Jordan truckers’ strike exposes woes of impoverished south

Jordan truckers’ strike exposes woes of impoverished south
Truckers gather during a strike over fuel price rises, which petered out the end of 2022 after a security clampdown, in the southern city of Maan, Jordan. (Reuters)
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Updated 12 January 2023
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Jordan truckers’ strike exposes woes of impoverished south

Jordan truckers’ strike exposes woes of impoverished south
  • Diesel prices heap pain on truckers in poor southern desert city
  • Authorities seek to appease angry tribes with more funds

MAAN, Jordan: Striking Jordanian trucker Suleiman Abu Al-Zait spent several long nights on a national highway along his native city of Maan, manning a picket line that created havoc to overland trade.
“Diesel is my lifeline,” said 54-year-old Abu Al-Zait, who has seen his livelihood thrown into jeopardy by high fuel price rises since Russia invaded Ukraine.
The month-long sit-in cost Jordan tens of millions of dollars in losses when it paralyzed unloading at the Red Sea port of Aqaba, according to officials and industrialists.
The stoppage petered out late last year, after a security clampdown to stop disgruntled Bedouin youths from desert hamlets near Maan throwing stones at tourist coaches and trailers.
The crackdown led to four deaths among security forces and one man whom authorities said was a militant fugitive, as well as scores of injuries and hundreds of arrests.
It was the latest bout of unrest in Maan, a poor tribal stronghold about 250 km (156 miles) south of the capital.
Its location between Aqaba and a main pilgrimage route along the old Hejaz railway to Makkah had made it an important transport hub — and a cross-current of crime, smuggling and Bedouin disaffection.
Known for its defiance of central authority, the southern region around Maan has repeatedly erupted into violent protests in recent years against International Monetary Fund-backed reforms to cut fuel subsidies.
Fuel price rises, combined with high taxes and spiralling food costs in a nation that imports most goods, has made life unaffordable for many.
“Spare parts, motor oil and operating costs have gone up — this is putting pressure on us,” said Salamah Abdullah, a truck owner in Maan. “A truck used to have value. In better times you would put the trailer in front of your house to boast in front of people. Now it’s like you have a bicycle.”
WIdespread unrest
Though adamant that diesel price cuts would imperil reforms crucial for fiscal prudence, the government sought to meet drivers’ demands half-way by raising rates they could charge for commercial haulage and transport.
“We seek in all directions to ease the intensity of the economic situation on citizens,” Interior Minister Mazen Farrayeh said after troops quelled the December rioting.
Like many Arab states, Jordan has in the last decade seen widespread unrest as it reduced food and fuel subsidies.
Its aid-dependent economy — already reeling from $40 billion public debt and high unemployment — is seeing its once-bustling transit business to neighbors Iraq and Saudi Arabia shrink.
Bedouin tribes in Maan and outlying areas have been hit hard by dwindling grazing ground for livestock while tighter border controls by Saudi Arabia have stemmed once lucrative smuggling.
Residents say successive governments have failed to create jobs. But officials counter they injected millions of dollars of foreign aid in recent years to expand infrastructure and upgrade the desert highway.
The government has been struggling to satisfy demands for more state jobs that have long appeased tribes who form the backbone of support for the ruling Hashemite dynasty.
In the wake of the troubles, Western-educated King Abdullah, whose modernization drive faces tribal pressure for more economic largesse, toured state-sponsored farming and tourist projects in the south.
The monarch, in casual wear, chatted with women from Bedouin villages in the Disi aquifer region near Saudi Arabia where authorities hope development could take stone-throwing unemployed youths off the streets.
But long-delayed investment projects appear to be not enough to assuage anger at a cash-strapped state unable to give more perks and jobs.
“They have trampled on our dignity, the city of Maan has long been targeted by the state and suffered marginalization,” said Majid Sharari, a former mayor arrested at the end of the strike for his alleged role in the troubles.


Turkiye’s top appeals court upholds philanthropist Kavala’s life sentence -media

Turkiye’s top appeals court upholds philanthropist Kavala’s life sentence -media
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Turkiye’s top appeals court upholds philanthropist Kavala’s life sentence -media

Turkiye’s top appeals court upholds philanthropist Kavala’s life sentence -media
ISTANBUL: Turkiye’s top appeals court on Thursday upheld the life sentence for philanthropist Osman Kavala, broadcaster Haberturk and other media reported, while overturning 18-year prison sentences for three others in the same case.
Kavala, 65, was sentenced to life in prison without parole in April 2022, while seven others in the case received 18 years based on claims they organized and financed nationwide protests in 2013.
At the time, the verdict was seen as symbolic of a crackdown on dissent under President Tayyip Erdogan, and the punishment of the government’s perceived foes through the judiciary. All have denied the charges, saying the protests developed spontaneously.
On Thursday, the appeals court upheld the life sentence for Kavala and an 18-year sentence for Can Atalay, who was elected a member of parliament in May, and three others, Haberturk said.
The court overturned 18-year sentences for Mucella Yapici, Hakan Altinay, and Yigit Ekmekci, it said.
The ruling effectively marks the end of the appeals process for Kavala, who has been in detention since 2017. Turkiye’s Constitutional Court previously rejected his appeal too.
Hundreds of thousands marched in Istanbul and elsewhere in Turkiye in 2013 as demonstrations against plans to build replica Ottoman barracks in the city’s Gezi Park grew into nationwide protests against Erdogan’s government.
Erdogan has equated the protesters to terrorists, and has personally accused Kavala numerous times of being the financier of the protests.
Ankara’s Western allies, opposition members, and rights groups say Turkish courts are under the control of the government. Erdogan and his AK Party say they are independent.
The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Turkiye must free Kavala and others for violations of their rights. Turkiye has not taken any action and now faces possible suspension from the Council of Europe.

Emirati and Malaysian trade ministers discuss boosting economic ties

Emirati and Malaysian trade ministers discuss boosting economic ties
Updated 28 September 2023
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Emirati and Malaysian trade ministers discuss boosting economic ties

Emirati and Malaysian trade ministers discuss boosting economic ties
  • Officials reviewed status of negotiations for a UAE-Malaysia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement
  • UAE is Malaysia’s second-largest commercial partner in the Middle East

LONDON: Thani Al-Zeyoudi, the Emirati minister of state for foreign trade, and Tengku Zafrul Aziz, the Malaysian minister of investment, trade and industry, discussed ways boost trade and investment ties between their countries. Their meeting took place during a visit to the UAE by a delegation of senior trade officials from Malaysia.

During the talks, Al-Zeyoudi praised the existing strong relations between the nations and reaffirmed the UAE’s commitment to expanding the opportunities available to the business communities in both, the Emirates News Agency reported on Thursday.

They also reviewed the status of negotiations to develop a UAE-Malaysia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. The meeting was the second between the ministers since discussions about the agreement began during a visit by Abu Dhabi’s crown prince, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohammed, to Kuala Lumpur in May.

Their first meeting took place in Jakarta during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Business and Investment Summit in early September, and the talks reflect the UAE’s desire to strengthen its ties with Malaysia and the wider ASEAN bloc, officials said.

“Malaysia is a valued partner for the UAE in an increasingly important region, one which shares our vision of leveraging global trade to accelerate growth and diversify the economy,” Al-Zeyoudi said.

“Malaysia’s support for open, rules-based trade, transparent dispute-resolution mechanisms and a greater voice for the developing world in trade policy will help deliver a conference of lasting impact,” he added.

Tengku Zafrul said: “We are keen to bolster our ties with the UAE, a nation that continues to gain importance as a strategic trading partner for Malaysia.

“Situated at the crossroads between East and West, the UAE offers immense opportunities for our exporters and their efforts to expand into global markets.”

The ministers commended recent growth in non-oil bilateral trade, which reached a total value of more than $2.226 billion during the first half of 2023. They also expressed the aim of increasing foreign direct investment.

The UAE is Malaysia’s second-largest commercial partner in the Middle East, accounting for 32 percent of its total trade with Arab countries.


 

 

 


US imposes fresh round of sanctions over instability in Sudan

US imposes fresh round of sanctions over instability in Sudan
Updated 28 September 2023
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US imposes fresh round of sanctions over instability in Sudan

US imposes fresh round of sanctions over instability in Sudan
  • Sanctions target former Sudanese official and two companies, including one based in Russia

WASHINGTON: The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on a former Sudanese official and two companies, including one based in Russia, that it accused of exacerbating instability in Sudan as fighting has killed thousands and displaced millions of civilians.
The action is the latest round of sanctions imposed by Washington after war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) broke out in mid-April over plans for a political transition and the integration of the RSF into the army, four years after long-time ruler Omar Al-Bashir was overthrown in a popular uprising.
“Today’s action holds accountable those who have undercut efforts to find a peaceful, democratic solution in Sudan,” the Treasury Department’s Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Brian Nelson, said in a statement.
“We will continue to target actors perpetuating this conflict for personal gain.”
The Treasury said it targeted Ali Karti, the foreign minister under Bashir, and became leader of the Sudanese Islamic Movement after Bashir was toppled in 2019.
He is a prominent figure among loyalists and veterans of Bashir’s rule who have maneuvered to protect their interests and regained some leverage after a 2021 coup by the army and the RSF.
Also hit with sanctions was GSK Advance Company, a Sudan-based company the Treasury said has been used as a procurement channel for the RSF.
GSK worked with Russia-based military supply company Aviatrade, also targeted on Thursday, to arrange the procurement of parts and supplies, as well as training, for drones previously purchased by the RSF, the Treasury said.


Syrian beekeepers battle both war and climate change

Syrian beekeepers battle both war and climate change
Updated 28 September 2023
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Syrian beekeepers battle both war and climate change

Syrian beekeepers battle both war and climate change
  • Rankus was once renowned for its honey, but was hard hit by fighting between government forces and rebels
  • Damiriya can barely afford to tend to his hives, donated by the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) to help Syrian beekeepers

RANKUS, Syria: Syrian beekeeper Ibrahim Damiriya struggles to produce honey from his hives on parched land near the capital Damascus after years of war, economic collapse and worsening climate change impacts.
“The war bled us dry. We could barely keep our beekeeping business afloat, and then the insane weather made things worse,” the 62-year-old in a beekeeping suit told AFP as he examined meagre honey stocks inside the hives.
Before Syria’s conflict erupted in 2011, Damiriya owned 110 hives in Rankus, a village near Damascus that was once filled with apple orchards.
But now a combination of fighting, severe drought and a gruelling economic crisis have left him with a mere 40 hives in semi-arid lands, decimating his honey yield.
Rankus was once renowned for its honey, but was hard hit by fighting between government forces and rebels that caused widespread destruction, pushing many residents to flee.
Damiriya can barely afford to tend to his hives, donated by the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) to help Syrian beekeepers.
“If we keep suffering from climate change and rising prices, I might have to abandon my profession,” Damiriya said with a sigh.
Since 2011, Syria’s war has killed more than half a million people and caused an acute economic crisis, exacerbated by severe Western sanctions.
Recent years have also battered Syria with heatwaves, low rainfall and more forest fires.
A 2019 United Nations report found that fighting had practically wiped out hives, with bombs contaminating the environment and pesticide misuse and a proliferation of parasites speeding up their decline.
Syria used to be home to 635,000 hives before the war, but their numbers had dwindled to about 150,000 at the height of the conflict in 2016, said Iyad Daaboul, the Damascus-based president of the Arab Beekeepers Union.
Today that number has risen back up to 400,000, he said. However, the hives yield only 1,500 tons of honey per year — half of the country’s pre-war production.
Unusually cold springs and drought have had an adverse effect on the flowers that bees feed on.
“Extreme weather conditions have greatly affected bees, especially during spring — the most important time in their life cycle,” said Daaboul.
The number of beekeepers has nearly halved from 32,000 before the war to around 18,000 today, he said.
Another threat to the bees is the forest fires which have become more common as temperatures rise.
Fires “have destroyed more than 1,000 hives on Syria’s coastal mountains and stripped bees of large foraging areas,” Daaboul said.
Rising temperatures and desertification have taken a toll on Syria’s greenery, destroying many of the plants on whose flowers the bees feed and squeezing the once-thriving agriculture sector.
Damascus ICRC spokesperson Suhair Zakkout told AFP that “Syria’s agricultural production has fallen by approximately 50 percent over the last 10 years” because of war and climate change.
Despite being one of the countries most badly affected by global warming, Syria has lacked the funds it needs to tackle environmental issues, Zakkout said.
Climate change has devastated farmer Ziad Rankusi’s apple orchards, which have also been greatly thinned by illegal logging as people struggle to keep warm during the winter amid recurrent fuel shortages.
Rankusi, who is in his 50s, used to tend more than 1,000 trees on his land, but just 400 survive, and they are drying out in the heat.
“For about five years, we have had unprecedented droughts and desertification, and this year the spring was unusually cold. The fruit perished,” said the farmer.
“When trees and flowers disappear, bees can no longer feed. They either migrate or die.”


World Court to hear Syria torture claims on Oct. 10-11

World Court to hear Syria torture claims on Oct. 10-11
Updated 28 September 2023
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World Court to hear Syria torture claims on Oct. 10-11

World Court to hear Syria torture claims on Oct. 10-11
  • The hearing at the Peace Palace will mark the first time an international court has looked at alleged abuses committed in Syria during 12 years of conflict

AMSTERDAM: The World Court will hear on Oct. 10 and 11 a request by the Netherlands and Canada that it orders Syria to cease all acts of torture and arbitrary detention, as part of a case alleging the country has breached a UN anti-torture treaty.
The hearing at the Peace Palace, the court’s seat in The Hague, will mark the first time an international court has looked at alleged abuses committed in Syria during 12 years of conflict.
Syria’s government and President Bashar Assad have rejected accusations of torture and extrajudicial killings in a war that the United Nations has said claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.