Showing posts with label Yemen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yemen. Show all posts

Friday, December 15, 2023

South Sudan named in most dangerous countries to visit - “security” highest warning level of “extreme”

Report from The Independent - independent.co.uk/news/world
By Helen Coffey
Dated Friday, 15 December 2023 - here is a copy in full:

World’s most dangerous countries to visit in 2024 revealed

Lebanon, Palestinian Territories and Russia have all seen notable risk rating increases


The world’s most dangerous countries to visit in 2024 have been revealed in a new study.


South Sudan, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya and Somalia were named as the riskiest nations in the 2024 risk map compiled by medical and security consultancy International SOS.


The annual map assesses various factors to inform travellers and businesses about potential threats in countries across the globe.

It pulls together medical and security risk ratings, reflecting the impact of events such as the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and between Israel and Hamas.


This year, for the first time, the map also includes ratings based on the dangers of climate change, after International SOS saw a rising trend in the number of climate-related alerts being issued to clients as rising global temperatures increased health risks around the world.


The data, compiled by Inform (a collaboration between the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change and Joint Research Centre of European Commission), estimates the future risk of humanitarian crises and disasters caused by climate change.


“Just one example, the extreme heat events this year, with the first ever named heatwave Cerberus hitting Europe, may become commonplace,” said Dr Irene Lai, global medical director at International SOS.


“In addition to the physical impacts of extreme heat, there can be significant negative effects on mental health. It is essential businesses plan for this, adapting our way of living and working to protect health, while also taking steps to slow and eventually reverse the trend in rising temperatures.”


Countries were graded for each category of risk – medical, security and climate change – on a five-level scale ranging from “low” to “very high” for medical and climate change, and “insignificant” to “extreme” for security.


For “security”, Ukraine, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, South Sudan, Central African Republic and Somalia were all given the highest warning level of “extreme”.


Parts of Lebanon, Palestinian Territories, Russia and across the Sahel all saw increases in security risk, alongside Ecuador and parts of Colombia following a rise in criminality and unrest.


View original: https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/most-dangerous-countries-world-2024-b2464568.html


END

Sunday, July 23, 2023

US State Department and Arab League start talking about urgent Middle East issues and Sudan conflict

Report from News Track Live - newstracklive.com
By ANIKET DIXIT
Published on Thursday 20 July 2023 at 03:05 PM - here is a full copy:

US State Department and Arab League start talking about urgent Middle East issues

Riyadh: Ahmed Aboul Gheit, the secretary-general of the Arab League, and Antony Blinken, the secretary of state of the United States, met on Wednesday in Washington to discuss the urgent issues surrounding the Middle East.


The US State Department claimed in a statement on its website that the "strategic dialogue" is a "opportunity for us to work even more closely together on the many issues that are affecting the lives of people in all of the countries represented by the Arab League as well as the United States."


The comprehensive conversation, which Aboul Gheit described as the first of its kind at the level of the US state secretary and GCC secretary-general, will "explore further the level of cooperation" and "deepen the relationship."


The statement made no mention of specifics, but some news reports have quoted political analysts as saying that, now that Syria has been readmitted to the 22-member alliance, the US will follow up on its earlier statement for the Arab League to press the Assad regime to address pressing issues.


The northwest regions of Syria, which are controlled by the opposition and home to more than 4 million displaced people, have been requested by the UN for greater access by international aid organizations. The UN Security Council was unable to come to an agreement last week to maintain the Bab Al-Hawa border crossing, which permits aid organizations to enter from Turkey.


During the height of the so-called "Arab Spring" uprisings, Syria's membership in the league was suspended in 2011 due to the Assad regime's deadly crackdown on dissent. The UN estimates that the ensuing armed conflict has resulted in the deaths of 306,887 civilians and the displacement of more than 12 million Syrians, including 5.4 million who as of 2022 were refugees in other countries.


Other urgent regional issues that are anticipated to be covered in the Arab League-US dialogue include the conflict in Sudan, Israel's escalating land aggression against the Palestinians, Yemen's peace initiative, and more.


View original: 

https://english.newstracklive.com/news/us-state-department-and-arab-league-start-talking-about-urgent-middle-east-issues-sc57-nu355-ta355-1286214-1.html


[Ends]

Friday, July 21, 2023

Wheat prices soar after Russia threatens ships

"The Black Sea grain deal enabled the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) to ship more than 725,000 tonnes of wheat from Ukraine to countries facing acute hunger, including Ethiopia, Yemen and Afghanistan. So Ukraine provided more than half the WFP's wheat grain last year.


More than half the total grain shipped under the deal was corn, however. Of the nearly 33m tonnes exported, the biggest amount went to China (8m tonnes), then Spain (6m tonnes) and Turkey (3.2m tonnes), UN data shows.


Turkey has been milling grain into flour for the WFP. Corn is used as biofuel and animal feed, besides human consumption". Read more.


Report from BBC News

By Emily McGarvey

BBC News

Published Thursday 20 July 2023


Ukraine war: Wheat prices soar after Russia threatens ships


Media caption,

WATCH: Footage shows the impact of attack on Odesa grain terminals


Wheat prices have risen sharply on global markets after Russia said it would treat ships heading for Ukrainian ports as potential military targets.


Moscow pulled out of a UN deal on Monday that ensured safe passage for grain shipments crossing the Black Sea.


For the past three nights Russia has bombarded Ukraine's grain facilities in Odesa and other cities.


Moscow also warned that from Thursday any ships going there would be seen as siding with "the Kyiv regime".


White House spokesman Adam Hodge suggested Russia was planning to hit civilian ships and blame Ukraine.


Russia had laid more sea mines in the approaches to Ukrainian ports, he said, as part of a co-ordinated Russian effort to justify attacking civilian ships.


The Kremlin did not immediately respond to the allegation.


Meanwhile in a similar warning to Russia's, Ukraine has said ships heading towards Russian or occupied ports on the Black Sea could be viewed as carrying military cargo.


Wheat prices on the European stock exchange soared by 8.2% on Wednesday from the previous day, to €253.75 (£220; $284) per tonne, while corn prices were up 5.4%.


US wheat futures jumped 8.5% - their highest daily rise since just after Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.


Prices in shops will not immediately increase when market prices go up. But if the interruption in supplies leads to a prolonged period of higher prices, the impact will make itself felt around the world in the coming months.


The sharp increase in grain cost after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year lead to rising prices - not just for food items based on grains, but also for meat and poultry, as animals are often fed with grain.


Countries which depend most heavily on Ukraine's supplies are likely to be most affected. Before the war Lebanon received nearly three-quarters of its grain from Ukraine, while Pakistan, Libya and Ethiopia are also very heavily dependent.


Earlier, President Vladimir Putin said he would return to the international grain agreement immediately if his demands were met. They include lifting sanctions on sales of Russian grain and fertiliser and reconnecting Russia's agricultural bank to a global payment system.


Russian air strikes on the Black Sea coastal cities meanwhile continued for a third night, leaving more than 20 people wounded in Odesa and Mykolaiv.


Mykolaiv regional governor Vitaliy Kim said 19 people had been hurt in the regional capital, including children. 


Apartment blocks were targeted and in one building the second and top floor were partially destroyed.


Several people were also wounded in Odesa, when a four-storey building was badly damaged.


IMAGE SOURCE,

DSNS UKRAINE

Image caption,

Odesa was targeted for the third night running


Russian-occupied Crimea was also hit overnight, according to its Russian-appointee leader Sergei Aksyonov.


A teenage girl was killed when a drone hit four administrative buildings in the north-west of the peninsula.


Crimea has been hit on three consecutive days. A suspected Ukrainian drone attack from the sea damaged a bridge from the occupied peninsula to southern Russia on Monday. Part of a key motorway was also shut on Tuesday because of explosions at a nearby munitions depot.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of deliberately targeting grain export infrastructure and putting vulnerable countries at risk.


Agriculture Minister Mykola Solskyi said strikes had destroyed 60,000 tonnes of grain and damaged considerable parts of the grain export infrastructure.


The Black Sea grain deal enabled the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) to ship more than 725,000 tonnes of wheat from Ukraine to countries facing acute hunger, including Ethiopia, Yemen and Afghanistan. So Ukraine provided more than half the WFP's wheat grain last year.


More than half the total grain shipped under the deal was corn, however. Of the nearly 33m tonnes exported, the biggest amount went to China (8m tonnes), then Spain (6m tonnes) and Turkey (3.2m tonnes), UN data shows.


Turkey has been milling grain into flour for the WFP. Corn is used as biofuel and animal feed, besides human consumption.


The defence ministry in Moscow said that from Thursday all vessels sailing on the Black Sea to Ukrainian ports would be regarded as "potential carriers of military cargo" and that the ships' "flag states... will be considered to be involved in the Ukrainian conflict on the side of the Kyiv regime".


IMAGE SOURCE,

EPA

Image caption,

A grain ship that left a Ukrainian port earlier this week


On Wednesday Mr Putin accused the West of using the grain deal as "political blackmail". Moscow has accused Ukraine of using the Black Sea grain corridor for "combat purposes".


Ukraine's options for exporting grain by rail are also very limited: rail capacity is smaller than shipping volumes and several EU countries in Eastern Europe are blocking Ukrainian grain, in order to protect their own farmers.


Some Ukrainian grain may now be shipped via the Danube, using Romanian territorial waters, though again the volumes are likely to be relatively small.


Marex Capital analyst Charlie Sernatinger said Russia's threatened escalation could "cut all of the waterborne grain shipments off from the Black Sea, both Russian, and Ukrainian", which would cause a similar situation to that at the start of the war.


Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko called on the UK, US, France and Turkey to protect the grain ships with military convoys and provide Odesa with air defences.


"Clearly Putin has an aim to disrupt food security and cause a peak in world food prices, which in the developed countries will lead to inflation, but in developing countries that will lead to social destabilisation, starvation and new waves of migrants."

Russia-Ukraine war



[Ends]

Sunday, July 16, 2023

Communique of Sudan’s Neighbouring States Summit held in Cairo Egypt 13 July 2023

Report from SIS (Egypt State Information Service)
Published Thursday 13 July 2023; 07:41 PM - here is a full copy:


Communique of Sudan’s Neighboring States Summit

Upon the invitation of H.E. Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, the heads of state and governments of the Central African Republic, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Libya and South Sudan, with the presence of the Chairman of the African Union Commission and the Secretary General of the League of Arab States, met in Cairo on July 13, 2023 to attend the “Sudan’s Neighboring States Summit”. They discussed various aspects of the situation in Sudan and deliberated on possible solutions to end the crisis. The leaders agreed on the following:


1- Expressing their deep concern regarding the ongoing military confrontations and the continuous deterioration of the security and humanitarian situations in Sudan. The leaders called on the parties to the conflict to de-escalate the situation and commit to an immediate and sustainable cease-fire to end the war, and avoiding further loss of innocent civilian Sudanese lives and destruction of property.


2- Affirming their full respect for the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Sudan. The leaders agreed that the current conflict is an internal Sudanese affair, and stressed the need for ending any external interferences in the crisis. Such interferences protract the conflict and obstruct efforts to contain its escalation and reach an agreed settlement that will restore stability and security in Sudan.


3- Reiterating the importance of preserving the Sudanese State and its institutions, and preventing the fragmentation of the country, or descent into chaos that could lead to the spread of terrorism and organized crime, and other serious impacts on the national security of neighboring states and overall regional stability.


4- Stressing the utmost priority of formulating a comprehensive approach to addressing the current crisis and its humanitarian ramifications, including pertaining to those internally displaced and the growing influx of refugees fleeing the conflict to neighboring states, a challenging situation that creates growing pressure on the resources of neighboring states. The leaders called on the international community and donor countries to shoulder their responsibility through upholding pledges made at the “Ministerial-level Pledging Event to Support the Humanitarian Response in Sudan and the Region”, attended by Sudan’s neighboring states on June 19, 2023.


5- Expressing grave concern regarding the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Sudan, and condemning the repeated attacks on civilians, healthcare facilities and public services outlets. The leaders also called on the international community to step up efforts to provide crucial humanitarian aid, and to address urgent shortages in food and medical supplies in Sudan, as a measure towards alleviating the serious hardships caused by the crisis on innocent civilians.


6- Agreeing to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid provided to Sudan through the territories of neighboring states, in coordination with relevant international agencies and organizations, and to strongly promote the establishment of safe passage for aid deliveries to the most affected and vulnerable areas. In this context, the leaders urged various Sudanese parties to provide the necessary protection for humanitarian assistance and personnel and to facilitate their mission in delivering assistance to those in need.


7- Emphasizing the pressing need for a political solution to stop the ongoing conflict. To this end, the leaders called for an inclusive and comprehensive national dialogue between Sudanese parties, prioritizing the aspirations and prosperity of the Sudanese people through the restoration of stability and security to the country.


8- Agreeing to form a Ministerial Mechanism comprised of foreign ministers of Sudan’s neighboring states to coordinate common efforts to resolve the current conflict. The Ministerial Mechanism shall hold its first meeting in N’Djamena and will be mandated to take the following measures:


A- Develop an action-plan that includes practical steps towards stopping the fighting and reaching a comprehensive solution to the crisis through direct communication with various Sudanese parties, in complementarity with the existing mechanisms, including the IGAD and AU.


B- Discuss measures required to address the impact of the crisis on the future of Sudan’s stability, unity and territorial integrity, as well as to protect and preserve Sudan’s national institutions. The Ministerial Mechanism shall also discuss steps to contain the negative effects of the crisis on neighboring states, and agree on a delivery mechanism to provide humanitarian aid and relief to the Sudanese people.


C- The Ministerial Mechanism shall present its recommendations to the next Sudan’s Neighboring States Summit.


View original:

https://www.sis.gov.eg/Story/183662/Communique-of-Sudan’s-Neighboring-States-Summit/


[Ends]