19-10-2020

MONDAY, OCTOBeR 19, 2020
7
Labor Party leader Jacinda Ardern, the incumbent prime minster, reacts during a press
conference in Auckland, New Zealand, on Oct. 18, 2020. Jacinda Ardern said at a press
conference on Sunday she expected to form a government within the next two to three
weeks before the release of official election results.
Photo : Xinhua
New Zealand to form new gov't
before official election results
AUCKLAND, New Zealand : New
Zealand Labour Party leader Jacinda
Ardern said at a press conference on
Sunday she expected to form a
government within the next two to
three weeks before the release of official
election results.
According to the preliminary count
results for the New Zealand 2020
General Election and Referendums
released by the Electoral Commission,
New Zealand Labour Party won 49
percent of the vote, which transfer to 64
seats in the 120-member parliament in
a Mixed-Member Proportional voting
ICC prosecutor
arrives in Sudan
to discuss
Darfur charges
CAIRO : The International
Criminal Court's prosecutor
arrived in Sudan late
Saturday to discuss
cooperation with local
authorities over bringing to
trial those internationally
wanted for war crimes and
genocide in the country's
Darfur conflict, the
Sudanese official news
agency said.
Prime Minister Abdallla
Hamdok's office said in a
statement that ICC
Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda
and other court officials
would stay in Sudan until
Wednesday. It is the first
announced visit for
Bensouda to Sudan, reports
UNB.
"The ICC delegation will
discuss methods of
cooperation between the
Government of Sudan and
the ICC with regard to the
suspects against whom the
ICC has issued arrest
warrants," read the
statement, which did not
name any of the suspects.
Among those wanted by
the international court is
former Sudanese President
Omar al-Bashir, who has
been in jail in Khartoum
since his ouster last year and
is facing several trials in
Sudanese courts related to
his three decades of
strongman rule and the
uprising that helped oust
him.
The conflict in Sudan's
Darfur region broke out
when rebels from the
territory's ethnic central and
sub-Saharan African
community launched an
insurgency in 2003,
complaining of oppression
by the Arab-dominated
government in Khartoum.
Al-Bashir's government
responded with a scorchedearth
campaign of aerial
bombings and unleashed
militias known as
Janjaweed, who are accused
of mass killings and rapes.
Up to 300,000 people were
killed and 2.7 million were
driven from their homes.
system, with the opposition National
Party lagging behind at 27 percent, or
35 seats.
While addressing media in Auckland
on Sunday afternoon, Ardern said the
work would begin and the Labour
caucus will meet on Monday.
"My expectation is that we will form
government within the next two to
three weeks," said Ardern. "We clearly
have a mandate on behalf of New
Zealand to crack on with government
formation."
Official results for the 2020 General
Election and referendums will not be
published until Nov. 6, according to the
Electoral Commission.
Ardern did not rule out the possibility
to form a coalition government with the
Green Party, which won 7.6 percent of
the vote or 10 seats in the parliament.
There was a range of options for
agreements with the Greens, said
Ardern.
After the 2017 New Zealand General
Election, the Labour Party, which won
46 seats in the parliament, formed a
coalition government with the support
from New Zealand First Party and
Green party.
Protestors burn Kurdish
party's HQ in Baghdad over
anti-Hashd Shaabi comment
BAGHDAD : Protesters set fire to the
headquarters of the Kurdistan Democratic
Party (KDP) in the Iraqi capital Baghdad on
Saturday after a senior KDP official
criticized the Hashd Shaabi forces in TV
comments, reports UNB.
Dozens gathered this morning in front of
the KDP headquarters in the Karrada
district in central Baghdad, chanting
slogans against Hoshyar Zebari, a
prominent Kurdish official and former
Iraqi foreign minister, who demanded an
end to the presence of Hashd Shaabi in the
Green Zone in central Baghdad, an Interior
Ministry source told Xinhua.
The source said that some demonstrators
stormed the headquarters, destroyed
certain things inside, and set fire to the
building.
Civil defense teams and fire engines
rushed to the site and managed to
extinguish the fire, he said, adding that
there is no casualty in the incident.
Later in the day, regional Kurdistan
President Nechirvan Barzani condemned
in a statement the attack on the KDP
headquarters in Baghdad, saying it
"attacked the peaceful coexistence and
undermined societal and political peace
and is inconsistent with the principles of
the constitution, democracy and human
rights."
The Hashd Shaabi said in a statement
that "we understand the feelings of Iraqis
who support the Hashd Shaabi forces, and
we support the protest and peaceful
demonstration as stipulated in the
constitution, but we reject the use of
violence and sabotage in any form."
The source said that some demonstrators
stormed the headquarters, destroyed
certain things inside, and set fire to the
building.
Civil defense teams and fire engines
rushed to the site and managed to
extinguish the fire, he said, adding that
there is no casualty in the incident.
"We call on everyone to preserve the
prestige of the state, societal peace, and
respect for security men in this sensitive
circumstance," the Hashd Shaabi said.
The demonstration came a few days after
Zebari said in an interview with local media
that the rocket attack on Erbil late in
September was due to the close relations of
the Kurdish region with the United States
and because it houses U.S. military bases.
Moreover, Zebari demanded to end the
presence of the Hashd Shaabi in the Green
Zone, where the main Iraqi government
offices and some foreign embassies are
located.
Protesters set fire to the headquarters of the Kurdistan Democratic Party
(KDP) in the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Saturday after a senior KDP official
criticized the Hashd Shaabi forces in TV comments.
Photo : AP
Brazil reports
461 more deaths
from COVID-19
RIO DE JANEIRO : Brazil
registered 461 new deaths
from the novel coronavirus
in the last 24 hours, bringing
the death toll to 153,675, the
Health Ministry said on
Saturday, reports UNB.
The ministry said that
24,062 more cases were
registered, bringing the
nationwide count to
5,224,362.
The state of Sao Paulo, the
most populous in the
country, has been the most
affected by the disease, with
1,062,634 cases and 37,992
deaths, followed by Rio de
Janeiro, with 289,569 cases
and 19,715 deaths.
Brazil has reported the
second highest death toll
from COVID-19 in the
world, after the United
States, and the third largest
number of cases, after the
United States and India.
Analysts at the state-run
research center for diseases,
Oswaldo Cruz Foundation,
said that despite the
downward trend in COVID-
19 cases and deaths, both
curves are still high, and
they will likely remain high
over the coming months.
5 injured in
U.S. shopping
center gas
explosion
WASHINGTON : Five
people including three
college students were
injured in a gas explosion at
a strip mall in Harrisonburg,
Virginia, on Saturday
morning, local media
reported, reports UNB.
The two-story shopping
center, which is just a few
blocks west of the James
Madison University campus,
was a "complete loss",
Michael Parks, a spokesman
for the city, said at a news
conference.
Parks said that a threealarm
fire spread to at least
two other commercial
buildings in the city.
Among the injured are
three James Madison
University students, said the
reports. One of the students
reportedly received
treatment at a hospital,
while the other two were
treated and released at the
scene.
Virginia Governor Ralph
Northam tweeted that the
incident was a "gas
explosion."
Russia shuns tough
restrictions even as
infections soar
MOSCOW : It's Friday night
in Moscow, and popular
bars and restaurants in the
city center are packed. No
one except the staff is
wearing a mask or bothers to
keep their distance. There is
little indication at all that
Russia is being swept by a
resurgence of coronavirus
infections.
"I believe that everyone
will have the disease
eventually," says Dr.
Alexandra Yerofeyeva, an
internal medicine specialist
at an insurance company,
while sipping a cocktail at
The Bix bar in Moscow. She
adds cheerfully: "Nothing
ventured, nothing gained."
The outbreak in Russia
this month is breaking the
records set in the spring,
when a lockdown to slow the
spread of the virus was put
in place. But, as
governments across Europe
move to reimpose
restrictions to counter rising
cases, authorities in Russia
are resisting shutting down
businesses again. Some
regions have closed
nightclubs or limited the
hours of bars and
restaurants, but few
measures have been
implemented in Moscow.
Iranian UN mission
announces termination of
travel, arm restrictions
UNITED NATIONS : The Iranian mission to
the United Nations announced on Saturday
the termination of travel and arms
restrictions imposed upon the country as
contained in Security Council Resolution
2231 starting Sunday, reports UNB.
"Oct. 18, 2020 marks the fifth anniversary
of the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of
Action, known commonly as the Iran nuclear
deal or Iran deal) Adoption Day," according
to a press release of the mission.
From this date and in line with UN
Security Council Resolution 2231, states are
no longer required to seek in advance caseby-case
approval by the Security Council to
engage in activities described in paragraphs
5 and 6 (b) of Annex B of Resolution 2231,
which include the supply, sale or transfer of
arms or related materiel to and from Iran,
the press release said.
"Moreover, travel restrictions on the
individuals named in the 2231 List is
terminated," it added. During the last few
months, the United States had attempted, in
violation of Resolution 2231, to impose a
new arms embargo on Iran but to no avail, as
the Security Council has rejected illegal U.S.
move, the press release said.
The attempt to "reinstate terminated
Security Council resolutions against Iran
failed when 13 members and three
consecutive presidents of the Council
rejected the U.S. claim," it said.
"As a responsible member of the
international community, the Islamic
Republic of Iran engages in legitimate tradein
accordance with international law and on
the basis of its national interests-with other
countries, including in the realm of arms
trade," added the press release.
On Aug. 15, the UN Security Council
rejected a resolution proposed by
Washington to extend the current arms
embargo on Iran.
Under UN Security Council Resolution
2231, which endorsed the 2015 Iranian
nuclear deal, the arms embargo on Iran will
expire on Oct. 18.
The Iranian mission to the United Nations announced on Saturday the
termination of travel and arms restrictions imposed upon the country as
contained in Security Council Resolution 2231 starting Sunday. Photo : AP
Bolivia’s vote a high-stakes
presidential redo amid pandemic
LA PAZ : Bolivians vote Sunday in a highstakes
presidential election redo that could
determine its democratic future and bring a
return of socialism to the country as it
struggles with a raging pandemic and
protests over last year's annulled ballot,
reports UNB.
Bolivia, once one of the most politically
volatile countries in Latin America,
experienced a rare period of stability under
former President Evo Morales, the country's
first Indigenous president who resigned and
fled the country late last year after his
claimed election win was annulled amid
allegations of fraud. His ouster set off a
period of unrest that caused at least 36
deaths. Morales called his ouster a coup.
Sunday's vote is a re-run of last year's
election and an attempt to reset Bolivia's
democracy. "Bolivia's new executive and
legislative leaders will face daunting
challenges in a polarized country, ravaged by
COVID-19, and hampered by endemically
weak institutions," said WOLA, a
Washington-based human rights advocacy
organization.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres
has urged Bolivians to respect the electoral
process, and in particular the final result.
Ballots, ballot boxes and other materials
were delivered to polling stations Saturday
by police and military units without incident,
officials said. Police and soldiers took to the
streets hours later seeking to ensure calm.
The country's Supreme Electoral Court
announced late Saturday that it had decided
unanimously against reporting running
preliminary vote totals as ballots are
counted. It said it wanted to avoid the
uncertainty that arose when there was a long
halt in reporting preliminary results during
last year's election.
Council President Salvador Romero said
promised a safe and transparent official
count, which could take five days.
To win in the first round, a candidate
needs more than 50% of the vote, or 40%
with a lead of at least 10 percentage
points over the second-place candidate.
A runoff vote, if necessary, would be held
Nov. 28.
Bolivia's entire 136-member Legislative
Assembly also will be voted in. The election
was postponed twice because of the
coronavirus pandemic. On a per capita basis,
few countries have been hit harder than
impoverished, landlocked Bolivia: Nearly
8,400 of its 11.6 million people have died of
COVID-19. The election will occur with
physical distancing required between
masked voters - at least officially, if not in
practice.
Vietnam landslide hits
army camp, buries 22
personnel
HANOI : A landslide in central Vietnam
on Sunday buried at least 22 army
personnel, just a week after another
landslide killed 13 as heavy rains
continued to pound the region, state
media reported.
The latest landslide sent rock and earth
crushing into an army camp at the foot of
a mountain following a week of incessant
rain in Quang Tri province, the official
Vietnam News Agency reported.
Eight people were able to escape while
the 22 others are believed to be trapped
underneath the rubble, reports UNB.
Three bodies have been retrieved as
about 100 rescuers dug through the mud
in search of the missing.
On Thursday, rescuers recovered 13
bodies, 11 of them army officers, from a
landslide in Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Tri's
neighboring province.
The team was on its way to another
landslide that was reported to have buried
16 workers at a hydroelectric plant
construction site, which remains
inaccessible.
Torrential rains have caused
widespread floods in central Vietnam
since last week and weather forecasters
say more rain is on the way.