Month: November 2024

Niger’s government has requested the European Union to replace its ambassador, Salvador Pinto da Franca, following tensions over the disbursement of emergency aid.

The EU recalled its envoy on Saturday after Niger’s military rulers accused him of distributing €1.3 million in flood relief to NGOs without prior approval. The EU rejected the allegations, expressing “profound disagreement.”

On Sunday, Niger’s foreign ministry claimed da Franca continued “unauthorized operations” despite warnings issued in October. In a statement, it said collaboration with the ambassador was no longer viable and requested his replacement “as soon as possible.”

Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa hosted creditors and finance executives on Monday to discuss plans for clearing the country’s $12.7 billion external debt and restructuring arrears.

With the nation’s debt representing 81% of its GDP, the task is daunting for a country with a history of financial crises, including hyperinflation and failed currency reforms.

Mnangagwa revealed that Zimbabwe is negotiating a Staff Monitored Program (SMP) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which would pave the way for key policy reforms. African Development Bank (AfDB) President Akinwumi Adesina expressed the AfDB’s readiness to provide financial support for these reforms and help clear arrears.

Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said timelines for debt restructuring would be clearer by mid-2025, once Zimbabwe secures bridge financing from lenders. Analysts warn that addressing arrears is crucial for the country’s economic recovery, as Zimbabwe currently cannot access funds from the IMF due to its debt situation.

Clearing arrears with major creditors, including the AfDB, World Bank, and European Investment Bank, is key to unlocking future funding. The IMF has been unable to provide financial support due to Zimbabwe’s unsustainable debt.

While the SMP would not include financial aid from the IMF, it would signal a return to sound economic policies. Zimbabwe’s debt situation remains complex, with a significant portion of the debt in arrears and penalties, limiting access to international financial assistance.

A Zambian lawmaker facing robbery charges has been arrested in Zimbabwe after escaping custody earlier this year, Zambian authorities confirmed.

Emmanuel “Jay Jay” Banda, an independent MP since 2021, fled from Chipata Central Hospital in August while awaiting a court appearance. He had been admitted to the hospital under police guard following his arrest. A bounty of 2 million Zambian kwacha ($72,000) was later issued for his capture.

Banda was detained in Harare earlier this week. The Zambian Home Affairs Minister, Jack Mwiimbu, announced that Banda was arrested by Zimbabwean police at a flat he had been renting and would remain in Zimbabwe pending extradition.

Mwiimbu expressed interest in uncovering the individuals involved in Banda’s escape and his wife’s visits to Harare. He also thanked Zimbabwean authorities for their cooperation.

Opposition members from the Patriotic Front (PF) party, led by former president Edgar Lungu, condemned Banda’s arrest, calling it an “abduction” and urging the Zambian government to follow international extradition protocols. Banda had been previously linked to Lungu’s administration, which lost power to Hakainde Hichilema in 2021.

Banda’s legal troubles stem from a 2015 robbery charge, for which he faces a non-bailable offence, along with charges of escaping custody. His supporters, including opposition figures, argue the charges are politically motivated, aimed at silencing him over his involvement in a controversial abduction case earlier this year.

Banda’s case has raised concerns over the state’s handling of political opponents and the application of justice in Zambia. The BBC has sought comment from the Zambian government

Mali’s ruling junta on Thursday appointed a new prime minister from within its military ranks, a day after dismissing the civilian prime minister who had openly criticized the regime.

The appointment further consolidates power in the hands of the military, which has governed Mali since seizing power in a 2020 coup, followed by a second coup in 2021.

On Wednesday, civilian prime minister Choguel Maïga was removed from office after criticizing the junta for delaying the presidential election originally scheduled for 2024. His dismissal was announced in a presidential decree issued by Gen. Assimi Goïta, Mali’s military leader, and read on the state broadcaster, ORTM.

On Thursday, Gen. Abdoulaye Maïga was named as his replacement, according to Alfouseyni Diawara, secretary general of the Malian presidency. The two Maïgas are not related.

The appointment places all three branches of Mali’s transitional government — the presidency, the National Transitional Council (acting as the legislative body), and the prime minister’s office — firmly under military control.

Gen. Abdoulaye Maïga, 43, has held several key roles under the junta, including minister of territorial administration, government spokesman, and deputy prime minister. Analysts believe his close ties to Goïta played a decisive role in his selection.

“The choice of the new prime minister shows that the military is tightening its grip on power. General Maïga is seen as especially close to President Goïta, who wanted someone loyal as the country prepares for possible elections next year,” said Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel program at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Mali.

Laessing added, “Choguel provoked his dismissal by positioning himself as a potential candidate in the elections.”

Although Gen. Abdoulaye Maïga was not one of the five officers directly involved in the 2020 coup, he quickly rose to prominence within the junta and became a key figure in the transitional government.

He is known for his fiery rhetoric, particularly against France and MINUSMA, the now-departed U.N. peacekeeping mission in Mali. During the U.N. General Assembly in September, he sharply criticized Algerian diplomats who accused the Malian army of killing civilians near the border with Algeria.

Since taking power, Mali’s military rulers have tightened their control over the country, cracking down on dissent by severely restricting freedom of expression. More than a dozen politicians and activists have been arrested for speaking out against the junta.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday (Nov. 21) condmened the decision by the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants against him and his former defense minister.

They way both men have allegedly conducted the war is at the center of the prosecution’s accusations.

“This is a black day in the history of nations. The International Court of Justice in The Hague, [Editor’s Note: It is the International Criminal Court which issued the warrants] , which was established to protect humanity, has today become the enemy of humanity,” the Israeli politican said vehemently.

“This biased court has decided to issue arrest warrants against me and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, on the fundamentally unfounded accusation that we have allegedly committed “crimes against humanity,” while the truth is completely the opposite. This is moral bankruptcy. It violates the natural right of democracies to defend themselves against murderous terrorism.”

The ICC panel said there were reasonable grounds to believe that both Netanyahu and his ex-defense minister bear responsibility for the war crime of starvation and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution and other inhumane acts.

Netanyahu denied the accusations claiming that Israel has provided “hundreds of thousands of tons of food to feed the population” and blamed Hamas for the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza.

However, Gaza remains at risk of famine according to the UN and other NGOs despite biding orders issued by the International Court of Justice earlier this year.

The Chamber of the International Crimnal Court, noted that “decisions allowing or increasing humanitarian assistance into Gaza were often conditional. They were not made to fulfil Israel’s obligations under international humanitarian law or to ensure that the civilian population in Gaza would be adequately supplied with goods in need. In fact, they were a response to the pressure of the international community or requests by the United States of America. In any event, the increases in humanitarian assistance were not sufficient to improve the population’s access to essential goods.”

Netanuahy said the arrest warrants will not “deter” him from continuing Israel’s military campaign.

Rights groups and UN agencies have repeatedly said some of Israel’s military moves violated war rules in Gaza.

Israel, like the US or Russia is not a state party to the ICC.

It questioned the jurisdiction of the ICC on the matter but its challenge was rejected.

What’s next?

The decision turns Netanyahu and his former minister into internationally wanted suspects and could further isolate them, putting them at risk of arrest when they travel abroad.

Its practical implications could be limited since Israel and its major ally, the United States have slammed the warrants.

Still, they marked the first time that a sitting leader of a major Western ally has been accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity by a global court of justice.

It put Israel’s allies, including some of its closest European friends, in an awkward position.

Spain will grant residency and work permits to about 300,000 migrants living in the country illegally each year for the next three years, the country’s migration minister said Wednesday.

The policy will take effect next May and aims to expand the country’s ageing workforce. Spain has remained largely open to receiving migrants even as other European nations seek to tighten their borders to illegal crossings and asylum seekers.

Spain needs around 250,000 registered foreign workers a year to maintain its welfare state, Migration Minister Elma Saiz said in an interview on Wednesday. She contended that the legalization policy is not aimed solely at “cultural wealth and respect for human rights, it’s also prosperity.”

“Today, we can say Spain is a better country,” Saiz told national broadcaster Radio Nacional de España.

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has often described his government’s migration policies as a means to combat the country’s low birthrate.

The new policy, approved Tuesday by Sánchez’s leftist minority coalition government, simplifies administrative procedures for short and long-term visas and provides migrants with additional labor protections. It extends a visa previously offered to job-seekers for three months to one year.

In August, Sánchez visited three West African nations in an effort to address irregular migration to Spain’s Canary Islands.

The archipelago off the coast of Africa is seen by many as a step toward continental Europe with young men from Mali, Senegal, Mauritania and elsewhere embarking on dangerous sea voyages there seeking better job opportunities abroad or fleeing violence and political instability at home.

By mid-November, some 54,000 migrants had reached Spain this year by sea or land, according to the country’s Interior Ministry. The exact number of foreigners living in Spain illegally is not clear.

Many such migrants make a living in Spain’s underground economy as fruit pickers, caretakers, delivery drivers, or other low-paid but essential jobs often passed over by Spaniards.

Without legal protections, they can be vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. Saiz said the new policy would help prevent such abuse and “serve to combat mafias, fraud and the violation of rights.”

Spain’s economy is among the fastest-growing in the European Union this year, boosted in part by a strong rebound in tourism after the pandemic.

In 2023, Spain issued 1.3 million visas to foreigners, according to the government.

The International criminal court’s pre-trial chamber issued Thursday (Nov. 21) arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister and a Hamas military chief whose whereabouts are unknown.

The ICC prosecutor sought warrants for 2 Hamas leaders who are belived to have been killed by Israel.

Netanyahu, and ex-minister Yoav Gallant are wanted for the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare and crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.

The Chamber also “assessed that there are reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant bear criminal responsibility as civilian superiors for the war crime of intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population of Gaza.”

Several EU countries arm Israel and are signatories of the document establishing the ICC.

Speaking from Jordan, the EU’s top diplomat reacted to the news.

“I will be very sober in my comment. It is not a political decision, it is a decision of a court, of a court of justice, an international court of justice,” Josep Borrel said during a press cnfrence.

“And the decision of the court has to be respected and implemented. So I take note of the decision of the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants for Prime Minister Netanyahu, the former Minister of Defense Mr. Gallant and the Hamas leaders. This decision is a binding decision on all states, all state parties of the court, which include all members of the European Union, are bound to implement this court decision.”

In theory, state parties to the ICC must arrest any individual wanted by the court who travels to their country.

The Israeli Prime minister condemned the arrest warrant against him, claiming “there is nothing more just than the war” his country is waging in Gaza.

The warrants come at the end of legal procedure which saw Israel challenge the ICC’s jurisdiction and six months after the court’s prosecutor filed a request.

Israel’s challenges of the arrest warrant to the ICC was rejected.

The Chamber found reasonable grounds to believe that senior leaders of Hamas, comprising of at least Mr Deif, Mr Sinwar, and Mr Haniyeh, agreed to jointly carry out the deadly October 7, 2023attack on Israel.

The Chamber found reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Deif, the highest commander of the military wing of Hamas (known as the al-Qassam Brigades) at the time of the alleged conduct, is responsible for the crimes against humanity of murder; extermination; torture; and rape and other form of sexual violence; as well as the war crimes of murder, cruel treatment, torture,; taking hostages; outrages upon personal dignity; and rape and other form of sexual violence.

Kenya’s president said Thursday he has cancelled multimillion-dollar airport expansion and energy deals with Indian tycoon Gautam Adani after U.S. bribery and fraud indictments against one of Asia’s richest men.

President William Ruto in a state of the nation address said the decision was made “based on new information provided by our investigative agencies and partner nations.” He didn’t specify the United States.

The Adani group had been in the process of signing an agreement that would modernize Kenya’s main airport in the capital, Nairobi, with an additional runway and terminal constructed, in exchange for the group running the airport for 30 years.

The widely criticized deal had sparked anti-Adani protests in Kenya and a strike by airport workers, who said it would lead to degraded working conditions and job losses in some cases.

The Adani group had also been awarded a deal to construct power transmission lines in Kenya, East Africa’s business hub.

Also Thursday, Energy Minister Opiyo Wandayi told a parliamentary committee there had been no bribery or corruption involved on Kenya’s part in signing that deal.

U.S. prosecutors indicted Adani this week on charges he duped investors in a massive solar energy project in India by concealing that it was facilitated by an alleged bribery scheme. He was charged with securities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud.

The European Union pledged Tuesday to lend 91 million euros ($96 million) to Cameroon over the next three years to boost the West African country’s infrastructure and attract foreign investment.

The loan was announced during a meeting between Cameroonian government ministers and an EU representative in Cameroon’s capital, Yaounde.

The loan will help Cameroon to develop its energy sector, road infrastructure and a railway network connecting the country with Chad, its landlocked neighbor, Cameroon’s Minister of the Economy Alamine Ousmane Mey told reporters after the meeting.

Another project funded by the loan will be the construction of a bridge over the Ntem River between Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea.

The government has been struggling to rebuild Cameroon’s road, energy and port infrastructures, which have become seriously dilapidated in recent years. Cameroon has also been plagued by a separatist conflict in the country’s west that has killed more than 6,000 people and displaced over 760,000, according to the International Crisis Group.

The EU is already funding some major infrastructure projects in Cameroon, including the construction of a hydroelectric dam in the center of the country and a bridge between Cameroon and Chad.

“Our goal is to bring in more private investors to manage the projects, the EU is assisting us to restructure and manage public finances,” Minister Mey said.

The EU Ambassador to Cameroon, Jean-Marc Chataigner, said the loan was conditional on the government’s proper management of the funds.

Corruption is widespread in Cameroon. Last month, a report from the country’s National Anti-Corruption Commission found that Cameroon lost over FCFA 114 billion ($184 million) to corruption in 2023.

“The government needs to see that the enterprises involved in building the infrastructures have full access to the funds,” Chataigner said.

The United Nations said four Ghanaian peacekeepers were wounded in the Ramyeh area of southern Lebanon on Tuesday when a rocket struck their base.

UNIFIL, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, said peacekeepers and its facilities were targeted in three separate incidents on the same day.

Another peacekeeping base was damaged by rocket fire in the southern village of Shama, where heavy fighting between Hezbollah and the Israeli army has been taking place.

In another attack, an armed person “directly fired” at a UNIFIL patrol near Khirbat Silim, but there were no injuries.

“I remain concerned about the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and the Israeli Defence Forces,” UN Peacekeeping Chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix said.

“If military activities are carried out in the vicinity of a UN position, then that is putting U.N. peacekeepers in danger. That is putting them at risk. And this is what we impress upon all parties,” he said.

Lacroix reminded all parties of their obligation to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel and property.

“That would also include not carrying out those military activities in the very close proximity of the U.N. position.”

UNIFIL added that it launched investigations into each of the violent episodes and informed the Lebanese army about them.

The incidents come a day after an Israeli airstrike on Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, which hit  an area in the heart of the city near the UN headquarters, parliament, and several embassies.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry said at least five people were killed and 31 wounded in the attack.

Since late September, Israel has dramatically escalated its bombardment of Lebanon, vowing to cripple the militant group Hezbollah and end its barrages into Israel.

Meanwhile, United States envoy, Amos Hochstein, on a visit to Beirut described Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire talks with top Lebanese officials on Tuesday as “constructive”.

“I am committed to do everything that I can to work with the government here in Lebanon and Israel to bring this conflict to a close,” he said.

Hochstein arrived a day after the Lebanese militant group reportedly gave a positive response to a US draft proposal to end the war, which has been going on for more than 13 months.

Washington has been working on a proposal to end hostilities that would remove Israeli ground forces from Lebanon and push Hezbollah forces away from the Israeli border.

More Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers would be sent to the buffer zone in southern Lebanon as part of the deal.

Hochstein said he hopes a resolution will be reached in the coming days.