World News Roundup

ARAB TIMES, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2015

16INTERNATIONAL

Asia

Pope Francis walks after inspecting a honor guard as he prepares to depart from the airport in Kampala, Uganda on Nov 29. (AP)

A masked Kashmiri protester throwsa stone at Indian security personnelduring a protest in Srinagar, Indiancontrolled Kashmir on Nov 27. Policefired teargas and rubber bullets todisperse Kashmiris who gatheredafter Friday afternoon prayers toprotest against the continuousarrests of youth and separatistactivists in the Kashmir valley. (AP)

Park Chung-Hee

‘Police bust online gun ring’:Police in China, where gun possession byordinary people is illegal, have busted anonline gun selling operation, seizing 1,180guns and more than 6 million bullets, thestate news agency Xinhua reported onSaturday.

A seven-month investigation that start-ed when police happened across suspectedgun parts in a package netted 18 peopleinvolved in the sale of guns in China via awebsite hosted on a US server, Xinhuasaid.

The gun selling ring had made morethan 4 million yuan ($625,537) in profitsince 2012, according to a police officerquoted by Xinhua.

The manufacture and sale of guns isstrictly regulated in China and individualscan be sentenced to up to seven years inprison if convicted of illegally possessinga gun. With such strict controls, privategun ownership is almost unheard of andgun crime is rare.

In April, police found items believed tobe gun components in a package wheninspecting a courier service, Xinhua quot-ed Lyu Ming, a police officer in the north-ern region of Inner Mongolia, as saying.

In the following months, police tracedpackages to five suspects in the centralprovince of Hunan and raided a housethey had used to sell guns, it said.

One suspect confessed that they hadbeen in the online gun business since2012, using a rented server in the UnitedStates. They posted advertisements onlineand recruited sales agents nationwide,Xinhua said. (RTRS)

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More than 30K attend race: Thetens of thousands of people who partici-pated in Sunday’s half marathon in India’scapital had more than just running 21 km(13 miles) through New Delhi’s streets ona misty, chilly morning to deal with. Theyalso had to overcome the city’s unparal-leled air pollution.

Last year, the World HealthOrganization named New Delhi theworld’s most polluted city. Twelve otherIndian cities ranked among the world’smost polluted 20.

On Sunday, most of New Delhi’s gov-ernment-run air monitors were showing“very poor” readings, providing an extrachallenge for those taking part in theannual half marathon.

More than 30,000 people participated inthe race, according to the Press Trust ofIndia, or PTI. Two runners were seenbeing taken to ambulances, but it was notknown why they needed medical attention.

Still, the event proceeded in a carnivalatmosphere, with Ethiopia’s BirhanuLegese and Kenya’s Cynthia Limo win-ning the men’s and women’s elite cate-gories.

“It is my first time in Delhi, and I havecome up with a personal best,” PTI quot-ed Legese, who finished in 59 minutes, 20seconds, as saying. “It is even more satis-fying considering the top six were soclose.”

PM2.5 — the very fine particles thatget lodged deep in the lungs and cause themost damage — crossed 300 at someplaces in New Delhi, but very few runnerswore pollution masks during the race.

“I’ve never tried to run with a mask.The idea of wearing one for the raceseems uncomfortable,” said one of therunners, Shruti Saxena, a 41-year-oldbusinesswoman who has been distancerunning in New Delhi for eight years.“We’re breathing the same air even if westop running, and I’d rather run than not.”(AP)

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Nepal arrests 38 in strike: Policein Nepal arrested 38 protesters on Sundayfor trying to enforce a strike againstneighbouring India, which is accused oforchestrating a weeks-long border block-ade that has caused crippling fuel short-ages.

Many shops were closed in the capitalKathmandu and traffic was thin on theroads after the strike called by a small

hardline opposition Communist party. Wehave arrested 38 people for trying to blockroads and vandalise vehicles, policespokesman Kamal Singh Bam told AFP.

Protests at the border over Nepals newconstitution have led to crippling fuelshortages in the landlocked Himalayannation, while medicines are also runningshort.

Nepal is heavily dependent on giantIndia for fuel and other supplies, but littlecargo has crossed their main checkpointsince protests broke out in late September.

Movement across other border check-points has also slowed to a crawl, prompt-ing Nepals government to accuse India

Group vows protest

South Korea’s major labour groupvowed Sunday to hold a massiveanti-government protest this week, aday after authorities banned the rallyover concerns it could turn violent.

The planned demonstration onSaturday follows a major protest ear-lier this month — the largest in morethan seven years — that saw policeclash with demonstrators.

Critics say the conservative gov-ernment of President Park Geun-Hye, daughter of the late heavy-handed ruler Park Chung-Hee, isslipping back into past authoritarianrule.

The Korean Confederation ofTrade Unions said the police ban onthe planned march was “unconstitu-tional” and vowed to press aheadwith the march.

“Such ban is an outright denial ofconstitutional rights... and was preva-lent only during dictatorship,” theumbrella union said in a statement,referring to the 1960-70s era militaryrule under Park Chung-Hee.

“Our plan to hold the rally remainsunchanged,” the group added.

Police had on Saturday bannedthe planned demonstration sched-uled for Dec 5, citing safety con-cerns.

The protesters are demanding thatSeoul scrap its labour reform planthat critics say would make it easierfor firms to fire workers. They arealso calling for the government tocancel a controversial scheme toimpose state-issued history text-books in schools. (AFP)

CAR

Displaced people hope for start of life anew

Pope brings peace message to CAR BANGUI, Central African Republic,Nov 29, (AP): Pope Francis arrivedSunday in the conflict-torn CentralAfrican Republic, brushing asidesecurity concerns to bring a messageof peace and reconciliation to a coun-try where violence between Christianand Muslim militants has forced near-ly 1 million from their homes over thelast two years and divided the capitalcity.

Schoolgirls in yellow and whitedresses — the colors of the Holy Seeflag — joined government and churchauthorities to welcome Francis at theheavily secured Bangui airport. Thepope’s Alitalia charter landed justbeyond the settlement for displacedresidents that has cropped up on theairport’s edge, housing some of thepeople displaced by the violence.

As Francis emerged, a huge cheerbroke out from the small crowd andthe cheers continued along his motor-cade route into town, where he waswelcomed by Interim PresidentCatherine Samba-Panza and thediplomatic corps.

The precarious security situation inBangui, the capital, raised the possi-bility in recent weeks that the popecould cancel his visit. Less than a yearago, mobs beat Muslims to death inthe streets, even decapitating and dis-membering some. While sectarianclashes have left at least 100 peopledead over the last two months, inrecent days Bangui has been relative-ly free of gunfire.

Many hope that the pope’s messageof peace and reconciliation canencourage longer-term stability in thisnation of 4.8 million. As part of histrip, the pope plans to visit a camp fordisplaced people where Christianshave sought refuge. He also will ven-ture into the capital’s Muslimenclave, known as PK5, to meet withcommunity leaders and the uprooted.

Samba-Panza told reportersSaturday that the pope is being wel-comed as a “peace messenger.”

“Many Central Africans hope thatthe messages he will deliver willinspire a national mobilization andrealization that Central Africans learnto accept each other again, learn tolive together again and learn to gotoward peace and reconstruction oftheir country,” she said.

That’s a message Francis broughtto a Mass and vigil service Sunday atBangui’s cathdral. Francis also heardconfessions from several young peo-ple, underscoring his message of theneed for forgiveness and mercy in thecountry.

“It is a great joy and we are verytouched that he is coming to visit,”said Merline Bambou, 24, as she leftSunday Mass wearing a two-piecedress made of traditional African fab-ric emblazoned with Pope Francis’face. “For two years we have beencrying. We hope the visit of peoplewill change things for the better.”

Clashes At the displacement camp at

Bangui’s airport, where thousandshave lived for nearly two years, thereis a sense that things now are theworst they’ve been since December2013. Sandrine Sanze and her familyare now back for a second time afterthe recent clashes, having initiallyspent nine months at the airport camp.

“It is our prayer that with thepope’s visit that peace will return, wecan go home and life can start anew,”she said, sitting on the ground outsideher home of scrap metal that she andher husband dragged to the site.

The situation remains tense andfragile: Bangui’s archbishop travelsinto the city’s Muslim enclave underescort from armed peacekeepers. Thecity of Bangui has long been under anightly curfew of 8 p.m. as gun bat-tles have rung out after dark in theflashpoint neighborhoods.

The United Nations sought toassure the Vatican that security wasunder control on the eve of the pope’s

arrival. The head of the US operation,Parfait Onanga-Anyanga, toldVatican Radio that US peacekeepersand French troops were confident thatthey could keep the pope and hisentourage safe.

“Certainly, you can’t exclude that asaboteur might try to disrupt the calm,but we’re ready to respond in themost efficient way possible,”Onanga-Anyanga said.

The bloodshed dates back to early2013, when a coalition of mostlyMuslim rebel groups from the coun-try’s anarchic north overthrew theChristian president. Their power grabwas more about greed than ideology,yet their rule saw tensions rise as therebels carried out brutal attacks oncivilians. After the rebel leaderstepped aside in early 2014, a wave ofretaliatory violence by Christianfighters called the anti-Balaka forcedmost of the capital’s Muslims to flee.Human Rights Watch said there areonly 15,000 Muslims remaining inBangui, down from around 122,000.

Central African Republic wasorganizing democratic elections forDecember when the death of a youngMuslim taxi driver in late Septemberreignited tensions. Within hours, theMuslim fighters, called the Seleka,retaliated in attacks on Christians inthe neighborhoods surrounding PK5.

The Muslim community in PK5 iseager to welcome Pope Francis,Onanga-Anyanga said. Earlier thisweek, workers were busily repaintingthe cream-colored mosque he is dueto visit a vibrant mint green.

“The opportunity of the pope’s visitreminds us that aside from being ahead of state, he’s also a spiritualleader,” he said. “And it’s perhaps inthis dimension that the CentralAfricans can find the energy, theinspiration so that the country canfind the will to reconcile with itself,and that it can plan a future in whichall the Central African children canlive in unity.”

which has criticised the new constitutionof retaliating with an unofficial blockade.

New Delhi has denied the charge andurged dialogue with the protesters, whobelong to the Madhesi ethnic minority andshare close cultural, linguistic and familylinks with Indians living across the border.

Demonstrators from the Madhesi com-munity say the constitution adopted in

September leaves them politically margin-alised. Our strike is against Indias block-ade and its interference in Nepal, saidKhadga Bahadur Bishwokarma, aspokesman for the Communist Party ofNepal (Maoist).

“ How long will people of Nepal suf-fer? India must back down.”

Nepalis expressed frustration over the

strike, with many fearful of driving or tak-ing public transport in case vehicles arevandalised.

“We are already struggling with short-ages, we dont need a strike to add to ourwoes. How will this pressure India?” saidManish Karki, who opened his hardwareshop in Kathmandu in defiance of thestrike. (AFP)

A Filipino activist holds a slogan during a rally in observance of theInternational Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People in front of the US

Embassy in Manila, Philippines on Nov 29. (AP)

Africa

Burkina Faso holds 1st vote:Hundreds of voters lined up after morningprayers to vote Sunday in Burkina Faso’sfirst presidential and legislative electionssince a popular uprising toppled the WestAfrica nation’s longtime leader last year.

Many say the vote will be the mostdemocratic in Burkina Faso’s history,because no incumbent is on the ballot andthe presidentialguard has been dis-solved.

“I am happy tovote since there isno outgoing presi-dent and the elec-tions bear myhopes of a betterfuture with thepresident I amgoing to vote for,”said Tiama Gasse, a50-year-old trader.He was among those voting at a pri-mary school in Nakebzanga in BurkinaFaso’s north.

Poll workers dressed in green slowlyushered in new voters.

Abdoulaye Sawadogo, an engineer at aroad building company, said he hopes thenew leader will address issues of employ-ment, health and education.

A popular uprising in October 2014forced President Blaise Compaore toresign after a 27-year rule. A transition-al government was put in place, thoughit was soon at odds with Compaore’selite presidential guard. The presiden-tial guard staged a failed week-longcoup in September that caused polls,originally scheduled for October, to bepostponed.

Burkina Faso’s new electoral code barspresidential candidates who supportedCompaore’s bid to change the constitu-tion, though the ex-president’s party couldhave a strong showing in the legislativeelection.

Some 5.5 million people are registeredto vote at more than 17,800 polling sta-tions. (AP)

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Kabila urges nat’l dialogue:Democratic Republic of Congo PresidentJoseph Kabila made a long-anticipatedpublic call on Saturday for a national dia-logue to prepare for elections next year,an idea regarded with suspicion by hisopponents.

A successful presidential election in2016 would mark Congo’s first-everpeaceful transition of power afterdecades of autocratic rule and civil con-flict since independence from Belgium in1960.

In an address to the nation, Kabilaannounced the creation of a preparatorycommittee but did not specify who wouldserve on it, nor when the dialogue itselfwould begin.

“I have decided on this day to convokean inclusive national political dialogueand the subsequent implementation of apreparatory committee to address allaspects linked to its organization,” Kabilasaid in a pre-recorded speech aired onstate-run television on Saturday evening.(RTRS)

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ICC staves off rebellion: TheInternational Criminal Court staved off aveiled African-led threat to quit theworld’s only permanent war crimes court,but experts say that has come at theexpense of justice for the victims of massatrocities.

Tensions flared last week at the nine-day Assembly of States Parties (ASP)over Kenya, which is embroiled in a bittertussle with the ICC over efforts to prose-cute its two top leaders, President UhuruKenyatta and Deputy President WilliamRuto.

As delegates pack their bags, the courtis now turning its attention to moving intoits new permanent premises on the otherside of The Hague, only steps away fromthe detention cells where defendants areheld.

“This meeting ... has left a lot of peopledisappointed,” said Janet Anderson, writ-ing on the Justice Hub website.

“Much of the debate and discussionwas about efforts by the Kenyan delega-tion to get the ASP to discuss and agreeon a rule concerning using witness testi-mony,” she said. (AFP)

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‘Deal at critical stage’: SouthSudan’s repeatedly broken peace deal is ata “critical stage”, the African Union haswarned, calling on rival forces to honourcommitments amid fears it is close to col-lapse.

AU Commission chief NkosazanaDlamini-Zuma warned that all sidesmust “abide by the commitments theyhave entered into under the peace agree-ment, including the permanent cease-fire.”

Internationally backed ceasefire moni-tors of the August 26 deal held their firstmeeting Friday in Juba — but with battlesraging, rebels failed to turn up.

Dlamini-Zuma, in a statement releasedlate Saturday, said the rebels must “ensurethat they attend subsequent meetings” ofthe Joint Monitoring and EvaluationCommission (JMEC), set up by EastAfrica’s IGAD bloc.

The United States, Britain andNorway, key backers of the peaceprocess, have warned the deal will“unravel” if the rivals continue to missdeadlines. (AFP)

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Meeting looks at new models:Hundreds of city officials from acrossAfrica have gathered in South Africa for aconference to consider new models forAfrican cities.

The seventh Africities Summitopened in Johannesburg, South Africa’slargest city, on Sunday. Key topics forthe five-day meeting include climatechange and how to build environmental-ly sustainable cities. Security in citieswill also be discussed, in the wake ofattacks in Paris and Mali’s capitalBamako. Existing challenges like pover-ty, housing and transportation will alsobe discussed.

The meeting has been held in variousAfrican cities every three years since itwas launched in 1998 in Abidjan, thelargest city of Ivory Coast. (AP)

Compaore

Three kids among sixdead in new massacreTEGUCIGALPA, Nov 29,(AFP): Attackers armed withguns and machetes killed at leastsix people — three of them chil-dren — on Saturday in Hondurasin the third massacre in a week,police said.

The assailants burst into ahome in the village of NuevaFrontera in the northwest of thecountry, police spokesmanLeonel Sauceda said, with twoothers left wounded in the brutalattack.

Honduras, plagued by feudingstreet gangs and drug traffickingthat helps feed the US market, israted one of the world’s mostviolent countries.