Former President Barack Obama “pivoted” toward Africa, his predecessor Donald Trump away from it and current U.S. leader Joe Biden has had his hands full with the pandemic at home and now the war in Ukraine.

But in an address to lawmakers on Capitol Hill last week, the commander for U.S. forces in Africa pointed to China’s dominance in a region vital to America’s security and economic growth and warned that Washington ignores Africa at its peril.

“China’s heavy investment in Africa as its ‘second continent,’ and heavy-handed pursuit of its ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative, is fueling Chinese economic growth, outpacing the U.S., and allowing it to exploit opportunities to their benefit,” U.S. Africa Command Gen. Stephen Townsend told the House Committee on Appropriations, echoing comments he made last month to the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Townsend’s remarks come amid a burst of Chinese diplomacy with the continent. Foreign Minister Wang Yi — who has visited three countries in Africa this year — met with seven African counterparts in March alone. Last month, President Xi Jinping had what was billed as a “productive” telephone call with Cyril Ramaphosa, the leader of the region’s most developed economy, South Africa.

There’s been speculation that China may simply be trying to shore up support for its position on the Ukraine crisis, with Townsend noting: “Our African partners face choices to strengthen the U.S. and allied-led open, rules-based international order or succumb to the raw power transactional pressure campaigns of global competitors.”

Deborah Brautigam, director of the China Africa Research Initiative at Johns Hopkins University, told VOA that China is trying to create a “non-aligned” axis as “Beijing does not want the Ukraine war to become a new Cold War with countries forced to choose between the U.S. and Russia.”

But China’s interest in Africa long predates the war in Ukraine.

Townsend noted the region is home to rare earth metals used for mobile phones, hybrid vehicles and missile guidance systems, and stressed that “the winners and losers of the 21st century global economy may be determined by whether these resources are available in an open and transparent marketplace or are inaccessible due to predatory practices of competitors.”

West Africa Base Worries?

The continent also occupies a key geostrategic location. Townsend expressed concern that China — which already has a naval base at the mouth of the Red Sea in Djibouti — is looking at setting up another on the Atlantic coast. That, he said, would “almost certainly require the [Defense] department to consider shifts to U.S. naval force posture and pose increased risk to freedom of navigation and U.S. ability to act.”

Brautigam says she doubts it is in China’s interest to “carve out a threat posture in the Atlantic.”

She told VOA that “with continued terrorism and instability in Nigeria, Cameroon and other parts of the Gulf of Guinea, that area has become the world’s hotspot for piracy.” For China, as the world’s largest trading nation, “that’s reason enough to want an outpost to protect Chinese citizens and economic interests in the Gulf of Guinea.”

An op-ed in China’s state-affiliated Global Times in January appeared to echo this line of reasoning, noting that compared to hundreds of U.S. bases around the world, China only has one and its need for any more would purely be to “ensure local security and interests.”

Another piece in the paper insisted: “China is the most cautious and restrained in terms of overseas military base deployment, as China does not have a desire to project military power globally to support the strategic competition of major powers.”

“Nevertheless, as China’s overseas interests continue to expand, there will be an increasing need for the Chinese PLA Navy to defend the national interests in more distant regions, inevitably demanding footholds in some distant waters,” it read.

While China plays down any ambitions to build a West Africa base, a State Department spokesperson told VOA: “It is widely understood that they are working to establish a network of military installations. … Certain potential steps involving PRC-basing activity would raise security concerns for the United States.”

Debt Trap Accusations

As the two superpowers vie for influence in Africa, Beijing is regularly accused by the West of providing “debt trap” loans to countries on the continent and of working with some of the region’s less savory leaders.

Government mouthpieces like the Global Times and Xinhua reject those allegations, with one op-ed in March countering: “While China offers financial supports and affordable proposals to local economies to build up economic strength to weather challenges, some developed countries have only offered aid with political strings attached.”

And, in a recent interview with a Kenyan newspaper, The East African, China’s special envoy for the Horn of Africa Xue Bing blamed instability in that region on Western foreign intervention. “China will send out engineers and students. We don’t send out weapons. We don’t impose our views on others in the name of democracy or human rights,” he told the newspaper.

Asked if China has already outplayed America on the continent, the State Department spokesperson said: “The United States does not want to limit African partnerships with other countries. The United States wants to make African partnerships with the United States even stronger.”

But Brautigam said that aside from foreign aid, China is a bigger economic player on the continent than the U.S. in every area, adding: “It’s not clear that Washington has pivoted to Africa beyond rhetoric.”
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U.S. consumer prices jumped 8.5% in March compared to a year ago, the biggest annual surge in more than 40 years, the government reported Tuesday.  

Price increases hit American consumers in key segments of the world’s biggest economy, with gasoline costs spiraling for motorists, housing prices jumping and the cost of food up at grocery stores, according to the report by the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

The higher living costs for essential products are hitting consumers where they most feel it — in their wallets — and offsetting or surpassing workers’ bigger paychecks from wage increases. 

The inflation rate is also overshadowing the rapid recovery of the U.S. economy from the coronavirus pandemic that swept into the country two years ago, with the creation of hundreds of thousands of jobs in recent months and the unemployment rate dipping to 3.6%, near the five-decade-low, pre-pandemic figure. 

The government’s report gave no indication that prices are easing, with inflation jumping 1.2% from February to March, up from eight-tenths of a percentage point from January to February.  

The March inflation figure was the first that reflected the surge in gasoline prices at service stations following Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine, which roiled world oil markets while also disrupting global shipping and food supplies. 

According to the motorists’ group AAA, the average price of a gallon of gasoline (3.785 liters) reached $4.10, up 43% from a year ago, although it has fallen back somewhat in the past couple of weeks. Tuesday’s government report showed the energy index increasing 11% in March following a 3.5% increase in February. The gasoline index rose sharply in March, increasing 18.3% after rising 6.6% in February.   

Higher fuel prices have in turn boosted transportation costs for the shipment of goods, including food.  

The food index rose 1% in March compared to February. It is up 8.5% compared to the prior 12 months. 

In an effort to curb consumer spending and cut inflation, policy makers at the country’s central bank, the Federal Reserve, last month approved a quarter percentage point increase in its benchmark interest rate and could raise the rate again at each of its six remaining meetings in 2022. 

Such rate increases have a direct bearing on borrowing costs consumers and businesses pay, which could cut their spending and possibly curb inflation over the coming months. But the effect of the rate increases is uncertain.  

Increasing inflation in the United States also could play a key role in November’s congressional elections.  

Democrats now hold narrow control of both houses of Congress, but polls show voters blaming Democratic President Joe Biden for the increased prices they are paying, which in turn could give Republicans a chance to retake control of the House of Representatives and possibly the Senate. 
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A U.S. aircraft carrier has neared the coast of South Korea for the first time since 2017, the latest show of U.S. military strength following North Korea’s recent long-range missile test.

The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group arrived east of Ulsan, a southeastern South Korean city, and will likely stay there for three to five days, the Yonhap news agency reported Tuesday.

Citing an unnamed U.S. official, the Reuters news agency reported the carrier strike group is in the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, conducting exercises with Japanese forces “to reassure allies and partners in the region.”

At a briefing, a South Korean military spokesperson said he was aware the U.S. carrier was in international waters near South Korea, but that it would be inappropriate to comment further on a U.S. military asset.

The United States has not sailed an aircraft carrier off the coast of Korea since late 2017, when relations with North Korea were particularly tense.

Washington and Pyongyang now appear headed for another turbulent period.

In January, North Korea conducted a record number of missile launches. Last month, it tested an intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time since 2017.

U.S. officials have warned that North Korea could soon launch another missile, or even conduct a nuclear test, possibly as soon as this week, when North Korea celebrates the birth anniversary of founding leader Kim Il Sung.

Another point of tension may come later this month, when the United States and South Korea are set to hold their regular springtime joint military exercises.

Since 2018, the two allies have scaled back or spread out joint drills to preserve the chances for diplomacy with North Korea and because of the coronavirus pandemic.

But as North Korea tests bigger weapons, the United States and South Korea have displayed more of their own military might.

Last month, the U.S. stepped up air defense drills in South Korea and conducted an aircraft carrier exercise in the Yellow Sea off Korea’s west coast.

Immediately following North Korea’s ICBM test, South Korea tested five of its own missiles in what it called a “demonstration of our ability and willingness to respond immediately and impose punishment.”

The South Korean hardware used in that display had been “pre-selected and propositioned and choreographed,” according to a U.S. source with knowledge of alliance plans. The source told VOA last month that future drills could include strategic bombers, fifth generation fighter jets, and an aircraft carrier strike group in Korean waters.

South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, who takes office next month, supports the resumption of large-scale military exercises with the United States. But South Korean officials say the nature of this month’s drills will be decided by the current administration in Seoul.

North Korea regularly uses the drills as an occasion to lash out at the United States and South Korea. Analysts expect this time around to be no different, saying the drills could provide a pretext for North Korea to justify major weapons tests it had already planned.

“North Korea’s been on a consistent path toward restarting the tests and development of their weapons since the better part of last year,” said J. James Kim, a researcher at Seoul’s Asan Institute for Policy Studies.

The presence of the U.S. aircraft carrier, Kim said, won’t change North Korea’s trajectory. “[But] it’s something they will talk about. It’s part of the rhetoric,” he said.

North Korea has been systematically working through a wish list of strategic weapons laid out last year by its leader, Kim Jong Un. The list includes tactical nuclear weapons, hypersonic missiles, and ICBMs that can travel 15,000 kilometers.

Meanwhile, North Korea has rejected invitations by U.S. officials to resume nuclear talks. Negotiations between Kim and former U.S. President Donald Trump broke down in 2019 over disagreements on how to pace sanctions relief with steps to dismantle North Korea’s nuclear program.

 
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US, Britain say they are aware of unconfirmed reports of a chemical attack in Mariupol and are investigating 
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Mandatory evacuation comes as authorities in Chinese financial hub gradually eases strict lockdown orders in some neighborhoods  
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A federal jury on Monday convicted a former Virginia police officer of storming the U.S. Capitol with another off-duty officer to obstruct Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory. 

Jurors convicted former Rocky Mount police officer Thomas Robertson of all six counts he faced stemming from the January 6, 2021, riot, including charges that he interfered with police officers at the Capitol and that he entered a restricted area with a dangerous weapon, a large wooden stick. 

His sentencing hearing wasn’t immediately scheduled. 

Robertson’s jury trial was the second among hundreds of Capitol riot cases. The first ended last month with jurors convicting a Texas man, Guy Reffitt, of all five counts in his indictment. 

Robertson didn’t testify at his trial, which started last Tuesday. Jurors deliberated for several hours over two days before reaching their unanimous verdict. 

One juror, who spoke to The Associated Press only on condition of anonymity, said as she left the courthouse, “I think the government made a really compelling case, and the evidence was fairly overwhelming.” 

A key witness for prosecutors in his case was Jacob Fracker, who also served on the Rocky Mount police force and viewed Robertson as a mentor and father figure. Fracker was scheduled to be tried alongside Robertson before he pleaded guilty last month to a conspiracy charge and agreed to cooperate with authorities. Fracker testified Thursday that he had hoped the mob that attacked the Capitol could overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. 

Robertson was charged with six counts: obstruction of Congress, interfering with officers during a civil disorder, entering a restricted area while carrying a dangerous weapon, disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted area while carrying a dangerous weapon, disorderly or disruptive conduct inside the Capitol building, and obstruction. The last charge stems from his alleged post-riot destruction of cellphones belonging to him and Fracker. 

During the trial’s closing arguments Friday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Risa Berkower said Robertson went to Washington and joined a “violent vigilante mob” because he believed the election was stolen from then-President Donald Trump. He used the wooden stick to interfere with outnumbered police before he joined the crowd pouring into the Capitol, she said. 

“The defendant did all this because he wanted to overturn the election,” Berkower said. 

Defense attorney Mark Rollins conceded that Robertson broke the law when he entered the Capitol during the riot. He encouraged jurors to convict Robertson of misdemeanor offenses but urged them to acquit Robertson of felony charges that he used the stick as a dangerous weapon and that he intended to stop Congress from certifying the Electoral College vote. 

“There were no plans to go down there and say, ‘I’m going to stop Congress from doing this vote,'” Rollins said. 

Fracker testified that he initially believed he was merely trespassing when he entered the Capitol building. However, he ultimately pleaded guilty to conspiring with Robertson to obstruct Congress. 

Under cross-examination by Rollins, Fracker said he didn’t have a “verbal agreement” with anybody to obstruct the joint session of Congress. Fracker said he believed everybody in the mob “pretty much had the same goal” and didn’t need for it to be “said out loud.” 

Robertson and Fracker drove with a neighbor to Washington on the morning of January 6. Robertson brought three gas masks for them to use, according to prosecutors. 

After listening to speeches near the Washington Monument, Fracker, Robertson and the neighbor walked toward the Capitol, donned the gas masks and joined the growing mob, prosecutors said. Robertson stopped to help his neighbor, who was having trouble breathing. Fracker broke off and entered the building before Robertson, but they reunited inside the Capitol. 

Defense attorney Camille Wagner told jurors that Robertson only went into the Capitol because he wanted to retrieve Fracker, who entered the Capitol a few minutes before Robertson. Wagner said the U.S. Army veteran was using the stick to help him walk because he has a limp from getting shot in the right thigh while working as a private contractor for the U.S. Defense Department in Afghanistan in 2011. 

Jurors saw some of Robertson’s vitriolic posts on social media before and after the Capitol riot. In a Facebook post on November 7, 2020, Robertson said “being disenfranchised by fraud is my hard line.” 

“I’ve spent most of my adult life fighting a counter insurgency. (I’m) about to become part of one, and a very effective one,” he wrote. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Aloi told jurors that Robertson was charged for his actions, not his political beliefs. Wagner also said Robertson should be judged by his actions, not his words. 

The town fired Robertson and Fracker after the riot. Rocky Mount is about 25 miles south of Roanoke and has roughly 5,000 residents. 

Robertson has been jailed since Cooper ruled in July that he violated the terms of his pretrial release by possessing firearms. 

More than 770 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the riot. Over 250 of them have pleaded guilty, mostly to misdemeanors. 

Robertson’s trial is one of four so far for Capitol riot defendants. Two others had their cases decided by bench trials before the same judge. 

U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden convicted New Mexico elected official Couy Griffin last month of illegally entering restricted Capitol grounds but acquitted him of engaging in disorderly conduct. On Wednesday, McFadden acquitted another New Mexico man, Matthew Martin, of all four charges that he faced. 

 
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