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Marzo 2018 - page 3

Aguirre accuses Cebu City mayor of drug trade

in Senza categoria by

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña is involved in the illegal drug trade, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said yesterday. Aguirre said they have a witness who submitted an affidavit who named Osmeña as a “protector of drug lords.”  The witness surfaced last year, but he did not divulge it because they were still building the case. Aguirre said the NBI would file charges against Osmeña once the information is verified. Asked about the specific charges to be filed against Osmeña, Aguirre said, “Something like protection of drug lords together with police officials.” Last week, Osmeña threatened to file graft and disbarment cases against Aguirre over his supposed interference in the tax evasion charges filed by the Cebu City government against executives of SM Prime Holdings and BDO Unibank Inc. Aguirre said the respondents requested the transfer because they feel they could ”hardly expect fairness since the people (in Cebu) will favor the mayor” and there was nothing irregular in his order to transfer the cases against SM and BDO executives to the Department of Justice from the Cebu prosecutor’s office.

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Philippines, Duterte: ‘Still no peace talks’

in PHILIPPINES by

After the calls from 61 lawmakers – through House Resolution 1803 –  for the resumption of talks with the National Democratic Front (NDF), the communist rebels’ political arm, government peace panel chairman and labor chief Silvestre Bello said that a resumption of peace negotiations with communist rebels will have to wait as there is no “enabling environment” yet to convince President Duterte to reconsider his suspension of the talks.  Bello said the Chief Executive needs more convincing proof of the NDF and the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)’s sincerity in talking peace with the government. the lawmakers said forging peace with the communists would ultimately benefit the poor, especially those in the countryside, but a major factor that would likely convince Duterte to reopen the peace negotiations is the cessation of attacks by the NPA on military and civilian targets, Bello maintained.  “We support this call from legislators urging Duterte to resume and continue peace talks with the NDF and complete the Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms (CASER),”  Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) chairman Danilo Ramos said. “The resumption of peace talks and finalization of the Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ARRD) and the National Industrialization and Economic Development (NIED) will be for the best interest of Filipino farmers and the people,” Ramos said

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The US Department of Commerce (DoC) has put seven Pakistani companies on a list of foreign entities for their alleged involvement in the nuclear trade

in ASIA by

The US Department of Commerce (DoC) has put seven Pakistani companies on a list of foreign entities for their alleged involvement in the nuclear trade. The Pakistani firms are among the 23 companies added to the Entity List of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) which is prepared by Bureau of Industry and Security. The list says the sanctioned companies are “reasonably believed to be involved or to pose a significant risk of being or becoming involved, in activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States” A Singaporean company, which is affiliated to a Pakistani company, and 15 entities from South Sudan are among the additions, which were published in the Federal Register on Thursday. With this step, the companies are now subject to stringent export control measures, which could bar them from taking part in international trade. Three of the Pakistani firms have been sanctioned for “their involvement in the proliferation of unsafeguarded nuclear acti­vi­ties that are contrary to the national security and/or foreign policy interests of the United States”. These step would undermine Pakistan’s desire to become a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), a group of countries that can trade fissile materials and nuclear technologies. One of the main objectives of the NSG was to bar other countries form carrying out nuclear tests. Pakistan applied for the NSG membership on May 19, 2016, after India stepped up efforts to get the position with the support of the United States and other western countries. Pakistan, who has the support of China, Turkey and other countries, says NSG should take non-discriminatory decisions to induct new members.

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Bolton: N. Korea wants to buy time to develop nukes

in ASIA by

John Bolton, the incoming U.S. national security adviser, said North Korea is offering negotiations with the United States in order to buy time to develop its nuclear weapons. “I think we have to look at what North Korea’s motivation is here. I think they’re very worried that they’ve got a different president in the White House than Barack Obama. They’re worried about the pressure that the president’s already put on” Bolton said in an interview.

“They’ve got a fairly limited number of things they need to do in North Korea to make their nuclear warheads actually deliverable on targets in the United States. So they want to try and slow roll the negotiations to buy more time. This is something they’ve done consistently over the last 25 years” he added. Taking months to prepare for the meeting would “simply play into the North Korean playbook” Bolton concluded.

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Why Nigeria may miss targets for oil reserves

in AFRICA by

A 10-year target set by the Federal Government to boost crude oil reserves to 40 billion barrels and daily production to four million by 2020 is becoming unrealistic due to uncertainties that decrease investments in the sector.

Indeed, instead of making progress, the country may be taking steps backward, going by statistics from the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), which indicate that the reserves declined by whopping 961.47 million barrels between 2012 and 2016 alone.

The situation, which is already building anxiety among experts, has been blamed on uncertainties in the oil and gas sector associated with the delay in the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), rising security challenges, growing corruption rating, competition fuelled by increasing oil discoveries across Africa, obsolete fiscal terms as well as other global challenges confronting the industry.

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Judicial reform strengthen Montenegro’s path to the EU

in EUROPE by

Deputy Prime Minister Zoran Pažin presented key results of Montenegrin judicial reform at the roundtable “Criminal Justice Reform Top – Achievements, Challenges, and Perspectives”. During the meeting, it was highlighted that the rule of law is an area that gives pace to the overall success of the reforms in Montenegro and there is no doubt that this is the most demanding undertaking of the whole society that is striving for European integration. Pažin stressed that great contribution to the rule of law is given by the courts and judges by consistently affirming the right to a fair and public hearing before an independent and impartial tribunal within a reasonable time. Moreover, one of the Government’s priorities over the next three years is to develop alternative dispute resolution methods to make justice more accessible to citizens. In order to encourage the European Council to set benchmarks for the final closure of Chapters 23 and 24, which will mark the start of the final phase of the EU accession process, Pažin pointed out that Montenegro must achieve convincing results in the judiciary sector.

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Minister Popovski: the Government’s commitment is enduring, through transparency and accountability, to serve the citizens

in EUROPE by

The Minister without Portfolio, responsible for communication, accountability and transparency, Robert Popovski, participated in the debate “Challanges of the Government and Institutions in Increasing Transparency in the Media and Citizens” organized by the Association of Journalists of the Republic of Macedonia and Onlimit Media.

Welcoming the efforts of Minister Popovski to take part in all the public debates to which he was invited, the present journalists assessed that the Government that represents the Minister drastically changed the attitude towards the media following the principle of openness for discussion and debate, but pointed out that many more work to enable all institutions to be fully transparent.

Minister Popovski, other side, thanked the possibility for Government of the Republic of Macedonia through the debate to present and analyze its policies and, through transparency and accountability, to outline the measures taken in the service of all citizens and the media. Finally, Popovski pointed out that as minister in contacts with the ministers he constantly points to the need for transparency that brings responsible and accountable governance.

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Libya reports oil losses of 144 million dollars due to PFG protest

in ECONOMY/MIDLE EAST by

Mellitah Oil and Gas company has reported a monthly loss of more than 2.16 million bpd of crude oil due to the continued closure of the Al-Feel oil field. Negotiations with the southern branch of Petroleum Facilities Guard, which closed the oil file to protest the delay in the payment of their salaries, have not led to any positive results.

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Palestinian Authority Applies for Entry Into Eight International Treaties at UN

in MIDLE EAST by

Last week, the Palestinian Authority presented official requests to join eight international treaties, including the UN International Convention against Apartheid in Sport and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon said that the Palestinian Authority’s latest attempt to raise its status within the international community and de-legitimize Israel is part of the Palestinian violations of the obligations under the Oslo peace accords of 1993 with Israel. Membership in organizations such as these would provide the Palestinians with new opportunities to challenge Israel’s legitimacy and discredit the Jewish state on global spaces.

In April 2014, the PA requested accession to 15 international treaties and the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon accepted the entry of the Palestinians into 10 of the treaties as non-state members. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, after the official recognition of President Donald Trump of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, has promised to request entry into 22 international treaties, including 18 of the UN. The Palestinians have announced on several occasions that they have abandoned US-led peace negotiations, while attempting to obtain full UN membership, call for further Security Council resolutions (UNSC) and prosecute Israel to the Criminal International Tribunal (ICC).

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Iran’s Foreign Ministry calls for end to human tragedy in Yemen

in MIDLE EAST by

In a statement for the third anniversary of the start of the Saudi-led coalition’s devastating war in Yemen, the Foreign Ministry Iranian condemned the military aggression and called for the lifting of the “cruel” blockade on the Arabian country. It further described the humanitarian situation in Yemen as “very regrettable” and said the war has brought nothing but instability and insecurity and led to the deaths and injuries of tens of thousands. The ministry added that the Saudi war on Yemen has also caused the destruction of health and civil infrastructure and the suffering of over one million Yemenis from cholera and an increase in terrorist activities.

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