Month: October 2023

U.S. President Joe Biden has stated his intention to halt the participation of Gabon, Niger, Uganda, and the Central African Republic in the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade program.

The announcement on Monday comes as a response to what President Biden describes as “gross violations” of internationally recognized human rights by the Central African Republic and Uganda. Additionally, he cited Niger and Gabon’s inability to establish or make consistent progress in safeguarding political pluralism and the rule of law.

In a letter addressed to the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, President Biden stated, “Despite intensive engagement between the United States and the Central African Republic, Gabon, Niger, and Uganda, these countries have failed to address United States concerns about their non-compliance with the AGOA eligibility criteria.” This decision is set to take effect on January 1, 2024, when the designation of these nations as beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries under AGOA will be terminated.

President Biden also expressed his commitment to continuously evaluate whether these nations meet the program’s eligibility requirements. AGOA, initiated in the year 2000, offers qualifying countries the privilege of duty-free access to the U.S. market for their exports. Although the program is slated to expire in September 2025, discussions are already underway regarding whether to extend it and the duration of any potential extension.

African governments and industry groups are advocating for an early 10-year extension of AGOA without alterations, aiming to provide assurance to businesses and potential investors concerned about the future of AGOA.

King Charles III is in Kenya for a four-day trip, his first state visit to a Commonwealth country as king, underscoring his commitment to an organization that’s been central to Britain’s global power and prestige since World War II.

It’s also a visit that’s full of symbolism as Charles’ mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, learned that she had become U.K. monarch while visiting a game preserve in the East African nation in 1952.

The king and Queen Camilla touched down at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport late on Monday. The royal couple was received by Kenya’s Prime Cabinet Secretary and Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi and British High Commissioner to Kenya Neil Wigan.

On Tuesday morning, a ceremonial welcome by Kenyan President William Ruto is planned at State House.

During the visit, Charles will acknowledge the “painful aspects” of his nation’s shared history with Kenya, which celebrates the 60th anniversary of its independence from the United Kingdom this year. The two countries have enjoyed a close relationship since independence, despite the prolonged struggle against colonial rule, sometimes known as the Mau Mau Rebellion, in which thousands of Kenyans died.

Colonial authorities resorted to executions and detention without trial as they tried to put down the insurrection, and thousands of Kenyans said they were beaten and sexually assaulted by agents of the administration.

The British High Commission said Charles would “meet veterans and give his blessing to efforts by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to ensure Kenyans and Africans who supported British efforts in the World Wars are properly commemorated.”

Tuesday morning traffic was a bit slow on major roads towards the central business district. The governor in charge of Kenya’s capital of Nairobi, Johnson Sakaja, had told residents on Monday to expect “mild” traffic disruptions while the king is in town.

Charles also plans to visit Nairobi National Park and meet with environmental activist Wanjira Mathai, the daughter of late Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai, as he underscores his commitment to environmental protection.

The U.K. royal family has long ties to Africa. In 1947, the future queen pledged lifelong service to Britain and the Commonwealth during a speech from South Africa on her 21st birthday. Five years later, Elizabeth and her late husband Prince Philip were visiting Aberdare National Park in Kenya when they learned that her father had died and she had become queen.

A passenger bus slammed into a parked vehicle on Saturday (Oct .28) morning on a highway linking the Egyptian capital, Cairo, and the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, killing at least 32 people, authorities said.

The multi-car pileup, which set some vehicles ablaze, left at least 63 others injured, said the Health Ministry. Ambulances rushed to the scene of the crash on the Cairo-Alexandria desert road to transport the injured to nearby hospitals, it said.

Local media reported that the bus was on its way to Cairo when it hit the parked vehicle. Other cars slammed into the bus with some catching fire.

Footage circulating online showed many burned vehicles on the side of the road with firefighters extinguishing the fire. In one footage many vehicles were seen on fire with thick plumes of smoke billowing from them.

The state-run daily al-Ahram reported that 29 vehicles were part of the crash which took place at the town of Nubariya, about 160 kilometers (100 miles) north of Cairo.

The Egyptian Meteorological Authority warned of heavy fog on highways a day earlier, according to local reports.

Deadly traffic accidents claim thousands of lives every year in Egypt, which has a poor transportation safety record. The crashes and collisions are mostly caused by speeding, bad roads, or poor enforcement of traffic laws.

The French football league suspended Nice defender Youcef Atal for seven matches on Wednesday after he shared an antisemitic message on social media.

Nice had already suspended Atal last week until further notice and said that he apologized for his actions. After the matter was reviewed by the French soccer federation’s ethics committee, the French league’s disciplinary commission suspended Atal.

Atal’s suspension comes after the Nice public prosecutor’s office opened a preliminary investigation targeting Atal on charges “of defending terrorism” for sharing the message online. The prosecutor’s office said Atal is also being investigated for “public incitement to hatred or violence because of a particular religion.”

The 27-year-old Atal, who also plays for Algeria’s national team, apologized after reportedly reposting and then deleting a video in which a Palestinian preacher made an antisemitic statement.

Writing on Instagram, Atal said he understood that his post was shocking to some people and said he condemns all forms of violence, “no matter where in the world.”

The UN mission pushed out of Mali has been forced by the actions of the ruling junta to rush its departure and sabotage the equipment left behind, before risking the lives of its peacekeepers on the road for lack of flight permits.

The Minusma was pushed out after the junta in power since 2020 called for its withdrawal in June, proclaiming the “failure” of the mission and denouncing its alleged “instrumentalisation” of the human rights issue.

Here is an overview of this large-scale and risky operation, which brings to an end ten years of efforts to try to stabilise a country plagued by jihadism and a deep multidimensional crisis.

Tensions on all sides as The Minusma, whose strength has hovered around 15,000 soldiers and police officers and whose more than 180 members have been killed in hostile acts, is supposed to have left by 31 December.

The various armed actors fighting for control of the territory in the north are seeking to take advantage of the evacuation of the Minusma camps. The army is rushing to take them back. The predominantly Tuareg separatist groups who oppose the army have resumed hostilities against it. The al-Qaida-affiliated Groupe de soutien à l’islam et aux musulmans (GSIM) has stepped up its attacks.

The Minusma is therefore withdrawing in the midst of a military escalation, made more dangerous by what are perceived to be restrictions imposed by the authorities on its ability to manoeuvre.

– Contingents attacked – After leaving five camps since August, the Minusma completed its “accelerated withdrawal” from Tessalit on Sunday. It did so, it said, in an “extremely tense and deteriorating environment, endangering the lives of its personnel”, with shots being fired at one of its cargo aircraft and at its positions in the preceding days.

Part of the contingent, mainly Chadian, left by plane. But the rest took the road to Gao. Over 500 kilometres of desert, under constant threat from armed groups.

It was the same story with the withdrawal from Aguelhok the following day, due to a lack of flight authorisation.

According to the Minusma, these convoys were attacked with explosive devices, resulting in injuries. The GSIM claimed responsibility. A truck driver was seriously wounded and two others slightly injured on Thursday when gunmen opened fire on a logistics convoy from Ansongo, another camp to be evacuated, the mission reported.

– Abandoned equipment -Minusma said it had been forced to destroy or decommission equipment such as vehicles, ammunition and generators, in accordance with UN rules, because it was unable to take them with it. “Such losses could have been avoided” if 200 trucks had not been blocked in Gao since 24 September by restrictions on movement imposed by the authorities, she said.

Tanker trucks intended to supply the convoys are also stuck in Gao.

“Customs explained that the quantity of fuel was not justified”, said an official from the mission. A Malian policeman based in Gao argues that the authorities are afraid “to see the Minusma delivering fuel to the jihadists”.

– Exacerbated mistrust – Such an allegation, based on no evidence, reflects the mistrust between Minusma and the junta.

A confidential memo consulted by our source and intended for the UN Security Council by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations lists the obstacles to be overcome by the Minusma: withholding of flight or travel permits, but also an embargo on imports for its attention or the impossibility of patrolling around its own camps to monitor them. The Minusma has drawn up a plan B for withdrawal, including measures as a last resort.

Malian government spokesman Colonel Abdoulaye Maïga accused the former French ally, whom the junta has also pushed out, of sparing “no effort to make the Minusma flee”.

By speeding up its movement, the Minusma is upsetting the plans of the army, which refuses to give the separatists a free hand.

“The junta has taken the decision to kick out the Minusma, but they are having the withdrawal timetable imposed on them”, says Jonathan Guiffard, associate expert at the Institut Montaigne.

– And now Kidal – Tensions are likely to increase with the departure of Kidal, the stronghold of the Tuareg rebellion and a major sovereignty issue.

The departure was initially planned for the second half of November. It could happen more quickly, with a Minusma official speaking of a matter of a few days.

An official of the mission said that non-essential personnel had begun to leave.

“We are not going to stand idly by and put our troops in danger”, said a Chadian officer.

Given the sensitivity of the subject, several interlocutors remain anonymous.

Six people were injured when a drone crashed early Friday into the Egyptian town of Taba, which borders Israel, a country at war with Palestinian Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Egyptian army reported.

“An unidentified drone crashed on the outskirts of a building adjacent to Taba hospital on Friday, causing six minor injuries,” its spokesman said on Facebook.

Previously, AlQahera News television, which is close to Egyptian intelligence, had reported “a rocket” fired by an unidentified party “as part of the current escalation in Gaza”.

Witnesses confirmed to our source that the projectile had hit a hospital annex in this Red Sea town on the northeastern tip of Sinai, where there is a border crossing with Israel.

Images broadcast by the local media and social networks showed a damaged building and several vehicles blown up in the vicinity.

The Sinai desert peninsula is bordered to the northwest by the Gaza Strip and shares its eastern border with Israel.

Egypt, the historic mediator between Palestinians and Israelis, which holds Gaza’s only gateway to the world that is not in Israeli hands, has been on the front line since 7 October.

On that day, Hamas carried out an unprecedented surprise attack on Israeli soil that has since claimed more than 1,400 lives. In retaliation, Israel is now relentlessly bombing the Gaza Strip, killing around 7,000 people according to the local authorities.

Hamas, which is in power in Gaza, like other Palestinian armed groups, regularly fires barrages of rockets into Israeli territory. It also has small homemade drones.

On Sunday, the Israeli army announced that it had “mistakenly” fired one of its tanks at an Egyptian position on the outskirts of the Gaza Strip. Egypt reported the incident and apologised to the Israeli army, which reported “minor injuries” among its ranks. Egypt organised a “Peace Summit” on Sunday.

It is constantly calling for de-escalation between Israel and Hamas. On Wednesday, President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi reviewed his troops in Suez, at the entrance to Sinai, calling for “reason” and “patience”, while urging his men to “always be ready”.