Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has met for the first time with representatives of the relatives of the hostages taken last wekend by the Palestinian militant organisation Hamas, Israeli media reported on Sunday.
There were no details about the meeting at first.
On Oct. 7, Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, massacred Israeli civilians in border towns and at a music festival.
The militant organisation also abducted more than 150 Israelis.
The relatives of the hostages have been criticising Israel’s government, accusing the leadership of abandoning the prisoners.
At a protest by the families on Saturday, several people demanded Netanyahu’s resignation.
Some relatives also accused him of not contacting them.
According to Israeli media, he spoke privately with several affected families.
Even before the devastating terror attacks, Netanyahu and his right-wing religious government were criticised for putting Israel’s security at risk for a planned, highly controversial judicial reform.
Abuja (Flowerbudnews): China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), an initiative of Chinese President Xi Jinping, marks its 10th year of existence this October.
As part of the activities to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the BRI, over 100 world leaders signatories to the initiative and cooperation partners are to assemble in Beijing between October 17 and 18 for the 3rd Belt and Road Forum with a theme: “High Quality Belt and Road Cooperation: Together for Development and Prosperity”.
BRI, also known as “New Silk Road” is a programme aimed at building a Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, in cooperation with related countries.
The Initiative was unveiled by President Xi Jinping during his visit to Kazakhstan and Indonesia in 2013 and so far, there are 152 active signatories to the cooperation agreements of the initiative from all corners of the globe.
The Initiative focuses on promoting policy coordination, connectivity of infrastructure and facilities, unimpeded trade, financial integration and closer people-to-people ties via consultative processes and joint efforts with the overall goal of bringing appreciable benefits to all.
Meanwhile, the Initiative and its core concepts have been incorporated into the schemes of the G20, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
The BRI has become an important platform for achieving the United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
It is pertinent to note that since its debut in 2013, the initiative has progressed with remarkable vigour and vitality, while benefiting many countries among its members and other partners around the world through joint efforts and participation.
At the moment, the BRI has become one of the most popular international platforms that are specifically designed to promote all-round multilateral cooperation.
China’s President Xi Jinping attends a summit at the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing on May 15, 2017. Chinese President Xi Jinping urged world leaders to reject protectionism on May 15 at a summit positioning Beijing as a champion of globalisation, as some countries raised concerns over his trade ambitions. / AFP PHOTO / POOL / THOMAS PETER (Photo credit should read THOMAS PETER/AFP/Getty Images)
China and its cooperation partners have foregrounded and upheld the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits. They have also remained committed to the vision of open, green and clean cooperation, while pursuing excellent, people-oriented and sustainable development, so as to explore new opportunities and stimulate growth in the world.
In the first decade of its existence, perceptive observers have noted that the achievements of the BRI are multifaceted.
The perceptible feats include the development of cooperation partners and the promotion of the people’s well-being, among others. The Initiative has also helped to foster new energies for economic development.
For instance, a report of the World Bank disclosed that the BRI had increased the trade of participating partners by 4.1%, attracting 5% more foreign investment and levelling up the GDP of low-income countries by 3.4%.
Similarly, as part of the accruing benefits, the GDP share of emerging and developing economies in the world has increased by 3.6% from 2012 to 2021.
The World Bank further estimated that by 2030, the BRI would generate $1.6 trillion in global revenue each year, accounting for 1.3% of global GDP from 2015 to 2030, while not less than 40 million people would be lifted out of poverty under the auspices of BRI.
Another notable achievement is that by the end of 2022, the investments of Chinese enterprises in the cooperating countries have created 421,000 local jobs, with more than 3,000 projects being executed; thus fulfilling the development aspirations of the people in many participating countries of the initiative.
In terms of financing, multilateral financial cooperation institutions such as the Asian Infrastructure Bank, Silk Road Fund and the New Development Bank were established to address potential funding challenges that could inhibit the provision of the needed infrastructure in the developing countries.
In the last 10 years, the BRI has also facilitated connectivity between China and countries along the Belt and Way route in the five priority areas.
As of the end of June 2023, China has signed more than 200 contract agreements on jointly ventures under the BRI with 152 countries and 32 cooperating partners. And from all indications, trade has grown exponentially between China and its partners in the BRI in the past decade.
Through the BRI platform, China has been able to establish a connectivity framework involving six corridors — a unique kind of routes that significantly promoted the connectivity of landlocked countries in the Asian region such as Kazakhstan, Nepal and Laos with the world — by building roads and railways.
Besides, there is an intercontinental China-Europe freight railway, which is currently hauling goods from China to many European countries at a minimum period of time. This freight rail express has opened up a novel channel of trade between Asia and Europe by land, thereby becoming an anchor of stability for global supply chain.
As regards the African continent, there is no gainsaying the fact that in the last 10 years, the continent has benefited from BRI’s projects massively.
This is probably due to the fact that China believes that Africa is part of the history and natural extension of the BRI.
The declaration of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in 2018 in Beijing and its 2019-2022 African Plan emphasised that Africa occupied an important position in the BRI Cooperation. Today, many African countries witnessed the emergence of infrastructure projects such as roads, railways, dams, airports, seaports, health facilities and sports facilities, among others.
Although the initial focus of the BRI was on Asia, Africa later received the particular attention of the Initiative with major investments in East Africa, where Beijing, under the BRI platform, initiated a range of infrastructure development projects in Kenya, Ethiopia and Tanzania.
In Kenya, the multi-million dollar Nairobi-Mombasa Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) was built for passengers and goods on that route. In Ethiopia, a similar SGR project was executed and completed and it is known today as Addis-Djibouti railway. In Tanzania, there is TAZARA railway linking the port city of Dar el Salam in Tanzania with Zambia’s central province.
On the other hand, Nigeria in West Africa has had a fair share of the BRI infrastructure projects in the last 10 years. Some of the projects include Abuja-Kaduna standard gauge rail line, Abuja metro rail system, Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge rail line, Lekki Deep Sea Port in Lagos, five new airport terminals in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano and Enugu, Zungeru Hydro Power Plant as well as Abuja township roads.
In spite of the growing incidence of trade protectionism and unilaterism across the world, trade and infrastructure development projects involving China and African countries have continued to flourish significantly, thereby signifying deepening economic relations between the two sides.
President Xi Jinping, in his address in 2019 on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan, said that China and Africa had become strategic partners, while assuring that the fundamental aspirations of China and Africa for a robust cooperation and development would remain unchanged regardless of any external influences and extraneous factors.
The Chinese leader then reiterated that the concerted resolve of China and Africa to jointly build a closer community with a shared future would not waver. (Flowerbudnews)
Lawal Sale is an Abuja-based Global Affairs Analyst. (lawalmaida1@yahoo.com)
The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, vowed on Thursday that the United States will always back Israel but said the Palestinians also had “legitimate aspirations” not represented by militant group Hamas.
“You may be strong enough on your own to defend yourself. But as long as America exists, you will never, ever have to. We will always be there by your side,” Blinken said during a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as war raged between Israel and Hamas.
“But as long as America exists, you will never, ever have to. We will always be there by your side.”
Paying a solidarity visit as Israel’s army hammers Hamas over weekend attacks that killed 1,200 people in Israel, Blinken also gave a new death toll for US citizens, saying at least 25 were confirmed among the dead.
President Joe Biden has vowed unwavering support for Israel and not called for restraint against Hamas, but Blinken hinted at the need for an eventual peace settlement — an idea that has long met resistance from the right-wing Netanyahu.
“Anyone who wants peace and justice must condemn Hamas’ reign of terror. We know Hamas doesn’t represent the Palestinian people, or their legitimate aspirations to live with equal measures of security, freedom, justice opportunity, and dignity,” Blinken said.
Speaking in unusually personal terms, Blinken recalled how his grandfather fled anti-Semitic pogroms in Russia and his stepfather survived Nazi concentration camps.
come before you not only as the United States secretary of state but also as a Jew,” said Blinken, who has a secular background.
“I also come before you as a husband and father of young children. It’s impossible for me to look at the photos of families killed, such as the mother, father and three small children murdered as they sheltered in their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, and not think of my own children,” he said.
Blinken promised that the Biden administration and Congress would work together to meet military requests for Israel, which enjoys wide support across party lines.
“As Israel’s defence needs evolve, we will work with Congress to make sure that they’re met,” he said.
Netanyahu, speaking next to Blinken, voiced appreciation for US support and said that Hamas, which rules the blockaded Gaza Strip, should be treated like the Islamic State group.
“Just as ISIS was crushed, so too will Hamas be crushed. And Hamas should be treated exactly the way ISIS was treated,” Netanyahu said.
Around 60 per cent of people injured in Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip are women and children, the Palestinian Health Ministry said Wednesday.
“About 60 per cent of those wounded in the Gaza Strip are women and children,” the health ministry said in a statement.
Earlier on Wednesday, the health ministry said that the death toll in the Gaza Strip from Israeli attacks had reached 1,055 and another 5,184 people had been injured.
At the same time, media reported that the number of those killed among Israeli citizens as a result of the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict had surpassed 1,200 people and nearly 3,000 had been wounded.
The fate of the 150 people brought to the Gaza Strip as hostages by the Palestinian movement Hamas reportedly remains unknown.
On Saturday, Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise large-scale rocket attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip, prompting Israel to declare a state of war the following day and launch retaliatory strikes.
On Monday, Israel ordered a full blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to more than 2 million people, stopping supplies of water, food, and fuel. Both Israel and Palestine have so far reported hundreds of dead and thousands of injured as a result of the escalation.
Another 4.9 magnitude earthquake jolted western Afghanistan on Monday as the government’s death toll from Saturday’s quake reached more than 2,000.
The new tremors were confirmed by the U.S. Geological Survey and residents in the area.
“It was quite intense,” a doctor in the area described Monday’s quake to dpa. “People took shelter in parks, open spaces, and gardens.”
According to the health worker, the deadly earthquake from Saturday has negatively affected people’s mental health. “Most of the patients are those who have mental shocks,” he added.
The 6.3 magnitude quake at the weekend completely destroyed at least 13 villages in Herat province’s Zindah Jan district.
Local residents from other areas as well as rescue teams were still trying to remove bodies from under the rubble.
In many provinces, people are collecting donations for the victims.
Turkey, Iran and Pakistan have promised to provide urgent humanitarian assistance relief.
There are conflicting reports about the exact number of casualties.
The government announced 2,053 deaths and more than 1,200 wounded so far.
UN Coordination Office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said it has recorded 1,023 deaths and 1,663 injured people adding that more than 11,000 people have been affected by the tragedy. (www.nannews.ng)
Saudi Arabia has informed the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, that it is “ending all negotiations” on normalising relations with Israel, reports the Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post.
This was echoed by the Saudi media outlet The Saudi Post, published in the United States.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs on Monday reported that over 123,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have been internally displaced in the wake of Israel’s retaliatory airstrikes on the coastal enclave.
The agency said that the people had fled out of fear of their safety or because their homes had been destroyed.
The Israeli army launched airstrikes after an unprecedented multi-pronged attack by the Hamas rulers of Gaza on Saturday.
According to OCHA, Gaza’s Ministry of Public Works and Housing has said that 159 housing units have been destroyed and 1,210 severely damaged in the Israeli campaign.
According to OCHA, the Israeli airstrikes also caused damage to water and sanitation infrastructure for more than 400,000 people, as well as several health facilities.
Riyadh (Saudi Arabia): Dr Sultan Al Jaber, COP28 President-Designate and UAE’s Special Envoy for Climate Change has underscored the need to make the ‘loss and damage’ fund for most vulnerable nations a reality.
The ‘loss and damage’ fund was agreed at COP27 summit in Egypt to support developing nations deal with the negative consequences of climate change such as flooding, desertification and extreme heat waves.
Al Jaber made the call on Sunday at the opening plenary of the 2023 Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Climate Week in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
He said as the world gears up for the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, UAE slated for Nov. 30- Dec.12, all hands must be on deck to deliver transformational climate outcomes.
“A critical pillar of the COP28 agenda is focused on people, lives, and livelihoods.
“We must make the fund for the loss and damage that was promised in Sharm El-Sheikh a reality in Dubai,” he said.
Al Jaber who is also UAE’s Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology stressed the need for a holistic and collective effort to address climate change and it’s effects on the environment.
“Let us rise above the noise. Climate change does not recognise political divisions or national boundaries. It affects everyone, everywhere. Let us respect the signs,” he added.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that at the COP27 summit in Sharm El Sheik, Egypt, nearly 200 countries agreed on an historic breakthrough to set up a “loss and damage” fund.
The fund is meant to support poorer countries being ravaged by climate impacts, overcoming decades of resistance from wealthy nations whose historic emissions have fuelled climate change.
The agreement lays out a roadmap for future decision-making, with recommendations to be made at COP28 for decisions including who would oversee the fund, how the money would be dispersed and to whom.
NAN reports that the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference will convene from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Top on the agenda is Fast-tracking the energy transition and slashing emissions before 2030; Transforming climate finance, by delivering on old promises and setting the framework for a new deal on finance; Putting nature, people, lives, and livelihoods at the heart of climate action; and. Mobilizing for the most inclusive COP ever. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng) /Flowerbudnews
