– NEWS –
EU wants to negotiate with Africa on reception centers: The EU has floated the idea of establishing „regional disembarkation platforms“ in countries outside the EU — most likely in Northern Africa — in order to combat the criminal people-smuggling that leads to so much death in the Mediterranean. Such centers would process European Union asylum claims outside of EU territory, thus eliminating the incentive to embark on perilous journeys. However, a senior official has admitted earlier in June that no North African country had yet agreed to host such centers. UN agencies are imposing conditions before agreeing to any new EU plans to prevent boats leaving from north Africa to Italy and Spain. Egypt said on Sunday that it will not build refugee camps for migrants deported from the EU if asked. EU reception facilities for migrants in Egypt would violate the laws and constitution of the country, Egyptian Speaker of the House of Representatives Ali Abdel Aal said. The leaders of Albania, Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria have also said they will refuse to build reception centers for migrants attempting to reach the EU.
time.com, euobserver.com, dw.com
Migrants missing at sea off the coast of Libya: About 100 migrants missing at sea off the coast of Libya are feared dead after their boat capsized. More than 200 migrants have drowned in the Mediterranean in the past three days, bringing the overall death toll so far this year to more than 1,000, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported on Monday. The tragic weekend began on Friday with the deaths of an estimated 103 people, including three babies, when the rubber dinghy they were on sank off the coast of Libya. The Libyan Coast Guard rescued 16 survivors: young men from the Gambia, Sudan, Yemen, Niger and Guinea. The incident was followed on Sunday by the capsizing of a small rubber boat off the Libyan port city of Al Khums, east of the capital, Tripoli. The vessel was packed with migrants and while 41 people survived, 100 are reported missing.
news.un.org, washingtonpost.com
African leaders in Mauritania to counter extremism: Thirty African leaders held a closed-door meeting Sunday to discuss ways to fight extremism and corruption at the 31st African Union summit being held in Mauritania’s capital. As the meeting was being held, neighboring Mali had three extremist attacks on military targets in three days. Africa urgently needs a comprehensive approach to deal with extremist attacks that takes into account the cultural and economic issues that are the root causes of the violence, said Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz. “The success of this approach entails the integration of solutions to the imbalances and the economic and social shortcomings that push our young people to become radicalized,” he said. The Mauritanian head of state also stressed that Africa must stamp out corruption in order to spur development and for the well-being of the continent’s people. Rwandan President Paul Kagame, who is also the current president of the African Union, affirmed the organization’s support to the people of Ethiopia, Nigeria and Mali against extremist violence.
washingtonpost.com
Peace deal for South Sudan is signed: The president of South Sudan and his former vice president have signed a peace deal in a bid to end their country’s protracted civil war. The rivals — President Salva Kiir and former Vice President Riek Machar, who leads the largest rebel group fighting the government — met for the first time in two years last week. The civil war has lasted for more than four years and has plunged South Sudan, the world’s youngest country, into a humanitarian crisis. The framework agreement comes ahead of a final settlement and would allow access for humanitarian aid, prisoners to be freed and a transitional unity government to be formed after four months, Sudanese Foreign Minister Al-Dirdiri Mohamed Ahmed said.
nytimes.com, af.reuters.com
Algeria Expelling Thousands Of Migrants Into Sahara, With Deadly Effect npr.org
Islamist militants attack African military base in Mali, at least six dead reuters.com
DR Congo approves oil drilling in Unesco World Heritage Sites that home endangered gorillas independent.co.uk
– BACKGROUND –
VW opens Rwanda’s first car plant: Rwanda’s first domestically built car rolled off the assembly line at Volkswagen’s new factory in Kigali on Wednesday as Europe’s biggest carmaker taps into demand for ride-sharing to expand in the region. Despite low levels of car ownership in Rwanda, Volkswagen hopes to both sell vehicles and use them in an Uber-like car-sharing system that will allow people to book rides using their smartphones. VW has started a community car-sharing service mainly aimed at companies in Kigali and plans to launch a ride-hailing offering later this year. The Polo is the first model being made at the site and the German automaker plans to reach annual production of 5,000 cars in the first phase, by also building its Passat, Tiguan, Amarok and Teramont models. „Deliveries come in and we put them into production as materials come in and as the demand comes in“, VW’s South Africa boss Thomas Schaefer said at the launch event in Kigali. President Paul Kagame, who attended the event, said it was an important step for the country.
euronews.com
Poverty and inequality major ingredients in supermarket supply chains: Millions of women and men who produce our food are trapped in poverty and face brutal working conditions, despite billion-dollar profits in the food industry, reveals a new report published by Oxfam. The report also assesses the policies and practices of some of the biggest supermarkets in Europe and the United States – all of which score poorly on issues such as the treatment of workers and producers in their supply chains. The findings show that supermarkets keep an increasing amount of the money their consumers spend, while the share that reaches workers and food producers has fallen. For some products, such as Indian tea and Kenyan green beans, the average earnings of small-scale farmers or workers was found to be less than half of what was needed to ensure a basic but decent standard of living. While many workers and smallholder farmers live in poverty, the eight largest publicly-owned supermarket chains generated nearly a trillion dollars in sales.
oxfam.org
– NUMBER –
Close to one million people are believed to be displaced around Gedeo and West Guji Zones in Ethiopia due to escalating inter-communal violence since early June 2018.
reliefweb.int
– QUOTE –
„One should not give the impression that neo-colonialism is currently being practiced here.“
EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has warned that leaders in Brussels should not decide for North African countries because it would amount to neo-colonialism.
euobserver.com
– AT LAST –
Africa’s performance at the World Cup in Russia: As dreaded, Senegal failed to hold off Colombia in their last group game on Thursday and were consequently knocked out of the World Cup in Russia, confirming the elimination of all five African representatives. Despite the fact that Africa has produced some of the best talent to play in European leagues, and a standing prediction by Brazil football legend Pele that an African team would win the World Cup by 2000, the wait is still on. Algeria and Nigeria advanced in Brazil four years ago, but the latest batch of African sides have produced a poorer return.
africanews.com