Showing posts with label South. Show all posts
Showing posts with label South. Show all posts

Saturday, 10 May 2014

South Sudan rivals votes peace agreement must visit

 South Sudan"s President Salva Kiir (left) and rebel leader Riek Machar with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn (right) at the signing ceremony in Addis Ababa, 9 May 2014 both leaders are voted to commands for their troops, stopping against South Sudan President Salva Kiir and Riek Machar rebel leaders a peace agreement after a five month conflict.


The deal calls for an immediate ceasefire and the formation of an interim Government before a new Constitution and new elections.


The conflict in the world's newest State left thousands dead and more than 1 million homeless.


A ceasefire agreed in January broke within few days with both sides accusing each other restarting the fighting.


US Secretary of State John Kerry said agreement on Friday "A breakthrough for the future of South Sudan might mark".


"Now begins the hard journey a long way the work must be continued,", added Mr Kerry, played a pivotal role in the bringing together of the two sides.

South Sudanese People Liberation Army (SPLA) soldier patrols in Malakal on 21 January 2014Rebels and Government forces have fought since December in the latest state of the world Members of the White Army, a South Sudanese anti-government militia, attend a rally in Nasir (14 April 2014) members of the White Army against the Government militia. The conflict has thousands of deaths

The UN has the southern Sudanese Government and the rebels of crimes against humanity, including mass murder and gang-rape accused.


The agreement in the Ethiopian capital Addis Abeba signed the rival late on Friday, after their first face-to-face meeting since the beginning of hostilities.


The BBCs Emmanuel Igunza in Addis Abeba says that calls for cessation of hostilities within 24 hours after the signing of the agreement. A permanent ceasefire will be processed then.

Yet say whether this will be the final breakthrough, says Mariko Oi


Mr Kiir and Mr Machar are immediate orders for troops to stop fighting and to allow in humanitarian aid.


It was not immediately clear who would make up the Transitional Government.

"Widespread atrocities"

The agreement was signed by Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, the the talks.

Leading broker Seyoum Mesfin, from the regional IGAD bloc, congratulated Mr Kiir and Mr Machar for "End of war".


But African Union official Smail Chergui warned that "given the current crisis, the restoration of peace in southern Sudan are not easy".


A UN report released on Thursday said that "widespread and systematic" had been carried out atrocities in homes, hospitals, mosques, churches and UN connections from both sides.


It called for those responsible who will be held accountable.


An estimated 5 million people need aid, the UN says.


The violence began when President Kiir accused of his sacked Deputy, Mr Machar plotting a coup.


Mr Machar denied the claim, but then to combat rebel army marshaled to the Government.

The BBC describes the background to South Sudan crisis - in 60 seconds.


The battle ethnic undertones adopted by Mr Machar strongly on fighters from his Nuer ethnic group and Mr Kiir from his Dinka community.


The UN has about 8,500 peacekeeping troops in southern Sudan. However, they have struggled to contain the conflict.


In South Sudan Independence break away from Sudan after decades of conflict between the rebels and the Government in Khartoum in the year 2011.


It remains one of the poorest countries in the world.

Map of South Sudan states affected by conflictFighting in the capital broke South Sudan Juba, mid-December. This was followed by a political power struggle between President Salva Kiir and his ex-Deputy Riek Machar. The dispute has an ethnic dimension reference to politicians often are ethnic political base. News graphic showing the ethnic groups of South Sudan Sudanese arid north is mainly home to Muslims speaking Arabic. But there is no dominant culture in southern Sudan. The largest more than 200 ethnic groups with their own languages and traditional beliefs, along with Christianity and Islam are the Dinkas and the Nuers. Map showing the location of oil fields in South Sudan Both Sudan and to the South are reliant on oil revenue, which accounts for 98% of the South Sudan budget. You violently objected to sharing the oil wealth of the former united - was at one time the production shut down for more than a year. About 75% of the oil is in the South, but all pipelines North run. Map showing the geography of South Sudan The two of Sudan are geographically very different. The large ditch is visible even from space, because this NASA satellite image shows. The Northern States are a blanket of the desert, punctuated only by the fertile Nile River corridor. South Sudan is covered with green tracts of land, grassland, swamps and tropical rain forest. Map showing access to water in South Sudan After the independence was in the year 2011 in southern Sudan is the latest country - and one of the world's poorest. Figures for 2010 show 69 percent of households now have access to clean water - up from 48% in 2006. However, only 2% of households water on the site have. Map showing education levels in South Sudan Only 29% of children go to primary school in southern Sudan – this is also an improvement of 16% recorded in 2006. About 32% of the primary-age young take part, while only 25% of girls do. Overall, 64% of children who start primary school reach the last stage. Map showing food insecurity rates in South Sudan Nearly 28% of children under five in South Sudan are moderately or severely underweight. Compared with the 33%, 2006 recorded in the year. Unity State has the highest proportion of children, which, has the lowest (17%) to malnutrition (46%) during Central Equatoria.

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Tuesday, 22 April 2014

South Korea ferry body count 113 must visit

The confirmed death toll from the South Korean ferry that capsized last week has reached 113, as divers recovered more bodies from the sunken hull.


Rescuers searching for bodies have been able to take advantage of better weather on Tuesday, officials say, with more than 190 passengers still missing or presumed trapped inside the vessel.


The ferry tipped over and sank within two hours, but it is not yet clear why.


The crew have been criticised for allegedly failing to save passengers.


Five have been charged with not fulfilling their duty to evacuate passengers safely, officials told the South Korean Yonhap news agency.


At least six other crew members are reported to have been detained.


As the ship listed passengers were told to remain in rooms and cabins, reports suggest, amid confusion on the bridge over whether to order them to abandon ship.


The first distress call from the sinking ferry was made by a boy with a shaking voice, officials told Reuters.


It reported that his plea for help was followed by about 20 other emergency calls from children on board the ship.

Family members of missing passengers who were on the ferry wait for news of their loved ones at Jindo Many family members and friends of those on board the ferry are still awaiting news of the fate of their loved ones Rescue team members work to rescue passengers believed to have been trapped in the sunken ferry Sewol near the buoys which were installed to mark the vessel in the water off the southern coast near Jindo, South Korea on 21 April 2014 Teams of divers have been searching the sunken ferry for the bodies of those who died The bodies of a passengers aboard the Sewol, a South Korean ferry which sank in the water off the southern coast, are carried by rescue workers upon its arrival at a port in Jindo, South Korea, on 21 April 2014 Bodies are being brought to shore - where many relatives wait for news of their loved ones

A crew member quoted by local media said that attempts to launch lifeboats were unsuccessful because of the tilt of the ship. Only two of the vessel's 46 lifeboats were reported to have been deployed.


South Korean President Park Geun-hye on Monday condemned the conduct of some of the crew, calling it "akin to murder".


The BBC's Jonathan Head in nearby Jindo island says that the rescue operation has now become something of a grim routine, with police boats regularly returning from the scene of the disaster with bodies recovered by military divers.


Our correspondent says that most of the families of those still missing have accepted that no more survivors will be found.

Robot ready

A total of 174 passengers were rescued from the Sewol, which capsized as it sailed from Incheon in the north-west to the southern island of Jeju.


But there were 476 people on board, including 339 children and teachers on a school trip. Many were trapped inside the ship as it listed to one side and then sank.


Divers have managed to reach many of the cabins in the hull of the upturned ferry, although they are still trying to get into the ship's restaurant, where they believe many of the passengers were trapped.


They have also loaded an underwater robot at the port this morning, ready to help in the operation to bring the hull to the surface.

line break Crabster robot Crabster robot The crabster robot is the size and weight of a Smart carIt is designed to work up to 200m below the surface in high tidal currents where divers are unable to operate A 500m-long cable allows four operators to control the robot from a surface vessel. Data is also fed to the surface via the cableIt is equipped with 10 optical cameras and a long-range scanning sonar line break

Rescue officials say they will keep searching with divers for another two days, but that the families of the victims have agreed that the salvage operation can begin after that.


Investigations are focusing on whether the ferry took too sharp a turn - perhaps destabilising the vessel - before it started listing and whether an earlier evacuation order could have saved lives.


Captain Lee Joon-seok was not on the bridge when the ferry began listing. It was being steered by a third mate who had never navigated the waters where the accident occurred, prosecutors say.


The captain and two other crew members have been charged with negligence of duty and violation of maritime law. Four more crew members were reported to have been detained on Monday and two on Tuesday.


There were up to 30 crew members on the stricken ship, reports say, and some seven of them are missing.

Graphic showing location of sunken ferry and timeline of events Ferry details

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