Attack On Saudi Oil Sites Raises Risks Amid US-Iran Tension

Drone attacks inside Saudi Arabia

BY JON GAMBRELL

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (AP) — A weekend drone attack on Saudi Arabia that cut into global energy supplies and halved the kingdom’s oil production threatened Sunday to fuel a regional crisis, as Iran denied U.S. allegations it launched the assault and tensions remained high over Tehran’s collapsing nuclear deal. Satellite photos examined by The Associated Press suggested damage at the heart of the kingdom’s crucial oil processing facility.

Iran called the U.S. claims “maximum lies,” while a commander in its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard reiterated its forces could strike U.S. military bases across the Mideast with their arsenal of ballistic missiles. A prominent U.S. senator suggested striking Iranian oil refineries in response to the assault, claimed by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels, on Saudi Arabia’s largest oil processing facility.

“Because of the tension and sensitive situation, our region is like a powder keg,” warned Guard Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh. “When these contacts come too close, when forces come into contact with one another, it is possible a conflict happens because of a misunderstanding.”

Actions on any side could break into the open a twilight war that’s been raging just below the surface of the wider Persian Gulf in recent months. Already, there have been mysterious attacks on oil tankers that America blames on Tehran, at least one suspected Israeli strike on Shiite forces in Iraq, and Iran shooting down a U.S. military surveillance drone.

The attack Saturday on Saudi Arabia’s Abqaiq plant and its Khurais oil field led to the interruption of an estimated 5.7 million barrels of the kingdom’s crude oil production per day, equivalent to more than 5% of the world’s daily supply. It remains unclear how King Salman and his assertive son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, will respond to an attack targeting the heart of the Saudi oil industry.

There was no immediate impact on global oil prices from the attacks as markets were closed for the weekend, but analysts anticipate a spike in oil prices when markets reopen Monday. Saudi Arabia has promised to fill in the cut in production with its reserves, but has not said how long it will take to repair the damage.

Images from the European Commission’s Sentinel-2 satellite examined by the AP showed black char marks at the heart of the Abqaiq plant on Sunday, marks not seen over the prior month. The Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies in August identified the area with the char marks as the plant’s stabilization area. The center said the area includes “storage tanks and processing and compressor trains — which greatly increases the likelihood of a strike successfully disrupting or destroying its operations.”

The state-run oil giant Saudi Aramco, which the kingdom hopes to offer a sliver of in a public stock offering, did not respond to a request for comment.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo directly blamed Iran for the Saudi attack on Twitter, without offering evidence to support his claim.

“Amid all the calls for de-escalation, Iran has now launched an unprecedented attack on the world’s energy supply,” Pompeo wrote late Saturday. “There is no evidence the attacks came from Yemen.”

The U.S., Western nations, their Gulf Arab allies and U.N. experts say Iran supplies the Houthis with weapons and drones — a charge that Tehran denies.

U.S. officials previously alleged at least one recent drone attack on Saudi Arabia came from Iraq, where Iran backs Shiite militias. Those militias in recent weeks have been targeted themselves by mysterious airstrikes, with at least one believed to have been carried out by Israel.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi on Sunday dismissed Pompeo’s remarks as “blind and futile comments.”

“The Americans adopted the ‘maximum pressure’ policy against Iran, which, due to its failure, is leaning toward ‘maximum lies,’” Mousavi said in a statement.

Separately, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi’s office issued a statement on Sunday denying the drone attack came from there. Iraq “abides by its constitution that prevents the use of its lands to launch aggressions against neighboring countries,” the statement said.

Oil-rich Kuwait also said it would increase security around the country’s “vital sites” over the attacks.

Houthi leader Muhammad al-Bukhaiti reiterated his group’s claim of responsibility, telling The Associated Press on Sunday it exploited “vulnerabilities” in Saudi air defenses to strike the targets. He did not elaborate.

Iran, meanwhile, kept up its own threats.

Hajizadeh, the Guard brigadier general who leads the country’s aerospace program, gave an interview published across Iranian media on Sunday that discussed Iran’s downing of a U.S. drone in July. He said Guard forces were ready for a counterattack if America responded, naming the Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar and Al-Dhafra Air Base near Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates as immediate targets, as well as U.S. Navy ships in the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea.

“Wherever they are, it only takes one spark and we hit their vessels, their air bases, their troops,” he said in a video published online with English subtitles.

It wasn’t just Iran making threats. U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican close to President Donald Trump, suggested retaliatory strikes targeting Iran.

“Iran will not stop their misbehavior until the consequences become more real, like attacking their refineries, which will break the regime’s back,” Graham wrote on Twitter.

All this comes before the United Nations General Assembly, which will draw world leaders to New York in a little over a week. There’s been speculation of a potential meeting between Trump and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on the summit’s sidelines, possibly in exchange for the lifting of some economic sanctions the American leader imposed on Tehran after unilaterally withdrawing from the nuclear accord over a year ago.

If Iran had a hand in Saturday’s attack, it could be to bolster their position ahead of any talks, analysts say.

“The main point for Iran, in my opinion, is not necessarily to derail a meeting between Trump and Rouhani but to increase its leverage ahead of it,” said Michael Horowitz, the head of intelligence at the Bahrain-based risk management firm Le Beck International. “By carrying out such a major attack, Iran wants to send the message that the only way to decrease tensions is to comply with its demands regarding sanctions relief.”

However, he warned there could be a danger of Iran “overplaying” its hand.

“There will be no political benefit for Trump in a meeting with Rouhani if this meeting sends the message that the U.S. simply surrendered to Iranian demands,” he said.

Before Saturdays, attack, benchmark Brent crude had been trading at just above $60 a barrel, but analysts anticipated a spike in oil prices when markets reopen Monday.

Associated Press writers Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran; Aya Batrawy in Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Bassem Mroue in Beirut and Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed to this report.

Why We May Not Be Coming Home Just Yet, By Nigerians In South Africa

People stand behind a banner to protest against xenophobia outside of the main gate of the South African High Commission, which was shut down to avert reprisal attacks in Abuja, on September 5, 2019. Image: AFP

BY GBOYEGA ALAKA

LAGOS (THE NATION) -- While the spate of xenophobic attacks in South Africa have been sources of serious concern for Nigerians back home, as many fear for the safety of their friends and relatives in the former apartheid enclave, it may be interesting to know that a good number of Nigerians are not just ready to come back home anytime soon. Gboyega Alaka reports.

ON Wednesday, September 11, the first Air Peace plane earmarked to convey Nigerians who may be feeling threatened by the raging xenophobia attacks in South Africa touched down at the Murtala Muhammad International Airport, Lagos, Nigeria. The time was 9.45 and 187 Nigerians, male and female, children inclusive disembarked as against the 320 being expected. The South African authorities reportedly frustrated the evacuation efforts, leading to the reduced number and a 15-hour delay. Home sweet home, you may want to sing; but not so for some of the returnees. The truth, as our reporters found out, is that not all the returnees were excited about coming back home; at least not at this time; not just yet. But like the saying goes: when in danger; safety first.

Because of the opportunities and the enabling environment bequeathed to that country by the long apartheid regime of the white minority, the Rainbow Country, as it is often referred to, presented the best opportunity for adventurous Africans looking to unleash their energy and savvy for business and professionalism. To say the least, many have prospered beyond their own expectations and the country has become more or less home to them. The Nation’s findings reveal that there are indeed many more Nigerians and immigrants from other nations, who are not willing and are just not ready to relocate, even as they fear that another spate of attacks may just be a trigger away. One of such Nigerians is Mr. Wisdom Okoli, a Nigerian Igbo from Anambra State.

Wisdom Okoli arrived Johannesburg, South Africa in 1994; right after the former apartheid country secured its independence from the white supremacists.

He was a youth, full of energy and armed with great footballing skills. Very likely, he must have heard of Kaizer Chiefs, Mamelodi Sundowns; and fancied himself getting a slot in one of them. But dreams are dreams, and not all come to fruition. “I couldn’t make in that area, so I took up a teaching job. I already had a certificate in education back home in Nigeria.”He recalled.

Two months after taking up the teaching job, what would seem like the first sign of xenophobia reared its head. The South African authorities came up with a law barring all foreigners from their education sector. “I had no option but to resort to buying and selling.”

That dogged decision, taken about 25 years ago blossomed, and today, the father of five is a major player in that countries agriculture sector, specialising in herb and crop farming.

Asked to shower some light on the crisis and if Nigerians are indeed the ones inviting the attacks upon themselves because of their involvement in crime and loud lifestyle, Okoli said, “Not exactly. The simple truth is that South Africans are tired of immigrants. Not just Nigerians. They are tired of the Pakistanis, Ethiopians, Chinese, Mala wians…; people from all over the world, coming to saturate sectors they feel they should be managing.”

He explained that this would be the first time xenophobic attacks of this magnitude would be directly targeting Nigerians. “Nigerians are very involved with the South Africans. We have so intermingled with them, married to their people, and created employment in several sectors, that they rarely attacked us. At least not like they do the Ethiopians and the Malawians. “

Okoli admitted though that, “It is not unlikely that the people may be getting envious of the progress being recorded by Nigerians in business in their country. Besides, Nigerians are very visible and identifiable anywhere they are, because of our manner of dressing, which is peculiar, and our lifestyle.”

He said the two incidents that precipitated these bouts of attacks on foreigners were wrongly pitched on Nigerians. “The first incident, which happened in Pretoria, in which a South African taxi driver was shot and killed, could not have involved a Nigerian because there wasn’t any Nigerian in that area. It was a Tanzanian who was selling drug that the police were chasing, when a bullet accidentally hit and killed the taxi driver. But because of the envy they were beginning to nurse for Nigerians, it was easy for them to conclude that it was a Nigerian that was at the centre of the incident.

“The second incident happened in an area dominated by Ethiopians in Johannesburg, where they sell all sorts of fake big brands in clothing, shoes and bags, such as Louis Vuitton, Versace, Dolce and Gabana etc. The police used to come there to collect bribes and on this occasion came two, three times in a row and the Ethiopians revolted and threw stones at them. Again there were no Nigerians in that area because our people don’t own businesses there. But again, they pinned it on Nigerians.

“That incident angered the indigenes, who could not bear to see foreigners standing up to their police and authorities. So they came out to fight for the police. It was after that that they regrouped and decided to shut down the whole area, insisting that all foreigners must leave; that foreigners were taking over their country.”

On whether Nigerians’ involvement in hard drug racketeering may be another reason for the attacks, Okoli said, “All foreigners in this country: Moroccans, Ghanaians, Malawians, Tanzanians, Chinese, Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Nigerians are doing drug business; even South Africans themselves are involved. They manufacture and sell. But you know Nigerians, because they are next to the indigenes, hav and certainly not a Nigerian. It is a confirmed case of jungle justice, which is not uncommon here, of a man who stole a handbag. There was a case in the past where something like that almost took place, when a Nigerian received burns after his shop was attacked. But most of the images you see of people being cut or set on fire are not from this country and people are just trying to wipe up sentiments. What happened mainly are attacks on properties.”

In totality, Sunny-Wenike said about 12 people have been killed in the current attacks and eight of them were South African looters, who got killed during squabbles with the police.

He also said it is not true that the authorities in the country have been standing by and watching while the attacks were being perpetrated.

“Although we are of the belief that they did not act promptly, which was why it escalated, but they have subsequently responded well, as you could visibly see police presence the following day. On Sunday, there was a looming tension in the air; one of the major leaders of the Zulu tribe, which is at the fore-front of these xenophobia attacks, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi had come all the way from Kwazulu Nathal to appease and educate them on the need for peaceful co-existence with their African brothers; but as he spoke, a section of the crowd broke away and headed for Johannesburg Central Business District, hoping to wreck more havoc and pass a message to the government. But they could not execute their plan, as information reached the authorities and police were alerted and they were promptly dispersed.”

Is the situation so tense as to make him jump on the next available plane to Nigeria?

No, was his emphatic answer. “I was at the airport yesterday with the president of the Nigerian Citizens Association in South Africa, Hon. Godwin Adama and the minister in charge of Consular Matters to help in processing the exit of Nigerians who have voluntarily indicated their willingness to leave; but I can tell you that a good of them, say 30%, are people who have made up their mind to go back home even before these attacks, but who had no means. That is not to say there aren’t some who were affected by the attacks. There are thousands of Nigerians who are citizens or who have dual citizenship, and several who have inter-married- I am a father of two, engaged to be married to a South African. There are also Nigerians who gainfully employed in government parastatals, as lecturers in universities, and some who have businesses and own properties. Hence in a situation where governments of the two countries have confirmed that there is no cause for alarm, and where it has been established that it is not a government orchestrated annihilation of the migrant community and the South African president has openly assured the migrant communities that it is taking positive steps to forestall further occurrence, then there is really no cause for alarm. Even the action of the Federal Government of Nigeria to send an envoy to meet with the president of South Africa and the joint efforts of the Senate and House of Representatives, have been doubly reassuring. We however appreciate the gesture of the owner of Air Peace, Chief Allen Onyema to evacuate vulnerable willing Nigerians who have decided to go back. ”

Asked to assess the situation as at the time of this interview, Sunny-Wenike said, “As I speak, there is no tension in the air. Everything is under control. I’m in Johannesburg right now and people are going about their businesses without hindrance, children have gone to school; although there is a call for caution and for the people to be observant as some people may want to capitalise on the recent attacks to cause mayhem. But it is not as if there is palpable danger in the air. I, personally, am going about my business and checking on Nigerian communities to confirm their situations. From what I have gathered, their major concern is for our government in Nigeria to continue to engage the South African authorities, so that there will not be a re-occurrence.

‘If I leave South Africa, it’s for Canada’

John Peters is another Nigerian who is not ready to relocate from South Africa just yet. And when it eventually happens, he is sure it will not be Nigeria, as he has his eyes set on Canada.

Based in Groblersdal in Limpopo Province, Peter arrived in South Africa 14 years ago to study and work. Today, he’s married to a fellow Nigerian and works with a communication firm, while studying law in one of the universities.

Even though he’s been in that country for five whole years, Peter confesses that he still worries over his personal safety and security, due what he describes as the “high crime rate and periodic xenophobic attacks.”

Like the two respondents above, Peter says the claim that Nigerians are targeted because of their involvement in crime is false and unsubstantiated.

“The claims are not correct because most Nigerians are into legitimate businesses. Some are medical doctors, some are lawyers, teachers, engineers, lecturers, businessmen and women and entrepreneurs. Yes, there is that less than one percent who are into drug business but they sell only to the whites. The drugs (nyaope) consumed by the local South Africans are manufactured by South African blacks and the police and other security agencies are 100% aware of this. Nigerians are not into robbery and are certainly not into human trafficking.”

On whether the situation is such that he would want to relocate from the Rainbow country, Peter said, “In the future. And when that happens, it will have to be Canada, with my family, for further studies.”

At the moment though, he says his neighbourhood, which is mainly white-dominated, is calm and peaceful. He fig ures there are about 15 Nigerians in the community.

When reminded that the Federal Government of Nigeria has promised returnees social rehabilitation, his wry answer is, “That’s not enough. They should put more effort into providing adequate infrastructure such as constant electricity, good water, good roads, health and jobs.”

Anything outside these, he said would be efforts in futility.

Contrary to the notion back home, he, like Okoli and Sunny-Wenike, is of the opinion that South Africans acceptance of Nigerians is high “because an average South African believes that Nigerians are highly intelligent, focused and hardworking, compared to other African migrants.”

SOURCE: THE NATION

The Latest: US 'Ready' To Deploy Resources From Reserves

This Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019, satellite image provided by NASA Worldview shows fires following Yemen's Houthi rebels claiming a drone attack on two major oil installations in eastern Saudi Arabia. The drones attacked the world's largest oil processing facility in Saudi Arabia and a major oilfield operated by Saudi Aramco early Saturday, sparking a huge fire at a processor crucial to global energy supplies. The island shown in the image is Bahrain, while the peninsula in the image is Qatar. (NASA Worldview via AP)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (AP) — The Latest on the explosion and fire at a major oil facility in Saudi Arabia (all times local):

3:10 a.m.

The U.S. Energy Department says the U.S. “stands ready to deploy resources from the Strategic Petroleum Oil Reserves if necessary to offset any disruptions to oil markets” in the wake of a drone attack in Saudi Arabia on the world’s largest oil processing facility.

In a statement Saturday night, the department said Energy Secretary Rick Perry has also directed department leadership to work with the International Energy Agency on potential available options for collective global action if needed. Nations of the 30-member IEA seek to respond to disruptions in the oil supply and advocate for energy policy.

The U.S. strategic oil reserves holds 630 million barrels.

Huge fires erupted Saturday after Yemen’s Houthi rebels used drones to attack the Abqaiq oil processing facility and the Khurais oil field. Saudi officials say production operations at the sites have been temporarily suspended.

2:10 a.m.

Saudi Arabia’s energy minister has confirmed that attacks on its oil facilities Saturday knocked out about 50% of the country’s production and said it will make up for some of the loss with oil stocks.

In a statement released by the Saudi Press Agency, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz says explosions at Saudi Aramco’s Khurais and Abqaiq plants caused several fires that were controlled, but there were no injuries.

The minister says that according to preliminary estimates, 5.7 million barrels a day of oil production were lost, and the supply of ethane and natural gas also was cut by about half.

He says Aramco will provide updated information within 48 hours of restoring full production.

Prince Abdulaziz says the attacks were aimed not only at Saudi Arabia, but also at the world’s oil supply and its security.

1:20 a.m.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is blaming Iran for drone attacks Saturday against Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure.

The attacks, attributed to Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, sparked huge fires at a vulnerable chokepoint for global energy supplies.

But in Saturday tweets, Pompeo says “there is no evidence the attacks came from Yemen” and points the finger at Tehran. He adds, “Iran has now launched an unprecedented attack on the world’s energy supply.”

The attacks come as Trump has held the door open for nuclear talks with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and as Iran restarted some uranium enrichment in violation of the 2015 nuclear accord.


Pompeo says the U.S. calls on all nations to “condemn Iran’s attacks.”

He adds, “The United States will work with our partners and allies to ensure that energy markets remain well supplied and Iran is held accountable for its aggression.”

1:10 a.m.

President Donald Trump spoke Saturday with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman “to offer his support” after Yemen’s Houthi rebels launched drone attacks against the Kingdom’s oil facilities.

The White House says in a statement that “The United States strongly condemns today’s attack on critical energy infrastructure.” The attacks sparked huge fires at a vulnerable chokepoint for global energy supplies.

Spokesman Judd Deere says the attacks by the Iranian-backed Houthis “only deepen conflict and mistrust.” He adds that the U.S. government is “committed to ensuring global oil markets are stable and well supplied.”

10:45 p.m.

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has received a telephone call from President Donald Trump in the wake of a Houthi rebel drone attack on Saudi oil facilities.

The Saudi Embassy in Washington says in a news release that Trump expressed his country’s readiness to cooperate with the kingdom in supporting its security and stability following the attack Saturday.

The drone attack hit the world’s largest oil processing facility and another major oil field Saturday, sparking huge fires at a vulnerable chokepoint for global energy supplies.

Trump said recent attacks against Saudi state-run oil facilities have had a negative impact on the U.S. and global economies.

The crown prince assured Trump that Saudi Arabia is “willing and able to confront and deal with this terrorist aggression,” according to the release.

8:10 p.m.

The U.N. special envoy for Yemen says he is “extremely concerned” about a drone attack claimed by Houthi rebels on two major oil installations in Saudi Arabia.

The drone attack hit the world’s largest oil processing facility and another major oil field Saturday, sparking huge fires at a vulnerable chokepoint for global energy supplies.

The attack likely will heighten tensions further across the wider Persian Gulf amid a confrontation between the U.S. and Iran over its unraveling nuclear deal with world powers.

Martin Griffiths urged all parties to “prevent such further incidents, which pose a serious threat to regional security, complicate the already fragile situation and jeopardize UN-led political

12:50 p.m.

A military spokesman for Yemen’s Houthi rebels has claimed a drone attack on two major oil installations in Saudi Arabia.

Yahia Sarie made the announcement Saturday in a televised address carried by the Houthi’s Al-Masirah satellite news channel.

He said the Houthis sent 10 drones to attack an oil processing facility in Buqyaq and the Khurais oil field.

He warned attacks by the rebels against the kingdom would only get worse if the war in Yemen continues.

Sarie said: “The only option for the Saudi government is to stop attacking us.”

A Saudi-led coalition has been battling the rebels since March 2015.

9:10 a.m.

Saudi Arabia says drones attacked two major oil facilities in the kingdom, sparking fires.

The kingdom did not say who was behind the attacks Saturday. Yemen’s Houthi rebels have launched similar attacks, but did not immediately claim the latest assaults.

The ministry said investigations were ongoing.

One attack struck a major oil facility in Buqyaq, which is near Dammam in the kingdom’s Eastern Province. Online videos apparently from the area showed a massive blaze on the horizon, with the apparent sound of gunfire in the background.

The ministry identified the other area targeted as its Khurais oil field.

6:55 a.m.

A Saudi-owned satellite news channel is reporting an explosion and fire at a Saudi Aramco facility in the kingdom’s east, without offering a cause for the blaze.

The Dubai-based broadcaster Al-Arabiya reported the fire early Saturday morning in Buqyaq, which is near Dammam in the kingdom’s Eastern Province.

The channel did not elaborate.

Online videos showed a massive blaze on the horizon, with the apparent sound of gunfire in the background.

State media in Saudi Arabia did not immediately report on the incident. Requests for comment to Aramco and officials in the kingdom were not immediately acknowledged.

Saudi Arabia: Drone Attacks Knocked Out Half Its Oil Supply

In this image made from a video broadcast on the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya satellite news channel on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019, smoke from a fire at the Abqaiq oil processing facility can be seen in Buqyaq, Saudi Arabia. Drones launched by Yemen's Houthi rebels attacked the world's largest oil processing facility in Saudi Arabia and another major oilfield Saturday, sparking huge fires at a vulnerable chokepoint for global energy supplies. (Al-Arabiya via AP) TV OUT NO SALES

BY JON GAMBRELL

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (AP) — Yemen’s Houthi rebels launched drone attacks on the world’s largest oil processing facility in Saudi Arabia and a major oil field Saturday, sparking huge fires and halting about half of the supplies from the world’s largest exporter of oil.

The attacks were the latest of many drone assaults on the kingdom’s oil infrastructure assaults in recent weeks, but easily the most damaging. They raise concerns about the global oil supply and likely will further increase tensions across the Persian Gulf amid an escalating crisis between the U.S. and Iran over its unraveling nuclear deal with world powers.

The attacks resulted in “the temporary suspension of production operations” at the Abqaiq oil processing facility and the Khurais oil field, Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said in a statement carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency. The fires “were controlled,” the statement said, and no workers were injured.

The fires led to the interruption of an estimated 5.7 million barrels in crude supplies, according to the statement, which said part of that would be offset with stockpiles. The statement said Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil giant, would provide updated information in the next 48 hours.

The Iranian-backed Houthis, who hold Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, and other territory in the Arab world’s poorest country, took responsibility for the attacks in the war against a Saudi-led coalition that has fought since 2015 to reinstate the internationally recognized Yemeni government. But the U.S. blamed Iran, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeting, “There is no evidence the attacks came from Yemen.”

“Iran has now launched an unprecedented attack on the world’s energy supply,” Pompeo added.

In a short address aired by the Houthi’s Al-Masirah satellite news channel, military spokesman Yahia Sarie said the rebels launched 10 drones after receiving “intelligence” support from those inside the kingdom. He warned that attacks by the rebels would only get worse if the war continues.

“The only option for the Saudi government is to stop attacking us,” Sarie said.

Houthi rebels have been using drones in combat since the start of the Saudi-led war. The first appeared to be off-the-shelf, hobby-kit-style drones. Later, versions nearly identical to Iranian models turned up. Iran denies supplying the Houthis with weapons, although the U.N., the West and Gulf Arab nations say Tehran does.

U.N. investigators said the Houthis’ new UAV-X drone likely has a range of up to 1,500 kilometers (930 miles). That puts the far reaches of both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in range.

First word of Saturday’s assault came in online videos of giant fires at the Abqaiq facility, some 330 kilometers (205 miles) northeast of the Saudi capital, Riyadh. Machine-gun fire could be heard in several clips alongside the day’s first Muslim call to prayers, suggesting security forces tried to bring down the drones just before dawn. In daylight, Saudi state television aired a segment with its local correspondent near a police checkpoint, a thick plume of smoke visible behind him.

President Donald Trump called Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to offer his support for the kingdom’s defense, the White House said. The crown prince assured Trump that Saudi Arabia is “willing and able to confront and deal with this terrorist aggression,” according to a news release from the Saudi Embassy in Washington.

Saudi Aramco describes its Abqaiq oil processing facility in Buqyaq as “the largest crude oil stabilization plant in the world.”

The facility processes sour crude oil into sweet crude, then transports it onto transshipment points on the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea or to refineries for local production. Estimates suggest it can process up to 7 million barrels of crude oil a day. By comparison, Saudi Arabia produced 9.65 million barrels of crude oil a day in July.

“This is one of the biggest central processing facilities in the world. The Iran conflict is going to be hitting the world in a new way,” said Kevin Book, managing director, research at ClearView Energy Partners LLC.

The Khurais oil field is believed to produce over 1 million barrels of crude oil a day. It has estimated reserves of over 20 billion barrels of oil, according to Aramco.

There was no immediate impact on global oil prices as markets were closed for the weekend. Benchmark Brent crude had been trading at just above $60 a barrel.

While Saudi Arabia has taken steps to protect itself and its oil infrastructure, analysts had warned that Abqaiq remained vulnerable. The Rapidan Energy Group, a Washington-based advisory group, warned in May that “a successful attack could lead to a monthslong disruption of most Saudi production and nearly all spare production.” It called Abqaiq, close to the eastern Saudi city of Dammam, “the most important oil facility in the world.”

In a report published Saturday, Helima Croft, global head of commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets, noted that although Aramco officials have indicated that exports will resume in the next few days, “there is nothing to suggest that this is a one-off event and that the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels will forgo further strikes on Saudi sites.”

The war has become the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. The violence has pushed Yemen to the brink of famine and killed more than 90,000 people since 2015, according to the U.S.-based Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, or ACLED, which tracks the conflict.

The rebels have flown drones into the radar arrays of Saudi Arabia’s Patriot missile batteries, according to Conflict Armament Research, disabling them and allowing the Houthis to fire ballistic missiles into the kingdom unchallenged. The Houthis launched drone attacks targeting Saudi Arabia’s crucial East-West Pipeline in May. In August, Houthi drones struck Saudi Arabia’s Shaybah oil field.

Associated Press writers Samy Magdy in Cairo and Anne D’Innocenzio in New York contributed to this report.

INTERVIEW: Poverty, Education And Inclusion Top New General Assembly President’s Priority List

Tijjani Muhammad-Bande speaks to UN News before taking up his duties as President of the 74th session of the General Assembly. (September 2019) Image: Joon Park


Back in June, Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, was elected by acclamation to preside over the 74th session of the General Assembly, which kicks off in New York in just over a week.

In his first major interview with UN News, Mr. Muhammad-Bande highlighted poverty eradication, quality education, and inclusion as his top priorities.

The new General Assembly President has had an outstanding academic career in political science, in which he received a B.Sc from Ahmadu Bello University, Nigeria, an MA from Boston University in the United States, and a Ph.D from the University of Toronto, Canada.

He has been the recipient of many awards and honours, most notably, Nigeria’s Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR); one of his homeland's highest honours.

In terms of the coming year, he tells UN News that "education is really a complex matter. Whoever is denied an education is denied almost everything”. With education “we are likely to have less hate, we are likely to have better understanding…we are likely to have more equality”.

On the upcoming 75th anniversary celebration of the UN’s founding, he said there was a need to mark this important event “in the history of the Organization and of the world, and of politics in general. “It should remind us as to the purposes of the Organization, its limitation and its promise and this promise is what we should all keep in mind.”

UN News began by asking him to outline his main priorities:

GA President: My three main priorities, aside from the normal priorities of all Presidents of the UN General Assembly - aside from peace and security, which is fundamental - the three other ones are, poverty eradication, quality education, and inclusion.

UN News: You had mentioned in your election speech that you would work for the world's most vulnerable and you mentioned poverty eradication and education. Can you give us an idea of how you intend to go about these priorities? Any concrete initiatives?

GA President: There have been a lot of initiatives over a long period of time concerning methods and norms, concerning the eradication of poverty and the connections between poverty and many other afflictions. And I think (it’s important to work with) Member States to look at those things, and see what within those parameters they're able to work with others to achieve.

The whole idea is that all Members are able to help others at times by showing what they have done, which has worked, which has not worked, and what support they are able to give to others on a short-term basis.

So, it is a whole range of things that can happen if we are able to listen to each other in terms of our needs and our ability to work together in solving or mitigating some problems.

UN News: You will become President of the General Assembly during a time of great distrust between nations. How will you bring them together on the world stage?

GA President: Well, first (we must) keep reminding ourselves why this Organization was established in the first place.

This is vitally important because a lot of things go wrong by not getting us to reflect on what might be the case, should we not have this Organization in terms of chaos, in terms of ability to deal with, say, pandemics, in terms of ability to deal with issues - even migration and refugee issues.

So when you remind people as to what might happen and these are not at times, just theoretical constructs, these are realities that we can draw people to historically, to say look what has happened, look what might happen if we do not listen a bit more, if we do not cooperate a bit more.

In terms of the whole notion that as representatives of Members States, we should show respect to others, because they are here, because they are also members and they have a voice. They have things to say, which we must listen to.

And it is only through this approach that we're able to achieve results.

UN News: You've spoken about improving how things are done at the UN. What are some of the ideas that you would like to implement?

GA President: It's simply to go back to some of the discussion, which is all over the place concerning how various organs are able to coordinate their work to reduce overlap, to also learn from what others are doing and reduce the overlap in terms of cost. Let us say that in the next five years, it's a different kind of conversation we should be having concerning synergy, concerning (our) ability to join efforts to achieve results.

UN News: Your mandate coincides with the historic moment, the UN's 75th anniversary. What are your thoughts on the UN's work and, and its future?

GA President: It has had also a very good basis from its beginning. We have had a few areas in which we didn't do as well concerning, for example, genocide in Rwanda. There are many other areas in which, for example, norms concerning health issues and pandemics, issues relating to agriculture, issues relating to counter-terrorism, there is an emergent view, and, some constraints concerning the need not only to work together, but also (take) action on the ground on these matters.

There's a lot of excitement around the system and outside the United Nations itself concerning the need to mark this 75th anniversary as important in the history of the Organization and of the world and of politics in general.

It should remind us as to the purposes of the Organization, its limitation and its promise and this promise is what we should all keep in mind.

UN News: Do you think it's an occasion to celebrate multilateralism and what it has accomplished?

GA President: Oh, it is a celebration – to celebrate multilateralism and also to look at forces that hinder our full achievement of multilateral approaches to solving some of the problems.

UN News: Do you have any plans for improving gender parity at the UN?

GA President: I think the improvement is really in implementing what we've agreed to, that is to restate and to also act in a concerted manner to see that no one is left behind regardless of gender or race or religion. All elements offered, representations are important - gender certainly, given the equality of men and women in terms of numbers as well. So this is really crucial and the United Nations has shown a lead in this. It has its issues, but you have seen efforts that are very determined…And of course, during the Presidency of 74th (session), we have the opportunity also of dealing with Beijing+25. It gives us another platform to reflect further and see whether we're able to find, even more effective means of ensuring gender equality.

UN News: I'm going to go back to your second priority. You mentioned education; can you tell us why it's so important for you and how it translates on the ground? Its impact?

GA President: Education is really a complex matter. Whoever is denied an education is denied almost everything. Look at the connection between education and employment, education and equality, education and a sense of your rights, and around the globe, we expect with more access to education, better curricula, we are likely to have less hate, we are likely to have better understanding, we are likely to have a better economy, we are likely to have more equality. People are born into certain position. It's only education that equalizes everything and everyone. It is important.

UN News: Finally, what would you like your legacy to be in September 2020?

GA President: Well, I think I would not want to give a broad view of what to do other than to say that we would want to know that as a team, and part of a team, we have pushed those matters of importance to the world, in a fair and transparent manner. And that whoever comes after us will find it easier to address some of these issues going forward.

Congo Ebola Survivor Passes College Exam Taken In Isolation

In this photo of Wednesday, Sept.11, 2019, Congolese student and Ebola survivor Claude Mabowa, middle in striped red T-shirt with his friends. take a celfiein Beni, Congo. Mabowa managed to pass his college entrance exam while in isolation for treatment. Mabowa, who took them in July behind glass, said this week that this brings him hope he can still realize his dreams. (AP Photo/Al-hadji Kudra Maliro)

BY AL-HADJI KUDRA MALIRO

BENI, CONGO (AP) — The young Ebola patient who took his college entrance exam while being treated in isolation has passed the demanding test, to the joy of many in Congo where his story is now well-known.

Claude Mabowa is among the nearly 3,000 people who have been confirmed to have Ebola in what has become the second-deadliest outbreak of the virus in history.

Now the celebrated Ebola survivor looks forward to realizing his dreams and showing other Ebola patients there is hope.

“I was very happy and joyful when I saw the Ministry of Education text message on my phone reassuring me that I have just passed ... despite the precarious conditions,” he told The Associated Press. “Being sick in an Ebola center, most people do not come back but also many people lose hope of living.”

Mabowa’s mother had died of Ebola, and he told the AP in July that her greatest hope was that he would attend college. That requires passing the secondary school baccalaureate, or “bac.”


“I was afraid that I was sick and that I was going to miss the exams, but fortunately the Ebola treatment center officials had appealed for me to take the exams,” he said. “I had already lost six members of our family, including my mother, who asked me to continue with studies because that is the key to life.”

The 21-year-old was able to take the exam after staffers at the treatment center run by the Alliance for International Medical Action, or ALIMA, in the eastern city of Beni came up with a solution.

They found a school official willing to proctor the exam as Mabowa took it safely behind a window. The papers were passed to him without touching him. After finishing, he held the pages up one by one to the window so they could be photographed with a smartphone and then emailed to officials for scoring.


Then his work and his pencil were incinerated.

This week Mabowa, who was released from the center in July, celebrated with friends by throwing powder on each other’s heads, a local tradition when passing the exam.

His Latin teacher, Muhindo Bukangali Loboto, said he prayed for him every day.

“Claude was among the best-educated who loved his studies and he has shown us what he is capable of,” he said.

With nearly 2,000 confirmed deaths in eastern Congo, the Ebola outbreak is far from over. Health workers have been challenged by community mistrust and insecurity caused by years of rebel attacks.

Mabowa is a glimmer of hope.

He says now that he has survived Ebola and passed his exam, the next hurtle is going to a university. He said he hopes to study political science at the University of Kisangani, and he appealed for support.

“After Ebola there is life,” he said.

___

Follow Africa news at https://twitter.com/AP_Africa

Fowler Museum Features Objects From British Empire’s 1924-25 Nigerian Pavilion

‘On Display in the Walled City’ runs until March 8, 2020

These signs affixed to this door were posted to keep trespassers out of the homes where the Nigerians lived during the British Empire Exhibition. Image: Fowler Museum, UCLA

BY ERIN CONNORS

WESTWOOD (UCLA NEWSROOM) -- A new show at the Fowler Museum at UCLA features 38 objects from the British Empire Exhibition staged almost a century ago in the London suburb of Wembley to showcase Britain’s wealth and supremacy, and stimulate trade with and among its various colonies.

The pieces in "On Display in the Walled City: Nigeria at the British Empire Exhibition, 1924–1925," were originally displayed in the exhibition's Nigerian Pavilion, and were acquired by the British pharmaceutical entrepreneur and global art collector Sir Henry Wellcome in 1925 and donated to the Fowler by the Wellcome Trust between 1965–67.

The British Empire Exhibition sprawled over a vast fairground that included pavilions devoted to natural resources, products and people from 55 of the empire's 58 colonies, as well as a working replica of a coalmine, a lake, an amusement park, gardens and restaurants. Electric buses and light rail transported some 27 million visitors through the park over the course of the exhibition's two-year run. Among the most popular attractions was the “Walled City,” containing the pavilions of the West African colonies of Nigeria, Gold Coast (modern day Ghana) and Sierra Leone.

The Fowler exhibition presents some key objects from those pavilions, including a model of a royal altar from the Kingdom of Benin; ritual and prestige objects made by Yoruba, Igbo, Fulani and Kanuri artists; and the doors to living quarters of African artists brought to demonstrate their skills to the exhibition visitors. "On Display in the Walled City" presents the Fowler’s recent research on the Wellcome Collection and offers new insights into the British colonial enterprise.

Nigerian arts on display

"On Display in the Walled City" features works in wood, metal, beadwork and leather. One key installation is a model of a royal altar from the Kingdom of Benin. Such altars reinforced the legitimacy of the recently departed oba (king) and celebrated the long line of rulers who preceded him. The British Punitive Expedition of 1897 had looted many such altars in Benin, sending carved ivory tusks, cast bronze heads and plaques, and other components to London, to be sold or kept in public museums. Subsequent altars erected in Benin perished through fire and looting, but the replica altar commissioned for the Nigerian Pavilion was purchased by Sir Henry Wellcome at the close of the exhibition. The Fowler show elucidates the complex history of this royal installation.

Nigerian artists at the British Empire Exhibition

The Nigerian Pavilion “transported” visitors to the colony though design elements inspired by Nigerian architecture, film shot on location, and objects placed on show. Visitors to the pavilion could also watch Nigerian artists at work. More than 20 men, women, and children, brought to the Exhibition, lived in the “Walled City” alongside participants from the Gold Coast and Sierra Leone, demonstrating their skills to the attending public.

Many of the artists’ names are known, including Audu Mai Alijeta, the carver of three gourds on view at the Fowler. One gourd, likely engraved for European visitors to the exhibition features British motorcars, the Union Jack flag, colonial troops, and a meeting between Nigerian and British women. This decoration would have been exotic yet recognizable to urban British viewers. Engraved tubular gourds (zungeru) depict Nigerian experiences colored by the British colonial presence, including such scenes as a British man carried in a palanquin; colonial troops; well-dressed Hausa musicians; women identifiable as Fulani by their hairstyles; and a ballerina. Another gourd contains geometric designs typical of Hausa and Fulani styles, which has helped Fowler curators to confirm Alijeta’s hometown of Jalingo in Gongola state, which is Taraba state today.

Living at the British Empire Exhibition

The Nigerians, Ghanaians and Sierra Leoneans brought to the exhibition stayed in a section called the “Native Village” within the “Walled City.” The exhibition organizers emphasized that the West African artists should to be treated as guests, but in reality their freedom of movement was restricted, as was their choice of dress. The public was prohibited from entering the artists’ living quarters, yet regularly intruded into these private spaces. The struggle for privacy inside the “Walled City” is made evident by the doors on view at the Fowler, which still bear the original slips of paper declaring: “Strictly Private, No Admittance” and “Strictly Private Room.” At the close of the exhibition’s 1925 season, Sir Henry Wellcome acquired not only a selection of art objects showcased in the Nigerian Pavilion, but also many of the doors to the living quarters of the West Africans. The wood for these doors had been imported from West Africa; their construction and carving was completed at Wembley.

Studying the Wellcome collection

Wellcome had acquired more than 1 million objects by the time he died in 1936 at the age of 83. The trust overseeing his collection decided to give away the entirety of its ethnographic holdings in a series of dispersals starting in the 1940s, including the donation of approximately 30,000 objects to UCLA between 1965 and 1967.

In January 2019, the Fowler was awarded a $600,000 grant by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to conduct interdisciplinary research on a subset of the museum's African artworks from the Wellcome Trust donation. The 40-month project includes funding for a full-time Mellon Curatorial Fellow and a full-time Mellon Conservation Fellow who will pursue collaborative curatorial, conservation and archival investigations. “On Display in the Walled City” showcases the first discoveries to emerge from the Mellon project. By reconstructing detailed histories of objects from the Wellcome Collection, the Fowler will be able to address questions faced by museums around the world, which seek to understand more fully their holdings, shed light on the lives of their objects, and reflect on their responsibilities to communities of origin.

This exhibition is organized by the Fowler Museum at UCLA and is curated by Erica Jones, associate curator of African Arts.

SOURCE: UCLA NEWSROOM

GOP Rejects Cuts To Wall Funding, Dems Threaten Filibuster

In this Sept. 10, 2019, photo, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., arrives for a news conference following a Senate policy luncheon on Capitol Hill in Washington. Fights over abortion and President Donald Trump’s U.S.-Mexico border wall have thrown Senate efforts to advance $1.4 trillion worth of agency spending bills into disarray, threatening one of Washington’s few bipartisan accomplishments this year. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

BY ANDREW TAYLOR

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Republican-controlled Senate committee on Thursday rejected Democratic attempts to cut President Donald Trump's latest border wall request and prevent him from again funding the project without congressional approval. Democrats threatened to filibuster a Pentagon spending bill.

The Senate Appropriations Committee lined up behind Trump in party-line votes giving preliminary, tentative approval to Trump's latest $5 billion wall request and blocking a Democratic attempt to prevent Trump from transferring additional Pentagon funds to build the border barrier. The votes came as the panel approved an almost $700 billion funding bill for the Defense Department.

The votes came amid tensions on the committee, which is responsible for $1.4 trillion worth of agency funding bills reacquired to fill in the details of this summer's budget and debt deal. That deal reversed cuts that were aimed at the Pentagon and domestic programs, while increasing the government's borrowing cap so it would not default on its payments and Treasury notes.

The committee chairman, Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., had hoped to approve two other bills, a $55 billion foreign aid measure and a $178 billion health and education funding measure that's the largest domestic spending bill.

But Republicans stood to lose abortion-related votes that would have aligned those measures with companion bills passed by the Democratic-controlled House, so Shelby postponed the votes.

Democrats complained that Shelby, following the lead of Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., was shortchanging the popular health and education measure to fund Trump's $5 billion request for his border wall.

They also were furious about Trump's moves to raid $3.6 billion in military base construction projects to pay for 11 additional border fence segments totaling 175 miles (282 kilometers) in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona.

Republicans on the panel such as Roy Blunt of Missouri, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska are poised to again join Democrats in a separate effort to reverse Trump's $3.6 billion maneuver, but Trump can simply veto the measure.

But Republicans voted down proposals by the committee's top Democrat, Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, to block Trump from repeating the maneuver in the future. They also defeated a Democratic proposal to shift $3.6 billion from Trump's latest border wall request — he's asked for $5 billion more — to other domestic accounts.

Those moves led Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to threaten a Democratic filibuster unless Republicans offer concessions now on the wall money.

"What happens in the next few days and weeks will determine whether we can proceed with a bipartisan appropriations process this fall or not," Schumer said.

Despite some tensions on the committee, both sides said they would work to keep the bills on track. McConnell promised the end results will be fair.

"In the end, the Democratic majority in the House should be able to protect what your priorities are," McConnell said, addressing the Democratic side of the committee.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., criticized the Senate developments, as well as Trump's recent moves to raid military construction projects for schools and day care centers, to pay for the border fence.

"Just when you think you've seen it all, the children will pay for the president's wall," Pelosi said. "This is some kind of an ego wall for the president."

The issues that caused Shelby to cancel votes on the health and education and foreign aid bills included an amendment by Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., to overturn a Trump executive order that takes away federal family planning money from organizations such as Planned Parenthood that counsel women about their abortion options.

Planned Parenthood announced last month that it would stop accepting that money rather than comply with an administration edict to abide by the abortion counseling ban.

Murray's amendment probably would have passed the committee, where two pro-abortion rights Republicans would likely have sided with her. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., also could have prevailed in a similar abortion-related matter on the foreign aid bill.

Shelby said the Democratic amendments would have derailed the two bills.

"I am determined to keep the budget agreement intact and the appropriations process on track," Shelby said. "Therefore, where we are able to advance appropriations bills consistent with the budget agreement, we will do so. Where we cannot, we will not. It's that simple."

The committee has a history of smoothing over its differences in the interest of passing legislation, and both sides want to press on and work out the challenges. For instance, the panel unanimously approved a $49 billion measure for the Energy Department, nuclear weapons programs and water projects.

Congressional negotiations will eventually work toward a compromise that can pass both chambers.

Non-Compliant Iraq, Nigeria Vow To Fall In Line With OPEC Oil Quotas

BY TSVETANA PARASKOVA

Iraq and Nigeria—the two rogue members of OPEC that haven’t been complying with their share of the production cuts in recent months—pledged on Thursday to fall within their respective caps while the cartel and its allies are trying to rebalance the oil market.

Iraq, the second-biggest producer in OPEC behind Saudi Arabia, has said that it would cut its current production by 175,000 bpd by October, Reuters reported on Thursday after a monitoring panel of OPEC and its allies met in Abu Dhabi.

OPEC’s second-largest producer that has always had issues with keeping within its cap, lifted its oil production by 43,000 bpd to 4.779 million bpd in August—well above its 4.512-million-bpd quota.

Nigeria, for its part, has promised to reduce its oil production by 57,000 bpd.

In August, Nigeria pumped 1.866 million bpd, up by 86,000 bpd from July, according to OPEC’s secondary sources that the cartel uses to calculate official production and compliance rates. Nigeria’s cap as part of the deal is 1.685 million bpd.

Improved compliance could translate into a total cut of more than 400,000 bpd, two sources from the OPEC+ alliance told Reuters.

Due to the U.S. sanctions, Iran and Venezuela—exempt from the cuts— have been inadvertently helping OPEC with the reduction of production, but rogue members such as Iraq and Nigeria have been derailing the cartel’s efforts to secure full compliance from all.

The Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) of the OPEC and non-OPEC countries that are part of the deal confirmed in a statement that non-compliant members promised to stick to their quotas in the future.

“All participating countries present, particularly those who are yet to reach full conformity with their adjustments, were unequivocal in providing steadfast assurances of their determination to achieve at least 100% conformity for the remainder of the year,” OPEC said.

Saudi Arabia will continue to over comply with its share of the cuts and will pump just below 10 million bpd, its new minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, said.

SOURCE: OIL PRICE

Uncertainty In Zimbabwe On Mugabe's Burial Eclipses Mourning

Nelson Chamisa, left, leader of the main opposition party in Zimbabwe, consoles Grace, wife to former Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe at his residence in Harare, Thursday Sept. 12, 2019. Zimbabwe's founding leader Robert Mugabe made his final journey back to the country Wednesday, his body flown into the capital amid the contradictions of his long, controversial rule. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

BY ANDREW MELDRUM, FARAI MUTSAKA

HARARE, ZIMBABWE (AP) — Controversy over where and when Zimbabwe’s former president Robert Mugabe will be buried has overshadowed arrangements for Zimbabweans to pay their respects to the deceased leader.

Mugabe will not be given a state burial on Sunday at the national Heroes’ Acre site, family spokesman Leo Mugabe announced Thursday. The burial will be a private, family affair, he said to press outside Mugabe’s Blue Roof house.

“There have just been discussions between President Mnangagwa and Mai (Mrs.) Mugabe and it would look like nothing has changed,” said the ex-president’s nephew. “The family ... said they are going to have a private burial. We don’t want the public to come. They don’t want you to know where he is going to be buried. We are not witnessing burial on Sunday, no date has been set for the burial.”


The announcement came after President Emmerson Mnangagwa met with Mugabe’s widow, Grace, and other family members to try to resolve the burial dispute.

Instead of an interment on Sunday, Mugabe’s body will be on view to the public at a place near Mugabe’s birthplace in Zvimba district, said Leo Mugabe, who added that the family had not decided if he would be buried in Zvimba.

Speaking at the Mugabe house, Mnangagwa said his government would respect the family’s wishes over the burial, saying they have “the full support of the government. Nothing will change.”

The ongoing uncertainty of the burial of Mugabe, who died last week in Singapore at the age of 95, has eclipsed the elaborate plans for Zimbabweans to pay their respects to the former guerrilla leader at several historic sites.

The burial dispute has also highlighted the lasting acrimony between Mnangagwa and Mugabe’s wife and other family members. Mugabe was deposed in November 2017 by Zimbabwe’s military and his former ally Mnangagwa. Grace and other family members still resent his ouster, apparently resulting in their refusal to go along with state burial plans.

Shortly after Mugabe’s death, Leo Mugabe said the former strongman died “a very bitter man” because he felt betrayed by Mnangagwa and the army generals who were his allies for close to four decades before they put him under house arrest and forced him to resign.

The government had earlier announced that Mugabe would be buried at the Heroes’ Acre monument, a burial place reserved for top officials of Zimbabwe’s ruling ZANU-PF party who contributed to ending white colonial rule.

It has long been taken for granted that Mugabe would be buried at Heroes’ Acre. Mugabe had overseen the construction by North Korea of the monument atop a prominent hill and featuring a grandiose towering sculpture of guerrilla fighters. Mugabe gave many speeches at the site and his first wife, Sally, is buried there next to a gravesite long reserved for the ex-leader.

Mugabe’s casket will be displayed to the public at several sites. It will be shown Thursday and Friday at Rufaro Stadium in Harare’s poor Mbare neighborhood.

On Saturday a ceremony will be held at the National Sports Stadium, which several African heads of state and other prominent officials are expected to attend. Supporters of the ruling ZANU-PF party are being bused from all over the country to go to the stadium ceremonies.

Grace Mugabe is expected to stay beside the casket the entire time.

Earlier Thursday at Blue Roof, Mugabe’s 25-bedroom mansion in Harare’s posh Borrowdale suburb, Zimbabwe’s opposition leader paid his respects to the man who had been his bitter political foe.

“I am here to do the African thing that is expected ... to pay honor,” said Nelson Chamisa, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change, the main opposition party.

“In politics we have had many differences but we are here to reflect on his contribution. ... We are here to pay condolences to the Mugabe family, all Zimbabweans and indeed the whole of Africa. It is only fair and necessary to see that we unite to see that he is given a decent burial and a peaceful send off. Today is a day of mourning.”

Follow Africa news at https://twitter.com/AP_Africa

The Straightforward Question House Democrats Can’t Answer

BY J M REIGER

WASHINGTON (THE WASHINGTON POST) -- Depending on whom you ask, on Thursday morning, the House Judiciary Committee will vote on procedures to investigate whether to open an impeachment inquiry or to continue an already opened impeachment inquiry.

Or maybe there is no inquiry at all. At this point, it’s hard to say, in part because House Democrats offer different, often-strained answers to a straightforward question: Has the House begun an impeachment investigation of President Trump?

As House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has taken a hands-off approach to what Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) in August labeled an impeachment inquiry, rank-and-file House Democrats have found themselves engaged in semantic battles over what exactly the House is doing on impeachment. You can watch examples of the various descriptions by Democrats of the status of impeachment in the video above.

The committee is scheduled to meet at 8 a.m. Thursday to vote on a resolution to expand its investigatory options to include rarely used procedures to look into Trump.

Over the past three days, House Democrats have characterized Thursday’s vote in three ways: as a procedural motion, as a formalizing of an existing impeachment inquiry and as the start of an impeachment inquiry.

“We’re holding hearings for the purpose of investigating the possibility of voting [on] articles of impeachment,” Nadler told NBC News this week.

On Monday morning, a second member of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-Fla.), told CNN that it was “no secret” that the committee was conducting an impeachment investigation.

Later on Monday, a third member of the committee, Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), said Thursday’s vote would “formalize having an impeachment inquiry.”

And on Wednesday, a fourth member of the committee, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), would not commit that an impeachment inquiry was underway.

“We’re in the midst of a Judiciary Committee investigation,” Jeffries said.

In fact, Nadler’s comments in August acknowledged that House Democrats had started an impeachment inquiry when the Judiciary Committee in July argued in a court filing that it needed the full, unredacted report from former special counsel Robert S. Mueller III because it “is conducting an investigation to determine whether to recommend articles of impeachment.”

Debating where impeachment stands is confusing and jargon-heavy. But Democrats’ semantic contortions this week are significant. They suggest a nonexistent or confusing messaging strategy on impeachment, which is the most serious investigation the House can consider.

The confusion also reflects two more realities for House Democrats: Most Americans and most House lawmakers oppose an impeachment inquiry, even as a majority of House Democrats support one.

Fourteen months before the 2020 presidential election, Democratic leadership does not have its impeachment messaging straight.

On Wednesday morning, House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) told reporters that an impeachment inquiry was not underway.

Less than two hours later, Hoyer offered a clarification that wasn’t exactly clarifying.

“I thought the question was in regards to whether the full House is actively considering articles of impeachment, which we are not at this time,” he said in a statement. “ … I strongly support Chairman Nadler and the Judiciary Committee Democrats as they proceed with their investigation ‘to determine whether to recommend articles of impeachment to the full House,’ as the resolution states.”

Rachael Bade and Amber Phillips contributed to this analysis.