Tag: InternationalNews

{Negotiations off to rocky start after opposition threatens to skip opening ceremony over disagreements.}

Geneva, Switzerland – UN-led negotiations on the war in Syria got off to a delayed start following disputes over the participation of the Syrian opposition delegation.

Opposition representatives nearly missed the opening ceremony of the talks on Thursday after threatening not to attend over disagreements on the make-up and format of the session. But in a last-minute turnaround, they arrived late and as one large delegation.

UN envoy Staffan de Mistura formally began the fourth round of talks in Geneva in an opening session that brought the opposition and government delegations face-to-face at UN headquarters with expectations of a breakthrough low.

“I ask you to work together. I know it’s not going to be easy to end this horrible conflict and lay the foundation for a country at peace with itself, sovereign and unified,” de Mistura told the two delegations, who sat on opposite sides of the stage.

“It is your opportunity and solemn responsibility … not to condemn future generations of Syrian children to long years of bitter and bloody conflict.”

The talks are part of the latest political initiative to bring an end to a six-year war that has killed nearly half a million people, wounded more than a million, and forced more than 12 million – half of the country’s prewar population – from their homes.

{{Hopes for a ‘work plan’}}

In a news conference shortly after his opening speech, de Mistura said he would meet with each side on Friday in the hopes of setting a “work plan” for the remainder of the negotiations.

At the last Syria talks in Geneva 10 months ago, de Mistura had to shuttle between the government and opposition delegations in different rooms.

The opening ceremony on Thursday was delayed by several hours after disputes between the main opposition bloc – the High Negotiations Committee (HNC) – and de Mistura over the structure of the opposition delegation.

The bloated size of the delegation was due partly to de Mistura’s inclusion of two other groups – the Moscow and the Cairo platforms – in the talks. The envoy invited the two pro-Russia, government-tolerated opposition groups to sit separately from the HNC, an umbrella group of armed and political factions.

“You must have seen that there was, in particular, a very heavy [presence] on the side of the opposition in the room … they were including also the armed groups … because, as you know, peace is made between those who fight each other,” said de Mistura.

The idea of the opposition sitting at different tables riled the Saudi Arabia-based HNC, leading to hours of last-minute diplomacy ahead of the opening ceremony as diplomats scrambled to find a solution.

“Today, the real opposition that represents the Syrian people is the HNC. This delegation and the HNC, extends its hand to any national partner that adopts the will of the Syrian people,” Naser al-Hariri, head of the HNC delegation, told reporters ahead of the opening session.

“We hope that the Moscow and Cairo platforms will prioritise national interest and the interests of the Syrian people,” Hariri said.

“The HNC was in contact with the Cairo and Moscow platforms in previous meetings. There are ongoing efforts to join these platforms within the opposition delegation so that we are represented as one delegation.”

De Mistura said there had been “serious progress” made in the hours leading up to the opening ceremony in “forming a united political opposition,” but that there was still much work to be done.

{{Truce violations}}

The talks in Geneva came about after Russia, a key ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and Turkey, a backer of the Syrian opposition, managed to forge a fragile nationwide ceasefire in place since December 30.

The Syrian government and the opposition agreed to participate in negotiations despite daily violations of the truce.

Much has changed on the ground in Syria since de Mistura suspended the last round of talks in Geneva last April after a previous ceasefire collapsed and heavy fighting resumed.

Russia’s September 2015 military intervention drastically changed the balance of power, propping up Assad’s embattled forces and helping them to retake key parts of the country.

With the help of Russian jets and Iranian-backed fighters, Syrian government forces dealt the rebels their biggest defeat in the conflict in December by retaking Aleppo, Syria’s commercial capital before the war and a rebel stronghold since 2012.

The Russian-backed push on the battlefield has been coupled with a similar takeover by Moscow in the diplomatic arena – a move helped by confusion surrounding US President Donald Trump’s Syria policy.

While the Geneva talks are seen as the most serious diplomatic effort in months, disputes over the agenda and long-standing disagreements between the opposition and the government on the future of the country have cast doubts on whether any progress will be achieved.

A day before the talks began, de Mistura said he was not expecting any major breakthroughs, but added he was determined to maintain “proactive momentum” on UN Security Council Resolution 2254, a document that provides the backbone of the talks.

“2254 lays out a clear agenda, including specific language on governance, constitutions, elections, and even for the way negotiations should be timed,” said de Mistura. “That is what must now be discussed.”

Though matters on the ground have shifted, the starkly different political objectives of the warring sides remain unchanged from previous rounds of negotiations.

For the Syrian opposition, a political transition that ensures the removal of Assad remains the only option for peace – an issue that the government in Damascus has consistently refused to consider.

De Mistura said the biggest challenge ahead of the delegates was a “lack of trust” as he appealed to the two sides to use the talks as an opportunity for peace.

“We do know what will happen if we fail once again – more deaths, more suffering, more terrorism, more refugees,” he said.

Source:Al Jazeera

{Instead of negotiating in separate rooms, opposition wants face-to-face meetings with officials at Geneva talks.}

Syria’s main opposition group has called for face-to-face discussions with government representatives, as a new round of talks in Geneva begins one year after meetings in the Swiss city fell apart.

“We ask for direct negotiations … It would save time and be proof of seriousness instead of negotiating in [separate] rooms,” Salem al-Meslet, spokesman for the High Negotiations Committee (HNC) umbrella group, told the AFP news agency.

The talks are set to begin on Thursday morning.

During three previous rounds of talks in Geneva last year, the two sides never sat down at the same table, instead leaving UN mediator Staffan de Mistura to shuttle between them.

De Mistura has played down expectations for major progress ahead of planned negotiations.

“Am I expecting a breakthrough? No, I am not expecting a breakthrough,” he told journalists at the UN headquarters on Wednesday, a day before the start of the fourth round of talks aimed at finding a political solution to Syria’s long-running conflict.

Though the Geneva talks are seen as the most serious diplomatic effort in months, disputes over the agenda and longstanding disagreements between the opposition and the government on the future of Syria have cast doubts on whether any progress will be achieved.

De Mistura said he was determined to maintain “a very pro-active momentum” to allow for political discussions on governance, a new constitution and elections under UN supervision, based on the UN Security Council Resolution 2254.

In recent days, however, the UN mediator has shied away from using the phrase “political transition” – a term the Syrian opposition equates with the removal of President Bashar al-Assad – to describe the goal of the talks.

During previous rounds of UN-led negotiations, the Syrian government categorically refused to discuss Assad’s fate – the main bone of contention between the two sides.

Opposition divisions

The intra-Syrian talks come on the heels of multilateral meetings – facilitated by Russia, Turkey and Iran – in the Kazakh capital of Astana to consolidate a fragile nationwide truce brokered by Russia and Turkey, in place since December 30.

The negotiations in Astana were meant to pave the way towards political negotiations in Geneva, but the ceasefire has steadily fallen apart over the past month, while promises to establish a monitoring mechanism were not fulfilled.

Officials from the opposition delegation, split between military and political representatives, similarly expressed little hope for the talks.

“When the adherence to the ceasefire is not there,” and when there are “games being played at the level of international terms of reference to political transition and a constitution […] then the negotiations are not encouraging,” Yehya al-Aridi, adviser to the High Negotiations Committee, the main opposition umbrella organisation, told Al Jazeera.

“Things are getting complicated further and further, with conflicting agendas. Not only from the main two banks of the conflict, but also within our bank,” he told Al Jazeera.

Infighting within rebel ranks has severely weakened and divided the Syrian opposition over the past month.

That, coupled with uncertainty surrounding US policy on Syria under President Donald Trump, a shift in the priorities of Turkey – traditionally a backer of Syrian rebel groups – and Russia’s 2015 military intervention in support of Assad, has left the opposition with little leverage both politically and militarily.

“There are no solutions in sight now. The reality on the ground is getting worse,” Fares Bayoush, a Free Syrian Army commander, told Al Jazeera.

Omar Kouch, a Syrian analyst, said that while the presence of a ceasefire makes this round of talks markedly different, “there are no indications that the fourth Geneva talks will be serious about finding a solution”.

Kouch said the chances for reaching a solution are slim, citing the continued government offensives on several areas across Syria, the absence of the dominant Syrian Kurdish faction – the Democratic Unity Party (PYD) – at the negotiating table and major divisions within the opposition.

“As in every round of talks, we start with a lot of hope to find a solution, but then the talks are over and nothing is accomplished. In fact, things get worse,” he told Al Jazeera.

With both sides seemingly unwilling to make political concessions, it is unclear how the negotiations could bridge the divide and find a solution.

Still, the Syrian opposition is expected to press for the consolidation of the ceasefire, the release of prisoners, the lifting the blockades over besieged areas and securing a political transition from Assad’s government.

“The main thing is that there is no submission. We are trying very hard, to decrease the losses,” said Aridi.

Source:Al Jazeera

{An estimated 140 structures in a Palestinian Bedouin village ordered demolished by the Israeli government.}

The United Nations has raised concerns over a newly announced demolition plan in a Palestinian Bedouin village in the occupied West Bank that threatens dozens of buildings including a primary school.

“This is unacceptable and it must stop,” Robert Piper, UN’s humanitarian coordinator for the Palestinian territories, said on Wednesday.

Piper visited the village where the primary school is among 140 structures at risk of demolition.

“Khan al-Ahmar is one of the most vulnerable communities in the West Bank struggling to maintain a minimum standard of living in the face of intense pressure from the Israeli authorities to move,” he said in a statement.

Israeli officials have over the past week issued dozens of demolition orders threatening “nearly every structure” in a part of the village of Khan al-Ahmar, the UN said.

Israel said the buildings were built without permits.

The UN said such permits are all but impossible to obtain for Palestinians.

“In the past days construction termination warrants were served to illegal buildings in Khan al-Ahmar,” Israel’s defence ministry body responsible for the Palestinian territories said.

“The enforcement will take place in coordination with state directives and required legal certifications.”

Israel has occupied the West Bank for 50 years in violation of international law.

A number of traditionally nomadic Bedouin communities are based east of Jerusalem, where rights groups fear demolitions could eventually clear the way for more construction of illegal Israeli settlements.

This could partly divide the West Bank between north and south while further isolating the territory from Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians see as their future capital.

The UN said there are 46 communities in the central West Bank at risk of forcible transfer, ousting approximately 7,000 residents.

Israel frequently uses home demolitions to control and punish Palestinians living under its occupation in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Since 1967, when Israel occupied the Palestinian territories, at least 48,000 Palestinian homes and housing structures have been demolished.

Source:Al Jazeera

{Police arrest 52-year-old French accused of molesting unaccompanied refugee minors after offering them food and shelter.}

Greek police say they have arrested a French cleric suspected of sexually abusing unaccompanied refugee children he had sheltered in his house in Thessaloniki, Greece’s second-biggest city.

The 52-year-old man, who belongs to the Franciscan Church of France, allegedly molested four homeless Pakistani boys, aged 14 to 18.

The children, who had been sleeping rough around Thessaloniki’s main railway station, told police officials that they accepted to stay at the man’s home in January after he had offered to provide them with food and housing.

“When questioned, the children said they suffered repeated and persistent sexual abuse by the man,” a police spokeswoman told Al Jazeera on Wednesday.

“They say that he took advantage of the fact that they were homeless and without food to sexually abuse them.”

The alleged abuse came to light after the boys fled the man’s house and one of them found refuge in a Thessaloniki centre for vulnerable migrants.

There, he revealed the abuse to the centre’s staff, who then contacted police.

Following a search on Tuesday at the man’s house in the Toumba area of the northern city, police seized six hard drives and one USB stick, as well as dozens of drug tablets that fall under the Greek law on addictive substances.

Police on Wednesday said the French cleric, who has been living in Greece for 12 years, has been charged with sexual abuse and possession and use of drugs.

Three of the boys are currently staying in centres run by NGOs, while one is living at the Diabata refugee camp, according to police.

{{‘Entirely unprotected’}}

More than 62,000 refugees and migrants are currently stranded across Greece owing to a wave of European border closures and a controversial deal between the EU and Turkey in March 2016.

When the borders shut down last year, more than 2,500 children, many of whom had not been registered as unaccompanied, were trapped in Greece, according to Lora Pappa, the head of METAdrasi, a charity working with unaccompanied minors in the country.

“Currently, despite the big efforts that have taken place, more than 1,200 children remain trapped outside facilities in very difficult conditions – on the Greeks islands or in camps,” Pappa told Al Jazeera.

“Sad cases, like the one in Thessaloniki, happen when there is no system of checks in place,” she said.

For hundreds of vulnerable unaccompanied minors in Greece, life is full of risk and uncertainty.

Those who officially register with Greek authorities are taken by police. Despite being entitled to protection, they often find themselves facing prolonged arbitrary detention in custody and abusive treatment.

“This is very problematic … and often forces many of them to lie to authorities about their age to avoid staying in poor and degrading conditions,” Eva Cosse, Greece specialist at Human Rights Watch, told Al Jazeera.

For these children, alone in a foreign country without a parent or an adult responsible for their care, sexual abuse is just one of the many dangers they face.

“These are children who are entirely unprotected. They sleep rough, lack access to education and are exposed to sexual abuse, human trafficking and black labour,” Cosse said.

“Greece needs to revise its entire system and services to protect unaccompanied migrant and asylum seeking children.”

Source:Al Jazeera

{Sinaloa state native Guadalupe Olivas Valencia threw himself to his death by jumping off a bridge, authorities say.}

A Mexican man has jumped off a bridge and killed himself just minutes after being deported from the United States.

Guadalupe Olivas Valencia, 44, on Wednesday threw himself to his death, authorities said.

With just a plastic bag of belongings in his hand, the Sinaloa state native jumped 30 metres off a bridge in view of the US border.

Witnesses said the man was in great distress after being sent back to Mexico for a third time, according to the AFP news agency.

Soon after being inaugurated president on January 20, President Donald Trump ordered action to begin construction of a wall along the nearly 2,000-mile-long (3,145km) US-Mexico border, a tightening of border security and tougher enforcement against undocumented immigrants inside the country.

His administration issued tough new orders on Tuesday to begin a sweeping crackdown on undocumented immigrants, putting nearly all of the country’s 11 million undocumented foreigners in target for deportation.

Two memos signed by the Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly make it easier for officials to automatically expel undocumented immigrants.

They order border patrol and immigration officers to deport as quickly as possible any undocumented immigrants they find, with only a few exceptions, principally children.

Kelly and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson are set to meet this week Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and other high level officials in Mexico.

Source:Al Jazeera

{Malaysian police identify senior official in North Korean embassy as a suspect in the killing of Kim Jong-nam.}

Malaysian police have identified a senior official in the North Korean embassy as a suspect in the killing of Kim Jong-nam, and said another was linked to the North Korean state airline, Air Koryo.

Police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said on Wednesday that both suspects are still in Malaysia and have been called in for questioning, adding that the North Korean diplomat held the rank of second secretary at the embassy.

Kim Jong-nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, was killed at Kuala Lumpur International Airport last week while he was preparing to board a flight to Macau.

Khalid told a news conference that police “strongly believed” four other suspects who fled Malaysia on February 13, the day of the attack, had arrived in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang.

Abu Bakar also said that two women who are already in custody over the killing, one Indonesian and one Vietnamese, knew they were taking part in a poison attack, despite reports they believed it was a prank.

“Yes, of course, they knew,” Abu Bakar said when asked by a reporter if the women knew they were carrying a toxic substance when they approached Kim Jong-nam.

“I think you have seen the video, right? The lady was moving away with her hands towards the bathroom. She was very aware that it was toxic and that she needed to wash her hands.”

Indonesian police had said one of the suspects had been duped into believing she was taking part in a TV prank show.

Abu Bakar said that North Koreans placed the toxin on the hands of the two women.

He said the North Korean suspect who gave them the toxin is in custody and Malaysian authorities are seeking seven others, including two Khalid announced on Wednesday.

He said three suspects were believed to still be in Malaysia, including the embassy worker and the employee of state airline, Air Koryo.

Khalid referred to the victim, Kim Jong-nam, as Kim Chol, the name on his passport.

Source:Al Jazeera

{Tsang sentenced to 20 months in prison for corruption, becoming Hong Kong’s highest-ranking official to be jailed.}

A former leader of Hong Kong was sentenced to 20 months in prison for misconduct after failing to disclose plans to rent a luxury apartment for his retirement from a businessman applying for a broadcasting licence.

High Court Judge Andrew Chan said on Wednesday that it was a stunning downfall for Donald Tsang, 72, who served as Hong Kong’s leader, or chief executive, from 2005 to 2012.

He becomes the highest-ranking current or former official sent to prison for wrongdoing in the Asian financial hub, which prides itself on a reputation for clean governance.

“Never in my judicial career have I seen a man fallen from such a height,” Chan said as he handed down the sentence in a Hong Kong court. “However, it is not in dispute that the defendant has dedicated himself to public service for the past 40 years.”

The judge said he was going to give Tsang 30 months in jail but took off 10 months because of his good character and contribution to Hong Kong. The maximum penalty for misconduct is seven years.

Tsang showed little emotion as the sentence was read out in a packed courtroom.

Chan noted that among Tsang’s major contributions to public service, one that stood out was “his effort in overcoming” the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis.

Tsang, who was financial secretary at the time, led the city’s successful defence of its currency peg against speculators.

A jury found Tsang guilty last week of one count of misconduct in public office but not guilty on a second count.

It’s one of several recent cases that have shaken public confidence and raised concerns about cozy ties between Hong Kong’s leaders and wealthy tycoons.

Jurors ruled 8-1 that he committed misconduct when he failed to disclose that the penthouse in neighbouring Shenzhen in mainland China was owned by a businessman whose company was applying for a digital radio licence.

They unanimously cleared him of the second misconduct charge, which alleged he failed to reveal he had nominated for an award an interior designer working on the penthouse’s renovations.

The jury couldn’t decide on a third charge of accepting an advantage. A retrial is tentatively scheduled for September.

Outside the court, Tsang’s wife Selina said that her husband would appeal against the verdict.

“Today is a very dark day,” she told reporters. “My family and I are very disappointed and sad at the court’s decision today.

“Donald and I have been greatly troubled and felt immense pressure in the past five years. So we are very sad about today’s outcome. But we will face it with strength and courage. We will appeal.”

Source:Al Jazeera

{Department of Homeland Security issues sweeping new rules for automatically expelling undocumented immigrants.}

The US administration has issued tough new orders to begin a sweeping crackdown on undocumented immigrants, putting nearly all of the country’s 11 million undocumented foreigners in target for deportation.

Two memos signed by Department of Homeland (DHS) Security Secretary John Kelly on Tuesday make it easier for officials to automatically expel undocumented immigrants.

They order border patrol and immigration officers to deport as quickly as possible any undocumented immigrants they find, with only a few exceptions, principally children.

Although the priority for deportation will remain undocumented immigrants convicted of crimes, it will also include anyone who has been charged or potentially faces criminal charges.

In addition, categories of undocumented immigrants deemed as low priority by the previous Barack Obama administration, generally anyone not tied to a crime, are no longer protected.

“With extremely limited exceptions, DHS will not exempt classes or categories of removal aliens from potential enforcement,” the department said.

“All of those in violation of the immigration laws may be subject to enforcement proceedings, up to and including removal from the United States.”

Kelly said the mass detentions of the past, requiring judicial review, have overburdened the government.

“The surge of illegal immigration at the southern border has overwhelmed federal agencies and resources and has created a significant national security vulnerability to the United States,” he said in one of the memos.

“Thousands of aliens apprehended at the border, placed in removal proceedings, and released from custody have absconded and failed to appear at their removal hearings. Immigration courts are experiencing a historic backlog of removal cases.”

{{The wall}}

Kelly ordered immediate action to begin planning and building a wall along the US southern border with Mexico.

He also ordered the hiring of another 5,000 officers for the Customs and Border Protection agency and 10,000 for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

Soon after being inaugurated president on January 20, President Donald Trump ordered action to begin construction of a wall along the nearly 2,000-mile-long (3,145km) US-Mexico border, a tightening of border security, and tougher enforcement against undocumented immigrants inside the country.

The memos come ahead of meetings this week between Kelly and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto in Mexico.

Besides Pena Nieto, the two American officials will meet with Mexico’s ministers of the interior, foreign affairs, finance, defence and the navy, the State Department said.

Key topics include border security, law enforcement operation and trade, according to a State Department statement.

Source:Al Jazeera

{With aerial support from US-led coalition, Iraqi forces launch offensive to drive ISIL from Mosul’s western half.}

Iraqi forces advanced into the southern outskirts of Mosul on the second day of a push to drive ISIL from the city’s western half, as the visiting US defence secretary met officials to discuss the fight against the armed group.

With aerial support from the US-led coalition, Iraqi police and army troops launched the offensive on Sunday, part of a 100-day-old campaign that has already driven the fighters from the eastern half of the city.

Iraqi helicopters fired rockets at the village of Abu Sayyaf early on Monday, targeting a hill that overlooks the city’s airport.

By noon, the forces entered the village and gained control over much of the strategic hill as fighting was still raging.

Separately, militarised police in armoured vehicles were moving towards the sprawling Ghazlani military base on the southwestern outskirts of the city.

A US-led coalition has been providing close air support throughout the campaign to retake Iraq’s second-largest city. US special operations forces are embedded with some Iraqi units and thousands of US troops are in Iraq providing logistical and other support.

Meanwhile, US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis was holding discussions with US and Iraqi officials, a week before he is expected to present a new strategy to President Donald Trump for defeating the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group.

“We’re going to make certain that we’ve got good situational awareness of what we face as we work together and fight alongside each other,” Mattis told reporters traveling with him.

Trump has repeatedly vowed to eliminate the group but has provided few details about how his approach might differ from that of the Obama administration, which had partnered with Syrian and Iraqi forces to drive ISIL, also known as ISIS, out of several towns and cities.

The battle for western Mosul, the group’s last major urban bastion in Iraq, is expected to be the most daunting yet.

The streets are older and narrower in that sector of the city, which stretches west from the River Tigris, forcing Iraqi soldiers to leave the relative safety of their armoured vehicles.

The presence of up to 750,000 civilians also poses a challenge.

Two suicide car bombers struck army and paramilitary forces west of Mosul on Monday, killing and wounding a number of troops, two army officers said, without specifying the number of casualties.

A third suicide car bomber was blown up before reaching the troops, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief the media.

ISIL claimed responsibility for two attacks in an online statement, saying the attackers were British and Iraqi.

Source:Al Jazeera