Patrick PiersonBy Patrick Pierson.
Analysts say the UK still has plenty of room for improvement when it comes to preventing bribery by British companies overseas. Tanzania has partnered with Switzerland in an effort to tackle illegal money held in Swiss banks by Tanzanian nationals. The cash crunch is so tough in Zimbabwe that people are now sleeping in front of banks. One of Zimbabwe’s largest companies is having difficulty servicing debts and paying shareholders due to the shortage of foreign-currency. In a bid to address corruption and counterfeiting, Indian PM Narendra Modi announced the suspension of larger bank notes. The move sparked chaos in a largely cash-based economy. Hundreds of thousands of people have queued at banks and ATMs in an effort to exchange the now-banned notes.
German officials are calling for a “Marshall Plan with Africa.” Are anti-government protests in Ethiopia putting a damper on the country’s tourism industry? The first half of 2016 revealed significant gains in Cuba’s tourism numbers. Cape Town has emerged as a global ‘smart city.’ Zimbabwe is poised to launch a Rural Energy Agency in the near future. Plans for a large-scale solar plant are underway in Mozambique while the construction of one of the world’s largest solar plants is taking place in Morocco.
Since 2015, Morocco has dismantled 37 terror cells. In recent weeks, hundreds of Boko Haram fighters have surrendered to Chadian authorities. Nigeria has deployed female officers to protect female refugees fleeing Boko Haram after reports of attacks against the refugees by male officers. Burkina Faso announced this week that it will begin plans to withdraw its peacekeepers stationed in Sudan. Burundi is also contemplating the withdraw of its troops from peacekeeping operations in both Somalia and the Central African Republic.
Russia announced the detention of a number of individuals with links to the Islamic State. German police arrested five men suspected of serving as ISIS recruiters. In Greece, a hand grenade was thrown at a policeman outside the French embassy in Athens. On a positive note, progress continues in talks to reunify a divided Cyprus.
