Tag: talks

UN hails progress in Yemen peace talks between Saudi, Omani delegations

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Sanaa: A UN spokesperson said that talks between Saudi and Omani delegations and the Houthi militia in Yemen’s capital Sanaa were “a welcome step towards the de-escalation of tensions” in the war-torn nation.
At a briefing in New York, Stephane Dujarric, the chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, fielded queries from reporters regarding reports of advancements made towards a lasting ceasefire, which would bring an end to Saudi Arabia’s military involvement in a military coalition that has backed the internationally recognised government in its civil conflict with the Houthis, since 2015, reports Xinhua news agency.
Neighbouring Oman has been involved in peace talks with the warring parties in Yemen, running in parallel with UN efforts, led by Special Envoy Hans Grundberg, who Dujarric said was continuing to “explore options to extend and expand” a UN-brokered six-month truce, which expired last October.

According to Grundberg’s statement last week, the truce is “largely holding” even after expiration, while many elements remain in place.
The envoy said that greater humanitarian relief, a nationwide ceasefire and a sustainable political settlement “that meets the aspirations of Yemeni women and men” was essential, through a process that brings all stakeholders together.
Dujarric said that the discussions in Sanaa were “very much welcomed by the Secretary-General” and added that Grundberg continues to be “in close coordination with the regional member states” over resuming the political process, with the hope of avoiding any escalation in the long-running war.
The spokesperson noted that the UN had not been involved in the talks in the Houthi-controlled Yemeni capital.
“We are not involved in every discussion, we don’t need to be,” he said.

“What is important is that all of these parties work towards the relevant Security Council resolution, the UN facilitated talks, and all signals are, that they are. But we will have to take things one day at a time.”
News reports suggested that progress in the Oman-mediated talks and brightening prospects of a peace deal for Yemen added to the momentum provided by the resumption of diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran, in a deal brokered by China.
Since the conflict between the Saudi-led coalition and Houthi rebels escalated in 2015, tens of thousands have died, millions have been displaced, and aid agencies assisted nearly 11 million each month last year, with lifesaving aid, amid what remains one of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by Siasat staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 11, 2023
Saudi delegation arrives in Yemen to hold ceasefire talks with Houthi rebels

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Sanaa: A Saudi delegation arrived in the Yemeni capital here to hold ceasefire talks with the Houthi militia, the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported on Sunday.
The Saudi delegation arrived along with Omani officials to meet here with Mahdi al-Mashat, chairman of the Houthi’s political council, for discussion of arrangements to renew the ceasefire deal that ended in October 2022, said the report, Xinhua News Agency reported.
“The move came as part of Oman’s mediation efforts to bring peace to Yemen,” it said.

Oman, which borders both Yemen and Saudi Arabia, has actively engaged in brokering a truce in Yemen in coordination with the UN peace efforts.
Muhammad al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Yemeni Shura Council and a prominent leader in the Houthi group, told Xinhua that Muhammad Al Jaber, Saudi ambassador to Yemen, arrived on Saturday as the head of the Saudi delegation to Yemen’s capital.
Also on Saturday, the Houthi group said it had received 13 prisoners of war released by Saudi Arabia in exchange for a Saudi prisoner the group said it released earlier.
Peace efforts to end the war in Yemen have been increasing, particularly after recent Chinese efforts to ease tensions and restore diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
The conflict in Yemen erupted in late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi militia seized control of several northern cities and forced the Saudi-backed Yemeni government out of the capital Sanaa.

The Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015 to support the Yemeni government.
The war has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 4 million, and pushed the country to the brink of starvation.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 9, 2023
Talks between striking doctors, Rajasthan govt fail; protest to continue

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Jaipur: Talks between striking doctors and the Rajasthan government over the protest against the Right to Health Bill remained inconclusive on Monday.
The six-member delegation of doctors led by secretary of Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Society, Vijay Kapoor met the state government representatives to resolve the impasse over the Bill and ensure appropriate medical care to the people.
The meeting, however, failed to reach a concrete solution to the issue.

Private doctors in Rajasthan are demanding withdrawal of the Bill passed in the state assembly on March 28. According to the bill, every resident of the state will have the right to emergency treatment and care “without prepayment” in any “public health institution, health care establishment and designated health care centres”.
Kapoor, in a statement, said the statewide complete medical bandh in protest against the Bill continued for the 16th day on Monday. A large number of doctors along with representatives of other social organisations reached the JMA auditorium. Supporting the movement, various social organisations urged the government to accept the just demands of the doctors and end this impasse immediately, he said.
He said the bandh continued in all districts of the state, adding that Dr Sohan Kumawat, who is sitting on a fast unto death in Sirohi, reached Jaipur on the fifth day of his fast.
Elaborating further on the support garnered by the protest, the Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Society secretary said 218 private hospitals in Jaipur have given their written consent to discontinue government schemes.
He said 100 per cent private hospitals from other 21 districts of the state have given written applications for mass de-empanelment of government schemes.

Kapoor also announced that a big rally will be held on Tuesday where a large number of medical workers will participate.
“We are getting support from other states of the country as well,” he added.
(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by Siasat staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 4, 2023
Priyanka talks about colourism in Bollywood, regrets doing fairness cream ads

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Mumbai: Priyanka Chopra Jonas faced colourism and spoke about being lightened for the screen in films.
The Indian actress also revealed that she regrets being part of ‘damaging’ skin fairness ads during the mid-2000s.
“When I joined the movie business, if you were fair, you were guaranteed some sort of success or casting, but if you were darker… and I’m not even that dark. For darker girls, it was like, well, let’s lighten you up. I was lightened up in many movies,” Priyanka was speaking to Dax Shephard on the podcast Armchair Expert.
The star, who is married to Nick Jonas, shared that the make-up put on her and bright lighting used to look lighter than she was on screen.
She added, “We were taught that damaging bullsh*t. Even I got caught up into it and I look back on that, the commercial was so damaging. I’m darker skinned and this guy comes in, selling flowers, and he doesn’t even look at me. I start using this cream and I get a job, I get the guy and all my dreams come true. That was like the mid-2000s,” she said.
Priyanka is now a big star in Hollywood and she lives with her husband, singer Nick Jonas and daughter, Malti Marie Jonas.
Priyanka will next be seen in Prime Video ‘Citadel’ and in the rom-com ‘Love Again’.

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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 29, 2023
EU chiefs flew to UN climate talks in private jet

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The EU’s joint presidents flew to last year’s U.N. climate talks in Egypt aboard a private jet, according to data seen by POLITICO that revealed heavy use of private flights by European Council President Charles Michel.
The flight data, received through a freedom of information request, shows that Michel traveled on commercial planes on just 18 of the 112 missions undertaken between the beginning of his term in 2019 and December 2022.
He used chartered air taxis on some 72 trips, around 64 percent of the total, including to the COP27 talks in Egypt last November and to the COP26 summit in Glasgow in 2021. Michel invited Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on the flight to Egypt.

The EU presidents’ choice of transportation to the climate talks highlights a long-standing dilemma for global leaders: how to practice what they preach on greenhouse gas emissions while also facing a demanding travel schedule that makes private aviation a tempting option — even a necessary evil.
When Michel, a former Belgian prime minister, arrived in the resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh, he delivered a sober message to the gathered climate dignitaries: “We have a climatic gun to our head. We are living on borrowed time,” he said, before adding: “We are, and will remain, champions of climate action.”
According to the NGO Transport & Environment, a private jet can emit 2 tons of planet-cooking CO2 per hour. That means during the five-hour return flight to Sharm El-Sheikh, Michel and von der Leyen’s jet may have emitted roughly 20 tons of CO2 — the average EU citizen emits around 7 tons over the course of a year.
Most COP27 delegates — including the EU’s Green Deal chief Frans Timmermans, according to a Commission official — took commercial flights normally packed with sun-seeking tourists.
The decision to travel to Egypt by private jet was made after no commercial flights were available to return Michel to Brussels in time for duties at the European Parliament, his spokesperson Barend Leyts told POLITICO.
Staff also explored the option of flying aboard Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo’s plane, but it was scheduled to return before Michel’s work at COP27 would be completed.
Unlike many national governments, the EU does not own planes to transport its leaders. Hiring a private jet was “the only suitable option in the circumstances,” said Leyts. “Given that the president of the Commission was also invited to the COP27, we proposed to share a flight.”
Leyts stressed that the flight complied with internal Council rules, which dictate that officials should fly commercial when possible.
A spokesperson from the Commission confirmed that the famously hostile pair had shared the cabin to Sharm El-Sheikh, noting that reaching the destination by commercial flight was difficult due to the high volume of traffic and von der Leyen’s packed schedule.
“The fact that both presidents traveled together, with their teams, shows that they did what was possible to optimize the travel arrangements and reduce the associated carbon footprint,” added the Commission’s spokesperson.
The Commission previously told POLITICO that von der Leyen’s use of chartered trips is limited to “exceptional circumstances,” such as for security reasons or if a commercial flight isn’t available or doesn’t fit with diary commitments. The institution has previously declined POLITICO’s request to share detailed information on the modes of transportation used by the Commission chief for her foreign trips.
As part of its climate goals, the EU is looking to tighten its rules on staff travel to encourage greener modes of transport and bring down the institution’s emissions.
The Commission is aiming to achieve climate neutrality by 2030 by switching to “sustainable business travel,” favoring greener travel options and encouraging employees to cycle, walk or take public transport to work.
Leyts said Michel’s staff enquired about the possibility of using sustainable aviation fuel, but were “regrettably” told that neither Brussels nor Sharm El-Sheikh airports had provision.
Since 2021, Michel has offset the emissions of his flights through a scheme that funds a Brazilian ceramics factory to switch its fuel from illegal timber to agricultural and industrial waste products, according to Leyts. Since 2022, that has applied to all of his flights.
Erika Di Benedetto contributed reporting.

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( With inputs from : www.politico.eu )

March 28, 2023
Joe Biden welcomes ‘separate’ fiscal talks with Kevin McCarthy, but not discussions tied to raising the debt ceiling, the White House press secretary said Tuesday.

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McCarthy told Biden that he’s “on the clock” for their next meeting.

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#Joe #Biden #welcomes #separate #fiscal #talks #Kevin #McCarthy #discussions #tied #raising #debt #ceiling #White #House #press #secretary #Tuesday
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

March 28, 2023
Saudi Arabia and Syria in talks to re-establish ties: Report

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Saudi Arabia and Syria are discussing the resumption of consular services, according to Saudi official media, more than a decade after the Gulf kingdom severed relations with President Bashar al-dictatorship.
“A discussion is underway between officials in the kingdom and their counterparts in Syria about resuming the provision of consular services,” state-affiliated channel Al-Ekhbariya said, citing a Saudi foreign ministry official.
The report did not provide a timetable for the move, which would be the latest Saudi effort to heal fences with regional enemies.
Earlier this month, a Chinese-brokered agreement was revealed to restore diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran, which had been cut for seven years.
For weeks, Riyadh has hinted at a reconciliation with Syria.
In the aftermath of a massive earthquake that slammed southeastern Turkey and northern Syria on February 6, killing tens of thousands of people, it provided relief to both rebel-held and government-controlled areas of the nation.
The efforts did not entail direct communication with Assad’s internationally isolated administration, and Saudi officials instead organised supplies into government-controlled areas via the Syrian Red Crescent.
After the earthquake, Damascus has witnessed more Arab participation, especially from countries that have so far rejected normalisation after more than a decade of conflict.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan stated in February that the Arab world was coming to the conclusion that a new strategy for Syria would be required, involving dialogue with Damascus in order to solve humanitarian concerns.
“There is a consensus within the Arab world that the status quo is not working and that we need to find some other approach. What that approach is, is still being formulated” Prince Faisal told the Munich Security Conference.
According to the Saudi foreign minister, policy changes in Syria might benefit Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries, particularly Jordan and Lebanon.
Emirati official media said that Assad visited the UAE on Sunday, when President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan informed him that it was time for Damascus to be reintegrated into the larger Arab area.
The visit is Assad’s second to the oil-rich UAE in as many years, following a visit to Oman last month, his only formal engagements in Arab nations since Syria’s civil conflict began in 2011.
Syria was kicked out of the Cairo-based Arab League in 2011 for its deadly crackdown on pro-democracy protests.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 24, 2023
Japan PM Kishida’s visit to Ukraine overshadows Xi’s talks with Putin, upsets China

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Beijing: China on Tuesday hit out at Japan after its Prime Minister Fumio Kishida made a surprise visit to Ukraine and overshadowed Chinese President Xi Jinping’s meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow, saying Tokyo should do more to de-escalate the situation rather than aggravating it.
Beijing was caught by surprise as Kishida, who was on an official visit to New Delhi from March 19-21, entered Poland from India using a secretly chartered plane instead of the standard government aircraft, Japanese TV channel NHK reported.
The chartered plane left Tokyo’s Haneda Airport at around 8 pm on Sunday, about three hours before a government plane carrying Kishida departed for India.
After wrapping up his scheduled events in India, the prime minister secretly boarded the waiting plane in the early morning hours of Tuesday, the Japan Times daily quoted an NHK report.
Kishida’s visit to Ukraine and his scheduled meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv stole the limelight of Xi’s Moscow visit aimed at projecting himself as a global peacemaker after Beijing successfully brokered a peace deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to end their hostilities.
In a statement on Kishida’s visit to Ukraine, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said he will express to President Zelenskyy his respect for the courage and perseverance of the Ukrainian people standing up to defend their homeland under Zelenskyy’s leadership.
“At a summit meeting with President Zelenskyy, Prime Minister Kishida will resolutely reject Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and unilateral changing of the status quo by force, and reconfirm his determination to uphold the international order based on the rule of law,” it said.
Kishida will “directly convey our solidarity and unwavering support for Ukraine” as Prime Minister of Japan and the current chair of G7 countries, it said.

Asked about Kishida’s visit, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said the international community “should keep to the right direction to promote the peace talks and create conditions for a political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis”.
“We hope the Japanese side will do more to de-escalate the situation instead of the opposite,” he told a media briefing here.
“China’s position boils down to promoting peace talks and China will continue to uphold an objective, just position and work with the world to play a constructive role in the political settlement,” he said.
On whether Xi will speak to Zelenskyy, he said: “Our position is consistent and clear. We keep communication with all parties”.
He shot back when asked whether China will work with the US to stop the war, saying the US should be asked whether it would like to promote peace talks and stop the war.
“China would like to work with the international community to play a constructive role in the Ukraine crisis,” he said.
On US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s assertion that the world should not be fooled by the Russian-Chinese peace plan for Ukraine, Wang said China’s peace plan covers all aspects including respect for sovereignty, ceasefire and stopping of unilateral sanctions.
He claimed that many countries support China’s peace plan as they want de-escalation.
“China is not a creator of the Ukraine crisis, not a party to the crisis and does not provide weapons to any side of the conflict and the US is in no position to point fingers at China and blame it,” he said in response to Blinken’s assertion that Beijing is providing a “diplomatic cover” for Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“The US should see China’s efforts more objectively than holding on to the Cold War mentality and stop escalating tensions,” he said.
In Tokyo, US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel tweeted that Prime Minister Kishida is making a “historic visit” to Ukraine to protect the Ukrainian people and promote the universal values enshrined in the UN Charter.
“Approximately 900 kilometres away, a different and more nefarious partnership is taking shape in Moscow,” Emanuel said.
The coincidental timing of Xi and Kishida trips “does indeed create a stark contrast,” James D J Brown, said political science professor at Temple University in Japan.
“It presents the image of two blocs, with Japan and Ukraine on the side of democracy, and Russia and China representing an axis of authoritarianism,” he told the Japan Times.
In Moscow, Xi and Putin held a “restricted session” of talks on the second day of the Chinese leader’s three-day visit, following up on their four-hour talks on Monday. Xi said on Tuesday that he has invited Putin to travel to China for the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation to be held this year.
While meeting Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Xi said that the invitation was made in his informal meeting with Putin.
It fits the historical logic that Chinese leaders take Russia as a primary choice for their overseas visits, Xi said, referring to his visit, his first overseas trip after getting endorsed for an unprecedented third term as president and head of the military by the Chinese Parliament this month.
He said China and Russia are each other’s biggest neighbours and comprehensive strategic partners of coordination, and that such a relationship has withstood the test of the world’s profound changes.
Xi also called for continuous regular meetings between the Chinese premier and Russian prime minister, and invited Mishustin to visit China, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 21, 2023
RSS initiated talks with Muslim League: Expelled leader KS Hamsa

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Thiruvananthapuram: Expelled Muslim League state secretary, K.S. Hamsa said on Sunday that a meeting was held between a Muslim League MLA and the Kerala RSS leadership.
He said that the meeting was held to rope in the Muslim League into the Left fold. This, he said, would help the BJP in the long run in Kerala politics. It was the RSS who initiated this discussion, Hamsa added.
The MLA was responding to the revelation made by the RSS Prantha Karyavahak (State Secretary) P.N. Easwaran on Saturday said that the RSS as part of its outreach programme had held discussions with a Muslim League MLA.
The RSS leader had also said that the Muslim League was a secular political party and was against terror activities but added that they would have certain communal interests.
Rejecting the claims, Muslim League state general secretary PMA Salam had said that their’s was a secular political party and it does not have any truck with the RSS.
Hamsa was expelled from the party for continuous attacks against the party-state leadership as well as personal attacks against the all-powerful national general secretary of the party and former minister, P.K. Kunhalikutty who is in full control of the party Kerala unit.
The expelled leader, however, said that the RSS leadership had held discussions not with Kunhalikutty but with another leader.

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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 19, 2023
Power cuts haunt UP as talks fail

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Lucknow: Talks between Uttar Pradesh Power Minister A.K. Sharma and Vidyut Karmachari Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti (VKSSS) remained inconclusive, late on Saturday, even as the 72-hour strike by power employees led to power disruptions in several parts of the state.
The state government lodged FIR against 22 striking engineers, including VKSSS convenor Shailendra Dubey, under the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA).
Later, a defiant Dubey said that the strike would continue even if he was arrested.
Protests over power cuts began in many parts of Prayagraj and Lucknow.
In Lucknow, residents of Singarnagar blocked the Lucknow Kanpur Road while roads were blocked in Kotha Parcha area of Prayagraj.
The minister warned striking electricity department employees to resume work or lose jobs. He said 1,332 contractual workers had been sacked and warned of action against 1,000 more if they failed to resume duty.
Sharma met Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and briefed him about the prevailing power situation in the wake of the strike.
By Saturday evening, 2,392 megawatt (MW) power generation, which is 17 per cent of the total 13,856 MW demand, was not available due to the shutdown of 1,000 MW of Obra plant, 1,130 MW of Anpara plant and 210 MW of Parichha plant following the strike.

The Harduaganj power generation station was also heading to shut down in support of the strike.
Till Saturday evening, 506 feeders had reportedly shut down in urban or semi-urban areas, affecting nearly 13 lakh households in the state. The exact figures for rural areas were not available, but official sources claimed that it was double that of urban areas.
The minister claimed that alternative measures were being taken to make arrangements to normalize power supply in the state.
“A few power generation units have been shut down due to strike, but there is no power shortage in the state. The strike called by power union VKSSS has failed,” Sharma said.
The minister has appealed to contractual employees to think about their families and return to work instead of participating in the strike.
“There are not many jobs. We will not hesitate to sack contractual staff. The government has asked outsourcing firms to prepare a list of new eligible candidates from ITIs across the state – we will hire them in case engineers do not resume work at power stations,” said Sharma.
VKSSS convenor Shailendra Dubey said, “We will extend our 72-hour for an indefinite period if sacked workers are not reinstated. We apologise for the inconvenience caused to power consumers, but it is the government’s fault as we had informed them about the strike a month ago and yet it failed to make alternative arrangements.”
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 19, 2023