Morocco says Dismantled International Drug Trafficking Ring The Moroccan government is calling for regional action in the face of growing collaboration between drug traffickers and terrorists in the Sahel. Morocco's Interior Ministry confirmed Friday in Rabat that police had arrested 34 members of an international drug trafficking ring that had ties to the terrorist group, al-Qaida of the Islamic Maghreb. Authorities said the traffickers, who also had links to South American drug cartels, were transporting cocaine and marijuana from South America to Europe, via North Africa. Spain hopes for quick deal with Algeria over gas prices Spain hopes that Gas Natural will reach a quick agreement with Algerian state-owned oil and gas company Sonatrach in a spat over gas prices which may cost the Spanish company up to $2 billion, a government spokeswoman said on Monday. Industry minister Miguel Sebastian was in Algeria, Spain's largest natural gas supplier, on Monday to discuss energy issues including the dispute between Gas Natural and Sonatrach, the spokeswoman confirmed. EIB loan for electricity in Tunisia On 15 October, the European Investment Bank (EIB) granted a loan of €185 million for the development of electricity transportation in Tunisia. The loan, signed with the Société Tunisienne de l'Electricité et du Gaz (STEG), aims to optimize the supply of electricity via improved security of the provision thanks to 660 kms of new high-voltage overhead lines as well as screened stations and transformers and to contribute to finalizing the main 400 kV electricity transport network between Tunisia and Algeria. Berlusconi, Snubbed in Europe, Finds Friends in Minsk, Tripoli When French President Nicholas Sarkozy hosts his Russian and German counterparts for talks on European security today, Europe's second-biggest energy partner with Moscow won't be there. Italy's Silvio Berlusconi wasn't invited. A guest at Vladimir Putin's private birthday bash this month, the Italian prime minister has been a pioneer among European Union leaders in forging ties with energy-rich Russia, Central Asia and Libya. While his personal diplomacy is paying dividends for companies such as Eni SpA, it's rankled some allies while failing to win Italy a place at the table with France and Germany, the traditional EU power brokers. Ugandan Rebels Threaten Southern Sudan's Referendum Fears are mounting that the brutal Lord's Resistance Army could destabilize South Sudan as it prepares for its critical referendum on secession. With less than three months until southern Sudan takes part in a referendum on secession from the north, many international observers fear that instability surrounding the vote will re-ignite the civil war between the north and south. BM
