Month: November 2024

The United Kingdom has unveiled an extensive new sanctions package against Russia, focusing on Kremlin-backed mercenary groups operating in Africa and key players tied to Russia’s military supply chain.

The latest measures, announced by the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office, place restrictions on 56 individuals and entities involved in supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine and destabilizing regions across Africa.

Among the sanctioned are three mercenary groups, including Africa Corps, the successor to Russia’s Wagner Group, and 11 individuals associated with Russian proxy forces. The UK became the first G7 nation to directly sanction Africa Corps, citing its role in “threatening stability and security” across African nations like Libya, Mali, and the Central African Republic. “These targets have direct ties to the Kremlin and have committed extensive human rights abuses across the continent,” stated the Foreign Office.

The sanctions extend to entities in China, Turkey, and Central Asia, which the UK accuses of supplying vital components for Russia’s military operations, including machine tools, microelectronics, and drone parts. This move is intended to curb Russia’s access to critical technology that could be used in its ongoing war against Ukraine.

Also included in the sanctions is Denis Sergeev, a Russian intelligence officer allegedly involved in the 2018 poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, England, using a Novichok nerve agent. The UK described this as its most comprehensive sanctions package since May 2023.

The sanctions follow months of pressure from the UK on Russia, with previous rounds targeting Moscow’s shipping industry, alleged chemical weapons usage, and cyber activities. UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy emphasized the significance of the latest actions, saying, “These measures will strike at the heart of Russia’s destabilizing efforts in Africa and cripple its military supply networks for the Ukraine war.”

As Russia seeks to deepen its influence in Africa amid a prolonged war with Ukraine, the UK’s sanctions underscore a commitment by Western allies to counter Moscow’s operations across the continent and restrict its access to military resources.

More horrors continue to emerge from the debris and ubiquitous layers of mud left by the walls of water that produced Spain’s deadliest natural disaster in living memory.

Residents of Massanassa in the Valencia region located in the kingdom’s north, were calling for assistance of Thursday (Oct. 31). The floods have killed at least 158 people.

“What people need is food, because we understand that all the material losses are not important next to saving our lives, when we look at other people that have lost their lives”, sociologist Antonio said.

“We still don’t know how neighbours and acquaintances have been lost. We need drinkable water.”

An unknown number of people are still missing, and more victims could be found.

Spain PM said EU member states have stepped up to offer resources.

AEMET, Spain’s national weather service has issued amber rainfall warnings for Friday (Nov. 1st) for areas in the Valencia and Castellón regions, where many communities are still reeling from the floods.

Survivors of the worst natural disaster to hit Spain this century awoke to scenes of devastation after villages were wiped out by flash floods.

More than 1,700 soldiers have joined emergency workers. Thousands have lost the fruit of a lifetime’s work

Botswana’s ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) has lost its parliamentary majority in this week’s election, according to reports from the private Mmegi newspaper and state radio, which cited results from over half the constituencies.

Though analysts anticipated a competitive race, they believed a divided opposition would favor President Mokgweetsi Masisi’s BDP, which has governed the country since its independence from Britain in 1966. However, based on results from 36 of the 61 constituencies, opposition parties have secured more than half the seats in parliament, according to Mmegi and state radio.

The BDP has won just one of the 36 constituencies so far, while the opposition coalition, the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), has taken 23. To secure a majority, a party needs 31 seats.

Botswana, known for its stability and diamond wealth, provides free healthcare and education to its 2.3 million citizens and is the world’s top diamond producer by value. However, recent downturns in the diamond market have strained revenues, highlighting the country’s struggle to diversify its economy.

A Moroccan economist known for his human rights work has been detained after criticizing the government in remarks posted on social media during a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron to the North African kingdom.

Prosecutors arrested Fouad Abdelmoumni in Casablanca on Wednesday and announced that he was being investigated on suspicion of spreading false information and accusing others of crimes on social media, Morocco’s state news agency reported. If charged and convicted, he faces up to five years in prison under cybercrime laws.

“This arbitrary arrest is part of a series of harassments targeting Abdelmoumni, as a reprisal for his bold positions, his opinions and the defence of human rights,” the Moroccan Association for the Support of Political Prisoners said in a statement published on Wednesday. “This arrest represents a new escalation in the authorities’ policy of repression against political and human rights activists in the country.”

Mr. Abdelmoumni, a former political prisoner, is the coordinator of the association.

As Mr Macron visited Rabat with Moroccan leaders including King Mohammed VI, the activist claimed in a post that Morocco was trying to “blackmail” France using methods such as spying and refusing to cooperate in managing illegal immigration.

Abdelmoumni has not yet been formally charged. When he appears in court on Friday, he will likely be charged with crimes related to the article, said one of his lawyers, Souad Brahma.

In Morocco, authorities can detain people under investigation for 48 hours without charging them.

Ms. Brahma said Mr. Abdelmoumni was arrested for expressing his opinion and called his detention a violation of his right to freedom of expression. She said she was denied the opportunity to visit him on Thursday, despite having received permission from the court. The authorities have not responded to allegations that the arrest was politically motivated.

Throughout his visit, Mr. Macron spoke of opening a new chapter in relations between France and Morocco, after years of tensions.

Amnesty International and the Paris-based nonprofit group Forbidden Stories published a report alleging that Moroccan authorities used Israeli software Pegagus to infiltrate the electronic devices of human rights activists, including Mr. Abdelmoumni, and politicians, including Mr. Macron.

Morocco has vigorously denied the allegations and filed a defamation lawsuit.

Mr. Abdelmoumni, 66, has been a prominent human rights advocate since his arrest and torture along with other left-wing activists during King Hassan II ’s era of repression, known as the “Years of Lead .” He has publicly supported pro-democracy efforts in the country, including during the Arab Spring and the “Hirak” movement. Morocco’s 2017

After the Pegagus software investigation, Abdelmoumni was among the activists profiled in a Human Rights Watch report 2022

The report states that an anonymous person released a video of him and his partner (now his wife) having sex, likely captured by a hidden camera inside the air conditioner in his home. In Morocco, sex outside marriage is a crime, and information about their relationship was later published in pro-government media, in an operation that Mr. Abdelmoumni said was aimed at intimidating him.

This week, he took part in a vigil demanding justice for a Moroccan nationalist who disappeared in France in 1965 and appeared at the court where Morocco’s former human rights minister was being tried. He was on his way to a meeting of the Moroccan Association for the Support of Political Prisoners when he was arrested.

Mr Macron’s political party helped push through a resolution in 2023 condemning human rights abuses in Morocco in the European Parliament. However, the two countries have recently strengthened their political and economic ties. This week, they announced economic deals and lucrative contracts on projects ranging from transport to desalination infrastructure. Mr Macron also reiterated his support for Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara. .

During his three-day visit, Mr Macron did not mention human rights in speeches he gave at a business forum, to the country’s French community or to the country’s parliament.

Kenya’s new deputy president has been sworn into office, two weeks after his predecessor was overwhelmingly voted out in an impeachment motion in parliament over allegations of corruption and inciting ethnic division.

Kindiki Kithure took office on Friday after a colourful event in the capital, Nairobi, attended by government officials and Western envoys among other guests.

The court cleared his swearing-in on Thursday after orders suspending it were lifted, despite a continuing court case challenging the impeachment of the previous deputy president, Rigathi Gachagua.

Gachagua is challenging the impeachment before the High Court in Nairobi, arguing that the charges are unsubstantiated and that the hearings were unfair.

The former deputy president was impeached and removed from office by a vote of more than two-thirds of legislators on Oct. 17 on charges of corruption, inciting ethnic divisions and support for anti-government protests. President William Ruto nominated Kindiki for the deputy role the next day.

Gachagua’s impeachment had highlighted divisions within the ruling United Democratic Alliance, or UDA, and friction between Ruto and Gachagua, both UDA members. Gachagua had been accused of insubordination when he opposed the government’s policy of forced evictions during heavy rains that caused flooding and deaths.

The new deputy president Kindiki called Friday’s event a celebration of the “constitution and our democracy” and committed to be loyal and faithful to the president.

President Ruto urged him to “please serve the people of Kenya” adding that like all public servants, they are not in office for personal interests and that all leaders serve at the pleasure of the people of Kenya and must uphold the constitution and the rule of law.

Kindiki — the former interior minister — takes the deputy president’s office at a time when arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances in Kenya have raised concerns among western envoys and human rights groups. The country is also going through economic hardships with a rising cost of living and newly increased taxes.

In June, the country witnessed a series of nationwide anti-government protests over a finance bill that proposed to increase taxes, culminating in the storming and burning of parliament on June 25, when several protesters were shot dead outside parliament gates.

Ruto, who came to office claiming to represent Kenya’s poorest citizens, has faced widespread criticism over his efforts to raise taxes to pay off foreign creditors. The public opposition led him to shake up his Cabinet and back off from certain proposals.