Mali, Turkey, Tunisia
Today's three stories you should know
Mali
Authorities in Mali say they will begin rationing fuel as a blockade imposed by al-Qaeda-linked rebels cuts off fuel supplies to the country. The armed groups began blocking routes into Mali in September and since then more than a hundred trucks have been burned, crippling imports. Russia’s state-controlled paramilitary force, the Africa Corps, is now reported to be escorting tanker convoys across the country. A military junta took power in May 2021 as Mali, along with Burkina Faso and Niger, struggled to combat insurgents who operate in a border area that enables them to carry out attacks in all three countries.
More from AP here.
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Turkey
A Turkish court has rejected a lawsuit from President Tayyip Erdogan's main political rival, challenging the cancellation of his university degree, his legal team said, in a blow to his chances of running against Erdogan in a presidential election. It is illegal to run for president in Turkey without a degree. Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who is in prison pending trial on corruption charges, had his degree annulled by Istanbul University just days before the opposition Republican People’s Party selected him as its candidate for elections due in 2028. Imamoglu, rights groups, and several opposition parties say the charges against him are politically motivated, which Erdogan denies.
More from Reuters here.
Tunisia
Two popular Tunisian journalists have been handed three-and-a-half year prison sentences in what rights groups and government opponents say is the latest episode in an ongoing crackdown on dissent. Bohran Bssaies and Mourad Zghidi were convicted of money laundering, Tunisia’s state-run TAP news agency reported, citing a judicial source. There have been a slew of cases brought against journalists, opposition figures, lawyers and critics since President Kais Saied came to power in 2019 before unilaterally seizing almost all executive powers. The Reporters Without Borders campaign group said the journalists’ “only ‘crime’ was to comment on and criticise political decisions.”
More from Al Jazeera here.
Let's hope and pray that instead of democracy, Islam's rule prevails in Africa and beyond, a person brought to power through democracy is behind every humanitarian crisis in the world today. FROM GAZA AND BEYOND.