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Musings From Abroad

Prince Charles slams British government over plan to send refugees to Rwanda

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UK’s Prince Charles has slammed the British government over its plans to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda, describing the move by Prime Minister Boris Johnson as appalling.

The heir to the British throne who is not allowed to publicly criticise the government by law, is reportedly concerned that the controversial asylum agreement the UK entered into with the African country will overshadow a Commonwealth Summit in Rwanda where he is due to represent his mother, Queen Elizabeth, at the end of June.

Under the UK’s unwritten constitution, the royal family should remain politically neutral and while Queen Elizabeth has steadfastly kept her opinions to herself during her seven-decade reign, Prince Charles, however, has in many instances, expressed his views about subjects close to his heart.

As the first flight which is scheduled to leave UK on Tuesday with about 30 migrants confirmed after a judge rejected lawsuits filed in attempts to halt the deport bid, Prince Charles is said to have been heard criticising the policy.

“He said he was more than disappointed at the policy. He said he thinks the government’s whole approach is appalling. It was clear he was not impressed with the government’s direction of travel,” a palace source revealed to a journalist.

A spokesperson for Prince Charles did not also deny he had expressed his personal opinions about the policy in private when contacted by the journalist.

“We would not comment on supposed anonymous private conversations with the Prince except to restate that he remains politically neutral. Matters of policy are decisions for government,” the spokesperson reportedly said.

The British government had announced in April it had struck a deal worth £120 million with Rwanda to send tens of thousands of asylum seekers to the East African country in a bid to undermine people-smuggling networks.

Up to 130 asylum seekers have been notified they could be sent to Rwanda and lawyers for almost 100 of the migrants had submitted legal challenges asking to stay in the UK.

On Friday, a British judge, Jonathan Swift, refused a request from a group of the asylum-seekers, backed by a trade union and refugee groups, for an injunction grounding the flight scheduled to airlift 30 of the migrants to Rwanda on Tuesday, June 14.

Musings From Abroad

UAE’s IRH to consider stake in Zambia’s Lubambe copper mine

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A division of the International Holding Company of Abu Dhabi, International Resources Holding (IRH), has announced that it plans to submit a proposal for a share in Zambia’s Lubambe Copper Mine.

 

The deal has opened up more potential to profit from Africa’s second-largest copper producer, according to IRH, which just acquired a 51% stake in Mopani Copper Mines in Zambia.

 

 

Even after Chinese firm JCHX Mining agreed to buy the stake, it was reported on March 22 quoting sources, indicating that IRH, a division of the most valuable company in Abu Dhabi, is interested in purchasing an 80% stake in Lubambe held by EMR Capital.

 

 

“IRH’s commitment (at Mopani), has opened doors for additional investment opportunities in Zambia, including an intention to bid for a stake in the Lubambe Copper Mine,” the company said.

 

Due to the company’s interest in Lubambe, which may be among Zambia’s biggest copper mines, a bidding battle between Shanghai-listed JCHX, a mine maintenance and contracting company, and itself may result.

 

Wealthy oil companies from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have recently begun to follow China’s lead and engage in African businesses to acquire resources to diversify their economies and capitalize on the move to electric vehicles (EVs). In addition to making bids for mining projects, IRH stated that it was actively investigating a range of investment prospects.

 

“In the forthcoming years, our goal is to seek diversification opportunities beyond copper… (with) targeted investments in other pivotal energy transition minerals, such as cobalt, nickel, rare earth elements, manganese, graphite, and the 3T minerals – tin, tungsten, and tantalum,” it said.

 

The Zambian government currently plans to increase copper production from approximately 850,000 metric tonnes to 3 million metric tonnes annually by 2032.

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Musings From Abroad

China, Zambia’s major creditor, cooperating on debt rework— Official

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A spokesperson of Zambia’s foreign ministry has stated that one of its major creditors, China, has remained supportive of Zambia’s debt restructuring.

The diplomat did not, however, disclose whether China approved of a planned agreement the country in southern Africa made with foreign bondholders.

On Monday, Zambia and the bondholder group announced that they had come to a fresh understanding to restructure $3 billion in foreign notes. The proposal was given the go-ahead by Zambia’s formal creditors, the largest of which is China.

On Monday, Zambia announced that it has reached a deal with a group of private creditors on the restructuring of $3 billion of its foreign notes, which is a noteworthy achievement that brings the country closer to ending its lengthy debt restructuring.

Being the first nation in Africa to miss payments on its foreign debt during the Covid-19 outbreak, they have expressed a strong desire for the debt to be restructured. Unfortunately, the protracted delays in the process have strained the local financial systems, impeded desperately needed investments, and delayed economic progress.

Zambia defaulted more than three years ago and its debt rework process has hit many obstacles, including in November when the official creditors rejected a previous bond deal because it did not offer comparable debt relief to theirs.

“China, as co-chair of the Zambian Debt Committee, has made concerted efforts with all parties concerned to promote significant progress in the disposal of Zambia’s debt,” Lin Jian, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a regular press conference.

“China will also continue to coordinate and cooperate with all parties concerned to steadily advance the work related to Zambia’s debt disposal,” he said when asked for China’s response to the latest bondholder deal.

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