Suicide truck bomber kills 13 in Somalia

Suicide truck bomber kills 13 in Somalia
A truck bomb exploded at a checkpoint in the central Somali town of Beledweyne on Saturday, killing at least 10 people and obliterating nearby buildings, a police officer said. (AFP/File)
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Updated 23 September 2023
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Suicide truck bomber kills 13 in Somalia

Suicide truck bomber kills 13 in Somalia
  • It was not immediately clear who was responsible, but Al Shabab frequently carries out bombings in the Horn of Africa country
  • “So far I have seen 10 dead people including soldiers and civilians,” said police officer Ahmed Aden

MOGADISHU: Thirteen people were killed and 20 others wounded in central Somalia on Saturday after a suicide bomber drove a truck packed with explosives toward a security checkpoint in the town of Beledweyne, police said.
“We have recovered the bodies of 13 people, most of them civilians who stayed nearby,” said Ahmed Yare Adan, a local police officer.
“Around 20 wounded people were already taken to hospitals, and we believe the number of the casualties could rise,” he said.
The attack, which damaged nearby buildings, trapping people under the debris, came after Somalia’s government admitted to suffering “several significant setbacks” in its fight against Al-Shabab militants.
The militants have waged an insurgency for over 15 years to overthrow the internationally backed government in Mogadishu.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Saturday’s bombing.

BACKGROUND

The attack, which damaged nearby buildings, trapping people under the debris, came after Somalia’s government admitted to suffering ‘several significant setbacks’ in its fight against terrorists.

Police officer Abdukadir Yasin, who rushed to the scene after the blast, said rescuers were pulling injured victims to safety from under the rubble.
“The destruction caused is immense, more than 10 dead bodies were confirmed already and the death toll can be higher,” he said.
An African Union force deployed in Somalia in 2007 with a six-month mandate but still remains on the ground, with the government now seeking to delay a planned reduction of foreign troops by three months.
UN resolutions call for the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia ATMIS force to be reduced to zero by the end of next year, handing over security to the Somali army and police.
Somali troops launched a major offensive against the Al-Qaeda affiliated Al-Shabab in central Somalia in August last year, joining forces with local clan militias in an operation backed by the AU force and US airstrikes.
Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud took office in May last year vowing “all-out war” against Al-Shabab, who were driven from Mogadishu in 2011 but control swathes of the countryside.
Mohamud, who has recently been visiting the frontline, said in August that government would “eliminate” the jihadists by the end of the year.
But Somalia’s national security adviser wrote to the UN requesting a 90-day delay to the planned pullout of 3,000 AU troops by the end of September.
In the letter seen by AFP, he said the government had “managed to re-liberate towns, villages and critical supply routes” during its offensive but had suffered “several significant setbacks” since late August.
“This unforeseen turn of events has stretched our military forces thin, exposed vulnerabilities in our frontlines and necessitated a thorough reorganization to ensure we maintain our momentum in countering the Al-Shabab threat,” the letter said.

 


7.6 magnitude earthquake strikes off the southern Philippines and tsunami warnings are issued

7.6 magnitude earthquake strikes off the southern Philippines and tsunami warnings are issued
Updated 15 sec ago
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7.6 magnitude earthquake strikes off the southern Philippines and tsunami warnings are issued

7.6 magnitude earthquake strikes off the southern Philippines and tsunami warnings are issued
MANILA: A powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.6 struck Saturday off the southern Philippine coast, prompting many villagers to flee their homes in panic around midnight after Philippine authorities issued a tsunami warning.
The quake struck at 10:37 p.m. at a depth of 32 kilometers (20 miles), according to the US Geological Survey. There were no immediate reports of major damage or casualties.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center initially said that based on the magnitude and location, it expected tsunami waves to hit the southern Philippines and parts of Indonesia, Palau and Malaysia. But the center later dropped its tsunami warning.
In Japan, authorities issued evacuation orders in various parts of Okinawa Prefecture, including for the entire coastal area, affecting thousands of people.
Teresito Bacolcol, the head of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, told The Associated Press his agency advised residents along the coast of southern Surigao del Sur and Davao Oriental provinces to immediately evacuate to higher ground or move farther inland.
Owners of boats in harbors, estuaries or shallow coastal waters off the two provinces should secure their boats and move away from the waterfront, the quake agency said in its tsunami warning. Boats already at sea should stay offshore in deep waters until further advised, it said.
Based on the quake’s magnitude, Bacolcol said a 1-meter (3.2-foot) tsunami may hit but the wave could be higher in enclosed coves, bays and straits.
Villagers were fleeing their homes to safety around midnight in Hinatuan town and outlying areas in Surigao del Sur province, according to authorities and the government’s disaster-response agency, which said that it could not immediately provide specific details.
Pictures posted on Hinatuan government’s Facebook account show residents fleeing to higher ground on foot or aboard cars, trucks, motorcycles and tricycle taxis at night.
More than three hours after the quake hit, Bacolcol said there was no report of a tsunami hitting the coast from his agency’s field offices but added authorities would continue monitoring.
The Philippines, one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries, is often hit by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of seismic faults around the ocean. The archipelago is also lashed by about 20 typhoons and storms each year.

Japan looks to Saudi Arabia for ‘new forms’ of collaboration: Shikata

Japan looks to Saudi Arabia for ‘new forms’ of collaboration: Shikata
Updated 02 December 2023
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Japan looks to Saudi Arabia for ‘new forms’ of collaboration: Shikata

Japan looks to Saudi Arabia for ‘new forms’ of collaboration: Shikata
  • With COP28 talks taking place in the UAE, decarbonization is part of many countries’ objectives and green strategies

DUBAI: Japanese Cabinet Secretary for Public Affairs Shikata Noriyuki told Arab News Japan that deep ties between his country and Saudi Arabia will pave the way for more opportunities to collaborate.

“There are emerging opportunities for a new way of life,” he said. “Especially if Saudi Arabia takes a leading role in presenting this new way of life with regards to sustainability issues.”

With COP28 talks taking place in the UAE, decarbonization is part of many countries’ objectives and green strategies.

Shikata said that when Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio visited Saudi Arabia in July, it was clear that the Kingdom was on a path to transformation.

“We sense very rapid change taking place in the Kingdom. It’s very impressive,” he added.

Japan is also working on its own transformation, specifically a green one. The cabinet secretary said, however, that the change will need collaboration with the Gulf region as well as other Asian countries.

“We want to work on joint projects or investments to encourage such a green transformation in the rest of Asia,” he said. “This is kind of conducive to our vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

At COP28, Japan introduced its new strategy to achieve a carbon-zero economy, which includes the idea of carbon pricing for the first time.

Japan not only will focus on the carbon emissions of major corporations, but also target zero-emission housing.

“This includes insulated windows to avoid extra heating costs,” Shikata said.

Other initiatives have been put in place, including the newly announced India-Middle East trade corridor.

“Japan is very attentive to this connectivity initiative between India and the Middle East,” he said, adding that a similar project is in the works with other Asian countries.

“We want to combine smart houses and urban transport so that we are eventually talking about smart, sustainable and carbon-neutral cities,” Shikata told Arab News Japan.

The conditions in Gaza have also been a topic of conversation at COP28, and Japan has consistently supported a two-state solution in order to realize peace.

“We have been working on the Jericho Agro-Industrial Park and trying to create jobs,” the cabinet secretary said, adding that Japan is encouraging its companies to invest. “However, with the political situation, it is very difficult to encourage investment.”

The industrial park aims to develop a fully functional and operational innovation business center in Palestine’s Jericho to improve the competitiveness of local businesses operating there.

There have been reports that Israeli strikes since Oct. 7 had damaged Japan International Cooperation Agency offices in Gaza.

However, Shikata said that once the situation in the enclave calms down, Japanese organizations will have “good motivation to go back and support reconstruction.”

* This article originally appeared on Arab News Japan, click here to read it.


Malaysia says COP28 should address ‘devastating’ climate toll of Israel’s onslaught on Gaza

Malaysia says COP28 should address ‘devastating’ climate toll of Israel’s onslaught on Gaza
Updated 02 December 2023
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Malaysia says COP28 should address ‘devastating’ climate toll of Israel’s onslaught on Gaza

Malaysia says COP28 should address ‘devastating’ climate toll of Israel’s onslaught on Gaza
  • Environment minister says Israeli occupation ‘robs’ Palestinians of their right to improve climate resilience
  • Israeli military has dropped an estimated 40,000 tons of explosives on Gaza since Oct. 7

DUBAI: The ongoing COP28 summit should address the climate and environmental impact of Israel’s onslaught on Gaza, Malaysia’s environment minister said on Saturday.

Political and business leaders from nearly 200 countries are gathered in Dubai this week for the UN’s annual meeting, which aims to address some of the most pressing points related to global warming and the climate crisis.

As world leaders are in talks over the issues, Turkish President Tayyip Erodgan, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, and Jordan’s King Abdullah have all said that discussions on climate change should not exclude the topic of Israel’s ongoing bombardment of Gaza.

Malaysia’s Minister of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad told Arab News that besides the humanitarian toll — with 15,000 people killed since October and many more injured or missing — the Israeli bombardment of the Palestinian enclave is also destroying the environment.

In retaliation for the Oct. 7 attack by the Gaza-based militant group Hamas, the Israeli military has dropped an estimated 40,000 tons of explosives on the 365-sq.-km territory, nearly four times more than the combined weight of the nuclear bombs dropped by the US on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan in 1945.

“The unprecedented levels of assault unquestionably inflict a devastating impact on the environment,” the minister said on the sidelines of the climate summit. “Addressing this is non-negotiable.”

For the hundreds of thousands of people internally displaced by the attacks, toxic contamination from the explosives has made the air difficult to breathe and the water undrinkable.

“The world cannot ignore what is happening there — be it from a humanitarian or climate justice standpoint,” Nik Nazmi said, adding that it is resulting in “not only the Palestinians losing lives, but arguably (also) their future.”

With COP28 featuring several points on which participants need to find common ground — including phasing out fossil fuels, how to decrease emissions from global food production, how to finance energy transition in developing countries, and how to help those countries adapt as climate-related disasters mount— the Malaysian minister also raised the general issue of Israel’s military occupation thwarting climate action in Palestinian territories, particularly in Gaza.

“The occupation robs Palestinians of their right and ability to improve climate resilience due to the inordinate control over Palestinian land, water, and other vital natural resources,” he said

Israel controls water reserves not only in Gaza but also in the West Bank, and uses more than five times the amount of water consumed in those two locations combined, according to B’Tselem, a Jerusalem-based NGO documenting human-rights violations in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories.

The amount of water accessible daily to the Palestinians is the amount the World Health Organization prescribes as the minimum in disaster zones.

“It is very much a climate injustice. Gazans are facing a climate crisis further compounded by the loss of land due to rising sea levels, severe lack of access to clean water for Palestinians, lack of sanitation, impact on food security ... all of which aggravate the impact of prolonged conflicts,” Nik Nazmi said.

“They will struggle to cope with climate-change impacts, and are weakened by the turmoil that disrupts livelihoods and interrupts any access to food and other sustenance.”


Ukraine says blackout at nuclear plant risked accident

Ukraine says blackout at nuclear plant risked accident
Updated 02 December 2023
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Ukraine says blackout at nuclear plant risked accident

Ukraine says blackout at nuclear plant risked accident
  • “Due to the complete blackout, the nuclear power plant switched to powering its own needs from 20 diesel generators,” Ukraine’s nuclear energy operator
  • The plant’s Russian-installed operator confirmed it resorted to diesel generators overnight

KYIV: Ukraine said Saturday that two power lines connecting its electricity grid to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant were cut overnight, putting the plant at risk of an “accident.”
The plant has been at the center of fighting since it was captured by Russian forces last year, and both sides have accused each other of compromising its safety.
“Due to the complete blackout, the nuclear power plant switched to powering its own needs from 20 diesel generators,” Ukraine’s nuclear energy operator said in a statement.
It said the plant was on “the verge of a nuclear and radiation accident” before Ukrainian specialists were able to promptly restore off-site power.
AFP was not able to immediately verify Ukraine’s version of events.
The plant’s Russian-installed operator confirmed it resorted to diesel generators overnight, but said that it had operated within safe limits and that no safety violations were reported.
The incident marks the eighth time the plant has been cut off from external power since the conflict began last year, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) warned.
“The most recent external power outage is yet another reminder about the precarious nuclear safety and security situation at the plant, which can be affected by events far away from the site itself,” IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said.
“The IAEA continues to do everything it can to help prevent a nuclear accident. I also call on all parties not to take any action that could further endanger the plant,” he added.
Since last year IAEA officials have been on the ground monitoring safety at the plant, which requires constant maintenance to prevent overheating.
It stopped supplying electricity to Ukraine’s grid in September 2022, and has been repeatedly rocked by shelling and drone attacks throughout the 21-month conflict.


US pledges $3 billion to Green Climate Fund at COP28

US pledges $3 billion to Green Climate Fund at COP28
Updated 02 December 2023
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US pledges $3 billion to Green Climate Fund at COP28

US pledges $3 billion to Green Climate Fund at COP28
  • The fund funnels grants for adaptation, mitigation projects such as solar panels in Pakistan or flood management in Haiti
  • The last US contribution to the fund was made under then President Barack Obama, who had committed $3 billion in 2014

DUBAI: Vice President Kamala Harris told the UN's COP28 conference on Saturday that the United States will contribute $3 billion to a global climate fund -- its first pledge to it since 2014. 

"Today, we are demonstrating through action how the world can and must meet this crisis," Harris told the climate summit in Dubai. 

The new money, which must be approved by the US Congress, will go into the Green Climate Fund (GCF), which was created in 2010. 

The last US contribution to the fund for developing countries was made under then President Barack Obama, who committed $3 billion in 2014. 

US President Joe Biden sent Harris in his place to COP28. 

The world's biggest climate fund funnels grants and loans for adaptation and mitigation projects in developing countries, such as solar panels in Pakistan or flood management in Haiti. 

Prior to the US announcement, $13.5 billion had been pledged to the GCF. 

The failure of wealthy nations to fulfil financial pledges to help developing nations cope with climate change has fuelled tensions and mistrust at climate negotiations. 

Developing countries least responsible for climate change are seeking support from richer polluting nations to adapt to the increasingly ferocious and expensive consequences of extreme weather, and for their transitions to cleaner energy sources. 

The GCF plays a part in a separate promise by rich countries to supply $100 billion of climate financing to poorer nations annually. But that pledge was only likely met in 2022, two years late.