Michelle Obama in Morocco to launch girls' fund

Yahoo – AFP, June 28, 2016

US first lady Michelle Obama (C) and US actress Meryl Streep (R) meet with
Moroccan young women following the "Let Girls Learn" Program on June 28,
2016 in Marrakesh (AFP Photo/Fadel Senna)

Marrakech (Morocco) (AFP) - US First Lady Michelle Obama launched a $100 million aid package in Morocco Tuesday to promote the education of girls in a country where half of females over 15 are illiterate.

Visiting Marakech with actresses Meryl Streep and Frieda Pinto of the "Slumdog Millionaire" film, she told girls in attendance she wanted them to be part of a global conversation on female education.

"We want to share this conversation with young girls around the world, particularly in the United States," she said.

Obama, who was accompanied by her daughters Malia and Sasha, arrived on Monday evening in Marakech and was welcomed by King Mohamed VI.

The first lady launched her "Let Girls Learn" education initiative in March 2015 to help adolescent girls across the world access a quality education.

She has since travelled the globe to call for greater support for the millions of girls kept away from school or forced to abandon their studies.

Morocco's King Mohammed VI wife Princess Lalla Selma, front right, welcomes 

U.S. first lady Michelle Obama, front left, and daughters Malia, rear right, and 

Sasha at Menara Airport in Marrakech, Morocco, Monday, June 27, 2016. The first

lady is on a visit to Morocco to promote eduction for girls. (AP Photo/ Abdeljalil Bounhar)

"She shared lots of things with us that will help us to work hard and focus on our education," Rihab Boutadghart, a beneficiary of the initiative, said after attending the launch in Marakech.

Morocco has one of the lowest female labour force participation rates in the world, according to the Millennium Challenge Corporation, a US government aid agency.

The MCC used Obama's visit to announce a nearly $100-million (90 million euros) fund to tackle high drop-out rates among girls and make schools more "girl-friendly".

The money, which will fund internships, girl-friendly bathrooms and training for teachers, is expected to benefit about 100,000 students, said the MCC.

The Peace Corps said it would work with its volunteers and community leaders to advance girls' education and improve their employment prospects.

USAID pledged to spend $400,000 through an NGO to establish five new dorms for girls across the country.

Obama said she hoped the funds would "help these girls succeed in the workforce and fulfill their boundless promise".

Over half of Moroccan girls aged over 15 are illiterate, despite efforts by the government and NGOs to promote their education, according to a 2014 study by the High Commission for Planning, a government body.

But the same study said the rate of school attendance among girls of 7-12 years old had risen from 78 percent in 2004 to 94 percent in 2014.

Obama says girls around the world face challenges that prevent more than 62 million from getting an education.

The first lady spent Monday in Liberia, where she told girls to fight to stay in school despite financial pressures that cause the vast majority to drop out.

She will continue her trip with a visit to Spain on Thursday, where she will deliver a speech on the education initiative before meeting Queen Letizia.

Moroccan King Hassan II (R) decorating Muhammad Ali during a ceremony

 in the Royal Palace in Rabat on January 15, 1998 (AFP Photo/Abdelhak Senna)

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MTN to pay $1.7 bn Nigeria telecoms fine

Yahoo – AFP, Sibongile Khumalo, June 10, 2016

South Africa's MTN was hit with the huge fine amid fears that some of the
 5.1 million affected lines were being used by Boko Haram insurgents (AFP
Photo/Pius Utomi Ekpei)

Johannesburg (AFP) - South African telecoms giant MTN said Friday it would pay a $1.7 billion fine to the Nigerian government in a "full and final settlement" over its failure to disconnect unregistered mobile phone users.

The Johannesburg-based company said in a statement that "MTN Nigeria has agreed to pay a total cash amount of naira 330 billion over three years."

Africa's biggest mobile-phone operator was fined $3.9 billion last year and has since been in negotiations with the Nigerian government to reduce the size of the penalty.

The company was hit with the huge fine amid fears that some of the 5.1 million affected lines were being used by Boko Haram insurgents.

The logo of South Africa's MTN 

Group is seen on signage outside

the company's headquarters in 

Johannesburg, file. Reuters/

Mike Hutchings

Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the west African country's telecoms regulator, confirmed that following six months of talks, the MTN fine had been reduced.

It said in a statement that its decision to reduce the fine was based on "professionalism and global best interest."

"We were careful not to take decisions that were likely to cripple the business interest of the operators we regulate," said the commission's executive vice chairman Umar Danbatta.

"Besides, the downturn of the global economy is biting hard on everybody and every sector, so we must therefore be sensitive and flexible in our decisions," he said in the statement.

After MTN's announcement, its shares on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange rose as much as 21 percent, on track for the biggest gain since 2008, according to Bloomberg News.

The country's telecoms regulator had handed down the fine last year citing an inability to trace users in a country plagued by frequent kidnappings and Boko Haram militants.

The sum was originally set at $5.2 billion before being to lowered to $3.9 billion on appeal.

'Relief to investors'

"MTN is pleased to inform shareholders that the matter has been resolved with the Federal Government of Nigeria," the company statement said.

MTN executive chairman Phuthuma Nhleko "expresses his thanks and gratitude to (the Nigerian government) for the spirit in which the matter was resolved," it added.

MTN paid one instalment in February and has scheduled six other payments to cover the fine by May 2019.

"The news is a huge relief to investors, given the fact that Nigeria ended up not imposing the initial amount of the fine," Dobek Pater, telecoms specialist at the Africa Analysis consultancy, told AFP.

"MTN could not afford to lose a major market such as Nigeria and by paying the fine it shows that they still have faith in keeping their investment there."

As part of the deal has undertaken to "tender an apology" to the government and people of Nigeria over the matter, according to the NCC.

It also promised to "take immediate steps steps to ensure the listing of its shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange as soon as commercially and legally possible," said the NCC.

The Boko Haram violence has left at least 17,000 dead and forced more than 2.6 million people from their homes since 2009.

The MTN fine dominated South Africa's President Jacob Zuma visit to Nigeria earlier this year.

Commenting on the MTN penalty, President Muhammadu Buhari had in March said his government was more concerned about national security than the fine.

"You know how the unregistered GSM (Global System for Mobile communication) are being used by terrorists.

"Unfortunately MTN was very slow and contributed to the casualties," said Buhari during Zuma's visit to Nigeria.

Relations between the continent's two economic powerhouses have been strained over recent years on issues including economic rivalry and political friction.

South Africa's growth has been undermined by the slowdown in China and falling commodity prices, while Nigeria, the continent's top oil producer, has suffered from low oil prices.

US announces near-total ban on African elephant ivory trade

Yahoo – AFP, Jean-Louis Santini, June 2, 2016

The United States finalizes a near-total ban on the trade of African elephant
ivory (AFP Photo/Tony Karumba)

Washington (AFP) - The US authorities announced a near-total ban on the trade of African elephant ivory on Thursday, finalizing a years-long push to protect the endangered animals.

Conservation groups welcomed the move, which aims to reduce the slaughter of more than 35,000 of Africa's 450,000 elephants estimated to be killed each year, mainly for ivory.

"Today's bold action underscores the United States' leadership and commitment to ending the scourge of elephant poaching and the tragic impact it's having on wild populations," Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell said.

US Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, 

pictured on April 19, 2016, announced

 new rules to limit imports, exports and 

sales of African elephant ivory (AFP

Photo/Alex Wong)

But the move to restrict the African ivory market in the United States -- the world’s second-largest consumer of illegal ivory after China -- comes with notable exemptions, including for documented antiques.

The final rule, which takes effect July 6, "substantially limits" imports, exports and sales of such ivory across state lines, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) said.

While prohibiting most commerce, it does make exceptions for some "pre-existing manufactured" items, including musical instruments, furniture and firearms that contain less than 200 grams of ivory and meet other specific criteria, according to the FWS statement announcing the rule.

Antiques, as defined under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), are also exempt. "Antique" items are at least 100 years old and meet several additional requirements.

Under Thursday's final rule, the import of sport-hunted trophies is limited to two per year.

People will also be allowed to keep lawfully acquired ivory and are not banned from donating, giving away or receiving ivory as a gift "provided it was lawfully acquired and there is no exchange for other goods or services involved," the FWS said.

"Limited exceptions" to the ban on import and export of African elephant ivory will also apply to items that are part of a traveling exhibition or "are part of a household move or inheritance when specific criteria are met" as well as "ivory for law enforcement or genuine scientific purposes," the rule said.

'Blood ivory'

The new measures fulfill restrictions in an executive order on combating wildlife trafficking President Barack Obama issued in 2013, the FWS said.

Once illegal ivory enters the market, it becomes virtually impossible to tell apart from legal ivory, it said, adding that demand for elephant ivory, particularly in Asia, "is so great that it grossly outstrips the legal supply and creates a void in the marketplace that ivory traffickers are eager to fill."

Graphic showing the illegal trade in ivory in Africa (AFP Photo/Jean

Michel Cornu, Nicholas MC Anally)

The outlawed ivory trade is mostly fueled by demand in Asia and the Middle East, where elephant tusks and rhino horns are used in traditional medicine and for ornaments.

"We hope other nations will act quickly and decisively to stop the flow of blood ivory by implementing similar regulations, which are crucial to ensuring our grandchildren and their children know these iconic species," Jewell said.

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) welcomed the final rule, calling it historic and groundbreaking.

"The USA is boldly saying to ivory poachers: You are officially out of business," WCS president and chief executive Cristian Samper -- a member of an Obama task force on wildlife trafficking -- said in a statement.

Patrick Bergin, chief executive of the US-based African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), also praised the move.

"Strong laws around wildlife crime and strong enforcement of those laws are absolutely critical in deterring traffickers and poachers," he told AFP.

"All countries -- and especially those that are source, transit or destination countries for illegal wildlife products -- have a role to play in tidying their own house."