Western Officials' Africa Visits Are 'Charming Exercise to Protect Material Interests,' Experts Say

At the end of March, Belgian King Philippe's first multi-day state visit to South Africa became yet another among Western officials' and leaders' trips to Africa, which have significantly intensified in recent months.

The increasing frequency of Western countries' top officials' visits to Africa is part of the West's effort to keep its foothold there, as well as to counter China and Russia's activity in the region, Ian Liebenberg, professor of politics at the University of Namibia tells Sputnik, adding that the concern with the continent is a "competition for hearts and minds."

What are the hidden motives behind the intense tours of Western politicians to Africa?

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🇺🇸 Former US president Donald Trump slammed the New York District Attorney’s investigation into him in a speech during his campaign’s first rally for the 2024 election.

The former head of state told his supporters in Waco, Texas, "The district attorney of New York under the auspices and direction of the 'department of injustice' in Washington DC was investigating me for something that is not a crime, not a misdemeanor, not an affair."

In his speech, Trump dismissed the investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg into an alleged $130,000 payment on Trump's behalf to an adult film actress named Stormy Daniels in the weeks leading up to the 2016 presidential election.

💬 "I never liked 'Horse Face'," Trump said, in an off-color reference to Daniels. Adding that if he’d decided to have sex with someone, "that wouldn't be the one." But "there is no one" else he’s interested in outside of his marriage, he insisted, adding: "We have a great First Lady."

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👮 Kanye West says he ‘likes Jewish people again’ after watching the 2012 buddy cop comedy 21 Jump Street.

💬 "Watching Jonah Hill in 21 Jump street made me like Jewish people again," the hip-hop icon wrote in an Instagram post published Saturday, in a reference to the film’s Jewish co-star.

"No one should take anger against one or two individuals and transform that into hatred towards millions of innocent people," insisted West, who now legally goes by the abbreviated moniker "Ye."

On the other hand, "no Christian can be labeled [an] antisemite knowing Jesus is Jew," he continued. "Thank you Jonah Hill I love you," the post concluded.

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🛰 WATCH the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launch a heavy lift LVM3 rocket carrying 36 OneWeb satellites into orbit.

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💁‍♀️ Mississippi TV host Barbie Bassett reportedly lost her position with WLBT after she quoted a Snoop Dogg lyric suggesting that the words could be considered "racially insensitive"

The incident occurred on March 8, while Basset was on air discussing Snoop Dogg’s latest addition to his Cali Wine Collection, and said "Fo shizzle, my nizzle," which - depending on whom you ask - may simply mean "for sure, my friend"... or include a euphemism for a racial slur.

Reports note that Bassett is no longer listed as a member of the WLBT news team and she hasn’t been on air since the incident.

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⚡️ Putin: West starting to create a new Axis like the one built by fascist Germany and militarist Japan

▪️Last year NATO agreed on a new strategic concept for the bloc, declaring the alliance global, while earlier this year the UK and Japan signed an agreement on mutual openness, that is, on establishing contacts and developing relations in the military sphere, Vladimir Putin said.

💬 "This is precisely why Western analysts themselves say ― it's not us, they say ― that the West is beginning to build a new axis, similar to the one created back in the 1930s by the fascist regimes in Germany and Italy and militarist Japan," the president said.

▪️Commenting on statements that Moscow and Beijing are creating an axis that poses a threat to the West, Putin said Russia is not creating a military alliance with China.

💬 "Yes, we also cooperate in the military-technical sphere. We do not hide it, everything is transparent. There is nothing secret there," he said.

▪️Putin added that Russia and China conduct joint exercises, but Moscow also holds drills with other countries.

💬 "We continue [the drills] even despite the events in Donbass, Zaporozhye and Kherson. We still continue. It's all transparent. But this is not a military alliance. And what is the US doing? They are creating more and more alliances," the president said, adding that this gives grounds for analysts to say that the West is building a new axis.

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🇷🇺🇨🇳 China and Russia became world leaders in the trade surplus in 2022, breaking their own records for this indicator, according to Sputnik calculations based on data from national statistics.

China's trade surplus grew by 30% last year to an all-time high of $877.6 billion, the data showed. Russia increased its surplus 1.7 times over the year to a record $333.4 billion, moving up to second place among major economies.

Saudi Arabia, which had its highest trade surplus since 2012 at $221.3 billion, ranked third.
The absolute leader in trade surplus growth in 2022 was Canada, where the index jumped 4.8 times — from $3.65 billion to $17.45 billion. At the same time, the only country that managed to move from a trade deficit to a surplus last year was Nigeria.

As a result, 26 major economies recorded a trade surplus of $2.45 trillion in 2022, compared to 32 countries with $2.1 trillion a year earlier. The study was conducted by Sputnik on the basis of data from the national statistical agencies of the world's 60 largest economies.

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Jittery US Customers Pulled Almost $100Bln in Deposits Amid Banking Crisis, Fed Data Shows

Despite assurances offered by regulators that the banking system was "sound and resilient," apprehensive US customers collectively withdrew close to $100 billion from bank accounts in the wake of the recent bank collapses, according to Federal Reserve data.

Warning of "exceptionally high" uncertainties and heightened risks to financial stability, when higher interest rates are being increasingly resorted to as a tool to battle raging inflation, the IMF stressed the continued need for policymakers' vigilance.

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🇳🇱 More than 100 environmental activists were detained after blocking the airport in the Dutch city of Eindhoven, the police said.

💬 "The demonstration at Eindhoven Airport has ended. The [Royal Netherlands] Marechaussee and Police have arrested 104 people," the national gendarmerie said on Twitter on Saturday night.

Earlier on Saturday, climate activists from the Scientist Rebellion and Extinction Rebellion groups blocked the entrance to the private departures section of the Eindhoven Airport. They were calling for a ban on private jets, saying that they emit more greenhouse gasses than a regular commercial plane.

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🇮🇱 Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has called on the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to halt the controversial judicial reform that has sparked major nationwide protests

💬"For the sake of Israel’s security, for the sake of our sons and daughters — the legislative process should be stopped — to enable the nation of Israel to celebrate Passover and Independence Day together, and to mourn together on Memorial Day and Holocaust Remembrance Day," Gallant said on Saturday.

Protests against the reform have been held in Israel for 12 straight weeks. According to Netanyahu, the Israeli government plans to pass a key part of the proposed legislation next week.

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Pension Reform in France May Lead to Hardening of Paris' Positions on Francafrique, Activist Says

The rising social discontent over pension reforms to raise the legal retirement age from 62 to 64 in France risks causing Paris to draw a harder line on the issue of Francafriqe, pan-Africanist activist Nathalie Yamb tells Sputnik.

"Losing Francafrique, I repeat, and [former French President] Chirac already said it, is a total loss to the standard of living in France. This will directly lower the standard of living, bringing an even greater precariousness of the French [...] What is happening in France now will therefore increase their need to lock up the Francafrique," Yamb explains.

The activist also commented on why the BRICS model is advantageous for Africa

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Germany May Bankroll Nuclear Power for Everyone But Itself as EU Updates 'Clean Technologies' List

Brussels has long been touting its intentions to become a "climate neutral" economy by 2050, boasting net zero greenhouse gas emissions. However, there has been friction inside the bloc over whether to recognize nuclear power, albeit partially, as an inherent part of the EU's decarbonization drive.

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Thousands Attend Service at Kiev-Pechersk Lavra as Monks Brace for Eviction by Zelensky Regime

Sunday’s service could be the last one held there by Ukrainian Orthodox Church priests ahead of the deadline for monks to leave the monastery by Wednesday. The National Kiev-Pechersk Historical and Cultural Preserve, the state-owned museum complex subordinate to Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture, ordered monks out of the monastery’s buildings and facilities earlier this month, citing an alleged breach of contract on their use.

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🇨🇳 China is projected to give a significant boost to the world economy, accounting for about a third of global growth in 2023, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva said.

💬 "The robust rebound means China is set to account for around one third of global growth in 2023, giving a welcome lift to the world economy," Georgieva said at the 2023 China Development Forum in Beijing.

The IMF analysis has shown that a one percentage point increase in China's gross domestic product growth leads to a 0.3 percentage point GDP growth of other Asian economies on average, Georgieva said, dubbing this "a welcome boost."

China's GDP is expected to reach 5% this year, according to the country's social and economic development plan. Meanwhile, some experts have more optimistic views on China's economic growth. Chen Fengying, the former director of the Institute of World Economic Studies in the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, has told Sputnik that the country's GDP may grow by 6% in 2023, but Beijing has chosen not to put this ambitious goal in the plan, since last year's growth rate was below the official forecast of 5.5%.

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📹 The AZOM factory in Artemovsk (Bakhmut) has come under the complete control of private military company the Wagner Group, a Sputnik correspondent has said.

This is where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky awarded Ukrainian militants for "valiantly defending" the plant in December last year. The footage shows the building abandoned by Ukrainian troops.

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