N’DJAMENA: Chad’s transitional president General Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno on Monday appointed one of his leading opponents, who recently returned from exile, as prime minister.
Succes Masra, president of The Transformers party, was a virulent opponent of the regime, which came to power in 2021 after the death of Idriss Deby Itno who led the country with an iron fist for 30 years.
Masra returned to Chad in November after reaching an agreement with the military leaders. The government had issued an international warrant for his arrest after he left.
Masra’s appointment was announced in a decree read on national television.
“Doctor Succes Masra is appointed prime minister, head of the transition government,” general-secretary to the presidency Mahamat Ahmat Alabo announced on state TV.
Days before a referendum last month on a new constitution — which saw 86 percent of participants vote “yes” — Masra publicly urged supporters to vote in favor, with the positive outcome now expected to pave the way to elections.
He had argued that its adoption would accelerate the end of the transition, while the rest of the divided opposition urged Chadians to vote “no” or to boycott the December 17 referendum.
Eric Arsene, 35, a supporter of Masra’s party, said he was pleased about the new appointment.
It will help to “redress the political and economic situation of the country,” he said.
But Narcisse Armand, also 35, said he was not happy at Masra’s arrival as prime minister.
“I am against this nomination because light has not been shed on the October 20 massacre. The people of Chad require an explanation,” said Armand outside The Transformers’ party headquarters.
Masra went into exile shortly after Oct. 20, 2022 protests against the military regime, which had just extended by two years an 18-month transition supposed to culminate in elections and the return of power to a civilian government.
The country’s military government at the time suspended his party and six others in a clampdown on protests against interim leader Deby’s decision to extend his time in power by two more years.
Authorities say more than 60 people were killed that day in the protests, which the government condemned as “an attempted coup.” The opposition and local and international NGOs put the toll between 100 and 300.
Almost all of the victims were shot dead by the military and the police, mainly in the capital N’Djamena.
In the aftermath of the massacre Amnesty International notably decried a lack of “serious investigation” into the killings and who was responsible.
Masra only returned from exile on Nov. 3 following a reconciliation agreement, signed in the Democratic Republic Congo capital, Kinshasa, on Oct. 31, which guaranteed him free exercise of political activities.
He has told the government he wants to “continue dialogue... with a view to a peaceful political solution.”
Several opposition parties have distanced themselves from Masra, while speaking out against a general amnesty that the regime has granted for “all Chadians, civilians and military” involved in the events of the October 2022 protest which has become known as Black Thursday.
(With AFP, Reuters and AP)
Chad appoints former opposition leader Masra as prime minister of transitional government
https://arab.news/v7qf8
Chad appoints former opposition leader Masra as prime minister of transitional government
- Succes Masra recently returned to the central African country following a deal with the ruling junta,
India and Cyprus to step up defense, maritime and cybersecurity cooperation, Indian PM says
Prime Minister Narendra Modi didn’t offer details, but he said talks would begin on boosting bilateral maritime and cybersecurity cooperation.
He said after talks with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides that the two countries would also set up an information exchange mechanism geared toward combatting the threat of terrorism.
Modi’s two-day visit to Cyprus, ahead of his trip to Canada for the G7 summit, is the first by an Indian prime minister in more than two decades.
In a joint declaration, the two countries also pledged to expand maritime cooperation through more frequent Indian navy calls to Cypriot ports and looking at enhancing joint maritime training and search and rescue operations.
Modi underscored the role of the envisioned India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) as a means to usher peace and prosperity in the Middle East.
Cyprus figures to act as the linchpin between India, the Middle East and Europe in the trade, energy and digital connectivity corridor, given the island nation’s geographical location as the nearest European Union country to the Middle East and India.
Christodoulides said Cyprus was India’s “gateway into Europe” as a base for Indian businesses. He pledged to help implement initiatives such as IMEC that will connect India through specific infrastructure works with the Gulf, the Mediterranean and the European continent.
The Cypriot president said India-EU ties and an upgraded free trade agreement would be among his country’s top priorities when Cyprus assumes the 27-member bloc’s rotating presidency in the first half of 2026.
The Indian prime minister hailed the visit as a harbinger of a new era of India-Cyprus relations built on shared values and deep historic ties that “have been tested time and again.”
Former British colonies Cyprus and India were among members of the Non-Aligned Movement, a collection of nations which opted out of the Cold War choice of allegiance to either the West or the Communist bloc.
India relocates students in Iran as Israel strikes continue
- Tehran has hit back with strikes against Israel since it unleashed attacks against Iran on Friday
- The escalation has sparked global alarm that the conflict could erupt into a regional war
New Delhi said Monday its diplomats were helping some Indian students relocate out of harm’s way in Iran, which has come under days of deadly Israeli bombardment.
Tehran has hit back with strikes against Israel since it unleashed waves of attacks against Iran on Friday, sparking global alarm that the conflict could erupt into a regional war.
New Delhi, which has relations with both countries, has sought to relocate its citizens within Iran after Tehran closed its airspace.
“The Indian Embassy in Tehran is continuously monitoring the security situation and engaging Indian students in Iran to ensure their safety,” a foreign ministry statement said.
“In some cases, students are being relocated with (the) Embassy’s facilitation to safer places within Iran,” the ministry added.
There are around 10,000 Indian citizens in Iran, according to government data last year, while figures from 2022 listed more than 2,000 students in Iran.
New Delhi on Friday said it stood ready “to extend all possible support” to both countries, as it urged them to “avoid any escalatory steps.”
“Existing channels of dialogue and diplomacy should be utilized,” said foreign ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal.
Iran’s health ministry has reported at least 224 people killed in Israeli strikes, while Israeli authorities have tallied more than a dozen deaths since Tehran began its retaliatory attacks Friday.
Relatives wait for remains after Air India crash
- While mourners have held funerals for some of the 279 people killed when the Air India jet crashed in the western city of Ahmedabad, others are still waiting
AHMEDABAD: Indian health officials have begun handing relatives the bodies of their loved ones after one of the world’s worst plane crashes in decades, but most families were still waiting Monday for results of DNA testing.
While mourners have held funerals for some of the 279 people killed when the Air India jet crashed in the western city of Ahmedabad, others are facing an anguished wait.
“They said it would take 48 hours. But it’s been four days and we haven’t received any response,” said Rinal Christian, 23, whose elder brother was a passenger on the jetliner.
There was one survivor out of 242 passengers and crew on board the London-bound plane Thursday when it slammed into a residential area of Ahmedabad, killing at least 38 people on the ground as well.
“My brother was the sole breadwinner of the family,” Christian said Sunday. “So what happens next?“
Among the latest victims identified was Vijay Rupani, a senior member of India’s ruling party and former chief minister of Gujarat state.
His flag-draped coffin was carried in Ahmedabad by soldiers, along with a portrait of the politician draped in a garland of flowers.
A two-hour journey away in Anand district, crowds gathered in a funeral procession for passenger Kinal Mistry.
The 24-year-old had postponed her flight, leaving her father Suresh Mistry agonizing that “she would have been alive” if she had stuck to her original plan.
Air India said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese and a Canadian on board the flight, as well as 12 crew members.
Eighty crash victims have been identified as of late Sunday, according to Rajnish Patel, a doctor at Ahmedabad’s civil hospital.
“This is a meticulous and slow process, so it has to be done meticulously only,” Patel said.
One victim’s relative who did not want to be named told AFP they had been instructed not to open the coffin when they receive it.
Witnesses reported seeing badly burnt bodies and scattered remains.
Nilesh Vaghela, a casket maker, was asleep when the crash happened early afternoon.
“Then around 5:00 pm, I got a call from Air India saying they need coffins,” he told AFP after delivering dozens.
“My work is very sad. All these innocent people died, small children,” he said. “Someone has to do it.”
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner erupted into a fireball when it went down moments after takeoff, smashing into buildings used by medical staff.
The task of clearing debris from the scorched crash site went on in Ahmedabad, where an AFP photographer saw dozens of workers in yellow hard hats.
Indian authorities have yet to identify the cause of the disaster and have ordered inspections of Air India’s Dreamliners.
The airline said one of its Dreamliners on Monday returned to Hong Kong airport “shortly after take off due to a technical issue” and was undergoing checks.
Indian authorities announced Sunday that the second black box of the Ahmedabad plane, the cockpit voice recorder, had been recovered. This may offer investigators more clues about what went wrong.
Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said Saturday he hoped decoding the first black box, the flight data recorder, would “give an in-depth insight” into the circumstances of the crash.
Imtiyaz Ali, who was still waiting for a DNA match to find his brother, is also seeking answers.
“Next step is to find out the reason for this accident. We need to know,” he told AFP.
Air India Dreamliner returns to Hong Kong after 'technical issue'
- Air India said on Monday flight AI315 landed safely and was undergoing checks "as a matter of abundant precaution"
- Last week, Air India flight using same type of Boeing aircraft crashed in Indian city of Ahmedabad moments after takeoff
NEW DELHI: An Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane bound for New Delhi returned to its origin of Hong Kong shortly after takeoff on Monday as a precautionary measure following a suspected technical issue.
Last week, an Air India flight to London, using the same type of Boeing aircraft, crashed in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad moments after takeoff, killing 241 of the 242 people on board.
Air India said in a statement on Monday that flight AI315 returned to Hong Kong because of what it described as "a technical issue" without giving details.
It said the flight landed safely and was undergoing checks "as a matter of abundant precaution".
According to recordings posted on air traffic control monitoring website LiveATC.net, and reviewed by Reuters, one of the pilots in the plane told air traffic controllers around 15 minutes after takeoff that "for technical reasons, sir, we would like to stay closer to Hong Kong, maybe we will come back and land back into Hong Kong once we sort out the problem."
"We don't want to continue further," the pilot said, before returning.
Air India did not respond to a Reuters request for comment on the recording.
AI315 made a return to Hong Kong International Airport after requesting local standby at around 1 p.m. (0500 GMT) and "landed safely at around 1:15 p.m.", the spokesperson of Airport Authority Hong Kong said.
The airport operations were not affected, the spokesperson added.
Flight AI315 took off from Hong Kong at around 12:20 p.m., reached an altitude of 22,000 feet, and then started descending, according to flight tracking website AirNav Radar. The plane was seven years old.
Boeing and Air India did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Hong Kong-New Delhi flight.
Last week's crash adds to the challenges for Air India, which has for years been trying to revamp its fleet, and for Boeing, which is trying to rebuild public trust following a series of safety and production crises.
Pakistan shuts border with Iran as Tehran trades strikes with Israel
- Pakistan has closed all its border crossings with neighboring Iran for an indefinite period, provincial officials said on Monday, as Israel and Iran trade intense strikes and threaten further attack
QUETTA: Pakistan has closed all its border crossings with neighboring Iran for an indefinite period, provincial officials said on Monday, as Israel and Iran trade intense strikes and threaten further attacks.
“Border facilities in all five districts — Chaghi, Washuk, Panjgur, Kech and Gwadar — have been suspended,” Qadir Bakhsh Pirkani, a senior official in Balochistan province, which borders Iran, told AFP.
Crossing into Iran “has been suspended until further notice,” said Atta ul Munim, an official at one of the crossings in Chaghi district.
However, there was “no ban on trade” activities at the border and Pakistani nationals needing to return to their the country from Iran can cross, he added.
“We’re expecting around 200 Pakistani students coming today,” Atta said.
On Sunday, Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said 450 Pakistani pilgrims were evacuated from Iran, with more to follow, as well as from Iraq — the two countries hosting the holiest sites in Shiite Islam.
Pakistan, the only Muslim-majority country with nuclear weapons, said on Friday it “stands in solidarity with the Government and the people of Iran” against strikes by Israel, which both Islamabad and Tehran do not recognize.
Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif on Monday warned that the world “should be wary and apprehensive about Israel’s nuclear prowess” and accused it of lacking “any international nuclear discipline.”
Israel is the Middle East’s only nuclear power, although undeclared.
Media reports have said Pakistan may support Tehran if the conflict was to widen, but officials in Islamabad have reiterated that their country is only showing “moral and diplomatic solidarity.”
Predominantly Sunni Pakistan shares a more than 900-kilometer (560-mile) border with Shiite-majority Iran.
The relationship between the two neighbors has been complex, with Pakistan often wary of US-led sanctions on Tehran and also mindful of its ties with Riyadh, which has repeatedly helped rescue its economy by rolling over overdue debts.
Bilateral trade between the two countries stands at around $3 billion and officials have vowed to boost it to $10 billion in the coming years.
