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U.N. Condemns Zimbabwe Child Marriage Practice

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The United Nations has condemned the practice of child marriage in Zimbabwe following the death of a 14-year-old girl after she gave birth at a shrine, an incident that caused outrage among citizens and rights activists.

The case has brought to the fore the practice of child marriage, a practice which the government has been accused of traditionally turning a blind eye to.

Zimbabwe has two sets of marriage laws, the Marriage Act and Customary Marriages Act but neither law gives a minimum age for marriage consent, while the customary law allows polygamy.

A new marriages bill that is before parliament for debate seeks to synchronise the laws, ban marriage of anyone below 18 years and prosecute anyone involved in the marriage of a minor.

The U.N. in Zimbabwe said in a statement that it “notes with deep concern and condemns strongly” the circumstances leading to the death of Memory Machaya, the 14-year-old girl from rural Marange in the east of the country.

One in three girls in Zimbabwe was likely to be married before turning 18 years, said the U.N., whose office in Zimbabwe groups all 25 U.N. agencies operating in the country.

Police and the country’s state gender commission said they were investigating the circumstances that led to the girl’s death and burial.

Local media have reported that the girl died last month but the case came to light only last week after angry relatives, who were barred from attending her burial, told their story to the state-owned press.

Top Houthi Negotiator Says No Point In Meeting U.N. Envoy Now

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The chief negotiator for Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement says it will be futile to hold talks with the United Nations new special envoy for Yemen without movement on the group’s key conditions under stalled peace efforts.

Houthi negotiator Mohammed Abdulsalam, who is based in Oman, tweeted this in response to Grundberg’s appointment saying airports and ports should be opened before any talks as a humanitarian necessity and priority.

The appointment of Swedish diplomat Hans Grundberg on Friday as the new U.N. envoy comes as the United Nations and United States struggle to secure a breakthrough to end more than six years of war between the Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition that backs Yemen’s recognized government.

A U.N.-led initiative for a ceasefire and the lifting of sea and air restrictions imposed by the coalition on Houthi-held areas has stalled, with the coalition seeking a simultaneous deal and the Houthis insisting on an end to the blockade first.

The conflict, widely seen in the region as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran, has killed tens of thousands of people and pushed Yemen to the brink of famine.

The coalition intervened in Yemen in March 2015 after the Houthis ousted the Saudi-backed government from the capital Sanaa, but the war has been in military stalemate for years with the group controlling most big urban centers.

The Houthis say they are fighting a corrupt system and foreign aggression.

German Greens Co-Leader Defends Embattled Candidate

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The co-leader of Germany’s Greens has defended the party’s candidate for chancellor at next month’s federal election, and brushed off suggestions that he should replace her after she made a string of costly mistakes.

The ecologists briefly surged in the polls to overtake Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative bloc after they named Annalena Baerbock as their chancellor candidate in April, but have since waned.

Baerbock’s error-strewn campaign has included mistakes in her resume and a scandal over a Christmas bonus payment that she failed to declare to parliament. Baerbock has also said that sexist scrutiny is holding her back.

Asked whether the Greens should replace Baerbock with him as their chancellor candidate, Habeck responded: “No, that’s not a debate.”

Adding to the Greens’ woes, the party will be excluded from the ballot in the state of Saarland in the Sept. 26 national election due to irregularities in the selection of regional candidates following internal squabbling.

An opinion poll published earlier on Sunday showed the left-leaning Social Democrats (SPD) drawing level with the Greens on 18%, behind Merkel’s conservatives on 26%. Merkel, in power since 2005, plans to stand down after the election.

The INSA poll showed that in a hypothetical direct vote for chancellor, SPD candidate Olaf Scholz was well ahead, with 27% support. Conservative Armin Laschet languished on 14%, one point ahead of Baerbock, on 13%.

The Greens presented an “emergency climate protection program” on Tuesday, aiming to reset their campaign.

Singapore To Tweak Policies On Foreign Workers

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The Singapore government is set to adjust foreign worker policies to address concerns among locals over competition for jobs, even as the global business hub remains open to talent from overseas.

In his National Day Message on Sunday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said policies have to be adjusted to manage the quality, numbers and concentrations of foreigners in Singapore.

He added that if this is done well,  they can continue to welcome foreign workers and new immigrants as they should.

Foreign labour has long been a hot button issue in Singapore, but uncertainties due to the COVID-19 pandemic have increased employment worries among locals as the city-state recovers from last year’s record recession.

The issue was also highlighted by opposition parties during last year’s general election campaign as they mounted a historic challenge to Lee’s People’s Action Party, which has ruled Singapore since its independence in 1965.

Just under 30% of Singapore’s 5.7 million population are non-residents, up from around 10% in 1990, according to government statistics.

Lee warned that turning inwards would damage Singapore’s standing as a global and regional hub. “It would cost us jobs and opportunities.”

His government has been tightening foreign worker policies for several years while taking steps to promote local hiring, including by raising the salary threshold for issuing work permits.

The number of people living in Singapore declined 0.3% last year, the first drop since 2003, as travel curbs and job losses brought about by the pandemic pushed foreign workers from the country.

U.S. State Department Announces 5 Additions To Terrorist List

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The State Department has announced the addition of five alleged Islamist militants to its Specially Designated Global Terrorist list, requiring the blocking of any ownership or interests in U.S. properties they hold.

The designations also expose to possible U.S. sanctions individuals or foreign financial institutions who engage in certain transactions with the five.

They include Bonomade Machude Omar, the senior military commander of Islamic State’s affiliate in Mozambique, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

According to Blinken, Omar led a group of extremists who killed dozens of people in an attack on the Amarula Hotel in the town of Palma in March.

He also is responsible for attacks elsewhere in Mozambique and in Tanzania, Blinken said.

Sidang Hitta and Salem Ould al-Hasan, senior leaders of Mali-based al Qaeda-linked Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, also were designated, as were Ali Mohamed Rage and Abdikadir Mohamed Abdikadir, leaders of the al Shabaab group of Somalia.

Peru’s New Govt Eyes Natural Gas, Hydroelectric Sectors

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Peru’s new Prime Minister Guido Bellido says the state is planning to participate in key industries, including natural gas and new hydroelectric projects, under a new leftist administration.

Bellido, the top aide to newly inaugurated President Pedro Castillo, said the government will also seek to create new public companies, a shift for the Andean nation which in recent decades has focused on divesting its state-controlled corporations.

Castillo, a former elementary school teacher, and Bellido are now poised to tilt Peru sharply to the left if they can surmount the significant hurdle of getting greenlit by the opposition-led Congress.

They have also set up a committee to keep inflation in check, and shore up the waning strength of the local sol currency, which is at a historic low against the dollar largely due to higher political risk, analysts say.

Peru’s more moderate Economy Minister Pedro Francke will be in charge of the committee, he said, adding that they need to stop the dollar’s rise against the local Sol currency.

Bellido, who is also a congressman for his native Cuzco region, was little-known in Lima political circles before Castillo, won the presidency this June, campaigning with the Marxist-Leninist party Free Peru.

In a wide-ranging interview from Lima’s ornamental government palace, Bellido said he has little concern for potential challenges from Congress, and said Castillo will not be impeached, unlike his predecessor Martin Vizcarra.

Castillo is Peru’s fifth president in five years due to continued political turmoil. He has yet to give any interviews since taking office.

Close Ally Of Kremlin Critic Navalny Leaves Russia

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Lyubov Sobol, a prominent ally of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, has reportedly left Russia days after being sentenced to parole-like restrictions amid a crackdown on the opposition.

Sobol could not be reached for comment and her allies declined to speak on her behalf while News Media said she had flown to Turkey on Saturday evening. The chief editor of the Ekho Moskvy radio station also said she had left the country.

The 33-year-old is one of the most well-known faces of Navalny’s entourage. She stayed behind in Moscow this year as other close political allies fled fearing prosecution ahead of September’s parliamentary elections.

Sobol was sentenced to 1-1/2 years of parole-like restrictions on Tuesday for flouting COVID-19 curbs on protests, a charge she called politically-motivated nonsense. The restrictions included not being allowed to leave home at night.

After the ruling, she said on Ekho Moskvy radio station that the sentence had not yet come into force and that the restrictions were not effective. “Essentially, you can interpret this as the possibility of leaving the country,” she said.

Navalny’s allies have faced mounting pressure. This week a June court ruling formally came into force outlawing the nationwide activist network built up by Navalny, President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest domestic opponent, as “extremist”.

Navalny himself is serving 2-1/2 years in jail for parole violations in an embezzlement case he says was trumped up.

Olympic Flag Passed To Paris Mayor Hidalgo For 2024 Games

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The Olympic flag has been passed to Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo for the 2024 Games at the Tokyo closing ceremony on Sunday as thousands gathered near the Eiffel Tower to celebrate the handover.

Hidalgo waved the flag, decorated with the five Olympic rings, after she received it from International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach in Tokyo.

Thousands of people, including medalists who have returned from Tokyo, gathered near the Eiffel Tower to welcome the handover of the Olympic flag to Paris, which will host the Games in 2024.

A flyover by jets from the Patrouille de France (“Patrol of France”) released blue, white and red smoke – the colours of the French flag – in the sky of the capital.

French President Emmanuel Macron was filmed on the top floor of the Eiffel Tower saying the Olympic slogan “higher, faster, stronger” and adding: “Together”.

Organisers planned to unfurl a football-field sized flag with the emblem of Paris 2024 from atop the tower but opted against it due to windy weather.

While Tokyo on Sunday handed off the Summer Games baton to Paris for 2024, the delay has effectively crammed two Olympics together. The next Winter Games convenes in just six months in another major Asian metropolis – Beijing, Japan’s rival in East Asia and home to a much more authoritarian government.

Organisers of the Paris 2024 Games promised on Sunday to “take sport out of its traditional spaces” and “connect with new audiences in new ways” in 2024 – presuming, of course, the absence of a protracted pandemic.

Paris will organise the Games 100 years after last hosting the Olympics in 1924.

Rwanda Defence Force Retakes Strategic Mozambican Town

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Rwanda Defence Force said on Sunday said Rwandan and Mozambican security forces have recaptured the port town of Mocimboa da Praia, an insurgents’ stronghold.

The Rwandan defence force relayed news the town was recaptured in a twitter post without giving further details. Mozambique’s Defence Ministry said a press briefing will be held at 1400 GMT.

Almost 800,000 people have been displaced in Cabo Delgado and the fighting has brought a $20 billion natural gas project led by oil giant Total to a halt.

Mozambique’s northern-most province of Cabo Delgado, which has gas developments worth some $60 billion, has since 2017 harboured an Islamist insurgency.

The unrest escalated as insurgents, linked to Islamic State, seized entire towns, including the strategically important Mocimboa da Praia.

Last month, the Rwandan government deployed a 1,000-strong force to Mozambique to fight alongside Mozambique’s forces and troops of the 16-member Southern African Development Community (SADC).

Mocimboa da Praia, 60 kilometres south of the gas projects, previously served as the main airport for international workers flying into the gas developments and its port is used for cargo deliveries.

Rwanda sent in 1,000 troops last month to shore up Mozambican military forces that have been struggling to regain control over the northern Cabo Delgado province, which is home to one of Africa’s biggest liquefied natural gas projects.

Sudan Recalls Ambassador To Neighbouring Ethiopia

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Sudan recalled its ambassador to neighbouring Ethiopia on Sunday, frustrated by the stance of Ethiopian officials whom it said were refusing Sudan’s offer to mediate in the ongoing conflict in Tigray.

According to a statement from the foreign ministry, Ethiopia will improve its position if it considered what Sudan could do, instead of completely rejecting all of its efforts.

Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday about the conflict in the northern Ethiopian region of Tigray, which has led to an influx of 53,400 refugees since late 2020.

Hamdok’s offer came within the framework of his presidency of IGAD, a grouping that includes Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Djibouti, Sudan, Uganda and Somalia.

Spokespeople for the Ethiopian ministry of foreign affairs and the prime minister did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Sudan recalling its ambassador.

On Thursday the prime minister’s spokeswoman, Billene Seyoum, dismissed the possibility of Sudan mediating on the conflict in the northern region of Tigray.

She described the relationship with Khartoum as tricky, adding that trust should be the basis of any mediation but had “eroded” especially following the “Sudanese army incursion into Ethiopian territory.”

Relations have been soured by disputes over Al-Fashqa, an area of fertile land settled by Ethiopian farmers that Sudan says lies on its side of a border demarcated at the start of the 20th century, which Ethiopia rejects.