Free Republic

KIGALI (Reuters) - Rwanda has cut diplomatic ties with France and given the French ambassador 24 hours to leave the central African country, Kigali's foreign affairs minister Charles Murigande said on Friday. "We in the cabinet have decided to cut our diplomatic relations with France. We have ordered the French ambassador to leave our country within 24 hours and given other French diplomats 72 hours to leave the country," he told Reuters. Murigande also said Rwanda would close the French cultural center in the capital Kigali. The move came as Rwanda recalled its envoy from Paris after a French judge...

<p>Deeply rooted historical ties will save the fractured relationship between France and the United States, the new French ambassador to the U.S. said to a roaring crowd at a film festival yesterday.</p> <p>With tensions running high between the two countries following French President Jacques Chirac's refusal to back an American-led war in Iraq, Jean-David Levitte said a friendly and respectful dialogue on the issue could begin mending fences.</p>