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Le Conseil de sécurité de l'ONU a fermement condamné la prise de pouvoir par la force par des éléments de la garde présidentielle au Burkina Faso et a demandé à ces derniers de rendre sans tarder le pouvoir aux autorités civiles de transition.

Une nette augmentation des attaques par le groupe armé Boko Haram a déraciné plus de 500.000 enfants au cours des cinq derniers mois, portant le nombre total d'enfants en fuite dans le nord-est du Nigéria et dans les pays voisins à 1,4 million, selon le Fonds des Nations Unies pour l'enfance (UNICEF).

A l'issue d'une visite de cinq jours au Niger, le Coordonnateur humanitaire régional pour le Sahel, Toby Lanzer, a souligné vendredi la générosité des communautés et du gouvernement du Niger qui accueillent les déplacés qui ont fui les violences au nord-est du Nigéria.

The ongoing refugee  crisis in the Mediterranean has created fears  among policy-makers  and  security  practitioners  alike  that  the  Islamic  State  (ISIS)  will  use  and ‘exploit the refugee crisis to infiltrate the West’. This Briefing Note written by Dr Dimitris  Skleparis, presents a brief history of international terrorism in Greece; assesses current international terrorist activity in the country and the Greek authorities’ response to it; and proposes first-line and pre-emptive counter-radicalisation measures that would not undermine a humanitarian response to the refugee crisis.

Briefing Note 37/2015: The Islamist Threat amidst the Refugee Crisis: Background and Policy Proposals

Author: Dr Dimitris Skleparis

The present paper written by Dr Angeliki Dimitriadi, discusses the current refugee crisis from its outbreak to its evolution, attempts to set current EU responses in a contextual setting, from the early response to the Lampedusa tragedy of 2013 with Task Force Mediterranean to today’s proposal for the redistribution of 160,000 refugees, critically discusses European Member States’ responses and the resurface of ‘Fortress Europe’ and proposes priorities and measures, stressing the need for a global response to the current refugee crisis.

«ELIAMEP Thesis»: Europe’s dubious response to the refugee crisis

Author: Dr Angeliki Dimitriadi

Változott a helyszín, de a forgatókönyv ugyanaz. Horgos után most Sid városához szállítják a migránsokat az autóbuszok és a taxik, hogy ez alkalommal Horvátországon keresztül próbálják meg folytatni útjukat Európába. Kedd óta több ezer migráns indult meg az új útvonalon, amely a szerbiai Sid városától a horvátországi Tovarnikba vezet. Ez A cikk folytatása …

Tovább….: http://pannonrtv.com/web2/?p=229138

      

“We would not want to lose. But our opponent is a really good team. But our players also made mistakes", the head coach of Karabakh FC Gurban Gurbanov said, APA reports quoting “apasport.az”.

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

September 17, 2015 (ADDIS ABABA) –A report released by a research project, said that Ethiopia is on course to become world's fastest growing economy.

A general view of the Friendship City Center shopping mall in Ethiopia's Capital Addis Ababa May 26, 2014. (Photo Reuters/Tiksa Negeri)

The new report "One foot on the ground, one foot in the air" released by the UK-based Think tank group Overseas Development Institute (ODI) forecasts for Ethiopia said Ethiopia's economy would significantly accelerate in the coming three years.

The case study highlighted major strides in massive agricultural investment, a sector which employs three in four Ethiopians, and a government committed to pro-poor spending to halve its poverty.

It also explores progress achieved in material wellbeing in Ethiopia, measured by reduction in income poverty, and two key contributors to material wellbeing: education and employment.

“Ethiopia's stability and consequent ability to make long-term plans and investments in education, agriculture and infrastructure over the past 20 years has allowed the country to make great leaps in development” the report said.

Some critics consider the stability in the country was the outcome of the government's systematic repressive practices, or at least of the restricted contestability of national and local politics.

However, the horn of Africa's nation, according to the report, has experience over the past two decades contains significant lessons that can be applicable in different country contexts.

Ethiopia has managed to decline extreme poverty vastly making it one of the successful countries in the world in the fight against poverty.

According to the report, poverty has fallen to 37% from 63% between 1995 and 2011while maintaining low level of income inequality.

Also, the report points that the agricultural sector, which the country's economy is hugely depend on, has cut poverty by 7% between 2005 and 2011.

Maintaining teams of agronomists across vast rural areas to boost productivity by recommending best agricultural practice and scientific innovation was mentioned as one of the practices the country used to achieve development.

“Further, a doubling of Ethiopia's road network in two decades, which has allowed more farmers to bring their produce to market,” said the report.

The notable takeaway lessons from Ethiopia's experience in sustainable developmental goals is firstly, “Centering government policy on a single goal - poverty reduction - and taking a multidimensional approach can encourage ministries to work more comprehensively and consistently”

The second strategy the report mentioned is, “Integrating social sectors into broader economic planning and high rates of pro-poor spending benefit the economy”.

Thirdly, “Long-term planning and a clear division of responsibilities can build the foundation for broader transformation”

Development Progress is an ODI project which is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. It is a four-year research project that aims to measure, understand and communicate progress in development.

ODI is the UK's leading independent think tank on international development and humanitarian issues.

(ST)

Après plusieurs jours de consultations suite à l'échec de la réunion des ministres de l'Intérieur de l'Union européenne, ce lundi 14 septembre, le président du Conseil européen, Donald Tusk, a annoncé la convocation d'un sommet extraordinaire des chefs d'Etats et de gouvernements pour le 23 septembre à Bruxelles, au lendemain d'une nouvelle réunion - extraordinaire elle aussi - des ministres de l'Intérieur. Les rencontres au sommet se multiplient mais elles ne seront sûrement pas de trop pour faire progresser l'UE vers une solution à l'actuelle crise provoquée par l'afflux massif de migrants.

Security operations against the PKK terrorists will continue until all armed groups in Turkey are “eliminated”, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Wednesday.

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has attended the opening of Aghsu-Kurdamir part of Aghsu-Kurdamir-Imishli highway.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is lending EUR 50 million to the International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA) to finance projects promoted by SMEs and midcaps in the country.

By Steve Paterno

The last British soldiers who ever served and stepped feet in South Sudan were South Sudanese, people not of British origins, but typical South Sudanese.

When Great Britain entered the Sudan in late ninetieth century with the aim of colonizing the land, they ended inheriting South Sudanese soldiers who were serving under the fledgling Ottoman Empire. The British immediately noted the bravery, discipline and dedication of those newly discovered South Sudanese soldiers in the continent. Therefore, to the advantage and manipulation of British, those brave soldiers could help them accomplish their primary goal. That primary goal was the defeat of Mahdiyah regime. When those soldiers put their skills into work, without doubt, the Mahdist's Dervishes, who by then overran the Ottoman Empire out of the country, were crashed without much contest and in no time at all.

Contingents of those soldiers were then used to establish an expansion of British colony in Eastern Africa. In today's East African; in countries like Uganda and Kenya, the decedents of those soldiers are very much visible. Their distinctive community is referred to as the "Nubi." To this day, this unmistakable community of distinctive South Sudanese maintains their culture, speaks colloquial Arabic, and of course, they are considered outsiders within those East African countries, for obvious reason that they are typical South Sudanese. For they are South Sudanese who just happened to end up somewhere else as a result of British dominance during scrambled for Africa.

During World War I and II, those brave South Sudanese soldiers played pivotal role in winning victories in favour of allies forces. For examples, they successfully defeated the Mussolini's fascist soldiers along Abyssinia's frontier. Some of them went as far as Burma, deep in heart of Asia to confront and defeat axis forces, led by fiercest Japanese imperialism soldiers.

As the British were preparing for the hasty independence of Sudan, it was then obvious that the betrayal of the South Sudanese soldiers who for decades were standing alongside British soldiers was being put into motion. It was already cleared, by August 18, 1955, that the British were leaving the country and in process leaving their decades long allies under the mercy of Northern Sudanese Arab rule. As such, the South Sudanese soldiers reacted in the famous Torit Mutiny. The Torit Mutiny ignited like a wildfire, engulfing the entire major South Sudanese towns. The result of which was the dispersion of all the Northern Sudanese out of the entire South Sudan territorial region. South Sudan was free for a moment. A sense of a temporary freedom was ushered in.

The British, who were by then packing to get out of the country, decided mistakenly to intervene in most callous ways. They began to airlift Northern Sudanese soldiers, with more superior firepower, into hot spots in South Sudan. The British established contacts with the leaders of mutineers in South Sudan. The British then convinced those leaders of mutineers to surrender with guarantees to address their legitimate grievances.

Unfortunately, after mutinying and surrendering, the British participated into the arrest of those brave soldiers and jetted out of the country, abandoning the mutineers to rot under detention and mercy of the Northern Arabs. This act marked the beginning of the long Sudan's civil war. Since, then, the country has been embroiled in a vicious war, with South Sudan bearing much of the brunt of the violence. The British, particularly British troops never ever showed up in South Sudan at any point since then.

Now, it is ironic that the country, which abandoned South Sudan, their long time ally, is trying to come back after six decades. Surprisingly, Great Britain has just announced that it is intending to send peacekeepers troops into South Sudan. In a more serious manner, such ironic news must be viewed with skepticism and suspicion. First of all, Great Britain record in deploying peacekeepers around the world is pathetic, for a country that once claimed an 'imperialism where the sun never sets.' Britain only has few finger counts of peacekeepers in history who are being deployed for peacekeeping force. Second of all, Britain financial contributions into peacekeeping forces around the world is near no any of the world powers. Third, Great Britain troops disappeared of South Sudan since 1955. Hence, they are strangers as of today in the land that they were once respected. Fourth, they just betrayed South Sudan even though ignoring South Sudanese generosity in winning them victories for Britain's raison d'être. By now, Great Britain must also understand that out of its struggle, South Sudan is a country and pursuing its raison d'être, either independently or in cooperation.

In conclusion, the so much suspicious intention of Britain to deploy foot on the ground in South Sudan at this time and moment needs much scrutiny, especially given the fact that the last British soldiers in South Sudan were South Sudanese, not of British origins. Great Britain help for South Sudanese is much welcomed in other forms, but otherwise, much is desired with this move of foot on ground by someone who has been MIA for six decades.

September 16, 2015 (JUBA) - The caretaker governor of South Sudan's Northern Bahr el Ghazal state, Akot Deng Akot has issued an executive order disolving the entire cabinet.

Map detail showing South Sudan's border state of Northern Bahr el Ghazal

The decree, read on SSTV Thursday evening also saw four county commissioners removed.

No replacements were, however, according to statements broadcast by the state media.

Th caretaker governor, in a separate decree, sacked his deputy Salva Chol Ayat, replacing him with Deng Deng Akuei. No reasons were given for the new changes.

Neither the caretaker governor's office nor the information ministry reacted on the matter.

Last month, president Salva Kiir appointed Akot as the governor of Northern Bahr el Ghazal state while Chol, who was then acting caretaker governor, became Akot's deputy.

A former police commissioner, Akot is considered a key ally of the ex-state governor, Paul Malong Awan, who now doubles as the army chief and ruling party head in the state.

The transitional constitution of South Sudan mandates that a by-election be held within 60 days of removing a state governor. The country is yet to witness such an election.

(ST).

September 17, 2015 (JUBA) – The South Sudanese economy will improve if the hurdles caused by its ongoing conflict are removed and donors reinstated funding to government projects, the country's finance minister, David Deng Athorbei said on Wednesday.

A man from South Sudan displays new currency notes outside the Central Bank of South Sudan in Juba on 18 July 2011 (Photo: Reuters)

Addressing a meeting organised to solicit support from the international community and leading economists, Deng said restoring peace will enhance mobility, increase oil exploration and restore donors' trust to release funds to tackle budget deficits.

"All these economic hardships are a result of the absence of peace and if peace was there would be no such economic hardships,” the South Sudanese finance minister told a meeting attended by several European diplomats in the country's capital, Juba.

“It is the result of war which is in the country, the insurgency in rebel [held] areas that has made it very difficult for us even to bring food from Renk [Upper Nile state]," he added.

South Sudan's economy, which depends on oil revenues, shrunk after the conflict led to closure of the oilfields in Unity state in December 2013. The reduced oil output, coupled with low global prices of crude oil, led South Sudan government to operate on a deficit budget, leading to severe reduction in overall expenditure.

For instance, the SSP 10.3 billion budget, approved by South Sudan parliament last week, contained a SSP 3 billion deficit. The price per barrel of oil is currently placed at $50 despite the ministry of petroleum initially estimating the price at $40.

This, economists argue, means the correct deficit figures could even be much higher.

The finance minister said the government was committed to fully implement the peace agreement and hopes that the international community will help the country financially.

He also hinted that government was working to ensure accountability and transparency.

“The other issue which we presented to them [donor representatives] is that soon there will be lots of expenditure. There will be people coming from the rebel areas to Juba and some of them will need accommodation [in hotels]. How does the international community come in to help our people. We also presented [this] to them,” added Deng.

The Norwegian ambassador to South Sudan, Tone Tinnes congratulated the government of South Sudan signing the peace agreement and its determination to implement it.

“We will continue to support the South Sudanese people. We are also looking on how we can assist and work together with the transitional government in implementing the peace agreement,” Tinnes told reporters shortly after the meeting held in Juba.

The Norwegian diplomat did not, however, specify what form of support it was extending.

Norway, one of the Troika countries, alongside the United States and Britain funded the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) peace mediation for South Sudan.

Donors channelled most aid to humanitarian since the conflict began 20 months ago.

The war was meant to officially ended with the signing of peace agreement by President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar last month. According to the accord, Machar will become the first vice president in the transitional government of national unity that will run the nation for 30 months. The transitional government is to be formed by November.

(ST)

AUTÓVERSENYZÉS

12.00, 15.30, M4, Sportklub 1: Formula–1, Szingapúri Nagydíj, szabadedzések.

JÉGKORONG

18.15, M4: Dunaújvárosi Acélbikák–Miskolci Jegesmedvék (Mol-liga, 3. forduló).

19.15, Sportklub (m): Fehérvár–Olimpija (EBEL, 3. forduló).

KOSÁRLABDA

21.00, HRT2, RTS2, Sport2: Szerbia–Litvánia (férfi-Eb, elődöntő).

LABDARÚGÁS

18.00, Arena Sport 1: Jagodina–Crvena zvezda (szerbiai szuperliga, 10. forduló).

18.00, Arena Sport 2: Osijek–Zagreb (horvát élvonal, 10. forduló).

18.00, Eurosport2: Górnik Zabrze–Śląsk Wrocław (lengyel élvonal, 9. forduló).

20.30, Arena Sport 1, Digi Sport 2: Rennes–Lille (francia élvonal, 6. forduló).

20.30, Arena Sport 4: Genk–Mechelen (belga élvonal, 8. forduló).

20.30, Eurosport2: Mainz–Hoffenheim (német élvonal, 5. forduló).

20.30, Sportklub 1: Getafe–Málaga (spanyol élvonal, 4. forduló).

TENISZ

14.00, Sportklub 2: Nagy-Britannia–Ausztrália (Davis-kupa, elődöntő).

Nexter Systems exhibited a new variant of its CAESAR (CAmion Équipé d'un Systeme d'ARtillerie) self-propelled artillery

September 17, 2015 (WASHINGTON) – The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in South Africa said that it will await the conclusion of the appeal process by the government on the case of a visit by Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir to the country last June.

Sudan's President Omer Hassan al-Bashir greets his South African counterpart Jacob Zuma (L) at the Palace in Khartoum February 1, 2015 (REUTERS/ Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah)

Bashir's attendance at the African Union (AU) summit in South Africa last June sparked a diplomatic and legal mess for the government there which not only violated the International Criminal Court (ICC) obligations but also an order by a local court to prevent the Sudanese leader from departing pending a decision on whether to extradite him.

The ICC issued two arrest warrants for Bashir charging him with war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity in Sudan's western region of Darfur.

The North Gauteng High Court in South Africa had reprimanded the government in its ruling last June for flouting its own laws saying that they undermined the country's constitutional democracy in allowing Bashir's exit.

It also called on the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) “to consider whether criminal proceedings are appropriate” against officials who facilitated Bashir's departure.

But the NPA said they will await an appeal process to complete before contemplating any charges.

"No, we are not going to consider the matter right now," National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Luvuyo Mfaku said on Wednesday according to News24.

"They will petition the Supreme Court of Appeal and we deem it prudent to wait until the appeal process is finalized," Mfaku added.

The South African government was dealt a new legal setback this week when the High Court refused to allow it to appeal the June ruling before the Supreme Court of Appeals (SCA) saying that the matter is now moot with Bashir out of the country and that they have no chances of prevailing on appeal anway.

The judges reiterated that Bashir enjoyed no immunity as the government asserted in its arguments before the court and that the ICC Act of 2002 enacted by the parliament trumped the Immunities Act which the state used as justification for ignoring its obligations as a signatory to the Rome Statute of the ICC.

“We do not hold the opinion that the appeal has reasonable prospects of success at all. President al-Bashir enjoyed no immunity from arrest or from prosecution under customary international law as a serving head of State.”

The government can still seek a hearing by the SCA despite the ruling though some local legal experts said SCA could refuse to take up the case. They have 20 days to take that route.

Speaking in Washington after meetings with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, South African Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane said: "The government is busy studying the outcome and we definitely would take the matter up at the appropriate time”.

(ST)

September 17, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese 1st Vice President Bakri Hassan Saleh confirmed that his government is poised to send ground troops to support forces loyal to Yemeni President Abd-Rabbuh Mansour Hadi in its battle with Houthi rebels and their ally former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

FILE - Sudanese military forces parade in their tanks during Independence Day celebrations in Khartoum (REUTERS/MOHAMED NURELDIN)

After months of military stalemate, the alliance with troops from United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia alongside forces loyal to Hadi recently started making gains on the battlefield by retaking the strategic city of Aden and four other southern provinces and are closing on the capital city of Sana'a amid intensification of airstrikes.

In an interview with the London-based Asharq al-Awsat newspaper, Saleh said that Sudan did not think twice about joining the Saudi-led Arab military coalition formed last March to reinstate Hadi and flush out Houthi fighters from cities they overran.

“The reality is that what is happening in Yemen is very unfortunate and has exhausted the Yemeni society and posed a threat to the security of the country of the Two Holy Mosques and therefore Sudan had no choice but to announce its actual participation on the ground to protect the people of Yemen and their resources from the futility of the Houthis and outlaw politicians,” the Sudanese VP said.

Saleh said that the security of Sudan and Saudi Arabia is interconnected and as such protecting it “did not require a lot of thinking so we were the first participants in the sorties and our planes arrived there [in Saudi Arabia] early on”.

“Now there are preparations we are working on now at the level of ground forces to send the equivalent of a full brigade to confront the Houthis in Yemen,” he added.

The Sudanese official said that the Yemeni President discussed the military assistance they needed during his recent visit.

“We are currently waiting for the signal to carry out this [deployment],” he added.

Saleh denied that a recent decision by Iran to stop funding of a bridge and a water plant in Khartoum was in retaliation to shutting down their cultural centers and for joining the Saudi alliance in Yemen.

He said that the suspension of funding was related to financial considerations and not political ones stressing that their ties with Tehran are based on mutual interests and not as a means to target other countries.

Observers believe that economic pressures faced by Sudan caused by multiple military conflicts, US sanctions and most importantly the loss of oil due South Sudan's secession in 2011 prompted the government to reconsider its regional alliances.

Late last year, Sudanese authorities ordered the closure of the Iranian Cultural Centre in the capital Khartoum and other states and asked the Iranian cultural attaché to leave the country in a move seen as a gesture of goodwill towards the Arab Gulf states.

The Iranian government has formally opposed the military operation in Yemen, but did not comment on the Sudanese role or their strategic shift away from Tehran.

But the pro-hardliner Mashregh newspaper in Iran fiercely attacked president Omer Hassan Bashir and described him as an ingrate.

Bashir “found a better meal and traded Iran's generous help for a seat at Al Saud's table,” an article on the newspaper said according to Al-Monitor website.

The article stated that given Sudan's closing of Iran's offices, maybe Sudan's support for Saudi's bombing of Yemen was not unexpected, but “at the same time, everyone who is aware of our country's support and help of [Bashir] during the most difficult times of his rule, did not expect this level of political immorality and obscenity.”

(ST)

Après ce que l'ONU appelle désormais formellement un « coup d'Etat » au Burkina Faso, le Conseil de sécurité s'est réuni à huis clos, jeudi, pour faire un point sur la situation dans le pays. Les quinze membres et le secrétaire général Ban Ki-moon ont unanimement condamné ce coup de force du Régiment de sécurité présidentielle contre les autorités de transition. La France se réserve la possibilité de demander des sanctions.