N Korea offers talks on sending art troupe to Olympics
Seoul, Jan 13 (AFP) North Korea has proposed talks next week to discuss its plan to send a performing art troupe to the Pyongyang Winter Olympics, Seoul's unification ministry said today.
The North confirmed it would attend next month's Olympics in the South at a rare inter-Korean meeting last week, following months of tensions over its nuclear weapons programme.
The ministry said the hermit state is apparently keen to discuss logistics of the performers' trip to the South before planning its athletes and supporters' attendance at the Games.
"It appears that the North wants to discuss various practical matters related to an art troupe's visit as a priority," the ministry said in a statement, adding that the government would respond after reviewing the North's proposal.
Hyon Song-Wol, leader of the popular Moran-bong band, is one of four North Korean delegates set to attend the talks in the truce village of Panmunjom on Monday.
The Moran-bong band is an all-female music group performing pop, rock and fusion styles, whose members are reportedly selected by the leader Kim Jong-Un himself.
It comes a day after South Korea's vice sports minister Roh Tae-Kang said the South had proposed marching with North Korea at the Olympics' opening ceremony and also forming a joint women's ice hockey team during the high-level talks which took place on Tuesday.
A joint march at the opening ceremony would be a stunning statement for the so-dubbed "Peace Olympics", which will open about 80 kms from the heavily fortified Korean border on February 9.
North Korea boycotted the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul, meaning Pyongyang will be the first Olympics they have attended in the South.
Iran rejects any change to nuclear deal
Tehran, Jan 13 (AFP) Iran today rejected any modification of its nuclear deal with world powers after US President Donald Trump demanded tough new measures to keep the agreement alive.
Iran "will not accept any amendments in this agreement, be it now or in the future, and it will not allow any other issues to be linked to the JCPOA," the foreign ministry said in a statement, using the 2015 deal's technical name.
Trump again waived nuclear-related sanctions on Friday -- as required every few months to stay in the agreement -- but demanded European partners work with the United States to "fix the deal's disastrous flaws, or the United States will withdraw".
He said the new deal should curb Iran's missile programme and include permanent restrictions on Iran's nuclear plants, removing expiration dates due to kick in after a decade.
But Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the 2015 deal could not be renegotiated.
"JCPOA is not renegotiable: rather than repeating tired rhetoric, US must bring itself into full compliance -- just like Iran," Zarif tweeted immediately after Trump's speech.
The statement from his ministry further criticised new sanctions on 14 individuals announced by the US Treasury on Friday over human rights issues and Iran's missile programme.
In particular, placing judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani on the sanctions list "crossed all red lines of conduct in the international community... and the government of the United States will bear responsibility for all the consequences of this hostile move".
Iran argues that continued US sanctions on non-nuclear areas such as human rights and missile testing have effectively barred Iran from gaining many of the financial benefits expected from the deal.
Zarif has said Trump's aggressive stance on the deal and Iran generally have also violated the commitment to "refrain from any policy specifically intended to directly and adversely affect the normalisation of trade and economic relations with Iran" in the accord.
Africans outraged over 'racist' Trump remarks
Nairobi, Jan 13 (AFP) Africans have reacted angrily after US President Donald Trump reportedly referred to their nations as "shithole countries", with many accusing the US president of racism and ignorance.
The 55-nation African Union condemned the remarks yesterday, while a statement from ambassadors of all countries from the continent at the United Nations demanded a retraction and apology.
The African Group of UN ambassadors said it was "extremely appalled at, and strongly condemns the outrageous, racist and xenophobic remarks by the president of the United States of America as widely reported by the media".
Ambassadors unanimously agreed the resolution after an emergency session to weigh Trump's remarks.
The comment was "clearly" racist, said Ebba Kalondo, spokeswoman for AU chief Moussa Faki.
"This is even more hurtful given the historical reality of just how many Africans arrived in the United States as slaves, and also terribly surprising as the United States remains a massively positive example as just how migration can give birth to a nation," Kalondo said.
He stressed the US was "much stronger than the sum total of one man".
Trump reportedly demanded to know why the United States should accept immigrants from "shithole countries", after lawmakers raised the issue of protections for immigrants from African nations, Haiti and El Salvador.
However he later tweeted: "this was not the language used".
The United Nations slammed the reported remarks as "shocking and shameful" and "racist".
"You cannot dismiss entire countries and continents as 'shitholes' whose entire populations, who are not white, are therefore not welcome," Rupert Colville, spokesman for the UN human rights office, told reporters in Geneva.
Botswana summoned the US ambassador to the country to "clarify if Botswana is regarded as a 'shithole' country", according to a foreign ministry statement calling Trump's comments "irresponsible, reprehensible and racist".
Senegal followed suit with Foreign Minister Sidiki Kaba saying the government "firmly condemned the unacceptable remarks which undermine human dignity, especially of Africa and her diaspora".
Trump was widely derided last year after twice referring to Namibia as "Nambia".
Social media users across the continent posted images of modern skylines and beautiful nature from their countries with the hashtag "shithole".
Many Africans reminded the US of its historic role in the continent's woes.
"President Trump, One day, I'll take you to a 'shithole' country called Ghana," wrote Ghanaian Edmond Prime Sarpong on Facebook.
"First stop would be Osu Castle, Elmina Castle, and the over 40 Forts that detained about 30 million slaves, beaten and shipped out like sardine cans and then I will tell you the history of Africa and why people like you made that a 'shithole' continent."
Prominent Kenyan commentator Patrick Gathara told AFP that Trump's words were nothing new.
"This is no different from what Hollywood and Western media have been saying about Africa for decades. We have consistently been portrayed as shitty people from shitty countries."
Some acknowledged problems in their countries, but blamed this on their poor leaders as well as Western nations.
"Please don't confuse the #shithole leaders we Africans elect with our beautiful continent... Our motherland is the most blessed continent that has been raped by imperialists in collaboration with our shitty misleaders for generations," wrote Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi on Twitter.
In South Africa, the ruling African National Congress party declared "ours is not a shithole country" and described Trump as "extremely offensive".
Some Nigerians did not hold back, with many on Twitter saying their country was a "shithole", but that it was "our shithole" to criticise.
In Senegal's capital Dakar, administrator Idrissa Fall said "we cannot really say that he (Trump) is wrong".
"African countries, and sometimes our leaders, do not exactly deal with the problems of the worst-off, that's w
hat makes people immigrate".
Even war-torn South Sudan weighed in, with President Salva Kiir's spokesman Ateny Wek Ateny slamming the comments as "outrageous".
However Juba businesswoman Jenny Jore, 31, told AFP that Trump's remarks were "on point".
"It is thanks to our African leaders that we are insulted that way," she said.
The 54-nation UN African Group, which does not include Western Sahara, demanded a "retraction and an apology" from Trump, while thanking Americans "from all walks of life who have condemned the remarks".
Trump's latest comments provided ample fodder for talk- show hosts.
South African comedian Trevor Noah, star of "The Daily Show", described himself as an offended citizen of "South Shithole" and also criticised Trump's preferred choice of Norway for immigrants.
"He didn't just name a white country, he named the whitest -- so white they wear moon-screen," he said.
Protests against Honduran leader's re-election turn violent
Tegucigalpa, Jan 13 (AP) Protests against the re-election of Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez have turned violent with security forces firing tear gas and some marchers breaking windows and setting fires.
Video from yesterday's protests showed former President Manuel Zelaya being shoved by military police. Zelaya and defeated presidential candidate Salvador Nasralla also suffered the effects of tear gas.
Hernandez was awarded the electoral win weeks after the November vote and a disputed vote tally. The opposition alleged fraud and plans to continue protesting through Hernandez's swearing in on January 27.
Security forces and protesters were injured during the clash. Miguel Osorio, spokesman at the University School Hospital, says 10 people were treated there.
Hernandez blamed the opposition for the violence, noting that protesters had damaged the nearby Marriott hotel.
Seoul, Jan 13 (AFP) North Korea has proposed talks next week to discuss its plan to send a performing art troupe to the Pyongyang Winter Olympics, Seoul's unification ministry said today.
The North confirmed it would attend next month's Olympics in the South at a rare inter-Korean meeting last week, following months of tensions over its nuclear weapons programme.
The ministry said the hermit state is apparently keen to discuss logistics of the performers' trip to the South before planning its athletes and supporters' attendance at the Games.
"It appears that the North wants to discuss various practical matters related to an art troupe's visit as a priority," the ministry said in a statement, adding that the government would respond after reviewing the North's proposal.
Hyon Song-Wol, leader of the popular Moran-bong band, is one of four North Korean delegates set to attend the talks in the truce village of Panmunjom on Monday.
The Moran-bong band is an all-female music group performing pop, rock and fusion styles, whose members are reportedly selected by the leader Kim Jong-Un himself.
It comes a day after South Korea's vice sports minister Roh Tae-Kang said the South had proposed marching with North Korea at the Olympics' opening ceremony and also forming a joint women's ice hockey team during the high-level talks which took place on Tuesday.
A joint march at the opening ceremony would be a stunning statement for the so-dubbed "Peace Olympics", which will open about 80 kms from the heavily fortified Korean border on February 9.
North Korea boycotted the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul, meaning Pyongyang will be the first Olympics they have attended in the South.
Iran rejects any change to nuclear deal
Tehran, Jan 13 (AFP) Iran today rejected any modification of its nuclear deal with world powers after US President Donald Trump demanded tough new measures to keep the agreement alive.
Iran "will not accept any amendments in this agreement, be it now or in the future, and it will not allow any other issues to be linked to the JCPOA," the foreign ministry said in a statement, using the 2015 deal's technical name.
Trump again waived nuclear-related sanctions on Friday -- as required every few months to stay in the agreement -- but demanded European partners work with the United States to "fix the deal's disastrous flaws, or the United States will withdraw".
He said the new deal should curb Iran's missile programme and include permanent restrictions on Iran's nuclear plants, removing expiration dates due to kick in after a decade.
But Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the 2015 deal could not be renegotiated.
"JCPOA is not renegotiable: rather than repeating tired rhetoric, US must bring itself into full compliance -- just like Iran," Zarif tweeted immediately after Trump's speech.
The statement from his ministry further criticised new sanctions on 14 individuals announced by the US Treasury on Friday over human rights issues and Iran's missile programme.
In particular, placing judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani on the sanctions list "crossed all red lines of conduct in the international community... and the government of the United States will bear responsibility for all the consequences of this hostile move".
Iran argues that continued US sanctions on non-nuclear areas such as human rights and missile testing have effectively barred Iran from gaining many of the financial benefits expected from the deal.
Zarif has said Trump's aggressive stance on the deal and Iran generally have also violated the commitment to "refrain from any policy specifically intended to directly and adversely affect the normalisation of trade and economic relations with Iran" in the accord.
Africans outraged over 'racist' Trump remarks
Nairobi, Jan 13 (AFP) Africans have reacted angrily after US President Donald Trump reportedly referred to their nations as "shithole countries", with many accusing the US president of racism and ignorance.
The 55-nation African Union condemned the remarks yesterday, while a statement from ambassadors of all countries from the continent at the United Nations demanded a retraction and apology.
The African Group of UN ambassadors said it was "extremely appalled at, and strongly condemns the outrageous, racist and xenophobic remarks by the president of the United States of America as widely reported by the media".
Ambassadors unanimously agreed the resolution after an emergency session to weigh Trump's remarks.
The comment was "clearly" racist, said Ebba Kalondo, spokeswoman for AU chief Moussa Faki.
"This is even more hurtful given the historical reality of just how many Africans arrived in the United States as slaves, and also terribly surprising as the United States remains a massively positive example as just how migration can give birth to a nation," Kalondo said.
He stressed the US was "much stronger than the sum total of one man".
Trump reportedly demanded to know why the United States should accept immigrants from "shithole countries", after lawmakers raised the issue of protections for immigrants from African nations, Haiti and El Salvador.
However he later tweeted: "this was not the language used".
The United Nations slammed the reported remarks as "shocking and shameful" and "racist".
"You cannot dismiss entire countries and continents as 'shitholes' whose entire populations, who are not white, are therefore not welcome," Rupert Colville, spokesman for the UN human rights office, told reporters in Geneva.
Botswana summoned the US ambassador to the country to "clarify if Botswana is regarded as a 'shithole' country", according to a foreign ministry statement calling Trump's comments "irresponsible, reprehensible and racist".
Senegal followed suit with Foreign Minister Sidiki Kaba saying the government "firmly condemned the unacceptable remarks which undermine human dignity, especially of Africa and her diaspora".
Trump was widely derided last year after twice referring to Namibia as "Nambia".
Social media users across the continent posted images of modern skylines and beautiful nature from their countries with the hashtag "shithole".
Many Africans reminded the US of its historic role in the continent's woes.
"President Trump, One day, I'll take you to a 'shithole' country called Ghana," wrote Ghanaian Edmond Prime Sarpong on Facebook.
"First stop would be Osu Castle, Elmina Castle, and the over 40 Forts that detained about 30 million slaves, beaten and shipped out like sardine cans and then I will tell you the history of Africa and why people like you made that a 'shithole' continent."
Prominent Kenyan commentator Patrick Gathara told AFP that Trump's words were nothing new.
"This is no different from what Hollywood and Western media have been saying about Africa for decades. We have consistently been portrayed as shitty people from shitty countries."
Some acknowledged problems in their countries, but blamed this on their poor leaders as well as Western nations.
"Please don't confuse the #shithole leaders we Africans elect with our beautiful continent... Our motherland is the most blessed continent that has been raped by imperialists in collaboration with our shitty misleaders for generations," wrote Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi on Twitter.
In South Africa, the ruling African National Congress party declared "ours is not a shithole country" and described Trump as "extremely offensive".
Some Nigerians did not hold back, with many on Twitter saying their country was a "shithole", but that it was "our shithole" to criticise.
In Senegal's capital Dakar, administrator Idrissa Fall said "we cannot really say that he (Trump) is wrong".
"African countries, and sometimes our leaders, do not exactly deal with the problems of the worst-off, that's w
hat makes people immigrate".
Even war-torn South Sudan weighed in, with President Salva Kiir's spokesman Ateny Wek Ateny slamming the comments as "outrageous".
However Juba businesswoman Jenny Jore, 31, told AFP that Trump's remarks were "on point".
"It is thanks to our African leaders that we are insulted that way," she said.
The 54-nation UN African Group, which does not include Western Sahara, demanded a "retraction and an apology" from Trump, while thanking Americans "from all walks of life who have condemned the remarks".
Trump's latest comments provided ample fodder for talk- show hosts.
South African comedian Trevor Noah, star of "The Daily Show", described himself as an offended citizen of "South Shithole" and also criticised Trump's preferred choice of Norway for immigrants.
"He didn't just name a white country, he named the whitest -- so white they wear moon-screen," he said.
Protests against Honduran leader's re-election turn violent
Tegucigalpa, Jan 13 (AP) Protests against the re-election of Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez have turned violent with security forces firing tear gas and some marchers breaking windows and setting fires.
Video from yesterday's protests showed former President Manuel Zelaya being shoved by military police. Zelaya and defeated presidential candidate Salvador Nasralla also suffered the effects of tear gas.
Hernandez was awarded the electoral win weeks after the November vote and a disputed vote tally. The opposition alleged fraud and plans to continue protesting through Hernandez's swearing in on January 27.
Security forces and protesters were injured during the clash. Miguel Osorio, spokesman at the University School Hospital, says 10 people were treated there.
Hernandez blamed the opposition for the violence, noting that protesters had damaged the nearby Marriott hotel.
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