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Blinken Begins Africa Tour in Cape Verde, Touting the US as a Key Security and Economic Partner 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (C) receives a football jersey with his name on from Prime Minister of Ivory Coast Robert Beugre Mambe (R) as President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Patrice Motsepe (L) looks on as he attends the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) 2024 group A football match between Equatorial Guinea and Ivory Coast at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Ebimpe, Abidjan on January 22, 2024. (AFP)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (C) receives a football jersey with his name on from Prime Minister of Ivory Coast Robert Beugre Mambe (R) as President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Patrice Motsepe (L) looks on as he attends the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) 2024 group A football match between Equatorial Guinea and Ivory Coast at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Ebimpe, Abidjan on January 22, 2024. (AFP)
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Blinken Begins Africa Tour in Cape Verde, Touting the US as a Key Security and Economic Partner 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (C) receives a football jersey with his name on from Prime Minister of Ivory Coast Robert Beugre Mambe (R) as President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Patrice Motsepe (L) looks on as he attends the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) 2024 group A football match between Equatorial Guinea and Ivory Coast at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Ebimpe, Abidjan on January 22, 2024. (AFP)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (C) receives a football jersey with his name on from Prime Minister of Ivory Coast Robert Beugre Mambe (R) as President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Patrice Motsepe (L) looks on as he attends the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) 2024 group A football match between Equatorial Guinea and Ivory Coast at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Ebimpe, Abidjan on January 22, 2024. (AFP)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken began a tour of four African countries on Monday, meeting with the leaders of Cape Verde and Ivory Coast and touting America as the continent's key economic and security ally at times of regional and international crises.

Blinken is visiting Nigeria and Angola next. The tour — which comes as deadly crises and rampant coups threaten the continent's stability — focuses on trade, security, and democracy promotion.

In Cape Verde's capital, Praia, he met with Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva and said the US is committed “to deepening, strengthening, broadening” its partnerships with Africa whose young population of 1.3 billion is set to double by 2050 and make up a quarter of the world's inhabitants.

Analysts say Africa seems to have been pushed to the back burner under President Joe Biden as his administration is increasingly consumed by other international issues such as the fighting in Ukraine, the Israel-Hamas war, as well as its rivalry with China. Biden also failed to visit Africa last year as he promised.

“As President Biden has said, we are all in when it comes to Africa,” Blinken told the Cape Verdean leader.

“We see Africa as an essential, critical, central part of our future. This trip ... really does focus on President Biden’s commitment and conviction that the United States and Africa are joined in partnership for the future,” he added.

Silva described Cape Verde as “a longstanding and consistent partner” of the US and said such a visit shows “the Biden administration’s genuine interest in win-win partnerships with Africa.”

“We would like to strengthen our partnership with the US in maritime security and cyber security from a regional, global perspective,” said Silva.

Also Monday, Blinken flew to the Ivory Coast where he met President Alassane Ouattara and senior government officials. They discussed “shared priorities of strengthening democracy, expanding trade and improving local and regional security,” the US State Department said in a statement.

He also attended a soccer match between Equatorial Guinea and Ivory Coast, part of the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations tournament.

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Republicans Mount a Third Attempt to Fund Government, Shutdown Imminent

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) speaks to reporters ahead of a vote to pass the American Relief Act on Capitol Hill in Washington, US, December 19, 2024. (Reuters)
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) speaks to reporters ahead of a vote to pass the American Relief Act on Capitol Hill in Washington, US, December 19, 2024. (Reuters)
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Republicans Mount a Third Attempt to Fund Government, Shutdown Imminent

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) speaks to reporters ahead of a vote to pass the American Relief Act on Capitol Hill in Washington, US, December 19, 2024. (Reuters)
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) speaks to reporters ahead of a vote to pass the American Relief Act on Capitol Hill in Washington, US, December 19, 2024. (Reuters)

Republicans in the US Congress mounted a third attempt to avert a government shutdown on Friday with only hours to spare, after two previous plans were scuttled by President-elect Donald Trump and members of their own party.

Republican Representative Ralph Norman told reporters that party leaders planned to hold a vote on a third spending bill, though he did not provide details.

Others said they would not try to win over Democrats whose support likely will be needed to extend funding past midnight Friday (0500 GMT Saturday), when it is due to expire.

"We're not working with Democrats," Republican Representative Nancy Mace said.

Republicans were considering whether to simply extend the deadline for several weeks, according to a source familiar with their discussions. They also were weighing a broader package that would extend funding into March, provide disaster relief, and extend farm and food aid programs due to expire at the end of the year.

"We have a plan," House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters. "We're expecting votes this morning." House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said he has been in touch with Johnson, but has not seen the latest Republican plan.

It would be the third attempt for Johnson, who saw his first package -- a bipartisan deal negotiated with Democrats who control the Senate and the White House -- collapse on Wednesday after an online fusillade of criticism by Trump and Elon Musk, his billionaire adviser.

A second package, which paired government funding and disaster aid with Trump's demand to lift the national debt limit, failed to pass the House on Thursday as Democrats and 38 Republicans voted against it.

Democrats accused Johnson of caving to pressure from an unelected billionaire, while Republican opponents said they would not vote for a package that increased government spending and cleared the way for trillions of dollars in increased debt.

Trump, who takes office in one month, overnight ratcheted up his rhetoric, calling for a five-year suspension of the US debt ceiling even after the House rejected a two-year extension.

"Congress must get rid of, or extend out to, perhaps, 2029, the ridiculous Debt Ceiling. Without this, we should never make a deal," Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform shortly after 1 a.m.

If Congress does not act, funding for everything from law enforcement to national parks will be disrupted and millions of federal workers will go unpaid. The Transportation Security Administration has warned that travelers during the busy Christmas season could face long lines at airports.

The federal government last shut down for 35 days during Trump's first White House term over a dispute about border security. Previous fights over the debt ceiling have spooked financial markets, as a US government default would send credit shocks around the world. The limit has been suspended under an agreement that technically expires on Jan. 1, though lawmakers likely would not have had to tackle the issue before the spring.