Month: July 2023

Spanish police announced on Tuesday the dismantling of an organization that smuggled more than 200 Syrian or Algerian migrants into Spain from Algeria.

“A transnational criminal network, which brought Syrian and Algerian migrants into the EU, has been dismantled. Led from Libya and Spain, it had cells in Sudan, Liberia, and Algeria,” police said in a statement. a statement.

Fifteen people were arrested in southern Spain as part of this operation carried out in collaboration with Europol and the German and Norwegian authorities. Thirteen were remanded in custody.

The investigation determined that this organization, which also engaged in drug and arms trafficking, had brought “more than 200 migrants” to Spain from Algeria “in very fast boats piloted by armed individuals “.

She asked “between 7,000 and 20,000 euros per person” for crossing the Mediterranean, said the police. This organization took care of Syrians wishing to reach Europe in their country and provided them with papers and visas to take them to Libya, via Sudan or Lebanon, then to Algeria.

Spain is one of the main entry points for illegal immigration in Europe.

The number of illegal migrants arriving on the coasts of mainland Spain and the Balearic archipelago increased by 29.22% in the first half compared to the same period last year, according to the Spanish Ministry of Interior.

Kenya said on Wednesday it was postponing the reopening of its border with Somalia after recent attacks on its soil attributed to radical Al-Shabaab Islamists.

Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki announced that the phased reopening of Mandera, Lamu, and Garissa border posts could not take place as announced in May.

The move comes after the deaths of five civilians and eight police officers in separate incidents near the border last month blamed on the al-Qaeda -affiliated group Shabab.

“The government will postpone the scheduled reopening of border points between Kenya and Somalia until we conclusively address the recent spate of terrorist attacks and cross-border crimes ,” Kindiki said during a visit. at Dadaab refugee camp in far eastern Kenya, near Somalia.

The border was officially closed in October 2011 due to attacks by Al-Shabaab, who have been waging an insurgency against the federal government in Mogadishu for more than 15 years.

The two countries had announced in July 2022 their intention to reopen the border during talks between Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Somali counterpart Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, but this never materialized.

But on May 15, following a high-level ministerial meeting in Nairobi, officials from the two countries agreed to the gradual reopening of three border crossings.

Mandera was expected to reopen within 30 days of the announcement, followed by Garissa within 60 days and Lamu within 90 days.

But on June 13, eight Kenyan police officers were killed in Garissa when their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device. On June 24, five civilians had their throats slit in an attack claimed by Al-Shabaab in Lamu near the Somali border; some were beheaded.

Al-Shabaab are fighting Somalia’s federal government, backed by the international community, to establish Islamic law in the Horn of Africa country.

Since its military intervention in southern Somalia in 2011 and its participation in the African Union force in Somalia (Amisom, now Atmis) created in 2012 to fight this insurrection, neighboring Kenya has also been targeted by this group, which also recruits among local youth.

The King of the Zulus, South Africa’s most powerful customary ruler, says he was “in good shape” after the sudden death of one of his close advisers sparked fears of poisoning.

“I’m very well, I’m fit and strong,” said Misuzulu Zulu by telephone on Monday from the small neighbouring state of Eswatini, where he is undergoing medical examinations.

Misuzulu Zulu, 48, also known as Misuzulu kaZwelithini, acceded to the throne last year on the death of his father, Goodwill Zwelithini, following a bitter family succession battle.

King Zwelithini, who died after reigning for more than 50 years, left behind six wives and at least 28 children.

In a statement released on Saturday night, the influential traditional Zulu Prime Minister, Mangosuthu Buthelezi, said he had been informed that Misuzulu Zulu had been hospitalised “after falling ill earlier on Saturday”.

Questioned by our journalist, the king said on Monday that he had “never” been hospitalised in recent days. “It was a routine check-up that I have every three months, sometimes every six months”, he said.

The king’s spokesman, Prince Africa Zulu, had said on Sunday that the sovereign had undergone “thorough” medical examinations in Eswatini after the sudden death of one of his close advisers, which led to fears of poisoning, and that he was “in perfect health”.

On Monday, the spokesman told Africanewsguru.com that the king had spent the day at work, meeting a Chinese delegation in particular, without giving any further details.

On Sunday, Prince Africa Zulu denounced an “orchestrated attempt” to circulate “unfounded information about His Majesty’s health”.

He added that the King had preferred to be treated in Eswatini rather than in South Africa, where both his parents “were treated and died”, expressing his “great concern”.

The King’s spokesman did not specify when Misuzulu Zulu was due to return to South Africa.

In the southern African country, sovereigns and traditional chiefs are recognised by the Constitution. Kings with no executive powers, they exercise profound moral authority and are revered by their people. The country of 11 official languages has 11 million Zulus, almost one in five South Africans.

In September, a Misuzulu Zulu councillor was mysteriously shot dead on the sidelines of a traditional ceremony.

In Tunisia’s coastal city of Sfax, three African migrants have been arrested as suspects following the fatal stabbing of a local man

The victim, aged in his early 40’s, was stabbed late on Monday during a fight between local residents and migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, according to Faouzi Masmoudi, spokesperson for the city’s prosecutor.

Masmoudi said the three suspects were from Cameroon. Following the arrests, police stood guard outside the African migrants’ house, for fear of reprisals.

Anti-migrant sentiment

The incident took place after months of growing tensions between Tunisians and migrants.

Locals in Sfax regularly protest the migrants’ presence in Tunisia’s second-largest city which acts as a departure point for many migrants hoping to reach Italy.

In February, President Kais Saied accused “hordes” of illegal migrants of bringing violence, crime and “unacceptable practices”, prompting a rise in racially motivated attacks on migrants and foreign students.

In late May, police arrested three Tunisians on suspicion of stabbing to death a migrant from Benin.

Tunisian economic crisis

Tunisia hosts an estimated 21 000 migrants from other parts of Africa, out of a population of 12 million, representing 0.2 percent.

Though some of those migrants come to Tunisia to study, many hope to use the country as a springboard to reach Europe across the Mediterranean sea.

Amid an economic crisis in the country, Tunisians themselves are also joining the exodus.

Tunisian is highly indebted and in talks for a bailout loan from the International Monetary Fund. However, Saied has repeatedly rejected what he terms the “diktats” of the Washington-based IMF.

Saudi Arabia on Monday executed five men, four Saudis and an Egyptian, accused of attacking a place of worship, authorities said.

This brings to 68 the number of executions since the beginning of the year in the kingdom, one of the countries which apply the most death penalty in the world, according to a count.

The five people were sentenced for carrying out an attack that left five dead and several injured in the east of the kingdom, the Saudi Interior Ministry said in a statement, without specifying the date or the precise location. They were also found guilty of belonging to a “terrorist group” .

Since the beginning of May, more than twenty people have been executed for terrorism , most of them in the east of the country, a region with a Shiite majority, according to a count.

Last year, Saudi Arabia executed 147 people, 81 of them on the same day, sparking international outcry.

More than 1,000 killings have taken place since King Salman came to power in 2015 and the ascension of his son Mohammed as de facto ruler of the kingdom, according to a report by the British organization Reprieve and the Euro Organization. -Saudi Commission for Human Rights, published at the beginning of the year.

Zimbabwe is gearing up for its general elections scheduled for August 23. The European Union (EU) has said it will be the first to send an observer team to the southern African country ahead of the polls.

Ambassador of the EU to Zimbabwe Jobst von Kirchmann and Zimbabwe’s acting Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Amon Murwira on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding ahead of the elections.

The EU team will be followed by 46 long-term observers who will arrive at the end of July and 44 short-term ones who will be in the country just before election day.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa of the ruling ZANU-PF party is seeking what would be the 80-year-old’s final five-year term. He is expected to be closely challenged by opposition leader Nelson Chamisa, whom he narrowly beat in a disputed election in 2018.

If no presidential candidate wins a clear majority in the first round, a runoff will be held on Oct. 2.

Saudi Arabia announced on Monday that it was extending its oil production cut by one million barrels a day to boost flagging prices, while Russia announced that it would cut its exports by 500,000 bpd in August.

These measures are the latest to be taken by major producers to stabilize prices in the face of high market volatility, lingering fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s faltering economic recovery.

Saudi Arabia, the heavyweight of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), decided in early June to make a further production cut in the hope of boosting prices.

This voluntary reduction, which took effect this weekend, will continue into August and “may be extended” beyond that period, the kingdom’s official news agency reported, citing a source in the Energy Ministry.

“The source confirmed that this additional voluntary reduction reinforces the precautionary measures taken by OPEC+ countries with the aim of supporting the stability and balance of oil markets,” the agency added.

This decision maintains production in the oil-rich kingdom at around nine million barrels per day.

Announcing the cut last month following a meeting of oil producers, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdelaziz bin Salmane said it was potentially “extendable”.

In April, several Opec+ members had decided to voluntarily cut their production by more than a million barrels a day, a surprise decision that briefly supported prices but did not lead to a sustained rise.

– Balance –

Shortly after Saudi Arabia’s announcement on Monday, Russia said it would cut crude exports by 500,000 barrels a day in August.

“As part of efforts to balance the market, Russia will voluntarily cut deliveries to oil markets by 500,000 barrels a day in August by reducing exports by this amount,” said Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, quoted by Russian news agencies.

Russia had already announced in February 2023 a 500,000-barrel-per-day cut in crude oil production, a measure it said it would maintain until the end of 2024. The decision announced on Monday concerns exports, not production.

Since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, Moscow has redirected its energy exports from Europe to India and China.

The market reaction to Monday’s announcements by Riyadh and Moscow, allies within Opec+, a collective of the main oil-exporting countries and their partners, was relatively muted.

Brent crude, the European benchmark, rose by 0.98% to $76.15 a barrel, while its American equivalent, WTI, was up 1.02% to $71.36 a barrel, a far cry from the highs recorded in March 2022 at the start of the conflict in Ukraine (close to $140).

Many analysts doubted, however, that Monday’s announcements would have any lasting effect on prices.

“This is the usual automatic reaction to announcements of production cuts,” said Chris Beauchamp, analyst at IG. “But given that this is not a coordinated decision by all OPEC+ members, it’s hard to imagine that this is a real upward movement”.

For Jamie Ingram, analyst at MEES, “Russia is unlikely to convince us that it will fully respect its latest commitments, but the most important thing is that this is a public commitment to support Saudi Arabia’s market management strategy”.

Since the start of the year, Brent crude has fallen by 11% and WTI by 7%.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, is counting on higher oil prices to finance an ambitious reform program that could enable its economy to move away from fossil fuels.

Analysts estimate that the kingdom needs oil prices of $80 a barrel to balance its budget, well above the averages recorded in recent years.

More than a hundred British parliamentarians on Monday called on the government to do more to secure the release of Egyptian-British opponent Alaa Abdel Fattah, imprisoned for more than three years.

Alaa Abdel Fattah was arrested at the end of 2019 and sentenced to five years in prison for “false information” after reposting on Facebook a text, written by another, accusing an officer of torture.

In this letter, which will be delivered to Foreign Minister James Cleverly on Monday, the parliamentarians express their “concern at the lack of progress” on this file, despite the meeting last November between Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah . al-Sissi, on the sidelines of COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh.

During this event, the campaign led by relatives of the 42-year-old pro-democracy blogger forced the Egyptian president to raise his case with several Western leaders. He was then on a hunger strike, which had begun seven months earlier. He finally resumed eating soon after without obtaining his release.

The parliamentarians denounce in particular the fact that Alaa Abdel Fattah has not received any visit from representatives of the British Embassy in his prison.

They call on the government to act at the UN Human Rights Council level to try to get Cairo to move on this issue and ask the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to update its advice to British travellers in the country. to warn them of the risks in case of arrest.

This letter was to be delivered to the government during a rally in front of the Foreign Office in London, Monday at midday, organized by the NGO Amnesty International to mark ten years of the military coup of General Al- Sisi.

The blogger’s lawyer, Mohamed al-Baqer, was also arrested in 2019 and sentenced to four years in prison for “false news”. Last April, his wife Neamatallah Hisham was also briefly detained after visiting her husband and speaking out on social media about his conditions of detention.