The Nation Newspaper

Category: Foreign

  • EU’s foreign policy chief to visit Iran on peace mission

    Agency Reporter

     

    The head of the European Union’s foreign service, Josep Borrell, will travel to Iran next week to meet the country’s leaders in a bid to reduce tensions in the Middle East, the EU said in a statement on Sunday.

    During in his trip on Monday and Tuesday, Borrell will meet Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Javad Zarif among others.

    “Borrell received a strong mandate from the EU foreign ministers to engage in diplomatic dialogue with regional partners, to de-escalate tensions and seek opportunities for political solutions to the current crisis,” the statement said.

    Read Also: ‘Iran may review cooperation with IAEA if EU pressure mounts’

    Tensions in the region stepped up after the killing in early January of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani by the United States in Iraq.

    “The visit will also be an opportunity to convey the EU’s strong commitment to preserve the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action,” the statement said, referring to the nuclear deal that Iran reached with six major powers in 2015, and from which the United States withdrew in 2018.

    The EU serves as guarantor of the nuclear deal, and Borrell has a formal role in its dispute resolution process, which Britain, France and Germany activated in January after Iran said it was no longer abiding by some limits on nuclear material.

  • Iraqi cleric tells followers to clear sit-ins after PM appointed

    Agency Reporter

    Populist Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has urged his followers to help security forces clear roads blocked during months of sit-in protests, calling for a return to normal life after the designation of a new prime minister.

    Sadr, who had alternately sided with the anti-government protesters and the Iran-backed political groups they reject, urged his unarmed supporters known as “blue hats” to work with authorities to ensure schools and businesses can operate normally again.

    Protests broke out immediately in Baghdad and several southern cities on Saturday night after President Barham Salih named Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi as prime minister in an effort to end the political unrest.

    On Sunday, thousands gathered in Baghdad’s Tahrir square, where the main protest camp in the capital is located, to reject the move. They banged drums and chanted against Allawi and Sadr, saying “Allawi is rejected and so are his parties”.

    READ ALSO: U.S. rejects request to withdraw troops from Iraq

    In a message issued on Twitter, Sadr said “I advise the security forces to stop anyone from cutting off roads and the ministry of education should punish those who obstruct regular working hours, be they students, teachers or others”.

    Some of his followers appeared to have helped already to clear out protest areas in Tahrir Square overnight, a Reuters reporter said.

    Hours before Allawi’s appointment, the blue hats, armed with batons, attacked a skeleton building in Tahrir Square, known as the Turkish Restaurant, that demonstrators have occupied since October.

    The building was mostly empty and the blue hats stood guard, occupying its gates and pacing with walkie-talkies outside it.

    “They attacked us by surprise and forced us out of the building shouting that we didn’t do any good to the country except ruining its economy,” said Rassoul, 20, a protester who has lived in the Turkish Restaurant since October.

  • Palestinians ‘cut all ties’ with Israel, US

    Our Reporter

     

    PALESTINIAN leader Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday announced a cut in all ties with Israel and the United States, including security cooperation.

    He said the peace plan unveiled by US President Donald Trump on Tuesday was in “violation of the (autonomy) accords” launched in Oslo in 1993 by Israel and the Palestinians.

    Israel will have to “bear responsibility as an occupying power” for the Palestinian territories, he told an emergency Arab League meeting in Cairo.

    The summit of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo was requested by the Palestinians, who responded angrily to the American proposal.

    The Arab League on Saturday rejected Trump’s controversial Middle East plan, calling it “unfair” to Palestinians.

    The pan-Arab bloc said in a statement that it “rejects the US-Israeli ‘deal of the century’ considering that it does not meet the minimum rights and aspirations of Palestinian people.”

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    Arab leaders also vowed “not to … cooperate with the US administration to implement this plan.”

    Abbas said that he told Israel and the US that “there will be no relations with them, including the security ties” following the deal that Palestinians say heavily favours Israel.

    There was no immediate comment from US or Israeli officials.

    The Palestinian leader said that he’d refused to take US President Donald Trump’s phone calls and messages “because I know that he would use that to say he consulted us.” “I will never accept this solution,” Abbas said.

    “I will not have it recorded in my history that I have sold Jerusalem.” He said the Palestinians remain committed to ending the Israeli occupation and establishing a state with its capital in east Jerusalem.

    Abbas said that the Palestinians wouldn’t accept the US as a sole mediator in any negotiations with Israel.

    He said they would go to the United Nations Security Council and other world and regional organisations to “explain our position.” The Arab League’s head, Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, said the proposal revealed a “sharp turn” in the long-standing US foreign policy regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

    “This turn does not help achieve peace and a just solution,” he declared.

    Aboul-Gheit said that the Palestinians reject the proposal.

    He called for the two sides, the Israelis and the Palestinians, to negotiate to reach a “satisfactory solution for both of them.” President Trump unveiled the long-awaited proposal on Tuesday in Washington. It would allow Israel to annex all its West Bank settlements – which the Palestinians and most of the international community view as illegal – as well as the Jordan Valley, which accounts for roughly a fourth of the West Bank.

    In return, the Palestinians would be granted statehood in Gaza, scattered chunks of the West Bank and some neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Jerusalem, all linked together by a new network of roads, bridges and tunnels.

    Israel would control the state’s borders and airspace and maintain overall security authority. Critics of the plan say this would rob Palestinian statehood of any meaning.

    The plan would abolish the right of return for Palestinian refugees displaced by the 1948 war and their descendants, a key Palestinian demand.

  • Egypt sentences officer-turned-militant and 36 others to death

    An Egyptian court on Saturday sentenced Hisham al-Ashmawy, a former Special Forces officer turned Islamist militant, and 36 others to death after they were convicted of terrorism, court officials said.

    Ashmawy was captured in the eastern Libyan city of Derna in late 2018 and transferred by authorities loyal to Commander Khalifa Haftar to Egypt in May 2019.

    “He was convicted on several charges including plotting a 2014 attack that killed 22 military guards near the frontier with Libya, and involvement in an attempt to kill a former interior minister in 2013.

    Ashmawy led the Sinai-based Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, Egypt’s most active militant group, before it pledged allegiance to Islamic State in 2014,’’ a military statement said.

    READ ALSO: Egyptian side El-Makkasa to unveil Amuneke

    The court ruled that the other 36 defendants tried with him were also convicted of terrorism charges.

    Their cases were referred to the Grand Mufti, Egypt’s highest Islamic legal official.

    Egyptian law requires any capital sentence to be referred to him for an opinion before executions can take place.

    The court set a new session for March 2 to confirm the convictions after receiving the Mufti’s non-binding opinion.

    In November, a military court had already sentenced Ashmawy to death in another terrorism case.

    Egyptian civilian and military courts had also sentenced Ashmawy to death in absentia before his extradition.

    (NAN)

  • Lake Chad to become World Heritage site

    By Tony Akowe, Abuja

     

    THE Lake Chad Basin is to become a world heritage site following its nomination to the World Heritage list of the United Nation Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) within the Biopalt project.

    The move is part of efforts to preserve the area.

    Director, Water Resources Planning and Technical Support Services in the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, Mrs. Alice Ojowu, stated this in Abuja at a consultative/informative meeting on the nomination of the Lake Chad to the World Heritage List.

    Mrs. Ojowu said the nomination is expected to have positive implications on the lives of the people of the Lake Chad Basin.

    She said the issue of the preservation of the Lake Chad came up for discussion between the Lake Chad Basin Commission and UNESCO after the summit of the Heads of State and government in 2010, when UNESCO was called upon to nominate Lake Chad on the World Heritage list as a protected area and to develop it with the preservation of its biodiversity and ecosystem as a priority to ameliorate the livelihood of the population of the basin.

    According to her, the provisional nomination file for the Lake Chad on the world heritage list is titled, “Lake Chad Cultural Landscape” and will cover an area of approximately 2,480,800ha and represents the largest inhabited lake landscape on the planet.

    “It is a vast expanse of fresh water in the middle of a desert shared by Cameroon, Niger, Nigeria and Chad. Presently, over 40 million people derive their livelihood from it. The area has a great diversity of wet ecosystems that make it a tremendous source of life for many animal and plant species,” she said.

    Biopalt Ambassador in Nigeria and Vice Chancellor of the University of Maiduguri Prof. Aliyu Shugaba said that addressing the fundamental problem of restoring the Lake Chad and environmental restoration through participatory protective mechanism will go a long way to address the ongoing conflict around the lake and remote places within the basin, while enhancing the sustainable development of the area.

    Prof. Shugaba said Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum has given an executive order to constitute the Nigeria portion of the lake as a protected area backed by law.

  • ECOWAS Parliament mediates in Gambia crisis

    By Vincent Ikuomola, Abuja

    The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament has joined in the efforts at resolving the political crisis in the Gambia, it was learnt.

    ECOWAS Speaker Mustapha Cisse Lo on Wednesday led a 12- member delegation to the Gambian President, Adama Barrow.

    Cisse Lo had previousely met with leaders of the opposition.

    There is a disagreement in the coalition that brought in the President, which led to political infighting.

    The President, it was learnt, had promised to stay for three years, a promise he was accused of not willing to keep.

    The visit was, ECOWAS Speaker said, was primarily to thank him for hosting the last extraordinary meeting of the Community Parliament and also an opportunity to discuss the political crisis.

    Briefing journalists after more than an hour meeting at the Presidency, the Speaker Cisse Lo noted that they reported to the President on issues pertaining in the Parliament.

    READ ALSO: What the Gambian crisis means for tourists

    According to the Speaker, he briefed the President on his meeting with the opposition leader as there is emerging political tension in the country but pointed out that there is the need for Gambia to have stability.

    “President Adama Barrow gave us listening ear and took good note of the issues we brought to his attention; and it is my view that we undertake such visits and discuss with all parties, a country cannot develop without stability,” the Speaker stressed.

    Over the weekend there was demonstration by the opposition to call on President Barrow to step down based on the three- year agreement despite the constitution giving him a five- year mandate.

    Others also demonstrated calling for the return of Yahya Jammeh.

  • BMW shuts three factories in China amid coronavirus outbreak

    BMW, on Thursday, said it was closing three of its factories in the Chinese city of Shenyang, where it employs around 18,000 people and manufactures half a million vehicles every year, amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

    According to a BMW spokesman in Munich, the one-week holiday for Chinese New Year has been extended by another week until Feb. 9.

    READ ALSO: Coronavirus: Senate seeks self-isolation for travellers from China, others

    The spokesman added that only office workers in Shenyang would return to work from Monday, though they would be working from home.

    “We cannot say exactly what will happen beyond Feb. 9,’’ the spokesman said.

    (dpa/NAN)

  • Trump launches coronavirus task force

    The Trump administration launched a task force with a brief to protect the United States from the fast-spreading coronavirus, as the country prepared to evacuate more of its citizens from the epicentre of the outbreak in Wuhan, China.

    In a statement on Thursday, the U.S. State Department said Washington would arrange extra evacuation flights from Wuhan with capacity for private U.S. citizens, on or about Feb. 3.

    It did not say how many planes it would deploy for how many people, however that passengers would be subjected to screening, health observations and monitoring requirements.

    Almost 200 Americans, mostly U.S. diplomats and their families were evacuated from Wuhan this week and are being held in voluntary quarantine at a military base in California.

    Overnight, the White House announced the formation of a presidential task force to lead the administration’s response to the virus, including monitoring and containing the spread of the disease.

    READ ALSO: U.S., Japan fly nationals from China as coronavirus death hits 133

    The 12-person group of officials, led by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary, Alex Azar, has been meeting daily this week and will also make Americans have the latest health and travel information.

    “The risk of infection for Americans remains low and all agencies are working aggressively to monitor this continuously evolving situation and to keep the public informed,’’ the White House said in a statement on Wednesday.

    According to the White House, top officials from the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health will serve on the task force.

    The Department of Homeland Security, the Transportation Department and the Department of State will also serve on the task force.

    (Reuters/NAN)

  • U.S., Japan fly nationals from China as coronavirus death hits 133

    THE United States and Japan flew nationals out of China’s coronavirus epicentre on Wednesday, as the number of deaths leapt to 133 and the World Health Organization said there was “deeply concerning” evidence of person-to-person transmission in other countries.

    The WHO said its Emergency Committee would reconvene today to decide whether the spread of the new virus from China now constitutes a global emergency.

    “In the last few days the progress of the virus especially in some countries, especially human-to-human transmission, worries us,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference in Geneva, naming Germany, Vietnam and Japan.

    Beijing’s plans to slay what its leader called the “devil” coronavirus may have won the trust of the WHO, but confirmation of another 1,459 cases – taking the total to 5,974 in China – only fuelled global public alarm.

    The death toll from the flu-like virus also rose by 27 to 133.

    Almost all have been in the central province of Hubei, the capital of which is Wuhan, where the virus emerged last month in a live wild animal market.

    The situation remained “grim and complex”, Chinese President Xi Jinping acknowledged. U.S. President Donald Trump said he had spoken to Xi and his administration was working closely with China on containing the outbreak.

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    Some major airlines suspended flights to China, and a senior economist predicted a major impact on growth.

    The WHO’s panel of 16 independent experts twice last week declined to declare an international emergency, but will re-evaluate the situation on Thursday.

    “We are at an important juncture in this event. We believe these chains of transmission can still be interrupted,” said Mike Ryan, Executive Director of the WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme.

    Ryan also praised China’s response, saying: “They are taking extraordinary measures in the face of what is an extraordinary challenge.”

    In many Chinese cities, streets were largely deserted. Tourist attractions were closed, while Starbucks coffee shops required people to have their temperatures taken and to wear masks.

  • UK’s decision good for advanced telecoms infrastructure, says Huawei

    HUAWEI is reassured by the United Kingdom’s (UK) confirmation to allow it to participate in the country’s 5G roll-out, its Vice-President, Victor Zhang, said on Wednesday.

    In a statement, he said: “This evidence-based decision will result in a more advanced, more secure and more cost-effective telecoms infrastructure that is fit for the future. It gives the UK access to world-leading technology and ensures a competitive market.”

    The British government said on Tuesday it would allow Huawei to build the country’s next generation of super-fast wireless networks, despite the U.S.  threatening that permitting Huawei equipment could undermine trade and intelligence ties with Washington.

    Zhang said Huawei has strong track record of supplying cutting-edge technology to telecoms operators in the UK for more than 15 years.

    He added that the firm would continue with “supporting customers as they invest in their 5G networks, boosting economic growth and helping the UK continue to compete globally”.

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    “The clear cyber security record of Huawei has been recognised by two parliamentary committees in UK, a country with the toughest oversight of our industry in the world, and the views of pre-eminent intelligence officials, all of whom agree there is no technical reason for excluding Huawei from the UK’s 5G network.

    “British Government has full access to evaluate Huawei product ranges through Cyber Security and Evaluation Centre, opened in the country in 2010. The oversight board of the facility is chaired by the Chief Executive Officer of the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre with members from government, including Government Communications Headquarters, as well as the UK telecommunications sector,” Zhang said.

    On the decision to exclude the firm from core network, the spokesperson said Huawei has not been invited to bid for any of the core network contracts for the 5G networks in the UK.