The United States is ending sanctions waivers on five countries importing Iranian oil, hoping to choke off Tehran’s main source of revenue. Iran was swift to respond, threatening to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a major shipment artery in the Middle East, if it cannot export oil. VOA’s Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine has more reaction from the countries most affected by the U.S. action, including China and Turkey.
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Month: April 2019
US Seeks To Choke Off Iran’s Oil Exports, Iran Threatens To Close Strategic Strait
The United States is ending sanctions waivers on five countries importing Iranian oil, hoping to choke off Tehran’s main source of revenue. Iran was swift to respond, threatening to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a major shipment artery in the Middle East, if it cannot export oil. VOA’s Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine has more reaction from the countries most affected by the U.S. action, including China and Turkey.
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N. Korea Confirms Kim Jong Un to Visit Russia for Summit with Putin
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will visit Russia for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, North Korean state media confirmed.
With his Russia visit, North Korea’s Kim is seen working to build up foreign support for his economic development plans, since the breakdown of the second U.S.-North Korea summit in Hanoi in February led to stalled talks with Washington on the sanctions relief Pyongyang had sought.
State media Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said the visit will happen “soon,” but did not elaborate the time or the venue.
Putin and Kim are on track to meet by the end of April, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday.
Kim Jong Un’s chief aide, Kim Chang Son, was seen in Vladivostok on Sunday according to South Korean news agency Yonhap, leading to speculation that the Putin-Kim summit will be held in the city around April 24-25.
NK News, a group that follows North Korea, showed photos on its website on Monday of preparations underway at Vladivostok’s Far Eastern Federal University, likely to host part of the summit, with workers installing North Korean and Russian flags.
After the diplomatic failure at the Hanoi summit, Kim is likely looking to prove that he is still being sought after by world leaders, and that he has more options, said Artyom Lukin, a professor at Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok.
“Kim does not want to look too dependent on Washington, Beijing and Seoul,” he said. “As for Russia, the Putin-Kim summit will reaffirm Moscow’s place as a major player on the Korean Peninsula. This meeting is important for Russian international prestige.”
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N. Korea Confirms Kim Jong Un to Visit Russia for Summit with Putin
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will visit Russia for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, North Korean state media confirmed.
With his Russia visit, North Korea’s Kim is seen working to build up foreign support for his economic development plans, since the breakdown of the second U.S.-North Korea summit in Hanoi in February led to stalled talks with Washington on the sanctions relief Pyongyang had sought.
State media Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said the visit will happen “soon,” but did not elaborate the time or the venue.
Putin and Kim are on track to meet by the end of April, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday.
Kim Jong Un’s chief aide, Kim Chang Son, was seen in Vladivostok on Sunday according to South Korean news agency Yonhap, leading to speculation that the Putin-Kim summit will be held in the city around April 24-25.
NK News, a group that follows North Korea, showed photos on its website on Monday of preparations underway at Vladivostok’s Far Eastern Federal University, likely to host part of the summit, with workers installing North Korean and Russian flags.
After the diplomatic failure at the Hanoi summit, Kim is likely looking to prove that he is still being sought after by world leaders, and that he has more options, said Artyom Lukin, a professor at Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok.
“Kim does not want to look too dependent on Washington, Beijing and Seoul,” he said. “As for Russia, the Putin-Kim summit will reaffirm Moscow’s place as a major player on the Korean Peninsula. This meeting is important for Russian international prestige.”
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US Offers $10 Million Reward for Information on Hezbollah Finances
The United States is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information that disrupts the finances of Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant organization.
The U.S. State Department announced the award Monday, saying it would be paid to those who give information about major Hezbollah donors and financiers as well as businesses that support the organization and banks that facilitate the group’s transactions.
The payments will be made by the State Department’s Rewards for Justice program, which until now has focused on offering cash rewards for information that leads to the capture of wanted terrorists.
Hezbollah was designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the State Department in 1997.
The Shi’ite group, backed by Iran, has recently been increasing its influence on Lebanon’s government. It has also been growing its regional clout, including sending fighters to Syria to support President Bashar al-Assad.
The State Department said its Rewards for Justice program has paid more than $150 million to more than 100 people for giving information that helped brings terrorists to justice or prevented acts of terrorism. The program began in 1984.
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US Offers $10 Million Reward for Information on Hezbollah Finances
The United States is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information that disrupts the finances of Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant organization.
The U.S. State Department announced the award Monday, saying it would be paid to those who give information about major Hezbollah donors and financiers as well as businesses that support the organization and banks that facilitate the group’s transactions.
The payments will be made by the State Department’s Rewards for Justice program, which until now has focused on offering cash rewards for information that leads to the capture of wanted terrorists.
Hezbollah was designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the State Department in 1997.
The Shi’ite group, backed by Iran, has recently been increasing its influence on Lebanon’s government. It has also been growing its regional clout, including sending fighters to Syria to support President Bashar al-Assad.
The State Department said its Rewards for Justice program has paid more than $150 million to more than 100 people for giving information that helped brings terrorists to justice or prevented acts of terrorism. The program began in 1984.
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Ugandan Police Disperse Backers of Lawmaker with Presidential Ambitions
Ugandan police fired tear gas and water cannon on Monday to disperse supporters of popular musician and lawmaker Bobi Wine after they gathered at a beach resort near Kampala where he was planning to hold a news conference and stage a concert.
Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, has built support since becoming a member of parliament two years ago.
Many young Ugandans have been drawn to him by his criticism of President Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled for more than three decades. Wine has said he plans to run for president in 2021.
Security forces have frequently prevented Wine, 37, from staging concerts, often accusing him of failing to comply with public order management rules.
Wine and his supporters accuse the government of canceling his shows due to his political ambitions.
“Police are empowered by the law to use reasonable force and that’s what we did to disperse his supporters and make him comply with our orders,” police spokesman Patrick Onyango told Reuters.
Footage on local NTV showed police firing teargas and water cannon at Wine’s supporters gathered at One Love Beach in Busabala on the shores of Lake Victoria on Kampala’s southern outskirts where he planned to stage a concert.
The footage showed police removing Wine from his vehicle and shoving him into a police truck.
“Police and the military blocked us from reaching Busabala for our press conference about police brutality, injustice and abuse of authority,” Bobi Wine said on Twitter.
“They have been trying to break into our car. Now they are clamping it to drag us away,” he said, shortly before his administration team posted an update saying he was “violently arrested.”
The police spokesman said Wine was driven by police back to his home in Kampala’s northern outskirts.
Opponents of Museveni says he has used security crackdowns and patronage to maintain power. The president’s supporters say he has brought order to a once unstable nation and has built up a strong support base particularly in the countryside.
Last week, Uganda’s supreme court cleared the way for Museveni, 74, to stand again after rejecting a legal challenge to a 2017 constitutional amendment that had removed an age limit.
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Ugandan Police Disperse Backers of Lawmaker with Presidential Ambitions
Ugandan police fired tear gas and water cannon on Monday to disperse supporters of popular musician and lawmaker Bobi Wine after they gathered at a beach resort near Kampala where he was planning to hold a news conference and stage a concert.
Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, has built support since becoming a member of parliament two years ago.
Many young Ugandans have been drawn to him by his criticism of President Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled for more than three decades. Wine has said he plans to run for president in 2021.
Security forces have frequently prevented Wine, 37, from staging concerts, often accusing him of failing to comply with public order management rules.
Wine and his supporters accuse the government of canceling his shows due to his political ambitions.
“Police are empowered by the law to use reasonable force and that’s what we did to disperse his supporters and make him comply with our orders,” police spokesman Patrick Onyango told Reuters.
Footage on local NTV showed police firing teargas and water cannon at Wine’s supporters gathered at One Love Beach in Busabala on the shores of Lake Victoria on Kampala’s southern outskirts where he planned to stage a concert.
The footage showed police removing Wine from his vehicle and shoving him into a police truck.
“Police and the military blocked us from reaching Busabala for our press conference about police brutality, injustice and abuse of authority,” Bobi Wine said on Twitter.
“They have been trying to break into our car. Now they are clamping it to drag us away,” he said, shortly before his administration team posted an update saying he was “violently arrested.”
The police spokesman said Wine was driven by police back to his home in Kampala’s northern outskirts.
Opponents of Museveni says he has used security crackdowns and patronage to maintain power. The president’s supporters say he has brought order to a once unstable nation and has built up a strong support base particularly in the countryside.
Last week, Uganda’s supreme court cleared the way for Museveni, 74, to stand again after rejecting a legal challenge to a 2017 constitutional amendment that had removed an age limit.
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Opponents of Egypt’s Constitutional Reforms Call for ‘No’ Vote
Opponents of constitutional amendments that could see Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi stay in power until 2030 urged people to vote “no” on Monday, the third and final day of a referendum on the proposal.
The amendments would also bolster the role of the military and expand the president’s power over judicial appointments. The constitutional changes were approved by parliament last week.
While the amendments are expected to be passed in the referendum, observers say the turnout will be a test of Sissi’s popularity, which has been dented by austerity measures since 2016. He was re-elected last year with 97 percent of votes cast.
Sissi’s supporters say he has stabilized Egypt and needs more time to reform and develop the economy. Critics fear changing the constitution will shrink any remaining space for political competition and debate, paving the way for a long period of one-man rule.
Ahmed al-Tantawi, one of a small number of opposition members of parliament, said the referendum was being held against a backdrop of intimidation and “vote buying”.
The electoral commission said on Monday afternoon it had not received any formal complaints so far about any irregularities.
“We can say that the first two days of voting were held under the slogan, the ‘ticket and the cardboard box’,” Tantawi said, referring to reports that grocery boxes were being handed out to people in exchange for casting a vote.
“But there is a chance on the third day of voting for Egyptians, particularly the youth, to return things to their natural course,” he said.
Activists have posted photos on social media that appeared to show white cardboard boxes packed with groceries being handed out to people after they voted.
A Reuters reporter saw some voters receiving vouchers for groceries after leaving a central Cairo polling station, which they then exchanged for packages of cooking oil, pasta, sugar and tea at a nearby charity.
It was not immediately possible to verify who was distributing the food.
When asked about the boxes, Mahmoud el-Sherif, spokesman for Egypt’s election commission, said it was monitoring for any violations. But he added: “The commission has received no notifications or complaints of this kind so far.”
The commission says it has strict measures to ensure a fair and free vote, posting judges at each polling station and using special ink to prevent multiple voting.
If approved, the amendments would extend Sissi’s current term to six years from four and allow him to run again for a third six-year term in 2024.
They would also grant the president control over appointing head judges and the public prosecutor from a pool of candidates, and give Egypt’s powerful military the role of protecting “the constitution and democracy”.
Cairo’s streets have been adorned with banners encouraging people to vote, some of them backing a “yes” vote.
Ahmed Maher, a founder of the April 6 Movement, one of the youth groups behind the 2011 uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak, said Egyptians still had a chance to make their voice heard.
“Try to change the result, even by a small ratio,” he wrote in a message posted on social media. “Tell your relatives, friends and acquaintance to go down and say ‘No’.”
Some 61 million of Egypt’s nearly 100 million population are eligible to vote. The result is expected within five days.
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Opponents of Egypt’s Constitutional Reforms Call for ‘No’ Vote
Opponents of constitutional amendments that could see Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi stay in power until 2030 urged people to vote “no” on Monday, the third and final day of a referendum on the proposal.
The amendments would also bolster the role of the military and expand the president’s power over judicial appointments. The constitutional changes were approved by parliament last week.
While the amendments are expected to be passed in the referendum, observers say the turnout will be a test of Sissi’s popularity, which has been dented by austerity measures since 2016. He was re-elected last year with 97 percent of votes cast.
Sissi’s supporters say he has stabilized Egypt and needs more time to reform and develop the economy. Critics fear changing the constitution will shrink any remaining space for political competition and debate, paving the way for a long period of one-man rule.
Ahmed al-Tantawi, one of a small number of opposition members of parliament, said the referendum was being held against a backdrop of intimidation and “vote buying”.
The electoral commission said on Monday afternoon it had not received any formal complaints so far about any irregularities.
“We can say that the first two days of voting were held under the slogan, the ‘ticket and the cardboard box’,” Tantawi said, referring to reports that grocery boxes were being handed out to people in exchange for casting a vote.
“But there is a chance on the third day of voting for Egyptians, particularly the youth, to return things to their natural course,” he said.
Activists have posted photos on social media that appeared to show white cardboard boxes packed with groceries being handed out to people after they voted.
A Reuters reporter saw some voters receiving vouchers for groceries after leaving a central Cairo polling station, which they then exchanged for packages of cooking oil, pasta, sugar and tea at a nearby charity.
It was not immediately possible to verify who was distributing the food.
When asked about the boxes, Mahmoud el-Sherif, spokesman for Egypt’s election commission, said it was monitoring for any violations. But he added: “The commission has received no notifications or complaints of this kind so far.”
The commission says it has strict measures to ensure a fair and free vote, posting judges at each polling station and using special ink to prevent multiple voting.
If approved, the amendments would extend Sissi’s current term to six years from four and allow him to run again for a third six-year term in 2024.
They would also grant the president control over appointing head judges and the public prosecutor from a pool of candidates, and give Egypt’s powerful military the role of protecting “the constitution and democracy”.
Cairo’s streets have been adorned with banners encouraging people to vote, some of them backing a “yes” vote.
Ahmed Maher, a founder of the April 6 Movement, one of the youth groups behind the 2011 uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak, said Egyptians still had a chance to make their voice heard.
“Try to change the result, even by a small ratio,” he wrote in a message posted on social media. “Tell your relatives, friends and acquaintance to go down and say ‘No’.”
Some 61 million of Egypt’s nearly 100 million population are eligible to vote. The result is expected within five days.
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Mali’s Keita Names Finance Minister as New PM
Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita appointed finance minister Boubou Cisse as prime minister on Monday, days after the government resigned following pressure to respond to the vigilante massacre of about 160 Fulani herders which shocked the nation.
Mali’s former prime minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga and his government resigned last week after they came under fire for failing to disarm militias and beat back Islamist militants stoking the violence that led to the Fulani massacre.
“The President of the Republic has decided to name Doctor Boubou Cisse to the function of prime minister,” Keita’s office said in a statement on Monday.
Both Mali and neighboring Burkina Faso have been hit by the spike in hostilities fueled by Islamist militants seeking to extend their influence over the Sahel, an arid region between Africa’s northern Sahara desert and its southern savannas.
The militants have built on long-standing rivalries between communities to side with Fulani herders and boost their ranks, spurring a wave of inter-ethnic clashes that culminated with the killing of 157 Fulani villagers in March — bloody even by the recent standards of Mali’s ever-worsening violence.
The authorities have detained five people suspected of taking part in the massacre. But they have not yet succeeded in disarming the militia that many believe organized it, despite pledges by Maiga and Keita to do so.
Mali has been in turmoil since a rebellion by Tuaregs and allied jihadists took over half the country in 2012, prompting the French to intervene to push them back the following year. The latest violence took place on Sunday, when unidentified gunmen raided an army base at dawn, killing 11 soldiers and burning the camp.
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Mali’s Keita Names Finance Minister as New PM
Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita appointed finance minister Boubou Cisse as prime minister on Monday, days after the government resigned following pressure to respond to the vigilante massacre of about 160 Fulani herders which shocked the nation.
Mali’s former prime minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga and his government resigned last week after they came under fire for failing to disarm militias and beat back Islamist militants stoking the violence that led to the Fulani massacre.
“The President of the Republic has decided to name Doctor Boubou Cisse to the function of prime minister,” Keita’s office said in a statement on Monday.
Both Mali and neighboring Burkina Faso have been hit by the spike in hostilities fueled by Islamist militants seeking to extend their influence over the Sahel, an arid region between Africa’s northern Sahara desert and its southern savannas.
The militants have built on long-standing rivalries between communities to side with Fulani herders and boost their ranks, spurring a wave of inter-ethnic clashes that culminated with the killing of 157 Fulani villagers in March — bloody even by the recent standards of Mali’s ever-worsening violence.
The authorities have detained five people suspected of taking part in the massacre. But they have not yet succeeded in disarming the militia that many believe organized it, despite pledges by Maiga and Keita to do so.
Mali has been in turmoil since a rebellion by Tuaregs and allied jihadists took over half the country in 2012, prompting the French to intervene to push them back the following year. The latest violence took place on Sunday, when unidentified gunmen raided an army base at dawn, killing 11 soldiers and burning the camp.
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5 Algerian Billionaires Arrested in Anti-Graft Investigation
Five Algerian billionaires, some of them close to former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika who quit over mass protests, have been arrested as part of an anti-graft investigation, state TV said on Monday.
They were later brought to court to face charges from the general prosecutor’s office, private Ennahar TV channel said, a legal requirement after an arrest. Further details were not immediately available.
The five are Issad Rebrab, considered the richest businessman in the energy-rich north African nation who is especially active in the food and sugar refining business, and four brothers from the Kouninef family, it said.
Rebrab is chairman of the family-owned Cevital company, which imports raw sugar from Brazil and exports white sugar to Tunisia, Libya and other destinations in the Middle East.
The Kouninef family is close to Bouteflika, who ruled Algeria for 20 years. Bouteflika stepped down three weeks ago, bowing to pressure from the army and weeks of demonstrations by mainly younger Algerians seeking change.
There was no immediate statement from those arrested.
The move came after Algeria’s army chief, Lieutenant General Gaid Salah, said last week he expected members of the ruling elite in the country to be prosecuted for corruption.
An Algerian court has already summoned former prime minister Ahmed Ouyahia and current Finance Minister Mohamed Loukal, two close associates of Bouteflika, in an investigation into suspected misuse of public money, state TV said on Saturday.
Mass protests, which began on Feb. 22 and have been largely peaceful, have continued after Bouteflika’s resignation as many want the removal of the entire elite that has governed Algeria since independence from France in 1962. They also want the prosecution of people they see as corrupt.
Bouteflika has been replaced by Abdelkader Bensalah, head of the upper house of parliament, as interim president for 90 days until a presidential election is held on July 4.
Hundreds of thousands protested on Friday to demand the resignation of Bensalah and other top officials.
Bensalah invited civil society and political parties on Monday to discuss the transition to elections but several parties and activists said they would not participate.
The army has so far patiently monitored the mostly peaceful protests that at times have swelled to hundreds of thousands of people. It remains the most powerful institution in Algeria, having swayed politics from the shadows for decades.
Salah said on April 16 that the military was considering all options to resolve the political crisis and warned that “time is running out.”
It was a hint that the military was losing patience with the popular upheaval shaking Algeria, a major oil and natural-gas exporter and an important security partner for the West against Islamist militants in north and west Africa.
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Libyan Force Slows Tripoli Push Over Concerns for Civilians
A self-styled Libyan army slowed down its push on the country’s capital over concerns for civilians caught up in the violence as the U.N. refugee agency said Monday that the fighting for Tripoli has displaced more than 32,000 people.
Fighting erupted on April 5, pitting the self-styled Libyan National Army, led by commander Khalifa Haftar and aligned with a rival government in the east, against militias affiliated with Tripoli’s U.N.-supported government.
The clashes threaten to ignite a new civil war in Libya on the scale of the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
The death toll from this month’s fighting climbed to 254, including combatants and civilians, the World Health Organization said Sunday. At least 34 more people died in the past two days, WHO said; 1,228 were wounded.
Since launching his push, which many see as a power grab for Tripoli, Haftar’s forces have captured the districts of Gharyan and Qasr Bani Ghashi,r along with several smaller towns. They also seized the capital’s shuttered old airport.
Fighting is now underway for control of Ain Zara and Azizyia, two larger towns near Tripoli, and in the Abu Salim district, about 7 kilometers (4 miles) from Tripoli center.
Abdelhadi Lahouij, the top diplomat for the east-based government, told The Associated Press in Tunis on Sunday that Haftar’s push was slowed down because of concerns for civilians in the greater Tripoli area, estimated to number about 3 million.
If the civilians had not been taken into account, the battle would not have lasted even a week, he said.
“The army is today 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) from Tripoli. It controls the (old) airport and the bridge that connects the airport to the city center,” Lahouij said.
He also lauded President Donald Trump’s call to Haftar last week expressing U.S. support for the Libyan commander’s perceived stance against terrorism and Haftar’s role in “securing Libya’s oil resources.”
A White House statement on Friday also said “the two discussed a shared vision for Libya’s transition to a stable, democratic political system.”
Trump’s phone call was a step “in the right direction,” Lahouij said.
Since Gahdafi’s ouster, Libya has slid into chaos, governed by rival authorities in the east and in Tripoli, each backed by various militias and armed groups fighting over resources and territory.
Haftar has vowed to unify the country. He has led previous campaigns against Islamic militants and other rivals in eastern Libya, and has received support from the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Russia and France.
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Pakistan, Iran to Set Up Joint Security Force
Leaders of Pakistan and Iran agreed Monday to expand border security cooperation to fight terrorist groups waging deadly attacks in both countries, and vowed to continue joint efforts to help bring peace to their conflict-ravaged neighbor Afghanistan.
Iranian President Hassan Rohani and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, who arrived in Iran on his first official visit a day earlier, discussed the details at a joint news conference after concluding extensive delegation-level talks on strengthening bilateral security, economic and trade ties.
“We have agreed to expand our security and intelligence cooperation, particularly in border areas, and we also agreed to set up a joint rapid reaction force in order to guard our common borders,” Rohani said while speaking through his interpreter. The Iranian leader said he was confident Khan’s visit would be “a turning point” in improving bilateral relations.
Prime Minister Khan also acknowledged the border security issue figured high in his discussions, citing recent terrorist attacks in both countries, which share a frontier of more than 900-kilometers. He noted his two-day visit to Iran was primarily aimed to resolve the issue of terrorism before it increases mutual differences.
“So, the (Pakistani) security chief will be sitting with his counterpart here, and today they will be discussing ways of cooperation so that we have trust in each other that both countries will not allow any terrorist activity from their soil and we hope that this will build confidence between us,” Khan said.
Khan’s visit comes after Pakistan asked Iran to take action against terrorist groups believed to be behind last week’s killing of 14 Pakistani soldiers. Islamabad strong protested and said in a formal letter to the Iranian government that the assailants came from an alliance of three Baluch terrorist organizations based in Iran. The attack took place in Gwadar district in the sparsely populated largest Pakistani province of Baluchistan.
Tehran has repeatedly alleged in recent years that anti-Iran Sunni Muslim extremist group Jaish al-Adl uses Pakistani soil for carrying out deadly raids in southeastern Iranian Sistan-Baluchistan border province.
Earlier this year, Tehran called on Islamabad to take action against the militants it blamed for a suicide car bombing that killed 27 members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
Iran alleges Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, both having traditionally close ties with Pakistan, are providing support to the militants. Riyadh and Abu Dhabi have recently pledged billions of dollars in new investments in Pakistan, including a $10 billion Saudi oil refinery and petrochemical complex in Gwadar, a move analysts say is fueling security concerns in Tehran.
Khan attempted to assure Iran his country is determined not to allow its soil to be used against anyone, pointing to Islamabad’s “unprecedented” successes against terrorism.
“We have come to the conclusion that we will not allow any militant groups to operate from our soil. This government, for the first time in Pakistan, is dismantling any militant group in our country and this is not from outside pressure,” the Pakistani leader stressed.
Both Khan and President Rohani said they also discussed the need for enhancing cooperation to promote a peaceful settlement in Afghanistan. Iran and Pakistan still jointly host about six million Afghan refugees, fleeing decades of conflict and persecution in their country.
“It is in the interest of both our countries that there is peace in Afghanistan. We will cooperate with each other in helping bring a political settlement there,” said the Pakistani prime minister
Rohani, while speaking Monday, again denounced the United States for “insulting” Iran’s IRGC by declaring it as a foreign terrorist organization.
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Military Vet Moulton Joins 2020 Presidential Race
U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton is the latest Democrat to jump in the race for the White House.
The Massachusetts lawmaker and Iraq War veteran made the announcement on his website Monday.
Moulton first came to prominence in 2014 when he unseated long-term incumbent Rep. John Tierney in a Democratic primary and went on to represent the state’s 6th Congressional District, a swath of communities north of Boston including Salem, home of the infamous colonial-era witch trials.
Speculation about a possible Moulton run has been simmering as far back as 2017 when he spoke at a Democratic political rally in Iowa, home of the first-the-the-nation presidential caucuses. At the time, he brushed aside talk of a presidential run.
Talk of possible run ramped up during last year’s election when the former U.S. Marine helped lead an effort to get other Democratic military veterans to run for Congress — a cause he continues to push.
“16 years ago today, leaders in Washington sent me and my friends to fight in a war based on lies. It’s still going on today,” Moulton said in a recent tweet. “It’s time for the generation that fought in Iraq to take over for the generation that sent us there.”
The 40-year-old Moulton also gained national attention for helping lead an effort within the party to reject Nancy Pelosi as House speaker after Democrats regained control of the chamber. Moulton said it was time for new leadership.
Moulton has also been a frequent critic of President Donald Trump — from foreign policy, including Trump’s recent veto of a resolution to end U.S. military assistance in Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen, to his push for a wall at the southern border.
And when Trump claimed to be the target of the “single greatest witch hunt of a politician in American history,” Moulton responded that “as the Representative of Salem, MA, I can confirm that this is false.”
Despite occasionally differing with some on the most liberal wing of the party, Moulton has staked out familiar policy positions for those seeking the Democratic presidential nomination.
He’s called health care “a right every American must be guaranteed,” pushed to toughen gun laws, was a co-sponsor of the Green New Deal, has championed a federal “Green Corps” modeled after the Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930s, and has called for an end to the Electoral College.
Money could prove a challenge to Moulton, who has raised $255,000 so far this year and had about $723,000 in his campaign account as of the end of March.
Moulton is now the third political figure from Massachusetts to take a stab at a White House run. U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren — a Democrat — and former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld — a Republican — are also running.
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Military Vet Moulton Joins 2020 Presidential Race
U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton is the latest Democrat to jump in the race for the White House.
The Massachusetts lawmaker and Iraq War veteran made the announcement on his website Monday.
Moulton first came to prominence in 2014 when he unseated long-term incumbent Rep. John Tierney in a Democratic primary and went on to represent the state’s 6th Congressional District, a swath of communities north of Boston including Salem, home of the infamous colonial-era witch trials.
Speculation about a possible Moulton run has been simmering as far back as 2017 when he spoke at a Democratic political rally in Iowa, home of the first-the-the-nation presidential caucuses. At the time, he brushed aside talk of a presidential run.
Talk of possible run ramped up during last year’s election when the former U.S. Marine helped lead an effort to get other Democratic military veterans to run for Congress — a cause he continues to push.
“16 years ago today, leaders in Washington sent me and my friends to fight in a war based on lies. It’s still going on today,” Moulton said in a recent tweet. “It’s time for the generation that fought in Iraq to take over for the generation that sent us there.”
The 40-year-old Moulton also gained national attention for helping lead an effort within the party to reject Nancy Pelosi as House speaker after Democrats regained control of the chamber. Moulton said it was time for new leadership.
Moulton has also been a frequent critic of President Donald Trump — from foreign policy, including Trump’s recent veto of a resolution to end U.S. military assistance in Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen, to his push for a wall at the southern border.
And when Trump claimed to be the target of the “single greatest witch hunt of a politician in American history,” Moulton responded that “as the Representative of Salem, MA, I can confirm that this is false.”
Despite occasionally differing with some on the most liberal wing of the party, Moulton has staked out familiar policy positions for those seeking the Democratic presidential nomination.
He’s called health care “a right every American must be guaranteed,” pushed to toughen gun laws, was a co-sponsor of the Green New Deal, has championed a federal “Green Corps” modeled after the Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930s, and has called for an end to the Electoral College.
Money could prove a challenge to Moulton, who has raised $255,000 so far this year and had about $723,000 in his campaign account as of the end of March.
Moulton is now the third political figure from Massachusetts to take a stab at a White House run. U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren — a Democrat — and former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld — a Republican — are also running.
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Sudan’s Military Council Warns Protesters
Sudan’s Transitional Military Council wants protesters to remove themselves and the blockades they have placed around the military headquarters in Khartoum.
In a statement Monday, the council called for an “immediate opening of the roads and removal of the barricades” around the site.
The council’s warning comes a day after talks between the protesters and the military broke down because the military refuses to transfer power to a civilian government.
Protesters have been demanding a change in regime since December.
“We have decided to opt for escalation with the military council, not to recognize its legitimacy and to continue the sit-in and escalate the protests on the streets,” said Mohamed al-Amin Abdel-Aziz of the Sudanese Professionals Association, one of the main organizers of the protests.
The military removed President Omar al-Bashir from power on April 11, after three decades in power. But since then, the military has made no move toward transferring power to a civilian council as demanded by the protesters.
Sudan’s army ruler, General Abdel Fattah al-Burham told state television Sunday that a joint military-civilian council, which he said was one of the demonstrators demands, was under consideration, “The issue has been put forward for discussion and a vision has yet to be reached,” he said.
your ad hereSudan’s Military Council Warns Protesters
Sudan’s Transitional Military Council wants protesters to remove themselves and the blockades they have placed around the military headquarters in Khartoum.
In a statement Monday, the council called for an “immediate opening of the roads and removal of the barricades” around the site.
The council’s warning comes a day after talks between the protesters and the military broke down because the military refuses to transfer power to a civilian government.
Protesters have been demanding a change in regime since December.
“We have decided to opt for escalation with the military council, not to recognize its legitimacy and to continue the sit-in and escalate the protests on the streets,” said Mohamed al-Amin Abdel-Aziz of the Sudanese Professionals Association, one of the main organizers of the protests.
The military removed President Omar al-Bashir from power on April 11, after three decades in power. But since then, the military has made no move toward transferring power to a civilian council as demanded by the protesters.
Sudan’s army ruler, General Abdel Fattah al-Burham told state television Sunday that a joint military-civilian council, which he said was one of the demonstrators demands, was under consideration, “The issue has been put forward for discussion and a vision has yet to be reached,” he said.
your ad hereUS Tells Afghan president Qatar talks best chance for peace
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called Afghanistan’s president over the weekend to express Washington’s disappointment over the indefinite postponement of Afghan talks with the Taliban and to condemn the insurgent’s latest “spring offensive,” according to a statement Monday.
The Afghan-to-Afghan talks were scheduled to start on Friday in Qatar, where the Taliban maintain an office, but were scuttled after a falling out over who should attend.
The gathering would have marked the first time that Taliban and Kabul government officials sat together. It was considered a significant first step toward finding a negotiated end to the war in Afghanistan, America’s longest conflict, and the eventual withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country.
The State Department said Pompeo called President Ashraf Ghani on Saturday over the postponement and also condemned the recent Taliban announcement of starting another offensive this spring.
The announcement itself was just a show of strength since the Taliban have kept up relentless near-daily attacks even during the harsh winter months, inflicting staggering losses on the embattled Afghan military and security forces. Many civilians also loss their lives in the cross-fire.
In his phone call with Ghani, Pompeo encouraged both sides to agree on participants, saying the talks are Afghanistan’s best chance at peace.
Before the postponement, Washington’s special peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, who has met on several occasions with the Taliban and has pressed for Afghan-to-Afghan talks, had hoped the Qatar meeting would bring the sides closer to a “roadmap” for a future Afghanistan.
Kabul, which had been sidelined for months from U.S-Taliban talks because the insurgents refuse to talk directly with government officials, had offered a massive delegation of 250 participants, including prominent Afghan figures, government and opposition representatives, as well as others to travel to Qatar.
But the hosts in Doha came back with what they said was a revised acceptable list that drastically reduced the number of women and eliminated all government ministers from the list.
Each side blamed the other for scuttling the talks as violence continued. On the ground, Afghan government forces face not only a resurgent Taliban — who now hold sway over nearly half the country — but also militants from the Islamic State group.
IS on Saturday targeted the Telecommunications Ministry in Kabul, with a suicide bomber striking outside the ministry and clearing the way for gunmen to enter the heavily-guarded compound. At least seven people were killed.
According to a prominent figure on the Kabul list for talks in Qatar, who spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to talk to the media, several senior participants on the list had received a call from the president’s office warning them they should not express personal opinions at the talks with the Taliban, only speak on behalf of the state.
The Taliban for their part have said they would consider all Afghans at the table only as individuals and not government representatives.
Meanwhile, Ghani is organizing a Loya Jirga — a council of elders that has a voice in Afghan policy — for next week in Kabul. The agenda is also expected to include negotiating positions for talks with the Taliban.
Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah has refused to attend the grand council, along with several other prominent Afghans who claim it’s been hand-picked by the president who is seeking another term in elections in September. Abdullah has also announced he is running in the elections.
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US Tells Afghan president Qatar talks best chance for peace
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called Afghanistan’s president over the weekend to express Washington’s disappointment over the indefinite postponement of Afghan talks with the Taliban and to condemn the insurgent’s latest “spring offensive,” according to a statement Monday.
The Afghan-to-Afghan talks were scheduled to start on Friday in Qatar, where the Taliban maintain an office, but were scuttled after a falling out over who should attend.
The gathering would have marked the first time that Taliban and Kabul government officials sat together. It was considered a significant first step toward finding a negotiated end to the war in Afghanistan, America’s longest conflict, and the eventual withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country.
The State Department said Pompeo called President Ashraf Ghani on Saturday over the postponement and also condemned the recent Taliban announcement of starting another offensive this spring.
The announcement itself was just a show of strength since the Taliban have kept up relentless near-daily attacks even during the harsh winter months, inflicting staggering losses on the embattled Afghan military and security forces. Many civilians also loss their lives in the cross-fire.
In his phone call with Ghani, Pompeo encouraged both sides to agree on participants, saying the talks are Afghanistan’s best chance at peace.
Before the postponement, Washington’s special peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, who has met on several occasions with the Taliban and has pressed for Afghan-to-Afghan talks, had hoped the Qatar meeting would bring the sides closer to a “roadmap” for a future Afghanistan.
Kabul, which had been sidelined for months from U.S-Taliban talks because the insurgents refuse to talk directly with government officials, had offered a massive delegation of 250 participants, including prominent Afghan figures, government and opposition representatives, as well as others to travel to Qatar.
But the hosts in Doha came back with what they said was a revised acceptable list that drastically reduced the number of women and eliminated all government ministers from the list.
Each side blamed the other for scuttling the talks as violence continued. On the ground, Afghan government forces face not only a resurgent Taliban — who now hold sway over nearly half the country — but also militants from the Islamic State group.
IS on Saturday targeted the Telecommunications Ministry in Kabul, with a suicide bomber striking outside the ministry and clearing the way for gunmen to enter the heavily-guarded compound. At least seven people were killed.
According to a prominent figure on the Kabul list for talks in Qatar, who spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to talk to the media, several senior participants on the list had received a call from the president’s office warning them they should not express personal opinions at the talks with the Taliban, only speak on behalf of the state.
The Taliban for their part have said they would consider all Afghans at the table only as individuals and not government representatives.
Meanwhile, Ghani is organizing a Loya Jirga — a council of elders that has a voice in Afghan policy — for next week in Kabul. The agenda is also expected to include negotiating positions for talks with the Taliban.
Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah has refused to attend the grand council, along with several other prominent Afghans who claim it’s been hand-picked by the president who is seeking another term in elections in September. Abdullah has also announced he is running in the elections.
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North Korea’s Strategy: Slam Everyone but Trump
North Korea has directed a wave of criticism at top White House officials, as talks with the United States have stalled. But one person Pyongyang hasn’t criticized: Donald Trump.
The pattern reflects North Korea’s apparent preference to continue negotiating directly with Trump, who has taken a more conciliatory approach to the nuclear talks than many of his deputies.
It also appears to be a carefully calibrated effort by North Korea to increase negotiating pressure on the U.S. without completely derailing the talks.
“They’re good at drawing the line,” says David Kim, who specializes in East Asia security policy at the Washington-based Stimson Center. “As long as they don’t bash Trump, we’ll be OK.”
North Korea has bashed plenty of other U.S. officials in recent weeks.
Pompeo ‘talking nonsense,’ North says
Last week, after announcing the test of a “tactical guided weapon,” North Korean state media took aim at U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Pompeo is “talking nonsense” and “fabricating stories like a fiction writer,” said the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), quoting a foreign ministry official.
“Whenever Pompeo pokes his nose in, the talks go wrong,” said the official, who called for Pompeo to be removed from the negotiating team.
North Korea was apparently unhappy with a recent Senate hearing during which Pompeo agreed with the characterization of Kim Jong Un as a “tyrant.”
Pyongyang has also accused Pompeo of making unreasonable denuclearization demands during meetings with his North Korean counterparts.
Pompeo downplayed the comments, insisting last week he’s “still in charge” of the team negotiating with North Korea.
North Korea: Bolton ‘dim-sighted’
White House National Security Advisor John Bolton, who North Korea once referred to as “human scum” and a “bloodsucker,” also received the KCNA treatment last week.
“He looks dim-sighted to me,” a North Korean foreign ministry official said of the glasses-wearing Bolton. “We have never expected that adviser Bolton would ever make a reasonable remark.”
Bolton, who also dealt with North Korea during the administration of former U.S. President George W. Bush, is one of Washington’s most hawkish officials on North Korea issues.
Just a month before joining the Trump administration last year, Bolton wrote an opinion piece for The Wall Street Journal titled: “The Legal Case for Striking North Korea First.”
Bolton has also angered North Korea by proposing it follow Libya’s model of unilaterally handing over its entire nuclear program.
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi gave up his nuclear program in the early 2000s; he was killed by protesters during a NATO-backed uprising against his rule in 2011.
Trump-Kim ties ‘excellent’
In contrast to its treatment of Pompeo and Bolton, North Korea has gone out of its way to praise the friendly relations between Trump and Kim.
The personal chemistry between Trump and Kim is still “mysteriously wonderful,” senior North Korean diplomat Choe Son Hui said in March.
Trump and Kim weren’t always friendly. In 2017, Trump dubbed Kim “Little Rocket Man” and threatened to “totally destroy North Korea” amid North Korea’s repeated nuclear and missile tests. Kim returned the threats of nuclear war and referred to Trump as a “dotard.”
Trump now insists his friendship with Kim could be key to convincing the young North Korean leader to give up his nuclear weapons.
“We fell in love,” Trump said last year, touting the “beautiful letters” he has exchanged with Kim.
Given Trump’s softer approach, North Korea likely believes it can get a better deal if it negotiates directly with Trump, analysts say.
“They still have trust in President Trump,” says Kim Joon-hyung, a professor at South Korea’s Handong Global University. “So they are trying to separate him from his staff.”
Trump overrules the hawks
Trump has repeatedly disagreed with and sometimes overruled the North Korea policies of his more hawkish deputies.
For example, although Bolton and some senior State Department officials have spoken about timelines for North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons, Trump regularly insists he is in “no hurry.”
Trump has overruled some of his top advisors, including former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, with his decision to suspend large-scale military exercises with South Korea.
Last month, after the U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions against two Chinese shipping companies because of deliveries to North Korea, Trump abruptly reversed the move. A day earlier, Bolton had publicly praised the sanctions on Twitter.
In explaining the sanctions reversal, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said “President Trump likes Chairman Kim, and he doesn’t think these sanctions will be necessary.”
So what’s next?
Even though Trump and Kim have stopped insulting each other for now, the talks remain stalled.
Despite two summits between Trump and Kim, U.S. officials now acknowledge they have not even reached an agreement on what the idea of denuclearization means.
With such fundamental disagreements, it’s not clear that personal diplomacy alone can rescue the talks. And both sides appear to be hardening their stances.
Trump says he is not willing to relax sanctions unless North Korea agrees to completely dismantle its nuclear program. Pyongyang has offered only partial dismantlement in exchange for lifting most U.N. sanctions.
In a speech earlier this month, Kim said he was open to a third summit with Trump. But he gave the U.S. until the end of the year to change its approach.
…
North Korea’s Strategy: Slam Everyone but Trump
North Korea has directed a wave of criticism at top White House officials, as talks with the United States have stalled. But one person Pyongyang hasn’t criticized: Donald Trump.
The pattern reflects North Korea’s apparent preference to continue negotiating directly with Trump, who has taken a more conciliatory approach to the nuclear talks than many of his deputies.
It also appears to be a carefully calibrated effort by North Korea to increase negotiating pressure on the U.S. without completely derailing the talks.
“They’re good at drawing the line,” says David Kim, who specializes in East Asia security policy at the Washington-based Stimson Center. “As long as they don’t bash Trump, we’ll be OK.”
North Korea has bashed plenty of other U.S. officials in recent weeks.
Pompeo ‘talking nonsense,’ North says
Last week, after announcing the test of a “tactical guided weapon,” North Korean state media took aim at U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Pompeo is “talking nonsense” and “fabricating stories like a fiction writer,” said the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), quoting a foreign ministry official.
“Whenever Pompeo pokes his nose in, the talks go wrong,” said the official, who called for Pompeo to be removed from the negotiating team.
North Korea was apparently unhappy with a recent Senate hearing during which Pompeo agreed with the characterization of Kim Jong Un as a “tyrant.”
Pyongyang has also accused Pompeo of making unreasonable denuclearization demands during meetings with his North Korean counterparts.
Pompeo downplayed the comments, insisting last week he’s “still in charge” of the team negotiating with North Korea.
North Korea: Bolton ‘dim-sighted’
White House National Security Advisor John Bolton, who North Korea once referred to as “human scum” and a “bloodsucker,” also received the KCNA treatment last week.
“He looks dim-sighted to me,” a North Korean foreign ministry official said of the glasses-wearing Bolton. “We have never expected that adviser Bolton would ever make a reasonable remark.”
Bolton, who also dealt with North Korea during the administration of former U.S. President George W. Bush, is one of Washington’s most hawkish officials on North Korea issues.
Just a month before joining the Trump administration last year, Bolton wrote an opinion piece for The Wall Street Journal titled: “The Legal Case for Striking North Korea First.”
Bolton has also angered North Korea by proposing it follow Libya’s model of unilaterally handing over its entire nuclear program.
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi gave up his nuclear program in the early 2000s; he was killed by protesters during a NATO-backed uprising against his rule in 2011.
Trump-Kim ties ‘excellent’
In contrast to its treatment of Pompeo and Bolton, North Korea has gone out of its way to praise the friendly relations between Trump and Kim.
The personal chemistry between Trump and Kim is still “mysteriously wonderful,” senior North Korean diplomat Choe Son Hui said in March.
Trump and Kim weren’t always friendly. In 2017, Trump dubbed Kim “Little Rocket Man” and threatened to “totally destroy North Korea” amid North Korea’s repeated nuclear and missile tests. Kim returned the threats of nuclear war and referred to Trump as a “dotard.”
Trump now insists his friendship with Kim could be key to convincing the young North Korean leader to give up his nuclear weapons.
“We fell in love,” Trump said last year, touting the “beautiful letters” he has exchanged with Kim.
Given Trump’s softer approach, North Korea likely believes it can get a better deal if it negotiates directly with Trump, analysts say.
“They still have trust in President Trump,” says Kim Joon-hyung, a professor at South Korea’s Handong Global University. “So they are trying to separate him from his staff.”
Trump overrules the hawks
Trump has repeatedly disagreed with and sometimes overruled the North Korea policies of his more hawkish deputies.
For example, although Bolton and some senior State Department officials have spoken about timelines for North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons, Trump regularly insists he is in “no hurry.”
Trump has overruled some of his top advisors, including former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, with his decision to suspend large-scale military exercises with South Korea.
Last month, after the U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions against two Chinese shipping companies because of deliveries to North Korea, Trump abruptly reversed the move. A day earlier, Bolton had publicly praised the sanctions on Twitter.
In explaining the sanctions reversal, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said “President Trump likes Chairman Kim, and he doesn’t think these sanctions will be necessary.”
So what’s next?
Even though Trump and Kim have stopped insulting each other for now, the talks remain stalled.
Despite two summits between Trump and Kim, U.S. officials now acknowledge they have not even reached an agreement on what the idea of denuclearization means.
With such fundamental disagreements, it’s not clear that personal diplomacy alone can rescue the talks. And both sides appear to be hardening their stances.
Trump says he is not willing to relax sanctions unless North Korea agrees to completely dismantle its nuclear program. Pyongyang has offered only partial dismantlement in exchange for lifting most U.N. sanctions.
In a speech earlier this month, Kim said he was open to a third summit with Trump. But he gave the U.S. until the end of the year to change its approach.
…
Women’s Football in Nigeria Struggles for Funds
Nigeria’s women’s football [soccer] team, the Super Falcons, has dominated the African Women’s Championship, winning nine titles since 1991. But the players have complained of low salaries, delayed paychecks, and being treated as second-class players to the men’s team.
Thirty-one-year-old Toochukwu Oluehi is the Number One goalkeeper on the Nigerian women’s national team – the Super Falcons.
The team has won almost every African Women’s Championship since 1991, taking nine out of 11 recognized titles.
But despite their record, Oluehi and her teammates say they are too often overlooked and underpaid.
“We’re the people bringing glory to the land. So, they should look into the females and try and concentrate more on the females and leave the boys. The boys are earning more than the girls,” Oluehi said.
The women’s team is more dependent on government funding than the men’s team, the Super Eagles, which has won three African titles. The men receive more corporate sponsorships and higher attendance at matches.
Even so, the women are not happy with the pay inequity.
Players on the men’s team receive bonuses of up to $5,000 each for winning a big match, while members of the women’s team rarely see bonuses of more than $1,500. The men also receive higher daily stipends.
The Sports Ministry’s Usman Haruna says while public demand and corporate sponsorship affect salaries, the women are better paid than they used to be.
“I know what it used to be for the Falcons in terms of remuneration after a game. But this present administration, to be sincere with you, has lifted them from nowhere to where they are, which is by far more comfortable and better in the African context,” Haruna said.
Despite the challenges at home, Nigeria’s Super Falcons are preparing for this summer’s Women’s World Cup in France, says head coach Thomas Dennerby.
“Everything is good, all players are fit, no injuries at all, and that is a good start,” Dennerby said.
Nigeria’s women’s team has been to every World Cup since 1991, but only once made it to the quarterfinals.
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