DUBAI: The UAE has donated 16 metric tons of medical supplies to Iran, as Tehran struggles with containing the coronavirus pandemic.
The aid will benefit 16,000 medical professionals working on the front lines of Iran’s fight against the virus, UAE-run WAM has reported.
“The UAE’s efforts to operate numerous emergency medical flights to assist Iran’s medical sector reflect the authenticity of the UAE’s humanitarian approach and the spirit of tolerance and solidarity embedded in UAE policies,” UAE Ambassador to Iran Saif Al-Zaabi said.
“The UAE hopes that these supplies will enhance the capacity of medical staff in Iran and provide them with greater protection,” he added.
The UAE has been dispatching planes carrying aid to Iran ever since the outbreak started in March.
UAE sends medical aid to Iran in fight against COVID-19
https://arab.news/zgbxp
UAE sends medical aid to Iran in fight against COVID-19
- The aid will benefit 16,000 medical professionals working on the front lines of Iran’s fight against the virus
Officials: UN chief ‘shocked’ by letter from Sudan’s military ruler demanding removal of UN envoy
- “The Secretary-General is shocked by the letter he received this (Friday) morning,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said
- According to the official, Burhan accused Perthes of “being partisan,” and that his approach in pre-war talks between the generals and the pro-democracy movement helped inflame the conflict
CAIRO: The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was “shocked” by a letter from Sudan’s military ruler, demanding the removal of the UN envoy to the country, Sudanese and UN officials said Saturday.
The letter by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, Sudan’s top military official and head of the ruling Sovereign Council, comes as Sudan plunged into further chaos after worsening tensions between military rivals exploded into an open fighting last month.
“The Secretary-General is shocked by the letter he received this (Friday) morning,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. “The Secretary-General is proud of the work done by (UN envoy) Volker Perthes and reaffirms his full confidence in his Special Representative.”
Dujarric didn’t reveal the contents of the letter. However, a senior military official said Burhan’s letter asked Guterres to replace Perthes who was appointed to the post in 2021.
According to the official, Burhan accused Perthes of “being partisan,” and that his approach in pre-war talks between the generals and the pro-democracy movement helped inflame the conflict. The talks had aimed at restoring the country’s democratic transition which was derailed by a military coup in Oct. 2021.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief media.
Perthes declined to comment neither on the letter.
Burhan accused Perthes last year of “exceeding the UN mission’s mandate and of blatant interference in Sudanese affairs.” He threatened to expel him from the country.
The ongoing fighting broke out in mid-April between the military and the powerful Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. Both Burhan and Dagalo led the 2021 coup that removed the western-backed government of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok.
The fighting centered in the capital of Khartoum, which was turned into a battleground along with its sister city of Omdurman. The clashes also spread elsewhere in the country, including the war-wracked Darfur region.
The conflict has killed hundreds of people, and wounded thousands of others, and pushed the country to near collapse. It forced more than 1.3 million out of their homes to safer areas inside Sudan, or to neighboring nations.
Sexual violence including rape of women and girls, a common practice in Sudan’s wars and political upheavals, were reported in Khartoum and Darfur since the fighting began.
The Combating Violence Against Women Unit, a government-run group, said on Friday it received reports of at least 24 cases of sexual attacks in Khartoum, and 25 other cases in Darfur.
The unit, which tracks violence against women across the country, said most of survivors reported that the attackers were in RSF uniform and in areas in Khartoum controlled by RSF checkpoints.
The RSF didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Both warring parties have agreed on a weeklong cease-fire, brokered by the US and Saudi Arabia. However, the truce, which is scheduled to expire Monday night, did not stop the fighting in parts of Khartoum and elsewhere in the county.
Residents reported sporadic clashes Saturday in parts of Omdurman, where the army’s aircrafts were seen flying over the city. There was also fighting reported in Al-Fasher, the provincial capital of North Darfur.
Burhan’s letter came after the UN envoy accused the warring parties of disregarding the laws of war by attacking homes, shops, places of worship and water and electricity installations.
In his briefing to the UN Security Council earlier this week, Perthes blamed the leaders of the military and the RSF for the war, saying that they have chosen to “settle their unresolved conflict on the battlefield rather than at the table.”
Advocacy group says Iran, Taliban fight on border with Afghanistan as sound of gunfire heard
- Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi recently warned the Taliban not to violate his country’s water rights to the Helmand River
- Drought has been a problem in Iran for some 30 years, but it has worsened over the past decade, says the United Nations
DUBAI: The Taliban and Iran reportedly exchanged gunfire Saturday on the Islamic Republic’s border with Afghanistan, an advocacy group said, as tensions rise over water rights between the two nations.
Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency acknowledged the fighting on the border of Iran’s Sistan and Baluchistan province and the Afghan province of Nimroz, saying its forces inflicted “heavy casualties and serious damage.” However, it stopped short of identifying those it fired at as Taliban forces — possibly trying not to escalate the clash.
Taliban-controlled media in Afghanistan did not acknowledge the fighting.
The advocacy group HalVash, which reports on issues affecting the Baloch people in the predominately Sunni province of Sistan and Baluchistan, quoted residents in the area describing the fighting as starting Saturday morning. The group put the fighting near the Kang district of Nimroz, saying some people in the area had fled the violence.
Videos posted online, purportedly from the area, included the crackle of machine gun fire in the distance. HalVash later posted an image of what appeared to be the remains of a mortar round, saying that “heavy weapons and mortars are being used.” A later video from HalVash purported to show Iranian forces firing a mortar.
The apparent clash comes as Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi earlier this month warned the Taliban not to violate Iran’s water rights to the Helmand River. Raisi’s remarks represented some of the strongest yet over the long-running concerns about water in Iran.
Drought has been a problem in Iran for some 30 years, but has worsened over the past decade, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization. The Iran Meteorological Organization says that an estimated 97 percent of the country now faces some level of drought.
Earlier on Saturday, the Taliban’s Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi met with an Iranian envoy to Afghanistan to discuss the Helmand River water rights, according to tweets from Afghan Foreign Ministry official Zia Ahmad. IRNA acknowledged the meeting, saying “that issues between the two countries will be better resolved through dialogue.”
But tensions have otherwise been rising. Another video posted online in recent days purportedly showed a standoff with Iranian forces and the Taliban as Iranian construction workers tried to reinforce the border between the two countries.
In recent days, pro-Taliban accounts online also have been sharing a video with a song calling on the acting defense minister to stand up to Iran.
Egypt unveils recently discovered ancient workshops, tombs in Saqqara necropolis
- The spaces were found in the sprawling necropolis of Saqqara, which is a part of Egypt’s ancient capital of Memphis, a UNESCO World Heritage site
- The tombs, meanwhile, were for a top official from the Old Kingdom of ancient Egypt
CAIRO: Egyptian antiquities authorities Saturday unveiled ancient workshops and tombs they say were discovered recently at a Pharaonic necropolis just outside the capital Cairo.
The spaces were found in the sprawling necropolis of Saqqara, which is a part of Egypt’s ancient capital of Memphis, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said the workshops had been used to mummify humans and sacred animals. They date back to the 30th Pharaonic Dynasty (380 BC to 343 BC) and Ptolemaic period (305 BC to 30 BC), he said.
Inside the workshops, archaeologists found clay pots and other items apparently used in mummification, as well as ritual vessels, Waziri said.
The tombs, meanwhile, were for a top official from the Old Kingdom of ancient Egypt, and a priest from the New Kingdom, according to Sabri Farag, head of the Saqqara archaeological site.
In recent years, Egypt’s government has heavily promoted new archaeological finds to international media and diplomats. It hopes that such discoveries will help attract more tourists to the country to revive an industry that suffered from political turmoil following the 2011 uprising.
Iran exchanges heavy gunfire with Taliban on Afghan border, escalating tensions over water rights
- Neither Iranian state media nor Taliban-controlled media in Afghanistan acknowledged the fighting
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: The Taliban and Iran exchanged heavy gunfire Saturday on the Islamic Republic’s border with Afghanistan, killing and wounding troops while sharply escalating rising tensions between the two countries amid a dispute over water rights.
Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency quoted the country’s deputy police chief, Gen. Qassem Rezaei, accusing the Taliban of opening fire first Saturday morning on the border of Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan province and the Afghan province of Nimroz. IRNA said Iran inflicted “heavy casualties and serious damage.”
From the Taliban’s view, Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Nafi Takor accused Iran of shooting first. Takor said the firefight killed two people, one from each country, and wounded others. He described the situation as now being under control.
IRNA, quoting Iranian police, said two border guards had been killed. However, that number may be higher. The semiofficial, English-language newspaper Tehran Times said the fighting killed three Iranian border guards. IRNA said the Milak border crossing with Afghanistan, a major trade route, was closed until further notice over the gunfight.
“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan considers dialogue to be a reasonable way for any problem,” Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman Enayatullah Khawarazmi said in a statement. “Making excuses for war and negative actions is not in the interest of any of the parties.”
The advocacy group HalVash, which reports on issues affecting the Baluch people in the predominately Sunni province of Sistan and Baluchestan, quoted residents in the area saying the fighting took place near the Kang district of Nimroz. It said some people in the area had fled the violence.
Videos posted online, purportedly from the area, included the crackle of machine gun fire in the distance. HalVash later posted an image of what appeared to be the remains of a mortar round, saying that “heavy weapons and mortars are being used.”
Later videos from HalVash purported to show Iranian forces firing a mortar, as well as Taliban troops firing American-made machine guns at an Iranian border post. Other Taliban fighters drove armored vehicles likely left behind by NATO forces.
Iran vowed not let the Taliban attack stand.
“The border forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will decisively respond to any border trespassing and aggression, and the current authorities of Afghanistan must be held accountable for their unmeasured and contrary actions to international principles,” IRNA quoted Iran’s police chief, Gen. Ahmadreza Radan, as saying.
The clash comes as Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi earlier this month warned the Taliban not to violate Iran’s water rights to the Helmand River. Raisi’s remarks represented some of the strongest yet over the long-running concerns about water in Iran.
Drought has been a problem in Iran for some 30 years, but has worsened over the past decade, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization. The Iran Meteorological Organization says that an estimated 97 percent of the country now faces some level of drought.
The Taliban seized Afghanistan in August 2021 as US and NATO troops were in the final weeks of their pullout from the country after 20 years of war. In the time since, Afghanistan has become the most repressive in the world for women and girls, depriving them of virtually all their basic rights, according to the UN Hunger remains endemic.
While not directly accepting the Taliban government, Iran has maintained relations with Afghanistan’s new rulers. Tehran also has called on the Taliban to allow women and girls to go to school.
Earlier on Saturday, the Taliban’s Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi met with an Iranian envoy to Afghanistan to discuss the Helmand River water rights, according to tweets from Afghan Foreign Ministry official Zia Ahmad. IRNA acknowledged the meeting, saying “that issues between the two countries will be better resolved through dialogue.”
But tensions have otherwise been rising. Another video posted online in recent days purportedly showed a standoff with Iranian forces and the Taliban as Iranian construction workers tried to reinforce the border between the two countries.
In recent days, pro-Taliban accounts online also have been sharing a video with a song calling on the acting defense minister, Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, to stand up to Iran. Mullah Yaqoob is the son of Mullah Mohammad Omar, the Taliban’s late founder and first supreme leader.
“We are a government, we have power,” the song goes. “Our leader Mullah Yaqoob will stand against Iran or we are not the republic’s government. We are not slaves, our leader Mullah Yaqoob will stand against Iran.”
UN delays dual-currency cash help to refugees in crisis-hit Lebanon
- Decision was made after Lebanese requests
- Discussions continue on the appropriate way to give aid
BEIRUT: The United Nations has delayed a decision to give Syrian refugees in Lebanon cash help partly in US dollars after objections from senior Lebanese officials that this could exacerbate tensions with hard-pressed locals.
In a statement on Saturday the UN said that following Lebanese requests a decision had been made to temporarily pause the use of dollars alongside Lebanese pounds for next month’s disbursement of cash assistance to refugees, while discussions continue on the appropriate way to give aid.
Lebanon’s local currency has lost more than 98 percent of its value since an economic meltdown began in 2019, straining both Lebanese families and the around 800,000 Syrians registered with the UN’s refugee agency.
The Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon Imran Riza and other UN officials had on Tuesday said their agencies would begin distributing aid to refugees in both dollars and Lebanese pounds.
They said the “rapid depreciation” of the pound, fluctuations of the exchange rate, and the logistical challenges of securing large amounts of local currency had made it “impossible for the United Nations and partners to continue to disburse cash assistance only in Lebanese Pounds.”
But the same agencies reversed course after meetings on Friday with Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati and social affairs minister Hector Hajjar.
Hajjar had told a press conference his ministry had not been properly informed of the decision to provide aid in dollars, which he said would increase tensions between refugees and Lebanese. A government source said Mikati, too, had not been aware of the “dollarization” of aid.
The UN’s reversal comes amid heightened social tensions in Lebanon over the issue of refugees. Officials have said the country can no longer bear to host Syrians as it struggles to cope with its own financial crisis.
The Lebanese army has carried out raids on camps and homes where refugees live. A humanitarian source told Reuters that more than 2,000 have been arrested and more than 1,400 deported to Syria.
Security sources say the army is seeking out Syrians with invalid papers, but relatives of deported Syrians say they face arrest and army conscription once back in their homeland.
