Meghrai was convicted in 2001 in a court in the Netherlands by Scottish judges and served his sentence in a Scottish jail . In 2009 he was released on compassionate grounds causing an an international outcry particularly
from the United States government and the Gaddafi regime portrayed it as a victory  geeting him on his return.

In his last inetrview in 2011 Meghrahi insisted that he was innocent and that evidence would transpire which would exhonerate him. His conviction was contreversial because it depended on circumstantial evidence and Meghrai's links to Malta. The case hinged on a small strip of fabric wrapt round a piece of the detonator which was alledged to have come from a shirt bought in Malta. Commentators point to inconsistencies in the evidence provided. Some even wonder if Libya was the source of the plot. Few doubt that Meghrai could have acted alone.

Before the 9/11 events in America which effectively launched Al Qaeda on the international scene Lockerbie was the worst  international terrorist incident and remains Britain's worst terrorist killing in terms of the numbers killed in a single incident.

Al Jazeera TV's discovery and airing of Gaddafi's  tapped conversations with his henchmen indicates their ruthlessness and that evidence is still available in Libya. However there was no mention of Lockerbie as Gaddafi had more pressing problems to deal with. Megrahi is being buried today in Tripoli but the controversy over his conviction and who was ultimately responsible for the Lockerbie bombing will continue.


 

ECOWAS said that they were expecting transitional president Dioncounda Traore to make a formal request for
ECOWAS troops to come to Bamako.

Ecowas could in the future open negotiations with Tuareg rebles in the North of Mali, however the priority is to stabalise the political process in the South of Mali which saw an unsuccessful counter coup by troops loyal to the previous President , Amadou Touamani Touré who was deposed in the coup lead by Captain Sanogo recently.

The number of Tuareg rebels is thought to have increased to over 6,000 well armed men and they are split between between the MNLA who called for independence and the fundamentalist goup Ansar Dine who want a sharia state but not independence  and elements of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. Negotiating with these different groups will be difficult.

Whilst the dispute with Captain Sanogo and Ecowas over the interim president's mandate has lost valuable time ECOWAS has held firm and has been able to compel the Junta to agree to the extension of mandate. Ecowas is clearly in charge of the situation and is backed by the UN and USA and other powers.

However dealing with the North of Mali will be a very difficult proposition and more Al Qaeda operatives are joining the forces in Timbuktu,Kidal and Gao according to agency reports. Some 200,000 Malian citizens have been displaced by the fighing in the north.
 
 

President Francois Hollande at his first international conference found that America agreed with him on the necessity of going for growth and reducing austerity. Chancellor Angela Merkel was less enthusiastic  she and Britain's David Cameron are still emphasising the need for budget and fiscal regulation .However with Sarkozy gone the balance has shifted in favour of growth against austerity.

The G8 communique called for an increased emphasis on  promoting growth alongside fiscal responsibliity and that they wanted Greece to remain inside the Eurozone. President obama said that a renewed recession in Europe could threaten America's own economic recovery . He also noted that America's economic recovery was differnt from Europe and other leaders acknowleged thatthe sulutions would vary from country to country.

European banks however remain severly damaged and vulnerable to  the economic crisis, many remain exposed to Greek financial risk and it is by no means sure that Greece will stay in the euro. Spanish banks have been downgraded by Moodys and it is more expensive for Spain to sell bonds. Portugal and Italy remain very vulnerable and all  European countries apart from Germany have high unemployment rates.

A reviving European economy would be a big boost for North Africa but there is still a long way to go. A former British Chancellor Kenneth Clarke who is now Justice Minister said that the European banking system was "in tatters" and that the UK was heavily exposed to problems in the Eurozone.

After the devstation of the Second World War The USA in an extraordinary act of generosity instituted the Marshall Plan to restore Europe to economic viability. That is not going to happen again.

There is a need for a new financial system which can generate and utilise funds to sustain growth. There is a failure of confidence in many banks and financial institutions that debts will be repaid which is similar to the Great Depression in the 1920's and 30's. There is a need for a new order and international governance so that economies can function again and create jobs and wealth for their populations.    
  


 

Despite months of warnings from Oxfam, Save The Children, The United Nationas Food and Agtriculture FAO and other agencies there has been no concerted action to stave of the crisis caused by long term drought, crop shortages, rising food prices and insecurity in neighbouring countries which is worsened by regional conflict and refugees who add to the burden already suffered by countries like Niger.

Save The Children is launching an emergency appeal for Niger. They point out that the Niger government, unlike its predecessors acted early to tackle the problem with irrigation schemes and measures to help local farmers.

However, 80 per cent of the crops have failed and there is little money to buy food in local markets and medicines in Niger are becoming unaffordable.

USAID,Britain and the EU Commission have all contributed money but there has been a lack of international coordination to confront the growing problem. From a security standpoint the depopulation of Sahel countries can only threaten further disorder and unrest and possibly internal collapse as has been the case in Mali.

There is hope that President Obama's announcement et the G8 Conference at Camp David of a new alliance to focus on food security with African leaders and the private sector.He called on all sectors to be involved and referred specifically to the crisies in the Horn of Africa and the Sahel.He announced a $3bn  plan to boost food security and farm productivity in Africa.

"It's a moral imperative, it's an economic imperative and it's a security imperative," Mr Obama said. "'There is no reason why Africa cannot feed itself."
Gone are the days of  intervention by the major world powers and this is a sign of the effects of the global economic crisis. The joint effort to prevent large scale deaths and depopulation and a slide into terrorist dominanted regions needs a concerted approach. NGOs such as Save The Chrildren, Oxfam and FAO will not be able to achieve this on their own

Both Algeria and Morocco have both been sending food and medical supplies to the region.

Morocco has donated 50 tons of food and drugs to Burkina Faso to alleviate the suffering of Malian refugees in the West African country.

A Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation spokesman said The Kingdom of Morocco continues to deliver humanitarian aid in favor of Malian refugees, after recently providing similar assistance to Malian nationals displaced in Mauritania, Niger and within the Republic of Mali.’

Morocco has expressed ‘deep concern’ over the deteriorating humanitarian and security situation of the displaced civilians from the north of Mali.

Despite the financial turbulence being experienced in the eurozone and around the developed world, Mr Osborne said it was vital not to deprive Arab countries which have shaken off dictatorship of the financial support they need to thrive reports the Financial Times.

Addressing the annual meeting of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in London, the Chancellor urged members to ratify rule changes to allow it to use its special funds in the southern and eastern Mediterranean.

Mr Osborne told the meeting: "A Middle East of open and democratic societies would transform the security of the world and brighten the prospects of millions of people. It is undoubtedly the greatest prospect of enlargement of human freedom and dignity since the Cold War.

Thomas Mirow, President of the European Bank for reconstruction and development (EBRD) recently visited Tunisia  in May and promised support for a number of infrastructural projects.

However the ERBD is facing pressure because of eastern european economies who are suffering from the economic crisis  which began in 2008 -2009 and there is a  concern that a comittment to North Africa of a billion  or more euros  may be a loan too far.

The EBRD plans to annually allocate loans for two and a half billion euros to Egypt, Morocco and Jordan to aid them in their transition towards decmocracy according to ANSAmed.

Mr Osborne  warned: "The best way to ensure transition fails and extremism flourishes is to choke off opportunity and not extend the  hand of friendship to countries in difficulty...

"Eighteen million more jobs are needed in the region over the next decade and, if not addressed, chronic unemployment will  continue to bring instability and violence."

These are encouraging and generous words but with Spain, Portugal and Italy all facing serious economic difficulty and Greece possibly about to exit the euro. the strains are showing at the EBRD. Some suggested it is overstretching itself and has not yet solved the problems of the eastern European countries let alone looking further afield to North Africa.

 However, the EBRD announced on Saturday that it woud allocate  one billion euros in investment in the Middle East and  North Africa and  would invest specifically in Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Jordan. Earler it selected top British civil servant Suma Chakrabarti to run as its president for four years from July.

Chakrabarti replaces German incumbent Thomas Mirow, who failed to win a second term .