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(A Közlemények rovatból átvett hír)A Magyar Nemzeti Tanács ösztöndíjprogamjának szerves részei az intenzív szerb nyelvi felzárkóztató képzések, amelyek abból a célból kerülnek megszervezésre, hogy a szerbiai felsőoktatási intézménybe felvételiző egyetemisták szerb nyelvtudását olyan szintre fejlesszék, hogy a nyelvi hátrányok minél kevésbé befolyásolják a továbbtanulást és a szakválasztást, valamint hogy a már felvételt nyert hallgatók könnyebben vegyék a szerb nyelven történő továbbtanulás jelentette akadályokat.

« Voir Naples et mourir » est une expression bien connue, dont la paternité est parfois attribuée à Goethe ou Alexandre Dumas père, excusez du peu. Pour les Napolitains, elle signifie que leur ville est tellement belle et envoûtante que sans elle la vie perd de son sens. Mais ces sentiments passionnés ne sont guère partagés par les Italiens du Nord. Alors quand une femme née dans l’opulente ville de Trévise poste sur sa page Facebook déclare la guerre aux clichés sur Naples dans une lettre d’amour dédiée à la ville et ses habitants, cela fait le buzz sur toute la toile.

En juillet, le Pentagone annonçait avoir éliminé Abou Sayed, le troisième chef, en un an, de la branche afghano-pakistanaise de l’État islamique (EI-Khorasan ou EI-K). Visiblement, le poste est particulièrement exposé puisque celui qui semblait le mieux placé pour lui succéder, un certain Abdul Rahman, a connu le même sort avec trois de ses compagnons. […]

Cet article Le principal candidat à la direction de l’EI en Afghanistan éliminé par une frappe américaine est apparu en premier sur Zone Militaire.

China is plagued by a growing water security crisis and its current solutions are far from sufficient. The reverberations of this crisis have already had global implications, notably encouraging the Arab Spring. Further, as the crisis worsens, national, regional, and global political and economic instability will grow.

China has an age-old imbalance. Its agricultural core is in the North whilst its water resource is in the South. As of 2014, North China holds two thirds of Chinese agriculture but only one fifth of its water.  The rise of Mao in 1952 and an interventionist political ideology has cemented this chronic structural issue in the Chinese economy.

The crisis grows

Contemporary developments are further pressuring China’s water economy as rapid economic growth has sucked-in water. Agriculture and industry account for 85% of water usage. China has 20% of the world’s population but only 7% of its freshwater resource and a rapidly growing middle class with water-demanding lifestyles; the average hamburger takes 2400 litres to produce. In 2014, eleven out of thirty-one Chinese provinces did not meet the World Bank’s water needs criteria of 1500m3 per person; in 2015 in Beijing for example, water provisions amounted to only 100m3.

China’s artificially low pricing of water has encouraged poor water management by creating a disjuncture between actual and market water prices, promoting highly inefficient use in industry and agriculture, and persistent pollution of scarce freshwater supplies. A 2009 World Bank report stated that China was using ten times more water per unit of production than the average industrialised country, and that pollution has made the water in 19% of main rivers and 35% of reservoirs useless for agriculture and industry.

Climate change exacerbates this situation. The melt-water from the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau significantly feeds the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers; the Yangtze alone supports 584 million people and serves an economic zone that constitutes 42% of GDP. According to The State Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences in China, run off into the Yangtze decreased by 13.9% during the 1990s.

Problem solved?

China’s principal solution has been to commission the very high profile South-North Water Diversion Project, inspired by Chairman Mao. In 1952, Mao stated, “[The country’s] South has lots of water, the North has less, if it were possible, it could borrow a little”.  The core of the project is a 1200 km canal stretching from the Yangtze to Beijing.  It is a political showcase that is temporarily averting crisis by addressing the symptoms rather than the cause, but at a cost of $62 billion, it is an expensive breather that will not resolve the problem.

By facilitating massive water transportation, China is reinforcing an artificial economy. It is encouraging water-intensive industry and agriculture, and promoting a downward spiral of strengthening an insatiable demand whilst failing to combat system inefficiencies.  Long term, this project, combined with state-induced low water prices, climate change, and population and economic growth, will perpetuate economic and water scarcity in Northern China.

China has made strides to find innovative solutions to its water issues. Since April 2015, it has experimented with pioneering urban designs to solve flooding and water shortages, launching a‘sponge city’ program in 16 cities and districts to retain rain water. The Water Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan, announced in 2015, set targets to improve specific polluting industries and has had some success; 50,000 offending companies have shut down or halted operations.  Nonetheless, critics have questioned the effectiveness of enforcement. Ma Jun, Director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, said many factories did not comply and local governments carried out the easier aspects of the legislation rather than tackling larger, more complex problems.  However, these are small solutions to a very major problem.  Experts predict that, if China carries on with business as usual, water supply will outstrip demand by 2030.

Implications

Water security issues will have a severe impact on domestic economic stability in the long term. In China, 45% of GDP is in regions that have a similar water resource per capita as the Middle East. China’s electricity generation is reliant on water, as it is estimated that 45% of fresh-water reliant power generation facilities are in water-stressed provinces.  Further, many water-intensive industries, such as fibres and metals, generate 51% of their output in water scarce regions. China’s global competitiveness will likely be affected as industry, agriculture, and municipal use compete internally and with each other.  Businesses should contemplate a future of water price hikes, supply disruptions, pollution, and increased regulation, and seek the opportunities presented by innovative business solutions to solve Chinese water-security issues.

As throughout history, any water-induced economic instability will have significant political implications, nationally, regionally, and, given China’s significance, globally. This has already occurred. The 2011 winter-drought in China’s Eastern wheat-growing province forced China to purchase vast volumes of wheat on international markets. This caused a doubling of global wheat prices. Quickly, a hungry Middle East and North Africa were convulsing in the Arab Spring; in Tunisia, Yemen, and Jordan, protesters waved baguettes in protest, while in Egypt, people were crying out for “bread, freedom, and social justice” (it rhymes in Arabic).

As China moves rapidly away from staple food self-sufficiency, the globalisation of China’s water-security crisis is a serious issue. Such a danger has not gone unnoticed; a report by the USA’s National Intelligence Council registered Chinese water and food shortages, predicted to occur by 2030, as a threat. The implications for the global economy if China’s economy stutters, given it is predicted to account for 17.2% of it by 2025, are self-evident.

As politicians, leaders, investors, and businesses, but ultimately as people, China will wrestle with this challenge, but the world must also take heed of China’s water-security.  The dry throat of the Chinese dragon may induce more than just a sneeze.

This article was originally published by Global Risk Insights and written by Ben Abbs.

The post Domestic and Global Shocks of the Growing Water Crisis in China appeared first on Foreign Policy Blogs.

Aki autóval megy a Peljesac-félszigetre, vagy esetleg Dubrovnikba, pontosan tudja, mekkora könnyebbség, mennyivel egyszerűbb lenne, ha nem szakítaná meg az utat a kétszeri boszniai határátlépés, ha a horvátok által elképzelt hidat megépítenék. Néhány héttel ezelőtt, amikor az Európai Bizottság úgy döntött, hogy az építési költség 80%-át megfinanszírozza és 357 millió euróval megtámogatja a projektet, úgy tűnt, hogy a korábbi évek vitája nyugvópontra jutott és megkezdődhet a kivitelezés. 

Nem így van. Bosznia-Hercegovina kormánypárti politikusa Halit Genjac egyenesen azt mondta, hogy hogy Bosznia voltaképpen hivatalosan soha nem támogatta a Peljesac-híd megépítését, sőt véleménye szerint a híd építése törvénytelen, kimeríti az ENSZ tengeri vizekről szóló konvenciójának megsértését. Emlékeztetett az államelnökség 2007. október 17-i ülésére, ahol arról határoztak, hogy Bosznia ellene van a híd építésének egészen addig, amíg a nyitott kérdések nem tisztázódnak és ki nem jelölik a két ország közötti tengeri határt. Akkor felszólították Horvátországot, hogy ne kezdjen semmilyen „egyoldalú” tevékenységbe. Annak, hogy azóta is rendszeresek az egyeztetések, szakértői tárgyalások, a politikus szerint semmi jelentősége nincs, mert a végső szót az Elnökségnek kell kimondania és ez nem történt meg, ezért nem értik azt sem, hogyan adhat az Európai Unió forrást egy szerintük illegális építkezéshez.

Az ENSZ konvenció egyértelműen kimondja Bosznia-Hercegovina jogát arra, hogy a szárazföldről szabad kijutása legyen a nyílt tengerre. Ugyanez a jog érvényesült a közelmúltban Horvátország és Szlovénia között a tengeri határ pontos kijelölésével amivel Szlovénia ugyanilyen folyosót kapott a nyílt tengerre a Pirani-öbölben, így nem kizárt, hogy a két ország között fellángolt vita eldöntésében nemzetközi békéltetőhöz fordulnak.

Első lépésként azonban a boszniai kormányzópárt az Európai Parlament képviselőihez fordul és támogatásukat kérik, hogy vizsgálják felül az Európai Bizottság által juttatandó támogatást. Ha ez nem vezet eredményre, akkor Bosznia nemzetközi bírósághoz fordul.

A háromtagú államelnökség bosnyák tagja, Bakir Izetbegović azt mondja, hogy Boszniának meg kell védeni érdekeit, míg a horvát nemzetiségű Dragan Čović elnökségi tag szerint a híd mindkét országnak jó, Boszniának különösen, mert ezzel megszűnne Neum szűk keresztmetszete. A szerb tag véleménye még nem ismert.

A háború után, 1999-ben Franjo Tuđman és Alija Izetbegović elnökök kötöttek egy megállapodást, amit a horvátok nem ratifikáltak, egyenesen elutasítottak. A két politikus megállapodott abban, hogy Ploče kikötőjét Bosznia használhatja 99 évig, a tengeri határ a Mali Ston-öböl közepén húzódik és szabad áthaladást biztosítanak a horvátoknak Neumon keresztül. 1999-től 2006-ig Horvátország nem ratifikálta ezt a szerződést, majd 2006-ban tájékoztatták Bosznia államelnökségét, hogy elállnak a Tuđman – Izetbegović megállapodástól és azzal egy időben bejelentették, hogy megépítik a Peljesac-hidat. A diplomáciai egyeztetések helyett a horvátok ezt pusztán technikai kérdésnek tekintették, amiben a közlekedési és kommunikációs minisztériumoknak kell egyeztetni.

A kérdés vélhetően még nem lefutott.

 

 

En octobre 2015, une photographie présentée comme étant celle d’une séduisante jeune femme pilote appartenant aux forces aérospatiales russes engagée en Syrie fit sensation chez de nombreux internautes. Seulement, il s’agissait d’un faux. Ou plus précisement, la légende qui l’accompagnait était fausse. Le cliché en question avait été pris dix ans plus tôt non pas […]

Cet article Russie : Les femmes pourront désormais piloter des avions de combat est apparu en premier sur Zone Militaire.

Michel Delpuech, préfet de police de Paris, s’inquiète du plan de la mairie de Paris de supprimer une voie pour les voitures rue de Rivoli pour donner plus de places aux vélos.

August 13, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's Foreign Ministry Under-Secretary Abdel-Ghani al-Naim discussed on ongoing efforts to improve bilateral relations with a senior professional staff member of the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Foreign Relations.

President Donald Trump's administration last July postponed until next October its decision on the permanent revocation of the 20-year embargo saying more time is needed to consider Sudan's commitment to UN sanctions on North Korea, human rights and religious freedoms.

In a statement released on Sunday, the foreign ministry, al-Nai'm received Heather D. Flynn, Senior Professional Staff of U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations who was accampaigned by the U.S. Chargé d'Affaires Steven Koutsis.

During the meeting, he stressed Sudan keenness to develop bilateral relations with the U.S. pointing to the "positive dialogue which led to the excellent implementation of the five-track plan"

He further said his country not only hopes to lift the economic sanctions and the removal from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism but also to strengthen bilateral relations and cooperation in regional and international issues.

For her part, the US official praised the close cooperation between her country and Sudan in the fight against terrorism, pointing out that the U.S. Congress is also following the five tracks and looks forward to supporting peace and stability in Sudan, said the statement.

Flynn visited Kutum locality in the North Darfur state and inspected the humanitarian situation at Ain Siro camp for displaced people.

She also met with the Governor Abdel-Wahid Youssef Ibrahim to discuss the security and humanitarian situations in North Darfur.

In statements to the official SUNA, the governor stated that the visiting American official requested to allow unfettered access to the humanitarian groups.

He said he explained that there is no any restriction on the humanitarian activities.

However, he further explained that purpose of the permission imposed on the humanitarian groups is "to coordinate and ensure the safety and security of aid workers during their movements within the state".

Last June a bipartisan group including 53 U.S. lawmakers strongly urged President Donald Trump to delay the permanent lifting of U.S. sanctions on Sudan.

“We write to request that you delay lifting these sanctions for one year or until your Administration has been able to fully staff the Department of State and National Security Council, and you have named a Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan,” said 53 Congressmen in a letter sent to President Trump on June 30.

(ST)

Hidalgo veut supprimer une voie pour les voitures rue de Rivoli, la police s’en alarme au nom de la sécurité.

Ezt a posztot már hónapokkal ezelőtt meg akartam írni. A Barents Observerben olvastam, hogy Murmannszkból elindult a Dimitrij Donszkoj tengeralattjáró Szentpétervárra, hogy részt vegyen a július végi nagy flotta szemlén. Ez azért hozta lázba az érdeklődőket, mert az út során van egy szakasz, ahol a hajónak mindenképpen kell majd megtennie, azaz lehet majd fotózni spotterkedni. A DD az utolsó még működő Tájfun osztályú tengeralattjáró, s egyben így a világ legnagyobb tengeralattjárója. Az elmúlt években már csak a tesztelésre, a legújabb SLBM-ek tesztelésére használták.
Amit az indulás előtt nem lehetett tudni, az az volt, hogy végül a hajó egyszer sem merült le a víz alá, az egész hosszú utat, Norvégia megkerülését, a dán szorosokat majd a Balti-tengert a felszínen tette meg. Persze a NATO hadihajói és repülőgépei végig követték a kis flottillát (A DD-vel együtt ment a Nagy Péter rakétás cirkáló, a Nyikolaj Csiker és az SB-123 vontató hajók). Az alábbi képen csak a két utóbbi van rajta, gondolom azért, mert a hadihajók nem használnak semmi olyat, amivel azonosíthatók.
Forrás.
Ami az ilyen civileknek külön öröm volt, hogy a hajónak vagy Öresundon (svéd-dán), vagy a Store Belt-en (Fyn és Sjelland szigetek) szoroson kellett átmennie. Mindkettő fölött híd megy át, de a partról is elég jól belátni objektívvel.
Ez a video tágabb perspektívából mutatja a Store Belten való átkelést. Nem lehet beágyazni. Azt lehet látni, hogy sem a forgalmat nem állították le a hídon, sem a bámészkodók nem látszanak a hídon, lehet hogy nem is lehet felmenni gyalogosan?

Még arra is gondoltam, hogy kirepülök fapadossal, aztán vonattal elmegyek a hídhoz fotózni. Aztán persze az egyéb feladtok elhavaztak. Most megint szembe jött a dán Ifjúsági Atlanti Tanács FB oldalán két fénykép és rákerestem, hogy milyen képek születtek a hajóról. Van köztük, néhány nagyon impresszív.
Az eredmény meglepően kevés volt (vagy nem kerestem elég alaposan). Ez az orosz video már Kronstadban mutatja be a Dimitrij Donszkojt és a Nagy Pétert:
Ezt pedig az egyik dán tévé csatornának (TV2) a tévéfelvétele, nagyon szép képek.

Le secrétaire d’Etat Benjamin Griveaux se rendra à Londres les 12 et 13 septembre, puis au Japon début décembre, pour inciter les banques internationales à s’installer à Paris.

Les associations s’inquiètent de voir leurs actions « menacées » par des baisses de subventions.

Cette recension a été publiée dans le numéro d’été de Politique étrangère (n°2/2017). Antoine Bondaz propose une analyse de l’ouvrage de Jieun Baek, North Korean’s Hidden Revolution: How the Information Underground Is Transforming a Closed Society (Yale University Press, 2016, 312 pages).

Jieun Baek s’attache à analyser l’impact d’un accès croissant à l’information sur la société nord-coréenne. Sa thèse principale est que cette « révolution cachée » déstabilise en profondeur le régime nord-coréen. Alors que les récents événements ont tourné les projecteurs sur le problème nucléaire et balistique et le risque de frappes préventives américaines, cet ouvrage a le mérite de nous rappeler la tragédie humaine en Corée du Nord.

La spécificité de l’ouvrage, et son principal intérêt, sont qu’il repose sur de nombreux entretiens réalisés avec des transfuges nord-coréens en Corée du Sud et aux États-Unis. La démarche s’inscrit dans la tradition des livres de témoignages, à l’instar de Les Aquariums de Pyongyang (2000) de Kang Chol-Hwan et Pierre Rigoulot, ou de Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea (2009) de la journaliste du Los Angeles Times Barbara Demick. Il offre une perspective unique sur l’intérieur du pays et souligne les évolutions sociales telles que vécues par les transfuges. Les portraits et scènes de vie touchent, notamment la ­mention des kotjebis, ces enfants des rues apparus lors de la famine du milieu des années 1990.

Comme dans tout ouvrage se basant sur des témoignages, plusieurs ques­tions se posent, d’autant que la méthodologie des entretiens n’est pas clairement présentée. La première est celle du potentiel biais de l’auteur qui réalise des entretiens très personnels, avec des transfuges pour la plupart présentés comme étant devenus des amis. La deuxième tient à l’intérêt scientifique du témoignage de transfuges ayant fait défection au début des années 1990 pour comprendre la situation actuelle. La troisième se pose quant à leur représentativité, malgré la diversité de leurs profils : ils viennent pour la plupart des provinces frontalières de la Chine.

L’ouvrage conserve un intérêt évident en ce qu’il documente avec précision les moyens d’accès à l’information des Nord-Coréens, ce que l’auteur appelle « la révolution de l’information », mais aussi le système de contrôle et de répression chargé de limiter cet accès. On découvre ainsi successivement les réseaux clandestins permettant aux transfuges d’aider leur famille restée en Corée du Nord, la forte exposition de la population aux séries et films sud-coréens, le rôle des ONG sud-coréennes, le rôle parfois plus ambigu des associations religieuses, etc.

Cependant, et allant partiellement à l’encontre de la thèse initiale, certains transfuges rappellent que le problème principal du pays n’est pas tant l’accès à l’information que la peur qui hante chaque Nord-Coréen, ainsi que l’attachement véritable à un pays, à un réseau social et à un ancrage local qui limitent de fait toute opposition au régime. On retiendra notamment le témoignage du jeune Jeong Gwang, qui explique de façon pragmatique pourquoi la grande majorité des Nord-Coréens ne considère même pas la défection comme une possibilité.

Une grande qualité de l’ouvrage est enfin d’aborder la question de l’économie souterraine dans le pays, traitée ici sous l’angle de la vie quotidienne, ce qui n’est pas sans rappeler les travaux du Peterson Institute for International Economics. Sont ainsi mentionnés, tour à tour, le rôle crucial des marchés informels, les jangmadang, leur dépendance très forte aux trafics avec la Chine, leur impact sur la jeune génération, etc.

Antoine Bondaz

Pour vous abonner à Politique étrangère, cliquez ici.

August 13, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - Security authorities Sunday released the former leader of the opposition Sudanese Congress Party (SCoP) Ibrahim al-Sheikh and another leading member after nearly a month of arbitrary detention without charge.

Al-Shiekh and the SCoP Secretary General Abu Bakr Youssef Babikir were arrested by the NISS on July 19 as they were returning from Sheikh Yaghout village, White Nile state, to support Darfur students who resigned from the university to protest the detention of their colleague.

The release of the SCoP leading members was announced in a statement extended to Sudan Tribune by the spokesman Mohamed Hassan Arabi saying that Sheikh and Babikir were released on Sunday evening, "without trial or any other judicial proceedings."

"The arrest came after a solidarity visit to Darfuri students who resigned from Bakht Al-Ruda University who were in Sheikh Yaghout area to protest against the systematic discrimination against them."

Arabi stressed that the arrest did not have a reason, but "clearly reflects the regime's rejection of any genuine political action from the (opposition) parties to reach out the masses".

He further pointed to the lack of freedoms and continued repression in the country saying that their release is a temporary measure "because we will not stop to be with the masses and among them".

The opposition party organises regularly awareness campaigns and protests in the country. last June the security service arrested nine of its members conducting an information campaign to raise awareness about preventing the spread of cholera.

(ST)

August 13, 2017 (JUBA) - The Centre for Peace and Justice (CPJ), a South Sudanese human rights entity has welcomed the release of political prisoners by the Juba government, stressing that the move fulfilled the amnesty pardon President Salva Kiir earlier declared.

President Salva Kiir addresses the nation from the State House on September 15, 2015, in Juba (Photo AFP/Charles Atiki Lomodong)

South Sudan released at least 30 political prisoners since President Kiir declared an amnesty in May this year to facilitate national dialogue and help end the civil war, a senior security official said last week.

Jalban Obaj, director of legal affairs at the Internal Security Bureau told the state-owned television (SSBC) on Thursday that the prisoners were set free at different times since the declaration of the amnesty.

CPJ's coordinator, Tito Anthony, said the decision by government showed goodwill towards the revitalization of the 2015 peace accord.

"The releasing of political prisoners is a good step, but the government should consider releasing SPLM-IO [South Sudan's armed opposition] spokesperson James Gatdet Dak because he is too is a political prisoner,” Tito told Sudan Tribune on Sunday.

The outspoken official urged South Sudan government to open its arm in order to bring lasting peace to the civilians in the young nation, through engaging the armed opposition for peace talks.

"The next step should be ending the war in country and negotiation with the armed opposition of Dr Riek Machar and the newly formed movements like NDM [National Democratic Movement], NSF [National Salvation Front], among others,” he further stressed.

The rights body called on South Sudanese authorities to reconsider their stand against individuals detained in the country, while stressing the need for government to respect peoples' rights as well as end illegal detention of those accused of supporting rebellion.

"Detention is a violation of the human rights of the individual [and] therefore the government must consider compensating the prisoners because of their rights to remedy,” Tito further told Sudan Tribune.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the presidency, Ateny Wek Ateny said the release of political detainees demonstrated Kiir's good will.

Freeing of the detainees without any precondition also demonstrated that Kiir was determined to resolve the country's civil war, Ateny was quoted saying last week.

South Sudan's civil war is a conflict in South Sudan between forces of the government and opposition forces. In December 2013, President Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar and ten others of attempting a coup d'état.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed and over two million displaced in the country's worst-ever outbreak of violence since the young nation seceded from Sudan in 2011.

(ST)

The United Nations and the Security Council today condemned the attacks against camps of the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali in Douenza and Timbuktu on Monday, which resulted in the deaths of one UN peacekeeper, a Malian soldier and a member of the Malian gendarmerie, along with six Malian contractors.

August 13, 2017 (JUBA) - South Sudan President Salva Kiir has sent a congratulatory message welcoming the re-election of the incumbent Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, saying the victory was a testament of trust the coalition government has earned from the Kenyan people.

“Under your leadership, Kenya has remained key regional economic, peace and security partner. The people of South Sudan are particularly grateful for your contribution to restoring peace in our nation”, said president Kiir in a congratulatory message dated August 12, 2017, to President Kenyatta.

Kiir assured his commitment to continue to extend collaboration and deepen historic relations for mutual benefits of the citizens of the two countries.

“Your victory is a testament of the trust that the Jubilee coalition has earned from the people of Kenya and their appreciation of the efforts made toward the development of your country during the last five years,” the congratulatory message read.

On Friday, Kenya's electoral commission announced that President Uhuru Kenyatta had won the election by 1.4 million votes. Also, international observers said the vote on was fairly fair, as the local observers supported the results.

But Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga contested the results and called for a strike to protest it. He further accused the ruling party and security forces of "spilling the blood of innocent people".

In a related development, Kofi Annan Former U.N. Secretary General, who Annan mediated during a post-election crisis a decade ago, called on Kenyan political leaders to be "careful with their rhetoric and actions" and urged opposition leader Raila Odinga to pursue any complaints about the vote in court.

Odinga has rejected the results, claiming massive fraud, and said he will not go to court to challenge them.

Press reports say the death toll from the electoral violence reached to at least 24 people

(ST)

August 13, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - Ethiopia's Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn on Tuesday will head a high-level delegation on a three-day official visit to Khartoum, said the Sudanese Presidency.

In a press release on Sunday, the presidential press office said the Ethiopian premier would discuss with President Omer al-Bashir ways to promote bilateral ties between the two countries as well as the regional and international issues of common concern.

Desalegn will also meet with Sudan's First Vice-President and Prime Minister Bakri Hassan Salih.

According to the press release, the visiting premier on Thursday would deliver a lecture on the situation in the Horn of Africa at the Friendship Hall in Khartoum.
He will also attend a cultural display and visit some industrial installations in Sudan.

The delegation accompanying the Ethiopian Prime Minister includes Minister of Government Communication Affairs Office, Negeri Lencho, Minister of Water, Irrigation and Electricity, Sileshi Bekele, Special Advisor to the Prime Minister, Berhane Gebrechristos, and State Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hirut Zemene.

Sudanese-Ethiopian relations have witnessed remarkable development in the various political, economic, cultural and military fields in recent years.

The two countries are engaged more and more in joint economic projects particularly in the border areas for the benefit of the people from the two sides.

Last April, the two sides signed a number of joint agreements to promote economic relations and strengthen ties between the two countries. Also in February, they signed multiple agreements to further boost up cooperation on a range of development activities.

Also, Khartoum provided support for the Ethiopian government which constructs a dam on the Blue Nile.

In October 2016, the two countries signed in Addis Ababa a memorandum of understanding providing to enhance joint security and military cooperation between the two neighbouring countries to fight terrorism.

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August 13, 2017 (JUBA) - South Sudan President Salva Kiir has unveiled that for him peace and political stability should be achieved through two tracks, saying the situation in the young nation has become embarrassing.

Kiir developed his vision for peace during a meeting with the Dinka traditional leaders from his home state of Gorgrial where over 30 people were killed during inter-communal clashes.

The head of state said he and the First Vice President Taban Deng Gai have developed two ways to end the conflict and return the country to peace.

"The national dialogue was one way to end the war. The other, he adds, is the reconciliation and reunification of the SPLM leaders while the regional revitalization forum provides a supplementary role."

He further urged the armed opposition groups to stop fighting and join the national dialogue, saying the country and the people deserve peace, security and stability in order to rebuild their lives after years of destruction.

“When you look at the current situation and look at the cause of the liberation struggle, you wonder why people should continue to suffer after fighting to gain independence. These are the questions we get and this is the reason why this senseless war should stop. And indeed it must top,” he told the Dinka elders at his residence in Juba.

He stressed that his government is implementing the peace agreement and the current situation will be overcome.

“The formation of the government has been completed and the cooperation of the ministers in the government has been encouraging. We want this spirit of cooperation to extend to all the states so that peace and harmony are realised at the grassroots level," he said.

He further pointed to the recent clashes among the Dinka Youth groups in Gogrial saying "There should not be fighting among communities like you are doing in the state."

"It has to stop," he stressed.

He urged the tribal leaders to promote peace among their communities and to brief their people about the government efforts to end the war and bring stability in the whole country.

"As you go back, help the state government in sensitization and mobilization efforts to enlighten the people about the importance of peaceful dialogue. As the transitional government of national unity, we have decided that stopping this war is the priority and we have clear plans to stop it," he reiterated.

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August 13, 2017 (EL-FASHER) - The Border Guards Force (BGF) in Darfur's five states has refused to be merged with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) saying it wouldn't cooperate with a government plan aiming to collect illegal weapons.

Last month, Defence Minister Ahmed Awad Ibn Auf announced a plan to reorganise the “forces supportive” of the Sudanese army. The step means to implement the recommendations of the national dialogue providing to integrate all the militias to the Sudanese army.

Also, Vice-President Hasabo Mohamed Abdel-Rahman and head of Darfur Disarmament Higher Committee on Friday winded up a five-day visit to Darfur's states to implement a government plan to collect illegal arms from individuals and tribes.

Haroun Medeikhir, the spokesperson for the Sudanese Revolutionary Awakening Council (SRAC) in Darfur headed by the tribal leader, Musa Hilal, told Sudan Tribune Sunday that traditional leaders and BGF commanders in Darfur's five states have met Saturday in Misteriya area in North Darfur to discuss the two issues.

He said the meeting, which was chaired by Hilal, has categorically rejected the merger with the RSF, pointing it also refused to hand over arms unless the collection process is carried out through a committee agreed upon by everyone.

Medeikhir added the proposed committee should include the interior and defence ministries besides the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS), saying the committee must then sit with the traditional leaders to discuss the implementation of the plan.

“Those who have been delegated to collect the weapons are unqualified [to carry out the task],” he said.

The SRAC spokesperson said the meeting called for holding reconciliations in Darfur, demanding the release of the detained leaders from Rizeigat and Ma'alia tribes.
He described the ongoing arrest campaign in the region as an attempt to “dismantle the Arab tribes”, calling for unity of the latter to face these challenges.

Medeikhir stressed the BGF is on high alert in anticipation of any emergencies, denouncing the intimidating rhetoric used by the Vice-President during his visit to Darfur.

The BGF consists mainly of the notorious Janjaweed militia members that fought Darfur rebels along with Sudanese army. It was drawn mainly from the nomadic Arab tribes of the area and blamed for much of the killing in the Darfur conflict.

Later, the government also formed the SRF from the same Arab tribes. However, the Sudanese parliament last January passed the RSF Act which integrates the militia in the Sudanese army and provides that its commander is appointed by the President of the Republic.

Hilal has been hostile to the RSF leader, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, (aka Hametti) who was one of his lieutenants and tribal followers before to be the appointed commander of the RSF.

He fears that Hametti contests his tribal leadership as leader of Al-Mahameed tribe, a branch of the Rizeigat ethnic group.

The border guards include some 3,000 militiamen from Al-Mahameed.

(ST)