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Ukraine first lady Olena Zelenska in UAE amid Russia’s war

Shasi Kumar
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Ukraine first lady Olena Zelenska in UAE amid Russia’s war

Ukraine first lady Olena Zelenska in UAE amid Russia’s war

Diplomat Times (ABU DHABI)- Ukraine’s first lady on Wednesday offered spirited support to her nation’s people while visiting the United Arab Emirates, a country that still remains open to Russia despite Western sanctions.

Olena Zelenska described her role and that of other first ladies and gentlemen in the world as a real power while speaking before a packed ballroom on International Women’s Day. She also applauded the work of the average Ukrainian amid the ongoing war.

“We are a force and we can continue to change the world,” Zelenska said at the Forbes 30/50 Summit via a translator.

Zelenska’s trip to the United Arab Emirates capital comes as the UAE remains one of the few direct routes out of Moscow — for both people fleeing conscription and for the wealthy who want to park their money in a nation with access to Western financial markets.

Already, the U.S. Treasury has expressed concerns with the Russian money flowing into Dubai’s red-hot real estate market. Meanwhile, the superyachts of Russian oligarchs also have repeatedly turned up in the Emirates since the start of Moscow’s war on Ukraine last year.

FOR MORE | Ukraine News | Putin raises tension on Ukraine, suspends START nuclear pact with US

Zelenska arrived in the UAE on Tuesday and met with Sheikh Mohammed at Qasr al-Bahar in Abu Dhabi, the country’s capital. There, Sheikh Mohammed pledged $4 million to Zelenska’s foundation that will go toward the construction of orphanages, the Emirates’ state-run WAM news agency reported.

“Sheikh Mohammed reiterated the UAE’s commitment to the people of Ukraine through ongoing humanitarian aid, while stressing the importance of international and regional efforts aimed at reaching a political solution to re-establish security, stability and peace,” WAM said.

Zelenska has taken a more prominent role in promoting Ukraine since the war began. She met with U.S. first lady Jill Biden when the American president’s wife made a surprise, quick visit to Ukraine from Slovakia in May. She’s also traveled across the world, met leaders and told the United Nations in February: “We have the right to live free, not to be killed or tortured.”

Speaking before the crowd, Zelenska recounted the story of a schoolteacher still leading her students via a video call from a snowy street, even though power and internet connections remain shaky in the country. She also brought up a 30-year-old female combat medic killed in the fighting near Bakhmut in the east, which drew a gasp from the women gathered at the summit.

“We are inspired by the examples and I’m sure these examples will stay in our hearts forever,” Zelenska said.

She added, to cheers: “Ukrainian women and men have been adapting so fast that our enemies have not been able to come up with new challenges for us.”

Wednesday night, Zelenska received the Torch of Freedom Award from the summit presented to her by Hillary Clinton, the former U.S. secretary of state and presidential candidate. Standing under the dome of the Louvre Abu Dhabi, Clinton praised Zelenska for being “a forceful advocate for her people.”

 

“The war against my country — unprovoked, cynical and cruel — is the opposite of all human aspirations,” Zelenska told the hushed crowd in English with tears in her eyes. “It instantly turns progress into repression, life into death. However, after we opened our eyes that were closed with terror, we saw something new: We saw what the new power of women is.”

Dignitaries who attended this event 

  1. Hillary Clinton, Former United States Secretary of State, Senator, First Lady, Lawyer, Author and Activist, 2. Malala Yousafzai, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate & Cofounder, Malala Fund 3. Gloria Steinem, Journalist & Activist 4. Ayesha Curry, Founder & CEO, Sweet July
    5. Mandana Dayani, Creator & Cofounder, I am a voter 6. Mo Abudu, Founder & CEO, EbonyLife Media 7. Catherine O’Hara, Emmy Award Winning Actress and Writer
    8. Amna Al Qubaisi, Formula Racing Driver 9. Jo Ann C. Jenkins, CEO, AARP
    10. Her Royal Highness Lamia Bint Majed Saud AlSaud, Secretary General and member of the Board of Trustees at Alwaleed Philanthropies
    11. Misty Copeland, Ballerina, American Ballet Theatre, Author and Philanthropist
    12. Francine Katsoudas, Executive Vice President and Chief People, Policy & Purpose Officer, Cisco 13. Lauren Watkins, President, PuraVida Foods 14. Dina Radenkovic, Cofounder & CEO, Gameto 15. Suneera Madhani, Founder, Stax 16.Aurora James, Founder, Fifteen Percent Pledge and Creative Director & Founder, 17. Brother Vellies
    Karen Wazen, Founder & CEO, 18. Karen Wazen Eyewear and Cofounder, KE Investments
    19. Jessica Smith, Cofounder & COO, TOUCH Talent 20. Nayla Al Khaja, First Female Film Writer, Director and Producer in the UAE

Source : Reuters | Forbes

Australian PM Anthony Albanese to arrived in Ahmedabad today on 4-day visit to India

Diplomat Times
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Australian PM Anthony Albanese to arrived in Ahmedabad today on 4-day visit to India

Australian PM Anthony Albanese to arrived in Ahmedabad today on 4-day visit to India

Diplomat Times (Ahmedabad)- Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese arrived in Ahmedabad today. During his four-day-tour, Mr Albanese is scheduled to visit Mumbai and Delhi as well.

Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel welcomed him on reaching Ahmedabad today.

He will be accorded a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhawan on 10th March and call on President Droupadi Murmu.

The Australian Prime Minister upon arrival to India tweeted : ” an incredible welcome to Ahmedabad, India. The beginning of an important trip for Aus-Ind relations”.

Along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Australian Prime Minister will hold the Annual Summit to discuss areas of cooperation under the India-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, besides regional and global issues of mutual interest.

FOR MORE | Former Australian Prime Minister & Diplomat Kevin Rudd met External Affairs Minister H.E. Jai Shankar

Prime minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Antony Albanese will be on a two day visit to Gujarat from today. Both the leaders will watch the first day of the fourth test match between the two countries at Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad tomorrow. PM will arrive late evening while the Australian PM already reached . He is expected to visit Sabarmati Ashram today.

Ahmedabad police have deployed more than 3,000 personnel at the stadium as well as surrounding areas in the city anticipating a huge rush of spectators to watch the cricket match.

Source : All India Radio

HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani took oath as new Qatar Prime Minister

Dr Mohd Ramzan Ali
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HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani took oath as new Qatar Prime Minister

HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani took oath as new Qatar Prime Minister

Diplomat Times (Doha) – Before HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani took the oath as Prime Minister at the Amiri Diwan on Tuesday morning.
The oath taking ceremony was attended by HH the Deputy Amir Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Thani. (QNA)

Qatar’s ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, appoints the holders of top offices, usually from members of the ruling family. As in other Gulf Arab countries, politics is largely confined to the ruling family and developments are rarely aired in public.

Sheikh Mohammed has served as foreign minister since 2016 and was the public face of Qatar as it navigated a 3 1/2-year economic boycott by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt that only came to an end in January 2021.

FOR MORE GULF NEWS

Today, I was honored by the trust bestowed upon me by His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of the country, “may God protect him”, by assigning me as Prime Minister. I ask God Almighty for success, and I look forward to working with my fellow ministers in serving our country and contributing to its advancement under the wise leadership of His Highness.

HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani tweeted, He also holds Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

North Korea warns US against shooting down its missile tests

Um Kwang Ho
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North Korea warns US against shooting down its missile tests

North Korea warns US against shooting down its missile tests

Diplomat Times (SEOUL)- North Korea said any move to shoot down one of its test missiles would be considered a declaration of war and blamed a joint military exercise between the United States and South Korea for growing tensions, state media KCNA said on Tuesday.

The statement on Tuesday by Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, cited a South Korean media report that said the United States planned to shoot down Pyongyang’s intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) if the weapons were test-launched towards the Pacific Ocean.

FOR MORE US NEWS | China warns US should change attitudes or risk conflict

The US and its allies have never shot down North Korean ballistic missiles — typically launched at steep angles to avoid neighboring countries — but the question has drawn new scrutiny since Pyongyang suggested it would fire more missiles over Japan.

Kim Yo Jong said Pyongyang would see any US military action against its strategic weapons tests as a “declaration of war”.

“The Pacific Ocean does not belong to the dominion of the US or Japan,” she said.

The fiery rhetoric from North Korea comes as the US and South Korea restore and scale up their joint military drills following a record number of missile tests by Pyongyang last year.

The US deployed a B-52 bomber for a joint drill with South Korean fighter jets on Monday in what South Korea’s defence ministry said was a show of force against North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats.

FOR NORTH KOREA NEWS | Will NATO Secretary’s Visit to South Korea be able to put pressure on North Korea

The US and South Korean militaries are also preparing to revive their largest exercises later this month.

The field training exercises, known as Warrior Shield FTX, will include amphibious landings and run alongside the Freedom Shield exercise, a computer-simulated command post training aimed at strengthening defence and response capabilities.

Kim Yo Jong warned on Tuesday that North Korea was ready to take “overwhelming” actions against the drills.

(This story has not been edited by Diplomat Times and is auto-generated from Reuters)

China warns US should change attitudes or risk conflict

Diplomat Times
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China warns US should change attitudes or risk conflict

China warns US should change attitude or risk conflict, Relations between the two superpowers have been tense for years over a number of issues including Taiwan.

 

Diplomat Times (Beijing)- The United States should change its “distorted” attitude towards China or “conflict and confrontation” will follow, China’s foreign minister said on Tuesday, while defending its stance on the war in Ukraine and defending its close ties with Russia.

The US had been engaging in suppression and containment of China rather than engaging in fair, rule-based competition, Foreign Minister Qin Gang told a news conference on the sidelines of an annual parliament meeting in Beijing.

“The United States’ perception and views of China are seriously distorted,” Qin said.

“It regards China as its primary rival and the most consequential geopolitical challenge. This is like the first button in the shirt being put wrong.”

Relations between the two superpowers have been tense for years over a number of issues including Taiwan, trade and more recently the war in Ukraine, but they worsened last month after the United States shot down a balloon off the US east coast that it says was a Chinese spying craft.

The US says it is establishing guardrails for relations and is not seeking conflict, but Qin said what that meant in practice was that China was not supposed to respond with words or action when slandered or attacked.

“That is just impossible,” Qin told his first news conference since becoming foreign minister in December.

“If the United States does not hit the brakes, and continues to speed down the wrong path, no amount of guardrails can prevent derailment, which will become conflict and confrontation, and who will bear the catastrophic consequences?”

Qin likened the Sino-US competition to a race between two Olympic athletes.

“If one side, instead of focusing on giving one’s best, always tries to trip the other up, even to the extent that they must enter the Paralympics, then this is not fair competition,” he said.

MORE ABOUT CHINA- US | Blinken meets China’s Wang Yi, warns China against helping Russia, first meeting after balloon controversy too

  1. JACKALS AND WOLVES EXAMPLES BY CHINESE FM

During a nearly two-hour news conference in which he answered questions submitted in advance, Qin made a robust defense of “wolf warrior diplomacy”, an assertive and often abrasive stance adopted by China’s diplomats since 2020.

“When jackals and wolves are blocking the way, and hungry wolves are attacking us, Chinese diplomats must then dance with the wolves and protect and defend our home and country,” he said.

Qin also said that an “invisible hand” was pushing for the escalation of the war in Ukraine “to serve certain geopolitical agendas”, without specifying who he was referring to.

He reiterated China’s call for dialogue to end the war.

China struck a “no limits” partnership with Russia last year, weeks before its invasion of Ukraine, and China has blamed NATO expansion for triggering the war, echoing Russia’s complaint.

China has declined to condemn the invasion and has fiercely defended its stance on Ukraine, despite Western criticism of its failure to single Russia out at the aggressor.

2. QIN ABOUT RELATIONS WITH MOSCOW

Qin said China had to advance its relations with Russia as the world becomes more turbulent and close interactions between President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, anchored the neighbours’ relations.

He did not give a definite answer when asked if Xi would visit Russia after China’s parliament session, which goes on for one more week.

Since Russia invaded its southwestern neighbour a year ago Xi has held talks several times with Putin, but not with his Ukrainian counterpart. This undermines China’s claim of neutrality in the conflict, Kyiv’s top diplomat in Beijing said last month.

Asked whether it was possible that China and Russia would abandon the U.S. dollar and euro for bilateral trade, Qin said countries should use whatever currency was efficient, safe and credible.

(This story has not been edited by Diplomat Times and is auto-generated from Reuters)

Flooding Malaysia forces 40,000 people to flee homes, 10 districts in Johor have been hit by flooding

Marietta Reformado
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Flooding Malaysia forces 40,000 people to flee homes, 10 districts in Johor have been hit by flooding
Flooding Malaysia forces 40,000 people to flee homes, 10 districts in Johor have been hit by flooding

Diplomat Times (Johor Baru)- Non-stop rain has caused flooding in five Malaysian states, with the southern state of Johor the worst hit.

Over 31,000 people have been moved to 232 temporary relief centres nationwide as the weather agency predicted continuous heavy downpours until Saturday.

All 10 districts in Johor have been hit by flooding, with more than 29,000 victims from over 7,800 families seeking shelter at 193 temporary flood relief centers as at 4pm on Thursday.

Johor state secretary Azmi Rohani said this was one of the worst floods to have inundated the state in the past few years, attributing it to continuous heavy rain and the high-tide phenomenon.

According to floodlist.com, the district of Segamat was the worst hit, followed by Kluang, Batu Pahat and Kota Tinggi districts.

For More Asia News 

The small town of Chaah, in Segamat, was entirely submerged in water. Residents say this was the worst flood in 20 years, and many people were trapped in their homes amid rising waters for up to 12 hours before being rescued.

Over 40 evacuation centres were set up in the districts of Johor Bahru, Kluang, Kota Tinggi, Kulai, Pontian and Segamat late on 28 February. Malaysia’s disaster management agency said over 5,000 people from 1,542 households had moved to the centres as of 01 March.

Heavy rain began on 28 February. According to figures from the Ministry Of Natural Resources, Environment And Climate Change, the Air Panas weather station in the Segamat district recorded 627 mm of rain from 28 to late 01 March.

More than 200 mm of rain was recorded in 29 locations of Johor state in 19 hours on 01 March. During this period the weather station at Felda Pemanis in the Segamat district recorded 417 mm of rain and Kampung Liang Batu in the Muar district recorded 395 mm. Paloh in Kluang district recorded 298 mm of rain.

Rivers were above the danger mark in at least 16 locations by late (local time) 01 March, including the Skudai River at Kampung Laut in Johor Bahru, which jumped to 5.49 meters on 01 March, well above the danger mark of 3 meters.

Heavy rain was reported in other parts of Peninsular Malaysia, in particular in Pahang where 72mm of rain fell in 1 hour and 431 mm in 19 hours in Pukin in the Rompin district.

Sarawak and Sabah States

Authorities reported evacuations after flooding in Kuching, Sarawak, on 28 February 2023. As of 01 March over 150 people were in evacuation centres.

Flooding also affected the Kota Marudu and Sandakan districts of Sabah State. As of 01 March, a total of 485 people were evacuated.

 

Fire hits crowded Rohingya refugee camp in southern Bangladesh, 2,000 shelters damaged

Dr Mohd Ramzan Ali
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Fire hits crowded Rohingya refugee camp in southern Bangladesh, 2,000 shelters damaged

Fire hits crowded Rohingya refugee camp in southern Bangladesh

Diplomat Times (Bangladesh)- A massive fire raced through a crammed refugee camp for Rohingya Muslims in southern Bangladesh on Sunday, leaving thousands homeless, a fire official and the United Nations said.

No casualties were reported immediately at Balukhali camp in Cox’s Bazar district, said Emdadul Haque, a fire service official.

The UNHCR in Bangladesh said in a tweet that Rohingya refugee volunteers were responding to the fire with the agency and its partners providing support. It provided no further details.

More than 1 million Rohingya refugees have fled to Bangladesh from Myanmar over several decades, including about 740,000 who crossed the border starting in August 2017, when the Myanmar military launched a brutal crackdown.

Conditions in Myanmar have worsened since a military takeover in 2021, and attempts to send back the refugees have failed.

FOR MORE INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

Last year, the United States said the oppression of Rohingya in Myanmar amounts to genocide after U.S. authorities confirmed accounts of mass atrocities against civilians by the military in a systematic campaign against the ethnic minority. Muslim Rohingya face widespread discrimination in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, where most are denied citizenship and many other rights.

According to UNHCR Rohingya refugee volunteers trained on firefighting & local fire services have controlled the fire.

16 UNHCR funded Mobile Fire Fighting Units helped reach the difficult area. Multiple shelters and facilities destroyed. Government, UNHCR & partners coordinating further.

India-urges-g-20-ministers-to-look-beyond-east-west-crisis

Diplomat Times
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India-urges-g-20-ministers-to-look-beyond-east-west-crisis

india-urges-g-20-ministers-to-look-beyond-east-west-crisis

Diplomat Times (New Delhi) — Top diplomats from the world’s major industrialized and developing nations on Thursday opened what are expected to be contentious talks dominated by Russia’s war in Ukraine and China’s moves to boost its global influence.

Host India appealed for all members of the fractured Group of 20 to reach consensus on issues of deep concern to poorer countries even if the broader East-West split over Ukraine cannot be resolved.

In a video address to the assembled foreign ministers in New Delhi, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged them not to allow current tensions to destroy agreements that might be reached on food and energy security, climate change and the debt crisis.

“We are meeting at a time of deep global divisions,” Modi told the group, which included U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang and their Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, whose discussions would naturally be “affected by the geopolitical tensions of the day.”

G-20 MINISTRES  ARRIVALS UPDATE 

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will reaffirm the strength of the US-India bilateral relationship during his visit to India and will have the opportunity to discuss matters of shared interests, officials here have said.

Blinken arrived in New Delhi Wednesday night after his Central Asia trip. He is in New Delhi primarily to attend the G20 Foreign Ministers meeting. On the sidelines of the meeting, he will have a meeting with his counterparts from Quad countries and participate in a panel discussion with them.

“Secretary Blinken will reaffirm the strength of the US-India relationship and express our commitment to continue working together and in groups like the Quad to advance economic growth for our two countries and expand cooperation as we have our shared priorities,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at a news conference here on Wednesday.

PRIME MINISTER MODI WELCOMES ALL MEA

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday called upon the G20 countries to build consensus on pressing global challenges and not allow differences on geopolitical tensions to affect overall cooperation, in comments that came amid a bitter rift within the grouping on the Ukraine conflict.

In his video message at the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting, Modi also invoked Mahatma Gandhi and Buddha to urge the delegates to draw inspiration from India’s civilisational ethos and “focus not on what divides us, but on what unites us.” The foreign ministers from the world’s largest industrialised and developing nations held crucial deliberations on key global challenges that took place in the backdrop of an increasingly bitter rift between the US-led West and the Russia-China combine over the Ukraine conflict.

It is learnt that the Indian side has been trying very hard to arrive at a joint communique but several diplomats from the West said the possibility of an agreed text was unlikely due to the fractured East-West relations over the war in Ukraine.

Ex-governor Bola Tinubu closes in on Nigeria presidential election victory

Diplomat Times
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Ex-governor Bola Tinubu closes in on Nigeria presidential election victory

Bola Tinubu of the ruling APC party is leading with about 35 percent or 7.5 million of valid votes counted, while Atiku Abubakar of the main opposition PDP was trailing with 29 percent or nearly 6.2 million valid votes. TRT

Diplomat Times (ABUJA) – Provisional results from Nigeria’s disputed presidential election showed that Bola Tinubu from the ruling party is closing in on victory, according to the latest Reuters tally of votes in 31 of the country’s 36 states and from nation’s capital.

With only 5 states left to declare as of 1300 GMT on Tuesday, Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress party (APC) was ahead with about 35 percent or 7.5 million of valid votes counted, making it highly likely he would be declared winner on Tuesday following Saturday’s election to replace outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari, also APC.

Atiku Abubakar of the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) was trailing with 29 percent or nearly 6.2 million valid votes.

Peter Obi of the smaller Labour Party got 25 percent or about 5.2 million votes. More results were expected to show the winner later on Tuesday.

Known as the “Godfather of Lagos” for his influence, Tinubu served as governor of the country’s most populous state from 1999 to 2007.

Tinubu, however, lost narrowly to Obi in Lagos, garnering 572,000 votes against the latter’s 582,000 votes.

READ MORE : South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa welcomes Belgium’s King Philippe and Queen Mathilde

As of 1230 GMT, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had posted results from 83,906 polling units out of 176,846.

Opposition parties have rejected the results as the product of a flawed process, which suffered multiple technical difficulties owing to the introduction of new technology by INEC.

FOR MORE  Africa News 

The preliminary results announced in the states will again be presented at INEC’s central office in the capital, Abuja.

But INEC officers in Rivers State, the capital of Africa’s biggest oil industry, said they had suspended the announcement of results after state collation officer Charles Adias had received death threats via text message.

Nigerian electoral law says a candidate can win just by getting more votes than their rivals, provided they get 25 percent of the vote in at least two-thirds of the 36 states.

Saturday’s election was mostly peaceful, but many polling stations opened late, angering voters, and delays or technical failures slowed uploading of results to an official INEC website meant to promote transparency.

PDP and other party officials stormed out of the counting center on Monday night claiming tallies were manipulated.

Whoever replaces Buhari must quickly get to grips with Africa’s largest economy and top oil producer, which is beset by problems including a grinding violence in the northeast and double-digit inflation.

Buhari, a former army general first elected in 2015, will step down after two terms in office. His critics say he failed in his key promises to make Nigeria safer.

WHO IS BOLA TINUBU ? 

Bola Tinubu is a Nigerian politician and one of the most influential political figures in the country today. He was born on March 29, 1952, in Lagos, Nigeria, to a family of modest means. After completing his secondary education at Government College, Ibadan, he went on to obtain a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Chicago State University in the United States.

He stated his career as accountant and politician who served as the Governor of Lagos State from 1999 to 2007 and Senator for Lagos West during the brief Third Republic. In June 2022, he was chosen as the All Progressives Congress nominee in the 2023 Nigerian presidential election.

His political career began in 1992, when he joined the Social Democratic Party where he was a member of the Peoples Front faction led by Shehu Musa Yar’Adua and made up of other politicians such as Umaru Yar’Adua, Atiku Abubakar, Baba Gana Kingibe, Rabiu Kwankwaso, Abdullahi Aliyu Sumaila, Magaji Abdullahi, Dapo Sarumi and Yomi Edu. He was elected to the Senate, representing the Lagos West constituency in the short-lived Nigerian Third Republic.

People are eager to know about Bola Tinubu Biography.

UK’s PM Rishi Sunak and EU chief clinch Brexit deal over Northern Ireland trade

Shasi Kumar
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0
UK’s PM Rishi Sunak and EU chief clinch Brexit deal over Northern Ireland trade
UK’s PM Rishi Sunak and EU chief clinch Brexit deal over Northern Ireland trade

Diplomat Times (London)- Britain and the European Union on Monday agreed a crucial overhaul of trade rules in Northern Ireland, a breakthrough aimed at resetting seriously strained relations since Brexit.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen adopted the deal at talks in Windsor, west of London, both sides said.

Von der Leyen told a news conference it was “historic what we have achieved today.” Sunak said there had been a “decisive breakthrough.”

The agreement, which will allow goods to flow freely to Northern Ireland from the rest of the U.K., ends a dispute that has soured U.K.-EU relations, sparked the collapse of the Belfast-based regional government and shaken Northern Ireland’s decades-old peace process.

Fixing it ends a long-running irritant for von der Leyen and is a big victory for Sunak — but not the end of his troubles. Selling the deal to his own Conservative Party and its Northern Irish allies may be a tougher struggle. Now Sunak awaits the judgment of Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party, which is boycotting the region’s power-sharing government until the trade arrangements are changed to its satisfaction.

The joint solutions, found within the framework of the Withdrawal Agreement, are based on the following starting points:

  • Comprehensive, cross-cutting and definitive solution, addressing practical difficulties in the operation of the Protocol;
  • Balance between flexibilities for the movement of goods for end use in Northern Ireland and effective safeguards guaranteeing the protection of the EU’s Single Market;
  • Clear distinction between goods at risk and goods not at risk of entering the EU’s Single Market.
    New arrangements in the area of customs are based on an expanded trusted trader scheme that will also be open to businesses in Great Britain

Goods moved by trusted traders and not at risk of entering the EU’s Single Market will benefit from dramatically simplified procedures and drastically simplified declarations with reduced data requirements. Substantial facilitations were found for freight and the movement of all types of parcels, i.e., business-to-business, business-to-consumer, and consumer-to-consumer, with consumer-to-consumer parcels being entirely exempt from the main customs requirements.

These new solutions are made possible especially by new data-sharing arrangements allowing for risk assessments, which would constitute the principle basis for controls. Robust authorisation and monitoring of the trusted trader scheme, and increased market surveillance and enforcement by UK authorities also act as safeguards. Full customs procedures will apply to goods at risk of entering the EU’s Single Market.

A permanent solution has also been found to ensure that people in Northern Ireland have access to all medicines, including novel medicines, at the same time and under the same conditions as people in the rest of the UK. This complements the solution the EU adopted in April 2022 for the supply of generic medicines to Northern Ireland.

FOR MORE BUSINESS NEWS

These new arrangements are made possible by new safeguards, notably labelling, designed to ensure that the medicines do not enter the EU’s Single Market.

The joint solutions also address implementation difficulties related to tariff rate quotas (TRQs) for the most sensitive categories of steel and clarify the application of State aid rules.

These new arrangements have been carried out within the framework of the Withdrawal Agreement of which the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland is an integral part. Within these pre-established legal parameters, a number of targeted amendments to the Protocol address, in a definitive way, unforeseen circumstances or deficiencies that have emerged since the start of the Protocol.

What is the Protocol Ireland/Northern Ireland ? 

The Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland, as an integral part of the Withdrawal Agreement, was agreed jointly and ratified by both the EU and the UK. It has been in force since 1 February 2020 and has legal effects under international law.

The aim of the Protocol is to protect the Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement in all its dimensions, maintaining peace and stability in Northern Ireland, avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland, while preserving the integrity of the EU Single Market.

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