As part of a Trump-era crackdown on undocumented criminals, a plane carrying convicted rapists and child molesters deported from the US has landed in Eswatini. However, rather than being returned to their home countries (Vietnam, Jamaica, Cuba, Yemen and Laos), they are being rerouted to African nations. Eswatini is the latest country to receive them as the US expands this quiet and controversial strategy across the continent.
Also, a massacre took place in Sudan’s North Kordofan region, with 200 people buried in a single day following a brutal attack by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). According to survivors, the RSF shelled homes and burned families alive as they stormed the village of Shaq al-Nom. Nearly 300 people are feared dead in nearby villages. The paramilitary group is trying to take control of key fuel routes before the rainy season halts their advance. The ongoing conflict with the country's army has already displaced 14 million people and shows no sign of slowing.
And tensions are mounting in Durban as G20 finance ministers prepare to meet without U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, who has skipped the gathering for the second time. South Africa, which is holding the G20 presidency for the first time, is promoting an 'African agenda', with a focus on climate change, cheaper capital and a cross-border payment system designed to boost intra-African trade. However, discussions are overshadowed by Donald Trump’s tariff threats, including a 10% tariff on all U.S. imports and potential penalties for BRICS nations promoting alternatives to the dollar.