Category: Foreign

The death of 5-year-old Rayan Awram in spite of a massive effort to rescue him from a deep well sparked an outpouring of sympathy on Sunday, from his village in northern Morocco to the Vatican, from King Mohammed to international football clubs.

The saga of the ultimately failed rescue attempt gripped the country and many people abroad for days.

Rayan fell into the well in Ighran village near the town of Chefchaouen on Tuesday and his body was finally pulled out late on Saturday, following an operation that involved cutting much of the adjacent hillside and then tunneling toward the bottom of the well to reach the child.

Many of the weary rescue workers and the hundreds of people who had gathered around the well hoping for good news burst into tears when they heard Rayan was dead.

“I heard people shout in jubilation after the boy was found thinking he was alive but then we learnt he was not. I never felt this sad,” an onlooker called Noureddine told Reuters.

The boy’s parents spoke to state Al Oula TV after their son’s body was recovered.

“This is God’s will. I thank all for their efforts to help,” Rayan’s mother Ouassima Kharchich said, her voice strained with grief and barely audible.

“We thank so much the people and authorities… who helped us,” the father, Khalid Awram, said.

READ ALSO: Morocco tipped  to brush aside Comoros

King Mohammed expressed condolences to the parents in a phone call on Saturday night, a palace statement said.

It was not yet clear when the funeral would take place, but well-wishers travelled to the village on Sunday to offer condolences to the family.

“We feel that people are sorry, we are all sorry. We have no other choice.

“The father, the mother, the grandmothers and uncles.

c”May God give us patience,” an uncle of the child, Mohammed Kharshish, told Reuters TV on Sunday.

Pope Francis praised the people of Morocco for coming together to try to rescue the boy.

“The people clung together, as a whole, to save Rayan, they worked together to save a child,” the pope said during his weekly blessing in St. Peter’s Square. “(The rescuers) tried their best, unfortunately, they did not make it,” he said.

French President Emmanuel Macron said he felt the pain of Rayan’s family and of Moroccans.

Soccer clubs including Liverpool FC, Manchester United, FC Barcelona and FC Sevilla also expressed condolences on their Arabic Twitter accounts.

(Reuters/NAN)

Prince Charles has congratulated his mother on her 70-year reign and says he is ‘deeply conscious of the honour’ given to his ‘darling wife’, Camilla, after Her Majesty announced she would become Queen Consort when he takes the throne.

The Queen assured the Duchess of Cornwall will be made Queen Consort when Charles becomes King in an historic Platinum Jubilee statement issued late last night, ending years of uncertainty over the issue.

Charles and Camilla were ‘touched and honoured’ by the Queen’s gesture, Clarence House said.

In a statement yesterday, the Prince of Wales said: ‘On this historic day, my wife and I join you all in congratulating Her Majesty The Queen on the remarkable achievement of serving this nation, the Realms and Commonwealth for 70 years. The Queen’s devotion to the welfare of all her people inspires still greater admiration with each passing year.

‘We are deeply conscious of the honour represented by my mother’s wish. As we have sought together to serve and support Her Majesty and the people of our communities, my darling wife has been my own steadfast support throughout.

‘The year of this unprecedented Platinum Jubilee brings an opportunity for us all to come together in celebrating the service of The Queen, by whose example we will continue to be led in the years to come.’

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have not commented publicly on the Queen’s statement but did retweet the Royal Family’s post, which included the Queen’s announcement. They also shared a news story on their joint Instagram account.

However, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have had no public comment since the announcement that Camilla would become Queen Consort at 10pm on Saturday.

Royal experts have been responding to the Queen’s statement, saying there was ‘no finer vote of confidence in Camilla’ than making her Queen Consort.

Peter Hunt, a former BBC royal correspondent said: ‘The Queen is ensuring the transition, when it comes, to her son as king is as seamless and trouble free as possible.

‘She’s future-proofing an institution she’s served for seventy years.

‘And for Camilla, the journey from being the third person in a marriage to queen-in-waiting, is complete.’

Royal biographer Ingrid Seward said Camilla becoming Queen is the ‘ultimate royal stamp of approval’ Prince Charles has always craved.

‘It’s a remarkable rehabilitation for the woman who a large proportion of the public blamed for the end of a royal fairytale’, she wrote in the Sun.

‘Far from being “the other woman”, Camilla has cemented her place at the heart of the Royal Family.

‘It is the ultimate royal stamp of approval he has always craved and “in the fullness of time when he becomes King” it is something he will always cherish.’

In her surprise announcement, Her Majesty declared it was her ‘sincere wish’ for her daughter-in-law to be fully acknowledged when Charles succeeds her.

The Queen issued the message, shoring up her support for her heir and his wife, as she today marks a milestone 70 years on the Throne.

President Muhammadu Buhari and the Prime Minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed agreed that the growth of African countries will require strong and visionary leadership that caters for the needs of the people.

The two leaders, who met at the Headquarters of the African Union (AU) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, added that such leadership ought also to effectively strengthen institutions that encourage peaceful co-existence, while providing disincentives to conflicts and coups.

According to a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, President Buhari commended the efforts of the Prime Minister in maintaining peace and unity in the country and dedication to ensuring fairness and justice in development.

“You are leading a country that is large and diversified, just like Nigeria, and I know the sacrifices required to make desired impact, especially in maintaining peace,” the President said.

President Buhari urged the Ethiopian leader to stay focused on keeping the country together, in spite of difficulties, assuring that Nigeria will continue to support efforts in peaceful co-existence and unity.

The President said Ahmed had provided strong leadership for the country, encouraging him to sustain the good work in ensuring even development.

Prime Minister Ahmed thanked the President for support to the country over the years, on national and personal endeavours, particularly in encouraging unity and stability.

Read Also: Buhari fixing Nigeria’s infrastructure challenges, says Senate President

He noted that the African continent had been slow in growth due to conflicts, adding that the larger economies, like Nigeria and Ethiopia, should provide the leadership that will deepen progress and prosperity on the continent.

The prime minister said the resurgence of coups on the continent could further weaken institutions and reverse the gains of democracy, appreciating President Buhari for his position on zero-tolerance for military interference in governance.

Ahmed said collective and visionary leadership will move Africa forward.

Also yesterday morning, President Buhari assured Guinea-Bissau that he would rally other leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on how full normalcy could be restored to the country.

President Buhari gave the assurance on the sidelines of the African Union (AU) Summit of Heads of State and Government, holding in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, when he met with the Senior Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Guinea-Bissau, Suzi Barbosa.

According to a statement issued by Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, President Buhari received a comprehensive briefing on the coup attempt to oust President Umaru Sissoco Embalo of Guinea-Bissau, but which was aborted by loyalist forces.

“They attempted to kill President Embalo. They destroyed the presidential palace with bazookas, killed 11 young people. It took about five hours to restore order. It was a nightmare,” she said.

Prime Minister Choguel Kokalla Maiga of Mali on Friday said the country would no longer allow foreign forces to remain in the country without predetermined conditions.

Maiga told the Anadolu news agency that “we can no longer allow foreign forces to enter our territory without predetermined conditions.

“We can no longer leave room for maneuver which can lead to states retreating from agreements with our country and going to fulfill the programme that they announced at the national level to their society and the international community.”

The prime minister listed the foreign forces remaining in Mali as the French Barkhane Operation, the UN peacekeeping forces, EU training mission in Mali, the G5 Sahel Mission and European Takuba Task Force.

“Despite all these combined forces, the security situation is deteriorating from year to year,” the Malian prime minister told the news agency.

An armed conflict between government forces and militants of separatist movements began in Mali in 2012.

The situation deteriorated after Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, was ousted.

The peacekeeping UN mission that has been deployed to Mali is regularly attacked by militants. (Sputnik/NAN)

The Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games opening ceremony began at the National Stadium in Beijing on Friday. The program is divided into 15 segments, including the parade of athletes and the lighting of the Olympic cauldron.

A pre-show presented by square dancers aged from five to over 70 years old was held prior to the opening ceremony.

Read Also: Olympic athletes praise Beijing 2022 venues

The “Square Dance” is a creation of ordinary Chinese people and has become very popular. On public squares in large cities or small towns, people spontaneously gather together to joyfully sing and dance in their off-time.

This choreographed performance showcased the passion of the Chinese people in welcoming the Olympic Winter Games.

Britteny Cox, Australian freestyle moguls skier

“I was amazed at the training facility. The course was impeccable, and it was basically a dream course to ski. We only had an hour of training, and I just tried to fit in as many runs as I possibly could because I was having so much fun out there.”

Nike Page, United States freestyle moguls skier

“We never see a course that’s this perfectly built that often. There’s so much time and energy that went into building a pretty and pristine course that we got honored. It’s nice to go out there and light it up because it’s so well built.”

Jennifer Dodds, Great Britain curling athlete

“I like how you still have the small bits of Beijing 2008 – you have the diving boards behind the screens and stuff like that. It’s nice that you can see the summer Olympics and the Winter Olympics in the same building – that’s really cool. I remember watching in 2008, Rebecca Adlington winning her two gold medals for Great Britain, so there’s definitely history in this building.”

Victoria Persinger, United States curling athlete

“It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. It’s going to be such an honor to play in that building.

“To pull up to that venue yesterday was one of the coolest things. The architecture on that building is one of a kind, and of course we’re thinking about American Olympic history as we’re pulling up there.

Read Also: Xi declares Beijing Winter Olympics open

“I love to see these venues be re-used like this, utilizing what’s already there. Just walking in the building, you have a little essence of (swimming) pool everywhere, there’s a floor drain and tiles, and big mosaic of a koi fish in our dressing room, you can definitely tell it was once a pool.”

Sven Thorgren, Swedish snowboard slopestyle athlete

“It was way better than I expected after having seen the course. It’s way steeper and bigger than I thought. So I’m very pleased with it, especially with the snow. Even though it’s very cold, the snow is grippy but not icy, and feels like Colorado’s snow. It’s good for us.”

President Xi Jinping attended the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games on Friday night at the National Stadium in Beijing and declared the Games open.

Xi waved to the Chinese delegation as they walked into the arena.

The United Kingdom (UK) and Nigeria have agreed on new commitments to tackle shared threats and keep both British and Nigerian people safe.

These include commitments to work together to improve civilian policing standards, protect human rights and recognise the important role of women in achieving sustainable peace.

The deals, according to the Press & Public Affairs, Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, were signed at the conclusion of the first meeting of the Nigeria-UK Security and Defence Partnership Dialogue in London during the week.

At the end of the dialogue, UK agreed to support Nigeria in tackling Islamic State West Africa (ISWA) and Boko Haram as well as work together to respond to conflict with extremist groups in the Northeast.

UK Minister for Africa Vicky Ford, while commenting on the dialogue, said: “Conflict and insecurity are leading to the loss of life and increasing displacement of millions of people across West Africa.”