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Foreign

UN confirms closure of Darfur peacekeeping mission

UN confirms closure of Darfur peacekeeping mission

Peacekeeping

United Nations, Dec. 30, 2020 (Xinhua/NAN) The joint United Nations-African Union mission in the Darfur region of Sudan (UNAMID) will officially end operations on Thursday, when the government of Sudan will take over responsibility for the protection of civilians in the area, the UN News has reported.

In a statement released on Wednesday, UNAMID confirmed the decision to close the mission, which followed the unanimous adoption of a Security Council resolution on Dec. 22, and progress made by the transitional Government of Sudan in addressing the conflict in Darfur.

In October, a milestone peace agreement was reached between the Sudanese authorities and two armed groups in Darfur, some two years after the Sudanese Revolution, which led to the overthrow of longstanding leader, Omar Al-Bashir, in April 2019.

The last UNAMID patrols and other mandated tasks will take place on Thursday and, from Jan. 1, 2021, UNAMID’s troops and police personnel will focus on providing security during a phased, six-month drawdown period, according to UN News.

This will involve the repatriation of troops, their vehicles and other equipment; the separation of international and national staff as well as the closure of UNAMID’s team sites and offices.

The process should result in the withdrawal of all UNAMID uniformed and civilian personnel from Sudan by June 30, 2021, except for a liquidation team that will finalise any outstanding issues and complete the administrative closure of the mission.

In addition to taking on the responsibility of civilian protection, the Sudanese Government will also assume the primary role in supporting the peace process, facilitating the delivery of humanitarian assistance, and supporting the mediation of inter-communal conflicts.

The UN will, however, continue to support the nation through its UN Country Team and the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), which will help the joint military-civilian Sovereign Council – that is currently ruling the country until elections can be held – in governance reform and its efforts to resolve the country’s deep economic crisis, the UN New said. (Xinhua/NAN)

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Edited by Emmanuel Yashim

Foreign

UN chief appoints Ghanaian diplomat as Deputy Envoy for UN mission in Somalia

UN chief appoints Ghanaian diplomat as Deputy Envoy for UN mission in Somalia

Appointment

United Nations, Dec. 30, 2020 (Sputnik/NAN) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday appointed Ghanaian diplomat Anita Kiki Gbeho to serve as the Deputy Special Representative for the United Nations mission in Somalia.

The Office of the UN spokesperson said this in a statement.

“United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres today announced the appointment of Anita Kiki Gbeho of Ghana as his new Deputy Special Representative for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM),” the statement said.

Gbeho has over 25 years of experience at the UN in establishing strategic relations with national authorities and other actors in conflict and post-conflict settings in Angola, Cambodia, Iraq, Namibia, Sudan, and Somalia.

She has previously served as Deputy Joint Special Representative of the UN-African Union Hybrid Operation in Darfur, Resident Coordinator with the UN Development Program in Namibia and Head of Office for OCHA in Somalia and Southern Sudan, among other roles.

Gbeho will succeed Raisedon Zenenga, who was earlier appointed as Assistant Secretary-General and Mission Coordinator of the UN Support Mission in Libya. (Sputnik/NAN)

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Edited by Emmanuel Yashim

Foreign

U.S. embassy in Burkina Faso warns of terrorist threat during New Year’s holiday

U.S. embassy in Burkina Faso warns of terrorist threat during New Year’s holiday
Terrorism
Washington, Dec. 30, 2020 (Sputnik/NAN) Americans in Burkina Faso have been warned to avoid hotels and restaurants frequented by foreigners due to the threat of terrorist attacks during New Year’s holiday.

The U.S. Embassy in the country gave the warning in a travel alert on Wednesday.

“The U.S. Embassy reminds U.S. citizens that terrorist groups continue plotting attacks in Burkina Faso and may be planning attacks over the 2021 New Year holiday,” the alert said.

“As a result, the Embassy has informed its employees to avoid hotels and restaurants frequented by expatriates and Westerners over the New Year holiday, as these locations have historically been the target of terrorist attacks,” it added.

The alert warned that terrorists could conduct attacks with little warning against sites frequented by Westerners and other expatriates in the capital of Ouagadougou.

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (banned in Russia) claimed responsibility for a recent series of attacks, including multiple strikes over a two-month period in late 2018.

The attacks prompted Burkina Faso to impose a state of emergency, according to media reports. (Sputnik/NAN)

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Edited by Emmanuel Yashim
Foreign

Egypt prosecution rules out police role in Italian student’s murder

Egypt prosecution rules out police role in Italian student’s murder

Police

Cairo, Dec. 30, 2020 (dpa/NAN) Egypt’s top prosecutor on Wednesday rejected Italian claims that five of the country’s policemen were involved in the torture and killing of an Italian student in Cairo in 2016.

In a statement, Egypt’s public prosecutor dismissed allegations by Italian investigators that four police officers and a policeman from the National Security Sector were involved in the death of Giulio Regeni, citing a lack of evidence.

The 28-year-old student had been in Egypt researching trade unions when he disappeared on Jan. 25, 2016.

Days later, his body was discovered, showing signs of torture.

Dismissing Italy’s version of events, the prosecutor said its claims were based on the fact that police had made inquiries about Regeni before his death after receiving a complaint about “suspicious behaviour.”

The victim’s behaviour, which did not fit with the Ph.D. research he was conducting, prompted security authorities to monitor him through measures that did not restrict his freedom or violate his private life, the prosecutor added.

Investigations revealed that, as part of his studies, he spoke to some street vendors about Egypt’s political system and assured them that they can change the situation since it had happened in other countries.

The statement added that the investigations stopped after it turned out that his actions did not constitute crimes against public security.

Though the prosecution offered no alternative murder suspect, the statement suggested the unknown killer had deliberately chosen Jan. 25 – the anniversary of Egypt’s 2011 Arab Spring uprising – for the crime, seeking to frame police for the act.

The prosecution further accused unspecified parties hostile to Egypt and Italy of the crime, in a bid to drive a wedge between the two.

It added that a lawsuit cannot be filed at this point as the killer is still unknown and that authorities will work to identify the perpetrator.

The prosecution said the victim’s parents had collected his belongings from his residence in Cairo, especially his laptop, immediately after the announcement of his death and before the prosecution’s inspection.

It added that the Italian side had rejected requests to hand over the victim’s laptop to analyse its contents.

The prosecution said that it sought information from Cambridge University in Britain about Regeni’s studies, and from Kenya about testimony given by a witness who said he heard a discussion between an Egyptian police officer and another person about the incident.

However, neither provided the requested information, it said. (dpa/NAN)

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Edited by Emmanuel Yashim

Foreign

21 unaccounted for after large landslide hits southern Norway

21 unaccounted for after large landslide hits southern Norway

Landslide

Stockholm, Dec. 30. 2020 (dpa/NAN) Twenty-one people remain unaccounted for after a large landslide hit the village of Ask in southern Norway, police said on Wednesday.

The 21 unaccounted for are all thought to be local residents, Roger Pettersen, head of the police operation, told reporters.

“These could be people who are away visiting others, in the mountains.

“There may be people who have evacuated.

“But there may also be people who are inside the landslide area,” he said.

The landslide hit Ask, a village of about 5,000 people around 40 kilometres north-west of Oslo, early in the morning.

By mid-afternoon there had been no reports of fatalities.

Ten people were reported injured, including six who have been hospitalised with moderate injuries.

Some were suffering from hypothermia, hospital officials said.

One area hit by the landslide remains so unstable that it can only be accessed by helicopter, with visibility also reduced due to snowfall.

Visiting the scene along with Justice Minister Monica Maeland, Prime Minister Erna Solberg warned that the rescue operation could take several days.

“It is a dramatic experience to be here and see images from the scene of the accident and the whole landslide, and of course the knowledge that there are several that have not been accounted for,” Solberg said.

Solberg’s remarks were made after she was briefed by Pettersen and other officials at temporary headquarters set up in Ask to handle the incident.

More than 700 people have so far been evacuated, including residents of a nearby nursing home.

Police warned residents not to return to the evacuated zone to collect personal items.

As a precaution, the evacuation zone was expanded due to issues with water and sewage lines.

The landslide, which is estimated to be 700 metres long and 300 metres wide, has been linked to quick clay, which is very unstable.

A definitive cause has not yet been determined, according to geologists who have surveyed the scene from the air.

“This is one of the largest mudslides in recent years,” said Torild Hofshagen of the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate.

Hofshagen told reporters the landslide could have been triggered by natural causes or excavation work.

Olav Gjerdingen, who lives about 150 metres from where the landslide hit, told public broadcaster NRK that police woke him and his wife at around 5 am (0400 GMT) and ordered them to leave their home immediately.

Another evacuee, Oystein Gjerdrum, who was taking care of his grandchildren, managed to escape to safety with them.

“I woke up to the house shaking. I thought it was a plough truck or something.

“Then the power went off, and it got dark, and then the neighbour stormed in and said there has been a landslide and we have to evacuate,” he told Oslo daily VG.

Police were alerted at around 4 a.m., triggering a large emergency operation with units from police, emergency services, the Red Cross and others.

Pettersen said that all available resources had been deployed, including helicopters and personnel from the home guard and military, who helped with evacuations.

The evacuees have been sent to a nearby hotel, where they were registered and offered assistance.

Local residents have also offered to open their homes and a nearby church offered crisis counselling. (dpa/NAN)

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Edited by Emmanuel Yashim

Foreign

British PM urges lawmakers to approve post-Brexit trade deal with EU

British PM urges lawmakers to approve post-Brexit trade deal with EU

Brexit
Moscow, Dec. 30, 2020 (Sputnik/NAN) UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday urged the country’s lawmakers to approve the future partnership agreement reached with the European Union (EU) on Christmas Eve.
Johnson was speaking in parliament during a debate on the agreement ahead of a vote in the House of Commons later in the day.

“I beg to move that the bill be now read a second time, and having taken back control of our money, our borders, our laws, and our waters by leaving the EU on Jan. 31, we now seize this moment to forge a fantastic new relationship with our European neighbors based on free trade and friendly cooperation, “Johnson said.

The ruling Conservative Party already has a healthy majority in the House of Commons, although Labor leader Keir Starmer said that he had urged his party’s lawmakers to approve the future partnership agreement, given that the prospect of the Brexit transition period ending on the evening of Jan. 31 without a deal in place would cause chaos.

“This is a simple vote with a simple choice.

“Do we leave the transition period with the treaty that has been negotiated with the EU or do we leave with no deal?
“And so Labor will vote to implement this treaty today, to avoid no deal, and to put in place a floor from which we can build a strong future relationship with the EU,” Starmer stated.

The Scottish National Party’s leader in the House of Commons, Ian Blackford, called the agreement a “con deal,” echoing the concerns put forward by Scotland’s government that the quantity of fish caught by the Scottish fleet would, in fact, decrease as a consequence of the agreement.

UK lawmakers are expected to vote later on Wednesday to approve the future partnership agreement, which was agreed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Christmas Eve.

Should parliament vote in favor, the agreement will provisionally enter into force from January 1, after von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel signed the deal this morning. (Sputnik/NAN)

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Edited by Emmanuel Yashim
Foreign

Pompeo’s remarks interfere with China’s internal affairs, judicial sovereignty – Foreign Ministry

Pompeo’s remarks interfere with China’s internal affairs, judicial sovereignty – Foreign Ministry

Remark

Beijing, Dec. 30, 2020 (Xinhua/NAN) China says U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s remarks on China’s fight against the Coronavirus (COVID-19) are gross interference in its internal affairs and judicial sovereignty.

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said this in Beijing on Wednesday.

Referring to Pompeo’s accusations that China initially covered up the domestic outbreak and failed to take appropriate steps to stop the virus from spreading worldwide, Wang said the claims were fraught with prejudice and hypocrisy.

He said since the outbreak of COVID-19, the Chinese government had adopted an open, transparent, and responsible approach, and always put people and lives front and center.

He added that China had taken the most comprehensive, rigorous, and thorough COVID-19 prevention and control measures since the outbreak of the virus.

China became the first to bring the virus under control, and shared its experiences in prevention and control as well as diagnosis and treatment with the international community, he said.

According to him, the country not only effectively safeguarded the health and safety of the Chinese people, but also bought time for the international community to fight the pandemic.

H added that China’s efforts to combat the virus had been supported by the Chinese people and were fully recognised by many countries and international organisations.

“As for the severe COVID-19 situation in the U.S., what tangible things has Pompeo done to help fight the pandemic and save the lives of the American people?” Wang asked.

“We urge certain U.S. politicians to focus on their own country’s anti-COVID-19 efforts and to cease slandering China,” he said. (Xinhua/NAN)

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Edited by Emmanuel Yashim

Foreign

Libya’s conflicting sides moving closer to formation of unified gov’t bodies – Lavrov

Libya’s conflicting sides moving closer to formation of unified gov’t bodies – Lavrov

Settlement

Moscow, Dec. 30, 2020 (Sputnik/NAN) Libya’s conflicting sides are bringing closer their approaches to the formation of unified authorities and the preparation of elections, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday.

Lavrov said this at a news conference after a meeting with the foreign minister of Libya’s UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), Mohamed Siala.

“It is important that the October ceasefire agreement made it possible to intensify efforts on the political track.

“In this regard, we noted the first round of the Libyan national dialogue forum held in Tunis in November.

“The dialogue ended with the rapprochement of the sides’ approaches to the ways of forming temporary unified authorities and preparing for holding general elections,” Lavrov said.

The participants of the 5 + 5 Joint Military Commission, which brings together representatives from Libya’s rival parties for UN-mediated talks, agreed to a permanent ceasefire on Oct. 23.

In November, the commission agreed upon stabilising the ceasefire and adopting a number of measures that contribute to the stability of the military situation and security throughout Libya.

The most important terms of the agreement were the expulsion of mercenaries from the country and the cessation of arms supplies to Libya by Turkey.

Libya has been split between two rival administrations since the overthrow and murder of its longtime leader, Muammar Gaddafi.

The western part of the country is controlled by the GNA, backed by Turkey and Qatar, while the eastern one is governed by the Tobruk-based parliament and the Libyan National Army, which are supported by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. (Sputnik/NAN)

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Edited by Emmanuel Yashim

Foreign

Indian gov’t asks states to consider restrictions for new year celebrations

Indian gov’t asks states to consider restrictions for new year celebrations

Restrictions

New Delhi, Dec. 30, 2020 (Xinhua/NAN) India’s federal government has suggested a series of restrictions to states to tone down new year celebrations in wake of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and the detection of a new strain that has reached India with people returning from Britain, local media said on Wednesday.

The states have been asked to impose restrictions for three days from Wednesday after assessing the local situation.

The health secretary has written to chief secretaries of the states to keep strict vigil to curb crowding in wake of new year celebrations.

As per the directive, states can impose local restrictions or night curfew to contain the spread after assessing the local situation and consider suitable curbs on Dec. 30, Dec. 31, and Jan. 1 and can even extend it to Jan. 15.

“The number of COVID-19 active cases is declining steadily in the country for the last three-and-half months.

“Keeping in view the fresh surge of COVID-19 cases in Europe and Americas, there is still a need for maintaining comprehensive precaution and strict surveillance within our country,” reads the contents of the letter quoted in local media.

“You would appreciate that in the wake of New Year and various celebratory events associated with it as well as on-going winter season, strict vigil is required to be maintained to curb all potential ‘super spreader’ events and places where crowds may gather.”

The letter, however, said that there shall be no restriction on inter-state and intra-state movement of persons and goods. (Xinhua/NAN)

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Edited by Emmanuel Yashim

Foreign

Chinese drugmaker says coronavirus vaccine 79.3% effective

Chinese drugmaker says coronavirus vaccine 79.3% effective

Efficacy

Beijing, Dec. 30, 2020 (dpa/NAN) Sinopharm, a Chinese drugmaker said on Wednesday that its coronavirus vaccine was found to be 79.3-per-cent effective in preliminary data from the final round of testing before approval.

State-owned Sinopharm is among at least five Chinese companies that have been approved to carry out clinical trials for potential vaccines.

China has 15 coronavirus vaccines in clinical trials, including five that have entered phase 3 clinical trials, a State Council official said last week.

Wednesday’s announcement was the first time a Chinese company released late-stage trial efficacy data for a vaccine candidate.

Sinopharm’s vaccine efficacy rate is behind those reported by U.S. companies Pfizer, of 95 per cent, and Moderna, of 94 per cent.

The announcement comes as China is pushing to vaccinate at least 50 million people before the start of the Lunar New Year holiday, in mid-February, in order to prevent the disease from spreading as hundreds of millions of people are expected to travel home for the holidays.

Although a vaccine hasn’t yet been officially approved, thousands in China already started receiving the vaccine months ago, especially members of the military and government workers.

Experts warn against risks tied to receiving unapproved vaccines. (dpa/NAN)

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Edited by Emmanuel Yashim