Campaign Demanding Marco Rubio's Resignation Storms Twitter

A campaign demanding Marco Rubio's resignation is demanded on Twitter after he posted a death threat to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. | Photo: Reuters

25 February 2019
Telesur

Netizens on Twitter are demanding the resignation of the U.S. Senator Marco Rubio after his death threat to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

A campaign demanding Marco Rubio to resign is storming on Twitter after the right-wing United States Senator from Florida posted a picture of the lynching of former Libyan revolutionary leader Muammar Gaddafi as a death threat to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

Rubio posted a cryptic Twitter Sunday afternoon, featuring two photos of the former Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi- one, a smiling portrait; the other, a gruesome capture of the president’s savage and violent death after a U.S. militarized intervention in 2011.

Posted without a description, context, or explanation, Rubio’s message was quickly taken as a threat against Maduro, who the senator has openly criticized numerous occasions while endorsing a U.S. militarized intervention in the South American nation in spite of international condemnation.

Rubio is known for his interventionist agenda in Venezuela. Last February the infamous Republican lawmaker suggested his support for a military coup in Venezuela and even dared to use the words of Simon Bolivar in his favor.

Tariq Ali, a renowned historian, political activist, journalist, writer, and journalist also called for legal action against Marco Rubio.

He also visited the Colombia-Venezuela border in mid-February and made several comments against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

The senator was part of a U.S. delegation visiting the Colombian border city of Cucuta, where “humanitarian aid” was being stockpiled for planned delivery to Venezuela.

China Wants 'Constructive' Help For Venezuela

 Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing, China Dec. 5, 2016.

25 February 2019
Telesur

Chinese foreign minister: Beijing opposes foreign interference in Venezuela's internal affairs or use of 'so-called 'humanitarian aid' for political aims.'

Chinese officials say they hope the international community can provide "constructive" help to Venezuela while respecting the country's sovereignty.

China "hopes the international community can provide constructive help to Venezuela under the precondition of respecting Venezuela's sovereignty," said Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

The comment was made Monday after two out of the four trucks with alleged "humanitarian aid" from USAID, which were trying to illegally enter Venezuela, were burned at the border between Venezuela and Colombia. The burning trucks were on the Colombian side of the Santander Bridge that links it to Venezuela where opposition members have been leading violent protests.

China hopes Venezuela can remain peaceful and calm, the Foreign Ministry said, and reiterated Beijing's opposition to foreign interference in Venezuela's internal affairs or the use of "so-called 'humanitarian aid' for political aims."

Yi added: "We again call on the government and opposition in Venezuela to seek a political resolution under the framework of the constitution and law, and call on the international community to do more that really benefits Venezuela's stability, economic development and improvement in livelihoods."

On Sunday, Venezuelan Minister of Communication and Information Jorge Rodriguez denounced Colombia’s part in the failed coup attempt orchestrated by the self-declared interim president Juan Guaido on Feb. 23 at the border bridge.

"Colombia is a country that is expert in false positives, we will show the tests. There was no intention of bringing humanitarian aid. What they were trying to do was to create aggression against a country that defends its sovereignty,” said the minister.

Just as the United States has tried to use economic warfare against China by lobbying heavy tariffs on billions of Chinese imports, the U.S. says it will continue to use sanctions against the oil-rich country of Venezuela. "There'll be a meeting of the Lima Group Monday, where further action will be contemplated. There are more sanctions to be had," U.S. State Secretary Mike Pompeo said Sunday in an interview with CNN.

Venezuela: EU Spurns Violent Intervention for Peaceful Solution

"We need a peaceful political and democratic and Venezuelan-owned resolution," said Maja Kocijancic, spokeswoman for diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini (pictured above)

25 February 2019
Telesur

"It is very clear: we must avoid military intervention," said Maja Kocijancic, spokeswoman for foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini.

The European Union is urging the world to abandon a “militarized intervention” into Venezuela, calling for dialogue to develop a “peaceful, political, and democratic” solution to the nation’s domestic political differences.

"What is explicitly quite clear, from our perspective, is that we need a peaceful political and democratic and Venezuelan-owned resolution which obviously excludes the use of force,” said Maja Kocijancic, spokeswoman for foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini.

During a meeting with the Lima Group and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence in Bogota, Juan Guaido, the self-declared interim president who emerged after an attempted coup in Venezuela on Jan. 23, said he was in favor of maintaining "all options open “leave all options open,” including a militarized intervention.

"The position of the EU has been established in this context, it is very clear: we must avoid military intervention," Kocijancic said.

In an interview with EFE, Sunday, Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell said,”We have warned quite clearly that we will not support and we will firmly condemn any foreign military intervention."

Venezuela’s border attracted copious amounts of attention this weekend, after Guaido revealed his intention to receive the controversial so-called humanitarian aid from the United States via Colombia and Brazil.

Instead, the weekend saw opposition forces leading violent escapades, commandeering Bolivarian National Guard (GNB) tanks, and attacked innocent bystanders gathered at Simon Bolivar-Venezuela border bridge.

Colombian forces looked the other way as violent Venezuelan opposition protesters, or ‘Guarimberos’, threw homemade Molotov cocktails at Venezuela’s National Guard and ran over two women in the Bolivarian National Guard (GNB) vehicles.

In a statement Sunday, Venezuelan Minister of Communication and Information Jorge Rodriguez, revealed that the perpetrators are in custody and investigators believe that the attack may have been premeditated.

Over a Dozen Killed in Nigeria Election Violence

MONDAY FEBRUARY 25 2019
Kenya Daily Nation

A boy run as cars are set on fire following deadly clashes between supporters of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at Kofa in Bebeji district of Kano, economic nerve centre of northern Nigeria, on February 22, 2019. PHOTO | PIUS UTOMI EKPEI | AFP

In Summary
Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of the INEC election commission, will officially declare the outcome in the coming days. But both sides have already claimed victory.

An aide to President Muhammadu Buhari, seeking re-election, described the incoming results as "so overwhelming... #BuhariIsWinning!", tweeted Bashir Ahmad.

The media team for Buhari's main opponent said the INEC should "immediately announce results as delivered from the polling units and declare the people's candidate, Atiku Abubakar, the winner".

Nigeria is awaiting results from its presidential election, as civil society groups warned that disorganisation and violence may have undermined the polls.

Results from Saturday's vote were expected to trickle in to Abuja after being collated at the state and local levels.

16 DEATHS

Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of the INEC election commission, will officially declare the outcome in the coming days. But both sides have already claimed victory.

An aide to President Muhammadu Buhari, seeking re-election, described the incoming results as "so overwhelming... #BuhariIsWinning!", tweeted Bashir Ahmad.

The media team for Buhari's main opponent said the INEC should "immediately announce results as delivered from the polling units and declare the people's candidate, Atiku Abubakar, the winner".

Yakubu, however, told reporters: "Only the Independent National Electoral Commission can tally figures, announce results and declare winners."

Whoever becomes the next leader of Africa's most populous country and leading oil producer faces a daunting to-do list, from tackling widespread insecurity and endemic corruption to boosting an economy recovering from months of recession.

INEC said it was "generally satisfied" with the vote, even though polling stretched into Saturday evening in areas where voter card machines failed and materials arrived late.

Some affected polling units in six of Nigeria's 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja even saw voting on Sunday.

A coalition of more than 70 civil society groups monitoring the vote reported 16 deaths from election-linked violence in eight states. Others gave a higher toll.

BUHARI'S LOSS

Nigeria's last election in 2015 was widely seen as the freest and fairest since the country returned to democracy in 1999 after decades of military rule.

But Idayat Hassan of the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) in Abuja said this year's bloodshed and malfunctions were a setback.

"This election was a serious deterioration from 2015," she told AFP. "What we now expect from a credible, free and fair election was not there."

Despite both sides' bullishness, it was difficult to assess from unofficial results announced at individual polling stations who was in the lead.

But there were snapshots of each candidate's performance: Abubakar, for example, failed to win the polling station where he voted in Yola, capital of his home state Adamawa.

Buhari personally cast a ballot in his hometown of Daura in the northwest state of Katsina, but lost the polling unit set up at the presidential villa in the capital, Abuja.

The election was originally set for February 16 but the INEC announced a week-long delay just hours before voting was due to begin, angering voters who had already travelled home to participate.

DELAYS

The delay saw the main parties accuse each other of conspiring with the INEC to rig the result, although neither has produced evidence.

Hours before voting began, Boko Haram's Islamic State-backed faction launched a rocket attack on the northeastern city of Maiduguri that killed one soldier.

In Rivers state, in the oil-rich southern Niger Delta region, the army said soldiers killed six "hoodlums" in clashes.

Yakubu said one election volunteer was killed by a stray bullet in Rivers, where some INEC staff and even police were held hostage. They were all released unharmed, he added.

Other election staff were attacked in the southern state of Akwa Ibom and Kogi in the north central region.

There were reports of ballot-snatching, vote-buying and violence elsewhere, including in the southwestern state of Lagos.

Abiodun Baiyewu, director of Global Rights Nigeria, a civil society group monitoring the vote, said INEC and the security forces could have done more to ensure voters' safety.

"INEC needed to have a communication plan with security but we found that this was lacking and security was ineffective," he added.

72.7M VOTERS

A total of 72.7 million people with voter identity cards were eligible to vote in Saturday's polls. Parliamentary elections were held at the same time.

In 2015, former military ruler Buhari became the first opposition candidate in Nigerian history to defeat a sitting president, beating Goodluck Jonathan by 2.5 million votes.

Buhari has again vowed to be tough on insecurity and corruption, and wants to complete much-needed infrastructure projects.

Abubakar is a pro-business free marketeer whose main pledges have been to privatise giant state-run companies and float the embattled naira currency.

Nigerian elections have previously been characterised by voting along ethnic and religious lines.

But with Buhari and Abubakar both Muslims from the north, that could split the northern vote, making southern states a key battleground.

In order to win the presidency in the first-round poll, the winner needs not only to receive a majority of the votes, but also at least 25 percent of the votes in two thirds of the 36 states plus the Abuja capital territory.

Nigeria Opposition Accuses Government of Manipulating Election Results

MONDAY FEBRUARY 25 2019
Kenya Daily Nation   

Nigeria's Independent National Electoral Commission chairman Mahmood Yakubu displays vote result sheets on February 25, 2019 in Abuja during the presidential elections announcement. PHOTO | KOLA SULAIMON | AFP

In Summary
Party chairman Uche Secondus said the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of President Muhammadu Buhari was colluding with the electoral commission.
Analysts have been split about who will win -- the PDP candidate, former vice president Atiku Abubakar, is mounting a strong challenge.

Nigeria's main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Monday accused the government trying to manipulate results of last weekend's presidential election.

Party chairman Uche Secondus said the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of President Muhammadu Buhari was colluding with the electoral commission.

The APC was using "impeachments, manipulation, incarceration", state agencies and ministers to rig the outcome, he charged.

'INTIMIDATION'

The accusation came as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced the first results from Saturday's election, at which Mr Buhari, a former military ruler, is seeking a second term.

Analysts have been split about who will win -- the PDP candidate, former vice president Atiku Abubakar, is mounting a strong challenge.

Mr Secondus told a news conference at Mr Abubakar's campaign headquarters that it would be "difficult for the entire country to accept this level of intimidation".

INEC RESPONSIBILITY

The chair called on INEC to "live up to its responsibility."

"They are under pressure, and the situation we find ourselves in, it's as if we are in the military era," he said.

"We have never seen this before, where at the end of the election, the (presidential) villa will dispatch security agencies and ministers to all parts of the country to mount pressure on governors," he told reporters.

Mr Secondus said the party believed it was an "attempt by the government and other agencies to manipulate the result".

The PDP and the APC have both accused the other of colluding with INEC to rig the result, after the commission announced a last-minute delay to polling scheduled for February 16.

There was no immediate comment from INEC or the APC.

UN Court Asks UK to Surrender Chagos Islands to Mauritius

MONDAY FEBRUARY 25 2019
Kenya Daily Nation
   
In this file photo taken on October 22, 2008, Chagos Islanders demonstrate outside London's Houses of Parliament, after the British government won its appeal over previous rulings that allowed displaced Indian Ocean islanders to return home. PHOTO | SHAUN CURRY | AFP

In Summary
Under resolutions passed by the General Assembly on decolonisation, colonial powers were supposed to ensure nations were not broken up in the course of granting independence.
The decision means that London could be required to abandon the region it has in the past used for military purposes together with the United States.
But as the matter was referred to the Court by the UN General Assembly, it is not binding to either country but will remain only as an advisory for the UN to use in future, should it pass resolutions to compel London to relinquish the Archipelago.

By AGGREY MUTAMBO

The International Court of Justice on Monday said the United Kingdom should hand over the administration of the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean to Mauritius in order to legally complete its decolonisation.

In an advisory opinion, 14 judges ruled 13-1 that the British government had not lawfully granted Mauritius independence and that it was legally required to end its “administration of the Chagos Archipelago as rapidly as possible".

The British government ruled the Indian Ocean Island from 1810 to 1968 when it granted independence to natives, as part of London’s policy at the time to relinquish control of colonies.

But this independence came with conditions, one which was for locals to agree to separate the Archipelago from the administration of Mauritius.

PEOPLE'S WILL

At the Lancaster Conference in 1965, the Archipelago was excised from the Mauritian territory to form the British Indian Ocean Territory.

The UK colonial government would later reach a series of deals with representatives of the Mauritian government, in which natives on the Archipelago were forcibly removed or barred from returning.

The court found that the actions of the British were meant to dismember the new Mauritian nation as those removed from the Island ended up as migrants elsewhere in the world, yet they had no say in the excision.

“The Court considers that this detachment was not based on the free and genuine expression of the will of the people concerned,” it said.

“It takes the view that the obligations arising under international law and reflected in the resolutions adopted by the General Assembly during the process of decolonisation of Mauritius require the United Kingdom, as the administering power, to respect the territorial integrity of that country, including the Chagos Archipelago.”

Under resolutions passed by the General Assembly on decolonisation, colonial powers were supposed to ensure nations were not broken up in the course of granting independence.

NOT BINDING

The decision means that London could be required to abandon the region it has in the past used for military purposes together with the United States.

But as the matter was referred to the Court by the UN General Assembly, it is not binding to either country but will remain only as an advisory for the UN to use in future, should it pass resolutions to compel London to relinquish the Archipelago.

The ICJ is a global Court formed by the UN to solve disputes between member states. However, the UN and its Specialised agencies can file cases concerning member states or certain issues on which the judges at the ICJ can grant advisory opinions.

In the Mauritius case, the UN General Assembly in 2017 sought the advisory through resolution 71/292 to determine the legality of holding on to a part of a colony.

MODALITIES

The decision means, now, that the UN General Assembly can use the decision to create modalities for Britain to complete the decolonisation as well as direct member states to respect the procedure.

The case could give direction on how matters of self-determination, one of the basic rights declared by the UN, are handled in future.

The court found British authorities largely disregarded this right in continuing to administer the Archipelago, preventing natives from returning as well as passing punitive laws on movement of the people whose nationality was linked to Mauritius.

The judges rule the UN should determine how displaced natives are recompensed and resettled.

REACTIONS

Mauritius and the exiled Chagossians reacted with delight to the "historic" opinion delivered by judges in The Hague, which will carry heavy symbolic and political weight.

"The United Kingdom's continued administration of the Chagos Archipelago constitutes a wrongful act," chief judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf said.

"The United Kingdom is under an obligation to bring an end to its administration of the Chagos Archipelago as rapidly as possible, thereby allowing Mauritius to complete the decolonisation of its territory."

Olivier Bancoult, chairman of the Mauritius-based Chagos Refugees Group, told reporters outside court that he was "so happy".

"It is a big victory against an injustice done by the British government for many years. We people have been suffering for many years -- I am so lucky today," he said.

Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth hailed it as a " historic moment for Mauritius and all its people".

"Our territorial integrity will now be made complete, and when that occurs, the Chagossians and their descendants will finally be able to return home," he said in a statement.

There was no immediate reaction from Britain or the United States.

BLOW

The ICJ opinion comes as a stunning blow to London in a case that goes to the heart of historic issues of decolonisation and current questions about Britain's place in the world as it prepares to leave the European Union.

Mauritius' lawyer Philippe Sands said there was "no wiggle room" in the judges' view and that Britain would resist pressure to comply.

"I suspect the United Kingdom will say to itself, what resistance can we put up to moving forward -- and particularly in the context of Brexit, as the United Kingdom finds itself a little bit isolated in the world," he told reporters outside court.

When judges heard the case in September, Mauritius argued that it was illegal for Britain to have broken up its territory while it was still the colonial power.

THE EVICTIONS

The UN General Assembly in 2017 adopted a resolution presented by Mauritius and backed by African countries asking the ICJ to offer legal advice on the island chain's fate and the legality of the deportations.

Colonial power Britain split off the islands from Mauritius -- which lies around 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles) away -- three years before Port Louis gained independence in 1968. It also paid Mauritius three million pounds.

Between 1968 and 1973 around 2,000 Chagos islanders were evicted, to Britain, Mauritius and the Seychelles, to make way for a military base on Diego Garcia, the largest of the islands.

The evictions were described in a British diplomatic cable at the time as the removal of "some few Tarzans and Man Fridays".

Diego Garcia is now under lease to the United States and played a key strategic role in the Cold War before being used as a staging ground for US bombing campaigns against Afghanistan and Iraq in the 2000s.

APOLOGY

Britain, while apologising for the "shameful" way it evicted thousands of islanders, insisted Mauritius was wrong to have brought the case to the ICJ.

The United States meanwhile said the court had a "duty" not to take a position on the row.

The Chagos Islanders have already taken their battle through the courts in Britain, where their supporters included the current Labour opposition leader, Jeremy Corbyn.

The legal opinion is only the 28th since the ICJ was set up in 1946 in the wake of World War II to provide a tribunal to resolve disputes between UN member states.

Previously such opinions include one on Israel's West Bank barrier in 2004, which judges said was illegal, and declaring legal Kosovo's declaration of independence in 2010.

Kenya-Somalia Tiff on Oil Blocks Not New

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 24 2019
Kenya Daily Nation

Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Monica Juma displays a map indicating that the oil blocks under contention with Somalia are in Kenya's territory, during a press conference at Intercontinental hotel in Nairobi on February 21, 2019. PHOTO | EVANS HABIL | NATION MEDIA GROUP

In Summary
Spectrum said no oil blocks had been auctioned but said the conference had only been a “promotion” of the Somali offshore oil and gas.
Somalia’s legal team argued Kenya had continued offering offshore blocks based on its claimed boundary, even though Somalia objected.

By AGGREY MUTAMBO

The Norwegian consultancy firm Spectrum Geo says all the data it gathered about Mogadishu’s oil stock in the Indian Ocean, and which was used to market to investors in London, was sourced entirely from Somali territory.

In a brief statement on Monday, Graham Mayhew, the company’s Executive Vice President for Africa, Mediterranean and Middle-East Region, said it had been contracted to gather seismic data only in Somalia territory, avoiding the disputed regions contested by Kenya.

“Spectrum acquired a total of 20,185km of 2D seismic data, in a grid stretching from south of the maritime border with the Federal State of Puntland, to north of the maritime border with the Republic of Kenya.

“All of this seismic data was acquired wholly within the maritime territory of the Federal Government of Somalia and no data were acquired within the area currently the subject of the maritime delimitation case with Kenya,” he said.

AUCTION

The company, though not responding directly, was referring to Kenya’s claim on Saturday that Somalia had “auctioned” oil blocks belonging to Kenya, during an oil conference on February 7 in London.

Somali delegates had marketed their oil stock profile to investors, largely relying on seismic data gathered by Spectrum since 2015 when it signed a contract with Mogadishu to obtain additional data.

The data depicted oil stocks in 15 blocks, covering water depths of between 30 metres to four kilometres, analysed using what Spectrum called modern processing algorithms to achieve “optimal imaging of steeply-dipping extensional and compressional features and illumination of subtle amplitude anomalies.”

The company confirmed no oil blocks had been auctioned but said the conference had only been a “promotion” of the Somali offshore oil and gas.

Mogadishu had equally denied the claims on Sunday.

LICENCES

But even as the firm clarified the matter, both sides continued to front divergent maps of the same area.

Spectrum produced a map of seismic study area, indicating all the 15 blocks are in Somali territory, including the three southern blocks in the Jubba-Lamu Basin, but north of the parallel latitude proposed by Kenya.

Kenya had on its part produced the same map, but indicating the blocks labelled L21, L23, L24 and L25 as some of those controversially marketed.

Despite the apparent calming of the tensions between Nairobi and Mogadishu, the tiff over which blocks should be marketed and which ones should not, has been a matter of controversy before.

Long before Somalia filed a case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), seeking to redraw the maritime boundary with Kenya, it accused Kenya of granting exploration licences to French firm Total SA and Italian firm Eni, even as the two sides presented the dispute before the UN Commission on Limits of the Continental Shelf (UNCLCS).

SURVEY

Somalia would later pull its submissions from the UNCLCS and sue at the ICJ, but the matter on exploration still emerged.

For example, Somalia’s legal team argued Kenya had continued offering offshore blocks based on its claimed boundary, even though Somalia objected.

“Kenya’s Block L-22 straddles the equidistance line in areas between approximately 52 and 104 miles from the coast,” Somalia argued in its submissions.

“Kenya awarded it to the French oil company Total SA in 2012. In 2013, Total carried out a 2D seismic survey and sea core drilling operations in the area,” the court heard.

Somalia told the court that blocks L21, L23 and L24 which Kenya claims as being in its territory “lie in deeper water entirely or predominantly on the Somali side of the equidistance line.

DOUBLE-CHECK

The ICJ, which has binding decisions on both Kenya and Somalia, allowed the case to continue to full hearing despite Kenya objecting, arguing there was a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that provided for alternative dispute resolution.

A bench of 13 judges, where three dissented, agreed that the MoU, signed by then Foreign Minister Moses Wetang’ula and former Somali Planning Minister Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame, was a legal document for both Somalia and Kenya.

Mr Warsame had earlier told the Nation his wish for an MoU was rejected by Somali MPs and that the court should resolve the issue.

Mr Wetang’ula says Kenya should only have cautioned investors to check where the blocks lie before entering any deals, rather than issuing a harsh statement.

Somalia Forms Bad Perception of Kenya Over Maritime Row

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 24 2019
   
Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Macharia Kamau gestures at Intercontinental hotel in Nairobi where they were addressing the maritime border dispute with Somalia, on February 21, 2019. PHOTO | EVANS HABIL | NATION MEDIA GROUP

In Summary
Prof Anangwe observes that the dispute is purely about a scramble for marine resources, especially the potential for oil discovery.
Political analyst Abdi Moalim accuses Nairobi of using the Somali refugees in Kenya as a constant card to intimidate Somalia politically

By SUNDAY NATION
CORRESPONDENT

Unknown to most Kenyans, Somali nationals largely view the current tension between the two nations over the maritime border as a confirmation of Kenya government’s arrogance and unquenchable thirst for their country’s resources.

This is the other side of the maritime border story and a perception that has been held for decades by Kenya’s neighbours, including politicians from the Horn of Africa nation.

Since last Saturday, when Kenyan authorities claimed Somalia had auctioned oil blocks in the disputed territory in the Indian Ocean, the social and mainstream media in Somalia have been awash with comments deriding “big brother” (Kenya) for alleged economic greed and for trying to bully Somalia into submission.

This perception was captured in their rage on social media, with Somalis in the diaspora kicking off campaigns under #SomaliaVsKenya.

FLAK

Newspaper editorials too questioned Kenya’s interests in Somalia, with many lambasting the tone of the press statement by Kenyan Foreign Affairs ministry describing it as “undiplomatic” and “aggressive”.

“On Saturday, Kenya ‘recalled’ its ambassador from Somalia and ‘expelled’ Somalia’s ambassador over what it dubbed ‘urgent consultations’ over a maritime border row that is considered to have a vast reserve of oil and gas.

Kenya’s letter further stated in a brash tendency that Somalia had "illegally grabbed resources of Kenya”, stated an editorial in the Halbeeg Online news outlet, which suggested the opposite (grabbing of resources) “is actually the case”.

Politicians are similarly of the opinion that Nairobi is acting arrogantly on the case at hand.

SCRAMBLE

On Wednesday, the President of regional state of Hirshabelle, Mohamed Abdi Warre, faulted Kenya for “her provocation” but praised the response by President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo’s administration for “responding professionally and soberly”.

Noting that governments ordinarily place interests of their countries and citizens first, governance expert Prof Amukowa Anangwe concurs that Somalia’s suspicions about Kenyans working or living in the Horn of Africa nation are not misplaced.

The dispute over the maritime border, he observes, is purely about a scramble for marine resources, especially the potential for oil discovery “as well as the changing international legal regime for protecting and balancing the common interests of nations while rejecting special interests that would be in contravention of the common good among nations in the maritime areas and the enjoyment and use of oceans”.

“Of particular relevance is the current law of the sea that has embraced a wide range of issues created to regulate competing interests about commercial exploitation of mineral resources and other resources at greater depths of the sea bed,” says the Kenyan scholar, who teaches at the University of Dodoma, Tanzania.

CHARCOAL

And the perception about Kenya’s economic greed has not been helped either by subsequent United Nations Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea reports that have pointed an accusing finger at Kenyan soldiers for trading in charcoal in Kismayu city in the regional state of Jubbaland.

According to the latest report released in November last year, Al-Shabaab continues to reap substantial revenues from charcoal smuggling in southern Somalia despite the presence of African Union military bases in the area.

The installations at the ports of Kismayu and Buur Gabo are maintained by Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) soldiers operating under the auspices of the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom).

The Kenyan troops have, however, repeatedly denied claims linking their force to the smuggling of charcoal in the port city.

Mogadishu-based political analyst Abdishakur Omar attributes the perceptions of Somalis on Kenyans to their perceived “big brother” attitude.

“While it is true that Kenya is far more stable economically and politically, our people are uncomfortable with our neighbours’ tendency to rub in this fact. We can still work better together without being treated as second fiddle”.

FEDERATE

Last September, an opinion piece by Karanja Kabage, renowned lawyer-turned-politician, was widely reproduced and circulated on local social media forums.

Readers were angered by the lawyer’s suggestion that Kenya and Somalia should unite as one country under a Kenyan President and Somali Deputy President.

“If the two nations were to federate on matters defence, law and order, foreign affairs, agriculture, education, health, territorial integrity and coast guards, they will constitute a formidable force and their combined resources, both human and natural, would make this Eastern Africa Federation an attractive investment destination,” Karanja argued in the article published in the Daily Nation on September 2.

The lawyer, however, touched on a raw nerve by suggesting “this would enable us to exploit maritime resources along the combined 3,800km long coastline with incredible exclusive economic zone and territorial waters”.

“It is such openness with which Kenyan neighbours are eyeing Somalia’s resources that has over the years shaped this negative perception of Kenyans. Nonetheless, the Somali are highly appreciative of Kenya’s contribution to secure their country,” Abdishakur says.

REFUGEES

Another political analyst, Abdi Moalim, accuses Nairobi of using the Somali refugees in Kenya as a constant card to intimidate Somalia politically.

“The maritime row has nothing to do with refugees. Kenya is internationally obligated to host refugees and asylum seekers under the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its protocol of which the country is a signatory”.

On KDF’s presence in Somalia, Moalim points out that many local analysts have described the exercise as promoting “KDF” rather than protecting the country, “because Al-Shabaab is still a threat to Kenyan national security”.

In other words, some locals view KDF’s presence as an opportunity for promoting the country’s military profile and neither protecting Somali nationals nor enhancing security locally.

This perception, observes Anangwe, is particularly unfortunate considering that many Kenyan soldiers in Somalia have died in the line of duty and many more attacked and killed back home in bomb attacks carried out by the Somali-based militia, since Kenyan troops crossed over to Somalia in 2011.

NEGOTIATION

The ex-Cabinet minister calls for a quick resolution of the current impasse.

Noting that Somalia prefers the intervention of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and that Kenya has been pursuing relentlessly a negotiated settlement in the spirit of good neighbourliness, Anangwe blames Kenya for the failure of earlier efforts to negotiate with Somalia “when their delegation failed to turn up in the last meeting that had been agreed and scheduled, which infuriated Somalia, prompting it to go to ICJ”.

“Frankly, this matter may be beyond negotiation, in the short run, unless Somalia is persuaded to reconsider its recourse to the ICJ.

"That failing, perhaps, Kenya should brace itself to slug it out with Somalia at the ICJ. Although it is difficult to predict how the outcome will be at the court, Kenya stands to win the case by presenting a different argument from that of Somalia which is pursuing the provisions of Article 15 of the 1982 Convention of the Law of the Sea,” Anangwe says.

TERRITORY

The law in question stipulates that where the coasts of two states are opposite or adjacent to each other, neither of the two states is entitled, failing an agreement between them to the contrary to extend its territorial sea beyond the median line, every point of which is equidistant from the nearest point on the baselines from the breadth of the territorial seas of each of the two states is to be measured.

But if Somalia wins the case at the court, it implies that Kenya will be left with a small triangle of marine belt that is without free access to the high seas.

In other words, warns the governance expert, Kenya may become "landlocked" by default.

Burundi, Somalia Call for Summit to Discuss AMISOM Troop Withdrawal

AFP 
21/02 - 05:00

Burundi and Somalia have called for an emergency summit to discuss the contested withdrawal of 1,000 Burundian troops from the Horn of Africa nation before the end of the month.

The African Union is gradually scaling back its Amisom force in troubled Somalia, and announced late last year that the Burundian soldiers must leave by the end of February.

Burundi has strongly opposed the drawdown of its troops, a valuable source of foreign currency in the country, which has seen donor funding cut since a political crisis broke out in 2015.

“We agreed to call an urgent summit of Amisom troop contributing countries to review this decision,” Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza said after an official visit by his Somali counterpart Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed.

Over to the African Union

A source at the AU, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the names of the soldiers to be sent back to Burundi had already been decided and would leave between February 21 and 26.

Burundi’s Foreign Minister Ezechiel Nibigira recently returned from Egypt where he secured the support of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who earlier this month took over the rotating presidency of the AU, a high-ranking source at the ministry told AFP.

Somalia appreciates Burundi’s contribution
Somalia’s president meanwhile praised the sacrifice of Burundi’s soldiers who were “among the first” deployed to the country.

The AU has a 21,500-strong force, Amisom, to support Somalia’s fragile internationally-backed government and fight Shabaab jihadists blamed for scores of bloody attacks.

The force is to be gradually scaled back as Somalia’s embryonic armed forces are trained up and deployed to replace them.

Burundi has the second-largest contingent in Amisom with 5,400 troops, after Uganda, which has 6,200 men. Other contributors are Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya.

Burundi has lost between 800 and 1,000 soldiers in Somalia.

Participation in Amisom is a valuable source of hard currency, and the scaleback is likely to have a big impact on Burundi — every quarter, the AU pays it around $18 million (15.7 million euros).

Withdrawal of 1 000 Burundian Soldiers from Somalia Begins

2019-02-22 12:41

An official in Burundi says the withdrawal of 1 000 Burundian soldiers from the African Union regional force in Somalia has begun.

The military official in Burundi, who insisted on anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to the press, said on Thursday that about 200 soldiers boarded a flight from Somalia to Burundi's capital, Bujumbura, in the afternoon.

More soldiers are expected to be flown back from Burundi in the coming weeks.

The African Union says it plans to withdraw the 21 500 troops that it has in Somalia by the end of 2020. The AU force, made up of soldiers from several African countries, has for years tried to secure the Horn of Africa country against the Islamic extremist rebels of al-Shabab.

US Airstrike in Somalia Kills 35 Al-Shabab Fighters

Associated Press

ISIS recruitment drive in Somalia could prove 'massive threat to the us presence' in the region
ISIS is quickly recruiting to supplant existing al-Shabab fighters in Somalia to declare a more entrenched presence in the horn of Africa.

JOHANNESBURG – The United States military says it has killed 35 fighters from the al-Shabab extremist group with an airstrike in central Somalia, not far from the Ethiopian border.

In a statement Monday, the U.S. military command for the African continent said the airstrike took place on Sunday about 23 miles east of Beledweyne in the Hiran region and targeted the fighters as they were traveling in a rural area.

The U.S. has dramatically increased airstrikes against the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab, the deadliest extremist group in Africa, since President Donald Trump took office.

Authorities and experts acknowledge that it will take more than airstrikes to defeat the extremist group, which continues to hold large parts of rural central and southern Somalia and carry out deadly attacks in the capital, Mogadishu.

Haftar Forces 'Killed Civilians' in Libya Attack

MP says fighters loyal to renegade general killed 19 and set fire to homes in southern city of Murzuq.

Murzuq is key to secure oilfields of el-Sharara and el-Feel (pictured) [File: Aidan Lewis/ Reuters]

At least 19 people have been killed in southern Libya, according to a member of parliament, as forces loyal to strongman Khalifa Haftar fought for control of oilfields in the region.

Speaking to Al Jazeera late on Sunday, Mohamed Linu, a member of Libya's internationally recognised parliament, said Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA) killed civilians, including children, and set fire to more than 30 houses in the southern city of Murzuq, including his own.

The politician said that farms were also destroyed and more than 100 cars were stolen.

Al Jazeera could not independently confirm the report.

The battle for Murzuq, a city 900km south of the Libyan capital, Tripoli, is the first battle for a city fought by the LNA since it started a campaign to take control of oilfields in the south a month ago.

Haftar, whose power base is in the city of Benghazi, leads the LNA, which controls the east of the North African nation, along with its major oil ports.

The renegade general has become a major player in Libya since his forces seized Benghazi in 2017.

Capturing the city of Murzuk will allow the LNA to secure control of the el-Sharara oilfield, which produces 315,000 barrels a day.

Al Jazeera's Mahmoud Abdelwahed, reporting from Tripoli, said Murzuq was also "strategic" for the LNA because it was a hub for the Tabu tribesmen, who oppose Haftar, and are a "connecting link between Libya, Niger, and Chad". 

More Than 50 Ex-national Security Officials Tell Trump His National Emergency is Not Justified

In a letter, the former officials said redirecting funds to build the border wall could hurt national security by pulling resources from programs that keep the U.S. safe.

Image: President Donald Trump formally declares a national emergency to fund his border wall, at the White House in Washington.

Feb. 25, 2019, 12:00 PM EST
By Julia Ainsley

WASHINGTON — Fifty-eight former U.S. national security officials told the Trump administration in a letter Monday that they are aware of "no emergency that remotely justifies" diverting funds to build a border wall.

The officials, who served in both Democratic and Republican administrations, include former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who served in the Clinton administration, and former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, a Republican who served in the Senate and the Obama administration.

Others include Leon Panetta, former secretary of defense and director of the CIA; Gil Kerlikowske, former head of Customs and Border Protection; John Kerry, former secretary of state; and Nick Rasmussen, former director of the National Counterterrorism Center.

The letter, according to its authors, is a declaration intended to be used in lawsuits challenging President Donald Trump's Feb. 15 decision to redirect $8 billion in federal funds in order to begin construction of a barrier along the southern border. Trump had promised during his campaign to build the border wall but Congress has offered less than $2 billion in federal funds after months of negotiations.

The officials fact check Trump's basis for declaring the national emergency, pointing out that illegal border crossings are near 40-year lows, there is no documented terror threat, human and drug trafficking will not be affected by a border wall, and there is no violent crime threat posed by immigrants.

A study by the Cato Institute found that undocumented immigrants in Texas were 44 percent less likely to be incarcerated than native-born citizens, the letter said.

Not only is the national emergency not justified, it could also be damaging to the interests of the United States, the authors say.

"In the face of a nonexistent threat, redirecting funds for the construction of a wall along the southern border will undermine national security by needlessly pulling resources from Department of Defense programs that are responsible for keeping our troops and our country safe and running effectively," they said.

The national emergency and other unilateral actions to block immigrants coming from the south could also strain diplomatic ties in the Western Hemisphere at a time when the U.S. should be addressing concerns in the region, such as the political turmoil in Venezuela, the authors say.

In addition to redirecting funds for the border wall, the Trump administration has also begun to return asylum-seekers to Mexico where they must wait months or years for a decision on whether they can seek refuge in the United States. Another move, which has been blocked by federal courts, sought to block asylum rights for immigrants who cross the border between legal ports of entry.

The authors said their concerns extend to the global stage as well.

"Should a genuine foreign crisis erupt, this lack of credibility will materially weaken this administration's ability to marshal allies to support the United States, and will embolden adversaries to oppose us," they said.

Julia Ainsley is a national security reporter for NBC News.

Nigeria 2019 Polls: Counting and Collation as Results Trickle In

Africa News

Polling stations opened in Nigeria, for the presidential and parliamentary elections after an unexpected week-long delay. Delays were however reported in some polling stations due to the late deployment of voting materials.

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, had on Friday given assurances that all materials had been deployed across the expanse of the country.

There are over 70 candidates running for the presidency, former vice president Atiku Abubakar represents the biggest threat to the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari, who is seeking a second term in office.

Buhari was one of the early voters, in his hometown of Daura and Atiku Abubakar, is expected to cast his vote at a polling station in Yola, Adamawa State.

Voting ended across the country at 2pm for areas where voting kicked off on time. INEC allowed extension for places where the process started late for a reason or the other.

Preliminary results are expected to come out by Sunday with the final result possibly being announced late on Monday, or early Tuesday morning, the BBC is reporting.

According to the laws, the candidate with the most votes is declared the winner in the first round, on condition that he gets at least 25% of the votes in two-thirds of the country’s 36 states.

As results are being counted and collated in parts of the country, voting is ongoing in places where the process started late for one reason or the other.

But with results trickling in especially at the ward level, Buhari has made three significant wins. The first is winning his polling unit, which was largely expected.

The incumbent has gone to win in the unit of his main opponent Atiku Abubakar in Yola, Adamawa State and also that of former president Olusegun Obasanjo – who was a big critic in the days to the vote.

Of all places, the commercial capital of Lagos has been hit by electoral violence according to reports by local portals and eye-witnesses.

The incident took place at Okota, Oshodi/Isolo Local Government Area, LGA, a video posted on Twitter showed people running away from a polling units as live rounds were being discharged.

Voting materials at a polling unit was also seen being burnt after a scattered center. Security has always been top of the agenda during the campaign and a serious concern during the polls.

Authorities assured that enough security had been deployed to quell any incidents of especially ballot snatching and other forms of infraction.

President Buhari had earlier this week stressed that the security forces had been given full orders to shoot at any person or group of persons who attempted to snatch ballot boxes.

The main opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, called him out for the orders saying he had given “shoot to kill” orders only because he aimed to subvert the will of the people using intimidation.

Buhari’s caution was issued at a meeting of the national caucus of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, in the capital, Abuja.

EFCC deploys operatives to combat vote-trading

Nigeria’s anti-graft body, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has been busy with working to combat vote trading in the ongoing polls.

EFCC have deployed its operatives across the country to prevent vote selling and vote buying. The practice is rife in Africa’s most populous nation especially among the top parties.

The police, army and other security agencies have been deployed to undertake security tasks during the process.

Reports indicate disruption especially in the commercial capital Lagos whiles there are also places where police have succesfully arrested miscreants for electoral offences.

Despite INEC’s position that card readers have largely been effective, a local news portal, the Cable, lists their malfunctioning as one of the key headaches of the ongoing process.

It adds the late arrival of officials and voting materials in some areas plus the hijack of election materials as the two other issues.

Except for pocket of issues identified in parts of the country, voting has largely been peaceful across the wide expanse of the country. INEC has also extended voting in places where voting started late for whatever reasons.

As stipulated by law, polling units are to open at 8:00am (local time), and close at 2:00 pm. It means some areas where there were no hitches will be done voting whiles other places sill still be voting due to the extension.

The ongoing vote is not only for presidential aspirants but also for two sets of lawmakers – the National Assembly.

Three ballot papers are given each voter, aside the presidency, voting is also taking place for the Senate and House of Representatives nationwide.

On February 16, INEC chief said: “… the Commission has decided to reschedule the Presidential and National Assembly Elections to Saturday, 23rd February 2019.

“Furthermore, the Governorship, State House of Assembly and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council Elections is rescheduled to Saturday 9th March 2019,” the elections body said.

Clinching the prize

The President of Nigeria is elected using a modified two round system, to serve a four year term of office.

To win in the first round, a candidate must receive a majority of the vote and over 25% of the vote in two-thirds of the states. If no candidate meets this threshold, a second round is held, pitting the top two candidates against each other.

Members of the House of Representatives are elected to 4-year terms, concurrent with the president, using first-past-the-post voting (simple majority) in single-member constituencies.

Members of the Senate are elected to 4-year terms, concurrent with the president, from 108 single-seat constituencies into which the States are divided (three each) and one single-seat constituency consisting the Federal Capital Territory, all by first-past-the-post voting.

Over in the northeast, in Yola, capital of Adamawa State, his main contender and former vice-president Atiku Abubakar said he was looking forward to a successful transition after casting his ballot.

Atiku a former ally of Buhari has called on voters to repeat the 2015 feat where an incumbent was voted out. The two opponents were in the the same camp when the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, defeated the Goodluck Jonathan led government.

Atiku abandoned the APC and rejoined the now main opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, under which he had served as vice-president for two terms, i.e. 1999 – 2007.

Suspected Islamist militants on Saturday attacked a northeastern Nigerian town, forcing people to flee hours before presidential election polls were due to open, residents said.

“We have fled, along with our wives and children and hundreds of others,” Ibrahim Gobi, who lives in the town of Geidam in Yobe state, said by telephone.

“We are right now running and hiding in the bushes.” Around the same time a Reuters witness said blasts were heard in Maiduguri, the capital of the neighbouring state of Borno.

Northeast Nigeria has been hit by the decade-long Boko Haram insurgency with attacks in recent months carried out by offshoot Islamic State in West Africa Province.

REUTERS

Haiti: Funeral of Two Rebellion Victims Unleashes New Protests

 People carry the coffin of a victim of the Police crackdown in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Feb. 22, 2019. | Photo: EFE

Published 23 February 2019 (9 hours 40 minutes ago)

The Haitian cities are the scene of a violent repression against those who demand the resignation of President Jovenel Moise.

The funeral Friday of two victims of the Haitian security forces repression, which has caused at least nine deaths in recent weeks, was transformed into a massive protest against President Jovenel Moise.

"We are asking for justice. We are going to continue to protest. Jovenel can kill as many people as he wants, he still has to go," Josef Dicles, a cousin of one of the dead men, said.

During Noe Paterson and Aedemis Sonia's funeral, which was held in a church at Bel Air, people covered the coffins with the Haitian flag and sang chants remembering Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a former liberation theology priest who became Haiti's first democratically elected president in 1991.

At the Bel Air church was present Andre Michel, a Human Rights professor at the University of Port-au-Prince who is a spokesman for the Democratic and Popular Sector, an organization which is bringing together Haitian opposition politicians and social leaders.

"Is the Brazilian Army ‘guaranteeing peace’ in Haiti? Why does our government talk so much about Venezuela and keeps silence about Haiti?. On Friday 22, Haiti entered its third week of anti-government protests, which do not seem to end soon.”

At the end of the funeral, hundreds of people came with the coffins out to the streets of Bel Air, one of the poorest and most dangerous neighborhoods in the capital of Haiti. As their march moved through the city, citizens began to block streets and throw stones at vehicles, while two shots were heard.

One of the coffins was transferred to the cemetery, but the other was taken by demonstrators on their way to the headquarters of the National Palace, where they intended to conclude their protest. In the vicinity of Moise's headquarter, however, the police fired tear gas bombs and rubber pellets to disperse protesters and mourners.

One of the men carrying the coffin was wounded by rubber bullets, while an ambulance arrived at the scene and took the coffin away.

During this demonstration, several of the protesters expressed their indignation by the fact that U.S. mercenaries who were arrested last Sunday, with automatic weapons and sophisticated combat equipment, were sent to the United States without presenting themselves previously before any local judge. However, President Moise administration has not yet offered any explanation of the circumstances of that transfer.

André Michel denounced Wednesday that the mercenaries were in the island to work for Moise's administration and that they were trying to attack opposition leaders.

In recent days, the Haitian government has tried to reduce tensions by announcing measures to fight corruption and alleviate poverty.

In spite of the events unleashed by the funeral, urban demonstrations diminished in intensity. Apparently, people are fearful of increased insecurity in Haiti, a country which has the highest Latin American poverty rates and is going through a severe economic crisis.

"There is no work in Haiti and the government does nothing to help," Juan Maria Fontus, a 36-year-old protester, said and complained about the challenges of accessing food and clean drinking water.

Venezuela Cuts Ties with Colombia As Maduro Declares 'Coup Has Failed'

"Here (in Venezuela) the people govern, nobody else." | Photo: teleSUR

23 February 2019
Telesur

According to Maduro, the U.S.-backed coup has failed in Venezuela, thanks to the unity of civic groups and the military.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro broke all "all diplomatic and politic relations" with Colombia Saturday, after stating that President Ivan Duque has supported a "foreign military invasion" against Venezuela.

President Maduro gave 24 hours for all Colombian diplomatic personnel to leave the country. "Patience has been exhausted. We cannot continue to stand for it. We cannot continue to endure how Colombia lets it territory be used for aggression against Venezuela," said Maduro in a Bolivarian rally.

Thousands of people supporting the Bolivarian Revolution gathered in a massive demonstration in Caracas to defend the peace and sovereignty of the nation. The mass of supporters was received by President Maduro at Miraflores palace (the presidential palace), who urged Venezuelans to fight to guarantee peace and national security.

According to Maduro, the U.S.-backed coup has failed in Venezuela, thanks to the unity of civic groups and the military. Because the Venezuelan people are "stronger than ever, very eager to continue fighting for Venezuela and to continue facing imperialism and Donald Trump."

According to the Venezuelan president, "Never before has a Colombian president fallen so low as Ivan Duque. Devil go home! Everyone who hurts Venezuela eventually loses." Maduro highlighted that neither Duque, nor the Colombian oligarchy make decisions in Venezuela. The Venezuelan people are fighting for sovereignty "in resistance to the gringo intervention. Here (in Venezuela) the people govern, nobody else."

The president said that the alleged "humanitarian aid" the opposition intends to get through the border with Colombia is a mask that seeks to cover the actual  U.S. intention: to intervene the country to plunder its wealth. The Venezuelan people, however, are "defending the borders of the homeland and the right to be free, sovereign and independent."

History of US Brutal Militarized Invasions in Latin America

23 February 2019
Telesur

Throughout the 1900s, the United States organized military interventions in the region, imposing its chosen leaders in Latin American nations.

Since the mid-1900’s, the United States launched numerous military invasions into Latin American and Caribbean countries with the intention of protecting their economic and political interests in the region.

Dominican Republic (1965):

During the country’s civil war in 1965, allegations of communist deviations were enough to overthrow the Dominican Republic’s progressive and democratically elected president, Juan Bosh. By April 28, 1965, the U.S. military had joined forces with the Organization of American States, the Inter-American Defense Board, and the Brazilian Army, sending some 42,000 U.S. soldiers to ensure the nationalist forces didn’t reinstate Bosh.

Protests filled the streets and after months of conflict, Francisco Alberto Caamaño helped win the state back for its people, assuming the role of head of a provisional government until stepping down, leaving the presidency to Hector Garcia Godoy, and finally President Joaquin Balaguer in 1966.

The anti-coup leaders had to go into exile and the U.S. troops left the Dominican Republic in September 1966, after consolidating the Balaguer mandate.

Granada (1983):

A revolutionary leader and ally to the people, Maurice Bishop was targeted by international forces and was victimized by a dirty conspiracy believed to be linked to the United States. A wave of five thousand soldiers bombarded the nation’s borders, initiating skirmishes which led to at least 24 civilians dead and Granadian soldiers wounded. Whereas the United States only suffered a loss of 19 men and 116 injuries.

Additionally, 25 Cuban soldiers were cut down for their efforts to deny the U.S. intervention and in support of the constitutional order.

Panama (1989):

On Dec. 20, 1989, the United States entered Panama with 25,000 U.S. soldiers, conducting arrests of anyone who opposed the U.S. puppet, Manuel Noriega. The initiative was a disaster, leaving an estimated 500 civilians dead and some 3,000 casualties, several human rights say.

Throughout these painful memories, the U.S. forces exercised an unprecedented amount of violence against the population. Not only were they responsible for thousands of human lives, but also material damage caused by military action, as well as a severe economic crisis.

After the invasion, a neoliberal program imposed by the U.S. was consolidated and Panama City became a global money laundering center.

People Around the World Reject US Intervention in Venezuela

Demonstrators in favor of peace and sovereignty for Venezuela, in Paris France. | Photo: Twitter: @EmbavenezParis

23 February 2019
Telesur

People around the world have expressed solidarity with Venezuela and have rejected the United States government's interventionism and the attempted coup in Venezuela.

Demonstrations in support ofthe Venezuelan government on social media are mainly under the hashtags #TrumpHandsOffVenezuela and #VenezuelaEnDefensaDeLaPaz (Venezuela In Defense Of Peace). The Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Ministry has shared several posts to show the support received by the Bolivarian government in different countries and cities around the world.

These various shows of solidarity favor peace and independence in Venezuela based on a strong rejection of the attempted coup d'etat perpetrated by self-proclaimed "interim president" Juan Guaido and backed by the U.S. and its allies.

Strong shows of support for the Venezuelan government and people happened in several cities and states of the United States. In a video posted by the Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Minister, Jorge Arreaza, an important march took place on Wall Street in New York, "to reject the aggressions against Venezuela and to show support to President Maduro and the Bolivarian Revolution."

"Today on Wall Street, New York, social movements were mobilized to reject the aggressions against Venezuela and demonstrate their support for the President Nicolas Maduro and the Bolivarian Revolution"

According to teleSUR's Alina Duarte, people also protested in Washington D.C. and Baltimore, in favor of Venezuela and against the blockades imposed against Cuba and Venezuela. Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Oakland, Califoria are some of the other cities where demonstrations were held against a "U.S. War on Venezuela."

Likewise, it has been stated that the alleged "humanitarian aid" sent by the U.S. has only served to promote military aggression against Venezuela. However, President Maduro has insisted that the population does not need it, but what is needed is to eliminate the illegal blockade imposed by the "imperialist government" and its allies, so that the Venezuelan state can use its resources and pay for the products needed.

Unions and social movements from Portugal gathered to show their support for Venezuela. In Paris, the French capital, dozens of people gathered to reiterate their call for peace in Venezuela. In Canada, sectors of the population marched from the headquarters of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's office to the US embassy to demand "that he keep his greedy hands out of Venezuela's resources."

In London (United Kingdom) the former mayor of that city, Ken (the Red) Livingstone, participated in a protest against the Bank of England to demand that they return Venezuelan gold. In the protest, the slogan No Blood For Oil could be seen in hashtags on banners.

In the German capital of Berlin, dozens of people gathered at the Brandenburg Gate, in front of the U.S. Embassy in that country. Another mobilization was held in Stockholm (Sweden).

Several countries and peoples of Latin America expressed their support for the Bolivarian Revolution regardless of how their governments are politically aligned.  For example, the Venezuelan embassy in Peru stated that the Socialist Youth went to the central square of Arequipa, to defend the Bolivarian Revolution against imperialist threats. Important artists like Cuban Silvio Rodriguez, Argentine Piero or Roger Waters, co-founder of Pink Floyd, have also expressed their rejection to U.S. interventionism.

Other expressions of solidarity with the government and Venezuelan people have occurred in Switzerland, Australia, Jordan, Chile, Bolivia, Guatemala, Bulgaria, Angola, Mozambique, Vietnam, among other nations that defend international law and the self-determination of peoples.

Venezuela Denounces 2nd False Flag Operation at Colombia Border

A new false flag operation on the Francisco de Paula Santander bridge, on the Venezuela-Colombia border. | Photo: teleSUR

23 February 2019
Telesur
by Samuel Moncada

According to witnesses, violent right-wing opposition members torched the trucks on the Colombian side with Molotov cocktails trying to incriminate Venezuelan security forces.

A new episode in the false flag operation being waged against the Venezuelan government to justify a foreign intervention, happened on the Francisco de Paula Santander International Bridge that links Venezuela and Colombia.

Two out of the four trucks with alleged "humanitarian aid" from USAID, which were trying to illegally enter Venezuela, were burned at the border between the two countries. The burning trucks were on the Colombian side of the Francisco de Paula Santander Bridge where Venezuelan opposition leaders have been leading protests.

According to witnesses, violent right-wing opposition members torched the trucks with Molotov cocktails and then tried to incriminate the Bolivarian National Guard (GNB) and the Bolivarian National Police (PNB). teleSUR's Madelein Garcia, reported that the trucks were supposedly trying to enter Venezuela, but were then burned on the part of the bridge that belongs to Colombia.

The version if events saying that the trucks burned due to a "teargas bomb", which are not incendiary devices, has been circulating on Colombian and international media networks and on social media.

In addition, some people were trying to illegally enter Venezuela using Red Cross jackets, despite not being affiliated with the international medical organization. The Red Cross has already officially rejected these attempts by the U.S. to deliver politicized "humanitarian aid."

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has stated on its certified Twitter account that they have noticed "some people not affiliated with Red Cross Colombia and Red Cross Venezuela wearing Red Cross emblems at the Colombia-Venezuela and Brazil-Venezuela border."

The International organization has urged these people " to stop doing this. They might mean well but they risk jeopardizing our neutrality, impartiality & independence."

Also Saturday morning another false flag operation was denounced by the Venezuelan government. A group of low-level soldiers of the Venezuelan National Guard Saturday took over multiple armored vehicles that belong to the Venezuelan army and rammed them into border barriers at the Venezuelan-Colombian border in a staged operation ordered by right-wing opposition members in Colombia.

During a massive demonstration in favor of peace and democracy in Venezuela, President Nicolas Maduro declared the coup d'etat defeated because of the unity of civil society with the military.

Multiple Raids Occurred Near Anadarko Mozambique Site

By Matthew Hill  and Borges Nhamire
February 22, 2019, 9:36 AM EST

 First time a gas company targeted by suspected insurgents
 One Anadarko contractor was beheaded in an attack, people say

An attack on an Anadarko Petroleum Corp. convoy in Mozambique was one of multiple raids that took place Thursday in an area where companies plan to develop $50 billion of liquefied natural gas projects, according to two people familiar with the matter.

An Anadarko contractor was beheaded in the violence, the people said, asking not to be identified because they’re not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. Anadarko confirmed one person died and at least six people were injured in the raids.

The violence could signal a major shift in tactics by suspected Islamist militants who’ve waged an insurgency in northern Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province since October 2017. It could be the first significant coordinated attack by the Islamists, as well as the first time an oil and gas company has been targeted.

Anadarko said there were two related attacks on Thursday, with one contractor killed, according to a statement on its website. Both raids occurred on the road from the coastal town of Mocimboa da Praia to Anadarko’s project in Afungi about 60 kilometers (37 miles) north, it said. The company’s project-construction site has been placed on lockdown, the company said.

Convoy Targeted

At least six separate assaults took place in the area between Palma and Mocimboa da Praia in Cabo Delgado, according to one of the people who asked not to be identified. The assailants targeted an Anadarko convoy and vehicles operated by contractors, as well as villages near the main highway, he said. Two other Anadarko contractors died in one of the incidents, he said.

The raids were carried out by suspected Islamists, the second person said.

The attacks demonstrate that “militants now possess the capacity to threaten LNG operations on the mainland,” said Nick Branson, senior Africa analyst at Verisk Maplecroft.

“Further incidents could potentially jeopardize Anadarko’s plans for an onshore processing facility,” he said in an emailed note Friday. “Beyond the short-term disruption to operations, the attack could delay Anadarko’s final investment decision on its Rovuma Basin assets until the second half of the year.”

Anadarko is expected to spend at least $20 billion on its project in Palma, near the Tanzanian border, where more than 100 people have died and hundreds of homes have been destroyed since a shadowy insurgency began in October 2017. Exxon Mobil Corp. and Eni SpA are also planning natural gas projects in the area.

Augusto Guta, a spokesman for the Mozambican police in northern Cabo Delgado province, said the authorities are investigating the incidents.

“Attacks occurred and we’re still gathering information,” Guta said by phone. “We’ll issue a statement after field work.”