Category: Foreign

Authorities in Burkina Faso have said they have launched an investigation into the killing of 28 people who were discovered on the eve of New Year.

 The government announced on Monday that 28 bodies have been found on New Year’s Eve in northwestern Burkina Faso.

 It said Preliminary investigations in the town of Nouna indicated that the male victims were killed by gunfire.

 According to prosecutors, the killing took place between December 30 and 31, 2022.

 Details on the possible perpetrators or motivations for the attacks have not yet been disclosed.

For its part, the Burkinabe Civil Society Organisation claimed that armed civilians masquerading as members of the Homeland Defence Volunteers (VDP) were responsible for the deadly attacks.

 The VDP is a paramilitary force established in 2019 to assist the country’s army in the fight against terrorist groups.

 Terrorism in Burkina Faso has been spreading rapidly since 2015 in the wake of the ousting of President Blaise Compaore who had ruled the West African nation for 27 years until 2014.

 The coup mongers killed thousands and displaced millions of Burkinabe people.

 In 2019, the country launched the VDP programme, allowing civilian volunteers to join Burkina Faso’s military forces to fight against terrorist groups linked to Daesh and Al-Qaeda in order to recuperate territories occupied by the militants.

 In 2022, Burkina Faso witnessed two military coups within an eight-month period caused by the government’s failure to address ongoing insecurity in the country.

 In September 2022, military captain President Ibrahim Traore was sworn in as head of Burkina Faso’s transitional government following a coup against Lt. Col. Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba.

 Damiba also came to power in a coup in January. However, Traore had vowed to clean the country from the “terrorist hordes.”

Croatia was formally admitted at the beginning of the new year, into the European Union (EU) border-free Schengen zone and the euro common currency, fulfilling longstanding ambitions of close integration with Europe.

At the Bregana border crossing with neighbouring Slovenia, police took down signs at midnight and a barrier was lifted up for the last time, before a placard reading “free passage” was installed, symbolising the end of border checks.

“If there are historical moments, special moments which should provide us with great honour and when we witness the achievement of strategic goals of a state — this is such a day,” Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said at a ceremony at the border later yesterday.

He was joined by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who hailed it as “a day to celebrate”.

“Today Croatia joins the Schengen Area and the eurozone, two immense achievements for the youngest member state of the European Union and both reached on the very same day. So indeed, this is a day for the history books.”

Plenkovic and von der Leyen later toured the capital Zagreb where they bought coffee in a cafe using euros, which replaced Croatia’s kuna currency. After a server brought their coffees to an outdoor table, Plenkovic paid with a handful of euro notes, while von der Leyen, seated next to him, applauded.

Croatia entered the EU in 2013. It becomes the 27th country to join the Schengen area, and the 20th to adopt the euro currency.

Finance Minister Marko Primorac touted the advantages of using the euro to lawmakers last month, saying it would strengthen the economy, improve the investment climate and make Croatia more resistant to external shocks.

An explosion was heard yesterday outside the military airport in Kabul which is feared to have caused “multiple casualties”, Afghanistan’s Taliban government has said.

“Today morning an explosion took place outside Kabul military airport, due to which a number of our citizens were martyred and injured,” said Abdul Nafi Takor, a spokesman for the Taliban-run interior ministry.

Takor said investigations are underway. He, however, did not specify the nature or target of the explosion.

No details on the number of casualties or damage have been shared yet, but the blast is believed to have taken place just outside the capital’s military-run airport.

Taliban security commander Abdul Mufin Safi also confirmed the attack stating the bomb was placed under a local staffer’s desk, The Khaama Press news agency reported.

Local residents said a loud explosion was heard before 8am local time in the vicinity of the military side of the heavily fortified airport.

They said security forces have sealed off the entire area and all roads had been closed, according to Reuters news agency.

The attack on the first day of the new year comes after a series of bombings reported in recent weeks,

Armed militants are increasingly targeting more government establishments amid a deadly insurgency that has been continuing since the Taliban took over the country last year.

Isis in recent weeks has targeted the Russian and Pakistani embassies as well as the office of the country’s former prime minister.

Last week, a blast in Taluqan city, the capital of Takhar province, killed four people. Another blast killed a police officer in Badkshan city and injured four others.

Afghanistan has a long history of conflict and instability and the country has been plagued by numerous internal and external struggles over the years, all of which have been fuelled further following the chaotic withdrawal of the US troops and the Taliban’s subsequent takeover.

Bombings and attacks have killed thousands of citizens, including tourists and members of minority communities which are very often the targets of the militant groups like Isis.

•Vatican prepares for ex-leader’s funeral from today

Pope Francis yesterday prayed for his predecessor’s passage to heaven as he presided over a special New Year’s Day Mass in St Peter’s Basilica.

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI died on Saturday in retirement at the Vatican.

The huge basilica will host Benedict’s coffin from today, and thousands of faithful are expected to attend the first of three days of viewing.

Benedict, 95, died on Saturday morning in the Vatican where he had lived since retirement. He was the first pope in centuries to resign, citing his increasing frailty.

Francis sat with his head bowed as Mass began on the first day of the year, an occasion the Catholic Church dedicates to the theme of peace.

He departed from his written homily to pray aloud for Benedict, imploring the Virgin Mary to “accompany him in his passage to the hands” of God.

The pontiff will lead Benedict’s funeral on Thursday in St Peter’s Square.

That rite will be a simple one, the Vatican has said, in keeping with the wishes of Benedict, who for decades as a German cardinal had served as the Church’s guardian of doctrinal orthodoxy before he was elected pope in 2005.

In the last few years, Francis has hailed Benedict’s decision to become the first pope to resign in 600 years and has made clear he would consider such a step himself.

Crippled by knee pain, the 86-year-old arrived in the basilica in a wheelchair yesterday, before taking his place in a chair for the Mass, which was being celebrated by the Vatican’s secretary of state.

Francis, who has repeatedly decried the war in Ukraine and its devastation, recalled those who are victims of war, passing the year-end holidays in darkness, cold and fear.

“At the beginning of this year, we need hope, just as the Earth needs rain,” he said.

•Moves to counter U.S. threats

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered for developing new intercontinental ballistic missiles and a larger nuclear arsenal to counter United States (U.S.)-led threats.

The state media said yesterday, amid flaring tension between the rival Koreas.

At a meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party, Kim highlighted the need to secure “overwhelming military power” to defend its sovereignty and security.

 The meeting came amid cross-border tensions over last week’s intrusion by North Korean drones into the South, and the North’s series of missile launches, including intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).

South Korea’s President Yoon Suk-yeol, during phone calls with military chiefs, called for “solid mental readiness and practical training” to ensure any North Korean provocations will be met with retaliation, according to a statement from his office.

Kim accused Washington and Seoul of trying to “isolate and stifle” Pyongyang with U.S. nuclear strike assets constantly deployed in South Korea, calling it “unprecedented in human history.”

 He vowed to develop another ICBM system “whose main mission is quick nuclear counter-strike” under a plan to bolster the country’s nuclear force, the official KCNA news agency said.

 “The prevailing situation calls for making redoubled efforts to overwhelmingly beef up the military muscle … in response to the worrying military moves by the US and other hostile forces,” it said.  South Korea has become “our undoubted enemy” being “hell-bent on imprudent and dangerous arms buildup” and hostile military moves, Kim said.

 “It highlights the importance and necessity of a mass-producing of tactical nuclear weapons and calls for an exponential increase of the country’s nuclear arsenal,” Kim said, adding these would be a “main orientation” of the 2023 nuclear and defense strategy.

 As part of the plan, the country will also launch its first military satellite “at the earliest date possible” by accelerating its drive to build a spy satellite, with preparations in the final stage.

The report came hours after North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile off its east coast, in a rare late-night, New Year’s Day weapons test.  The isolated country also launched three ballistic missiles on Saturday, capping a year marked by a record number of missile tests.

KCNA said in a separate dispatch that it was testing a new 600 mm super-large multiple rocket launcher capable of carrying nuclear weapons.

Kim lauded the munitions industry for delivering 30 units of the system, calling it a “core, offensive weapon” with all of South Korea within its range, and an ability to conduct a surprise and precision launch.

“We have declared our resolute will to respond with nuke for nuke and an all-out confrontation for an all-out confrontation,” Kim told a delivery ceremony on Saturday, ordering more powerful weapons to “absolutely overwhelm the U.S. imperialist aggressive forces and their puppet army.”

 Inter-Korean ties have long been testy but have grown even more tense since Yoon took office in May pledging a tougher line against Pyongyang.

The recent drone intrusion rekindled criticism over South Korea’s air defenses, and Yoon on Sunday again urged the military to stand ready to retaliate.

 “Our military must resolutely retaliate against any provocation by the enemy with the determination to fight,” Yoon told the military chiefs.

The latest missile flew about 400 kilometers (249 miles) after being fired around 2:50 a.m. local time (1750 GMT) from the Ryongsong area of the capital Pyongyang, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.

 The JCS strongly condemned the North’s series of missile tests as “grave provocations” and urged an immediate halt.

 Japan’s coast guard said the missile reached an altitude of around 100 km and flew around 350 km. Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said Tokyo had protested to North Korea over the launch via diplomatic channels in Beijing.

•To fight poverty, invest in education, health

Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been sworn in as president in the capital, Brasilia, assuming office in tears for the third time after thwarting outgoing incumbent Jair Bolsonaro’s reelection bid.

Lula has said his priorities are fighting poverty, and investing in education and health. He has also said he will bring illegal deforestation of the Amazon to a halt.

Lula was president from 2003-2010, and his return to power marks the culmination of a political comeback that is both thrilling supporters and enraging opponents in a fiercely polarised nation.

Lula and incoming Vice-President Geraldo Alckmin paraded through the city on an open-top convertible before proceeding to the Senate – at the start of the formal inauguration ceremony.The men have spent the past days selecting their cabinet and appointing supporters to key state owned businesses.

In a noted change of policy from the Bolsonaro administration, Marina Silva – one of Brazil’s best known climate activists – was re-appointed to head the environment and climate ministry. She will be expected to achieve Lula’s pledge to reach “zero deforestation” in the Amazon by 2030.

His presidency is unlikely to be similar to his previous two mandates, coming after the tightest presidential race in more than three decades in Brazil and resistance to his taking office by some of his opponents.

The leftist defeated far-right Bolsonaro in the 30 October vote by less than 2 percentage points. For months, Bolsonaro had sown doubts about the reliability of Brazil’s electronic vote and his loyal supporters were loath to accept the loss.

 Bolsonaro skipped the inauguration, and is believed to have taken a military jet to Florida at the end of December. Bolsonaro has remained mostly silent since losing the election. But a few hours before reports of his departure, he addressed the country as president on his social media.

At times on the verge of tears, the far-right politician said he wasn’t able to find a legal alternative or enough support to change the course of history and prevent his departure from office.

People wearing the red of Lula’s Workers’ Party flooded into the main esplanade to hear live music and await the start of official events. They chanted Lula’s name and belted out the lyrics of a song that informs outgoing President Jair Bolsonaro it is time for him to leave.

“In 2003, the ceremony was very beautiful. There wasn’t this bad, heavy climate,” said Carlos Melo, a political science professor at Insper University in Sao Paulo, referring to the year Lula first took office. “Today, it’s a climate of terror.”

Lula has made it his mission to heal the divided nation. But he will have to do so while navigating more challenging economic conditions than he enjoyed in his first two terms, when the global commodities boom proved a windfall for Brazil.

At the time, his administration’s flagship welfare programme helped lift tens of millions of impoverished people into the middle class. Many Brazilians traveled abroad for the first time. He left office with a personal approval rating of 83%.

In the intervening years, Brazil’s economy plunged into two deep recessions — first, during the tenure of his handpicked successor, and then during the pandemic — and ordinary Brazilians suffered greatly.

He had sought support from political moderates to form a broad front and defeat Bolsonaro, then tapped some of them to serve in his Cabinet.

Given the nation’s political fault lines, it is highly unlikely Lula ever reattains the popularity he once enjoyed, or even sees his approval rating rise above 50%, said Maurício Santoro, a political science professor at Rio de Janeiro’s State University.

 Furthermore, Santoro said, the credibility of Lula and his Workers’ Party were assailed by a sprawling corruption investigation. Party officials were jailed, including Lula — until his convictions were annulled on procedural grounds.

The Supreme Court then ruled that the judge presiding over the case had colluded with prosecutors to secure a conviction.

 Lula and his supporters have maintained he was railroaded. Others were willing to look past possible malfeasance as a means to unseat Bolsonaro and bring the nation back together.

No fewer than 100 people have now been sentenced to death or charged with capital offences in connection with the protests in Iran, a rights group says.

Five women were among those at risk of execution, Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) reported.

The real number of protesters facing the death penalty was believed to be far higher because families were being pressured to stay quiet, it warned.

Two men were executed this month after what activists said were sham trials.

Mohsen Shekari and Majidreza Rahnavard, who were both 23, were found guilty by Revolutionary Courts of the vaguely-defined national security charge of “enmity against God”.

Iran has been engulfed by protests against the country’s clerical establishment for just over 100 days.

The United States (U.S.) Supreme Court has voted to keep in place a controversial Trump-era policy that blocked thousands of people from crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.

Title 42 gives the government power to automatically expel undocumented migrants seeking entry.

The potential lifting of the policy had prompted concerns that the number of migrants at the border would rise.

The Biden administration said it would comply with the ruling but called for reform of immigration policy.

“We are advancing our preparations to manage the border in a secure, orderly, and humane way when Title 42 eventually lifts and will continue expanding legal pathways for immigration,” it said in a statement.

Bill Cassidy, a Republican senator for Louisiana, said removing Title 42 “would have made our border crisis worse, and the White House seemed willing to let that happen”.

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“Glad to see the Supreme Court step in to preserve it, but we need a permanent solution,” he said on Twitter.

Miguel Colmenares, a Venezuelan migrant in the Mexican border city of Tijuana, said: “It breaks my heart that we have to keep waiting.”

“I don’t know what I’m going to do, I haven’t got any money and my family’s waiting for me,” the 27-year-old told Reuters news agency.

The Title 42 policy – applied about 2.5 million times since March 2020 – was originally due to expire on 21 December but, two days before the deadline, Chief Supreme Court Justice John Roberts blocked its termination.