Morocco, Spain tensions boiling over Truckers halted food shipments from Morocco to the Spanish enclave of Melilla as protesters accuse Spanish police of brutality and racism against Moroccans who cross into the tiny city on the North African coast. No fish, fruits or vegetables arrived Wednesday in Melilla, forcing its second food shortage in a week, after Moroccan protesters blocked trucks Tuesday from crossing the border to the city of 70,000. The truckers then decided Wednesday to stop shipments until the dispute was resolved. Some 20 protesters on the Moroccan side were allowing only empty trucks and those carrying construction materials through on Wednesday, a spokesman for the Spanish Interior Ministry in the city said. But the threat of a lengthy blockade eased with reports that Moroccan protesters had agreed to suspend their protest until the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in September. Spanish media said the protesters reached a deal with Melilla's food traders to allow shipments to resume Thursday. Suspected militants kill 3 Algerian soldiers in bombing Three Algerian soldiers were killed when their truck was ambushed by suspected Islamic militants armed with a remote-control explosive device, police in the North African nation said Saturday. Five other soldiers were seriously wounded late Thursday in the bombing in Baghlia, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) east of the capital, police said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Most attacks in Algeria are claimed by al-Qaida in Islamic North Africa, a local Islamic insurgency movement that joined Osama bin Laden's terrorist network in 2006. Tunisia cereal crop halves due to dry weather Tunisia's cereal production has halved this year due to dry weather, the agriculture ministry said on Saturday. Yields of wheat and barley were hit by a lack of rainfall at the time of sowing, and reached just 1.2 million tonnes this season compared with 2.45 million tonnes in 2009 for a country, half of which is arid. The agriculture ministry said Tunisia would import over two million tonnes of cereal this season from countries including the United States, Canada and Europe, to meet local needs. Judge approves Barclays deal with Justice Dept A judge has approved a deal that Barclays Bank PLC made with the U.S. Justice Department to defer prosecution of the financial institution on allegations that it illegally engaged in financial transactions with banks in Cuba, Iran, Libya, Sudan and Burma. Under the arrangement, Barclays will pay $298 million — half of it to the United States and the rest under an agreement with the Manhattan district attorney's office in New York. Sudan's President Committed to Holding Referendum on Time Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir says the referendum on southern Sudan's independence will take place on time. The vote is scheduled for January 9 of next year and could split the east African country in two. North-south divisions within the committee responsible for planning the vote have stalled the arrangements. Southern officials strongly oppose any delay in the referendum. BM
