Heineken pledges to act on new claims of sexual abuse in Africa

DutchNews, March 26, 2018

Brewing giant Heineken has pledged to do more to protect its sales agents in Africa after NRC published allegations of widespread sexual abuse in 10 countries where it operates. 

Around 2,000 women work for the Amsterdam-based multinational firm as ‘promotional girls’ on the continent as part of a global sales force numbering 15,000 women, according to internal research carried out in 2007. 

Their work involves going round bars, cafes and restaurants with promotional crates to persuade owners to stock Heineken brands. NRC said many of the recruiters were sexually assaulted or propositioned by cafe staff in the course of their work. In some cases prostitutes combined beer promotion with their regular work to win new clients for both themselves and the brewery. 

One Nigerian-based promoter, named as Sylvia by the newspaper, said the sales teams were warned not to make a fuss about unwanted sexual advances. ‘They warned us that we would come across men with bad intentions. You have to tolerate it because you want to make more sales and strengthen the brand.’ 

Her colleague, named as Peace, said she encountered unwanted sexual attention on a nightly basis. ‘It’s a public place so it doesn’t get as far as rape. That only happens if the girls go with the clients, but that’s their choice. Our employer says: if you can’t stand being touched, go and find another job.’ 

Outsourced 

Heineken said it was difficult to monitor the work because most of it was outsourced, but pledged to step up its efforts to cut out abuse of its agents. ‘The practices described are totally at odds with what we stand for as a company and we condemn these abuses in the strongest terms,’ the company said in a statement.

‘This subject deserves more attention in Africa than it has received in recent years from us and other interested parties. Together with our local workers’ councils, promotional agencies and other relevant parties we will take further steps to tackle these abuses and prevent them happening in future.’ 

Sylvia and Peace were not directly employed by Nigerian Breweries, Heineken’s subsidiary in Lagos, but via an agency that was hired through another subcontractor, making the chain of command unclear. On average they were paid the equivalent of €7 for a night’s work. 

They estimated that around half their colleagues earned extra money through sexual services. ‘Those girls couldn’t live on their wages and were desperate. Sex earned more,’ said Peace.

‘High risk’ 

Emeka Dumbili, of the Alcohol and Drugs Research Institute in Benin City, told NRC Heineken was still recruiting young women in Nigerian provincial cities in order to use their bodies to sell the company’s products. ‘It’s a marketing strategy to sell beer: it reinforces drinking beer as a masculine, heterosexual activity.’ 

Heineken carried out an internal study in 2007 which led to 70 markets being labelled ‘high risk’ for women working to sell their brands, but the findings prompted too few active measures, former personnel staff member Katinka van Cranenburgh told NRC. 

She said: ‘A few improvements were probably made in some countries, but head office has taken a hands-off approach and isn’t on top of the situation. I noticed that the guidelines are no longer online with other company policies, as if it’s no longer an issue.’ 

Mugabe's wife Grace under probe for ivory smuggling

Yahoo – AFP, 25 March 2018

Zimbabwe's former first lady Grace Mugabe allegedly "spirited large consignments
of ivory to China, the United Arab Emirates and the United States"

Zimbabwean police are investigating former ruler Robert Mugabe’s wife Grace, accused of smuggling ivory worth millions to underground foreign markets, a state-owned weekly reported Sunday.

The Sunday Mail said investigators from the parks and wildlife authority handed documents to police showing that the former first lady “spirited large consignments of ivory to China, the United Arab Emirates and the United States among other destinations.”

Police spokeswoman Charity Charamba confirmed receiving a report but declined to elaborate when questioned by AFP.

The Sunday Mail said the report accused Grace Mugabe of ordering officials to grant her permits to export the ivory as gifts to the leaders of various countries.

“Once outside Zimbabwe, the 'gifts' would be pooled together with other consignments of the product and routed to black markets,” The Sunday Mail reported.

A senior official in the presidency, Christopher Mutsvangwa, told the paper the government was tipped off by an unnamed whistleblower.

“Police and whistleblowers laid a trap for suppliers believed to be working for Grace Mugabe,” Mutsvangwa said.

“The culprits were caught and that is how investigations started. When we were confronted with so much evidence, there is no way we could ignore.”

The paper said police may question the former first lady soon.

Grace Mugabe was tipped alongside the current President Emmerson Mnangagwa to succeed Mugabe, who ruled Zimbabwe since independence from British colonial rule in 1980 until he was forced to step down in November 2017 following a military takeover.

She earned the sobriquet “Gucci Grace” for her lavish lifestyle.

Zimbabwe has suffered rampant poaching of elephants, targeted for their ivory tusks which are used for ornaments and medicines.

At least 400 elephants died from cyanide poisoning in Hwange, Zimbabwe’s biggest national park in the northwest of the country, between 2013 and 2015.

But parks director-general Fulton Mangwanya said poaching had declined since Mugabe’s ouster.

“Poaching levels have dropped sharply in Hwange because the market has been disturbed,” The Sunday Mail quoted him as saying.

Mugabe's wife Grace under probe for ivory smuggling https://t.co/pjCHIeCXP9 pic.twitter.com/6RXCyUlE4I

— AFP news agency (@AFP) March 25, 2018

French ex-president Sarkozy held in Libya financing probe

Yahoo – AFP, Mehdi CHERIFIA and Adam PLOWRIGHT, March 20, 2018

Prosecutors are probing claims that Moamer Khadafi financed the presidential
election campaign of Nicolas Sarkozy, pictured here, right, with the late Libya
leader in July 2007 (AFP Photo/Patrick KOVARIK)

Paris (AFP) - French ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy was detained for questioning on Tuesday over allegations the late Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi financed his 2007 election campaign, including with suitcases stuffed with cash, a source close to the inquiry told AFP.

Sarkozy, 63, was taken into police custody early Tuesday morning and was being questioned by officers specialising in corruption, money laundering and tax evasion at their office in the western Parisian suburb of Nanterre.

AFP's source said that Brice Hortefeux, a close ally who served as a senior minister during Sarkozy's presidency, was also questioned Tuesday as part of the inquiry.

The case is France's most explosive political financing scandal and one of several legal probes that have dogged the rightwing politician since he left office after one term in 2012.

Since 2013, investigating magistrates have been probing media reports, as well as statements by Kadhafi's son Seif al-Islam, that claimed funds were provided for Sarkozy's run at the presidency.

"Sarkozy must first give back the money he took from Libya to finance his electoral campaign," Seif told the Euronews network in 2011 as NATO-backed forces were driving his father out of power.

Sarkozy has dismissed the allegations as the rantings of vindictive Libyan regime members who were furious over France's military intervention in Libya that helped end Kadhafi's 41-year rule and led to his death.

He has also sued Mediapart, which has led media coverage of the Libyan allegations since 2012 when it published a document allegedly signed by Libya's intelligence chief showing that Kadhafi had agreed to fund Sarkozy to the tune of 50 million euros ($62 million).

Hortefeux, seen here on the left, was also questioned by police, as well 

as Sarkozy, pictured right (AFP Photo/Eric Feferberg)

The case drew heightened scrutiny in November 2016 when a Franco-Lebanese businessman admitted delivering three cash-stuffed suitcases from the Libyan leader in 2006 and 2007 as contributions towards Sarkozy's first presidential run.

In an interview, again with Mediapart, Ziad Takieddine claimed he dropped 1.5 to 2 million euros in 200-euro and 500-euro notes each time and was given the money by Kadhafi's military intelligence chief Abdallah Senussi.

When asked about the allegations during a televised debate in 2016, Sarkozy called the question "disgraceful" and said the businessman was a "liar".

The legal investigation is looking into these allegations, as well as a 500,000-euro foreign cash transfer to Sarkozy ally Claude Gueant, and the sale of a luxury villa in 2009 in the south of France to a Libyan investment fund for an allegedly inflated price.

Ties to Libya

Sarkozy, who takes a hard line on Islam and French identity, was nicknamed the "bling-bling" president during his time in office for his flashy displays of wealth.

He failed with a bid to run again for president in November 2016 and has stepped back from frontline politics since then, though he remains a powerful figure behind the scenes at the rightwing Republicans party.

Takieddine admitted delivering three cash-stuffed suitcases from the Libyan
leader in 2006 and 2007 as contributions towards Sarkozy's first presidential
run. (AFP Photo/PHILIPPE LOPEZ)

The Republicans party offered its "full and complete support to former president Nicolas Sarkozy" in a statement, adding: "We wish to remind everyone about the principle of the presumption of innocence that is valid for everyone."

Seven months after his 2007 presidential victory, Sarkozy invited Kadhafi to Paris and clinched major arms and nuclear energy sales to the oil-rich north African country, which has since descended into civil war.

The Libyan autocrat was allowed to pitch his Bedouin-style tent on a lawn in central Paris and attended a dinner at the presidential palace, which was boycotted by several of Sarkozy's ministers.

Tuesday's detention was not the first for Sarkozy: he became the first French president to enter police custody in July 2014 over a separate inquiry into claims that he tried to interfere in one of the several investigations targeting him.

The summons on Tuesday came after another former associate, Swiss businessman Alexandre Djouhri, was arrested in London in January.

Other cases

Investigating magistrates have recommended Sarkozy face trial on separate charges of illegal campaign financing over his failed 2012 re-election bid.

The prosecution claims Sarkozy spent nearly double the legal limit of 22.5 million euros ($24 million) on his lavish campaign, using false billing from a public relations firm called Bygmalion.

He faces up to a year in prison if convicted, but he is appealing the decision to send him to trial, claiming he knew nothing about the fraudulent practices that Bygmalion executives have admitted to.

Only one French president -- Jacques Chirac -- has been tried in France's Fifth Republic, which was founded in 1958. He was given a two-year suspended jail term in 2011 over a fake jobs scandal.

Dead Sea's revival with Red Sea canal edges closer to reality

Yahoo – AFP, Marie WOLFROM, March 18, 2018

Evaporation ponds at the southern part of the Dead Sea where both sodium
chloride and potassium salts are produced (AFP Photo/MENAHEM KAHANA)

Ghor al-Haditha (Jordan) (AFP) - Israel and Jordan have long pursued a common goal to stop the Dead Sea from shrinking while slaking their shared thirst for drinking water with a pipeline from the Red Sea some 200 kilometres away.

Geopolitical tensions have stalled efforts to break ground on the ambitious project for years, but the end of the latest diplomatic spat has backers hoping a final accord may now be in sight.

The degradation of the Dead Sea, on the border of Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian West Bank, began in the 1960s when water began to be heavily diverted from the Jordan River.

"Before 1967, the water was just a 10-minute walk from my house," said Musa Salim al-Athem, a farmer who grows tomatoes on the banks on the Jordan side.

"Now it takes an hour," he said, standing amid the resulting lunar landscape of spectacular salt sculptures, gaping sinkholes and craters.

"Only the sea can fill up the sea."

"Since 1950, the amount flowing in the Jordan has dropped from 1.2 billion cubic metres per year (42 billion cubic feet) to less than 200 million," said Frederic Maurel, an engineering expert at the French development agency AFD.

Heavy production of potash, used for making fertiliser, has also accelerated evaporation that has seen the sea's surface area shrink by a third since 1960.

Experts say water levels are falling one metre (three feet) a year, and warn it could dry out completely within 30 years.

Palestinian refugees at the al-Baqa'a refugee camp near Amman. Jordan is
determined to press ahead with the project to cope with the needs of a rising population
which has been swelled by about one million refugees fleeing war in Syria (AFP Photo/
Khalil MAZRAAWI)

'Economic treasure'

Already 100 years ago, Theodor Herzl, the father of modern political Zionism, had envisaged filling the Dead Sea via a canal dug to the Mediterranean.

The sea's natural beauty and mineral-rich black mud have also provided a source of tourism revenue.

"The Dead Sea has historical, biblical, natural, touristic, medical and industrial values that make it an invaluable cultural, environmental and economic treasure," said Avner Adin, a specialist in water science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

After years of studies, the $1.1 billion Red Sea "Peace Conduit" deal was signed by Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian authorities in 2013.

The project, located entirely on Jordanian territory, includes a desalination plant near Aqaba.

After producing drinking water, the remaining highly saline liquid will be sent by pipeline to fill the Dead Sea, powering two hydroelectric plants along the way.

A subsequent 2015 deal would see Israel get 35 billion cubic metres of potable water from the desalination plant for its parched southern regions.

The mostly desert Jordan, for its part, would get up to 50 billion cubic metres of freshwater from the Sea of Galilee.

Israel also agreed to sell 32 billion cubic metres to the Palestinian authorities.

Jordan announced in November 2016 that it had chosen five international consortiums to build the first phase of the canal.

But talks on how to finance the deal, which calls for $400 million of public funding, and geopolitical flare-ups have kept the project from moving forward.

Experts say water levels are falling one metre a year, and warn it could dry out 

completely within thirty years (AFP Photo/MENAHEM KAHANA)

'Diplomatic hazards'

Some $120 million has already been pledged by donors including the US and Japan, while France's AFD agency has secured the backing of the EU and some member states for $140 million in preferential loans to Jordan.

Talks were frozen last year after an Israeli security guard shot and killed two Jordanians at the Israeli embassy in Amman, prompting a diplomatic standoff that ended only in January.

"We have never been so close to starting the project," Maurel said. "It only needs a final push by the Jordanian and Israeli authorities."

A diplomatic source in Amman said the project remained essential for the region given the environmental and economic stakes, "but it's still at the mercy of diplomatic hazards."

For Adin at the Hebrew University, "It seems to be that the situation is improving. The main obstacle in my mind could be financial."

Officials in Jordan say they are determined to press ahead with or without Israel to cope with the needs of a rising population which has been swelled by about one million refugees fleeing the war in neighbouring Syria.

"We are proceeding with the project because desalination eventually is the future of Jordan when it comes to water," said Iyad Dahiyat, secretary general of the country's water authority.

"Water is part of the stability of the kingdom itself," he added. "It's a national security issue."

Zimbabwe crowns first 'Miss Albino' in bid to tackle stigma

Deutsche Welle, 17 March 2018

Zimbabwe has put on its first "Miss Albino" pageant in an effort to stamp out discrimination and stigma surrounding the condition. The 22-year-old winner says she wants to fight for the rights of children with albinism.

The winner and two runners up of the Miss Albinism pageant hold flowers on stage

Sithembiso Mutukura beat 12 other contestants to claim the crown at Zimbabwe's first-ever Miss Albinism beauty contest — an achievement she hopes will inspire others living with the rare disorder.

"We must continue to advocate for our rights and I hope my win will empower the girl child," the 22-year-old social work student said.

"I have gone through a lot, but I want people living with albinism to be brave and persevere in life."

Read more: What is albinism?

During the event in Harare on Friday night, the contestants had to respond to questions on stage and model a range of gowns and traditional African robes. Mutukura was awarded US$85 (almost €70) in prize money after being named winner.

Read more: Mr. Albinism Kenya: 'Finally we achieved something'

The 13 beauty pageant contestants strut their stuff on the catwalk

Going global?

Pageant organizer Brenda Mudzimu said a lack of funds had made it difficult to get the initiative off the ground. In the end, the contest only attracted one sponsor, but Mudzimu says she hopes to one day make the event international.

"This will be an annual event which will later be advanced to Miss Albinism Africa and Miss Albinism World because we want to reach all corners of the world," she said.

Read more: Zambian albinos call for end to brutality

In many African countries, people with albinism routinely face discrimination and persecution because of the way they look. The genetic disorder prevents skin cells from producing melanin , resulting in abnormal pigmentation of the skin, hair, and eyes. People with the condition also suffer from vision problems and are susceptible to skin cancer.

"The pageant aims to instil confidence in girls living with albinism in Zimbabwe as well as reduce the stigma," Mudzimu said.

Read more: Cameroonian albino fights prejudice with music

Attacks and discrimination

Tapuwa Muchemwa, a Zimbabwean government representative who was the guest of honor at the pageant, said the country's leaders "strongly advocate that people with albinism deserve their right to life and security and to be protected as well as the right not to be subjected to torture and ill-treatment."

The rate of albinism in Africa is much higher than in other parts of the world. Communities in some countries believe albinism can bring magical powers, wealth and good fortune — a superstition that has led to attackers kidnapping and murdering albinos to sell their body parts to witch doctors on the black market.

According to the United Nations, there have been over 600 attacks on people with albinism documented in 28 countries in sub-Saharan Africa over the past decade. Many more cases are thought to go unreported.

S.Africa looks to strip Gupta brother's residency

Yahoo – AFP, March 11, 2018

In February, South African police raided properties belonging to the Gupta
family in Johannesburg as part of a graft probe (AFP Photo/WIKUS DE WET)

Johannesburg (AFP) - South Africa has launched proceedings to strip the permanent residency status of one of the lynchpins of a controversial Indian business family accused of corruption, an official said on Sunday.

Ajay Gupta, a fugitive sought by police over alleged graft, now faces the prospect of losing access to banking facilities as well as his South African identity papers if his residency is rescinded.

Ajay is one of three Indian-born Gupta brothers who are among South Africa's richest people who are now being investigated by police over corruption allegations. The country's graft watchdog has also accused them of having improper links to former president Jacob Zuma.

Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba has discussed the "the possibility of revoking Ajay's residency" with President Cyril Ramaphosa, his spokesman told AFP.

"Since then, he has instructed the director-general of home affairs to investigate the legal environment for that to happen," Mayihlome Tshwete told AFP.

Gigaba has had a torrid week after insisting that Ajay's brother Atul was not a South African citizen, only to be contradicted by the election commission which confirmed he was a citizen who was listed on the electoral register.

Gigaba then skipped a sitting of parliament on Wednesday at which he had been due to answer MPs' questions, citing illness.

South Africa has launched several investigations into the Guptas and Indian tax officials this week raided several properties belonging to the brothers in their former hometown as part of a money-laundering probe.

Last month, South African authorities raided Gupta properties in Johannesburg as part of the ongoing investigation into the alleged graft.

Ajay was declared a "fugitive from justice" by police after failing to respond to a summons.

Thirteen other people are facing charges linked to allegations that the Guptas embezzled millions of dollars of public money meant for poor South African dairy farmers.

They are also accused of receiving highly-favourable government contracts during Zuma's presidency.

Led by Atul, the family arrived in South Africa in 1993 as white-minority apartheid rule crumbled, a year before Nelson Mandela won the country's first democratic elections.

Related Article:

PR firm Bell Pottinger seeks rescue after South Africa scandal

Saudi crown prince meet Egypt's Sisi at start of first foreign trip

Yahoo – AFP, March 4, 2018

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (C-R) welcomes Saudi Arabia's Crown
Prince Mohammed bin Salman (C-L) upon his arrival in Cairo on March 4, 2018
(AFP Photo/HO)

Cairo (AFP) - Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman held talks in the Egyptian capital on Sunday at the start of his first foreign tour as heir to the throne.

A beaming Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi greeted the prince at Cairo airport after he descended the red-carpeted steps of his plane.

The head of Prince Mohammed's office, Bader al-Asaker, tweeted that the prince's plane was escorted by Egyptian fighter jets when it entered Egypt's airspace.

Prince Mohammed and Sisi, a key regional ally, agreed in talks to bolster economic ties and launch joint projects, "particularly in the tourism sector on the Red Sea", said Egyptian presidential spokesman Bassam Radi.

The prince is to fly off to Britain on Wednesday and then later this month to the United States.

Saudi Arabia views Egypt as a cornerstone of regional stability, after the former army chief Sisi overthrew his Islamist predecessor Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

Riyadh viewed Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood with suspicion and at one point briefly recalled its ambassador from Cairo during his turbulent year in power.

It has since showered Cairo with aid to prop up the country's economy, in a relationship that has led to some controversy in Egypt.

In 2015, during a visit by King Salman to Cairo, the two countries agreed on the transfer of two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia, sparking protests in Egypt.

Sisi ratified the deal last year, and Egypt's top court annulled lower court rulings for and against the treaty on the eve of the crown prince's arrival.

Prince Mohammed's visit comes ahead of Egypt's presidential polls in late March, with Sisi expected to win a second four-year term.

The visit "will be interpreted as proof of Saudi support for Sisi to remain as the president of Egypt", Mostafa Kamel al-Sayed, a political science professor at Cairo University, told AFP.

Cairo and Riyadh have maintained close ties, although Egypt has signalled a lack of enthusiasm for Saudi regional policy, both on the Yemen war and a potential escalation with Iran.

But it is among a bloc of Arab nations that joined a Saudi-led boycott since June of Qatar.

The crown prince's tour also aims to court investors and comes after a tumultuous period that has seen a military shake-up and a royal purge in Saudi Arabia, part of his sweeping power play.

Prince Mohammed is already seen as the country's de facto ruler controlling the major levers of government.