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RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Israeli forces opened fire at Palestinian protesters in the occupied West Bank on Friday, killing a 16-year old and wounding five people, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

According to the ministry, Amjad Abu Alia was shot in the chest by a live bullet and pronounced dead after he was brought to the hospital. He was shot as some 250 Palestinians gathered to protest against Israeli settlement expansion in the village of Mughayer, north of the city of Ramallah.

There was no immediate statement from the Israeli military.

The protesters closed a road used by settlers with burning tires, after which scuffles erupted with the settlers, according to an Associated Press reporter at the scene. The Israeli military stepped in, firing stun grenades and tear gas to disperse the protesters.

Shortly after, both settlers and soldiers fired live shots, according to Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency.

Abu Alia was shot as he was running away with a group of protesters. The ministry said five protesters were wounded; three by live fire and two by rubber-coated bullets.

Demonstrations against Israeli settlement expansions are a weekly occurrence in several parts of the West Bank, which Israel occupied in the 1967 Mideast war.

The Palestinians want the West Bank and the Gaza Strip for a future state, along with a capital in east Jerusalem. They say the building of settlements, which house half a million settlers, hinders an independent, contiguous Palestinian state in the future.

Most of the international community does not recognize settlements and considers them illegal.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States and 37 other countries are establishing an expert mission to review the human rights situation in Russia, U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said on Thursday.

The review, triggered by the invocation of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s “Moscow Mechanism,” is in response to recent actions by Russia to restrict freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, and reports of torture of those held in detention in Russia, Price said in a statement.

The expert mission will release its report to the public in September, he said.

The OSCE is an organization of 57 countries that includes former Cold War foes the United States and Russia as well as various countries in Europe, Central Asia and North America.

This is the third time the Moscow Mechanism has been invoked since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.

In April, an OSCE mission said it had found evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Russia in Ukraine. Russia’s mission to the OSCE called the report “unfounded propaganda.”

(Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by Sandra Maler)

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LONDON (Reuters) -Russia said on Thursday that negotiations with the United States on exchanging prisoners are ongoing but there is no deal to swap detained U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner for jailed Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that “so far there are no agreements in this area”.

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova indicated that talks on prisoner exchanges had been going on for some time but without producing a result.

They were responding to comments by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Washington had made Moscow a “serious offer” to secure the release of Griner and former U.S. marine Paul Whelan, also detained in Russia.

“The issue of the mutual exchange of Russian and American citizens in detention on the territory of the two countries was at one time discussed by the presidents of Russia and the United States,” Zakharova said, apparently referring to conversations pre-dating Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine.

“They gave instructions to the relevant authorized structures to carry out negotiations. These are being conducted by the competent departments. A concrete result has not yet been achieved.”

Negotiations would need to take into account the interests of both sides, she said.

Blinken said on Wednesday he would discuss the Griner and Whelan cases with his Russian counterpart in the coming days.

“When discussing such topics, you don’t conduct information attacks,” Peskov said in an comment that appeared to reflect irritation with Washington’s very public diplomacy on the issue.

On Wednesday, a source familiar with the situation confirmed a CNN report that Washington was willing to exchange Russian dealer Bout, who is serving a 25 year-prison sentence in the United States, as part of a deal.

A Russian lawyer for Whelan has previously said he believed Moscow wanted Bout to be part of a swap for Whelan.

Griner, detained at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport in February with vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage, was in the courtroom on Wednesday in the latest hearing of her trial on drug charges. The next hearing is set for Aug. 2.

“From a legal point of view, an exchange is only possible after a court verdict,” Griner’s lawyer in Russia, Maria Blagovolina, said in a statement.

Whelan was sentenced in 2020 to 16 years in prison in Russia, accused of spying. He denied spying and said he was set up in a sting operation.

(Reporting by Reuters; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)

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By Guy Faulconbridge

LONDON (Reuters) – Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine has left tens of thousands of dead, displaced millions and sown economic strife across the world.

Following are the main impacts of the war:

* DEATH

Since Feb. 24, 5,237 civilians have been recorded as killed and 7,035 as injured, though the actual casualties are much higher, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said on July 25. https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2022/07/ukraine-civilian-casualty-update-25-july-2022

Most of the those killed or injured were the victims of explosive weapons such as artillery, missile and air strikes, the OHCHR said.

Neither Russia nor Ukraine have given details on the military deaths in the conflict.

U.S. intelligence estimates that some 15,000 Russian soldiers have been killed so far in Ukraine and three times that wounded – equal to the total Soviet death toll during Moscow’s occupation of Afghanistan in 1979-1989.

Ukrainian military losses are also significant but probably a little less than Russia’s, U.S. intelligence believes, CIA Director William Burns said this month.

The conflict in eastern Ukraine began in 2014 after a pro-Russian president was toppled in Ukraine’s Maidan Revolution and Russia annexed Crimea, with Russian-backed forces fighting Ukraine’s armed forces.

About 14,000 people were killed there between 2014 and 2022, according to OHCHR, including 3,106 civilians. https://ukraine.un.org/sites/default/files/2022-02/Conflict-related%20civilian%20casualties%20as%20of%2031%20December%202021%20%28rev%2027%20January%202022%29%20corr%20EN_0.pdf

*MISERY

Since Feb. 24, one third of Ukrainians – which has a population of more than 41 million – has been forced from their homes, the largest current human displacement crisis in the world, according to the United Nations RefugAe agency.

There are currently more than 6.16 million refugees from Ukraine recorded across Europe, with the biggest numbers in Poland, Russia and Germany, according to the agency’s data.

* UKRAINE

Besides the human losses, Ukraine has lost control of around 22% of its land to Russia since the 2014 anexation of Crimea, according to Reuters calculations.

It has lost a swathe of coastline, its economy has been crippled and some cities have been turned into wastelands by Russian shelling. Ukraine’s economy will contract by 45% in 2022, according to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

The true dollar cost to Ukraine is unclear. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said this month that the total rebuild after the war would cost approximately $750 billion. It may be much more.

It is unclear how much Ukraine has spent on fighting.

* RUSSIA

The war has been expensive for Russia too – though Russia does not disclose the costs, which are state secrets.

Besides the military costs, the West has tried to punish Russia by imposing severe sanctions – the biggest shock to Russia’s economy since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.

Russia’s central bank now forecasts $1.8 trillion economy will contract by 4%-6% in 2022, less than the 8%-10% contraction it forecast in April.

Still the impact on Russia’s economy is severe – and not yet fully clear. It has been excluded from Western financial markets, most of its oligarchs are sanctioned, and it is experiencing problems sourcing some items such as microchips.

Russia last month defaulted on its foreign bonds for the first time since the calamitous months following the 1917 Bolshevik revolution.

* PRICES

The invasion and Western sanctions on Russia led to steep rises in the prices of fertiliser, wheat, metals and energy, feeding into both a brewing food crisis and an inflationary wave that is crashing through the global economy.

Russia is the world’s second largest oil exporter after Saudi Arabia and the world’s biggest exporter of natural gas, wheat, nitrogen fertiliser and palladium. Shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, international oil prices spiked to their highest levels since the records of 2008.

Attempts to reduce reliance on Russian oil, gas and oil products – or even to cap their prices – have exacerbated what is already the most severe energy crunch since the Arab oil embargo in the 1970s.

After Russia cut flows through the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline to Germany, prices for wholesale gas soared in Europe.

A complete cut off would tip the euro area into a recession, with sharp contractions in both Germany and Italy, according to Goldman Sachs.

* GROWTH

The International Monetary Fund now forecasts the world’s economy will grow 3.2% this year, down from 6.1% last year, and significantly lower than its April forecast of 3.6%, its January forecast of 4.4% and its October forecast of 4.9%.

Under a “plausible” alternative scenario that includes a complete cut-off of Russian gas supplies to Europe by year-end and a further 30% drop in Russian oil exports, the IMF said global growth would slow to 2.6% in 2022 and 2% in 2023, with growth virtually zero in Europe and the United States next year.

Global growth has fallen below 2% only five times since 1970 IMF Chief Economist Pierre-Olivier Gourincha said – recessions in 1973, 1981 and 1982, 2009 and the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

The United States is forecast to grow 2.3% in 2022 and 1.0% for 2023. The Fund deeply cut China’s 2022 GDP growth forecast to 3.3% from 4.4% in April.

Since the outbreak of war, the European Commission has downgraded GDP growth projections for the 27-nation bloc to 2.7% this year and 1.5% in 2023 from 4.0% and 2.8% respectively, from what was expected before the Russian invasion on Feb 24th.

* WESTERN WEAPONS

The United States has provided about $7.6 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since Feb. 24 including stinger anti-aircraft systems, Javelin anti-armour systems, 155mm Howitzers and chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear protective equipment. https://media.defense.gov/2022/Jul/22/2003040788/-1/-1/1/FACT-SHEET-ON-US-SECURITY-ASSISTANCE-TO-UKRAINE.PDF

The next biggest donor to Ukraine is Britain, which has provided 2.3 billion pounds ($2.8 billion) in military support. The European Union has agreed 2.5 billion euros in security assistance to Ukraine. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/eu-seeks-keep-up-support-ukraine-despite-economic-damage-2022-07-18

($1 = 0.8308 pounds)

(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge, Editing by Angus MacSwan)

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By Neil Jerome Morales and ADRIAN PORTUGAL

BANGUED, Philippines (Reuters) – Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos promised on Thursday to help rebuild homes damaged by a powerful earthquake on the island of Luzon, as terrified residents camped out in parks and on sidewalks after hundreds of aftershocks rattled the area.

The 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck the northern Philippine island on Wednesday morning, killing at least five people and injuring more than 130.

The quake also damaged scores of houses and other buildings, including centuries-old churches in the tourist town of Vigan.

“For the affected and victims, let us make sure we are ready to support them and give them all they need,” Marcos told officials after being briefed during to a trip to inspect the damage.

The streets of Vigan, known for its old Spanish colonial architecture, have been cleared of debris, but shops, hotels and businesses remained closed.

Elma Sia, 52, who works at restaurant recalled the fear of being caught up in such a powerful earthquake.

“Everything was moving, our plates were breaking, our lights swaying. We were terrified,” she told Reuters.

“I could hear people shouting from a nearby McDonald’s restaurant, so people rushed outside to the plaza and started crying out of fear,” she said.

The quake, which hit close to the Marcos family’s political stronghold, also left a trail of destruction in Bangued town in Abra province, which was just 11 km (6.8 miles) from the epicentre.

Residents camped out with their families in shelters because they were too scared to stay at home. Seismologists have recorded nearly 800 aftershocks since the main quake.

For a related grphic on Earthquake hits the Philippines Map: Earthquakes of magnitude 5 or above since 1900, click https://graphics.reuters.com/PHILIPPINES-QUAKE/egpbkxxyrvq/historical-earthquakes-map.jpg

“We were so scared,” Erlinda Bisares told CNN Philippines. “We didn’t mind our belongings, we just hurried outside. Life is more important.”

The Philippines is prone to natural disasters and is located on the seismically active Pacific “Ring of Fire”, a band of volcanoes and fault lines that arcs round the edge of the Pacific Ocean. Earthquakes are frequent and there are an average of 20 typhoons a year, some triggering deadly landslides.

Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan told DZBB radio his agency had started to remove debris from main roads in Abra and other districts affected by rockslides during the quake.

But efforts to assess damage to irrigation works were hampered as some roads had yet to be cleared of boulders, the National Irrigation Administration said.

Northern Luzon provinces are among the country’s biggest growers of rice and vegetables.

Ricardo Jalad, administrator of the Office of the Civil Defense, told radio station DZRH some parts of Abra were still without power or water and experiencing communication outages.

The budget ministry said authorities were ready to release funds for disaster relief.

(Reporting by Karen Lema and Neil Jerome Morales in Manila, and Adrian Portugal in Vigan; Editing by Ed Davies, Robert Birsel)

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By Nidal al-Mughrabi

GAZA (Reuters) – Authorities in Gaza have ordered giant concrete blocks to be dropped along the shoreline as increasingly heavy seas eat into beaches that provide residents of the densely populated strip with a rare public space for relaxation.

The blocks, placed on beaches and offshore, are aimed at countering waves that have grown in force, eating away the foundations of some seaside cafes and buildings.

But officials, residents of beach areas and experts fear the concrete barricades may not stand another stormy winter and that high waves could cause the collapse of the coastal road and threaten homes.

Nasser Thabit, an official in the territory’s Hamas-run Ministry of Public Works and Housing, said waves that reached up to 6 metres last year as the effects of climate change have become more pronounced had begun to nibble at the edges of the road.

“There are several fragile areas in Gaza Strip that would be impacted directly from a rising sea. There is a fear that should the waves get higher it may cause a catastrophe, and drown many of those residential areas,” he said.

Thabit said proper long-lasting intervention – vertical wave breakers and retaining walls along all or at least the most at risk parts of the coast – could cost around $150 million and called for help from international donors.

Measuring 375 square km (145 square miles), Gaza is one of the most densely populated areas in the world, with a population of 2.3 million Palestinians, most of them live in refugee camps, some facing the ocean.

In the Beach refugee camp in Gaza City, home to 90,000 people, residents have watched over recent years as rising seas have eroded the beach completely. Broken fridges, large tyres and bricks have all been thrown along the shore to hold back the sea to no effect.

“The refugee camp has no beach, there is no place for people to sit, therefore, people are forced to pay to go north or (south),” said Abdel-Karim Zaqout, a history teacher, whose house in the camp borders the ocean.

With Gaza’s land borders tightly controlled by neighbouring Israel and Egypt, the seaside is a precious resource for people looking to escape their day-to-day stresses.

In Central Gaza Strip, Radwan al-Shantaf, from Al-Zahra city municipality, said the authorities had used large quantities of the rubble of houses destroyed in the May 2021 Israeli bombardment to barricade beaches.

He said high waves had forced the owners of a bank to evacuate to a building deeper into the city, and the operators of a power plant to build a concrete wall to reinforce the outer fence.

“The advance of the sea decreased the beach area and finished off recreation, cafes and beachgoers spaces,” Shantaf told Reuters, standing in front of the concrete reinforcement.

(Writing by Nidal Almughrabi; Editing by Alison Williams)

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BUKAVU, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) -Four people protesting against a United Nations peacekeeping mission were electrocuted on Wednesday in the Congolese city of Uvira when troops fired shots which hit an electric cable that fell on them, the mission and a local official said.

At least 12 civilians were killed on Tuesday in protests against the mission in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, known as MONUSCO, which protesters accuse of failing to protect them from militia violence. One U.N. soldier and two U.N. police were also killed.

The protests had mostly fizzled out on Wednesday in the cities of Goma and Butembo but had spread to Uvira, in South Kivu province, where crowds threw rocks at a MONUSCO compound.

“Four people were unfortunately electrocuted to death by a cable [near a MONUSCO base],” the mission tweeted on Wednesday.

South Kivu governor Theo Ngwabidje Kasi had confirmed the incident earlier in the day, adding that troops had fired at the cables.

“There was an isolated demonstration in Uvira,” he told Reuters.

“I have asked for investigations to know if the bullet was fired by MONUSCO or by our [security] forces,” he said, adding that preliminary information suggested it had come from within the MONUSCO base.

Calm had been restored by mid-afternoon, he added.

Deputy U.N. Congo envoy Khassim Diagne on Wednesday said a “normal fragility” had returned with pockets of insecurity.

“We do not have any evidence that MONUSCO troops were firing at civilians, he told journalists in New York via video, adding that the U.N. would work with Congolese authorities to investigate civilian deaths.

A Reuters reporter saw U.N. peacekeepers shoot dead two protesters in Goma on Tuesday.

“The DRC guarantees the inviolability of UN premises and has launched an investigation to identify those that incited and participated in violence,” Congo government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said in a statement on Wednesday.

The U.N. Security Council in a statement said that attacks against MONUSCO could “constitute war crimes under international law.”

The U.N. mission – which includes civilians, police and military personnel – has around 12,400 troops in the country and costs more than $1 billion per year. It has been in the process of gradually withdrawing from the area for several years.

The U.N. children’s agency alleged on Wednesday that many children had been manipulated into joining the protests and were exposed to violence.

“UNICEF condemns the instrumentalization of children for political purposes and calls on authorities, members of civil society and parents to keep children away from protests in order to protect them,” said Grant Leaity, UNICEF representative in the DRC, in a statement.

U.N. peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix is due to arrive in Congo’s capital Kinshasa on Friday and will also visit Goma, Diagne said.

MONUSCO took over from an earlier U.N. operation in Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2010 with the aim of protecting civilians and supporting the government in its stabilization efforts as clashes between Congo’s army and the M23 rebel group have displaced thousands.

A faction of the youth wing of President Felix Tshisekedi’s UDPS ruling party had earlier called for protests, demanding the immediate withdrawal of the U.N. peacekeepers over what it described as their ineffectiveness.

(Reporting by Crispin Kyala and Stanis Bujakera; Additional reporting by Michelle Nichols in New YorkWriting by Nellie Peyton and Sofia Christensen;Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Aurora Ellis)

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By John Davison

BAGHDAD (Reuters) -Iraq marked its longest post-election deadlock on Wednesday as infighting among Shi’ite and Kurdish groups in particular prevents the formation of a government, hampering reforms needed as the country struggles to recover from decades of conflict.

More than nine months since an October election, lawmakers tasked with choosing a president and prime minister looked no closer to an agreement, bringing the country to a record 290 days without a head of state or cabinet.

The last longest deadlock was in 2010, when after 289 days Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki got a second term.

The outgoing government of Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi continues to run the country. If parties cannot agree on a new government, Kadhimi might stay on as caretaker until new elections can be held.

In a sign of further potential delays, thousands of supporters of populist Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr stormed Baghdad’s empty parliament late on Wednesday, chanting slogans against his Shi’ite political rivals just days after they indicated agreement on a potential prime minister.

The paralysis has left Iraq without a budget for 2022, holding up spending on much-needed infrastructure projects and economic reform.

Iraqis say the situation is exacerbating a lack of services and jobs even as Baghdad earns record oil income because of high crude prices and has seen no major wars since the defeat of Islamic State five years ago.

“There’s no government, so there’s no budget, streets remain potholed, power and water are scarce and there’s poor healthcare and education,” said Mohammed Mohammed, a 68-year-old retired civil servant from the southern city of Nassiriya.

The same conditions Mohammed described fuelled mass protests across Baghdad and southern Iraq in 2019.

Demonstrators demanded the removal of parties that have been in power since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein, accusing them of rampant corruption that has stopped Iraq moving forward. Security forces and militiamen killed hundreds of protesters and the protests fizzled out in 2020.

Kadhimi took office as a compromise candidate in response to the demonstrations, promising to punish killers of protesters and hold an early election which was held on Oct. 10.

Most of those who protested have given up hope for change.

“Whatever government forms, it’ll be made up of the people and parties who killed our friends,” said Ali al-Khayali, an anti-government activist who participated in the demonstrations.

SQUABBLING PARTIES

Iraqi government formation often takes months and requires the buy-in of all main political parties.

Since Saddam was toppled, Shi’ite parties which represent the country’s demographic majority have held the post of prime minister, Kurds the presidency and Sunnis the role of parliament speaker.

Sharpening divisions within those groups have made this process especially long.

In the Shi’ite camp, the biggest October vote winner, Sadr withdrew his 74 lawmakers from parliament last month after he failed to form a government that would exclude his Shi’ite rivals, most of whom who are backed by Iran and have heavily-armed paramilitary wings.

Sadr’s withdrawal ceded dozens of seats to those parties, but he has indicated he could stir up unrest among his millions-strong popular base – and his own militia – if they try to form a government he disapproves of.

Sadr this month effectively vetoed the candidacy of arch-rival Maliki, accusing the former premier of corruption in a Tweet.

Sadr’s rivals floated another candidate, Mohammed Shiya al-Sudani, for prime minister, but Sadr appears to oppose his candidacy because he is an ally of Maliki.

“Sudani is just a shadow of Maliki,” said a member of Sadr’s political party, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorised to give statements to the media.

Sadr’s supporters broke into Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone, which hosts foreign embassies and government buildings in central Baghdad, on Wednesday, streaming past police and chanting “Maliki you are garbage”.

“We’re going to demonstrate until corrupt politicians and groups backed by Iran are gone,” Sheikh Safaa al-Baghdadi, a religious teacher, said shortly before protesters entered parliament.

Disagreement among the main Kurdish parties that run the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region in northern Iraq meanwhile prevents the selection of a president – who, once chosen by parliament, names a prime minister.

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party has held the presidency since 2003.

Their rivals, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), which claimed the largest number of Kurdish votes by far, are insisting on their own candidate for president. Neither side appears willing to budge.

“We’ve not been able to agree so far. The post of president shouldn’t just be for one Kurdish party for life,” said Shirwan Dubardani, a KDP lawmaker.

(Additional reporting by Amina Ismail in Erbil, Iraq; Editing by Nick Macfie, Michael Georgy)

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GENEVA (AP) — Credit Suisse said Wednesday that CEO Thomas Gottstein is resigning after 2-1/2 years in the job, as he announced “disappointing” results, plunging revenues and a net loss in the second quarter.

These are the latest signs that the top-drawer Swiss bank is not yet finished with a string of troubles in recent years.

The Zurich-based bank said Ulrich Koerner, whom Gottstein brought onto its board from rival UBS last year, will take the helm starting Monday.

Credit Suisse also announced a new “strategic review” that among other things will aim to lower costs.

Gottstein, a 23-year veteran of the bank, cited “personal and health-related considerations” weighing on his move to hand over to Koerner, who also worked for Credit Suisse earlier in his career.

Overall, Credit Suisse reported a net loss of 1.6 billion Swiss francs (about $1.7 billion) in the second quarter, from a profit of 253 million francs in the quarter a year ago. Revenues plunged 29% to 3.6 billion.

Overall, Credit Suisse said, “the combination of the geopolitical situation following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and significant monetary tightening by major central banks in response to inflation concerns have continued to result in heightened volatility and client risk aversion so far this year.”

It also said that the current market environment “has had an adverse impact on client activity across both wealth management and the investment bank.” Those represent two of the bank’s most important operations.

Credit Suisse said widening credit spreads had caused a nearly quarter-billion-dollar loss in its leveraged finance portfolio. It also cited provisions for legal costs.

“Our results for the second quarter of 2022 are disappointing, especially in the investment bank, and were also impacted by higher litigation provisions and other adjusting items,” Gottstein said.

Credit Suisse has run into a series of troubles in recent years, including bad bets on hedge funds and a spying scandal involving UBS. Also, a Swiss court fined the bank more than $2 million last month for failing to prevent money laundering linked to a Bulgarian criminal gang more than 15 years ago.

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DOUALA, Cameroon (AP) — The Trondheim is a familiar sight off the coast of West Africa — a soccer field-sized ship, plying the waters from Nigeria to Mauritania as it pulls in tons of mackerel and sardines, flying the red, yellow and green flag of Cameroon.

But aside from the flag, there is almost nothing about the Trondheim that is Cameroonian.

Once, it operated under the name of the King Fisher and sailed under the flag of the Caribbean nation St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Then, it switched to Georgia, the former Soviet republic.

It was only in 2019 that it began flying the banner of Cameroon.

The Trondheim is one of several vessels that have been reflagged under Cameroon’s growing fishing fleet which have changed names and been accused of illicit activities at sea. Currently, 14 of these vessels are owned or managed by companies based in European Union member states: Belgium, Malta, Latvia and Cyprus, an investigation by The Associated Press found.

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This story was supported by funding from the Walton Family Foundation and the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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The AP examined over 80 ship profiles on MarineTraffic, a maritime analytics provider, and matched them with company records through IHS Maritime & Trade and the International Maritime Organization or IMO.

“They’re interested in the flag, they’re not interested in Cameroon,” said Beatrice Gorez, coordinator for the Coalition for Fair Fisheries Arrangements, a group of organizations highlighting the impacts of EU-African fisheries arrangements that identified the recent connection between companies in EU member states and the Cameroon fleet.

Each of the vessels changed flags to Cameroon between 2019 and 2021, though they had no obvious link to the country and did not fish in its waters. The Trondheim and at least five others have a history of illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, according to a report by the environmental group, Greenpeace. Both the vessels and their owners conceal what they catch, where it goes and who is financially benefiting from it, maritime and company records show.

In recent years, Cameroon has emerged as one of several go-to countries for the widely criticized “flags of convenience” system, under which companies can — for a fee — register their ships in a foreign country even though there is no link between the vessel and the nation whose flag it flies.

The ships are supposed to abide by that nation’s fishing agreements with other countries. But experts say weak oversight and enforcement of fishing fleets by countries with open registries like Cameroon offer shipping companies a veil of secrecy that allows them to mask their operations.

That secrecy, the experts say, also undermine global attempts to sustainably manage fisheries and threatens the livelihoods of millions of people in regions like West Africa. Cameroonian officials say all the ships that fly its flag are legally registered and abide by all of it laws. But regulators in Europe recently warned the country that its inability to provide oversight of its fishing fleet could lead to a ban on fish from the country.

Cameroon’s flagged fishing fleet is minuscule compared to countries such as Liberia, Panama or the Marshall Islands. But the rapid adoption of the country’s flag by some shipping companies accused of illegal fishing is raising alarm.

“This is a big issue,” said Aristide Takoukam, a biologist and founder of the African Marine Mammal Conservation Organization, a non-profit based in Cameroon that monitors illegal fishing. “I don’t think Cameroon is able to monitor these vessels that are flying Cameroon flags outside its waters.”

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Cameroon has long been criticized for lax oversight of its fishing fleet. A study published last year in the journal African Security documented deep-rooted corruption in the ministries that oversee the fishing industry. In that same year, the European Commission issued a “yellow card” to the country, warning it to step up its actions against illegal fishing.

The commission identified a series of shortcomings, including that the country had registered several fishing vessels — some of them accused of illegal fishing — under its flag in the past months, raising concerns about the nation’s ability to efficiently control and monitor the activities of its fleet.

If Cameroon does not comply after its initial warning, the commission can issue a “red card,” effectively listing them as a non-cooperating country. And it can ban their fish products from entering EU markets.

The commission’s report named a dozen fishing vessels registered between 2019 and 2020 whose names were not provided to them by Cameroonian authorities. At least eight of the 12 identified vessels are managed or owned by European companies. The AP found six more vessels not included in the EU report.

The European Commission did not respond to the AP’s requests for comment.

Data from Windward and Lloyd’s List Intelligence, two maritime intelligence companies, reveals an accelerated growth in the number of vessels that sail under the Cameroonian flag in the past four years, from 14 vessels in 2018 to more than 129 in 2022. According to the Environmental Justice Foundation, Cameroon’s fishing capacity is now nine times larger than it was before 2018.

While the number of flagged ships has grown, the resources to monitor them have not kept pace, a review of budget documents show. The documents show that the budget for the Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries’ control and supervision of fisheries declined 32 percent from 2019 to last year.

While countries have a right to allow vessels to adopt their nationality and fly their flag, Article 91 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea requires a “genuine link” to be established between a vessel and its flag state.

Despite this, foreign vessels in countries with open registries often have little to no relationship with their flag state. The responsibility falls on the flagged country to control operations of the vessels in their fleet, including any illegal activity caused in other nations’ waters or on the high seas.

“The very point of flags of convenience is that it’s easy, it’s cheap, you can do it quickly, and they are not necessarily looking at your history of compliance,” said Julien Daudu, senior campaigner at the Environmental Justice Foundation, a British NGO focusing on environmental and human rights issues.

Paul Nkesi, a representative of the agency that oversees fisheries, the Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries, says that although the government recognizes the need to step up its surveillance of industrial trawlers, all vessels are registered lawfully in Cameroon.

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Contact AP’s global investigative team at Investigative@ap.org or https://www.ap.org/tips/

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