Author: aejay_wp

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said on Monday all foreign forces will eventually leave the war-torn country – a key Taliban demand – as talks with the armed group progressed.

Ghani said based on an international agreement, foreign troops will not be required in the future.

“No Afghans want foreign forces in their country for the long term,” Ghani said in a televised address.

“The current presence of foreign forces is based on need, and this need has always been contemplated and will be contemplated… And according to an exact and arranged plan, we are trying to bring down that number to zero,” he said.

The president’s comments came as both the United States and Taliban officials hailed progress after six days of talks in Qatar ended on Saturday.

A senior US government official told Reuters news agency on Monday that Washington was committed to the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan after 17 years of war.

Read: UN team probing Jamal Khashoggi killing arrives in Turkey

The official, who declined to be identified, described “significant progress” in discussions last week with Taliban leaders in Doha on foreign troops’ pullout, but more negotiations were needed on a ceasefire and its timing.

“Of course we don’t seek a permanent military presence in Afghanistan,” the official said in the capital, Kabul.

“Our goal is to help bring peace in Afghanistan and we would like a future partnership, newly defined with a post-peace government. We would like to leave a good legacy.”

There could not be a withdrawal without a ceasefire, the official added.

Ceasefire deal?

The US peace envoy to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, shared details of his latest round of talks with the Taliban in Qatar with the Afghan president and other government officials in Kabul, a statement from the president’s office said on Monday.

It said Khalilzad noted he discussed a ceasefire deal with the Taliban but there was no progress so far on the issue. Khalilzad did not confirm the statement and there was no immediate comment from the US embassy.

Read: Bashir says Sudan protesters trying to emulate Arab Spring

Abdul Hakim Mujahid, a former Taliban official and currently a member of the High Peace Council, an independent body of Muslim leaders and respected Afghan figures, said he believes the Qatar talks resulted in a “good understanding between both sides” but more discussions are needed in the coming weeks or months.

“Afghanistan’s problem is not so simple that it can be solved in a day, week or month, it needs more time and more discussions,” Mujahid told the AP news agency. “What is clear right now he said is that the US is fed up with the war in Afghanistan and wants an end to it.”

Ongoing bloodshed

The Taliban has been staging near-daily attacks targeting Afghan forces, causing scores of casualties every week. Their offensive has not let up despite the severe Afghan winter and the Taliban now holding sway over nearly half of the country.

That has made peace an even more pressing issue. Khalilzad has met the Taliban leaders on a number of occasions in recent months most recently last week in Qatar where the armed group has a political office in the latest bid to end the US’s longest war.

The US invaded Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001 attacks to topple the Taliban, which was harbouring Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda fighters, who stand accused of carrying out assault with hijacked airliners that killed about 3,000 people.

Source:  aljazeera.com

UN investigators carrying out the probe of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi arrived in Istanbul on Monday and will seek to enter Saudi Arabia’s consulate where he was dismembered by a “kill team”.

Agnes Callamard, the UN special rapporteur on executions, is leading the investigation and begins a week-long mission to Turkey at the government’s invitation.

Callamard arrived with a forensic and legal team and met Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Monday. She will meet Istanbul’s chief prosecutor on Tuesday, the prosecutor’s office said.

Callamard said last week she hadn’t yet received a reply from the Saudi authorities over her request to enter the consulate. The team also wants to visit Saudi Arabia as part of the investigation.

Read: Khashoggi inquiry seeks access to Saudi consulate, kingdom

Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist who was living in the United States, was killed on October 2 at the consulate where he had gone to collect documents for his planned wedding. His body is yet to be found.

‘Gruesome and brutal’

US intelligence agencies believe Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) ordered an operation to assassinate Khashoggi, a government critic. His body was dismembered and taken to an unknown location.

Riyadh denies the crown prince had any involvement in the murder. Saudi authorities have not responded to Callamard’s request for access to the consulate. 

During her visit, the UN special rapporteur is scheduled to meet Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Turkish prosecutors carrying out the local investigation into the murder.

“Callamard’s investigation is significant because she said she launched it on her own accord, since no authority in the UN or any member state, to her understanding, are demanding an independent inquiry at the moment,” Al Jazeera’s Stefanie Dekker, reporting from Istanbul, said.

Read: Turkey readies international probe into Jamal Khashoggi killing

“The crime is so gruesome and brutal that she decided to start an investigation.”

11 suspects ‘indicted’

A Saudi public prosecutor’s spokesperson said 11 suspects had been indicted and referred to trial, with five facing the death penalty.

The UN rapporteur praised the Saudi probe.

“I conceive of this inquiry to be a necessary step, among a number of others, towards crucial truth-telling and formal accountability for the gruesome killing of Mr Khashoggi,” Callamard said.

UN investigators will try to find out “the nature and extent of the responsibilities of states and individuals” in relation to Khashoggi’s killing, she added.

Evidence from other governments, including the US, has been requested, said Callamard.

Turkey wants Saudi Arabia to extradite those accused of carrying out the murder to be tried in Turkish courts, something Riyadh has balked at.

Late last year, Turkey briefed the US on the findings of the Turkish public prosecutor’s investigation, repeatedly stating Khashoggi’s murder had been ordered at the highest levels of the Saudi government.

Source:  aljazeera.com

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has denied allegations that the suspension of the chief justice is linked to next month’s election.

Such a link was “illogical”, his spokesman said.

Judge Walter Onnoghen is facing charges over allegedly failing to declare his personal assets before taking office in 2017.

The EU, UK and US have criticised the suspension, suggesting it could “cast a pall over the electoral process”.

The Nigerian government said it would not accept what it calls foreign meddling in its affairs.

Read: Nigerian chief justice’s suspension raises international concerns

Atiku Abubakar – the main challenger to Mr Buhari in the 16 February presidential election – called Justice Onnoghen’s suspension “an act of dictatorship”.

Justice Onnoghen’s refusal to step down voluntarily forced the president to act, presidential spokesman Garba Shehu said.

“To link the [chief justice] to the elections in this way is illogical unless they assume that election complaints will be filed and go all the way to the Supreme Court,” Mr Shehu added.

“The [chief justice] does not run the election. Nor is he the first arbiter of any electoral complaints.

The suspension was temporary until the conclusion of the case, he said.

Opposition politicians have halted campaigning in protest at the president’s decision to suspend Mr Onnoghen.

President Buhari, who is seeking a second term, has often accused the judiciary of frustrating his anti-corruption fight.

On Friday, the president defended the suspension a series of more than 30 tweets.

He said that the judge should have stepped aside when the allegations reached court.

“Instead, the nation has been treated to the sordid spectacle of a judicial game of wits,” he tweeted, “in which the Chief Justice of Nigeria and his legal team have made nonsense of the efforts of the Code of Conduct Tribunal.”

Read: Nigeria opposition party halts campaign over judge’s suspension

The new Chief Justice, Ibrahim Tanko Mohammed, was sworn in on Friday.

Why the international pressure?

As the head of the judiciary, Nigeria’s chief justice plays a vital role in settling election disputes.

The charges against the top judge and his subsequent suspension just before elections have been seen by some as politically motivated.

The suspension came less than 24 hours before Mr Onnoghen was scheduled to swear in members of election tribunals.

“The decision to suspend the chief justice has led to many Nigerians, including lawyers and civil society observer groups, to question whether due process was followed,” said the EU Election Observation Mission in a statement.

The US embassy said it was “deeply concerned” at the decision to replace Justice Onnoghen “without the support of the legislative branch on the eve of national and state elections”.

The British High Commission also expressed “serious concern over the suspension”. In a statement it said: “It risks affecting both domestic and international perceptions on the credibility of the forthcoming elections.”

Source: BBC 

A United Nations rights group has unearthed more than 50 mass graves in the western Democratic Republic of Congo after a spate of killings were reported in the region last month.

Abdoul Aziz Thioye, the director of the UN Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO), said on Saturday that “more than 50 mass graves, as well as common and individual graves that we have identified,” were uncovered in the town of Yumbi in the DRC’s western province of Mai-Ndombe.

“This suggests that the number [of deaths] is quite high because a communal grave depending on size may contain five, ten bodies” or even “one hundred bodies or four times more,” Thioye said following a joint fact-finding mission with local authorities.

Read: Bashir says Sudan protesters trying to emulate Arab Spring

General Fall Sikabwe, the army chief in western DRC, told the AFP news agency that an investigation had begun.

“They have killed soldiers and policemen, taking their weapons to slaughter with,” he said, giving no further details about the killings.

Earlier this month, the UN said at least 890 people were killed during three days of inter-communal clashes in the region.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, said in a statement on January 16 that the UN office had been informed by “credible sources” that the people were killed between December 16 and 18 in four villages in Yumbi.

The violence appears to have been rooted in a long-standing rivalry between the Banunu and Batende ethnic groups, sparked when Banunu tribespeople buried a traditional chief on Batende land on the night of December 13.

Read: Saudi billionaire Mohammed al-Amoudi released from detention

Around 465 houses and building were then burned down or pillaged, including two primary schools, a health centre, a market and the office of the national elections commission, the UN rights office said.

The UN refugee agency said earlier this month that 16,000 people had fled from the villages into the neighbouring Republic of Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville.

In 2009, ethnic clashes in the region forced 130,000 people to seek shelter in the Republic of Congo – which now hosts 60,000 refugees, mainly from the DRC, the Central African Republic and Rwanda.

Source:  aljazeera.com

Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir has said protesters in the country are trying to imitate the 2011 Arab Spring and blamed unidentified outside groups for trying to destabilise the region.

During a visit to Cairo on Sunday, where he met Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, al-Bashir said the unrest in Sudan was “an attempt to copy the so-called Arab Spring for Sudan.”

It is Bashir’s second overseas visit since last month, when protests triggered by an increase in bread prices erupted in the country. The demonstrations have also called for al-Bashir, who has been in power for nearly 30 years, to step down as the country’s leader.

Read: Sudan protests spread as death toll rises to 29

Sisi said he was eager to maintain the close historical ties between the two countries, while al-Bashir said the protests against him were not as bad as they seemed, accusing outside groups of trying to undermine his rule in what he compared with Egypt’s own experience during its 2011 uprising.

“There are many negative organizations working on shaking the stability and security of the region,” al-Bashir said at a joint press conference after the meeting.

“We acknowledge that there is a problem, we are not claiming there is nothing but it is not as big as described by some media platforms. It’s an attempt to copy the so-called ‘Arab Spring’ for Sudan.”

Citing what he said was the “harmful agitation” that such countries had witnessed, he added: “The Sudanese people are alert and will not allow for any intrusion or attempt to destabilise the security of Sudan.”

The protests, which began in the northeastern town of Atbara and have spread to several cities, initially erupted over the rising costs of bread and fuel and other economic hardships, including skyrocketing inflation and limits on bank withdrawals.

But they quickly morphed into calls for al-Bashir, who has been in power for 29 years, to step aside.

Authorities have used tear gas, rubber bullets and live ammunition to quell the unrest and imposed emergency laws and night-time curfews in some cities.

Officials say 30 people have died in the protests, however, rights groups have put the death toll at more than 40.

Read: Sudan president defiant as deadly protests continue

Bashir, who took power in a 1989 military coup, has said any change of leadership could only come through the ballot box. He is expected to run for another term in office next year.

He was indicted in 2010 by the International Criminal Court for genocide in Darfur, and restricts his travel to friendly Arab and African countries.

Sudan’s economy has struggled to recover in recent years following the loss of about 80 percent of its oil reserves with the secession of South Sudan in 2011.

Reinforcing ‘bilateral relations’

Meanwhile, Sisi, who has been Egypt’s president since 2014, says he is working to restore stability following the turmoil triggered by the country’s uprising eight years ago, overseeing a widespread crackdown on opposition.

He said al-Bashir’s visit was “the culmination of the numerous efforts we made in the past year to reinforce bilateral relations”.

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry voiced support for Sudan’s embattled government during a visit to Khartoum in December.

“Egypt is confident that Sudan will overcome the present situation,” Shoukry told reporters at the time, after talks with Bashir.

“Egypt is always ready to support Sudan,” he said.

Relations between the two countries had deteriorated when Egypt conceded the two Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia in 2016, leading to a reconfiguration of Cairo’s maritime borders with Khartoum.

Sudan filed a complaint with the UN Security Council in 2017 accusing Egypt of attempting to illegally annex the border area, commonly referred to as the Halayeb triangle, which has long been a thorn in the two nations’ fragile relationship.

Source:  aljazeera.com

An increase in online abuse directed at British Duchesses Kate and Meghan has prompted one of the UK’s leading celebrity magazines to launch a campaign calling for people to change how they post online.

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, are frequently the subjects of abusive comments, often made against one duchess by supporters of the other, according to the royal editor of UK magazine Hello!.

The rise in abuse directed at the women comes after months of reports in British tabloid newspapers that claim they are locked in a long-running feud.

Read: Meghan Markle steps out for solo outing after father’s insulting interview

“There’s a wider narrative in the media pitting them against each other, and unfortunately people are piling in and taking sides,” Emily Nash, Royal Editor at Hello!, told CNN.

“It seems to me to be particularly sexist,” Nash said of much of the abuse. “You have people comparing them in a way that doesn’t really happen with men — ‘she’s walking funny, or her heels are too high, or her legs are too skinny.’”

The magazine launched its #HelloToKindness campaign on Monday, inspired by the comments encouraging a change in how people communicate online.

“People feel empowered to be aggressive and abusive to each other from behind the safety of their keyboard,” Nash said. “It encourages a darker side of people’s characters to come to the fore.”

‘Unpleasant atmosphere’

Nash says the magazine had the idea for the campaign after noticing a flurry of abusive messages on their recent social media posts over the past year. “It was particularly surrounding anything to do with Kate and Meghan,” she said.

The infamously unsparing British media has frequently focused on an alleged rivalry between the Duchess of Sussex, formerly Meghan Markle, and the Duchess of Cambridge, previously known as Kate Middleton.

Headlines including “Meghan Made Kate Cry” and “Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton’s ‘tit-for-tat war’ could ‘bring the monarchy to its knees’” have appeared in The Sun newspaper in recent months, while The Express ran a story on Friday entitled “Meghan Markle and Kate had Prince Charles ‘KNOCKING HEADS’ to end royal feud.”

“They’re two very different people, and for some reason fans think they need to be in one camp or another,” Nash said. “We know it’s a problem for Kensington Palace as well — they’re having to spend a lot more hours moderating comments.”

Read: Zimbabwe government pledges to probe rape, abuse claims against security forces

“I’m told [the royals] would like to be able to connect with more people directly, but it’s not an option because of this atmosphere,” Nash added.
“We just decided enough is enough. It’s becoming an unhealthy and unpleasant atmosphere, and we feel as a responsible title we can take a stand and lead the way on this,” she said.

While it was inspired by messages about the royals, the campaign is targeted at everyone, and is aiming to raise awareness in the number of abusive messages sent online.

Several British Members of Parliament have complained about abuse they have received on Twitter, while female sports stars including English soccer player Karen Carney have drawn attention to hateful messages targeted towards them on social platforms.

“It’s easy to say anything if you are anonymous and you’re a thousand miles away,” Nash said, adding that the campaign “isn’t about censorship — it’s about the raising the standard of conversation.”

Saudi Arabia has freed Saudi-Ethiopian billionaire Mohammed al-Amoudi, more than a year after the tycoon was detained under the kingdom’s controversial anti-corruption campaign.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed confirmed Amoudi’s release on Twitter on Sunday, saying he had raised the issue with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) during a trip to Riyadh last May.

A family office spokesman told Reuters that Amoudi had returned to his home in the western city of Jeddah.

Amoudi was detained at Riyadh’s Ritz-Carlton hotel in November 2017 along with dozens of princes, officials and businessmen after MBS launched his so-called “anti-corruption purge”.

Read: Saudi exile to establish group to fight for women’s rights

Allegations against those detained included money laundering, bribery, and extorting officials.

The crackdown was in response to “exploitation by some of the weak souls who have put their own interests above the public interest, in order to illicitly accrue money,” a royal decree at the time said.

Most were freed after reaching settlement deals with the government, including Saudi businessman and billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.

Downgraded by Forbes

Amoudi’s release follows that of several other businessmen last week and comes after the kingdom suffered a global backlash over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the reported torture of women activists.

Amoudi, who was born in Ethiopia to a Yemeni father and an Ethiopian mother, owns a broad portfolio of businesses in construction, energy, agriculture, mining, hotels, healthcare and manufacturing.

Read: Laura Plummer: Jailed Briton in Egypt ‘released’

According to a Forbes report last year, his net worth was estimated to be $10.9bn. Forbes downgraded his net worth earlier this month to $1.2bn “due to a lack of clarity about which assets he still owns”.

It is unclear how much, if any, of Amoudi’s wealth he may have handed over to the state in exchange for his release.

The Saudi authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Saudi Arabia’s Attorney General Sheikh Saud al-Mojeb said last January that the kingdom had seized more than $100bn in anti-corruption settlements.

Experts have noted that the arrests were a way for MBS to consolidate economic, as well as political, power in Saudi Arabia.

A British woman jailed after she was found with painkillers in her suitcase at an Egyptian airport has been released, according to her family.

Laura Plummer, 34, from Hull, was sentenced to three years in prison on 26 December 2017 for taking 290 Tramadol tablets into the country.

She claimed the tablets were for her partner to ease his back pain.

Ms Plummer, who was arrested in October 2017, was released from jail on Sunday, The Sun reported.

Read: US judge sentences three men for plotting to bomb Somalis

She told the newspaper: “I’m so happy to be going home.

“I just wish I wasn’t being deported. But I promise you I’ll never set foot in an airport again.”

Her sister Rachel Plummer said the Egyptian authorities were preparing to send her home.

Tramadol – a strong painkiller used to treat moderate to severe pain – is available on prescription in the UK but is a banned substance in Egypt.

Read: Saudi exile to establish group to fight for women’s rights

Ms Plummer was held in October 2017 when she flew to the Red Sea resort of Hurghada.

Her family has previously said she had no idea what she was doing was illegal.

They said she did not try to hide the medicine, and thought it was a joke when she was stopped by officials after arriving for a holiday with her partner.

In a statement, a spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: “Our staff continue to do all they can to support Laura and her family, and our embassy remains in regular contact with the Egyptian authorities.”

Source: bbc.com

Saudi exile Reem Suleiman has told Al Jazeera she intends to start a new organisation advocating for women’s rights in the kingdom.

In an interview with Al Jazeera Arabic, Suleiman, who is seeking asylum in the Netherlands, said she would only feel calm when other dissidents were freed from Saudi prisons and were able to express themselves without fear of government retribution.

Suleiman was a columnist for several government-controlled Saudi newspapers until she was ordered to stop writing by Saud al-Qahtani, a former key adviser to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Read: Khashoggi inquiry seeks access to Saudi consulate, kingdom

Qahtani is one of the 17 individuals sanctioned by the US State Department over the murder of Saudi columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

While he was said to have been sacked after the killing, the Washington Post reported Qahtani remains in regular contact with Prince Mohammed, also known by his initials MBS.

Shortly after being ordered to stop writing by Qahtani’s office, Suleiman’s home was stormed by armed men and she was arrested.

During her detention, the columnist alleges torture and psychological abuse at the hands of Saudi security forces, which she says left her with permanent damage to her left hand.

The experience initially left her contemplating suicide. However, with time, it hardened Suleiman’s resolve and made her more determined to bring about change in Saudi Arabia.

Read: Trudeau fires Canada’s ambassador to China amid Huawei controversy

“My character has become stronger than ever before, and [now] I can fight injustice in front of a totalitarian regime, which does not hesitate to abuse,” she said. 

Eventually, Suleiman managed to escape Saudi Arabia and found her way to Bahrain. Since fleeing to her new home in the Netherlands, she continues to feel the reach of the kingdom, with Saudi trolls flooding the comments under her tweets with abusive messages. 

Ostensible reforms

When MBS rose to power, he was lauded by many pundits in the Middle East and Western countries for his seeming liberalisation of the Saudi economy and society.

The prince ended a ban on women driving, opened cinemas, and reigned in the power of the country’s religious police.

However, those reforms have come coupled with severe repression of political opposition, including women’s rights activists.

Rights groups have repeatedly called for the release of detainees, including prominent activists such as Lujain al-Hathloul, Eman al-Nafjan, and Aziza al-Yousef.

Source:  aljazeera.com

Anti-government demonstrators in Honduras have clashed with riot police during protest marking the first anniversary of the inauguration of President Juan Orlando Hernández.

Thousands of people took the streets in the capital, Tegucigalpa, and across the country, demanding his resignation.

Mr Hernández, a conservative pro-US politician, won re-election in 2017 by a narrow margin.

Read: Khashoggi inquiry seeks access to Saudi consulate, kingdom

The opposition has accused him of electoral fraud.

“There are people who have been gassed and beaten,” said the opposition leader and former President, Manuel Zelaya.

“Like wasps, we have launched a wave of escalating protests that will end in a national strike until this dictatorship falls.Mr Hernández, who is widely known by his initials, JOH, has repeatedly denied allegations of irregularities.

He defeated the popular television presenter, Salvador Nasralla, by 1.53 percentage points

Mr Hernández stood for office after the Supreme Court controversially lifted a constitutional ban on re-election.

The opposition contested the electoral process and challenged his victory.

Read: Louisiana shootings: Five killed and suspect at large

But the result was confirmed by the Honduran electoral court almost a month after the vote, following a partial recount.

During Sunday’s protests Mr Hernández was at a Catholic youth meeting hosted by Pope Francis in Panama.

He met the Pope and asked him to include Honduras in his prayers.

Honduras is one of Latin America’s poorest countries and has one of the world’s highest murder rates.

Thousands, escaping poverty and gang-related violence, have joined the latest migrant caravans heading towards the United States southern border.

Source: BBC 

International observers have expressed concern about the suspension of Nigeria’s chief justice – just three weeks before a general election.

Judge Walter Onnoghen was suspended by President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday.

But the EU, UK and US have taken serious issue with his removal, suggesting it could “cast a pall over the electoral process”.

Mr Buhari’s decision has been called “an act of dictatorship” by his main challenger in next month’s election, Atiku Abubakar.

Opposition politicians have halted campaigning in protest at the president’s decision to suspend the head of the Supreme Court.

President Buhari, who is seeking a second term, has often accused the judiciary of frustrating his anti-corruption fight.

However, no details have been given on the reasons behind the move.

Image: Lawyers for Chief Justice Walter Onnoghen, seen here at his tribunal last week

Why the international pressure?

As the head of the judiciary, Nigeria’s chief justice plays a vital role in settling election disputes.

The charges against the top judge and his subsequent suspension just before elections are widely seen as politically motivated.

The suspension came less than 24 hours before Mr Onnoghen was scheduled to swear in members of election tribunals.

“The decision to suspend the chief justice has led to many Nigerians, including lawyers and civil society observer groups, to question whether due process was followed,” said the EU Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) in a statement.

Justice Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen was suspended by President @MBuharibased on Court Order. See details ?? pic.twitter.com/gxs5UvkeG1

— Bashir Ahmad (@BashirAhmaad) January 25, 2019

The US embassy said it was “deeply concerned” at the decision to replace Judge Onnoghen “without the support of the legislative branch on the eve of national and state elections”.

The British High Commission also expressed “serious concern over the suspension”, saying in a statement: “It risks affecting both domestic and international perceptions on the credibility of the forthcoming elections”.

Source: BBC 

Two bombs at a Roman Catholic cathedral in southern Philippines have killed more than 20 and injured dozens more, officials say.

The first blast happened as Sunday Mass was being celebrated at the church on Jolo island, where Islamist militants are active.

As soldiers responded, a second device was detonated in the car park.

The attack comes days after a majority-Muslim area in the region voted for greater autonomy in a referendum.

No group has said it was behind the attack. Jolo has long been a base for militants including those of the Abu Sayyaf group.

Read: Louisiana shootings: Five killed and suspect at large

The first blast happened at 08:45 local time (00:45 GMT) at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, which has been hit by bombs in the past.

Most of the victims are civilians.

Images posted on social media showed the main road leading to the church sealed off by soldiers in armoured personnel carriers.

Some of the wounded were evacuated by air to the nearby city of Zamboanga.

Read: Hope fades for Brazil dam survivors

Calling the attack a “dastardly act”, Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana urged the local population to work with the authorities to “deny terrorism any victory”.

“We will use the full force of the law to bring to justice the perpetrators behind this incident.”

Last week, voters approved the creation of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in majority-Muslim areas of southern Philippines.

But voters in Sulu province, where Jolo is located, rejected it.

Source: BBC 

In Washington this week, the US and China are due to hold their highest level talks since the two sides struck a temporary truce to their trade war.

They have until 1 March to come up with some sort of compromise or tariffs will be hiked again, and we march back into a trade fight that affects us all.

China watchers tell me Beijing is under increasing pressure to make a deal.

Here’s why:

A slowing economy

The trade war may not have caused China’s slowdown, but it is definitely making things worse.

Read: Trudeau fires Canada’s ambassador to China amid Huawei controversy

Growth data released last week showed China posted the slowest growth rate since 1990 but that in itself is not as worrying as other data points, including that consumer sentiment and retail sales are flatlining or weakening fast.

Small and medium-sized companies in China are feeling the chill with lower orders and inventories.

Just how much pressure the Communist Party is facing because of a weakening economy was reflected in a rare acknowledgement by President Xi Jinping, whose legitimacy is based in part in keeping China strong.

Losing its factory lustre?

There is also evidence to show that foreign firms are diversifying their sourcing, production and supply chains away from China, if not pulling out altogether.

This recent survey conducted by QIMA, a leading Asian supply chain auditor, shows that 30% of more than 100 global businesses are diverting their sourcing from China to other countries.

As many as three-quarters of these companies have started sourcing suppliers in new countries.

If this trend continues then jobs in Chinese factories are at risk – a recent report looking at China’s economy by JP Morgan points to rising unemployment as a major near-term risks.

Read: Huawei executive trapped in a gilded cage

Social stability is predicated on China’s economic stability, and the Communist Party is well aware that its credibility lies in delivering the Chinese dream to its people.

The Huawei factor

The fate of Huawei also hangs in the balance, both from a business and diplomatic standpoint.

China is big on symbolism and “doesn’t believe in coincidences” Einar Tangen, an advisor on economic affairs for the Chinese government, told me on the line from Beijing.

Mr Tangen pointed to the arrest of Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of Huawei founder, which took place on the day President Xi and US President Donald Trump met at the G20 summit and declared the temporary truce between the two sides, setting the 90 day deadline for talks.

Another date looms next week, with the latest round of talks taking place on the day the US has to file the extradition treaty for Ms Meng.

“Both of these dates are seen as attempts by the US to use Huawei as leverage in the trade talks,” says Mr Tangen.

The US is also reportedly preparing an investigation into Huawei which could see it banned from buying American chips, a move that crippled China’s ZTE last year.

Mr Tangen warns that pushing Beijing will backfire.

“The Chinese see this as the US trying to push China down,” he says.

“This is not about right or wrong. They view this in context of the 100 years of humiliation they suffered at the hands of the West and they don’t want that repeated.”

American firms want a deal

But the US is also under pressure to make a deal.

American firms in China have complained about the impact of Trump’s tariffs on their business but want the US to make a good deal.

“This administration has been willing to risk the health of the US economy with tariffs,” says Stephen Kho, international trade partner at law firm Akin Gump in Washington DC.

“So now that we’ve come this far, businesses want to take advantage of this moment and walk away from these talks with something significant. They will want to see China’s offer to buy more American goods along with promises of systemic changes.”

A solution to the US-China trade war is good for us all.

The longer these two superpowers slap tariffs on each other’s goods, the more expensive products will be for us, companies will report lower profits, and global growth will slow.

Both sides are under pressure to make a deal. But this is ultimately, as Mr Koh also points out, “a game of chicken.” Whoever blinks first could also be the biggest loser.

A United Nations human rights investigator leading an international inquiry into the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi said on Saturday she requested access to Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul, and to visit the kingdom.

Agnes Callamard, UN special rapporteur on executions, who begins a week-long mission to Turkey at government invitation on Monday, said she had not yet received a reply from Saudi authorities.

On Thursday, she said the three-member legal and forensic panel would seek to establish “states’ and individuals’ responsibilities” for the killing.

Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist living in the United States, was murdered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2 where he had gone to collect documents for his planned wedding.

Read: Turkey readies international probe into Jamal Khashoggi killing

US intelligence agencies believe Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) ordered an operation to kill Khashoggi, who was a critic, and say his body was dismembered and removed to a location still publicly unknown.

Riyadh denies the crown prince had any involvement in the murder.

“I have requested access to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and a meeting with the ambassador of the Kingdom of Saud Arabia in Turkey,” Callamard said in an email to Reuters news agency. “I have also sought permission to conduct a similar country-visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

The Saudi mission in Geneva and government media office in Riyadh have not responded to Reuters’ inquiries about the international investigation.

A Saudi public prosecutor’s spokesperson said last year that 21 Saudis had been taken into custody over the case, 11 of whom had been indicted and referred to trial.

The prosecutor said earlier this month his office was seeking the death penalty for five of the 11 indicted suspects.

“I conceive of this inquiry to be a necessary step, among a number of others, towards crucial truth telling about and formal accountability for the gruesome killing of Mr. Khashoggi,” Callamard said.

Read: Jamal Khashoggi murder trial opens in Saudi Arabia

Last Thursday, Callamard said that a legal and forensics team comprising three international experts would try to find out “the nature and extent of the responsibilities of states and individuals” in relation to Khashoggi’s killing.

In its report to the UN Human Rights Council in June, the inquiry will make recommendations about how to ensure “formal (criminal) accountability”, she said.

Callamard said she had requested information from other authorities, including in the US.

“It is hoped this will help ensure accountability and transparency in this case and may open new avenues for the prevention and protection of the right to life in other cases, including of journalists and human rights defenders, and accountability for their killings,” she added.

Turkey wants Saudi Arabia to extradite those accused of carrying out the murder to be tried in Turkish courts.

Late last year, Turkey briefed the US on the findings of the Turkish public prosecutor’s investigation, repeatedly confirming that Khashoggi’s murder had been issued by the highest levels of the Saudi authorities and that the Saudi assassination team had not acted on its own.

Source:  aljazeera.com

Naomi Osaka dropped to her haunches, hid her face from the view, and tried to breathe in her accomplishment.

The 21-year-old Japanese-Haitian had just won the Australia Open, beating a former world number one and two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova. The win in Melbourne was her second Grand Slam after beating Serena Williams in the US Open final a few months ago. 

She overcame Kvitova’s spirited fightback with a 7-6, 5-7, 6-4 win on Saturday.

A year ago, Osaka was 72nd in the world rankings. On Monday, she will be the new queen of tennis, rising to the number one slot and becoming the youngest top-ranked female player since 2010.

On the court, there was no shrieking, no jumping for joy and no gasping after she won the championship point. From the baseline, she ran to the net, bowed to Kvitova before the hugs and handshakes, bowed to the crowd before walking to her chair to put her rackets away.

A few minutes later, Naomi opened her acceptance speech with “um, hello”, followed by a lot of thank yous – for her opponent, the crowd, the tournament officials and her team.

??? @Naomi_Osaka_ ?????????????????????????????????????

— Kei Nishikori (@keinishikori) September 8, 2018

Born in Japan to a Haitian father and a Japanese mother, Naomi has been living in the United States since the age of three. Her maternal grandparents initially did not approve of her parents’ relationship and later Naomi and her sister’s involvement in tennis.

But her father, inspired by watching the Williams sisters, trained them at an early age. Eventually, her parents decided Naomi would represent Japan.

On Saturday, many in Japan voiced their pride in her after her late-night accomplishment.

Around 30 children and parents at a tennis school in Osaka city, where Naomi used to play, watched the match on TV, reported NHK web news.

Naomi was also on the front page of all four major newspapers in Japan. A TBS show ranked Naomi’s feat throughout the tournament as top news, illustrating how her accomplishment is being lauded by most in the country.

Naomi’s grandfather lives in Nemuro, Hokkaido, where the city officials had set up a TV screen at the city hall for the final. However, since the match was so close, Naomi’s grandfather opted to watch the match at home as he did not want to miss any moments.

Naomi has the dual US and Japanese citizenship. But her failure to speak fluent Japanese meant certain segments of the Japanese society do not accept her as Japanese.

A few people on the streets also felt hesitant about Naomi calling herself Japanese.

A 60-year-old man questioned by Al Jazeera said while Naomi’s feat was massive, he would “rather if a player who is completely Japanese wins a tournament”.

However, according to Shihoko Goto, senior Northeast Asia Associate at the Wilson Center’s Asia Program, Naomi has been “embraced by the Japanese as one of theirs”.

“She has certainly lifted the visibility and acceptance of mixed-race Japanese,” Goto told Al Jazeera.

“What’s also interesting about her is that she has lived mostly outside Japan and speaks very little Japanese. She is challenging the definition of what it means to be Japanese in terms of race as well as cultural identity.

“She is a spearhead for discussions about who and what makes someone Japanese.”

For her trophy photoshoot, Naomi Osaka was offered a stylist and makeup artist… She declined. She opted for a dress she already had. She did her own makeup too.

And she came out gorgeous! ❤️?#AusOpen pic.twitter.com/J0m8NsIUtm

— Biola Omowanle (@Beeorlicious) January 27, 2019

Responding to interview questions, Naomi talks about food and where she wants to visit in Japan, and birthday wishes for her grandfather.

Her demeanour on and off the court has made her popular even among people who are not tennis fans. But away from her shy and reserved image, her interviews also reveal how committed she is to her long journey ahead despite becoming world number one.

“I had dreams that I would win this tournament, you know. Every time I have a dream, somehow I accomplish it. This tournament was very eye-opening for me. I had a lot of matches that were very tough and I was behind in some of them. I think it showed me that I could win matches from behind, just on willpower alone.”

Source: BBC 

Malaysia has been stripped of hosting the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships for refusing to let Israeli athletes compete, says the International Paralympic Committee.

The IPC also says Malaysian authorities failed to comply with protocols relating to anthems, flags and providing relevant visas.

Read: Monaco suspends Thierry Henry after only three months as coach

“All World Championships must be open to all eligible athletes and nations to compete safely and free from discrimination,” said IPC president Andrew Parsons.

“When a host country excludes athletes from a particular nation, for political reasons, then we have absolutely no alternative but to look for a new championships host.

The event is due to begin on 24 July.

Source: BBC 

Novak Djokovic won a record seventh Australian Open title and a third successive Grand Slam as he swept aside Rafael Nadal in Melbourne.

The Serb broke the Spaniard’s serve five times – and was rarely troubled on his own – in a 6-3 6-2 6-3 victory.

Second seed Nadal, 32, looked rattled by the world number one’s intensity and made 28 unforced errors.

Djokovic, 31, won in two hours and four minutes to move clear of six-time men’s winners Roy Emerson and Roger Federer.

A forehand winner down the line brought up two championship points, Djokovic taking the second when Nadal clubbed a backhand long.

Read: Australian Open 2019: Naomi Osaka beats Petra Kvitova to win title

Djokovic, who was the top seed, fell to his knees after sealing another triumph on Rod Laver Arena, smacking the court with both hands and screaming towards the sky.

The reigning Wimbledon and US Open champion claimed his 15th Grand Slam title, moving him outright third ahead of American Pete Sampras in the all-time list, closing in on Switzerland’s Federer (20) and Nadal (17).

Djokovic has now won 13 of his past 16 meetings with Nadal, who has not beaten the Serb on a hard court since the US Open final in 2013.

He leads 28-25 in their record 53 meetings between two male players.

Djokovic continued his fine record of going on to win the tournament every time he has reached the semi-finals, while Nadal lost for a fourth time in the Melbourne showpiece.

The result meant the 2009 winner was unable to become the first man in the Open era to win all the Grand Slams at least twice.

Djokovic’s dominance stuns an expectant Melbourne

Djokovic said his clinical semi-final win over French 28th seed Lucas Pouille on Friday was one of his best performances on Rod Laver Arena.

Two days later, he surpassed that against the man with whom he shares what many consider to be the greatest male rivalry.

Most expected a much closer encounter between the pair, whose previous meeting at Melbourne Park had been the epic 2012 final, which lasted five sets and almost six hours.

Quickly it became apparent that a repeat was unlikely in front of a stunned crowd.

Djokovic was as close to flawless as he could have been – dominating on serve, controlling the rallies with crisp groundstrokes, rarely making a mistake and showing incredible athleticism around the court.

His tally of 34 winners and nine unforced errors highlights how high his level was.

Read: Rafael Nadal beats Stefanos Tsitsipas to reach Australian Open final

The Serb made a fast start by breaking in Nadal’s first service game and, although that was the only break in the opener, the gulf between the players felt much wider.

He took his first set point after landing a first serve which Nadal could only bat back into the net, wrapping up the opener in only 38 minutes.

More pressure came on Nadal’s serve immediately in the second set, Djokovic eventually going a break up in the fifth game and, after surviving Nadal taking him to deuce in the following game, broke again to leave him serving for a two-set lead.

Djokovic then underlined his dominance by firing down three aces to leave him one set away from the title.

Another break for a 2-1 lead in the third put Djokovic on his way to a comfortable win, before he fought off a break point in the sixth game and then sealed victory on the Nadal serve.

Source: BBC