European Parliament calls for arms embargo against Saudi Arabia

EU officials have called on Brussels to stop shipping weapons to Saudi Arabia. The move is in response to alleged human rights violations committed by Riyadh in neighboring Yemen.

Deutsche Welle, 25 February 2016

European lawmakers called on Thursday for the EU's foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini to approve an arms embargo against Riyadh in response to the government's involvement in the ongoing war in Yemen.

The European Parliament's resolution followed a petition signed by 750,000 European citizens calling for an end to weapons sales. The resolution would not be legally binding, but officials hope that it would dissuade countries like Britain and France, who are the two main European exporters of arms to Saudi Arabia. Earlier this year, Germany announced it would look harder at its decision to export arms to Saudi Arabia.

"This is about Yemen. The human rights violations have reached a level that means Europe is obliged to act and to end arms sales to Saudi Arabia," said British lawmaker Richard Howitt, according to Reuters news agency.

Calls to end the war

Saudi Arabia and its Sunni Arab allies intervened in Yemen last year after a Houthi rebel uprising led to a wider war that has claimed the lives of some 6,000 people.

Riyadh buys most of its weapons from the United States, and the EU-wide embargo would go against Washington's policy of aiding the Sunni Arabs in the fight to help the internationally recognized government retake swathes of territory back from the rebel and al Qaeda factions that have divvied up the country.

Some EU officials also warned that an embargo could trigger a backlash from Riyadh. Howitt, for instance, said the Saudis had threatened to cut off relations with the EU in response.

blc/sms (Reuters, AFP)

Related Article:

Russia vows to ensure Damascus observes ceasefire: Putin

African leaders seek investments despite 'terror' threat

Yahoo – AFP, Jay Deshmukh, February 20, 2016

Egyptin secuity forces stand guard outside the conference hall in the Red Sea 

resort of Sharm el-Sheikh during the Africa 2016 forum on February 20, 2016

(AFP Photo/Mohamed El-Shahed)

Sharm el Sheikh (Egypt) (AFP) - African leaders and bankers vowed at an economic summit in Egypt Saturday to push for trade and investments on the continent despite the growing threat of "terrorism" in the region.

More than 1,200 delegates including some heads of state were in talks to sign business agreements during the two-day summit at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, aimed at attracting private sector investment.

Organisers hope the "Africa 2016" conference can build on a 26-nation free trade pact signed last year to create a common market on half of the continent.

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi

attends the Africa 2016 forum on 

February 20, 2016, in the Red Sea resort 

of Sharm el-Sheikh (AFP Photo/

Mohamed El-Shahed)

Analysts say that despite an economic growth rate of more than four percent, Africa still accounts for about only two percent of global trade.

The forum was aimed at "pushing forward trade and investment in our continent to strengthen Africa's place in the world economy", Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said in opening remarks.

Sisi said the conference aims to present investment opportunities in Africa and "open a direct channel of communication and cooperation" between African businessmen and overseas investors.

Organisers are also seeking to turn the spotlight on Egypt's sluggish economy after years of political turmoil following the ouster of longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak in early 2011.

Heavily dependent on tourism, Egypt's economy was dealt a body blow when a Russian airliner broke up in mid-air last October 31, minutes after taking off from Sharm el-Sheikh.

All 224 people on board, mostly Russian tourists, were killed when the aircraft blew up over the Sinai Peninsula. The jihadist Islamic State group said it brought down the jet with a bomb.

Egypt says it still has no evidence that a bomb downed the plane, although Moscow has acknowledged that a "terrorist attack" caused the disaster.

"Africa 2016 forum is expected to position Egypt as a gateway for foreign investments into African markets," Omar Ben Yedder, a member of the organising committee, told AFP.

Those attending the summit organised by Egypt and the African Union include the presidents of Sudan, Nigeria, Togo, and Gabon, and dozens of African ministers and senior trade and investment officials.

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi delivers a speech during the Africa 2016 forum

 on February 20, 2016, in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh (AFP Photo/

Mohamed el-Shahed)

Security concerns

African investors should spearhead growth in the continent, which can come from developing the region's infrastructure, some delegates said.

"When our own people invest then other investors get convinced," said Sindiso Ngwenya, head of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).

He added that trade and investments within COMESA had surged from $837 million in 2007 to $12 billion currently.

Officials said a robust railway network could further propel growth.

"Rail will do to Africa what it did to agriculture in Asia and even in America. If you have power and rail, Africa will explode," Benedict Oramah, president of African Export-Import Bank, told AFP.

But rising terrorism and falling commodity prices pose challenges to growth.

"The new problem affecting investments is international terrorism... lot of resources that could be used for development are being diverted to address security issues," Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said.

Nigeria, Africa's largest economy, is fighting a brutal insurgency launched by Boko Haram in 2009.

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir 

and Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari attend the Africa 2016 forum on

February 20, 2016, in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh (AFP Photo/

Mohamed El-Shahed)

Boko Haram, which wants a hardline Islamic state in northern Nigeria, has killed some 17,000 people and forced more than 2.6 million others to flee their homes since the insurgency began.

Bankers say despite these challenges, the continent remains an investment destination.

"We plan to invest 12 billion dollars in the energy sector over the next five years... so that people in Africa can have universal access to electricity," Africa Development Bank president Akinwumi Adesina told AFP.

The continent still has 645 million people without access to electricity, he said, and the only way to address the issue is to widen private sector participation in the energy sector.

Africa's economy is projected to grow by 4.4 percent this year and five percent in 2017 as against three percent growth expected in developed countries, he said.

"Africa is doing well despite the challenges it is facing," Adesina said.

Related Articles:

"The Dysfunction of Darkness" - Nov 14, 2015 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Reference to Paris/ISIS/Dark-Old Energy/USA+Warning for Governments around the World !!!) - (Text version) New

“…  The Dark Menace is Here

I have been giving you messages of the recalibration of dark and light for years:

"Civilization itself is at stake within this movement, and you've passed the marker - an alignment that many said would never happen. This is the fifth time you've been through this opportunity and now, dear ones, you're headed for the potential of peace on Earth. Twenty-three years ago, we told you this could happen and that the potentials were strong for it. Now, all that is around you is struggling with it, for the shift is here. I'll say this over and over: The old energy of darkness dies hard, screaming and struggling to keep what it has had, and it struggles with its own demise. So that is the energy we speak of now, and the subject is the Human consciousness balance between dark and light."

Kryon, Feb 2012, San Antonio, TX (*)

Over a year ago, I also gave you predictions that the coming change will be different from anything you have ever expected. (**) There is darkness that has come together on this planet, and we told you it would increase. It is a response to the light that you have turned on. It is fighting for its own life within the old energy. A consciousness of darkness has always prevailed on the planet. Corruption and greed, and uncaring death, have always been the way of an older Human nature. Suddenly, in this precession of the equinoxes, the prophecies are starting to come true. The end of the indigenous calendars predicted it, and it's here.

The metaphor is clear. Light is starting to be turned on. That is a metaphor for increased awareness - of everything! We told you many years ago that, "When everyone can talk to everyone, there can be no secrets." This was given before the Internet, and now you know what we speak of. This technology is actually a tool for you to fight the darkness. I will show you in a moment. What I give you in this channel may seem impossible. Let me start at the beginning.  …”

"The End of History"- Nov 20, 2010 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) - (Text-Version)

" .... Africa

Let me tell you where else it's happening that you are unaware - that which is the beginning of the unity of the African states. Soon the continent will have what they never had before, and when that continent is healed and there is no AIDS and no major disease, they're going to want what you have. They're going to want houses and schools and an economy that works without corruption. They will be done with small-minded leaders who kill their populations for power in what has been called for generations "The History of Africa." Soon it will be the end of history in Africa, and a new continent will emerge.

Be aware that the strength may not come from the expected areas, for new leadership is brewing. There is so much land there and the population is so ready there, it will be one of the strongest economies on the planet within two generations plus 20 years. And it's going to happen because of a unifying idea put together by a few. These are the potentials of the planet, and the end of history as you know it.

In approximately 70 years, there will be a black man who leads this African continent into affluence and peace. He won't be a president, but rather a planner and a revolutionary economic thinker. He, and a strong woman with him, will implement the plan continent-wide. They will unite. This is the potential and this is the plan. Africa will arise out the ashes of centuries of disease and despair and create a viable economic force with workers who can create good products for the day. You think China is economically strong? China must do what it does, hobbled by the secrecy and bias of the old ways of its own history. As large as it is, it will have to eventually compete with Africa, a land of free thinkers and fast change. China will have a major competitor, one that doesn't have any cultural barriers to the advancement of the free Human spirit.. ...."

Kidjo says 'Africa on rise' in latest Grammy win

Yahoo – AFP, 16 February 2016

Angelique Kidjo recieves the award for the Best World Music Album, Sings, onstage

 during the 58th Annual Grammy music Awards in Los Angeles on February 15, 

2016 (AFP Photo/Robyn Beck)

Los Angeles (AFP) - Angelique Kidjo, one of Africa's most prominent musicians, won her third Grammy on Monday and dedicated it to aspiring artists on the continent.

The Beninese-born singer won the Grammy for Best World Music Album for "Sings," a collection of her songs infused with Western classical traditions in a collaboration with the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg.

This is the second straight year that Kidjo has won the Best World Music Album prize, after last year's "Eve" that paid tribute to African women.

A visibly happy K  by a pit orchestra.

"I want to dedicate this Grammy to all the traditional musicians in Africa, in my country, to all the young generation," Kidjo said.

"Africa is on the rise, Africa is positive, Africa is joyful," she said.

"Let's get together and be one with music, and say no to hate and violence," she said to applause.

The album merges African songwriting and rhythms with European classical instrumentation, a fusion on which Kidjo has repeatedly experimented.

Kidjo described the album as an artistic challenge as traditional African bands follow the lead of the soloist much more closely, unlike Western orchestras that generally play off refined scores.

This is the second straight year that Kidjo has

 won the Best World Music Album prize, after

 last year's "Eve" that paid tribute to African

women (AFP Photo/Frederick M. Brown)

Kidjo, who is based in New York and plans another concert at Carnegie Hall in the upcoming season, said she was open to further work with artists of other genres.

"I work with everyone who believes that music is the tool of peace. For me, music is the only form of art that connects the entire world," she told AFP after accepting the award.

'Open-minded' awards

Kidjo has long worked with Philip Glass, one of the leading living US composers.

Glass notably worked with Kidjo on music set to three poems from Yoruba mythology.

Collaborators on "Sings" include not only classical musicians but the bassist Christian McBride, who separately won his latest Grammy on Monday in the category of Best Improvised Jazz Solo.

Kidjo hailed the Grammys as being increasingly open-minded.

"What astounds me more and more is the openness of spirit by the Grammys compared with other events," she told AFP.

"They are showing musical diversity to the rest of the world," she said. "What is great at the Grammys is to have people who aren't only into commercial things."

The artist with the most nominations at Monday's Grammys is Kendrick Lamar, whose album "To Pimp a Butterfly" has been hailed for its meditative look on the state of black America.

"Sings" beat out a highly innovative Grammy nominee from Africa -- an album by Malawi's Zomba Prison Project.

The 20-track album, arranged by the US producer Ian Brennan, explored the unexpected musical talents of prisoners at a maximum-security prison.

"I am a reformed person, and music has helped me to be cool and deal with the situation of being incarcerated for life," Elias Chimenya, who is serving a life term for killing a man in a quarrel, told AFP earlier in Malawi.

The three others in contention for the World Music Grammy were all previous nominees -- sitarist Anoushka Shankar, Brazilian legend Gilberto Gil and South Africa's Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

Algerian lawmakers adopt reforms, recognise Berber language

Yahoo – AFP, Amer Ouali, February 7, 2016

Algerian parliamentary group leaders applaud during a vote on a package of

 constitutional reforms in the capital Algiers on February 7, 2016 (AFP Photo/Farouk

Batiche, Farouk Batiche)

Algiers (AFP) - Algeria's parliament adopted a package of constitutional reforms Sunday that authorities say will strengthen democracy, but opponents doubt it will bring real change.

The reforms are meant to address longstanding public grievances in the North African nation, and possibly to prepare for a smooth transition amid concerns over the health of 78-year-old President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

The package was passed by 499 votes to two, with 16 abstentions, Senate speaker Abdelkader Bensalah said.

It included a measure to recognise as official the Amazigh language spoken by the indigenous Berber population, alongside Arabic.

A two-term limit on the presidency -- lifted in 2008 to allow Bouteflika to run for a third time -- will be reintroduced and the president will be required to nominate a prime minister from the largest party in parliament.

Bouteflika -- whose public engagements have become rare since suffering a stroke in 2013 -- will be allowed to finish his fourth term, which ends in 2019, and run for a fifth if he wishes.

The package also prevents Algerians with dual nationality from running for high posts in public office, which has sparked criticism among the Franco-Algerian community.

It foresees the creation of an independent electoral commission and recognition of the roles of women and youth. Freedoms of assembly and the press will be explicitly guaranteed.

A man waves the Amazigh flag at the funeral in Ait Ahmed village on January 1, 

2016 of Hocine Ait-Ahmed, a fathers of Algeria's struggle for independence and a 

key opposition figure (AFP Photo/Farouk Batiche)

After the vote, Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal hailed the president as "the architect of the new Algerian republic".

But critics disagree, saying the reforms are little more than a show and will do little to reduce the influence of the powerful elite, including Bouteflika's National Liberation Front party and army generals.

'Constitutional power grab'

Former lawmaker and regime opponent Djamel Zenati said that "with the current revision, our country's constitution finally brings together the main elements necessary to build a democracy".

But as "violating laws has become the law" in Algeria, it is hard to believe those in power are being even "the slightest bit sincere", he wrote in El Watan newspaper.

Former prime minister Ali Benflis, who was Bouteflika's rival in the 2014 presidential polls, slammed the reforms as a "constitutional power grab" to "solve only the regime's -- not the country's -- problems".

The president and his supporters have moved in recent months to take control of the security services, dissolving the powerful Department of Intelligence and Security and jailing or sidelining top officials.

Bouteflika and his inner circle have held a firm grip on power since 1999 and, as the end of his rule appears to close in, there are fears of instability in the mainly Muslim country of 40 million, a key energy producer.

"This project crowns the process of political reforms promised by the head of state," Sellal told parliamentarians.

A rally at Somoud Square in the Sahara desert village of In-Salah, south Algeria

on March 5, 2015, against exploration for shale gas (AFP Photo/Farouk Batiche)

The reforms guaranteed "democratic change by means of free elections" and were "a bulwark against the vagaries of political change," he said, referring to parts of the constitution that cannot be altered if Islamists form a majority.

Unlike many countries in the region, including its neighbours Libya and Tunisia, Algeria has been relatively stable since the 2011 Arab Spring.

But it is facing a range of challenges, including regular jihadist attacks, sporadic outbreaks of violence between Berbers and Arabs, and a precipitous drop in state revenues as oil prices have plummeted.

The High Council of the Amazigh affairs (HCA), set up in 1995 to promote teaching the Berber tongue in public schools, has welcomed the Berber language becoming official.

It will allow "the state to dedicate more means and measures to make up for shortcomings", HCA secretary-general Si El Hachemi Assad said.

Around a fourth of Algerians speak regional variants of Amazigh, but less than 3 percent of students learn it at school, the HCA says.

Algeria hopes to create an Amazigh language academy to address its standardisation and transcription into one of the Berber, Latin or Arabic alphabets.