Cincunri Sakia

Kamis, 04 Februari 2021

Yemen war: US 'to end support' for offensive operations - BBC News

Children play near a building damaged by bombing, Yemen (file pic - November 2018)

The US is set to announce an end to its support for offensive operations in Yemen, which has been devastated by a six-year war in which more than 110,000 people are believed to have died.

The policy change by the new president, Joe Biden, was announced by his national security adviser on Thursday.

Under Mr Biden's two predecessors, the US backed a coalition led by Saudi Arabia against rebels in Yemen.

The conflict has left millions of Yemenis on the brink of starvation.

Fighting began in 2014 between a weak Yemeni government and the Houthi rebel movement. It escalated a year later, when Saudi Arabia and eight other Arab states - backed by the US, the UK and France - began air strikes against the Houthis.

What does the announcement mean?

The decision would affect US support for offensive operations in the war between the Yemeni government and the Houthis, including the sale of precision-guided munitions to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told a briefing in Washington.

It did not extend to operations against al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, he said.

Mr Biden is also expected to announce a special envoy for Yemen later on Thursday - expected to be named as Tim Lenderking, an experienced diplomat and Middle East specialist, sources told the BBC.

The Biden administration has already put a temporary halt on arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

This marks a change of tack from Mr Trump's administration, which increased support for the Saudi-led coalition. Last month Mr Trump's Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, announced that the Houthis were being designated a "terrorist organisation".

He said the aim was to hold the Houthis accountable for cross-border attacks and deter "malign activity" by their backer Iran.

Aid organisations criticised the move, warning that it could prevent them from operating in areas where millions are in urgent need of food aid.

Last week, the Biden administration said it would exempt certain transactions involving the Houthis from sanctions. That exemption will expire on 26 February.

The United Nations says Yemen is the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with 80% of the population in need of aid or protection.

Analysis box by Lyse Doucet, chief international correspondent

These announcements confirm President Biden's pledge to end Yemen's destructive war. Halting US support to the Saudi-led coalition's offensive operations won't close this bloody chapter, but it sends a strong signal to leaders in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi - they've also been trying to find ways to extricate themselves from this quagmire.

Achieving peace among Yemen's bitter enemies will be a monumental challenge. Tim Lenderking is set to be the first US envoy for Yemen since this war was unleashed nearly six years ago. He's worked on this file for years and is known to everyone who matters.

Western diplomats, as well as Yemenis, have welcomed this new US engagement. In 2015, President Obama gave a green light to the Saudi-led campaign, partly to ease the Kingdom's anger over the Iran nuclear deal. Now new US envoys on Yemen, and Iran, are tasked with ending this war, and the regional rivalries which still fuel it.

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2021-02-04 19:49:00Z
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Doctor in charge of treating Alexei Navalny in Russia after Novichok poisoning dies suddenly - Daily Mail

Doctor in charge of treating Alexei Navalny in Russia after Novichok poisoning dies suddenly and 'very unexpectedly' of suspected heart attack aged 55

Dr Sergei Maksimishin was in charge of intensive care at Omsk hospital
Alexei Navalny was treated there after his poisoning before heading to Germany
The doctor died very suddenly after his 'blood pressure shot up' while in hospital

By Will Stewart for MailOnline

Published: 15:04 GMT, 4 February 2021 | Updated: 15:53 GMT, 4 February 2021

A doctor who was in charge of treating Alexei Navalny in Russia soon after he was poisoned with novichok has died suddenly aged 55.

Dr Sergei Maksimishin was in charge of intensive care at the Omsk hospital where the opposition leader was taken after he became seriously ill on a plane which was forced to make an emergency landing.

The Omsk hospital and the Russian authorities strongly denied that Navalny showed any signs of nerve agent poisoning but the Putin critic then flew to Germany for life-saving treatment where doctors detected novichok.

Dr Sergei Maksimishin who was in charge of treating Alexei Navalny in Russia soon after he was poisoned with novichok has died suddenly aged 55.

Russian authorities strongly denied that Navalny, pictured during his sentencing this week, showed any signs of nerve agent poisoning but this was detected after he flew to Germany

Maksimishin died in the intensive care unit where Navalny was treated and it is not believed he contracted Covid-19.

Initial reports said his blood pressure suddenly shot up, and he died of a heart attack.

A colleague Maria Morozova. who saw him this week said the death was 'very unexpected'.

The medic was described as having 'guided Navalny's treatment' after his poisoning with the potentially lethal warfare agent which was allegedly sprinkled in his underpants by an FSB secret service hit squad.

Navalny accused Vladimir Putin of seeking to murder him, but the Kremlin has denied the 44 year old was poisoned, and dismissed claims of an attempt to kill him.

Galina Nazarova, spokeswoman for Omsk health ministry, said there were 'no special background' to the respected medic's death.

The doctor was in charge of intensive care at the Omsk hospital where the opposition leader was taken after his poisoning (pictured)

Maksimishin died in the intensive care unit where Navalny was treated and it is not believed he contracted Covid-19

'The man was sick, worried about his relatives,' she said.

'He buried his parents this year. He died at work, in his intensive care unit, where he worked.

'He was in the hospital, he was placed in intensive care and he died there.'

Lifeshot news outlet reported Dr Maksimishin was urgently hospitalised yesterday.

'When the doctor was just brought from home, the blood pressure was 'over 250'.

'They managed to 'knock down' the blood pressure, but the doctor's heart still could not stand it.'

Alexander Murakhovsky, the hospital's head physician, was later promoted to Omsk health minister.

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2021-02-04 15:04:00Z
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Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi charged after army coup - BBC News - BBC News

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Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi charged after army coup - BBC News BBC News
UK considering ‘next steps’ in wake of Myanmar coup, says Dominic Raab The Independent
Myanmar coup: Military blocks Facebook for sake of 'stability' BBC News
The Guardian view on Myanmar’s coup: the army strikes back The Guardian
The World Waits for No Man—Not Even the President of the United States | Opinion Newsweek
View Full coverage on Google News

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2021-02-04 14:37:12Z
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Belgian court jails Iranian diplomat for 20 years over bomb plot - Al Jazeera English

The Iranian diplomat was accused of plotting a thwarted 2018 bombing of an opposition rally outside the French capital, Paris.

A Belgian court has convicted an Iranian diplomat for plotting a thwarted 2018 bombing of an exiled opposition group outside the French capital, Paris, and ordered him jailed for 20 years.

Belgian prosecution lawyers and civil parties to the prosecution on Thursday said the Vienna-based diplomat, Assadolah Assadi, was guilty of attempted “terrorism” after a plot to bomb a rally of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) in June 2018 was foiled by German, French and Belgian police.

“The ruling shows two things: A diplomat doesn’t have immunity for criminal acts … and the responsibility of the Iranian state in what could have been carnage,” Belgian prosecution lawyer Georges-Henri Beauthier told reporters outside the court in Antwerp.

The ruling marked the first trial of an Iranian official for suspected “terrorism” in the European Union since Iran’s revolution in 1979.

Assadi, now 49, was attached to the Iranian mission in Austria when he supplied explosives for the planned attack. He was arrested in Germany, where he did not have diplomatic immunity.

Three accomplices were given jail terms and were stripped of their Belgian citizenship.

Belgian-Iranian couple Nasimeh Naami, 36, and Amir Saadouni, 40, accepted from Assadi half a kilogramme (one pound) of TATP explosives and a detonator.

Naami received an 18-year sentence and Saadouni 15 years.

Belgium-based Iranian poet Mehrdad Arefani was an accomplice of Assadi’s who had been due to guide the couple at the rally. He was jailed for 17 years.

‘Terrorism as statecraft’

The June 30, 2018 gathering in Villepinte, near Paris, included senior leaders of the exiled NCRI, which was formed with the aim of regime change in Iran. The group counts Mujahedin-e-Khalq, or MEK, as a key member.

Tehran says European states harbour MEK, which it deems a “terrorist” organisation. The group was on the United States’s “terrorism list” from 1997 to 2012, but its rallies in recent years have been headlined by the likes of former US President Donald Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani and former US National Security Advisor John Bolton.

Reporters and members of the public were not allowed into the courtroom, which was heavily guarded by police and armoured vehicles, with police helicopters overhead.

“It was established that the Iranian regime uses terrorism as statecraft and the highest levels of the Iranian regime are involved,” Shahin Gobadi, a Paris-based spokesman for the opposition People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, which is part of the NCRI, said outside the court.

One of the defence lawyers said he would recommend an appeal, although it was not clear if Assadi would do so.

Iran has denied involvement in the foiled plot, calling such a claim a “shallow fabrication”.

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2021-02-04 12:19:02Z
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Myanmar coup: Aerobics instructor 'not aware' of military takeover behind her in viral video - Sky News

A woman whose workout video went viral after it accidentally captured Myanmar's military carrying out a coup says she was totally unaware what was going on behind her.

On Monday, civilian leaders Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint were detained along with hundreds of MPs as top generals overthrew the country's elected government.

Khing Hnin Wai, 26, was carrying out a colour morning routine in front of the road to parliament, oblivious to the serious political situation unfolding in the background.

In the video, a stream of military vehicles can be seen driving towards a tightened security checkpoint as the aerobics instructor dances and punches the air in a neon yellow and black outfit.

When the bizarre footage first emerged, many viewers questioned if it was real.

The PE teacher was totally focused on her routine and unable to get updates from the outside world due to a mobile signal blackout in the capital Naypyidaw, which lasted for nearly eight hours.

"I didn't know. I had no mobile signal and was not aware of what was happening behind me," Khing said.

An exercise enthusiast, she said she usually carries out her morning routine at the same location from 7am to 8:30am in order to compete in an aerobics competition organised by the education ministry.

The video she was filming was her entry, which she uploaded to social media.

"I teach an aerobics class to my school children, and I am also joining the competition," Khing explained.

"During the pandemic, we can't go to an in-person class, so I am teaching them via online videos."

She wrote on her Facebook page (prior to the military government blocking access to the platform) that she knew those members of the security forces personally as she always exercises there.

"They even greeted me after the exercise on that day," she said.

Despite the popularity of the clip, Khing said she was worried people may wrongly believe that she was celebrating.

"That's why I wrote, please don't copy the video," she said.

On Wednesday, police filed charges against de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who they claim illegally imported several walkie talkies.

If found guilty, she could face a maximum sentence of three years in prison.

She and President Win Myint, who faces charges relating to breaking COVID-19 rules, are currently due to be detained until 15 February.

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2021-02-04 12:12:12Z
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Myanmar coup: Military blocks Facebook for sake of 'stability' - BBC News

Myanmar's military rulers have blocked access to Facebook, days after they overthrew the democratic government.

Officials said the social media platform - for many in Myanmar the main source of online information - would be blocked for the sake of "stability".

Facebook has become a key rallying point for opposition to Monday's coup.

In further civil disobedience, lawmakers are refusing to leave their compound in the capital, and more pot-banging was seen in Yangon.

The coup, led by armed forces chief Min Aung Hlaing, installed an 11-member junta, ending a short period of majority civilian rule.

The military said an election in November had been fraudulent - though the country's election commission said there was no evidence of such fraud.

The elected civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, along with President Win Myint, were detained and on Wednesday police filed charges against them.

The charges against her include possession of unlawful communication devices - walkie-talkies used by her security staff.

President Myint is accused of breaching Covid rules while campaigning for last November's election, won decisively by Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy.

What is Facebook's role?

The Ministry of Communications and Information said access to Facebook would be blocked until 7 February. However, it was still reported to be accessible sporadically.

Anthony Aung, who runs a tour agency in Yangon, the main city, told the BBC at one point he still had access to the site through WiFi but not cellular data.

He said "people around me are all rushing to download alternative apps and VPN" - virtual private networks which allow users to get round internet restrictions.

Hours later, Mr Aung said Facebook had stopped working completely.

How Facebook became Myanmar's 'digital tea shop'

Myanmar coup: What is happening and why?

Yangon student Min Htet said her education had already been suspended due to the Covid pandemic. "Blocking Facebook today means that the freedom of young people is restricted from now on," she told Reuters.

Half of Myanmar's 54 million people use Facebook and activists have set up a page to co-ordinate opposition to the coup.

Facebook became popular as the company initially allowed its app to be used without data costs in Myanmar so that consumers could avoid paying expensive telecoms data charges.

The social media giant acknowledged the disruption, saying "we urge authorities to restore connectivity so that people in Myanmar can communicate with their families and friends and access important information".

Telecoms company Telenor Myanmar, which is part of the Norwegian Telenor Group, said it would comply with the order to block Facebook, but suggested in a statement that this breached human rights law.

What is happening on the streets?

A small protest has taken place in front of a university in Myanmar's second city, Mandalay, with reports of four arrests.

In Yangon, residents banged cooking pots for a second night running.

A woman in the city told the BBC: "We bang drums as we want the military government and the world to know that we don't agree with this military coup... I want our leader Aung San Suu Kyi back."

Protesters against the coup in Myanmar on the streets of Yangon, 3 February 2021

At least 70 lawmakers with the NLD are refusing to leave a government guest house in the capital, Nay Pyi Taw, and have declared what they are calling a new parliamentary session, BBC Burmese reports.

The lawmakers are among hundreds who were confined by the military to guest houses before being told they were free to leave.

The streets are for the most part calm with no sign of major protest and a night-time curfew in force.

However, hospitals have seen protests. Many medics have either stopped work, or continued while wearing symbols of defiance.

But a rally by thousands in support of the military, known as the Tatmadaw, took place in Nay Pyi Taw. Some waved banners saying "Tatmadaw that loves people".

A rally in support of the military regime in the Myanmar capital, Nay Pyi Taw, following the military coup on 1 February 2021

'Absolutely unacceptable'

The UN secretary general, António Guterres, has meanwhile called for constitutional order to be re-established in Myanmar - also known as Burma. He said he hoped there would be unity in the Security Council on the matter.

"We'll do everything we can to mobilise all the key actors of the international community to put enough pressure on Myanmar to make sure that this coup fails," he said.

"It's absolutely unacceptable to reverse the result of the elections and the will of the people.

Myanmar department of agriculture workers in the capital wear red ribbons in protest against the coup, 4 February

Western countries have condemned the coup unreservedly, but efforts at the Security Council to reach a common position failed as China dissented. China is one of five permanent members with a right of veto in the council.

Beijing has long played a role of protecting the country from international scrutiny, and has warned since the coup that sanctions or international pressure will only make things worse.

Alongside Russia, it has repeatedly protected Myanmar from criticism at the UN over the military crackdown on the Muslim minority Rohingya population.

Myanmar at a glance

Myanmar is a country of 54 million people in South East Asia which shares borders with Bangladesh, India, China, Thailand and Laos.

It was ruled by an oppressive military government from 1962 to 2011, leading to international condemnation and sanctions.

Aung San Suu Kyi spent years campaigning for democratic reforms. A gradual liberalisation began in 2010, though the military still retained considerable influence.

A government led by Ms Suu Kyi came to power after free elections in 2015. But a deadly military crackdown two years later on Rohingya Muslims sent hundreds of thousands fleeing to Bangladesh and triggered a rift between Ms Suu Kyi and the international community.

She has remained popular at home and her party won again by a landslide in the November 2020 election. But the military have now stepped in to take control once more.

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2021-02-04 11:09:00Z
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Belgian court jails Iranian diplomat for 20 years over bomb plot - Al Jazeera English

The Iranian diplomat was accused of plotting a thwarted 2018 bombing of an opposition rally outside the French capital, Paris.

A Belgian court has convicted an Iranian diplomat for plotting a thwarted 2018 bombing of an exiled opposition group outside the French capital, Paris, and ordered him jailed for 20 years.

The ruling marked the first trial of an Iranian official for suspected “terrorism” in the European Union since Iran’s revolution in 1979.

Assadi, now 49, was attached to the Iranian mission in Austria when he supplied explosives for the planned attack. He was arrested in Germany, where he did not have diplomatic immunity.

Three accomplices were given jail terms and were stripped of their Belgian citizenship.

Belgian-Iranian couple Nasimeh Naami, 36, and Amir Saadouni, 40, accepted from Assadi half a kilogramme (one pound) of TATP explosives and a detonator.

Naami received an 18-year sentence and Saadouni 15 years.

Belgium-based Iranian poet Mehrdad Arefani was an accomplice of Assadi’s who had been due to guide the couple at the rally. He was jailed for 17 years.

‘Terrorism as statecraft’

Reporters and members of the public were not allowed into the courtroom, which was heavily guarded by police and armoured vehicles, with police helicopters overhead.

One of the defence lawyers said he would recommend an appeal, although it was not clear if Assadi would do so.

Iran has denied involvement in the foiled plot, calling such a claim a “shallow fabrication”.

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Kamis, 04 Februari 2021

What does the announcement mean?

Doctor in charge of treating Alexei Navalny in Russia after Novichok poisoning dies suddenly and 'very unexpectedly' of suspected heart attack aged 55

‘Terrorism as statecraft’

More from Myanmar

What is Facebook's role?

What is happening on the streets?

'Absolutely unacceptable'

Myanmar at a glance

‘Terrorism as statecraft’