Politics

Libya suspends Foreign Minister as controversy trails meeting with Israeli official

Published

8 months ago

August 28, 2023

Libyan Foreign Minister, Najla Mangoush has been suspended following her meeting with Foreign Minister Eli Cohen of Israel last week despite the countries not having formal relations.

Mangoush had declined to meet with Israeli officials, according to the Libyan Foreign Ministry, and what had happened was “an unplanned, informal contact at a meeting at Italy’s Foreign Affairs Ministry.”

In a statement, the Libyan ministry claimed that there had been “no negotiations, agreements, or consultations” and reiterated its “total and absolute rejection of normalisation” of ties with Israel.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry, in a statement on Sunday, stated that he had discussed “the immense potential for the two countries from their relations, as well as the need of conserving the heritage of Libyan Jewry, which includes refurbishing synagogues and Jewish cemeteries in the country.”

The statement further revealed that the ministers had discussed possible cooperation, prompting small protests in Libya, which does not recognise Israel.

In a statement released on Sunday, the Presidency Council—which serves as the head of state—asked GNU’s Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah for more information about what had happened.

The High State Council, which serves as a political advisory body for Libya, expressed its “astonishment” at the meeting’s reports and stated that those guilty “should be held accountable.”

Libya’s foreign policy lately has been unstable due to the country’s protracted civil war, acrimonious internal conflicts over who should run the country, and doubts about the legitimacy of any actions taken by the Tripoli government.

Political instability in a few North African countries has been a source of worry for many European countries as they remained a gateway for African migrants into Europe.

Israel has been working to improve relations with the Arab League, notably the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan since 2020 thanks to the “Abraham Accords,” which was mediated by the United States.

Politics

African leaders want record World Bank financing to address climate change

Published

8 hours ago

April 29, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Ahead of a World Bank conference scheduled for later this year, African leaders on Monday called for rich countries to commit to record contributions to a low-interest World Bank facility for developing nations.

The leaders stressed that most African countries depend on the fund to sponsor development and combat climate change.

At a meeting in Japan in December, donors will promise to give money to the International Development Association (IDA), a World Bank organization that gives loans with low-interest rates and long terms.

“We call on our partners to meet us at this historic moment of solidarity and respond effectively by increasing their IDA contributions… to at least $120 billion,” Kenya’s President William Ruto told a meeting of African leaders and the World Bank to discuss IDA funding.

African economies were facing a “deepening development and debt crisis that threatens our economic stability, and urgent climate emergencies that demand immediate and collective action for our planet’s survival,” Ruto said.

He talked about the terrible floods in Kenya and the serious drought in Southern African countries like Malawi. If donors promise the least amount that African leaders have asked for, it will be a new high.

The previous high was $93 billion, which was raised in 2021. IDA loans are given out every three years, and donors usually give their money at a world meeting before the loan is given out.

The World Bank said that IDA lends money to 75 poor countries around the world at low interest rates. More than half of these countries are in Africa. Governments use the money to improve access to healthcare and energy, put money into farms, and build important things like roads.

The president of the World Bank, Ajay Banga, promised to cut down on the “burdensome” rules that guide lending to countries under the IDA. This would make the process more efficient and get money to countries that need it more quickly.

“We believe a simpler and reimagined IDA can be deployed with more focus to make a meaningful impact,” he said.

Politics

Burkina Faso investigating reports of northern killings

Published

1 day ago

April 28, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

A government spokesman has revealed that Burkina Faso is looking into reports that 223 people were killed by the Burkinabe army in two villages in the north in February.

The killing was first reported by the Human Rights Watch (HRW), causing a rift between the junta-led West African state and some foreign media that published the report. The HRW report released on Thursday said that the military had executed residents of Nodin and Soro, including at least 56 children, as part of a campaign against civilians suspected of working with jihadist terrorists. The report was based on interviews with witnesses, members of civil society, and other groups.

Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouedraogo, a spokesman for the government, said that HRW’s claims were “peremptory” and that the junta was not unwilling to look into the claimed crimes.

“An investigation has been launched into the killings in Nodin and Soro,” Ouedraogo said in a late-evening statement, quoting a statement from a regional prosecutor on March 1.

Since Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger’s militaries took over in a series of coups from 2020 to 2023, violence in the area has gotten worse. This is because of the ten-year fight with Islamist groups related to Al Qaeda and Islamic State.

Attacks on Burkina Faso got much worse in 2023, with more than 8,000 people killed, according to the U.S.-based crisis-monitoring group ACLED.