Latest News
-
The Kremlin has said that Trump and Putin do not support the idea of a temporary ceasefire between Europe and Ukraine.
The Kremlin announced on Sunday that?Russian President Vladimir Putin and the U.S. The Kremlin said on?Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin and?U.S. Yuri Ushakov, Kremlin's foreign policy aide, said that a phone call between Putin - and Trump lasted an hour and fifteen minutes - at Trump's request ahead of Trump meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Miami. Ushakov stated that "the main thing is that the presidents from Russia and the United States share the same view that the temporary ceasefire option proposed by the Ukrainians or the Europeans, under the pretext of preparation for a referendum (or under any other pretext), only leads to a prolongation in the conflict. It's fraught with renewed hostilities." Ushakov stated that in order for the hostilities to cease, Kyiv would need to take a "bold" decision?in line with Russian and U.S. discussions about Donbas. It would be logical for the Ukrainian regime, given the current situation on the fronts to take this decision about Donbas. (Reporting Anastasia Lyrchikova, Writing by Gleb Stallyarov, Editing by Guy Faulconbridge).
-
Brazil's labor court orders Petrobras to keep 80% of its workforce in place
The Brazilian Superior Labor Court has ruled that staffing levels at Petrobras Brazil facilities will remain at 80%, as negotiations between employees at the state-run 'oil 'company drag on during a long strike. The ruling, which was made by the court on Saturday, also prohibits worker unions from preventing the transport of workers and equipment from and to facilities, such as those of Transpetro, Petrobras’ logistics subsidiary. Sylvia dos Anjos is the head of exploration and production. She told Sunday that "we continue to work and ensure production and supply." In a separate statement, the company stated that, after four months of trying to reach an agreement at the negotiation table, '11 unions approved the compensation proposal from the company, ending the strike movement in the vast majority of their bases. Petrobras stated that there are still five groups of dissenters. The Sindipetro-NF union, which represents 25,000 workers within the Brazilian oil industry, has rejected the latest proposal from the state-run company to end the two-week-old strike, which began on December 15. Sindipetro-NF, in a statement on Saturday, said that the court ordered Petrobras also to provide information, including headcount by operating unit, job title and function. They called the decision a "victory." The FNP, another?separate? group on strike, which represents 26,000 Petrobras workers, has said that Petrobras's staffing level of 80% is "unenforceable." The dispute is not over yet, as the salary negotiations also include complex issues relating to Petrobras pension funds and deductions for payments to pensioners. Petrobras has played down the impact of the current labor action on production, and said it had deployed contingency team where necessary to ensure the market remained supplied. (Reporting and writing by Rodrigo Viga Gaier, Ana Mano, Nick Zieminski).
-
Local officials confirm three deaths in protests against Alawites on the Syrian coast
Thousands of protesters call for federalism and the release of prisoners After an assailant fires, security forces will shoot into the air One member of the security forces has been killed By Karam al-Masri LATAKIA (Syria) Dec. 28 - According to the media office of the province, three people were killed when protests in Syria’s Alawite?heartland?of Latakia erupted into violence and gunfire. Syria has been racked by sectarian violence since the ouster of long-time leader Bashar Al-Assad last year. He is a Muslim Alawite who was ousted in a rebel assault and replaced by a Sunni led government. On Sunday, thousands of Alawite demonstrators gathered in Azhari Square to call for a decentralized political structure in Syria. A reporter on the scene said that gunshots were heard from an unknown location about two hours into protest. The protest then descended into chaos as security forces fired in the sky. Demonstrators were seen carrying injured people on foot. In a written statement distributed to journalists by the Latakia media office, it was stated that three?people had been killed and over 40 others injured. The statement did not say if all the deaths occurred in Azhari Square or in other towns that were also protesting. UNKNOWN ATACKERS SANA, the Syrian state-run news agency, reported that a member of the security force was killed in Latakia by gunfire fired by "armed remnants" of the former regime. Unknown assailants shot at civilians and security staff near Azhari Square, the report said. Ghazal Ghazal, the head of the Supreme Alawite Islamic Council had called for the rally on Sunday. In November, a similar protest lasted only an hour before it was confronted with a rival demonstration in support of Syria’s new government. Both protests were broken up by Syrian security forces. On Sunday, protesters chanted "We want federalism!" The Syrian people are united! Salman Mansour said, "We came here to demand our dignity and a living. We came here to demand political federalism, just like the big states of America, Germany, and (United Arab) Emirates." He added, "We came to demand our right to?living since we were killed on our land." More than 1,000 Alawites were killed in March after a failed insurrection by ?Assad loyalists sparked revenge killings by government-affiliated forces. Eight people were killed last week when a bomb exploded at an Alawite Mosque in Homs, a nearby city. "We will continue to ask for federalism in order to maintain our dignity. "They say we hate one another - No!" Nisreen Khzem, another protester said. Reporting by Karam Al-Masri, Writing by Maya Gebeily, Editing by Andrew Cawthorne
-
Brazil's labor court orders Petrobras to keep 80% of its workforce in place
The Brazilian Superior Labor Court has ruled that staffing levels at all Petrobras sites in Brazil will remain at 80% as negotiations between workers at the state-run company continue to drag out amid a long strike. The ruling of the court on Saturday prohibits worker unions from preventing the transport of workers and equipment into and out of facilities, such as those of Petrobras Logistics subsidiary Transpetro. Sylvia dos Anjos told the press on Sunday that "we?continue to work and ensure production and supply". Petrobras workers began a strike on Dec. 15 The Sindipetro-NF union, which represents 25,000 workers within the Brazilian oil industry, has rejected the latest proposal from the state-owned oil company to end the two-week strike. Sindipetro-NF, in a statement on Saturday, said that the court had also ordered Petrobras, to provide information including headcounts by operating unit, function and job title. They called the decision a "victory." The FNP, another group on strike, representing 26,000 workers, has said that Petrobras' staffing levels at 80% are "unenforceable". The dispute is not over yet, as the salary negotiations also include complex issues relating to Petrobras pension funds and deductions for pension payments. (Reporting and writing by Rodrigo Viga Gaier, Ana Mano, Nick Zieminski).
-
Guinea's presidential vote is expected to cement Doumbouya rule
Guinea began voting in the presidential election on Sunday. It is widely expected that Mamady Doumbouya will be given a seven-year term, ending the transition of West African nation back to civil rule. Former Special Forces commander Alpha Conde, who is believed to be in early 40s, will face?eight?other candidates, in a field that has no clear challenger. Former President Alpha Conde, and longtime leader of the opposition Cellou DaleinDiallo are still in exile. In Conakry's capital, the polling stations opened promptly at 7 am (0700 GMT), with some minor delays as people queued outside. Some voters referred to the election as an insignificant formality, and said the result was a given. The most important thing for me is to see the country return to normal. I'm pragmatic. Moussa Kabab, a shopkeeper from Nairobi, said: "I voted for the person who was in office and ensured the continuity of state." Around 6.7 million voters are registered and the polls were scheduled to close at 6:00 p.m. (1600 GMT). Provisional results should be available within 48-72 hours after polls closed. BAUXITE AND IRON ORE RICH Guinea has the largest bauxite deposits in the world and the richest iron ore deposit, Simandou. It was officially launched at the end of last month following years of delays. Doumbouya claims credit for ensuring Guinea gains from the project and its progress. In the wake of a dispute over a refinery, his government revoked this year the license?of Guinea Alumina Corporation's subsidiary Emirates Global Aluminium. The assets were transferred to a state owned firm. His popularity has been boosted by the rise of resource nationalism, which has also been seen in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. It has also helped that he is relatively young, given that the average age for a person living in this country is around 19. Mohamed Kaba is a mechanic from Conakry. He said: "For us, young people, Doumbouya offers the chance to retire the old political class." "There's a lot going on right now in terms of corruption, but I do hope that these things can be resolved." DOUMBOUYA IS EXPECTED ENTRENCH POWER Benedict Manzin is the lead Middle East and Africa Analyst at Sibylline. Manzin said that he was likely to "position his allies and associated to benefit from expected economic boom associated" with the launch at Simandou. After the coup, a transition charter was adopted that prohibited junta leaders from running in elections. In September, Guineans approved a new constitution that removed this clause, extended presidential terms to seven-years, and created a Senate. The official results show that 92% of voters turned out to vote, but opposition figures dispute this. Abdoulaye Barry, an engineer in the civil service, announced on Sunday that he will not vote. He lamented that "the country is allowing a person who swore to not run to do so". ACTIVITIES OF THE OPPOSITION RESTRICTED IN A CAMPAIGN Under Doumbouya, the political debate has been muted. Civil society groups have accused his government of limiting press freedom, preventing protests and limiting opposition activities. Volker Turk, U.N. Rights chief, said that the campaign period "has been severely limited, marked by intimidation against opposition actors, apparent politically motivated enforced disappeared, and restrictions on media freedom". The conditions in place "risk undermining credibility of the electoral process," Turk added. The government has not responded to a comment request. Doumbouya remained low-key during the campaign and left it to his supporters and officials to present his case. He skipped the speech at a Conakry closing rally, but danced with wife to Koffi Omoide's performance. He wore a baseball cap in white and a track jacket with a black and white embroidered name of his group: "Generation for Modernity & Development". Reporting by Guinea Newsroom; Portia Crowe contributed additional reporting; Robbie Corey-Boulet wrote the article; Louise Heavens, Helen Popper and Helen Popper edited it.
-
Guinea's presidential vote is expected to cement Doumbouya rule
Guinea will vote on Sunday for a president whose election is widely expected to give Mamady Doumbouya a seven-year mandate. This would complete the transition of West Africa's nation back to civil rule. Former special forces commander, believed to be in early 40s, is up against eight other candidates, in a field fragmented with no clear challenger. Former president Alpha Conde, and longtime opposition leader Cellou Dallein Diallo are still in exile. Guinea has the largest bauxite reserve in the world and the richest iron ore deposit that is still untapped. Simandou was officially opened last month, after many years of delays. Doumbouya claims credit for advancing the project and ensuring Guinea benefits from it. In the wake of a dispute over a refinery, his government revoked Guinea Alumina Corporation’s license and transferred its assets to a firm owned by the state. His youth, in a country with a median age of 19 years, and the turn towards resource nationalism, which is echoed by Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, have boosted his popularity. Mohamed Kaba, an auto mechanic from Conakry, said: "For us, young people, Doumbouya is a chance to retire the old political class." "There's a lot going on in terms of corruption, but I do hope that these things will be resolved." DOUMBOUYA IS EXPECTED TO ENTRENCH THE POWER Benedict Manzin is the lead Middle East and Africa Analyst at Sibylline. Manzin said that "he will likely position his friends and associates so they can benefit from the economic boom expected to accompany the start of production at Simandou". The transition charter, adopted after the coup, prohibited junta-members from running in?elections. In September, Guineans approved a new constitution that removed this clause, extended presidential terms to seven-years, and created a Senate. The preliminary results show that 86.42% of voters turned out, but opposition figures dispute this. OPPOSITION - ACTIVITY RESTRAINED DURING CAMPAIGN Doumbouya's government has tamed the political debate. Civil society groups claim that his government has banned protests and restricted opposition activity. Volker Turk, chief of the U.N. Rights Department, said on Friday that the campaign period was "severely restricted". The conditions in which the elections are being conducted "risks undermining their credibility," said Turk. The?government didn't respond to a comment request. Doumbouya stayed low-profile during the campaign and left surrogates to present his case. He skipped the speech at a closing rally in Conakry on Thursday, but danced with wife to Koffi Omoide's performance. He wore a baseball cap and track suit in white, emblazoned "Generation for Modernity and Development." Around 6.7 million voters are registered, and provisional results should be available within 48-72 hours after the polls close. Reporting by Guinea Newsroom; Writing and editing by Robbie Corey Boulet
-
In Guatemala bus crash, at least 15 people are dead and 19 others injured
Authorities said that at least 15 people were killed and 19 others injured when a passenger van plunged into a ravine along the Inter-American Highway, in western Guatemala. Leandro Amado, a local firefighter spokesperson, told reporters that 15 people had died. This included 11 men, 3 women, and a child. He also said that 19 people had been injured. The accident occurred between km 172 and174 in the Solola Department, an area known for its dense fog which reduces visibility. The images shared on social media by the fire department early Saturday morning showed the bus wreckage?in the ravine while firefighters worked to save victims. Reporting by Sofia Menchu. (Editing by Joe Bavier, Mark Potter and Mark Potter.)
-
Suns' Devin Booker aims for a 2-game sweep over Pelicans
Devin Booker, the star of the Phoenix Suns, has been playing some great basketball lately. Booker has averaged 28.2 points per game over the past five games. He also averages six assists and four rebounds. This includes a performance of 30 points, nine rebounds, and five assists in the Suns 115-108 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. Booker and his Suns team will be looking to "continue" their momentum on Saturday when they play the Pelicans in the second of two back-to-back games. Booker stated that the contest on Friday was a "must-win" for them. What a great way to begin the road trip. We want to begin on a positive note. Saturday, we'll be back in action against them. We know that they are playing good basketball at the moment. Saturday's game will be a very competitive one. Booker scored 12 points in Friday's fourth quarter and was a key player in the Suns winning the game with an 18-8 run. Mark Williams and Connor Gillespie played important roles for Phoenix. Williams scored 24 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter. Gillespie added 16 points with nine assists. Williams also added 13 rebounds to his double-double, which was his first in nine games this month. Suns' 16 offensive rebounds led to extra possessions against Pelicans. Jordan Ott, Suns coach, said: "I thought we had some big stops in the stretch." "And then Book made some offensive plays to somehow pull out the win." Zion Williamson, who was a bench player for the Pelicans, led them with 20 points and eight rebounds in just 28 minutes. The Pelicans had won five straight games before losing their second consecutive game. Williamson has been battling multiple injuries for years and has not always played the second game of a back-to-back. However, he played double duty this week, when the Pelicans took on the Dallas Mavericks as well as the Cleveland Cavaliers. The two-time All-Star started every game in his six-year NBA tenure until?this past month. Williamson, who had been out of action for six games due to a right adductor injury, was moved from the starting lineup on Dec. 14, in order to reduce his workload. Williamson has averaged 21 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 3.2 assist in six games, even though he never played more than 28 min. In the last four games, he led the team in scoring. Williamson was the star of the show, and the Pelicans bench scored 60 on Friday. If New Orleans hopes to split the doubleheader it will need better execution in the late stages of?the game. James Borrego, interim head coach of the Pelicans, said: "We put ourselves into a good situation." "We didn't play enough." We failed to make free throws or shots. "We could have done better in the final stretch." On Friday, neither team was able to make it from long range. Each team made only 20% of their 3-point attempts. Phoenix finished with 8 out of 40 attempts, while New Orleans had 5 out of 25. Field Level Media
Libya reserve bank face-off threats spiralling into larger crisis
A struggle to control the Central Bank of Libya (CBL) has actually currently sparked a blockade of oil production and it threatens the worst crisis in years for the significant energy exporter, long torn in between competing eastern and western factions.
The standoff was activated when western factions moved this month to oust veteran guv Sadiq al-Kabir and replace him with a rival board, leading eastern factions to shut down all oil production.
So twisted is the situation that while Kabir maintains control of the central bank's website, a competing board appointed by the presidency council is releasing statements on the bank's validated Facebook page.
Kabir, who travelled abroad as the crisis unfolded, was priced quote in the Financial Times on Friday saying militias are threatening and frightening bank staff and are sometimes kidnaping their children and family members.
The reserve bank has actually been paralysed by the brinkmanship, leaving it unable to conduct deals for more than a week, threatening standard financial functions, and neither side looks able to pull back, making violence more likely every day.
Any transfer to solve things quietly will be complicated by a landscape fractured into rival governing institutions with rare claims to authenticity, running with couple of concurred rules and backed by a shifting constellation of armed factions.
Even worse still, the crisis comes at a minute when international diplomacy to resolve Libya's underlying political standoff has stalled, with the post of U.N. envoy uninhabited and no indication yet of foreign powers managing to rein in the competing factions.
The equilibrium of the last 2 years has actually gone. Actors are now attempting to construct brand-new take advantage of. So the crisis is set to get much even worse, stated Jalel Harchaoui of the Royal United Providers Institute.
POWER BATTLE
Kabir has been Libya's main lender because the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that plunged the nation into chaos, becoming a significant player amongst the warlords and politicians constantly jostling for power.
As the state crumbled between rival factions, the CBL and National Oil Corporation (NOC), the state energy manufacturer, were held off limits, guaranteeing some governmental functions continued.
Libyan law, upheld by worldwide arrangements, ruled that oil could be offered only by NOC, with revenue transported into the CBL where it was utilized to fund state incomes and government bodies throughout the country.
This principle began to deteriorate in 2022 when Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah installed a new NOC head in an apparent lodging with eastern factions, leading to looser controls over the oil sector.
Nevertheless, Dbeibah and Kabir fell out over spending and other issues, and the CBL governor was seen as moving closer to Khalifa Haftar, the military leader who controls eastern Libya.
By transferring to change Kabir, Presidency Council head Mohammed al-Menfi, backed by Dbeibah, has put control over Libya's huge financial resources directly into play and neither side can easily pull back.
My big picture is that this is a political concern rather than a bureaucratic one. However it is extremely major. Without consensus, the nation's greatest staying institution could efficiently be hollowed out, stated Tim Eaton of Chatham House.
The revealed dismissal of Kabir likewise appeared to run counter to the 2015 Libyan Political Arrangement, the basis for the worldwide community's transactions with Libyan factions for almost a decade.
Getting global approval for a bank guv is vital. Libyan oil income accruing to NOC is paid in dollars into its account at the Libyan Foreign Bank in New York before relocating to the Tripoli government's account with the CBL.
BLOCKADE
So far, the brand-new board revealed by Menfi appears not able to control CBL functions. At a news conference on Wednesday it attracted Kabir to give up codes that would allow it to make transfers.
It has actually prompted Libyan banks to pay state salaries from their own reserves, guaranteeing to repay them when it gets complete control over transactions. Kabir reacted with a statement on the CBL website telling banks to ignore guidelines from people impersonating board members.
If the struggle for control is lengthened, all state salaries, transfers between banks and letters of credit needed for imports will all become impossible, freezing up the economy and Libya's international trade.
At two banks in eastern Libya, employees stated cleaning operations to banks in the west had actually stopped, along with processing of foreign remittances. State income payments had stopped.
On the other hand, the eastern side's oil blockade will gradually starve the CBL of new funds, in addition to decreasing condensate readily available for power plants, suggesting long electrical power blackouts might soon return.
This all amounts to an unpleasant outlook for Libyans and raises the risk that armed factions might resort as soon as again to fighting, some 4 years after a ceasefire ended the last significant bout of warfare.
(source: Reuters)