ADDIS ABABA: Warring parties in South Sudan delayed direct peace talks on Saturday dashing hopes of a swift cease-fire to end raging fighting and the risk of a slide into all-out civil war.
While top leaders of the government and rebel teams have briefly met directly, the rivals continued Saturday to hold separate talks with negotiators.
No timeline has been set for the crucial face-to-face talks to begin, despite the teams having already spent three days in the same luxury hotel in neighboring Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa.
Thousands of people are feared to have been killed in the fighting since it erupted on Dec. 15, pitting army units loyal to President Salva Kiir against a loose alliance of ethnic militia forces and mutinous army commanders nominally headed by his rival, former vice president Riek Machar.
In S. Sudan Saturday the army battled to wrest back control of the oil town of Bor from rebels.
“Our forces are still moving toward Bor, there were heavy battles on Friday,” army spokesman Philip Aguer told AFP, dismissing rebel claims they had been marching on the capital Juba.
There were reports of intense battles involving tanks and artillery on the outskirts of Bor, a dusty strategic town that has already exchanged hands three times since fighting began almost three weeks ago.
The ongoing fighting prompted the top UN aid official in S. Sudan, Toby Lanzer, to warn that soldiers and rebels must protect civilians and aid workers, or risk worsening a situation he described as critical.
“More people arrived at our bases in Juba... we’re up to 30,000 in the capital alone,” Lanzer said late Friday.
The US Embassy in S. Sudan ordered a further pullout of staff on Friday because of the “deteriorating security situation,” although Washington — a key backer of the fledgling state — insisted it remains committed to ending the violence.
In Addis Ababa, there appeared little sign of swift progress.
S. Sudan Information Minister Michael Makuei, part of the delegation to the talks, as well as rebel team spokesman Yohanis Musa Pouk, said the two sides would not meet until an agenda had been drafted by negotiators and agreed by both sides.
Makuei told AFP the two leaders of the delegations had met briefly, but that the teams were now “waiting to hear the way forward” from the negotiators, who are from the regional East African IGAD bloc of nations.
“The heads of the two delegations need to agree on an agenda... maybe tomorrow or after tomorrow,” rebel spokesman Pouk said.
IGAD, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, whose members include the talks host Ethiopia as well as Kenya and Uganda — all strong backers of Kiir’s government — played key roles in pushing forward the 2005 deal that ended Sudan’s two-decade-long civil war.
Uganda has deployed troops inside S. Sudan to evacuate its citizens and bolster support for Kiir.
Britain’s Foreign Secretary William Hague has called Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to discuss Kampala’s role in S. Sudan, without giving further details.
Ethiopian Foreign Minister Tedros Adhanom Friday had spoken optimistically that direct talks would take place on Saturday, after the rival sides spent a day of meeting separately with special envoys from regional nations.
But Addis Ababa’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Dina Mufti said Saturday the two sides would continue meeting separately with negotiators.
No timeline had been set, Dina said, adding it “depends on the negotiations.”
Fighting started when Kiir accused Machar of attempting a coup in the oil-rich but impoverished nation.
Machar denied this, in turn accusing the president of conducting a violent purge of opponents.
Fighting has spread across the country, with the rebels seizing several areas in the oil-rich north.
Aid workers have stepped up warnings of a worsening crisis for civilians affected by the conflict in the landlocked country of almost 11 million people.
The violence has forced around 200,000 people to flee their homes and “affected many hundreds of thousands of people indirectly,” the UN’s Lanzer said. Tens of thousand are seeking refuge with badly overstretched UN peacekeepers.
The UN peacekeeping force said this week that atrocities are continuing to occur throughout S. Sudan, which won independence from Sudan in 2011 after decades of civil war.
The conflict has been marked by an upsurge of ethnic violence pitting members of the Dinka tribe that Kiir comes from against the Nuer people of Machar.
Machar told AFP this week he was not yet ready to agree to an immediate cease-fire nor hold face-to-face talks with Kiir.
Kiir has described the war as “senseless” and has ruled out power-sharing with the rebels.
South Sudan truce deal dashed as talks stall
South Sudan truce deal dashed as talks stall
UK transport minister quits in new blow to PM Starmer
Haigh said in her resignation letter shared by Starmer’s office on Friday that she was standing down as the issue “will inevitably be a distraction from delivering on the work of this government and the policies to which we are committed.” (Reporting by William Schomberg in London and Nilutpal Timsina in Bengaluru; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Himani Sarkar)
Taiwan says 41 Chinese military aircraft, ships detected ahead of Lai US stopover
- The figure was the highest in more than three weeks, according to a tally of figures released daily by Taiwan’s defense ministry
TAIPEI: Taiwan said Friday it had detected 41 Chinese military aircraft and ships around the island ahead of a Hawaii stopover by President Lai Ching-te, part of a Pacific tour that has sparked fury in Beijing.
The figure was the highest in more than three weeks, according to an AFP tally of figures released daily by Taiwan’s defense ministry.
China insists self-ruled Taiwan is part of its territory, which Taipei rejects.
To press its claims, China deploys fighter jets, drones and warships around Taiwan on a near-daily basis, with the number of sorties increasing in recent years.
In the 24 hours to 6:00 a.m. on Friday, Taiwan’s defense ministry said it had detected 33 Chinese aircraft and eight navy vessels in its airspace and waters.
That included 19 aircraft that took part in China’s “joint combat readiness patrol” on Thursday evening and was the highest number since November 4.
Taiwan also spotted a balloon — the fourth since Sunday — about 172 kilometers west of the island.
UN plastic treaty talks push for breakthrough as deadline looms
- South Korea is hosting the fifth and final UN Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee meeting to agree globally binding rules on plastics this week
BUSAN, South Korea: Negotiators at the fifth round of talks aimed at securing an international treaty to curb plastic pollution were striving on Friday to speed up sluggish proceedings and reach a deal by a Dec. 1 deadline.
South Korea is hosting the fifth and final UN Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) meeting to agree globally binding rules on plastics this week.
Until Thursday, several delegates from around 175 countries participating had expressed frustration about the slow pace of the talks amid disagreements over procedure, multiple proposals and some negotiations even returning to ground covered in the past.
In an attempt to speed up the process, INC Chair Luis Vayas Valdivieso is holding informal meetings on Friday to try and tackle the most divisive issues.
These issues include curbing plastic products and chemicals of concern, managing the supply of primary polymers, and a financial mechanism to help developing countries implement the treaty.
Petrochemical-producing nations such as Saudi Arabia strongly oppose efforts to target a cap on plastic production, over the protests of countries that bear the brunt of plastic pollution such as low- and middle-income nations.
While supporting an international treaty, the petrochemical industry has also been vocal in urging governments to avoid setting mandatory plastic production caps, and focus instead on solutions to reduce plastic waste, like recycling.
The INC plans an open a plenary session at 7 p.m. (1000 GMT) on Friday that will provide an indication of how close the talks have moved toward a treaty.
New Zealand navy vessel hit reef, sank after ‘autopilot’ error: inquiry
- Dozens of sailors were rescued from the HMNZS Manawanui in October after it struck a reef
- Vessel burst into flames and finally sank south of Samoa’s most populous island Upolu
WELLINGTON: A New Zealand navy vessel plowed into a reef near Samoa and sank because its crew mistakenly left it on “autopilot,” a military inquiry found on Friday.
Dozens of sailors were rescued from the HMNZS Manawanui in October after it struck a reef, burst into flames and finally sank south of Samoa’s most populous island Upolu.
One of just nine commissioned ships in New Zealand’s small naval fleet, the Manawanui had been dispatched to map the ocean floor.
A military court of inquiry on Friday found the survey vessel had been scuttled because its “autopilot was not disengaged when it should have been.”
“Remaining in autopilot resulted in the ship maintaining a course toward land, until grounding and eventually stranding.”
Crewmembers noticed the ship had veered off course and tried to change direction, believing they had lost control due to a “thruster control failure.”
But they forgot to check if the autopilot had been disengaged first, the tribunal found.
Rather than steering away from danger, the ship “started to accelerate toward the reef.”
Defense Minister Judith Collins said the debacle had “really knocked Navy for six.”
“It was a terrible day. The navy and the defense force are not shying away from this.
“It was extremely disappointing. But that’s what has happened.”
The shipwreck settled on a stable section of reef some 30 meters below the surface.
It was carrying 950 tonnes of diesel when it sank, stirring fears of an oil slick that could kill wildlife and taint crucial food sources.
New Zealand’s navy has said previously that the main fuel tanks appeared to be intact.
Salvage crews were working to retrieve the fuel without major leaks.
No one died in the incident, although a small number of sailors suffered minor injuries.
Protesters clash with police in Georgia over government’s EU application delay
- Government suspends EU accession talks until 2028
- Georgian Dream has deepened ties with Russia amid EU tensions
TBILISI: Police clashed with protesters in the Georgian capital Tbilisi early on Friday, after the country’s ruling party said the government would suspend talks on European Union accession and refuse budgetary grants until 2028.
The country’s interior ministry said three police officers were injured.
Police ordered protesters to disperse, fired water cannon and deployed pepper spray and tear gas as masked young people tried to smash their way into the parliament. Some protesters tossed fireworks at police while shouting “Russians” and “Slaves!“
Georgia’s relations with the EU have deteriorated sharply in recent months as Brussels has alleged that the government had resorted to authoritarian measures and adopted pro-Russian stands.
Thousands of pro-EU protesters had blocked streets in the capital before the altercations began. The country’s figurehead president accused the government of declaring “war” on its own people and confronted riot police, asking whether they served Georgia or Russia.
The Georgian Dream governing bloc accused the EU of “a cascade of insults,” saying in a statement it was using the prospect of accession talks to “blackmail” the country, and to “organize a revolution in the country.”
As a result, it said: “We have decided not to put the issue of opening negotiations with the European Union on the agenda until the end of 2028. Also, we refuse any budgetary grant from the European Union until the end of 2028.”
The South Caucasus country of 3.7 million has the aim of EU accession written into its constitution and has long been among the most pro-Western of the Soviet Union’s successor states.
With months of downturn in relations between Tbilisi and Brussels, the EU had already said that Georgia’s application for membership was frozen.
Georgian Dream says it is not pro-Russian, and that it is committed to democracy and integration with the West.
It says it still wants to join the EU eventually, but has repeatedly engaged in diplomatic feuds with Brussels in recent years, whilst deepening ties with neighboring Russia.
There was no immediate formal comment from the EU on Georgian Dream’s statement. But an EU official said the impact of Thursday’s move was huge, adding the government was doing what the EU had feared and had hoped it would not.
Opinion polls show that around 80 percent of Georgians support EU membership, and the bloc’s flag flies alongside the national flag outside virtually all government buildings in the country.
The pro-Western opposition reacted to Georgian Dream’s announcement with fury as protesters massed. Local media reported that protests that erupted in provincial cities.
’WAR’ AGAINST PEOPLE
Giorgi Vashadze, a prominent opposition leader, wrote on Facebook: “the self-proclaimed, illegitimate government has already legally signed the betrayal of Georgia and the Georgian people.”
President Salome Zourabichvili, a pro-EU critic of Georgian Dream whose powers are mostly ceremonial, said the ruling party had “declared not peace, but war against its own people, its past and future.”
Zourabichvili’s term ends in December, and Georgian Dream has nominated a former lawmaker with hard-line anti-Western views to replace her.
The opposition says that an October election, in which official results gave the Georgian Dream bloc almost 54 percent of the vote, was fraudulent and have refused to take their seats. Western countries demand a probe into irregularities.
Both Georgian Dream and the country’s election commission say the election was free and fair.
Earlier on Thursday, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze told journalists that EU membership might harm Georgia’s economy, as it would require Tbilisi to cancel visa-free agreements and trade deals with other countries.
The EU gave Georgia candidate status in December 2023, but has said that a raft of laws passed since by Georgian Dream, including curbs on “foreign agents” and LGBT rights, are authoritarian, Russian-inspired, and obstacles to EU membership.
Foreign and domestic critics of Georgian Dream say the party, which is seen as dominated by its billionaire founder, ex-prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, is steering Georgia back toward Moscow, from which it gained independence in 1991.
Russia and Georgia have had no formal diplomatic relations since Moscow won a brief 2008 war, but have had a limited rapprochement recently.
Opinion polls show most Georgians dislike Russia, which continues to back two breakaway Georgian regions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking during a visit to Kazakhstan, praised the “courage and character” he said Georgian authorities had shown in passing the law on foreign agents, which domestic critics have likened to Russian legislation. (Reporting by Felix Light Additional reporting by Lili Bayer in Brussels Editing by Mark Trevelyan, Andrew Osborn, William Maclean, Frances Kerry and Ron Popeski)
