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22 Oct 2018 - NPWJ News Digest on Middle East and North Africa Democracy
Articles
Germany stops arms exports to Saudi Arabia
Middle East Monitor, 22 Oct 2018
Germany wants other European Union member states to follow its example in stopping arms exports to Saudi Arabia as long as uncertainty remains over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Reuters reported Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said today. Riyadh has given multiple and conflicting accounts on what led to Khashoggi’s death on 2 October at its consulate in Istanbul. Yesterday, Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir called the killing a “huge and grave mistake” but sought to shield Saudi Arabia’s powerful crown prince.Chancellor Angela Merkel said yesterday that Germany would stop arms exports to Saudi Arabia as long as the uncertainty around Khashoggi’s death persisted.
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Egypt detains economic expert over criticising of government
Middle East Monitor, 22 Oct 2018
Egypt has detained economic expert Abdel-Khaliq Farouq after he published a book analysing the economic and social situation in the country, Arabi21 reported yesterday. Last week, Egyptian security collected the book, entitled “Is Egypt really a poor country?”, from shelves and detained the publisher.
Hundreds of migrants storm Spanish enclave in North Africa, one dies
Reuters, 21 Oct 2018
One African migrant died and three others were injured when around 300 stormed the border fence separating Spanish enclave Melilla from Morocco on Sunday, the local authorities said. About 200 migrants managed to scale the seven-metre high metal barrier and were taken to a reception centre in Melilla where officials started the process of identifying them. The man died of a suspected cardio-respiratory arrest despite being treated by emergency services, the Spanish government’s local delegation said in a statement. More than 6,000 migrants have made it to Melilla and Spain’s nearby territory Ceuta so far this year, according to the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR. In some places, the fences around the enclaves are topped with razor wire.
U.S. lawmakers blame Saudi crown prince for Khashoggi murder
Reuters, 21 Oct 2018
Top U.S. lawmakers turned their ire on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Sunday and said they believed he ordered the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, although the Trump administration maintained a more cautious stance.“Do I think he did it? Yes, I think he did it,” Republican Senator Bob Corker, the influential chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in an interview with CNN.
Asylum reforms derailed, as EU looks to north Africa
EuObserver, 18 Oct 2018
Disagreements over the EU's internal asylum reforms remained entrenched after the EU summit on Thursday (18 October) - with notions of solidarity broadly dismissed as leaders press ahead to offshore migration with the supposed help of north African states. The Brussels summit, where heads of state and government meet to thrash out solutions, failed to reach any agreement on long outstanding issues over the key EU asylum reforms that seek to better manage administrative bottlenecks and their adjoining political headaches.
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