The US said on Saturday it would revoke all visas held by South Sudanese passport holders over South Sudan’s failure to accept the return of its repatriated citizens, at a time when many in Africa fear that the country could return to civil war.
Libya’s central bank announced a 13.3% devaluation of the country’s dinar currency on Sunday, setting the exchange rate at 5.5677 to the US dollar, effective immediately.
France and Algeria agreed to renew cooperation in all sectors, said France’s foreign minister on Sunday after a day of talks aimed at resuming dialogue following months of bickering.
US revokes all South Sudan visas over failure to repatriate citizens
The US said on Saturday it would revoke all visas held by South Sudanese passport holders over South Sudan’s failure to accept the return of its repatriated citizens, at a time when many in Africa fear that country could return to civil war.
US President Donald Trump’s administration has taken aggressive measures to ramp up immigration enforcement, including the repatriation of people deemed to be in the US illegally.
The administration has warned that countries that do not swiftly take back their citizens will face consequences, including visa sanctions or tariffs.
South Sudan had failed to respect the principle that every country must accept the return of its citizens in a timely manner when another country, including the US, seeks to remove them, said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“Effective immediately, the United States Department of State is taking actions to revoke all visas held by South Sudanese passport holders and prevent further issuance to prevent entry into the United States by South Sudanese passport holders,” said Rubio.
“We will be prepared to review these actions when South Sudan is in full cooperation,” said Rubio.
It was time for South Sudan’s transitional government to “stop taking advantage of the United States”, he said.
South Sudan’s embassy in Washington did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
African Union mediators arrived in South Sudan’s capital, Juba, this week for talks aimed at averting a new civil war in the country after its first vice-president, Riek Machar, was placed under house arrest last week.
South Sudan President Salva Kiir’s government has accused Machar, a longtime rival who led rebel forces during a 2013-18 war that killed hundreds of thousands, of trying to stir up a new rebellion.
Machar’s detention followed weeks of fighting in the northern Upper Nile state between the military and the White Army militia. Machar’s forces were allied with the White Army during the civil war but deny any current links.
The 2013-18 war was contested largely along ethnic lines, with fighters from the Dinka, the country’s largest group, lining up behind Kiir, and those from the Nuer, the second-largest group, supporting Machar.
Libya devalues currency for first time in four years
Libya’s central bank announced a 13.3% devaluation of the country’s dinar currency on Sunday, setting the exchange rate at 5.5677 to the US dollar, effective immediately.
It was the first official devaluation since the bank agreed to a devalued exchange rate of 4.48 dinars to the dollar in 2020.
The parallel market exchange rate is currently at 7.20 dinars to the dollar.
In September last year, the dinar slid against the US dollar in the black market due to a crisis over control of the central bank that slashed oil output and exports.
The crisis was resolved later in September following an agreement signed by representatives of Libya’s rival eastern and western legislative bodies. The agreement, facilitated by the United Nations, paved the way for the appointment of a new central bank governor.
In November, the eastern-based parliament speaker reduced the tax on foreign currency purchases to 15% from 20%. The tax is added to the rate when people buy foreign currencies from commercial banks.
Libya has been plagued by instability since a Nato-backed uprising in 2011, leading to a split in 2014 between eastern and western factions, each governed by rival administrations.
The spending of the two governments in 2024 totalled 224 billion dinars ($46-billion), including 42 billion dinars for crude-for-fuel swaps, said the central bank on Sunday.
Public debt stood at 270 billion dinars, it said, projecting that it could exceed 330 billion dinars by the end of 2025 due to the lack of a unified budget.
In December, Stephanie Koury, the deputy head of the UN mission to Libya, urged the country’s decision-makers to “urgently agree on a framework for spending in 2025 with agreed limits and oversight”.
France and Algeria agree to resume cooperation
France and Algeria agreed to renew cooperation in all sectors, said France’s foreign minister on Sunday after a day of talks aimed at resuming dialogue following months of bickering.
“We go back to normal and to repeat the words of President [Abdelmadjid] Tebboune: ‘The curtain is lifted’,” said Jean-Noel Barrot after 2½ hours of talks.
Kinshasa battered by deadly flooding
Around 30 people had died in flooding in Democratic Republic of the Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, said the provincial health minister on Sunday, as torrential rains over the weekend destroyed homes and roads.
“The death toll is provisional, but so far there are around 30 dead,” Patricien Gongo Abakazi told Reuters.
The Ndjili River, which runs through part of the city of around 17 million, overflowed its banks on Friday night, blocking the main national road and leaving drivers stranded since Saturday evening.
“On the way home from the airport last night to welcome a friend, we spent the night in the car because there was no safe place to park,” said Patricia Mikonga, a Kinshasa resident.
Several neighbourhoods were left without power.
Kerene Yala, a resident of Makala district, said the main problem in the area was the water supply cutoff.
Kinshasa Governor Daniel Bumba Lubaki said the water infrastructure had been affected but that supply would be reinstated within two or three days.
In a televised speech, he blamed illegal housing for some of the deaths and threatened to evict people from unplanned settlements.
Hydrologist Dr Raphael Tshimanga Muamba said the river had been affected by human activity over time.
“These are anthropogenic actions where rivers are degraded; their dimensions no longer represent their initial capacity to contain floods,” he told Reuters.
The flooding comes at a vulnerable moment for the Central African nation. Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have intensified an offensive in the turbulent east of the country since the start of the year, with more than 7,000 people killed in the fighting in the first two months of the year.
Nigeria sells dollars to support currency after Trump tariffs shock
Nigeria’s central bank has sold nearly $200-million to support the naira currency after Trump’s tariffs sent shockwaves through global markets, said the bank on Sunday.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said a decline in crude oil prices in response to the tariffs had presented “new dynamics for oil-exporting countries such as Nigeria”.
Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer, relies on crude oil exports for 90% of its foreign exchange.
The CBN reacted by intervening in the foreign exchange market, selling $197.71-million to banks.
“This measured step aligns with the Bank’s broader objective of fostering a stable, transparent, and efficient foreign exchange market,” said the CBN.
DRC, M23 rebels hold first talks after months of conflict
DRC’s government and M23 rebels last week held private talks in Qatar for the first time since the rebels conducted a lightning offensive in the country’s east, a source briefed on the discussions told Reuters.
The talks, which will continue next week in Doha, offer the greatest hope of a halt to hostilities since M23 seized eastern DRC’s two largest cities, a rapid advance that since January has resulted in thousands of deaths and forced hundreds of thousands more from their homes.
The fighting has raised fears of a wider regional war, as DRC’s neighbours Uganda and Burundi also have troops in the region.
Reuters reported last week that Kinshasa and M23 planned to hold their first direct talks in Doha on 9 April. But the source with knowledge of the situation said private talks were also held last week.
They were positive, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity, and prompted the rebels to withdraw from the strategic town of Walikale, in an area rich in minerals including tin, as a goodwill gesture.
The 9 April talks are still expected to go ahead in Doha.
M23 pledged to withdraw from Walikale last month, but initially failed to do so, accusing the DRC army of going back on its commitments and not withdrawing attack drones. Two residents, a local official and the army confirmed to Reuters last week that M23 had left.
The UN and Western governments say Rwanda has provided arms and troops to the ethnic Tutsi-led M23.
Rwanda has denied backing M23 and says its military has acted in self-defence against DRC’s army and a militia founded by perpetrators of the 1994 genocide. DM