MAURITANIA
Coup leader sworn in again
President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz was sworn in on Saturday for a second term in the presence of several fellow African leaders. Abdel Aziz was handed another five years with 82 percent of the vote on June 21 in polls boycotted by much of the opposition. He was cheered by thousands at the Olympic Stadium in the capital, Nouakchott, as he vowed to address the problems of the poor and “fight corruption and mismanagement.” He also pledged to tackle racism and extremism and said he would take on terrorism and organized crime by strengthening the army. The heads of state of the Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Senegal and Chad attended the ceremony as well as diplomats and dignitaries from other countries. Abdel Aziz, a former general, seized power in an August 2008 coup and won disputed elections the following year. He campaigned on his success in fighting armed groups linked to al-Qaeda at home and in neighboring Sahel nations. The 57-year-old pledged “to be the president of all Mauritanians and to guarantee the rights of all citizens.”
LEBANON
Clashes kill eight soldiers
Eight soldiers have been killed in clashes with gunmen in the east, near the border with Syria, which erupted after a suspected extremist was detained, the army said yesterday. In a statement, the army said its operations against the gunmen in the Arsal region continued into yesterday morning, adding that “during the battles the army lost eight martyrs and a number of others have been wounded.”
SUDAN
Floods displace thousands
More than 3,000 homes have been destroyed by floods that hit almost half of the nation’s states over Ramadan and the Eid Al-Fitr holidays, official media said on Saturday. The capital, Khartoum, was among the areas inundated, prompting an opposition party to accuse the government of lying about its preparedness after deadly floods in the city last year. “Twenty-two districts in eight states were affected by flooding and heavy rain,” the SUNA news agency reported, citing the federal health ministry. There were 184 injuries during the deluge, which affected about 6,100 families, about half of them in Nile and North Kordofan states, SUNA said. Among the victims were more than 3,000 inhabitants of Jaborona, near Khartoum’s twin city of Omdurman, said Kabi Jeremiah, humanitarian attache at the South Sudanese embassy. “Khartoum state is telling lies about its preparation for the rainy season,” the opposition Reform Now party said in a statement on Saturday. It called for the suspension of Khartoum Governor Abdel Rahman al-Khidir, “because he completely failed to have a solution to the rainy crisis which is repeated every year.”
LIBYA
Airport showdown kills 22
The interim government says a day of militia fighting for control of the international airport in the capital, Tripoli, has killed 22 people. In a statement early yesterday, it said “heavily armed groups” have shelled “civilian targets” endangering thousands of citizens and leaving hundreds of families displaced. The 22 people were killed on Saturday alone. “Tripoli’s hospitals received 22 bodies and 72 people were wounded,” the government said. “Mediating committees are still trying to stop the violence and return Tripoli to normal. They have faced difficulties because of the stubbornness of the militias attacking the city,” it added.
Tunisian President Kais Saied yesterday condemned a European Parliament resolution on human rights calling for the release of his critics as “blatant interference.” The EU Parliament resolution, voted by an overwhelming majority the day before, called for the release of lawyer Sonia Dahmani, a popular critic of Saied, who was freed from prison on Thursday, but remained under judicial supervision. “The European Parliament [resolution] is a blatant interference in our affairs,” Saied said. “They can learn lessons from us on rights and freedoms.” Saied’s condemnation also came two days after he summoned the EU’s ambassador for “failing to respect diplomatic rules.” He also
Tropical Storm Koto killed three people and left another missing as it approached Vietnam, authorities said yesterday, as strong winds and high seas buffeted vessels off the country’s flood-hit central coast. Heavy rains have lashed Vietnam’s middle belt in recent weeks, flooding historic sites and popular holiday destinations, and causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. Authorities ordered boats to shore and diverted dozens of flights as Koto whipped up huge waves and dangerous winds, state media reported. Two vessels sank in the rough seas, a fishing boat in Khanh Hoa province and a smaller raft in Lam Dong, according to the
Sri Lanka made an appeal for international assistance yesterday as the death toll from heavy rains and floods triggered by Cyclone Ditwah rose to 123, with another 130 reported missing. The extreme weather system has destroyed nearly 15,000 homes, sending almost 44,000 people to state-run temporary shelters, the Sri Lankan Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said. DMC Director-General Sampath Kotuwegoda said relief operations had been strengthened with the deployment of thousands of troops from the country’s army, navy and air force. “We have 123 confirmed dead and another 130 missing,” Kotuwegoda told reporters in Colombo. Cyclone Ditwah was moving away from the island yesterday and
‘HEART IS ACHING’: Lee appeared to baffle many when he said he had never heard of six South Koreans being held in North Korea, drawing criticism from the families South Korean President Lee Jae-myung yesterday said he was weighing a possible apology to North Korea over suspicions that his ousted conservative predecessor intentionally sought to raise military tensions between the war-divided rivals in the buildup to his brief martial law declaration in December last year. Speaking to reporters on the first anniversary of imprisoned former South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol’s ill-fated power grab, Lee — a liberal who won a snap presidential election following Yoon’s removal from office in April — stressed his desire to repair ties with Pyongyang. A special prosecutor last month indicted Yoon and two of his top
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