Category: Foreign

(FLOWERBUDNEWS) Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei triumphed after a close battle in the 10,000 meters on Sunday, winning his first world title and bringing his country their second medal of the championships.

Cheptegei remained near the front of the pack for most of the race and surged in the final kilometer to pass leader Rhonex Kipruto.

He held off the challenge of Yomif Kejelcha of Ethiopia to finish in a world leading time of 26 minutes 48.36 seconds.

Kejelcha finished just under one second behind Cheptegei, clinching silver with a personal best time of 26:49.34.

Kenya’s Kipruto had to settle for bronze after having led for most of the race, crossing the finish line in 26:50.32.

German factory orders slumped more than forecast in August as the US-China trade war and Britain’s Brexit crisis hit the manufacturing sector in Europe’s biggest economy.

Industrial orders fell by 0.6 per cent month to month in August after a hefty 2.1 per cent drop in July, the Ministry for Economics said on Monday.

Analysts had expected a 0.3 per cent fall in August.

Year on year, August orders contracted by 6.7 per cent from a 5 per cent fall in July, the ministry said.

Leading the monthly fall in August was a sharp 2.6 per cent drop in domestic orders, which helped to cancel out a 0.9 per cent gain in foreign orders.

Saudi Arabia will open its doors to international tourists for the first time under a new visa regime to be announced Friday evening, the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage said.

The move is part of the kingdom’s efforts to boost tourism.

Riyadh aims to increase international and domestic visits to 100 million a year by 2030.

“Opening Saudi Arabia to international tourists is a historic moment for our country,” Ahmad Al-Khateeb, Chairman of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage, said in a media release on Friday.

Saudi Arabia has long been one of the hardest countries for tourists to enter, with visas only granted for short-term business trips, religious pilgrimage, or for travellers with family in the country.

Details about the new visa scheme and wider tourism plans will be announced at a gala event on Friday evening (local time) at Ad-Diriyah, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Riyadh.

The ultra-conservative kingdom is on a push to attract holidaymakers as it seeks to diversify the country’s economy and reduce its dependence on oil.

The tourism announcement comes less than two weeks after drone attacks targeted two facilities operated by Saudi state oil giant Aramco in the eastern province of Buqyaq, forcing the kingdom to halt about half its oil supplies afterwards.

An official from the local search and rescue agency said one man died after falling off his motorbike while trying to flee to higher ground, while another person was missing after being buried in a landslide.

People in Ambon, a city of about 400,000 people, were seen helping injured residents with blood-stained clothes, while images showed wrecked homes with collapsed walls and rubble strewn on the ground, but the extent of the damage was not immediately

“The impact was felt across Ambon city and surrounding areas,” said Rahmat Triyono, head of the earthquake and tsunami division at Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG).

“Many people were woken up by the shaking…it felt like a truck was passing by.”

The US Geological Survey said the quake struck about 37 kilometres (23 miles) northeast of Ambon in Maluku province at a depth of 29 kilometres.

The area was hit by at least two dozen aftershocks including one that measured 5. 6 magnitude, Triyono said.

“I was asleep with my family when suddenly the house started to shake,” said an AFP reporter in Ambon.

“The quake was really strong. We ran from our house and saw the neighbours fleeing too. Everybody was panicking.”

– ‘No need to panic’ –

Initial reports said the quake struck offshore, but later analysis found it hit onshore, raising the potential for damage, according to Indonesia’s national disaster mitigation agency.

Local BMKG head Oral Sem Wilar called for calm.

“People were panicking and started to evacuate in some places, but we are trying to tell them there’s no need to panic because there’s no tsunami threat,” he told AFP.

The Southeast Asian archipelago is one of the most disaster-prone nations on Earth. It experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, where tectonic plates collide.

In August, five people died and several were injured after a powerful undersea earthquake rocked Indonesia’s heavily populated Java island.

Last year, a 7.5-magnitude quake and a subsequent tsunami in Palu on Sulawesi island left more than 4,300 people dead or missing.

The force of the impact saw entire neighbourhoods levelled by liquefaction — a process where the ground starts behaving like a liquid and swallows up the earth like quicksand.

Nearly 60,000 people are still living in makeshift accommodation nearly a year after the double disaster, the Red Cross said this week.

On Boxing Day 2004, a devastating 9.1-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Sumatra and triggered a tsunami that killed 220,000 throughout the region, including around 170,000 in Indonesia.

(FLOWERBUDNEWS) Saudi Arabia’s crown prince said he bears responsibility for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 by Saudi operatives “because it happened under my watch,” according to a PBS documentary to be broadcast next week.

Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, has not spoken publicly about the killing inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

The CIA and some Western governments have said he ordered it, but Saudi officials say he had no role.

The death sparked a global uproar, tarnishing the crown prince’s image and imperiling ambitious plans to diversify the economy of the world’s top oil exporter and open up cloistered Saudi society.

He has not since visited the U.S. or Europe.

“It happened under my watch. I get all the responsibility, because it happened under my watch,” he told PBS’ Martin Smith, according to a preview of a documentary.

“The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia,” set to air on Oct. 1, ahead of the one-year anniversary of Khashoggi’s death.

After initial denials, the official Saudi narrative blamed the murder on rogue operatives.

The public prosecutor said the then-deputy intelligence chief ordered the repatriation of Khashoggi, a royal insider who became an outspoken critic, but the lead negotiator ordered him killed after discussions for his return failed.

Saud al-Qahtani, a former top royal adviser whom Reuters reported gave orders over Skype to the killers, briefed the hit team on Khashoggi’s activities before the operation, the prosecutor said.

Asked how the killing could happen without him knowing about it, Smith quotes Prince Mohammed as saying: “We have 20 million people. We have 3 million government employees.”

Smith asked whether the killers could have taken private government jets, to which the crown prince responded: “I have officials, ministers to follow things, and they’re responsible.”

“They have the authority to do that,” Smith describes the December exchange, which apparently took place off camera, in the preview of the documentary.

A senior U.S. administration official said in June the Trump administration was pressing Riyadh for “tangible progress” toward holding to account those behind the killing ahead.

Eleven Saudi suspects have been put on trial in secretive proceedings but only a few hearings have been held.

A UN report has called for Prince Mohammed and other senior Saudi officials to be investigated.

Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist, was last seen at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2, where he was to receive papers ahead of his wedding.

His body was reportedly dismembered and removed from the building, and his remains have not been found. (Reuters/NAN)

Panelists at the 2019 Global investigative Journalism Conference (GIJC19) in Hamburg, Germany, have identified four major challenges as impediments to robust media practice in the world.

They listed poor funding, weak skills, insecurity and inadequate work tools as the factors affecting journalism practice and pragmatic contribution of journalists to societal development.

The panelists spoke on the “Challenges Ahead” at the 11th edition of the GIJC.

They said the challenges of the media and journalists on investigative journalism in Africa and other parts of the world were a major impediment to contents development and trust by the society.

A media activist and award wining Kenyan journalist, Ms Catherine Gicheru, advocated for proactive measures to safeguard media practitioners involved in investigative journalism.

Another panelist, Mr Zaffar Abbas, called for synergy and building of network to enhance factual information to audiences.

According to them, only a global network collaboration among journalists and clear understanding of issues could resolve the challenges.

The conference is designed to train journalists on the science and art of investigative journalism.

It attracted an unprecedented 1,800 delegates from across the world, including Africa, with Nigeria leading a large contingent.

At least 20 people were killed Thursday when an unlicensed gold mine collapsed in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

According to local media, the accident occurred in the town of Kampene in Maniema Province.

Stephane Kamundala, an authority with a non-governmental organization in the region, said the dead included women and children and three people were seriously injured.

Kamundala said scores of people are trapped under the rubble and search and rescue work is continuing.

People have been trespassing into abandoned tunnels and working without security measures in gold, copper and cobalt-rich mines in the DRC.

In June, 36 people were killed in the collapse of a copper mine in the southeastern Kolwezi region.

Kenya’s private sector activity grew for the fifth straight month in September, boosted by an increase in new orders for businesses, a survey showed on Thursday.

The Markit Stanbic Bank Kenya Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for manufacturing and services rose to 54.1 in September from 52.9 in the previous month. Any reading above 50 indicates growth.

“Private sector activity is showing signs of momentum, although panelists continue to highlight cash flow issues that they face,” Jibran Qureishi, regional economist for East Africa at Stanbic Bank, said.

“In addition to the current stock of arrears owed to the private sector, the interest-rate-capping law could also hold back firms from flourishing on a multi-month basis.”

Last week, lawmakers rejected a finance ministry request to scrap commercial lending rate caps that critics say have led to a credit growth squeeze.

The rate of new business orders was the strongest in 13 months in September, the survey found, although output among firms grew modestly due to the cash flow concerns.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday in Pretoria, South Africa, said authorities should be more pro-active in detecting early signals of violence between competitors, while migrants and companies should adhere to the local laws of host countries.

Malam Garba Shehu, the President’s spokesman in a statement in Abuja on Thursday, said the Nigerian leader stated this when he responded to questions during a news conference at the Union Building, alongside his host, President Cyril Ramaphosa.

He called for more tolerance, vigilance and heightened security to ensure safety of citizens, noting ”competition heralded by globalisation, especially with ease in migration, will only get more intense for businesses”.

“Police must be on alert not to allow violence to escalate,’’ he said.

President Buhari said the business world had turned out more dynamic over the years, with foreigners competing with locals in businesses that were initially considered low.

He said the panacea would only be for security agencies to show more interest in market operations, players and likely areas of tensions.

The President likened the situation of Nigerians in South Africa to Ghana where competition at low levels of the economy breeds intense competition, noting that it would keep growing with population explosion.

He told Nigerians living in various parts of the world, especially in South Africa, to adhere to the laws of the country they reside, and ensure compliance with market laws.

“Like it is said, ‘when you are in Rome behave like the Romans’. Always be law abiding,’’ he said.

Earlier in his remark, the President condemned attacks on Nigerians and the burning of their properties in South Africa, describing it as “unacceptable’’.

He also assured the South African government that their citizens and businesses in Nigeria would always be protected from harm.

He also condemned the reprisal attacks in Nigeria.

“In my discussions with President Ramaphosa and the Bi-National Commission meeting, we reviewed wide range of issues at national, regional, continental and global levels,’’ he added.

He said some of the issues were on trade, investment, mining, security, police affairs and environment.

“Our two countries have also agreed to unequivocally address the challenges in our relations including the recent people to people challenges that saw attacks against foreign nationals, including Nigerians, and their properties, which we strongly condemned,” he disclosed.

In his remarks, President Ramaphosa said the attacks on foreigners in South Africa, including Nigerians, were regrettable, assuring that his government would work hard to see an end to such attacks.

He equally condemned reprisal attacks in Nigeria.

According to him, President Buhari is the first president to embark on a state visit in South Africa since they came into power.

“We will work together to promote cohesion and best values. What happened did not reflect our values.

“We both condemn the attacks and the reprisal in strongest terms. We will set up mechanisms for early signals,’’ he said.

Ramaphosa said his country would also create a more enabling environment for Nigerian businesses to thrive in South Africa, acknowledging that more South African companies operate in Nigeria.

He, however, observed that Nigerians were mostly in Small and Medium Scale sectors in his country.

“We have large corporations operating in Nigeria while you have small and medium enterprises from Nigeria here in South Africa,” he said.

He promised to deepen the reforms in his country to open the space for more Nigerian business to “address the imbalance”.

“The rule of law must be obeyed by all citizens. Nigerians in South Africa must obey the rule of law, while South Africans in Nigeria must obey the rule of law,’’ he added.

Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama and South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Dr Naledi Pandor, signed agreements on the minutes of the 9th session of Bi-National Commission.