WASHINGTON: The United States, Britain and Norway on Friday called for an immediate end to fighting and “horrendous abuses” of civilians in South Sudan in a US State Department press release.
Rivals in South Sudan signed a peace agreement on Wednesday aimed at ending the civil war. The agreement was signed after two days of talks between President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar, a former vice president.
“It must allow the return of South Sudan’s refugees and displaced people, and the safe delivery of humanitarian assistance,” the statement from the United States, United Kingdom and Norway said.
The civil war in South Sudan began in 2013, less than two years after it declared independence from Sudan, and has uprooted a quarter of the country’s population of 12 million people.
Previous peace agreements in South Sudan have fallen apart.
The statement called for improved security for communities in South Sudan and for an end to the “horrendous abuses endured by civilians at the hands of security forces.”
“Self-monitoring” of the renewed commitment would not be sufficient, the statement said, instead calling for the Cease-fire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring Mechanism to play a central role with access throughout the country and the publishing of reports.
The peace agreement would need to be solidified with enforcement mechanisms and limits to executive power, with benchmarks such as free and fair elections, the statement said, and it warned that consequences would be sought at the UN Security Council for “spoilers of the peace process.”
US, UK, Norway call for end to ‘horrendous abuses’ in South Sudan
US, UK, Norway call for end to ‘horrendous abuses’ in South Sudan
Heartbroken father pays tribute to Kareem Badawi, the Palestinian-American university student killed in New Orleans attack
- Belal Badawi tells Arab News that the death of his smart, friendly and athletic son has left his family in shock
- Belal describes the attacker as evil ‘who did not follow the religion of our people’
CHICAGO/LONDON: The father of a Palestinian-American university student killed in the New Orleans terror attack has described how the death of his “smart, polite and athletic” son has left his family heartbroken.
Kareem Badawi, 18, from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was celebrating New Year with his friend Parker Vidrine when a US Army veteran plowed his truck into the crowd in the city’s French Quarter, killing 15 people.
Kareem’s father Belal told Arab News that his son was in his first year at the University of Alabama studying mechanical engineering.
“He was a smart little kid, an ‘A’ student,” he said. “He was full of life. Very responsible.
“He also just loved his friends. He had a lot of friends here and at school. He enjoyed his social life, a good person always treating people with respect. He loved people and loved to build relationships and friends.”
At 6 feet 5 inches tall, Belal said that his son loved athletics and sport and excelled at sport, including football.
“It’s so awful for our family for him to be killed that way,” Belal said. “It just shocked the whole family. He was an honest, smart kid, good-looking.
“He just wanted to enjoy his life.”
Belal said that his son had traveled to New Orleans for New Year “where everybody goes like Dubai for the holiday break.”
His friend Parker, who attended the same high school as Kareem, is in a critical condition.
“We are praying for Parker and his recovery,” Belal said. “They said he is stable and we pray for him to get better.”
Belal, a Muslim, described Kareem’s killer as evil and not representative of the Muslim faith.
“Kareem did no harm to anyone,” he said. “This evil came and did what it did. I don’t think this is Islam. It is not the religion of our people. It is wrong. What kind of people would hurt or harm civilians, innocent people and others?”
The FBI said the attacker, 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, had posted videos on social media on the morning of the attack saying he supported Daesh.
Belal said that the FBI were still holding Kareem’s body and that all the family could do was pray for their son and all the other victims of the attack.
“They are not releasing anything yet so we are mourning and suffering and praying,” he said. “We pray for all the people who died and were injured including our son.
“We can’t sleep, for two days. It is very hard. It hurt us. This terrible thing has broken my heart.”
Kareem had joined the Sigma Chi fraternity at the University of Alabama.
The university’s President Stuart Bell described Badawi’s death as “heartbreaking.”
“I learned today that Kareem Badawi, one of our students at the University of Alabama, was killed in the terrorist attack in New Orleans,” Bell said in a statement. “I grieve alongside family and friends of Kareem in their heartbreaking loss.”
He urged people to take a moment to pray for those impacted by the tragedy.
Badawi graduated from the Episcopal School of Baton Rouge in May 2024 along with Parker.
The school said that it was “deeply saddened’ to learn of Badawi’s death in the attack and that Parker had been critically injured.
“It is with a profound sense of sorrow and grief that we share difficult news involving members of our Episcopal family,” the statement said. “Earlier today, we learned of a horrific attack in New Orleans that has tragically impacted our school community.”
The statement added: “Please keep the Vidrine and Badawi families in your thoughts and prayers.”
The school has scheduled an evening prayer service for the victims.
An Instagram post by the Palestinian Youth Movement described Badawi as a Palestinian-American who was a star athlete in high school, excelling in both basketball and football.
“He was beloved to all in his community in Baton Rouge,” it said.
The other victims identified in the media so far include: Nicole Perez, a 28-year old mother; Tiger Bech, 27, a Princeton University graduate; Nikyra Dedeaux, 18, an aspiring nurse from Mississippi; Reggie Hunter, 37, a father of two from Baton Rouge; Matthew Tenedorio, 25, an audiovisual technician, and Hubert Gauthreaux, 21, a graduate from the Archbishop Shaw High School in New Orleans.
Sri Lanka launches nationwide program to become ‘cleanest country in Asia’
- ‘Clean Sri Lanka’ initiative aims to help ‘lift the nation,’ along with digitalization, poverty eradication
- New government wants to usher in ‘transformative change’ for the country in 2025, president says
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's new government has launched a nationwide project aiming to make it the cleanest country in Asia and enforce the principles of environmental justice.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake kicked off the “Clean Sri Lanka” initiative on New Year’s Day, saying it would be focused on restoring the island nation’s environmental system.
Dissanayake, during a launching ceremony at the presidential secretariat in Colombo on Wednesday, said: “This endeavor goes beyond merely cleaning up the environment.
“It aspires to restore the deeply eroded and deteriorated social and environmental fabric of our motherland. We aim to create cleanliness and rejuvenation across all sectors of society.”
He added: “Every citizen must take responsibility for fulfilling their respective duties to ensure the success of this collective vision.”
The program is one of the main priorities of his administration, alongside poverty eradication and digital transformation.
Dissanayake assumed the top job in September and further consolidated his grip on power after his National People’s Power alliance won a majority in the legislature in November.
He is leading Sri Lanka as the nation continues to reel from the 2022 economic crisis — its worst since independence in 1948.
“Our firm resolution is to usher in transformative change for our country this year,” he said. “This year marks the start of a new political culture in our country, as we lay the necessary foundations for its development.”
The “Clean Sri Lanka” program is a part of efforts that will be overseen by an 18-member task force.
When Dissanayake announced the initiative last month, he said it aimed “to make Sri Lanka the cleanest country in the Asian region.”
The “Clean Sri Lanka” official website says it aims to engage communities to keep public spaces safe and clean, streamline waste disposal across the country and ensure that its world-famous beaches are clean.
It also seeks to fight corruption, promote accessible infrastructure for people with disabilities, improve air and water quality, and reduce the nation’s carbon footprint.
“If we do not make ours a cleaner country, our roads to be safer, how can we expect to develop tourism? Unless we make our public spaces disabled-friendly, how can we get them involved in the economy,” it stated, adding that the initiative was crucial to help Sri Lanka rebuild its battered economy.
Sri Lanka’s poor waste management was under global spotlight in 2022 when several elephants — which are endangered in the country — were found dead after consuming plastic in an open landfill in the eastern village of Pallakkadu.
The nation of 22 million people generates more than 1.5 million tonnes of plastic waste annually but recycles only 3 percent, compared to the world average of 7.2 percent.
NGOs in Afghanistan face closure for employing women
- New measure enforces a 2022 decree restricting women’s work at NGOs
- UN warns removing women workers will affect availability of humanitarian aid
KABUL: National and foreign nongovernmental organizations in Afghanistan are facing closure for employing women following new rules enforcing a 2-year-old decree that restricted the work of female NGO staff.
In an official letter addressed to the organizations, the Taliban-run Ministry of Economy said on Dec. 29 that failure to implement the measures would mean that “all activities of the offending organization will be suspended and the work license they received from this ministry will be revoked.”
The order enforces a decree from December 2022 that barred national and international NGOs in Afghanistan from employing women. This is part of a series of curbs that, in the three years since the Taliban took power, have restricted women’s access to education, the workplace, and public spaces.
“This letter is a follow-up of the original letter from 2022 ... Some NGOs have reached an understanding with the officials at the local level to allow female employees to attend to their work in these organizations and at the community level, while others were stopped,” an official at a women-led international NGO told Arab News.
“A complete ban on female employees will adversely affect the operations of NGOs and will further marginalize the women of Afghanistan ... Donors will not fund men-only organizations. In addition, it’s difficult to work with women in the community without female staff.”
Two years after the Taliban government ordered NGOs to suspend the employment of Afghan women, it is not only the organizations’ work and the women themselves that have been affected, but also entire families.
When Wahida Zahir, a 26-year-old social worker in Kabul, had to leave her job at an NGO, her closest family members lost their main support.
“I was the only one in my family who had a job and with the ban on female work two years ago, my family lost the main source of income. My brothers are still studying and my father is ill,” she said.
“I live with stress and tension every moment of every day. We are literally living like prisoners. There’s a new restriction every other day. It is as if there is no other work that the government does.”
The UN has warned that removing women from NGO work “will directly impact the ability of the population to receive humanitarian aid,” with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights calling on the Taliban to revoke the decree.
“The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan remains dire, with more than half the population living in poverty,” it said. “NGOs play a vital role in providing critical life-saving assistance — to Afghan women, men, girls and boys.”
In the wake of the humanitarian crisis that Afghanistan has been facing for years, it needs more women engaged in social work, not less, say activists.
“The country needs more female aid workers, educators and health professionals to reach to the most vulnerable groups of the population, including women and children,” said Fazila Muruwat, an activist in the eastern Nangarhar province.
“Afghanistan is a traditional society. Communities in Afghanistan are more accepting of humanitarian and other forms of support when aid workers include women. Otherwise, it will be all men’s show and women will remain vulnerable in all aspects of their life.”
Indonesia court says vote threshold for presidential candidates not legally binding
JAKARTA: Indonesia’s Constitutional Court on Thursday said a law setting a minimum vote level before political parties could nominate a presidential candidate was not legally binding, which could potentially lead to a wider slate of nominees running in 2029.
The current law requires parties to win 20 percent of the vote, whether individually or through a coalition, at a legislative election to put forward a presidential candidate. It was challenged by a group of university students who argued it limited the rights of voters and smaller parties.
Chief Justice Suhartoyo granted the petition, saying the threshold “had no binding legal power,” but the ruling did not specify if the requirement should be abolished or lowered.
All political parties should be allowed to nominate a candidate, judge Saldi Isra said.
Rifqi Nizamy Karsayuda, the head of the parliamentary commission overseeing elections, told local media that lawmakers would take action following the ruling, calling it “final and binding.”
Indonesia’s law minister did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ruling.
Arya Fernandes, political analyst at Center for Strategic and International Studies, welcomed the ruling as it allowed smaller parties to nominate a candidate and lessened their dependence on bigger parties.
Arya said lawmakers could still make revisions to the law that would limit the ruling’s impact as the court did not abolish the vote threshold.
Indonesia’s presidential elections are held every five years. The most recent was held last year and won convincingly by President Prabowo Subianto, who took office in October.
Thursday’s ruling comes after the same court lowered a similar threshold for regional positions such as governor and mayor to under 10 percent of the vote from 20 percent in August last year.
After parties supporting Prabowo and outgoing president Joko Widodo sought to reverse changes to the ruling, thousands took to the streets to protest against what they said was a government effort to stifle opposition.
In a separate ruling on Thursday, the court limited the use of artificial intelligence to “overly manipulate” images of election candidates, saying manipulated images “can compromise the voter’s ability to make an informed decision.”
Russian bomb attack kills one in southern Ukraine
- A Russian bomb attack on Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region has killed one person, local authorities said Thursday
KYIV: A Russian bomb attack on Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region has killed one person, local authorities said Thursday.
Moscow’s forces are trying to seize full control of the frontline region, which it claimed to have annexed in 2022, months after invading.
Russia fired 11 guided aerial bombs on the village of Stepnogorsk, just a few kilometers from the front line, late on Wednesday.
“A five-story building was destroyed. A man was killed. Rescuers removed his body from under the rubble,” Zaporizhzhia’s Ukrainian governor Ivan Fedorov said on Telegram.
The strike comes amid an escalation in aerial attacks, including Russian drone strikes on the center of Kyiv that killed two people in the early hours of New Year’s Day.
Ukraine is fearing a possible renewed Russian offensive toward the regional capital of Zaporizhzhia, around 35 kilometers (22 miles) from the front line and still under Ukrainian control.
