Page 10 - ARUBA TODAY

A10 WORLD NEWS
Friday 10 January 2020
Pope warns of risks from US-Iran tensions in policy speech

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope heightening of tensions be-
Francis warned Thursday tween Iran and the United
that increasing tensions States, which risk above all
between the U.S. and Iran compromising the gradual
are setting the stage for a process of rebuilding in
broader conflict in the Mid- Iraq, as well as setting the
east while jeopardizing ef- groundwork for a vaster
forts to rebuild Iraq. conflict that all of us would
Francis listed the "particu- want to avert," Francis
larly troubling" deterioration told the ambassadors in
of U.S.-Iran relations follow- the frescoed Sala Regia. "I
ing the U.S. strike that killed therefore renew my appeal
Iran's top general in his an- that all the interested par-
nual foreign policy address ties avoid an escalation of
that also touched on cli- the conflict and keep alive
mate change and nuclear the flame of dialogue and
proliferation. self-restrain in full respect of
Speaking to ambassadors international law."
accredited to the Holy Francis opened his remarks
See, Francis denounced by praising the hope of
the "pall of silence" among young people, particularly
world leaders about the as they take the lead in
long-running war in Syria, Pope Francis delivers his message during an audience with members of the Diplomatic Corps demanding greater atten-
accredited to the Holy See during the traditional exchange of New Year greetings at the Vatican,
the humanitarian crisis in Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020. tion to the threat of climate
Yemen and the intensi- Associated Press change.
fied fighting in Libya in his Francis has made caring
global roundup of areas of Guard's powerful Quds to faithful who have en- ning. But Francis made for the environment a pil-
concern for the Catholic Force commander, Qas- dured years of attacks and clear the American strike lar of his papacy. Vatican
Church. sem Soleimani, and what persecution by the Islamic and Iran's response to it officials have praised the
Vatican officials and Chris- it means for Iraq's already State group. No trip was was worrisome in the vola- global youth movement
tian leaders in Iraq have beleaguered Christian mi- ever confirmed, however, tile region. sparked by Swedish teen
voiced alarm about Fri- norities. and it's not clear how in- "Particularly troubling are climate activist Greta Thun-
day's airstrike in Iraq that Francis had hoped to travel creased instability in Iraq the signals coming from the berg, who met with Francis
killed Iran's Revolutionary to Iraq this year to minister might affect Vatican plan- entire region following the last year.q

Sudan's PM embarks on peace mission to rebel stronghold

By SAMY MAGDY it controls.
KAUDA, Sudan (AP) — Su- The area has been stricken
dan's prime minister, ac- by poverty for years, but
companied by United Na- fighting barred aid groups
tions officials, embarked on from visiting. Thursday's
a peace mission Thursday visit was just the second
to a rebel stronghold, in a time since 2011 that the
major step toward gov- UN World Food Programme
ernment efforts to end the has been able to access
country's long-running civil the area. Aid workers were
conflicts. bringing with them supplies
A crowd of tens of thou- for a school feeding pro-
sands, including thousands gram that they say is a first
of armed rebels, welcomed step towards addressing
Abdalla Hamdok to the dire hunger in Kauda and
Nuba Mountain's town of nearby communities.
Kauda, about 1,000 kilo- The visit to the area is also
meters (620 miles) south the first for senior Sudanese
of the capital Khartoum, officials in more than nine
for a meeting with Abdel- years. It comes as the gov-
Aziz al-Hilu, who leads the ernment and rebel lead-
powerful faction of the Su- Armed rebels in support of Sudan Liberation Movement-North Leader, Adel-Aziz al-Hilu, chant ers are also engaging in
dan Liberation Movement- slogans during a visit organized by The World Food Program (WFP) in the conflict-affected remote peace talks in South Sudan,
North. Al-Hilu's movement is town of Kauda, Nuba Mountains, Sudan, Jan. 9, 2020. which itself gained inde-
Sudan's single largest rebel Associated Press pendence in 2011 and has
group and is active in the been plagued by civil war
Blue Nile and South Kor- gramme and American, country and help its fragile lar state with no role of re- in recent years.
dofan provinces, where it British and Norwegian dip- path to democracy survive ligion in lawmaking, the Sudan's new transitional
controls significant chunks lomats. following the military's over- disbanding of all al-Bashir's government has six months
of territory. Sudan's transitional gov- throw of longtime autocrat militias and the re-vamping to make peace with the
The Sudanese prime minis- ernment has been engag- Omar al-Bashir last April af- of the country's military. His country's rebels under
ter arrived with five Cabi- ing in peace talks with ter nearly three decades in group says if its demands a power-sharing deal
net ministers, the head of rebel groups since Octo- power. aren't met, it will call for reached this summer fol-
the U.N. World Food Pro- ber, looking to stabilize the Al-Hilu is calling for a secu- self-determination in areas lowing al-Bashir's ouster. q