FFC Announces Acceptance to Enter into Direct Negotiations with the TMC

AL Delegation Arrives in Khartoum to Push Forward the Negotiating ProcessB: Zuleikha Abdul Razeq

Khartoum - A delegation from the General Secretariat of the Arab League arrived here in the con-text of its efforts and contacts with the Transitional Military Council (TMC) and representatives of po-litical and civil forces to encourage the Sudanese parties to resume dia-logue and reach an agreement on the transitional period.. The Secretary-General of the Arab League had assumed Assistant Sec-retary-General Ambassador Khalil Al-Zawadi to go back to Khartoum at the head of the Secretariat’s del-egation to hold meetings with the Sudanese parties. Spokesman for the Secretary-Gen-eral said that the delegation’s visit comes in the context of the Arab League’s commitment to support the parties in the Sudan and its call to resume the negotiation process and to build confidence between them so as to achieve broad na-tional consensus to overcome the difficulties of the current phase and reach a compromise formula for the transitional period..

By: Al-Sammani - Najat Ahmed

Khartoum – Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) announced its accept-ance to the call of the AU-Ethiopian joint mediation call for direct talks with the Transitional Military Council over the disputed point between the two parties.The two parties are supposed to have en-tered into direct talks over the presidency of the sovereign council considering it as the only disputed point according to what the FFC member, Medani Abbas Medani said.Medani said, in press conference, that the stance of the FFC is to reject the di-rect talks, but it decided to response to the call of the mediation provided that they receive a written copy of the points proposed by the FFC and reviewing the confidence-building stages represented by releasing the detainees and the return

of the internet service besides setting deadline for the negotiations.He added that it is not possible to talk about confidence-building while mem-bers of the FFC are under detention, af-firming that acceptance to the direct ne-gotiations to accomplish the political and diplomatic paths, affirming that they do not want to be responsible for hindering the diplomatic path.Medani said that the peaceful options are available for the FFC, affirming that its peaceful options and the peaceful escala-tion will remain as an option.Meanwhile, Sudan Call Forces held a meeting with all its components yester-day at Umma House where it discussed the political developments in the coun-try and the organizational stance of the Forces of Freedom and Change.The outcomes of the meeting were as fol-lows:

* The meeting paid tribute to all the mar-tyrs who claimed their lives in the recent protests, wishing the injured recovery.* The meeting denounced the targeting of the Transitional Military Council to the protesters, affirming its sticking to independent investigations on the mas-sacre.* The meeting affirmed its acceptance to the AU-Ethiopian initiative with the re-marks set by the technical committee of Sudan Call besides sticking to what is in-cluded in the initiative, and the readiness to sign the agreement initially among the Forces of Freedom and Change compo-nents.* The meeting recognized the initiative as representing a good framework to sit round the table of direct negotiations to accomplish the process of the transfor-mation to democratic civilian govern-ment

Graham: Tourism at the Top of Sustainable Development ObjectivesBy / Sudan Vision

Khartoum- Undersecretary of the Min-istry of Culture and Tourism, Dr. Gra-ham Abdul Gader affirmed that tourism is one of the important objectives of the sustainable, besides focusing on finding employment opportunities and equality.He said that the celebration of the World Tourism Day will be under the motto (Tourism and Employment), praising the role of the private sector in activat-ing the social tourism.Addressing the workshop of tourism ex-perts on the role of museums in develop-ing the social tourism in Sudan, which organized by the ministry, in coopera-tion with UNESCO Office in Khartoum

and the Sudanese National Committee for Science and Culture, Graham af-firmed the importance of tourism and society in the state’s building, sustain-able development and strengthening the national unity, announcing the opening of a number of museums by the end of the years.For his part, Secretary General of the Sudanese National Committee of UN-ESCO, Abdul Gader Mohamed Hassan indicated to the role of UNESCO in preserving heritage through agreements and joint action between the commit-tee and the ministry indicating the ad-vantage of listing a number of sites in Sudan in the list of the world heritage, such as Bijrawia and Barkal, besies the

list of natural heritage.Dr. Abdul Gader Abdin addressed the workshop on behalf of the Director of UNESCO Office in Khartoum, where he confirmed the continuation of coop-eration between the organization and Sudan to preserve the cultural heritage and support the tourism in Sudan, say-ing that the workshop aims for consul-tation and to benefit from antiquities in creating jobs and gains for communities , besides training. Director of Antiques and Museums Authority, Dr. Abdul Rahman Ali pre-sented enlightenment on the project on museum for every state, which will con-tribute actively in the activation of tour-ism in Sudan.

Emirates to Resume Flights to KhartoumSudan Vision DUBAI, U.A.E.– Emirates has an-nounced that it will resume flights to Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, from 08 July, 2019. The daily service between Dubai and Khartoum, will once again provide both business and leisure travellers in Sudan, global connectivity through the airline’s network, particularly to desti-nations in the Middle East, West Asia, United States and the Far East, with

one convenient flight connection at its Dubai hub. Key destinations for travel-lers from Sudan include Dubai and the GCC, Malaysia, China, United King-dom and United States. “After closely monitoring the situation in Sudan and conducting an exhaustive review of all operational factors, we have decided to resume our services to Khartoum. This will help support local business and in-crease access to international markets, as well as benefit passengers connecting to our global network,” said Orhan Abbas,

Emirates’ Senior Vice President Com-mercial Operations, Africa. Operating daily, EK733 departs Dubai at 1435hrs and arrives in Khartoum at 1640hrs. The return flight, EK734, de-parts Khartoum at 18:10hrs and arrives in Dubai at 00:20hrs the next morning. Emirates currently operates a Boeing 777ER on the route, offering customers a choice of cabins with 8 luxurious pri-vate suites in First Class, 42 lie-flat seats in Business Class and plenty of room to relax in Economy Class with 304 seats.

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THURSDAY

National Consensus Alliance Denies Rejecting Resumption of Talks between TMC and FFC

Sudan Vision

Khartoum – Informed source at the National Consensus Al-liance refuted the news aired by Al-Hadath TV Channel that they reject the resumption of talks, adding that they did not even meet to discuss the issue.He said that according to the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) the talks are through the AU/Ethiopian mediators, add-ing that the Alliance is part of the FFC and committed to this stance.He pointed out that airing of such fake news aims at creating an impression that there are dis-putes among the components of the FFC, and this a well-known method of the counter-revolu-tion forces.

By: Al-Sammani Awadallah

Khartoum – South Sudan Opposition Alliance )SSOA) affirmed its com-mitment to what was agreed on in the meeting of the Church mediation in South Sudan and its following up the results of the internal dialogue within the alliance .SSOA Deputy Spokesperson, Stephen Lual said that selection of the steering committee of the alliance was agreed on by all the heads of the organizations of the alliance, adding that the steering committee term will exceed one month to amend the charter and the internal regulations.

SSOA Nominates Josephine Joseph Garang as Chairman for Interim Period

Sudan to Participate in Desertification Conference in India

By: Najat Ahmed

Khartoum - General Manager of the National Council of Desertification and Draught, Abdul Azim Mirghani said that Sudan is facing the risk of the sands and dust storms, point-ing out to the negative aspects facing the Arab and African countries in general and Sudan in particular.Mirghani affirmed, during his chairing the preparatory meet-ing for 14th session of the conference of parties to United Nations Convention to Combat DesertificationIndia will host the 14th session of the Conference of Parties to United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UN-CCD) this year to address the issue of land degradation and desertification.He said that the meeting discussed the arrangements for the UNCCD COP-14 in which Sudan will affirm its commitment to achieve land degradation

Alfred Taban; the Aspiring Icon HOME2Thursday July 3, 2019

Self Criticism of NUP’s Defectors Is Conditional for Readmission: Al-Mahdi

By: Ahmed Ibrahim Khartoum - Leader of the National Umma Party (NUP), Imam Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi, says that they experience three autocratic regimes which have all been confronted with popular upheavals, pointing out democracy constitutes the aspiration of the Sudanese pubic. He goes on to say that in democracy there is the supremacy of the rule of law. He added that even if mistakes are committed, still there is a chance of being corrected; denying that democracy that is practiced by NUP is only a form. ‘On the contrary, it is a system that is well established in the party’.The chairperson of NUP affirms that all those who do split from the party, there is a possibility to re-turn back to it, indicating that such a pattern is not without conditions. ‘Firstly, they are to confess that the party they get out from is a democratic establishment that is wholly based on respect mu-

tually. Secondly, it conditional for the defectors from NUP and before getting readmitted, are to engage in a state of ‘self criticism’.Al-Mahdi sees that such a point is not with logic to consolidate; respect vehemently to the party as a democratic establishment, adding that it is not Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi that is to decide on such a matter, but, rather NUP’s organs.

Deputy TMC Concludes Official Visit to Eritrea

By: Neimat al Naiem

Khartoum-Deputy Chairman of the Transitional Mili-tary Council TMC, 1st Lt. Gen. Mohamed Hamadan Daglo concluded today a two-day visit to Eritrea. The visit came on an official invitation from Isaias Afwer-ki, the Eritrean president .The two sides tackled the bilateral relations between Sudan and Eritrea and the means of its development; the peace file in Sudan, and the existence of some armed groups in Asmara. The visit of the Deputy of the TMC supports, enhance and develop the relations in the region and the open-ness to the neighboring countries and the region in general.It is the second time of the TMC top official to visit Eritrea as part of the external visits of the TMC. The first visit was when the Chairman of the TMC, 1st Lt. Gen. Abdul Fattah Al-Burhan started external visits

to Afro-Arab region. Al-Burhan discussed with the Eritrean President the opening of the borders between Sudan and Eritrea. The Opening of the Sudanese-Eritrean borders is one of the agenda of the visit of the Deputy Chairman of the TMC, 1st.Gen. Daglo. This opening of borders between the two countries will play key role in devel-oping the relations between Sudan and Eritrea. It has mutual benefits for the two sides.It worth mentioning that the Sudanese- Eritrean rela-tions witnessed great tension and escalation led to the closure of the borders during the former regime of al Bashir who governed 30 years ended on 11th April 2019 . The two countries exchanged accusations. Eri-trea accused Sudan by supporting Islamic Eritrean movements, while Sudan accused Eritrea in hosting armed groups. Observers described the visit as natural as the deep rooted bilateral relations linking the two countries.

Alfred Taban; the Aspiring Icon

By: Ahmed Ibrahim Ballal

ahmedibrahimballal@hotmail.com

Talk of the Hour

By Ahmed Ibrahim Ballal

The British poet says, ‘ like virtuous men, some say yes, the others say no’- meaning; good people often die quietly and unnoticed to the extent that their death becomes controversial- while some people do reach a conclusion that they virtually die, the others do not. The situation typically applies to late Al Fred Taban whose untimely death makes the others, including myself, not to believe the surprising oc-currence. Needless to say, Taban enjoys a personality that tightly associates with refined traits which are a combination of all that is good. He is found to be a true gentleman and in all aspects; well mannered, strictly disciplined and very much knowledgeable and in all domains, especially the one that relates to journalism. His determination to ascend ladder of the profes-sion of journalism up to its very top, had brought him success incredibly. The pattern is not without fruitful gains to reap and at all levels, locally, re-gionally and even globally. In the process, many distinguished circles had been detected as very appreciative the efforts exerted in the field who in turn went to honor him with prizes hugely. Of these conspicuously, is the ‘golden pen’ that is provided by the US administration of former president Bush, the son. While on his way to re-ceive the prize, the US presidential officials had instructed Taban that his stay with the president should not exceed 10 minutes. But, because of un-precedented ability on part of Taban to logically and skillfully convince the president, especially of the worst situation in Sudan at that time, the ap-pointed time had extended to 30 minutes.

In 2007, a group of foreign journalists met with Taban at the premises of Khartoum monitor. Dur-ing the meeting, he launched severe criticism against former Al Bashir’s Ingath government. The members of the group asked him if it is pos-sible to have that subject matter got published in their respective papers. To their astonishment, he answered them unreservedly and courageously like this; ‘yes’-something that had extremely puz-zled them to get engaged into hysterical clapping.Such confrontational patterns with the authorities of former president Al Bashir, had exposed Taban to many incidents of harassments unbearably which had culminated into long term imprison-ments. Such a trend against Taban had never ended, till the paper got transferred to South Sudan due to separation from the motherland, the Sudan. There, Khartoum Moniter, has been renamed as ‘Juba Monitor’. Because of the fact that I worked with Taban in two papers, Sudanow and Khartoum Monitor, I do claim that I know lots and lots about him. In the early 1980s, and in Sudanow in particular, we used to see Taban as working hard untiringly on both morning and evening times. When we asked him why was all that for? He promptly responded like this; ‘actually, what I am doing now, is not only to gain personal benefits, but rather, for the big family to whom I do affiliate that resides there at Kajokaji of South Sudan. It is composed of kins-men/women who have nothing to eat, but, rather to depend exclusively on me for sustenance’. Regarding the staff of Khartoum monitor, he used to apply a unique selection criterion wisely; geo-graphical representation of Sudan nationally -a move that is not void of logic to support; diversi-

ty is of much significance to reflect positively to advance work progres-sively forward. In conclusion, we can say this; Taban should be considered the inspiring icon for all the peoples of the two states, Sudan and South Sudan. He had been noted as dedi-cating his whole life to hopefully see them and their peoples as living in prosperity broadly and eternally. May Allah, the almighty, engulfs Taban with all blessings gen-erously and benignly. Amen.

3 Thursday July 3, 2019INTERVIEWS

Towards a Sustainable Political Transformation in Sudan (1)

The Popular Congress Party Calls on Forces of

Freedom and Change to make Sacrifices and Give Considera-tion for the Interests of Sudan

Interview by Najat Ahmed / Photo: Al-Sir Mukhtar

The Armed Forces are Biggest Guarantor of the Revolution

and its Success: RahmaThe past days have seen the birth of a coalition of coordination of national political forces in which the Popular Congress Party (PCP) is active. The newly-born alliance has made several proposals for a breakthrough in the political arena in Sudan.The PCP has called on the political parties in the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) to make sacrifices and to forget their parties and consider the interests of Sudan and to sit with the other political forces even those who they believe that they differ with them ideo-logically for the sake of Sudan and reach a unified document until Sudan emerges from this narrow tunnel.Sudan Vision daily sat with one of the prominent leaders of the coalition Dr. Bashir Adam Rahma and discussed with him a number of current issues. Following are excerpts from the interview:-

The Rapid Support Forces Constitute Security and Stability

Q: What is the objective of the initiative?

A: We in the PCP always move to end any deadlock that happens in the political arena. Now there is a deadlock in the talks between the Transitional Military Council (TMC) and the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC), so we have to take an initiative for the security and stability of Sudan. We were against end-ing the sit-in before the General Command. By the way, we objected to it before the fall of Al Bashir government. But, thanks to the Almighty Allah the revolution erupted and achieved victory by the siding of the armed forces to it without blood. This is a point that is not in the interest of the military council, even if there were people who were infiltra-tors. The military council bears the legal and moral responsibility of the incidents of end-ing the sit-in, because it was the one who gave them protection. so we were against ending the sit-in and demanded a transpar-ent investigation. If the investigation by the Attorney General is not transparent and there is another intervention, we can go to another investigation that is to be regional investiga-tion by the African Union or any regional body, but we are not in favor of international intervention. The deadlock reached in the talks between TMC and the FFC and the cancellation of the agreement reached between them over 95% of the demands of FFC prompted us to pre-sent the initiative. So we said that there is a deadlock and it is necessary to open a loop-hole so that we avoid the Sudan civil war and we contacted all the components of FFC. We contacted Mohammed Yusuf Ahmed Musta-fa. In fact we contacted all the signatories to freedom and change document, such as the Communist Party, the Sudanese Baath, the Baath Party, the Nasserite Party and the Na-tional Umma Party, all of whom expressed their consent to attend. Deliberations were held and a committee was set up and a group was formed. This came out with a document called the document of the period of the tran-sitional government, and the parties agreed and signed it. This document is not a mo-nopoly of the parties that brought it out. We made contacts again with FFC and told them to bring their vision and we go to the Military Council with a unified vision.The response of FFC was negative because they were shocked by what happened be-tween them and the TMC, except Imam Sayed Al-Sadig Al-Mahdi, who welcomed the initiative and said he will study it and called on the political forces to meet on one initiative on the arrangements for the transi-tional period.

Q: What are the political blocs behind the coordination document of national political forces?

A: The document was discussed by a group of political parties and armed movements that participated in the previous national dia-logue.The Democratic Unionist Party- the Origin, the , the PCP, the group of the parties of the Eastern Sudan Agreement, the group of par-ties of the Doha Agreement and the armed

movements that signed agreements with the re-gime earlier, in addition to the Renaissance and Change Movement led by Dr. Ghazi Salahed-din, and the Alliance 2020 group. In fact, it is a document that rep-resents all the political forces outside the Dec-laration of Freedom and Change Alliance.Q:What is the purpose of the co-ordination document at the moment?A: The coordination came after ending the sit-in before the General Command, and we are against the use of violence and loss of life and that an investigation should be conduct-ed, and those who proved involved in the loss of lives must be tried according to Sudanese law.

Q: How do you see the agree-ment reached by the Transi-tional Military Council and the Forces of Freedom?

A: We consider the agreement reached be-tween the TMC and FFC as a flawed one. The TMC has no right to give all government during the transitional period to FFC. This is because the revolution is not the revolution of FFC or the professionals alone. This revolution is the revolution of the whole Sudan. It is a cumulative work. The PCP has remained making movements since 1990 to bring down the rule of Omar al-Bashir and succeeded in the last days, so the revolution is cumulative work. It was fuelled by young people at the last time.We see that TMC has no right to grant power to a group that only had media leverage in the social media. This is unacceptable, and in the end we found that this is

not an agreement, but rather it was a proposal by FFC and one of the negotiators in the military council said yes. The TMC is a key partner in the revolution because if the Armed Forces and the other security forces had not sid-ed with the revolution of the youth it wouldn’t have suc-

ceeded.

Q: Feeling towards call by the in-ternational community and Africa for

civilian government?

A: There are two types of international in-tervention, benign and non-benign. A group of representatives of the coordinative council of the national forces had a meeting with the Ethiopian Prime Minister who told them that he is interested in the security of Sudan be-

cause it is important for the Ethiopian security. He said that the security

of Africa depends on the stabil-ity and security of Sudan. He asked the people he met with them Sudan must reach a consensus.The intervention of the Af-rican Union is also accept-able because it is the family in which we live. The foreign

interventions, whether from the United States or the coun-

tries of the European Union, have purposes. If their purposes are the

stability of the Sudan, then they are wel-come. But if they want certain circles

to assume power in the coun-try to serve

their interests, this is rejected. We are with any interference in the interest of stability in Sudan and the region, but we do not accept dictates.

Q: What is the way forward, considering the current political deadlock?

A: If we rely on ourselves and the military council now formed a civilian government represented in the Council of Ministers and we agreed in our paper that the Council of Ministers is 100% civilian except the Min-istries of Interior and Defense that shall be assumed by the military. The paper cited a council of ministers of 20 portfolios and a prime minister this is 100% civilian to be as-sumed by independent competencies. This should be a caretaker government whose term is not to exceed one year because it is the conduct of work for peace and elections. Peace can be achieved in the shortest possi-ble time. If the period exceeds one year, it is necessary to have a population census so that the population can be divided into geo-graphical constituencies according to cen-sus. We see that the military council is to be competent in security and defense and be a civilian sovereignty council. But this is tied to the agreement of the political forces. But this agreement is not present now. We have said that the military council will continue as a sovereign council in the transitional period, which is not to exceed one year. We invented a fundamental point in our paper to manage the transitional period in relation to the elec-tions. We said that for the elections to be fair no one in the council of sovereignty and the cabinet is to run for the next elections.

Q: The Rapid Support Forces are Dominat-ing the scene, will this contribute in reaching peaceful solutions?

A: Had there no presence of Rapid Support Forces more than a coup would have taken

place in past peri-od. The Rapid Sup-port Forces Consti-tute Security and Stability

Setting Conditions before Sitting at Negotiating Table is Considered a Coffin for Negotiation Before It Starts

The Existence of Rapid Support Forces,

Coordination and Discipline would help Safely Cross the Transitional Period after the

Formation of a Civilian Government

4

AFRICA IN FOCUS Edited by: Alula Berhe Kidani

Thursday, July 4, 2019

Ulf Laessing and Ahmed Elumami

Interruptions to water supplies are common af-ter eight years of near-anarchy since Muammar Gaddafi was ousted, but a wider crisis is now coming to a head in a country made up mainly of arid desert and split between competing ad-ministrations. In western Libya, finding clean water has be-come difficult because both the power grid and water control system have been damaged in an offensive by forces loyal to eastern-based Kha-lifa Haftar on Tripoli, where the U.N.-backed government is based. “Drinkable water is a daily issue for my family,” said Usama Mohamed Dokali, a cashier in a cafe in Tripoli, who buys bottled water when he can and gets it from a charity when his money runs out. Other people fill bottles from wells and hope for the best. Looting and neglect have made the situation fragile and armed groups have exploited the un-rest. In May, gunmen pressing officials to release a detained relative forced water workers to turn off supplies to all of Tripoli for two days. The United Nations has warned all sides that wa-ter should not become a weapon of war, but the water system is already badly damaged in west-ern Libya where the capital is located, accord-ing to unpublished reports by the water authority and the United Nations Childrens’ Agency. Even local bottled water in a country which sits on Africa’s biggest proven oil reserves has be-come contaminated. If the damage does not get fixed, there could be a “sudden, unexpected, uncontrollable and un-prepared for” shutdown of the main water pipe-line system, the water authority said in a March presentation to international organisations seen by Reuters. “The consequences will be catastrophic as there is no viable alternative water supply system,” it said. That warning of a possible systematic failure,

echoed in a draft UNICEF report the same month, is the most dramatic sign of a collapse of state services in what was once one of North Africa’s richest countries. It would have far-reaching consequences in a country where lawlessness is being exploited again by Islamist militants, armed groups and people promising to smuggle African migrants and refugees to Europe. “An estimated 4 million people would be de-prived of access to safe water,” UNICEF Libya spokesman Mostafa Omar said by email, listing cholera, hepatitis A and diarrhoea, a major child-hood killer, as the likely result.

“GREAT MAN MADE RIVER” Poor public services were one of the drivers of the uprising against Gaddafi, but a 4,000 km (2,485-mile) pipeline system known as the Great Man Made River (MMRP) was a world-leading civil engineering project when it was built in the 1980s. Some 80 percent of the population of six million live along or near the northern Mediterranean coast and depend on fresh water pumped via its pipelines from vast aquifers further south, where Libya’s abundant oil reserves also lie. Ground water in coastal areas is salty and con-taminated by sewage and around 80 percent of desalination plants have broken down, water au-thority officials and diplomats say. The pipes supply Libya with more than 70 per-cent of its fresh water and remain crucial be-cause desalination plants are complicated to fix and vulnerable to attack, officials at the United Nations’ children’s agency say. People dismantle well heads to sell the copper and tribesmen living in the neglected south close or destroy pipes to press their demands with of-ficials in the capital. As a result, 101 of 479 wells on the western pipe-line system have been dismantled, Abdullah El-Sunni, head of the Tripoli-based water authority said in an interview with Reuters. Asked if there

could be a water crisis, he said power cuts were already threatening supplies. Since the central monitoring room of the pipe-line system for western Libya was hit around early May, engineers have been unable to gauge water pressure and flows. A Tunisian mainte-nance firm working on the system left because of the fighting. “The water flow to Western Libya has dropped from the normal flow of 1.2 million cubic metres per day to about 800,000 cubic metres per day now, due to sabotage and lack of funding and maintenance,” Sunni said. Across Libya, demand has risen to 7 billion cubic metres annually, up from 5.5 billion in 2011, as farmers and others have drilled wells or tapped reservoirs, Sunni said. By 2025, Libya will need 8 billion. The draft UNICEF report, which has yet to be finalised, listed kidnapping of water workers and looting of equipment among many problems. In May, gunmen pressing officials to release a detained relative forced water workers to turn off supplies to all of Tripoli - a short-lived halt

that led the United Nations to warn all sides that water should not become a weapon of war. “If not addressed properly and immediately, these threats and damages could lead to the com-plete failure of the MMRP,” it said. Sunni said water quality had been affected by a lack of treatment, due to a shortage of funds for chemicals and equipment, and some officials agree with residents who say water in the taps is not fit to drink. “All water is contaminated,” said Badr al-Din al-Najjar, head of the National Centre for Disease Control, listing problems such as harmful bacte-ria or a high-salt content. “There is no drinking water, especially from the state.” The problem has been building since Gaddafi’s overthrow, when officials stopped investing in facilities that had been looted, damaged or al-lowed to deteriorate in the chaos. HEALTH Libya sits on Africa’s biggest proven oil reserves and is pumping the highest volumes of crude since 2013. But the $34 billion budget is mainly used to pay

armed groups, an overstaffed public service and fuel subsidies or is simply stolen, diplomats say and some Libyan officials admit. The govern-ment says it is committed to fighting corruption and its economic reforms have helped. Haftar, a former Gaddafi-era military command-er, is allied to a parallel administration which has hired thousands of employees and fighters. In Tripoli, Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj’s U.N.-backed government has brought some or-der but armed groups have forced the state to give them and their partners jobs or contracts. Sunni said water infrastructure needed 2 billion dinars ($1.4 billion) of investment but his au-thority got 60 million dinars last year and noth-ing yet this year due to the war. Serraj said in an interview that funding for Lib-ya’s development and basic services had to be diverted to equip troops and treat the wounded. While instability since 2011 has eroded living standards, with GDP of around $7,235 per capi-ta, Libya is still an upper middle income country, according to the World Bank. But it now depends on the U.N. and other in-ternational organisations for a multitude of serv-ices, including building water tanks for the one-in-five schools without piped water. “Libya and Tripoli have been without water for many, many hours for two months...so how can children wash?” said Abdel-Rahman Ghandour, Libya Special Representative of UNICEF. The agency also carries out basic childhood vaccinations and the United Nations and other international bodies provide food for displaced people and even medical kits to state hospitals to treat civilians and fighters on both sides of the frontline. “The health system is about to collapse,” Najjar said. Authorities have banned swimming in the Medi-terranean in and around the Tripoli because sew-age gets pumped unfiltered in to the sea. With homes deprived of air conditioning by power cuts, people crowd the beaches nonetheless.

In Battle for Libya’s Oil, Water Becomes a Casualty

By Osman Mohamed Osman

It is late-morning in Dadaab, the semi-arid refugee camp in northeast Kenya.Abdirizak Salat, wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans, removes a set of keys from his right pocket and bends down to open the iron sheet door to his tailoring shop. «I am late for work today,» he tells his neighbour after exchanging greetings.Salat cleans his shop, which is filled with clothes and three sew-ing machines, before his first cus-tomer arrives.The 30-year-old is among the 26,000 Somali refugees living in Kenya, according to the UNHCR, who were ready to travel to the US before being stopped by an ex-ecutive order signed by President Donald Trump in 2017.Half of them had been inter-viewed by US officials while the others were to be interviewed by the State Department, with some 14,500 of them living in Dadaab, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).«I sold everything that I had be-cause I was told that I passed all the vetting required for me to be resettled in the US. The news of the ban devastated me. I did not know where to start,» says Salat, a father of three who was two years old when his family came to this camp in 1992.His resettlement process began in 2007. After 10 years of undergo-

ing a series of interviews, security, medical and background checks, his case was finally approved for November 2016, when the US was preparing for presidential elections. «I remember getting the news about my approval. I was so happy. I came back home and informed my parents and family. I knew my life was about to be better.»I was told my travel has been sus-pended. I could not travel because of Trump’s ban. I felt devastated. I had sold everything I had because I knew my days in Dadaab were over. It was painful. But the good news was short lived. A week after taking office in January 2017, Trump signed an executive order halting all refu-gee admissions and temporar-ily barring people from seven Muslim-majority countries. The ban suspended the US Ref-ugee Admissions Program for four months and anyone coming from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.Months after the order, lower courts in the country described the ban as unconstitutional, but, in June 2018, the US Supreme Court reversed the decision in a 5-4 conservative majority rul-ing.Citing attacks, Trump promised voters during his election cam-paign to ban immigrants and refugees from Muslim-majority countries from entering.His directive significantly low-ered the number of refugee

admissions to 50,000 from the 110,000 let in by the admin-istration of former President Barack Obama.«I was told my travel has been suspended. I could not travel because of Trump’s ban. I felt devastated. I had sold every-thing I had because I knew my days in Dadaab were over. It was painful,» says Salat.In 1991, Somali President Mo-hamed Siad Barre was ousted by armed groups who took over the capital Mogadishu, and the country was thrown into flict. The UNHCR has registered about 900,000 Somali refu-gees in the Horn of Africa and Yemen. Millions are displaced in Somalia. Fifty-five-year-old Asha Ali’s family is on the register. Her second-born daughter, Saadia, became unwell and de-pressed after being informed she could not travel due to the travel ban. «I am worried about my daugh-ter. Since the ban took place over two years ago, she barely talks to anyone. Saadia was really looking forward to her future in the US but the news traumatised her,» Ali says, while making breakfast. Saadia waited for years and was scheduled to travel in January 2017. «She attempted to keep herself busy by looking for jobs here. This was hard since Kenyan authorities do not allow us to leave the camp,» says Ali, a

mother of seven.Under Kenyan law, refugees are prohibited from seeking em-ployment and their movement is restricted to camps. This is despite the East African nation signing the 1951 UN refugee convention, which goes against these restrictions.Binto Anshur, 30, tried to ven-ture into business in other parts of the country with no success. She arrived in the camp as a two-year-old.Another victim of the US pol-icy, Anshur was scheduled to travel just days before the ban. «I wish the Kenyan government would give me a bit of freedom to work anywhere I wanted to. I am forced to do small busi-nesses here which doesn’t im-prove my life and that of my children.«It was a bad day for all of us. I did not know how to react. I have been selling dry food in the camp for years. Getting a chance to resettle would have changed [our lives]. «I am not allowed to freely move and work in Kenya. The US cancelled my resettlement option. My future is at stake.»Last September, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the US would admit 30,000 refugees in 2019, down from 45,000 in 2018 and 50,000 in 2017.«This year’s refugee ceiling re-flects the substantial increase in the number of individuals seeking asylum in our country, contributing to a massive back-log of outstanding asylum cases and greater public expense,» he said.And earlier this year, Kenya said it would close down the Dadaab refugee camp.Salat, a victim of both of these plans, earns about $80 a month from his tailoring business, not enough to support his family.After his resettlement process was cancelled, his wife gave birth to two more children.«It is natural for someone who has lived in such a refugee camp for close to three decades to feel pain. I cannot travel back to Somalia and life in this camp is unbearable. I hope things change in the US so that I can get another chance.»

The Somali Refugees whose Lives were Halted by Trump’s Travel Ban

Ruth Maclean

A celebrity pastor in Nigeria is to take a leave of absence after a photogra-pher accused him of rape.Nicknamed “Gucci Pastor” for his expensive taste in clothes and cars, Biodun Fatoyinbo runs the Common-wealth of Zion Assembly (Coza), one of the country’s fastest-growing pen-tecostal churches.The allegations by Busola Dakolo, who is married to the well-known musician Timi Dakolo, led to protests outside the pastor’s churches on Sun-day.Fatoyinbo, who strongly denies the al-legations, issued a statement saying he was taking “a leave of absence from the pulpit” to “submit to the concerns of (his) spiritual mentors”, and that he did not understand all that was hap-pening.The claims have prompted a number of allegations on social media from women abused or raped by people in authority in religious circles, which some have called Nigeria’s #MeToo moment.One in four Nigerian girls have ex-perienced sexual violence by age 18, according to Unicef, and hardly any receive any form of support.Dakolo accused Fatoyinbo of raping her when she was a teenager in an interview last week. She described how he allegedly groomed her as she attended his then fellowship group, Divine Delight Club – which later transformed into Coza – giving her books, visiting her at home, singling her out to sing at meetings and driving

her around in his Mercedes.She claims he then came to her fam-ily home early one morning when her mother was away and raped her in the living room, as her sister slept up-stairs. Afterwards, she said Fatoyinbo went to get a bottle of Krest, a fizzy lemon drink, from his car and forced her to drink it, saying: “You should be happy that a man of God did this to you.” She was 16.He allegedly raped her again a week later on his car bonnet, after insisting on driving her home. Afterwards, Da-kolo claimed he said: “You’ll be fine. This thing is not a new thing. Men of God do this.”She said after she told her family what had allegedly happened, he came to her house with other senior members of the church and apologised, saying the alleged rapes were “a weakness” and “an act of the devil”.Fatoyinbo quickly denied the allega-tions “in every measure”, saying: “I have never in my life raped anybody even as an unbeliever and I am abso-lutely innocent of this.”Omolara Oriye, a human rights and advocacy director at the Initiative for Equal Rights, was one of those who protested outside the church’s main Abuja branch, defying members of the secret police on standby. She said Dakolo’s testimony and the outpour-ing of support showed women were refusing to be silent.“The protest was about sending a mes-sage to those insulated by their posi-tion. We are watching you, we will identify you and the law will take its course,” Oriye said.

Nigeria’s ‘Gucci Pastor’ Takes Leave of Absence over Rape Claims

5 Thursday July 3, 2019BUSINESS ECONOMY

Mohamed Abdalla

Economic Vision

Email: moabd31@yahoo.com

Britain’s BBC Says Three Women Break into Top-10 Earners after Pay Row

Ethiopia At a Glance

Expatriates and the Banking System; Trust CrisisReport by Neimat al Naiem

Youths Revolution on 11th April 2019 that end-ed 30 years of regime of the former president al Bashir was described as a model of revolutions ended long regimes in Africa.New governments were formed in many Arab countries. The situation in Sudan is totally dif-ferent. The youth presented a lesson for free. The Transitional Military Council TMC began its work in many aspects prepare the road map for the expecting civil government. Economic reform is one of the great challenges facing the coming government. The huge amount of billions hard currency be-ing found and saved at the reformer top officials houses, automatically given to the Central Bank of Sudan. Within few days this process affected in the national local Sudanese currency which had suffering of declining before the hard cur-rency.In addition to the external support from the neighboring and brother States represented into the amount of US$ billion from Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates UAEThere are 5 million Sudanese expatriates abroad

scattered worldwide par-ticularly in the Gulf States, since 1970s. They work in different specializations. Their revenues estimated to US$ 5 billion, it is ex-pected that such amount of these revenues will play a role in reforming of the Su-danese economy, experts said .The recent policies of the last government of the regime of the former President Al Bashir who governed 30 years, and its wrong economic policies had its negative impact on the economy. Sudanese economy suffered from the continu-ous increase of inflation, high jack of prices, lack of cash money liquidity .Appearance of money strikers who controlled the exchange process .Absence of the central Bank, ministry of finance and planning. These and other problems affected greatly on the stability of the Sudanese economy. Political stability is important and it automati-cally leads to the economic stability.

The role of the Sudanese expatriates and their revenues is that providing hard currency is con-sidered one of the keys for solving the current economic issues.Central Bank should set new policies and plans. First to build a bridge of trust with the banking system; secondly to commit to provide money and cash to the people when is needed; also to support the programs enabling the expatriates to exploit their money at home country.

World Bank

Ethiopia’s location gives it strategic dominance as a jumping off point in the Horn of Africa, close to the Middle East and its markets. Bordering Eritrea, So-malia, Kenya, South Sudan, and Sudan, Ethiopia is landlocked, and has been using neighboring Djibouti’s main port for the last two decades. However, with the recent peace with Eritrea, Ethiopia is set to resume accessing the Eritrean ports of Assab and Massawa for its in-ternational trade.With about 105 million people (2017), Ethiopia is the second most populous nation in Africa after Nigeria, and the

fastest growing economy in the region. However, it is also one of the poorest, with a per capita income of $783. Ethio-pia aims to reach lower-middle-income status by 2025.Ethiopia’s economy experienced strong, broad-based growth averaging 10.3% a year from 2006/07 to 2016/17, com-pared to a regional average of 5.4%. Ethiopia’s real gross domestic product (GDP) growth decelerated to 7.7% in 2017/18. Industry, mainly construc-tion, and services accounted for most of the growth. Agriculture and manu-facturing made lower contribution to growth in 207/18 compared to the pre-vious year. Private consumption and

public investment explain demand-side growth, the latter assuming an increas-ingly important role.Higher economic growth brought with it positive trends in poverty reduction in both urban and rural areas. The share of the population living below the nation-al poverty line decreased from 30% in 2011 to 24% in 2016. The government is implementing the second phase of its Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP II) which will run to 2019/20. GTP II aims to continue expanding physical infrastructure through public invest-ments and to transform the country into a manufacturing hub. GTP II targets an average of 11% GDP growth annually,

and in line with the manufacturing strat-egy, the industrial sector is set to expand by 20% on average, creating more jobs. Development Challenges

Ethiopia’s main challenges are sustain-ing its positive economic growth and accelerating poverty reduction, which both require significant progress in job creation as well as improved gov-ernance. The government is devoting a high share of its budget to pro-poor programs and investments. Large scale donor support will continue to provide a vital contribution in the near-term to finance the cost of pro-poor programs.

Key challenges are related to:o Limited competitiveness, which con-strains the development of manufactur-ing, the creation of jobs and the increase of exports.o An underdeveloped private sec-tor, which would limit the country’s trade competitiveness and resilience to shocks. The government aims to expand the role of the private sector through foreign investment and industrial parks to make Ethiopia’s growth momentum more sustainable.o Political disruption, associated with social unrest, could negatively impact growth through lower FDI, tourism and exports.

Family Budget on Focus How do Sudanese people run their daily life is a big question that astonishes those who visit Sudan for the first time? They were shocked from the economic deterioration, and the family budget imbalance. The gap between peoples’ daily income and the wages or salaries is wide, the matter that makes poverty the main feature to the majority, the all suffer from mon-ey short fall, and worry about unknown future.The livelihood is the only idea that dominated the thoughts and busied people, the economic situation affected the whole life, no ambitions, the aspirations of the young generation were dispersed. Families don’t have enough money to provide kids with sta-tioneries and school requirements, and also they dis-able to feed them, so children lost their fundamental rights.The minimum amount of money required to run a daily life of family of 6, is SDG 500, while the daily earn is SDG150, it means that the deficit is SDG 350, this sample is to show the real life of daily workers.The same difficulties the government officials who get 3500 SDGs for a month and spend 15000 SDGs to meet the monthly needs, so SDG 11500 is the deficit, the gap between individual revenue and ex-penditure puts the majority of Sudanese peoples un-der the poverty line.The question that poses itself is how do people over-come the challenges? To survive, the answer is un-believable to people who believe in technology and modernization. In Sudan we have very strong social solidarity system, which enhance the conception of “solidarity”, relatives support each other, the fathers and mothers assist their sons and daughters even af-ter their growing up and become matured, sometimes they get jobs, but also receive financial support, also the sons and daughters look after their parents even if they were rich.The second thing is loaning or lending money from friends, relatives and colleagues, the grocers also open “an account” for customs to take what they need, then to repay later.The most significant element that make Sudanese people familiar to overcome economic challenges is “The Islamic teaching” that train people to be patient in order to gain the fruits of patience which comes as a happy solutions and gift, why people enjoy dif-ficulties?, because they were promised by Allah to receive award following patience.

Reuters

LONDON: The BBC said three women — Clau-dia Winkleman, Vanessa Feltz and Zoe Ball — had joined the list of its top 10 paid stars, a change the publicly funded British broadcaster said demonstrated the progress it was making in closing its gender pay gap.The BBC was criticized two years ago when it was forced to disclose that 75% of its staff paid more than 150,000 pounds a year were men, with its highest 10 earners all men.The corporation’s Director-General Tony Hall said the broadcaster had “turned the corner” on gender pay.“When we first published the figures for top tal-ent, there was a 75:25 split between men and women,” he said on Tuesday.“The projection for 2019/20 is now 55:45. This is significant change. The task is not complete, we are not complacent, but we are well on our way.”The broadcaster was compelled by the govern-

ment to disclose the salaries of its on-screen tal-ent, a move that revealed the gender pay gap. Prime minister Theresa May was one of those to criticize it, saying it was paying women less for doing the same job as the men.Gary Lineker, the face of BBC soccer and a for-mer England striker, was again the top earner, with a salary up to 1.75 million pounds ($2.2 mil-lion) for presenting “Match of the Day” and the broadcaster’s World Cup coverage.BBC Radio Two breakfast presenter Chris Evans, who left in December to join a commercial radio station, earned between 1.25 and 1.255 million pounds, and chatshow host and radio broadcaster Graham Norton was third on 610,000-614,999 pounds.Zoe Ball, Evans’s replacement on the BBC’s highest-rated radio program, earned 370,000 to 374,999 pounds, the same as TV and radio pre-senter Claudia Winkleman.Vanessa Feltz earned 355,000 to 359,999 pounds for shows on Radio 2 and BBC Radio London.“I’d like to congratulate the three women who

have made it into the top 10,” said Jane Garvey, presenter of BBC Radio’s “Woman’s Hour” show and a campaigner for equal pay.“That’s 30% of the top 10. Of course it would be nice if it was 50, or maybe even more than that.”The broadcaster, which in 2018/19 received 3.69 billion pounds in license fees — a 154.50 pound tax on all television-watching households, said the gender pay gap across the organization had also fallen. It dropped from 9.3% in 2017 to 6.7% in the 2018/19 fiscal year.Hall said the BBC, which was founded in 1922, was holding its own against the big streaming giants, such as Netflix and Amazon Prime, with 91% of British adults using its TV, radio and on-line services every week.The BBC also said its weekly global reach had increased by 13% to 426 million people, helped by programs such as Blue Planet II.The David Attenborough program, which high-lighted the issue of plastic pollution in the oceans, had reached three quarters of a billion people, it said.

Oil Prices steady on Extended Supply Cuts, US Stocks DrawReuters

SINGAPORE: Oil prices edged higher on Wednesday after a steep fall in the previous session, supported by extend-ed output cuts by OPEC and its allies despite concerns that a slowing global economy could crimp demand.An expected large draw in US crude oil inventories also underpinned sentiment after a bigger-than-expected stocks fall in a private survey.Brent crude futures for September deliv-ery were trading up 36 cents, or 0.6 per-cent, at $62.76 a barrel by 0244 GMT.US crude futures for August were up 29 cents, or 0.5 percent, at $56.54 a bar-rel. Both benchmarks fell more than 4 percent on Tuesday as worries about a slowing global economy overshadowed OPEC supply cuts.The Organization of the Petroleum Ex-porting Countries and other produc-ers such as Russia, a group known as OPEC+, agreed on Tuesday to extend oil supply cuts until March 2020 as members overcame differences to try to prop up prices.“The OPEC+ meeting showed the mem-bers sticking together in tough times, characterized by weakening global de-

mand outlook, aiming for a more bal-anced oil market, despite clear market share implications,” said Amarpreet Singh, analyst at Barclays Commodities Research in a note.“This is supportive of oil prices, in our view, even as the market remains square-ly focused on weak macro signals.”Ahead of government data due later on Wednesday, industry group the Ameri-can Petroleum Institute (API) said that US crude inventories fell by 5 million barrels last week, more than the expect-ed decrease of 3 million barrels.The OPEC+ agreement to extend oil output cuts for nine months should draw down oil inventories in the second half of this year, boosting oil prices, said an-alysts from Citi Research in a note.“Keeping cuts through the end of 1Q aims to avoid putting oil into the market during a seasonal low for demand and refinery runs, as well as providing time to assess the impacts of IMO 2020,” they said.Still, signs of a global economic slow-down hitting oil demand growth worried investors after global manufacturing in-dicators disappointed and the US opened another trade front after threatening the EU with more tariffs to offset govern-ment aid to the aviation industry.

Barclays expects demand to grow at its slowest pace since 2011, gaining less than 1 million barrels per day year-on-year this year.Morgan Stanley, meanwhile, lowered its long-term Brent price forecast on Tues-day to $60 per barrel from $65 per barrel,

and said the oil market is broadly balanced in 2019.Crude prices were also capped by signs of a recovery in oil exports from Venezuela in June and growth in oil production in Argen-tina in May.

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Thursday, July 4, 2019

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FCC..Don’t Miss the Golden Goal

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In his last press conference on Tuesday, the African Union mediator, Prof. Mohamed El-Hacen Lebatt an-nounced that the Transitional Military Council (TMC)

and the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) have agreed on all the points of the AU/Ethiopian document except one point over the formation of the Sovereign Council.He called in a press conference the two parties to resume direct talks immediately to discuss the disputed point and reach an agreement over it, urging the two parties to stop escalation.He emphasized the importance of reaching an agreement over the Sovereign Council and the Civilian Cabinet under the presidency of a Sudanese figure to be nominated by the FFC, then to continue the discussion over any other issues, urging the two parties to consider the aspirations of the Su-danese people and commit to avoid escalation in order to avail conducive environment for negotiations.It is high time for the TMC and the FFC to learn from the previous lessons especially after both parties agree that the negotiations is the best method to resolve the outstanding issues.As for the FFC it should work to avoid the substantial mis-takes it fell in at the beginning of the formation of the new political scene after the removal of Al Bashir regime.The FFC should distance itself from vengeance and exclu-sion address.Obviously, the hatred address adapted by the FFC at the early days of the uprising resulted to increasing the number of those who were not part of the change.Accordingly the FFC should adapt a new address that sends satisfaction to the political forces, especially the forces that opposed the salvation regime before the uprising because those represent a broad political rainbow sitting as bystand-ers. The FFC should launch broad consultations with all the political forces and armed groups to expand the circle of communications with all, hence reaching reconciliation on the national issues.The FFC should exercise all possible flexibility and avoid stubbornness which resulted to the current stalemate after the formation of the civilian government was around the corner.FFC should benefit from utilizing the golden goal which it scored on 30th June match through avoiding the past mistakes and adapt a new vision that accommodates all the complications of the political reality.

We are warning against chaos and lawlessness but we are going ahead towards them at

high speed. Every one of us is express-ing his fears of the spread of killings and bloodshed, but we see the killings and bloodshed every day. All the parties and all the media organs are raising fears against the scenes of hooliganism, but the scenes of hooliganism are becoming

our «everyday meals»! The leaders of the freedom and change declared their plans of organizing a «Millionia» on June 30. They said that it is their right to do so. They said that this is «freedom» and that demonstrating is one of their «rights»! That may be true, but it is not their «right» to cause deaths and bloodshed, is it?! The leaders of freedom and change know, as the leaders of the security establishment know that any kind of demonstrations at this critical situation would lead to deaths and bloodshed. But nevertheless, the leaders of freedom and change went on with their plans of demonstrations and they carried out those plans and they demonstrated. What

was the result? At least seven precious lives were lost and more than 100 were injured. To make things worse, an un-known number of «snipers» were respon-sible of opening fire against the security personnel and civilians! The chairman of the «security committee» of the military council, Lt. Gen. Jamal Omar read a writ-ten statement on the national T.V station about the killings of «June 30». He put the whole responsibility on the shoulders of the freedom and change! But the free-dom and change is an abstract body. The freedom and change is a «known body» specifically defined in persons. The mili-tary council knows them in name, because they are negotiating with them. Not only

that, but they were about to give them the sovereignty of this «afflicted country». So the chairman of the security committee should have put the responsibility on real names, and not abstract names. He should have put the responsibility of the blood-shed and killings of security personnel and civilians on the shoulders of specific persons. This is not the end of the story. The security committee should file police cases against those persons and take the legal procedures against them and take them to court. Otherwise, there is no need for the security committee, simply because the conclusion that the freedom and change are responsible for the kill-ings was reached by every Sudanese.

This Bloodshed: Who Is Responsible?

Life, this short journey, no one can imagine when it will ends. It has many stops. It is a journey by a

very fast train that has many stops. You may get down when it is your time. It takes you from its departure at the birth day up to arrival at your last and eternal destination.You may meet many people during this

short journey in addition to your family, relatives, that are colleagues at study or at work, neighbors or friends. Some are still alive while others are passed away .They came from different walks, dif-ferent believes, tribes, and nationalities. Some are of high education intellectuals, civilized, descent, and polite. Alfred Taban, the former Chairperson of the board of Directors of Khartoum Monitor English newspaper that was is-sued in Sudan for many years before the session of the Southern Sudan in 2011, a broadcast journalist. He was the former BBC’s Correspondent in Khartoum. A prominent journalist is one the South Sudan Intellectuals, a distinctive jour-

nalist. He was the founder and former editor in chief of the Juba Monitor, the leading independent newspaper in the South Sudan. We missed Alfred Taban who passed away last month as a real courageous journalist represented his generation and his colleague in the mass media.I met Alfred Taban when I have being working at Khartoum Monitor in 2000 I joint the paper as columnist, when I first began this column Spotlight to shed light on daily different topics and is-sues. Despite these long years; when I met him; but remembered his words ap-preciated what was written in Spotlight at that time .He explained that for many

reasons because it was by female jour-nalist represented the northern Sudan , and because (You are Neimat al Naiem the journalist that we know in the Suda-nese Press) he said. We express our deep sorrow to his small family, relatives, friends and colleagues in the mass media. We shake hands with his wife and family. We say it is lost not only for them but for journalists in Su-dan and South Sudan. He was the Can-dle turned out. We hope that his small family will keep his strong and intimate relations with his friends. We hope also they that they will continue his message and dreams that he was still working to realize until his death.

Veteran Journalist, Alfred Taban, Rest in Peace

The Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority has begun its latest stress test for general

and life insurers. This biennial exercise tests the insurance industry’s market re-silience to physical events of the sort that have garnered a lot of media coverage in recent years: hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, windstorms, floods. It also in-cludes two new risks: climate change and cybersecurity. The Bank of England requires companies to consider how certain climate-related scenarios would affect their business, each with transition risks as economies decarbonize and meet the climate tar-gets of the Paris Agreement and physical

risks.The first scenario is one of quick change and “disorderly transition” in order to meet the targets.A sudden transition (a Minsky mo-ment), ensuing from rapid global action and policies, and materializing over the medium-term business planning horizon that results in achieving a temperature in-crease being kept below 2°C (relative to pre-industrial levels) but only following a disorderly transition. In this scenario, transition risk is maximized.This scenario involves some significant write-downs in specific asset classes. The Bank of England asks general insurers to make changes to the equity value of “sections of the portfolio comprising ma-terial exposure” to energy and transport sectors: The second scenario is one of “a long-term orderly transition” to carbon neu-trality by 2050.A long-term orderly transition scenar-io that is broadly in line with the Paris Agreement. This involves a maximum

temperature increase being kept well below 2°C (relative to pre-industrial lev-els) with the economy transitioning in the next three decades to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and greenhouse-gas neutrality in the decades thereafter. The write-downs in this scenario are not as significant. At the same time, the in-crease in equity values for renewable power generation and electric automobile manufacturers is greater.I was struck by the logic of grouping cli-mate change and cybersecurity as new risks to test. Both are global; both are pervasive; both have a very broad range of vulnerabilities that will impact busi-ness.Climate change affects companies that contribute to atmospheric carbon diox-ide levels, as well as those that will feel the impacts of rising sea levels, floods or fires, changes in where people choose to live, or changes in consumption patterns. But it’s probably easier to count the few areas of modern life not subject to cyber-security risk than to outline the countless

areas that are. When hackers can use in-ternet-connected fish tanks or the remote controls on motorized hotel curtains to breach network security, it’s hard to think of where one is safe from cyberthreats. But I also reflected on a paradox in the bank’s stress-test scenarios. Cybersecuri-ty is a readily apparent threat in the near-term, but the bank’s risk scenario is so broad that “firms should consider claims arising from all lines of business in ad-dition to stand-alone cyber products.” Meanwhile, climate change is not cur-rently as apparent a threat in many plac-es, and while its implications will play out in decades or centuries, the bank’s risk scenario is specific to asset classes and business lines. Exercises such as this one, however, should serve to pull both of these perva-sive risks and broad attack surfaces into the same frame of thinking about risk. Cybersecurity also becomes a matter of the long term; climate change becomes something increasingly present today, too.

Climate Change Puts Insurers to the Test

The German captain of a char-ity rescue ship appeared before a court in Sicily (Italy) on Monday

after she was arrested for forcing her way into the Italian port of Lampedusa car-rying migrants she had rescued off the Libyan coast.The ship had been in international waters for more than two weeks, waiting for an invitation from Italy or another European Union (EU) state to accept her ship, which was carrying 41 African migrants.«We need support to end the death of peo-ple at sea and it’s outrageous that civil-ians ... filling a gap left by the authorities

are criminalised for saving lives,» said Giorgia Lunardi, a spokeswoman for the charity.Salvini, who is leader of the „League“ party, has taken a hard stance on immigra-tion, closing off ports and accusing fellow European nations of leaving Italy alone to deal with a migrant influx from Libya.«I expect justice to deliver tough penal-ties to those who risked the life of Italian military personnel and who repeatedly rejected our laws,» Salvini said in a state-ment on Monday.«From other European countries, start-ing with France and Germany, I expect silence and respect,» he addedGermany called on Monday for her re-lease, but Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte told German Chancellor Angela Merkel at an EU meeting that it was an independent judicial matter of Italy. Con-te refused to tolerate any interference in the independent courts of Italy.At the same EU meeting, EU leaders

suspended their summit on Monday af-ter they failed to agree who should fill the bloc’s top jobs, with divisions over the marquee role of European Commis-sion president as entrenched as ever after some 20 hours of talks.The reason behind the division of the members of European Union is their opposing and irreconcilable Migration policy. Member states in the South as Italy, Malta and Spain are challenged by illegal migration from Africa via the Mediterranean Sea. Most member states in the North do sufficiently support the Southern EU states to overcome the chal-lenges.The Eastern EU members as Poland, Hungary and Czech Republic refuse the idea of hosting illegal migrants at all.The EU is in crisis and has no leader be-cause of the migration policy deeply di-vides the member states of the EU.The solution is a European consensus of migration policy. This important matter

must be resolved jointly and in solidarity.Only an arms export ban helps to mini-mize the push factor war which is causing migration. An efficient development aid by EU countries helps to fight migration push factors as unemployment, lack of opportunities and inadequate conditions.Right now, a lot of resources are tied for EU borders protection, search and rescue operations at sea and the internment, care and deportation of illegal migrations by EU countries.The issuing of humanitarian visa for a legal EU entry and residence would save the lives of African migrants reaching the Maghreb states as Morocco and Libya. They would not have to come to Europe via boats anymore. The boat passage threatens lives and benefits criminal hu-man traffickers.The issuing of humanitarian visa to EU countries is the easiest way to save lives, to protect borders and to control migra-tion.

Migration Policy Divides EU Member States

Sudan expects to play a bigger role in China proposed a good opportunity for Sudan to upgrade its infrastruc-

ture and promote its economic development through cooperation with China.Khartoum believes that the proposed Belt and Road is a fantastic initiative so that it gives full-support for it, and encourages the African countries to play their crucial role in succeed-ing the economic important project, which will enhance the cooperation process with China in upcoming future, and it changes the African countries’ economies through trade exchange.

The initiative, proposed by Chinese President Xi jinping in 2013, includes the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st century maritime Silk Road.The project according to my point of view will contribute more in exchange goods among African countries and Asian and considered an important chance for African and Asian to contact with their European counterparts to extend their participation in reviving their economies and it will lead to idea which achieve a common market for Asian, African and European. The Belt and Road aims to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Africa and Europe along the ancient Silk Road trade routes. Sudan agreed to the Chi-nese initiative from its onset and has declared readiness to be a major partner, as we know that there is deeply –rooted historical rela-tions between Sudan and China, which have

paved the way for enhancing bilateral strate-gic cooperation.The Belt and Road is an important opportu-nity for China’s friends because it offers in-terests and benefits for all and makes them as strong bond against imperialism hegemony which dominate on the international trade and prevent most of the third world develop-ing countries to join it. Belt and Road is con-necting link for these countries which experi-enced from the imperialism barriers, in trade activities, but now the Silk Road is an effec-tive solution for China’s partners who gives a full –support for the Belt and Silk Road. The future is closer for China, Asia, Africa and Europe and offers opportunities for these con-tinents to play their role in creating a common market for their production.The China- Sudan cooperation has been fruit-ful in the past decades. Thanks to the funding and technological aid from China, Sudan has

largely achieved energy independence by es-tablishing its own oil industry. China is also helping Sudan transform its economy via ag-ricultural assistance, including in the field of cotton industry.China has remained as a biggest trade part-ner for Sudan for many years, while Sudan has been as a major African trade partner for China.Sudan serves as a bond linking the Arab world and African countries; it can play a major part in the Belt and Road imitative (BRI). If we look into an ancient history, we will find that Sudan’s eastern ports on the Red Sea coast previously constituted a meeting point for the commercial convoys from China toward Afri-ca, through the BRI, China can help Sudan de-velop railways, roads and ports. This is a posi-tive result of the Belt and Road towards Sudan and African countries, which will benefit more from the Silk Road in upcoming future.

Belt and Road Initiative Provides Opportunity for Sudan

CURRENT7 Thursday, July 4, 2019

AP

CAIRO: In the desert of western Libya, hundreds of African migrants were held for months in a hangar filled with mag-got-covered garbage and sewage. They shared a couple of buckets of water be-tween them and barely survived on one meal a day. More than 20 died from dis-ease and hunger, they said.The migrants and their advocates ac-cused UN aid agencies of turning a blind eye or responding too slowly to their plight.The UN refugee agency, or UNHCR, denies it has been unresponsive, saying it has been unable to access parts of the facility, run by one of Libya’s many mi-litias. The commander in charge of the facility denied there was any lack of ac-cess.Internal memos and emails leaked to The Associated Press also show disagree-ment among the UNHCR and other aid agencies over conditions at the site in the town of Zintan, with one NGO working on behalf of UNHCR denying there was lack of food, even as it acknowledged it had not been able to see the majority of migrants held there.The suffering of the migrants held in Zintan underscores the impact of the EU’s effective yet much-criticized pol-icy of blocking Africans from sailing across the Mediterranean to its shores and keeping them in Libya.Funded and trained by the EU, Libyan border guards have been stepping up efforts to stop migrants from crossing. As a result, thousands of migrants are trapped in a country thrown into chaos by war. At least 6,000 are locked up in dozens of detention facilities run by militias ac-cused of human rights abuses and tor-ture. Others are held in traffickers’ lock-ups, where they face torture and rape by traffickers seeking ransom money from their families, according to reports from the UN and rights groups.EU officials say they have dedicated millions of dollars to providing humani-tarian aid to migrants and helping them return home, through the UNHCR and other agencies.The EU said in a statement that it is not ignoring what it described as the “dire” situation of refugees and migrants stranded in Libya. It said it has repeat-edly denounced inhumane conditions in detention centers and demanded their closure.Responding to questions from the AP, the EU said a joint task force with the African Union and the UN is seeking safer alternatives outside Libya, includ-ing by stepping up evacuations and le-gal resettlement. But little has changed in Zintan.Migrants inside the detention center who were contacted by the AP accused UNHCR of abandoning them.“Migrants are appealing for your help to be a voice to the voiceless,” one told the AP, addressing UN agencies. “We need emergency evacuation from Zintan ... we suffer physically, mentally, and emo-tionally.”Like others who spoke from the site, he asked not to be named to avoid reprisals from guards.Around 700 Africans, most from Eritrea, are held at the facility. Until earlier this month, almost all were held in a hang-ar from which photos and video were posted online and drew media attention. Since then, the migrants say they were moved to two smaller halls, with simi-larly tough conditions.While in the hangar, migrants said they were not allowed out to see the sun. Guards gave them one small plate of pasta or couscous a day. Each day, a few were given a few minutes to rush out to a faucet with a couple of buckets, fill them with water and bring them back for the others to drink.Photos and videos taken by migrants showed heaps of garbage in the hangar, parts of which were flooded with sew-age, and plates of food crawling with maggots. The hangar had only four toi-lets along with buckets that the detainees urinate in. The migrants said the head of the center would often deprive them of food and water for days as a form of punishment. Doctors Without Borders, an aid agency that did manage to visit the detention facility, said it found sev-eral malnourished migrants.At least 22 migrants have died at the site since September, the migrants said. Those who died weren’t buried because

there is no cemetery for Christians, mi-grants inside the facility said. Instead the bodies were kept in air-conditioned rooms or refrigerators.An individual with direct knowledge of the conditions at the facility said they were eventually buried. He also spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak to the press.At least 100 others are sick with disease, mainly tuberculosis, migrants said.“Our life is worse and terrible from day to day,” said one Eritrean migrant.Libyan authorities say they have over 50 detention centers but it’s not clear how many are actively used to house migrants. Some of the centers have been ordered shut down because of hu-man rights violations. Many of them are known to be rife with torture and hu-man rights abuses, according to UN and rights groups.The Zintan facility has such a bad repu-tation that migrants in other detention centers caught in the crossfire of fight-ing between Libya’s factions refuse to be sent there.“They prefer to die under bombs and not go through the slow death in Zintan,” said Giulia Tranchina, a human rights lawyer from the Britain-based Wilsons Solicitors who has been in direct con-tact with migrants trapped in Zintan and other places.The manager of the facility is known for punishing migrants by shutting of access to electricity, water, and locking them up for a prolonged period of time, migrants said.In May, the migrants rioted. About 30 managed to escape from the detention center. Five were caught and returned to the facility. The rest disappeared, mi-grants and aid officials said.Julien Raickman of Libya’s Doctors Without Borders called the Zintan facil-ity a health disaster. “A tuberculosis out-break has likely been raging for months in the detention center,” he added.Raickman believes migrants in the fa-cility have been neglected because it’s “away from the main effort by the hu-manitarian actors in and around Tripo-li.”Activists and migrants said they have sent messages and emails to the UN and its partners for months about conditions at Zintan. After photos from inside the site emerged in June, the UNHCR inter-vened and evacuated 96 migrants from a separate building at the facility where it had access. They were sent to the one UN-run center for migrants in the coun-try, in Tripoli.UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi told the AP he disagrees “in the strongest terms”

with the contention the agency has not been trying to help. He said it has been barred from entering some detention centers.“It is not because of lack of will or not even because of lack of resources: Ac-cess in Libya is the fundamental obsta-cle to saving more lives,” he said.He said the agency is trying to gain ac-cess to the entire detention center at Zin-tan.In principle, aid workers must negotiate with multiple rival militias to get into facilities, provide medicines and extract those it can to safety, he said.Grandi said his agency has succeeded in sending 4,000 migrants to Niger to await resettlement, while the Interna-tional Organization for Migration has helped some 35,000 return to their home countries.“If we and IOM and other humanitarian organizations were not on the ground in Libya trying to help, even the few thousand people that we have managed to save — saving their lives literally — would have been exposed to almost cer-tain death, abuse, torture and worse,” he said.He said other countries need to step for-ward to take in migrants for resettlement.He criticized the EU, saying “it made a choice” to empower Libya’s coast guard to intercept migrants at sea and bring them back to Libya. “These people are returned back to one of the most danger-ous places on Earth,” he said.Tarek Lamloum, head of the Libyan

rights group Beladi, said he had made di-rect appeals for trapped migrants to the UN but had seen no action. “We are fully convinced that there is a great deal of negligence by the UNHCR toward what the migrants are going through,” he said.Libya became a major crossing point for migrants to Europe after the 2011 ouster and killing of longtime dictator Muam-mar Qaddafi. The North African nation was thrown into chaos, armed militias proliferated, and central authority fell apart.A weak, UN-aligned administration in Tripoli oversees the west, where Zintan is located, but much of its powers are in the hands of militias. Eastern Libya is controlled by a rival government aligned with the self-styled Libyan National Army led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, who in April launched an offen-sive on Tripoli.Col. Nasser Nakoua, who runs the deten-tion center in Zintan, denied there was any lack of access to the facility.“Those saying that they have no access are just lying. The doors are open and we want the agencies to come and help or just shut the place down, because there is severe shortage in everything,” he told the AP by phone.He blamed the government, which is nominally in control of the facility, for failing to fund its operations. “We re-ceived nothing from Department for Combating Illegal Migration,” he said, referring to the body in charge of the fa-cilities, “not a single penny.”

He said the catering company contracted to deliver meals warned this month that it would stop delivering food if payments are not made. He said he is searching for a new company.“I wrote many times to the DCIM and there is no response whatsoever,” he said. “Problems of malnutrition and dis-ease surged because of lack of funds and support.”He denied depriving the migrants of food or water, saying “these are humans at the end.”European funding of Libya’s coast guard has dramatically reduced the perilous Mediterranean crossings. The number of people entering the EU via the cen-tral Mediterranean Sea route, most from Libya, was cut to 23,400 in 2018, down from 180,000 two years earlier.In the first four months of this year, it was down another 91 percent from same period the year before, with 880 cross-ings, according to Frontex, the EU’s bor-der agency.But that has left thousands stranded in detention centers.Tranchina said that in one center in the coastal town of Zawiya, migrants who had endured beatings and torture by guards banged on doors and tried to break out. Guards opened fire, killing one and wounding others, she said.The detention center at Zintan is made up of two parts — the hangar and a smaller building.An official with International Medical Corps said it had established a clinic at the smaller building and was providing health care. He said reports of lack of food and water were untrue, though qual-ity was poor, and that guards sometimes withheld water as punishment.He acknowledged that his group could not get into the hangar where most of the migrants were held until last month, and that it was up to guards to bring out de-tainees for medical treatment.An aid worker with Doctors Without Borders said he was able to visit the hangar at one point.He said in an email that migrants told him it was the first time in seven months that guards had opened the doors. He said 60 women and six children under the age of 12 had been held there for a year and the half, confirmed at least 20 deaths and said and at least 60 sick mi-grants, most suffering from tuberculosis, were held in a single cell.“I never saw people abandoned as much as in Zintan and Gharyan,” he said, refer-ring to another center in a nearby town. “The level of despair of the detainees is beyond words.”

of Disease in Detention CenterUN Criticized as Migrants DieUN Criticized as Migrants Die

8INTERVIEWS

Thursday, July 4, 2019SCIENCE

French Doctors to End Life Support in Right-to-die CaseAFP

LILLE, FRANCE: French doctors are set to begin removing life support from paralyzed road accident victim Vincent Lambert on Tuesday, in what could be the final act in a hugely controversial right-to-die case that has drawn in Pope Francis.The main doctor treating Lambert, Vincent Sanchez, informed his family by email that he intended to start removing his feeding tubes in line with a French court ruling last Friday, according to the message that was shared with AFP.The doctor urged family members to ensure that “support to Mr.Vincent Lambert is as peaceful, intimate and personal as possible.”Lambert, 42, has been in a vegetative state since a 2008 car accident, with the question of whether to continue keeping him alive artificially bitterly dividing his family and the nation.

Legal battles in French and European courts over the last six years have pitted Lambert’s Catholic parents and two of his siblings — who want to keep him alive — against his wife and six other brothers and sisters.His wife Rachel, who is his legal guardian under French law, has maintained that Lambert had made clear before the accident that he would not want to be kept alive artificially, though this was never put in writing.Multiple medical assessments over the years ordered by the courts have found that Lambert, a former psychiatric nurse, has no chance of recovering.Doctors at the hospital in Reims, northern France, have made five attempts previously to remove life support before being forced to reinstate it following court rulings obtained by Lambert’s parents.The last attempt to remove his tubes was made in May this year, but was then

overturned by a Paris appeals court.The UN committee on disabled rights has also asked France to keep Lambert alive while it conducts its own investigation into his fate — a request the French government has rejected as non-binding.In what was hailed as a definitive legal

judgment by a lawyer representing Lambert’s wife, France’s top appeals court, the Cour de Cassation, ruled last Friday that life support could be turned off.The case has rekindled a charged debate over France’s right-to-die laws, which allow so-called “passive” euthanasia for severely

ill or injured patients who are being kept alive with no chance of recovery.Having seen their efforts rejected by France’s highest courts and the European Court of Human Rights, lawyers for Lambert’s parents are now threatening to press “murder” charges if his life support is halted.His mother Viviane, who has previously shared photographs and video footage of her son from his hospital bed, has insisted he “just needs something to drink and eat, and love.”Pope Francis intervened in May when he tweeted to say that it was necessary to “always safeguard life, God’s gift, from its beginning until its natural end.”President Emmanuel Macron has also been drawn into the case, but he has rejected calls to intervene by Lambert’s parents on the grounds that it is a medical case that should be decided by doctors and Lambert’s wife.

AP

LA SERENA, Chile: Tens of thousands of tourists and locals gaped skyward Tuesday as a total eclipse of the sun darkened the heavens over Chile and Argentina.Tourists from around the world gathered to witness the cosmic spectacle, which began in the morning as the moon crossed in front of the sun and cast a shadow that passed over a tiny uninhabited atoll in the South Pacific and headed to South America. Chile and Argentina were the only inhabited places where the total eclipse could be seen.The eclipse made its first landfall in Chile at 3:22 p.m. (1922 GMT) in La Serena, a city of some 200,000 people where the arrival of more than 300,000 visitors forced the local water company to increase output and service gas stations to store extra fuel. Police and health services were also reinforced.“Oh! Oh! Oh!” thousands of spectators shouted as they jumped and danced without taking their eyes off the sky. After a brief moment of silence, the yelling returned as the sun’s rays began reaching Earth again.Others shouted “Long live, Chile!” — a chant used at sporting events. In northern Chile, meteorologists measured a three-degree Centigrade drop in temperature and in the center a two-degree drop.“Today Chile is the world capital of astronomy,” said Chilean President Sebastiلn Piera, alluding to the dozens of giant observatories in the country, which amount to about half the world’s telescopic capacity. “We are the eyes and senses of humanity to be able to look, observe and study the stars and the universe.”In the Argentine town of Chascoms, dozens braved near-freezing temperatures and strong winds and claimed a spot at a pier in a lagoon, hoping to catch a glimpse of the eclipse.“I’ve been looking at the sky since my youth. My first telescope when I was a kid was made out of cardboard,” said Ricardo Rumie, a 68-year-old veteran eclipse-watcher, who set up his camera with a tripod and a telescope with a sun filter along the banks of the lagoon.“I’ve seen other eclipses but never like this one. I just couldn’t miss it. For me it’s something supreme.”Yoga teacher Cecilia Magnicaballi searched for the best spot to watch the eclipse with a green mat under her arm.“This is about taking out the darkness, letting the sun, the light come in,” she said.Some rushed to buy the cardboard-framed protective eyeglasses at the last minute.“This is something that they say won’t repeat itself for like 300 years, so we wanted to bring our son,” said Maximiliano Giannobile, who

arrived at the pier with 18-month-old Vitto wrapped in a puffy jacket and several layers of clothes.Northern Chile is known for clear skies and some of the largest, most powerful telescopes on Earth are being built in the area.“In the past 50 years we’ve only had two eclipses going over observatories. So when it happens and an observatory lies in the path of a totality, it really is special for us,” said Elyar Sedaghati, an astronomer working as a fellow at the European Southern Observatory in Paranal, Chile.“We can finally use our toys during the day because it’s always at night that we use them.”The town of La Higuera was also plunged into total darkness.“We hope this milestone will transform (our town) into a tourist attraction, so that visitors ... can come to La Higuera and take a picture where there once was a total sun eclipse,” Mayor Yerko Galleguillos said.Town officials distributed more than 2,000 cardboard-frame protective eyeglasses at local schools and community centers while workers

built statues of huge sunglasses and a darkened sun on a local square.A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun and scores a bull’s-eye by completely blocking out the sunlight.Thousands of visitors also trekked to neighboring areas of Argentina where the eclipse also will be total.The San Juan provincial government installed telescopes and public viewing areas. Astronomers in Buenos Aires province offered yoga and meditation classes during the eclipse, which were also partially visible in other South American countries.The Earth’s next total solar eclipse will be Dec. 14, 2020, and it also will cross Chile and Argentina, though on a different path.In 2017, millions of people in the United States witnessed the phenomena, with a full solar eclipse visible in parts of 14 states and a partial eclipse seen in nearly the entire country. It was the first such widespread eclipse in the US since 1918.

Chileans, Argentines Gape at Total Solar Eclipse

Reuters

MUMBAI: Indian authorities on Wednesday began airlifting the bodies of seven climbers killed in an avalanche near India’s second highest mountain in May, down to lower ground where they will be identified, officials said.Eight climbers — four from Britain, two from the United States, and one each from Australia and India — went missing on May 31 after they failed to return to their base camp near the 7,816 meter mountain, Nanda Devi.The body of one of the climbers has not been found.The paramilitary Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force is leading the mission to bring the bodies down from the mountains to the town of Pithoragarh, in the north of Uttarakhand state.The first four bodies were brought down early on Wednesday, Vivek Kumar Pandey, a spokesman for

the force, told Reuters.“The remaining three will also be flown in to Pithoragarh shortly,” Pandey said.Police, ambulances and mortuary vans awaited the bodies at the Pithoragarh airport, district police chief Ram Chandra Rajguru said.The bodies will be identified after which they will be flown down to another town for postmortems, he said.The climbers have been identified as Martin Moran, John McLaren, Rupert Whewell and Richard Payne, all from Britain, Anthony Sudekum and Ronald Beimel from the United States, Ruth McCance from Australia, and liaison officer Chetan Pandey from the Indian Mountaineering Foundation.Nanda Devi and its sister mountain, Nanda Devi East, are among the world’s most challenging peaks and only a handful of people have climbed them.

Indian Police Begin Airlifting Bodies of Seven Climbers Killed in Avalanche

Reuters

MUMBAI: Heavy monsoon rains caused the breach of a small dam in western India, washing away dozens of homes and killing at least six people with 18 missing, a government official said on Wednesday.Seasonal rains have crippled India’s financial center of Mumbai this week, disrupting rail and air traffic in the city of 18 million, while wall collapses have killed nearly 30 people.Tuesday’s breach of the Tiware dam in the coastal district of Ratnagiri, nearly 275 km south of Mumbai, washed away dozens of homes, an official of the Maharashtra state government said.“Around 18 people are missing,” he added. “Six dead bodies have been recovered.”

State officials have asked the National Disaster Response Force to help find the missing.In every monsoon season, from June to September, India suffers fatal incidents of building and wall collapses as rainfall weakens the foundations of poorly-built structures.

Dam Bursts in India after Rains, Several Dead

AP

ANCHORAGE, Alaska: Sea ice along northern Alaska disappeared far earlier than normal this spring, alarming coastal residents who rely on wildlife and fish.Ice melted as a result of exceptionally warm ocean temperatures, the Anchorage Daily News reported .The early melting has been “crazy,” said Janet Mitchell of Kivalina. Hunters from her family in early June traveled more than 50 miles (80 kilometers) by boat to find bearded seals on sea ice. Bearded seals in the past could be hunted just outside the village but sea ice had receded far to the north.“We didn’t know if we’d have our winter food,” she said. “That was scary.”The hunters ran out of gas after harvesting eight seals and a walrus. They were able to call other residents to deliver fuel, Mitchell said.

Rick Thoman, a climatologist with the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment & Policy at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, posted on social media last week that the northern Bering and southern Chukchi seas are “baking.”Sea surface temperatures last week were as high as 9 degrees (5 Celsius) above the 1981-2010 average, reaching into the lower 60s, he said, with effects on the climate system, food web, communities and commerce. Kotzebue and Norton sounds were warmest but the heat extended far out into the ocean.The warmth is weeks ahead of schedule and part of a “positive feedback loop” compounded by climate change. Rising ocean temperatures have led to less sea ice, which leads to warmer ocean temperatures, he said.The last five years have produced the warmest sea-surface temperatures on record in the region, contributing to record low sea-ice levels.

“The waters are warmer than last year at this time, and that was an extremely warm year,” Thoman said.Lisa Sheffield Guy of the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States oversees an online platform that allows Alaska Native walrus hunters to share tips on sea ice, weather and hunting. The need for reporting ended May 31 because coastal sea ice had melted.“When we started in 2010, we would go until the last week of June,” she said.Guy is a seabird biologist who studied birds on St. Lawrence Island south of the Bering Strait. She’s worried that warmer temperatures will make it harder for seabirds to find the tiny seafood they eat, she said. The heat might push their prey deeper or away from the area.Warmer ocean temperatures come as hunters report large numbers of dead seals off Alaska’s western and northern coasts, Thoman said. An unusually large number of dead gray whales have also been

found off Alaska’s southern coasts, where sea surface temperatures are also unusually high, Thoman said. It’s not known whether the warm water has contributed, Thoman said.“Certainly it’s all happening at the same time,” he said.In March, the high temperatures were blamed for a large ice shelf breaking from the coast near Nome in March, dragging tethered crab pots. Nick Treinen lost two crab pots and others lost more.“It was unprecedented for March,” he said.The ice also swept away gold mining equipment, forcing a helicopter rescue for three miners who unsuccessfully tried to save it.The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will conduct an unusually extensive fish survey in the Bering Strait this summer, Thoman said. It could provide clues for possible impacts to Bering Sea fisheries, he said.

Melted Alaska Sea Ice Alarms Coast Residents, Scientists

WORLD NEWS9 Thursday, July 4, 2019

ReutersSHANGHAI: Confrontations and outbreaks of lawlessness in Hong Kong could damage its reputation as an international business hub and seriously hurt its economy, Chinaís top news-paper, the Peopleís Daily, said in an editorial on Wednesday.Hundreds of protesters in the former British col-ony besieged and broke into the legislature late on Monday after a demonstration marking the anniversary of its return to Chinese rule in 1997.China called the violence an ìundisguised chal-lengeî to the ìone country, two systemsî model under which Hong Kong has been ruled for 22 years.ìIt is not surprising there are some disagreements and even major disputes about certain issues, but if we fall into the whirlpool of ëoverpoliti-cizationí and artificially create division and op-position, it will not only serve no purpose, but will also severely hinder economic and social development,î the ruling Communist Partyís of-ficial Peopleís Daily said.The turbulence in Hong Kong was triggered by an extradition bill opponents say will under-mine Hong Kongís much-cherished rule of law and give Beijing powers to prosecute activists in mainland courts, which are controlled by the Communist Party.The Peopleís Daily said the rule of law did not mean a small number of ìextremistsî should be allowed to conduct violent crimes that would damage Hong Kongís reputation as an interna-tional business city.It warned that Hong Kong was already under pressure as a result of changes to the global economy and intensifying competition and ìcan-not bear turbulence and internal friction.îChina has blamed Western countries, particularly the United States and Hong Kongís former co-lonial master Britain, for offering succor to the protests.The official China Daily, an English-language newspaper often used by Beijing to put out its message to the rest of the world, denounced ìout-side agitationsî in its editorial on Wednesday.ìWhat has also been notable is the hypocrisy of some Western governments ó the United States and United Kingdom most prominently ó which have called for a stop to the violence, as if they have had nothing to do with it,î the China Daily said.ìBut, looking back at the whole protest saga, they have been deeply involved in fueling it since its inception,î it said.British Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt con-demned violence on both sides on Tuesday and warned of consequences if China neglects com-mitments made when it took back Hong Kong to allow freedoms not enjoyed in mainland China, including the right to protest.China said on Monday Britain no longer has any responsibility for Hong Kong and needed to stop ìgesticulatingî about the city.

AFPWASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said Tuesday it was a ìvery sad timeî after the US government gave up a con-troversial attempt to put a ques-tion about citizenship on next yearís census.The decision, announced earlier in the day, handed a victory to those who argued the new item would lead to discrimination against minority residents.It followed a Supreme Court ruling that the case for adding the citizenship question was not convincing.The president wrote on Twitter: ìA very sad time for America when the Supreme Court of the United States wonít allow a question of ëIs this person a Cit-izen of the United States?í to be asked on the #2020 Census!îA very sad time for America when the Supreme Court of the United States wonít allow a question of ìIs this person a Citizen of the United States?î to be asked on the #2020 Census! Going on for a long time. I have asked the Department of Com-merce and the Department of Justice....Trump added he had

asked the departments of com-merce and justice to ìdo what-ever is necessary to bring this most vital of questions, and this very important case, to a suc-cessful conclusion.îTrumpís initial reaction to the ruling had been to call for a de-lay in the imminent printing of the 2020 census forms, holding up the census in order to allow

time for a new appeal.That bid has now been dropped, ending any chance of chang-ing the format of the massive, once-every-decade survey.ìWeíre glad the #2020Census will begin printing without a citizenship question,î said New York State Attorney General Letitia James, who led a group of states challenging the admin-

istration on the issue.Just this Monday, Trump had been defiant, telling reporters he wanted the census to find out who was a citizen ìas opposed to an illegal.îìIt is a big difference to me between being a citizen of the United States and being an illegal,î he said.Opponents argued that the

question ó which has not been included since 1950 ó would drive many immigrants to avoid answering out of fear of being caught up in Trumpís crack-down on illegal immigration.This would render them invis-ible, skewing the population count and resulting in fewer government resources for the areas they live in, while distort-ing the lines of congressional districts, which are based on numbers of residents.This was the intention all along, said Joe Biden, the frontrunner in the contest to become the Democratic opponent to Trump in 2020 presidential election.ìMake no mistake, the Trump Administration added a citizen-ship question to the Census to deliberately cut out the voices of immigrants and communi-ties of color. Itís wrong and goes against our core values as a nation,î the former vice presi-dent tweeted.The Census Bureauís experts said that 1.6 to 6.5 million im-migrants, notably Hispanics, would avoid the census or lie to census takers if faced with the citizenship question.

ReutersWASHINGTON: The Pentagon said on Tuesday a recent Chinese missile launch in the disputed South China Sea was ìdisturbingî and contrary to Chinese pledges that it would not mil-itarize the disputed waterway.The South China Sea is one of a grow-ing number of flashpoints in the US-China relationship, which include a trade war, US sanctions and Taiwan.China and the United States have re-peatedly traded barbs in the past over what Washington says is Beijingís

militarization of the South China Sea by building military installations on artificial islands and reefs.A US official, speaking on the condi-tion of anonymity, said China tested multiple anti-ship ballistic missiles over the weekend.ìOf course the Pentagon was aware of the Chinese missile launch from the man-made structures in the South China Sea near the Spratly Islands,î Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Dave Eastburn said.ìIím not going to speak on behalf of

all the sovereign nations in the re-gion, but Iím sure they agree that the PRCís behavior is contrary to its claim to want to bring peace to the region and obviously actions like this are co-ercive acts meant to intimidate other (South China Sea) claimants,î East-burn added. PRC is an acronym for the Peopleís Republic of China.China has not confirmed the mis-sile tests and on Tuesday the foreign ministry declined to comment, refer-ring questions to the defense ministry, which did not respond to a request for

comment.The Chinese government has said that the military was carrying out drills be-tween the Spratly and Paracel Islands starting last weekend and ending on Wednesday, warning other shipping not to enter a designated area.Chinaís claims in the South China Sea, through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes each year, are contested by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.News of the China missile test was first reported by NBC News.

APBENGHAZI, Libya: An airstrike hit a detention center for migrants early Wednesday in the Libyan capital, kill-ing at least 40 people, a health official in the countryís UN-supported govern-ment said.The airstrike targeting the detention center in Tripoliís Tajoura neighborhood also wounded 80 migrants, said Malek Merset, a spokesman for the health min-istry. Merset posted photos of migrants who were being taken in ambulances to hospitals.Footage circulating online and said to be from inside the migrant detention center showed horrific images of blood and body parts mixed with rubble and migrantsí belongings.The UN refugee agency in Libya con-demned the airstrike on the detention center, which houses 616 migrants and refugees.The Tripoli-based government blamed the self-styled Libyan National Army, led by Khalifa Haftar, for the airstrike and called for the UN support mission in Libya to establish a fact-finding com-mittee to investigate. A spokesman for

Haftar forces did not immediately an-swer phone calls and messages seeking comment. Local media reported that LNA had launched airstrikes against a militia camp near the detention center.The LNA launched an offensive against the weak Tripoli-based government in April. Haftarís forces control much of the countryís east and south but were dealt a significant blow last week when

militias allied with the Tripoli govern-ment reclaimed the strategic town of Gharyan, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the capital.Gharyan had been a key supply route for the LNA forces.The fighting for Tripoli has threatened to plunge Libya into another bout of vi-olence on the scale of the 2011 conflict that ousted longtime dictator Muammar

Qaddafi and led to his death.At least 6,000 migrants from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan and other na-tions are locked in dozens of detention facilities in Libya that are run by mi-litias accused of torture and other hu-man rights abuses. Most of the migrants were apprehended by European Union-funded and -trained Libyan coast guards while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea into Europe.The detention centers have limited food and other supplies for the migrants, who made often-arduous journeys at the mer-cy of abusive traffickers who hold them for ransom money from families back home.The UN refugee agency has said that more than 3,000 migrants are in dan-ger because they are held in detention centers close to the front lines between Haftarís forces and the militias allied with the Tripoli government.Libya became a major crossing point for migrants to Europe after the 2011 ouster and killing of Qaddafi, when the North African nation was thrown into chaos, armed militias proliferated and central authority fell apart.

Libyan Official Says Airstrike Kills 40 Migrants in Tripoli

Macron Warns Tehran against Further Nuclear Deal Breaches US Condemns Houthi Attack on Abha Airport

that Injured 9ReutersPARIS/DUBAI: France urged Iran on Tuesday to reverse its first major breach of a nuclear pact with world powers as Eu-ropean states signalled they would not seek to reimpose UN sanctions ó for now.The UN nuclear watchdog con-firmed on Monday Iran had amassed more low-enriched uranium than permitted un-der the 2015 deal, a move that prompted US President Donald Trump to say Iran was ìplaying with fire.îExceeding the limit could cul-minate in the return of all in-ternational sanctions on Tehran but one European diplomat, asked if Europe would trigger the dispute resolution mecha-nism enshrined in the accord, said: ìNot for now. We want to defuse the crisis.îA second diplomat said Britain, France and Germany would focus on bringing Iran back into compliance and that they

wanted to gain more time for dialogue. ìIn the immediate term, Iran must return to its

obligations. There is room for dialogue,î a French diplomatic source added. Tensions with

Iran have escalated since Trump pulled the United States out of the pact last year and moved

to bar all international sales of Iranian oil. Washington also blames Iran for bomb attacks on ships in the Gulf, something Tehran denies.In a joint statement Tuesday, the foreign ministers of Ger-many, France, the UK†as well as†the European Union>s for-eign policy chief said that «we have been consistent and clear that our commitment to the nu-clear deal depends on full com-pliance by Iran.» They called for Iran to reverse the move «and to refrain from further measures that undermine the nuclear deal.»They added that they «are ur-gently considering next steps» under the terms of the agree-ment in close coordination with other signatories.The three European countries, Russia and China remained on board the 2015 deal meant to curb Iran>s nuclear ambitions after the United States with-drew last year.

Lojien Ben GassemRIYADH: Abha International Airport in Saudi Arabi-aís Asir province has fully resumed operations follow-ing a drone attack by the Iranian-backed Houthi militia based in Yemen.Arab coalition spokesman Col. Turki Al-Maliki said the attack by the Houthis had injured nine civilians ó eight Saudis and one Indian citizen ó all of whom are in stable condition in a hospital.The US «strongly condemned» the strike - the third such attack in less than three weeks.«These attacks are risking the lives of many and in-juring innocent civilians,» a State Department spokes-woman said. «We call for an immediate end to these violent actions, which only exacerbate the conflict in Yemen and deepen mistrust.«We stand firmly with our Saudi partners in defend-ing their borders against these continued threats by the Houthis, who rely on Iranian-made weapons and tech-nology to carry out such attacks.»

Trump: ‘Sad Time’ after Controversial 2020 Census Change Abandoned

US Says China Missile Test in S. China Sea ‘Disturbing’

China’s Top Paper Warns ‘Turbulence’ Could Hurt Hong Kongís Economy

By: Leila Mead

The International Part-nership for Energy Ef-ficiency Cooperation (IPEEC) has released a report on energy ef-ficiency in G20 econo-mies that presents an update on the G20 En-ergy Efficiency Leading Programme (EELP) and an overview of technical work undertaken dur-ing the year.The report titled, ëAccelerating En-ergy Efficiency Progress in G20 Economies,í was presented during the G20 Ministerial Meeting on Energy Transitions and Global Environment for Sustainable Growth, which convened from 15-16 June 2019, in Karuizawa, Japan.G20 countries are work-ing together to progress energy transitions that achieve ë3E+Sí: energy security, economic effi-ciency, and environmen-tal safety. In this con-text, energy efficiency is critical to the G20ís efforts to facilitate such transitions, including by securing a more sustain-able, cost-effective en-ergy future.The report captures progress made on the im-plementation of the G20 EELP and its initiatives and outlines opportuni-ties for G20 voluntary actions aimed at raising awareness on the im-portance of innovation, that is ìaccelerating the virtuous circle of envi-ronmental protection

and economic growth by innovation.îThe EELP was launched in 2016 as a platform for energy efficiency and in-ternational cooperation, with a focus on buildings, industry, transport, appli-ances, and cross-sectoral areas such as finance. It is the G20ís first long-term plan for energy ef-ficiency up to 2030, and its implementation helps support and advance the design, acceleration and enactment of national en-ergy efficiency policies and programmes. This led to the endorsement by most G20 members of the 2017 G20 Action Plan on Climate and En-ergy for Growth, which includes the G20 Energy

Efficiency Investment Toolkit.The report details that, over the past five years, G20 EELP initiatives (or Task Groups), co-ordinated by IPEEC, have focused on: super-efficient equipment and appliances deployment; networked devices; buildings; transport; energy management; fi-nance; energy efficiency best available technolo-gies and best practices; ëhigh-efficiency, low-emissions,í energy end use data and energy ef-ficiency metrics; district energy systems; and the Energy Efficiency Knowledge Sharing Framework.The report concludes

that the G20 EELP Task Groups continue to play a central role in acceler-ating energy efficiency policies and programmes in G20 economies, by: deepening technical col-laboration among G20 economies on implemen-tation of best practices; providing technical as-sistance for developing policy frameworks and roadmaps; and facilitat-ing ongoing dialogue between governments, industry and other key stakeholders.The report emphasizes the importance of co-operative efforts to re-duce energy demand to achieve energy tran-sitions that support ë3E+Sí. It also calls for,

inter alia: gathering re-liable energy efficiency data; and raising aware-ness regarding the role of finance and investment in promoting innovation in clean technology and energy efficiency.The report encourages G20 members to advance innovation to implement the economy-wide decar-bonization strategies that are needed to deliver op-timal net zero pathways and societal benefits of the energy transition, as well as climate objec-tives and the SDGs.Established in 2009, IPEEC identifies and fa-cilitates implementation of public policies and programmes related to energy efficiency.

Ana Maria Lebada Thematic Expert for 2030 Agenda

The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) has published a background note on financ-ing the SDGs, in preparation for the July 2019 session of the UN High-level Forum on Sustainable Develop-ment (HLPF). The July session will conduct an in-depth review of SDG 17 (partnership for the Goals). According to the note, the review session will consider recommendations for implementing ideas contained in the outcome document of the UN Economic and So-cial Councilís (ECOSOC) 2019 Forum on Financing for Development Follow-up (FfD Forum).The HLPF will conduct in-depth reviews of SDGs 4 (quality education), 8 (decent work and economic growth), 10 (reduced inequalities), 13 (climate action), 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions) and 17 dur-ing the July 2019 HLPF. The SDG 17 review is sched-uled for 15 July.The note titled, ëFinancing the SDGs: Moving from words to action: From the ECOSOC Financing for De-velopment Forum to the General Assembly High-Lev-el Dialogue on Financing for Development,í provides an overview of the context for financing sustainable development. It reports that extreme poverty continues to decline and inequality between countries has fallen, while carbon prices are slowly recovering and interest in sustainable investing is growing. At the same time, debt risks are rising, with a growing number of least developed and other vulnerable countries either in or at high risk of debt distress. The note indicates that some countries have experienced large capital outflows, with aggregate net outflows of over USD 200 billion from developing countries expected in 2018. Furthermore,

the authors underscore, official development assist-ance (ODA) is falling. Net bilateral aid from the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) donors to least developed countries (LDCs) and Africa has de-clined by 2.7% and 4% respectively.The note observes that the multilateral system is under stress and, at the national level, while many countries have reinvigorated their sustainable development strat-egies in line with the 2030 Agenda, many strategies

do not have concrete or comprehensive financing plans for their implementation. Furthermore, the publication highlights, policymakers and regulators will need to strike a balance between managing emerging risks and enabling experimentation and innovation when it comes to emerging technologies in finance.Against this backdrop, the report notes that UN Mem-ber States, in the outcome document of the 2019 FfD Forum, agreed on the need to align a wide range of fi-

nancing sources and instruments with the 2030 Agenda as part of their implementation of the Addis Ababa Ac-tion Agenda (AAAA) on FfD. The key messages of the FfD Forumís outcome will serve as guideposts for the in-depth review, as follows:- Sustainable investment, including efforts to improve incentives for investments such as more meaningful disclosure on sustainability issues, clarifying fiduciary issues and asset owner preferences, pricing externali-ties, strengthening policy frameworks to incentivize finance for productive investment, and addressing the challenges to scaling up investments in infrastructure;- Domestic resource mobilization, including the in-creasing role that development cooperation will have to play in response to increasing demands of develop-ing countries for capacity support in this area and the need for international tax cooperation to be universal in approach and scope and take fully into account the needs and capacities of all countries; and- Illicit financial flows (IFFs), including the need for national and collective action by authorities and insti-tutions working across silos (e.g. financial crime, tax policy and enforcement, customs, anti-corruption, and transnational crime) to prevent and counter IFFs and speed up the return of stolen assets.The note invites reflection on initiatives and tools that could be used to promote sustainable investments where they are most needed, national strategies and policies that have proven effective in facilitating long-term and quality investment, and ways to strengthen tax systems to ensure that countries mobilize domestic resources more effectively.In September 2019, the UNGA will hold a high-level dialogue on financing for development, which is man-dated by the AAAA to take place every four years.

G20 Countries Seek to Accelerate Energy Efficiency Progress through Cooperation

Publication Provides Foundation for HLPF Review of SDG 17

Countries Reach Final Stage of Preparation f or 2019 VNRs

N. Africa Adopts 2019-2020 Roadmap for SDG Implementation

Nathalie Risse, Ph.D. Most of the 47 countries scheduled to present voluntary national reviews (VNRs) of SDG progress during the July 2019 session of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Devel-opment (HLPF) have released their full VNR reports. Issuance of these reports marks one of the last steps before coun-tries present their VNRs at the 2019 HLPF. The 2030 Agenda calls for the presentation of VNRs each year to facil-itate the sharing of national experiences, including successes, challenges and lessons learned, in order to accelerate SDG implementation around the world. These reviews are presented during the HLPF session that takes place each July under the auspices of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). By the end of the July 2019 HLPF, 142 coun-tries will have presented reviews since the VNR mechanism began in 2016.Prior to the HLPF, countries submit the ìmain messagesî of their VNRs to the UN Secretariat. These are made avail-able online. The main messages provide a brief overview of each countryís more detailed VNR report. Main messages for the 47 countries presenting VNRs in 2019 were released in May, and SDG Knowledge Hub summaries are availa-ble according to country groups, namely the Western European and Other States Group (WEOG), the Eastern European Group (EEG), the African Group, the Asia-Pacific Group, and the small island developing States (SIDS).As outlined in this SDG Knowledge Hub story, in October 2018, 51 countries had initially volunteered to present their VNRs at the 2019 HLPF, but four with-drew from the list (Brazil, El Salvador, Eritrea and France). Of the 47 remain-ing VNR countries, 40 are conduct-ing VNRs for the first time. These will make presentations during the three-day ministerial segment of the HLPF, from 16-18 July. These countries are: Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, the Central African Republic (CAR), Chad, Chile, the Republic of the Congo, CÙte

díIvoire, Croatia, Eswatini, Fiji, Ghana, Guatemala, Guyana, Iceland, Indonesia, Iraq, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Le-sotho, Liechtenstein, Mauritania, Mau-ritius, Mongolia, Nauru, New Zealand, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, the Philippines, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Serbia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Timor-Leste, Ton-ga, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, the UK, Tanzania, and Vanuatu.An additional seven countries will be presenting a VNR for the second time: Azerbaijan, Chile, Guatemala, Indone-sia, the Philippines, Sierra Leone and Turkey. Their presentations will take place in a panel format, on 15 July, ac-cording to the HLPF draft programme.In order to help countries prepare their reviews, the UN has released: voluntary common reporting guidelines outlined by the UN Secretary-General; ques-tions and answers (Q&A) on VNRs; and a ëHandbook for the Preparation of Voluntary National Reviewsí that provides ìbasic, practical informationî on steps that countries may take when preparing a review. In addition, the UN Department of Economic and Social Af-fairs (DESA) has held two preparatory workshops for the 2019 VNR countries, in Geneva, Switzerland, in October 2018, and in Bonn, Germany, in Febru-ary 2019. A third workshop is expected to take place on 14 July 2019, in New York, US, the day before VNR presen-tations begin. Among efforts to reflect on the VNR mechanism, ECOSOC President Inga Rhonda King has estab-lished a Group of Friends of the VNRs and of the follow-up and review of the HLPF, in order to increase peer learn-ing and sharing best practices and les-sons learned. According to this briefing, the Group, chaired by Mexico, seeks to help address the challenge of having only 30 minutes to present and discuss each VNR during the HLPF. On the sidelines of the HLPF, DESA will hold ëVNR Labí sessions throughout the Fo-rum, providing an informal platform to share best practices and reflect on VNR experiences. An agenda for the 17 VNR Labs is available

Catherine Benson Wahlen Thematic Expert for Human Development Participants at the Sixth Meet-ing of the Sub-Regional Coordi-nation Mechanism (SCRM) for North Africa agreed on a revised joint roadmap to support SDG im-plementation in 2019-2020, fol-lowing on the creation of a draft roadmap in 2018. The SCRM is coordinated by the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). The SRCM also adopted a frame-work to implement and monitor progress on the roadmap.In March 2018, the Fifth SRCM for North Africa agreed on a draft joint regional roadmap to support

implementation of the SDGs in Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Maurita-nia, Morocco, Sudan and Tunisia for 2018-2019. The draft roadmap focused on SDG 2 (zero hunger) and SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth), among other SDGs, and emphasized the impor-tance of gender as a cross-cutting dimension. The draft aimed to improve regional actorsí under-standing and implementation of the SDGs, and called for includ-ing the SDGs in public policies, building statistical capacity in the region, ensuring follow-up and review on SDG implementation, and seizing additional opportuni-ties for South-South cooperation.The two-year roadmap covers em-

ployment, food security, climate change, regional integration, and reporting on the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063.UNECAís Office for North Af-rica organized the Sixth SRCM meeting, which convened from 18-19 June 2019. In his open-ing speech, Arab Maghreb Union (UMA) Secretary-General TaÔeb Baccouche said the coordination mechanism has provided ìa foun-dation that can be progressively improved and operationalized to develop synergiesî and improve the effectiveness of interventions. UNECAís Lilia Hachem Naas underscored the importance of synergies in accelerating action to achieve the SDGs, highlighting a

need for stronger information sys-tems and innovative and strategic partnerships at all levels. Partici-pants also supported partnerships with development banks and the private sector to mobilize finan-cial resources in support of the SDGs.The revised roadmap for 2019-2020 covers five thematic areas: awareness raising, advocacy, mon-itoring and reporting on imple-mentation of the 2030 Agenda and the African Unionís (AU) Agenda 2063; employment; food security; climate change; and regional inte-gration, including implementation of the African Free Trade Area (AFTA). The framework for im-plementation and monitoring fea-

tures detailed plans for each of the five thematic areas.Participants called for optimizing

financial and human resources to facilitate implementation of the roadmap.

10 Thursday, July 4, 2019 SDGs PLATFORM Edited by: Alula Berhe Kidani

11HUMAN DEVELOPMENT Edited by: Alula Berhe Kidani

Thursday, July 4, 2019

The Global Search for Education: Teachers Without Borders‘Education needs to be customized and teachers need to focus

on learning rather than teaching.’ - Koen Timmers

EU Complicit in Criminalising Search and RescueThe arrest of the captain of an NGO res-cue ship operating in the Mediterranean highlights the EUís inaction in the face of Italyís increasingly hostile agenda.

Carola Rakete, captain of the Sea-Watch 3, was arrested on June 29th for docking the search-and-rescue vessel in Italy without permission. This is the latest confrontation in a longer battle launched by the Italian government against non-governmental or-ganisations who rescue people in distress in the central Mediterranean.In early June, Italy passed a decree that puts vessels such as Sea-Watch 3, which is owned by the German NGO Sea-Watch, at risk of up to Ä50,000 in fines for bring-ing people rescued at sea to Italian ports. This followed a decree in December 2018 which abolished humanitarian protection for those arriving to Italy and led to many being made homeless.The situation for those providing search and rescue in the Mediterranean is get-ting persistently more difficult. On June 26th, the European Court of Human Rights refused a request from Sea-Watch 3 to disembark migrants in Italy. With 40 traumatised people as well as the crew remaining on board since a rescue at sea on June 12th, Rakete decided that enough was enough and it was time to take matters into her own hands. She entered the port of Lampedusa on June 29th without permis-sion, trapping a patrol boat in the process, which she later said sheíd apologised for. Rakete was subsequently arrested.Despite knowing that she would be at risk of arrest, and despite knowing that the ship would also be at risk of seizure, Sea-Watch made a statement stressing that Rakete ëenforced the rights of the rescued people to be disembarked to a place of safetyí. There has been a groundswell of support for Rakete since her arrest, including from the German [resident, Frank-Walter Stein-meier, who criticised Italy for dealing with the situation in terms that were ëunbecom-

ingí of an EU member state.While it may seem that far-right politicians in Italy are driving the criminalisation of people on the move along with those seek-ing to support them, the problem is actu-ally more far-reaching. It isnít only in Italy where activists are being criminalised, but also in Greece and elsewhere, as hostile policy environments impede civil-society groups from providing support to those seeking peace and safety. It is a 2002 EU council directive that provides a legal framework for prosecuting those who fa-cilitate the unauthorised entry, transit and residence of people travelling to the EU.In 2018, at least 104 people across the EU were investigated or formally prosecuted for providing people on the move with hu-manitarian assistance. A recent study high-lighted various ways in which solidarity groups are policed in order to prevent their support for those migrating. This ranges from anti-smuggling operations through to restraining orders designed to prevent ac-tivists travelling to sites in which they can provide people with support. In Hungary, a legislative package passed in 2018 renders those providing support to people seeking to claim asylum at risk of prison.Italy left unchallengedWhile the European Commission took le-gal action to challenge Hungaryís policy, Italyís actions have remained largely un-challenged by EU authorities so far. In the summer of 2017, Italy began plans to impose a code of conduct on search and

rescue vessels. Despite the controversy that this raised, the EU supported Italyís actions. When Italy decided to renew its ëfriendshipí with Libya in the summer of 2018, enabling joint action on migration, again the EU lent its support. At the time, the EU was actually already pursuing a programme to train Libyaís coastguard.The EUís inaction in the face of Italyís increasingly hostile agenda ultimately amounts to complicity with the arrest of search and rescue activists such as Rakete. The EU priority is to advance a policy agenda that prevents people on the move from arriving in the EUóregardless of where they end up. Yet as Giorgia Linardi, a legal expert working with Sea-Watch, argues, ëLibya is not a safe country.í Itís for this reason that Sea-Watch maintains that rescue at sea must be ëprotected and defendedí, and that Linardi affirms: ëFor-cibly taking rescued people back to a war-torn country, having them imprisoned and tortured, is a crime that we will never commit.íItalyís actions create a difficult situation for the EU and its member states, who are under increased pressure to accept those people who search and rescue groups rescue at sea. Yet as UN human rights experts stressed in their condemnation of Italyís bill to fine search and rescue ves-sels, ëThe right to life and the principle of non-refoulement [not sending people back] should always prevail over national legislation or other measures purportedly adopted in the name of national security.íIt is high time that EU leaders spoke out collectively against the persecution of ac-tivists such as Rakete in recognition of the importance of international legal obliga-tions such as article 98 of the UN Conven-tion on the Law of the Sea. She is not the first captain of a civil-society vessel facing prison. The EU must not continue support-ing a situation in which people are at risk of imprisonment for operating vessels un-der the belief that they have a rightful duty to help any person in danger at sea.

By Vicki Squire

By C. M. Rubin

At this very moment we have a community of 350 passionate teachers across 75 countries, of-fering free Skype lessons.î ñ Koen TimmersIn the era of globalization, inter-actions and learning between stu-dents of different countries have become a necessity for classrooms. Koen Timmers, an award-winning educator, researcher, lecturer and author, is a firm believer in ìbor-derlessî education. Already work-ing with teachers and students across 6 continents, Koen is focus-ing on connecting students global-ly to solve real world challenges that can promote skills such as ìcreativity, empathy, critical think-ing, and collaboration.î More re-cently he began collaborating with Jane Goodall and her ìRoots and Shootsî initiative, a youth service program that aims to foster respect and compassion for all living be-ings, and promote understanding of cultures and beliefs. The Global Search for Education welcomes Koen Timmers, the Founder of the Kakuma Project, a global climate action and innovation lab, to talk about his initiatives and changing global education.

ìWe are fighting polarization by allowing students to experience something they will still remem-ber in 5, 10 or even 20 years, and at the same time instilling empa-thy by allowing students to have an intercultural exchange.î ñ Koen Timmers

Q: Koen, please tell us more about your Climate Action project?A: In our Climate Action project, students across 90 countries fo-cused on climate changes. They took the lead in their learning proc-ess and explored, brainstormed, connected, and shared their find-

ings via weekly videos that are published at my website. Students were able to learn from each other in their own class and then from their global peers. This was really powerful because climate change varies from country to country. For example, schools in Ireland were closed for the very first time in history due to hurricanes. In Si-erra Leone, students were killed because of mud flows. In the Arc-tic Canada, ice is melting rapidly. Every nation has its own issues and students can get direct insights into the other participantsí lives. Learning was not only authentic, but it was engaging.In our Kakuma project, I shipped my own laptop to a Kenyan refu-gee camp housing 200,000 refu-gees. I started to teach the students via Skype. With the help of a crowdfunding campaign, we were able to bring our own internet con-nection to the camp, and by team-ing up with an American teacher, Brian Copes, we have been able to develop a solar suitcase which offers free power supply to the schools involved. At this very moment we have a community of 350 passionate teachers across 75 countries, offering free Skype les-sons.Q: What do you think makes

your project unique?I believe that the scale is unique. The fact that we are using simple, free tools in a global context al-lows us to do something powerful. We are able to increase the level of education in a massive refu-gee camp, and education is their only way out as they are locked in the camp. While most people are charmed by the project, they usual-ly forget the fact that we are doing more than offering free lessons of Math, Science and English. We of-fer students across the world a fair perspective on the refugeesí lives and we allow them to have infor-mal chats about habits, cultures, hobbies and art. We are fighting polarization by allowing students to experience something they will still remember in 5, 10 or even 20 years, and at the same time instill-ing empathy by allowing students to have an intercultural exchange. We are not dependent on agencies since we all are volunteers. The power of a network!Q: The world is becoming so much more about appreciating global perspectives. How are schools adapting to this learning method and how is it more effec-tive for children? A: Not everybody agrees that self-inquiry, project-based and col-

laborative learning works. Some researchers still exclusively be-lieve in direct instruction. But they are making one mistake. The right pedagogy depends on the studentsí age, topics to teach, schools and cultures. Education needs to be customized and teach-ers need to focus on learning rath-er than teaching. Students do need a proper introduction, context and background to a topic before they are able to have a successful dis-cussion or solve problems. Some-times teachers do need to ìguideî their students rather than ìinstructî them in order to point them to the right direction. For example, an American teacher, Tara, found out that her students believed basi-cally everything they read on the internet. Therefore, her major goal during the Climate Action project was tackling fake news. Other teachers were surprised by the fact their students came up with mind-blowing solutions: Canadian stu-dents 3D printed coral reefs, Ni-gerian students created their own biomass plant, and Tunisian stu-dents developed their own video game. Belgian students used Lego to create stop motion videos, and students across 50 countries simul-taneously created an eco-friendly world in Minecraft. Learning

has really become a fun activity. Teachers need to create a willing-ness to learn, since we donít want our students to stop being eager to learn once they graduate.Q: What are the challenges youíve experienced in this jour-ney? What lessons have you learned and how have you modi-fied and improved the program for global classrooms?A: One of the biggest challenges is, unfortunately, the lack of resourc-es in some countries. While most European and American students were able to work on computers, African students usually had to use pen and paper. However, they were still able to have a discus-sion, to brainstorm, to create, and to share their findings. In most cases, the teacher used Whatsapp ñ an app which proves to be the most performant ñ to send short videos.Also, English was an issue in most South American countries. But naturally, students and teachers there created their own Spanish-speaking community.In terms of the wide age range of the project (we have students from 10 to 21 participating in the project), teachers all take differ-ent approaches, utilize appropriate pedagogies, and employ technolo-

gies differently on various age groups, as it is key that content, pedagogy and techn ology are in balance. Itís the teachers who are pedagogical engineers who need to judge which tool and approach need to be connected to certain topics.Q: If an educator wants her classroom to be a part of your global program, how does she get started? What are the steps?Iím launching these kinds of projects throughout the year. Educators can go to Innovation Lab Schools, where they can find updates or follow me on Twitter.Q: How would you describe your achievements to date and what are your longer term goals for the project?A: I recently started a collabora-tion with Dr. Jane Goodall and her ìRoots & Shootsî initiative. To-gether we will equip 3 innovation lab schools. The project involves our own curriculum based on the UN Sustainable Development Goals with connections to STEM (Science Technology Engineering Math). I aim to develop Innova-tion lab schools in 10 countries this year and plan to offer free and quality education to 1 million stu-dents by 2020. By setting up these schools we intend to bring con-tent, pedagogy and technology in a perfect balance by shifting to a different style of learning that puts students at the center of their edu-cation journey. We will also have a global teacher community of 1,000 teachers offering free Skype lessons around the world. This way we are able to equip students with the right skills (collaboration, critical thinking, problem solving, empathy, etc), which have be-come increasingly important with the advent of the fourth industrial revolution. These skills will shape them to be the global citizens we need.

9-18 July 2019, UN Headquarters, New York More than two thousand partici-pants, including approximately 100 ministers, as well as business and civil society leaders will attend the High-level Political Forum (HLPF) this month to take stock of progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and discuss plans, successes, challenges and lessons learnt on the road to a fairer, more peaceful and prosperous world on a healthy planet by 2030.Convened by the Economic and Social Council and called the larg-est annual gathering on SDG im-plementation, the Forum will also attract nearly 156 side events over ten days. The theme of this yearís Forum is ìempowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equalityî with a special emphasis on six out of the 17 Goals. The Goals under review this year are Goal 4 (Qual-ity Education), 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), 10 (Reducing Inequalities), 13 (Climate Action), 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Insti-tutions) and 17 (Partnerships).This year, 47 countries are expected to present their Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) ñ with an aim to share experiences with the global community, in efforts to accelerate the implementation of the sustain-able development agenda.From the adoption of the SDGs in 2015 to the conclusion of this yearís HLPF, nearly 142 countries will have submitted their VNRs, showing immense support for de-livering on the SDGs. For the first time last year, four cities, includ-ing New York City, submitted their Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs)

ócomplementing VNRs by bridging the gap between local reality and national policies. The fourth such meeting since the adoption of the SDGs in 2015, the Forum will set the stage for the high-level week during the 74th Session of the UN General Assem-bly in September, during which the organization will host the Climate Action and SDG Summits as well as the high-level meetings on Fi-nancing for Development, Univer-sal Health Coverage and the Small Island Developing States Accelerat-ed Modalities of Action (SAMOA) Pathwayógalvanizing support for some of the major issues at the heart of the 2030 Agenda.Major side events include the SDG Media Zone (9 to 10 July) as well as the launches of the Sustainable Development Report 2019 (9 July), the State of Food Security and Nu-trition Report (15 July), and the UN Legal Identity Agenda (16 July). The Sustainable Development Goals Report, to be launched on the opening day of HLPF, will present new data and show how actions un-dertaken for the SDGs around the world over the past four years have begun to produce results. It will also highlight challenges and set-backs as well as provide estimates on whether we are on track to meet the 2030 deadline. A series of major special events will happen on the sidelines of the HLPF to engage more stakeholders with the SDGs, including the Higher Education Sustainability Initiative (10 July), the SDGs in Action Film Festival (11 July), the Philanthropy and the SDGs event (16 July), the Lead, Transform, Succeed: Chief Sustainability Officers

Government, Private and Public-sector Leaders to Attend Largest Gathering on SustainableDevelopment Progress

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Congratulations on USA 4th July Sudan VisionKhartoum - Sudan Vision Board of Directors and Edi-torial Board congratulate the people and the government of the USA on the occasion of the 4th July Anniversary. The same wish is extended to the US Embassy and USAID in Khartoum. The

Fourth of July) is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Decla-ration of Independence of the United States on July 4, 1776. The Continental Con-gress declared that the thir-teen American colonies were no longer subject (and sub-ordinate) to the monarch of

Britain and were now united, free, and independent states. The Congress had voted to declare independence two days earlier, on July 2, but it was not declared until July 4. Independence Day is com-monly associated with fire-works, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, con-

certs, baseball games, fam-ily reunions, and political speeches and ceremonies, in addition to various other public and private events celebrating the history, gov-ernment, and traditions of the United States. Independ-ence Day is the National Day of the United States.

By: Shadia Basheri

Khartoum - The Embassy of India in Khar-toum celebrated the 5th International Day of Yoga (IDY) in Friendship Hall, Nile Street, Khartoum (located near Presiden-tial Palace) on Friday, 21st June, 2019. The event was attended by around 125 persons. The participants included members of In-dian Community in Sudan, local Sudanese communities, other expatriates and Diplo-matic community based in Sudan. Ambas-sadors of Japan and Indonesia and Director General of Tourism, State Government of Sennar of Sudan, H.E. Mr. Shinji Uraba-yashi, H.E. Mr. Rosalis R. Adenan and Mr. Mohamed Abd Allah Hussien respectively also attended the event. There were a good number of Sudanese friends this year giv-en that many of the embassies have evacu-ated non-essential staff/families. There was good participation and support by the Omdurman Indian Community (OIC) and Sudan India Friendship Association (SIFA) as well.The programme started with the screening of a small video titled ëYogi of the Race Trackî which was followed by a welcome & introductory speech of Mr. Ravindra P. Jaiswal, Ambassador. This was followed by screening of the video message from Honíble Prime Minister of India on the occasion of 5th International Day of Yoga. Then about one hour of yoga practice was held under the guidance of Ms. Roaía Kab-li and Ms. Tayseer Mohamed Saifadeen Ali, Sudanese Yoga Experts, in accordance with the Common Yoga Protocol devised by the Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India. These two yoga experts are run-ning their own Yoga training centres in Khartoum called Little Bali Yoga and Blue Nile Yoga respectively. In his remarks Am-bassador extended a very warm welcome all the participants to the celebrations of 5th International Day of Yoga in Khartoum and conveyed his best wishes on this oc-casion to the authorities of the Republic of Sudan, members of UN Organizations

and Diplomatic Missions, NGOs and Civil society members, members of communi-ties of India, Sudanese, Indian and other nationalities.Recognizing the immense benefits of Yoga to bring health and happiness, the UNGA on December 11, 2014, unanimously ap-proved the resolution co-sponsored by a record 177 countries to designate 21st June as ìInternational Day of Yogaî. In its reso-lution, the UNGA recognized that Yoga provides a holistic approach to health and well-being, brings harmony in all walks of life and is known to prevent diseases and is

effective in management of many lifestyle-related disorders.Following the adoption of the Resolution by the UNGA, Yoga was performed in 176 counties and more than 250 cities across six continents in the world to mark the First International Day of Yoga in 2015. In India, the IDY session was led by Prime Minister Modi himself on 21st June 2015 at Rajpath in New Delhi and it made two Guinness world records viz. the Largest yoga performance involving 35,985 par-ticipants and maximum number of nation-alities (84) participating in a single Yoga

session. And since then the celebration have been making new and new records year after year. Even last year over 50000 people joined PM Modi in the celebrations at Dehradun. This year the theme of IDY was îYoga for Heartî. Indian Prime Minis-ter, Shri Narendra Modi, led a Mass Yoga Practice at Ranchi on the occasion of IDY. “Let our motto be Yoga for peace, harmo-ny and progress”, exhorted the Prime Min-ister as he commenced his address, shortly before the Yoga session. Over 30,000 yoga enthusiasts took part in the event. The last five editions of the IDY have spread a new

global awareness about the contribution of yoga to human health. Ambassador wished that Yoga enthusiasts in Sudan can make similar records in Khartoum regarding the celebrations of Yoga Day and celebrate the day in other towns like Port Sudan. He in-vited each and every one of the residents to join hands with the Embassy in perform-ing Yoga and to benefit from it and make Yoga a part of their daily routine in life for improving their health and fitness. He also requested them to kindly spread further awareness about Yoga and the Internation-al Day of Yoga. Ambassador thanked the authorities of the Republic of the Sudan for their support extended in organizing this event. According to a 2016 Yoga Journal report, 36.7 million people practice yoga in the US, up from 20.4 million in 2012. The†ìyoga marketî†is now worth $16bn in the US and $80bn globally. For most of us, Yoga is a personal practice for the evolution of oneself and definitely not a business or industry. However, we cannot deny the figures which have been derived by Yoga Journal. About 60% of the ëbusi-nessí is from yoga accessories and one of the major ëaccessoriesí is the manufacture and sale of yoga mats.

5th International Day of Yoga -2019

Low water levels in Wayoh Reservoir at Edgworth near Bolton as millions of people are facing a hosepipe ban. (PA)

FILE - Kenyans walk past closed shops in the capital after an attack on a hotel complex, claimed by al-Shabab, in Nairobi, Kenya, Jan. 18, 2019.