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Kuwait Times
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Jihadist attacks hit Mozambique
MAPUTO: A series of attacks in northern Mozambique this month point to a resurgence of violence by Islamic State-linked militants as energy giant TotalEnergies prepares to resume a major gas project, analysts say. The group terrorized northern Mozambique for years before brazenly vowing in 2020 to turn the northern gas-rich Cabo Delgado province into a caliphate. TotalEnergies paused a multi-billion-dollar liquefied natural gas project there in 2021 following a wave of bloody raids that forced more than a million people to flee. The insurgency was pushed to the background by a months-long unrest that followed elections in October. But there has been a new wave of violence. In May, the Islamists attacked two military installations, claiming to kill 11 soldiers in the first and 10 in the second. A security expert confirmed the first attack and put the toll at 17. There was no comment from the Mozambican security forces. Dramatic strikes There were two dramatic strikes earlier — a raid on a wildlife reserve in the neighboring Niassa province late April killed at least two rangers, while an ambush in Cabo Delgado claimed the lives of three Rwandan soldiers. Also unusual was a thwarted attack on a Russian oceanographic vessel in early May that the crew said in a distress message was launched by 'pirates', according to local media. 'Clearly there is a cause and effect because some actions correspond exactly to important announcements in the gas area,' said Fernando Lima, a researcher with the Cabo Ligado conflict observatory which monitors violence in Mozambique, referring to the $4.7 billion funding approved in mid-March by the US Export-Import Bank for the long-delayed gas project. 'The insurgents are seeing more vehicles passing by with white project managers,' said Jean-Marc Balencie of the French-based political and security risk group Attika Analysis. 'There's more visible activity in the region and that's an incentive for attacks'. 'Propaganda effect' Conflict tracker ACLED recorded at least 80 attacks in the first four months of the year. The uptick was partly due to the end of the rainy season which meant roads were once again passable, it said. TotalEnergies chief executive Patrick Pouyanne said last Friday that the security situation had 'greatly improved' although there were 'sporadic incidents'. The attack that stalled the TotalEnergies project in 2021 occurred in the port town of Palma and lasted several days, sending thousands fleeing into the forest. ACLED estimated that more than 800 civilians and combatants were killed while independent journalist Alex Perry reported after an investigation that more than 1,400 were dead or missing. Rwandan forces deployed alongside the Mozambique military soon afterwards, their number increasing to around 5,000, based on Rwandan military statements. The concentration of forces in Cabo Delgado 'allows insurgents to easily conduct operations in Niassa province,' said a Mozambican military officer on condition of anonymity. The raid on the tourist wildlife lodge straddling Cabo Delgado and Niassa provinces was for 'propaganda effect', said Lima, as it grabbed more international media attention than hits on local villages that claim the lives of locals. Strikes on civilians, with several cases of decapitation reported, often fall under the radar because of the remoteness of the impoverished region and official silence. 'More than 25,000 people have been displaced in Mozambique within a few weeks,' the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said last week. This was in addition to the 1.3 million the UN said in November had been displaced since the conflict began in 2017. 'The renewed intensity of the conflict affects regions previously considered rather stable,' said UNHCR's Mozambique representative Xavier Creach. In Niassa, for example, about 2,085 people fled on foot after an attack on Mbamba village late April where women reported witnessing beheadings. More than 6,000 people have died in the conflict since it erupted, according to Acled. — AFP
Kuwait Times
42 minutes ago
- Business
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Saudis in ‘difficult' talks to keep Ronaldo next season: PIF source
RIYADH: Saudi officials are in 'difficult' talks to keep Cristiano Ronaldo in the country, a source with knowledge of the negotiations told AFP on Thursday, after the star footballer suggested he was leaving Al-Nassr. The Portuguese superstar, whose arrival in 2023 heralded a rush of late-career players to the oil-rich country, could transfer to Al-Hilal and feature at the upcoming Club World Club, the source said. 'There is an ongoing difficult negotiation to convince Ronaldo to stay and play' in the Saudi Pro League next season, said the source from the Public Investment Fund (PIF), a major investor in Saudi football. 'First option is a transfer to Al-Hilal with an opportunity to feature in the FIFA Club World Cup or to Asia champion Al-Ahli,' the source added. The oil-funded PIF, the sovereign wealth fund behind a number of big-ticket Saudi investments, controls a group of Pro League clubs including Al-Nassr, Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli. Ronaldo posted 'This chapter is over' hours after the Saudi Pro League wrapped up this week with Al-Nassr finishing third and trophyless once again. A special transfer window opens from June 1-10 to allow the 32 teams involved in the newly expanded Club World Cup to sign players. Last week, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said 'there are discussions' over the former United, Real Madrid, Juventus and Sporting Lisbon star playing at the tournament in the United States from June 14. Portuguese forward Ronaldo, 40, joined Al-Nassr in early 2023 from Manchester United and his contract expires at the end of next month. 'Ronaldo's presence is a key factor in developing the Saudi league in the last two years and a half. He opens the door for elite and young players to come to Saudi Arabia,' the PIF source said. Ronaldo's announcement comes just months after Brazilian star Neymar ended his injury-plagued 18-month stay in January, after playing just seven times for Al-Hilal -- on a reported salary of around $104 million a year. Although Ronaldo was the Pro League's top scorer with 25 goals, he has been unable to win a Saudi or continental trophy with Al-Nassr, who lost in the Asian Champions League semi-finals last month. Last year, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner said he could end his career with Al-Nassr, the Riyadh team favored by a number of Saudi royals. Meanwhile, Ronaldo's great rival Lionel Messi will play at the Club World Cup with Inter Miami. During a recent interview with YouTuber and streamer IShowSpeed, Infantino said: 'And Ronaldo might play for one of the teams as well at the Club World Cup. 'There are discussions with some clubs, so if any club is watching and is interested in hiring Ronaldo for the Club World Cup... who knows, who knows.' Saudi Arabia has shaken up football by spending heavily on stars from Europe, starting with Ronaldo's move, and the desert nation will host the World Cup in 2034. — AFP
Kuwait Times
42 minutes ago
- Politics
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Stateless in Serbia: Russians, Belarusians left in limbo
NOVI SAD: More than 20 Russians and Belarusians living in Serbia have become 'stateless' after not being granted the Serbian nationality they had applied for. Most have lived in Serbia for more than a decade — buying property, starting businesses and raising children born in the country — where they are now basically trapped, unable to leave. Up to two years after renouncing their original nationality — which is required under Serbian rules — none has received a clear explanation from authorities for the delay. 'It has now been almost a year and a half that I've been without any citizenship,' former Russian citizen Igor Grishin told AFP. 'And I don't know how long it will last,' he added. 'A month, a year... or the rest of my life.' The 58-year-old health podcaster has lived for 11 years in the northern town of Sremski Karlovci with his wife and two daughters. His wife and older daughter obtained Serbian citizenship earlier, while the younger acquired it by birth. 'I cannot travel with my family,' Grishin said. 'I couldn't go to my mother's funeral in the Russian Federation and I cannot even visit her grave,' he added. Grishin is in contact with more than 20 others in the same situation — though these are only the known cases. Those AFP spoke to claim they have never expressed any political views — either about Russia or Serbia — which in the past has cost some Russians in Serbia their residency there. All said they had passed all security checks and renounced their original nationality as the final step. Big Russian influx 'Serbia gave us confirmation — a guarantee — that it would accept us if we renounced our citizenship,' Sergei Stets, a former Belarusian citizen who lives in Novi Sad, told AFP. 'I've now been without any citizenship for a year and a half,' said the 46-year-old former mountain bike coach from Minsk. 'I feel as if we're not wanted — neither there, nor here,' he said. Once the selector of Serbia's national team, he had to give it up because he is unable to leave the country, and now gets by delivering meals on his bike. His wife, a horse-riding and equine therapy instructor, faces the same issue, having previously worked across the region. 'I wrote to the police several times. The answer was always the same — the documentation is under review, and I need to wait,' he said. The Ombudsman's Office confirmed that they 'are aware of the issue', adding that 'the review of complaints is ongoing'. 'Special' cases linked to FSB Every country has the right to conduct additional checks, said experts on migration and asylum. 'Although they completed all procedures and renounced their previous citizenship, the process can still take time,' Rados Djurovic, a lawyer and director of the Asylum Protection Center NGO, told AFP. However, 'there is no justification for keeping people in an unregulated status long-term,' he added. Djurovic said outside factors linked to 'state policy and international relations' may also be to blame for the delays. Proposed amendments to the Citizenship Law in October 2023 aimed at simplifying the process for foreigners were withdrawn after objections from the European Commission. 'The more liberal reforms drew criticism from Europe, with concerns that easing citizenship rules could pose risks to Western countries,' with Serbian citizens allowed to travel freely in the EU without a visa. Despite being a candidate for EU membership, Serbia maintains close ties with Russia and has not joined Western sanctions — including visa restrictions — imposed on Moscow. As a result, demand for Serbian passports has surged, with between 80,000 and 110,000 Russians settling in the country in recent years, according to the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP). While some applicants remain in limbo, others — notably influential Russians — have reportedly obtained citizenship through special procedures. Last month the respected outlet KRIK revealed that 204 Russian nationals were granted Serbian passports for 'national interest' reasons. The list includes individuals linked to Russia's FSB security service, war profiteers from Ukraine and oligarchs under international sanctions. Serbian authorities have not commented on the report. — AFP
Kuwait Times
42 minutes ago
- Politics
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Harvard University holds graduation in shadow of Trump threat
CAMBRIDGE: Harvard held its annual graduation ceremony Thursday as a federal judge considers the legality of punitive measures taken against the university by US President Donald Trump. Hundreds of robed students and academics squeezed onto the steps of the campus's main library as Trump piles unprecedented pressure onto the university, one of the most prestigious in the world. The president is seeking to ban Harvard from having foreign students, shredding its federal contracts, slashing its multibillion-dollar grants and challenging its tax-free status. The Ivy League institution has continually drawn Trump's ire while publicly rejecting his administration's repeated demands to give up control of recruitment, curricula and research choices. The government claims Harvard tolerates anti-Semitism and liberal bias. 'Harvard is treating our country with great disrespect, and all they're doing is getting in deeper and deeper,' Trump said Wednesday. Harvard president Alan Garber got a huge cheer Thursday when he mentioned international students attending the graduation with their families, saying it was 'as it should be'—but Garber did not mention the Trump fight directly. Garber has acknowledged that Harvard does have issues with anti-Semitism and that it has struggled to ensure that a variety of views can be safely heard on campus. Ahead of the ceremony, members of the Harvard band sporting distinctive crimson blazers and brandishing their instruments filed through the narrow streets of Cambridge, Massachusetts—home to the elite school, America's oldest university. In front of a huge stage, hundreds of chairs were laid out in a grassy precinct that was closed off to the public as the event got under way. Students wearing black academic gowns toured through Cambridge with family members taking photographs. Madeleine Riskin-Kutz, a Franco-American classics and linguistics student at Harvard, said some students were planning individual acts of protest against the Trump policies. 'The atmosphere (is) that just continuing on joyfully with the processions and the fanfare is in itself an act of resistance,' the 22-year-old said. Court battles Garber has led the legal fightback in US academia after Trump targeted several prestigious universities—including Columbia, which made sweeping concessions to the administration in an effort to restore $400 million of withdrawn federal grants. A federal judge in Boston will on Thursday hear arguments over Trump's effort to exclude Harvard from the main system for sponsoring and hosting foreign students. Judge Allison Burroughs has temporarily paused the policy which would have ended Harvard's ability to bring students from abroad who currently make up 27 percent of its student body. Harvard has since been flooded with inquiries from foreign students seeking to transfer to other institutions, Maureen Martin, director of immigration services, said Wednesday. 'Many international students and scholars are reporting significant emotional distress that is affecting their mental health and making it difficult to focus on their studies,' Martin wrote in a court filing. Retired immigration judge Patricia Sheppard protested outside Harvard Yard on Wednesday, sporting a black judicial robe and brandishing a sign reading 'for the rule of law.' Basketball star and human rights campaigner Kareem Abdul-Jabbar addressed the class of 2025 for Class Day on Wednesday. 'When a tyrannical administration tried to bully and threaten Harvard to give up their academic freedom and destroy free speech, Dr Alan Garber rejected the illegal and immoral pressures,' he said, comparing Garber to civil rights icon Rosa Parks. — AFP
Kuwait Times
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Musk to exit US govt role after rare break with Trump
WASHINGTON: Billionaire Elon Musk on Wednesday announced he was leaving his role in US government, intended to reduce federal spending, shortly after his first major break with President Donald Trump over his signature spending bill. 'As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President Donald Trump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending,' he wrote on his social media platform X. 'The DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government,' he added. The South African-born tech tycoon had said Trump's bill would increase the deficit and undermine the work of Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has fired tens of thousands of people. Musk — who was a constant presence at Trump's side before pulling back to focus on his Space X and Tesla businesses — also complained that DOGE had become a 'whipping boy' for dissatisfaction with the administration. 'I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing,' Musk said in an interview with CBS News, an excerpt of which aired late Tuesday. Trump's 'One Big, Beautiful Bill Act' — which passed the US House last week and now moves to the Senate — offers sprawling tax relief and spending cuts and is the centerpiece of his domestic agenda. But critics warn it will decimate healthcare and balloon the national deficit by as much as $4 trillion over a decade. 'A bill can be big, or it can be beautiful. But I don't know if it can be both. My personal opinion,' Musk said in the interview, which will be aired in full on Sunday. The White House sought to play down any differences over US government spending, without directly naming Musk. 'The Big Beautiful Bill is NOT an annual budget bill,' Trump's Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller said on Musk's social network, X, after the tech titan's comments aired. All DOGE cuts would have to be carried out through a separate bill targeting the federal bureaucracy, according to US Senate rules, Miller added. But Musk's comments represented a rare split with the Republican president whom he helped propel back to power, as the largest donor to his 2024 election campaign. Trump tasked Musk with cutting government spending as head of DOGE, but after a feverish start Musk announced in late April he was mostly stepping back to run his companies again. Musk complained in a separate interview with the Washington Post that DOGE, which operated out of the White House with a staff of young technicians, had become a lightning rod for criticism. 'DOGE is just becoming the whipping boy for everything,' Musk told the newspaper at the Starbase launch site in Texas ahead of Space X's latest launch on Tuesday. 'Something bad would happen anywhere, and we would get blamed for it even if we had nothing to do with it.' Musk blamed entrenched US bureaucracy for DOGE's failure to achieve all of its goals — although reports say his domineering style and lack of familiarity with the currents of Washington politics were also major factors. 'The federal bureaucracy situation is much worse than I realized,' he said. 'I thought there were problems, but it sure is an uphill battle trying to improve things in DC, to say the least.' Musk has previously admitted that he did not achieve all his goals with DOGE even though tens of thousands of people were removed from government payrolls and several departments were gutted or shut down. Musk's own businesses suffered in the meantime. Protesters against the cost-cutting targeted Tesla dealerships while arsonists even torched a few of the electric vehicles, and the firm's profits slumped. 'People were burning Teslas. Why would you do that? That's really uncool,' Musk told the Post. Musk has also been focusing on Space X after a series of fiery setbacks to his dreams of colonizing Mars — the latest of which came on Tuesday when its prototype Starship exploded over the Indian Ocean. The tycoon last week also said he would pull back from spending his fortune on politics, having spent around a quarter of a billion dollars to support Trump. – AFP
