ECOWAS Deploys Stabilisation Force To Guinea Bissau

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June 21, 2022

Britain Rail Strike — Passengers stand around inside Euston station in London on the first day of a rail strike on Tuesday June 21, 2022. Britain's biggest rail strikes in decades went ahead Tuesday after last-minute talks between a union and train companies failed to reach a settlement over pay and job security. Up to 40,000 cleaners, signalers, maintenance workers and station staff are due to walk out for three days this week, on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. (Stefan Rousseau/PA via AP)

Tens of thousands of railway workers walked off the job in Britain on Tuesday, bringing the train network to a crawl in the country’s biggest transit strike for three decades — and a potential precursor to a summer of labor discontent.

About 40,000 cleaners, signalers, maintenance workers and station staff held a 24-hour strike, with two more planned for Thursday and Saturday. Compounding the pain for commuters, London Underground subway services were also hit by a walkout on Tuesday.

The dispute centers on pay, working conditions and job security as Britain’s railways struggle to adapt to travel and commuting habits changed — perhaps forever — by the coronavirus pandemic. With passenger numbers still not back to pre-pandemic levels but the government ending emergency support that kept the railways afloat, train companies are seeking to cut costs and staffing.

Sustained national strikes are uncommon in Britain these days, but unions have warned the country to brace for more as workers face the worst cost-of-living squeeze in more than a generation. Lawyers in England and Wales have announced they will walk out starting next week, while unions representing teachers and postal workers both plan to consult their members about possible actions.

Major railway stations were largely deserted on Tuesday, with only about 20% of passenger trains scheduled to run. Services will resume Wednesday, but lingering disruption means only about 60% of trains are due to run.

The strike upended the plans of employees trying to get to work, students heading for end-of-year exams and music-lovers making their way to the Glastonbury Festival, which starts Wednesday in southwest England.

Roads in London were more congested than usual as commuters turned to cars and taxis. But footfall was 27% lower than last Tuesday, according to retail analysts Springboard, as many people canceled trips or worked from home if they could.

Nurse manager Priya Govender was at London Bridge station Tuesday morning, struggling to get back to her home south of the city after spending the night in a hotel.

Environmental Justice Organisation Seeks ECOWAS Intervention On Exploitation Of Plantation Farmers

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June 21, 2022

Friends of the Earth (FoE) Africa, an Environmental Justice Organisation, has called for ECOWAS Parliament’s intervention to end the exploitation and human rights violation against plantation farmers across the sub-region by multinational companies.

Coordinator, Forest and Biodiversity Programme of the organisation, Ms Rita Uwaka, made the call while presenting the FoE’s concerns before the ECOWAS Parliament at its ongoing 2022 First Ordinary Session in Abuja.

Uwaka who led FoE’s delegation to the Parliament, alleged that multinational companies especially that of oil palm came in the name of development to African communities but ended up forcefully taking their lands and exploiting them.

She explained that unfortunately, the people were subdued by the companies and even local authorities who had been bribed by the multinational companies.

“There are more cases of labour exploitation and workers’ rights violation as a result of the operation of these agro-commodity companies.

“We are seeing workers, including pregnant women being ferried, transported in open trucks with accidents and death.

“It is sad to note that among our delegates here, we have one of the communities representatives who was knocked down by one of the tractors of these companies. Today, he cannot walk on his own.

“There are lots of violations in communities that are hosting these companies in different places and communities in Africa.

“Our struggle over the corporate takeover of our forest and lands is not a fight against development but a struggle to prevent further human rights developments, environmental damage, biodiversity and livelihood loss.

“As well as promote the development of millions of indigenous people and local communities with a focus on women and youth who depend on forest and farmlands for their day-to-day wellbeing.

“We call on the ECOWAS Parliament to support economic partnership agreements that respect the rights of local communities and indigenous people in Africa and protect and restore our environment.

“Provide access to justice for dependers and affected local communities, and stop trade deals like power companies to influence legislation through special rights and provisions at the detriment of public interest,” Uwaka said.

Addressing journalists after the presentation, Uwaka said FoE was headed to Brussels, Belgium to engage with the European Union Parliament to caution European companies in Africa who were engaged in such heinous acts.

Egypt, Lebanon And Syria Sign Deal To Supply Beirut With Gas

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June 21, 2022

Lebanon, Egypt and Syria signed an agreement Tuesday to import Egyptian gas to a power plant in northern Lebanon through Syria. The deal would increase despirately needed electricity supplies in Lebanon, which is suffering under a severe energy crisis and chronic outages.

The agreement still needs to be signed off on by the World Bank, which is supposed to finance the process. Also, U.S. assurances are needed that the countries involved will not be targeted by American sanctions imposed on Syria, Lebanese Energy Minister Walid Fayad said.

Egypt had agreed to supply Lebanon with natural gas to its power plants through Jordan and Syria. Syrian and Lebanese experts have finished renovation work on the pipeline, which has been ready for months.

Fayad had said that about 650 million cubic meters (22.95 billion cubic feet) of gas will be brought to Lebanon through the pipeline annually to the Deir Ammar power station in the north. He added that the amount will lead to the production of 450 megawatts of electricity adding four hours of electricity supplies a day.

“The agreement signed today crowns hard work that began nine months ago,” Fayad said, adding that “we hope that all the obstacles have been removed in order to guarantee funding from the World Bank.”

The Syrian government is under U.S. and Western sanctions for its role in the country’s 11-year war, which has left nearly half a million dead and disappeared and nearly half of the population displaced.

As part of the deal, Syria will not get any cash but will take a small amount of the gas.

“We are looking forward to get the final guarantees from the United States, especially regarding sanctions, therefore the support of the United States and the international community is essential,” Fayad said.

The director general of Syria’s General Petroleum Corp., Nabih Khrestin, said the deal would cover some of Lebanon’s need “and we are in more need.”

In January, Lebanon signed deals to purchase electricity from Jordan via Syria to help the small Mediterranean country that is in the grip of the worst economic and financial crisis in its modern history.

The deal with the Jordanians, which is expected to bring Lebanon up to 250 megawatts of electricity a day — enough for about two hours of power a day — has not been implemented yet.

Lebanon’s state electricity company now offers about two hours of power a day as part of a deal with Iraq that supplies two power stations with fuel. The deal with Iraq expires in September.

Israel To Dissolve Parliament, Call 5th Election In Three Years

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June 21, 2022

Israel’s weakened coalition government has announced it would dissolve parliament and call new elections, setting the stage for the possible return to power of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or another period of prolonged political gridlock.

The election will be Israel’s fifth in three years, and it will put the polarizing Netanyahu, who has been the opposition leader for the past year, back at the center of the political universe.

“I think the winds have changed. I feel it,” Netanyahu declared.

The previous four elections, focused on Netanyahu’s fitness to rule while facing a corruption investigation, ended in deadlock. While opinion polls project Netanyahu, who is now on trial, as the front-runner, it is far from certain that his Likud party can secure the required parliamentary majority to form a new government.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, a former ally and aide of Netanyahu, formed his government a year ago with the aim of halting the never-ending cycle of elections. But the fragile coalition government, which includes parties from across the political spectrum, lost its majority earlier this year and has faced rebellions from different lawmakers in recent weeks.

Announcing his plan to disband the government during a nationally televised news conference, Bennett said he had made “the right decision” in difficult circumstances.

“Together, we got Israel out of the pit. We accomplished many things in this year. First and foremost, we brought to center stage the values of fairness and trust,” Bennett said, standing alongside his main partner, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid. “We shifted to a culture of ‘we,’ ‘together.’”

Under their coalition deal, Lapid, who heads the large centrist party Yesh Atid, now becomes the interim prime minister until the election, in which he is expected to be the main rival to Netanyahu.

Standing together with Bennett, he thanked his partner for his hard work and for putting the country ahead of his personal interests.

“Even if we’re going to elections in a few months, our challenges as a state cannot wait,” Lapid said. “What we need to do today is go back to the concept of Israeli unity. Not to let dark forces tear us apart from within.”

Bennett’s coalition included a diverse array of parties, from dovish factions that support an end to Israel’s occupation of lands captured in 1967 and claimed by the Palestinians, to hard-line parties that oppose Palestinian statehood.

Ministerial Nominees: President Buhari Seeks Confirmation

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June 21, 2022

President Muhammadu Buhari has written to the Senate seeking the confirmation of seven ministerial nominees.

The nominees are: Henry Ikechukwu – Abia State, Umana Okon Umana – Akwa-Ibom State; Ekuma Joseph – Ebonyi State; Goodluck Nana Obia – Imo State; Umar Ibrahim Yakub – Kano State; Ademola Adewole Adegorioye – Ondo State; Odo Udi – Rivers State.

The Senate has, however, not fixed a date yet for the screening exercise.

Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has nominated Senator Philip Aduda as the new minority leader to fill the vacant seat created by Senator Enyinnaya Abariba’s defection.

Also, the party nominated Senator Chukwuka Utazi as the new senate minority whip.

China-Africa Peace Conference Kicks Off in Addis Ababa

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June 21, 2022

The China-Horn of Africa First Peace, Governance and Development Conference, the first of its kind, has commenced in Addis Ababa, June 21.

The conference will last for two days, mainly focusing on the themes of peace, development, and good governance. The event is being conducted with the underpinnings of China’s interests in working with the Horn of Africa (HoA) states to ensure that sustainable peace and development are consolidated. High-level participants arrived last night, including Xue Bing, the Chinese Special Envoy to the Horn of Africa, and other high-ranking dignitaries of the HoA region.

China has been investing in the HoA for quite some time, conducting extensive engagements chief of which is the up-and-coming Belt and Road Initiative, which aspires to interconnect the region with eastern and south-eastern Asia as well as Europe.

Addis Standard had previously reported on plans to hold a peace conference in the Ethiopian capital following the designation of Xue Bing as the Chinese special envoy to the region. The special envoy had traveled to Addis Abeba back in March and met Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen to discuss Chinese commitment to support HoA countries and express a willingness to assist in the areas of governance, development, and peace.

It is recalled that during his official visit to Kenya in January this year, the Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, said that conflicts and instability in the Horn of Africa, including Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sudan, threaten China’s substantial investments in eastern Africa and that China desires to promote a peace conference.

Electoral Act Amendment: Bill To Override Pres. Buhari Stepped Down

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June 21, 2022

A bill to override President Muhammadu Buhari over his delay in signing the amendment to the Electoral Act 2022, has been stepped down at the House of Representatives.

The bill was stepped down on Tuesday after the Deputy Speaker faulted it, stating that any move to override requires 2/3rd of members.

He advised the sponsor of the motion – Ben Igbakpa to step it down as it violates procedure for overriding the President.

It’s been over 30 days since the Minority Caucus in the House of Representatives had asked President Muhammadu Buhari to sign the one-item amendment to the Electoral Act 2022.

But the President has yet to sign it or communicate a decision to the National Assembly about the bill.

Displeased by the inaction, some reps members relied on section 58 (5) which gives the National Assembly the power to override the President if he withholds assent.

East African Leaders Send Regional Force To Eastern Congo

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June 21, 2022

East Africa’s leaders have responded to the threat of war between Rwanda and Congo by instructing a new regional force to deploy in eastern Congo and ordering an immediate cease-fire.

A statement after the leaders’ meeting in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, didn’t give details on the date of the force’s deployment or its composition. Congo’s presidency later tweeted that the force should be operational in the coming weeks but shouldn’t include Rwandan troops. The presidents of both countries attended Monday.

The regional heads of state adopted “for immediate implementation” the status of forces agreement, concept of operations and rules of engagement, the statement said. The heads of state told the force to cooperate with Congolese forces to stabilize the region.

There was no direct mention of Rwanda, which Congo has accused of supporting the M23 rebel group that has carried out renewed attacks in recent months. The statement noted the “presence of foreign negative elements” as a critical issue. Rwanda has long denied supporting the M23 rebels, who captured a key town in eastern Congo last week.

Asked after Monday’s meeting whether Rwanda would contribute troops to the regional force in eastern Congo, deputy government spokesman Alain Mukurarinda said he needed to check with the president’s office. Congo is not the one who chooses who should deploy or not, he added.

Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi on Friday accused Rwanda of trying to occupy his country’s land for its vast mineral wealth, hours after Rwanda said a Congolese soldier had crossed the border and begun shooting at Rwandan security forces and civilians before being shot dead.

Congo’s president has also called on international leaders, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, to step up the pressure on Rwanda when it hosts the Commonwealth summit this week.

Each side has accused the other of incursions. Congo now seeks to suspend all agreements with Rwanda. Rwanda’s state minister for foreign affairs in charge of East African matters, Manasseh Nshuti, has said dialogue “is the solution” to the issues.

Dynamics in eastern Congo “were already strained” by Congo and neighboring Uganda carrying out a joint operation there against another rebel groujp, the Allied Democratic Forces, according to a new report by the U.N. panel of experts on Congo. Both Uganda and Rwanda have long been accused of backing rebels and pursuing some of the region’s rich mineral wealth, including gold.

Magodo Wetlands: Lagos State Government Warns Against Indiscriminate Excavation

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June 21, 2022