Germany to begin constructing Egypt's first military submarine

December 3, 2016

Germany is to start building the first Egyptian military submarine this month, the Egyptian ambassador to Berlin, Bader Abdel-Ati announced yesterday.

In a press conference, Abdel-Ati said that the mutual relationship between Egypt and Germany became stronger and reinforced when Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi became president of Egypt.

He said that there had been an increase in the number of official visits between the two countries as Germany and Europe are convinced that the EU’s stability is highly connected with Egypt’s own.

“Currently, Egypt builds its relations with Germany and the EU on the basis of a strategic partnership, not on the basis of a giver to a recipient,” the Egyptian ambassador said.

In addition, he said that there is mutual cooperation in several sectors, including education and tourism, believing that Egypt has “big opportunities.”

Abdel-Ati claimed that the German Central Bank said during the G20 summit that “Egyptian economic decisions are courageous and unprecedented because they treat the roots of the economic crisis…This proves the political will [in Egypt] is credible.”

As a sign of improving Egyptian-German relations, the ambassador said that German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Al-Sisi met five times in the last year and a half, while her deputy visited Egypt three times this year.

He noted that 100 German businessmen had visited Egypt recently, adding that mutual meetings between for officials from both countries are continuous.

Source: Middle East Monitor.
Link: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20161203-germany-to-begin-constructing-egypts-first-military-submarine/.

France's court annuls Kazakh banker's extradition to Russia

December 10, 2016

PARIS (AP) — A top French court refused to hand over a Kazakh banker-turned-dissident to Russia despite accusations he embezzled millions, saying it considered the extradition request from Moscow to be "politically motivated."

Hours after Friday's ruling, Mukhtar Ablyazov walked free from a French prison, hugging his son, brother and lawyer. It was a surprise twist in a winding legal saga that has lasted years and spanned several countries.

Ablyazov's lawyers had asked France's Council of State to block his extradition, fearing Russia would quickly send him back to Kazakhstan. The Council of State noted in its decision that the Kazakh and Russian authorities have "repeatedly" held consultations on Ablyazov's case. Requests for the return of criminal suspects can be rejected if they are judged to be politically motivated.

A former energy minister who founded an opposition party in Kazakhstan, he was charged by Kazakh authorities with stealing billions of tenge from a bank he founded, BTA. Russia, a close ally of Kazakhstan, says its citizens were also defrauded in the collapse of the bank.

There was no immediate reaction to the ruling from BTA or Russian or Kazakh authorities. "We are thrilled with the result today," Ablyazov's lawyer, Peter Sahlas, told The Associated Press. "This is a huge step forward for human rights law in France and Europe."

Last year, France's top appeals court, the Court of Cassation, had approved Ablyazov's extradition. The French government signed an extradition decree in September 2015, but Ablyazov appealed to the Council of State, France's highest administrative body.

Ablyazov didn't speak about his ordeal after being released from the Fleury-Merogis prison outside Paris late Friday night. His 24-year-old son Madiyar couldn't contain his emotions. "Oh wow, we just feel so great. It is so unexpected today," he said. "We are so glad to have Dad back finally ... It's the best New Year's present."

Ablyazov's lawyers argued he was being pursued because of his activities as an opposition leader in autocratic Kazakhstan, and feared he would not get a fair trial in Russia or Ukraine. They also suspected he could be eventually transferred to Kazakhstan.

The banker fled Kazakhstan amid the nationalization of BTA Bank. He was arrested in southern France in 2013 on embezzlement allegations. Both Russia and Ukraine have requested his extradition. France has no extradition agreement with Kazakhstan.

Schaeffer reported from Fleury-Merogis.

EU, Cuba sign cooperation pact, vow Trump will not hurt ties

December 12, 2016

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union and Cuba signed a first-ever agreement on closer ties on Monday, and vowed that the arrival in office of U.S. president-elect Donald Trump would not impact on their future relations.

"This is a historic day, we've turned a page. Today we're starting to write together a new chapter," said EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini as the 28-nation EU's top diplomats and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez signed the pact in Brussels.

The accord, aimed at supporting economic development and promoting democracy and human rights on the island, will form the legal platform for future ties between Brussels and Havana. The EU's official stance toward Cuba dates from 1996.

Rodriguez said the priority would be to develop the Cuban economy, but he noted "one major obstacle to trade relations between the EU and Cuba" — the U.S. economic and financial blockade. "We'll have to see how things develop. But we very much hope that relations between the European Union and Cuba will continue to grow and enrich both sides," he said, adding that ties "between the EU and Cuba do not go by Washington."

Mogherini said the agreement is the result of a long process and that Trump's inauguration in January "will not affect in any way relations between the European Union and Cuba." She also underlined that "the European Union has raised concerns about the extraterritorial effect of U.S. sanctions on Cuba. We will continue to do so because we believe that this is not only in the interest of the island and its people — all of them — but most of all in our case, it's in the interest of Europeans to tackle this issue."

Cuba puts the total cost of the 55-year-old embargo at $125.9 billion, including $4.6 billion last year. The new pact must now be ratified by national and regional parliaments in all EU member states before it can enter completely into force, although the bloc has decided to provisionally apply parts of it immediately.

Donald Trump: I'll solve the Dakota Access pipeline question

By Daniel J. Graeber
Dec. 12, 2016

NEW YORK, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- If it's not "solved" by the time he's scheduled to take office in January, the U.S. president-elect vowed quick action on the Dakota Access oil pipeline.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in early December said it would not approve an easement for further construction on the pipeline to bridge Lake Oahe in North Dakota. Jo-Ellen Darcy, an Army assistant secretary for civil works, said the decision stemmed in part from water-quality concerns expressed by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in North Dakota.

State regulators and industry leaders say there's not enough pipeline capacity to carry all of the oil produced from the region, leaving rail as the primary alternate transport method. Several derailments of trains carrying oil from North Dakota proved deadly over the past few years.

Donald Trump, who is slated to assume the U.S. presidency in mid-January, told Fox News during the weekend he'd step into the process if it's required.

"Let me not answer the Dakota [oil pipeline question] because perhaps that'll be solved by the time I get there, so I don't have to create enemies on one side or the other," he said. "But I will tell you when I get to office, if it's not solved, I'll have it solved very quickly."

He did not elaborate on what "solved" implied.

Energy Transfer Partners, a company in which Trump once invested, and Sunoco Logistics Partners, the two companies behind the pipeline's construction, said the decision from the Army Corps of Engineers was a delay tactic from President Barack Obama, whose administration ruled against the Keystone XL oil pipeline on environmental grounds.

Pipeline developers are pressing their case in court, pointing to July permits from the Army Corps for construction in the area of concern. According to a report in The Hill, a judge in the District Court for the District of Columbia said additional briefs from both the tribes working to halt construction and the companies behind the projects are due in February.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Donald-Trump-Ill-solve-the-Dakota-Access-pipeline-question/2841481539265/.

EU warns of possible new sanctions in South Sudan

December 12, 2016

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union says it stands ready to impose fresh sanctions against anyone who incites ethnic hatred, obstructs the peace process or stops U.N agencies from doing their work in South Sudan.

EU foreign ministers said in a statement Monday that they are "profoundly disturbed" by intensifying conflict five years after South Sudan gained independence. They called on the transitional government to protect civilians, and for all parties to respect international law and bring an end to human rights violations.

The U.N. recently warned that South Sudan is at risk of genocide and that ethnic cleansing is being carried out in several parts of the country. Tens of thousands have been killed and more than 2 million people displaced by the civil war.

Nigerian church collapses, 160 dead, says hospital director

December 11, 2016

WARRI, Nigeria (AP) — Mortuaries overflowed with bodies Sunday from a church collapse in southern Nigeria that killed at least 160 people, and worshippers said construction of the building had been rushed.

Hundreds had been inside the Reigners Bible Church International in the city of Uyo on Saturday for the consecration of founder Akan Weeks as its bishop when the metal girders fell and the corrugated iron roof caved in.

Screaming survivors streamed out amid cries from the injured inside. "There were trapped bodies, parts of bodies, blood all over the place and people's handbags and shoes scattered," said computer analyst Ukeme Eyibio.

Officials feared the death toll could rise. Weeks and Akwa Ibom state Gov. Udom Emmanuel were among the survivors. Eyibio had parked his car outside the complex to make a phone call when he heard a deafening crash and saw that the church had disappeared.

He and three others dragged 10 injured people from an overflow area for worshippers just outside the collapsed church. They did not enter the main structure because a construction worker warned it was not safe.

The worker called his boss at Julius Berger construction company, which sent a crane to help lift debris off bodies. While they waited for the crane, Eyibio helped a man whose legs were trapped under a girder.

"I rushed to my car, got out the tire jack and used that to get the beam off his legs," the 27-year-old said by telephone. "We managed to get him out, but we saw others dying all around us," he added. "I'm so traumatized I could not sleep last night for the horrors repeating themselves in my mind."

Mortuaries in Uyo were overwhelmed by the disaster, medical director Etete Peters of the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital told The Associated Press. Many of the dead were taken to private mortuaries scattered across the city, said youth leader Edikan Peters. Some people were taking the bodies of relatives to their homes because of the overcrowding.

Peters said he counted 90 bodies removed from the church before he was stold to stop his tally Saturday night. Journalists also said that church officials sought to prevent them from documenting the tragedy, trying to seize cameras and forcing some to leave the area.

The church had been still under construction and workers had been rushing to finish it in time for Saturday's ceremony, congregants said. The governor's spokesman, Ekerete Udoh, said the state government will investigate if any building standards were compromised.

Buildings collapse often in Nigeria because of endemic corruption, with contractors using substandard materials and bribing inspectors to ignore shoddy work or a lack of permits. In 2014, 116 people died when a multistory guesthouse of the Synagogue Church of All Nations collapsed in Lagos, Nigeria's largest city. Most victims were visiting South African followers of the megachurch's influential founder T.B. Joshua.

Two structural engineers, Joshua and church trustees were accused of criminal negligence and involuntary manslaughter after a coroner found the building collapsed from structural failures caused by design and detailing errors. Efforts to bring them to court have been foiled by repeated legal challenges.

Faul reported from Lagos, Nigeria

Kenya president: International Criminal Court not impartial

December 12, 2016

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenya's president on Monday criticized the International Criminal Court as "not impartial," saying his government "will give serious thought" to its membership of the court. In a speech during celebrations marking 53 years since Kenya became independent, President Uhuru Kenyatta said he believed he would win a second term next year despite what he called "divisive politicians, external powers, the ICC or paid protesters."

Kenyatta was elected in 2013 as he and his running mate, William Ruto, faced criminal charges at the ICC over their alleged roles in post-election violence in 2007-2008. The charges against Kenyatta were withdrawn in 2014 while the case against Ruto was terminated earlier this year.

"In our pursuit of a more stable and just order, we are champions of global institutions grounded in fairness and respect for national sovereignty," Kenyatta said Monday. "The Kenyan cases at the International Criminal Court have ended but the experience has given us cause to observe that this institution has become a tool of global power politics and not the justice it was built to dispense."

He added: "We have started to see many more nations openly recognizing that the ICC is not impartial. Some have withdrawn. Others have considered that step. Twice, our parliament has passed motions to withdraw. We have sought the changes that will align the ICC to respect national sovereignty. Those changes have not been forthcoming. We will therefore need to give serious thought to our membership."

South Africa, Burundi and Gambia have announced plans to withdraw from The Hague-based court. Meanwhile, Kenyan police fired tear gas on Monday to disperse a protest march against government corruption.

The march was part of a protest movement by activists who want the government to do more to stem what they charge is rampant graft within the administration. Police arrested at least three protesters in the capital, Nairobi, when they broke up the demonstration. The group later reunited at another location and resumed the march.

Kenya is considered to be among the world's most corrupt countries, ranking 139 out of 168 countries in a 2015 index by Transparency International.