Theresa May courts Africa to rebound from Brexit

British Prime Minister Theresa May made big promises during her first African tour last week, pledging $5.1 billion of investment in the continent during her first stop in Cape Town, South Africa.

May’s visit to three African nations focused on economic ties and migration issues as the United Kingdom works to strengthen and create new diplomatic connections ahead of its planned exit from the European Union. May’s African delegation included 29 business representatives in the fields of technology and finance. Britain also plans to open new embassies in Niger and Chad.

“By 2022, I want the U.K. to be the G-7’s number one investor in Africa, with Britain’s private sector companies taking the lead in investing the billions that will see Africa’s economies grow by trillions,” she said.

Britain and Nigeria signed economic and defense agreements during May’s stop there. She also announced a joint project with France to aid Nigeria and neighboring Niger in improving border relations as Europe continues to battle an influx of migrants.

In Kenya, May pledged $9.1 million to fund the African Union peacekeeping mission. She told reporters in Kenya she is pushing for a relationship with African countries that is “more about private investment, about doing business and making the most of commercial opportunities together.”

The three nations May visited are the continent’s top economies and regional powers. Analysts with the London-based Chatham House said that Britain’s renewed relations with African nations could serve as “an important part of U.K.’s efforts to shore up its international relevance and influence after it leaves the European Union.”

May is not the only leader with an increased focus on Africa. German Prime Minister Angela Merkel last week also wrapped up an African trip to Nigeria, Ghana, and Senegal, along with a delegation of business leaders and likely investors. Merkel hopes increased economic investments will help stall the migration crisis in Europe.

John Battersby, a senior policy adviser with the Europe-based GPLUS consultancy firm, noted that improved relations with Britain will bring benefits for South Africa, including more investments and development in the agriculture and manufacturing sectors.

Britain lags behind other countries like China and Japan when it comes to business relations with Africa, Lord Boateng, chairman of the Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund, told BBC Radio.

“We have a lot of catching up to do if we are to make the most of what is an historic opportunity to recast the relationship between Africa and the UK … to an opportunity that requires investment, that requires risk taking and support by government for British companies,” he said.

Despite the investment opportunities, some analysts doubt Britain’s efforts in Africa can offset the post-Brexit economic impact.

“The natural market for the U.K. is the EU because consumers there have more disposable income,” Dipo Salimonu, a Nigerian fuels storage company chief, told the Financial Times. “It’s futile to look for consumers to replace those guys in this part of the world.”

Uighurs and their supporters protest in front of the Permanent Mission of China to the United Nations in New York on March 13. Associated Press/Photo by Seth Wenig (file)

China resists U.S. pressure on Uighur detention

China told U.S. lawmakers to mind their own business after they wrote a letter urging the Trump administration to sanction Chinese officials over detainment camps for Uighur Muslims.

In the bipartisan letter signed by Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and 14 others, the leaders called on Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin to respond to the “ongoing human rights crisis.”

China in the past denied the existence of the camps in the Xinjiang province, claiming it sent criminals guilty of minor offenses to “vocational education and employment training centers.”

The letter called on the U.S. government to employ the Global Magnitsky Act, which allows for financial and travel sanctions on anyone proven to have played a role in either corruption or in violating human rights. The officials listed in the letter include Xinjiang Deputy Party Secretary Shohret Zakir and Zhu Hailun, leader of the state’s politics and law commission.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying responded that U.S. lawmakers should desist from imposing sanctions “at every turn on other countries,” adding, “They should certainly serve the Americans properly instead of poking their noses in other countries affairs’ and pretending to be a judge of human rights.”

Similarly, a UN committee on racial equality called out China for arresting “tens of thousands to upwards of a million Uighurs” in Xinjiang. —O.O.

Uighurs and their supporters protest in front of the Permanent Mission of China to the United Nations in New York on March 13. Associated Press/Photo by Seth Wenig (file)

Somalia evicted displaced people

Somali authorities forcibly evicted more than 204,000 people displaced by drought and unrest, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said.

Somalia is recovering from more than 25 years of civil war and an ongoing al-Shabaab insurgency. The country also faced a drought last year and floods this year that triggered mass migration.

The NRC said many of the displaced people sought makeshift shelters on private and public land. In Mogadishu, the country’s capital, a building boom resulted in more evictions as abandoned buildings occupied by squatters were rebuilt.

Fadumo Noor, a pregnant mother of four, told the aid group that the latest eviction was her fourth so far, and it came without prior notice.

“I came home and saw all my children outside, holding pieces of our shelter and belongings,” she said.

Evelyn Aero, an NRC adviser, called on the Somali government to follow due process: “These families must be resettled to locations where they can access decent shelter and humanitarian aid.” —O.O.

Asian humanitarians honored

The Ramon Magsaysay Awards—the Asian equivalent of the Nobel Prize—honored six Asians, including an Indian psychiatrist who helped rescue thousands of mentally ill people, a Filipino man who led peace talks with communist insurgents, and a polio-stricken Vietnamese woman who fought discrimination against the disabled. The annual awards are named after a late Philippine president.

Indian psychiatrist Bharat Vatwani started a foundation in 1988 that treated and reintegrated more than 7,000 homeless people battling mental illness. Filipino businessman Howard Dee served as a government negotiator in peace talks with communist rebels in the 1990s. Vietnamese recipient Vo Thi Hoang Yen started a group that helped about 15,000 people with disabilities access jobs. Other honorees include nationals from East Timor, Cambodia, and India. —O.O.

Egypt appoints female Coptic governor

Egypt last month swore in the country’s first-ever female Coptic Christian to serve as a provincial governor. Manal Awad Mikhail, a former deputy for the Giza governor, will serve as the governor of Damietta province. Copts, who make up about 10 percent of the country’s population, repeatedly face persecution and remain targets of terror attacks. Mikhail is the second Egyptian woman to assume a governorship. Nadia Ahmed Abdou served as the governor of Beheira province in 2017. —O.O.