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Donald Trump has long scorned Africa. Now he sees it as another potential route to a Nobel Prize.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will today host the signing of a peace accord between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which have been fighting over a particularly valuable patch of the continent for three decades.

Rebel group in Goma, eastern Congo, in January. Photographer: Getty Images

Congo accuses Rwanda of backing a rebel group that’s taken over huge swaths of its mineral-rich east.

Rwanda says Congo’s government can’t secure its own territory and is harboring rebels linked to the Hutu perpetrators of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, in which more than 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus died.

The conflict’s current iteration has contributed to one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters, with around 6 million Congolese displaced from their homes.

A peace deal would be “a Great Day for Africa and, quite frankly, a Great Day for the World!” Trump posted last week.

His administration is promising investment if Rwanda backs off.

Eastern Congo has gold, tin and tantalum, which is used in portable electronics. South of the conflict zone are some of the planet’s richest copper, cobalt and lithium deposits, and Congo wants to diversify away from the Chinese miners who dominate the industry.

That’s music to the ears of a US president who demanded a minerals deal with Ukraine and openly covets Greenland’s resources.

Yet the fighting persists for a reason, with knotty questions over land and ethnicity that will take years of attention to address.

Trump seems to think the Nobel committee should take notice regardless.

“I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize for this,” he posted ruefully, putting the Rwanda-Congo war alongside a list of others he has dabbled in, from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to India-Pakistan and the Iran-Israel clash that’s witnessing a fragile ceasefire.

So many conflicts, all unresolved. — Michael J. Kavanagh

M23 rebel-group members stand guard at the Goma crossing into Congo in March. Photographer: Jospin Mwisha/AFP/Getty Images

Global Must Reads

China confirmed details of a trade framework with the US, echoing US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s comments about an agreement. The pact codifies the terms laid out in previous talks, including a commitment from Beijing to deliver rare earths used in everything from wind turbines to jet planes. The White House also has imminent plans to reach accords with 10 major trading partners, Lutnick said.

Iran denied that nuclear talks with the US are scheduled to resume, diminishing prospects for diplomacy after Trump suggested a deal could come as early as next week. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth berated the media at a Pentagon press briefing over reports that questioned the effectiveness of strikes on Iran’s nuclear program, without offering new information.

Photographs of Iranians allegedly killed since the Iranian Revolution are displayed at the “Free Iran” display on the National Mall in Washington on June 22. Photographer: Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg

Trump said a “very big” trade deal could be signed soon with India that would open up the country’s market to US companies, as negotiators meet in Washington to try to resolve key sticking points. Talks have been stymied by a US demand that India open its economy to genetically modified crops — an ask the government in New Delhi has rejected, citing risks to its farmers.

Keir Starmer agreed to pare back a divisive £5 billion cut to welfare to quiet a rebellion by his own Labour Party, a decision that will likely leave both Britain’s fiscal plans and the prime minister’s leadership in need of repair. The climbdown should persuade enough of the more than 120 rebels to support the government and prevent Starmer from losing the vote, sources say.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung began his term with a higher approval rating than recent predecessors, as hopes for an economic recovery rise after months of political turbulence. Despite the upbeat sentiment, Lee still needs to strike a deal with the Trump administration over trade tariffs to limit the impact on exports like chips and cars.

Mexico’s bank regulator stepped in to temporarily run three financial firms, an extraordinary measure aimed at protecting customers following money-laundering accusations by US authorities this week.

Mexican soldiers on patrol due to the increase of violence in Zacatecas state in 2022. Photographer: Pedro Pardo/AFP/Getty Images

Kosovo’s top court ordered lawmakers to complete the inaugural session of parliament within 30 days, pressing politicians to resolve a stalemate which has prevented the formation of a new government since February’s election.

The Treasury Department announced a deal with Group of Seven allies that will exclude US companies from some levies imposed by other countries in exchange for removing the Section 899 “revenge tax” proposal from Trump’s signature bill.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa fired a deputy minister from the second-largest party in the ruling coalition, renewing strain on the stability of his administration.

On the latest episode of Trumponomics, we explore whether Trump’s attack on Iran changes the calculus on his “reciprocal” tariffs and a looming deadline. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Chart of the Day

As European nations race to bolster their armed forces, leaders are confronting the reality that they’ll have to rely on the US for many of the new weapons they need, a point Trump drove home on his visit to the continent this week. They fret they may be at greater risk if they deepen dependence on a country whose president has embraced Russia — their principle enemy — while the idea of closer ties has also become an increasingly hard sell at home.

And Finally

Maria Regina Holanda was working in the grocery store she owns when she felt the sting of tear gas. Outside, protesters tried to block police they believed were trying to forcibly remove them from the Favela do Moinho, in São Paulo’s Campos Elíseos neighborhood. Hers is one of hundreds of families that will have to leave the community as part of an effort to revive the central historic neighborhood in Brazil’s wealthiest city. That includes relocating government buildings to the district and removing long-known drug-use spots in a notorious area known as Cracolândia, in hopes of spurring investment.

Favela do Moinho.

Pop quiz (no cheating!). Which two neighboring countries have most per-capita users of cocaine worldwide? Send your answers to balancepower@bloomberg.net

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Chart of the Day

And Finally

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