South African police say 95 Libyans detained at suspected military camp

South African police say 95 Libyans detained at suspected military camp
The early morning raid was near the town of White River in the northeastern province of Mpumalanga, about 360 kilometers (220 miles) east of Johannesburg. (File/AFP)
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Updated 26 July 2024
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South African police say 95 Libyans detained at suspected military camp

South African police say 95 Libyans detained at suspected military camp
  • They were suspected to be linked to a number of complaints of harassment lodged by local residents in recent months

JOHANNESBURG: South Africa authorities rounded up 95 Libyans in a raid Friday at a farm that appeared to have been converted into a military training base, police said.
The early morning raid was near the town of White River in the northeastern province of Mpumalanga, about 360 kilometers (220 miles) east of Johannesburg, they said.
“The place, which was initially designated as a training site, appears to have been converted into an illegal military training base,” police said in a statement.
“The 95 individuals taken into custody are all Libyan nationals and are currently being questioned by the relevant authorities.”
Mpumalanga’s safety and security minister, Jackie Macie, told local media the men had entered the country in April and claimed to be training to be security guards.
However they had “violated their visa,” he said.
They were suspected to be linked to a number of complaints of harassment lodged by local residents in recent months.
Authorities were processing the group with the aim of sending them back to their country of origin, Macie said.
Television footage from the scene showed a heavy police presence outside the suspected camp, which included green military-style tents and sandbags.
The owner of the security company was a South African national, police spokesman Donald Mdhluli told AFP.
“The site was said to be a training camp for a security company but it is a military base by the looks of things,” he said.
South African officials will be in touch with Libyan authorities about the group, he said.
Most of those detained were said to be on student visas, he said.
“We do suspect them of serious crime because we have had multiple complaints from the community for cases including rape,” Mdhluli said.
“We are not arresting them now but we are taking them in for questioning and will investigate any criminal activity.”
The raid was launched two days after authorities received intelligence about the site, the official said.
“We take any threat to the security and stability of our province and country very seriously,” Mpumalanga acting police commissioner Major General Zeph Mkhwanazi said in a statement.
There was no immediate threat to community safety, he added.
Most of the men did not speak English and it was not immediately clear whether the Libyans were affiliated to any group or what they were doing in South Africa.
Although relative calm has returned to oil-rich Libya in the past four years, clashes periodically occur between its myriad armed groups.
Most are allied with either the UN-recognized government in Tripoli or the rival administration based in the east.


Iran calls for emergency UN Security Council meeting after Nasrallah killing

A general view of a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters. (REUTERS file photo)
A general view of a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters. (REUTERS file photo)
Updated 29 September 2024
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Iran calls for emergency UN Security Council meeting after Nasrallah killing

A general view of a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters. (REUTERS file photo)

UNITED NATIONS, United States: Iran on Saturday called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council in protest at the killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli air strike in Lebanon, according to a letter to the Council sent to AFP.
In the letter, Iran’s UN envoy Amir Saeid Iravani called on the Council to “take immediate and decisive action to stop Israel’s ongoing aggression and prevent... from dragging the region into full-scale war.”
 

 


Ethiopian actions ‘flagrantly violate’ Somali territorial integrity: Somali PM

Ethiopian actions ‘flagrantly violate’ Somali territorial integrity: Somali PM
Updated 29 September 2024
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Ethiopian actions ‘flagrantly violate’ Somali territorial integrity: Somali PM

Ethiopian actions ‘flagrantly violate’ Somali territorial integrity: Somali PM
  • Ethiopia’s Foreign Minister Taye Atske Selassie rejected the Somali prime minister’s criticism

UNITED NATIONS, United States: Somalia’s prime minister on Friday accused Ethiopia of actions that “flagrantly violate” Somalia’s territorial integrity after Addis Ababa’s shock announcement it would lease a stretch of coastline from the breakaway region Somaliland.
The region has been on alert since January when Ethiopia said it intended to build a naval base and commercial port on the area.
Landlocked Ethiopia has long sought its own sea access, but the move enraged Somalia which refuses to recognize Somaliland’s claim to independence that it first declared in 1991 and has received little international support.
“Somalia currently faces a serious threat from Ethiopia’s recent actions which flagrantly violate our territorial integrity,” Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre said at the UN General Assembly.
“Ethiopia’s attempt to annex part of Somalia under the guise of securing sea access is both unlawful and unnecessary,” he said.
Ethiopia’s Foreign Minister Taye Atske Selassie rejected the Somali prime minister’s criticism.
“Similar agreements have been concluded by other states, and there is no reason for the government of Somalia to incite hostility that obviously intends to cover internal political tensions,” he told the General Assembly.
In response to Ethiopia’s plan, Somalia has threatened to boot out Ethiopian troops deployed for an African Union mission against Al-Shabab militants since 2007.
Mogadishu has also signed a military deal with Cairo which has seen Somalia receive weapons shipments, alarming the Ethiopians who say the arms may fall into Al-Shabab hands.
The African Union mission is due for a makeover at the end of the year and Egypt has offered to take the place of the Ethiopian troops for the first time.
Somalia may also force Ethiopia to remove the estimated 10,000 troops it has stationed along their shared border to prevent incursions by the Islamists.
 

 


UK lawmaker quits Labour Party over PM’s ‘hypocrisy’

UK lawmaker quits Labour Party over PM’s ‘hypocrisy’
Updated 29 September 2024
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UK lawmaker quits Labour Party over PM’s ‘hypocrisy’

UK lawmaker quits Labour Party over PM’s ‘hypocrisy’
  • The row over the free gifts from rich donors had already cast a shadow over the party’s first conference since they returned to government

LONDON: The new government of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer reeled from its first resignation Saturday, as lawmaker Rosie Duffield quit the Labour Party, accusing him of “hypocrisy” over his acceptance of free gifts.
In a blistering resignation letter, Duffield denounced Starmer for pursuing “cruel and unnecessary” policies.
“The sleaze, nepotism and apparent avarice are off the scale,” she wrote, after it emerged earlier this month that Starmer had accepted more than £100,000 in gifts and hospitality while cutting an annual £300 winter heating payment to some 10 million pensioners.
“I am so ashamed of what you and your inner circle have done to tarnish and humiliate our once proud party.”
Duffield said the “hypocrisy” of a leader enjoying expensive free clothing and outings while asking others to tighten their belts was “staggering.”
She also attacked the prime minister’s decision to maintain a cap on a benefit aimed at supporting families with children.
“Someone with far-above-average wealth choosing to keep the Conservatives’ two-child limit to benefit payments which entrenches children in poverty, while inexplicably accepting expensive personal gifts of designer suits and glasses costing more than most of those people can grasp — this is entirely undeserving of holding the title of Labour Prime Minister,” she wrote.
Duffield said that she would in the future sit as an independent MP “guided by my core Labour values.”
The row over the free gifts from rich donors had already cast a shadow over the party’s first conference since they returned to government.
Labour ousted the Conservatives in a landslide election win in July after 14 years in opposition.
But instead of toasting their victory at the conference earlier this week, ministers found themselves on the backfoot and facing anger from the normally supportive unions.
All of the gifts accepted by Starmer had been declared and none fall foul of parliamentary rules.
But records show that Starmer accepted more than £100,000 ($132,000) in gifts and hospitality since December 2019, more than any other lawmaker.
It also emerged that Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner accepted the loan of a New York apartment for a holiday and that Chancellor Rachel Reeves accepted around £7,500 worth of clothing.
Reeves and the Labour party have defended the abolition of the £300 payment to many pensioners to help them heat their homes, citing a need to fill a “£22 billion black hole” they say was left by the Conservatives.
Attacking Starmer’s “managerial and technocratic approach” in her letter, first reported in The Sunday Times, Duffield also reproached Starmer for poor politics.
His “lack of basic... political instincts” had “come crashing down on us as a party after we worked so hard, promised so much, and waited a long 14 years to be mandated by the British public.”
Starmer lost a symbolic vote at the conference demanding that he reverse the contentious policy.
The vote was non-binding but its outcome was nonetheless embarrassing for the premier.
It highlighted the strength of feeling among activists and union backers.
Delegates narrowly backed a union motion calling for the cut to be reversed.
“I do not understand how our new Labour Government can cut the winter fuel allowance for pensioners and leave the super rich untouched,” said the Unite union general secretary Sharon Graham.


World’s path to peace should no longer be blocked by one or two countries, Kuwait’s ambassador to UN tells Arab News

World’s path to peace should no longer be blocked by one or two countries, Kuwait’s ambassador to UN tells Arab News
Updated 39 min 23 sec ago
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World’s path to peace should no longer be blocked by one or two countries, Kuwait’s ambassador to UN tells Arab News

World’s path to peace should no longer be blocked by one or two countries, Kuwait’s ambassador to UN tells Arab News
  • Tareq AlBanai highlights problem of ability of single veto-wielding UNSC permanent member to obstruct action even when majority supports a motion
  • Landmark Pact for the Future adopted this week at 79th UNGA session commits world leaders to reform Security Council to better reflect today’s realities

NEW YORK: Decades of debate on reforming the UN Security Council reached what some are calling a turning point this week with the adoption of a “groundbreaking” pact that commits member states to implementing long-demanded changes.

For Tareq AlBanai, Kuwait’s permanent representative to the UN, the pact was the culmination of two years of work built on the belief that no single member state should be able to obstruct action on a matter of global urgency.

Since 2022, AlBanai and Austria’s ambassador to the UN have spearheaded the inter-governmental negotiations to reform the Security Council, whose five permanent members have retained their veto power since the UN’s formation in 1945.

Tareq AlBanai, Kuwait’s permanent representative to the UN. (KUNA photo)

AlBanai described his time co-chairing the inter-governmental negotiations on Security Council reforms as a “labor of love.”

“The Security Council is the only body charged with the maintenance of international peace and security,” he told Arab News. “It is the cornerstone of the multilateral system and the UN when it comes to peace and security. The everyday man around the world — when he thinks of the UN, he thinks of the Security Council.

“And when we see the Security Council unable to act on the most pressing situations around the world that threaten international peace and security, you lose faith in this institution.

“And that is not a good thing. It is the only, truly, universal, multilateral system that we have.”

The mounting calls to reform the council are decades in the making.

Countries such as India, Brazil, Germany and Japan have renewed their appeal for permanent seats to better reflect the geopolitical realities of the 21st century. Meanwhile, the Permanent 5 members (US, UK, France, Russia and China) have urged caution, highlighting the need for “consensus and stability.”

UN SecurityCouncil Members

Permanent members

• China

• France

• Russia

• United Kingdom

• United States

Non-permanent members elected every 2 years

(Until 2024)

• Ecuador

• Japan

• Malta

• Mozambique

• Switzerland

(Until 2025)

• Algeria

• Guyana

• South Korea

• Slovenia

• Sierra Leone

* Elected for two-year terms by the General Assembly

(Source: UN.Org)

The intergovernmental negotiations led by Kuwait and Austria have included discussions on regional representation, the criteria for new permanent members and the balance of power within the Security Council.

“A reformed Security Council, in my opinion, needs to be a place where we can secure collective action through the collective understanding of the members,” AlBanai said.

“No member state should have the ability to stop the majority of the world from taking decisive action on any matter at hand.

“And if they decide to use a prerogative, then there must be ways that we can, as an international community, through the General Assembly or through any other mechanisms we agree on in the future, find an alternative path.

“The path to peace cannot be (stymied) by one, two or even three member states when the majority of the world believes that the way forward is in a specific manner.”

Opinion

This section contains relevant reference points, placed in (Opinion field)

The Pact for the Future — adopted this week at the 79th session of UN General Assembly after nine months of negotiations — offers a consensus vision for cooperation among countries in tackling challenges ranging from climate and artificial intelligence to escalating conflicts and increasing inequality and poverty.

But, more importantly for those eying Security Council reform, the pact also commits world leaders to reform the 15-member organ to better reflect today’s world, “redress the historical injustice against Africa,” which has no permanent seat, and correct the underrepresentation of the Asia-Pacific region and Latin America.

Austria and Kuwait led the negotiations on council reform with vigor, holding a series of televised debates on the topic. Alongside discussions on the main pact, UN members hosted isolated Security Council reform talks, recognizing that the topic could complicate agreements on other issues included in the document.

Guy Ryder, the UN’s under secretary-general for policy, called the language in the pact “groundbreaking,” highlighting the commitment to develop a consolidated model of Security Council reform.

“Now, this might sound rather esoteric, and this would be one of the most difficult things to explain to the person in the street, but for those engaged in this type of process since the 1960s, and the co-facilitators of negotiations, Austria and Kuwait, this is groundbreaking language,” Ryder told Arab News.

Guy Ryder, the UN’s under secretary-general for policy. (un.org photo)

AlBanai agreed, highlighting the avenue to substantial reform that the pact has opened.

“Is it groundbreaking? Well, it’s the first time since 1963 that we have a commitment at the head of state and government level to further enhance the Security Council,” he said, calling for a council that is representative, transparent, effective, inclusive, democratic and accountable.

This is essential for the operation of a functioning multilateral system, according to Al-Banai.

“If we can manage through this process to enhance not only the capacity of the Security Council, but the actual shape, form and actions of the council by increasing its membership, by making it more representative of the world we live in today in 2024, and not the world of 1945, then we have achieved something,” he said.

With only the first step on a long journey ahead having been taken, AlBanai is acutely aware that reform has been a painstakingly slow process.

In the months after the UN was founded in 1945, some member states had already recognized the need for a more flexible Security Council. It was only in the late 1970s that some brought the issue of council reform to the attention of the General Assembly.

Yet substantial progress has remained elusive. One of the most significant barriers to reform has been the frequent turnover of diplomats and experts at the UN, which can stifle continuity in discussions.

To address this, AlBanai and his co-chair, Austrian Ambassador Alexander Marschik, prioritized transparency in negotiations.

Austrian Ambassador to the United Nations Alexander Marschik. (AFP/File)

Through initiatives like webcasting meetings and creating a comprehensive repository of documents, they aimed to make the reform process accessible to a broader audience, including NGOs and academic institutions. That decision has opened the doors for new stakeholders to engage with the reform process, fostering a more inclusive atmosphere for discussion.

One of the most controversial results of the Security Council’s existing format has been the increasingly liberal use of veto power by some permanent members.

In recent years, lone members of the P5 have paralyzed and undermined the credibility of the council, in a pattern that risks damaging the reputation of the entire organization, according to representatives from a wide spectrum of countries. 

AlBanai highlighted the troubling reality of a single veto-wielding permanent member being able to obstruct action, even when the majority of the council supports a motion.

This gridlock has been most evident in discussions surrounding the war in Gaza, with repeated vetoes preventing meaningful action on a ceasefire and urgent humanitarian issues.

“(The veto’s) use or misuse have been a central focus of member states because, unfortunately, one member, or a combination of members, with that ability can stop the movement of the wider international community toward addressing an issue as important as the genocide currently happening in Gaza or any other matter that is under consideration in the Security Council,” AlBanai said.

In this photo taken on December 8, 2023, Ambassador Robert A. Wood, US alternate representative for special political affairs in the United Nations, raises his hand to veto a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. (AFP)

While many member states advocate for the abolition of the veto, such a change is complex, requiring the agreement of the existing veto holders, he added.

“It’s unrealistic to expect that the current P5 will agree to eliminate their own power.”

To sidestep this quandary, discussions have shifted toward giving new permanent members — should they be added — veto power, but the proposal has proved contentious among member states.

Those in opposition argue for the need to reduce veto use entirely, with calls to ban use of the veto power in cases of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

There remains broad support, however, for expanding council membership, in both permanent and non-permanent categories, and for unrepresented or underrepresented regions and continents, such as Africa and Asia, to have a “meaningful seat” at the table. 

One notable development in the reform discussions came in the form of a recent US proposal to add two permanent seats for Africa in the council, though without veto power.

“What I like about the American proposal is that it invites conversation,” said AlBanai, highlighting the importance of moving from abstract discussion to concrete action.

As part of their efforts, Kuwait and Austria introduced “model discussions,” which invited member states and country blocs to present their models of a reformed Security Council.

“That allows the opportunity to move from a conceptual kind of conversation into an actual, almost 3D conversation, where member states sit at the podium with the co-chairs and present, and then all other member states are given the opportunity to actually ask questions and to, if you will, poke holes in this model,” said AlBanai.

He welcomed the US proposal as a positive step and encouraged other member states to do the same: “The Americans have moved from one African member to now two African members. Maybe they’ll move to two permanent African members with a veto in the future. Who knows? But we have to have that conversation, and we have to inject new blood into it.”


READ MORE: 

• UN Security Council must reform to ‘reflect realities of modern world’: Kuwait crown prince

• UN Security Council falls short of meeting aspirations, says Arab League chief

 Saudi FM calls for UN reform

 Bahrain supports UN reform that ‘reflects current geopolitical realities’: Crown prince

• Reform of UN can ‘give Africa a voice,’ Mauritanian president says

• Algerian FM calls for UN reform to meet ‘dangers lurking all over the world’


The discussions on UNSC reform have also included a focus on regional representation.

One longstanding proposal that has been almost universally accepted is adding a permanent seat for the Arab world, which has long been advocated by the Arab League.

Cross Regional Groups have also introduced the idea of permanent seats for themselves, such as Small Island Developing States, known as SIDS, as well as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

“We have to consider these ideas,” said AlBanai.

“I don’t know what the criteria is. Is it the number of agenda items that are discussed in the Security Council? Is it your population? Is it the fact that you have the biggest army? The biggest economy? Could it be the number of international treaties that you’ve signed? Your compliance with international law? There are so many criteria out there, and the discussions should help us narrow in on who is deserving of this seat and how that could be in the future.

“But, surely, the most important thing is that we have a Security Council that reflects the realities of today.”
 

 


UK calls again for immediate ceasefire in Lebanon

UK calls again for immediate ceasefire in Lebanon
Updated 29 September 2024
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UK calls again for immediate ceasefire in Lebanon

UK calls again for immediate ceasefire in Lebanon
  • Britain’s foreign ministry has advised its nationals to leave Lebanon as soon as possible

LONDON: British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said he had spoken with Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Saturday, following an Israeli airstrike on Beirut which killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

“We agreed on the need for an immediate ceasefire to bring an end to the bloodshed. A diplomatic solution is the only way to restore security and stability for the Lebanese and Israeli people,” Lammy said in a statement on social media platform X.

Earlier in the week Lammy told the United Nations’ General Assembly that there should be an immediate ceasefire between Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Israel and that a full-blown war was not in the interest of the people in the region.

Britain’s foreign ministry has advised its nationals to leave Lebanon as soon as possible.