On Thursday, the United States government handed over 24 Mine-Resistant Vehicles (MRAPs) to the Nigerian military.
The exchange, which took place at the Ikeja Cantonment in Lagos,
comes about one month after the Nigerian army brutally massacred up to
300 Shiite Muslim civilians.
On December 12 members of the Shiite Islamic Movement of Nigeria
(IMN) clashed with the Nigerian army on the streets of Zaria in Kaduna
State. The military claimed that members of IMN set up a roadblock in an
attempt to trap and then assassinate Army Chief of Staff Lt. General
Tukur Buratai. However, the IMN alleged that they were merely holding a
peaceful protest.
Two days after the massacre, SaharaReporters obtained a video
depicting a pile of dead Shiite Muslims along a street in Zaria which
were being looted by passersby.
On top of the killing hundreds of Shiites, the army also captured the
leader of IMN Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky after laying siege to his home for
11 hours. Grim photos subsequently emerged of Sheikh Zakzaky badly
wounded and plopped into a wheelbarrow by Nigerian soldiers. More photos
later emerged of Nigerian authorities destroying the home, properties,
and important Shiite sites by fire or turning them into rubble.
As details emerged regarding the massacre several human rights
organizations and foreign governments issued condemnations of the
Nigerian military. The US government called upon President Muhammadu
Buhari to launch an independent probe into the actions taken by the
Nigerian army.
The 24 MRAPs provided to the Nigerian army by the United States are
intended to assist Nigerian soldiers in their fight against the Boko
Haram insurgency in the northeast, according to US government officials.
The vehicles arrived on New Year’s day and were provided as part of
the US Excess Defense Program which allows the American military to
offload excess military hardware to its allies.
During the brief handing over ceremony Colonel Patrick Doyle, the US
Defense Attaché to Nigeria, referenced US-Nigerian military cooperation.
”For many years the Nigerian armed forces has been a strong partner of the United States,” he said.
“We have asked for your support in many endeavours, in particular
throughout West Africa and you have responded,” Mr. Doyle added.
Major General BT Ndiomu, who also spoke at the ceremony, expressed gratitude for the vehicles.
“We express our most profound gratitude for the gift of Mine
Resistant Ambush-protected vehicles to the Nigerian army. It couldn’t
have come at a better time especially considering the challenges that
confront our armed forces in the northeast,” Mr. Ndiomu noted.
The vehicles will require some repair, according to Colonel Doyle,
but the US believes the Nigerian army is more than capable of making the
adjustments.
It has also been reported by other media outlets that eight more
vehicles are expected to arrive in Nigeria in the forthcoming days.
When contacted by a SaharaReporters correspondent, Amnesty
International’s Nigeria Researcher Daniel Eyre noted that “there have
been persistent human rights violations by the Nigerian army.”
Mr. Eyre added that “Amnesty International calls on all governments
providing military assistance to do so without committing to human
rights violations.”
Despite the transfer of military vehicles to the Nigerian army, a US
State Department spokesperson told a SaharaReporters correspondent that
“we remain deeply concerned by the December clash between members of the
Nigerian army and a Shiite group in Zaria, Kaduna State.”
The same State Department official emphasized that the US expects its international partners to respect the rule of law.
Members of the public and human rights groups in Nigeria have
questioned the anticipated outcome and credibility of the military-led
investigations into the Zaria massacre, citing the conflict of interest
involved in the army investigating itself.
Thursday, 7 January 2016
Anenih Undergoes Heart Surgery
A member of the family, who confirmed the development, said it was “only God” that saved the life of the 82-year-old politician.
The heart condition was accidentally discovered, TheCable learnt, when the former minister of works and housing was preparing to return to Nigeria after a visit to the UK.
He was said to have complained of “irregular heartbeat”, prompting a family member to make an emergency call for an ambulance.
“The ambulance arrived within five minutes and he was taken out on a stretcher, with paramedics giving him oxygen support. It was at the hospital that it was discovered that he had some heart issues which he had not experienced before,” the source said.
Anenih was immediately booked in for a surgery, which was successful. He returned to Nigeria shortly before Christmas but he is “looking pale”, another family source told TheCable.
Anenih is regarded as one of the most powerful politicians in Nigeria between 1999 and 2015 when the PDP controlled power.
He was very close to Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan while they were in power.
In 2007, he fell out with Obasanjo following a tussle for the chairmanship of the board of trustees – a position Obasanjo coveted but which Anenih eventually got.
The PDP constitution, amended to pave the way for only Obasanjo to assume the position, was re-amended to allow others to have a go.
Anenih marked his 82nd birthday on August 4, 2015.
Kerry says implementation of Iran nuclear deal 'days away'
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday the implementation of a nuclear deal agreed between Iran and six world powers was only days away, allowing tens of billions of dollars in sanctions against Iran to be lifted.
There is no date set yet for "implementation day" of the so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action agreed on July 14 in which Tehran agreed to shrink its nuclear program in exchange for some sanctions relief.
Outlining foreign policy milestones of the past year, Kerry pointed to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action "from which we are days away from implementation, if all goes well."
He said he discussed implementation of the nuclear deal with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif during a phone call on Thursday. They also talked about tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia triggered by the execution by the Saudis of a Shi'ite cleric, he said.
"The foreign minister made it clear to me they intend to complete their obligations with respect to implementation day as rapidly as possible," said Kerry told reporters.
"We are currently engaged ourselves in making certain that we're prepared to move on that day. And I think it could come -- without being specific -- sooner rather than later."
Kerry said the United States would continue to ensure that Iran lives up to its commitments under the nuclear deal and press for the release of American prisoners "that have been unjustly detained" by Iran.
Senior Iranian officials have dismissed speculation that Iran is considering a prisoner exchange with the United States. Among Americans held by Iran is Washington Post correspondent, Jason Rezaian, who was arrested in July 2014.
Others include Christian pastor Saeed Abedini and Amir Hekmati, a former sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps. Robert Levinson, a private investigator, disappeared in Iran in 2007. Iran has claimed that the United States holds some 16 Iranians for bypassing sanctions and around 60 prisoners for other crimes.
Rupture with Iran may not have been Saudi aim, but Riyadh has no regrets
The diplomatic rupture with Iran triggered by the execution of a Shi'ite cleric was probably a side effect of a decision taken by Saudi Arabia for domestic reasons, rather than the outcome of a deliberate ploy to enrage its regional opponent.
But whether or not they intended to raise the heat in a tense rivalry that already underpins wars across the Middle East, Saudi Arabia's new rulers have shown no sign of regret.
Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is also defense minister, reassured the world on Thursday the crisis would stop short of an all-out war between the Gulf region's main powers.
"A war between Saudi Arabia and Iran is the beginning of a major catastrophe in the region, and it will reflect very strongly on the rest of the world. For sure we will not allow any such thing," he told the Economist.
But in the days since the execution, Riyadh has done nothing to halt an escalation in confrontation, demonstrating a level of comfort with brinkmanship unheard of in the typically cautious kingdom before King Abdullah died a year ago and was replaced by his brother King Salman.
The night after a Saudi executioner put Shi'ite Muslim cleric Nimr al-Nimr to death in a high-security prison, Iranian protesters stormed Riyadh's Tehran embassy and Mashhad consulate. Riyadh responded by cutting off diplomatic ties.
"I do not think this would have happened under King Abdullah. Either the executions or the cutting of relations," said a Saudi political analyst, who spoke on condition of anonymity in an absolute monarchy where publicly questioning rulers' decisions is taboo.
"I personally wish they had only withdrawn the ambassador. It makes it less difficult to change later," the analyst said of the decision to cut diplomatic ties.
Salman, the sixth brother to rule as king since 1953, has set in motion the first transfer of power to a new generation for six decades, appointing his nephew Mohammed bin Nayef as crown prince and his own son Mohammed bin Salman as deputy.
Saudis say the rupture with Iran is the latest evidence that the new rulers are less hesitant to act than their predecessors.
Sources close to the Riyadh authorities say the stormings of the diplomatic buildings in Iran came as a surprise, even though such attacks are hardly unprecedented: the British embassy in Tehran was torched in 2011 and one Saudi diplomat was killed in a similar attack in 1988.
Nevertheless, one well-connected Saudi said that while he did not believe the Saudi rulers expected the embassy attack, they would have been willing to risk Iranian reprisals to carry out an execution they believed was fully justified.
"The mood with the government is to push back against Iranian encroachment. So if Iran tries to intervene in a domestic matter, it's complete anathema," the Saudi said. He added that Iranian threats may even have made Riyadh more determined to go ahead with Nimr's execution.
"It's a Saudi citizen convicted of crimes in Saudi Arabia. They think 'we will not take international, and especially Iranian, opinion into consideration.'"
RUPTURE FOLLOWS STEPS TOWARDS THAW
King Salman and the two princes have taken aggressive steps over the past year to confront what they see as growing Iranian influence in the Middle East - going to war in neighboring Yemen to halt a takeover by Shi'ite rebels they consider Iranian pawns, and increasing support for rebel groups fighting against Iran's ally Bashar al-Assad in Syria.
Nevertheless, many in Riyadh insist the government was not trying to pick a new fight with Iran by executing Nimr, a cleric Riyadh had long accused of stirring up unrest, and who was executed along with dozens of Sunni Muslims also accused of terrorism.
They point to a series of steps Riyadh had taken in recent months towards a thaw with Tehran, including working hard to get a new ambassador approved in Iran after a months-long hiatus, opening a new embassy in Shi'ite-ruled Iraq, and sitting opposite Iran at Syria peace talks last month in New York.
Saudi officials say that by taking offense at the execution of Nimr, Tehran has demonstrated its claim of dominion over all Shi'ites regardless of national borders, which Riyadh in turn calls a fundamental threat to the international system.
Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir this week told Reuters Iran needed to decide if it was a normal nation state or "a revolution".
End 'business as usual' with North Korea, U.S. tells China
The United States called on China on Thursday to end "business as usual" with its ally North Korea after Pyongyang defied world powers by announcing it had tested a hydrogen bomb.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said he made clear in a phone call with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi that China's approach to North Korea had failed.
"China had a particular approach that it wanted to make, that we agreed and respected to give them space to implement that," Kerry told reporters. "Today in my conversation with the Chinese I made it very clear that has not worked and we cannot continue business as usual."
China is the North's main economic and diplomatic backer although relations between the two Cold War allies have cooled in recent years.
The vast majority of North Korea's business dealings are with China, which bought 90 percent of the isolated country's exports in 2013, according to data compiled by South Korea's International Trade Association.
North Korea carried out a nuclear test on Wednesday, although the U.S. government and weapons experts doubt Pyongyang's assertion that the device it exploded was a powerful hydrogen bomb.
The test angered both the United States and China, which was not given prior notice.
As of Thursday morning, "sniffer" planes and other sensors had yet to detect any evidence, such as particles in the air, that would substantiate the North Korean assertion that it had set off an H-Bomb, a U.S. government source said.
North Korea also said it was capable of miniaturizing the hydrogen bomb, in theory allowing it to be placed on a missile and threatening the U.S. West Coast, South Korea and Japan.
U.S. CONGRESS TO ACT
U.S. Republicans and Democrats in the House of Representatives could join forces in a rare display of unity to further tighten sanctions on North Korea.
Nancy Pelosi, the House Democratic leader, told reporters that Democrats would support a North Korea bill likely to be brought for a vote by Republicans next week. A congressional source said it was expected as soon as Monday.
The legislation was passed by the House Foreign Affairs Committee last February but it was stalled until Pyongyang jolted the world by setting off an underground nuclear bomb test.
The House measure would target banks facilitating North Korea's nuclear program and authorize freezing of U.S. assets of those directly linked to illicit North Korean activities. It would also penalize those involved in business providing North Korea with hard currency.
"We understand Republican leadership plans to move a bill strengthening U.S. sanctions on North Korea. That will have strong bipartisan support," Pelosi said, adding that "we will support it."
It was unclear how more sanctions would deter North Korea, which has conducted four nuclear tests since 2006 while paying little heed to international pressure.
The United States and its ally South Korea are limited in their military response. After North Korea last tested a nuclear device, in 2013, Washington sent a pair of nuclear-capable B-2 stealth bombers on a sortie over South Korea in a show of force. At the time, North Korea responded by threatening a nuclear strike on the United States.
The test also alarmed Japan. Its prime minister, Shinzo Abe, agreed with U.S. President Barack Obama in a telephone call that a firm global response was needed, the White House said.
Obama also discussed options with President Park Geun-hye of South Korea.
A South Korean military official told Reuters that Seoul and
Washington had discussed the deployment of U.S. strategic assets on the divided Korean peninsula, but declined to give further details.
A White House spokesman said there had been no talk with South Korea about any introduction of the so-called Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, a move opposed by China.
"There have been no discussions or consultations with the South Koreans" about the deployment of anti-ballistic missile capability," the spokesman, Josh Earnest, said.
The system has radars that can track multiple ballistic missiles up to 2,000 km (1,200 miles) away, a range which would reach deep into China.
In response to the latest test, South Korea said it would resume propaganda broadcasts by loudspeaker into North Korea from Friday, which is likely to infuriate its isolated rival.
The South raised its military alert to the highest level in areas along the border near its propaganda loudspeakers, the South's Yonhap news agency reported on Thursday.
"Our military is at a state of full readiness, and if North Korea wages provocation, there will be firm punishment," a South Korean national security official, Cho Tae-yong, said in a statement
Dow off to worst January start ever as China fears grow
U.S. stocks sold off further on Thursday, giving the Dow its worst start to a year since the 30-stock index was created in 1928, dragged down by another drop in Chinese equities and oil prices at 12-year lows.
China allowed the biggest fall in the yuan currency in five months, adding to investor fears about the health of its economy, while Shanghai stocks .SSEC were halted for the second time this week after another steep selloff.
Oil prices fell to 12-year lows and copper prices touched their lowest since 2009, weighing on energy and materials shares. Shares of Freeport McMoran (FCX.N) dropped 9.1 percent to $5.61. All 10 S&P 500 sectors ended in the red, though, and the Nasdaq Biotech index .NBI fell 4.1 percent.
"People see the weakness in China and in the overall equity market and think there's going to be an impact on corporations here in the United States," said Robert Pavlik, chief market strategist at Boston Private Wealth in New York.
"When you have a market that begins a year with weakness, people are sort of suspect anyway. The economy isn't moving all that well, the outlook is modest at best, and they don't want to wait for the long term. China creates more uncertainty."
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI closed down 392.41 points, or 2.32 percent, to 16,514.1, the S&P 500 .SPX had lost 47.17 points, or 2.37 percent, to 1,943.09 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC had dropped 146.34 points, or 3.03 percent, to 4,689.43.
The Dow has lost 5.2 percent since the end of 2015 in the worst first four trading days since the 30-stock index's creation.
Stocks extended declines late in the session, and the CBOE Volatility Index .VIX, the market's favored gauge of Wall Street anxiety, ended up 21.4 percent at 24.99, its highest since Sept. 29.
Investors also braced for Friday's U.S. government jobs report, which could show how well-insulated the U.S. economy is from international stresses.
Billionaire investor George Soros, speaking at an economic forum in Sri Lanka, drew similarities between the present environment and the financial crash of 2008. He said global markets were facing a crisis and investors needed to be very cautious, Bloomberg reported.
Apple, which generates a lot of its business in China and is still the most valuable U.S. company, fell 4.2 percent to its lowest level since the August market swoon.
Yahoo (YHOO.O) fell 6.2 percent to $30.16 after Business Insider reported the company was working on a plan to cut its workforce by at least 10 percent. Alibaba (BABA.N), in which Yahoo has a stake, was down 6 percent at $72.72.
Volume has been heavy this week. About 9.9 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges Thursday, well above the 7.2 billion daily average for the past 20 trading days, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by 2,704 to 415, for a 6.52-to-1 ratio on the downside; on the Nasdaq, 2,492 issues fell and 390 advanced for a 6.39-to-1 ratio favoring decliners.
The S&P 500 posted 1 new 52-week highs and 82 new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 16 new highs and 302 new lows.
(Additional reporting by Tanya Agrawal and Saqib Iqbal Ahmed; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Nick Zieminski).
Tech executives, U.S. officials to confer on militants' social media use
In an escalation of pressure on technology firms to do more to combat online Islamic militant propaganda from groups like Islamic State, the meeting follows attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California that focused increased attention on the role played by social media sites such as Twitter(TWTR.N), YouTube and Facebook(FB.O).
Invited participants include White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, presidential counterterrorism adviser Lisa Monaco, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, FBI Director James Comey, National Intelligence Director James Clapper and National Security Agency Director Mike Rogers, one of the sources said.
A source familiar with the meeting said it would focus on social media content, not encrypted communications, another topic of discussion between Silicon Valley and the White House.
Twitter last week updated its policies for policing its content to explicitly prohibit "hateful conduct." Other websites have similarly updated and clarified their abuse policies within the past 18 months.
The meeting's priorities, outlined by an agenda circulated with participants, include how to make it harder for militants to recruit and mobilize followers on social media as well as helping ordinary users create, publish and amplify content that can undercut groups like Islamic State.
According to the agenda, the meeting also will touch on how technology can be used to disrupt paths to violent radicalization and identify recruitment patterns, and how to make it easier for law enforcement and intelligence agencies to identify militant operatives.
Twitter Inc confirmed that it will have at least one representative attending the meeting but said its CEO Jack Dorsey will not be participating.
The White House and Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Reuters
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