Philippines Bongbong Marcos Dominates Presidential Polls

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May 11, 2022

Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr, the son of a former Philippines’ dictator, has asked to be judged on his actions not his ancestors after dominating the country’s presidential election.

With more than 98% of an initial count completed, the 64-year-old senator has a seemingly unassailable lead with double the votes of his nearest rival.

An official result is expected later.

A victory would seal a remarkable return to power for the Marcos family, who fled into exile 36 years ago.

Marcos’ father led the country from 1965 until 1986, imposing martial law and presiding over a period of widespread human rights abuses, corruption and poverty.

A mass uprising in 1986 saw millions of people take to the streets and the Marcos family – including a 28-year-old Bongbong – fled the country for Hawaii.

The long-time politician, who returned to the Philippines in 1991, has sought to paint his father’s presidency as a golden age and polls suggest he is popular among the young.

Critics allege his election campaign was fuelled by a misinformation campaign on social media, which he denies.

In a statement via his spokesman on Tuesday, he promised to be a president for all Filipinos, asking that he be judged not by his ancestors but by his actions.

Opinion polls in the run-up to the election put Marcos Jr ahead of his nearest rival, Leni Robredo, by dozens of percentage points.

Critics say this was the result of Marcos Jr consistently painting his father’s rule as a prosperous time, whitewashing a period of rampant corruption and widespread poverty.

EU Envoy Meets Iran Nuclear Negotiator In Tehran

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Zoe Maven

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May 11, 2022

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The European Union’s coordinator for nuclear talks with Iran, Enrique Mora, on Wednesday held talks in Tehran with the Islamic republic’s chief negotiator.

The meeting between Mora and Iranian Deputy Vice President Ali Bagheri is “currently taking place”, according to state news agency IRNA, which circulated pictures of the encounter without providing further details.

Talks between world powers and Iran have stalled since mid-March as negotiators seek to return to the landmark accord that curtailed the Islamic republic’s nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief.

Mora has played a key role as an intermediary between the United States and Iran during a year of on-off talks in Vienna to restore the deal formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The deal was agreed in 2015 between Iran and the five permanent United Nations Security Council members Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, plus Germany.

But Washington unilaterally withdrew in 2018 under then-president Donald Trump before imposing biting economic sanctions, prompting Iran to begin rolling back its own commitments.

Iran called in late April for a new meeting “as soon as possible” to move towards restoring the agreement.

Its foreign ministry spokesman, Saeed Khatibzadeh, said on Monday that Mora’s visit “moves the talks in the right direction”, but added this did not mean he would arrive with a “new message”.

Sankara Assassination Suspects Ordered To Pay US$1.3 Million

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Zoe Maven

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May 11, 2022

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The military court in Ouagadougou on has sentenced former Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaoré and nine other defendants to pay more than 800 million CFA francs in damages to the beneficiaries of former head of state Thomas Sankara and his companions assassinated in 1987.

Judge Urbain Méda said the amount of damages for “reparation of moral and economic prejudice” amounts to 807.5 million CFA francs, including “a symbolic franc” for the heirs of Thomas Sankara

This sum will have to be paid jointly by Blaise Compaoré, the former commander of his guard Hyacinthe Kafando and the former head of the army in 1987 Gilbert Diendéré, all sentenced to life imprisonment in early April for their involvement in the assassination.

According to the court decision, the Burkinabe government will have to compensate the beneficiaries if the convicted persons are unable to pay the amounts.

The military court, however, rejected a request for the return of Thomas Sankara’s property to his family.

Thomas Sankara, who came to power in a coup in 1983, was killed along with twelve of his companions by a commando during a meeting at the headquarters of the National Council of the Revolution (CNR) in Ouagadougou. He was 37 years old.

The death of Thomas Sankara, who wanted to “decolonize mentalities,” was a taboo subject during Mr. Compaoré’s 27 years in power, forced out after a popular uprising in 2014.

He has since been living in exile in Côte d’Ivoire and has been sentenced in absentia, as has Hyacinthe Kafando, who has been on the run since 2016.

Main Senegalese Opposition Coalitions Unite Ahead Of Polls

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Zoe Maven

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May 11, 2022

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After rounds of negotiations and discussions, the main Senegalese opposition groups sealed an unprecedented deal earlier this week.

The Yewwi Askan Wi coalition of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko and the Wallu Sénégal coalition of former president Abdoulaye Wade decided to join forces ahead of the July legislative elections.

The objective is clear, the two largest opposition coalitions want to avoid competing lists and mostly they want to increase chances of winning seats over a candidate from the ruling party.

In order to beat the APR party of President Macky Sall, the opposition groups will present candidates together on the department level.

On the locality level, the candidate who has won the previous local elections will reportedly head the list.

Millions of voters – living in the electoral districts, which comprise the 46 Senegalese departments and include the voters registered abroad- will head to the polls on July 31st.

The coalition backed by president Macky Sall won the previous legislative elections in august 2017, filling 125 seats out of the 165 of the Senegalese National Assembly.

Nigeria Set To Become Destination For Medical Tourists- FG

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Olasunbo Okoromi

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May 11, 2022

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The Nigerian government says the country is set to become a destination for medical tourists.

The Information and Culture Minister, Alhaji Lai Mohammed disclosed this on Tuesday when he embarked on a guided tour of the Duchess International Hospital facility located in Ikeja, Lagos, South West Nigeria.

The Minister said the services coming from the facility will cut down the 500 billion naira Nigerians spend on medical tourism annually, a move that will conserve foreign reserve and increase foreign exchange.

The philosophy of the Duchess International hospital is to bring a world class health care at an affordable rate while still maintaining the elite standard by so doing, medical tourism trend will reduce in Nigeria.

The Minister said the Federal Government, through the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Bank of Industry, provided financial support for Duchess International Hospital.

Recall also that in the wake of Covid-19, the CBN set up the N100 billion Healthcare Sector Intervention Fund, now expanded to N200 billion, to provide credit support for the healthcare sector through long-term, low-cost financing.

Also the Federal Government’s Intervention in the Healthcare Sector through the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA).

According to him, the essence of these financial interventions and projects in the critical healthcare sector is to fast-track world class healthcare facilities like this Duchess International Hospital.

According to available records, Nigerians spend between USD1.2 and USD1.6 billion on medical tourism.

The CEO of the Duchess International Hospital, Dr. Tokunbo Shita Bay said the target is basically to reduce medical tourism and at the same time provide world class, yet affordable health care services for families and the community.

He said the management of the facility will ensure competitiveness with the highest standard because it is a clarion call to service.

The facility provides world class treatment in in many areas, including emergency medicine, women’s health, pediatric care, cardiovascular medicine, kidney dialysis, dental treatment, eye care, and many others.

Witnesses in Ethiopia Say Evidence Of Mass Killing Being Burned

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Zoe Maven

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May 11, 2022

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The remains of hundreds of people are being deliberately destroyed in an organised campaign to dispose of evidence of ethnic cleansing in the west of Ethiopia’s Tigray region, according to interviews with 15 eyewitnesses.

The allegations follow multiple reports of the targeting of the Tigrayan population during the civil war.

They also come in advance of the possible deployment of a UN independent investigation team which will be led by former International Criminal Court prosecutor Fatou Bensouda.

People belonging to security forces from the neighbouring Amhara region, which are occupying western Tigray, have been identified as digging up fresh mass graves, exhuming hundreds of bodies, burning them and then transporting what remains out of the region, the eyewitnesses said in telephone interviews.

The authorities have acknowledged that graves have been dug up but say that they show evidence that Tigrayan forces had been carrying out its own campaign of ethnically motivated killing in recent decades. Researchers from Gondar University have also been uncovering mass grave sites that they have linked to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).

All sides in the on-going civil war have been accused of carrying out mass killings.

But in a recent report, rights groups Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch accused Amhara officials and security forces of being behind a campaign of ethnic cleansing against Tigrayans in the area.

The fighting, which began in November 2020, followed a dispute between Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s federal government and the TPLF, Tigray’s dominant political party.

Tunisia To Raise Some Food Prices After Farmers’ Protests

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Zoe Maven

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May 11, 2022

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FILE PHOTO: Lotfi Mansouri, a 55-year-old teacher, buys vegetables in Tunis, Tunisia, February 2, 2022. REUTERS/Jihed Abidellaoui

Tunisia will raise the prices of some foods including milk, eggs and poultry this week, the agriculture minister said, following protests by farmers against a jump in animal feed barley prices.

Unions are warning that the wave of repeated price increases and a fall in purchasing power amid a severe economic crisis could lead to protests the authorities may not be able to control.

Last month, the government also raised the price of fuel by 5%, the third hike this year.

Tunisia will raise local fuel prices every month this year by no less than three percent, an official in the energy ministry told Reuters last month, which may mean an increase of at least 30 percent by the end of 2022.

In the past two days, farmers in several areas protested at the high cost of animal feed, some cutting roads, while others poured milk in the streets and threatened to cut production.

Agriculture Minister Mahmoud Elyess Hamza on Wednesday said they would announce on Thursday May 12 a price review for eggs, poultry and milk to ensure the profit margin for producers.

He added that the Tunisian consumer must support the Tunisian farmer, because the farmer is a pillar of Tunisian food security in this delicate situation around the world.

The country, in a deep financial crisis, was badly hit by a rise in global wheat prices resulting from the war in Ukraine.

The impact of wheat and oil price rises on Tunisia’s budget will be slightly less than about $1.7 billion this year, according to Economy Minister Samir Saied.

Spain’s Spy Chief Sacked Over Phone Hacking Scandal

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Zoe Maven

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May 11, 2022

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Spain’s government has sacked the country’s spy chief as part of a widening scandal over the hacking of the mobile phones of the prime minister and Catalan separatist leaders.

The affair broke in April when Canadian cybersecurity watchdog Citizen Lab said the phones of over 60 people linked to the Catalan separatist movement had been tapped using Pegasus spyware after a failed independence bid in 2017.

Last week the government confirmed the phones of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Defence Minister Margarita Robles were also targeted, raising concerns about cybersecurity among Spain’s leadership.

Paz Esteban, the first woman to head Spain’s CNI intelligence agency, will be replaced, said Robles, whose ministry oversees the agency, confirming media reports.

Esteban appeared before a parliamentary committee for questioning on Thursday over the phone hacking scandal which has dominated headlines for days.

She confirmed that 18 Catalan separatists, including Pere Aragones, the head of Catalonia’s regional government, had been spied on by the CNI but always with court approval, according to participants at the closed-door meeting.

The affair has sparked a crisis between Sanchez’s minority government and Catalan separatist party ERC. Sanchez’s fragile coalition relies on the ERC to pass legislation in parliament.

The scandal deepened after the government announced on May 2 that the phones of Sanchez and Robles were hacked by the same spyware, made by Israel’s NSO group, in May and June 2021.

Experts Fear South Sudan May Return To Conflict

By

Zoe Maven

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May 11, 2022

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Many political leaders and civilians in South Sudan are “deeply skeptical” a 2018 peace agreement can deliver stability to the world’s newest nation and worry it may be heading back into conflict, according to UN experts.

The experts pointed to political disputes between former rivals now leading the government, which is President Salva Kiir and Vice President Riek Machar that have gridlocked much of the peace deal they signed more than three and a half years ago.

The report said almost every component of the peace agreement is now hostage to the political calculations of the country’s military and security elites, who use a combination of violence, misappropriated public resources and patronage to pursue their own narrow interests,” the report said.

In the report to the UN Security Council, the panel of experts monitoring sanctions on South Sudan said warnings about the agreement’s prospects from civilians and many political, military and civil society leaders have grown more urgent.

There were high hopes when oil-rich South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011 after a long conflict.

But the country slid into civil war in December 2013 largely based on ethnic divisions when forces loyal to Kiir battled those loyal to Machar.

Tens of thousands of people were killed in the war, which ended with the 2018 peace agreement that brought Kiir and Machar together in a government of national unity. But challenges remained, including the government’s failure to implement promised reforms.

Tens of thousands of civilians have been displaced and serious human rights abuses including sexual and gender-based violence have “become a tragic hallmark of the conflict in South Sudan.

Staff Shortage: Scandinavian Airlines Announces 4,000 Flight Cancellations

By

Angel Gimalo

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May 11, 2022

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Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) is cancelling around 4,000 flights this summer due to staff shortages, the carrier announced yesterday.

5% of SAS’s planned journeys will no longer go ahead, affecting passengers travelling between Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm and the rest of the world.

The axed flights will fall between May and August, so those booked with SAS should keep an eye on emails to see if their journey is still happening.

SAS has confirmed the flights will be spread across all geographical areas, including domestic flights in Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

With routes all over Europe, and as far as Tokyo and Los Angeles, a lot of different routes could be impacted.