Spain Urges NATO To Address Threats From North Africa

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July 6, 2022

Southern European states including Italy and Spain are urging NATO allies to address threats from North Africa, after the alliance agreed on a new strategic concept at its summit last week in Madrid.

While the war in Ukraine dominates NATO’s agenda, member states bordering the Mediterranean want the alliance to prepare for other potential flashpoints from the south, including a rapid increase in irregular migration. Spain warned it could be used as a pressure tactic by what it called “hostile actors.”

Hundreds of migrants attempted to breach the border fence separating the Spanish enclave of Melilla from Morocco last month. At least 23 people died during the attempted crossing. The migrants, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa, are desperate to reach Europe to claim asylum and find a better life.

Many migrants also arrive by boat on the Spanish Canary Islands, 100 kilometers off the African coast. The numbers arriving in the first six months of the year have more than doubled since 2021 — and Spain fears the pressure on its borders could be about to worsen.

Ukraine is one of the world’s top suppliers of grain, but the Russian invasion has cut its exports by around two-thirds.

The United Nations has warned that the situation will exacerbate an already worsening hunger crisis in Africa. Europe is readying for an increase in migration.

A resurgent Islamist militancy in parts of the Sahel is also driving migrant flows.

Europe also says Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group are exacerbating the conflict. The European Union has imposed sanctions on the Wagner Group, which it says works for the Kremlin. Moscow denies any links but says it is providing “military assistance” through state channels.

British Finance, Health Ministers Resign Amid Party Crisis

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Zoe Maven

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July 6, 2022

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Britain’s finance and health ministers have resigned, as have shaken Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government.

Britain’s finance and health ministers resigned on Tuesday, plunging Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government into crisis amid a series of scandals

Health Secretary Sajid Javid said he had lost confidence in Johnson’s ability to govern in the national interest after a series of scandals, saying he could “no longer continue in good conscience”.

He said that many lawmakers and the public had lost confidence in Johnson’s ability to govern in the national interest.

Finance Minister Rishi Sunak had announced his resignation earlier. In his resignation letter Sunak said, “The public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously. He continued, “I recognise this may be my last ministerial job, but I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am resigning.”

Nadhim Zahawi, previously education secretary, was later appointed to replace Sunak.

Johnson told the ministers that he was sorry to see them resign.He made the comments in letters sent to the two men which were published by his office.

The leader of Britain’s opposition Labour Party, Keir Starmer, said it was clear that Johnson’s government was now collapsing following the resignation of two senior ministers.

Malawi in Nursing Exports Because Of Unemployment

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Zoe Maven

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July 6, 2022

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Malawi’s National Organization for Nurses and Midwives says about 2,000 nurses will leave the country this year for jobs in Saudi Arabia and the United States.

The group says the nurses were forced to take jobs abroad due to high unemployment in Malawi.

Health rights campaigners say the brain drain is alarming as more than half of nursing positions in Malawi’s public hospitals are vacant, which the government blames on lack of funding.

Malawi’s National Organization for Nurses and Midwives said that currently more than 3,000 trained nurses in Malawi are unemployed.

Shouts Simeza, president of the organization said, “We feel the pinch that unemployed nurses and midwives have gone through and are going through. Having graduated with a qualification and having been licensed to practice for five years without being recruited is not an easy way of doing things.”

Simeza said the first group of 1,000 nurses is expected to leave for Saudi Arabia in August. The plan is to send 1,000 each year for a five-year project.

George Jobe, executive director of the Malawi Health Equity Network, said he is concerned the nurses going abroad do not know enough about the jobs they are taking.

Government statistics show that 65 percent of nursing positions in public hospitals in Malawi remain vacant.

Dorothy Ngoma, adviser to the president on maternal mortality and reproductive health, said that unless the government finds a way to boost pay for nurses, many more will leave the country.

However, the Malawi government says it cannot hire more nurses now, because of financial constraints.

Russian Foreign Minister Stops In Vietnam Ahead Of G-20

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Zoe Maven

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July 6, 2022

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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited Vietnam on Wednesday as part of an effort to bolster ties with a country that has not openly condemned its invasion of Ukraine.

Lavrov, on his way to the Indonesian island of Bali for a G-20 meeting, sought to strengthen ties with Vietnam, which also has a strong relationship with the United States.

Lavrov is currently on a trip to Asia to seek support amid his country’s diplomatic isolation by the West and punishing sanctions leveled over its invasion of Ukraine. He had visited Mongolia a day before arriving in Vietnam’s capital Hanoi. Mongolia also retains ties with Moscow but has burgeoning relations with Washington.

The visit comes as the two countries marked 10 years since expanding their relationship to a strategic partnership.

The Soviet Union was a close backer of Hanoi’s Communist government during the Vietnam War against the capitalist south and its American and other Western allies.

Lavrov is scheduled to depart Vietnam on Wednesday afternoon and travel to Indonesia to attend a meeting of foreign ministers from the Group of 20 leading rich and developing countries.

Mali coup: How junta got Ecowas economic sanctions lifted

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Zoe Maven

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July 6, 2022

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Mali’s military junta whipped up nationalist sentiments as it successfully pushed West African leaders to end the economic blockade imposed on the country following a coup.
In return for setting a firm February 2024 election deadline, Mali’s regime has secured an end to the sanctions imposed by the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas).
For ordinary Malians, particularly the urban population in the capital, Bamako, who consume more imported goods, the lifting of the sanctions is certainly good news.
Although the measures were not meant to curb the supply of basic essentials, in practice they were an additional pressure for traders and families already struggling to cope with the rise in world grain and fuel prices driven by the resurgence of world demand after the pandemic and then the Russian attack on Ukraine.
The sanctions were imposed in January after the junta, which seized power last year, announced a four-year delay in the transition to elected civilian rule. It has now pruned back the transition to less than two years, with elections starting in February 2024.
This was accepted by Ecowas leaders at their summit meeting in Ghana’s capital, Accra, at the weekend.
Mali’s military leaders and Prime Minister Choguel Maïga cleverly played on these popular perceptions to present themselves as the defenders of the people against bullying neighbours, who failed to appreciate the need for radical change in a country whose traditional elite had supposedly been rotted by corruption and complacency.
Over the past six months, every tough message from Ecowas or Europe and the United Nations, has been met with a defiant nationalist response from Bamako.

Angola Hosts Meeting Between DRC And Rwanda

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Zoe Maven

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July 6, 2022

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Angola’s capital, Luanda, is hosting an attempt at mediation between the presidents of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and neighbouring Rwanda.

The meeting takes place against a background of tensions between the two countries.

Angolan President, Joao Lourenço, will receive his counterparts Felix Tshisekedi and Paul Kagame as relations between the two countries have been deteriorating for several weeks amid the resurgence of the M23 rebel movement and the intensification of fighting in eastern DRC.

Kinshasa accuses Kigali of supporting the rebels, a claim denied by the Rwandan authorities.

Defeated in 2013, the M23 Tutsi-dominated movement took up arms again at the end of last year, blaming the Congolese authorities for not respecting an agreement for the demobilisation and reintegration of its fighters.

In May and June, M23 attacks caused the death of several dozen civilians.

More than 170,000 people were displaced to neighbouring Uganda.

Last month, East African leaders agreed to set up a regional force to try to end the conflict.

Zimbabwe Central Bank To Introduce Gold Coin Amid Inflation

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Zoe Maven

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July 6, 2022

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Zimbabwe’s central bank says it will start issuing gold coins as legal tender in late July, as the country battles to control soaring inflation that has considerably weakened the local currency.

The gold coin is named ‘Mosi-oa-Tunya’, after Victoria Falls, and can be converted into cash according to the apex bank.

The latest measure comes as the country’s inflation rate more than doubled last month to 191%, bringing back memories of the hyperinflation of the 2000s that saw the Zimbabwean dollar redenominated three times. The local currency would later be abandoned in 2009.

Governor of the central bank, John Mangudya in a statement released Monday, said that “the gold coins will be available for sale to the public in both local currency and US dollars and other foreign currencies at a price based on the prevailing international price of gold and the cost production”.

The coins are expected to act as a ‘store of value and to reduce the demand for US dollars’ – something that has been blamed for the weakening value of the local currency.

There have been mixed feelings over the news as Zimbabweans experience with the central bank’s policies is often of concern and uncertainty. Many Zimbabweans are known to have lost their savings including pensions when the Zimbabwean dollar crashed in 2009.

The southern African nation use foreign currencies, mostly the US dollar despite attempts to revive the local currency. The most recent attempt – with its reintroduction in 2019 – has the zim dollar in use but once again with plummeted value.

The central bank last week raised interest rates to 200% from 80% and has outlined plans to make the US dollar legal tender for the next five years.

Buhari Swears In 7 New Ministers, Announces Minor Cabinet Changes

By

faith Jegede

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July 6, 2022

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President Muhammadu Buhari has announced a cabinet reshuffle as he swore in seven new Ministers in the State House, Abuja, on Wednesday.

The affected ministers sworn in include Goodluck Opiah (Imo), Umar El-Yakub (Kano) and Ademola Adegoroye (Ondo). Henry Ikoh (Abia) Umana Okon Umana (Akwa Ibom), Ekumankama Nkama (Ebonyi) and Odum Odi (Rivers).

Six of the sworn-in ministers replaced six former members of the federal executive council, who retired to participate in the last party primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC) while the seventh while replaced the former Minister of Agriculture, Sabo Nanono, who was removed from office.

While announcing the reshuffle shortly before the commencement of the meeting of the Federal Executive Council, the president approved Minister of State, Health, Sen. Adeleke Mamora as new the Minister of Science and Technology; Minister of State, Works, Mua’azu Sambo also moved to the Ministry of Transportation as substantive Minister.

Umanna Umanna is now the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs while Minister of State Environment, Sharon Ikeazor has been moved to the Niger Delta Ministry as Minister of State.

Sen Gbemisola Saraki was moved to the Ministry of Mines and Steel as Minister of State while Umar El-Yakub is now the Minister of State Works and Housing.

The president also approved Goodluck Apiah as Minister of State, Education; Ekumankama Nkama. Minister of Health; Ikoh Ikechekwu, Minister of State, Science and Technology; Odum Udi, Minister of State, Environment and Ademola Adegoroye is now Minister of State, Transportation.

Just before the swearing-in, a minute’s silence was observed in honour of Mohammed Barkindo, the outgoing Secretary-General of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), who died at the age of 63, on Tuesday night.

Those physically in attendance are the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo; Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha; and Chief of Staff to the President, Prof Ibrahim Gambari.

Other Ministers who were also in attendance include the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, Education, Adamu Adamu, Communication and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami.

Others are, Mines and Steel, Olamilekan Adegbite, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, and Minister of State, Budget, National Planning, Clem Agba and State, Industry Trade and Investment, Maryam Katagun as well as all the newly sworn-in ministers.

French Forces Make Niger New Home After Mali

By

Zoe Maven

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July 6, 2022

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French forces in the Sahel will switch operating mode after they leave Mali, acting more “in support” of local forces rather than substituting for them, according to their commander.

After nearly a decade fighting militants in Mali, France is pulling its troops out of the country after falling out with its military junta.

President Emmanuel Macron announced the withdrawal in February, saying Operation Barkhane would continue elsewhere in the Sahel but in a smaller and reconfigured form.

In an interview Barkhane commander General Laurent Michon said the force now had less than 2,000 men left in Mali adding that the pullout was on track for completion “by the end of summer, as the president has requested.

Micho said , around 2,500 French troops will remain in the Sahel when the operation is over, “but this depends above all on the wishes of the African states.”

These operations will be “determined more strictly by requests from the African countries, and will take the form of ‘in support of’ and not ‘in replacement for'” the local military, he said.

Illustrating the closer cooperation, Michon said that last year a French unit on the Mali-Niger border was placed under the command of a Nigerien general in charge of the area.

And in March, France set up a “partnership HQ” in the Niger capital Niamey, “with the goal of working with African officers embedded” with Barkhane.

The general said as for the pullout, France has already left its bases in Gossi and Menaka in central Mali and is currently disengaging from a camp in Gao,

Abiy, Sudan’s Burhan Hold Talks In Nairobi After Border Clash

By

Zoe Maven

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July 6, 2022

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Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sayas he has met with Sudan’s coup leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in Nairobi and that both committed to “dialogue” to resolve any differences.

The meeting took place on the sidelines of a meeting of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), a seven-country regional body

Their talks follow a clash in a volatile border region last month in which Khartoum said that Ethiopian forces had captured and killed Sudanese troops — claims denied by Addis Ababa.

In a Twitter post, accompanied by a picture of the two men Abiy said “We have both agreed that our two countries have plenty of collaborative elements to work on peacefully.”

On the other hand, Burhan said the IGAD meeting gave them an opportunity “to take stock of the response” to challenges in the region, but he did not elaborate.

Sudan’s ruling sovereign council said only that there had been a “closed-door meeting” between Burhan and Abiy.

IGAD and the African Union (AU) voiced alarm last week over the escalating tensions between Ethiopia and Sudan following the incident in the disputed Al-Fashaqa border area.

Khartoum said the Ethiopian army had executed seven Sudanese soldiers and a civilian in a clash on June 22 in Al-Fashaqa, and announced it was recalling its ambassador.

But Addis Ababa claimed that Sudanese forces had crossed into Ethiopian territory and that the casualties resulted from a skirmish with a local militia, denying its soldiers were in the area at the time.