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Press Release has 70 articles published.

Chinese official warns against creeping Islamisation

in ASIA by

Speaking to the advisory body to China’s parliament, Yang Faming, head of the government-linked China Islamic Association said Chinese Muslims need to guard against “creeping Islamisation”, including mosques that copy foreign styles, and strive to practice their faith in a more Chinese way. Yang warned of problems he said had become apparent in recent years which could not be overlooked and he said Islam in China must uphold the successful experience of becoming more Chinese, be guided by core socialist values and oppose radicalisation.

China is home to roughly 20 million Muslims, many living in the western part of the country, from the Uighurs of Xinjiang who speak a Turkic language to the largely sinified Hui people. While China officially guarantees freedom of religion, it has in recent years tightened controls in heavily Muslim areas, nervous about the possibility of radicalisation and violence.

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Saudi Arabia and UK agree to support Lebanese government and counter Hezbollah

in EUROPE/MIDLE EAST/POLITICS by

Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom agreed in a joint declaration to work together to support the Lebanese government and to work together to counter the role of Hezbollah in the region. The statement was issued during the visit of the Saudi hereditary prince Mohammed bin Salman to the United Kingdom at the invitation of the government of Queen Elizabeth II. The statement stressed that to reach any political agreement, it is crucial to end security threats in Saudi Arabia and other regional states, as well as see the end of Iranian support for militias and the withdrawal of Yemen’s Iranian elements and Hezbollah. The partnership between the two countries will be long-term and will touch various sectors, going to support the Saudi Vision 2030.

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Yountville attack: California hostage-taker was former patient

in AMERICAS by

The man who killed three women after a stand-off at a veterans’ home in Napa Valley, California was a former patient, authorities say. The three victims were all employees at the centre in Yountville. The residential centre provides mental health services for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The suspected gunman, who died at the scene, has been named as Albert Wong, 36. No motive for the attack has been identified, police say. Wong, reportedly a former US Army rifleman, had left a programme to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The gunman entered the building while employees were having cake as a leaving celebration for some colleagues. After a siege lasting all day police discovered the four bodies in a room at The Pathway Home on Friday evening.

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Nuclear refugees build new lives after giving up hope of returning

in ASIA/FAR EAST by

After seven years, most of Japan’s nuclear refugees from Futaba, the scene of the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear meltdown, have resigned themselves to the fact that they must build new lives elsewhere and will never be able to return home. Nevertheless, they cling to memories of the past while officials remain optimistic a future still exists where people, jobs and lessons learned from the disaster-hit Fukushima Daiichi plant will bring the town back to vibrancy. For over three decades, the nuclear power complex in Futaba supplied electricity, mainly to Tokyo, about 230 km south, without using any itself. Like nearby small municipalities, by hosting the plant, the town benefitted from the central government’s subsidies to support its poor revenue from rural farming. Now almost all of the nearly 7,000 Futaba citizens have scattered across the country due to the nuclear disaster, and 96 percent of the town is still off-limits for habitation. Nearly two-thirds of Futaba’s citizens are aged 60 or older. According to an annual survey released in February, 61.1 percent of all citizens have decided “not to return”. Futaba Mayor Shiro Izawa aims to attract firms such as those for nuclear technology research and development into the area to create jobs and help citizens explore opportunities to return, but the Fukushima prefectural government predicts that the scheduled decommissioning of the plant will require 30 to 40 years to complete.

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Killed 9 ISIS militants near Kirkuk

in MIDLE EAST by

The pro-government paramilitary troops announced that nine Islamic State militants, including a suicide attacker, have been killed in an operation in the west of Kirkuk. In a statement, the media service of al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) said: “An ambush was set, depending on information from the intelligence, leaving nine IS members killed in Wadi al-Rahma, north of al-Zab town in Hawija. One of them was a suicide attacker.” No further details were provided.

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Erdogan, anti-Americanism on rise

in MIDLE EAST by

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that anti-American sentiments is growing because of the U.S.’ support for the People’s Protection Units (YPG) in Syria. He added that when he showed to Tillerson all this on a screen, he complained that ‘anti-Americanism is on the rise in Turkey because Turkey broadcast this sort of information on TVs every day. Erdoğan’s statements came as a joint Turkish-American committee continued talks in Washington D.C. in a bid to resolve outstanding problems between the two allies. The U.S. State Department spokesperson on March 8 said talks between Turkish and American officials had begun in the U.S. capital and many issues would be discussed. Heather Nauert told reporters that the meeting is an introductory one where the two nations can work out some of these issues. When asked if Washington was willing to pressure Ankara to stop the Afrin offensive, Nauert said it would not come as a surprise if this issue appeared in the talks. On the Turkish side, Foreign Ministry Deputy Undersecretary Sedat Önal has been presiding over the committee on Syria, Deputy Undersecretary Cihad Erginay on the FETÖ and Fazlı Corman, the director general for South Asia at the Foreign Ministry, on Iraq. According to Turkish officials, the primary agenda of the Syrian committee is Turkey’s demand to remove the People’s Protection Units (YPG) from Manbij, which lies to the west of the Euphrates River in northern Syria. The meeting will be also about FETÖ, Turkey’s procurement of the S-400 missile system from Russia, migration and visa issues.

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Donald Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un to hold historic face-to-face meeting

in ASIA/POLITICS by

South Korea’s national security adviser Chung Eui-yong saud US President Donald Trump has accepted an invitation from Kim Jong-un for a historic face-to-face meeting. Chung Eui-yong made the announcement of Kim’s offer in Washington on Thursday, after talks with Mr Trump at the White House. Chung said Kim was “committed to denuclearisation” and would refrain from any further nuclear and missile tests and he wanted to meet Trump as “soon as possible” and that Trump said “he would meet Kim Jong-un by May to achieve permanent denuclearisation” of the Korean peninsula. White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, later confirmed Chung’s comments.

“If President Trump and Chairman Kim meet following an inter-Korean summit, complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula will be put on the right track in earnest” South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in said.

China also has welcomed the development, saying the Korean peninsula issue was “heading in the right direction” and calling for “political courage”. No American president has ever met with a North Korean leader.

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Gabon announces its retreat from the mission of the UN in CAR

in AFRICA/DEFENCE by

BANGUI – Gabon has announced, on Thursday 8 March, his intention to withdraw his 450 soldiers from the mission of the United Nations in Central African Republic, Minusca, according to what brought by a relationship of the Council of ministers. Gabon, that has 444 soldiers unfolded in the Minusca, has participated in the strengths U.N. in CAR since 2014.

The soldiers of Gabon in CAR has been quoted in cases of accusations of sexual abuses. At the end of 2016, the gabonese government has announced the opening of investigations after the identification from the United Nations of fifteen soldiers suspected to have committed sexual violences in 2014 and in the 2015.
On Monday, the president of central Africa, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, has come to Libreville to discuss of the “bilateral cooperation” among the two countries.

“The United Nations respect the choice of the government of the Gabon; we have held some discussions on the withdrawal within a reasonable term” answered to AFP Herve Verhoosel manager of the communication of the mission of the United Nations in Bangui. Verhoosel has remembered that the appointment of States members in an operation of maintenance of the peace it is “a voluntary exercise” and that the contribution of the Gabon has been “very appreciated.”

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UN top envoy against Taliban argument

in MIDLE EAST by

Tadamichi Yamamoto told the UN Security Council that Taliban argument do not consider the reality that tens of thousands of Afghan people are killed every year because of fights between the Taliban and the government forces. He added that all relevant parties agree that a negotiated political is the only way to end the conflict. The UN’s top envoy urged the Taliban to talk with authorities in Kabul and start a peace process because the offer of negotiation is on the table. Yamamoto urged all political leaders to demonstrate statesmanship and to place the national interest above a partisan agenda. He added that national unity is necessary for the international support and for the implementation of effective reforms. The UN envoy talked about several other issues in Afghanistan, including civilian casualties from the conflict, refugees, regional trade developments, and Afghanistan’s new penal code, which he called a milestone in the country’s criminal justice reform. He underlined the importance of women’s role in peace and decision-making processes, and their important role in elections. In closing, the envoy said that the UN has important tasks ahead this year, including the upcoming elections and the Ministerial Conference on Afghanistan.

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No real help from Frontex to face the migrant situation

in EUROPE by

The European Union’s Border and Migration Control Agency Frontex closely monitors the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but cannot significantly help. In order to be able to provide full-capacity assistance with a non-EU country, according to the new mandate, Frontex needs to have a bilateral agreement, which is at the moment missing with BiH. If an agreement is reached, Frontex has the right to carry out full-capacity executive operations in countries outside the EU, and this would give it the right to launch a mission to the country and send police officers with executive powers. Considering that there is no such agreement, last year BiH authorities agreed to establish two coordinating points: one at the Sarajevo airport and the other at the border crossing Zupca, near Trebinje.

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