BURKINA FASO WANTS TO INCREASE COOPERATION WITH ANGOLA

 Luanda - The President of the Republic, João Lourenço, today in Luanda received a verbal message from his Burkina Faso counterpart, Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, in which he expressed his desire to increase economic and political relations with Angola.

The intention was conveyed by Mamadou Ndoye, as special envoy of the Burkinabe Head of State, during the meeting he was given today by the Angolan statesman, at the Presidential Palace.

In statements to the press, the envoy defended the need for greater dynamism of Angolan private investment in his country, with emphasis on the mineral and agricultural sector.

"It is the will of our President to see Angolan businesspeople investing in Burkina Faso," he said.

The Republic of Burkina Faso, a West African country, will hold presidential elections on 22 November.

In this regard, Mamadou Ndoye, advisor to the Burkinabe Head of State, told the press that he had taken the opportunity to deliver an invitation from his President to his Angolan counterpart to take part, should he be re-elected, in his inauguration ceremony.

ANGOLAN DIPLOMATS ADDRESS POST-INDEPENDENCE CHALLENGES

 Luanda – Angolan diplomats have discussed the role of the country’s diplomacy in 45 years of independence.

The State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Esmeralda Mendoça, said Friday that the Angolan diplomacy is based on noble values.

Speaking at an opening ceremony of a colloquium on Angolan diplomacy in 45 years of independence, the official mentioned values such as solidarity, equality, respect for sovereignty of the nations and peoples, as well as the peaceful solution to conflicts.

Esmeralda Mendoça considered the Angolan diplomacy a direct collection of the current and future generations.

The talk focused on the challenges of diplomacy for recognition of Angolan post-independence.

In his turn, the ambassador Hermínio Escórcio spoke of the strategies used as director of SONANGOL and how the oil company served as a loby for the international recognition of the Popular Republic of Angola.

In his address, the retired ambassador Luís Neto Kiambata referred to the fact of the Congo to be the first country to recognise Angola.

The colloquium was meant to collect historical background on Angolan diplomacy.

The talks enabled the participants to sharing experiences accumulated by leaders, politicians, diplomats and academics.

 

ANGOLA AND VIETNAM ADDRESS BOOSTING COOPERATION

 Luanda - Angola's ambasador to Vietnam, Agostinho Fernandes, discussed this Friday with the director of the Africa and Middle East Department of the Asian nation's Ministry for Foreign Affairs, issues related to the strengthening of bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

According to a press release that Angop had access to, during the meeting political, diplomatic, technical and scientific, commercial and investment cooperation was discussed.

The source adds that the diplomat was accompanied by the deputy director of the same Department, Kim Quy, to congratulate the Government and People of Angola on the national independence festivities celebrated on 11th November.

Vietnam has expressed interest in deepening relations in the agricultural sector, with the strong desire to participate in the process of diversification of the national economy.

The Socialist Republic of Vietnam was one of the first countries to recognise the independence of Angola, when they established diplomatic relations. The opening of the Asian country embassy in Luanda took place in 1976.

In 1978, the two countries signed the General Cooperation Agreement, an instrument which served as basis for the opening of several protocols inserted in the social, economic and technical-scientific areas.

 

Israeli agents killed al-Qaeda’s No. 2 in Iran in August: Report

 Al-Qaeda’s second-in-command, accused of helping to mastermind the 1998 bombings of two US embassies in Africa, was killed in Iran in August by Israeli operatives acting at the behest of the United States, the New York Times reported on Friday, citing intelligence officials.

Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, who went by the nom de guerre Abu Muhammad al-Masri, was shot dead by two men on a motorcycle in Tehran more than three months ago, the US newspaper reported.

The killing of al-Masri, who was seen as a likely successor to al-Qaeda’s current leader, Ayman al-Zawahri, was carried out by the Israeli agents at the behest of the US, four intelligence officials told the Times.

It was unclear what, if any, role the US had in the August 7 killing of the Egyptian-born fighter, the paper added. US authorities had been tracking al-Masri and other al-Qaeda members in Iran for years, it said.

A US official, speaking to Reuters News Agency on condition of anonymity, declined to confirm any of the details in the Times story or say whether there was any US involvement. The White House National Security Council did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Al-Masri was killed along with his daughter, the widow of Osama bin Laden’s son Hamza bin Laden, the Times reported.

Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, who orchestrated the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, was killed in a US raid in Pakistan in 2011.

Al-Masri was featured on the FBI’s “Most Wanted Terrorist” list, and had been indicted in the US for crimes related to the bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, in which 224 people were killed and hundreds wounded.

SOURCE : REUTERS

Egyptian man sets himself on fire in Cairo’s Tahrir Square

 A man has set himself on fire in central Cairo’s Tahrir Square and was being treated for burns at a hospital in the capital, security sources said.

There was no immediate official comment on the incident that happened on Thursday.

Videos circulating on social media appeared to show Mohammed Hosni filming himself as he walked along the street and then in the square – the epicentre of Egypt’s 2011 revolution – complaining about alleged corruption in the country.

Dressed in a suit and tie, he started shouting before setting fire to his clothes at the end of the 20-minute video which he broadcast live on Facebook.

“People of my country, the richest country in the world, the best country in the world … it’s held by thieves,” he could be heard yelling in the video.

“They are all corrupt, all of them are thieves,” he said, referring to the country’s ruling elite.

Another video taken from a balcony overlooking the square showed security guards and bystanders rushing to put out the flames with water and loose clothes.

Al Jazeera could not independently verify the videos.

The security officer, who could not be named, alleged that Hosni had been recently released from jail for criminal cases, but gave no further details.

A source from Cairo’s security directorate said Hosni was under guard at a local hospital, where he had told officials that he worked at Egypt’s Central Auditing Organisation.

The security officer accused the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood of exploiting Hosni. In the video, however, Hosni said he was not a Brotherhood member.

Authorities have arrested thousands of Muslim Brotherhood members since the 2013 military overthrow of late President Mohamed Morsi.

The group has consistently denied any link to violence, but Egypt’s authorities call it a “terrorist” organisation.

“The terrorist Muslim Brotherhood is exploiting one of its psychologically troubled members, forcing him to burn his clothes in an effort to foment chaos,” the security source said.

Security in Tahrir Square, home to the mass demonstrations that toppled former longtime President Hosni Mubarak in 2011, is closely monitored.

Authorities have clamped down on public acts of protest amid a crackdown on civil society and free speech under President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who took power in 2013 following Morsi’s overthrow.

Egypt has been under a renewable state of emergency since 2017, a measure that rights groups say has allowed the government to crush dissent.

Scores of outspoken Egyptians have either been exiled or imprisoned in the past years, including prominent activists, lawyers and journalists.

Biden solidifies U.S. election win, Trump says ‘time will tell’ if he stays in power

 U.S. President-elect Joe Biden solidified his election victory on Friday by winning the state of Georgia, and President Donald Trump said “time will tell” if another administration takes over soon, the closest he has come to acknowledging Biden could succeed him.

Edison Research, which made the Georgia call, also projected that North Carolina, the only other battleground state with an outstanding vote count, would go to Trump, finalizing the electoral vote tally at 306 for Biden to 232 for Trump.

The numbers gave Biden, a Democrat, a resounding defeat of Trump in the Electoral College, equal to the 306 votes that Trump, a Republican, won to defeat Hillary Clinton in a 2016 victory Trump called a “landslide.”

At a White House event where he predicted a coronavirus vaccine would be available for the whole population by April, Trump edged closer to acknowledging he might leave the White House in January but stopped short.

“This administration will not be going to a lockdown. Hopefully the, uh, whatever happens in the future – who knows which administration it will be? I guess time will tell,” Trump said in his first public remarks since Biden was projected as the election’s winner on Nov. 7.

Trump did not take questions after the event.

Trump, a Republican, has claimed without evidence that he was cheated by widespread election fraud and has refused to concede. State election officials report no serious irregularities, and several of his legal challenges have failed in court.

While Trump had yet to concede, Biden officials reiterated they were moving ahead with transition efforts regardless.

Although the national popular vote does not determine the election outcome, Biden was ahead by more than 5.3 million votes, or 3.4 percentage points. His share of the popular vote, at 50.8%, was slightly higher than Ronald Reagan’s share of the vote in 1980 when he defeated Jimmy Carter.

To win a second term, Trump would need to overturn Biden’s lead in at least three states, but he has so far failed to produce evidence that he could do so in any of them. States face a Dec. 8 “safe harbor” deadline to certify their elections and choose electors for the Electoral College, which will officially select the new president on Dec. 14.

Biden’s legal team in Georgia said on Friday they do not expect a hand recount of votes in the state to change the results there. Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh told Fox News the campaign has “great confidence” it can prevail in the Georgia recount.

A Michigan state court rejected on Friday a request by Trump’s supporters to block the certification of votes in Detroit, which went heavily in favor of Biden. And lawyers for Trump’s campaign dropped a lawsuit in Arizona after the final vote count rendered it moot.

Federal election security officials have found no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, “or was in any way compromised,” two security groups said in a statement released on Thursday by the lead U.S. cybersecurity agency.

TRANSITION TALK

Biden officials said on Friday they would press forward with the transition, identifying legislative priorities, reviewing federal agency policies and preparing to fill thousands of jobs in the new administration.

“We’re charging ahead with the transition,” Jen Psaki, a senior adviser to Biden’s transition team, said on a conference call while stressing that Biden still needs “real-time information” from the Trump administration to deal with the resurgent pandemic and national security threats.

Psaki urged Trump’s White House to allow Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris to receive daily intelligence briefings on potential threats around the world.

“With every day that passes on, it becomes more concerning that our national security team and the president-elect and the vice president-elect don’t have access to those threat assessments, intelligence briefings, real-time information about our engagements around the world,” Psaki said. “Because, you know, you don’t know what you don’t know.”

Biden will be briefed by his own group of national-security experts next week, she said. He met with transition advisers again on Friday at his Delaware beach house where he is mapping out his approach to the pandemic and prepares to name his top appointees, including Cabinet members.

Trump’s refusal to accept defeat has stalled the official transition. The federal agency that releases funding to an incoming president-elect, the General Services Administration, has yet to recognize Biden’s victory, denying him access to federal office space and resources.

Trump has discussed with advisers media ventures and appearances to keep him in the spotlight ahead of a possible 2024 White House bid. In the near term, he is expected to campaign for Republican U.S. Senate candidates in Georgia ahead of Jan. 5 runoff elections that will determine which party controls the chamber, aides said.

He also is considering starting a new television channel or social media company to compete with those he felt betrayed him and stifled his ability to communicate directly with Americans, according to several advisers.

Fox News correspondent Geraldo Rivera, a Trump confidant, said he had spoken to the president by phone on Friday and Trump gave him the impression he would follow the U.S. Constitution and surrender his office after every vote was counted.

“He told me he’s a realist. He told me he would do the right thing,” Rivera said in an interview with Fox. “I got no impression that he was plotting the overthrow of the elected government. He just wants a fair fight.”

 

Reuters

War crimes feared in Ethiopia’s Tigray, Amnesty reports massacre

 Fighting between Ethiopian government forces and rebellious northern leaders could spiral out of control and war crimes may have been committed, the United Nations said on Friday, as repercussions spread around the volatile Horn of Africa.

The 10-day conflict in Tigray region has killed hundreds, sent refugees flooding into Sudan, and raised fears it may draw in Eritrea or force Ethiopia to divert troops from an African force opposing al-Qaeda-linked fighters in Somalia.

It may also blemish the reputation of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who won a Nobel Peace Prize for a 2018 peace pact with Eritrea and had won plaudits for opening Ethiopia’s economy and easing a repressive political system.

“There is a risk this situation will spiral totally out of control, leading to heavy casualties and destruction, as well as mass displacement within Ethiopia itself and across borders,” UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet said via a spokesman.

A massacre of civilians reported by Amnesty International, if confirmed as committed by a party to the conflict, would amount to war crimes, she added.

The U.S. State Department’s top diplomat for Africa on Friday denounced the killing of civilians in the conflict.

“We condemn the massacre of civilians in Mai-Kadra and strongly urge immediate steps to de-escalate and end conflict throughout the Tigray region,” Tibor Nagy tweeted.

“It is essential that peace be restored and civilians be protected.”

Prime Minister Abiy accuses the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which rules the mountainous region of more than five million people, of treason and terrorism.

Federal troops say the TPLF rose against them last week but that they have since survived a siege and recaptured the west of the region. With communications cut and media barred, there has been no independent confirmation of the state of the fighting.

The TPLF says Abiy’s government has systematically persecuted Tigrayans since he took office in April 2018 and terms the military operations an “invasion”.

Federal troops have been carrying out air raids and there has been fighting on the ground since Wednesday of last week.

Ethiopia denied a TPLF claim that federal jets had knocked out a power dam.

Civilians in the Sudanese border town of al-Fashqa, where more than 7,000 refugees have sought safety, gave first hand accounts of the escalating conflict in Tigray to Reuters news agency on Friday.

Witnesses described bombing by government warplanes, shooting on the streets and killings by machete.

Many of them described seeing dead bodies strewn alongside the roads as they fled under cover of darkness, fearing they would be found and killed.

“I saw the bodies of people who had been slain thrown in the streets. Others who were injured were dragged with a rope tied to a rickshaw,” said Araqi Naqashi, 48.

“What happened is frightening and terrible, and the Tigrayans are being killed and chased down. Anything is looted, and our area was attacked with tanks.”

New Tigray leader

Abiy, who comes from Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group the Oromo, said Parliament named former Addis Ababa university academic and deputy minister for science and higher education Mulu Nega, 52, as the new leader of Tigray.

There was no immediate response to Mulu’s appointment from current Tigray leader Debretsion Gebremichael, who won a local election in September despite central government orders to cancel it, or from other TPLF figures.

A dissertation by Mulu, on the website of Twente University in the Netherlands where he obtained a doctorate, states his birthplace as Tigray.

News also came on Friday that the African Union (AU) had dismissed its security head, an Ethiopian national, after Abiy’s government accused him of disloyalty.

The bloc’s chair Moussa Faki Mahamat ordered the removal of Gebreegziabher Mebratu Melese in a November 11 memo seen by Reuters after Ethiopia’s defence ministry wrote with concerns.

Horn of Africa expert Rashid Abdi said Gebreegziabher was Tigrayan and his departure from the AU post was part of the Abiy government’s efforts to sideline prominent Tigrayans.

“The purging of competent Tigrayan officials in the midst of the conflict is not good for the morale of the (security and military) services,” he said, referring also to other removals of Tigrayan officials since the military offensive began.

“It also plays into the notion that this is essentially an ethnic war masked as a centre-periphery power struggle.”

However, Abiy this week urged Ethiopians to ensure Tigrayans are not targeted. “We all must be our brother’s keeper by protecting Tigrayans from any negative pressures,” he said.

‘Devastating damage’

His opening of political space since taking office in 2018 exposed ethnic fractures in Africa’s second most populous nation of 115 million people.

Before the Tigray flare-up, clashes killed hundreds and uprooted hundreds of thousands.

An internal UN security report said Ethiopian police visited an office of the UN World Food Programme (WFP) in Amhara region to request a list of Tigrayan staff.

The local police chief told them of “the order of identifying ethnic Tigrayans from all government agencies and NGOs”, the report said, underlining the conflict’s ethnic undertones. Amhara borders Tigray and its rulers back Abiy.

The United Nations told the police they do not identify staff by ethnicity, according to the report. There was no immediate comment from the Amhara regional police or government.

Rights group Amnesty International said on Thursday that scores and possibly hundreds of civilians were stabbed and hacked to death in the region on November 9, citing witnesses who blamed the TPLF.

Debretsion denied that to Reuters.

More than 14,500 Ethiopian refugees – half of them children – have gone to Sudan since fighting started and aid agencies say the situation in Tigray is becoming dire.

There are also concerns about a mass displacement of thousands of Eritrean refugees at a camp in Ethiopia.

Ethiopia’s national army is one of Africa’s largest. But its best fighters are from Tigray and much of its hardware is also there, under the Northern Command.

Ethiopia hosts the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa. Nearly 4,400 Ethiopian troops serve in its Somalia peacekeeping force.

About 500 Ethiopian forces deployed in Somalia separately from the AU peacekeeping force returned home in early November, three sources told Reuters.

“A protracted internal conflict will inflict devastating damage on both Tigray and Ethiopia as a whole, undoing years of vital development progress. It could, in addition, all too easily spill across borders, potentially destabilising the whole sub-region,” added the United Nations’ Bachelet.

SOURCE : AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES