Trump’s gesture at the African leaders’ meeting dubbed ‘humiliating’; Here’s what happened – Hindustan Times
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Trump’s gesture at the African leaders’ meeting dubbed ‘humiliating’; Here’s what happened
President Donald Trump met with leaders from five West African countries at the White House on Wednesday. Video of the meeting shows Trump asking one of the leaders to conclude his speech, even though the latter was not done speaking. Trump also brought up his role in facilitating a peace deal between Rwanda and Congo, which was expected to end the civil war in the region, allowing for US to tap into the mineral resources in eastern Congo. The five African nations present at Wednesday’s meeting represent a very small section of the US-Africa trade. However, these countries have a lot of untapped natural resources underground that the US is looking to gain access to.
“Maybe we’re gonna have to go a bit quicker than this, because we have a whole schedule,” Trump said with a smirk. “If I could just ask your name, & your country, would be great.”
Wednesday’s meeting over lunch at the White House was attended by the political leadership of five West African countries: Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal. Attended by the media, Trump said in his opening speech at the lunch that the leaders at the table came from “very vibrant places with very valuable land, great minerals, great oil deposits and wonderful people”.
Trump also brought up his role in facilitating a peace deal between Rwanda and Congo, which was expected to end the civil war in the region, allowing for US to tap into the mineral resources in eastern Congo. “There’s a lot of anger on your continent. We’ve been able to solve a lot of it.”
Additionally, Trump also brought up how his administration has been using trade as a diplomatic tool to potentially end conflicts. Referring to the Congo-Rwanda conflict, Trump reintegrated the role of trade in it. “You guys are going to fight, we’re not going to trade,” Trump said. “And we seem to be quite successful in doing that.”
Also read: Trump’s ‘English’ compliment to Liberia’s president turns into ‘national embarrassment’; Here’s why
Natural Resources, A Key Area Of Cooperation
The five African nations present at Wednesday’s meeting at the White House represent a very small section of the US-Africa trade. However, the Associated Press reported that these countries have a lot of untapped natural resources underground that the US is looking to gain access to.
Gabon’s President Brice Oligui Nguema made the point clear, saying that they are “rich countries when it comes to raw materials.” “We are not poor countries. We are rich countries when it comes to raw materials. But we need partners to support us and help us develop those resources with win-win partnerships,” Nguema said.
“We have a great deal of resources,” said Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, the President of Mauritania. “We have a lot of opportunities to offer in terms of investment.”
Trump is expected to announce a broader African summit, likely to be held in September.
Lebanon crisis Highlights: Nowhere in Middle East out of reach, Netanyahu warns Iran
Israel continued to pound Lebanon on Monday, over areas it claimed as “targets” of the Iran-backed militant group. Apart from Nasrallah, Israel also killed other senior commanders of the group, including Nabil Kaouk, the deputy head of Hezbollah’s Central Council.
The group, which has vowed to continue its “resistance” against the “zionist entity”, continued to fire rockets and missiles into northern Israel on Sunday, but most were intercepted or fell over open spaces. Hezbollah has said it will only halt its rocket fire if there is a cease-fire in Gaza.
The latest round of Israeli strikes killed over a hundred people and displaced hundreds of thousands across southern and eastern parts of Lebanon. Environment Minister Nasser Yassin told the news agency AP that around 2,50,000 people have sought refuge in shelters, and thousands are staying with their kin or camping in open spaces.
Meanwhile, Israel had ruled out a ceasefire and said it is determined to return its displaced citizens from its northern border with Lebanon back to their homes. With growing calls for a ceasefire, the conflict has escalated global fears of an all-out war in the Middle East.
Iran Israel War Highlights | June 21: Iran vows ‘more devastating’ blow if Israel continues assaults
Israel and Iran trade air strikes for the ninth consecutive day. Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi warns the U.S. not to get involved in the conflict. Iran’s Human Rights Activists News Agency estimated 657 deaths and over 2,000 injuries in Iran since the conflict began. US President Donald Trump cast doubt on European mediation efforts, asserting that “Iran doesn’t want to speak to Europe. They want to talk to us”
Israel Iran war news: Iran and Israel continued to trade air strikes on Saturday, with Israel aiming to damage Iran’s military and nuclear infrastructure on the ninth consecutive day of hostilities between the countries. The conflict intensified even as European diplomats convened in Geneva in a fresh bid to revive nuclear negotiations and stem further escalation….Read More
Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi has also warned the United States to not get involved in the conflict with Israel as it would be “dangerous for everyone.”
Amid the ongoing conflict, Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, said that the military killed a veteran commander in the Quds force, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ overseas arm.
Early on Saturday, the navy hit a Hezbollah “infrastructure site” near the southern Lebanese city of Naqoura.
Israeli fighter jets also targeted missile infrastructure in western Iran, the military said, while Tehran launched salvos of missiles at Haifa and Beersheba. At least 19 Israelis were reported wounded, and Iran’s Human Rights Activists News Agency estimated 657 deaths and over 2,000 injuries in Iran since the conflict began.
In Geneva, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held talks with EU foreign policy chief and ministers from the UK, France, and Germany. Araghchi said Iran would not engage with the US until Israel halts its attacks, but signaled willingness to continue talks with Europe.
US President Donald Trump cast doubt on European mediation efforts, asserting that “Iran doesn’t want to speak to Europe. They want to speak to us.” Trump had on Friday warned Tehran that it has only two weeks to de-escalate or face potential American intervention.
RBI monetary policy 2025 updates: US tariff impact much less on India, says RBI governor
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) unveiled its first monetary policy decision for FY26 on Wednesday. The announcement comes amid growing fears of a global economic slowdown, with US protectionist measures casting a shadow over emerging markets, including India. In a major step that will ease loan EMIs, the RBI has slashed the repo rate by 25 basis points from 6.25% to 6.%, for the second time in a row, to support a shuttering economy hit by reciprocal tariffs imposed by the US.
RBI monetary policy 2025 updates: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) unveiled its first monetary policy decision for FY26 on Wednesday amid escalating global trade tensions triggered by recent US tariff hikes. RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said that the new fiscal year has begun on an anxious note. “The global economic outlook is fast changing. The recent trade tariff-related measures have exacerbated uncertainties clouding the economic outlook across regions, posing new headwinds for global growth and inflation,” RBI governor Sanjay Malhotra said in his address….Read More
He added: “Amidst this turbulence, the US dollar has weakened appreciably; bond yields have softened significantly; equity markets are correcting; and crude oil prices have fallen to their lowest in over three years.”
The announcement comes amid growing fears of a global economic slowdown, with US protectionist measures casting a shadow over emerging markets, including India.
In its last policy review in February, the RBI lowered the benchmark repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.25%, its first rate cut in nearly five years.
Here’s more on the RBI monetary policy committee:
-In a major step that will ease loan EMIs, the RBI has slashed the repo rate by 25 basis points from 6.25% to 6.%, for the second time in a row, to support a shuttering economy hit by reciprocal tariffs imposed by the US.
-The RBI has also lowered the GDP growth forecast to 6.5% from an earlier projection of 6.7% due to global uncertainties.
-The quarter-wise GPD growth projection stands at: Q1 at 3.6%; Q2 at 3.9%; Q3 at 3.8%; Q4 at 4.4%.
-CPI inflation for the financial year 2025-26 is projected at 4%, with Q1 at 3.6%; Q2 at 3.9%; Q3 at 3.8%; and Q4 at 4.4%.
-The RBI said food inflation dropped to a 21-month low of 3.8% in February due to a strong seasonal correction in vegetable prices this year.
Israel Iran conflict highlights: Tel Aviv targeted Tehran’s defence ministry HQ, blasts heard in city
Israel launched a series of strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities. The strikes were in response to Iran’s alleged use of nuclear weapons against Israel. The attacks were carried out by the Israel Air Force, the Israel Navy and the Israel Defense Forces. The Israeli Air Force said the strikes were part of an effort to counter the threat posed by the Iranian nuclear weapons programme. The U.S. military said the attacks were in retaliation for Iran’s use of its nuclear weapons to attack Israel.
Israel Iran highlights: Iran launched a series of fresh missile strikes against Israel on Sunday and claimed to have hit key Israeli military targets as a part of Operation ‘Honest Promise 3’. Iran launched retaliatory missile and drone strikes against Israel on Saturday in response to Jerusalem’s series of attacks on Tehran’s nuclear and military infrastructure on Friday. While Israel used warplanes, Iran attacked with a wave of drones and ballistic missiles….Read More
As Iran retaliated, air-raid sirens were sounded across northern Israel and the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, with civilians being urged to take shelter and stay near protected places.
Israeli airstrikes under ‘Operation Rising Lion’ earlier rocked the Iranian soil and killed several top military officials, including the chief of its Revolutionary Guards, Hossein Salami and chief of staff of the armed forces, Gen Mohammad Bagheri.
The high-stakes escalation between Israel and Iran marks one of the most dangerous flashpoints in the Middle East region years.
Israel justified its attack on Iran, saying it had intel which suggested that Iran’s nuclear programme had almost reached ‘point of no return’.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after the strikes on Iran, had said that the targeted military operation aimed “to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very surviva”, adding that “this operation will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat.”
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei on Friday vowed to “act forcefully” and enact revenge on Israel after the country’s senior generals were killed in a strike targeting key nuclear facilities.
Israel “should not think that it is over because they attacked and it is finished. No. They started this and initiated the war. We won’t allow them to escape unscathed from this great crime they have committed,” Khamenei said in a pre-recorded message shown on state TV.
Israel-Iran conflict: Key updates