The Nation Newspaper

Category: Foreign

  • South Africa insists it’s ‘actively non-aligned’ on Ukraine war

    South Africa insists it’s ‘actively non-aligned’ on Ukraine war

    South Africa’s presidential security advisor said yesterday the country was “actively non-aligned” in Russia’s war against Ukraine, after U.S. allegations that it had supplied weapons to Moscow led to a diplomatic crisis this week.

    The U.S. ambassador to South Africa Reuben Brigety said on Thursday he was confident that a Russian ship under U.S. sanctions had collected weapons from a naval base near Cape Town when it docked there in December.

    He added that senior U.S. officials had “profound concerns” about South Africa not respecting its professed policy of non-alignment.

    Speaking after leading a delegation on a U.S. visit last month, Sydney Mufamadi, security advisor to President Cyril Ramaphosa, emphasised South Africa’s policy of neutrality in the conflict.

    “We need to explain that we indeed are actively non-aligned as far as the conflict is concerned,” Mufamadi told an online briefing.

    “We will make absolutely sure that should wars break out, our contribution will always be calculated at helping the parties and everybody else to bring such conflicts to an end.”

    South Africa has maintained a neutral stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and has abstained from voting on U.N. resolutions condemning the war.

    But a spate of recent events including naval exercises with Russia and China this year and hosting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov have raised questions about South Africa’s stance.

    Brigety’s comments led to an immediate backlash with Ramaphosa’s government refuting the claims and after a meeting between Brigety and foreign minister Naledi Pandor on Friday, the ambassador moved to offer a clarification.

    A government statement late in the evening said: the ambassador “admitted that he crossed the line and apologised unreservedly to the government and the people of South Africa.”

    Brigety’s comments also wreaked havoc on the local currency with the rand plunging 4.7% in a space of a week as concerns grew over the potential sanctions on the country.

    Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, who also spoke during Saturday’s briefing, questioned the timing of Brigety’s comments, which he said contained no new information and had been addressed by Ramaphosa in February.

  • Archbishop of Canterbury fined £500 for speeding in London

    Archbishop of Canterbury fined £500 for speeding in London

    The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, was on Wednesday convicted of speeding.

    According to Sky News, the court ordered him to pay £510 in total for exceeding a 20 mile per hour limit near Lambeth Palace on October 2 last year.

    The 67-year-old was also handed three penalty points after being caught by a speed camera in his Volkswagen Golf on the A3036 Albert Embankment.

    He was convicted in a private hearing at Lavender Hill Magistrates’ Court the same day he criticised the government’s plans to combat the issue of migrants crossing the Channel on small boats as “morally unacceptable and politically impractical”.

    The conviction, first reported by the Evening Standard, came just days after Welby led the King’s coronation ceremony.

    Welby admitted the offence online – he was handed a £300 fine and ordered to pay a £120 victim surcharge and £90 in costs.

    Sky News said the prosecution was conducted through the Single Justice Procedure, which allows the court to deal with the matter through written evidence in a private hearing.

  • Wild elephant attacks couple camping in Sri Lanka’s central highlands

    Wild elephant attacks couple camping in Sri Lanka’s central highlands

    One person was killed and another seriously wounded yesterday as a result of an attack by a wild elephant in central Sri Lanka, the police said.

    The police said the deceased was a 23-year-old woman, and the wounded a 22-year-old man.

    The couple had come on a camping tour and set up near the Uda Diyaluma waterfall, according to the police.

    The police said the marauding elephant was there when police and residents of the area arrived following a distress call from the injured person.

    The human-elephant conflict had been increasing in Sri Lanka in recent years.

    The death toll of the conflict hit a record high in 2022 with 145 people and 433 elephants killed, according to official data.

  • More bodies dug up as Kenya cult death toll rises to 179

    More bodies dug up as Kenya cult death toll rises to 179

    Kenyan investigators unearthed 29 more bodies on Friday bringing the number of victims linked to a doomsday starvation cult to 179, many of them children.

    Police believe most of the bodies found in a forest near the Indian Ocean town of Malindi belong to followers of Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, a taxi driver-turned-preacher who is accused of inciting them to starve to death “to meet Jesus.”

    Coast Regional Commissioner Rhoda Onyancha, who announced the latest figures, said no person was rescued on Friday in the vast bush land.

    Heavy rains had stalled the search and exhumation operation last week with the exercise resuming on Tuesday.

    Some 25 people — including Mackenzie and an “enforcer gang” tasked with ensuring that no one broke their fast or left the forest hideout alive — are in police custody, Onyancha said.

    Mackenzie has not yet been required to enter a plea but a court ordered on Wednesday that he be detained for three more weeks pending further investigations over what has been dubbed the “Shakahola Forest Massacre”.

    The 50-year-old founder of the Good News International Church turned himself in on April 14 after police acting on a tip-off first entered Shakahola forest.

    While starvation appears to be the main cause of death, some of the victims, including children, were strangled, beaten or suffocated, according to chief government pathologist Johansen Oduor.

  • Shooting at Mercedes plant kills two in Germany

    Shooting at Mercedes plant kills two in Germany

    Two people were killed as a gunman opened fire at a Mercedes-Benz plant in Sindelfingen, southern Germany, on Thursday morning.

    According to the initial investigation, the 53-year-old man shot at the two victims at the plant but was arrested without any resistance.

    The Stuttgart public prosecutor’s office and Ludwigsburg police headquarters  made the disclosure in a statement they jointly issued.

    The Sindelfingen plant was located some 17km southwest of Stuttgart.

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    “There is no longer any danger to employees at the plant,’’ police said via Twitter.

    The factory building had been evacuated and employees are currently being cared for by the police and the company’s own support staff,’’ said local authorities.

    Police and rescue services were remaining on-site with many forces as the motive for the attack is still being investigated, according to the statement.

    Mercedes-Benz confirmed that there was an incident at its Sindelfingen site.

    “We are in communication with the authorities and are trying to clarify the facts,’’ the carmaker told German media.

    (Xinhua/NAN) 

  • Syria receives Saudi invitation to attend upcoming Arab Summit

    Syria receives Saudi invitation to attend upcoming Arab Summit

    Syria on Wednesday received an official invitation from Saudi Arabia to attend the upcoming Arab Summit, just days after Syria returned to the Arab League (AL).

    The Syrian presidency said that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad received an invitation from the King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

    The invitation was for al-Assad to attend the 32nd regular session of the Arab League Council’s meeting at the summit level.

    The meeting would be held in Jeddah city of Saudi Arabia on May 19.

    The invitation was handed to Assad by the Saudi ambassador to Jordan Naif bin Bandar Al-Sudairi.

    During the meeting with Al-Sudairi, Assad stressed that the upcoming summit would enhance joint Arab action to achieve the aspirations of the Arab people.

    The Syrian foreign ministry announced on Tuesday night the resumption of its diplomatic mission in Saudi Arabia following a reciprocal move from the kingdom.

    In a statement released before midnight, the ministry said the decision emanated from the deep ties between the two countries.

    The people’s aspirations, and the importance of enhancing bilateral relations between Arab countries to serve the joint Arab work.

    The Syrian move came after Saudi Arabia announced the continuation of its diplomatic mission in Syria earlier on Tuesday.

    This came  as the two countries had  normalised bilateral relations and recently exchanged visits of foreign ministers.

    On Sunday, Arab foreign ministers decided during a meeting in Cairo to readmit Syria to the Arab League (AL) after 12 years of suspension.

    On April 12, the Syrian foreign ministry announced that Syria and Saudi Arabia had agreed to resume the consular services and air flights between the two countries.

    There was a move which was a prelude to restoring full diplomatic representation on Tuesday. (Xinhua/NAN)

  • Missile alert sounds in Tel Aviv

    Missile alert sounds in Tel Aviv

    A missile alert sounded in the greater Tel Aviv area on Wednesday.

    It was the first of such alert in the coastal city since last August.

    An explosion was also heard. It was likely triggered by the Israeli missile defence system, Iron Dome.

    Images shared on social media showed clouds of smoke rising into the sky.

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    Earlier, warning sirens were heard in several towns along the border with the Gaza Strip.

    The attacks followed the targeted killing of three senior members of the Palestinian militant organisation, Islamic Jihad, in the Palestinian-controlled coastal area, on Tuesday.

    Israel’s air force attacked several targets of the Palestinian militant organisation on Wednesday.

    The latter then fired dozens of rockets at Israeli territory from Gaza.

    (dpa/NAN) 

  • ‘Tackle increased terrorist activities in central Sahel’

    ‘Tackle increased terrorist activities in central Sahel’

    The Economic Community of West African State (ECOWAS), yesterday in Abuja emphasised the need for urgent actions against the increased terrorist activities in the Central Sahel.

    The ECOWAS Commissioner in charge of Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Amb. AbdelFateh Moussa made the call at a five-day training.

    It has the theme ‘Policing Sustainable Peace: the Role of Police/ Gendarmerie Officers in the Management of ECOWAS Peace Support Operations’.

    The training was organised by the ECOWAS Commission, in collaboration with the National Defence College, with the support of ECOWAS Peace and Security Architecture and Operation (EPSAO).

    It was co-financed by the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Development and Cooperation (BMZ) and Implemented by the German Agency for the International Cooperation (GIZ)

    Moussa said that the classical peacekeeping operations were becoming obsolete due to the very incemetric nature of the conflict environment in the region.

    He said: “And in Central Sahel where terrorism and violent extremism have become the order of the day and classical peacekeeping, operations are no answer to what we are facing today.

    ”And so whatever we are going to do in our counter terrorism operation is going to end through stabilisation by stabilising our communities which entails bringing back the state providing services.

    ”And making sure that the populations have freedom from physical harm, freedom from wants, fear and this are the fundamentals of the UN charter and that is also the basis of the sustainable development goals that we are talking about today.”

    He, however, commended the Nigerian Government and Multinational Joint Taskforce for degrading branches of the Boko Haram

  • ECOWAS Parliament congratulates Tinubu on electoral victory

    ECOWAS Parliament congratulates Tinubu on electoral victory

    • Buhari lauded on regional integration, security

    Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament yesterday in Abuja congratulated President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his electoral victory and Nigeria for the peaceful conduct of the 2023 general elections.

    “I congratulate the President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu on his victory at the polls, the Speaker, Dr. Sidie Tunis, said while addressing the opening of the First Ordinary Session of the parliament,

    “I express best wishes on behalf of the membership of the ECOWAS Parliament for his success as he prepares to take up the responsibilities and challenges of his office.

    “I also extol the statesmanship of President Muhammadu Buhari for sticking to his term limit and facilitating a smooth transition to his successor.

    “I thank aggrieved parties for seeking redress in the court of law. Such is the democracy we crave for and I am grateful that Nigeria, our biggest democracy, is leading by example,’’ Tunis said.

    He added that the parliament was following events in Sierra Leone and Liberia closely, as both countries prepare to hold presidential and legislative elections in June and October, respectively.

    Also yesterday, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) appreciated President Muhammadu Buhari for his support for regional integration and security.

    President, ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar Alieu Touray, said this at the First Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament on yesterday.

    “Permit me to begin by expressing our deep appreciation and gratitude to His Excellency, Muhammadu Buhari, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, for his immense support to our regional integration and security.

    “Under President Buhari’s watch, Nigeria’s longstanding and traditional leadership in ECOWAS has been taken to a new level, with respect to mediation, peacekeeping, regional health, security and development of our Community Institutions.”

    Touray also lauded President Umaro Sissoco Embalo of Guinea Bissau, Chair of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government.

  • Death toll from east DR Congo floods reach 400

    Death toll from east DR Congo floods reach 400

    The provincial governor of the east Democratic Republic of Congo said yesterday the death toll from floods that devastated two villages has reached 401.

    Theo Kasi said this flood had become one of the deadliest natural disasters in the country’s recent history.

    Local civil society sources said more bodies were being recovered yesterday, adding to the scores of others that were wrapped in bags and piled into mass graves over the weekend.

    The villages of Bushushu and Nyamukubi in Kalehe territory, South Kivu province, were inundated on Thursday after days of torrential rain triggered landslides and caused rivers to break their banks.

    At least 176 people were reported dead on Friday as humanitarian workers dug through the remains of the flattened villages to recover mud-caked bodies from the debris with hundreds of people still missing.

    The governor told Reuters yesterday the death toll now stood at 401 without providing further details.

    Civil society representative, Christian Bazibuhe, said: “It is the worst flood we have ever had,” adding that bodies were still floating on Lake Kivu.

    The central government in Kinshasa has not yet communicated a death toll.

    It has sent a delegation to Kalehe and declared yesterday a day of national mourning.

    The United Nations’ humanitarian agency OCHA said on Sunday that at least 270 deaths had been confirmed so far with more than 300 people still unaccounted for, while around 3,000 families have lost their homes.

    According to United Nations climate experts warming temperatures due to climate change are increasing the intensity and frequency of Africa’s rains.

    It said this can increase the destruction wrought by the floods and landslides that were already common in South Kivu.

    Poor urban planning and weak infrastructure also make it more vulnerable to such events, it added.

    Congo climate activist Josue Aruna said the government does not consider environmental issues a priority, denouncing the lack of response plans.