Sep 1-15, 2017
West Asia
Saudi Crackdown on Activists
Saudi authorities have arrested a number of prominent personalities, without justification, in what is being termed as an apparent crackdown on peaceful protests. Saudi Arabia, on 15 September 2017, witnessed calls over social media network Twitter to gather in a protest against the ruling family and power politics to demand action on social issues, women’s right and political prisoners’ issue. The movement was known as “Hirak September 15”. According to its Twitter page, it said that the movement “represents every citizen who is gravely concerned about his homeland and thinks its sovereignty is under the control of the United Arab Emirates and Egypt and that his dignity has been trampled on by Trump.” The movement was reportedly backed by a number of well-known opposition activists such as exiled Saudi dissident Ghanem Al Dosari and anonymous whistleblower Mujtahid, known for his tweet about the inner secrets of Riyadh’s royal court.
Since early June, Saudi activists have attempted to organize similar protests but have failed to gather large crowds, since demonstrations are banned in Saudi Arabia.
UN World Food Programme says Saudi Arabia should Fund all Humanitarian Aid to Yemen
A top United Nations official said Saudi Arabia alone should fund steps to tackle widespread disease and hunger besetting Yemen, where the kingdom has been leading a military campaign for two and a half years. Comments by David Beasley, Executive Director of the World Food Programme, were unusually forthright for such a U.N. official in criticizing one party in a conflict. Calling for an end to the coalition’s campaign, he accused the Saudi-led coalition of hampering provision of aid. He said that, “Saudi Arabia should fund 100 percent (of the needs) of the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.”
Israeli PM Supports a Legitimate Process for Independent Kurdistan
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently became the first head of state to support a “legitimate” process for the independence of Kurdistan. He recently announced his country's support for the establishment of a state for the people of Kurdistan. In a statement from the office of PM, "While Israel rejects terror in any form, it supports the legitimate efforts of the Kurdish people to attain a state of its own,". Other heads of state have been hesitant to express full support for the Kurdish bids for independence. Netanyahu also made clear that he was not referring to the efforts by the PKK to establish statehood in Turkey.
Qatar Crisis: President Trump to Extend a Helping Hand in Resolving the Qatar dispute
US President Donald Trump said he was willing to "help mediate" in the ongoing Gulf dispute and claimed he would have a deal worked out "quickly" to end the Saudi-led blockade on Qatar, a crisis he has previously taken credit for starting after claiming Qatar was a sponsor of terrorism. His comments came in a joint news conference with the Kuwaiti emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, in Washington on 7 September 2017. Trump said Kuwait was helping the United States in the Gulf and things were "coming along nicely". He said that "if I can help mediate between Qatar and, in particular, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, I would be willing to do so, and I think you would have a deal worked out very quickly".
CAR
Nothing substantial to report.
Africa
Somalia Seeks Help of the United States as Militants Plot to Supply Uranium to Iran
The Fox News, along with Iran Focus, unveiled that the Somali government has asked the United States to provide immediate military assistance, as they are of the opinion that al-Shabab militants are plotting to supply uranium to Iran. Al-shabaab stems from a Salafi-Wahhabi strand of Sunni Islam. The Somali Foreign Minister Yusuf Omar mentioned that the militant group has captured a significant surface exposed uranium deposit in the central region of Somali. They further intend to transport the uranium to Iran. The Somali Foreign Minister in a letter to the U.S. Ambassador to Somalia said that al-Shabab is seizing territory in central Somalia and the group is linking up with Islamic State militants in the country. In the letter, the foreign minister mentioned that only the United States has the capacity to identify and smash al-Shabab elements operating within the country. The U.S. has a small number of military advisers helping and training special forces in Somalia.
Soon after the outbreak of this news the Stimson center revealed that A-Shabaab is not Mining Uranium in Somalia to Sell to Iran and it’s just a misconception. The letter’s claim that Al-Shabaab, an Islamist militant group allied to al-Qaeda, is “strip mining triuranium octoxide” from “captured critical surface exposed uranium deposits in the Galmudug region” would suppose first that Al-Shabaab has an interest in excavating the land for uranium, and secondly possesses large industrial equipment, dump trucks, solvents and know-how to break and crush ore to extract and separate out uranium, and then process it into a concentrate form for transport. No extremist group is known to have the resources for a mining operation even after taking over an already operational mine, nor would such an operation go unnoticed by intelligence agencies (Cindy Vestergaard, Stimson center).
India Invests US $ 10 Billion in Africa as Nigeria Seeks Information and Communications Technology Growth
It is through the Indo-Africa trade arrangement that India has facilitated an investment worth $10 billion to the African Continent in the last few years. These investments have further brought India closer to Africa. An Indo-Africa Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Expo themed ‘Digital Vision of Developing Nations’ was organised by the Telecom Equipment and Services Export Promotion Council (TEPC) in partnership with National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) in Lagos. ICT remained the key area for global development being an enabler of all other growths. The Director-General of TEPC mentioned that Digital Transformation is the need of the time for all the developing world and nations in Africa and India to share their experiences on embracing digital technologies, digital competencies, digital literacy for re-inventing lives, and changes covering all aspects of human society in the respective nations. During the meet the Nigeria's Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu also called for greater collaboration with India to boost the country's ICT sector.
Kenya to Hold Fresh Presidential Election on 17th October
The Supreme Court in Kenya has overturned the result of last month's poll that declared President Kenyatta the winner. The electoral commission has announced that the country's new presidential elections will take place on October 17, 2017. It was Chief Justice David Maraga who cancelled the results of the August poll, saying that the election commission had failed to hold a legitimate election and that the results were invalid, null and void. He added that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) had committed irregularities and illegalities in the transmission of results from polling stations to the national tally centre.
World Bank Approves US $ 50 Million Humanitarian Aid to South Sudan
To address food insecurity and malnutrition in South Sudan, the World Bank has given $ 50 million to the country. Across the country, more than 1.1 million children were estimated to suffer from malnutrition, with almost 290,000 severely malnourished and in need of urgent humanitarian aid. Half of South Sudan's population is struggling to feed itself and more than one million children are suffering from acute malnutrition. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Representative in South Sudan said that with the funding from World Bank, the country can work towards a sustainable future by supporting the most vulnerable farmers, pastoralists and fisherfolk rebuild their livelihoods. The World Bank, through this contribution, is supporting the government's South Sudan Emergency Food and Nutrition Security Project to ensure an integrated response to crisis levels of food insecurity and malnutrition across South Sudan.
