Niger receives two French attack helicopters

 France has given Niger two attack helicopters to boost its fight against extremist groups linked to al-Qaeda and the so-called Islamic State group.

The authorities unveiled the aircraft at a ceremony in the capital, Niamey, on Wednesday.

Niger’s Defence Minister Alkasoum Indatou said the delivery of the equipment was part of military co-operation between the two countries.

Officials say the helicopters have reconnaissance, surveillance and attack capabilities. They could also be used for the evacuation of military casualties.

Niger – a former French colony – had received three similar helicopters back in 2013 from France.

The five military helicopters as well as the training of pilots cost about €24m ($24.8m; £21m), according to the authorities.

The delivery of the aircraft comes barely a week after French President Emmanuel Macron announced the end of a decade-long French counter-terrorism mission in the Sahel region known as Operation Barkhane – for which France had deployed more than 5,000 troops.

Mr Macron had said France was still ready to offer military training and assistance to individual countries in the region based on bilateral agreements.

Source: BBC

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Ivory Coast to withdraw from UN peacekeeping force in Mali

 Ivory Coast is embroiled in a diplomatic dispute with Mali over the continued detention of 46 of its soldiers since July.

Ivory Coast will be gradually withdrawing its military contingent from the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali (MINUSMA) after the continued detention of 46 Ivorian soldiers who have been accused of being mercenaries.

The announcement was made in a letter, which was sent to the UN secretary-general last week and circulated on Tuesday.

In the letter to the UN, Ivory Coast officials said they would not replace their personnel in MINUSMA when the current group rotates out in August. Ivory Coast had 857 personnel serving in Mali as of June.

Negotiations have stalled over the release of the Ivorian soldiers, who were arrested at the Bamako airport on arrival in July. Three female soldiers have been released, but the others remain in Malian custody.

The Ivorian soldiers were sent to Mali to work for Sahelian Aviation Services, a private company contracted by the UN.

However, Mali’s government said it considered the Ivorians to be mercenaries because they were not directly employed by the UN mission and charged them with undermining state security.

Malian authorities said the aviation company should “henceforth entrust its security to the Malian defence and security forces.”

The detention of the Ivorian soldiers marked the latest sign of tension between Mali’s leader and the international community. Colonel Assimi Goita has faced growing isolation after he seized power in a coup two years ago and then failed to meet an international deadline for organising a new democratic election.

In September, the regional bloc Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) condemned Malian authorities for using “blackmail” in their negotiations with Ivorian authorities.

On Monday, the UK announced it would be withdrawing its 300 peacekeepers from Mali, saying the country’s growing reliance on Russian mercenaries is undermining stability.

France, the one-time colonial power that had fought armed groups in Mali unsuccessfully for nine years, completed its troop withdrawal from the country earlier this year.

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES

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Equatorial Guinea leader Obiang, 80, seeks to extend 43-year rule

Obiang, the world’s longest-standing president, wants to extend his 43-year rule in the oil-rich Central African nation.

On Sunday, Equatorial Guinea will hold elections in which the world’s longest-standing president, Teodoro Obiang Nguema, will seek to extend his 43-year authoritarian rule, marked by alleged rights abuses and corruption.

The West African oil-producing nation of about 1.5 million people has had only two presidents since independence from Spain in 1968; Obiang and his uncle Francisco Macias Nguema who he removed in a coup in 1979.

The 80-year-old Obiang, always elected with more than 90 percent of votes in polls international observers have questioned, is vying for a sixth term against two other candidates: Andres Esono Ondo and Buenaventura Monsuy Asumu.

Parliamentary and local elections will be held at the same time.

Oil and gas production accounts for about three-quarters of revenues in the OPEC member state. But output has dwindled in recent years to about 93,000 barrels per day (bpd), from about 160,000 bpd in 2015 due to maturing fields.

Although the tiny Gulf of Guinea nation has seen major investments in infrastructure, critics say under Obiang, oil wealth has lined the pockets of his entourage, who flash luxury lifestyles while most of the population live in poverty.

Obiang is also accused of muzzling dissent and freedom of expression. The government has denied the accusations.

Protests are mostly forbidden, media is heavily controlled, and it is not uncommon for political opponents to be arbitrarily arrested and tortured, rights groups say.

Intimidation has increased in the run-up to the polls, activists say, with authorities targeting civil society groups and critics of the regime.

In September, security forces raided the headquarters of a banned opposition party – the only one with a seat in parliament – and detained at least 100 of its members.

“On Sunday, people will cast the vote the government expects them to, because you cannot freely speak up your mind in Equatorial Guinea,” human rights activist Tutu Alicante told Reuters.

“Whatever It Takes”

Repression before the vote has offset efforts by Obiang to improve his image abroad, the latest seen in a move to abolish the death penalty earlier this year.

“He is washing his face in front of the international community,” said Amnesty International’s Senior Campaigner for West Africa Marta Colomer.

Alleged corruption has also tainted Obiang’s tenure despite several pledges to increase transparency.

His son, Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, who observers see as a potential successor, was convicted for embezzlement by a French court in 2020.

Assets that foreign powers say he bought with ill-gotten gains include a crystal-covered glove worn by Michael Jackson, an armoured Rolls-Royce limousine and a yacht.

Both father and son have consistently denied wrongdoing.

If re-elected, Obiang will face new challenges. The economy was hit by COVID-19 and although the war in Ukraine has boosted demand for non-Russian oil it has also brought a sharp rise in food prices.

“The opposition does not stand a chance,” Alicante said. “He is going to do whatever it takes not to leave power.”

SOURCE: REUTERS

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N Korea fires missile, warns US of ‘fiercer’ military responses

 Missile launch comes hours after North Korea warned it would respond to US efforts to boost its security presence in the Asia Pacific.

North Korea has fired a ballistic missile towards its eastern waters, according to officials in Seoul, hours after threatening a “fiercer military response” to efforts by the United States to boost its security presence in the region.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the short-range ballistic missile was fired from North Korea’s Wonsan area on Thursday.

The missile flew around 240 kilometres (149 miles) and reached an altitude of 47 kilometres (29 miles), the JCS said, adding that shortly before the launch, the South Korean and US militaries had staged a “pre-planned” missile defense exercise.

The South Korean military will continue to maintain a firm readiness posture, it said.

Pyongyang has tested a record number of missiles this year, including a possible failed intercontinental ballistic missile, while Washington and Seoul have expanded the scope and scale of their joint military exercises.

Some of the drills have involved Japan.

Amid the tensions, leaders of the US, South Korea and Japan held trilateral talks on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in Cambodia last week and pledged to work together to further “strengthen deterrence”.

In a statement after the discussions, US President Joe Biden, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida “strongly condemned” North Korea’s “unprecedented number of ballistic missile launches” and pledged to “forge still-closer trilateral links, in the security realm and beyond”.

They also warned Pyongyang against conducting a seventh nuclear test, with Biden reiterating that the US’s commitment to defending Seoul and Tokyo was “backed by the full range of capabilities, including nuclear”.

North Korea condemned the trilateral summit on Thursday, with Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui saying the three countries’ “war drills for aggression” would not rein in Pyongyang, but would rather bring a “more serious, realistic and inevitable threat” upon themselves.

“The keener the US is on the ‘bolstered offer of extended deterrence’ to its allies and the more they intensify provocative and bluffing military activities … the fiercer the DPRK’s military counteraction will be,” Choe said in a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency.

She referred to her country by the initials of its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

“The US will be well aware that it is gambling, for which it will certainly regret,” she said.

Choe added that the North’s military activities are “legitimate and just counteractions” to the US-led drills.

Analysts said the signals coming from Pyongyang were significant given the regional summitry of the past week, and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s participation after years of self-imposed pandemic isolation.

China is the isolated North’s main ally and trade partner.

“Beijing may not immediately become more cooperative in dealing with North Korea, even after the Kim regime conducts another nuclear test,” Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, told Al Jazeera by email.

“But at some point, Chinese interests will prefer exerting pressure on Pyongyang rather than face a more strategically united US, South Korea and Japan.”

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

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Russia under fire over Ukraine missile attacks, Poland deaths

 At UN Security Council, US and its allies say Russia is ultimately to blame for Poland ‘tragedy’ because it chose to invade Ukraine.

The United States and its allies have criticised Russia in the United Nations Security Council over its responsibility for a deadly missile strike in Poland, an event the UN’s political chief called “a frightening reminder of the absolute need to prevent any further escalation” of the nine-month-old war in Ukraine.

The meeting, which was previously scheduled, convened a day after a missile NATO identified as a stray fired by Ukraine’s air defences crashed inside Poland, a NATO member, killing two farm workers.

NATO and Poland said the missile was probably not a Russian strike, easing international fears the war could widen, although Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy continued to insist there was no doubt the missile was not Ukrainian.

The deaths in the village near Poland’s border with Ukraine took place on the same day Russia fired more than 90 missiles at cities across Ukraine, aiming at its energy grid and worsening power blackouts for millions. The government in Kyiv said it was the most intense barrage since Moscow invaded Ukraine on February 24.

Experts comb through debris at the site where a Russian-made missile hit the village of Przewodowo, killing two people [Polish Police via AP Photo]

“While we don’t yet know all the facts, we do know one thing,” the US ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, told the Security Council.

“This tragedy would never have happened but for Russia’s needless invasion of Ukraine and its recent missile assaults against Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure.

“Ukraine has every right to defend itself against this barrage.”

The Polish and United Kingdom’s UN ambassadors echoed the statement that Russia’s invasion was ultimately to blame for what had happened in Poland.

Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia countered, accusing Ukraine and Poland of trying “to provoke a direct clash between Russia and NATO”, and pointed to statements by Ukraine’s president and Polish officials initially suggesting Russia was responsible.

“We have long ago stopped being surprised by your attempts in any circumstances, in spite of facts or common sense, to blame Russia for everything,” he said.

The 15-member council was briefed by UN Undersecretary-General for political affairs Rosemary DiCarlo who criticised the missile attacks on Ukrainian cities, describing this week’s attacks as Russia’s “most intense bombardments” since its February 24 invasion.

She reiterated that attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure are prohibited under international law, noted that “heavy battles” are continuing in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions and told council members “there is no end in sight to the war”. She also warned that “as long as it continues, the risks of potentially catastrophic spillover remain all too real”.

While the meeting was dominated by what had happened in Poland, Security Council members also called for Russia to extend the Black Sea grain deal, which is set to roll over on Saturday unless there are objections.

Moscow suspended its participation in the agreement in late October but rejoined after four days, easing fears of further disruptions to exports from one of the world’s biggest grain suppliers at a time of surging food prices and shortages.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

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We’ll No Longer Provide FX Support For The Imports of Rice, Toothpick, Oil, Juice, Tiles And Others – Says Bank Of Ghana

 The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has indicated that it will no longer provide FX support for the imports of more done eight items imported into the country.

The items include rice, poultry, vegetable oil, toothpicks, pasta, fruit juice, bottled water, ceramic tiles and other non-critical goods.

The move according to the central bank is in accordance with the president’s directive issued at the recent address to the nation on the Ghanaian economy, on Sunday 30 October 2022.

An electronic message from the Bank of Ghana to the banks in the country said, “in accordance with the president’s directive issued at his recent address to the nation on the Ghanaian economy, on Sunday 30 October, 2022, the Bank of Ghana will no longer provide FX support for the imports of rice, poultry, vegetable oils, toothpicks, pasta, fruit juice, bottled water, ceramic tiles and other non-critical goods”.

“Please be advised and act accordingly”, the BoG said.

Addressing the nation on the economy on Sunday (30 October), President Akufo-Addo said, “To this end, we will review the standards required for imports into the country, prioritise the imports, as well as review the management of our foreign exchange reserves, in relation to imports of products such as rice, poultry, vegetable oil, toothpicks, pasta, fruit juice, bottled water and ceramic tiles, and others which, with intensified government support and that of the banking sector, can be manufactured and produced in sufficient quantities in Ghana.

“Government will, in May 2023, that is six months from now, review the situation. We must, as a matter of urgent national security, reduce our dependence on imported goods, and enhance our self-reliance, as demanded by our overarching goal of creating a Ghana Beyond Aid.”

He said, “Much as we believe in free trade, we must work to ensure that the majority of goods in our shops and marketplaces are those we produce and grow here in Ghana. That is why we have to support our farmers and domestic industries, including those created under the 1-District-1-Factory initiative, to help reduce our dependence on imports, and allow us the opportunity to export more and more of our products and guarantee a stable currency that will present a high level of predictability for citizens and the business community.”

“Exports, not imports, must be our mantra Accra, after all, hosts the headquarters of the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area,” the president added.

The local currency has in recent times come under immense pressure against the major international currencies, especially the US dollar.

The action by the Bank of Ghana is, therefore, expected to help stabilise the local currency going into the festive season.

Source: asaaseradio.com

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Three guilty as court finds Russia-controlled group downed airliner

 

A Dutch court has found three men guilty of murder for shooting down a passenger jet over eastern Ukraine in 2014, killing 298 people.

The court found that a Russian-made missile supplied from Russia and fired by an armed group under Russian control brought down flight MH17.

The men – two Russians and one Ukrainian – were found guilty in absentia and sentenced to life in jail. A third Russian was acquitted.

The missile attack was one of the most notorious war crimes in Ukraine before allegations of atrocities there became an almost daily reality.

Many of the victims’ relatives believe if the world had reacted differently, and taken a tougher stance against Russia eight years ago, the invasion of Ukraine and the geopolitical instability that has followed could have been avoided.

The judges ruled that it was a deliberate action to bring down a plane, even though the three found guilty had intended to shoot down a military not a civilian aircraft.

• Igor Girkin, the military leader of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, was convicted of deploying the missile and seeking Russian help
• Sergei Dubinsky was found to have ordered and overseen the transport of the Buk missile launcher
• Leonid Kharchenko was found to have overseen the Buk, acting on Dubinsky’s instructions.

Oleg Pulatov was the only one of the four accused to have legal representation at the trial. The judges acquitted him, although they found he knew about the missile.

On 17 July 2014, 298 people, including 80 children and 15 crew, boarded Malaysia Airlines flight 17 to Kuala Lumpur at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport.

The plane was cruising at 33,000 feet over Ukraine. It was the early days of Russia’s efforts to control parts of the country.

At the time this was a relatively low-level conflict zone, but fighting had recently expanded into the air. In the preceding months a number of military planes had been shot down.

In response, Ukraine closed the airspace at lower altitudes – up to 32,000 feet. But planes were still crossing the country.

The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 was flying 1,000 feet above this restricted airspace.

Of the 298 on board from 17 countries, 196 were from the Netherlands, 43 from Malaysia, 38 from Australia and 10 from the UK. They had packed for dream holidays, an Aids conference, family reunions and more. In a flash, all plans for the future were obliterated.

“I still miss them,” says Silene Fredriksz, her walls adorned with snapshots of son Bryce and his girlfriend Daisy. The young couple were heading to Bali, a treat after a difficult year.

Forward to 2022 and Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February opened up barely healed wounds.

Silene Fredriksz lost her 23-year-old son when MH17 was shot down over Ukraine

“It was heartbreaking for us,” Silene says. She is convinced the current conflict could have been avoided had the world taken a harder line in 2014.

“Putin has never been stopped, and still has not been stopped. And he will not stop until he is stopped,” Silene said. I hope the world wakes up now, because we knew it already eight years ago.”

Russia has always denied any involvement and instead pumped out a range of alternative theories – suggesting a Ukrainian fighter jet fired the missile, or that Ukrainian government forces were responsible, and in some cases fabricated evidence to support their claims.

These have in turn been diligently debunked with material gathered by a team of international investigators, and they were rejected by the Dutch court.

The team found the disintegration of the plane in mid-air was caused by the detonation of a Russian-made 9N314M-type warhead carried on the 9M38M1 missile, launched from the eastern part of Ukraine using a Buk missile system.

Eliot Higgins, founder of the investigative platform Bellingcat, delved into the open source evidence. His team identified links with Russia’s 53rd Anti Aircraft Missile Brigade, and trawled through 200 soldiers’ social media posts to confirm the identity and role of many members of the unit based at a Russian military barracks in Kursk. Bellingcat shared their findings with Dutch prosecutors. He believes the trial has laid bare indisputable proof of Russia’s involvement.

“I think at this point, and especially with a guilty verdict,” Eliot told us, “anyone who would claim that Russia wasn’t involved with this shoot down is really a ridiculous person”.

Daisy and Bryce were sitting in row 17 when the plane was shot down

Based on his findings, Eliot Higgins believes the events of 2014 and 2022 are inextricably linked.

“People were just turning a blind eye to it, policymakers just weren’t comfortable with calling out Russia in a way they really should have done. And they didn’t react in the way that could have prevented the invasion in 2022. I think there should have been more military support for Ukraine, there should have been more sanctions, there should have been a stronger response than we saw at the time. There could have been preventative measures that would have saved a lot of lives.”

The trial has been an opportunity to cut through Russian disinformation. The judges rejected an alternative version of events promoted by Buk missile maker Almaz-Antey as falsified and not independently assessed.

“There was the disaster itself. But the next disaster, I would say, was that Russia never cooperated. And that gave extra pain for all of us. And why was that necessary? Just say sorry,” Hans de Borst tells us, as he shows us holiday photos of his 17-year-old daughter Elsemiek.

Hans de Borst’s only child Elsemiek was on board flight MH17

He holds tight to the memories, as well as Elsemiek’s passport and boarding pass, recovered intact from the wreckage.

Families at the epicentre of the MH17 disaster invested their faith in the investigation led by the Netherlands.

“It is extremely important to me,” he says stoically, “because it’s that feeling of justice needing to be done in a world that kills people who just go on holiday. If justice is not being done then your whole feeling of a good world doesn’t exist anymore. So getting justice brought to you by so many people gives a good feeling and I hope, will give some peace about this subject.”

Piecing together clues including intercepted telephone calls, eyewitness accounts and even metal fragments found in the bodies of the crew, investigators were able to establish the type of weapon, track its route – from a military barracks in Russia, across the border to the launch site in pro-Russian separatist controlled eastern Ukraine – and identify key suspects.

They are three Russians and one Ukrainian. The most prominent of them is Igor Girkin, who prosecutors say is a former colonel in Russia’s intelligence service the FSB.

The Kremlin has dismissed the legal proceedings and all suspects refused to appear in court. Only one, Oleg Pulatov, employed a team of Dutch lawyers to defend him in court.

The judgment is unlikely to result in anyone serving time in jail for this mass murder, but the investigation has created an incontestable historical record and delivered the families some peace of mind.

“We will never get our children back,” Silene Fredriksz accepts, “but… we need the truth. And we need justice. This is a small part of our justice.”

“If justice is not being done then your whole feeling of a good world doesn’t exist anymore,” Hans de Borst says

Source: BBC

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