The United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Professor Philip Alston, is in the country for a 10 day human rights fact-finding visit. This is to assess government’s efforts to eliminate poverty and improve human rights in line with international human rights law. During his 10-day visit, the Special Rapporteur will hold … Read more
France has leapfrogged the United States and Britain as the world’s top ‘soft power’ with more non-military global influence than any other country. The country’s improved status has been helped by the election of President Emmanuel Macron, a study revealed today. While France has risen, Donald Trump’s ascent to the White House has seen the US … Read more
The latest round of Syria peace talks wound down Friday with rival sides trading familiar soundbites as the UN envoy maintained his push for incremental progress towards a deal. A delegation from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government and rebel negotiators were in Geneva this week for a seventh round of UN-backed negotiations aimed at resolving … Read more
Ghana’s Ambassadors and High Commissioner designates have assured Ghanaians of their commitment to attract more investors into the country in their line of duty to propel her development. According to them, government’s agenda of industrialization will also require the attraction of more investors with expertise and the capacity to deliver hence their herculean task. The Ambassadors and … Read more
Ghana’s Foreign Minister has asked ambassadors and high commissioners-designate to play a proactive role in promoting the country’s national and strategic interests. Ms Shirley Ayorkor Botchway said Ghana’s diplomatic missions and envoys abroad were mandated not only to sell the country abroad but to vigorously market the incentives that Ghana offers to potential foreign investors. … Read more
Madam Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, has directed the re-establishment of the Economic, Trade and Investment Bureau (ETIB) at the Ministry. She explained that the re-establishment of the ETIB would realign the Ministry’s objectives to achieve the Government’s Economic Diplomacy Agenda. She said there was no doubt that one of … Read more
Despite little progress in the latest round of Syrian peace talks, negotiations are set to resume in June, the UN envoy said Monday. Staffan de Mistura told the Security Council that “important gaps remain between the parties on major issues” following the sixth round in Geneva held last week. The Syrian government and the opposition … Read more
A Syrian rebel delegation has arrived in the Kazakh capital Astana for Russian-led talks aimed at ending the country’s civil war after the group snubbed the previous round, Kazakhstan said Tuesday. A rebel delegation led by Jaish al-Islam faction leader Mohammad Alloush has arrived in Astana for a fourth round of talks with the regime … Read more
The UN’s Syria envoy said Thursday that he will hold talks with Russian officials next week but without the US present after previous plans for a trilateral meeting were “postponed”. UN peace mediator Staffan de Mistura said his meeting with Russia’s deputy foreign minister Gennady Gatilov is set for Monday in Geneva. “The trilateral meeting … Read more
The Chinese are up in arms against Ghana in a seeming intractable war. The stakes are high and with a lot of quislings in the duel; the war has taken interesting and twisting dimensions. The good thing about it though is that there is an unprecedented commitment by concerned citizens to deal a fatal blow … Read more
UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura said Tuesday that a “horrific” attack on a rebel-held town in the country that killed at least 58 people was believed to be chemical and launched from the air. “What we have understood, it was a chemical attack and it came from the air,” de Mistura told reporters in … Read more
Syrian rivals will tackle all agenda items at peace talks this week, including political transition, the United Nations mediator Staffan de Mistura said Friday, warning not to expect “miracles.” The fifth round of stalled UN-backed negotiations have started in Geneva, with a mandate to discuss governance, drafting a new constitution, elections and combating terrorism in … Read more
A US diplomat has been expelled from New Zealand after Washington refused to waive diplomatic immunity so police investigating a serious crime could question him, officials said. Details of the alleged crime have not been revealed but local media reported the diplomat left the South Pacific nation last week suffering a broken nose and black … Read more
Syrian rebel factions will not attend a new round of negotiations with government figures in the Kazakh capital, an opposition delegation spokesman told AFP on Monday. “Rebel groups have decided not to participate in Astana,” said Osama Abu Zeid, saying one reason for the boycott was “unfulfilled pledges related to the cessation of hostilities.” The … Read more
Syria’s government and opposition groups are invited to resume peace talks in Geneva on March 23, the UN envoy said Wednesday, as the United States pledged support for the negotiations. Staffan de Mistura announced the date after reporting to the Security Council on the results of the last round of talks on ending Syria’s six-year … Read more
The Vice President of the republic of Ghana His Excellency Mahamadu Bawumia, on Friday, February 3 received the Pope’s special envoy to Ghana, His Eminence Cardinal Guiseppe Bertello together with the Apostolic Nuncio to Ghana His Excellency Jean Marie Speich at the flagstaff house. The diplomatic meeting follows the nomination of Cardinal Bertello by Pope … Read more
UN-sponsored Syria peace talks limped towards a close on Friday after more than a week in Geneva with little sign of progress beyond possible agreement on an agenda for more substantial negotiations. That may seem a low bar by which to judge diplomatic achievement — but for the United Nations’ envoy Staffan de Mistura, simply … Read more
Several more rounds of Syrian peace talks will be needed to reach any accord, the UN envoy bidding to kickstart the sputtering process has told the rival sides, setting out three key discussion areas. In a paper given to both sides, and seen by AFP Sunday, he said that by the end of the current … Read more
Salem al-Meslet (L), spokesman for the High Negotiations Committee (HNC) umbrella group, speaks to journalists on the eve of resumption of peace talks on Syria, on February 22, 2017 in Geneva Syria’s main opposition group said Wednesday it wanted face-to-face discussions with government representatives, a day before the start of a new round of peace … Read more
A convoy carrying the prime minister of Libya’s U. N.-backed government and the heads of an allied parliament and presidential guard came under fire in Tripoli on Monday, but none of the three were harmed, officials said. A spokesman for the U.N.-backed government, Ashraf Tulty, said the motorcade had been hit by shooting as it … Read more