MIL Africa Engine

Source: APO – Report:

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Today, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi held a meeting with the newly appointed governors and their deputies following their swearing-in ceremony. The meeting was attended by Prime Minister, Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, and Minister of Local Development and Environment, Dr. Manal Awad.

Spokesman for the Presidency Ambassador Mohamed El-Shennawy said the President welcomed the new governors and their deputies and stressed the vital need for each governor to utilize their governorates’ resources and tools to achieve tangible results that serve the public interest. The President emphasized the pivotal role of every governor and the necessity of working with sincerity and dedication, free from favoritism, while being well-informed about details of issues and problems in their governorates. The President also stressed the importance of governors leveraging their deputies and the cadres of the executive bodies, taking into account the unique characteristics of each governorate. President El-Sisi confirmed that the success of a governor’s mission reflects directly on the welfare of the entire nation.

President El-Sisi highlighted the vital need to maintain constant communication between the governors, their deputies, and the citizens, affirming the importance of addressing complaints and requests with utmost seriousness. The President also emphasized the significance of the efficient management of the available equipment and resources, and of fostering cooperation with investors and businesspeople. President El-Sisi asserted the imperative necessity transparency and clarity, maintaining constant communication with the government and members of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, as well as with the President when necessary.

The President directed the governors to prioritize the regularization of building violations, wastewater treatment plants, drinking water and electricity, schools, and the smooth operation of studies. This is in addition to promoting sports culture and enhancing cooperation with civil society organizations.

President El-Sisi reiterated the crucial need for governors to personally and persistently supervise cleanliness campaigns, complete projects related to the “Decent Life” initiative, monitor bakeries, and be present on the ground to solve citizens’ problems. The President directed them to effectively oversee housing projects and the establishment of new cities, working with state agencies to overcome obstacles, while also firmly addressing the phenomenon of encroachments on agricultural land, violations along canals, and dealing with slum areas and illegal constructions. Governors were also instructed to focus on urban planning and visual identity.

Furthermore, the President emphasized the need for each governor to continually work on developing resources and implementing projects in heir governorate, and to take necessary actions to overcome challenges in tourist destinations, thereby promoting tourism and strengthening the role of tourism in their region.

– on behalf of Presidency of the Arab Republic of Egypt.

Source: APO

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Some families have survived in those harsh conditions for months.

Among them, 17-year-old Doha and her brothers and sisters reached Tawila after a three-day long journey from El Fasher by foot and donkey cart, exhausted and frightened. Home in the key city of Darfur had become too dangerous. Food was scarce. Health facilities were destroyed. School, once the centre of Doha’s days, was no more.

“This girl caught our eye because she was smiling,” said Eva Hinds, spokesperson for the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Sudan to UN News. “And she so desperately wanted to speak English. I’m always so struck when I see someone who is beaming in the middle of such a hardship environment.”

‘Not giving up’

Her first name, Doha, means “morning” in Arabic and is often used colloquially to refer to the period from dawn to sunrise.

“The light in the eyes of this girl showed she lives to her name,” said Ms. Hinds.

Before the war broke out, Doha was studying English and was keen to know if there were opportunities to continue learning English in Tawila. She told Ms. Hinds she’d like to teach others at some point.

“I’m always struck by how people are resilient and they’re not giving up when the world is stuck against them,” said Ms Hinds.

Millions flee violence

According to a recent report from the UN Human Rights Office based on victims and witnesses’ testimonies, more than 6,000 people were killed in three days when Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) captured the city of El Fasher last year. The key city of Darfur came under 18 months of sustained siege. This is where some of the most harrowing stories have emerged out of this brutal conflict.

“There are millions of children who’ve had to flee their homes several times, not only once or twice, but more than that,” underlined Ms. Hinds.

These children end up in camps for internally displaced, which are very difficult places to grow up in, with cramped spaces and very limited access to safe water, food and opportunities to continue learning.

“Their sense of safety has been shaken as they’ve been forced to flee and they’ve seen things that many children have never seen and should never see,” she said.

Their routines, friendships and sense of security have been completely upended as they struggle with the most basic things, such as getting food and enough water to drink and wash. 

Skyrocketing needs, declining funding

On the ground, UNICEF and its partners provide different types of support, from healthcare to nutrition, and also safe spaces where heavily traumatised children can start receiving psychosocial services so they can start going through their traumatic experiences amid a sense of normalcy for the first time. It’s a space where they can play, be with friends and start learning.

But, Sudan is an immense country, with around 34 million people who need humanitarian assistance, and needs keep growing. This is a challenge for humanitarians operating on the ground. The dramatic situation for children is worsening in conflict zones, where the risks of violence, including sexual violence, are escalating.

UNICEF works to identify and support children, looks for the adults in their families to reunite them and offers them refuge if needed.

“With regard to sexual violence, it is essential to provide safe spaces, especially for women and girls,” according to UNICEF.

“Needs are skyrocketing and the funding is dwindling,” the agency’s spokesperson said. “It’s a very difficult equation to make, and unfortunately, it’s often the most vulnerable that pay the heaviest price: the children.”

Hope remains last refuge

Sudan is also one of the countries that practices female genital mutilation (FGM). UNICEF and the UN sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA, have a joint programme on the elimination of the practice, which the agencies continue to implement despite the challenges of a country at war.

“We foster girls clubs as part of the programming,” Ms. Hinds explained. “These clubs are safe spaces where girls and adolescents come together, where they learn. It’s a place where they can support one another and develop a sense of identity and belonging and this is very much about the positive social norms. These clubs also play a critical role in encouraging girls to stay in school, complete their studies and challenge harmful practices, including female genital mutilation.”

In camps for displaced people, education and basic services provide children with a fragile sense of safety and stability. “Education is a lifeline,” UNICEF insists.

Despite ongoing violence in Darfur and Kordofan, hope remains the last refuge for thousands of children like Doha in Tawila, who dream of a peaceful Sudan and the chance to reclaim a stolen childhood.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of UN News.

Source: APO

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In recent months, the Egyptian authorities renewed their campaign of arbitrarily detaining and unlawfully deporting refugees and asylum seekers solely on the basis of their irregular immigration status in blatant violation of the principle of non-refoulement and Egypt’s own asylum law, Amnesty International said today. Refugees or asylum seekers registered with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) are among those unlawfully deported or arbitrarily detained pending deportation.

Since late December 2025, police officers in plain clothes have been arbitrarily rounding up nationals of Syria, Sudan, South Sudan and other Sub-Saharan countries from the streets or their workplaces in cities across the country following identity checks. Those found without valid residency permits were driven away in unmarked vans, even when they were able to produce UNHCR cards.

“Refugees who have fled war, persecution or humanitarian crises should not be forced to live in daily fear of being arbitrarily arrested and deported back to a place where they are at risk of grave human rights violations. By forcibly expelling refugees and asylum seekers, Egyptian authorities are not only flagrantly flouting international human rights and refugee law, but they are also breaching the protections afforded in the country’s own recently passed asylum law prohibiting refoulment of recognized refugees,” said Mahmoud Shalaby, Egypt and Libya Researcher at Amnesty International.

“Fearing arrest and deportation, families have been forced into hiding at home, living in limbo and unable to access work or education. Many are struggling to survive after the primary breadwinner of the family had been detained or deported. The Egyptian authorities must immediately release all refugees and asylum seekers arbitrarily detained solely on immigration grounds and halt deportations of anyone entitled to protection under international law.”

Amnesty International documented security forces’ arbitrary arrest of 22 refugees and asylum seekers, including one child and two women, from their homes, the streets or at security checkpoints between late December 2025 and 5 February 2026 in Cairo, Giza, Al-Qalyubia and Alexandria governorates. Those arrested and detained are refugees and asylum seekers from Sudan, Syria and South Sudan, 15 of whom are registered with UNHCR. 

Of this group, security forces have deported one Syrian asylum seeker registered with UNHCR. The 21 others remain at risk of deportation as the authorities had already begun their deportation procedures even though prosecutors had ordered the release of 19 of them, while three had scheduled residency renewal appointments with the immigration department.

There are no available statistics on deportations of Syrians, but Egyptian NGOs sounded the alarm about the rise in unlawful deportations of Syrian nationals in mid-January. On 17 January, the Syrian embassy in Cairo stated that it had received information from the Egyptian authorities that they were conducting “periodic verification campaigns on residency permits.” The embassy advised Syrians to always carry a valid residency permit.

On 31 January, the Sudanese Ambassador to Cairo said in a press conference that 207 Sudanese nationals were returned from Egypt in December 2025 and another 371 in January 2026, without clarifying whether these were deportations carried out by security forces or whether individuals were compelled to return home through programmes coordinated by the Sudanese embassy and Egyptian authorities, in order to avoid indefinite detention or risk of arrest. He added that around 400 Sudanese nationals were currently detained in Egypt, without clarifying the grounds.

Since the outbreak of armed conflict in Sudan in 2023, Egyptian authorities have periodically carried out intensified identity checks targeting foreign nationals, detaining those who lack documentation and subsequently deporting them. The Egyptian government does not publish official figures on deportations.  As of January 2026, 1,099,024 refugees and asylum seekers were registered with UNHCR.

Amnesty International interviewed a former detainee, four relatives of detained refugees and asylum seekers, a friend of a released asylum seeker, a lawyer representing detainees, four refugees and asylum seekers whose families are confined at home due to the crackdown, and two community activists. The organization also spoke with two staff members at the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms and the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, who both documented cases of arbitrary arrests and unlawful deportations of refugees and asylum seekers.

Arrest despite immigration appointments and UNHCR cards

The Egyptian government requires all foreign nationals in the country “irregularly” to regularize their status through an Egyptian sponsor and the payment of US$1,000. Refugees and asylum seekers registered with UNHCR are not subject to these requirements when renewing their residence permits.

Many of the refugees and asylum seekers arrested since late December 2025 had scheduled appointments at the Ministry of Interior’s General Department of Passports, Immigration and Nationality to renew their residency. Such appointments are routinely delayed due to government backlogs – refugees and asylum seekers reported waiting for up to three years for appointments.

The arbitrary arrests took place even in cases where refugees and asylum seekers were able to produce UNHCR cards. The mother of a 10-year-old South Sudanese boy with a valid residence permit told Amnesty International she chose to keep him at home after hearing reports of police confiscating refugees’ valid documents.

Her fears are well founded. Amnesty International documented the case of Eisa, a 20-year-old Eritrean refugee registered with UNHCR and with a valid Egyptian residence permit. His mother said that police officers confiscated his UNHCR card and residence permit and warned him: “Next time we will catch you without documents and you will be detained and deported.”

On 23 January, police arrested Ahmed, a 40-year-old Syrian asylum seeker registered with UNHCR, from the street in 6th of October City, Giza, just six days before his scheduled appointment with the General Administration of Passports, Immigration and Nationality to renew his residence permit.

The following day, prosecutors ordered his release pending investigations into charges related to irregular stay in Egypt and ordered his referral to the “relevant administrative authority,” namely the ministry of interior. Despite this, police refused to release him   and escorted him to the National Security Agency (NSA), the immigration authority and the Syrian embassy to verify his identity, as part of deportation procedures.

Forced deportations and refoulement

In early February, police informed Ahmed’s lawyer that unless his family purchased him a flight ticket to Syria, he would remain indefinitely detained. The family complied, and security officials deported Ahmed, who had lived in Egypt for 12 years after fleeing armed conflict in Syria, without an individualized assessment of the risks he might face upon return and despite the prosecutor order for his release.

In 19 cases documented by Amnesty International involving refugees or asylum seekers who are currently at risk of deportation, prosecutors had ordered their release pending investigation into immigration-related charges. However, police continue to hold them in detention despite these release orders and with no further judicial review allowing them to challenge the legality of their detention.

In the two other cases documented by Amnesty International, detainees’ families were unsure if they had ever been brought before prosecutors.

In line with the pattern documented in Ahmed’s case, the ministry of interior has already begun to escort all detainees to various authorities and their countries’ diplomatic representatives as part of the deportation procedures.

The principle of non-refoulement prohibits states from sending anyone to a place where they would be at real risk of serious human rights violations. Even Egypt’s flawed asylum law prohibits the extradition of “recognized refugees” to their country of origin or habitual residence, despite the fact that other provisions implicitly permit exceptions under the guise of overly vague “national security and public order” grounds without due process safeguards.

Amnesty International opposes forced returns of Sudanese nationals to Sudan amid an ongoing armed conflict marked by serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, including mass civilian casualties. Similarly, the UNHCR has maintained its position against all forced returns of Syrian nationals due to the volatile security situation and the ongoing risks posed by armed groups exercising control over towns and cities.

Devastating impact of livelihoods and right to education

The crackdown has had devastating consequences for refugee families, particularly affecting their rights to education and work. Three families, all registered with UNHCR, told Amnesty International they had stopped sending their children to school or university for fear of arrest because they currently do not have valid residence permits.

One family said they had been unable to secure any appointment to renew their expired residence permits because they could not reach the UNHCR — which books appointments on behalf of the Egyptian authorities — neither physically through its sole office in the country due to long queues nor through its hotline. Another family reported that their son’s appointment was scheduled for 2027.

Some refugees and asylum seekers have stopped or limited their work to minimize risk of arrest. Ahmed, a 26-year-old Sudanese asylum seeker registered with UNHCR, previously worked as a teacher at three schools. He resigned from two and now works at one school close to his home, in an effort to minimize journeys outside his home as his residence permit had expired, and his renewal appointment was scheduled for 2028.

Amina, a 49-year-old Sudanese single mother and refugee registered with UNHCR, told Amnesty International she resorted to begging on the streets to support her two daughters after losing the family’s breadwinner, her son Moaatz, who was detained in the recent crackdown. On 28 January, police arrested Moaatz, who is a UNHCR-registered asylum seeker, while street vending in Cairo for lacking a valid residence permit. His renewal appointment is scheduled for 2027.

“As a close partner to Egypt on migration and major donor to UNHCR, the European Union should urge the Egyptian government to adopt concrete and verifiable measures to protect the rights of refugees and migrants as well as to ensure that UNHCR has unimpeded access to all places of detention where refugees, asylum seekers and migrants are held, and allow them to make their international protection claims and have these fairly assessed,” said Mahmoud Shalaby.

“The EU and other states must also step up responsibility-sharing by expanding resettlement opportunities and creating safe and regular pathways for people in need of international protection, including humanitarian visas, labour and student mobility schemes, and community sponsorship initiatives.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Amnesty International.

Source: APO – Report:

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Melvin Bouva, Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Business and International Cooperation of Suriname, has been confirmed as a keynote speaker at Caribbean Energy Week (CEW 2026), taking place from 30 March to 1 April 2026 in Paramaribo. His participation signals high-level support at a pivotal stage in the country’s transition from exploration frontier to offshore producer, reinforcing government commitment to investor engagement and long-term sector development.

The keynote will provide direct insight into Suriname’s policy coordination, international partnerships and capital-mobilization strategy as the country advances toward first offshore oil in 2028. Central to this trajectory is the GranMorgu development in Block 58 – led by TotalEnergies and APA Corporation – targeting roughly 220,000 barrels per day, with construction of a floating production vessel already underway and state firm Staatsolie holding a 20% stake. Bouva’s address is expected to detail how Suriname is aligning foreign policy, fiscal certainty and state participation to advance first oil timelines and unlock follow-on upstream investment.

Gas monetization is emerging as a parallel strategic pillar. Malaysia’s PETRONAS declared the Sloanea discovery in Block 52 commercial in late 2025, with a final investment decision anticipated in 2026 and first gas targeted around 2030 via floating LNG. The Minister’s remarks are therefore expected to frame how foreign policy, infrastructure planning and market access converge to enable both oil production and future gas exports.

“Suriname is moving from discovery to execution, where investor confidence will depend on clear policy signals and disciplined project delivery,” states Sandra Jeque, Project Director at Energy Capital & Power. “Minister Bouva’s keynote brings the government’s strategic lens to that transition – showing how diplomacy, financing and regulation are being aligned to bring the country’s first offshore production online and sustain long-term upstream growth.”

Beyond hydrocarbons, Suriname is strengthening its macro-investment narrative through international financial cooperation, including recent debt-relief arrangements and expanding ties with partners across Europe, Asia and the Caribbean. As one of the world’s few carbon-negative countries, Suriname is also leveraging its High-Forest, Low-Deforestation profile to access climate finance – positioning energy development alongside environmental credibility in discussions with global investors.

Hosted at the Royal Torarica Hotel, CEW 2026 convenes regional governments, operators and financiers at a defining moment for Caribbean energy. Bouva’s confirmed keynote underscores institutional readiness and strategic alignment behind Suriname’s offshore projects – offering stakeholders a clear signal of policy continuity as capital deployment accelerates.

Join us in shaping the future of Caribbean energy. To participate in this landmark event, please contact sales@energycapitalpower.com.

– on behalf of Energy Capital & Power.

Source: APO – Report:

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Across many Western countries, anti-energy activists attack the very oil and gas industry that provides tax revenue to build schools, pave roads and fund universities. Unreasonable limits on oil and natural gas activity do not just target companies – they ultimately harm societies, weaken economies and destroy jobs. Africa cannot afford to follow that path. At the African Energy Chamber (AEC) (http://EnergyChamber.org), we have always believed we must remain organized to defend this industry and fight back when necessary.

The Chamber has personally invested significant effort in this fight because supporting the oil and gas industry is essential to Africa’s development and economic sovereignty. At the AEC, we reject the idea that governments should pick energy winners and losers instead of allowing free‑market principles to work. By rallying continued investment into Africa, we defend the same market foundations that built many of today’s strongest global economies. That is why regulatory clarity, efficient permitting and consistent enforcement are essential to attracting both domestic and foreign capital – work the AEC advances every day.

Africa’s Energy Must Deliver for Africans

For many Africans, skepticism about oil and gas has long centered on one question: where are the jobs and opportunities? This is why we remain unapologetic advocates of local content. Expecting the industry to create jobs for Africans is not radical – it is right.

To be clear, the industry has made meaningful progress. It has trained professionals, developed talent and produced African entrepreneurs who are now acquiring assets across the continent. The leadership of companies such as Seplat, Renaissance Energy, Oando, Etu Energias, First E&P, ND Western and numerous service firms reflects careers built inside major IOCs and global service companies. From Angola and Mozambique to Nigeria, South Sudan, Tanzania and Senegal, few industries have created comparable pathways for African leadership. In many cases, this progress required governments to push firmly for African inclusion – something regulators such as the NUPRC, ANPG, Ghana Petroleum Commission and authorities in Namibia, Tanzania, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, The Gambia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Senegal and South Africa must never forget.

Inclusion Is Not Optional

Yet serious concerns remain. Policies or practices that exclude Black professionals from employment opportunities contradict the very principles of growth, fairness and partnership the industry claims to uphold. Frontier Energy Network’s hiring practices – widely understood across the industry to exclude Black professionals – are wrong. Full stop. This is not who our industry claims to be, and it is not compatible with partnership in Africa. Frontier’s leadership, including Daniel Davidson, has remained stubborn on this issue, and we are prepared to take this fight to the end. An organization that earns the lion’s share of its revenue from Africans cannot expect to benefit from African markets, governments and capital while denying fair employment to Africans.

This moment calls for our industry to show moral conviction. Africans are watching. No organization seeking partnership, investment or credibility in Africa can ignore inclusion or dismiss legitimate concerns about discrimination. In 2026, we should not still be confronting barriers rooted in the past. If the Africa Energies Summit wants African support, it must be ready to do the right thing by hiring Black professionals. When Daniel Davidson refuses to hire Black professionals and actively locks them out, the industry feels it – it is like a one‑eyed quarterback seeing only half the field.

The Industry Must Choose

We are therefore considering a targeted, lawful and selective boycott – yes, exactly that – against institutions that refuse to uphold inclusive hiring. Quite frankly, companies that still treat Black professionals as second‑class participants in this industry must face consequences. Inclusion drives growth, and when this industry grows, everybody wins. It is simply good business.

Service companies, investors, conference organizers and partners all share responsibility. One cannot seek licenses, approvals, and government goodwill while tolerating exclusionary behavior. Companies such as TGS – and others participating in platforms perceived by many Black professionals as unwelcoming – must recognize their influence and act accordingly. As Martin Luther King Jr. reminded us, “There comes a time when silence is betrayal.” Companies must pick a side. You cannot promise governments local hiring while endorsing exclusion.

African ministers and regulators who attend the Africa Energies Summit cannot claim to value local content while aligning with institutions that refuse to hire Black professionals. The days when Black professionals are merely spectators in Africa’s oil and gas development are over. Our industry must remain vigilant. We cannot repeat the mistakes of the past or give anti‑oil extremists an opportunity to tell African youth, “We told you so.”

Ignoring local content risks undermining the future of Africa’s oil and gas industry. The Chamber takes this position not lightly, but from decades of advocacy, criticism endured and unwavering belief in the sector’s importance to the continent. Listening to Black professionals who feel excluded is not optional – it is necessary. Many may come for me because of this stance, but honesty demands that I speak for the Black men and women who have been unfairly treated by Daniel Davidson and the Africa Energies Summit.

In the coming weeks, The Chamber will engage African officials and industry leaders to seek clear commitments to inclusive hiring and equal opportunity. Where progress is absent, we will exercise our lawful right to protest. Oil and gas professionals are good people, and this industry remains vital to ending energy poverty and strengthening global energy security. God bless the oil and gas industry – and yes, Drill Baby Drill.

We cannot allow division to weaken our shared mission. The Chamber has consistently been a model of pragmatic leadership, especially when facing distractions such as those posed by Frontier Energy Network and the Africa Energies Summit. Africa’s energy future must be built on investment, opportunity and inclusion for all. We shall overcome.

– on behalf of African Energy Chamber.