Category: Politics

An unverified video is circulated where Guinea’s President Alpha Conde is seen surrounded by the soldiers who claim to seize power of the nation. The video appeared on national television and claimed to have dissolved the government.

The defense ministry contradicted the video and said the attempted takeover had been thwarted by the presidential guard. Meanwhile, hours of heavy gunfire near the presidential palace in the capital Conakry was heard.

The immediate release of President Conde is demanded by the UN secretary Antonio Guterres and the African Union. They also condemned the act by the apparent coup. People who are behind the coup said that they have closed all land and air borders for a week.

The nine unnamed soldiers draped in the red, golden and national flag said that they took over the nation due to rampant corruption, mismanagement, and poverty. They will be creating new consultation which will be more inclusive as they have dissolved the old one.

President Conde, 83, was seen sitting barefoot on a sofa wearing jeans and a printed shirt. However, he did not have any visible injury. In the video, the coup even asked the president to confirm that he was unharmed but Conde refused to respond.

The whereabouts of the president are currently unknown.

The Taliban is expected to announce its new government in Afghanistan today. The chaos in the country has deepened and aid experts warned the country of imminent economic collapse.

The agency said the cabinet could be presented after the morning prayer on Friday. The Taliban official Ahmadullah Muttaqi took to his social media account to announce that a ceremony was being prepared at the presidential palace in Kabul. A private broadcaster said that supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada will have the ultimate power in the new governing council and will have a president below him.

The new government in Afghanistan will face enormous challenges as the UN has warned of a looming humanitarian catastrophe across the nation. The supreme leader is a religious scholar from Kandahar whose son was a suicide bomber. He is expected to play a theocratic role as it was played by Iran’s supreme leader. Mullah Abdul Baradar is appointed as the head of the government as a foreign minister.

The Islamist militants have promised a softer brand of rule after they were ousted by the US-led forces in 2001 as earlier they were condemned for brutally enforcing a radical form of sharia law in 1996.

Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga signaled the end of his tenure and announced that he will not run reelection as the party leader for this month. He was appointed as the Prime Minister not more than a year ago after the resignation of Shinzo Abe.

Due to the approval rating dropping to an all-time low for the current prime minister, Mr. Suga announced this shocking news. He said that he wants to focus on anti-coronavirus measures and does not want to run the elections.

Japan is currently under a state of emergency amid the worst ever covid wave. More than 1.5 million cases have been recorded in Japan so far. The administration of the coronavirus vaccine is also facing a slow rollout. The decision to host the Olympics Games amid the worsening pandemic has also proved to be hugely unpopular.

72-year-old Yoshihide from the family of strawberry farmers was elected to the Yokohama City Council in 1987. In 1996 he was elected as Japan’s Diet for the first time. In 2005 he was appointed as the senior vice minister of international affairs and communication by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. In 2006 he was promoted by Shinzo to minister with three cabinet posts which he held until 2007.

On Wednesday, the Taliban announced the Head of the new Afghan government will be the supreme leader Haibatullah Akhunzada. According to the reports, there will be a Prime Minister post as well in the next government.

Amanullah Samangani who is a member of the Taliban’s cultural commission said that Mullah Hebatullah Akhundzada will be the new leader of the Taliban and will also be the leader of the new government. He further added that the Islamic government that they will announce will be a model for the people and there is no doubt for the presence of the Commander of the Faithful (Akhunzada) in the government.

The detailed information regarding the new government in the country will be released by the Taliban on September 3. The head of the political office of the Taliban Mullah Bardar was appointed as the Minister of Foreign Affairs for the nation.

Stanekzai met with the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China Zhou Jian in Doha earlier on August 31 to discuss the situation in Afghanistan. According to the Taliban, consultations have been finalised on the formation of the new government. However, the discussion has not been held over the system’s name, the national flag, or national anthem.

Zambia’s New President Hakainde Hichilema told in an interview that he has earned an “empty treasury” as the horrifying amount of funds has been stolen. He said, “People are still trying to make last-minute movements of funds, which are unauthorized, which are not theirs”.

Hakainde Hichilema won the presidential elections last month by defeating his rival Edgar Lungu. Lungu has governed the nation since 2015 and was widely praised for the smooth transition of power to Mr. Hichiema who won after five failed attempts. Zambia plugged into a recession last year for the first time since 1998.

Hichilema said that the hole is much bigger than he expected and there’s a lot of damage unfortunately and the treasury was “literally empty”. However, the new president did not name any officials who were involved. Previously, Mr.Lungu had denied all accusations and wrongdoing that he was being blamed for.

Economist and former International Monetary Fund (IMF) adviser was appointed as the new finance minister by Hakainde. According to the previous reports, Zambia owed an estimated $12 billion to foreign lenders. In 2020 Zambia became the first African country to default on a loan during the pandemic by missing an interest repayment.

The United Nations Security Council resolution on Afghanistan addresses India’s key concern relating to the country after the Taliban captured the nation. On Monday, under India’s presidency, the UN Security Council has adopted a resolution that demands that the territory of Afghanistan should not be used to threaten any nation or should shelter terrorists.

The people cited that India played an active role in ensuring its passage. It said that the UNSC resolution 2593 addresses India’s key concerns that pertain to Afghanistan “at this time”. The rise in the activities of various terror groups in India has mounted concerns for the nation. The terror groups include Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Jaish-e-Mohammed from Afghanistan which is now under the control of the Taliban.

The telephonic conversation between the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken revealed that India had been in continuous touch over the last few days with the key members of the UNSC on the matter.

As per the resolution, it is demanded that the Afghan territory should not be used to threaten or attack any country or to shelter and train terrorists along with India’s immediate concern about facilitating travel from Afghanistan. It also includes the Kabul airport as this will help Afghan nationals which include minorities who wish to travel to India.

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has warned of a looming “humanitarian catastrophe” in Afghanistan. Guterres has urged the countries to provide emergency funding following the final departure of American troops and the full Taliban takeover.

On Tuesday, the chief expressed his “grave concern at the deepening humanitarian and economic crisis in the country” and also added that the basic services threatened to collapse “completely”. He said that now more than ever the children of Afghan and women and men need the support and solidarity of the international community. He pleaded for financial support from the nations in his statement. He also urged all the member states to dig deep for the people of Afghanistan as they face their darkest hour of need and asked them to provide timely, flexible, and comprehensive funding.

Currently, the $1.3 billion appeals by UN humanitarian aid for Afghanistan is only 39 percent funded according to the UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric. In the coming week, the details will be flashed for Afghanistan. It will contain information about the “most immediate humanitarian needs and funding requirements” required over the next four months.

“The entire UN system” will be coordinated by Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Martin Griffiths.

A Protest on Wheels was seen on Sunday in the Thai capital Bangkok in a mobile protest against the government of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha. A long line of cars, trucks, and motorbikes wended its way through the capital hoping their nonviolent action dubbed a “car mob” that could help force the ouster of Prayuth.

They accuse the Prime Minister of botching the campaign against the coronavirus. A veteran social activist Sombat Boonngamaning, who helped originate such a protest in July said that there is only one message from this car mob and that was “Prayuth get out!”. He said that Prayuth had a chance of running the country for seven years and he proved that he is incapable of being the country’s leader and they cannot let him continue.

The tactic used to show the protest has attracted more and more participants. However, its mobile nature made it very hard to estimate the size of the protest. Few were seen flashing banners that displayed support and opposition’s three-finger salute as the lengthy parade of vehicles passed.

The organizers were not only anti-government but also appeared to be the ones with the broadest support. They said they will stop the car mob tactic but carry on with a bigger protest during the Parliament’s no-confidence debate.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky is scheduled to visit the United States with the hope to bolster the security ties with Washington. He aims to convince the administration to ramp up the sanctions against the new Russian gas pipeline bypassing the country.

Zelensky addresses the situation as the US failure to block the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to Germany which is a grave political error according to him. He had also warned earlier that the Nord Stream 2 will be marked as a major victory for the Russian Capital Moscow along with a “personal loss for Biden”. It is expected that he will raise the topic again on Wednesday with U.S. President Joe Biden. Zelensky terms the new pipeline as a powerful weapon for the Russian country. This annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and backed a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine. The Ukraine leader wants the U.S. nation to impose tougher sanctions on the Russian gas pipeline which is being constructed.

The construction of Nord Stream 2 was strongly opposed by Washington. However, the Biden administration chose not to punish the German company. Germans oversee the project as they announce new sanctions against Russian companies and ships. The undiplomatic comments said that the pipeline will deprive it of $3billion annual transit fees for pumping Russian gas to Europe making it vulnerable to Kremlin pressure.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had his first official meeting with the senior Israeli. This meeting was the first between the nation in more than a decade.

Defence Minister Benny Gantz said that he had traveled on Sunday night to Ramallah which is occupied in the West Bank to discuss the security, civilian and economic issues. He said to Mr. Abbas that his country Israel look forward to strengthen the Palestinian economy. Both countries’ relations had deteriorated since the last round of direct peace talks in 2014.

The US President Joe Biden wants both sides to repair their relationship and a further statement came from the White House on Friday. He urges Israel Prime minister Naftali Bennet to take “steps to improve the lives of Palestinians and support greater economic opportunities for them”.

The source from Israel’s government stressed that the Meeting held on Sunday was approved by Mr. Bennett and Mr. Gantz had not discussed peace talks with Mr. Abbas. He said that there was no diplomatic process with the Palestinians, nor will there be one. Gantz gave a statement to the media that he had offered a $155m loans to the Palestinian Authority as the advance on tax revenue collected by Israel.