Feed aggregator

To receive the Brussels Briefing every morning, sign up here.

Apple faces paying back billions in back-taxes when Brussels rules that a sweetheart tax deal with Ireland amounted to illegal state aid later today.

Everything about this decision is big. Apple is the world’s largest company. The back-taxes due will run into ten figures. The legal methods are relatively untested. And the political stakes are huge.

The Apple case cuts to the heart of the power struggle between Brussels and Washington over who sets the standards – whether on tax, privacy, or finance – for global business.

Read more

August 29, 2016 (KAMPALA) – A South Sudanese armed opposition (SPLM-IO) youth leader allied to the country's former first vice president Riek Machar has called on young people to join the rebel movement, which he described as the only party organisation that represents diverse ideology.

Rebel fighters hold their weapons as they march through a village in rebel-controlled territory in South Sudan's Upper Nile state on 9 February 2014 (Photo: Reuters)

Omojok Obac said South Sudan's ruling party (SPLM) lacked the basis of democracy and equality and should be abandoned infavour of the SPLM-IO's “inclusiveness”.

He urged South Sudanese youth to join the armed opposition and champion democracy, freedom and equality.

"The SPLM/A-IO youth league also urges all south Sudanese to Join this Party with great political vision, objectives, and goals that are able to tackle all problems and challenges our country is currently facing,” he told Sudan Tribune.

The youth leader welcomed the recent solidarity shown by the Congolese government after it aided the exit of Machar from the bushes of Western Equatoria state where he had been holed up for weeks after leaving Juba last month.

The armed opposition leader was forced out of the South Sudan capital following clashes between his forces and those loyal to President Salva Kiir near the presidential palace on 8 July. More than 270 soldiers died in the clashes.

According to Obac, President Kiir's government allegedly failed to implement the peace agreement mediated by leaders from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development.

The armed opposition youth leader insisted that the young men and women in the country had a role to play to end the fighting as they did during decades of war with Sudan. He claimed South Sudan will never be a free state unless all sector reforms for the liberty and equality of people takes place.

(ST)

Dans l'armée de terre, les réserves opérationnelles fonctionnent mal. Sauf une : le corps des officiers de réserve spécialistes d'état-major (Orsem).

On 30 August 2016, the Political and Security Committee authorised EUNAVFOR MED Operation Sophia to begin two additional supporting tasks:

• training of the Libyan coastguard and navy
• contributing to the implementation of the UN arms embargo on the high seas off the coast of Libya

This EU naval operation aims to disrupt the business model of human smugglers and traffickers in the Southern Central Mediterranean. The Council decided on 20 June 2016 to add these two supporting tasks to the operation's mandate.

After checking that the necessary conditions have been met, the EU ambassadors meeting within the Political and Security Committee decided on 30 August to authorise the beginning of the new tasks.

Training of the Libyan coastguard and navy

The legitimate Libyan authorities requested support in capacity building and training of their coastguard and navy. The objective is to enhance their capability to disrupt smuggling and trafficking in Libya and to perform search and rescue activities which will save lives and improve security in the Libyan territorial waters. This task will be financed through voluntary contributions from some EU member states managed by the Athena mechanism.

Countering illegal arms trafficking

A more secure and stable Libya will contribute to the overall efforts to disrupt human trafficking and smuggling networks. On the basis of UN Security Council Resolution 2292 (2016), the operation will contribute to information sharing and support the implementation of the UN arms embargo on the high seas off the coast of Libya. This will increase the overall level of awareness of the maritime situation and limit arms flows to Da'esh and other terrorist groups.

EUNAVFOR MED Operation Sophia

EUNAVFOR MED Operation Sophia was launched on 22 June 2015. The operation entered its active phase in October 2015. This phase provides for the identification, capture and disposal of vessels used or suspected of being used by migrants' smugglers or traffickers. Since then, the operation has contributed to the arrest and transfer to the Italian authorities of 87 suspected smugglers and traffickers and neutralised more than 255 vessels. In addition, the operation has saved more than 22 000 lives and has supported other organisations in the rescue of more than 36 000 persons.

The Operation Commander is Rear Admiral Credendino, from Italy. The headquarters of the operation are located in Rome.

Nem bilincselik le a gépjárművek kerekeit, viszont a szabálytalankodókat pótdíjfizetésre kötelezik, ugyanakkor SMS-ben is lehet majd parkolójegyet vásárolni – ezek a csíkszeredai fizetéses parkolási rendszer tervezett lényeges változásai.
Kategória: Aktuális/Csíkszék

L ’enquête a été menée dans 23 pays et révèle qu’en Europe, l’immigration est rarement considérée par les sondés comme un apport pour le pays d’accueil. « Global view on immigration » : la vague d’août du Global @dvisor montre une crispation de l’opinion publique sur les questions d’immigration commune à tous les pays. Le symbole de cette crispation est représenté par le lien qui est fait entre immigration et terrorisme, une tendance qui grandit. Partout, la majorité des interviewés estime que l’immigration a augmenté ces cinq dernières années et a un impact plutôt négatif pour le pays. L’enquête qui vaut aussi beaucoup par les commentaires de Brice Teinturier montre bien l’écart entre la réalité et la perception qu’en a l’opinion publique, réduire cet égard est une nécessité urgente sinon un préalable à une politique européenne de l’Union en matière de migration, c’est dire quelle est l’ampleur de la tâche. L’étude montre également que les contextes nationaux jouent dans la perception de l’immigration, les héritages culturels et identitaires restent fondamentaux. Une double difficulté donc. De cette étude il ressort également que la France présente une situation singulière, a-part !

Un peu plus de la moitié des 17 600 personnes interrogées pense qu’il y a trop d’immigrés dans son pays. La récente annonce du Ministre de l’Intérieur de 17 500 reconduites à la frontière depuis janvier, pour un objectif « historique » de 30 000 pour la fin 2011, sonne comme une tentative de réponse à une inquiétude devenue majoritaire dans la société française, sur la question de l’immigration : 79% des Français estiment que la proportion d’immigrés dans la population a augmenté ces cinq dernières années, 54% d’entre eux pensent que l’immigration a un impact négatif pour le pays et 52% jugent « qu’il y a trop d’immigrés ». Le niveau d’inquiétude relevé en France est dans la moyenne des 23 pays testés, moyenne qui masque toutefois des situations très contrastées. L’opinion publique est ainsi nettement plus radicale en Russie, en Belgique et en Grande-Bretagne, où plus de 70% des personnes interrogées pensent qu’il y a trop d’immigrés, quand à l’inverse, moins de 30% de la population est de cet avis en Pologne, en Corée du Sud ou au Japon. L’image de l’immigration est en fait étroitement corrélée aux difficultés économiques du pays. Les trois-quarts des Russes jugent ainsi que l’immigration a rendu la recherche d’emploi plus difficile, 76% des Britanniques, 70% des Espagnols ou 68% des Belges estiment que l’immigration provoque un engorgement des services publiques (santé, transports, éducation), soit autant de pays où la part de ceux qui pensent qu’il y a trop d’immigrés est importante. En France les avis sont un peu plus partagés, avec 41% des sondés qui déclarent que l’immigration aggrave les problèmes d’emploi et 56% qui relient immigration et problèmes des services publics. Plus globalement, l’idée que l’immigration est une bonne chose pour l’économie n’est majoritaire dans aucun pays. On s’en approche tout de même au Brésil (47%) ou au Canada (43%). Près de la moitié des Brésiliens (49%) et des Canadiens (48%) considèrent d’ailleurs aussi que « les immigrés contribuent à faire du pays un endroit plus intéressant à vivre ». Ils y gagnent pour cette enquête la palme des pays les plus accueillants.

Comment l’immigration et la crise des réfugiés sont-elles perçues dans le monde ? Négativement, selon un sondage Ipsos réalisé dans 22 pays.

Alors que les populations ont le sentiment que l’immigration augmente (78%), seules 20% des personnes interrogées estiment que son impact est positif. Et si moins de la moitié (38%) souhaite fermer les frontières aux migrants, c’est sur ces derniers que se concentrent les angoisses. En moyenne, 61% des sondés pensent qu’il y a dans leur pays « des terroristes qui prétendent être réfugiés » (67% en France).

« La thématique de l’immigration prend de l’ampleur au niveau mondial, accentuée ces deux dernières années par la crise des migrants et les attentats », souligne Brice Teinturier, directeur général délégué France d’Ipsos. L’institut, qui traite du sujet à travers le monde depuis 2011, a mené cette dernière enquête entre le 24 juin et le 8 juillet 2016, avant les attentats de Nice et de Saint-Étienne-du- Rouvray.Dans cette étude mondiale, la France se singularise à bien des égards.

D’abord sur le sentiment que l’immigration augmente. L’Hexagone se situe au-dessus de la moyenne (+ 9 points, à 87%). « C’est le pays où l’on observe le plus de décalage entre la perception et la réalité sur la question de l’immigration. Ce n’est pas le cas par exemple pour le chômage, où le décalage entre perception et réalité peut être plus fort dans d’autres pays », explique Brice Teinturier, qui y voit le témoignage d’une « extrême sensibilité sur le sujet ».

Rares sont les pays qui pensent aujourd’hui que l’immigration a un impact positif.

Mais là encore, c’est encore plus vrai pour les Français : 11% le pensent, contre 18% pour les Allemands, 20% pour les Espagnols. Pourquoi ce sentiment exacerbé ? Plus que la moyenne, les Français s’inquiètent de la pression exercée sur les services publics. « L’idée que les immigrés viennent s’installer pour profiter de la Sécurité sociale est partagée par une partie importante de la population, a fortiori quand elle est relayée par des responsables politiques de premier plan », observe Brice Teinturier. Cette inquiétude prend d’ailleurs le pas sur la question de l’emploi. « Le lien immigration-chômage était un argument historique du Front national, rappelle-t-il. Au bout de quarante ans de chômage de masse, les Français ont intégré d’autres facteurs explicatifs que l’immigration, comme, par exemple, l’enjeu de la compétitivité ou la concurrence de pays à faibles coûts de main-d’œuvre. »

Si les contextes nationaux jouent dans la perception de l’immigration, les héritages culturels et identitaires restent aussi prégnants. Ainsi l’« impact culturel» de l’immigration est vu plus positivement aux États-Unis (42%) et en Angleterre (45%) qu’en France (17%). « En France, la mondialisation est ressentie comme un accélérateur du déclin du pays, une menace et une fragilisation de l’identité nationale », précise Brice Teinturier. Reste que dans le contexte actuel, les pays européens ont globalement tendance à être moins confiants sur l’intégration des réfugiés.

 

Pour en savoir plus : sources principales des informations

     -. IPSOS @Visor : Global Views on immigration (august 2016) http://www.ipsos.fr/sites/default/files/attachments/globaladvisor_immigration.pdf

       -. Commentaires du journal le Figaro http://lafautearousseau.hautetfort.com/archive/2016/08/22/sondage-ipsos-seuls-11-des-francais-pensent-que-l-immigratio-5838774.html

 

 

Classé dans:Dignité humaine, DROITS FONDAMENTAUX, MIGRATIONS ET ASILE

Túl későn vette észre egy keresztúri autós a gyalogátkelőre lelépő székelyudvarhelyi személyt, és elütötte.
Kategória: Aktuális/Udvarhelyszék

Joli double clin d'œil.

Le nom de la promotion 2016, "Lieutenant-colonel Emile Driant", a été suggéré par la Réunion des ORSEM, à la fois pour rendre hommage à un officier de la Grande Guerre tombé alors qu’il avait la qualité d’officier de réserve (il était Saint-Cyrien mais il avait quitté l’armée quelques années auparavant) et pour marquer la cause commune servie par des officiers qu’ils soient d’active ou de réserve (une promotion de l’Ecole Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr porte le nom de Driant).

42 officiers ont suivi la formation ORSEM en 2016, dont 8 officiers alliés issus de 6 nations : l’Ecole Supérieure des ORSEM est la seule école du monde occidental formant des officiers de réserve d’état-major.

Le baptême est également la cérémonie de clôture des autres formations conduites cet été par l’ESORSEM et qui constituent la filière état-major : en ajoutant aux ORSEM français les 49 jeunes officiers initiés aux techniques d’état-major (SITEM) et les 41 officiers obtenant leur certificat d’état-major (CEM), ce sont en tout 124 officiers de la filière qui ont été formés cette année.

Créée à l’initiative de la Réunion des ORSEM, la filière ORSEM fournit depuis plus d’un siècle des officiers de réserve de l’armée de Terre aptes à tenir des emplois de haut niveau dans les états-majors, directions et organismes assimilés - y compris au niveau interarmées - sur le territoire national (Sentinelle…) ou en opérations extérieures (Barkhane, Daman…) mais également au sein des forces de présence à l’étranger (Sénégal, Gabon…). Aujourd’hui plus de mille ORSEM, en très grande majorité issus de la société civile, servent dans la réserve opérationnelle avec des volumes d’engagement importants, pouvant atteindre 150 jours par an.

Le lieutenant-colonel Driant est tombé à Verdun, le 22 février 1916, au bois des Caures. Il mena auparavant une carrière littéraire, sous le nom de Capitaine Danrit, et une carrière politique élu député de la 3e circonscription de Nancy à partir de 1910. Pour en savoir plus, cliquer ici.

 

À huit mois d'une élection présidentielle pour laquelle la gauche part divisée, le Premier ministre, Manuel Valls, a appelé au rassemblement, lors d'un meeting organisé, lundi, près de Toulouse, en présence des ténors du Parti socialiste.

August 29, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir on Monday received an invitation from his Malian counterpart, Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta to attend the summit meeting of La Francophonie in the capital, Bamako next January.

Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir as they pose for photographers ahead of the African Union summit in Johannesburg June 14, 2015 (REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko)

On Monday, al-Bashir has received Mali's Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop who handed him a written message from Keïta pertaining to bilateral ties between the two countries and ways to promote and enhance relations.

In his message, President Keïta has also invited al-Bashir to attend the summit meeting of La Francophonie in Bamako next January.

Meanwhile, President of Guinea-Bissau José Mário Vaz on Monday has concluded a two-day visit to Khartoum where he met with al-Bashir and senior government officials.

Sudan's State Minister of Foreign Affairs Kamal Ismail told the official news agency (SUNA) that Mário Vaz has discusses with al-Bashir bilateral relations between the two countries besides a number of regional and international issues.

Ismail pointed the visiting president expressed appreciation for the Sudanese leadership, saying he demanded Sudan to assist his country in the economic and agricultural domains.

According to Ismail, Mário Vaz also called for the need to open a Sudanese embassy in Guinea-Bissau and to continue economic, political, cultural, education and training cooperation between the two countries.

The Sudanese minister added that al-Bashir agreed to provide Guinea-Bissau with all needed assistance, saying the latter accepted an invitation by Mário Vaz to visit Guinea-Bissau and promised to carry it out soon.

Al-Bashir is under two International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrants since 2008 for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed in Darfur.

Mali has ratified the Rome Statute of the ICC on 16 August 2000 and therefore has an obligation to arrest al-Bashir.

The Sudanese president visited several African states members of the ICC but he was not arrested. However, the issue generated a large literature in the international law on Bashir's immunity.

His June 2015 visit to South Africa for an African Union summit stirred up a domestic controversy after the government there refused to arrest him and ignored a High Court order barring his departure. He managed to escape hours before the court ordered his apprehension.

(ST)

August 29, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese Red Crescent Society (SRCS) on Monday revealed that 40,620 families have been affected by the heavy rains and floods that hit the country recently.

A flooded area in Sudan (OCHA)

At a press conference held on Monday, SRCS secretary general Osman Gaafar said his organization provides assistance to the affected population directly and not through any government agency, pointing the aid is being distributed with high level of transparency.

He added that aid was so far distributed to 48,6% of the affected, expecting the current ratio would increase to 76% the during this week.

Gaafar pointed they received significant assistance from the Arab nations, saying that a Saudi air cargo plane carrying aid for the affected has arrived this week.

He stressed that more than 21,000 houses have been completely destroyed by the rains and flood, saying about 1400 SRCS volunteers are helping to distribute the assistance.

The Sudanese authorities had earlier said more than 100 people were killed by rain and flash floods.

Earlier this month, the United Nation Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) cited Sudanese government and humanitarian partners as saying that heavy rain and flooding since early June have affected over 122,000 people and destroyed over 13,000 houses in many parts of Sudan.

The most affected states are Kassala, Sennar, South Kordofan, West Kordofan and North Darfur.

(ST)

La phrase prononcée en fin de discours n'est pas passée inaperçue et a même valu à Manuel Valls une leçon d'une historienne. Alors que le Premier ministre n'a pas fait l'unanimité dans son gouvernement,...

Le Secrétaire général de l'ONU, Ban Ki-moon, s'est entretenu mardi par téléphone avec le Président du Gabon, Ali Bongo Ondimba, et avec Jean Ping, candidat présidentiel du parti Démocratie nouvelle, a indiqué son porte-parole.

Le Représentant spécial du Secrétaire général pour la Guinée-Bissau, Modibo Touré, a appelé mardi, devant le Conseil de sécurité, les dirigeants politiques de ce pays à mettre un terme à la paralysie politique dans laquelle il est plongé depuis la suspension du processus parlementaire.

Des dizaines de camions de CRS. Un parking désert en forme de sas de sécurité. Le hall Comminges de Colomiers (Haute-Garonne) a des allures de bunker. Malgré un important dispositif de police (tenus à...

Mais où est passée Marine Le Pen ? Absente de la scène politique tout l'été, la présidente du FN s'est offert des vacances XXL en Bretagne et dans les Pyrénées-Orientales entre mi-juillet et fin août,...

August 29, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - The U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan, Ambassador Donald Booth, on Monday has visited Blue Nile State to assess the humanitarian situation in the region.

Booth has arrived in Khartoum on Sunday in for the second time in less than a month.

On Monday, Booth and his accompanying delegation met in Ed-Damazin, the capital of Blue Nile State, with the Governor Hussein Yassin, senior officials and humanitarian aid commission workers.

During the meeting, the governor accused Sudan People's Liberation Movement/North (SPLM-N) of repeatedly attacking civilians and aid workers in the state.

“The humanitarian situation in Blue Nile State is stable thanks to federal government efforts in providing services and supporting stability in the state,” said Yassin.

According to the official Sudan News Agency (SUNA), Yassin also accused the SPLM-N of attacking the staff of the Sudanese Red Crescent Society.

The Ministers of Health and Urban Panning briefed the U.S. envoy on the provision of services and humanitarian needs.

Official sources told Sudan Tribune that Booth was interested to learn about the general conditions of civilians affected by the armed conflict in the state and the humanitarian assistance provided to them.

In a statement on Sunday, U.S. Department of State pointed that Booth will engage with a range of people in Blue Nile State affected by conflict. The statement said he will meet with Sudanese government officials, civil society, community leaders, and the staff of international organizations to open discussion and unimpeded exchanges.

“The United States remains deeply committed to the Sudanese people. Through visits like this, the Special Envoy will continue to engage constructively with the Government of Sudan and all parties to realize inclusive dialogue and a peaceful and stable Sudan,” says U.S Department of State statement.

Meanwhile, the opposition alliance of the Future Forces of Change (FFC) said they discussed with staff members of the U.S. special envoy's office the national dialogue and ways to engage all political forces in the process.

By the end of last July, the U.S. envoy visited Darfur to asses the humanitarian situation in the war-torn region.

After the visit, Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) on August 1st, arrested 15 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) leaders in Nertiti town, Central Darfur state, following a meeting with Booth.

Sudan's Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour denied that NISS arrested the IDPs, but admitted that some of them “May be (...) arrested by the local authorities."

Booth will meet on Tuesday in Khartoum with the Presidential Assistant Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid who also heads government delegation to the talks on the Two Areas to discuss preparations for the next round of negotiations with rebel groups.

Earlier in August, the African Union High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) suspended peace talks on Darfur region, South Kordofan and Blue Nile states after the parties failed to agree on security arrangements and humanitarian access.

The Sudanese army has been fighting SPLM-N rebels in Blue Nile and South Kordofan since 2011 and a group of armed movements in Darfur since 2003.

(ST)

August 29, 2016 (JUBA) – The body monitoring implementation of South Sudan's peace agreement said it would work with the controversially-appointed First Vice President Taban Deng Gai, although hopes for honouring last year's peace accord were diminishing.

The Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC) said President Salva Kiir and former first vice President Riek Machar “lack political will” to work together and implement the peace agreement.

“Although the legitimacy of Taban Deng [Gai] as First Vice President is questionable, diplomats will work with him because they don't have an option,” JMEC chairman and Festus Mogae told the Associated Press.

Gai was appointed to replace Machar, a move described as “illegal” by supporters of the former rebel leader.

Machar fled the South Sudanese capital Juba when his bodyguards clashed with soldiers loyal to President Kiir. He is now in Sudanese capital Khartoum.

JMEC's position to work with Gai come days after U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry and regional countries vowed last week to cooperate with the country's new vice president.

Mogae said Kiir and Machar lack the political will to work together for peace in South Sudan.

“There is no political will to implement the peace agreement. They [Kiir and Machar] are bent on a military solution, not political solution,” he said.

He said Gai's appointment adds weight to efforts to realize peace in the country.

“I am more disillusioned or less optimistic than I was when I first came. I thought that common and logic could persuade them to do right thing,” said the former Botswana president.

(ST)

August 29, 2016 (JUBA) - August 29, 2016 (JUBA) - A United States congressional Subcommittee on Africa and Global Human Rights on the visit to South Sudan has urged the African Union (AU) to speed up the establishment of the hybrid court for South Sudan in order to bring to book South Sudanese leaders accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity from 15 December 2015.

Christopher Henry Smith, who is the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations at the U.S. House of Representatives, said he is in South Sudan with his team to listen, learn and hear from the leaders what are their plans with regards to the establishment of the hybrid court in accordance with the August 2015 peace agreement.

“This is an important mission to this country. It is a country of world people and a country where the United States has investment of a lot in terms of resources and diplomatic engagement. Because of the conflict, the congress decided to come here to be able to meet, listen, learn and hear directly from the leaders their plans to address the situation,” said Smith head of the delegation.

The congressman said he was a believer of the hybrid court stipulated in the peace agreement to try South Sudanese leaders implicated in the crimes committed in Juba and beyond from 15 December 2015.

“As for me I'm a strong believer in hybrid court. So I would hope the AU should move faster and I think also should go intending with the reconciliation effort as well which is articulated in the peace accord,” he said.

The peace agreement gives the hybrid court the jurisdiction on genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and any other serious crimes under international law and any other relevant laws of South Sudan.

The court will have seven judges, four from the AU-member countries and three from South Sudan. This court, according to the peace agreement, should be established by the African Union to investigate and try individuals responsible for violations of human rights during the conflict and throughout the transitional period.

It also stresses that the court should have been established six months after the formation of the transitional government.

AU last year released a report implicating senior officials of South Sudan's government in the ongoing war crimes and crimes against humanity. Thousands of civilians, mainly from the Nuer ethnic group, were murdered in Juba by presidential guards loyal to President Kiir from the onset of the conflict in December 2013.

Other civilians from other ethnicities, mainly the Dinka, were also killed in retaliatory action by forces loyal to Riek Machar, leader of the opposition.

However, the current government in Juba seems to be reluctant to establish the hybrid court in fear of punishing senior government's political and military officials.

(ST)

August 29, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudanese government on Monday disclosed the First Vice-President of South Sudan Taban Deng Gai has promised during his recent visit to Khartoum that Juba would evict Sudanese rebels from its territory within three weeks.

Last week, Gai concluded a three-day visit to Khartoum where he handed over President Omer al-Bashir a special message from South Sudan's President Silva Kiir Mayardit.

Sudan's Minister of Information and official spokesperson Ahmed Bilal Osman on Monday told the semi-official Sudan Media Center (SMC) that his government is waiting for Juba to fulfil the promises made by Gai to drive out Sudanese rebels from South Sudan's territory within three weeks.

He described his government's relations with South Sudan's government as good, saying they work to maintain unity within the newborn nation and to support efforts of the United Nations to achieve stability in the country.

Following his meeting with the Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir last week, Gai didn't rule out that the outstanding security issues between Juba and Khartoum would be settled within three weeks, directing his defence minister to immediately implement instructions of the top leadership in both countries to resolve the security issues.

He said that his government wouldn't allow Sudanese rebels to work within South Sudan's territory to threaten Sudan's security, stressing his country wouldn't harbour rebel groups who wage war against Khartoum.

“We hope that Sudan wouldn't serve as a launching pad for Machar,” he added.

South Sudan seceded from Sudan on July 9th 2011 following a referendum on whether the semi-autonomous region should remain a part of the country or become independent. 99% of the southern voters chose independence.

Relations between the two nations soured after South Sudan's independence following a series of disputes over a number of issues, particularly accusations of support to rebel groups .

(ST)