09-11-2021

TueSDAY, November 9, 2021
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Sudan forces disperse anti-coup
protesters, arrest dozens
KHARTOUM : Sudan's security forces
dispersed demonstrators and rounded
up more than 100 people Sunday in the
capital of Khartoum, in the latest
crackdown on pro-democracy
protesters after last month's military
coup.
The Sudanese military seized power
Oct. 25, dissolving the transitional
government and arresting dozens of
officials and politicians. The coup has
drawn international criticism and
massive protests in the streets of
Khartoum and elsewhere in the country.
The takeover has upended the country's
fragile planned transition to democratic
rule, more than two years after a
popular uprising forced the removal of
longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir and
his Islamist government.
Teachers and education workers
protested the coup outside the
Education Ministry in Khartoum's
district of Bahri, according to the
Sudanese Professionals' Association,
which led the uprising against al-Bashir.
Security forces used tear gas to
disperse the protesters and arrested at
least 113 people, mostly teachers, said
lawyer Moez Hadra. There were
sporadic protests elsewhere in
Khartoum, he said. Local authorities
announced the resumption of school
classes in the capital for the first time
since the coup. Sunday was the first of
two days of nationwide strikes called by
the SPA, which vowed to continue
protesting until a full civilian
government is established to lead the
transition. Several shops and businesses
in Khartoum were seen open, according
to a video journalist with The Associated
Press.
The fresh crackdown has also come as
mediation efforts between the military
and civilian leaders have stumbled,
according to a military official with
knowledge of the ongoing efforts.
Mediators, including the United
Nations envoy in Sudan, were still
working to soften the stand of each side,
as both are still stick to their preconditions
before engaging in
"meaningful, possibly direct talks," the
official said, speaking on condition of
anonymity because he was not
authorized to brief the media.
The deposed Prime Minister Abdalla
Hamdok, who is still under house arrest
in his residence in Khartoum, insists on
releasing government officials and
politicians detained in connection with
the coup. He also wants "guarantees"
that military would return to the precoup
power-sharing arrangements, the
official said.
The military, on the other hand,
insists that the Oct. 25 events did not
amount to a "coup," and that it stepped
in to "correct the course" of the
transitional period, the official said.
Part of mediation efforts, an Arab
League delegation, meanwhile, met
Sunday with Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan,
the military leader, and Hamdok, the
pan-Arab organization said. It said the
delegation, headed by Deputy Secretary
General Hossam Zaki, held talks with
Hamdok on the challenges of the
transition and "ongoing efforts to
support constructive dialogue" to reestablish
a path to democracy.
The military has given mixed signals.
It allowed four ministers to return to
their homes under house arrest,
according to Hadra, the lawyer. The four
included Hamza Baloul, minister of
information and culture, Hashim
Hasabel-Rasoul, minister of
communications, Ali Gedou, minister of
trade and international cooperation,
and Youssef Adam, minister of youth
and sports.
Sudan's security forces dispersed demonstrators and rounded up more than 100 people Sunday in
the capital of Khartoum, in the latest crackdown on pro-democracy protesters after last month's military
coup. Photo : AP
Mourning
Rappers, organizers sued
over music festival
stampede killing 8 in U.S.
HOUSTON : U.S. rappers
Travis Scott and Canadian
singer Drake, as well as
concert giant Live Nation
and NRG Stadium, have
been sued over the
Astroworld Festival tragedy
claiming eight lives and
injuring many others in a
crowd surge here Friday
night, media reported
Sunday.
Fox News reported that it
can confirm that Texas
attorney Thomas J. Henry
filed a lawsuit on Sunday
against Scott, whose real
name is Jacques Bermon
Webster, and Drake, whose
real name is Aubrey Drake
Graham, as well as entities
including Live Nation and
NRG Stadium.
Live Nation was
reportedly responsible for
the security of the festival
and Scott himself.
The lawsuit was said to be
on behalf of 23-year-old
concert-goer Kristian
Paredes from Austin, Texas,
who was injured in the
incident which appears to be
one of the deadliest crowd
disasters at a music event in
years. "Live musical
performances are meant to
inspire catharsis, not
tragedy," Henry said in a
press release announcing
the lawsuit.
Scott and Drake continued
to perform even as vehicles
attempted to break through
the crowd to help those who
had been injured and others
called for the show to be
stopped, said Henry.
"Many of these
concertgoers were looking
forward to this event for
months, and they deserved a
safe environment in which
to have fun and enjoy the
evening," the attorney said.
"Instead, their night was one
of fear, injury, and death."
School suspended due to blizzard
in Chinese city of Jinan
JINAN : Jinan, capital of east China's
Shandong Province, on Sunday ordered all
primary and middle schools, as well as
kindergartens, to suspend classes on
Monday due to blizzard conditions.
One parent from each family will be
allowed to take care of the students at home,
while online classes will be arranged,
according to an urgent circular issued by the
city authorities.
Office hours will also be shortened on
Monday, with flexible on-duty and off-duty
times encouraged, said the circular.
Heavy snow began to hit the city from
Sunday morning, with the city's
meteorological station issuing orange alerts
for snowstorms and a cold wave.
As of 2 p.m. on Sunday, the accumulated
snowfall in the city proper had reached up to
17 cm, with the snow continuing to fall.
The city raised its icy-road alert level from
orange to red, the highest level, at 2 p.m.
China has a four-tier color-coded weather
warning system, with red representing the
most severe, followed by orange, yellow and
blue.
The magic 1.5: What's behind
climate talks' key elusive goal
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND : One phrase, really
just a number, dominates climate talks in
Glasgow, Scotland: The magic and elusive
1.5, reports UNB.
That stands for the international goal of
trying to limit future warming to 1.5 degrees
Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) since preindustrial
times. It's a somewhat confusing
number in some ways that wasn't a major
part of negotiations just seven years ago and
was a political suggestion that later proved to
be incredibly important scientifically.
Stopping warming at 1.5 or so can avoid or
at least lessen some of the most catastrophic
future climate change harms and for some
people is a life-or-death matter, scientists
have found in many reports.
The 1.5 figure now it is the "overarching
objective" of the Glasgow climate talks,
called COP26, conference President Alok
Sharma said on the first day of the
conference. Then on Saturday he said the
conference, which takes a break on Sunday,
was still trying "to keep 1.5 alive."
For protesters and activists, the phrase is
"1.5 to stay alive."
And 1.5 is closer than it sounds. That's
because it may sound like another 1.5
degrees from now but because it is since preindustrial
times, it's actually only 0.4 degrees
(0.7 degrees Fahrenheit) from now. The
world has warmed 1.1 degrees (2 degrees
Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial times.
The issue isn't about the one year when the
world first averages 1.5 more than preindustrial
times. Scientists usually mean a
multi-year average of over 1.5 because
temperatures - while rising over the long
term like on an escalator - do have small jags
up and down above the long-term trend,
much like taking a step up or down on the
escalator. But it's coming fast.
Scientists calculate carbon pollution the
burning of fossil fuels can produce before 1.5
degrees is baked in. A report a few days ago
from Global Carbon Project found that
there's 420 billion tons of carbon dioxide left
in that budget and this year humanity
spewed 36.4 billion tons. That's about 11
years worth left at current levels - which are
rising not falling - the report found.
To get there, scientists and the United
Nations say the world needs to cut its current
emissions by about half as of 2030. That's
one of the three goals the U.N. has set for
success in Glasgow.
"It's physically possible (to limit warming
to 1.5 degrees), but I think it is close to
politically impossible in the real world
barring miracles," Columbia University
climate scientist Adam Sobel said. "Of course
we should not give up advocating for it."
The failed assassination attempt against Iraq's prime minister at his residence on Sunday has ratcheted
up tensions following last month's parliamentary elections, in which the Iran-backed militias
were the biggest losers.
Photo : AP
Policeman wounded
after being stabbed
in southern France
PARIS : A French policeman
was wounded on Monday
after a man claiming to act
"in the name of the prophet"
stabbed him in the southern
city of Cannes, police
sources told AFP.
The sources said police
were treating the incident as
a possible terrorist attack.
The policeman was behind
the wheel of a car in front of
a police station at 6:30 am
when the attacker opened
the door and stabbed him
with a knife, one source said
on condition of anonymity.
The officer was saved
thanks to his bullet-proof
vest, the sources said.
The attacker was severely
injured by another police
officer and was in serious
condition.
Germany's seven-day
Covid incidence rate
rises to record high
BERLIN : Germany's
incidence rate measuring
the number of new
coronavirus infections
per 100,000 people over
the last seven days soared
to 201.1 on Monday, a
record since the
pandemic erupted more
than a year ago.
The figure, published by
Germany's Robert Koch
Institute (RKI), surpasses
the last high, which had
been 197.6 reached on
December 22, 2020.
While many more
people in the country
have had the jab than at
that point last year,
vaccination rates have
stagnated at under 70
percent, with officials
pleading in the last days
for the population to get
the jab.
"For the unvaccinated,
the risk is high that they
will become infected in
the coming months,"
warned RKI chief Lothar
Wieler on Wednesday.
In the eastern state of
Saxony, where the
incidence rate is more
than twice the national
average at 491.3,
unvaccinated people face
new restrictions from
Monday.
Access to indoor dining
and other indoor events
will be limited to those
who are fully vaccinated
or can show proof of
recovery.
The new rules are the
toughest state-wide
restrictions in Germany
against non-inoculated
people. Only children as
well as those who cannot
receive jabs for medical
reasons will be exempt.
The surge in German
cases comes with the
country in political limbo
following September's
general election.
The incoming coalition
parties, aiming to form a
government by early
December, have so far
ruled out mandatory jabs
and said there will be no
new lockdowns-at least
not for the vaccinated.
Tension rises in Iraq after
failed bid to assassinate PM
BAGHDAD : The failed assassination
attempt against Iraq's prime minister at his
residence on Sunday has ratcheted up
tensions following last month's
parliamentary elections, in which the Iranbacked
militias were the biggest losers,
reports UNB.
Helicopters circled in the Baghdad skies
throughout the day, while troops and patrols
deployed around Baghdad and near the
capital's fortified Green Zone, where the
overnight attack occurred.
Supporters of the Iran-backed militias held
their ground in a protest camp outside the
Green Zone to demand a vote recount.
Leaders of the Iran-backed factions
converged for the second day on a funeral
tent to mourn a protester killed Friday in
clashes with security. Many of the faction
leaders blame the prime minister for the
violence.
Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi
suffered a light cut and appeared in a
televised speech soon after the attack by
armed drones on his residence. He appeared
calm and composed, seated behind a desk in
starts as Houston
officials probe concert deaths
HOUSTON : Investigators Sunday worked
to determine how eight people died in a
crush of fans at a Houston music festival, as
families mourned the dead and concertgoers
recounted the horror and confusion of being
trapped in the crowd.
Authorities planned to use videos, witness
interviews and a review of concert
procedures to figure out what went wrong
Friday night during a performance by rapper
Travis Scott. The tragedy unfolded when the
crowd rushed the stage, squeezing people so
tightly they couldn't breathe.
Billy Nasser, 24, who had traveled from
Indianapolis to attend the concert, said
about 15 minutes into Scott's set, things got
"really crazy" and people began crushing one
another. He said he "was picking people up
and trying to drag them out."
Nasser said he found a concertgoer on the
ground. "I picked him up. People were
stepping on him. People were like stomping,
and I picked his head up and I looked at his
eyes, and his eyes were just white, rolled back
to the back of his head," he said.
Over the weekend, a makeshift memorial
of flowers, votive candles, condolence notes
and T-shirts took shape outside at NRG
Park. Michael Suarez, 26, visited the growing
memorial after the concert. "It's very
devastating. No one wants to see or hear
a white shirt and what appeared to be a
bandage around his left wrist.
Seven of his security guards were wounded
in the attack by at least two armed drones,
according to two Iraqi officials. They spoke
on condition of anonymity because they were
not authorized to give official statements. Al-
Khadimi called for calm dialogue. "Cowardly
rocket and drone attacks don't build
homelands and don't build a future," he said
in the televised speech. Condemnation of the
attack poured in from world leaders, with
several calling Al-Khadimi with words of
support. They included French President
Emmanuel Macron, Jordan's King Abdullah
II and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Saudi Arabia called the attack an apparent
act of "terrorism." Egypt's President Abdel
Fattah el-Sissi on Facebook urged all sides in
Iraq to "join forces to preserve the country's
stability." Secretary of State Antony Blinken
talked with al-Kadhimi on Sunday to relay
U.S. condemnation of the attack and to
underscore that the U.S. partnership with the
Iraqi government "is steadfast," State
Department spokesman Ned Price said.
people dying at a festival," Suarez said. "We
were here to have a good time - a great time
- and it's devastating to hear someone lost
their lives."
The dead, according to friends and family
members, included a 14-year-old high school
student; a 16-year-old girl who loved
dancing; and a 21-year-old engineering
student at the University of Dayton. The
youngest was 14, the oldest 27.
Houston officials did not immediately
release the victims' names or the cause of
death, but family and friends began to name
their loved ones and tell their stories Sunday.
Thirteen people remained hospitalized
Sunday. Their conditions were not disclosed.
Over 300 people were treated at a field
hospital at the concert.
City officials said they were in the early
stages of investigating what caused the
pandemonium at the sold-out Astroworld
festival, an event founded by Scott. About
50,000 people were there.
Authorities said that among other things,
they will look at how the area around the
stage was designed. Julio Patino, of
Naperville, Illinois, who was in London on
business when he got a middle-of-the-night
call informing him his 21-year-old son
Franco was dead, said he had a lot of
questions about what happened.
Investigators Sunday worked to determine how eight people died in a
crush of fans at a Houston music festival, as families mourned the dead
and concertgoers recounted the horror and confusion of being trapped in
the crowd.
Photo : AP