Five of the jihadis responsible for the shooting and bombing have been killed.

The death toll from the  onslaught is at least 21.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta vows that his security forces will bring to book any other involved in Tuesday’s terrorist attack at the Westgate  Centre.

Al Shabaab, the Somali-based terror group has claimed responsibility, saying the operation was in retaliation for US President Donald Trump recognizing  Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Previous Al Shabaab attacks on Kenyan targets have been in response to that country’s military and political support for the Somali government.

The post Kenyatta vows to catch terrorists responsible for Westgate attack appeared first on Jean-Jacques Cornish.

He was speaking at the  South African Institute for International Affairs in Johannesburg.

Dominque de Villepin says the Africa Europe partnership will be driven by crisis management.

This is evidenced in the Sahel by the security crisis posed by jihadism from  Mali to Nigeria.

There is no simple military solution to this.

The root causes are the lack of political and social inclusiveness and the accountability of administrations and elites.

Crisis management is necessary in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Horn of Africa.

De Villepin says there are wider issues.

“We are facing huge challenges and difficulties. The world’s stability is at stake. We can see it everyday. We can see it today in the decision taken by the US administration to transfer the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. We have seen it in the last week in the decision Donald Trump to renounce the nuclear agreement with Iran. The world has not sufficient backbone to be able to stand  such challenges alone, ” says de Villepin.

He believes it is necessary to reinforce the backbone of the world. 

The first of these involved reinforcing the axis of Paris, Berlin, Moscow and China to give more stability and perspective to Eurasia.

The second axis requiring reinforcement is Europe and Africa.

This will give a bigger capacity for the world to stand in front of  both local and global crisis that threaten to emerge again like in the cold war era.

There was a special mentality  and rules that applied in that era.

Today there are no regulations or any help to monitor the dificulties  that arise. 

The post World needs to build backbone to stand up to challenges from US: de Villepin appeared first on Jean-Jacques Cornish.

He was speaking as national day reception in Pretoria where the official South African representative made not a single critical remark.

Bilateral relations between South Africa and Israel are prickly.

However Ambassador Lior Keinan notes that trade between the countries reaches almost a billion dollars annually.

He advises the many South Africans he meets with a genuine desire to experience Israel.

“Get a plane, walk the streets of Jerusalem, see the beaches of Tel Aviv, enjoy a meal at one of  our world class eateries or markets,” he says

Assistant director for Middle Eastern Affairs Zanele Ngoqo takes a sanguine view of the future:

“There is a possibility of closer collaboration between South Africa and Israel, on the Ferer principle, things cannot get worse, they can only get better,” she says.

She recalls the important role played by many Jews and Israelis in South Africa’s liberation struggle.

The post SA relations with Israel cannot get worse, says DIRCO representative at national day reception appeared first on Jean-Jacques Cornish.

This assertion by his spokesman indicates that Tillerson believes the tweet from President Donald Trump, that he’s not about to be fired.

ends intro

Events have overtaken Rex Tillerson’s differences with his boss.

The US Secretary of State has to defend President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of the state of Israel.

It’s left  the US needing  the support of its  closest friends.

And they’re clamouring for stability in US foreign policy.

Tillerson has been a week-long trip to Europe promising allies just that.

It was from Germany that Tillerson’s spokesman R.C Hammond announced his plans for an African tour early next year.

The post Rex Tillerson to undertake diplomatic safari next year appeared first on Jean-Jacques Cornish.