tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67142174830421270982024-03-19T03:53:03.750-07:00Cempaka AfricaGeneral news or articles related to Africa & Middle East (Regions in transition)Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2483125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714217483042127098.post-49782070936199437882022-05-01T13:08:00.009-07:002022-05-01T13:15:34.806-07:00Kenya boosts minimum wage as inflation bites<p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><a href="https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/kenya-boosts-minimum-wage-inflation-131024785.html" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>, 1 May 2022</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-align: center;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcX5-NQYOMontorBqSC7hvXQPcblZw-p9TBW3s9-s0uQA1pqudB8uGRPYk7s7zaNNLPQvJO8_mt103kzPA479DDEAsbkTcOlrT-lC5GSwMCd8A3ETgfXGfWAZMXVSUz4gNNeJY9YM7TpcAF0QtgqQQUdGu1d6Sgmgz-6jaEtTn0ihmU1Vu0hULCSn2/s768/ac27a23e13165f6a8eb0662a6a94f4cc.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcX5-NQYOMontorBqSC7hvXQPcblZw-p9TBW3s9-s0uQA1pqudB8uGRPYk7s7zaNNLPQvJO8_mt103kzPA479DDEAsbkTcOlrT-lC5GSwMCd8A3ETgfXGfWAZMXVSUz4gNNeJY9YM7TpcAF0QtgqQQUdGu1d6Sgmgz-6jaEtTn0ihmU1Vu0hULCSn2/w400-h266/ac27a23e13165f6a8eb0662a6a94f4cc.webp" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Kenyans are grappling with a rise in fuel and food costs (AFP/Simon MAINA)</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-US">Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta announced Sunday a
12-percent hike in the minimum wage as the country confronts a surge in the
cost of living.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Inflation in the East African economic powerhouse
jumped to a seven-month high in April, mainly as a result of skyrocketing fuel
and food prices, according to official figures.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"As a caring government, we find there is a
compelling case to review the minimum wages so as to cushion our workers
against further erosions," Kenyatta said at a Labour Day rally.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">He said the 12 percent increase would come into effect
from May 1. It takes the minimum monthly wage from 13,500 Kenyan shillings
(about $116.5, 110.5 euros) to 15,120 shillings ($130.5, 124 euros).</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">However the hike falls far short of the 24 percent
that had been sought by the Central Organisation of Trade Unions-Kenya (COTU).</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Kenyatta said the high cost of living was due to
factors "beyond my control like the coronavirus pandemic and the
Russia-Ukraine conflict".</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">He castigated rival political leaders -- including
Deputy President William Ruto -- for seeking to blame the government for the
economic woes, as the country prepares for crucial elections in August.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRwIkC1daS016aZt6nqHWq7_BPTioAI4Z6TTj7JO6QQHvFsH8eOgiWhugw1LDRc7MlWA3jYAbmAlP9enXbOw7I3DTwcpePfdvsAdrd4kvLdhU1RQOc5ZSw9H2NReto3MGzgCdhZHkNBdDnsVeN546Qe9eWtY82_rSWpv7zVCMMsfQrpH85duA5C-RM/s768/f858671a6999e7cb0950fb9d67f595fd.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="511" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRwIkC1daS016aZt6nqHWq7_BPTioAI4Z6TTj7JO6QQHvFsH8eOgiWhugw1LDRc7MlWA3jYAbmAlP9enXbOw7I3DTwcpePfdvsAdrd4kvLdhU1RQOc5ZSw9H2NReto3MGzgCdhZHkNBdDnsVeN546Qe9eWtY82_rSWpv7zVCMMsfQrpH85duA5C-RM/w400-h266/f858671a6999e7cb0950fb9d67f595fd.webp" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">President Uhuru Kenyatta said the high cost of living was due to factors beyond his <br />control such as the Ukraine war and the Covid pandemic (AFP/Yasuyoshi CHIBA)</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-US">Kenyatta cannot run again after serving two terms but
has endorsed his former arch-rival Raila Odinga for the top job.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The August 9 presidential election is expected to be a
two-horse race between Odinga and Ruto, who was initially anointed by Kenyatta
as his successor, but found himself frozen out after a shock 2018 pact between
Kenyatta and Odinga.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Kenya's finance minister last month unveiled a $28
billion budget aimed at helping the economy recover after the Covid-19 pandemic
threw hundreds of thousands of people out of work.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Kenyans are struggling to cope with rising costs of
basic goods such as food and fuel, a crisis exacerbated by the Ukraine war,
while several parts of the country are also suffering from a severe drought.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Inflation reached a seven-month high of 6.47 percent
last month from 5.56 percent in March and 5.76 percent in April last year, the
statistics bureau announced last week.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Last month the country was also hit by a fuel shortage
that triggered long queues at petrol stations and strict rationing.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714217483042127098.post-64236447308420853372022-03-25T13:59:00.000-07:002022-03-25T13:59:04.412-07:00Gilbert Houngbo to be first African to head UN labour agency<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/election-ilo-chief-wide-open-015542859.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>, Agnès PEDRERO, March 25, 2022</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><o:p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyD-5XuSXZ-VGLckgvpEM9R_Uxv1hMjQc6GZvc9QEQ3ZZMhMjL1LbUB_IfyTSS6v6pbIU64sOWoA9xCbBDZ8bF3Kp6-35Mov1trpxlvZOkjEGy0iupA-wUpcwwZ7ZFYmQjOlZZ-LyTCV-jVfFRTaOA5zD63GanDiBRXt5uj2fD9O7rf4msPF5ybW8R/s705/6cf1858799dad164c370aedc902e9d7e.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="705" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyD-5XuSXZ-VGLckgvpEM9R_Uxv1hMjQc6GZvc9QEQ3ZZMhMjL1LbUB_IfyTSS6v6pbIU64sOWoA9xCbBDZ8bF3Kp6-35Mov1trpxlvZOkjEGy0iupA-wUpcwwZ7ZFYmQjOlZZ-LyTCV-jVfFRTaOA5zD63GanDiBRXt5uj2fD9O7rf4msPF5ybW8R/w400-h266/6cf1858799dad164c370aedc902e9d7e.webp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Five candidates were in the running to succeed Britisch trade unionist Guy Ryder <br />as head of the ILO (AFP/Fabrice COFRRIN)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Gilbert Houngbo, the former prime minister of Togo,
was on Friday elected the next head of the International Labour Organization,
and will become the first African to lead the UN agency.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">After two rounds of voting, the ILO's governing body
elected the 61-year-old to succeed British trade unionist Guy Ryder, who steps
down at the end of September, after 10 years in the job.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"You have made history," Houngbo told the
governing body after the election.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"I am deeply and absolutely honoured to be the
first representative of the African region to be selected to lead the ILO after
103 years."</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Houngbo was chosen from among five candidates and had
been seen in a strong position after the African Union threw its weight behind
him.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Currently head of the Rome-based International Fund
for Agricultural Development (IFAD), he also enjoyed strong backing on the
labour side.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">His opponents in the race were former French labour
minister Muriel Penicaud, South Korea's ex-foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha,
South African entrepreneur Mthunzi Mdwaba, and ILO deputy Greg Vines of
Australia.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">'Rich symbolism'</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Houngbo's win marks a dramatic shift for the ILO,
which since its founding in 1919 has been led only by men from Europe or the
Americas.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The oldest specialised UN agency has 187 member
states, which are, uniquely in the UN system, represented by governments,
employers and workers.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The organisation's governing body counts 56 members,
with half of them representing governments, and a quarter each representing
employers and workers.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Friday's vote took place by secret ballot behind
closed doors.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The ILO said Houngbo received 30 votes in the
second-round voting, securing the majority. Penicaud received 23, Kang two and
Mdwaba one.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">After the first round, Vines was eliminated.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Houngbo, who was born in rural Togo in what he has
described as "extreme poverty", hailed the "rich symbolism"
of his win.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The vote outcome, he told the governing body Friday,
"fulfils the aspirations of a young African, a young African boy whose
humble upbringing turned into a lifelong quest for social justice."</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN9otUP1hciz-5Gr0Q_uCGbpYWt_SovtXmV5FwJhRvYfZ7i0Nddfism1dQP8Y7t3FwTao28leeUc94XmI79WVT5l4ZHZfLjndLvijVBmqWgboAgCxGTLcj8kPAlSAVFCm16hUxcfXKdShZWK7mWIKft_6KBquIQaL4YFUpI8tiBghr4Vt-s8XWKpG3/s705/4ce7f8d7a5cf0d6d175eac4b9d8a80c0.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="705" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN9otUP1hciz-5Gr0Q_uCGbpYWt_SovtXmV5FwJhRvYfZ7i0Nddfism1dQP8Y7t3FwTao28leeUc94XmI79WVT5l4ZHZfLjndLvijVBmqWgboAgCxGTLcj8kPAlSAVFCm16hUxcfXKdShZWK7mWIKft_6KBquIQaL4YFUpI8tiBghr4Vt-s8XWKpG3/w400-h266/4ce7f8d7a5cf0d6d175eac4b9d8a80c0.webp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Former Togo prime minister Gilbert Hounge had strong backing (AFP/Tiziana FABI)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The married father-of-three has spent much of his
career working with international organisations.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">He has previously held several high-level positions
within the UN system, such as finance director at the UN Development Programme
(UNDP) and deputy director-general of ILO itself, from 2013-2017.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Houngbo will take the ILO helm on October 1 and will
have his work cut out as the organisation strives to adapt its norms to a world
of work rapidly transforming due to evolving technologies.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The Covid-19 pandemic has only sped up those changes,
leading to the rapid uptake of virtual technologies to enable remote working.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">'Unifier'</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"We must respond in a concrete manner to the
socioeconomic consequences ... of Covid-19," he told AFP in an interview,
pointing in particular to the impact on many people in the informal sector,
with no safety net.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"My ambition, my dream, is to run this
organisation, which should lead on ensuring that every household... should have
minimum social protection."</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">While stressing the need to protect workers' rights,
Houngbo, who has also worked in the private sector, including at Price
Waterhouse, Canada, insisted that he as ILO chief would equally represent the
interests of governments and employers.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"I am at the middle," he told AFP.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"I think that in a role like mine, the role of
director-general, one must be a unifier. That is the challenge."</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">With his win, the ILO will become the third large
international organisation in Geneva to be headed by an African, after the
World Health Organization elected its first African leader in 2017, as did the
World Trade Organization last year.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Houngbo stressed he was not coming in as the
representative of a single region.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"Although my origins are African, my perspective
is global," he said.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"In an age, unfortunately, of divisiveness, my
commitment to be a unifying director general stands firm."<o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714217483042127098.post-31279076222168869732022-01-23T14:11:00.001-08:002022-01-23T14:11:16.862-08:00#MeToo wave in Morocco over 'sex for grades' scandal<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220123-metoo-wave-in-morocco-over-sex-for-grades-scandal" target="_blank">France24 – AFP</a>, 23 January 2022</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><o:p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEizB-c9Rpn3NhGRxrz9-cLZqUy2UlNJviJvm0X0jrZxY7Jgreop8B9vPa250N4MC5kug6EuGviuMWjafBrtJ0oNnqPr67eRajEh8_zunwKrVVw5J8Ju2FvTC8W6UbHI8NcL4nddS0y3Y3zLz4qXf5hpL_SwmORXsshwzWN9QlpiOH7mI05JjCQVc_74=s1024" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEizB-c9Rpn3NhGRxrz9-cLZqUy2UlNJviJvm0X0jrZxY7Jgreop8B9vPa250N4MC5kug6EuGviuMWjafBrtJ0oNnqPr67eRajEh8_zunwKrVVw5J8Ju2FvTC8W6UbHI8NcL4nddS0y3Y3zLz4qXf5hpL_SwmORXsshwzWN9QlpiOH7mI05JjCQVc_74=w400-h225" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Nadia, a university student and a victim of sexual blackmail, attends a conference <br />on the subject of sexual aggression, in the western Moroccan city of Casablanca, <br />on January 20, 2022 FADEL SENNA AFP</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />Rabat (AFP) – Female Moroccan university students have
broken their silence about professors demanding sexual favours in return for
good grades, a scandal that has shaken the higher eduction system.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Testimonies have flooded social media in the style of
the #MeToo movement, encouraged by activists in the conservative North African
nation where victims of sexual violence often keep quiet.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"I was expelled from university a year ago under
the pretext that I had cheated on an exam," said 24-year-old student
Nadia, who declined to give her full name.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"The truth is that I had just refused to submit
to sexual blackmail from one of my professors."</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The Hassan I University in Settat, near Casablanca,
where she was eventually re-admitted, is now embroiled in a scandal involving
five professors.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">One was sentenced to a two-year prison term this month
for demanding sexual favours for good grades, in the first such verdict, while
four others are due to face court Monday.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"My case was not an isolated one," said
Nadia. "Other girls suffered similar things but no one wanted to listen to
us."</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">In recent years, several similar cases were reported
by local media, but failed to elicit official action.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">But then a social media campaign shifted the
conversation, raising awareness of the magnitude of the problem.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><b>'Wave of testimonies'</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The turning point came when screen shots were
published online, said to be of messages in which professors demanded sexual
favours from female students.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><o:p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgzDCN1nnDLOIOUhY33sOwS4VRceCv8ifSju9obDzIXLn9BadHfeCGF0cqB_IkpwDeqHs9MpA_lzJTJomFbd6cM6_tzgyWlcfU0nx18ByuYgVfBihFksQtfOoGO_M3vXK-1gLFYRGrD7kC5JZggns71V0qiMY5ejTt0M4SWXsjh0_AYe8pT9HvdkKQ0=s2480" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1654" data-original-width="2480" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgzDCN1nnDLOIOUhY33sOwS4VRceCv8ifSju9obDzIXLn9BadHfeCGF0cqB_IkpwDeqHs9MpA_lzJTJomFbd6cM6_tzgyWlcfU0nx18ByuYgVfBihFksQtfOoGO_M3vXK-1gLFYRGrD7kC5JZggns71V0qiMY5ejTt0M4SWXsjh0_AYe8pT9HvdkKQ0=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Members of a women's rights association, give a press conference about the <br />subject of sexual aggression against women in universities FADEL SENNA AFP</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">"I had not considered making a complaint, but
after the scandal broke, I filed a civil suit," Nadia said.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"My move is also a way of encouraging other
victims to denounce these acts."</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">One association that helped bring some of the scandals
to light was "7achak" -- an expression in local dialect used to
excuse oneself before broaching a taboo topic.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The movement launched an Instagram page calling on
women victims of harassment to share their stories.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"As soon as the appeal was launched, we received
a wave of testimonies," the association's founder Sarah Benmoussa told
AFP. "Those accompanied with evidence were published."</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">More accusations against university lecturers began to
emerge online.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"I am speaking to you to stop the sexual
harassment and the rotten and unacceptable acts of a monster disguised as an
instructor," wrote a former student of the National School of Business and
Management in Oujda.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Other victims also shared their experiences involving
that professor, resulting in his suspension.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Some officials at the business school, deemed
"complicit", were also dismissed, the higher education ministry said
last month.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">'Zero tolerance'<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">In Tangiers, an instructor at a school of translation
was convicted and sentenced to jail in early January over sexual harassment,
lawyer Aicha Guellaa told AFP.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">According to her, "nearly 70 complaints"
were also filed at the Abdelmalek Essaadi University of Tetouan, but have so
far failed to provoke a response from the university administration.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The reports of sexual harassment in academia sparked
an uproar among activists, online and in the local media across Morocco.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">They prompted Higher Education Minister Abdelatif
Miraoui to pledge "zero tolerance" for sexual harassment.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">As the number of testimonies grew, several
universities launched toll-free hotlines and set up teams to follow up on cases
of sexual violence.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"It's crucial to support the victims and to help
them gain access to the judicial system," said human rights defender
Karima Nadir of the "Outlaws" group.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">In 2018, after years of fierce debate, a law entered
into force, imposing for the first time prison sentences for "harassment,
assault, sexual exploitation or abuse".</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"Laws exist," Nadir said, "but few
benefit from them."<o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714217483042127098.post-23057577270101752512022-01-02T14:46:00.007-08:002022-01-02T14:46:53.287-08:00Tutu's ashes buried in Cape Town cathedral<p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><a href="https://uk.news.yahoo.com/tutus-ashes-buried-cape-town-094622670.html" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>, 2 January 2022</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-align: center;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhsmdI0ILKGFK8CBlmfVDgfAOvGG4DEldkOcnhx49UUX53iyhJlbDIP_X5ATtdrb2TzhJp3-9uR-fntPLKUTc7JzFk1x5SMFa8vXq7oSAoT_hsaMBriHttZjI2a_rj6WhZPyJPNSUMz21z6fOA3A2l_T7t6hrtqgF626JAOIvvBCCIRMHMkkcv5nxMF=s768" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="768" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhsmdI0ILKGFK8CBlmfVDgfAOvGG4DEldkOcnhx49UUX53iyhJlbDIP_X5ATtdrb2TzhJp3-9uR-fntPLKUTc7JzFk1x5SMFa8vXq7oSAoT_hsaMBriHttZjI2a_rj6WhZPyJPNSUMz21z6fOA3A2l_T7t6hrtqgF626JAOIvvBCCIRMHMkkcv5nxMF=w400-h225" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">A requiem mass was held Saturday for South Africa's anti-apartheid<br />icon Archbishop Desmond Tutu (AFP/Nic BOTHMA)</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-US">South Africa's spiritual father Archbishop Desmond
Tutu, hero of the anti-apartheid struggle, was laid to rest at dawn on Sunday
in the Cape Town cathedral where he once preached against the brutal
white-minority regime.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Nobel Peace Prize winner Tutu died a week ago, aged
90, after a life spent fighting injustice.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">His ashes were "interred at St. George's
Cathedral in a private family service early today", an Anglican Church
statement said.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Archbishop Thabo Makgoba placed his remains under an
inscribed memorial stone before the high altar.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">He urged South Africans to "use this opportunity
to turn a new page.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"Let us commit ourselves... to the radical, the
revolutionary change that he advocated,” Makgoba said.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"Let us live as simply as he lived, exemplified
by his pine coffin with rope handles."</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Some 20 members of Tutu's family, led by his widow
"Mama Leah" were present.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Famed for his modesty, Tutu had left instructions for
a simple, no-frills funeral with a cheap coffin, followed by an eco-friendly
flameless cremation.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi7-IPQZ6kdt5eFnV-JrmxNbTAgyC_fprpfs9VmX4_aes0rieyA42sFCElfIZnTOdbgZExYYgWFWI_dK9d9Y3L5JFJXbSjeLKcppjcate9Rv6j8otseNEhEd7cLlc2Dv8oQ-gkgLSr7_xXNDH7Rbchoe756T0KJh9VTHpY6-XE_kOuix-8yEvZb2sTF=s768" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi7-IPQZ6kdt5eFnV-JrmxNbTAgyC_fprpfs9VmX4_aes0rieyA42sFCElfIZnTOdbgZExYYgWFWI_dK9d9Y3L5JFJXbSjeLKcppjcate9Rv6j8otseNEhEd7cLlc2Dv8oQ-gkgLSr7_xXNDH7Rbchoe756T0KJh9VTHpY6-XE_kOuix-8yEvZb2sTF=w400-h266" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Modest requiem for a titan: South Africa bids farewell to Desmond <br />Tutu (AFP/Saawmiet MOOS)</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-US">Family, friends, clergy and politicians had attended a
requiem mass on Saturday with President Cyril Ramaphosa leading the tributes.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"Our departed father was a crusader in the
struggle for freedom, for justice, for equality and for peace, not just in South
Africa... but around the world as well," said Ramaphosa.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"While our beloved (Nelson Mandela) was the
father of our democracy, Archbishop Tutu was the spiritual father of our new
nation", lauding him as "our moral compass and national
conscience".</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Under apartheid, the white-minority government
cemented its grip imposing laws based on the notion of race and racial
segregation, and the police ruthlessly hunted down opponents, killing or
jailing them.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">With Mandela and other leaders in prison for decades,
Tutu in the 1970s became the emblem of the anti-apartheid struggle.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">He campaigned relentlessly abroad, administering
public lashings to the Western world for failing to slap sanctions on the
apartheid regime.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">After apartheid was dismantled and South Africa
ushered in the first free elections in 1994, Tutu chaired the Truth and
Reconciliation Commission, which exposed the horrors of the past in grim
detail.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">He would later admonish the ruling African National
Congress for corruption and leadership incompetence.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Tutu's moral firmness and passion went hand-in-hand
with self-deprecatory humour and a famously cackling laugh.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714217483042127098.post-66903124268949488982021-12-28T13:35:00.004-08:002021-12-28T13:35:46.047-08:00South Africa court suspends Shell seismic survey plan<p><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20211228-south-africa-court-suspends-shell-seismic-survey-plan" target="_blank">France24 – AFP</a>, 28 December 2021</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj1frgIw0aXh3nH4ZnHGxw7NvQ8ck26DYv46zuUXn__KQyNFBO3RccodBeW2EmUr2falY3gaOYgJe5mR77miLaSfA3Yz1DjzDG8LLJUzf40ktleFFHrstXYmK4ovGdlzK9FwDcBZj_aZfq_qASLPx0_2sYFa76H3X6UppKmETohKvsUxNwQ2cFMFMk5Ow=s1024" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj1frgIw0aXh3nH4ZnHGxw7NvQ8ck26DYv46zuUXn__KQyNFBO3RccodBeW2EmUr2falY3gaOYgJe5mR77miLaSfA3Yz1DjzDG8LLJUzf40ktleFFHrstXYmK4ovGdlzK9FwDcBZj_aZfq_qASLPx0_2sYFa76H3X6UppKmETohKvsUxNwQ2cFMFMk5Ow=w400-h225" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The ruling is a temporary victory for green groups who said seismic exploration <br />would harm whales, seals and other fragile species RODGER BOSCH AFP</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><br /></span><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">Johannesburg (AFP) – A South African court on Tuesday
blocked Shell from using seismic waves to explore for oil and gas in the Indian
Ocean, in a victory for environmentalists worried about the impact on whales
and other species.</span> </span></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Backing a suit filed by conservationists, the High
Court in the Eastern Cape town of Makhanda ruled that Shell was "hereby
interdicted from undertaking seismic survey operations."</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The fossil fuel giant had announced plans to start
exploration over more than 6,000 square kilometres (2,300 square miles) of
ocean off South Africa's Wild Coast region.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The Wild Coast is a 300-kilometre (185-mile) stretch
of natural beauty, dotted with marine and nature reserves.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The area of interest lies 20 kilometres (12 miles) off
the coast, in waters 700 to 3,000 meters deep (2,300 to 10,000 feet).</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Shell's scheme entails using seismic shockwaves which
bounce off the sea bed, and whose signature can point to potentially
energy-bearing sites.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"Many sea creatures will be affected, from
whales, dolphins, seals, penguins to tiny plankton that will be blasted,"
said Janet Solomon, of the environmental group Oceans Not Oil in the runup to
the hearing.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Exploration had been scheduled to start on December 1
and last up to five months.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">A Shell spokesperson said Tuesday: "We respect
the court's decision and have paused the survey while we review the judgement.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><b>'Huge victory'</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"Surveys of this nature have been conducted for
over 50 years with more than 15 years of extensive peer-reviewed scientific
research."</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The campaigners were jubilant at the ruling, but
stressed that the relief was only temporary.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"It's a huge victory," said Katherine
Robinson of the NGO Natural Justice.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"But the struggle is not over -- this decision is
just the interdict. We understand that the proceedings will continue."</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">A petition against the project had gathered nearly
85,000 signatures.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Campaigners said the scheme would entail "one
extremely loud shock wave every 10 seconds, 24 hours a day, for five months at
a time."</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Shell argued that it took "great care to prevent
or minimise" the impact on wildlife, and promised that the work would strictly
follow the guidelines of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, a UK
government adviser on nature conservation.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">On Tuesday, it also stressed what it described as the
benefits for South Africa if oil and gas were found.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"South Africa is highly reliant on energy imports
for many of its energy needs," the company's spokesperson said.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"If viable resources were to be found offshore,
this could significantly contribute to the country’s energy security and the
government’s economic development programmes."</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">South Africa's energy ministry had backed the scheme,
and lashed those who opposed it as thwarting investment in the country's
development.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The High Court's ruling comes after a lower court
rejected the conservationists' suit in early December.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Several fishermen and local groups were also part of
the petition.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714217483042127098.post-30298483539703404332021-11-29T13:53:00.000-08:002021-11-29T13:53:03.430-08:00Botswana loses court bid to revoke gay rights<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/botswana-loses-court-bid-revoke-115825812.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>, November 29, 2021</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><o:p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw31uA9ZnPl9bNVBwYjLkxp-jHr0HKhyphenhyphensjt7m9uETM489Gjtq90NDaouMdyHSURkLgkW3LC5sezEj9xmHd972nNxN8I5MGxsq8yJxcapjsZaOO16n9Tn_NVvFW50TIn0ORgvSC6sR0x30/s705/5df79067ba43394a4876496252074c97.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="705" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw31uA9ZnPl9bNVBwYjLkxp-jHr0HKhyphenhyphensjt7m9uETM489Gjtq90NDaouMdyHSURkLgkW3LC5sezEj9xmHd972nNxN8I5MGxsq8yJxcapjsZaOO16n9Tn_NVvFW50TIn0ORgvSC6sR0x30/w400-h266/5df79067ba43394a4876496252074c97.webp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Rainbow campaign: Activists gathered outside the Botswana High Court <br />on October 12 to press their case (AFP/Monirul Bhuiyan)</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Botswana's government on Monday lost a legal attempt
to overturn a landmark ruling that decriminalised homosexuality.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The country's High Court in 2019 ruled in favour of
campaigners seeking to strike down jail sentences for same-sex relationships,
declaring the punishment to be unconstitutional.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">But the government sought to revoke the ruling,
arguing that the courts had no jurisdiction in this matter.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"Since the appellant's grounds of appeal have
been unsuccessful... the appeal must fall," Botswana's Court of Appeal
ruled on Monday.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">It had started hearing the case in October.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Homosexuality had been banned since 1965 in
conservative Botswana, where offenders could face up to seven years in prison.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The 2019 judgement was hailed internationally as a
major victory for gay rights.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Judge Ian Kirby, who read out the ruling on Monday,
said gay citizens had long lived in "constant fear of discovery or
arrest" when expressing "love for their partners."</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"This sometimes led to depression, suicidal
behaviour, alcoholism or substance abuse," he said.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Botswana is one of only a handful of African countries
to have decriminalised homosexuality.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Others are Lesotho, Mozambique, Angola and the
Seychelles.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">South Africa is the sole nation on the continent to
allow same-sex marriage, which it legalised in 2006.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714217483042127098.post-4377896084675546512021-11-24T11:54:00.006-08:002021-11-24T11:54:48.048-08:00Tanzania lifts ban on teen mothers attending schools<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/tanzania-lifts-ban-teen-mothers-153248773.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>, November 24, 2021</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGipyA_AoLt6_XHShzXhJrM0mTsPFp0H3aSDVtj86xjUgbGd498YbXb9CQMw1ggbBedUpm1VCcbwky7rmkvp0PC_hSHsPBPtV8jB7OXcpYoT7ub4aIqraS-caxCvHdz0fBMbN-s9ZvSR0/s705/6f2e782738a0e89a53c2bef65ad6a09d.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="469" data-original-width="705" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGipyA_AoLt6_XHShzXhJrM0mTsPFp0H3aSDVtj86xjUgbGd498YbXb9CQMw1ggbBedUpm1VCcbwky7rmkvp0PC_hSHsPBPtV8jB7OXcpYoT7ub4aIqraS-caxCvHdz0fBMbN-s9ZvSR0/w400-h266/6f2e782738a0e89a53c2bef65ad6a09d.webp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;">Former President John Magufuli had vowed that no student who became <br />pregnant would finish their studies under his watch (AFP/TONY KARUMBA)</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"> </span></span></td></tr></tbody></table></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Tanzania said on Wednesday it would allow pregnant
students and teenaged mothers to continue with their studies, reversing a
heavily-criticised policy instituted by its late autocratic leader John Magufuli.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">In 2017, the East African country began expelling
pregnant girls from state schools and banned them from returning to class after
giving birth, in a crackdown slammed by rights campaigners.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Following Magufuli's death earlier this year, his successor
Samia Suluhu Hassan has sought to break away from some of his policies and on
Wednesday, Education Minister Joyce Ndalichako said that "pregnant school
girls will be allowed to continue with formal education after delivery."</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"I will issue a circular later today. No time to
wait," she said at a ceremony in the capital Dodoma.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Magufuli had vowed that no student who became pregnant
would finish their studies under his watch, saying it was immoral for young
girls to be sexually active.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"I give money for a student to study for free.
And then, she gets pregnant, gives birth and after that, returns to school. No,
not under my mandate," he said in mid-2017.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The decision was widely criticised by human rights
lobby groups and international donors, who cut their funding to the country in
response to Magufuli's policies.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">At the time, Human Rights Watch published a report
saying school officials in Tanzania were conducting pregnancy tests in order to
expel pregnant students, depriving them of their right to an education.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">'Welcome step'</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The World Bank, which froze a $300-million loan for
girls' education in protest against the ban, hailed Wednesday's decision.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"The World Bank welcomes the government of
Tanzania's announcement to remove barriers to access to education," it
said in a statement.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The Swedish embassy in Dar es Salaam, which cut its
funding to Tanzania last year citing shrinking freedoms, also applauded the
move.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"This is a welcome step for many girls, allowing
them to unlock their full potential," the embassy said on Twitter.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Opposition party Alliance for Change and Transparency
(ACT Wazalendo) said their push to reverse the policy had paid off.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"We did it! A clear example of one struggle, many
fronts. Everyone who was involved did something towards this achievement,"
said ACT Wazalendo leader Zitto Kabwe.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Covid-sceptic Magufuli, nicknamed the
"Bulldozer" for his uncompromising leadership style, died of a heart
condition on March 17 after a mysterious three-week absence. His political
opponents insisted he had coronavirus.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">In the weeks after her swearing-in, his successor
Hassan reached out to Tanzania's political opposition, vowing to defend
democracy and basic freedoms, and reopening banned media outlets.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">But hopes that Hassan would usher in a new era were
dented by the arrest of a high-profile opposition leader on terrorism charges
and a crackdown on independent newspapers.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714217483042127098.post-63123900228994833532021-11-22T11:41:00.004-08:002021-11-22T11:41:20.082-08:00Israel, Jordan agree US-brokered solar power for water deal<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://today.rtl.lu/news/science-and-environment/a/1821343.html" target="_blank">RTL – AFP</a>, 22 November 2021</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><o:p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3PDm2tUGanaKe2m6vuUcYM0CBqPajf_YGfc0vt8xnxKGkwgpldosqP9BseewaQv06T-CVlpztHXlws9V7F0b7iqb05X4770T0xgzTYRIAP2DD00hQeKFFgIloeRWgbXDSh-BtWsqai7s/s768/655821205e4d8131531feab85d9278b4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="768" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3PDm2tUGanaKe2m6vuUcYM0CBqPajf_YGfc0vt8xnxKGkwgpldosqP9BseewaQv06T-CVlpztHXlws9V7F0b7iqb05X4770T0xgzTYRIAP2DD00hQeKFFgIloeRWgbXDSh-BtWsqai7s/w400-h271/655821205e4d8131531feab85d9278b4.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Jordan, which signed a US-brokered solar power for water deal with Israel, is<br />one of the world's most water-deficient nations / © AFP/File</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Jordan will provide solar power to Israel, which will
in turn supply desalinated water to its desert neighbour, under a declaration
of intent the two countries signed Monday.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Ministers from the neighbouring countries inked the
US-brokered agreement at a Dubai Expo event joined by John Kerry, the US
Special Presidential Envoy for Climate.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"The Middle East is on the frontline of the
climate crisis," Kerry said in a statement. "Only by working together
can countries in the region rise to the scale of the challenge."</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The United Arab Emirates, which last year normalised
relations with Israel, will reportedly build the solar power plant, the value
of which was not disclosed.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Israeli Energy Minister Karine Elharrar said the
Israel-Jordan agreement was the "most significant" since the formers
enemies signed a peace treaty in 1994.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"The benefit of this agreement is not only in the
form of green electricity or desalinated water, but also the strengthening of
relations with the neighbour that has the longest border with Israel."</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Feasibility studies for the project are due to start
next year.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Jordan is one of the world's most water-deficient
nations and its cooperation on water with Israel dates back to before the two
established formal relations.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Israel is also a hot, dry country, but its advanced
desalination technology has opened opportunities for selling fresh water.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The declaration of intent says the Jordan photovoltaic
plant with a capacity of 600 MW will export green power to Israel, which will
supply Jordan with up to 200 million cubic metres of desalinated water.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Water diplomacy</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Jordan, nearly landlocked, faces dire water prospects
as its population expands and temperatures rise.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Experts say the future cooperation could help improve
relations, which Jordan's King Abdullah has described as a "cold
peace".</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Under their 1994 peace treaty, the Jewish state
recognises Jordan's oversight of Muslim holy sites in east Jerusalem, which has
since 1967 been occupied by Israel and was later annexed.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">But there are often demonstrations in Jordan in
solidarity with the Palestinians.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The recent deals come after relations had cooled under
Israel's former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who took over
in June, has made strengthening ties with Amman a priority.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Even when Israel and Jordan were enemies following the
1948 war that led to Israel's creation, they held water cooperation meetings
that helped shape their peace deal.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">They announced in July that Israel would sell 50
million cubic metres of water a year to Jordan, doubling what it already
supplies, and in October agreed to raise the amount further.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714217483042127098.post-34445323586145484352021-06-22T12:03:00.001-07:002021-06-22T12:03:11.385-07:00 Gabon paid for protecting forests, in African first<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/gabon-paid-protecting-forests-african-134130797.html" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>, Tue, June 22, 2021</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm4_U4Cj4bM4eN_VkSFL3Sc_xXUEMqcRs5vF23-WqKnH0QRngvPWkojvKIBQTn0QquGagCikQ95_ekJHt_kFn_4G13sy-5pJ_lCpVLp7fkfQiH5YFGiaU3ChiDb6FYfAIvit3A4s9p4VE/s705/2d8f9a3db5a82e6435f569504864ff4c.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="705" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm4_U4Cj4bM4eN_VkSFL3Sc_xXUEMqcRs5vF23-WqKnH0QRngvPWkojvKIBQTn0QquGagCikQ95_ekJHt_kFn_4G13sy-5pJ_lCpVLp7fkfQiH5YFGiaU3ChiDb6FYfAIvit3A4s9p4VE/w400-h266/2d8f9a3db5a82e6435f569504864ff4c.webp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Gabon has been a leader in central Africa in preserving its rainforest, creating <br />13 national parks since 2000 that cover around 11 percent of the country.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Gabon has become the first African nation to receive a
financial reward for protecting its forests as part of international efforts to
fight climate change, the government announced Tuesday.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Gabon has received $17 million in recompense for
successfully cutting its carbon emissions by reducing deforestation and forest
degradation, the environment ministry said in a statement.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The payment came "after independent experts
verified Gabon's results" showing that the country's carbon emissions in
2016-17 had dropped compared with the annual figures for 2006-15.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The funds were delivered by the Central African Forest
Initiative (CAFI), an organisation launched in 2015 by the United Nations and
backed by international donors.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The scheme provides financial incentives to Central
African governments to pursue economic growth without harming the vast forests
that cover much of the region.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The world's rainforests are seen as a vital weapon in
the fight against climate change by sucking out carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Gabon, where forests cover 90 percent of the
territory, is home to some 18 percent of the Congo Basin forest, known as
"the second lung of the planet" after the Amazon.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Under a 10-year deal signed with CAFI in 2019, Gabon
is set to receive a total of $150 million if it meets its carbon-cutting
targets.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfC3HsKaCozu3nwQMbk9Q3n5zS1B83gTLVbDO7iLJ834yJEMAoLPLWn-Uptclbv7jeJms2NWYwmEPHnVnJjG_wuKzGsCZFwXnEaXwKF2DbFRZ2fsQBrSWHEXwQK72Z7jMv5mVzVYSmyuE/s705/ea773fa5db77330598abd00e450d265d.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="705" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfC3HsKaCozu3nwQMbk9Q3n5zS1B83gTLVbDO7iLJ834yJEMAoLPLWn-Uptclbv7jeJms2NWYwmEPHnVnJjG_wuKzGsCZFwXnEaXwKF2DbFRZ2fsQBrSWHEXwQK72Z7jMv5mVzVYSmyuE/w400-h266/ea773fa5db77330598abd00e450d265d.webp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Gabon is home to nearly 60 percent of Africa's remaining forest elephants,listed<br />in March as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The small tropical country has pledged to cut its
carbon emissions in half by 2025 from 2005 levels.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The forests in Gabon alone "absorb a total of 140
million tonnes of CO2 each year, which is equivalent to removing 30 million
cars from circulation throughout the world," the environment ministry
said.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Gabon has been a leader in Central Africa in
preserving its rainforests, creating 13 national parks since 2000 that cover
around 11 percent of the country.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Norwegian Environment Minister Sveinung Rotevatn, whose
government is a major donor to CAFI, said Gabon had "demonstrated that
with vision, dedication and strong dynamism, reductions in (CO2) emissions can
be achieved in the Congo Basin forest".</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Gabon's environment ministry said the first cash
payment would notably be used to invest in local forestry projects.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"The aim is to improve the income, livelihoods
and well-being of communities in Gabon," it said.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Along with fighting climate change, protecting the
world's rainforests is seen as key to staving off threats to biodiversity.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Gabon is home to nearly 60
percent of Africa's remaining forest elephants, listed in March as critically
endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714217483042127098.post-28922543660122962682020-11-30T12:47:00.000-08:002020-11-30T12:47:07.103-08:00Spirit of revolt lives on in Syria's exiles<p><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/spirit-revolt-lives-syrias-exiles-024450766.html" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>, Serene ASSIR, November 30, 2020 </span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik2C_KpQrLRUMzRXi_9Xm9kKZmWJO9eCEBLqyBnknkTJ4ymc9XW4_CotkmK4UDUjbBGrH9zXiJ_ex7wi79L0qgsGp9VG9MzI66cmlPal3te0mOMqxToygRMCExBcF28p37a4U7CJ6lix4/s768/3fdb5f44919632702916046e1889b10b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik2C_KpQrLRUMzRXi_9Xm9kKZmWJO9eCEBLqyBnknkTJ4ymc9XW4_CotkmK4UDUjbBGrH9zXiJ_ex7wi79L0qgsGp9VG9MzI66cmlPal3te0mOMqxToygRMCExBcF28p37a4U7CJ6lix4/w400-h266/3fdb5f44919632702916046e1889b10b.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Spirit of revolt lives on in Syria's exiles</span><o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial;">They may be scarred, but nothing, not even torture,
bombing or exile, could break them.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">As the Arab Spring revolts swept through the Middle
East and North Africa region like a wildfire, thousands of young Syrians joined
protests in March 2011 demanding change in a nation ruled by the family of
President Bashar al-Assad since 1970.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">The regime's revenge was swift and brutal, and many of
the non-violent activists at the heart of the uprising paid with their freedom
and their lives.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">AFP interviewed four Syrian activists who ended up as
refugees after surviving extreme violence and immeasurable loss.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">But even now, with no end in sight to their exile,
they do not regret their revolution.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">Here are their stories.</span> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9YgJL7j5d60i7vA5_tnT64D5XD6t-9oSYHquZkayazNjoM0V6ZtHgoYMiMfaqt-8ZGhLYpj6ZwjWJLx5AJNANh_pEsCEpGNiNUKyH4XEKEIaLWEoIIb81pWZuTOB9_3by0sbKOnLeVS0/s768/942371b0d488c5e39e0a5dbb415f96a1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9YgJL7j5d60i7vA5_tnT64D5XD6t-9oSYHquZkayazNjoM0V6ZtHgoYMiMfaqt-8ZGhLYpj6ZwjWJLx5AJNANh_pEsCEpGNiNUKyH4XEKEIaLWEoIIb81pWZuTOB9_3by0sbKOnLeVS0/w400-h266/942371b0d488c5e39e0a5dbb415f96a1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Omar Alshogre was tortured while held in one of Syria's most notorius <br />detention centres</span></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US"><b>Stockholm: The public speaker</b></span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">The first thing Omar Alshogre sees when he wakes up in
his Stockholm flat are the photographs of two prison guards who tortured him in
Branch 215, one of Syria's most notorious detention centres.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">It may seem surprising but Alshogre wanted the
pictures, which he had to buy off the guards' families and keeps on his bedside
table, as a reminder to himself that: "They could not break me, and I'm
still alive."</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">Alshogre, now 25, says he was just 15 when regime
forces first arrested him "along with all the men" in his village
near Baniyas city -- a protest hub in a largely pro-government province -- on
the Mediterranean coast.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">He was released two days later -- but only after his
interrogators had pulled out his fingernails and broken his leg.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">"I understood what freedom meant for the first
time, and that's when I started protesting," Alshogre tells AFP via a
videoconference app.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">Over the next 18 months, he was detained six more
times in different places, including at his cousin's home, in the classroom and
at checkpoints.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">In May 2012, regime troops attacked his village,
killing his father, a retired army officer, and his two brothers.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">Following his final arrest in November 2012, he was
transferred to a total of 10 different prisons and detention centres.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">"I saw more of Syria's prisons than I ever saw of
Syria itself," he says.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">Released in 2015, he was a shadow of his former self,
weighing just 34 kilos (just under 75 pounds).</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">To save her sons' lives, his mother smuggled Omar and
his younger brother Ali, then 20 and 11 years old, into Turkey.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">At the height of Europe's migrant crisis, they boarded
a smuggler's boat to Greece and crossed Europe to Sweden, where they were
granted asylum.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">Alshogre has since learned Swedish and English and
speaks both fluently.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">Now, he works for the Syrian Emergency Task Force, a
US-based advocacy organisation, and has testified before Washington's Senate
Committee on Foreign Relations on torture in Syria's prisons.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">He has given TED talks on his experience, inspiring
his audience with a universal message on overcoming pain by finding meaning
even in one's darkest hour.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">And recently he won a place at Georgetown University
in Washington DC to study business and entrepreneurship.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">"It is not easy to lose your home, your father,
your brothers, your school, your town, your mountains and your memories,"
he says.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">"But if I had the possibility to go back in time,
I wouldn't do it. Because the revolution is the first thing we did right in
Syria."</span> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbpQ_FjShyphenhyphen8HGL6eIpq6TcNczykhI1hnDvOlXS2EJpiAPMAunFd7TMtHnyrcnVoHFDp0-Kiu1uf7NKXraA5eongFUpw3UQ5FuTV0jwgF-tpmT1QEJN_iH5nanRtjhE7oe-sySWknYWimA/s768/2ac1cbb1b1f9ef702a85bbc676eedca3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="489" data-original-width="768" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbpQ_FjShyphenhyphen8HGL6eIpq6TcNczykhI1hnDvOlXS2EJpiAPMAunFd7TMtHnyrcnVoHFDp0-Kiu1uf7NKXraA5eongFUpw3UQ5FuTV0jwgF-tpmT1QEJN_iH5nanRtjhE7oe-sySWknYWimA/w400-h255/2ac1cbb1b1f9ef702a85bbc676eedca3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Nivin Al-Mousa learned that her younger brother Hamza, also a non-violent <br />activist, had been tortured to death</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial;"><b>Berlin: The humanitarian</b></span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">"When I was pregnant and I had pain in my belly,
I would cry. Not for me, but for the Syrians living in displacement camps who
can't see a doctor, and for the detainees who suffer constantly," says
Nivin Al-Mousa, who has lived in Berlin since 2015.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">When she joined the protests in her town of Taybet
al-Imam in the central province of Hama, she never imagined she would end up
seeking refuge abroad.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">In 2013, her younger brother Hamza, also a non-violent
activist, was detained at a checkpoint.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">"We later learned that he had been tortured to
death," says Al-Mousa, who identified his body in one of the pictures of
torture victims' corpses released by a former Syrian military police
photographer, codenamed "Caesar", who fled the country taking
thousands of photographs documenting abuse and torture.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">"The moment you see that picture, a wound opens
inside you, and the pain never heals," she tells AFP.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">Al-Mousa, her mother and siblings fled to Turkey in an
escape "worthy of a James Bond movie. There were warplanes above us,
bombing all around us, and the driver was speeding at 200 kilometres (125
miles) an hour," she says.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">In Turkey, she met her husband Mohammad, who
originates from the central Syrian city of Homs and had narrowly survived being
randomly shot in the head by a sniper while coming home from university.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">In 2015, he was granted a visa to seek medical
treatment in Berlin. There, the family received refugee status.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">Al-Mousa, now 36, has frequent nightmares. "We
are all traumatised," she says.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">But for her two daughters' sake, she works hard to
adapt to her new life.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">She now speaks fluent German as well as English and
Arabic, as do her girls, who are six and four.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">She works for international aid group Humanity &
Inclusion, formerly known as Handicap International, helping refugees with
disabilities in Germany.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">She also participates in protests in Berlin, home to a
large Syrian refugee community, to help shine a light on the suffering of
Syria's detainees.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">"All we want is a government that respects our
basic rights," Al-Mousa says. "One day, the regime will get the fate
it deserves."</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US"><b>Colmar: The feminist</b></span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">Tohama Darwish survived an August 2013 chemical attack
on the besieged Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta blamed on the regime, in
which rights groups say 1,400 people were killed.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">Then in 2018, the area faced an onslaught when the
army, backed by Russian warplanes, crushed the armed opposition.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">"The bombing was so intense, I wished my daughter
had still been in my belly so I could run faster," says Darwish, whose
daughter Sumu was two at the time.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">Darwish, then a volunteer nurse, and her family joined
the tens of thousands who fled Eastern Ghouta to the rebel-held northern
province of Idlib.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">There, Islamist fighters accused her of spreading
"obscenities" through her work raising community awareness about
violence against women.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">"We didn't want to leave Syria," the
30-year-old tells AFP. "Unfortunately, there was no difference between the
regime and the Islamists ruling Idlib."</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">The family went to Turkey, from where Darwish and her
husband applied for asylum in France.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">They now live in state housing in the northeastern
French town of Colmar, where they are learning the language as they wait for
their residence permits to come through.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">"From a gender perspective, life is better here.
It's hard to be a feminist in Syria," she says.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">"I feel guilty for leaving my relatives behind.
But I am happy that Sumu is at school here," she says.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">"She will always be Syrian, but her life is here
now. When she's older, I will tell her everything that happened."</span> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8RFzdt7zpbtANv_dc3PILplpBk3iFuWWS9pOARchA7Dr78qRrrQAmGDF4f8WYGGdGLg9Z8n2nx6NlsdBs4ZYA2i2KGl7gh_w36L8Pb1zVLoOauBMLwlhHrrFxKm-RarrsDKMSC0XxdrI/s768/d489d241638c3a716bd3c26ba7461a4f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8RFzdt7zpbtANv_dc3PILplpBk3iFuWWS9pOARchA7Dr78qRrrQAmGDF4f8WYGGdGLg9Z8n2nx6NlsdBs4ZYA2i2KGl7gh_w36L8Pb1zVLoOauBMLwlhHrrFxKm-RarrsDKMSC0XxdrI/w400-h266/d489d241638c3a716bd3c26ba7461a4f.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Detained for joining protest, doctor Bashar Farahat said the cell in which he and <br />90 to 100 other prisoners were held was so tiny they had to take it in turns to <br />sleep while the others stood</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial;"><b>London: The doctor</b></span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">When Bashar Farahat was released from detention in
early 2013, he was barred from resuming his postgraduate paediatrics training
at a government hospital in Latakia in western Syria.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">He had been jailed for joining the protests, and
beaten by his interrogators "even harder" because he was a doctor
with a degree from a public university.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">In April 2013, he was detained again for another six
months.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">"In prison, the torture during interrogations was
bad. But the worst was the constant torture of living in a tiny cell of 30
square metres (320 square feet) with 90 to 100 other detainees," says
Farahat, who is now 36 and a registered doctor working in London.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">"We would take turns to sleep while the others
stood," he says.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">As a doctor, his cellmates would ask him to treat their
wounds. "But I had nothing to treat them with," he tells AFP of his
time in a military intelligence detention centre in Damascus.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">"Occasionally, the guards would give us two
vitamins or two anti-inflammatory pills to share among 100 people. People would
lose limbs because of simple injuries becoming severely infected," he
adds.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">Following his release in November 2013, he fled to
neighbouring Lebanon, where he applied for resettlement through the United
Nations.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">He arrived in Britain in March 2015, and has since
passed the conversion exams allowing him to practise medicine there.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">Now married to an interior designer, he works at a
National Health Service (NHS) hospital in north London.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">"When the Covid-19 pandemic began, of course I
worried for my loved ones, but I think my experiences in Syria prepared me to
work well in a crisis," says Farahat, who feels proud to be able to give
back to Britain in its time of need.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">He has also set up a telemedicine website offering
vulnerable Syrians online consultations free of charge.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">"We have to be strong, work hard and build good
lives, so that when the regime falls we can contribute to Syria's future,"
he says.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">Looking back, knowing now what he didn't know in 2011,
what would Farahat tell his younger self?</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: arial;">"I would say: go out. Protest. Even more than I
did. Do I regret the revolution? Never, not for a second. The revolution made
me who I am today."</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714217483042127098.post-31432508239314645482020-08-26T12:55:00.000-07:002020-08-26T12:55:20.332-07:00France must clean up Algerian nuclear test sites: group<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/france-must-clean-up-algerian-nuclear-test-sites-group/ar-BB18oaL9" target="_blank">Yahpp – AFP</a>,
26 August 2020</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">France must clean up nuclear test sites in Algeria where radioactive waste remains from testing in the former colony during the 1960s, a Nobel Peace Prize-winning group said Wednesday.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5jdbDzcczppCohVt3R8s-jnQ-Mzr-uxpRF4hzlqXTuPHztMfZP5iylV8uJ9RQw2yGpZfuyu4nA8UHwQMAJLzjJb21idnXJzdSOKranxtkIkqqraA_lMsKiuEeHnFzlWBBeK8JleCpW0k/s1600/BB18oaL5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="487" data-original-width="768" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5jdbDzcczppCohVt3R8s-jnQ-Mzr-uxpRF4hzlqXTuPHztMfZP5iylV8uJ9RQw2yGpZfuyu4nA8UHwQMAJLzjJb21idnXJzdSOKranxtkIkqqraA_lMsKiuEeHnFzlWBBeK8JleCpW0k/s400/BB18oaL5.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">France must clean up Algerian nuclear test sites: group</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">France
carried out 17 nuclear explosions in the Algerian part of the Sahara Desert
between 1960 and 1966.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Eleven of
the tests came after the 1962 Evian Accords ended the six-year war of
independence and 132 years of colonial rule.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"France
must give the Algerian authorities the full list of where the contaminated
toxic waste was buried," the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear
Weapons (ICAN) said in a new 60-page report.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"The
'nuclear past' must no longer remain deeply buried under the sand," ICAN
said, citing the concerned areas as the western Reggane region and a zone close
to the In Ekker village.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The
campaign group identified contaminated, radioactive elements that have either
been buried, or are easily accessible.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"The majority
of the waste is in the open air, without any security, and accessible by the
population, creating a high level of sanitary and environmental
insecurity," ICAN said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The 2017
Nobel Peace Prize laureate group added that almost nothing has been done to
clean the sites, inform the populations and evaluate the risks.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Exposure to
radioactive material can cause cancer.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"This
case study shows once more an asymmetry of power and an injustice that we find
all through nuclear history," Giorgio Franceschini, director of the
Heinrich Boll Foundation which published the report, said in his forward.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"It is
not a coincidence that France tested its first nuclear weapon in Algeria, that
was still a French colony in 1960," he added.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">France
refused to sign up the UN's 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons,
whereas Algeria signed and is in the process of ratifying the legally binding
agreement.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Since
Algeria's independence, Franco-Algerian relations have been tumultuous.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Algerian
President Abdelmadjid Tebboune in July called on France to fully apologise for
its colonial past.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">An apology
could "make it possible to cool tensions and create a calmer atmosphere
for economic and cultural relations", especially for the more than six
million Algerians who live in France, he said.</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714217483042127098.post-15816187926047212282020-08-22T12:56:00.002-07:002020-08-22T12:56:48.729-07:00DRCongo vows to protect Nobel laureate Mukwege after death threats<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://sg.news.yahoo.com/drcongo-vows-protect-nobel-laureate-160402362.html" target="_blank">Yahoo = AFP</a>, Alain WANDIMOYI, 22 August 2020</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid80eIpWqgO6FLb_bkaxck8rs-0Xhtrw4rA0CBctF8T9EqajJ-ugJyfOz3S4kuTAf_Maxm4TlBapB_wvwjBptQwjZUcMup2YZHujUXA_dBCFWH22WeziqiFZpXn7M_f4AwBh9K2HmT22A/s1600/1df2520f86e9cf541c7d418abc44023e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid80eIpWqgO6FLb_bkaxck8rs-0Xhtrw4rA0CBctF8T9EqajJ-ugJyfOz3S4kuTAf_Maxm4TlBapB_wvwjBptQwjZUcMup2YZHujUXA_dBCFWH22WeziqiFZpXn7M_f4AwBh9K2HmT22A/s400/1df2520f86e9cf541c7d418abc44023e.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">DR Congo vows to protect Nobel laureate Mukwege after death threats</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Congolese gynaecologist Denis Mukwege shared the Nobel
Peace Prize in 2018 for his work against sexual violence in war<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The government vowed Saturday to protect Nobel peace
laureate Denis Mukwege and investigate death threats against him after he called
for an international court to try crimes in the Democratic Republic of Congo.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">DR Congo's president Felix Tshisekedi pledged that the
interior, security and justice ministers and others would "take all
measures necessary to ensure Dr Mukwege's security" and "open
investigations", the cabinet said in a report, without giving detail.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Mukwege, a Congolese gynaecologist who shared the
Nobel Peace Prize in 2018 for his work against sexual violence in war, and his
relatives have been the target of "intimidation, hateful messages and
death threats," it said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This has occurred while he has "pleaded for peace
in the country's east, by proposing the establishment of an international
criminal court for the DRC in order to try the serious crimes committed there
against the civilian population," it said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On July 26, in a message on his Twitter account,
Mukwege wrote "these are the same ones who are still killing in the
DRC", referring to a massacre in the east.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Civilians in Kipupu, a village in South Kivu on the
Fizi heights overlooking Lake Tanganyika, came under attack on July 16, with
the death toll ranging widely between 18 and 220.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"The macabre stories from Kipupu are in a
straight line from the massacres that have hit the DRC since 1996," the
peace prize winner said in a tweet.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The area has seen violence between the Banyamulenge
community -- the descendants of ethnic Tutsi migrants who came from Rwanda --
and other local communities such as the Babembe for the past year.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In early 1996, the first Congo war erupted, led by a
rebellion backed by regular troops from several neighbouring countries,
particularly Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The second Congo war that took place from 1998 until
2003 involved a dozen armies from the region, 30 armed groups and two main
rebellions: one in the east supported by Rwanda and another in the north backed
by Uganda.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Doctor Mukwege, director of
the Panzi hospital that cares for women raped in South Kivu, managed to survive
an attack by assailants targeting his home in October 2012</span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714217483042127098.post-10836697106181669172020-08-21T13:08:00.001-07:002020-08-21T13:08:30.619-07:00Libya's warring rivals announce ceasefire<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/libyas-warring-rivals-announce-ceasefire-121107052.html" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>, Rim Taher, August 21, 2020</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIFrMdDw2gDZ5ik_nsiD1MNj7fGzSm8c9TU-p0kmew5-wDhjlF0O2S-mQS-Bya4TZUGousLTt7VMrLpSvLNbdlGp_ZitJbhzHZZ8GB8l_W2LST8R_W676eTj3QyWTW8VEWmX0bQbvca8A/s1600/54d5bb43265cb66fc44a9d92dbafc51c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="498" data-original-width="768" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIFrMdDw2gDZ5ik_nsiD1MNj7fGzSm8c9TU-p0kmew5-wDhjlF0O2S-mQS-Bya4TZUGousLTt7VMrLpSvLNbdlGp_ZitJbhzHZZ8GB8l_W2LST8R_W676eTj3QyWTW8VEWmX0bQbvca8A/s400/54d5bb43265cb66fc44a9d92dbafc51c.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Fighters loyal to Libya's UN-recognised unity government secure the Abu Qurain <br />area last month, half-way between the countries' rival power centres, the capital <br />Tripoli in the west and second city Benghazi in the east</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Libya's warring rival administrations announced
separately on Friday that they would cease all hostilities and hold nationwide
elections, drawing praise from the UN, the EU and several Arab countries.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The surprise announcement followed multiple visits by
top foreign diplomats to Libya in recent weeks, and came after a series of
agreements and pledges that, however, have failed to be implemented.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Friday's statements were signed by Fayez al-Sarraj,
head of the UN-recognised unity Government of National Accord (GNA), based in
the capital Tripoli, and Aguila Saleh, speaker of the eastern-based parliament
backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The UN's top official to Libya, Stephanie Williams,
welcomed the move and called for "all parties to rise to this historic
occasion and shoulder their full responsibilities before the Libyan
people".<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">European Union diplomatic chief Josep Borrell hailed
an "important and positive" initiative, adding it was "crucial
now that all parties stand by their statements".<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sarraj called for "presidential and parliamentary
elections next March", and for the "end of all combat
operations". <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Saleh also backed elections -- though he did not
specify a date -- and urged "all parties" to observe "an
immediate ceasefire and the cessation of all fighting."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Both leaders called for the resumption of the
production and export of oil, a cornerstone of Libya's wealth.</span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>'Important step'</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who backs
Haftar and had threatened to deploy troops in neighbouring Libya, said he
supported the ceasefire declarations.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"I welcome statements by Libya's presidential
council and the House of Representatives calling for a ceasefire," Sisi
said in a tweet.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Libya's former colonial power Italy also welcomed the
move, as did France, Germany, the Arab League, Qatar and Jordan.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyc3ijCCquv5y-thsEKNy1vPKZzpSLUb91td7h6Kv-zNInWum4TB55MnW2WqHar1tK3L8f6xrc3RIh3Gz8ZQsDmJYYtpjyh9IV8avqUtcuX-LPJTkY1EMDcJje6x4Ql6UCxyzLeYSA2iI/s1600/148d584c582928610d2a7ac4d4701350.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="695" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyc3ijCCquv5y-thsEKNy1vPKZzpSLUb91td7h6Kv-zNInWum4TB55MnW2WqHar1tK3L8f6xrc3RIh3Gz8ZQsDmJYYtpjyh9IV8avqUtcuX-LPJTkY1EMDcJje6x4Ql6UCxyzLeYSA2iI/s400/148d584c582928610d2a7ac4d4701350.jpg" width="358" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Fighting forces in Libya</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"The announcement of the ceasefire in Libya is an
important step in the relaunching of a political process that will promote the
stability of the country and the welfare of the people," Italian Prime
Minister Giuseppe Conte said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The French foreign ministry said the ceasefire
announcements "must be realised on the ground" and called for an end
to all foreign interference in Libya.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Libya has been torn by violence since the 2011
toppling and killing of longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi in a NATO-backed
uprising.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Since then, the North African country has become a
battle ground for tribal militias, jihadists and mercenaries and a major
gateway for desperate migrants bound for Europe.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In April last year, Haftar launched an offensive to
seize Tripoli from the GNA, and foreign powers intervened alongside the rivals'
forces.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Turkey and Qatar backed the GNA, while the United Arab
Emirates, Egypt and Russia support Haftar, who is also suspected of receiving
French backing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Paris has however insisted it is neutral in the
conflict, and President Emmanuel Macron has lashed out at Turkey for its
military intervention on the side of the GNA.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After 14 months of fierce fighting, Turkish-backed
pro-GNA forces expelled Haftar's troops from much of western Libya and pushed
them eastwards to Sirte.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The central Mediterranean coastal city, home town of
Kadhafi, is the gateway to Libya's eastern oil fields and export terminals, and
to the key Al-Jufra airbase to the south.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sarraj said a ceasefire would allow the creation of
"demilitarised zones" in Sirte and the Al-Jufra region, currently under
the control of pro-Haftar forces.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Saleh did not mention the demilitarisation zones, but
proposed the installation of a new government in Sirte.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Difficult to implement</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) also welcomed
Friday's announcement.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Libya sits atop Africa's largest proven crude oil
reserves, and earnings from its lucrative oil fields have been a source of
intense disagreement between the two sides, including a months-long blockade of
oil terminals.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"NOC reiterates its call for all oil facilities
to be freed from military occupation to ensure the security and safety of its
workers," the state oil producer said in a statement.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Once this has been done, NOC should be able
to... re-commence oil export operations."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">International pressure has sought to bring Libya's
rival leaders to an agreement several times in past years, but has failed to
secure a lasting peace.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Analyst Jalel Harchaoui, research fellow at The
Hague-based Clingendael Institute, said there was a long road ahead before peace.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"The question is, is this announcement fully
achievable? In all likelihood, implementation will be difficult," said
Harchaoui, noting the multiple regional forces who could act as spoilers of a
deal.</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714217483042127098.post-50133033457082370052020-08-19T12:41:00.003-07:002020-08-19T12:41:30.210-07:00Mali coup leaves ex-colonial power France in a bind<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.france24.com/en/20200819-mali-coup-leaves-ex-colonial-power-france-in-a-bind" target="_blank">France24 – AFP</a>, 19 August 2020</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfoUyWGFwR-T_UGU5_qN7pvA8dZnM_dOc7jlK1KoiwEHEbjx5lZ7zXQCjm44eUWF43dlo4rGVMOZjbhFs8Nv4lw0cBRNlOzlZClf_08kGhcakHD-wuczGBQdZX4oEkhOZbAFmoCSswb_w/s1600/29f034e199dbe11463053ca6516a82d6c0ce42b0.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="551" data-original-width="980" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfoUyWGFwR-T_UGU5_qN7pvA8dZnM_dOc7jlK1KoiwEHEbjx5lZ7zXQCjm44eUWF43dlo4rGVMOZjbhFs8Nv4lw0cBRNlOzlZClf_08kGhcakHD-wuczGBQdZX4oEkhOZbAFmoCSswb_w/s400/29f034e199dbe11463053ca6516a82d6c0ce42b0.webp" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The Mali soldiers leading the coup insist that peace is their priority and have <br />promised to stage elections within a "reasonable" timeframe ANNIE RISEMBERG AFP</span></span></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Paris (AFP) - </span></span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Mali's military coup presents former colonial power
France with a diplomatic nightmare, having invested considerable military and
political capital in a regional anti-jihadist campaign now in peril.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Tuesday's post-coup resignation of President Ibrahim
Boubacar Keita following weeks of civil protest against his perceived corrupt
and inept rule, has robbed Paris of a key ally in the Sahel where France has --
sometimes unpopularly -- been routing jihadists since 2013.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The military campaign, spearheaded by France's
5,000-plus Barkhane force in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Mauritania and Chad,
seeks in the end to bring stability to the conflict- and poverty-ridden region,
allowing governments to strengthen institutions and focus on much-needed
development.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But now, France faces having to work with a regime
born out of Tuesday's coup d'etat against Keita, often referred to as IBK.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"The challenge will be for France to walk a
delicate line. It has to condemn the coup. It also has to work with the new
leaders," said Michael Shurkin of the California-based RAND Corporation
policy think-tank.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"It (France) needs a good outcome, but it has to
be extremely careful about influencing the outcome," he told AFP.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Paris issued a condemnation after initial reports of
an army mutiny in Mali, but has yet to explicitly denounce the toppling of
Keita claimed by coup leaders.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On Wednesday, the French presidency said, "We
must deal with the reality of a complicated political situation that has lasted
for months...<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"We must focus on the return of civilian power
and rule of law, with another priority: not to lose the commitment to the fight
against terrorism."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Initially expected to last a few weeks, the French
Sahel military intervention has been running for seven years at a cost of some
$1 billion annually, according to the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The force has chalked up some wins, but jihadists have
continued deadly attacks and 44 French troops have lost their lives in what
some have called "France's forever war".<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The presence of French boots on the ground has become
increasingly unpopular and thousands have protested in Mali and Burkina Faso
against what they term "forces of occupation".<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Shrugging off the pleas of the international
community, Malian soldiers on Tuesday detained the president, prime minister,
cabinet ministers and other government officials.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Better to come?</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The leaders of the coup condemned by the EU, UN,
African Union and regional grouping ECOWAS, insisted that "peace in Mali
is our priority" and promised to stage elections within a "reasonable
time".<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"The junta... does not want to alienate the
support of the international community, including Barkhane," tweeted Yvan
Guichaoua, a researcher at the University of Kent's Brussels School of
International Studies.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"The objective seemingly was mainly to eject IBK
and his allies from power."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">France itself has been doubtful about Keita's ability
to improve security and governance in Mali, say analysts.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And Shurkin believes the coup "could
theoretically work out for the best if it yields a government that functions
better and that can lay claim to greater legitimacy.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"It has to be acknowledged that things weren’t
going well before the coup; Mali under IBK was making little if any progress,
which meant that the success of French strategy was questionable anyway,"
he said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the short term, however, French diplomats and
military leaders face an uphill battle.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"In a way, it's back to square one," said
Jean-Herve Jezequel, Sahel specialist at the International Crisis Group in
Brussels.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Eight years of effort, investment, presence to
basically return to the situation of Mali at the time of the 2012 coup, with a
confused situation in Bamako, more violent armed insurrections and increased
inter-communal violence."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Change in approach</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Military historian Michel Goya predicted a political
imbroglio that will last for months.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"For the French military, this makes things more
complicated. Operations can continue, they can be run independently, but
cooperation with the Malian forces will likely be stopped. And armed groups may
try to take advantage of the situation to expand their action," he said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">France is also likely to see new reticence from
European partners it had been trying to convince to enlarge military operations
in Sahel, notably a European special forces group dubbed Takuba and the
so-called G5 Sahel, an under-resourced force of regional soldiers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There will be "a slowdown of major projects while
we wait for the dust to settle and are focused on the nature of the new power
to be installed in Bamako," said Elie Tenenbaum, a researcher at the
French Institute for International Relations.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For Shurkin, an extended transition period, or one
that yields more of the same, "would be terrible for France and Mali
alike".<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Maybe, just maybe, there will be a relatively
quick transition that yields a stronger Mali, one that will meet the
requirements of French strategy," he added.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For Jezequel, this was also a chance for France, the
Sahel states and other partners to question their approach to providing
security aid to the region.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"We cannot sustainably secure a space without
changing the forms of governance that manage it," he said.</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714217483042127098.post-50996469993228315732020-08-16T12:55:00.000-07:002020-08-16T13:14:17.616-07:00Israel and UAE to normalise ties in 'historic' US-brokered deal<a href="https://news.yahoo.com/israel-uae-normalise-ties-historic-164606156.html" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, Mohamad Ali Harissi and Sarah Stewart, August
13, 2020</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhumiC9U9lKX3gzztkk843Z0ZjHYIKzZMuPHK-Q9YjYUiD4suk13oftvTKxBGmdM6Chn6E5qWin1Efkzhc_rhdITra6gVRvLe_UuwMZeR0JSiXswK9zX_YHvyV-Qi79IcndiSiMs6YuxW0/s1600/45cc433c004227e38a0c316e1f711ea5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="268" data-original-width="768" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhumiC9U9lKX3gzztkk843Z0ZjHYIKzZMuPHK-Q9YjYUiD4suk13oftvTKxBGmdM6Chn6E5qWin1Efkzhc_rhdITra6gVRvLe_UuwMZeR0JSiXswK9zX_YHvyV-Qi79IcndiSiMs6YuxW0/s400/45cc433c004227e38a0c316e1f711ea5.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Dubai's Burj Khalifa, the tallest structure in the world, and a symbol of the oil-rich UAE</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Israel and the UAE agreed Thursday to normalise ties
in a landmark US-brokered deal, only the third such accord the Jewish state has
struck with an Arab nation, in which it pledged to suspend annexation of
Palestinian lands.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The bombshell news was broken by US President Donald
Trump, in a tweet hailing a "HUGE breakthrough" and a "Historic
Peace Agreement between our two GREAT friends".<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Establishing diplomatic ties between Israel and
Washington's Middle East allies, including the oil-rich Gulf monarchies, has
been central to Trump's regional strategy to contain Iran, also an arch-foe of
Israel.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was
a "historic day" and would launch a "new era" for the Arab
world and Israel.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2-98Xk3Ab_mzDkVBAvz1k_5uLw7dTmRi3_-IvYNElxcuDpd5LnO7qj_pKnrxdGmIGYrRN1XsY00gNhHxwQhIuq88g5Zbz6GRfQkibvn-aZinKNuZPrlWhc6WxoghR4Ubn2qry4PL3HTU/s1600/e1114689b729ea2f60b3d3001005a388.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2-98Xk3Ab_mzDkVBAvz1k_5uLw7dTmRi3_-IvYNElxcuDpd5LnO7qj_pKnrxdGmIGYrRN1XsY00gNhHxwQhIuq88g5Zbz6GRfQkibvn-aZinKNuZPrlWhc6WxoghR4Ubn2qry4PL3HTU/s400/e1114689b729ea2f60b3d3001005a388.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">US President Donald Trump announced the agreement
between the United </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Arab Emirates and Israel to normalize diplomatic ties</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Palestinians strongly rejected the deal, calling
it a "betrayal" of their cause, including their claim to Jerusalem as
the capital of their future state.</span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">They also announced they were withdrawing their
ambassador from the Emirates, and demanded an emergency Arab League meeting.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which runs the
coastal Gaza Strip, quickly said the agreement "does not serve the
Palestinian cause". <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A joint statement by Trump, Netanyahu and UAE's leader
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan announced that they had "agreed to the
full normalisation of relations between Israel and the United Arab
Emirates".<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It added that Israel would "suspend declaring
sovereignty" over occupied Palestinian West Bank areas -- an idea proposed
in Trump's controversial earlier plan to resolve the conflict.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiftHklF5YhZN082wJPLCQ-_r-z6yRi6-9R4TcB4pe_4gm1VxV_4ffrnzsdXYvIPEdO8K2y1ZvX_RTwzGasdTJjh7iT6ShDGcqktC0lA9qvoJKT6XZBOrvNeaI17h1KnCWXtpO2W5uaMRU/s1600/067a2ec03dc20f0abbe4bbaadb7ac11b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="502" data-original-width="768" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiftHklF5YhZN082wJPLCQ-_r-z6yRi6-9R4TcB4pe_4gm1VxV_4ffrnzsdXYvIPEdO8K2y1ZvX_RTwzGasdTJjh7iT6ShDGcqktC0lA9qvoJKT6XZBOrvNeaI17h1KnCWXtpO2W5uaMRU/s400/067a2ec03dc20f0abbe4bbaadb7ac11b.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was
a "historic day" and </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">represented a "new era" for the Arab
world and Israel</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sheikh Mohamed quickly stressed in a tweet that
"during a call with President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu, an
agreement was reached to stop further Israeli annexation of Palestinian
territories".</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But Netanyahu said shortly afterwards in a national
television address that he had only agreed to delay, not cancel, the
annexations, that the plans remained "on the table" and that he would
"never give up our rights to our land".<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The controversial Trump plan, unveiled in January, had
offered a path for Israel to annex territory and Jewish West Bank settlements,
communities considered illegal under international law.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Palestinians rejected it outright as biased and
untenable, as did Israel's Arab neighbours, and it sparked fears of further
escalation in a tense region.</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPkTP5MfCeNP5dYI4Z7aRHOzFatz5ElfNT1BinOEGpmQN6uz2nJX9l6_5CT5NmUEu0wHk24rJFVqXyYhoid4VJIleuvTZVLS9ACKnzke2qDXT_pF17kQZCuTR4BxefL8NIjzEQdjHR22I/s1600/6b11e5dabb664752850a96490be9a8ff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="517" data-original-width="768" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPkTP5MfCeNP5dYI4Z7aRHOzFatz5ElfNT1BinOEGpmQN6uz2nJX9l6_5CT5NmUEu0wHk24rJFVqXyYhoid4VJIleuvTZVLS9ACKnzke2qDXT_pF17kQZCuTR4BxefL8NIjzEQdjHR22I/s400/6b11e5dabb664752850a96490be9a8ff.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Protestors confront Israeli forces as a structure
serving as a home to a </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Palestinian family is demolished in the southern West
Bank on August 11<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>'Things are happening'</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Israel has had difficult relations and several wars
with its Muslim and Arab neighbours since its founding in 1948, with most
states ruling out relations until the Israeli-Palestinian dispute is resolved.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thursday's deal would make the UAE only the third Arab
country to establish formal diplomatic ties with Israel, after its peace deals
with former enemies Egypt and Jordan.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt, which signed
a treaty with Israel in 1979 to opposition from across the Arab world, praised
the deal on "the halt of Israel's annexation of Palestinian land," and
said he hoped it would bring "peace".<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The deal marks a major foreign policy achievement for
Trump as he heads into a difficult campaign for re-election in November.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQIkdbwa1vJgP5jM2sgdTZK8PI72d_o843baARvx8JYZhRpyG0EVcLiTRl8HY1YqijiYXwG5ODy-GnuZjvC3-frhkT5WARBkHTgOwek8y7Co9xysz3aGy5_4rRZLOTmaVIvWLgLxPbCBA/s1600/7a2ddd9f9771c3fa6c8454b2e8900d71.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="486" data-original-width="768" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQIkdbwa1vJgP5jM2sgdTZK8PI72d_o843baARvx8JYZhRpyG0EVcLiTRl8HY1YqijiYXwG5ODy-GnuZjvC3-frhkT5WARBkHTgOwek8y7Co9xysz3aGy5_4rRZLOTmaVIvWLgLxPbCBA/s400/7a2ddd9f9771c3fa6c8454b2e8900d71.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The city hall in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv
is lit up in the colours of</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">the United Arab Emirates national flag<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">His presumptive Democratic challenger for the
presidency Joe Biden welcomed the "historic" agreement and called the
UAE's move a "badly-needed act of statesmanship".</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Trump hinted to reporters that more diplomatic
breakthroughs between Israel and Arab countries in the region were expected,
but gave no further details.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Things are happening that I can't talk
about," he said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo described it as
"a historic day and a significant step forward for peace in the Middle
East".<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"The United States hopes that this brave step
will be the first in a series of agreements that ends 72 years of hostilities
in the region," Pompeo said, adding that the formal agreement would be
signed at the White House at a future date.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvAQqUqjKphUnAw9x-dlUx9CRPdmo4nH16Gi9s0mHLSowmNKmnnJiczgIeiI2zNNknl_ZMGnMkB6tFStPJ7kwNHmvnN9Tpv3tgFMf-koqo46o1Uc95qAR1G0sS0HXUpZ6c-mqXF9G133M/s1600/ab778f44c4789c1209ee912c834f7e1e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="511" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvAQqUqjKphUnAw9x-dlUx9CRPdmo4nH16Gi9s0mHLSowmNKmnnJiczgIeiI2zNNknl_ZMGnMkB6tFStPJ7kwNHmvnN9Tpv3tgFMf-koqo46o1Uc95qAR1G0sS0HXUpZ6c-mqXF9G133M/s400/ab778f44c4789c1209ee912c834f7e1e.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Dubai's Burj Khalifa, the tallest structure in the
world, and a symbol of the oil-rich UAE<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign
Relations, told AFP the deal was "a milestone in Arab acceptance of Israel
in the region".<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was also be "a brake on annexation, which
would jeopardise Israel's peace with Jordan and Israel's own future as a
Jewish, democratic state", he said.</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>'Annexation trap'</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Israeli and UAE delegations will meet in the coming
weeks to discuss investment, tourism, direct flights, security and the
establishment of embassies, they said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The trio were confident of further similar deals with
other countries, their statement added.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwm4SU-yad6X7rTHNhay90-Le-Q7lsFAowtHNR9YokpzX8tHLjrHFHjiKMI81axBTgvFhAT5fjjhQF5ZFvokiHOSSc_-cyndKKXVcEp3FGciGnX7W87ofSf3Z2FfmHqA1hlz-Nrau47Q4/s1600/8c71c5a69edc99fb377d8389c597aca1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="536" data-original-width="768" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwm4SU-yad6X7rTHNhay90-Le-Q7lsFAowtHNR9YokpzX8tHLjrHFHjiKMI81axBTgvFhAT5fjjhQF5ZFvokiHOSSc_-cyndKKXVcEp3FGciGnX7W87ofSf3Z2FfmHqA1hlz-Nrau47Q4/s400/8c71c5a69edc99fb377d8389c597aca1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Israeli and UAE delegations will meet in the coming
weeks to discuss investment,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">tourism, direct flights, security and the
establishment of reciprocal embassies<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The UAE's minister of state for foreign affairs Anwar
Gargash told a media briefing that "most countries will see this as a bold
step to secure a two-state solution, allowing time for negotiations".<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hours after the deal was announced, the Emirati flag was
projected onto Tel Aviv's town hall.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Aaron David Miller, a veteran US negotiator on the
Middle East peace process and analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for
International Peace, called the deal a "win for all". <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"(The) UAE says it's prevented annexation; US
prevents annexation too and gets big breakthrough and Netanyahu gets enormous
win and off hook from the annexation trap," he tweeted.</span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; orphans: 2; padding: 6px; text-align: center; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin: 0px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ6vptL53egjIOD_uCJU5r_52tb2qjuZP9tUAmAlAM-mpUSBxHwFiab7KSENuMHfDW-R4m9HHgFRQXSGtLjGjClQwUVrqYAPubL6XAv65SDkZ9UVebLvcm5joMu-_nhyphenhyphenjeoFTNYCVD7LWm/s1600/Religious-leaders-at-the--011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ6vptL53egjIOD_uCJU5r_52tb2qjuZP9tUAmAlAM-mpUSBxHwFiab7KSENuMHfDW-R4m9HHgFRQXSGtLjGjClQwUVrqYAPubL6XAv65SDkZ9UVebLvcm5joMu-_nhyphenhyphenjeoFTNYCVD7LWm/s1600/Religious-leaders-at-the--011.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="400" /></a></div>
</td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; padding-top: 4px;"><div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Pope Francis and other religious leaders at the Vatican. Photograph: AP</span></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.kryon.com/cartprodimages/download_Seattle_10.html" target="_blank">"The End of History" – Nov 20, 2010 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll)</a> </span></b></span></b><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Subjects: <b>Abraham, Isaac, Ishmael, Muhammad, Jesus, God, Jews, Arabs</b>, EU, US, <b>Israel, </b>Iran, Russia, Africa, South America, Global Unity,..... etc.) (<a href="http://www.kryon.com/k_channel10_seattle.html" target="_blank">Text version</a>)</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><b><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><i>" ....</i>. </span></span></span></b></span>Abraham, Father of the Jews</b></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I want to honor <b>Abraham</b> [Abram], born in Ur, which is now part of modern Iraq, and I want to honor his sons, not all born of Sara. The one I wish to speak of is Ishmael. <b>Abraham</b> is Jewish... the great Jewish prophet. Ishmael is his son. There's no way that you could say Ishmael was not Jewish, and he is even to this day. Ishmael was born in Hebron. So in addition, he is very Israeli. Ishmael is a Jew.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now some would argue, due to how the Jewish lineage is computed by men [mother's side]. But Spirit looks at the DNA and the Akashic lineage, so spiritually, Ishmael is a Jew. He came in to be part of the lineage of the Jews.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He fell from favor even with the Jewish people early on for political reasons. Then Ishmael went on to become that which is the ancestor of all Arabs... the father of Arabia. Therefore, you could say that the Arabs are with Jewish blood, that of <b>Abraham</b> flowing through them. But early on, the Jews cast Ishmael out. So although you have the one God and monotheism, and you have the principle of the love of God and the unity of God, there was a split. The truth was mixed with untruths and, even to this day, there would be a billion Human Beings who would say it was Ishmael and not Isaac who was almost sacrificed at the Temple Mount. They would also say that he is not a Jew.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So what is the truth here? Human Beings were not</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">built</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">to unify. In an older energy on the planet from those days, and even the days that you were born in, the energy laid upon you is for you to separate, not unify. And that is why we call it the</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">old energy</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">. Oh, they were wise men and women who knew better, but it is the old energy that separates and divides, and it is the old energy that has created the divisions of hatred within millions of those who are actually "all Jews."</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Muhammad's Beautiful Message of Unity</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Let me tell you about Muhammad, the prophet. Muhammad is of the lineage of Ishmael, who is of the lineage of Abraham. Therefore, Muhammad had Jewish blood, so that was his lineage but not necessarily his culture. But his Akashic lineage was from Abraham. [Abraham is the founder of Islam, according to the Quran.]</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Muhammad had a beautiful meeting, more than one, with an angelic presence. The angels talked to humanity back then in basic 3D ways. But how many of you have put together that most of the angels in that time who spoke to Human Beings talked to those of Jewish lineage? Like Muhammad, like Moses, like Jesus, like <b>Abraham</b>. For this was part of a set-up of history, part of what makes the Jewish lineage important to the core Akash of humanity, and we have spoken before, "As go the Jews, go Earth." Indeed, there is something there to look at which is important, and it is going to change soon. For in our eyes, the "Jews" are all those in the Middle East.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Muhammad's information from the angel was this:</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Unify the Arabs and give them the God of Israel."</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And he did! The information he had was beautiful and was written down later for his followers. It was all about the incredible love of God and the unity of man. Muhammad the prophet was a unifier, not a separatist.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Long before Muhammad, there came Jesus - Jesus the Jew. He became responsible for what you would call Christianity today. All of his disciples were Jewish. The Rock, Peter the fisherman, who started the Christian church, was Jewish. And we tell you these things to remind you that there's a unity here. Perhaps there is a reason, dear ones, why the 12 layers of DNA have Hebrew names? Indeed, it's in honor of the masters and the lineage, including that of Muhammad, of Ishmael, of Isaac, of <b>Abraham</b> and of Jesus. All of them, part of the</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">original spiritual language</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[Hebrew].</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Oh," you might say,</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"there was Sumerian and before that there was Lemurian. There was Sanskrit and Tamil, and many other older languages."</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Correct, but we're speaking of a language of today - one that you can relate to, that has power, and that is spoken today by the pure lineage of the masters who walked the planet.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>So what did humanity do with all this? What did they do with all this sacred information from these Jewish masters? They went to war, because Humans separate things. They don't put them together. So here we are with one beautiful God, creator of all there is, and millions who believe that very thing, yet they are going to war with each other over ideology about what God said, which prophet was best, and which group is in God's favor. That's ancient history, thousands of years old. But it shows exactly what the old energy is all about.</b></span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> ...</b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"</span></div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714217483042127098.post-57747439474805974212020-08-15T13:50:00.000-07:002020-08-15T13:51:59.160-07:00Master KG - Jerusalema [Feat. Nomcebo] (Official Music Video)<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="275" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fCZVL_8D048" width="450"></iframe>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="275" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/613A9d6Doac" width="450"></iframe></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714217483042127098.post-74039478154770646672020-08-06T13:08:00.002-07:002020-08-06T13:08:26.148-07:00Emergency aid lands in Lebanon as world offers support<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://sg.news.yahoo.com/world-offers-support-condolences-lebanon-devastating-blasts-201318200.html" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>, 5 August 2020</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY8yDvxK8HGtuhXG2k5xcREnHJK_OfbPSiqljKQpF4iTJQOuwc-6leqKzgkojjo0sd2aOA-QHuYyt14bGd9P-CBvYP2QwavFntQAzfRJmYxL5hZ4uu9n1NiSFevh4_v69Bm3bZU4r1mF0/s1600/4a0fbb578992f151795b29487f285de855ab5f6e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="505" data-original-width="768" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY8yDvxK8HGtuhXG2k5xcREnHJK_OfbPSiqljKQpF4iTJQOuwc-6leqKzgkojjo0sd2aOA-QHuYyt14bGd9P-CBvYP2QwavFntQAzfRJmYxL5hZ4uu9n1NiSFevh4_v69Bm3bZU4r1mF0/s400/4a0fbb578992f151795b29487f285de855ab5f6e.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Workers in Qatar load a field hospital onto a flight for Beirut to help Lebanon's already <br />stretched health services treat the more than 4,000 people injured in Tuesday's<br />monster blast</span></span></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Emergency medical aid and pop-up field hospitals were
dispatched to Lebanon Wednesday along with rescue experts and tracking dogs, as
the world reached out to the victims of the explosion that devastated Beirut.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The blast centred on the city's port caused massive
destruction and killed at least 113 people, heaping misery on a country already
in crisis.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Gulf states were among the first to respond, with
Qatar sending mobile hospitals to ease pressure on Lebanon's medical system,
already strained by the coronavirus pandemic.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A Qatari air force plane with a cargo of hundreds of
collapsible beds, generators and burn sheets touched down in Beirut in the
first of a convoy of flights to the Mediterranean country.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Medical supplies from Kuwait also arrived, as the
Lebanese Red Cross said more than 4,000 people were being treated for injuries
after the explosion, which sent glass shards and debris flying.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A Greek C-130 army transport plane bearing a dozen rescuers
landed at Beirut's airport, itself damaged in the catastrophic explosion.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Lebanon's Prime Minister Hassan Diab has called on
"friendly countries" to support a nation already reeling from its
worst economic crisis in decades as well as the impact of the coronavirus.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As emergency crews hauled survivors from the rubble of
demolished buildings, France said it was sending search and rescue experts
aboard three military planes loaded with a mobile clinic and tonnes of medical
and sanitary supplies.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">President Emmanuel Macron is to travel to Lebanon on
Thursday, becoming the first world leader to visit Beirut after the disaster,
as France seeks to swiftly push reconstruction in its former colony.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuIhK8WoSbaH_XlvcVNkICe9IBlhkmPDJRCtveTVL6OLiNxvfKPJrnoOshJBm2R3CwlTKlSiUOIv-MYHdLElGqzFHceM5a97dOFQgM5t8tVA5tLPVnch_LPJ_CcwqUmbNzixv-Hv6abpE/s1600/84afe2c0fe6ee1a71a4277f9dcb6f03cbbe3965c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuIhK8WoSbaH_XlvcVNkICe9IBlhkmPDJRCtveTVL6OLiNxvfKPJrnoOshJBm2R3CwlTKlSiUOIv-MYHdLElGqzFHceM5a97dOFQgM5t8tVA5tLPVnch_LPJ_CcwqUmbNzixv-Hv6abpE/s400/84afe2c0fe6ee1a71a4277f9dcb6f03cbbe3965c.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">French Securite Civile (Civil Security) officers at
Roissy airport, near Paris, stand `</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">ready as France sends three planes with
search and rescue personnel and medical </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">equipment to Beirut</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"France is at the side of Lebanon. Always,"
Macron tweeted in Arabic.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cyprus -- which lies just 150 miles (240 kilometres)
to the northwest and where Tuesday's blast were both heard and sighted -- said
it was sending eight police tracking dogs and their handlers aboard two
helicopters, to help in the search for victims trapped under rubble.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Tunisia offered to send medical teams to collect 100
wounded people and evacuate them for treatment, as well as sending in two
military transporters carrying food and medical aid.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">From Europe, authorities in the Netherlands, Czech
Republic and Poland offered an array of assistance including doctors, police
and firefighters, together with rescue experts and sniffer dogs.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said Tehran stood
"ready to offer medical and medicinal aid and help treat the
injured", and Jordan's King Abdullah II also promised to dispatch a field
hospital.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The United Arab Emirates sent 30 tonnes of medicines,
medical supplies and surgical equipment.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>'Stay strong, Lebanon'</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The World Health Organization said it was dispatching
trauma and surgical kits from its base in Dubai after what it called a
"shocking event" that comes at a "particularly difficult time in
Lebanon".<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"As you've seen, many hospitals are overwhelmed
with casualties and people are still looking for the injured and the dead, so
it's a very sad day," the UN agency's emergencies director Michael Ryan
told an online session.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Close allies and traditional adversaries of Lebanon
alike sent their condolences, with Iran and Saudi Arabia -- long rivals for
influence over the country -- both sending messages of support.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4UqsfPwuCZF0M9ldxeVTXY1pR9GnB8fuMBLHyILZFtzWn4Mnc2b7hyQdtuGMjqbJRYdLt-5_onZ6tEfGgTxlb9k93BH3NEf8nH1ezZPXDNgomMoh0bTcVvWBIQMj42wtz4SenYyNEjck/s1600/13d99bf0f6715102e023a34a217247bc8d45957f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="526" data-original-width="768" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4UqsfPwuCZF0M9ldxeVTXY1pR9GnB8fuMBLHyILZFtzWn4Mnc2b7hyQdtuGMjqbJRYdLt-5_onZ6tEfGgTxlb9k93BH3NEf8nH1ezZPXDNgomMoh0bTcVvWBIQMj42wtz4SenYyNEjck/s400/13d99bf0f6715102e023a34a217247bc8d45957f.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A member of Qatar's security forces organises boxes to
be loaded into a plane as</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> the Gulf country sends field hospitals and medical
aid to Lebanon from an airbase </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">near Doha<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Our thoughts and prayers are with the great and
resilient people of Lebanon," Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad
Zarif tweeted.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Stay strong, Lebanon."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Saudi Arabia said it was following the situation with
"great concern".<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Unusually, neighbouring Israel offered humanitarian
aid -- to a country with which it is still technically at war -- via
international intermediaries.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Lebanon's flag was to be projected onto Tel Aviv's
city hall later Wednesday, in Israel's latest gesture.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">United Nations chief Antonio Guterres expressed his
"deepest condolences... following the horrific explosions in Beirut,"
which also injured some UN personnel.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">US President Donald Trump, who said it looked like
"a terrible attack", without giving any evidence, said: "Our
prayers go out to all the victims and their families... The United States
stands ready to assist Lebanon."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the
pictures and videos from Beirut "shocking".<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And Pope Francis offered prayers for the victims and
their families so that they might "face this extremely tragic and painful
moment and, with the help of the international community, overcome the grave
crisis they are experiencing".</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714217483042127098.post-39554997657115905032020-08-02T13:12:00.001-07:002020-08-02T13:15:47.709-07:00Egypt grapples with women's freedoms online as #MeToo re-emerges<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/egypt-grapples-womens-freedoms-online-metoo-emerges-105948999.html" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>, Farid Farid, Aug 2, 2020</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSpg5uu7ON7UBTC7qWrSL11AqwhONvyh8kKkv6Wmi_DpHFPYp28szQH6OzS59aTsCb6voATRiRn1E3VIXhtFmgh0t2JUZIeBpq0jSDAuXkMZvp7N7kTUN9VgnxJqC93PpwcLC0cMKIDmo/s1600/01205af98c578dc57f3f99351333d2addb30d5e9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="768" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSpg5uu7ON7UBTC7qWrSL11AqwhONvyh8kKkv6Wmi_DpHFPYp28szQH6OzS59aTsCb6voATRiRn1E3VIXhtFmgh0t2JUZIeBpq0jSDAuXkMZvp7N7kTUN9VgnxJqC93PpwcLC0cMKIDmo/s400/01205af98c578dc57f3f99351333d2addb30d5e9.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Haneen Hossam (left) and Mowada al-Adham (right) were among those sentenced <br />to jail in Egypt this week over content posted to TikTok (AFP Photo/Khaled DESOUKI)</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cairo (AFP) - Social media has become a new and
dangerous battleground for women's rights in Egypt after young TikTok
influencers were jailed while a resurgent #MeToo movement decried male sexual
violence.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Last Monday, a court sentenced five female social
media influencers, Haneen Hossam, Mowada al-Adham and three others, to two
years in jail each on charges of violating public morals over content posted to
video-sharing app TikTok.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">International digital rights group Access Now
described them as "all women, all young, all exercising their right to
freedom of expression online".<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Just two days later, a court sentenced another young
social media influencer, Manar Samy, to three years in prison over TikTok videos,
deeming the clips in which she dances and lip-syncs to popular songs to be
"inciting debauchery".<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Many in the deeply conservative country have cheered
on the arrests, as traditional social values clash with online content seen as
racy and sexually suggestive.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"The Egyptian government is on a campaign to
arrest and prosecute women influencers on... TikTok for violating 'the values
of the Egyptian family' and 'inciting debauchery and immorality,'" Access
Now said in a statement.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Egyptian authorities "not only want to
control what citizens say, but also how they should dress, talk, and behave
online," said Marwa Fatafta, the group's Middle East and North Africa
policy manager.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Qe1KNeXKms088G2vnsNbpEwRLTeQHJkNsdCjNHvFR_o2EuoDbxIpiIU4uMbMPyx74I3_C6ZEI77aWKgAC9t4ktwLtfuDZvcHG17l69RUCqOSjr5BBtezc9BapiWEoHkXb73gyhlR67c/s1600/5d29635016d2a2fbaf5b9a9e5e9fc3b5b7e8600c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Qe1KNeXKms088G2vnsNbpEwRLTeQHJkNsdCjNHvFR_o2EuoDbxIpiIU4uMbMPyx74I3_C6ZEI77aWKgAC9t4ktwLtfuDZvcHG17l69RUCqOSjr5BBtezc9BapiWEoHkXb73gyhlR67c/s400/5d29635016d2a2fbaf5b9a9e5e9fc3b5b7e8600c.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Young women posting testimonials about sexual
misconduct led to the arrest of </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Ahmed Bassam Zaki, 22, a former student of some
of Egypt's most elite schools </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">and universities (AFP Photo/Khaled DESOUKI)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>'Stronghold on the internet'</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Egypt has in recent years enforced strict internet
controls as it walks a tight line between balancing the Islamic law that shapes
its governance and adapting to a rapidly shifting society with a penchant for
social media content.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Stringent laws were approved in 2018 allowing
authorities to block websites seen as a threat to national security and to
monitor personal social media accounts with over 5,000 followers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"In the past, the Egyptian regime tightened its
stronghold on the internet... Now, the online repression extends to
non-political activity too," said Fatafta.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The six jailed women combined have millions of
followers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hossam was arrested after posting a clip saying that
girls could make money by working with her, a message that was interpreted as a
call for prostitution, while Adham had posted satirical videos on TikTok and
Instagram.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Aside from being a virtual battleground of competing
interpretations of morality, social media has also empowered young Egyptian
women to speak up about sexual assault, sometimes with negative consequences.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In May, a shocking video came to light of a young
woman sobbing, her face battered and bruised.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Menna Abdel-Aziz, 17, posted an Instagram video in
which she said she had been gang raped by a group of young men.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The authorities' response was swift: the six alleged
attackers were arrested -- but so was Abdel-Aziz. All were charged with
"promoting debauchery".</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP92pDJ5WvkrEnRXHGtfSDHIV6Y2ta6gClmwAA7J2EQ0RBP2xpVi3UaPIBu2oAt51EnMs2N1xj8GA1lzL9vI5OufHn0rxtrSdgqN05AxtxeJ0fgIurmdHr6JiyUHuWPBiKg-j9n2upio0/s1600/12f8384ab7858609636cf3ae828a0b61547981af.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="511" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP92pDJ5WvkrEnRXHGtfSDHIV6Y2ta6gClmwAA7J2EQ0RBP2xpVi3UaPIBu2oAt51EnMs2N1xj8GA1lzL9vI5OufHn0rxtrSdgqN05AxtxeJ0fgIurmdHr6JiyUHuWPBiKg-j9n2upio0/s400/12f8384ab7858609636cf3ae828a0b61547981af.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">In this photo taken on February 12, 2013, protesters
in Cairo demonstrate </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">against sexual harassment (AFP Photo/Khaled DESOUKI)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"She committed crimes, she admitted to some of
them," the prosecutor-general said in a statement. "She deserves to
be punished."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>'More to come'</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Since Abdel-Aziz's case surfaced, a revived #MeToo
movement among Egyptian women, mostly from affluent backgrounds, has sprung
into action.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A gang rape allegation made in late July stemming from
a prominent social media account has been one trigger.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Another was young women posting testimonials about
sexual misconduct that led to the arrest earlier in the month of Ahmed Bassam
Zaki, 22, a former student of some of Egypt's most elite schools and
universities.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But the movement faces an uphill battle.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rights groups say the government of President Abdel
Fattah al-Sisi has been curtailing freedoms since he took office in 2014.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Comedians, academics, bloggers, journalists, political
dissidents, lawyers and activists are among those who have been jailed in
recent years, and a music video director has died in custody.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Imprisoning social media influencers, the latest group
to be targeted, "has nothing to do with protecting social values. It's
about internet policing and control," Access Now's Fatafta said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"With the massive increase in content creators
and influencers on TikTok in Egypt, there is a high risk that more prosecutions
targeting this community are yet to come," the organisation added.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Related Article:</b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://cempaka-africa.blogspot.com/2020/07/egypt-hotel-gang-rape-allegations.html" target="_blank">Egypt Hotel Gang Rape Allegations Ignite New #MeToo Wave</a></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><b></b></span></span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714217483042127098.post-62791112200042971952020-07-30T13:45:00.001-07:002020-07-30T13:45:47.904-07:00Egypt Hotel Gang Rape Allegations Ignite New #MeToo Wave<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.barrons.com/news/cairo-hotel-gang-rape-allegations-ignite-new-metoo-wave-01596100205?tesla=y" target="_blank">Barrons – AFP</a>, July 30, 2020</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisozwpfMBliMlr9c4iVoXb7BNqwd4nnLyrAW7a6h_IHVDElYc4nn1dDQl2cHXb-PEHuuj1TJLN0TN0-OnU9tcbSBSm_y3_xpBcfJ4GroPaFHHzAmW4Ap-Wka9kLhG4eE6M2CH2oOoQPxc/s1600/AFP8701611086602036879601682831437613769313-egypt-politics-women-rights-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="511" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisozwpfMBliMlr9c4iVoXb7BNqwd4nnLyrAW7a6h_IHVDElYc4nn1dDQl2cHXb-PEHuuj1TJLN0TN0-OnU9tcbSBSm_y3_xpBcfJ4GroPaFHHzAmW4Ap-Wka9kLhG4eE6M2CH2oOoQPxc/s400/AFP8701611086602036879601682831437613769313-egypt-politics-women-rights-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="text-align: start;">Protesters in 2013 hold up placards and shout slogans during a demonstration <br />against sexual harassment in Egypt's capital Cairo. </span><span style="text-align: start;">Khaled DESOUKI</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A gang rape allegation at a luxury hotel in Egypt
stemming from a prominent social media account has triggered a new #MeToo wave
in the deeply conservative country.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The alleged assault took place at the five-star
Fairmont Nile City hotel in Cairo in 2014 where a group of six men drugged and
raped a young woman, according to several social media accounts<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Names and pictures of the figures accused, who hail
from elite families, have circulated online, but AFP has been unable to verify
their authenticity.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">AFP spoke to a source close to the victim who
corroborated details of the 2014 rapes posted online.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The victim was unwilling to comment publicly for fear
of a backlash.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">No official investigation has been launched so far, as
tweets flood in under the hashtag #FairmontIncident.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Young Egyptian women posting testimonials of sexual
misconduct earlier this month triggered a national outcry which led to the
arrest of Ahmed Bassam Zaki, 22, a former student of some of Egypt's most elite
schools and universities.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On July 4, authorities detained Zaki who confessed to
assaulting at least six girls including one aged under 18 and blackmailing the
victims, according to prosecutors.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Egypt's National Council for Women on Wednesday
condemned retaliatory threats made against women exposing sexual misconduct.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The council "stands by every woman and girl
exposed to any... threat by providing all necessary support", it said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It also called on females "who might be subjected
to harassment and/or threats to immediately report through the official
reporting mechanisms".<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Egypt's minister of international cooperation, Rania
al-Mashat, for her part, posted a supportive message on Instagram: "To all
the girls out there, we hear you".<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Fairmont Hotel has said it carried out an
investigation of the graphic claims posted online.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"An internal investigation was undertaken by the
hotel upon receipt of knowledge of the disturbing allegations," Yara ElDouky,
Fairmont's communication director, told AFP.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"We can confirm that at no time were any reports
of the incident filed to the hotel, nor to the hotel’s tourism police,"
she said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"All personnel at the hotel are committed to
assisting the relevant authorities and we will continue to offer our unfettered
support," she added.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The allegations come as Egypt sentenced to jail
several young female influencers on popular app TikTok on charges of violating
public morals.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A 2013 study by UN Women found that 99% of women in
Egypt had at some point in their lives been sexually harassed, either verbally
or physically.</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714217483042127098.post-24566886970834674012020-07-30T13:29:00.004-07:002020-07-30T13:30:13.120-07:00Uganda court jails killer of mountain gorilla for 11 years<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/uganda-court-jails-killer-of-mountain-gorilla-for-11-years/ar-BB17noNQ" target="_blank">MSN – AFP</a>, 30 July 2020</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDrugLBBlBmtBJO7S7pZwc_PhDSJP0NATjUiKLR_qPYOGh3EppPCM72JBJ5KJ_73y8XjAVNCQRDR9Kw5OQXREjks1KX2SS3Tx_nkaTs65oO4wXEMQoiFnMRU94eT3qo8D9nmEd3z1CPPo/s1600/BB17ntjX.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="553" data-original-width="768" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDrugLBBlBmtBJO7S7pZwc_PhDSJP0NATjUiKLR_qPYOGh3EppPCM72JBJ5KJ_73y8XjAVNCQRDR9Kw5OQXREjks1KX2SS3Tx_nkaTs65oO4wXEMQoiFnMRU94eT3qo8D9nmEd3z1CPPo/s400/BB17ntjX.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Uganda court jails killer of mountain gorilla for 11 years</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A Ugandan court on Thursday sentenced a man to 11
years in prison for offences including the killing of a beloved mountain
gorilla in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">a close up of an animal: Thanks to intensive
conservation efforts the mountain gorilla's status improved from
"critically endangered" to "endangered" in 2018. The
picture shows mountain gorillas in the DR Congo's Virunga National Park©
ROBERTO SCHMIDT Thanks to intensive conservation efforts the mountain gorilla's
status improved from "critically endangered" to
"endangered" in 2018. The picture shows mountain gorillas in the DR
Congo's Virunga National Park<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Silverback gorilla, named Rafiki -- which means
"friend" in Swahili -- was believed to be around 25 years old. He was
found dead last month from a spear wound.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Felix Byamukama, a resident of a nearby village, was
arrested and admitted to killing the gorilla, saying it was in self-defence,
according to the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The authority said Byamukama was given an 11-year jail
term for killing Rafiki "and other wildlife" in the park.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Byamukama had pleaded guilty on three charges
including illegally entering the protected area and killing a duiker and a bush
pig.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">UWA executive director Sam Mwandha said: "We are
relieved that Rafiki has received justice and this should serve as an example
to other people who kill wildlife."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rafiki headed a family of 17 gorillas, the first to
become habituated to humans in the national park, allowing tourists to hike
through the forest to see them. Their life expectancy in the wild is about 35
years.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The wildlife authority described the killing of Rafiki
as a "great blow" after intensive conservation efforts saw the
mountain gorilla's Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) category upgraded
from "critically endangered" to "endangered" in 2018.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The population of the gorillas grew from around 680
individuals in 2008 to over 1,000.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The mountain gorilla's habitat is restricted to
protected areas covering nearly 800 square kilometres (300 square miles) in two
locations -- the Virunga Massif and Bwindi-Sarambwe -- which stretch across the
Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rafiki's murder came as poaching incidents were on the
rise in Uganda, which had imposed a strict lockdown during the coronavirus
pandemic, and with tourists yet to return.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"We have noticed a rise in incidents of poaching
in our national parks following the closure of our tourism hubs because of
COVID-19," the UWA's Mwandha told AFP.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">"What we are investigating is who is behind the
cases of poaching. Due to lockdown have the communities near the parks turned
against the wildlife as a source of livelihood? Is it a criminal network behind
the rise in poaching? </span>Is the
absence of tourism in parks facilitating poaching?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Wherever the answer lies, incidents of poaching
are a cause for worry and we have intensified patrols in parks," he added.</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714217483042127098.post-21682784406324192662020-07-20T12:57:00.000-07:002020-07-20T12:57:34.517-07:00Four African leaders head to Mali amid political crisis<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/four-african-leaders-head-mali-amid-political-crisis-184521059.html" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>, Serge DANIEL and Kassim TRAORE, July 20,
2020</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFWOnJxAd_GeJf_P3CtLgVGT2O6JrKMXUFaBTeTmXORhKsA1PGHL1ZtEBh2_m_xz8qr7Rb8xM5fCrV4gbrPyB72JprAdjvnl2s3LpQvspmMX4L9jrT9Lofzu2vG65UZ-u53tu3WXfL3iw/s1600/0476f8e627b8cf39871de80feb7859f9ac4b88f7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="768" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFWOnJxAd_GeJf_P3CtLgVGT2O6JrKMXUFaBTeTmXORhKsA1PGHL1ZtEBh2_m_xz8qr7Rb8xM5fCrV4gbrPyB72JprAdjvnl2s3LpQvspmMX4L9jrT9Lofzu2vG65UZ-u53tu3WXfL3iw/s400/0476f8e627b8cf39871de80feb7859f9ac4b88f7.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Mali (AFP Photo)</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Bamako (AFP) - Malian leaders are gearing up for more
mediation talks on Thursday, when four African presidents will fly to the
country in a bid to resolve its deepening political crisis.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The leaders of Ivory Coast, Ghana, Senegal and Niger
are all due to arrive in the country, according to an official from Mali's
presidency, saying that their visit concerned the impasse but did not
elaborate.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thursday's talks follow on the heels of a mediation
mission from the West Africa bloc ECOWAS, which ended Sunday after failing to
reconcile the president with the political opposition.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has been locked in a
standoff for weeks with the opposition June 5 Movement, and the conflict
spiralled into violent clashes earlier this month, leaving 11 dead.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Opposition figures have been tapping into a wellspring
of anger over the president's perceived failures in tackling the dire economy,
corruption and the country's eight-year-old jihadist conflict.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Many Malians are also incensed at the outcome of
long-delayed parliamentary elections in March and April that handed victory to
Keita's party.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But the current crisis came to a head on July 10,
after an anti-Keita rally organised by the June 5 Movement turned violent.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Protesters blocked key bridges in the capital Bamako,
stormed the premises of the state broadcaster, and attacked the parliament.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Three days of clashes between protesters and security
forces followed, leaving 11 dead and 158 injured, according to an official
tally, in the worst political unrest Mali had seen in years.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The ECOWAS mission on Sunday suggested the formation
of a new unity government including opposition members, as well as the
appointment of new judges to constitutional court who could potentially
re-examine disputed election results.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But the June 5 Movement had earlier rejected any
outcome that does not include Keita's departure -- a demand opposition leaders
have insisted on for weeks.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The movement is a disparate alliance of political,
social and civil society leaders gathered around powerful imam Mahmoud Dicko,
who is seen as its de facto leader though he is not a formal member.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Neither Keita nor Dicko had commented on the failed
ECOWAS effort by Monday.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>'Radical change' urged</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Mali's neighbours and international allies are anxious
to avoid a slide into chaos in the poor Sahel nation of some 20 million people.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The former French colony has been struggling to
contain a jihadist insurgency that first emerged in the north in 2012 before
spreading to the centre.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thousands of soldiers and civilians have died in the
conflict, and hundreds of thousands of people have been driven from their
homes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Keita, who came to power in 2013, has been under
increasing pressure to stop the fighting.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But much of the current tension in Mali was sparked in
April, when the constitutional court tossed out 31 results from the
parliamentary elections, sparking protests.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Many Malians were awaiting Dicko's next move after the
ECOWAS mission ended on Sunday.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A European diplomat, who declined to be named, told
AFP that Dicko had met foreign ambassadors on Monday, telling them that
"the doors of dialogue are not closed, but Mali's governance must
radically change".<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ECOWAS mediators had also said Sunday that they would
set up a technical committee to oversee their recommendations, suggesting that
talks between the warring parties may continue.</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714217483042127098.post-49154288959480239962020-07-16T13:52:00.002-07:002020-07-16T13:52:24.899-07:00In Egypt, sexual predator case reignites #MeToo debate<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/egypt-sexual-predator-case-reignites-metoo-debate-013104197.html" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>, Menna Zaki and Hager Harabech, July 16,
2020</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvTrhKkgEhmIDcRqd5H9Wgcm4JnRuhsxdEZ76jU91iBxARlBF-4o7dO4187AFiKPs_RsBMs4scCx-vwQtO6Ris9RsYs1RZGC2i9xQwalUl427CHYwvctZB1yxeryV2-cr1f9RkwtkP-6s/s1600/5d29635016d2a2fbaf5b9a9e5e9fc3b5b7e8600c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvTrhKkgEhmIDcRqd5H9Wgcm4JnRuhsxdEZ76jU91iBxARlBF-4o7dO4187AFiKPs_RsBMs4scCx-vwQtO6Ris9RsYs1RZGC2i9xQwalUl427CHYwvctZB1yxeryV2-cr1f9RkwtkP-6s/s400/5d29635016d2a2fbaf5b9a9e5e9fc3b5b7e8600c.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A woman in Egypt checks an Instagram account for reporting allegations of <br />sexual harassment and misconduct (AFP Photo/Khaled DESOUKI)</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cairo (AFP) - Egypt has seen a strong resurgence of
the #MeToo movement after dozens of women made shocking claims of sexual abuse
and assault by a member of the country's wealthy elite.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Amid a campaign unprecedented in its intensity in the
deeply conservative country, state and religious authorities have started to
take a firmer stand.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The latest outpouring of anger, on the Instagram
account "Assault Police", centres on allegations against Ahmed Bassam
Zaki, a 22-year-old former student of some of Egypt's most elite schools and
universities.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">They have ranged from claims that he took part in a
rape at the gym hall of a gated residential community to screen-grabs showing
salacious messages and blackmail of women. Some alleged incidents involved
girls as young as 14.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Police on July 4 arrested Zaki who, according to
prosecutors, has confessed to assaulting at least six girls including one aged
under 18 and to blackmailing the victims.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While Zaki is awaiting trial, his case has kicked off
a wave of other complaints in a society where, United Nations surveys say, most
women have experienced catcalling, pinching, groping or worse.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1wnfPy_6JD9xD6JY9nNty7lX62Zdgbxo4jY6jxRCMuTPzBdfFB9sLNpwAxPNZgfGTCCO4FmBxafOQwypoc6dhfPHzqT22bXV3TJcQhN4xlVybMsnGk6_inMt-U000f106dcleIClj0oU/s1600/12f8384ab7858609636cf3ae828a0b61547981af.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="511" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1wnfPy_6JD9xD6JY9nNty7lX62Zdgbxo4jY6jxRCMuTPzBdfFB9sLNpwAxPNZgfGTCCO4FmBxafOQwypoc6dhfPHzqT22bXV3TJcQhN4xlVybMsnGk6_inMt-U000f106dcleIClj0oU/s400/12f8384ab7858609636cf3ae828a0b61547981af.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">In this file photo from 2013 protesters hold up placards and shout slogans during <br />a demonstration against sexual harassment in Egypt's capital Cairo (AFP Photo/<br />Khaled DESOUKI)</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Women immediately jumped at the opportunity to
vent and tell their stories," the Instagram page administrator told AFP,
requesting anonymity for fear of reprisals.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"It is now bigger than Ahmed Bassam Zaki. We
receive a dozen messages per minute from girls and women telling of personal
incidents of harassment, abuse and rape, some dating back years."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Victim-blaming</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Following Zaki's arrest, the campaign has swept up
other well-known figures.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One of them is Mohamed Hashem, a writer and founder of
a top publishing house, who was detained over harassment allegations but later
released on bail.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The current momentum builds on earlier #MeToo waves in
Egypt, the latest in January following a mob assault on two women in Mansoura,
north of Cairo, on New Year's Eve.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Zaki case highlights that sexual assault and
harassment -- widely perceived to be more prevalent among the poorer classes --
pervades all levels of society.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Zaki is a former student of the prestigious American
University in Cairo. He briefly went on to study in Barcelona but was expelled
this month after a claim of online harassment by another student.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgifu17vwfwymFXrVAPgTMd3oJNEVtDSqJ6ypI6zrhbZct7iupKxXC4oA2G5z1_erZB3ANEhOzNJR31sElu5wB0y6ynqbqh3xDZm78InI9wmn4L_L3To_EAhNb57P2dGxwMnrIcY3lGBQk/s1600/84dd7bced3f8f0c9a7d0f958e91de2af1eb306a5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="511" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgifu17vwfwymFXrVAPgTMd3oJNEVtDSqJ6ypI6zrhbZct7iupKxXC4oA2G5z1_erZB3ANEhOzNJR31sElu5wB0y6ynqbqh3xDZm78InI9wmn4L_L3To_EAhNb57P2dGxwMnrIcY3lGBQk/s400/84dd7bced3f8f0c9a7d0f958e91de2af1eb306a5.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A protester at a 2013 rally in Cairo holds a placard
pledging an 'uprising of </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">women in the Arab world' (AFP Photo/Khaled DESOUKI)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">"We are talking about Class A, the creme de la
creme of society who enrol in universities and schools worth tens of thousands
of pounds annually," said Fathy Farid of Aman, an initiative against
gender-based violence.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Campaigners hope the case will help shift attitudes in
Egypt, which only criminalised sexual harassment in 2014.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Women in Egypt are often reluctant to speak out about
sexual harassment, fearing public shaming and being blamed for wearing
"provocative" clothing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>'A safer place'</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In stark contrast to the #MeToo revival, Egypt has
also seen an ongoing campaign targeting female TikTok influencers accused of
"indecency and immorality".<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Among recent cases is that of a 17-year-old girl who
was arrested after posting a TikTok video in which she said she had been gang
raped by a group of young men.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">These girls "suffer discrimination and
bullying" and their arrests "are part of violence against women
because they come from lower classes," said lawyer Intesar al-Saeed.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjwKJjfQ5c0urw_zsPyssWxk13IOufkQwUtIym3M8Y_Q8pc4Z5ej5wU_CUtY1pi1_Zp4yzrPOMzzyjHP8s57AC0u4wda3yT1G4nbNXcbQyUZNcVosBPIw_vNAr5UMkFPwMGfR0RB7p-E4/s1600/0000973062d256f106c08d19993ddd31782021e8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="511" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjwKJjfQ5c0urw_zsPyssWxk13IOufkQwUtIym3M8Y_Q8pc4Z5ej5wU_CUtY1pi1_Zp4yzrPOMzzyjHP8s57AC0u4wda3yT1G4nbNXcbQyUZNcVosBPIw_vNAr5UMkFPwMGfR0RB7p-E4/s400/0000973062d256f106c08d19993ddd31782021e8.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Campaigners hope to shift attitudes in Egypt, which
only criminalised sexual </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">harassment in 2014 (AFP Photo/Khaled DESOUKI)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Instagram group administrator also reported
"a lot of these messages" attacking the women, but added that
"they are nothing compared to the messages of support".<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As more online testimonies have kept pouring in, the
National Council for Women said it had received at least 400 complaints and
enquiries on sexual harassment and abuse.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The government of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has
taken some action.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">His cabinet has approved amendments, yet to be passed
by parliament, to the criminal code that would grant the right of anonymity to
victims of sexual assault.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And the prestigious religious institution Al Azhar
released a strongly-worded statement lambasting harassment as "forbidden
and deviant".<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Dar al-Iftar, in charge of issuing religious
edicts, slammed those who blame women for wearing provocative clothing as
"sick".<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Instagram activist said the goal is, "if
we're not forced to shut down the account for any reason, to turn Assault
Police into a platform for women to share their stories.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"We are optimistic about making this country a
safer place for women."</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714217483042127098.post-30840047825981423722020-07-10T13:13:00.001-07:002020-07-10T13:13:10.528-07:00Sudan criminalises female genital mutilation<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/sudan-criminalises-female-genital-mutilation-175124138.html" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>,
Abdelmoneim Abu Idris, July 10, 2020</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJOk_5vYdGLYrZrOvrhsUCEC55CeWRqqlqiF7kExggvvana74IV66mByBs8sy1a8AUo3kAb_p0l5yZJEGYZQLztaF-LN4RafVT5ESgJXjBM00KURg7UgcXsYqCS-cdwSUc6rwfkVW9T9c/s1600/72fa963a45f4f5153668d0e7c0ac73100dc9d42d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJOk_5vYdGLYrZrOvrhsUCEC55CeWRqqlqiF7kExggvvana74IV66mByBs8sy1a8AUo3kAb_p0l5yZJEGYZQLztaF-LN4RafVT5ESgJXjBM00KURg7UgcXsYqCS-cdwSUc6rwfkVW9T9c/s400/72fa963a45f4f5153668d0e7c0ac73100dc9d42d.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Sudanese women walk in the capital Khartoum's district of Jureif Ghar (AFP<br />Photo/ASHRAF SHAZLY)</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Khartoum
(AFP) - Sudan's highest governing body Friday ratified a law criminalising
female genital mutilation, a widespread ritual in the African country, the
justice ministry announced.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The
sovereign council, comprising military and civilian figures, approved a series
of laws including criminalisation of the age-old practice known as FGM or
genital cutting that "undermines the dignity of women", the ministry
said in a statement.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The reform
comes a year after longtime president Omar al-Bashir was toppled following
months of mass pro-reform protests on the streets in which women played a key
role.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sudan's
cabinet in April approved amendments to the criminal code that would punish
those who perform FGM.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"The
mutilation of a woman's genital organs is now considered a crime," the
justice ministry said, punishable by up to three years in prison.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It said
doctors or health workers who carry out genital cutting would be penalised, and
hospitals, clinics or other places where the operation was carried out would be
shut.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7YSDIe7aLSKb7IRVNkiyQ0zas4Am-oFgclj0hprk1CCeiWtMwaOe2JZrOh0_lZcBV4mWDOj_gcM3AMbSLmtgrmIWtRS5FoDCK8tE4MIP8B6rWUwflCYCaSQl__jG7XGw12tmHntLr2TU/s1600/caa75ed6be794ea331b9c4a889b68f0a5e42797d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7YSDIe7aLSKb7IRVNkiyQ0zas4Am-oFgclj0hprk1CCeiWtMwaOe2JZrOh0_lZcBV4mWDOj_gcM3AMbSLmtgrmIWtRS5FoDCK8tE4MIP8B6rWUwflCYCaSQl__jG7XGw12tmHntLr2TU/s400/caa75ed6be794ea331b9c4a889b68f0a5e42797d.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Sudanese women lift national flags by burning tyres as they take part in a <br />demonstration on Sixty Street in the capital Khartoum, on May 23, 2020 <br />(AFP Photo/Ashraf SHAZLY)</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Prime
Minister Abdalla Hamdok hailed Friday's decision.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"It is
an important step on the way to judicial reform and in order to achieve the
slogan of the revolution -- freedom, peace and justice," he tweeted.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The premier
vowed that Sudan's new authorities would "forge ahead and review laws and
make amendments to rectify flaws in the legal system".<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Long
decried as barbaric</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Nearly nine
out of 10 girls in Sudan fall victim to FGM, according to the United Nations.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In its most
brutal form, it involves the removal of the labia and clitoris, often in
unsanitary conditions and without anaesthesia.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The wound
is then sewn shut, often causing cysts and infections and leaving women to
suffer severe pain during sex and childbirth complications later in life.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rights
groups have for years decried as barbaric the practice, which can lead to
myriad physical, psychological and sexual complications and, in the most tragic
cases, death.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDa68P0HWijfcFUMWIrrWz5pxj0Z5NDmdPhswIACBpjdZVcUt6U5y_aR5WQoxw4KBNeKXhKgyPK7c72LRJfO4MDNtFLwD9Xh4GsTwDhr2oHpy0vA4VMWJufrCoihadSsbUCl5zYbjBuLo/s1600/2a752b3cb7dd9d01d842577f9fae264e57e84315.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="768" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDa68P0HWijfcFUMWIrrWz5pxj0Z5NDmdPhswIACBpjdZVcUt6U5y_aR5WQoxw4KBNeKXhKgyPK7c72LRJfO4MDNtFLwD9Xh4GsTwDhr2oHpy0vA4VMWJufrCoihadSsbUCl5zYbjBuLo/s400/2a752b3cb7dd9d01d842577f9fae264e57e84315.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A doctor
gives medical advice about female genital mutilation to a woman </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">in Egypt, where
the practice is already banned (AFP Photo/Mohamed el-Shahed)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The
watershed move is part of reforms that have come since Bashir's ouster.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"It is
a very important step for Sudanese women and shows that we have come a long
way," women's rights activist Zeinab Badreddin said in May.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The United
Nations Children's Fund has also welcomed the move.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"This
practice is not only a violation of every girl child's rights, it is harmful
and has serious consequences for a girl's physical and mental health,"
said Abdullah Fadil, the UNICEF Representative in Khartoum.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The UN says
FGM is widespread in many countries across Africa, the Middle East and Asia,
affecting the lives of millions of girls and women.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In Sudan,
rights campaigners say the custom has over the past three decades spread to
remote regions where it was previously not practised, including Sudan's Nuba
mountains.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In
neighbouring Egypt, as in several other countries, genital cutting is now
prohibited. A 2008 law punishes it with up to seven years in prison.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sudan's
anti-FGM advocates came close to a ban in 2015 when a bill was discussed in
parliament but then shot down by Bashir who caved in to pressure from some
Islamic clerics.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Yet many
religious leaders have spoken out against genital cutting over the years.</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714217483042127098.post-14505860769780308822020-07-06T14:37:00.002-07:002020-07-06T14:38:35.448-07:00Commonwealth should 'acknowledge' past wrongs, says Prince Harry<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/commonwealth-acknowledge-past-wrongs-says-prince-harry-185612401.html" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>,
July 6, 2020</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOwUzTtYhd82u9HsJy6Lmi6exapyDM6RGZfeGToRokAbVfdLDhfbJm2B87oR_0-r2vPtQhrN9z17hFgwB1PRQCUPdNsGS5JjoO1sgk-quuU-A9fyxTgiNMKLev227sn73iWaxB5-poS2M/s1600/1bf35dc6edb0d15e1f3fc4322237626185992e17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="504" data-original-width="768" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOwUzTtYhd82u9HsJy6Lmi6exapyDM6RGZfeGToRokAbVfdLDhfbJm2B87oR_0-r2vPtQhrN9z17hFgwB1PRQCUPdNsGS5JjoO1sgk-quuU-A9fyxTgiNMKLev227sn73iWaxB5-poS2M/s400/1bf35dc6edb0d15e1f3fc4322237626185992e17.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Harry, Duke of Sussex, seen here in conversation with Formula 1 champion Lewis<br /> Hamilton, had already spoken out last week against institutional racism (AFP<br /> Photo/PETER NICHOLLS)</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">London
(AFP) - Prince Harry has urged the Commonwealth, which his grandmother heads,
to acknowledge its uncomfortable colonial past, in video extracts published on
Monday.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The
35-year-old royal and his wife, Meghan, joined a video conference call with
leaders organised by the Queen's Commonwealth Trust (QCT) from their base in
the United States.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The
sessions were set up in response to the growing Black Lives Matter movement,
sparked by the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, during a US police
arrest.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Harry last
week outlined his personal commitment to tackling institutional racism, saying
it had "no place" in society but was still too widespread.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On the July
1 call, posted on the QCT website, he said: "When you look across the
Commonwealth, there is no way that we can move forward unless we acknowledge
the past.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"So
many people have done such an incredible job of acknowledging the past and
trying to right those wrongs but I think we all acknowledge there is so much
more still to do.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"It's
not going to be easy and in some cases it's not going to be comfortable, but it
needs to be done, because, guess what, everybody benefits."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Queen
Elizabeth II is the head of the Commonwealth, a non-political organisation of
54 countries, most of which have links to the British Empire.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It
comprises 2.4 billion people -- a quarter of the world's population -- of which
60 percent are aged under 30.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The QCT was
set up to give younger people from member nations a platform to share ideas and
insights.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The chief
executive of the QCT, Nicola Brentnall, has said the body is studying how the
Commonwealth's colonial past and its legacy should shape its future.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Harry and
Meghan stepped down from frontline royal duties this year and have set up a
non-profit organisation focusing on the promoting of mental health, education
and well-being.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Meghan, a
mixed-race US former actress, has previously talked about her own personal
experience of racism and unconscious bias.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Former army
officer Harry has also complained about the "racial undertones" of
media coverage of his wife.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The couple
are president and vice-president respectively of the QCT.</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714217483042127098.post-5311651624118939332020-06-30T12:53:00.001-07:002020-06-30T13:04:01.401-07:00Belgian 'regret' for Congo past stirs bittersweet response<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/belgian-regret-congo-past-stirs-bittersweet-response-152935230.html" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>,
June 30, 2020</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMG5I5Fw1HPRXlAVoX-hNXBaEQwalZJVz0z2TMTfxTkHOhN9F9bW2zU4PRcppkwQL3BprY-SkOpYYVQszYkKg3TW0WRjpEfy5y3ahKvB0qHTdlfK2mp1co0KgefnWbTi5-vWpe1F2xfHc/s1600/8d1d7d7ef90337f113dd9cbfac4e99cdd24c4d4b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMG5I5Fw1HPRXlAVoX-hNXBaEQwalZJVz0z2TMTfxTkHOhN9F9bW2zU4PRcppkwQL3BprY-SkOpYYVQszYkKg3TW0WRjpEfy5y3ahKvB0qHTdlfK2mp1co0KgefnWbTi5-vWpe1F2xfHc/s400/8d1d7d7ef90337f113dd9cbfac4e99cdd24c4d4b.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">King Leopold II pillaged DR Congo and treated the colony as his personal <br />property (AFP Photo/SAMIR TOUNSI)</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Kinshasa
(AFP) - DR Congo hailed Belgium on Tuesday after its monarch, King Philippe,
voiced his "deepest regrets" for the country's brutal colonial
occupation, but some in the country demanded reparations for the past.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In a letter
to President Felix Tshisekedi on the nation's 60th anniversary of independence,
Philippe expressed unprecedented sorrow for colonial acts that historians say
led to the death of millions of Congolese.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"I
want to express my deepest regrets for these wounds of the past whose pain is
reawakened today by the discrimination still present in our societies,"
Philippe said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Acts
of violence and cruelty were committed which weigh on our collective
memory," he said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">DR Congo
Foreign Minister Marie Ntumba Nzeza, in statement to AFP, said the king's
letter was "balm to the heart of the Congolese people. This is a step
forward that will boost friendly relations between our nations."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Tshisekedi,
in a TV address on the eve of the anniversary, paid tribute to Belgium, where
he lived in self-imposed exile before returning to run successfully in the 2018
elections.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Philippe,
he said, "is searching, just like me, to strengthen the ties between our
two countries, without denying our common past, but with the goal of preparing
a bright and harmonious future."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In
contrast, Lambert Mende, the former spokesman of Tshisekedi's predecessor,
Joseph Kabila, said, "It's not enough to say, 'I feel regret.'<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"People
should be willing to repair the damage in terms of investment and compensation
with interest. That's what we expect from our Belgian partners."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Herve
Diakiese, spokesman of a citizen's movement called Congolais Debout (Congolese,
Stand Up), said the monarch's letter was "a step in the right
direction."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"But
this belated remorse can only be accepted after adequate reparations for these
atrocities which enabled the personal enrichment of Leopold II and his
friends," he said, referring to the former Belgian monarch who pillaged
Congo from 1885 to 1908.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Belgium's
mischief-making after independence on June 30 1960 to control the DRC's
minerals should also feature among reparation issues," he said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Looted
Congolese artefacts, too, should be returned, he added.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Jean-Claude
Katende, the president of Asadho, one of the oldest rights groups in the
Democratic Republic of Congo, called for a greater effort to identify provinces
where colonial Belgium carried out its worst atrocities.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"In
Equateur (province), people were killed and others had their hands cut
off," he said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Belgium is
contemplating setting up a parliamentary commission to investigate its colonial
rule, which also extended over Rwanda and Burundi.</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0