US Spending Legislation Incorporates Sahara; Morocco Applauds
President Donald Trump on Friday signed into law the 2019 appropriation legislation that stipulates explicitly that the assistance funds allocated to Morocco will also benefit the Sahara. Morocco welcomed the text, which recognizes Morocco’s sovereignty over its Sahara southern provinces, as it is unequivocally pro-Morocco and unusually forthcoming on US development funds for the Sahara. It reiterates Morocco’s position that the Sahara should be considered as part of the US aids funds allocated to Morocco. “Funds appropriated under title III of this Act shall be made available for assistance for the Western Sahara,” reads the bill’s “Morocco” section. It noted that these provisions refer to the documented diversions and trafficking of international aid destined to the populations of these camps.
Source:The North Africa Journal
February 16, 2019 14:03 UTC
Morocco Hosts MENA Business Aviation Show 2019
The Middle East & North Africa Business Aviation Association (MEBAA) will organize in Marrakech Sept.25-26 its business aviation show 2019. The holding of this show in Morocco confirms the country’s position in the business aviation sector and its promising development potential. Business aviation flights to Africa are growing. In MENA region, the number of business aircraft is expected to reach 175,000 by 2020. This sharp increase is due to the region’s thriving economies, notably Morocco and an expanding wealthy elite using business aircraft in increasing numbers.
Source:The North Africa Journal
February 16, 2019 09:00 UTC
Ad-hoc Corps members revolt for the harsh conditions and neglect by INEC
Corpers are being harassed by INEC who substituted corpers name for indegene in Remo North local Govt Ogun state. It's a serious matter.We were told to go back to our various houses at 11pm dt they don't need us.Hw can we not be needed where we were posted. Fuck u all pic.twitter.com/oRVMCHP7K0
Source:The North Africa Journal
February 16, 2019 07:52 UTC
Nigeria postpones presidential election for one week
Abuja, Feb 16, 2019 – Nigeria’s electoral watchdog on Saturday postponed presidential and parliamentary elections for one week, just hours before polls were due to open. President Muhammadu Buhari is seeking a second term of office, but is facing a stiff challenge from the main opposition candidate, former vice-president Atiku Abubakar. But the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, said after late night emergency talks that the timetable was “no longer feasible. Parliamentary elections for 360 seats in the lower House of Représentatives and 109 seats in the Senate will be held on the same day. Nigeria postponed voting just one week before it was due to be held at the last election in 2015, citing security concerns linked to the Boko Haram insurgency.
Source:The North Africa Journal
February 16, 2019 02:26 UTC
2019 Election: Inec Replaces Card Readers Burnt In Anambra
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has said that it has replaced the burnt card readers and other sensitive materials that were destroyed in a fire at its office in Anambra state. INEC had said that over 4, 000 card readers were destroyed in the fire. In a statement on its Twitter handle on Thursday, the Commission said its office in Anambra State replaced card readers for 14 LGAs, adding that they have been configured and delivered. The electoral umpire said it is working hard on the remaining 7 LGAs – Ayamelum, Ogbaru, Idemili North, Idemili South, Aguata, Awka North and Oyi. A spokesman for the Commission, Festus Okoye, had disclosed on Tuesday said that immediate measures to ameliorate the situation in Anambra including the mopping up of some spare card readers from other states were already in progress.
Source:The North Africa Journal
February 15, 2019 20:15 UTC
2019 Election: Rec Declares Ballot Papers For Niger East, North Missing
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in Niger State on Friday said that elections for the senatorial positions of Niger East and Niger North may not hold on Saturday as the ballot papers meant for the zone were missing. Prof. Samuel Egwu, Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, made the declaration while interacting with newsmen in Minna. “The issue has been reported to the INEC’s Headquarters in Abuja for urgent attention. He said that the Commission trained 23,000 ad hoc staff for the elections in the state. The REC also said that 2,181,400 eligible voters would participate during the general elections in the state.
Source:The North Africa Journal
February 15, 2019 18:33 UTC
King Felipe VI upbeat about Morocco-Spain Alliance
Such an alliance is likely to bring closer the two shores of the Mediterranean as well as the European and African continents, the Spanish king pointed out. In this connection, King Felipe VI welcomed the “progress made by Morocco in modernizing its economy, its infrastructure and its institutions”, recalling that the North African Kingdom has gained 60 places in 7 years in Doing Business ranking. This economic forum, bringing together investors and businessmen from both countries, will further develop the Spanish-Moroccan ties as well as trade between the two countries, King Felipe VI said. Analysts explained that the fact that King Felipe VI has visited Morocco twice in less than five years, the first visit having taken place in 2014, attests that he is keen on strengthening ties between the two countries. The second royal visit was marked by talks with King Mohammed VI and by the signing of eleven cooperation agreements.
Source:The North Africa Journal
February 15, 2019 18:11 UTC
Cameroon: 187 ex-Boko Haram fighters surrender arms
The government said on Thursday that nearly two hundred Cameroonians who were members of Nigeria’s Boko Haram jihadist group have returned home and surrendered to the authorities after breaking with the organization. Provincial Governor Midjiyawa Bakari said a total of one hundred and eighty-seven former jihadists from the district of Mayo-Sava, in Cameroon’s Far North province, gave themselves up, many of them returning from Nigeria on foot. After surrendering to the authorities in the towns of Kolofata and Meme, they were enrolled in a programme to reintegrate them into society. They were taken on Wednesday to a base of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MMF), an anti-Boko Haram force combining soldiers from Chad, Cameroon, Niger, and Nigeria, he added. Boko Haram’s nearly 10-year insurgency is epicentred in northeast Nigeria, but spilled over into Niger and Cameroon as well as the Far North province.
Source:The North Africa Journal
February 15, 2019 16:41 UTC
Libya: Washington debunks involvement in raid on al-Qaeda
The USA Thursday refuted statement by the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) that it conducted in coordination with the Tripoli-based administration a raid on some al-Qaeda fighters, in southern Libya. The US military command headquartered in Germany, Stuttgart, in a statement said it did not take part in the operation announced on Wednesday by spokesman for GNA leader Faiez Serraj, Mohamed El Sallak. “US Africa Command was not involved in the reported raid of an al-Qaeda site in Ubari, Libya, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2019,” the command said in the statement. The US military command has since the GNA’s establishment in capital, in March 2016, brought support to the weak government. The command backed the GNA-aligned forces to derail Islamic State group (ISIS) fighters in the city of Sirte that the terror group turned into his stronghold in the region.
Source:The North Africa Journal
February 15, 2019 13:52 UTC
Anambra police station burnt down, IPOB fingered
A police station in Ajali, Orumba North Local Government Area of Anambra State, has been burnt down and several policemen were beaten up before the station was set ablaze. Several detainees were said to have been released by the arsonists suspected to be members of the Indigenous People of Biafra. The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Haruna Mohammed, said in a statement that the Commissioner of Police, Mustapha Dandaura, is presently at the scene for an on-the-spot assessment and has ordered the Deputy Commissioner in charge of the Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department to conduct a thorough investigation in order to ascertain the circumstances surrounding the incident.”Meanwhile the police said it was “a case of fire incident for now until the contrary is proved through discreet investigation.”
Source:The North Africa Journal
February 15, 2019 09:45 UTC
FAO sounds alarm on Desert Locust outbreak in northeast Africa and Saudi Arabia triggered by heavy rains
CNBC Africa provides content from APO Group as a service to its readers, but does not edit the articles it publishes. Download logoHeavy rains and cyclones have triggered a recent surge in Desert Locust populations, causing an outbreak to develop in Sudan and Eritrea that is rapidly spreading along both sides of the Red Sea to Saudi Arabia and Egypt, FAO warned today. At least one swarm crossed the Red Sea to the northern coast of Saudi Arabia in mid-January, followed by additional migrations about one week later. There is a moderate risk that some swarms will continue crossing the Red Sea to the coastal and interior areas of Saudi Arabia. Adult locust swarms can fly up to 150 km a day with the wind.
Source:The North Africa Journal
February 15, 2019 09:11 UTC
Nigeria shuts borders, warns foreigners against poll fraud
Nigeria shuts borders, warns foreigners against poll fraudfrom EMEKA OKONKWO in Abuja, NigeriaABUJA, (CAJ News) – NIGERIA has closed its borders ahead of elections scheduled for Saturday. It has also warned foreign nationals not to fraudulently participate in the exercise. The public is to take note and ensure compliance,” said Muhammad Babandede, Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) Comptroller General. Nigeria borders Niger in the north, Chad in the northeast, Cameroon in the southeast, and Benin in the west. The Situation Room will function 24 hours and be opened to receive situation reports/complaints of all events concerning the election.
Source:The North Africa Journal
February 15, 2019 07:07 UTC
CAF Awarded Another Rail Project In Australia
Transport for New South Wales has awarded Momentum Trains consortium comprised of CAF, Pacific Partnership and DIF Infrastructure V, an availability based public private partnership contract to supply and maintain for 15 years the new regional train fleet for New South Wales (NSW). In addition, CAF is also providing equity financing and the first units expected to be commissioned for revenue service in 2022. With a population of over 7 million, New South Wales is one of the six states of Australia and Sydney is its capital city. With this project the NSW government sets out to replace the old regional train fleet with new trains to improve passenger safety and comfort for regional and intercity rail services to the cities of Canberra, Melbourne and Brisbane. Late last year, the same transport authority awarded CAF, as part of the Great River City Rail Light Consortium, the contract to supply, operate and maintain for an initial term of eight years thirteen URBOS 100 LRVs, maintenance facilities and systems for the Parramatta light rail line.
Source:The North Africa Journal
February 15, 2019 04:18 UTC
Top 10 Most Important Presidential Elections in Africa This Year
1 NIGERIAGeneral elections will be held in Nigeria on 16 February 2019 to elect the President, Vice President and the National Assembly. They will be the sixth quadrennial elections since the end of military rule in 1999. President Muhammadu Buhari, 76, is seeking re-election and is up against his former ally turned rival Atiku Abubakar, 72, who served as Nigeria’s vice president between 1999 and 2007. The President of Nigeria is elected using a simple majority of votes cast, as well as over 25% of the votes in 27 of the 36 states. The 360 members of the House of Representatives are elected to 4-year terms, concurrent with the president, using first-past-the-post voting in single-member constituencies.
Source:The North Africa Journal
February 14, 2019 23:37 UTC
North Africa seen as unsafe for LGBT people: rights groups
Read more: Homosexual Afghan not 'gay enough' for asylum in Austria'Afraid they'll get arrested'Mounir Baatour, head of the Tunisian LGBT human rights organization Shams, told DW that such cases aren't uncommon. All three Maghreb states list homosexual acts as a punishable offense, for both men and women. "This is an absolute violation of human rights," said Amtsberg. Speaking with DW, Amtsberg said her party was not doing this simply so that German human rights policy remains credible. She argues that if countries with questionable human rights records are labeled as safe, it would basically enable governments to whitewash any violations.
Source:The North Africa Journal
February 14, 2019 20:48 UTC