Honduras hands drug suspect to US amid diplomatic row

Honduras hands drug suspect to US amid diplomatic row
Honduran security forces escort Mario Jose Calix, who was detained on drug trafficking charges and extradited to the US for alleged links to drug trafficking, at a military base in Comayagua, Honduras, September 4, 2024. (Reuters)
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Updated 04 September 2024
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Honduras hands drug suspect to US amid diplomatic row

Honduras hands drug suspect to US amid diplomatic row
  • The former local deputy mayor is accused by US authorities of conspiring to import large quantities of cocaine into the United States and using machine guns to protect shipments

COMAYAGUA, Honduras: Honduras handed an ally of imprisoned former president Juan Orlando Hernandez over to the United States on Wednesday to face drug trafficking charges, police said.

The move comes amid a diplomatic dispute with Washington that saw President Xiomara Castro, Hernandez’s successor, announce the end of an extradition treaty between the two countries.

Mario Jose Calix was handed over to US agents at an airport north of the capital Tegucigalpa and put on an airplane headed for the United States, authorities said.

“The plane is already in the air,” police spokesman Edgardo Barahona told AFP.

Calix, 42, was taken to the airport in handcuffs under heavy guard from the police special forces headquarters where he had been held since June.

The former local deputy mayor is accused by US authorities of conspiring to import large quantities of cocaine into the United States and using machine guns to protect shipments.

The extradition was the last to be processed before Castro announced the cancelation of the treaty with the United States, according to judiciary spokesman Melvin Duarte.

Fifty Hondurans accused of drug trafficking have been extradited to the United States over the past decade, including Hernandez, who was sentenced in June in New York to 45 years in prison.

In a surprise move, Castro announced on August 28 the end of the extradition treaty in response to what she called interference by US Ambassador Laura Dogu, who criticized a meeting of senior Honduran officials with Venezuela’s defense minister.

Dogu told reporters that she was surprised to see then Honduran defense minister Jose Manuel Zelaya — Castro’s nephew — and military chief General Roosevelt Hernandez sitting next to a “drug trafficker” in Venezuela.

Castro’s government is a staunch ally of Venezuela, which is under pressure from Washington and other countries following the disputed reelection of President Nicolas Maduro in July.

Castro has hinted that Washington planned to use the extradition treaty against Honduran military leaders, even referring on Tuesday to a “coup d’état” brewing.

The opposition has accused Castro of ending the pact and inventing conspiracies to protect members of her government and family.

The president’s brother-in-law Carlos Zelaya resigned as a lawmaker on Saturday following accusations that he met drug traffickers in 2013 to seek campaign financing for her party.

Shortly afterward, Castro’s nephew Jose Manuel Zelaya resigned as defense minister.


More than 800 mpox deaths recorded across Africa

More than 800 mpox deaths recorded across Africa
Updated 03 October 2024
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More than 800 mpox deaths recorded across Africa

More than 800 mpox deaths recorded across Africa
  • “The epidemic is not under control,” Jean Kaseya, the head of Africa CDC said
  • The Democratic Republic of Congo would begin vaccinating in two days

NAIROBI: More than 800 people across Africa have died from mpox, the African Union’s disease control center said Thursday, warning the epidemic “was not under control.”
Some 34,297 cases have been recorded across the continent since January, the AU’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said, adding that the figure included 38 cases in Ghana.
This brings to 16 the number of African countries where mpox has been officially detected this year, according to the health agency.
“The epidemic is not under control,” Jean Kaseya, the head of Africa CDC told a press briefing, saying the number of deaths since the start of the year was 866.
He also warned that the testing rate remained “too low,” noting that some 2,500 new cases had been detected in the past week.
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) — the epicenter of the outbreak — would begin vaccinating in two days, Kaseya added. Vaccinations had been due to begin October 2.
Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, is caused by a virus transmitted to humans by infected animals but can also be passed from human to human through close physical contact.
It causes fever, muscular aches and large boil-like skin lesions, and can be deadly.


Afghanistan’s trade with Pakistan nosedives amid increasing imports from Iran

Trucks carrying goods pass through the zero-point Torkham border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan. (File/AFP)
Trucks carrying goods pass through the zero-point Torkham border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan. (File/AFP)
Updated 03 October 2024
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Afghanistan’s trade with Pakistan nosedives amid increasing imports from Iran

Trucks carrying goods pass through the zero-point Torkham border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan. (File/AFP)
  • Afghanistan commerce chamber says Pakistan trade down 60%
  • Afghanistan’s imports via Iran had increased to $2bn last year

KABUL: Afghanistan’s trade with Pakistan has nosedived since the beginning of the year, the Afghan Chamber of Commerce and Investment said on Thursday, amid increasing imports from Iran.

Pakistan has been Afghanistan’s main access route to international markets. But with tensions between the neighbors increasing since 2021 — when the Taliban took over the administration in Kabul and with several regime changes in Islamabad as well — the volume of trade has dropped sharply.

“Our exports and transit trade with Pakistan have been decreasing every day. Since the Islamic Emirate (the Taliban) took power, increasing restrictions have been put on our transit due to the political and security issues between the two countries,” Khan Jan Alokozai, deputy head of the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment, told Arab News.

“Our exports also faced several challenges, slowly declining trade with Pakistan. We had around $2 billion in annual trade with Pakistan, which will be as low as $500 million this year.”

The drop in the volume of trade was also significant as hundreds of Afghan products were barred from entering Pakistani territory.

“(About) 200-300 items were put on the negative list of the Afghan transit trade, stopping all from being exported,” Alokozai said.

“Our trade with Pakistan has decreased by 60 percent while our transit (trade) has seen an 80 percent decline.”

While Afghanistan’s relations with its eastern neighbor were deteriorating, they have seen improvement with others — Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Iran — which was also reflected in trade activity.

Iran, Alokozai said, was increasingly taking over Pakistan’s role in the region, especially for imports.

“We tried a lot to convince the government of Pakistan but border closure and transit challenges such as high taxes led to a significant decline in trade with Pakistan.”

“On the other hand, our trade relations with Iran and Central Asia are improving. Last year, we had around $2 billion imports from Iran and our transit trade is mainly through Chabahar and Bandar Abbas ports in Iran,” he said.

In terms of cost and time, Pakistani ports including Qasim, Gawadar and Karachi were still more viable options for Afghan traders, especially those in the east.

Businesspeople trading in grocery products, who depend on the Torkham crossing connecting Nangarhar province with Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, are hopeful that political issues would still be fixed between their government and its Pakistani counterpart.

“When trucks full of fresh vegetables and fruits are stopped for days in Torkham, most of them get rotten, causing great loss for businesses,” Ismail Niazi, a shopkeeper in Jalalabad, told Arab News.

“I hope the current government can resolve issues with Pakistan and support Afghan businessmen.”


At least 78 people died when a boat with 278 passengers capsized in eastern Congo, official says

At least 78 people died when a boat with 278 passengers capsized in eastern Congo, official says
Updated 43 min 25 sec ago
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At least 78 people died when a boat with 278 passengers capsized in eastern Congo, official says

At least 78 people died when a boat with 278 passengers capsized in eastern Congo, official says
  • According to Jean-Jacques Purusi, governor of the South Kivu province, the death toll was provisional and the number of fatalities could rise
  • The boat, overloaded with passengers, sank while trying to dock just meters (yards) away from the port of Kituku, according to witnesses

GOMA, Congo: At least 78 people died when an overcrowded boat with 278 passengers capsized on Lake Kivu in eastern Congo on Thursday, a local governor said.
According to Jean-Jacques Purusi, governor of the South Kivu province, the death toll was provisional and the number of fatalities could rise. He spoke to The Associated Press over the phone hours after the tragedy.
The boat, overloaded with passengers, sank while trying to dock just meters (yards) away from the port of Kituku, according to witnesses. It was going from Minova in South Kivu province to Goma, in North Kivu province.
Earlier in the day, witnesses said they saw rescue services recover at least 50 bodies from the water. The boat, overloaded with passengers, sank while trying to dock just meters (yards) away from the port of Kituku, they added. It was going from Minova in South Kivu province to Goma, in North Kivu province.
The witnesses said 10 people survived and were taken to the local hospital. Local officials later reported that as many as 50 were rescued. The search and rescue efforts were continuing.
It was the latest deadly boat accident in the central African country, where overcrowding on vessels is often to blame. Maritime regulations also are often not followed.
Congolese officials have often warned against overloading and vowed to punish those violating safety measures for water transportation. But in remote areas where most passengers come from, many are unable to afford public transport for the few available roads.
In June, an overloaded boat sank near the capital of Kinshasa and 80 passengers lost their lives. In January, 22 people died on Lake Maî-Ndombe and in April 2023, six were killed and 64 went missing on Lake Kivu.
Witnesses of the Thursday tragedy said the boat was visibly overcrowded.
“I was at the port of Kituku when I saw the boat arriving from Minova, full of passengers,” Francine Munyi told the AP. “It started to lose its balance and sank into the lake. Some people threw themselves into the water.”
“Many died, and few were saved,” she added. “I couldn’t help them because I don’t know how to swim.”
The victims’ families and Goma residents gathered at the port of Kituku, accusing authorities of negligence in the face of growing insecurity in the region.
Since the fighting between the armed forces and the M23 rebels made the road between the cities of Goma and Minova impassable, forcing the closure of the passage to trucks transporting food, many traders have resorted to maritime transport on Lake Kivu. It’s an alternative considered safer than road traffic, which is threatened by insecurity.
But according to Elia Asumani, a shipping agent who works on this line, the situation has become dangerous:
“We are afraid,” he told the AP. “This shipwreck was predictable.”
Bienfait Sematumba, 27, said he lost four family members.
“They are all dead. I am alone now,” he said, sobbing. “If the authorities had ended the war, this shipwreck would never have happened.”
The survivors, about 10 of them, were taken to Kyeshero hospital for treatment. One of them, Neema Chimanga, said she was still in shock.
“We saw the boat start to fill with water halfway,” she recounted to the AP. “The door of the boat opened, and we tried to close it. But the water was already coming in, and the boat tilted.”
“I threw myself into the water and started swimming,” she said. “I don’t know how I got out of the water.”


France says Israel’s ‘persona non grata’ designation of UN chief ‘unjustified’

France says Israel’s ‘persona non grata’ designation of UN chief ‘unjustified’
Updated 03 October 2024
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France says Israel’s ‘persona non grata’ designation of UN chief ‘unjustified’

France says Israel’s ‘persona non grata’ designation of UN chief ‘unjustified’
  • Paris said it had “full support for and confidence” in Guterres
  • The United Nations played “a fundamental role in the stability of the region“

PARIS: France on Thursday condemned Israel’s move to declare UN chief Antonio Guterres “persona non grata,” saying the decision was “unjustified.”
“France regrets the unjustified, serious and counter-productive decision taken by Israel to declare the secretary general of the United Nations, Mr.Antonio Guterres, persona non grata,” the French foreign ministry said in a statement.
Paris said it had “full support for and confidence” in Guterres, adding that the United Nations played “a fundamental role in the stability of the region.”
“France reiterates its commitment to the United Nations Charter, to international law and to the importance of respecting Security Council decisions in maintaining international peace and security,” the statement added.
On Wednesday, Israel declared Guterres “persona non grata,” accusing him of failing to specifically condemn Iran’s missile attack on Israel.
Israel has been a harsh critic of the UN, with ties between the state and the international body souring even more after the October 7 Hamas attacks.


Indian poet rejects US-backed award in solidarity with Palestinian children

Indian poet rejects US-backed award in solidarity with Palestinian children
Updated 03 October 2024
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Indian poet rejects US-backed award in solidarity with Palestinian children

Indian poet rejects US-backed award in solidarity with Palestinian children
  • Jacinta Kerketta comes from the Indigenous community in Jharkhand state, eastern India
  • She was nominated to receive Room to Read Young Author Award for her children’s poetry

NEW DELHI: Indian poet Jacinta Kerketta has turned down a prestigious US-backed literary award, citing her solidarity with the Palestinian children and women in Gaza killed by Israel with American military support.
The Room to Read Young Author Award, co-sponsored by the US Agency for International Development and Room to Read India Trust, aims to promote children’s literacy.
Kerketta was selected to receive it next week for “Jirhul,” her latest children’s poetry collection.
“I declined this award because USAID (U.S. Aid for International Development) is associated with Room to Read India Trust,” she told Arab News on Wednesday.

“When I got information about the award for children’s literature, I felt that it was more important to speak for the children of Palestine than to receive an award.”
She also raised concerns over the links of the international nonprofit itself, as it has been collaborating with Boeing, which is a sponsor of some of its literacy programs in India.
“At the same time when children were being killed in Palestine, Room to Read India Trust was collaborating with Boeing Company ... a company that has had arms business with Israel for a long time,” Kerketta said.

“I rejected this award to show my solidarity with the children, women.”

Originally from Jharkhand state in eastern India, the poet is a member of the minority Adivasi community — India’s marginalized indigenous people who traditionally live in and around forest areas.

“Adivasi people are struggling for their survival along with saving nature. They’re always an advocate of human freedom,” she said.

“My community gives me the courage to show solidarity with those fighting for their freedom.”

More women and children have been killed by the Israeli military in Gaza over the past year than the equivalent period of any other conflict over the past two decades, according to new analysis by Oxfam.

Oxfam’s “conservative figures” earlier this week indicate that more than 6,000 Palestinian women and 11,000 children in Gaza have been killed by Israeli forces since October 2023. The numbers do not include at least 20,000 of those who are either unidentified or missing.

Earlier this year, a study published by the medical journal The Lancet estimated the true number of Palestinians killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza could be more than 186,000, taking into consideration also indirect deaths as a result of starvation, injury and lack of access to medical aid.