Top Democrats rule out replacing Biden amid calls for him to quit 2024 race

KIGALI: National and international NGOs working in Rwanda have been banned from cooperating with Belgian institutions, the Rwanda Governance Board said, after Kigali cut off diplomatic ties with Brussels earlier this month.
The RGB, which oversees service delivery in the east African nation, said the ban also extended to “faith-based organizations” and common-benefit companies.
Rwanda’s government severed links with Belgium on March 17, accusing it of having “consistently undermined” it during the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Belgium, the former colonial power in Rwanda and the DRC, called the move “disproportionate” and promised tit-for-tat measures on Rwandan diplomats.
Rwandan troops are supporting the M23 armed group in the DRC, which has taken control of large swathes of the mineral-rich east of the country since 2021.
The group launched a lightning push earlier this year, capturing the cities of Goma and Bukavu, the capitals of North and South Kivu provinces.
The RGB said any current projects or agreements with the Belgian government or its affiliates were “prohibited” and “must be terminated immediately and reported.”
“No funds, grants, donations, or financial contributions shall be received from or disbursed to the government of Belgium, its institutions, affiliated agencies or programs,” it said in a statement issued Thursday.
“Any attempts to circumvent these financial restrictions, including indirect transactions through subsidiaries or partner organizations, will be subject to strict penalties.”
Political and human rights activist Pelly Prudence Iraguha said the decision should have been submitted to parliament.
But RGB chief executive Doris Uwicyeza Picard wrote on X: “RGB has powers to take such decisions backed by laws passed by parliament.
“These laws give RGB powers to suspend NGOs involved in activities that infringe on citizens unity or security.”

MANILA: Family and supporters of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte rallied Friday to mark his 80th birthday and protest against his detention in The Hague on a charge of crimes against humanity.
Duterte could spend the remainder of his life in jail if convicted at the International Criminal Court (ICC) of the charge tied to his “war on drugs” in which thousands were killed.
Police told AFP they had blocked a convoy of at least 100 motorcycle riders near the Philippine presidential palace, brandishing posters that read “Bring Him Home.”
In the southern city of Davao, thousands of the ex-president’s supporters massed for a candle-lit rally, one of more than 200 birthday gatherings demanding his release.
“Almost all Filipinos love him and are very sad for him now,” 44-year-old supporter Darbie Bula said.
Presidential palace spokeswoman Claire Castro said that protesters had the right to assemble, but warned against acts that “sow fear (or) promote hatred toward the government, bordering the line of inciting to sedition.”
Castro told reporters that Philippine officials wished Duterte “good health, good fortune” — adding that “he needs that.”
Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte, his eldest daughter, who has been in the Dutch city since shortly after his arrest, said the support “makes the challenges he is facing today more bearable.”
Another of the ex-president’s daughters, 20-year-old Veronica Duterte, said her father had “always been a force to be reckoned with, even in his sunset days,” in a post on social media.
Outside the detention center in The Hague, hundreds gathered with a sound system blasting music, punctuated by calls for Duterte’s release.
“We hope that he will be back in the Philippines as soon as possible,” organizer Aldwin Villarta said.
“I don’t think that he has a case to answer. I think it’s very unfair for him to be here.”
Nicholas Kaufman, Duterte’s lead defense lawyer, said his client had been made aware of the events in Davao and The Hague.
“He was touched by the huge presence of supporters on this milestone birthday and we will work to ensure that he will celebrate future birthdays in their company,” he said via email.
The ICC chief prosecutor’s application for his arrest said Duterte’s alleged crimes were “part of a widespread and systematic attack directed against the civilian population” in the Philippines.
“Potentially tens of thousands of killings were perpetrated,” the prosecutor alleged of the campaign that targeted mostly poor men, often without proof they were linked to drugs.
But Sara Duterte has said that the once wildly popular president is convinced that what the ICC did “was wrong and there is no case to begin with.”
Duterte’s arrest on March 11 and rapid handover to the international tribunal came on the heels of his family’s bitter falling out with his successor, President Ferdinand Marcos.
Cracks began to appear in their alliance soon after Marcos teamed up with Sara Duterte to sweep the presidential and vice presidential elections in May 2022.
The vice president quit her cabinet post as education secretary after being denied the defense portfolio, while Duterte himself began calling Marcos a drug addict.
Last month, Sara Duterte was impeached by a pro-Marcos House of Representatives on charges that include an alleged assassination plot against the president.
The outcome of her Senate trial will likely depend on the number of seats her allies win in May 12 mid-term elections.
The ex-president will next appear in court on September 23.