Mali’s Junta Is Rewriting West Africa’s Playbook on Post-Coup ‘Transitions’

In May 2021, Mali suffered its second coup in the space of a year, both of which were perpetrated by the same group of colonels. While the first coup, in August 2020, followed a recognizable script of quickly standing up a civilian-led transitional government with the task of guiding the country to democratic elections, the second has upended that “business-as-usual” approach to post-coup transitions.

Swedish would-be ISIS fighters jailed after recruitment sting

Two Swedish brothers have been sentenced to jail for eight months after their efforts to join ISIS unravelled when their recruiter was revealed as an undercover intelligence officer.

The men, who have not been identified, were arrested in February at Gothenburg-Landvetter Airport as they tried to leave Sweden to join the combat ranks of the terrorist group.

Turkey inches closer to Egypt

The Turkish finance minister is planning a visit to Egypt next month in the latest step toward rapprochement between the two countries.

In a new step toward rapprochement between Egypt and Turkey, Turkish Minister of Treasury and Finance Nureddin Nebati will visit Egypt on June 1.

Spain’s Policy Shift On Western Sahara

Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony, was to have a referendum when the Spaniards chose to leave in 1975. The people of Western Sahara were to choose between independence or integration with Morocco. Due to the complex interplay of factors, the referendum could not take place and the region was controlled by Morocco and Mauritania. In 1979, Mauritania signed a peace deal with the Polisario Front (an independence movement led by the Sahrawi natives which was founded in 1973) and gave up its control over Western Sahara. Currently, Morocco controls over 80 per cent of the territory and contends that its jurisdiction over the region even predates the Spanish rule. Spain has remained neutral on the Western Sahara conflict all these years and has pushed for a political resolution which is mutually acceptable to the parties involved.

300,000 Metric Tons of Wheat Bought by Egypt Stuck in Ukraine

Some 300,000 metric tons of Ukrainian wheat that had been scheduled for delivery to Egypt in February and March has not yet been shipped, Reuters first reported. One of the cargo shipments remains stuck in Ukraine’s Chornomorsk Port on the north-western shore of the Black Sea, and four have not yet been loaded.