British premier Theresa May has told the House of Common it is a matter of deep regret that Sir Kim Darrock has felt it necessary to step down.

Prime Minister Theresa May has reiterated her unqualified support for Britain’s Ambassador to Washington Sir Kim Darrock who says US President Donald Trump radiates insecurity and calls his administration clumsy and inept.

The leak of this confidential cable and May’s assertion that her envoy was perfectly within his right making such a frank assessement has prompted Trump to call Sir Kim a very stupid guy with whom he will have nothing more to do.

Sir Kim, who retires this Christmas, feels he cannot continue doing his job effectively in this atmosphere.  

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In a debate last night, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt vowed to keep the envoy in Washington while his rival and favourite Boris Johnson failed to make a similar undertaking.

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Tweet-happy US President Donald Trump keeps the row blazing calling British ambassador Sir Kim Darrock  a pompous fool for characterizing him as clumsy, incompetent and insecure.

Sir Kim’s remarks were sent confidentially and Prime Minister Theresa May has defended the need for him to be frank.

Censoring ambassadors’ remarks would undermine the whole purpose of having diplomats, say former envoys.

But journalists recalling the leaking of 250 000 State Department cables by Wikileaks nine years ago say diplomats should know the internet cannot be confidential.

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World leaders with them will pledge action to eliminate terrorism, violence and extremism from social media and other online platforms.

The meeting hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is entitled Christchurch Call after the gunning down of 51 worshippers at two mosques in that city in March by a white extremist.

It also brings in Macron’s Tech For Good project.

In attendance are Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Canadian premier Justin Trudeau, British Prime Minister Theresa May and European Union Commissioner Jean-Claude Juncker.

Twitter founder and chief executive Jack Dorsey is there along with Nick Clegg, the former deputy British Prime Minister whose become Facebook’s vice president for international affairs.

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Having infamously scrambled for the continent 120 years ago, Western leaders are today seeking to dance here.

British Premier Theresa May twice skipped the light fantastic during her three-nation safari.

She danced her robot mash with Cape Town schoolchildren and with boy scouts and girl guides in Nairobi.

French President Emmanuel Macron boogied with musician Femi Kuti at the New Africa Shrine in Lagos last July.

Neither posed any immediate threat to Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

But it showed the lengths they were prepared to go to make friends in Africa.

May was in South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria. She sought to reassure the African heavy hitters that Brexit will not affect their economic ties with Britain.

Macron’s visit was billed as more culture than policy.

But his return to Lagos, where he spent six months as an intern in 2002, was obvious.  He wishes to keep the lines of communication in good order.

Angela Merkel was also in  Africa in the last week of August. She did not pack her dancing pumps for Senegal, Ghana and Nigeria.

Her preoccupation was securing deals with her hosts curbing the stream of irregular migrants from African into Europe.

All  these leaders mentioned Africa’s enviable economic growth and the market potential presented by its growing young population.

But they dared no raise hopes either at home or at their African destinations.

There is a new player in the modern scramble for Africa – and it is one that dwarfs them.

China’s dominance of the African market will be demonstrated at the Forum for China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).

Meeting in  Beijing, it is expected to feature a number of eye-watering offers from China to help Africa’s infrastructure deficit.

At the previous FOCAC in Johannesburg, this amounted to $60 billion.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has recently embarked on his own safari.

He stopped  Senegal and Rwanda before arriving in South Africa for the BRICS summit. Then he visited Mauritius on the way home.

China’s belt and road programme, designed to give Beijing better access to foreign markets, dominated.

Africa, providing strategic resources, played a major part in transforming China to the world’s second largest economy.

It does business differently from Africa’s traditional partners.

It does not impose values like observation of human rights and rule of law.

It provides credit freely. Approaching $100 billion dollars has been loaned by China for building African roads, railways, ports and major buildings.

Critics say Beijing’s constructing an elaborate death trap.

Beijing responds that the critics are none other than the former colonialists, who have an axe to grind.

Who can blame cash-strapped countries being attracted to China’s credit honey pot.

South Africa is among the latest, taking a $2,5 billion loan for ESCOM.

All above board and properly thought out, is the assurance from President Cyril Ramaphosa. 

Question: could that loan have been secured safely and on better terms  from the more rhythmic recent visitors? 

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel, like her British counterpart Theresa May, is on a three-nation African tour.

The Africa visits by Chancellor Angela Merkel and premier Theresa May are both dominated by maximizing trade and investment on the continent.

Merkel, however, has her preoccupation with limiting the number of irregular migrants from Africa.

Before leaving she said she recognized the very difficult conditions in Africa but also its potential as a good market. 

She visited Senegal yesterday, which has economic growth of seven percent a year, and moves on to Ghana which is seen as a haven of stability in West Africa.

Her third destination is Nigeria.

Merkel has recently hosted the presidents of Angola and Niger in Berlin.

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Its part of a bilateral security agreement signed as British premier Theresa May visits Nairobi.

Theresa May says the cyber crime centre Britain will build in Nairobi will ensure pedophiles have no place to hide.

In the past two years two British men have been sentenced to long jail terms for visiting Kenya and preying on street children.

The centre will help Kenyan authorities deal with the increasing number of child abuse cases.

The security agreement will see  Britain help Kenya with border and aviation security.

Kenya is the last stop the British Prime Minister is making on her three-nation safari that’s taken in South Africa and Nigeria.

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Kenyatta witnessed the signing of two agreements for US financing $238-million worth of project in Kenya.

President Uhuru Kenyatta talked about trade and security with his U.S. counterpart.

The meeting could be used to boost the visitor’s development agenda and his fight against corruption and economic crimes

Washington regards Kenya as an ally in the fight against Islamist militants.

Kenyatta heads home to host British premier Theresa May who’s due in Nairobi on Thursday.

He’s the third African leader to be received by President Donald Trump at the White House after Egypt’s Abdel Fatah Al Sisi and Nigeria’s Muhammadu Buhari. 

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He’s one of 26 invited heads of state, a dozen of whom have already arrived.

Angola’s foreign affairs department says Russian President Vladimir Putin, British premier Theresa May, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Egyptian leader Abdelfatah El Sisi have been to the inauguration …

…that will bring Luanda to a stop today.

A raft of African leaders have already arrived in Angola.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame touched down shortly before his South Africa  counterpart Jacob Zuma last night.

Zuma’s expressed the desire to have relations established during the liberation struggles in both countries translate into significant bilateral trade and investment.

In addition to meeting with President Joao Lourenco, Zumas will see outgoing president Jose Eduardo Dos Santos and have bilateral meetings with a number of African peers.

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In his debut appearance before the 193-member UN General Assembly yesterday, US President Donald Trump said the world organisation is under performing and has to put people before bureacracy.
Today he’ll spell out what the UN needs to do to continue getting 22 percent of the its budget paid by Uncle Sam.
Prime Minister Theresa May will be equally tough, saying that Britain will link a third of its contribution to the UN budget to reform and results.

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British premier Theresa May is having a tough time at the G20 summit in the Chinese city of Hangzhou.

Today she has explain to the host Xi Jinpen why she delayed a $24-billion nuclear power plant China was planning to invest in.

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What’s happening on the sidelines of the G20 summit still dominate the headlines.

The US and Russia will sit down today and make another bid to end the fighting in Syria and allow humanitarian access to its suffering population.

China staged a spectacular opening ceremony with President Xi Jinping urging countries to avoid empty talk as they look to spur economic growth.

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