Region

BEIRUT — A woman whose kick to the groin of a Lebanese ministerial bodyguard made her an instant protest icon was summoned to court on Wednesday and will face trial in November.

On October 17 last year, the day unprecedented cross-sectarian protests demanding a radical overhaul of the political system erupted across the country, she kicked the gun-wielding bodyguard whose minister was being confronted by demonstrators.

The moment she delivered her side kick was caught on video, fast becoming a viral meme and a symbol of the kind of message protesters wanted to send their rulers.

Malak Alawiye, against whom charges were brought last year over the kick, was summoned to a military court on Wednesday, a judicial source told AFP.

She will face trial in November for bodily harm and insulting the security forces.

The protest movement was ignited in October by a tax on voice calls made with WhatsApp and other messaging apps.

It has since grown into the biggest challenge, yet, to the sectarian political system that has governed the country for decades.

Earlier this month, Human Rights Watch criticised Lebanon for resorting to military courts to try several other civilians involved in the protest movement.

“Military courts have no business trying civilians,” the watchdog said in a statement.

“Lebanon’s parliament should end this troubling practice by passing a law to remove civilians from the military court’s jurisdiction entirely.”

TEHRAN — Iran's supreme leader said Tuesday it is a "religious duty" for people to vote in this week's general election and strengthen the Islamic republic against the "propaganda" of its enemies.

"Participating in elections and voting... is a religious duty, not just a national or revolutionary duty," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a speech, parts of which were aired on state television.

"Elections nullify many of the vicious plots the Americans have in their minds and Zionists have in their hearts against the country," he said, referring to US ally Israel.

Iranians are set to elect a new parliament on Friday, with conservatives expected to make a resurgence.

Observers expect a low turnout as many reformist and moderate candidates have been barred from running by the Guardian Council.

The council, made up of six clerics appointed by the supreme leader and six lawyers selected by the judiciary, disqualified more than half of the 14,444 hopefuls.

The move threatens the thin majority of President Hassan Rouhani's alliance in parliament.

Friday's election comes after months of domestic turmoil and steeply escalating tensions between Iran and its arch enemy the United States.

In November, nationwide demonstrations over petrol price hikes turned violent before being crushed in a deadly crackdown.

Tensions with Washington have risen since 2018 when US President Donald Trump withdrew from a landmark nuclear agreement and reimposed crippling sanctions.

But they have never come as close to a direct confrontation as in the past seven months, when it has happened twice, most recently after the US killed prominent Iranian general Qasem Soleimani on January 3.

Iran hit back on January 8 by firing a barrage of missiles at US troops in Iraq.

It had been on high alert for US retaliation that day when they shot down a Ukrainian airliner in Tehran, killing all 176 people on board.

The downing of the Boeing 737, which the armed forces later admitted was accidental, sparked more protests that turned political.

Khamenei said the election would show that Iran's enemies had failed to divide the nation.

"Watch how the people favour the election despite the enemies' insistence on distancing the people from the system," the supreme leader said.

GENEVA — The United Nations on Tuesday welcomed a new EU naval operation to enforce an arms embargo on Libya as the warring sides in the conflict met for military talks in Geneva.

EU foreign ministers agreed Monday to a naval mission that will be authorised to intervene to stop weapons shipments into the North African state.

"Whoever can help in monitoring the arms embargo is welcome in whatever part of Libya," UN Libya envoy Ghassan Salame told reporters.

"What is needed is that member states of the UN come to the rescue... in monitoring the violations of the arms embargo, otherwise it will not end," he said.

Salame said the embargo was being violated by air, land and sea, pointing to Libya's large and porous border.

The UN envoy on Tuesday began hosting a second round of talks in Geneva to attempt to turn a shaky truce between the UN-recognised government in Tripoli and eastern-based military commander Khalifa Haftar into a lasting ceasefire.

States including Russia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt support Haftar, while the UN-recognised government led by Fayez Al Sarraj is backed by Turkey and Qatar.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday the new EU mission should be implemented "in agreement with the UN Security Council".

Lavrov was meeting his Italian counterpart in Rome over the EU agreement which several countries had demanded should not encourage a spike in migrant crossings from North Africa to Europe.

"The ships will be deployed to the east to monitor weapons, not along the migrant route," Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said.

No talks together 

Libya has been in turmoil since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising killed longtime president Muammar Qadhafi, with rival armed factions still vying for power.

In the latest outbreak of fighting, Haftar launched his offensive on Tripoli last April, but after rapid advances his forces stalled on the edges of the capital.

The fighting has left more than 1,000 people dead and displaced some 140,000 according to the United Nations.

Five senior officers from the Government of National Accord  and five appointed by Haftar’s Libyan National Army were taking part in the Geneva talks — part of broader efforts to end the conflict in the country.

Salame said he was meeting with the two sides separately but did not rule out possible joint talks at a later date.

A first round of the talks ended with no result earlier this month but Salame said there was “more hope” this time, mainly because of the approval of a UN Security Council resolution calling for a “lasting ceasefire”.

World leaders had agreed at a Berlin summit last month to end all meddling in the conflict and stop the flow of weapons, but little has changed on the ground since then.

Salame said the truce was “very fragile” but “nobody has so far renegued on the principle of accepting the truce”.

He said agreeing a ceasefire was “not a precondition” for talks planned to start in Geneva on February 26 on finding a political solution to the long-running conflict.

ADDIS ABABA — US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday that it could take "months" to resolve a dispute between Ethiopia and Egypt over a massive dam on the Nile River.

Tensions have been high in the Nile basin ever since Ethiopia broke ground on the project in 2011.

The US Treasury Department stepped in last year to facilitate talks between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan — another downstream country — after Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi reached out to US President Donald Trump, a close ally.

The latest round of talks concluded in Washington last week, and officials have said they want to reach a deal by the end of February. 

But at a press conference Tuesday in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, Pompeo said the process could take longer.

"A great deal of work remains, but I'm optimistic that over the coming months we can resolve this," he said. 

Ethiopia says the dam — which will be the largest hydropower plant in Africa — is crucial for its growing economy. 

Egypt fears the project will disrupt the river that provides 90 per cent of its drinking water.

Addisu Lashitew, an analyst at the Brookings Institution in Washington, said he expected Pompeo “will be trying to make a final push” to reach a deal during his stay in Ethiopia.

“President Trump seeks to get the credit... as the dealmaker for resolving this issue,” Addisu said on a call with reporters last week.

Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedu Andargachew said at the press conference on Tuesday there were “outstanding issues that need negotiation”.

He did not elaborate, but major sticking points include the filling of the dam’s reservoir, which Egypt worries will dramatically curb water flow downstream.

Ethiopia reforms 

Ethiopia is the last stop on Pompeo’s three-country Africa tour, the first by a US Cabinet-level official to the continent in 19 months. 

On Tuesday he met Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year in part for pursuing an ambitious reform agenda upon taking office in 2018 following several years of anti-government protests.

Pompeo said the two men discussed the reforms and preparations for landmark elections planned for August 29. 

“A free and credible vote will show there is no false choice between democracy and security, and it will ensure that everyone has a voice,” Pompeo said.

“I think the most impressive thing about these reforms is that they’re owned by the Ethiopian people,” he added. 

Pompeo also met on Tuesday with Ethiopian President Sahle-Work Zewde and Moussa Faki Mahamat, chair of the African Union Commission which is headquartered in Addis Ababa. 

On Wednesday he is expected to deliver a policy speech at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa before flying to Saudi Arabia.

Pompeo is attempting to lay out a positive vision for US cooperation with Africa, though analysts point out that the Trump administration’s record complicates that message. 

The US is currently discussing military cuts in Africa.

Pompeo’s visit also comes just weeks after the US announced tightened visa rules targeting Africa’s most populous country, Nigeria, as well as Tanzania, Sudan and Eritrea.

AIT-BEN-HADDOU, Morocco — Millions worldwide may have seen the desert fortress in the hit fantasy series “Game of Thrones”, but fewer know they can visit the Moroccan village of Ait-Ben-Haddou.

The fortified old settlement at the foot of the majestic Atlas mountains enchanted audiences in the HBO series and also served as a dusty backdrop in Ridley Scott’s epic swords-and-sandals film “Gladiator”.

But unlike other famous locations from movie and television history, this UNESCO World Heritage Site has so far missed out on a mass influx of tourism — something some of its inhabitants are eager to change.

“Several people have told me that they came here to see the filming location of ‘Game of Thrones’,” said Ahmed Baabouz, a local tour guide. “There is tourism linked to cinema here but frankly we have not developed it to the extent it could be.”

Ait-Ben-Haddou is southern Morocco’s most famous fortress. Time seems to have stopped at the site overlooking a valley some 30 kilometres from the town of Ouarzazate.

After passing through the imposing entrance way, visitors navigate a labyrinth of winding alleys that eventually lead onto a public square where the settlement’s inhabitants once gathered.

There is a mosque and two cemeteries — one for Muslims and one for Jews. Most inhabitants have long since departed though, with a few homes converted into stalls selling handicrafts.

The fortress is an ideal film setting, located a short distance from the studios of Ouarzazate, the “Mecca” of Moroccan cinema. Productions ranging from “Lawrence of Arabia” to “The Mummy” have been filmed here.

More recently, scenes from the cult series “Game of Thrones” were shot at Ait-Ben-Haddou, with the site standing in for the fictional Yellow City of Yunkai which is conquered by Daenerys Targaryen, a key character in the “GOT” universe.

Hammadi, 61, is a privileged witness to the location’s cinematic history.

“All of these productions have contributed to the reputation of the region,” he said, grinning widely.

Hammadi himself has appeared as an extra in a number of films. And while like most people he lives in a more modern home in a village on the other side of the valley, he continues to return to Ait-Ben-Haddou to welcome tourists.

‘House of the Dragon’ 

On a wall at the entrance to Hammadi’s former home, photos bear witness to the projects he has worked on.

One shows him dressed as an ancient Roman with director Ridley Scott on the set of “Gladiator”.

“We have a very rich cinematic heritage that we hope to use to attract tourists,” said tour guide Baabouz, who is 29.

But “nothing indicates that ‘Game of Thrones’ was shot here,” he added.

On Morocco’s Atlantic coast, the city of Essaouira also formed the backdrop to scenes from the series.

But there too, Moroccan tourism promoters are yet to capitalise on the connection.

In comparison, Northern Ireland, Malta and Dubrovnik in Croatia have attracted hordes of fans from around the world, drawn by their links to the franchise.

To remedy this, Baabouz and other young people in the village are pooling their limited resources towards an ambitious project: a museum in the fortress, gathering photography from the productions that have been filmed here.

US channel HBO has commissioned a prequel to “GOT”, called “House of the Dragon”. George R.R. Martin, the author of the books on which the series is based, wrote on his blog that shooting would also take place in Morocco.

JUBA — Swarms of locusts which are wreaking havoc across East Africa have now arrived in South Sudan, the government said on Tuesday, threatening more misery in one of the world’s most vulnerable nations.

Billions of desert locusts, some in swarms the size of Moscow, have already chomped their way through Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Djibouti, Eritrea, Tanzania, Sudan and Uganda.

Their breeding has been spurred by one of the wettest rainy seasons in the region in four decades.

Experts have warned the main March-to-May cropping season is at risk. Eggs laid along the locusts’ path are due to hatch and create a second wave of the insects in key agricultural areas.

The arrival of the locusts could be catastrophic in South Sudan, where war followed by drought and floods has already left 6 million people — 60 per cent of the population — facing severe hunger.

Agriculture Minister Onyoti Adigo Nyikiwec said the locusts had crossed the eastern border with Uganda on Monday.

“The report came that these are matured. As you know locusts are like human beings, they send their reconnaissance ahead of time to make sure that whether there is food or not and if the area is good for breeding.”

Meshack Malo, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) representative in South Sudan, said about 2,000 locusts had been spotted so far, and if not controlled quickly, could have a devastating impact.

“These are deep yellow which means that they will be here mostly looking at areas in which they will lay eggs.”

He said the FAO was training locals and acquiring sprayers and chemicals to try and combat the locusts. It is the first locust invasion in 70 years in the country.

Other countries have employed aircraft to spray the swarms, while desperate locals have employed tactics like banging pots and pans or shooting at them.

Nyikiwec said the government had prepared a contingency plan.

“We are training people who will be involved in spraying and also we need chemicals for spraying and also sprayers. You will also need cars to move while spraying and then later if it becomes worse, we will need aircraft.”

Earlier this month Somalia declared a national emergency over the invasion.

The FAO says the current invasion is known as an “upsurge”, the term for when an entire region is affected.

However, if the invasion cannot be rolled back and spreads, it becomes known as a “plague” of locusts.

There have been six major desert locust plagues in the 1900s, the last of which was in 1987-1989. The last major upsurge was in 2003-2005.