Scotland’s First Minister has called on the Prime Minister to recognise the state of Palestine.

In a letter to Rishi Sunak on Tuesday ahead of a debate on a ceasefire in the region in Holyrood, Humza Yousaf has pushed for the UK Government to recognise Palestine within the borders set out in 1967, claiming it would help to end the “political impasse that has condemned Israelis and the Palestinians to successive cycles of violence”.  

A similar letter was also sent to Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, urging him to back the calls.

“It is essential and urgent that the UK makes clear to the Israeli government, and to the world, that in line with support for a two-state solution, only Palestinians can have authority in Gaza,” he wrote to the Prime Minister. 

“Of course, that authority must be exercised in a way that ensures the people of Israel, as well as Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, are able to live in peace and security.

“The UK needs to work with the international community to break, once and for all, the political impasse that has condemned Israelis and the Palestinians to successive cycles of violence. 

“This would be assisted were the UK to recognise the State of Palestine within the 1967 borders, as over 130 members of the United Nations, including nine members of the European Union, have done and as the new Spanish government has pledged.

“Recognition would offer hope to Palestinians that a just and durable political solution is possible.

“It would make it plain to the Israeli government that a military solution is illusory and the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza is unacceptable.

“I urge you to show the international leadership you claim for the UK by calling for an immediate ceasefire by all sides, and by announcing the UK Government’s recognition of the state of Palestine.”

The First Minister also condemned what he described as the “gradual, but deliberate, expulsion of Palestinians from the entire territory” following a warning by the Israeli government for Palestinians to vacate the city of Khan Yunis, in the south of the Gaza Strip. 

“The humanitarian consequences of this are hard to overstate,” he said.

“Following the forced evacuation of the population from the north of Gaza, it reinforces the impression that what we are witnessing is the gradual, but deliberate, expulsion of Palestinians from the entire territory.

“This, of course, would likely be a breach of international law.

“The international community cannot allow this to happen.”

The UK Government, he added, should also consider referring both Hamas and Israel to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for investigation of any potential war crimes.

The letters come just hours before a debate in the Scottish Parliament on the situation in Gaza.

The Scottish Government has tabled a motion calling for an immediate ceasefire, which is expected to garner cross-party support. 

Scottish Labour – who have said they will support the Government in the vote on Tuesday evening – also tabled an amendment that will call for a referral to the ICC, which is expected to gain enough support to pass. Story by Craig Paton, The Independent

President Klaus Iohannis, accompanied by his wife Carmen, attended the farewell ceremony held at State House in Dar es Salaam on Sunday, marking the conclusion of his official visit to the United Republic of Tanzania. In addition to the official ceremony, Klaus and Carmen Iohannis experienced a unique surprise at the farewell party.

Two video recordings published by spotmedia show a group of locals shouting various wishes around portraits of the couple. Later, the locals jump into the water with the portraits of Klaus and Carmen Iohannis, shouting “Hakuna matata!”—an expression meaning “No worries, everything is fine.”

Iohannis arrived in Tanzania on Friday, where he had one-on-one talks with his counterpart, Samia Suluhu Hassan. On Saturday, the head of state was received by Zanzibar President Hussein Mwinyi. President Klaus Iohannis begins his visit to the Republic of Cape Verde on Monday, the penultimate stage of his African tour, preceded by visits to Kenya, Tanzania, and Zanzibar.

The President’s visits to Africa will conclude in Senegal, according to news.ro. Klaus Iohannis started his African tour on November 14 with a state visit to Kenya, where he was welcomed by his Kenyan counterpart, William Ruto. Subsequently, he participated in a meeting at the UN Office in Nairobi with the Executive Director of UNEP – United Nations Environment Program.

On Wednesday, November 15, the head of state met with the Minister for Nature Protection of Kenya, Alfred Nganga Mutua, and the Director-General of the Kenya Wildlife Service, Erustus Kanga, during a visit to Nairobi National Park. On Thursday, he visited Uthiru Girls High School. The head of state will conclude his visits to Africa on November 23.

The final leg of this tour is in the Republic of Senegal, where President Klaus Iohannis will have political consultations with his counterpart Macky Sall. The official program of the visit includes, among other things, the participation of the two heads of state in the inauguration of the United Nations House in Senegal, which will host the 34 UN agencies present in the country. President Iohannis will also have a meeting with former Senegalese students in Romania. By Romania Journal

Namanga One Stop Border in the border of Kenya and Tanzania. It is found in the northern part of Tanzania. PHOTO | FILE

Tanzania continues to dilly-dally on the operationalisation of the East African single tourist visa, which would make the region a single tourist destination.

Dodoma is still reluctant to be part of the East African Community (EAC) Single Tourist Visa (STV) on grounds that the bloc is yet to address security and financial implications of the scheme.

Tanzanian officials raised the matter at the EAC Council meeting held in June this year. The major issues are security, revenue sharing, the efficiency of the single visa regime and visitor screening.

Read: Continental free trade off to a sluggish start

Dodoma believes that there is no STV framework worthy of the EAC, and that a 2010 study on the readiness of the member states to implement STV has been overtaken by events and, therefore, a new study is needed to assess the current situation.

But Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda, who are implementing the plan, have said they are satisfied with the initiative. And now, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan have expressed willingness to join the STV initiative. 

At a Tourism and Wildlife Management Sectoral Council meeting held on October 19, 2023 in Arusha and chaired by Burundi Minister for Environment Prosper Dodiko, the EAC resolved to seek consensus on STV before implementation next year.

“The EAC Treaty provides for cooperation in the sector whereby partner states undertake to develop a collective and coordinated approach in tourism promotion and management of wildlife resources. I urge you to have fruitful discussions on this matter,” Mr Dodiko said.

The current STV is issued to persons travelling to and within Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda for tourism. The arrangement, which Tanzania argues is a Northern Corridor affair, makes Kenya the first point of entry.

Read: We want political federation, Kenyans tell EAC legal team

Tanzania says it welcomes the STV, but that its concerns must be addressed first.

During the Arusha meeting Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation in Tanzania Stephen Byabato said that visa application should be managed by immigration departments as opposed to the tourism dockets.

He called for a fresh study on the region’s preparedness for a single visa, a move that Uganda opposed, arguing that it would take more time and budget to carry out and East African Cooperation in Tanzania said that visa application should be managed by immigration departments as opposed to the tourism dockets.

Study

He called for a fresh study on the region’s preparedness for a single visa, a move that Uganda opposed, arguing that it would take more time and budget to carry out. According to a report from the meeting seen by The EastAfrican, Ugandan Minister for Tourism Tom Butima proposed a review of the old study.

“The study was well done, and there is therefore no need for another study. Instead, the STV should be escalated to the region whereby the principle of variable geometry can be applied,” he said.

Read: Tourism teams push IDs’ use across borders

Rwanda asked that the matter be sent to the permanent secretaries for technical input.

The Sectoral Council agreed that the EAC Secretariat coordinate the updating of the study by June 2024 and develop a framework for implementation by December 31, 2024.

The idea to establish STV stems from the 11th Council of Ministers directive set in Arusha in November 2006.

The tourism sector is vital to the EAC economy, accounting for 17 percent of total export earnings, 10 percent of GDP, and seven percent of jobs in the region.

The sector is closely linked to transportation, food production, retail, and entertainment.

Its recovery has been on an upward trajectory since the Covid-19 pandemic.

In 2022, the EAC recorded 5.8 million international tourist arrivals, which accounts for 13.5 percent of the total international tourist arrivals in Africa.

The EAC projects that by 2024, the region will receive about seven million tourists, compared with 2.25 million recorded in 2020.

Read: Border barriers hurt EAC’s trade ambitions

“There are strong signs of attaining full recovery of the sector in the region following the historical drop occasioned by Covid 19,” said Andrea Aguer Ariik Malueth, EAC deputy secretary-general in charge of infrastructure, productive, social and political sectors.

If the visa application process is simplified, the number of international tourists will increase in the region. That could make EAC more competitive as a tourist destination and drive economic growth.

The EAC offers several investment opportunities in tourism, such as creating resort cities, branding premium parks, constructing internationally branded hotels, developing high-quality Mice (meetings, incentives, conferences an++d exhibitions), and promoting health and sports tourism, which directed among others, the Heads of Tourist Boards and Directors of Tourism to meet and strategize the marketing of the EAC as Single Tourist Destination.

To implement this directive, the 1st Meeting of the Sectoral Council on Tourism and Wildlife Management (SCTWM) met on November 1, 2008, and made decisions as regards single visa in which among others directed the Secretariat to undertake a study to harmonize tourism policies and laws and recommend how a single tourism visa could be introduced.

So the extraordinary council of ministers on Tourism and Wildlife management held on July 15, 2021 directed the secretariat to convene a meeting of Immigration, security and tourism and wildlife management to consider and address the issue of STV. By LUKE ANAMI, The East African

Azimio leader Raila Odinga has demanded the resignation and prosecution of two Cabinet Secretaries for their role in a controversial oil deal that he claims is a scam to loot public funds.

In a statement on Monday, November 20, Odinga said he had evidence linking Energy and Petroleum CS Davis Chirichir and National Treasury CS Njuguna Ndungu to the illegal withdrawal of Sh42.97 billion from the consolidated fund, without the approval of Parliament, to subsidize “private financial enterprises” in the oil sector.

Odinga said he was shocked and dismayed by the response of the oil companies, the National Assembly majority leadership and Chirichir to the issues he raised last Thursday when he exposed the deal that President William Ruto announced to the nation in April 2023. 

He said the deal, which Ruto claimed would ease the economic suffering of Kenyans, was a sham that only benefited a few individuals and cartels at the expense of the public.

He accused the oil companies of state capture and complete takeover by cartels, saying they had the nerve to answer Kenyans when Kenyans sought answers from their government. He also accused the legislative arm of the government of being captured by the Executive and failing to perform its oversight role.

“We always knew that the legislative arm of government has been captured by the Executive and can no longer perform its oversight role. The response by the Leader of Majority therefore did not come as a complete surprise. It confirmed what we already know,” he said.

“What came as a complete shock was the response from the oil companies. Apparently, we have reached a situation where oil marketing companies, all with shady histories, feel confident and compelled to answer Kenyans when Kenyans seek answers from their government! This is the clearest indication of state capture and compete takeover by cartels. The cartels speak for the government, and the government speaks for the cartels,” he added. 

Odinga said he agreed with Busia Senator Okiya Omtata, who presented evidence of the government withdrawing Sh17.22 billion from the consolidated fund in June 2023, to subsidize “private financial enterprises.” 

He said he suspected that the money was linked to the Sh17 billion worth of diesel that was disputed by a woman named Anne Njeri and the two Cabinet Secretaries.  

Odinga said Njeri was a “private financial enterprise” funded illegally by money from the consolidated fund and received by the Ministry of Petroleum.

He said Chirichir and Ndungu had certainly committed criminal offences, abused office and violated the constitution by stealing money from the consolidated fund, in addition to spending money way above what Parliament approved.

“They must not only resign. They must also be prosecuted,” he said. 

Odinga also challenged the government to make public the memorandum of understanding it signed with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in the oil deal, saying it must be a document signed by a representative of the two countries and the Republic of Kenya, not by the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, ADNOC Global Trading Ltd., or Emirates National Oil Company.

He questioned why the National Oil Corporation, which has a legal mandate to participate in all aspects of the petroleum sector, was completely left out of the deal. By David Njaaga, The Standard