COMMENT | The latest horrifying episode of religious terrorism in France has, unfortunately, put Malaysia in the international limelight with the former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, adding fuel to the religious fires and hatred.
Many that have followed Mahathir’s career during the past 70 years will not be surprised by his extremist response.
Unfortunately too, we have not seen the last of such fire and brimstone practitioners. They follow a well-trodden pattern going back thousands of years.
Perhaps the only way to get out of this cycle of religious violence and terrorism is for the leaders of religious institutions to also teach about the history of the estimated 6,000 religions of the world, the differences, commonalities and patterns, and associations with cultural and political features.
Using scientific evidence, logic and rationality, such courses can help put into proper perspective the so-called universal truths and answers peddled by the religious books and scriptures of the Abrahamic religions as well as…
The EU-funded European Investment Bank has been using taxpayer cash to support infrastructure projects linked to alleged human rights violations, an investigation by NGOs shows.
The report – led by campaign groups Counter Balance and the CEE Bankwatch Network – has accused the EIB of a lack of transparency and a failure to properly assess the impact of its funding as it extends its role beyond Europe to former Soviet republics, Africa and Asia.
Campaigners have grown increasingly concerned by the EIB’s relationships with developing countries, urged policymakers to restrict further investments until the organisation undergoes “fundamental reforms”.
Britain, which is expected to fall off the EIB’s list of possible client countries following the end of the Brexit transition deal on 1 January, has benefited from £120bn worth of funding over the last 40 years, including for the area around London’s Canary Wharf and the redevelopment of Cardiff’s docks.
The investigation pointed to the EIB’s involvement in controversial projects, including in Nepal and Georgia, where there has been alleged harm to local and indigenous communities.
The report condemned the EIB’s financial backing in Georgia of the Nenskra dam, which is set to be one of country’s largest hydropower plants in the country’s Upper Svaneti region. The report said that on top of biodiversity and natural disaster threats linked to the dam, the EIB failed to apply its own standards that protect the rights of indigenous peoples.
It claims the EIB failed to recognise the Svan population as an indigenous people, ignoring their their right to take part in the decision making about projects based on their traditional lands.
The report said the EIB funded the construction of a road between Mombasa and Nairobi in Kenya, resulting in the forced eviction of more than 100 people by armed police. The report says more than 500 people have lodged complaints against the EIB as a result of that project.
Meanwhile, in Nepal, the Marsyangdi Corridor – an EIB-financed electricity transmission line – is allegedly moving ahead without the “free, prior and informed consent” of affected indigenous people “even though the project will heavily impact their forests and livelihoods,” the report claimed.
“Without fundamental reforms, the EIB should not be awarded the ‘EU Development Bank’ label,” the report, spearheaded by Counter Balance, said. Counter Balance is a coalition of nine NGOs, including Germany’s Urgewald, the Corner House and Bretton Woods Project based in the UK, and Both ENDS in the Netherlands.
“It pays too limited attention to the development impacts of its operations and does not have enough expertise or sufficient presence on the ground to provide genuine added-value outside of Europe … Its operations outside Europe tend to favour an outdated and problematic development model which ultimately exacerbates inequalities rather than alleviates them,” the document said.
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A spokesman for the EIB said the report contained “several inaccurate and misleading statements” and that its lending mandates and investments have been “consistently assessed” by independent evaluators. The EIB said it had a strong track record delivering on policy objectives set by the European commission, the European parliament, and EU member states.
“The EIB shares several of your concerns regarding the challenges of development finance, and is constantly improving and further developing its approach to essential issues such as human rights, environmental and social impacts, the fight against fraud and corruption, as well as compliance and tax related matters,” it said.
“We note that several of these issues are or have been discussed with Counter Balance or CEE Bankwatch Network as part of our ongoing dialogue, or are planned to be further discussed as part of upcoming public consultations.”
Kaelyn Clementz has written the book “Jocelyn’s Cloud” with the help of her grandmother. It’s available to purchase on Amazon.
CLOVERDALE — Kaelyn Clementz, a 12-year-old from Cloverdale who attends the seventh grade at Continental schools, is a published author.
Clementz has written the children’s book “Jocelyn’s Cloud,” now available through Amazon.
Clementz has been working on the book for the past year and a half.
She received a lot of help from her grandmother Patricia Clementz.
“She taught me different clouds’ names, like if they’re flat and if they’re regular in the sky. She also told me about the silver lining (i.e. every cloud has a silver lining),” Clementz said.
According to information on the back cover of her book, “In this imaginative and fun story, author Kaelyn Clementz invites you to look to the skies and see a bright new world in the clouds. It all started when she and her grandmother Patricia started looking at the clouds and playing ‘I Spy.’”
Kaelyn’s father originally wanted to name her Jocelyn when she was born, and that’s how the title “Jocelyn’s Cloud” came to be.
The book is illustrated by Tia Caffee.
She says so far she’s sold over 100 books but she said it doesn’t matter whether she sells one or 1,000 books.
“I think it turned out very well. I feel pretty good about it,” she said.
Clementz says she enjoys going to school at Continental.
“My favorite subjects in school are probably reading and language,” she said.
Clementz says she likes going outdoors and sometimes dabbles in crafts.
She has three cats and a dog and hopes to one day become a veterinarian.
“Because I care a lot about animals, and I like helping them,” she said.
Kaelyn Clementz
Kaelyn Clementz has written the book “Jocelyn’s Cloud” with the help of her grandmother. It’s available to purchase on Amazon.
The European Union (EU) on Friday renewed its call for a census in Polisario-administered camps in Tindouf, southern Algeria, Morocco’s state media MAP reported.
Christoph Heusgen, Germana’ys permanent representative at the UN, made the statement on behalf of EU member countries.
Speaking before the 4th Committee of the UN General Assembly, the German diplomat said that the EU remains “concerned” about the repercussions of the Sahara conflict on security and stability in the region.
Heusgen also noted the worsening conditions in the camps, underlining that the international community needs to go beyond providing humanitarian assistance for distressed Sahrawis in the camps.
Invoking the latest UN report and Security Council resolution on the Western Sahara territorial dispute, the EU representative argued that a census by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) would confer more effectiveness to any UN efforts or and monioring initiatives in the camps.
The statement comes as the Polisario Front, the militant front calling for independence in Western Sahara, faces a persistent torrent of accusations and reports on mismanagement, embezzlement, and “extrajudicial executions” in the Tindouf camps.
Meanwhile, the recent months have also seen Morocco’s position take the upper hand in the UN-moderated political process to end the decades-long dispute.
Late last month, both the Security Council and the UN Secretary-General commenced Morocco’s commitment to the political process while urging Polisario to show similar commitment to the pragmatism and compromise spirit of the UN agenda for a lasting and politically negotiated resolution.
Referring to these recent developments, Heusgen said that Brussels is determined to accompany “the commitment of the UN Secretary General to relaunch negotiations.”
According to the German diplomat, the goal is to sustain the “new momentum and a new spirit leading to the resumption of the political process, with the objective of achieving a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution.”
As the international community grapples with seemingly escalating tensions in the buffer zone, Heusgen noted, the EU wishes to “encourage the parties to show political will and work in an atmosphere that is conducive… to a new phase of negotiations in good faith and without preconditions and taking note of the efforts made and developments since 2006.”
The German diplomat’s reference to post-2006 developments in the territorial conflict is an apparent nod to Morocco’s widely applauded Autonomy Plan.
Morocco submitted its resolution plan to the UN in 2007, proposing local autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty. The idea is for the region’s inhabitants to have full control over the management of their social, economic, and political development plans while Morocco handles defense and diplomacy.
In recent years, Morocco’s plan has received plaudits from many observers and diplomats, including from permanent members — most notably France and the US — of the UN Security Council.
Most observers have described the Moroccan plan as a “credible” and viable path to a lasting resolution of the dispute.
Belgian minister of state and former president of the Belgian House of Representatives Andre Flahaut said in a recent interview that Morocco’s “balanced” and “common-sense” autonomy plan is “the only possible way” out of the enduring Sahara crisis.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson delivers a speech at Exeter College Construction Centre, part of Exeter College in Exeter September 29, 2020. — Reuters pic
LONDON, Nov 8 — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said today a trade deal with the European Union was “there to be done”, with its broad outline already “pretty clear”.
“I’ve always been a great enthusiast for a trade deal with our European friends and partners,” Johnson told reporters.
“I think it’s there to be done, the broad outlines are pretty clear. We just need to get on and do it if we can. And I said that to (European Commission President) Ursula Von der Leyen just yesterday. And she totally agrees with me.” — Reuters
Police are heading into the “unknown” with Brexit with Britain’s departure from the European Union under two months away, a senior officer has said.
Forces still do not know whether they will keep access to European mechanisms and databases, or have to fall back on contingency plans.
Theresa May recently lambasted the government for claiming the UK “can co-operate more effectively to safeguard” British people outside the EU.
The president of the Police Superintendents’ Association told The Independent that if a security deal is not struck, information sharing will be less effective, and warned that officers will also have to copy with the impact of no-deal on borders and ports.
“We have been working on this since 2016 so there’s a degree of preparedness, but what is unknown is if there will be a deal and what the consequences could be,” Chief Superintendent Paul Griffiths said.
“There is concern about the implications on policing and security, and with how it’s all collided together with a global pandemic it’s a really challenging time for all agencies.”
The security minister admitted this week that a deal has not been struck with the EU and said negotiations were at a “sensitive point”.
Responding to concerns about information sharing on potential terrorists, James Brokenshire told MPs: “If negotiations do not conclude successfully, we will move back to pre-existing tools and powers.”
Ch Supt Griffiths said police would put themselves in the “best position possible”, but warned of “challenges and unintended consequences” of any change.
“In theory, we should be able to exchange information with EU partners fairly quickly because we’ve all got a vested interest in the safety of citizens,” he added.
“But how to do that is the challenge – the efficiency and effectiveness of the systems.
“I’m not sure we fully understand the consequences in terms of information transfer from other countries in Europe.”
Ch Supt Griffiths said that crime, particularly the most serious forms of organised criminality, was becoming more “trans-national”.
Police scrambling to save suspects’ details for fear of no-deal Brexit
He suggested that the current model of having 43 operationally independent regional forces in England and Wales should be reformed.
“Some of serious and organised crime is global and we can’t escape that,” he added.
“The boundaries we have adhered to for decades are fruitless now relating to some of the criminality going on that can originate abroad and hit your local neighbourhood.”
But the main database used to access intelligence on convicted extremists and other criminals, the Schengen Information System (SIS II) is among those that the UK faces losing access to.
British police officers checked it 539 million times in 2017 alone, and their equipment currently searches SIS II and the Police National Computer simultaneously.
Britain will also be cut out of the European Arrest Warrant system, which allows wanted suspects to be extradited to Britain, and for those on UK soil to be arrested and ejected from the country.
The law would have to be changed to allow the alternative Interpol red notices to be used to detain suspects without going to court for a warrant.
Also at stake is Britain’s membership of Europol, a pan-EU policing body used to conduct joint operations against international extremist and organised crime groups, and pool intelligence.
Access to the European Criminal Records Information System (ECRIS) could be axed and agreements on the sharing of passenger name records, and DNA, fingerprint and vehicle registration data must also be reached.
Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises
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Last month, cabinet minister Michael Gove suggested that the government would not accept a deal where the UK had to “accept the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice”, even if it meant losing SIS II and other tools.
As Ms May, the former prime minister and home secretary, mouthed “what” and shook her head, he claimed: “When it comes to everything – security and other matters -no deal is better than a bad deal.”
The former head of MI5 previously said there was no “security upside” to Brexit and the best the government can hope to do is minimise its negative impact.
Lord Jonathan Evans warned that although intelligence sharing would be largely unaffected by Brexit because of long-standing bilateral relationships, that was “only a small part of the overall picture”.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council announced that preparations for the potential loss of EU tools and powers were complete last October.
At the time, its lead for Brexit warned that the contingencies developed were not “like-for-like replacements”.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Richard Martin added: “In all cases the replacements are slower, less effective, and more bureaucratic for officers than our existing setup.
“Existing EU tools allow us to respond quickly and intelligently to crime and terrorism impacting the UK and the EU – they make us better at protecting the public. We want to avoid leaving without a deal because that would see us lose access to those important tools.”
Police have also planned responses to worst-case scenarios including mass protests, disorder and chaos at ports, and many forces have banned annual leave over the Brexit period.
Pope Francis on Sunday joined the Italian bishops in their call for the safeguarding of water, as a common good.
Each year, on 8 November, Italy celebrates a day – dedicated to a different theme annualy – promoted by the italian Conference of Catholic bishops. This year the theme is “water, blessing of the earth”.
Water, say the italian bishops, is a gift – the first of all. They express their closeness to “the men and women of the earth, knowing that the well-being of the population depends on their generous work”, aware that the Covid-19 pandemic “has had a heavy impact on the entire world of work”
Speaking after the recitation of the Angelus Prayer, Pope Francis noted that “water is vital for agriculture; it is also vital for life!” He expressed his closeness with prayer and affection to the rural world, and “especially to small farmers”, explaining that “their work is more important than ever in this time of crisis”.
The parliament decision clears the way for the removal of the northern Tigray leadership, which Ethiopia’s federal government considers to be illegal.
Earlier this week, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia ordered the military to respond to an attack on an army camp in the regional capital of Mekele by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, known as the TPLF.
At the same time, the Ethiopian government declared a state of emergency in the Tigray district. Abiy Ahmed cited months of ‘provocation and incitement’ and insisted a red line had been crossed.
On Saturday, the Catholic Bishops of Ethiopia appealed for peaceful dialogue, urging parties to resolve their differences amicably, in a spirit of respect and understanding.
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said it is becoming increasing alarmed at the escalation of violence in the country.
“Rising hostilities in the Tigray region threaten the immediate safety of hundreds of thousands of people,’ the NRC said in a statement. ‘Any increase in violence would foreshadow further regional destabilization and humanitarian disaster. We call upon all parties to resolve tensions through dialogue and to take all appropriate measures to end military action’.
The most recent figures from NRC suggest there are currently 1.80 million people internally displaced across Ethiopia and a further 790,000 refugees seeking protection from other conflicts in the East Africa region.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for immediate measures to de-escalate tensions.
He also renewed the commitment of the UN to support the government of Ethiopia in its reform efforts aimed at building a peaceful and secure future for all its peoples.
Johannesburg – Against a backdrop of the harsh realities of Covid-19 potentially deterring investment, there have been renewed calls for a review of transformation laws in South Africa, particularly the impact of B-BBEE empowerment regulations on EU companies.
Investors are concerned about the lack of clarity concerning policy and structural reforms with the B-BBEE policy, one of which has been described as often eliciting a “deer-in-the-headlights” response from even the most seasoned investors”, said the findings of a new study unveiled during a webinar attended by top European diplomats, including the EU Ambassador to South Africa, Dr Riina Kionka.
Entitled EU Investors’ Responses to Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE): A Skills Enhancement Model by research expert Feroza Samaai-Abader, the study emphasised support for empowerment, acknowledging that South Africa offers many attractive assets for foreign investors, such as its diversified and advanced economy, its abundance of natural resources and its well-developed infrastructure.
Samaai-Abader, whose report was commissioned by the EU-funded “EU-South Africa Partners for Growth” Project, described the B-BBEE policy as the government’s key instrument in reconstruction and development. Through this policy, she said economic transformation has progressed from being just a strategic vision to a legislated, measurable actuality.
“But as the proponents of B-BBEE sought to increase the regulatory and measurability aspects of the legislation, the policy, primarily affected through the codes of good practice, has become rather convoluted and complex, often frustrating businesses rather than encouraging transformative practices,” Samaai-Abader said.
A Brexit deal with the EU remains “there to be done”, Boris Johnson has said, with trade negotiations set to resume next week.
The Prime Minister said the “broad outlines are pretty clear” and that European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen “totally agrees”.
It comes as the Prime Minister and Ms von der Leyen agreed during a phone call on Saturday to “redouble efforts” to reach a UK-EU trade deal and signed off on talks continuing next week.
Downing Street said the Prime Minister had told his Brussels counterpart that there remained “significant differences” in the UK-EU negotiations, with the two sides continuing to be apart on their positions over fishing rights and a level playing field agreement.
The call follows two weeks of intensified talks between the UK’s chief negotiator Lord Frost and his European Union equivalent Michel Barnier ahead of further discussions in London, starting on Monday.
Speaking about the negotiations, Mr Johnson said: “I’ve always been a great enthusiast for a trade deal with our European friends and partners, I think it is there to be done.
“The broad outlines are pretty clear, we just need to get on and do it if we can. I’ve said that to Ursula von der Leyen just yesterday and she totally agrees with me.”
Earlier on Sunday, Dominic Raab said he was “confident” that the Northern Ireland hurdles could be overcome to ensure the UK achieves a trade deal.
The Foreign Secretary added he believed the UK Government would be able to ally American fears and navigate the Irish border issue to satisfy allies in the US following president-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
Mr Biden has expressed concern about the Internal Market Bill, which would override key elements of the Withdrawal Agreement in relation to Northern Ireland, and has warned the Good Friday agreement cannot be “a casualty of Brexit”.
Mr Rabb told BBC One’s Andrew Marr Show: “I’m confident we will navigate all of those issues sensitively, correctly, and, as I said, we listen very carefully to our American friends, particularly on the Hill and in the Irish lobby – they feel very invested in the Good Friday Agreement, we understand that, and I pay tribute to what George Mitchell and Bill Clinton did – but it is not the UK which is putting it at risk, it is the approach of the EU.”
But Sir Keir Starmer, leader of the Labour Party, urged ministers to scrap the controversial legislation if it was serious about building bridges with the new team headed for the White House.
Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer (Yui Mok/PA)
“We will soon have a president in the Oval Office who has been a passionate advocate for the preservation of the Good Friday Agreement,” Sir Keir wrote in an article for the Guardian.
“He, like governments across the world, will take a dim view if our Prime Minister ploughs ahead with proposals to undermine that agreement.
“If the Government is serious about a reset in its relationship with the United States, then it should take an early first step and drop these proposals.”
Meanwhile Mr Raab, asked about the prospect of trade deal being secured with the EU by the end of the week, told Sky News: “There is progress being made but we’ve got to see whether it is enough to get us over the line.”
