Sudan Crisis: Ceasefire Extended But Fighting Continues

 Rival factions of Sudan’s military agreed to renew a three-day ceasefire, shortly before it was due to expire.

The extension – for another 72 hours – follows intensive diplomatic efforts by neighbouring countries, as well as the US, UK and UN.
But there are continuing reports of heavy fighting in the capital Khartoum.
The previous truce allowed thousands of people to attempt to flee to safety, while dozens of countries have tried to evacuate their citizens.

Almost two weeks of fighting between the army and a rival paramilitary group have left hundreds dead.
The ceasefire had been expected to end at midnight local time (22:00 GMT on Thursday).
Early on Thursday evening the Sudanese regular army agreed to an extension, and its rival the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) followed suit hours later.

South Sudan has offered to host peace talks, and the army has agreed to send representatives to the talks.
Despite the bitter past and years of conflict that led to South Sudan’s separation from Sudan in 2011, the two nations now enjoy cordial relations.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington was “very actively working” to extend the truce, adding that while imperfect it had reduced violence.
But White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre later said the situation could worsen at any moment.

On Friday, a Turkish military plane on an evacuation mission was shot at as it was landing at an airport outside Khartoum. No-one was injured and the RSF denied accusations by the army that it was involved.
Meanwhile the RSF and eyewitnesses said the army had been pounding its positions in Khartoum.
The foreign minister in the former civilian government, Maryam al-Sadiq al-Mahdi, told the BBC from her home in Khartoum that despite the ceasefire, civilians were still living in fear.

“What they call a truce has nothing to do with what is happening,” she told BBC Radio Four’s World Tonight programme. “The bombardment by the aeroplanes is taking place almost all day and night.”
Fighting has also been reported in the western Darfur region and other provinces.
At least 512 people have been killed in the fighting and almost 4,200 injured, although the real number of deaths could be much higher.

The World Health Organization said it expected there to be “many more” deaths due to outbreaks of disease and a lack of services.
Health officials say most hospitals in conflict areas are not functioning, and more than 60% of health facilities in Khartoum are inactive.

David Miliband, the head of the International Rescue Committee and former British foreign secretary, said the international community was in danger of neglecting the wider crisis in Sudan in the rush to evacuate foreign nationals.
“The fact that for the last 10 days pretty much all the media coverage and the vast bulk of political attention has been on getting out thousands of people and not on the need to tend to millions of people really sticks in the gullet,” he told the BBC.

Source: BBC

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BBC chief Richard Sharp quits over Boris Johnson loan scandal

 Richard Sharp, outgoing chair of the national broadcaster, is a former Goldman Sachs banker and Conservative Party donor.

The chairman of the BBC has quit after a report found that he failed to disclose a potential conflict of interest over his role in arranging a loan for Boris Johnson.

The publicly funded national broadcaster has been under political pressure after it was revealed that Richard Sharp helped arrange the line of credit for the former prime minister in early 2021 – weeks before he was appointed to the BBC post on the government’s recommendation.

The guarantor for the 800,000-pound ($1m) line of credit was businessman Sam Blyth, a distant cousin of Johnson’s who founded a chain of private schools in Canada.

The deal was facilitated by Sharp, a former Goldman Sachs banker and Conservative Party donor, who arranged a meeting between Blyth and the UK’s top civil servant to discuss Blyth’s offer of financial help.

Johnson was then the Conservative Party leader as well as the United Kingdom’s prime minister.

Al Jazeera’s Andrew Simmons, reporting from London, said the scandal is a “big blow” to the BBC’s credibility.

“It is regarded as a fine, fair, and impartial institution,” he said. “Journalists feel quite low about it … This isn’t over yet, it is not going to end with the resignation of Sharp.”

A report on the episode by senior lawyer Adam Heppinstall published on Friday found Sharp “failed to disclose potential perceived conflicts of interest”.

“There is a risk of a perception that Mr. Sharp was recommended for appointment because he assisted … the former prime minister in a private financial matter,” Heppinstall wrote in his report.

“There may well have been a risk of a perception that Mr. Sharp would not be independent from the former prime minister, if appointed,” he said.

Sharp said he would remain in his BBC role until the end of June while the search for a successor takes place.

He said he made an “inadvertent” breach of the disclosure rules and was quitting to “prioritise the interests of the BBC”.

“I feel that this matter may well be a distraction from the corporation’s good work were I to remain in post until the end of my term,” he said.

Sharp is the latest in a string of politicians and officials brought down through their association with Johnson, who became prime minister in 2019 and led the UK out of the European Union the following year.

Johnson was forced to quit last year after a series of scandals over money, ethics and judgement became too much for his Conservative Party colleagues to bear.

Sharp’s resignation spares the current prime minister, Rishi Sunak, from having to decide whether to fire him.

Sunak, a former banker who once worked under Sharp at Goldman Sachs, has tried to restore stability to government after three tumultuous years under Johnson and seven roller-coaster weeks under successor Liz Truss, who quit in September after her tax-slashing economic plans caused financial mayhem.

Opposition politicians accused the Conservative government of undermining the BBC’s impartiality, and called for the government to be stripped of the power to appoint BBC chiefs.

“This breach has caused untold damage to the reputation of the BBC and seriously undermined its independence as a result of the Conservatives’ sleaze and cronyism,” Labour Party culture spokeswoman Lucy Powell said.

Sunak declined to comment on Sharp’s potential replacement, saying, “There’s an established appointments process.”

The loan investigation is the latest uncomfortable episode for the 100-year-old BBC, which is funded by an annual 159 pound ($200) licence fee paid by all households with a television and overseen by a board that includes both BBC nominees and government appointees.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA, AP

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Putin signs decree to control two foreign firms’ assets in Russia

Move seen as sign that Moscow may take further action if Russian assets abroad are seized to pay for damage caused to Ukraine by war.

President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree that takes temporary control of the Russian subsidiaries of two foreign energy firms, signalling that Moscow could take similar action against other international companies if Russian assets abroad are seized.

The decree — outlining possible retaliation if Russian assets abroad are harmed — showed Moscow had already taken action against Germany’s Uniper division in Russia and the assets of Finland’s Fortum Oyj.

The decree said Russia needed to take urgent measures to respond to unspecified actions from the United States and others it said were “unfriendly and contrary to international law”.

In October, European Council President Charles Michel said the European Union was looking at using seized Russian assets — frozen under sanctions against Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine — to help rebuild Ukraine.

The chief executive of Russia’s state-owned Bank VTB PAO said on Monday that Moscow should consider taking over the assets of foreign companies in Russia, such as Fortum, and only return them when sanctions over the war in Ukraine are lifted.

Shares in Uniper and Fortum Oyj have been placed in the temporary control of Rosimushchestvo, the Russian federal government’s property agency, the decree said. Rosimushchestvo said more foreign firms could find their assets under temporary Russian control, state news agency TASS reported.

“The decree does not concern ownership issues and does not deprive owners of their assets. External management is temporary in nature and means the original owner no longer has the right to make management decisions,” TASS cited the agency as saying.

In February, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Russia should bear the costs of the huge damage caused by its war on Ukraine, though also noting that there were “significant legal obstacles” to confiscating major frozen Russian assets.

In November, the UN adopted a resolution calling on Russia to be held accountable for invading Ukraine, which was contrary to international law, and for Moscow to pay reparation for its destruction of Ukraine and the lives lost.

The resolution stated that Moscow “must bear the legal consequences of all its internationally wrongful acts, including making reparation for injury, including any damage, caused by such acts”.

The temporary seizures of the two firms may come as no surprise.

Fortum had already warned shareholders there was a risk its Russian assets could be expropriated.

Uniper has an 83.73 percent stake in the Russian subsidiary Unipro, which for years had supplied natural gas deliveries to Germany. Even before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Uniper had sought to sell its stake in Unipro. A buyer was found, but the Russian authorities never approved the sale.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

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Iran court orders US, Obama to pay $313m for ‘terrorist’ attacks

Court names US entities and officials – including ex-Presidents Obama and George W Bush – as it maintains they played a pivotal role in creating and guiding ISIL.

Tehran, Iran – An Iranian court has ruled the United States government and a number of individuals and entities, including former President Barack Obama, must pay compensation for 2017 attacks carried out by the armed group ISIL (ISIS).

The court in the capital issued the verdict on Wednesday based on complaints by families of three people killed and six wounded during the June 2017 attacks in Tehran, according to the official news website of the judiciary.

The building of the Iranian parliament and the mausoleum of the founder of Iran’s current establishment, Ruhollah Khomeini, were targeted during the daylight assault that killed 17 people in total.

The court ruled $9.95m needs to be paid to compensate for financial damages while $104m and $199m are for moral and punitive damages, respectively, with the total nearing $313m.

Those convicted in the case include the US government, Obama, former President George W Bush, Central Command (CENTCOM), and its former commander Tommy Franks, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Treasury Department, weapons manufacturer Lockheed Martin, and American Airlines Group.

None of the named entities or individuals is believed to hold any assets under Iranian control that could be seized, and the court did not say how the compensation order would be carried out.

As to why the US is being blamed for the attacks, the website cited comments by American officials about the “fundamental” role played by the US in “organising and guiding terrorist groups”, news and information published by US media, and books and speeches by US officials discussing “the CIA’s role in creating terrorist groups”, including ISIL.

The judiciary also acknowledged the ruling comes as a response to numerous orders by US courts over the years that have blamed Iran for “terrorist” assaults, and ordered compensation paid from seized Iranian assets.

“As this marks a violation of the immunity of the Iranian government, Iranian courts have also judged a variety of cases against the US government and officials, and have issued legal decisions and will continue to do so,” it said.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA

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Up to 6 million People Allegedly Murdered and Forgotten in Eastern DRC

 New revelations coming out indicate that there was much more to the genocide in Rwanda and the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo than was reported to the world.

In an exclusive interview granted to DNT, Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, the formerly imprisoned opposition leader in Rwanda, lamented how the world simply refused to talk about the massacre of “more than 6 million people”  in eastern DRC.

According to Umuhoza, during the more than two decades of violence and genocide, more people were killed in the eastern portion of DRC than were killed in Rwanda but “nobody talks about it.”

Pressed if she was sure about the number being as high as 6 million, Umuhoza cited reports by multiple human rights groups as well as the government of the DRC.

Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza is a Rwandan politician and chairperson of Development And Liberty For All (DALFA)-Umurinzi, a political party that is yet to be recognised in Rwanda, with the focus to campaign for political space and sustainable development in Rwanda.

 

 

South Africa’s Ramaphosa says governing party wants ICC exit

The decision comes after an arrest warrant issued against Russia’s Putin and before a BRICS summit in South Africa later this year.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has said the governing African National Congress (ANC) party had resolved that South Africa should quit the International Criminal Court, which last month issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The warrant against Putin in March means Pretoria, due to host the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) bloc summit this year, would have to detain him on arrival.

Yes, the governing party … has taken that decision that it is prudent that South Africa should pull out of the ICC,” Ramaphosa said during a news conference co-hosted with the visiting President of Finland Sauli Niinisto.

Ramaphosa said the decision, which follows a weekend meeting of the ANC, was reached “largely” because of what is perceived as the court’s unfair treatment of certain countries.

“We would like this matter of unfair treatment to be properly discussed, but in the meantime, the governing party has decided once again that there should be a pull-out,” he said.

The arrest warrant against Putin followed accusations that the Kremlin unlawfully deported Ukrainian children.

On whether South Africa would arrest Putin, Ramaphosa said “that matter is under consideration”.

A continental powerhouse, South Africa has refused to condemn the invasion of Ukraine that has largely isolated Moscow on the international stage, saying it wants to stay neutral and preferred a dialogue to end the war.

It is not the first time South Africa has attempted to withdraw from the ICC.

It attempted to do so in 2016 following a dispute a year earlier when Sudan’s then-President Omar al-Bashir visited the country for an African Union summit. It refused to arrest him despite the al-Bashir facing an ICC arrest warrant for alleged war crimes.

The controversial decision to pull out was, however, revoked when a domestic court ruled such a move would have been unconstitutional.

SOURCE: AFP

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Turkey arrests 110 over suspected PKK ties ahead of elections

 President Erdogan has been accused of cracking down on PKK-linked opposition to muster support ahead of elections.

Police in Turkey have arrested 110 people over alleged ties to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) weeks ahead of crucial elections with reports indicating politicians, lawyers and journalists are among those detained in raids.

Authorities on Tuesday said the detained are suspected of financing the PKK in addition to recruiting members or engaging in propaganda on behalf of the group, which Turkey and several Western nations consider to be a “terrorist” outfit.

The PKK has been at war with the Turkish state since 1984.

Turkish media reported that Tuesday’s raids were conducted in 21 provinces, including in Diyarbakir in the southeast, which has a Kurdish majority.

The raids were conducted weeks ahead of May 14 parliamentary and presidential elections, which pose the most serious challenge to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s two-decade rule over Turkey.

Tayip Temel, deputy leader of the country’s pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP), directly linked the arrests with Erdogan’s efforts to secure a third term as president.

“On the eve of the election, the government has resorted once again to detentions out of fear of losing power,” he tweeted.

Temel and several other sources said politicians, journalists, lawyers and human rights activists were targeted during the raids, details of which are being kept under wraps.

The Diyarbakir Bar Association said on Twitter that lawyers are banned from contacting their clients for 24 hours and suggested the number of the detained could still rise.

The Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), a Turkish non-profit, said NGO leaders were among those who had their homes searched early in the morning.

Erdogan has found the toughest electoral test of his 20-year rule in opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu. Opinion polls give him a slight lead over the longtime Turkish leader.

The HDP has extended its tacit support to Kilicdaroglu by deciding not to field its own candidate in the presidential race. The HDP is not part of the main opposition alliance but is fiercely opposed to Erdogan for his policies towards the party and the PKK. The Turkish government has accused the HDP of having ties to the PKK, and the former leader of the HDP, Selahattin Demirtas, has been imprisoned after being found guilty in various cases tied to threatening officials and insulting the president.

Erdogan’s support has taken significant hits in recent years due to a struggling economy and accusations of authoritarianism. He has also faced criticism for his response to devastating earthquakes in February that killed 50,000 people and destroyed thousands of homes.

Erdogan, who has been Turkey’s leader since 2003 and has occupied the presidency since 2014, still retains significant support and could yet emerge on top alongside his AK Party.

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES

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