Top officials from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations plan to be in Myanmar next week to see the continued military crackdown with their own eyes.
The organization says the ASEAN Chair and Secretary General are scheduled to sit down with the Myanmar military’s regime leader.
The visit comes amid calls for more assertive ASEAN action in implementing the five-point consensus seeking constructive dialogue to resolve the crisis.
President of South Korea, Moon Jae-in has vowed to revive peace process during his last year in office.
This comes ahead of his summit with U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington on May 21st.
“Through the South Korea-U.S. summit scheduled for late May, we will solidify the bilateral alliance and more closely coordinate our policies toward North Korea to find ways to restore dialogue between the two Koreas and between North Korea and the U.S. and step once again toward peaceful cooperation.”
The South Korean leader welcomed the U.S. policy review on North Korea calling it a flexible, gradual and practical approach that builds upon the foundations laid by the Singapore Declaration.
There have been no significant developments on the denuclearization front since the Hanoi summit between North Korea and the U.S. in 2019.
Moon said he will not be pressured by time or become impatient during the remainder of his term but said he will do everything he can if there is a chance to advance the peace process, and called for a positive response from North Korea.
Nepal’s Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli lost a confidence vote on Monday, triggering fresh political uncertainty just as the Himalayan nation reels from the pandemic.
Oli decided to seek a vote of confidence following months of feuding within his ruling communist party and coalition partners but was able to secure only 93 votes in the parliament instead of the 136 needed.
More than 120 parliamentarians voted against the former political prisoner and nearly two dozen leaders from Oli’s own party skipped the process. According to procedure, the president will now call for parties to propose a new candidate, backed by a majority.
Nepal has been roiled by months of turmoil after Oli dissolved parliament in December, accusing members of his Nepal Communist Party (NCP) of being uncooperative.
The NCP was formed in 2018 by a merger between Oli’s communist party CPN-UML and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) of former rebel leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal.
In recent months, Oli has faced fierce criticism over his handling of the pandemic as the second wave sweeps over the country, with half of people tested now returning positive.
However it was more political infighting rather than his handling of the pandemic that caused him to lose the vote of confidence.
On Monday, Nepal reported 9,127 cases, the highest increase yet. Nearly 4,000 people have died since the pandemic began, according to official figures.
Sudanese authorities have deported around three dozen Ethiopian peacekeepers, working on the U.N. mission in Darfur, to a refugee camp, according to the state-run news agency.
Head of the refugee agency in North Darfur province, Al-Fateh Ibrahim Mohammed, said the troops are among 120 Ethiopian forces from the Tigrayan ethnic group, who have sought asylum in Sudan after their stay ended earlier this year.
He said the the troops, including 14 women, refused to return after being recalled by their home country, Ethiopia, for fear of being detained by the federal government in Addis Ababa.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has waged a devastating war since November against the regional government in Tigray, claiming that Tigray forces had attacked a military base.
The Tigray conflict has been marked by massacres, gang rapes, expulsions and forced starvation. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken asserted in March that “ethnic cleansing” has taken place in Tigray.
Federal authorities in Addis Ababa have also swept up thousands of Tigrayans including high-level military officials into detention centers across Ethiopia on accusations that they are traitors, according to an Associated Press report.
United Nations spokesman Farhan Haq said last month that a number of Ethiopians in the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Darfur were seeking international protection as several hundred troops are being repatriated.
Mohammed, the Sudanese refugee official, said Sudan deported at least 33 troops Sunday from North Darfur’s provincial capital of el-Fasher to a refugee camp in the eastern province of Kassala, on the borders with Ethiopia.
At least twelve people, including a senior army officer, were killed and several wounded Monday night in an ambush on vehicles in central Burundi, according to administrative sources.
The police had mentioned on Sunday evening on Twitter a death toll of eight during an “armed robbery on four vehicles” in Muramvya, a town located about fifty kilometers northeast of the economic capital Bujumbura.
Speaking on condition of anonymity the administrative source said ten people were killed on the spot and two others, including a little girl, succumbed to their injuries.
a medical source also said there are eleven bodies in the Muramvya morgue and a twelfth body, a woman who died while being transferred to a hospital in Bujumbura, is in a morgue there.
According to the administrative source and relatives, Burundian army officer, Colonel Onesphore Nizigiyimana, and one of his daughters are among the victims. He was returning from a family celebration with his wife and three daughters when the attack took place.
The ambush was reportedly carried out four kilometers from the center of Muramvya by a dozen heavily armed men who shot at the colonel’s car when it arrived there, then set it on fire.
Meanwhile, three other vehicles, including a bus, arrived at the scene and were also attacked with guns and grenades.
Such ambushes are increasingly common in Burundi. At least a dozen people were killed in several such attacks in late 2020.
In mid-April, seven people were also killed in the town of Rusaka, in the neighboring province of Mwaro, in an attack on a bar attributed by the police to armed bandits.
Algeria’s Interior Ministry has announced it will bar any protests that do not have prior approval stating that all protests would need a permit that specified the names of organisers and a start and finishing time for the demonstrations.
Such restrictions, even if permits were given, would mean naming specific individuals as formally responsible for a hitherto leaderless protest movement.
The measures are in line with a clause in a new constitution approved by Algerian voters in November last year which requires organisers to give advance information before demonstrations.
The Interior Ministry said failure to comply with the procedures would result in violating the law and the constitution, which denies the legitimacy of the march.
Some protesters believe the restrictions are aimed at ending all street marches. “They are seeking reasons to justify any decision to ban marches,” said Ahmed Badili, a member of the leaderless protest movement known as Hirak.
The restrictions come ahead of early legislative elections on June 12 that President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, elected in December 2019 in a vote boycotted by the protest movement, vowed would be fair and transparent.
The ICC has started an investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Afghanistan since 2003 by all sides in the conflict.
In a joint statement, Afghan foreign minister and prosecutors from the International Criminal Court said they have met in The Hague to discuss the ICC’s war crimes investigation.
Afghan Foreign Minister Mohammad Haneef Atmar together with the ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor say they have made encouraging progress in charting the way forward to ensure that no crime goes unpunished
Government forces, the Taliban, other armed groups, and US-led forces have all been accused of playing a role in the in the conflict
Shortly after the ICC announced its investigation in March 2020, the Afghan government said it is conducting its own probe into some of the same alleged crimes and asked the international court to defer its investigation.
Under ICC rules, the court only has the power to prosecute crimes committed on the territory of member states when they are unwilling or unable to do so themselves.
In the joint statement on Sunday, Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said she would continue to work with the government of Afghanistan on “how justice may best be served through joint collaborative efforts” while still fulfilling her own duties under the tribunal’s rules.
Afghanistan’s Attorney General Zabihullah Karimullah, who also attended, said that prosecutors had discussed information-sharing and cooperation.
Bensouda is still assessing Afghanistan’s deferral request. In September 2020, the United States imposed sanctions on Bensouda for investigating whether American forces committed war crimes in Afghanistan.
Tunde Kelani’s anticipated Ayinla Omowura biopic is finally set for theatrical release. The feature film has been confirmed to hit cinemas on June 18, 2021.
Confirming its release date, the ace filmmaker shared a teaser poster via Instagram with the caption: ‘Èdùmàrè sọ̀rọ̀ Mi dayọ̀ Mo wá nṣọpẹ́…A-A-A, (EP4) ÀYÌNLÁ the Movie finally in Cinemas from June 18, 2021.’
Shot in Abeokuta, the biopic will reportedly follow Ayinla’s rise to fame and his tragic end. Principal photography for the film began in December 2020 with actor, Adedimeji Lateef cast in the lead role.
‘Ayinla’ also stars Omawumi Dada, Bimbo Manuel, Kunle Afolayan, Debo Macaroni and Ade Laoye. The biopic is co-produced Jade Osiberu’s Greoh Studios.
Swimming is one of the most popular sports in world. As well as being fun, swimming is a great way to keep fit, stay healthy and make friends. Swimming is a healthy activity that you can continue for a lifetime. It is a low-impact activity that has many physical and mental health benefits.
Swimming is a great work because you need to move your whole body against the resistance of the water. Swimming is a good all-round activity because it keeps your heart rate up but takes some of the impact stress off your body, builds endurance, muscle strength and cardiovascular fitness.
Swimming for recreation
Swimming is a great recreational activity for people of all ages. Recreational swimming can provide you with a low-impact workout and it’s also a good way to relax and feel good. Common swimming styles in recreational swimming are breaststroke, backstroke, side stroke and freestyle.
Competitive swimming
Some people who enjoy swimming want to take it to a competitive level. This can provide the health benefits of a vigorous workout as well as the fun and thrill of competition. The main strokes used in competitive swimming are breaststroke, freestyle, backstroke and butterfly. The distances swum in competition swimming can vary from 50 metres in a pool to much further distances in open water.
Health benefits of swimming
Swimming is a great workout because you need to move your whole body against the resistance of the water.
Swimming is a good all-round activity because it keeps your heart rate up but takes some of the impact stress off your body
Swimming builds endurance, muscle strength and cardiovascular fitness
It helps maintain a healthy weight, healthy heart and lungs
It tones muscles and builds strength
It provides an all-over body workout, as nearly all of your muscles are used during swimming.
The benefits of Swimming are quite numerous as it a relaxing and peaceful form of exercise, other benefits include:
It also helps in alleviating stress
Its improves coordination, balance and posture
It improves flexibility
It provides good low-impact therapy for some injuries and conditions
It provides a pleasant way to cool down on a hot day
It is available in many places – you can swim in swimming pools, beaches, lakes, dams and rivers. Make sure that the environment you choose to swim in is safe.
Getting started with swimming
Swimming is a sport for all age groups, skill and fitness levels. Before you get started, you will need to purchase a pair of swimmers and some goggles.
There are public pools that are open to everyone. Entry to public pools usually costs a little and many aquatic centres offer swimming lessons for people of all ages, as well as training and exercise groups.
Some general tips for swimming
Make sure you know how to swim.
Choose a safe environment.
Warm up and stretch your muscles and joints before entering the water.
Have plenty of fluids on hand and drink regularly.
Don’t overdo it if you’re just starting out.
See your doctor if you haven’t exercised for a long time.
Things to remember
As well as being fun, swimming is a great way to keep fit and well and make friends.
Swimming is a healthy activity that you can continue for a lifetime.
Swimming is a low-impact activity that has many physical and mental health benefits.
Make sure you know how to swim and do so in a safe environment.
The Berlin Film Festival, which took place online earlier this year, will show most of the movies that were part of the competition at outdoor cinemas across the German capital next month.
The summer special offered by the festival, also known as the Berlinale, will take place from June 9 to 20 at 16 venues including a specially created open-air cinema at Museum Island in the heart of the city, organisers said on Monday.
“Audiences will be getting a very special, collective festival experience – something we’ve all been missing for such a long time,” directors Mariette Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian said in a joint statement.
They said they were looking forward to welcoming filmmakers and jury members from across the world who could hopefully make the journey to Berlin next month despite ongoing travel restrictions.
The programme will be available online from May 20 and tickets will go on sale from May 27.
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