Tunisia’s top union calls another general strike

Tunisia’s most powerful union has called for a second general strike in protest at government economic policies.

The UGTT has about a million members, and its last nationwide strike earlier this month brought the north African country to a standstill.

The Tunisian government is preparing to negotiate a loan with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to save public finances from bankruptcy.

The union, which represents many public sector workers, has said it will refuse to accept IMF demands for a wage freeze and cuts in food and energy subsidies.

No date has yet been set for the strike.

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African fund promises $3bn for vaccine self-sufficiency

Some $3bn (£2.4bn) will be invested over the next 10 years to end vaccine dependency across the continent, the Africa Development Bank (ADB) has pledged.

The plan incudes a new pharmaceutical centre for research, development and manufacturing based in Rwanda’s capital, Kigali.

It has been widely lauded as key towards ending Africa’s dependence on outside donations, as recently witnessed during the Covid-19 pandemic

ADB say it will also help patent and license African-made medicines, and support governments to navigate the intellectual property rights to global vaccines and medicines.

It follows a recent World Trade Organisation announcement of a partial waiver on coronavirus vaccine patents, allowing select developing countries to produce the jabs.

ADB says Africa currently imports more than 70% of all its medicines, spending about $14bn every year.

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Human Trafficking: Ghana Police Service Rescue 9 Victims On Lake Volta

The Ghana Police Service in collaboration with the Department of Social Welfare have rescued nine trafficked victims from Yeji in the Pru East District of the Bono East Region.

The joint operation rescued four adult men and five boys from exploitation on the portion of the Volta Lake in Yeji.

Two of the four adult victims were trafficked 20 years ago and were said to have been brought to work on the lake at ages three and five respectively and the youngest of the five boys arrived less than a year ago.

Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Tema after the rescue mission, Mr Kojo Owiredu Kissi, Coordinator, Media and Communications, International Justice Mission (IJM), an anti-human trafficking not-for-profit organization in Ghana, said an operation by the two institutions led to the rescue of the victims in Yeji.

He indicated that the rescue process was owned and led by government partners from the Ghana Police Service and Department of Social Welfare with technical and logistical support from IJM Ghana.

Mr Kissi expressed heartfelt gratitude to the two institutions for their dedication and unflinching support towards ending human trafficking on the Volta Lake adding that, “they must be commended because this rescue was successful due to their dedication and collaborative efforts and outstanding work.”

Mr Kissi said six of the victims have been reintegrated and are currently at home with their families where they would be supported to go back to school or undertake vocational skills while three of them were in a shelter home.

He noted that the master, now a suspect, recruited the young children to work on the Lake for fishing.

Mr Kissi said the suspect controlled every aspect of the lives of the children adding that they were not allowed to play or associate with anybody outside of the suspect’s family and would be punished violently if they did.

He said anyone outside of the suspect’s family who tried to interact with the children would also be subject to violence, “if the children begin to develop relations with neighbours, they would be sent to more remote islands to ensure their isolation.”

Mr Kissi stated that the only movement the children were allowed to engage in was between the suspect’s house and his boat, noting that they were responsible both for housework and fishing on the lake.

He said the victims were identified to have been trafficked from the Volta and Bono Regions.

Source: GNA

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Why Rwanda-DR Congo spat is disrupting school

Rwandan students studying in Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo are facing security threats arising from the ongoing spat between the two neighbouring countries.

DR Congo accuses Rwanda of backing the Congolese M23 rebels and has recently halted all trade and cooperation agreements. Rwanda denies the allegations.

The situation at the border is still tense and this is now causing concerns, with some parents worried for their children studying across the border.

Some students have told the BBC that they risk being targeted for who they are and this has had an impact on their education.

“I live in Rubavu and study medicine just across the border in Goma. When the protests started they chased Rwandese. The director [of my college] said those that have families in Goma can stay in school and those of us who study while crossing back to Rwanda should return home immediately,” a Rwandese student told the BBC.

A parent whose children study in DR Congo told the BBC that there was initially no problem with them studying in Goma and returning to Rwanda “but now we are very concerned”.

The mayor of Rubavu, Ildephonse Kambogo, said Rwanda has cautioned its citizens to observe their safety as a priority and reduce unnecessary travel across the border.

The exact number of Rwandan students studying in Goma is not known but there are thought to be many.

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Women Cannot Be Born With A Penis – Says Boris Johnson

British Prime minister, Boris Johnson has welcomed the decision to ban transgender women from competing in women’s swimming, saying women cannot be born with a penis.

The Prime Minister reaffirmed that he supports FINA’s bar on transgender athletes who have gone through male puberty from competing in women’s events. The international swimming federation announced that it was changing its policies so that transgender women can only compete in the organisation’s female races if they have completed their transition by the age of 12.

Instead, an ‘open category’ will be set up for transgender athletes to compete against one another at events, including the World Aquatics Championships, World Swimming Championships, and the Swimming World Cup.

Asked about FINA’s ban, Mr. Johnson said: ‘I haven’t studied it in detail but I see no reason to dissent.’

After having the policy summarised to him, he added: ‘That follows from what I’ve previously said.’

Mr. Johnson was also asked if a woman can be born with a penis, amid a debate in some quarters about anatomy and gender.

‘Not without being a man, that’s my view about that,’ the Prime Minister replied.

Speaking to reporters travelling with him during his visit to Rwanda, he was asked if he thinks there is a difference between being a woman and a trans woman.

After pausing to think he said: ‘Yes.’

He added: ‘Look it’s very, very important that as a society we should be as understanding of everybody else as possible. I’ve always stood for that.

‘When you start to move from issues of sexuality to issues of gender you start to raise particular problems.

‘I think I’ve spoken of three concerns I’ve had in the past. They are to do with the age at which you can (become) Gillick competent to transition, the question of safe spaces for women, and the difficulties you have in sporting competitions.

‘These are all very difficult problems and you have to be very, very sensitive.’

LGBT charity Stonewall criticised the line of questioning, suggesting the Prime Minister would welcome it as a ‘distraction’ from the political turmoil.

Campaigns associate director Sasha Misra said: ‘The real question that should be on the nation’s lips is this: at a time when we are living through multiple national crises, why are journalists squandering valuable interview time by asking the Prime Minister leading questions about a tiny, vulnerable minority?

‘We know that the majority of the public feel supportive and compassionate towards trans people, who are their family, friends and neighbours.

‘All that is achieved by this kind of media coverage is that trans people feel less safe in their day to day lives, and the public has less opportunity to hear from the government on the pressing political matters of the day.

‘The Prime Minister might welcome the distraction, but he should not be fooled into thinking that anti-trans talking points will win votes.’

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Stocks Extend Bear Market Bounce As Inflation Angst Eases

World shares extended their bounce on Monday, building on Friday’s strong Wall Street close as off-peak oil prices helped sentiment improve and temper fears of prolonged inflation.

Strong morning gains in Europe and a rally across Asian markets after China further eased COVID-19 restrictions drove the MSCI’s benchmark for global stocks (.MIWD00000PUS) up for a third straight session, rising 0.5% by 0851 GMT.

Investors hope the oil prices slide from three-month peaks hit earlier in June could ease price pressures and allow the U.S. Federal Reserve to tighten policy less aggressively than initially feared, reducing the risk of an economic recession.

“We think there are more chances of seeing oil prices going lower simply because of easing demand from the U.S., Europe and China due to the slowdown in the economy. This in turn should help reduce expectations on inflation at least for the very end of this year,” said Jérôme Schupp, fund manager at Prime Partners in Geneva.

“The next Fed meeting in July will be quite important. We should see the Fed continue to hike rates, probably by 75 basis points. But more crucial will be the new message from (Fed Chair Jerome) Powell. Maybe he’ll say they’re happy with the new level of rates,” added Schupp.

Despite the strong three-day rebound which has helped the MSCI world benchmark distance further above the November 2020 lows hit earlier this month, the index remains down more than 20% from its record-high close in January, a fall that is commonly described as a bear market.

Traders said oversold market conditions and month-end portfolio rebalancing also contributed to the bounce, although they expected more volatility ahead as the second-quarter earnings seasons approaches.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares (.MIAP00000PUS) rose 1.6%. Beijing said on Saturday it would allow schools to resume in-person classes and Shanghai’s top party boss declared victory over COVID-19 after the city reported zero new local cases for the first time in two months.

The pan-regional STOXX 600 (.STOXX) benchmark added more than 1% as the easing in China restrictions boosted oil stocks and miners. Meanwhile, U.S. stock index futures extended their gains with S&P 500 e-minis gaining around 0.6%.

Oil was volatile as the market grappled with concerns over an economic slowdown versus worries about lost Russian supply amid sanctions over the Ukraine conflict.

Brent prices rose 0.2% to $113.36 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures dipped 0.1% at $107.52.

U.S. 10-year Treasury yields stood just above 3% as traders removed bets for hikes next year but still pondered about aggressive tightening this year. They were up 2 basis points at 3.16%, off an 11-year high reached earlier this month.

“The market remains focused in the trade-off between the policy response to high inflation and fears of a hard landing,” Westpac rates strategist Damien McColough wrote in a note.

“There will be ongoing discussions as to whether long-end yields have peaked, however, we would not yet expect 10-year yields to fall materially or sustainably below 3%,” he added.

The dollar continued to consolidate near the lowest since the middle of the month against major peers, as traders reassessed the prospects of aggressive rate hikes.

The dollar index – which measures the currency versus six rivals – was down 0.2% at 103.82.

Gold rose 0.7% higher to $1,838.8 per ounce, supported by news of some Western nations planning to officially ban imports of the metal from Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

Bitcoin was flat, trading at $21,170.88 after falling as low as $17,588.88 earlier this month.

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