Category: LATEST NEWS

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.

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva closed the Group of 20 summit on Tuesday and handed over the presidency to South Africa.

“After the South African presidency, all the G20 countries will have exercised leadership of the group at least once. It will be a good time to evaluate the role we have played so far and how we should act from now on,” said Lula da Silva.

Leaders of the world’s 20 major economies gathered once again on Tuesday with a lighter schedule after they issued a joint declaration the night before

The document, which includes calls for a global pact to combat hunger, more aid for Gaza and the end of the war in Ukraine, was heavy on generalities and short on specifics.

The joint statement was endorsed by group members but fell short of complete unanimity. It also called for a future global tax on billionaires and for reforms allowing the eventual expansion of the U.N. Security Council beyond its five permanent members.

At the start of the three-day meeting which formally ends Wednesday, experts doubted Lula da Silva could convince the assembled leaders to hammer out any agreement at all in a gathering rife with uncertainty over the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, and heightened global tensions over wars in the Middle East and Ukraine.

Argentina challenged some of the language in initial drafts and was the one country that didn’t endorse the complete document

A newly released report from the U.S. government highlights a notable shift in visa overstay patterns, showing Ghana surpassing Nigeria in the misuse of B1/B2 and F, M, and J non-immigrant visas between October 2022 and September 2023.

The comprehensive analysis sheds light on individuals who remained in the United States beyond their authorized stay without a recorded departure or an approved visa extension.

According to the findings, there were 510,363 suspected in-country overstays, representing 1.31% of expected departures, alongside 54,792 out-of-country overstays, or 0.14% of expected departures.

Ghana’s Visa Overstay Statistics

In 2023, Ghanaians were issued 25,454 B1/B2 visas, typically granted for business or tourism purposes. Of these, 1,910 individuals overstayed their visas, equating to a 7.50% overstay rate. For student and exchange visitor visas (F, M, and J categories), Ghana recorded an even higher overstay rate of 21%, with 537 out of 2,559 visa holders remaining unlawfully in the U.S.

The data also shows that Ghana’s visa compliance has worsened compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019, when 28,844 B1/B2 visas were issued, and the overstay rate stood at 5.09%. The student visa overstay rate in 2019 was 12.7%.

How Nigeria Compares

Nigeria, which issued 84,051 B1/B2 visas in 2023, recorded a marginally lower overstay rate of 7.14%, with 6,000 Nigerians staying beyond their permitted time. Nigeria had a 15.60% overstay rate for student and exchange visitor visas from 7,556 visas issued—significantly lower than Ghana’s 21% in the same category.

In 2019, Nigeria issued 177,835 B1/B2 visas with an overstay rate of 9.88%, while the student visa overstay rate was 13.43%.

Broader Regional Context

The report also highlights overstay rates for other African countries. Notably:

– Togo: 19%

– Burkina Faso: 12.13%

– Ivory Coast: 7.48%

– Mali: 5.27%

Understanding Visa Overstays

An overstay occurs when a traveller remains in the U.S. beyond their authorized admission period. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection categorizes these as either in-country overstays (no recorded departure) or out-of-country overstays (departure after the permitted time).

The report emphasizes that determining visa compliance involves more than comparing entry and exit data. Extensions or status adjustments must also be considered to identify true cases of overstaying.

This latest analysis reflects improved data collection methods designed to provide greater insight into visa compliance trends among international travellers to the U.S.

The EU council has pledged to give to the Rwanda Defence force €20 million to aid its deployment in Mozambique, where it’s supporting an effort to tackle an Islamic State-backed insurgency.

The move doubles the amount the EU previously pledged back in 2022.

Rwandan forces in Mozambique have played an important role in holding back the insurgency for three years, in a region where fighting has delayed a liquefied natural-gas export project.

Josep Borell, vice-president of the EU Commission said the ‘’presence of the Rwanda Defence Force troops has been instrumental to make progress and remains key.”

He also described the funding as a ‘’testimony of the EU’s support to ‘African solutions for African problems’.”

Although the deal was anticipated, it has sparked tensions. It also comes with the condition that the funding will be pulled if money is spent on operations elsewhere than in Mozambique.

This restriction is mainly the work of Belgium, which reiterated its condemnation of Rwandan troops’ alleged backing of M23 rebels in the DRC.

Earlier this year, a UN report accused Rwanda of helping the M23 rebel group fighting Congolese forces in eastern DRC.

President-elect Donald Trump has confirmed his intention to declare a national emergency to address border security and utilize the US military to execute a sweeping deportation initiative targeting undocumented migrants.

Immigration, a central theme of Trump’s campaign, is set to dominate his return to the White House. The former president has vowed to deport millions of undocumented immigrants and secure the southern border with Mexico, citing a surge in illegal crossings during President Joe Biden’s tenure.

Taking to his platform, Truth Social, Trump shared a post from a conservative activist, which claimed the president-elect was “ready to declare a national emergency and deploy military resources to reverse the Biden administration’s immigration policies through mass deportation.” Trump simply added, “True!” to the repost.

The announcement comes as Trump prepares to return to the Oval Office following his November 5 election victory over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris. He has begun naming key figures to his administration, including immigration hardliner Tom Homan, who will serve as the “border czar.”

Homan, a former acting chief of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), has long been an advocate for stricter immigration policies and recently urged undocumented migrants to “start packing now.”

The proposed deportation plan could affect millions of families across the United States. Authorities estimate there are approximately 11 million undocumented individuals in the country, with Trump’s sweeping policies expected to impact over 20 million people indirectly.

While border security has been a persistent challenge for successive administrations, Trump’s rhetoric has intensified concerns. Throughout his campaign, he described an ongoing “invasion” of migrants and used provocative language to allege that undocumented immigrants posed a threat to American society.

He also signaled plans to invoke the centuries-old Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a move critics say is outdated and reminiscent of controversial policies such as Japanese-American internment during World War II.

Trump has yet to detail the full scope of his immigration agenda but has made clear his intention to act swiftly. His remarks come as border patrol encounters have stabilized, mirroring 2020 levels after peaking at 250,000 in December 2023 — the highest monthly figure on record.

As Trump assembles his cabinet, his hardline stance on immigration signals that border policy will remain a focal point of his administration, reigniting debates on how to manage America’s complex immigration challenges effectively and humanely.

Somaliland’s opposition leader, Abdirahman Cirro, has won the region’s presidential election, the news outlet Garowe Online reported on Tuesday.

It reported the Electoral Commission as saying the leader of the opposition Waddani party won 64 per cent of the vote.

Incumbent President Muse Bihi Abdi, who was seeking a second term, won 35 per cent in the polls which took place last week.

Both candidates promised to strengthen democracy, boost economic growth, and gain the international recognition Somaliland has sought for 33 years.

It was the region’s fourth presidential poll since it broke away from Somalia over three decades ago.

Somaliland has since sustained its own government, currency, and security structures despite lacking global recognition which has restricted its access to international finance.

The region has built a stable political environment in sharp contrast to Somalia’s security struggles.

Voting took place amid rising tension with Mogadishu over Somaliland’s deal granting landlocked Ethiopia access to the Indian Ocean in exchange for political recognition.

Australian gold miner Resolute Mining has agreed to pay Mali’s military-led government $160 million (£126m) to resolve a tax dispute, following the detention of the company’s British CEO and two colleagues.

The trio, including CEO Terry Holohan, were reportedly arrested 10 days ago while traveling to the capital, Bamako, for what they had anticipated would be routine discussions. Their detention came amid heightened scrutiny of foreign mining firms in the West African nation.

Resolute, which operates a gold mine in Mali, announced on Sunday that it will make an initial payment of $80 million from existing cash reserves, with the remaining amount to be paid in the coming months.

Mali’s Push for Greater Mining Revenue

Mali, one of Africa’s leading gold producers, has been tightening its grip on foreign mining operators to secure a larger share of sector revenues. The arrest of the Resolute executives and the charges of forgery and damaging public property have been interpreted as part of the junta’s broader effort to extract more income from international mining companies, many of which are based in Western countries.

Reports suggest that the release of the three employees is contingent on signing a memorandum of understanding and completing the first payment. However, their release timeline remains uncertain.

Strained Relations with Foreign Partners

Since seizing power in a 2021 coup, Mali’s military rulers, led by President Col Assimi Goïta, have sought to overhaul the country’s trade and political relationships. Last year, the government introduced a new mining code that increased the maximum stake for state and local investors in mining operations from 20% to 35%.

The situation underscores growing tensions between Mali and foreign operators in its lucrative mining sector, with the military government adopting an assertive stance against Western interests as part of its broader reconfiguration of international ties.

This high-profile settlement highlights the complex challenges facing foreign companies in Mali, as the country’s government seeks to assert greater control over its natural resources.