The UN chief and pope call for nations to end the use of antipersonnel land mines

The UN chief and pope call for nations to end the use of antipersonnel land mines
UN chief Antonio Guterres called on the 164 signatories of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty to ‘meet their obligations and ensure compliance to the Convention.’ (AFP)
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Updated 25 November 2024
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The UN chief and pope call for nations to end the use of antipersonnel land mines

The UN chief and pope call for nations to end the use of antipersonnel land mines
  • In remarks sent to a conference in Cambodia to review progress on the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty
  • The treaty was signed in 1997 and went into force in 1999, but nearly three dozen countries have not acceded to it

PHNOM PENH: The UN head, Pope Francis and others called Monday for nations to end the production and use of land mines, even as their deployment globally grows.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a message to delegates at the fifth review of the International Mine Ban Treaty, also known as the Ottawa Convention, that 25 years after it went into force some parties had renewed the use of antipersonnel mines and some are falling behind in their commitments to destroy the weapons.
“I call on states parties to meet their obligations and ensure compliance to the convention, while addressing humanitarian and developmental impacts through financial and technical support,” Guterres said at the opening of the conference in Cambodia.
“I also encourage all states that have not yet acceded to the convention to join the 164 that have done so. A world without anti-personnel mines is not just possible. It is within reach.”
In a statement read on behalf of Pope Francis, his deputy Cardinal Pietro Parolin said that antipersonnel land mines and victim-activated explosive devices continue to be used. Even after many years of hostilities, “these treacherous devices continue to cause terrible suffering to civilians, especially children.”
“Pope Francis urges all states that have not yet done so to accede to the convention, and in the meantime to cease immediately the production and use of land mines,” he said.
The treaty was signed in 1997 and went into force in 1999, but nearly three dozen countries have not acceded to it, including some key current and past producers and users of land mines such as the United States, China, India, Pakistan, South Korea and Russia.
In a report released last week by Landmine Monitor, the international watchdog said land mines were still actively being used in 2023 and 2024 by Russia, Myanmar, Iran and North Korea. It added that non-state armed groups in at least five places — Colombia, India, Myanmar, Pakistan and the Gaza Strip — had used mines as well, and there were claims of their use in more than a half dozen countries in or bordering the Sahel region of Africa.
At least 5,757 people were killed and wounded by land mines and unexploded ordnance last year, primarily civilians of whom a third were children, Landmine Monitor reported.
Landmine Monitor said Russia had been using antipersonnel mines “extensively” in Ukraine, and just a week ago, the US, which has been providing Ukraine with anti-tank mines throughout the war, announced it would start providing Kyiv with antipersonnel mines as well to try and stall Russian progress on the battlefield.
“Antipersonnel mines represent a clear and present danger for civilians,” Guterres said in his statement. “Even after fighting stops, these horrifying and indiscriminate weapons can remain, trapping generations of people in fear.”
He praised Cambodia for its massive demining efforts and for sharing its experience with others and contributing to UN peacekeeping missions.
Cambodia was one of the world’s most mine-affected countries after three decades of war and disorder that ended in 1998, with some 4 million to 6 million mines or unexploded munitions littering the country.
Its efforts to rid the country of mines has been enormous, and Landmine Monitor said Cambodia and Croatia accounted for 75 percent of all land cleared of mines in 2023, with more than 200 square kilometers (80 square miles).
Prime Minister Hun Manet joined the calls for more nations to join the Mine Ban Treaty, and thanked the international community for supporting Cambodia’s mine clearance efforts. He said they have reduced land mine casualties from more than 4,300 in 1996 to fewer than 100 annually over the last decade.
“Cambodia has turned its tragic history into a powerful lesson for the world, advocating against the use of anti-personnel mines and highlighting their long-term consequences,” he said.


Trump says Canada’s Carney to visit ‘in next week’

Trump says Canada’s Carney to visit ‘in next week’
Updated 11 sec ago
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Trump says Canada’s Carney to visit ‘in next week’

Trump says Canada’s Carney to visit ‘in next week’
“I spoke to him yesterday, couldn’t have been nicer and I congratulated him,” Trump told reporters
“I think we’re going to have a great relationship”

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney would visit Washington in the coming week, hailing him as “very nice” despite tensions over Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats.
“He’s a very nice gentleman and he’s going to come to the White House very shortly, within the next week or less,” Trump said after the leader of Canada’s Liberal Party secured election victory in part by vowing to stand up to the US president.
“I spoke to him yesterday, couldn’t have been nicer and I congratulated him,” Trump told reporters in a cabinet meeting.
Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative Party had been on track to win the vote but Trump’s attacks, combined with the departure of unpopular former premier Justin Trudeau, transformed the race.
Carney, who replaced Trudeau as prime minister just last month, convinced voters that his experience managing economic crises made him the ideal candidate to defy Trump.
Trump however downplayed any possible tensions with the Canadian — despite repeatedly calling for Carney’s country to become the 51st US state.
“I think we’re going to have a great relationship. He called me up yesterday, he said ‘Let’s make a deal’,” Trump said.
“They both hated Trump, and it was the one that hated Trump, I think, the least that won. I actually think the Conservative hated me much more than the so-called Liberal.”

Five Indians kidnapped in attack in Niger

Five Indians kidnapped in attack in Niger
Updated 50 min 36 sec ago
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Five Indians kidnapped in attack in Niger

Five Indians kidnapped in attack in Niger
  • The victims were working for an Indian company providing services to Niger’s Kandadji dam project
  • The armed men who carried out the kidnapping have not been officially identified

NIAMEY: Five Indian citizens were kidnapped in western Niger during an attack last week by armed men that also killed a dozen soldiers, according to two Nigerian security sources and a statement by Indian state authorities seen by Reuters on Wednesday.
Reuters reported on Saturday that 12 soldiers had been killed in the attack a day earlier near the village of Sakoira in the tri-border region, where the West African Sahel countries of Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali meet.
The victims were working for an Indian company providing services to Niger’s Kandadji dam project, the two security sources said.
The local government of the Indian state of Jharkhand said in a statement that the five citizens had been working in the Tillaberi region.
It said all five were from Jharkhand and that the Indian embassy in Niger had approached Nigerian authorities for support in securing their release.
The armed men who carried out the kidnapping have not been officially identified, but last month Niger blamed the EIGS group, a Daesh affiliate, for an attack on a mosque near the tri-border area in which at least 44 civilians were killed.
Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso are fighting a jihadist insurgency linked to Al-Qaeda and Islamic State that spun out of a Tuareg rebellion in northern Mali in 2012 and later spread to its neighboring countries.
Kidnappings appear to have intensified this year, with an Austrian woman kidnapped in January and a Swiss citizen earlier in April, both in Niger. Also in January, four Moroccan truck drivers went missing on the border between Niger and Burkina Faso.


Head of Pakistan-administered Kashmir calls for international mediation

Head of Pakistan-administered Kashmir calls for international mediation
Updated 30 April 2025
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Head of Pakistan-administered Kashmir calls for international mediation

Head of Pakistan-administered Kashmir calls for international mediation
  • Head of Pakistan-administered Kashmir says Gulf states could help
  • Calls for attention on Kashmir’s long-term future

ISLAMABAD: The head of the Pakistan-administered region of Kashmir called for international mediation and said on Wednesday that his administration was preparing a humanitarian response in case of any further escalation between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan.
Pakistan’s government has said it has “credible intelligence” that India intends to launch military action soon after days of escalating tensions following a deadly attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir.
India blamed Pakistan for the April 22 attack that killed 26 people, which Islamabad has denied.
“There is a lot of activity going on and anything could happen so we have to prepare for it. These few days are very important,” president of Pakistan-administered Kashmir Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry told Reuters in an interview, calling for rapid international diplomacy to de-escalate the situation.
“We expect some mediation at this time from some friendly countries and we hope that that mediation must take place, otherwise India would do anything this time,” he said. Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates could be in a position to mediate, he added.
Chaudhry also said he hoped major players like the United States and Britain might also get involved.
He said activity along the Line of Control (LoC) that divides the two portions of Kashmir was “hot” and that Pakistan had shot down two Indian drones in the last few days.
There had been regular firing by Pakistani and Indian soldiers day and night, though so far there had been no casualties, he said.
Pakistan had also detected Indian Rafale fighter jets flying near the LoC, though they had not crossed, he added.
The Indian Air Force did not respond to a request for comment, though an Indian military official said Rafale jets were doing their usual training and drills along the LoC.
Chaudhry said he had not received intelligence on when and where India was expected to strike, but his administration was working with groups such as the Red Crescent Society to prepare extra medical and food supplies in case of any conflict.
“Red Crescent are working on it and we are working on displaced people in affected areas,” he said.
He said that the international community also needed to pay more attention to Kashmir’s long-term future.
“I think this is the right time for the international community as a whole and the UN to play some mediating role in Kashmir,” he said.
“It’s been a very long time and the people of Kashmir have suffered a lot.”
Pakistan-administered Kashmir has its own elected government but Pakistan handles major issues like defense and its residents hold many of the rights of Pakistani citizens.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke to Pakistan and India on Tuesday, stressing the need to avoid confrontation. The US and Britain have also called for calm.


China to lift sanctions on EU Parliament members, official says

China to lift sanctions on EU Parliament members, official says
Updated 30 April 2025
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China to lift sanctions on EU Parliament members, official says

China to lift sanctions on EU Parliament members, official says
  • China has grown keen to forge closer economic and political ties with Europe
  • The sanctions China is lifting, according to the official, were imposed in 2021

BRUSSELS: China has decided to lift sanctions on four members of the European Parliament as well as on its subcommittee on human rights, a parliament official told Reuters.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said European Parliament President Roberta Metsola is expected to announce the change on Wednesday. The official initially said sanctions would be lifted for four current members and one former member but later said the decision applied only to four current members.
China has grown keen to forge closer economic and political ties with Europe to limit the damage from tariffs on most of its exports to the United States.
The sanctions China is lifting, according to the official, were imposed in 2021 in response to Western measures against Chinese officials accused of the mass detentions of Muslim Uyghurs.
In response to the Chinese sanctions on its members, the European Parliament halted the ratification of the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment, which had aimed to put EU companies on an equal footing in China.
Asked about reports that Beijing would lift sanctions, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told a news conference on Wednesday that “the economic and trade cooperation between China and Europe is complementary and mutually beneficial.”
“The legislative bodies of China and the EU are an important part of China-EU relations, and we hope that the two sides will meet each other halfway and strengthen exchanges,” he said, adding that “members of the European Parliament are welcome to visit China more often.”


Burkina Faso junta rallies supporters after claimed coup ‘plot’

Burkina Faso junta rallies supporters after claimed coup ‘plot’
Updated 30 April 2025
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Burkina Faso junta rallies supporters after claimed coup ‘plot’

Burkina Faso junta rallies supporters after claimed coup ‘plot’
  • On April 21, the junta claimed to have undone a ‘major plot’ planned by masterminds in neighboring Ivory Coast
  • Authorities regularly repress dissent, notably within civil society and the media, claiming it as part of the anti-militant battle

ABIDJAN: Several thousand people rallied in support of Burkina Faso’s ruling junta Wednesday, days after the military authorities said they had uncovered a “plot” to overthrow the government.
Demonstrators carried giant posters of junta leader Captain Ibrahim Traore and Burkinabe and Russian flags.
With placards bearing slogans such as: “Down with imperialism and its local lackeys” and “Full support for President Ibrahim Traore and the people of Burkina Faso,” they gathered in a central square in the capital Ouagadougou.
It was one of the biggest pro-junta demonstrations since Traore seized power in a September 2022 coup in the west African country, which has been battling jihadist attacks for a decade that have killed tens of thousands of people.
On April 21, the junta claimed to have undone a “major plot” planned by masterminds in neighboring Ivory Coast, with the arrests of several top army officials.
Traore has regularly accused Ivory Coast of harboring his opponents, allegations its neighbor rejects.
Over more than a year, the junta has detained several dozen military officers, including former gendarmerie chief of staff Evrard Somda, accusing them of plotting or of attempting to destabilize republican institutions.
Authorities regularly repress dissent, notably within civil society and the media, claiming it as part of the anti-militant battle.
Prime Minister Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouedraogo addressed the rally which was also attended by several ministers and MPs and called by the National Coordination of the Civilian Vigil (CNAVC), a coalition of pro-junta civil society groups.
“We must stand up more than ever because when the people stand up, the imperialists tremble,” the prime minister told the crowd.
Rallies condemning the “hypocrisy” of former colonial powers also took place in Burkina’s second biggest city Bobo Dioulasso and in Boromo.
“We, peoples who love justice and sovereignty, affirm our unwavering solidarity with the heroic struggle of the Burkinabe people for their emancipation,” a CNAVC spokesman said.
“This mobilization is proof that the people are committed to their leaders,” Ghislain Some, CNAVC secretary general, said.
“The people are standing up, mobilized and united behind captain Ibrahim Traore. We will never be able to harm our president or destabilize our country. We are a shield,” Some said.
Adama Kima, one of the organizers, said on national television that the rally was also to denounce remarks attributed to US Africa Command chief General Michael Langley accusing Traore of using the country’s gold reserves for personal protection at the expense of the well-being of the people.
Like its neighbors Niger and Mali, Burkina Faso under Traore has turned away from its former colonial master France and moved closer to Russia.
All three of those Sahel states have been battling violence by militants linked to Al-Qaeda and the Daesh group for a decade.
The three junta-led countries quit the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) at the beginning of the year, accusing the regional bloc of being subservient to France, and have formed the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), originally set up as a defense pact in 2023 but which now seeks closer integration.