Africa

February 3, 2016 (JUBA) - South Sudanese government led by President Salva Kiir said on Wednesday that opposition forces have besieged the strategic town of Bentiu in the oil producing Unity state.

South Sudanese soldiers patrol the streets of Unity state capital Bentiu on 12 January 2014 (Photo: Simon Maina/AFP)

Speaking to reporters after an extraordinary Council of Ministers meeting in Juba, government spokesman and minister of information and broadcasting, Michael Makuei Lueth, said all routes leading to the oil producing town are cut off by the opposition forces of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA-IO) led by former Vice-president, Riek Machar.

"We don't know their intention but they have closed all the roads; around Bentiu are closed and there is no movement into or out of the town," said Makuei, referring to a security report presented by ministers of defense and national security in a meeting chaired by President Salva Kiir on Wednesday.

"We don't think it is cantonment or assembling of SPLM-IO forces because you don't decide cantonment areas on your own. It is something that all parties do jointly," he said in reference to assembly areas contained in the peace agreement signed five months ago to end the 21 months old war.

Makuei said the government was monitoring the movement of the opposition troops closely.

SPLA-IO REFUTES ACCUSATION

Meanwhile, officials of the SPLM-IO have denied the accusations, saying this could be a pretext by the government if it planned to attack their forces in Unity state.

“Our forces have not moved out. They are in their bases,” said James Gatdet Dak, official spokesman of the SPLM-IO leadership.

“We hope this is not a pretext by the government to attack our forces in the area,” he said.

He also said the government could be trying to divert the public attention from the ceasefire violations and atrocities it has been committing in Western Equatoria state.

Clashes this week occurred in Mundri county of Western Equatoria state between government troops and opposition forces, with the chairman of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC), Festus Mogae, confirming the dire situation in the area.

The opposition faction accused the South Sudanese army (SPLA) of attacking their positions and civilian settlements in Western Equatoria. While the government's newly appointed governor in the area confirmed the clashes, senior military leaders in Juba denied having received reports about the fighting.

(ST)

January 3, 2016 (YAMBIO) – 30 youth drawn from the five payams of Yambio in South Sudan's Gbudue state have been trained on good governance and conflict resolution.

Youth attending the training in Yambio February 3, 2016 (ST)

A local based entity known as Community Empowerment for Rehabilitation and Development Organisation, (CEFORD) has organised the three-day workshop, which reportedly intends to equip youth with skills on conflict management.

CEFORD's project manager, Valentino Asienzo, said Yambio was chosen as the venue for the workshop owing to recent experiences of conflict and between local youth and the army, which saw nearly a dozen people killed.

“Youth have been involved in some conflict and organise themselves into groups and enter the bush in parts of former Western Equatoria state saying they are demanding their rights or to find solutions to their problems, but through dialogue a peaceful resolution can reached not fighting,” said Asienzo.

CEFORD has, in the past, organised such trainings in Ibba county to 30 youth on conflict management and has been operating in some counties in greater Western Equatoria to bring the youth and civil society groups together, training them on how to manage and find solutions to conflicts.

Some of the youth said the absence of schools in their areas makes them very idle.

James Kubako, a participant, vowed to convince county authorities to establish schools that would help absorb majority of the youth and keep them busy.

The youth and the country's armed forces were often involved in fierce battles in various parts of Western Equatoria state, a situation worsened by the 21-months long conflict.

(ST)

The bullet-ridden Fatih Paşa Mosque in the heart of Diyarbakir's historical Sur district, which was heavily damaged in clashes between Turkish armed forces and local militant youths. Credit: Joris Leverink/IPS

By Joris Leverink
ISTANBUL, Turkey, Feb 4 2016 (IPS)

The latest footage to come out of Sur, the historical district in Diyarbakir that has been under total lock down by Turkish armed forces for the past sixty days, shows a level of devastation one would sooner expect in Syria. In more ways than one – empty streets lined with debris, bombed-out buildings, tanks and soldiers shooting at invisible assailants – the situation in Turkey’s predominantly Kurdish southeastern regions resembles a war zone.

The Turkish government maintains that it is engaged in a fight against terror. However, the security operations are characterized by a disproportionate use of violence, whereby entire towns and neighborhoods are cut off from the outside world with civilians trapped inside their homes for weeks on end. This has led to calls by international human rights organizations to end the collective punishment of an entire population for the acts of a small minority.

At its second general congress in late January, the key political representative of the Kurdish population in Turkey, the Peoples’ Democratic Party, or HDP, stressed its determination to seek a peaceful solution to the violent conflict. “If politics can play a role, weapons are not necessary. Where there’s no politics, there will be
weapons,” Selahattin Demirtaş, the co-chair of the party summarized the situation.

From autonomy to conflict

In the spring of 2013 hopes were high for a political solution to the decades-old violent conflict between the Turkish state and its Kurdish minority, represented on the battlefield by the leftist Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK. After years of fighting and tens of thousands deaths, both parties appeared determined to bring the war to an end and engage in peace talks. For almost 2.5 years the fighting ceased. The precarious peace came to an end in the summer of 2015.

As a spillover from the war in Syria, tensions between the Kurds in Turkey and the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, reached a boiling point. In Syria, local Kurds had been fighting off a number of Turkey-backed jihadist and Syrian opposition groups – most prominently the so-called Islamic State, or ISIS. When Kurdish groups in Turkey became the target of two ISIS-linked suicide attacks – in Diyarbakir in June, and Suruç in July – it was the AKP that was held responsible for the onslaught.

The ceasefire broke down and violence escalated quickly. Turkey launched air raids against PKK targets in northern Iraq, in response to which security forces inside Turkey were attacked by Kurdish militants. Having lost their trust in the Turkish state to properly address Kurdish grievances concerning the right to speak and be educated in their mother tongue, to practice their own religion, to be represented politically and to protect the natural environment of their historical homelands, many Kurds instead turned to the ideology of “democratic confederalism”.

Developed by the jailed leader of the PKK, Abdullah Öcalan, democratic confederalism promotes the autonomy of local communities and a decentralization of the state.

When towns and neighborhoods across the Kurdish regions of Turkey started declaring their autonomy in the wake of the re-escalated conflict, the Turkish state under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan responded by sending in the army and declaring dozens of so-called curfews that in practice amount to military sieges. Besides hundreds of casualties among the army and Kurdish militants, around two hundred civilians are believed to have been killed in the past six months.

Bleak prospects for peace

After the HDP became the first party with roots in the Kurdish freedom movement to pass the exceedingly high electoral threshold of 10 per cent at the parliamentary elections in June – and again at the snap elections in November – it has come under severe pressure from the political establishment. President Erdogan personally suggested that the HDP representatives ought to be stripped from their immunity so that they could be prosecuted for supporting terrorism.

Nonetheless, the party refuses to succumb to the intimidation and has consistently called for a peaceful and democratic solution to the conflict. “Despite all the oppression, a new democratic model is emerging,” HDP co-chair Figen Yüksedağ said in her speech at the congress. “This model continues to gain support, even while under attack. The HDP has a historical responsibility to bring this project to a successful end.”

Her co-chair Demirtaş added the warning that “If we fail to produce a solution for the end of the violence, it is the end of politics in Turkey.” Unfortunately, prospects for a political solution are bleak. Mayors and political representatives of the towns and districts where the population has called for autonomy are prosecuted and jailed. At the same time President Erdogan warned that, “It should be known that we will bring the whole world down on those who seek to establish a state within a state under the name of autonomy and self-governance.”

Prime Minister Davutoğlu recently vowed to continue the military operations until “our mountains, plains and towns are cleansed of these killers.” This type of uncompromising discourse from the country’s two most powerful political leaders instills little hope that the government is prepared to return to the negotiation table any time soon. The Kurds, both at home and across the border in Syria, are seen as the biggest threat to the territorial integrity of Turkey, and to stop this perceived threat no price is too high.

In the same way that Turkey has refused to allow the Syrian Kurds a seat at the negotiation table in Geneva, it is refusing to enter into dialogue with the Kurds at home.

The multiple references to Syria in this article are no coincidence; if the Turkish government continues to ignore all but a military solution to the current unrest, there is a very real threat that part of the country will soon resemble its southern neighbor.

The HDP’s invitation is there. In the words of co-chair Demirtaş: “Dialogue and negotiation should be the method when the public is under threat. Strengthening democracy is the only way to save Turkey from disaster.”

(End)

A consecration ceremony of the Timbuktu mausoleums, last held in the 11th century, was celebrated today at the initiative of the local community, the final phase of the United Nations-backed cultural rebirth of the age-old Sahara city after the destruction wrought by radical Islamists in 2012.

The United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) reported today that it has identified seven new possible victims of sexual exploitation and abuse in the town of Bambari, just days after the UN revealed which countries&#39 troops have been accused of abusing minors.

A senior United Nations official has held talks with Somali leaders in Mogadishu, the capital, in a show of support for last month&#39s &#8220breakthrough&#8221 political achievement in selecting an electoral model to be used later this year in efforts to lead the Horn of Africa country out of decades of factional war.

February 3, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - The United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has allocated $7 million to the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to help address some of the most pressing needs of South Sudanese refugees in Sudan.

South Sudanese children play in Al-Alagaya camp in White Nile State, Sudan (Photo UNHCR)

An estimated 198,600 South Sudanese have sought refuge in Sudan following the eruption of conflict in South Sudan in December 2013. The majority reside in White Nile and Khartoum States.

In statement extended to Sudan Tribune Wednesday, UNHCR representative in Sudan Mohammed Adar said the timing of the CERF funds is critical, describing it as the first significant contribution received this year.

“It will help address the increasing humanitarian needs of South Sudanese refugees fleeing conflict and violence at home, and finding safety in Sudan,” he said.

According to the statement, “the funds will be used to ease overcrowding in existing refugee sites and support protection, health, nutrition, water and sanitation, as well as emergency education”.

The statement pointed that the overcrowding has been a challenge in the seven sites where refugees have been living in White Nile State, increasing the risks to their health and well-being, saying the CERF's funds will support the opening of two additional sites and help address overcrowding.

“The CERF funding being made available will support programmes that are implemented in White Nile State by UNHCR and other UN agencies, including the United Nations Children's Fund, the United Nations World Food Programme, the United Nations Population Fund and the World Health Organization”, added the statement
The conflict in South Sudan erupted in mid-December 2013 between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir Mayardit and those backing former Vice President Riek Machar.

The violence which quickly spread across the country killed tens of thousands of people and forced an estimated two million flee their homes.

(ST)

February 3, 2016 (JUBA) – South Sudanese government has denied having told by East African regional bloc, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), to revoke the unilaterally created 28 states in violation of the peace agreement it signed with opposition factions in August 2015 on the basis of the existing 10 states, saying it was a misinterpretation.

South Sudanese information minister Michael Makuei Lueth attends a press conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 5 January 2014 (Photo: AP/Elias Asmara)

In a statement issued shortly after an extraordinary Council of Ministers meeting in Juba on Wednesday, chaired by President Salva Kiir, Juba accused journalists of “misinterpreting” the IGAD communiqué.

“IGAD communiqué did not ask to revoke the 28 states,” Michael Makuei Lueth, minister of information, spokesman of the government and deputy chief negotiator for the government told reporters on Wednesday in broadcasted statement on the state-run South Sudan Television (SSTV).

He said the communiqué instead asked the parties to continue to dialogue on the matter of the 28 states, after formation of transitional government. Lueth went ahead to read to reporters point 6 of the IGAD communiqué, which reads:

“Concerned by the recent decision of the Government of South Sudan to implement the October 2, 2015 Presidential Decree on the creation of 28 new states, given that such action is insistent with the terms of ARCSS [Agreement on Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan]. However, Council underlined that this should not delay the formation of the Transitional Government of National Unity (TGoNU) and urges the rapid formation of the TGoNU to enable dialogue on this matter.”

The communique called on the parties, the government, the armed opposition faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM-IO) led by former Vice President, Riek Machar, and other partners in peace, to instead form a boundary commission with membership of all the parties to the peace agreement and review the process for creation of new states.

“Urges the Parties, subsequent to the formation of TGoNU at national level, in the absence of agreement on the creation of new states, to suspend further action implementing the operationalization of new states until an inclusive, participatory National Boundary Commission comprising all parties to ARCSS reviews proposed states and their boundaries, and that this review process occur, for a period of up to one month,” reads point 12 in the communique.

The statement further said in case the parties to the agreement will not agree on proposed states, they will “revert” to the provisions of the agreement which is based on 10 states.

“Indicates to the Parties that in the event there are outstanding disputes at the end of the boundary review process, the Parties should revert to the provisions of the Agreement,” reads point 13.

Lueth could not however explain to the reporters what the communiqué meant to “suspend” the operationalization of 28 states, which is described as “inconsistent” with the provisions of the peace agreement.

Observers say the suspension does clearly mean the 28 states have become defunct, their operationalization to establish their governments is therefore frozen and the newly appointed governors are as well suspended until all the parties reach a consensus on a number of new states to create.

Also the decision that in case the parties will not agree on the number of states to be created during the upcoming dialogue within membership of the boundary commission, the parties shall revert to the existing 10 states.

The decision, they say, has undoubtedly brought to an end the 28 states, arguing that it is obvious the parties will not agree on the 28 states and may reduce or increase the number, redraw their boundaries, or simply revert to 10 states.

(ST)

February 3, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Italy's embassy in Khartoum Wednesday announced that an Italian commercial delegation would arrive in the Sudanese capital next week to discuss ways for expanding the trade exchange between the two countries.

Italy's ambassador to Khartoum Fabrizio Lobasso

In a short statement extended to Sudan Tribune Wednesday, the embassy said the commercial delegation would include 14 companies, pointing it will visit Sudan between 8 to 12 February.

It added the delegations aims to explore the Sudanese market in order to develop more sustainable industrial partnerships that would promote trade exchange between Sudan and Italy.

According to the statement, the talks would focus on developing partnerships in areas of energy and renewable energy, agriculture and food, hydropower and infrastructure.

Besides the bilateral meetings the Italian delegation will hold several meetings including with the Sudan Chamber of Commerce, Sudan Businessmen Union, Foreign Ministry, Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Investment.

Last October, Italy's ambassador to Khartoum Fabrizio Lobasso told Sudan Tribune that the Sudanese-Italian political consultations committee held discussions to resume bilateral talks between the two countries following a hiatus of more than ten years.

According to Lobasso, the meeting of the committee, which was held at Sudan's foreign ministry premises, saw “good discussions” on bilateral relations as well as domestic and regional issues.

February 3, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir said his government is determined to continue the disarmament process across Darfur in order to enhance security and stability in the region.

Former janjaweed leader and tribal chief, Musa Hilal welcomed by his supporters at Khartoum Airport on Saturday 30 May 2015 (Photo by Saleh Ajab Aldor)

Last December, the government said it has completed the first stage of a plan aimed at collecting heavy weapons from the troubled region.

The then minister of interior Ismat Abdel Rahman, told the Sudanese parliament that the proliferation of armaments in Darfur remains "a security worry". He further pointed that millions of small arms are in the hands of Darfur citizens.

He pointed that the first stage aimed at collecting heavy weapons (four- drive vehicles and heavy guns) and the listing and registering of light weapons in the region, saying the collection of light weapons will be implemented at a later stage in exchange for financial or other compensations to be determined in the future.

The head of the Darfur Regional Authority (DRA) Tijani al-Sissi said in press statements following his meeting with President Bashir Wednesday he briefed the latter on the security situation in the region particularly in West Darfur state, pointing the DRA stressed the need to impose state authority especially with regard to disarmament.

It is worth mentioning that the disarmament process includes former rebel groups signatory of a peace agreement and tribal militias which now constitute the main source of insecurity in the region.

Al-Sissi pointed the meeting also discussed the challenges facing the DRA and in particular the funding of the development projects besides the financial needs to complete the rest of the DRA programmes.

He added that he conveyed to President Bashir the DRA consistent position to hold the Darfur administrative referendum on time, saying it is part of the requirements of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD).

The DDPD provides that the permanent administrative status of Darfur be determined through a referendum. The voters have to vote for the creation of a Darfur Region composed of the States of Darfur; or the retention of the status quo of States system.

The Darfur Referendum Commission (DRC) announced that the referendum will be held between 11 to 13 April. However, the national dialogue conference said it has recommended the delay of the referendum.

(ST)

February 3, 2016 (JUBA) – South Sudanese army soldiers who defected to join the Sudan People's Liberation-North (SPLM-N) rebels last week in protest over the alleged failure to resolve the status of the disputed region of Abyei have returned to their places after the community intervened, authorities and military officers in the disputed area confirmed.

Soldiers on patrol in the contested area of Abyei, which is claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan (Photo: Reuters)

The army's deputy chief of general staff for operations, Lt. Gen. James Ajonga Mawut said he had verbally been informed that the group returned.

“I have no official information about the decision regarding what you are talking about [military defection in Abyei area]. I just heard they have changed their minds, which is good for them and the people of Abyei”, he told Sudan Tribune Wednesday.

The chief administrator of the disputed area, Chol Deng Alaak, said he was not aware of any rebellion in the area, declining to discuss military matters.

It emerged last week that a group of over 1,500 soldiers and officers announced had switched allegiance from the South Sudanese military in protest of the way the leadership of South Sudan, under President Salva Kiir was handling the matter of the area, which remains a contested area between Sudan and South Sudan following the latter's secession in 2011.

The region of Abyei was supposed to hold a referendum at the same time when South Sudan held its self-determination referendum, but differences over who was eligible to vote at the referendum contributed to the postponement of the vote, prompting members of the nine Ngok Dinka chiefdoms to unilaterally conduct in October 2013, a community referendum whose result was not accepted by Sudan and South Sudan.

Major Ayuel Kiir, one of the officers who defected, confirmed in a separate interview on Wednesday that he and his group were persuaded by community members to abandon rebellion and rejoin the army in the area.

“I am now speaking to you in Agok. We are all fine. No problem. That issue which you heard has been taken over by the community leadership and decided that the issue of Abyei will be pursued through peaceful means,” said Kiir.

He added, “They said the issue of Abyei is no longer an issue between the two countries. It is now an international matter. So we accepted and returned home”.

(ST)

February 3, 2016 (JUBA) - South Sudanese government on Wednesday announced that it has reached an understanding with the government of neighbouring Sudan from which it seceded in 2011 to reduce charges for transporting crude oil to the international markets through Sudanese territory.

South Sudan's Petroleum and Mining Minister Stephen Dhieu Dau (3rd R) applauds as he restarts oil production in the main oil field in Palouge, on May 5, 2013. (Reuters)

South Sudanese minister of petroleum and mining, Stephen Dhieu Dau, told reporters after concluding a closed door meeting with his Sudanese counterpart had reached an agreement to review the charges considering the sharp fall in oil prices.

“Our meeting has finished. We have discussed and agreed in principle to review the agreement, especially the section related to the oil and now we have resolved to negotiate. And when we negotiate on the transitional financial arrangement in particular, it will not be a fixed $15 per barrel as it was agreed in 2012. It will be fluctuating up and down depending on the prices of the crude globally,” minister Dau told reporters on Wednesday.

He said the two parties through their technical teams would work out how much the new charges would be.

The young nation is obliged under the terms of the 2012 deal to pay Sudan $9.10 per barrel for oil flowing using Petrodar facilities in Upper Nile in addition to a fee of $15 per barrel in fulfillment of a $3.028 billion package which the two sides agreed as transitional financial arrangement (TFA). The TFA is meant to help Sudan cover the gap resulting from the loss of revenues due to secession of South Sudan from Sudan in 2011.

But now the two oil ministers representing South Sudan and Sudan hinted a fixed $15 per barrel rate would be renegotiated and the amount of $3 billion will not be affected by the new arrangement.

It will continue to be paid over a longer period of time. The transitional financial arrangement (TFA) payment, according to South Sudanese oil minister, “will be extended to more years.”

Dau's remarks were quickly confirmed by the Sudanese minister of petroleum, Mohamed Zayed Awad, saying they “have agreed in principle” to reduce the monthly payments for transitional financial arrangement and extend period for payment.

He declined to reveal the rate at which his country would be paid as part of the new understanding between the two countries, saying it will be determined by team which the two sides would form to come up with reasonable rate based on market reactions.

“For this issue to be scientific, we gave it to the technical people... Yes, we have agreed in principle but we need the technical people to work on it and in a week to come we will reach to the conclusion,” minister Zayed said.

“We don't want to talk on figures because we are not ready as it requires a lot of technical work and may be after when they conclude – we will tell you,” he added.

The war torn young nation has been hit by economic crisis as prices of its only export commodity, the oil, has dropped from $110 per a barrel before the civil war in 2013 to just $24 per barrel.

After paying Sudanese their charges for transporting the oil through their facilities as well as paying oil companies, the government of South Sudan remains only with less than $5 dollars a barrel.

(ST)

Why Porsche sales have collapsed in Nigeria

Zimbabwe's growing market for coffins

Joseph Chamie is an independent consulting demographer and a former director of the United Nations Population Division.

By Joseph Chamie
NEW YORK, Feb 3 2016 (IPS)

The relationship challenges that the world’s 2 billion couples confront vary considerably by circumstances, including age, sex, education, income, marital status, family size, length of relationship, urban-rural residence, customs, religion and region of the world. Nevertheless, 10 major challenges among married and cohabiting couples may be identified across countries.

First, despite international agreements, government policies and public information campaigns, forced and child-bride marriages unfortunately continue to take place in many less developed countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. For example, no less than two-thirds of the women aged 20-24 years old in Niger, Central African Republic, Chad and Bangladesh were married or in union before they were 18 years old (Figure 1).

Source: UNICEF.
* The percent of women 20-24 years old who were married or in union before they were 18 years old.

Typically the family coerces the girl or young woman into a marriage or union to an older man. In many instances, the family fears unwanted behavior, sexuality and undesired relationships with men outside their ethnic, cultural, religious or caste group.

Also, parents may have made a marital promise regarding their daughter, wish to strengthen family links, desire to protect and enhance their daughter’s standing, reduce household expenditures or ensure land, property and wealth remains within the family.

A daughter who is perceived to have violated the honor of her family or has an unintended pregnancy may be forced into marriage or in extreme instances killed by a family member. Forced marriages may be abusive and intended to be a punishment to as well as a means of restoring honor to the family.

Second, spousal abuse is not limited to forced marriages and constitutes a serious challenge to a couple’s relationship. Domestic disputes, including confinement, intimidation, psychological abuse and partner violence, is a worldwide problem happening among many both married and cohabitating couples.

Globally, nearly one out of three women who have been in a relationship report that they have experienced some form of physical and/or sexual violence by their intimate partner. Although some 125 countries have outlawed domestic violence, it’s estimated that more than 600 million women live in countries where domestic violence is not considered a crime.

Third, sexual relations, intimacy and love/affection constitute another area that is often challenging for couples. Dissatisfaction with sexual relations in many instances leads to emotional infidelity, extra-marital affairs, erosion of trust and separation or divorce.

One often-noted difficulty in a couple’s relationship is the woman complaining that her partner seems to want sex all the time with little attention to her wishes and the man being frustrated that his partner uses sexual intimacy strictly on a reward and punishment basis.

Those issues take on added salience as some contend that marriage implies automatic conjugal rights with a husband entitled to be intimate with his wife any time he wants and a wife duty-bound to oblige.

Fourth, decisions on whether and when to have a child, the number and spacing of children and how the children should be reared often present an important consequential challenge for many couples. Men and women may have differing views on having children, their respective roles and responsibilities in parenting and childcare and expectations and future goals for their children.

The use of contraception and abortion to limit as well as space childbearing remains a sensitive matter for couples in many parts of the world. While in many industrialized nations the woman typically has the final say in reproductive and pregnancy decisions, in many developing countries these issues remain a contentious issue for many couples.

Fifth, another major challenge encountered by couples is the broad issue of communication. Often it is not an inability or unwillingness to understand each other, but rather simply a stubborn refusal to allow or accept the existence of a partner’s positions or viewpoints.

The lack of effective communication frequently leads to recurrent arguments, habitual bickering, lack of appreciation, detachment, unwillingness to forgive, emotional stress, and in some cases physical violence. Two toxic forms of communication frequently reported are “nagging” – a widespread complaint of male partners – and “the silent treatment” – a common complaint of female partners.

Sixth, finances or money is an often-reported major challenge that couples face in their relationship. Many couples quarrel over budgeting expenses and savings, their partner’s income, differing spending styles and inheritance issues. Invariably, one person in the relationship, usually the male, tries to control the resources, restrict the spending of the other and make the major financial decisions.

Seventh, harmonizing employment, careers, togetherness and work-life balance is increasingly a difficult challenge for many couples. With the spread of the two-career couple and nuclear family, the roles and responsibilities of men and women in a marriage or relationship have changed, differing considerably from those even in the recent past.

The lack of equality in a relationship and mutual respect for each other’s work and career may lead to resentment, stress and unhappiness. While working wives reduce the financial burdens for spouses, their employment may weaken the husband’s traditional authority in the family.

Also, wives and female partners who work outside the home and have with husbands or partners who are frequently not around are likely to be dissatisfied with the usual division of labor in the household as they find themselves doing more than their fair share of domestic chores and familial responsibilities.

Eight, many couples are challenged by a partner’s personal shortcomings, misbehavior and dysfunctional habits. Addiction, substance abuse, alcoholism, promiscuity, jealousy, domineering, lying, and narcissism are some of the serious issues that jeopardize and weaken a couple’s relationship.

When one partner feels the other is immature, irresponsible or untrustworthy, the relationship or marriage is likely to suffer, undermining affection, attraction, cooperation and fidelity. The difficulties become exacerbated when the partner resists seeking outside assistance or heeding needed remedial measures.

Ninth, unfulfilled and differing expectations of marriage or an intimate relationship are another major challenge for couples. Women and men typically have different understandings, needs and priorities regarding marriage, love, romance and the nature of intimate relationships.

Unrealistic expectations when entering marriage and relationships are not uncommon, especially among the young and immature women and men. Disappointments, unmet promises and boredom can arise in a couple’s relationship, especially after a number of tedious and uneventful years.

Tenth, for many couples and marriages dealing with in-laws can be a burdensome challenge. Achieving the right balance and rapport with the parents of ones partner can have significant consequences on the stability and well-being of a couple’s marriage or relationship.

Given individual histories and personal viewpoints, couples may find themselves strongly disagreeing about the appropriate amount of time, care and assistance to be provided to in-laws. Those issues become even more complex in cases of second marriages, blended families, ex-spouses and the rearing of children and grandchildren.

In many instances difficulties with in-laws originate between with the wife and her husband’s mother. This is frequently the case, especially in patrilocal communities, because both are competing for the husband’s attention, dedication and support in family and domestic matters. As one wife has tersely noted, “Our marriage has three people … me, my husband and his mother.”

No doubt some will disagree with the above-enumerated ten major relationship challenges facing the world’s two billion couples and may propose different key challenges. However, nearly all would agree that couples in virtually every part of the world encounter significant challenges and difficulties with their spouses or partner at various times in their relationships.

Those challenges, which may range from minor annoyances to serious offenses, have generally been viewed as personal matters to be worked out by the couple. Modern societies, however, have vital interests in promoting strong and harmonious relationships of couples and marriages, supporting family formation and childrearing, ensuring the basic human rights, dignity and security of both women and men, and protecting the welfare of children.

As one adage has discerningly affirmed, “Peaceful family, prosperous country”.

(End)

Libyans talk about life under IS

Several senior commanders from the group Islamic State have moved to Libya from Iraq and Syria in recent months, a top Libyan intelligence official has told BBC Newsnight.

Pedro Pascual, who has been a fisherman for 50 of his 70 years of life, prepares bait in the installations used by some 70 small-scale fisherpersons in a bay in the beach resort town of Algarrobo, Chile. This son, grandson and great-grandson of fishermen is worried because very few young people are fishing today. Credit: Marianela Jarroud/IPS

By Marianela Jarroud
ALGARROBO, Chile, Feb 3 2016 (IPS)

“Fishing isn’t just for making a living, it’s also enjoyable,” said Pedro Pascual, a 70-year-old fisherman who has been taking his small boat out to sea off Chile’s Pacific coast in the early hours of the morning almost every day for the past 50 years, to support his family.

Impish and ebullient, he told IPS that he doesn’t like to eat much fish anymore, although he is aware of its excellent nutritional properties, which make it a key product in terms of boosting global food security. “The thing is, eating what you fish yourself is kind of boring,” he said.

“Sometimes my wife has to go out and buy fish, because I come home without a single fish – I sell all of them, so I don’t have to eat them,” he confessed, in a mischievous tone.

Pascual was born and raised in the beach resort town of Algarrobo, 100 km west of Santiago.“Artisanal fishers who used to have a quota, a share of extractive fishing activity, were left without rights, and many lost their work.” -- Juan Carlos Quezada

The son, grandson and great-grandson of fishermen, he stressed that fishing is everything for him and his family, as he prepared bait on counters built on the beach, which are used by some 70 local fishers.

He and the others will sell their catch in the same place the following day, at market installations built there by the municipal government.

“We used to catch a lot of meagre (Argyrosomus regius) in this area. Now we catch hake (Merluccius) in the winter and in the summer we catch crab and some red cusk-eel (Genypterus chilensis),” he said.

As he prepared the bait, tying fish heads with twine, Pascual explained that he and his fellow fishermen go out in the afternoon, lay their lines, return to land, and head out again at 6:00 AM to pull in the catch.

“I like crabs, because there are different ways to eat them. I love ‘chupe de jaiba’ (crab quiche). You can make it with different ingredients,” he said.

He repeated several times in the conversation with IPS how much he loved his work, and said he was very worried that there are fewer and fewer people working as small-scale fishers.

“At least around here, we’re all old men…young people aren’t interested in fishing anymore,” he said. “They should keep studying, this work is very difficult,” he said, adding that he is lucky if he makes 300 dollars a month.

In response to the question “what will happen when there are no more small-scale fishers?” he said sadly: “people will have to buy from the industrial-scale fisheries.”

This is not a minor question, especially since large-scale fishing has hurt artisanal fisheries in countries along the Pacific coast of South America, which have become leaders in the global seafood industry over the last decade.

Small-scale fisheries account for over 90 percent of the world’s capture fishers and fish workers, around half of whom are women, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) regional office for Latin America and the Caribbean, based in Santiago.

Boats anchored in a small bay in the Chilean town of Algarrobo, waiting for the local fishermen to head out to sea in the evening to put out their lines. They go out the next day at dawn to haul in their catch, in a centuries-old activity that is now threatened by overfishing and laws in favour of industrial-scale fishing. Credit: Marianela Jarroud/IPS

In addition, they supply around 50 percent of all global fish catches, and fishing and aquaculture provide a livelihood for between 10 and 12 percent of the world’s population.

“Small-scale fishing makes key contributions to nutrition, food security, sustainable means of subsistence and poverty reduction, especially in developing countries,” FAO stated in response to questions from IPS.

Studies show that fish is highly nutritious, offering high-quality protein and a broad range of vitamins and minerals, such as vitamins A and D, phosphorus, magnesium and selenium, while saltwater fish have a high content of iodine.

Its protein, like that of meat, is easily digestible and complements protein provided by cereals and legumes that are the foundation of the diet in many countries of the developing South.

Experts say that even in small quantities, fish improves the quality of dietary protein by complementing the essential amino acids that are often present in low quantities in vegetable-based diets.

Moreover, fish oils are the richest source of a kind of fat that is vital to normal brain development in unborn babies and infants.

Chile, a long, narrow country between the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Andes mountains to the east, has 6,435 km of coast line and a broad diversity of marine resources.

Official figures indicate that 92 percent of fishing and fish farming activity involves fish capture, five percent seaweed harvesting, and the rest seafood harvesting.

The three main fish captured in Chile are the Chilean jack mackerel (Trachurus murphyi), sardines and the anchoveta, which bring in more than 1.2 billion dollars a year in revenues on average, but are facing an overfishing crisis.

Extractive fishing provides work for more than 150,000 people in this country of 17.6 million and represents 0.4 percent of GDP. Of the industry’s workers, just over 94,000 are small-scale fishers and some 22,700 are women, according to the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service.

About three million tons of fish are caught every year in this South American country. But fish consumption is just 6.9 kilos per person per year – less than eight percent of the 84.7 kilos of meat consumed annually per capita.

The low level of fish consumption in Chile is attributed to two main reasons: availability and prices.

With regard to the former, a large proportion of the industrial-scale fish catch is exported.

A controversial law on fisheries and aquaculture in effect since 2013, promoted by the right-wing government of former president Sebastián Piñera (2010-2014), has played a major role in this scenario.

The law grants fishing concessions for 20 years, renewable for another 20, and establishes that large companies can receive fishing rights in perpetuity, which can be passed from one generation to the next.

“Artisanal fishers who used to have a quota, a share of extractive fishing activity, were left without rights, and many lost their work,” Juan Carlos Quezada, spokesman for the National Council for the Defence of Artisanal Fishing (CONDEPP), told IPS.

The representative of the union of small farmers added that “ninety percent of artisanal fishers have been left without fish catch quotas, because concessions and quotas were only assigned to industrial fisheries and shipowners.”

While small-scale fishers are fighting for the law to be repealed, the government continues to support the Development Fund for Artisanal Fishing which, contradictorily, is aimed at the sustainable development of Chile’s small-scale fishing industry, and backs the efforts of organisations of small fishers.

Pascual sees things clearly: “Fishing is my life and it will always be. The sea will always give us something, even if it offers us less and less.”

Edited by Estrella Gutiérrez/Translated by Stephanie Wildes

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Amb Amina Mohamed, Kenya's Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Trade flanked by Siddharth Chatterjee, the UNFPA Representative to Kenya and Ms Nardos Bekele-Thomas, the United Nations Resident Coordinator to Kenya in Moyale, Northern Kenya on 07 December 2015. Credit: @UNFPAKen

By Amina Mohamed and Siddharth Chatterjee
Nairobi, Kenya, Feb 3 2016 (IPS)

When President Barack Obama made his first visit to Kenya as US President in July 2015, one of the poignant messages he left was an exhortation for communities to shun cultures that degrade women and girls.

“Imagine if you have a team and don’t let half of the team play. That makes no sense,” he said, referring to the denial of opportunities for women to fully participate in development.

The president’s message could not have been more pertinent, coming as it did when the country, like most of Africa, is thinking how to reap a ‘demographic dividend’ – or boost in economic productivity – from its declining fertility rate and growing youthful population.

This occurs if the number of people in the workforce increases relative to the number of dependents.

Countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan and Hong Kong also called the “Asian Tigers” lifted millions out of poverty by lowering the dependency ratio. Individuals and families were able to make savings which translated into investment and boosted economic growth. Combined with robust policies in education, health, employment and empowerment of women, they were able to capitalize on their demographic window during the period 1965 and 1990.

With over 70 percent of Kenyans aged below 30, we are at the cusp of a demographic dividend. For this dividend to become a reality, Kenya will have to surmount some formidable challenges, none more exigent than the empowerment of its women.

This youth bulge is “a window of opportunity”, which shuts in an average period of 29 years. We have to take advantage of it and understand that there’s nothing pre-ordained about a youth bulge producing a growth dividend.

The magnitude of the challenges Kenya faces was brought home through some sombre statistics in the just-released 2014 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS). One emerging trend is the increasing role of women as stewards in Kenyan families, with one out of every three households in Kenya being headed by a woman.

This might not be of much concern were it not for another statistic from the KDHS: half of Kenyan women only have primary school education, meaning that their potential for participating in socio-economic processes is hampered, and their families are on the whole fated to the lower rungs of demographics.

In a new drive to change this narrative around the world, the UN Secretary General, Mr Ban Ki-moon has established the first high-level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment, which will take the lead in developing strategies and plans for closing economic gender gaps around the world.

Any strategies for enjoying the demographic dividend that do not prioritise the education and health of women will be futile. In Kenya, the train may not even leave the station if half the country’s women have only a rudimentary education and many do not have access to sexual and reproductive health services nor are empowered by understanding fully how family planning works.

The KDHS also confirmed that awareness of birth spacing and family planning rises with levels of education: fertility rates decrease from 6.5 among women with no education to 4.8 among women with some education and further to 3.0 among women with a secondary or higher education.

The survey showed that some counties in Kenya that had the lowest proportion of literate women also had the highest fertility rates, some as much as double the national rate which of 3.9.The pay-off from smaller families is in the all-round physical and cognitive development of children and, by extension, the workforce. In Kenya, this is a workforce that is mainly agrarian, and about 60 percent female.

Globally, it is estimated that if women in every country were to play an identical role to men in markets, as much as US$28 trillion (equal to 26 percent) would be added to the global economy by 2025.

Where women are healthy and educated, not only their families, but entire nations flourish as we have seen with the “Asian Tigers”. Conversely, where women are not empowered the demographic dividend will not be realised.

Kenya must focus on eliminating gender inequalities, not only in the health sector, but in traditional social norms and attitudes that effectively under value women’s roles.

These are norms that keep girls out of classrooms and women away from the workplace, and are often expressed through violence. The 2014 survey indicated the extent of violence with about four in ten women aged between 15 and 49 stating that their husband or partner had been physically violent towards them.

We all need to listen to President Uhuru Kenyatta’s message at last September’s global meeting on gender equality in New York, where he stressed that “development cannot be rapid and resilient, unless it is also inclusive and equitable…given that half of humanity are women, their empowerment is a must, not an option”.

(End)

February 02, 2016 (JUBA) – South Sudan government and the opposition led by ex-vice president, Riek Machar have agreed to speed up formation of transitional government by ensuring rebel forces are in Juba soon, a senior government official said.

South Sudanese information minister Michael Makuei Lueth attends a press conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 5 January 2014 (Photo: AP/Elias Asmara)

Addressing reporters in the South Sudan capital, Juba at the end of Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC), information minister Michael Makuei Lueth said the country's warring parties adopted the communiqué from the Intergovermental Authority on Development (IGAD).

“The meeting went on very well and in the meeting we discussed the communiqué which was issued by IGAD and we adopted the communiqué as it is, as the best option and the way forward and as a roadmap for the implementation of the agreement and the establishment of the Transitional Government of National Unity,” he explained.

The regional bloc, which mediated the peace agreement, asked the parties to form an interim government this week and resolve the stalemate over the 28 new states, seen as an obstacle to the unity government's formation.

Makuei said that the Juba government and the armed opposition would also agree on the security arrangements within the national capital, Juba.

“So we have agreed that within this coming short period we need to work hard and ensure that the security elements from the IO are brought in. That the police of 1,500 for Juba town and the police for the greater Upper Nile of 1,200 are also brought in and the other security forces of 1,410 all should be brought in as soon as possible so that the first vice president comes in and the transitional government of national unity is established,” he said.

Last week, the United Nations secretary-general, Ban ki Moon expressed concerns over the two warring parties' deadlock over the establishment of the 28 states, and their failure to meet the 22 January deadline to establish the TGoNU in South Sudan.

He said the TGoNU's formation was an essential step in implementing the peace accord and laying the foundation for peace and stability in the world's youngest nation.

Ki moon urged South Sudan government and its armed opposition faction to place the interests of the people first and make the necessary compromises.

"I call on all parties urgently to resolve the disputes that are preventing establishment of the government, he said, adding "The parties must place the interests of their young nation and its people, who have suffered long enough, above their own".

(ST)