talks and appeals by South Africa for a Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit to discuss the widening conflict.

“No one is compelled within SADC to go into a campaign of assisting a country beset by conflict,” Mugabe told Zimbabwean state media. “Those who want to keep out, fine. Let them keep out, but let them be silent about those who want to help.”

Regional analysts in Harare say Zimbabwe’s strategy is to force a stalemate in the fighting before negotiations, to improve Kabila’s bargaining position. Mugabe yesterday directly accused Rwanda of military intervention in support of the rebels.

However, Zimbabwe appears to have lost the key support of Namibia, who along with Angola and Zambia, had earlier this week appeared to back the Harare initiative on military action.

According to a Financial Times report, after talks yesterday in Cape Town with Namibian leader Sam Nujoma, South African President Nelson Mandela said Windhoek had agreed to halt military supplies to Kabila. “That may have been the situation before we met,” Mandela suggested, “but I don’t think President Nujoma is going to insist on that.”

Mandela was upbeat yesterday on the prospects of a peace settlement after he and Deputy President Thabo Mbeki had spoken on the telephone with Kabila. He added that it was “possible” that Ugandan leader Yoweri Museveni would make a statement “in which he calls for a ceasefire on the part of the forces that are aiming to overthrow Mr Kabila,” the Financial Times reported.
Epic battle kicks off Zimbabwe’s participation in the Second Congo War

Bomb the Other Side of the Runway!War is Boring

August 1998

The Democratic Republic of Congo has seen next to no peace since its independence in 1960. While a series of bitter secessionist wars — involving large numbers of West European mercenaries, and then the CIA and its paramilitaries of Cuban origin — dominated the headlines in the 1960s, ever since hardly a day has passed without at least some sort of low-intensity fighting occurring in the country’s expansive forests.

Indeed, not a few parts in the north and east of the country remain outside the reach of official authorities to this day. Corruption and banditry remain endemic.

In May 1996, what was originally declared an “insurgency” in the eastern DRC — but was actually an all-out invasion by the militaries of neighboring Rwanda and Uganda — swept from power the long-time dictator and a close U.S. and French ally Mobutu Sesse Seko.

Two years later the sequence of events that the invasion set in motion culminated in a bizarre battle, during which clashing armies occupied opposite sides of an airport runway.

A small-time Marxist rebel leader and gold-smuggling “businessman,” Laurent Kabila, replaced Mobutu. In a matter of few months, Kabila turned against his primary foreign supporters the Rwandans. By the summer of 1998, tensions between him and his aides on one side, and Rwandan officers appointed in command of the entire Congolese military, reached a point where Rwandan strongman Paul Kagame decided to remove Kabila from power.

For this purpose, Kagame and his chief of staff James Kabarebe developed a plot that might sound familiar — they would instigate a mutiny in the Congolese military, which would then justify a coup de main by Rwanda that could topple the government in Kinshasa.

On Aug. 4 1998, as a number of Congolese garrisons mutinied, Rwandan special forces entered Goma, a major town in eastern DRC on the border to Rwanda. While securing the local airport, they commandeered at least four and possibly six different airliners. Using these, and reinforced by a battalion of Ugandan army troops, the Rwandans then flew to Kitona, a base on the Atlantic coast of the DRC 1,240 miles from Goma.

Using unprotected airliners to deploy hundreds of troops for an invasion of a major capital of a foreign country might seem risky, even insane. However, the fact is that much of the air space over the DRC remains unmonitored even today. In 1998, the DRC had no real air force.

Therefore, the resulting air bridge went on, entirely undisrupted, for several days. The flight control at N’Djili International did notice some of related movements — including a total of eight flights on Aug. 8, 1998 — but could do nothing to stop them.

Once in Kitona, Kabarebe first took care to free thousands of Mobutu’s troops being held in re-education camps by Kabila’s military. After spending a few suitcases full of dollars, his task force — now numbering around a thousand Rwandans plus a few hundred Ugandans and reinforced by up to 10,000 Congolese mutineers — set the course for Kinshasa on Aug. 10, 1998.

Theoretically, the distance was not great. However, there was only one poor road and one railway line Kabarebe’s troops could useUnsurprisingly, Kabila was quicker. Anticipating the Rwandan plot, he signed a major deal with Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe. The Zimbabwean Defense Force would deploy a significant troop contingent in the DRC with the aim of monitoring the withdrawal of Rwandan military from the country.

In exchange, Mugabe received official permission to exploit several large mines in the country.
It so happened that in early August 1998, as the Rwandans were hauling their troops and arms from Goma to Kitona — i.e., from eastern to western Congo — the Zimbabweans were doing the same from their home bases, via Zambia, to Kinshasa. That is, from southern to western Congo.

To further increase the irony — many of Rwandan officers had trained in Zimbabwe, which meant that the future belligerents actually knew each other.

The ZDF of the 1990s was a highly professional force. Thus, while Kagame’s hodgepodge of Rwandan and Ugandan troops and Congolese mutineers needed two weeks to reach Kinshasa, by Aug. 22 the ZDF had one squadron of its own Special Air Service, 800 paratroopers, 15 Cascavel armored cars of Brazilian origin, 16 helicopters and eight combat aircraft staging from N’Djili.

The first clash between Kabarebe’s force and Zimbabweans occurred on Aug. 24, 1998, around 60 miles southwest of Kinshasa. After one of AFZ’s fighter-bombers detected a column of Chinese-made Type-59 main battle tanks operated by Congolese mutineers, the Zimbabwean Special Air Service quickly attacked. After the lead Type-59 was knocked out, the rest of crews abandoned their tanks and ran away into the jungle.

Kabarebe thus lost the heaviest component of his force before the fateful battle for Kinshasa even began. Nevertheless, Kabarebe regrouped his forces and continued the advance. Early on the morning of Aug. 26 1998, his troops finally reached the southeastern outskirts of Kinshasa.

The city was all but unprotected. The regular Congolese military was in turmoil and hardly capable of protecting the presidential palace. Air Marshal Perence Shiri and Air Vice Marshal Mike Nyambuya — commanders of the ZDF’s deployment in the DRC — decided to concentrate their forces for the defense of N’Djili. As long as the airport remained in their hands and operational, they could always receive reinforcements via transport aircraft from Zimbabwe.

The first Rwandan attack on N’Djili came by surprise. Kabarebe rushed a column of rebels disguised as retreating Congolese regulars toward the airport, and another in direction of the presidential palace. The first column approached N’Djili without any interruption. They were identified as enemy by the crews of several Cascavels while fewer than 100 yards away.

Together with heavy-machine-gun crews, the Zimbabwean armored cars poured murderous fire down on the assailants. The smoke hadn’t yet cleared when the second wave of Rwandans and more Congolese rebels appeared. The ZDF was forced to withdraw toward the main terminal.


Thus a strange situation developed in which the Rwandans and Congolese mutineers managed to capture not only the western threshold of N’Djili’s runway, but also the main terminal. The Zimbabweans remained in possession of the northern, military side of the airport plus the control tower, where a small group of paras and the SAS snipers entrenched.

The Zimbabweans recovered rapidly, scrambling all the available troops and aviators into defensive positions. What followed is a story from which legends are made. All of the ZDF’s Hawk fighter-bombers, Lynx attack planes and helicopters were airborne within minutes. Using the northern half of the runway, they launched downwind, made a turn over the Congo River and then returned to bomb — literally — the very other end of the runway from which they took off!

For the rest of the day, the Hawks, Lynxes and helicopters continued pounding enemy positions, causing heavy casualties and forcing the enemy to stop further attacks and entrench around the western threshold.

The heaviest fighting erupted on the morning of Aug. 27, when Kabarebe deployed his last few remaining Type-62 light tanks and a significant number of anti-aircraft guns in support of his next assault. Supported by Cascavels and the SAS, the Zimbabwean paras routed the first wave, while the ZDF’s fighter-bombers and helicopters flew one strike after the other.

The same happened to Kabarebe’s second attack, launched late in the afternoon. Through all of this time, Zimbabwean aircraft and helicopters continued launching from the northern end of the 15,420-foot runway and attacking targets around its southern end. With the enemy that close to their base, they were able to take up maximal amounts of bombs and rockets. Pilots kept their engines running between successive sorties, relaunching in just five minutes.

The speed of the Zimbabwean air force’s operations was such that nobody had his breakfast or lunch. Even medics and caterers were pushing bombs and ammunition boxes to the aircraft — refueling and arming process became everyone’s business, with the armorers concentrating solely on the safety checks.

After being airborne for nearly 20 hours, three helicopters and one of the Lynxes became due for their periodic maintenance. The required servicing was undertaken the following night, after the necessary spares were delivered to N’Djili by transport aircraft.

Early on Aug. 28, the ZDF counterattacked. Already shaken by heavy losses, the Rwandans and the Congolese fell back. By the end of the day, they withdrew into the built-up areas of N’Djili, where they engaged Zimbabweans in savage trench warfare for another two days. Finally, during the night of Aug. 31, 1998, Kabarebe ordered the surviving Rwandan troops to disengage in direction of Kisantu, leaving behind thousands of dazed Congolese mutineers.

The Battle of N’Djili — during which combat aircraft and helicopters literally bombed the other end of the runway from where they launched — thus ended in a clear-cut defeat for the Rwandans. However, it only marked the beginning of the so-called Second Congo War, which was to last well into 2003.

3 December 1998

More than three months after the Zimbabwean president, Robert Mugabe, sent the first contingent of several hundred troops to support his embattled counterpart in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Laurent Kabila, little or no hard information is available about the extent of Zimbabwe’s involvement in the war.

Government ministries refuse to disclose how many troops and air force personnel are taking part in the conflict, although it is widely thought to have risen to about 10,000, or approximately a third of Zimbabwe’s total armed forces.

Nor is there any credible account of how many casualties Zimbabwe has suffered.

Officially, the number of dead and wounded remains at fewer than ten.

In the absence of hard facts from the government, the rumour mill has gone into overdrive. Everyone seems to have a friend whose brother has deserted from the army rather than go to fight in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

According to one elaborate variation on the theme, a whole planeload of troops recently hijacked the aircraft taking them to the Congo and forced it to turn back to Zimbabwe.

On landing, the entire force deserted and is still being sought.

There’s no confirmation of such stories, but they are an indication of just how unpopular the war has become.

Any initial enthusiasm has evaporated as the conflict drags on and the original, limited objective of defending the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, from rebels has become an open-ended commitment to drive “invading” forces from the country.

“I think our involvement in the war has created a lot of confidence among our people, in that our army is recognised as being one of the best in Africa for the wonderful job it has done in the Congo,” says the Information Minister, Chen Chimutengwende.

Government ministers aside, though, it is difficult to find anyone who has a good word to say about the war.

Trouble at home

There is a widespread feeling that Zimbabwe should be concentrating on sorting out its own problems rather than participating in a conflict more than 1,000 km from its borders.

The annual rate of inflation is approaching 40%, unemployment is about 50% and the value of the Zimbabwe dollar has fallen spectacularly in the past few months.

Involvement in the war has shaken confidence in an already weakened economy.

“Mugabe is just boosting his own ego,” according to John Makumbe, a lecturer in political science at the University of Zimbabwe and a persistent critic of the government.

“The president is playing an obsolete game of thinking that if he’s involved in a war, that should boost his image among the people.”

But Dr Makumbe believes that such a strategy is doomed to failure because the cost , which is estimated to be more than 1m dollars a day, is unsustainable.

Investment opportunities

The government says quite openly that it is hoping for investment opportunities in the Congo as a result of the war.

“Are we going to lose lives and millions of dollars for nothing?” asked a recent editorial in the state-run Herald newspaper. “We should be fast and aggressive like the South Africans who don’t see a war in the Congo but a business opportunity.”

The Zimbabwean authorities display a sensitivity verging on paranoia towards South Africa, which they feel has been insufficiently grateful for Zimbabwe’ s undoubted sacrifices in the struggle against apartheid.

But while President Mugabe competes with the South African president, Nelson Mandela, for the mantle of Africa’s most influential leader, the Zimbabwean population suffers.

As one shopper said during a recent round of panic buying sparked by reports that the price of basic commodities was going up by 20%: “Things have got out of hand. We can’t afford to buy food, we can’t buy clothes. We’re just striving to survive.”

Mugabe defends fighting for Congo

Here’s everything that happened at Donald Trump’s inauguration

“A tide of change is sweeping the country,” Donald Trump declared in his inaugural speech kicking off the start of his second presidency, in what marked a stunning political comeback.

Trump, the convicted felon who survived two assassination attempts and threatened to upend Canada’s economy with a trade war, pledged to be a “peacemaker” and to unleash a new era of economic prosperity in the United States.

#CTVNews.ca streamed “The Inauguration of Donald J. Trump” hosted by Chief #News Anchor and Senior Editor Omar Sachedina and Chief Political Correspondent Vassy Kapelos in our video player above.

Here’s what happened on the day of the inauguration as reported by our journalists and political analyst Eric Ham.

2:04 p.m. EST: Trump cements outsider status

Political analyst Eric Ham says if we thought Trump was done going after his political enemies, we need to think again. “

He’s railing against political opponents, even commenting on Hillary Clinton today. This after saying he wanted to be known as a unifier.”

Ham added: “None of the former presidents elected to participate in the inauguration lunch, making clear that even as a two-term member of the nation’s most exclusive club of ex-presidents, Trump is still very much an outsider.”

2:02 p.m. EST: Andrew Jackson portrait is back

A portrait of Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the U.S., is back up on the wall in the West Wing of the White House, reports CBS News.

The previous Biden administration removed the portrait of Jackson and replaced him with Benjamin Franklin.

Jackson has been criticized for participating in the slave trade -- having been a slave owner himself -- and for signing the Indian Removal Act of 1830 that forced Native Americans off their land.

2 p.m. EST: Trump says ‘they tried’ to rig election

Trump repeated false claims that he won the 2020 election, saying he got “nine million more (votes) than anyone else had ever gotten,” he said during a speech to supporters. “And they said we lost.”

This election, by contrast, was “too big to rig,” he said. Adding “they tried.”

1:51 p.m. EST: After measured address, Trump goes off the cuff

After delivering a relatively staid inaugural address reading from a teleprompter, Trump is now unleashing during a freewheeling, off-the-cuff second speech at the Capitol Visitor Center.

Trump is angrily railing against his enemies, promising action on what he calls the “J6 hostages,” calling former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney “a crying lunatic,” and bashing what he calls the “unselect committee of political thugs” that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.

He’s also criticizing the pardons Joe Biden issued right before Trump was sworn in and in recent weeks.

1:30 p.m. EST: The Bidens make one last wheels up

Joe Biden is boarding a helicopter that will carry him into his post-presidency life — but the aircraft carrying him is no longer known as Marine One.

Since Biden is now a former president, he and his wife Jill boarded a chopper technically known as “Nighthawk 46″ despite still having the presidential seal.

The Bidens were flying to a farewell ceremony at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, then flying to California.

The California flight will be Special Air Mission 46.

Trump, who hadn’t yet taken office then, flew on Saturday from Florida to Washington aboard a plane with presidential markings that was known as Special Air Mission 47.

1:26 p.m. EST: Trump closes app for migrants

Trump has shut down a U.S. government app that enabled migrants to schedule appointments to enter at American ports of entry. The website to the CBP One Mobile Application now reads the app that “previously allowed undocumented aliens to submit advance information and schedule appointments at eight southwest border ports of entry is no longer availabe, and existing appointments have been cancelled.”

1:15 p.m. EST: Trump and Vance have departed

U.S. President Trump, VP Vance, and the first and Second Lady have departed.

Former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris have also left.

The Trump family is waiting for the remaining former presidents to leave the platform before they are escorted out.

1:10 p.m. EST: What about Canada?

Political analyst Eric Ham say that Trump noticeably did not mention a trade war with Canada in his inaugural address; nor the 25 per cent tariffs that he’s been promising to levy against Canada. “At least not today.”

12:45 p.m. EST: Trump swore in with his hand at his side, not atop the Bible. Does it matter?

It’s traditional to use a Bible during the presidential oath of office, but it is not required. Only the oath is mandated by the Constitution.

Theodore Roosevelt didn’t use a Bible when he was sworn in following the assassination of William McKinley in 1901. John Quincy Adams used a law text for his 1825 inauguration.

And, sworn in aboard Air Force One after John Kennedy’s assassination in 1963, Lyndon B. Johnson used a Catholic missal.

12:40 p.m. EST: Trump closes without mentioning Canada

After touching on a laundry list of presidential priorities, Trump closed his inaugural address without mentioning Canada.

Prior to today, Trump has repeatedly said he would unleash sweeping tariffs against Canada. The threat had dominated headlines and meeting agendas in Canada’s highest government offices for weeks. While dignitaries and billionaires crowded in Washington this morning, Canadian cabinet officials huddled into a Quebec war room to unleash retaliatory tariffs if required.

Trump did say his government would enforce tariffs generally – which will be managed by a brand-new External Revenue Service – to “enrich” the American people, without mentioning Canada.

The Washington Post reported this morning Trump asked his financial representative to examine trade between Canada and the U.S.

12:39 p.m. EST: ‘America First’

Political analyst Eric Ham calls Trump’s inauguration speech a “cornucopia of America First policies” that includes rollbacks of EV mandates, attacks on wokeism, and combating COVID-19 era policies. It’s a “full-throated erasure of the Biden Administration policies. He wants to be known as a peacemaker and unifier,” says Ham.

12:33 p.m. EST: Trump administration priorities

The new Trump administration has posted its top priorities on the White House website. These include: 1) Ending inflation and lowering costs 2) Tax cuts for workers 3) Securing American borders 4) Restoring peace “through strength” and keeping the U.S. out of “unnecessary foreign wars” 5) Encouraging domestic energy production and 6) Restoring law and order to make sure “Americans feel safe” in their neighbourhoods again.

12:25 p.m. EST: Trump will be ‘peacemaker and unifier’

Trump says he hopes he will be viewed as a “peacemaker and unifier” while in office.

He is in the middle of his inauguration speech, touching on a wide range of topics.

He vowed to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America,” to “tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens,” to cut affirmative action initiatives, end the Green New Deal, and said “there are only two genders: male and female.”

12:20 p.m. EST: Trudeau congratulates Trump

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau congratulated Donald Trump on his presidency.

“Canada and the U.S. have the world’s most successful economic partnership. We have the chance to work together again — to create more jobs and prosperity for both our nations,” Trudeau posted on X.

12:14 p.m. EST: ‘I was saved by God to make America great again’

Trump is delivering a scathing review of his predecessors, referencing the financing of foreign wars and the horrors of widespread wildfires in California.

“From this moment on, America’s decline is over,” he said.

Then, he turned to the first of two recent attempts on his life.

“An assassin’s bullet ripped through my ear,” he said. “My life was saved for a reason. I was saved by God to make America great again.”

11:42 EST: Trump, JD Vance prepare to swear in

President-elect Donald Trump and vice-president-elect JD Vance prepare to swear in as they are both escorted to the podium. Members of the audience are chanting “U.S.A.”

11:41 a.m. EST: Biden, Harris join the crowd

Outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden has joined the crowd flanking the podium. Biden is with outgoing Vice-President Kamala Harris standing by his side.

11:31 a.m. EST: Family, billionaires sit behind podium

Donald Trump’s family, including children Ivanka, Donald Trump Jr., Eric, Tiffany and Barron, sits in the first row behind the podium.

Tech billionaires Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos sitting right behind.

10:01 a.m. EST: Electric vehiclesTrump will sign an executive order that will effectively put an end to the electric vehicle mandate in U.S., reports the Wall Street Journal, citing incoming White House Officials. The order will also reverse federal efforts to curtail consumer choice on home appliances like dishwashers and stoves.

9:58 a.m. EST: Biden greets Trump

Donald Trump has arrived at the White House, where he and his wife Melania were greeted by the Bidens.

It was unclear what the four said to each other. Trump placed an arm on Jill Biden’s arm, and the group briefly posed for a photo. They quickly turned to head inside to drink tea together, as per tradition. They did not take questions.

9:47 a.m. EST: VP Vance arrivesVice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff greeted Vice President-elect JD Vance and his wife Usha Vance when they arrived at the White House moments ago.

#Putin, Central African Republic leader to discuss security cooperation
The Russian leader noted that Russia attaches great importance to cooperation with the CAR on the global arena, including within the #UN framework.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Central African Republic (CAR) counterpart Faustin-Archange Touadera will discuss security cooperation during their upcoming meeting, the Russian leader said, opening the talks.

"I would like to emphasize our security cooperation. We are determined to continue our previous policies in this domain," Putin said.

"We are going to discuss these [cooperation] prospects with the expanded circle of delegates and, subsequently, during our one-on-one meeting," the Russian leader added.

He went on to say that Russia attaches great importance to cooperation with the CAR on the global arena, including within the UN framework.

Children executed and women raped in front of their families as M23 militia unleashes fresh terror on #DRC.


They were looking for new ways to kill, ways to send fresh terror across North Kivu.

It was early afternoon when the M23 militia raided the Congolese town of Rubaya. In a marketplace, gunmen found a giant wooden pestle and mortar for crushing grain. They began rounding up children, wedging them tight in the mortar. Isabel, 32, watched the rebels stove in their skulls. The mortar turned red, overflowing with blood.

Six children, said Isabel, were pummelled to death on 4 April 2024. “It was terrible.”

She fled with two friends. Among the rainforests of the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), armed men caught them. Isabel and a friend were raped. The other friend was executed.

Her account is among new testimony of fresh #M23 atrocities obtained by the Observer. They detail indiscriminate killing, torture and mass abductions; women raped at gunpoint in front of their children; others pinned down on main roads and attacked in broad daylight. Their collective testimony confirms an ongoing calamity that humanitarians hoped might never happen.

The DRC, long synonymous with supercharged levels of sexual violence, has entered a bleak new chapter. Rates of rape are far higher than ever recorded. But the M23 rebels largely responsible cannot be categorised alongside the scores of chaotic militia roaming North Kivu. Instead, the M23 is backed and armed by one of the west’s most cherished and increasingly indispensable allies on the continent.

“Rwanda has wooed the west, particularly the UK. They’re playing a dual narrative; reliable partner on one hand while facilitating conflict in the Congo,” said a senior diplomat.

As the M23, supported by thousands of Rwandan troops, pushes deeper into neighbouring DRC, UN intelligence sources confirm the west’s security services are “intimately aware” of the evolving incursion. “It’s shocking and frustrating that sanctions have not been forthcoming,” said a UN expert familiar with evidence of M23 war crimes sent to the UN security council.

The worst may be about to unfold. Another senior UN official admitted that a sinister masterplan might be under way. Kigali, they warn, might be planning to annex a chunk of DRC larger than Rwanda itself. “This is a long-term policy to get the broader Kivu area into the sphere of Rwandan influence and, later, under complete administrative control.”

The ongoing failure to rein in Rwanda risks broader repercussions, say analysts, exposing potentially fatal weaknesses in western liberal interventionism and conflict resolution. As the killings continue, as women are raped in extraordinary numbers, how long is the west prepared to look away?

Much of the horror unfolding in the rainforests of eastern Congo is traceable to the shocking events of 1994: the genocide of Rwanda’s minority Tutsis.

Largely low-tech – performed mostly by machetes wielded by ordinary Hutus – it remains among the fastest mass killings in history. At least 800,000 died in 100 days.

Shortly after the massacre, more than 1 million Hutus fled to DRC, including many responsible for the slaughter. Twice, Rwandans invaded their neighbour, ostensibly to hunt down the génocidaires. In turn, Hutu militias linked to the carnage started to regroup, plotting a return to Rwanda to seize power. To counter this threat, Rwanda began arming Tutsi militias – forerunners to the M23 – inside the DRC.

Other factors bolstered its decision. Eastern DRC holds huge, widely coveted reserves of precious minerals. “If groups like the M23 gain control of the minerals, it gives them – and Rwanda – significant international clout,” said a UN intelligence official.

The battle over billions of pounds worth of minerals, alongside the settling of old scores, has plunged eastern DRC into near continuous conflict since the genocide. More than 6 million are thought to have died and a similar number forced from a swathe of DRC, whose government has lost control in the east to a hierarchy of armed groups.

"We are now in crisis mode. We need help, Mr President. Please help us," a West Coast activist has said in a passionate plea to President Cyril #Ramaphosa to help Cape Flats residents who are plagued by ongoing gang violence.

#Kinshasa's intriguing security sweep in #Zambia ,Dozens of DR Congo nationals suspected of planning to destabilise their country were picked up and brought home from neighbouring Zambia, in an October operation greenlit by Lusaka.

#LGBTQ2S+ refugees languish as Kenyan government blocks Canadians from resettling them.

The Canadian Press travelled to #Kenya as part of an investigative series looking into a global backslide in LGBTQ2S+ rights and the consequences for Canada, including the mounting difficulties Canadians face in resettling refugees.

This week, that reporting revealed that the Kenyan government has nearly halted approvals of exit permits and refugee status for people claiming the need for asylum on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

The Kenyan government does not consider those legitimate grounds for seeking refugee status.

"It's stressful, when you don't know how long you'll be waiting," Anne told The Canadian Press.

Anne left Uganda years ago, and they now run Rainbow Family Support and Advocacy-Africa, an organization that helps LGBTQ2S+ refugee parents in Nairobi.

Its headquarters is a home that includes an office and workshop space, but also a playroom and bedrooms with bunk beds for families who have been evicted for being #LGBTQ2S+. Drawings of same-sex couples with children adorn the walls, and the staircase is painted with a rainbow flag.

The group provides workshops to help its clients navigate bureaucracy, and the questions their children face at school.

Anne's children are often asked by Kenyan schoolmates why they left Uganda, a country that is not at war. Many Kenyans assume the only reason Ugandans would move to #Kenya is because they are gay.

"They would ask intimate questions to the kids, like 'Do you see your mom with a man or with a woman? Because you are Ugandan,'" said Anne.