KIGALI: Rwandan President Paul Kagame is expected to cruise to a fourth term in office in an election on Monday against two opposition candidates who were cleared to run against him but have only modest expectations.
Kagame, 66, helped lead the rebel movement that ended the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and has served as president since 2000. He faces only two rivals because six other potential candidates were not cleared to run by the state-run electoral commission.
Kagame won nearly 99 percent of the vote in the last election in 2017, which followed a constitutional change removing term limits that would have barred him from standing again.
His reelection could signal further stability but also continued global scrutiny, given accusations of rights abuses and continued tensions with neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo.
Kagame has won praise during his tenure for rebuilding the country of 14 million after the genocide, in which more than a million people were killed. Rwanda has emerged as a regional financial hub.
But his government has been accused by Western nations and rights activists of muzzling the media, assassinating opponents, and backing rebel groups in neighboring Congo.
International scrutiny was intensified by the migration deal Rwanda struck in 2022 to receive thousands of asylum seekers from Britain. Newly elected British Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed on Saturday he would scrap the agreement.
Rwanda’s government has denied all the accusations against it, and while campaigning, Kagame promised continued development and stability.
“With you, there is nothing our country will not achieve, because today you have leaders who are not foolish and you are not foolish,” he told young supporters at a rally last week in Eastern Province.
TWO CHALLENGERS
Eight candidates had applied to run against Kagame, but only two were retained in the final list validated by the electoral commission. The others, including Kagame’s most vocal critics, were invalidated for various reasons that included prior criminal convictions.
The two approved candidates, Frank Habineza and Philippe Mpayimana, ran against Kagame in 2017.
In an interview with Reuters, Habineza, the leader of the Democratic Green Party, said he expected to exceed his total of 0.48 percent of the vote from 2017.
“People are only considering 2017 and say that I got 0.4 percent, but they forget that our party stood for parliament and got more than 5 percent,” he said.
Mpayimana, who works for the Ministry of National Unity and Civic Engagement, urged voters at a campaign event to consider his candidacy.
“It’s true you cannot change the winning team, but we also have to give opportunities to the junior teams to see if they can deliver on their pledges. That is what democracy means,” he said.
Over 9 million voters are registered for the polls in which they will also elect members of the 80-seat lower house of parliament. Provisional results are expected by July 20.
Kagame expected to cruise to fourth term in Rwanda election
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Kagame expected to cruise to fourth term in Rwanda election

- Paul Kagame helped lead the rebel movement that ended the 1994 genocide in Rwanda
- He faces only two rivals because six other potential candidates were not cleared to run
Netherlands bars two hard-line Israeli ministers

In June, the Netherlands backed a failed Swedish proposal to impose EU sanctions on Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
“They repeatedly incited settler violence against Palestinians, promoted illegal settlement expansion, and called for ethnic cleansing in Gaza,” Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp told parliament in a letter released late Monday.
Smotrich responded on X, saying European leaders had succumbed to “the lies of radical Islam that is taking over” and “rising antisemitism.”
Ben-Gvir said he would continue to act for Israel, even if he was banned from entering “all of Europe.”
“In a place where terrorism is tolerated and terrorists are welcomed, a Jewish minister from Israel is unwanted, terrorists are free, and Jews are boycotted,” he wrote on X.
Veldkamp said the Netherlands wanted to “relieve the suffering of the population in Gaza” and was exploring further ways to contribute to humanitarian aid.
“Airdrops of food are relatively expensive and risky,” he said.
“This is why the Netherlands is also taking steps to further support land-based aid delivery.”
Aid drops resumed in Gaza on Sunday as Israel announced temporary humanitarian pauses in parts of the besieged territory.
Around 2.4 million Palestinians in Gaza are facing what UN aid agencies have warned is a deadly wave of starvation and malnutrition.
The UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Initiative (IPC) said on Tuesday that famine is unfolding across much of Gaza, with thresholds breached and over 20,000 children treated for acute malnutrition since April.
Veldkamp said the Netherlands would push to suspend the trade element of the EU-Israel Association Agreement if Israel fails to meet its humanitarian obligations.
“The summons will also be used to remind Israel to comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law,” he said.
After speaking by phone with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said the government’s position was “crystal clear.”
“The people of Gaza must be given immediate, unfettered, safe access to humanitarian aid,” he said.
Israel’s foreign ministry said Foreign Affairs Minister Gideon Sa’ar had summoned the Dutch ambassador Marriët Schuurman to Jersualem for a formal reprimand on Tuesday afternoon.
“The conversation will take place in light of the Dutch government’s decisions to take measures against Israel, including against its right to defend itself and against ministers in its government,” the ministry said in a statement.
The war in Gaza was sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed 59,921 Palestinians, also mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
Shipping on Rhine river in Germany back to normal after rain raises water level

- Dry weather and a heatwave in June and July meant the river became too shallow for vessels to sail
- Rain in past days means the last northern river sections where shipping was hindered by shallow water
HAMBURG: Repeated rain in past days has raised water levels on all of the river Rhine in Germany to normal levels allowing cargo vessels to sail with full loads, commodity traders said on Tuesday.
Dry weather and a heatwave in June and July meant the river became too shallow for vessels to sail fully loaded. Ship operators imposed surcharges on freight rates to compensate for vessels sailing partly empty, increasing costs for cargo owners.
Rain in past days means the last northern river sections where shipping was hindered by shallow water, including around Duisburg and Cologne, have been raised to levels allowing full loads.
Rain had raised other sections of the river, including the chokepoint at Kaub, to normal levels over the weekend.
The impact of the heatwave had been stronger than expected as fields were especially dry which drain into smaller streams and rivers feeding into the Rhine.
The Rhine is an important shipping route for commodities such as grains, minerals, ores, chemicals, coal and oil products, including heating oil.
German companies faced supply bottlenecks and production problems in summer 2022 after a drought led to unusually low water levels on the river.
Unrest in Angolan capital after 4 killed in fuel hike protests

- Gunfire could be heard in central Luanda’s Cazenga area, where people were seen taking food and other items from shops
- Police reported “a few isolated incidents of disorder” early Tuesday and said people involved “were repelled and continue to be repelled“
LUANDA: Shots rang out as Angola’s capital was gripped by a second day of looting Tuesday, after at least four people were killed and scores arrested when violence erupted during a strike against a fuel price hike.
Transport in Luanda remained suspended and shops closed after massive looting on Monday, the first day of the taxi drivers’ strike to condemn the July 1 price rise, which had already led to several protests.
Gunfire could be heard in central Luanda’s Cazenga area, where people were seen taking food and other items from shops, an AFP reporter said.
Images shared on social media showed clashes in the Rocha Pinto suburb near the airport and security forces deploying to a street where burning rubbish bins barricaded a road in the Prenda area.
The government’s decision to raise heavily subsidised fuel prices from 300 to 400 kwanzas ($0.33 to $0.43) a liter in July has caused anger in Angola, one of Africa’s top oil producers where many people live in poverty.
“We are tired ... they must announce something for things to change ... for us to live in better conditions,” a protester told Angola’s TV Nzinga.
“Why do you make us suffer like this? How will we feed our children? The prices have to go down,” a woman said, addressing President Joao Lourenco.
Police reported “a few isolated incidents of disorder” early Tuesday and said people involved “were repelled and continue to be repelled.”
“We currently report four deaths,” Deputy Commissioner Mateus Rodrigues told reporters in a briefing about Monday’s violence. He did not specify how they occurred.
Police rounded up 400 people overnight for suspected involvement in the unrest after arresting 100 on Monday, he said.
About 45 shops were vandalized, while 25 private vehicles and 20 public buses were damaged, he said. Banks were also targeted.
“We continue to stress that our forces are on the streets, equipped with the necessary resources based on the threat level, responding where order has been restored to maintain it, and intervening where there are still disturbances to reestablish public order and peace,” he said.
AFP photographs on Monday showed people running off with items looted from shops, while images posted on social media showed large crowds of protesters and, separately, police pushing back groups of people.
Local media reports said security forces had used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse crowds.
A journalist in the city of Huambo, around 600 kilometers (370 miles) from Luanda, said there had also been looting and rioting there.
The New Alliance of Taxi Drivers Association (ANATA) distanced itself from Monday’s violence but said the three-day strike would continue.
It “has become clear that the voice of the taxi drivers reflects the outcry of the Angolan people,” the association said in a statement Tuesday.
Around 2,000 people demonstrated against the fuel hike on Saturday, with protests also held the previous two weekends.
Human Rights Watch said police had used excessive force in the July 12 protest, including firing tear gas and rubber bullets.
In a joint statement on Monday, civil society groups condemned the July 19 arrest of one of the organizers of the protests, Osvaldo Sergio Correia Caholo.
He was a “victim of the oppression in Angola, where freedoms and fundamental guarantees are constantly being trampled upon,” they said.
The protests were a “direct consequence” of the government’s failure to address unemployment, high living costs and a decline in public services, the Uyele civic group said.
It is “urgent to understand that we are facing a serious symptom: the social exhaustion of a youth with no alternatives,” it said in a statement.
Lourenco’s MPLA party has ruled Angola, which has a population of around 33 million, since its independence from Portugal in 1975.
Poland says 32 people detained and suspected of coordinating with Russia for sabotage

- One person has been convicted, while the others are in custody awaiting trial,
- The group includes a Pole, Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians
WARSAW: Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Tuesday said authorities have detained 32 people suspected of coordinating with Russia to engage in acts of sabotage, according to Polish news agency PAP.
One person has been convicted, while the others are in custody awaiting trial, PAP reported.
The group includes a Pole, Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians, PAP reported, as well as a 27-year-old Colombian man who is accused of two arson attacks in Poland last year at Russia’s behest.
The Polish Internal Security Agency in a statement Tuesday said he faces up to 10 years to life in prison in connection with the arson attacks on two construction warehouses in May 2024.
The suspect allegedly received his instructions, including how to make a Molotov cocktail to start the fires, from someone associated with Russian intelligence, the agency said.
Other details about the suspects or the alleged sabotage were not immediately available.
Pakistan’s crackdown on black market dollar trade pushes deals online

- Pakistan’s crackdown on black market dollar trading has strengthened the rupee, but traders say under-the-counter deals have swiftly shifted to smartphones and home deliveries instead
KARACHI: Pakistan’s crackdown on black market dollar trading has strengthened the rupee, but traders say under-the-counter deals have swiftly shifted to smartphones and home deliveries instead.
Many unlicensed exchange shops have been shut since July 22, when the military spy agency summoned representatives of the sector to explain the US dollar’s rising cost in the open market. Soon after, raids were carried out by the Federal Investigation Agency, which tackles financial crime and smuggling.
Since the crackdown began, the rupee has rebounded from a sharp fall against the dollar earlier in July. In the open market, it firmed from 288.6 per dollar on July 19 to about 286 in recent sessions.
But traders and bankers say the trade continues, suggesting the crackdown’s effects could be short-lived.
The black market operates outside official channels and includes unlicensed dealers, personal networks, and digital peer-to-peer exchanges, with customers seeking to skip tax declarations, avoid burdensome paperwork and bypass limits on official currency purchases.
In Peshawar, a city near the Afghan border long known for black market currency deals, many shops in the historic Chowk Yadgar district remain shuttered, though some traders were still operating discreetly in back-alley booths.
“The trade didn’t stop. It just moved,” said Ahmad, a dealer whose family has been in the business for generations. “Now it’s on WhatsApp. If you know someone, the dollars come to your house.”
“The big players have shifted to safer locations and kept going,” said another trader, Gul. Both traders asked not to give their full names.
Even retail buyers are bypassing the formal foreign exchange market. Hassan, a manager at a multinational firm in Karachi, said stricter documentation drove him to an informal forex chat.
“Everyone there is a buyer or seller. No middleman, no commission. Sometimes it’s physical cash, sometimes bank transfers, sometimes crypto,” he said.
STRICTER FX DISCIPLINE
On Monday, Pakistan’s central bank called in bank treasury heads to address pressure on the rupee. Two bankers said they were told to stop buying dollars from exchange companies at above-official rates on the grounds it was skewing the market.
Banks were asked to rely on their own inflows from exports and remittances, but both sources have slowed. Exporters are delaying bringing money home, betting the rupee will weaken. Remittances are also tapering off as banks reduce incentives once offered to attract overseas inflows.
Authorities also pressed banks to keep the gap between the interbank rate and the open market rate narrow, a condition of Pakistan’s $7 billion IMF deal meant to discourage speculation.
“These meetings have been happening for years, but this one was more pointed,” one banker said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The central bank is expected to cut rates on Wednesday, easing inflation but risking pressure on the rupee.