UN tells Russia to leave Ukraine: How did countries vote

 A country breakdown of the UN General Assembly vote that demanded Moscow withdraw its troops and end the fighting.

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has again condemned Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, calling for  Moscow’s immediate withdrawal and an end to the fighting.

A year since President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion, which he has called a “special military operation”, 141 countries backed the resolution calling for a “comprehensive, just and lasting peace” in Ukraine. Thirty-two countries abstained from voting, while seven countries, including Russia, voted against.

Here is a breakdown of how each country voted in the UNGA in New York City on Thursday:

For (141):

A: Afghanistan, Albania, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Austria

B: Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria

C: Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Canada, Chad, Chile, Colombia, Comoros, Costa Rica, Cote d’Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia

D: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominican Republic

E: Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia

F: Fiji, Finland, France

G: The Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guyana

H: Haiti, Honduras, Hungary

I: Iceland, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy

J: Jamaica, Japan, Jordan

K: Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait

L: Latvia, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg

M: Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Myanmar

N: Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Niger, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Norway

O: Oman

P: Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal

Q: Qatar

R: Republic of Korea (South Korea), Republic of Moldova, Romania, Rwanda

S: Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, Spain, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland

T: Thailand, East Timor, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Tuvalu, Turkey

U: Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay

V: Vanuatu

Y: Yemen

Z: Zambia

Against (7):

B: Belarus

D: Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea)

E: Eritrea

M: Mali

N: Nicaragua

R: Russia

S: Syria

Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya reacts after the UNGA adopted the resolution. Six countries voted with Russia against the resolution 

Abstained (32):

A: Algeria, Angola, Armenia

B: Bangladesh, Bolivia, Burundi

C: Central African Republic, China, Republic of Congo, Cuba

E: El Salvador, Ethiopia

G: Gabon, Guinea

I: India, Iran

K: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan

L: Laos

M: Mongolia, Mozambique

N: Namibia

P: Pakistan

S: South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan

T: Tajikistan, Togo

U: Uganda, Uzbekistan

V: Vietnam

Z: Zimbabwe

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA

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China calls for Russia-Ukraine ceasefire, proposes path to peace

China’s plan calls for end to Western sanctions on Russia and humanitarian corridors for civilians to escape fighting.

China has called for a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia and a gradual de-escalation of the situation that will pave the way for peace talks, as part of a 12-point proposal to end the conflict.

The plan by China, which was released on Friday morning by the foreign ministry and coincides with the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, urges an end to Western sanctions against Russia, the establishment of humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians, and steps to ensure the export of grain after disruptions caused global food prices to spike last year.

“Conflict and war benefit no one,” the ministry said in a statement.

“All parties must stay rational and exercise restraint, avoid fanning the flames and aggravating tensions, and prevent the crisis from deteriorating further or even spiralling out of control,” it said.

“All parties should support Russia and Ukraine in working in the same direction and resuming direct dialogue as quickly as possible, so as to gradually deescalate the situation and ultimately reach a comprehensive ceasefire.”

The proposal mainly elaborates on long-held Chinese positions, including that all countries’ “sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity be effectively guaranteed”. The plan also called for an end to the “Cold War mentality”, which is Beijing’s standard term for what it regards as global dominance by the United States and its interference in other countries’ affairs.

Beijing — which claims to be neutral in the conflict — has a “no limits” relationship with Russia and has refused to criticise Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine or even refer to it as such. It has also accused the West of provoking the conflict and “fanning the flames” by providing Ukraine with arms.

Beijing’s top diplomat Wang Yi visited Moscow this week and pledged a deeper relationship between the countries, while Putin hailed “new frontiers” in ties with Beijing and signalled that China’s leader Xi Jinping would visit Russia.

Xi is expected to deliver a “peace speech” on Friday, though some analysts have cast doubt on whether Beijing’s efforts to act as a peacemaker will go beyond rhetoric.

The ambassador of the European Union to China, Jorge Toledo, told reporters at a briefing in Beijing on Friday that China had released a position paper not a peace proposal, and the EU will study it.

“If the position paper is a positive sign for Ukraine then it’s a positive sign for the EU, although we are studying the paper closely,” he said.

Ukraine called the “position paper” “a good sign” and said it expects China to be more active in its support of Ukraine.

“We hope they also urge Russia to stop the war and withdraw its troops,” Ukraine’s charge d’affaires Zhanna Leshchynska said at the same briefing.

US State Department spokesman Ned Price had said earlier on Thursday that Washington would reserve judgement on the proposal but that China’s allegiance with Russia meant it was not a neutral mediator.

“We would like to see nothing more than a just and durable peace … but we are sceptical that reports of a proposal like this will be a constructive path forward,” he said.

On Thursday, China abstained from voting when the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) approved a nonbinding resolution that called for Russia to end hostilities in Ukraine and withdraw its forces.

The UNGA overwhelmingly adopted the resolution that demanded Moscow withdraw from Ukraine and stop fighting.

There were 141 votes in favour of the resolution and 32 abstentions. Six countries joined Russia to vote against the resolution: Belarus, North Korea, Eritrea, Mali, Nicaragua and Syria.

Russia’s Deputy UN Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy dismissed the UN resolution as “useless”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on Twitter that the UN vote was a “powerful sign of the unflagging global support” for Ukraine.

Far from the front lines of Ukraine, Russia’s invasion of its neighbour has damaged the world economy and a Cold War chill has set into international relations.

Washington has said China is considering providing weapons to Russia, a move that could intensify the conflict into a confrontation between Russia and China on one side and Ukraine and the US-led NATO military alliance on the other.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

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Russia sends Soyuz rescue ship to International Space Station

 Soyuz MS-23 will transport Russian cosmonauts Dmitry Petelin, Sergei Prokopyev and NASA’s Frank Rubio back to Earth later this year.

Russia has launched an uncrewed Soyuz spacecraft on a rescue mission to return two cosmonauts and a NASA astronaut whose trip back to Earth has been hampered after their original space vehicle was damaged by a mini meteorite while parked at the International Space Station (ISS).

The Soyuz MS-23 vessel blasted off successfully from the Russian-operated Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Friday, live video broadcast by ISS partner NASA showed.

Though the MS-23 is scheduled to dock with the ISS early on Sunday morning Moscow time, it is not expected to bring home Russian cosmonauts Dmitry Petelin and Sergei Prokopyev, and US astronaut Frank Rubio until later this year.

The three arrived at the ISS in September 2022 onboard the MS-22 spacecraft and were originally to stay about six months until the end of March. But the MS-22 began to leak coolant in December after an apparent micro-meteorite punctured an external radiator.

The same thing appeared to happen again earlier this month, this time on a docked Russian cargo ship. Camera views showed a small hole in each spacecraft.

MS-23, which took off on Friday, was initially scheduled to launch in mid-March with two cosmonauts and an astronaut on board who would take over from Rubio, Petelin and Prokopyev at the space station. But without the replacement crew on board MS-23, the two Russians and the US crew member will now continue working at the ISS until September.

Officials had determined that it was too risky to bring the three back in their damaged Soyuz MS-22 next month as originally planned. With no coolant, the cabin temperature would spike during the trip back to Earth, potentially damaging computers and other equipment, and exposing the suited-up crew to excessive heat.

NASA said in a statement that the damaged Soyuz MS-22 is scheduled to undock from the ISS in late March and return to Earth “for an uncrewed parachute-assisted landing in Kazakhstan, and post-flight analysis by Roscosmos” – Russia’s space agency.

After delivering people to the space station, capsules stay attached to the orbiting research lab throughout the duration of missions, in case of any emergencies and to eventually ferry their crews home to Earth.

In addition to the three crew awaiting the arrival of MS-23, there are also four others currently on the ISS after arriving on a SpaceX Dragon capsule last October as part of the Crew-5 mission.

They are scheduled to be joined next week by members of the Crew-6 mission – two US nationals, an Emirati and a Russian – who will also arrive on board a SpaceX capsule expected to launch on Monday from Florida. After a few days of overlap, Crew-5 will then return to Earth.

Space has remained a rare venue of cooperation between Moscow and Washington since the start of the Russian war in Ukraine and ensuing Western sanctions on Russia.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

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Nigeria To Host Africa’s Largest Poll Saturday

 More than 93.4 million eligible voters in Nigeria will head to the polls on Saturday, February 25, 2023 in a fiercely contested presidential election that analysts say is too close to call.

The election will be the largest democratic exercise on the continent as Africa’s most populous nation picks a new President.

Aside from the presidential vote, the public will also be choosing their representatives for Parliament – the National Assembly- and there are 469 legislators, made up of 109 Senators and 360 members of the House of Representatives.

There are 176,606 polling stations spread across Nigeria and voting starts at 8:30 a.m. and ends at 2:30 p.m. but voters who will still be in the queue at the close of the polls at 2:30 p.m. will be allowed to slip their ballot into the ballot box.

To be declared the winner of the presidential election, a candidate must have obtained the highest number of votes and at least 25 per cent of the ballots in at least two-thirds of the 36 states and in Abuja.

If none of the candidates qualifies, there will be a run-off between the top two candidates within 21 days, which would be a first in Nigeria’s democratic history.

18 presidential candidates
Eighteen candidates are in the running for Nigeria’s highest office, each confident of turning the country’s fortunes around if voted into power, but opinion polls suggest three are leading the race for the popular vote.

One of the key leading contenders is former Governor of Lagos, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the candidate of President Buhari’s party, the All Progressives Congress (APC); another is the main opposition leader and former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), who is running for the sixth time following five previous losses, and Peter Obi, a wild-card candidate who defected from the PDP to the smaller Labour Party and now leads in at least five opinion polls.

Three leading candidates
Tinubu, 70, a former governor of Nigeria’s wealthy Lagos State, wields significant influence in the south-western region where he is acclaimed as a political godfather and kingmaker and the affluent political veteran boasts of aiding the election of Buhari to the presidency on his fourth attempt in 2015, after three previous unsuccessful bids.

After decades as a political puppet master, Tinubu declared that it was now his turn to emerge from the shadows into the presidency.
His campaign slogan is, “Emi Lokan,” which translates to “It is my turn,” in his native Yoruba language.

Abubakar, 76, who served as Vice-President from 1999 to 2007, is a staunch capitalist who made his fortune investing in various sectors of the country.
The tycoon had been investigated for corruption in the past. However, he had denied any wrongdoing.

Presidential ambition
Many believe Abubakar’s presidential ambition might usurp an unofficial arrangement to rotate the presidency between Nigeria’s northern and southern regions, since he is from the same northern region as the outgoing leader, Buhari.

Peter Obi is a two-time former governor of Anambra State who is being touted as a credible alternative to the two major candidates.

Obi eschews the excesses of the typical

‘African Big Man’ leader.

He shuns a large entourage, flies economy class and carries his own luggage. His “no frills” approach has attracted hordes of supporters, mostly young Nigerians who call themselves ‘Obidients.’

Obi is also the only Christian among the leading candidates. His south-eastern region is yet to produce a President or Vice President since Nigeria returned to civil rule in 1999.

The crucial election comes as the country battles myriad economic and security problems that range from fuel and cash shortages to rising terror attacks, high inflation and a plummeting local currency, and for the first time since the country’s return to democratic rule in 1999, none of the candidates is an incumbent or a former military leader.

Nigeria’s presidential elections have typically been between the ruling party and opposition party, but this year’s vote has a third strong contender, Peter Obi, who is running under the lesser known Labour Party.

The past two elections have been postponed at short notice and there are fears this one will suffer the same fate.

However, the Electoral Commission insists there will be no disruptions.

Although more than 93 million Nigerians are registered to vote, uncertainty hangs over voter turnout on polling day, with insecurity among the biggest concerns.

Citizens have also been disrupted by an attempt to curb vote buying by making the old currency notes useless to prevent rogue politicians from stockpiling cash.

But, there are fears that shortage of the new naira notes could disrupt the elections itself.

The electoral body, INEC, reportedly warned that the inability of banks to distribute enough of the new cash could make it difficult to pay temporary staff and security guards needed to operate thousands of polling stations for presidential and parliamentary elections on February 25.

Winner of polls

Whoever Nigerians choose to succeed

President Buhari – only the second incumbent in Nigerian history to bow out willingly after serving two democratic terms – will have to resolve a litany of crises that had worsened under the retired army general’s administration.

These include banditry and militant violence now affecting most parts of the country, systemic corruption that deters investment and enriches a well-connected elite; high inflation and widespread cash shortages after a botched introduction of new bills late last year.

Source: graphiconline.com

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Avor Wins Pose For Africa 2023

 After weeks of poses and tasks, Avor (Francisca Avorgbedor) emerged tops in this year’s Pose For Africa final at the 2927 event center, Tesano in Accra.

The 21-year- old TA at the Accra Technical University shrugged off stiff competition from Nyamekye (Rebecca Ntsiful) and Afowaa (Jennifer) in the well organized event.
And for her efforts, she received an all expenses paid travel package to participate in an in international runway event later in the year, a sash as well as a frame of her best shot.

Nyamekye and Afowaa followed as Silver and Bronze Models in second and third positiions respectively.
The winner expressed great joy saying, “I am so excited about this, and I thank the organizers of the event for the platform. It exposed me to a lot of things hitherto considered as a challenge. I am a better person now than before in many aspects.”

CEO of ASKOF Productions, organizers of the event, Mrs Afua Asantewaa Aduonum summarised her impressions in simple terms -” It’s been fulfilling, my joy stems from the fact that we have achieved our objective of giving the eight contestants the platform to express themselves.”
The Pose For Africa reality show is an female models reality show which empowers aspiring models and projects them unto international runway platforms.
It primarily seeks to groom and neuture young female models.

Source: Peacefmonline.com

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R Kelly avoids lengthy addition to prison sentence

 The R&B singer was given one additional year of prison time for child pornography and the enticement of minors for sex.

A United States court has sentenced singer R Kelly to serve 20 years in prison for charges of child pornography and enticement of minors for sex.

But US District Judge Harry Leinenweber announced on Thursday that Kelly could serve most of his new prison term at the same time as his previous 30-year sentence, which was handed down last year for racketeering and sex trafficking convictions.

The result is that Kelly will only serve one additional year of prison time, avoiding a lengthier stay behind bars had the judge agreed to prosecutors’ requests that the two sentences be served back to back.

In a statement read aloud to the court, a victim identified as “Jane” expressed the pain she endured as a teenager assaulted by Kelly.

“I have lost my dreams to Robert Kelly,” she wrote. “I have been permanently scarred.”

Government prosecutors had pushed for the new sentence to begin only after the 56-year-old Kelly had completed the previous 30-year sentence. They cited his lack of remorse and crimes against children.

They acknowledged that doing so would nearly guarantee that Kelly would spend the rest of his life in prison. With Thursday’s sentence, Kelly will serve a maximum of 31 years behind bars and become eligible for release around the age of 80.

Kelly’s lawyers had argued that the Grammy Award winner, who suffers from diabetes, was already facing what amounts to a life sentence.

From the beginning, Leinenweber said he did not accept the prosecutors’ argument that Kelly used fear to woo underage girls for sex.

“The [prosecutors’] whole theory of grooming was sort of the opposite of fear of bodily harm,” he told the court.

“It was the fear of lost love, lost affections,” he continued. “It just doesn’t seem to me that it rises to the fear of bodily harm.”

Two of Kelly’s accusers had asked that he receive greater punishment.

“When your virginity is taken by a pedophile at 14,” Jane said in her statement, “your life is never your own.”

Another woman who testified under the pseudonym “Nia” confronted Kelly directly in court, saying that his sentence ensured he would no longer “be able to harm children”.

In pre-sentencing filings, prosecutors described Kelly as a “serial sexual predator” who used his wealth and fame to attract fans, then sexually abuse and discard them.

In June, Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison for three counts of producing child porn and three counts of enticing minors for sex. During that trial, Kelly’s lawyers argued that he should receive no more than a 10-year sentence due to circumstances that included “severe, prolonged childhood sexual abuse, poverty and violence”.

Before his sentencing in that trial, Kelly was also confronted by victims who emotionally recounted the abuse they had suffered.

“You made me do things that broke my spirit. I literally wished I would die because of how low you made me feel,” one unnamed survivor said. “Do you remember that?”

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

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