KHARTOUM, 31 December 2020, (TON): A joint United Nations and African Union peacekeeping mission (UNAMID) in Sudan’s troubled Darfur region will end on Thursday (today), after more than 13 years of operation.

The UNAMID in a statement on Wednesday said the Sudanese government will take the responsibility of providing security and services to citizens in the region.

“As of 1 January 2021, UNAMID’s troops and police personnel will focus on providing security for the mission’s drawdown activities, personnel and assets,” the mission said.

“UNAMID will have a period of six months to undertake the drawdown, which will be conducted in a phased manner,” it said.

Last week, the 15-member Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution to terminates the mission, outlining a six-month phased pull-out of troops with a complete withdrawal by June 30.

Many Darfuri residents say UNAMID has not effectively protected them, but they fear its withdrawal will leave them more vulnerable and have staged protests in recent weeks.

On Sunday, thousands of displaced people in the region protested against the UN decision to end the UNAMID mandate. The protesters, mostly displaced women and children want the peacekeepers to stay.

Adam Regal, a spokesman for a local organisation that helps run refugee camps in Darfur, said that the UNAMID exit would create a “security vacuum” in a region with several active militia groups.

The mission was deployed in Darfur in 2007 to end a bitter conflict that erupted in the western region in 2003 between government forces and rebel groups.

TEHRAN, 31 December 2020, (TON): Iran’s Cabinet on Wednesday allocated $150,000 for the families of each of the 176 victims of a Ukrainian plane shot down in Iranian airspace in January, the official IRNA news agency reported.

According to the report, an Iranian government statement said: “The cabinet approved the provision of $150,000 or the equivalent in euros as soon as possible to the families and survivors of each of the victims of the Ukrainian plane crash.”

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have said they accidentally shot down the Ukraine International Airlines plane shortly after takeoff, mistaking it for a missile when tensions with the United States were high.

Ukraine’s foreign ministry said the compensation should be set through talks, taking into account international practice, after establishing the causes of the tragedy and bringing those responsible to justice.

“The Ukrainian side expects from Iran a draft technical report on the circumstances of the aircraft shooting down,” ministry spokesman Oleh Nikolenko said, adding that Iran had yet to implement earlier agreements, without giving details.

“This situation is especially unacceptable, since we are talking about the fate of innocent people,” Nikolenko said.

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne added in an emailed statement that “negotiations on reparations” are the best avenue available “to hold Iran accountable for its actions.”

Canada has played a role as the home of many of the victims on the downed plane.

In a preliminary report in July, Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization blamed a misaligned radar system and lack of communication between the air defence operator and his commanders for the downing of the plane.

Iranian Foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said an indictment will be issued in less than a month against “those whose negligence caused the accident.” Iranian officials have said the case was being handled by a military court.

JAMMU AND KASHMIR, 31 December 2020, (TON): Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, marred by killings, crackdowns, arrests, anti-India protests and prolonged military siege the year 2020 happened to be the most brutal and agonizing for the oppressed and hapless people of the territory.

According to a research data issued today, Indian troops in their unabated acts of state terrorism martyred 263 innocent Kashmiris including 5 women and 11 teenagers during the year.

28 of the martyrs were killed in fake encounters, extrajudicial operations and custody. Most of the martyrs were highly qualified youth. The killings rendered 13 women widowed and 29 children orphaned while 58 women were molested or disgraced by the men in uniform.

Indian forces destroyed 927 residential houses and structures.

As many as 777 people were injured when troops used brute force on protesters and arrested 2,958 including Hurriyat activists, students and young boys during house raids and crackdowns.

DAMASCUS, 31 December 2020, (TON): At least 25 people were killed on Wednesday when armed men attacked a passenger bus in the desert area in eastern Syria, state news agency SANA reported.

The "terrorist" attack targeted the bus on the Palmyra-Deir al-Zour road in the area of Kabajeb, the report said, adding that 13 other people were wounded.

The official report revealed no further details.

For its side, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Islamic State (IS) group targeted three buses carrying soldiers in the road to Deir al-Zour province in eastern Syria on Wednesday, killing three and wounding 11 others.

Meanwhile, the attack was in an area where mostly Syrian army and Iranian-backed militias are based, near the ancient city of Palmyra.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

TRIPOLI, 31 December 2020, (TON): Germany, Italy, the United States, France and Britain reiterated on Wednesday full support for the success of the UN-facilitated Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) and interrelated economic and security dialogues, according to a joint statement.

The statement was issued after ambassadors of Germany, Italy and the United States and charge d'affaires of France and Britain, joined by the UN Support Mission in Libya, met virtually with Libya's UN-backed Prime Minister Fayez Serraj.

The diplomats welcomed recent prisoner exchanges between Libyan rival parties, and urged rapid progress to facilitate the reopening of the Misurata-Sirte coastal highway as agreed by the 5+5 Joint Military Commission in October, said the statement.

"The heads of mission noted that for the intended formation of the executive authority within the LPDF framework, strong and engaged Libyan leadership is needed ahead of elections in December 2021. They also emphasized the need for public commentary to be constructive and in support of the process," it said.

"The heads of mission also reiterate their call for the international community's full support for the Libyan-led, UN-convened political process, including the LPDF and Oct. 23 Ceasefire Agreement," it further said.

The eastern-based army and the UN-backed government had been engaged in a deadly armed conflict for over a year in and around capital Tripoli, which ended in early June when the UN-backed government announced its takeover of all western Libya after withdrawal of the eastern-based army. On Oct. 23, Libyan delegations to the 5+5 Joint Military Commission talks in Geneva signed a UN-sponsored permanent ceasefire agreement.

ISLAMABAD, 31 December 2020, (TON): Stressing the need for lasting peace in Afghanistan, PM Imran Khan on Wednesday called for foiling and exposing Indian propaganda and its Nefarious designs to the international community.

“There is no military solution to the conflict in Afghanistan; it should be resolved through negotiated political settlement,” the prime minister said during a meeting with Afghan Minister for Industry and Commerce Nisar Ahmed Faizi Ghoryani, who called on him at the Prime Minister House.

Mr Khan stressed the need for all sides in Afghanistan to take steps to reduce violence, leading to ceasefire. Highlighting the close fraternal ties between the two countries, the prime minister reiterated Pakistan’s consistent support to peace and stability in Afghanistan.

“Peace in Afghanistan would be beneficial for the entire region by enhancing regional connectivity and providing new opportunities for economic cooperation,” he said.

Talking about bilateral trade between the two countries, the prime minister said Pakistan and Afghanistan had untapped economic synergies and complementarities, which could be best realised through cooperation in the economic and trade spheres.

He mentioned the Mazar-i-Sharif-Kabul-Peshawar trans-Afghan railway line project, and reiterated Pakistan’s support to Uzbekistan’s efforts to secure financing for the project.

The Afghan commerce minister conveyed the greetings of President Ashraf Ghani and highlighted the progress made on matters related to transit and bilateral trade.

He said the Afghan president appreciated the positive role played by Pakistan in facilitating the Afghan peace process, and affirmed his country’s desire to enhance trade and economic ties with its neighbour.

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood also attended the meeting.

The Afghan delegation is on a five-day visit to Pakistan (Dec 27 to 31) for the 8th meeting of Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Coordination Authority (APTTCA).

Indian propaganda

In a separate meeting, Prime Minister Khan said the baseless and concocted Indian campaign should be countered with facts and the real face of India should be exposed before the international community and public.

He said Indian media was trying to divert the world’s attention from New Delhi’s actions in the Illegally Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), grave human rights violations and threats to regional peace by implementing Hindu fascist agenda and through negative and baseless propaganda against Pakistan.

LONDON, 31 December 2020, (TON): After Signing by EU chiefs, PM Boris Johnson inked the documents pertaining post-Brexit trade deal following the UK MP’s approval of ratification.

After ratifying by the EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel, the heads of the European Commission and European Council, the hefty document, bound in blue leather, was then flown by the Royal Air Force to London for Prime Minister Boris Johnson to add his signature, as the UK parliament began a rushed debate on the deal before the looming deadline.

Johnson gave a thumbs up after inking what he called “the beginning of what will be a wonderful relationship between the UK and our friends and partners in the EU”.

“It’s an excellent deal for this country but also for our friends and partners,” he said in 10 Downing Street.

Britain will leave the European single market and customs union at 11:00 pm (2300 GMT) on Thursday (today), the end of a difficult year and of a post-Brexit transition period marked by intense and tortuous trade negotiations.

The lower House of Commons voted overwhelmingly by 521-73 to back the deal, despite serious opposition misgivings, and the bill was expected to pass the House of Lords later on Wednesday in an unusually rapid procedure.

Introducing the legislation to ratify it, Johnson told lawmakers it heralded a new chapter for Britain and the EU as “sovereign equals, joined by friendship, commerce, history, interests and values”.

London and Brussels would work “hand in glove whenever our values and interests coincide, while fulfilling the sovereign wish of the British people to live under their own sovereign laws made by their own sovereign parliament”, he added.

Michel echoed the sentiment in Brussels, vowing the two sides would work “shoulder to shoulder” on major issues, including climate change and future health pandemics.

NEW DELHI, 31 December 2020, (TON): Five people were arrested in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday for attempting to damage a mosque in Dorana village of district Mandsaur a day earlier, Indian media reported. Another incident of damaging a mosque by a mob reported in Indore, India.

According to media reports, the incident occurred when people from right-wing organisations took out a rally in the village to inform residents about a fund for the Ram Temple in Ayodhya — being built on the ruins of the Babri Mosque destroyed by a mob in 1992.

Videos shared on social media showed participating in the rally chanted Hanuman Chalisa outside the mosque while prayers were being offered inside. The situation turned violent when some of them – holding saffron flags and chanting “Jai Shri Ram” slogans – climbed atop the mosque and tried to damage the minaret. Videos of the incident showed the Hindu outfit members also trying to burn down a house and damaging several vehicles.

A police official told the media that some of the participants also damaged houses of Muslims in the area. No residents were injured because they fled into surrounding fields, he added.

More people aside from the five already arrested are being identified from the videos on social media. Those arrested have been charged under sections related to rioting, criminal intimidation and obscene acts, the official said.

Mandsaur Superintendent of Police Siddharth Chaudhary said the mosque was not damaged in the incident.

Another such incident reported in Indore on the same day. The people who had taken out the fund-raising rally tried to damage a mosque and recite Hanuman chalisa — a Hindu devotional hymn dedicated to Lord Hanuman, a popular Hindu god — outside it.

Police said it resulted in stone-pelting and gunshots which injured some people participating in the rally. Four first information reports (FIRs) were registered and 27 people were detained in connection with this incident, police added.

A delegation of five Congress MLAs headed by former minister Sajjan Singh Verma met Chief Secretary Iqbal Singh Bains and DGP Vivek Johri and demanded an impartial probe into the Ujjain clash. Congress MLA Arif Masood said: “If the Assembly session is cancelled because of Covid-19, how is it that permission is granted to carry out rallies. And if these people did not have permission, how is it that no action has been taken against them.”

Pakistan President Alvi responded in a tweet, ‘‘In India demolition of mosques is gaining face, seen the video of Andore below (Giving the links). Minority especially Muslims feel themselves separate and frightened. BJP/Modi fascist government is becoming a source for India to become a Hindu state.’’

NEW YORK, 31 December 2020, (TON): More than 10 million children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), northeast Nigeria, the Central Sahel, South Sudan and Yemen will suffer from acute malnutrition in 2021, the UN Children's Fund said.

All of these countries and regions are experiencing "dire humanitarian crises", while also grappling with intensifying food insecurity, the coronavirus pandemic and, with the exception of the Central Sahel, "a looming famine", the Unicef said in a statement on Wednesday.

"For countries reeling from the consequences of conflicts, disasters and climate change, Covid-19 has turned a nutrition crisis into an imminent catastrophe," Unicef Executive Director Henrietta Fore said.

"Families already struggling to feed their children and themselves are now on the brink of famine. We can't let them be the forgotten victims of 2020," she added.

Severe acute malnutrition is the most extreme and visible form of under nutrition.

Children with severe acute malnutrition have very low weight for their height and severe muscle wasting. It is a major cause of death in children under five, and its prevention and treatment are critical to child survival and development.

Unlike 2020, the situation feared to worsen in 2021, Unicef called on humanitarian actors on the ground in these countries as well as the international community to urgently expand access to and support for nutrition, health and water and sanitation services for children and families.

Unicef has appealed for more than $1 billion to support its lifesaving nutrition programs for children in countries affected by humanitarian crises over 2021.

SANAA, 31 December 2020, (TON): At least 26 people were killed on Wednesday as explosions rocked Yemen’s Aden airport moments after a new unity government flew in, in what some officials charged was a “cowardly” attack by Houthi rebels. Video footage released shows missile-like ordnance striking the airport apron.

Although all government ministers were reported to be unharmed, more than 50 people were wounded, medical and government sources said in the southern city, with the casualty toll feared likely to rise.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said it was preparing a “mass casualty medical response plan”.

As smoke billowed out of the airport terminal from an initial blast, with debris strewn across the area and people rushing to tend to the wounded, a second explosion took place. Sporadic gunfire was heard soon after.

Yemen’s internationally recognised government and southern separatists formed a power-sharing cabinet on Dec 18, forging a joint front against the Houthi rebels who have seized Yemen’s capital Sanaa and much of the north.

“We assure our great people that members of the government are fine, and we assure you that the cowardly terrorist attack by the Iran-supported Houthi militia will not deter us from carrying out our patriotic duty,” Eryani said on Twitter.

Saeed tweeted that the “terrorist attack... was part of the war waged against Yemen and its people.”

Yemen’s government spokesman Rajih Badi called for an international investigation into the “terrorist” attack he said targeted “all members of the cabinet”.

“It is too soon to accuse any party before an investigation reveals who executed the attack, including (accusing) the Houthis,” he said, adding those injured included civilians, security guards and local officials.

Meanwhile, UN envoy Martin Griffiths condemned the attack on Twitter, calling it an “unacceptable act of violence”.

“I wish the cabinet strength in facing the difficult tasks ahead,” he said.

“This unacceptable act of violence is a tragic reminder of the importance of bringing Yemen urgently back on the path towards peace.” Michael Aron, the British ambassador to Yemen, also condemned the blasts.

“A despicable attempt to cause carnage and chaos and bring suffering when Yemenis had chosen to move forward together,” he said.

The cabinet members arrived in Aden days after being sworn in by Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi in Saudi Arabia, which leads a military coalition against the insurgents.

A statement issued by the Foreign Office’s spokesperson in Islamabad said: “Pakistan on Wednesday strongly condemned the terrorist attack at Aden airport in Yemen in which the cabinet members of the newly-formed government were targeted.

“We believe this attack was not just condemnable as an act of senseless violence and terrorism, it was also reprehensible as an attempt to undermine the recent efforts by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and its positive results, aimed at fostering enhanced peace and security in Yemen.”

Pakistan urged the international community to ensure respect for territorial integrity of Yemen and to support efforts aimed at promoting peace and security in the country, the statement added.