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page 32 SYRIA Air strikes on Aleppo hospital kill 27 Air strikes destroyed a hospital and killed dozens of people in rebel-held areas of Syria’s Aleppo including children and doctors, and the United Nations called on Moscow and Washington to salvage a “barely-alive” cease-fire. The city of Aleppo is at the epicenter of a military […]
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SYRIA
Air strikes on Aleppo hospital kill 27
Air strikes destroyed a hospital and killed dozens of people in rebel-held areas of Syria’s Aleppo including children and doctors, and the United Nations called on Moscow and Washington to salvage a “barely-alive” cease-fire.
The city of Aleppo is at the epicenter of a military escalation that has undermined peace talks in Geneva to end the five-year-old war and U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura appealed to the presidents of the United States and Russia to intervene.
Six days of air strikes and rebel shelling in Aleppo, which is split between government forces and rebels, have killed some 200 people in the city, two-thirds of them on the opposition side, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says.
“The catastrophic deterioration in Aleppo over the last 24-48 hours” has jeopardized the aid lifeline that delivers supplies to millions of Syrians, said Jan Egeland, chairman of the U.N. humanitarian task force. “I could not in any way express how high the stakes are for the next hours and days.”
UK
UK joins IMF and World Bank to cut Mozambique aid
The UK government says it has suspended financial aid to Mozambique over an alleged “serious breach of trust” relating to undisclosed debts.
This follows similar action from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.
The IMF halted funding 10 days ago when it found Mozambique had not declared debts of more than $1bn (£700m).
The government says the liabilities relate to guaranteeing loans taken out by two mostly state-owned companies.
The UK said in a statement that it was now “working closely with other international partners to establish the truth and coordinate an appropriate response”.
The IMF is currently carrying out an analysis to see if Mozambique has a sustainable level of debt, and the World Bank is waiting for its outcome before it approves any more loans.
LIBERIA
Weah expected to launch third presidential bid
Liberian football legend George Weah of the opposition Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) party is expected to accept a petition from his supporters Thursday to run for president in the coming 2017 general elections.
Weah, who is now a first-term senator for Montserrado County, first ran for president in 2005 and came second to President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. He ran again in 2011, this time as a vice president to Winston Tubman and again his party came second to Sirleaf.
Nathanial McGill, national chairman of the CDC, said the 10-year administration of President Sirleaf has failed to improve the welfare of Liberians in spite of the enormous international goodwill it has received.
As a result, McGill said “marginalized” Liberians yearn for change, and they believe Senator Weah can be the vehicle for that change.
McGill said two million people are expected to follow the petition rally on radio.
ISRAEL
Israel opposes French peace drive, wants direct talks with Palestinians
Israel formally expressed its opposition on Thursday to a French-proposed peace initiative, reaffirming its position that only direct talks with the Palestinians can resolve the decades-old conflict.
A week ago, France said it would hold an international conference in Paris on May 30 in a bid to relaunch talks between Palestinians and Israelis by the end of the year.
But a statement to the media issued by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on Thursday said “Israel maintains its position that the best way to resolve the conflict … is through direct, bilateral negotiations.”
The statement did not explicitly say Israel would not attend any other type of forum but it added that “any other diplomatic initiative would distance the Palestinians from direct talks”
With U.S. efforts to broker a two-state accord in tatters since April 2014 and Washington focused on a November presidential election, Paris has lobbied countries to commit to a conference that would set out a framework to get Israelis and Palestinians back into negotiations.
IRAQ
Biden visits Iraq for talks with officials, show of support
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden met Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in an unannounced visit to Baghdad on Thursday to show support for the government as it builds on wins against Islamic State amid the distractions of a political crisis.
It is the first visit for Biden, the White House’s point person on Iraq, since U.S. forces withdrew in 2011 following a nine-year occupation. He is the third and highest-level U.S. official to visit Iraq this month.
Islamic State, also known as ISIL, seized large portions of Iraq and neighboring Syria in 2014. Iraqi forces have won back some territory, such as the western city of Ramadi, but often after long battles that have left the areas destroyed.
Biden’s trip, several months in planning, is a sign of the progress the White House believes Iraqi forces have made in beating back the militants over the past year.
AUSTRIA
UN’s Ban Ki-moon condemns EU migrant curbs
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has criticised “increasingly restrictive” policies on migrants in Europe.
In a speech to the Austrian parliament, he said such curbs ran counter to member countries’ international duties.
He was speaking a day after Austrian MPs approved a draft law restricting asylum rights and allowing most claims to be rejected at the border.
The European Union, including Austria, is struggling to cope with a huge influx of mainly Syrian migrants.
“I am concerned that European countries are now adopting increasingly restrictive immigration and refugee policies,” Mr Ban told MPs in Vienna.
“Such policies negatively affect the obligation of member states under international humanitarian law and European law.”
Mr Ban did not name any country but, given the venue, the speech has been widely interpreted as being aimed at least in part at Austria, correspondents say.
BULGARIA
Bulgarian town bans women from wearing full-face veils
The central Bulgarian town of Pazardzhik has banned the wearing of full-face veils in public in a move the local government said would prevent tension among communities and boost security.
The ban introduced on Wednesday, the first of its kind in the Balkan country, was backed from politicians across the political spectrum in the town of some 70,000 people, where wearing full-face veils had become common among some women from the Muslim Roma minority.
“I am tired to hear that Pazardzhik is the town of the burqas. We want to say aloud that we are not that, but a town of responsible people and we will be associated with other achievements,” Mayor Todor Popov told national radio.
Muslims make up about 12 percent of Bulgaria’s 7.2 million population and most belong to a centuries-old community, largely ethnic Turks, among whom full-face veils are not common.
TURKEY
Turkish reporters get two years in prison for blasphemy
Two journalists in Turkey have been sentenced to two years in jail for “insulting religious values” after they reprinted a controversial cover from the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo above their columns.
An Istanbul court on Thursday sentenced Ceyda Karan and Hikmet Cetinkaya to two years behind bars for illustrating their columns with a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad published by French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo.
“The two journalists were sentenced to two years each in jail,” said Bulent Utku, lawyer for Hikmet Cetinkaya and Ceyda Karan.
“We will appeal the ruling at the appeals court,” Utku told AFP news agency following a hearing at Istanbul’s criminal court.
CHINA
China passes laws on foreign NGOs amid int’l criticism
China has passed new laws on foreign non-governmental organisations (NGOs) state media said, amid criticism.
The full text was not immediately available, but previous drafts stated that NGOs would have to submit to police supervision and declare sources of funding.
Critics say the laws amount to a crackdown, but China has argued that such regulation is long overdue.
There are currently more than 7,000 foreign NGOs operating in China.
The bill has undergone several drafts after international criticism that it was too onerous. The White House has said the bill would “further narrow space for civil society” and constrain US-China exchanges.
JORDAN
Jordan changes constitution to give King more power
Jordan’s parliament has passed several constitutional amendments giving King Abdullah more powers, including the right to appoint the head of a top court and members of the senate.
The King was also granted the power to appoint his own regent and crown prince.
State-owned news agency Petra said the amendments were passed with 123 votes in favour out of 142. The parliament has a total of 150 MPs.
The changes gave the King the right to make key appointments by royal decree without any nomination process by the government or signatures from the Council of Ministers.