Somalia says 5 soldiers killed in battle with jihadists
Somalia says 5 soldiers killed in battle with jihadists/node/2526601/world
Somalia says 5 soldiers killed in battle with jihadists
Police officers stand near the bodies of alleged Al-Shabab militants who have been killed after the siege at the Mogadishu Municipality Headquarters in Mogadishu on January 22, 2023. (AFP)
Somalia says 5 soldiers killed in battle with jihadists
Government says close to 50 fighters from the Islamist militant group were killed
The resurgent Al-Shabab claims it had taken multiple locations in the center of the country
Updated 09 June 2024
AFP
MOGADISHU: Somalia’s government said five of its soldiers died in a battle in which they killed nearly 50 fighters from the Islamist militant group Al-Shabab Saturday, about 350 kilometers (215 miles) north of the capital Mogadishu.
Government troops and supporting militia forces got word of an attack planned by Al-Shabab in Ceeldheer, in the Galgadud region, set an ambush and “destroyed” them, said a statement.
Their forces killed at least 47 members of the militant group while losing five soldiers in the battle, said the authorities. They said airstrikes were also carried out against the Al-Shabab forces.
Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack on Ceeldheer.
Local resident Mohamed Hussein told AFP by telephone: “There was heavy fighting in Ceeldheer town this morning after Al-Shabab attacked the town from several directions.
“It was very hard to say who is in control a while ago but now we can see that the Somali government forces are in full control,” he added.
Another local man, Hassan Gutale, said: “There were at least six heavy explosions and fighting that lasted several hours.”
Elected in May, 2022, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud vowed to wage “total war” against the Islamist group.
Al-Shabab has been waging a deadly insurgency against the fragile central government in Mogadishu for more than 16 years.
Although driven out of the capital by an African Union force in 2011, they still have a strong presence in rural Somalia.
They have carried out repeated attacks against political, security and civilian targets, mostly in Somalia but also in neighboring countries including Kenya.
Somalia’s beleaguered federal government has joined forces with local clan militia against the Islamists, retaking swathes of territory in central Somalia in an operation backed by an AU mission known as ATMIS and US air strikes.
But the offensive has suffered setbacks, with Al-Shabab earlier this year claiming it had taken multiple locations in the center of the country.
Oil Updates – prices on track for 4th straight week of gains
Updated 2 min 31 sec ago
Reuters
SINGAPORE: Oil prices were little changed in Asian trade on Friday but were on track for a fourth straight week of gains and holding near their highest levels since late April on hopes of strong summer fuel demand and some supply concerns, according to Reuters.
Brent crude futures, which have risen 7 percent over the last four weeks, slipped 2 cents to $87.41 a barrel by 3:43 a.m. Saudi time.
US West Texas Intermediate crude futures, which have climbed 9 percent over the past four weeks, inched up to $83.97, up 9 cents from Wednesday’s close. With the US market shut for the Fourth of July holiday on Thursday, trading was thinned and there was no settlement for WTI.
Oil rose this week on strong summer demand expectations in the US, the world’s largest oil consumer.
“Market sentiment has been supported this week by strong mobility indicators and intensifying geopolitical tension in the Middle East,” analysts at ANZ Research said in a note on Friday.
The US Energy Information Administration reported a massive 12.2 million barrels draw in inventories last week, compared with analysts’ expectations for a draw of 700,000 barrels.
US data on Wednesday showed that first-time applications for US unemployment benefits increased last week while jobless numbers also rose, which analysts said could potentially hasten interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserves and support oil markets.
On the supply side, Reuters reported on Thursday that Russia’s oil producers Rosneft and Lukoil will sharply cut oil exports from the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk in July.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s Saudi Aramco cut the price for the flagship Arab Light crude it will sell to Asia in August to $1.80 a barrel above the Oman/Dubai average, underscoring pressure faced by OPEC producers as non-OPEC supply grows.
Traders were also tracking the war in Gaza and elections in France and the United Kingdom, analysts said.
India’s Modi heads to Moscow for first visit since Ukraine invasion
Russia is a key supplier of cut-price oil and weapons to India
Modi last visited Russia in 2019 and hosted President Vladimir Putin in New Delhi two years later
Updated 2 min 21 sec ago
AFP
MUMBAI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday makes his first visit to Russia since the invasion of Ukraine, walking a fine line between maintaining a longstanding Moscow alliance while courting closer Western security ties.
Russia is a key supplier of cut-price oil and weapons to India, but its isolation from the West and growing friendship with China have impacted its time-honored partnership with New Delhi.
The United States and its Western allies have in recent years cultivated ties with India as a bulwark against Beijing and its growing influence in the Asia-Pacific, while also pressuring it to distance itself from Russia.
Modi, who was returned to power last month as leader of the world’s most populous country, last visited Russia in 2019 and hosted President Vladimir Putin in New Delhi two years later, weeks before the invasion.
Russia’s war in Ukraine has “transformed” ties with India, said Swasti Rao, from a think tank funded by India’s defense ministry, the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defense Studies and Analyzes.
“There is no decline in goodwill between India and Russia per se,” she said. “But there are challenges that have cropped up.
“These are external factors, which have been strong enough to bring in a paradigm shift in India-Russia bilateral issues,” she added.
Nandan Unnikrishnan of the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation said the upcoming in-person meeting showed the two sides were looking for ways forward.
“There have been pressures on India, and there have been pressures on the India-Russia relationship,” Unnikrishnan said.
“Face-to-face interactions help in working out positions,” he added. “I’m sure Mr.Modi would like an assessment from Putin on the Ukraine war.”
New Delhi has shied away from explicit condemnation of Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and has abstained on United Nations resolutions censuring Moscow.
But Russia’s war in Ukraine has also had a human cost for India.
New Delhi said in February it was pushing Russia to release some of its citizens who had signed up for “support jobs” with the Russian military, following reports some were killed after being forced to fight in Ukraine.
Moscow’s deepening ties with Beijing have also raised concerns for New Delhi.
China and India, the world’s two most populous nations, are intense rivals competing for strategic influence across South Asia.
India is part of the Quad grouping with the United States, Japan and Australia that positions itself against China’s growing assertiveness in the Asia-Pacific region.
The United States and the European Union accuse China of selling components and equipment that have strengthened Russia’s military industry — allegations Beijing strenuously denies.
That leaves India with a dilemma.
Their “relationship has to evolve,” said Rao.
“Some say India should strongly engage with Russia so it doesn’t fall into the lap of China,” said Rao. “Others would say, that ship has sailed.”
New Delhi and Moscow have forged a tight relationship since the Cold War, and Russia was for a long time India’s biggest arms supplier.
But Ukraine has stretched Russia’s arms supplies, and India is eyeing other sources — including growing its own defense industry.
Russia’s share of Indian imports of weapons has shrunk considerably in recent years, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
It dropped from 76 percent in 2009-13 to 36 percent in 2019-23, SIPRI said, noting France is now a close second, providing 33 percent.
“India has instead looked to Western suppliers, most notably France and the USA, and its own arms industry,” SIPRI said, adding that its arms procurement plans “seemingly do not include any Russian options.”
Rao said the Ukraine war had “accelerated” India’s push to diversify its defense purchases.
“The Ukraine war has become one of grinding attrition,” she said.
“There are genuine concerns about Russia’s export capabilities, and its focus and priorities.”
At the same time, India has also become a major buyer of discounted Russian oil, providing a much-needed export market for Moscow after it was cut off from traditional buyers in Europe.
That has dramatically reshaped energy ties, with India saving itself billions of dollars while bolstering Moscow’s war coffers.
India’s month-on-month imports of Russian crude “increased by eight percent in May, to the highest levels since July 2023,” according to commodity tracking data compiled by the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air.
“Russian crude comprised 41 percent of India’s total crude imports in May, and with new agreements in place to conduct payments in rubles, the trade might grow significantly,” the research center said.
But this has also resulted in India’s trade deficit with Russia rising to a little over $57 billion in the past financial year.
From Moscow, Modi will travel to Vienna for the first visit to the Austrian capital by an Indian leader since Indira Gandhi in 1983.
Saudi artist Ahmed Mater on his solo show at Christie’s London
‘Chronicles’ runs July 17 to August 22 and features a selection of work from the Nineties to the present day
Updated 24 min 17 sec ago
Rawaa Talass
DUBAI: On July 17, Christie’s London will inaugurate a mid-career retrospective of one of Saudi Arabia’s most significant conceptual artists, Ahmed Mater. Showcasing photography, works on paper, and installation art, the “Chronicles” exhibition will feature a selection of Mater’s creations dating back to the Nineties, when he first started experimenting with painting.
“Art is a time machine that everyone is looking for. Art can take us to the past and imagine the future, which is a powerful thing,” Mater tells Arab News.
Mater was born in 1979 and worked as a doctor before rising to prominence in the art world with his X-Ray and magnet artworks, providing social commentary on changes happening within the Kingdom.
Caption
“I always admired the work of Dr. Ahmed, who is from my generation and my age,” says the exhibition’s curator, Dr. Ridha Moumni, who is the chairman of Middle East and North Africa at Christie’s. “He’s an introspective artist that works on ideas, rather than mediums.
“He’s an artist who can speak very well about his work, but, for me, he’s an artist who produces work that speaks to everyone in a different language,” Moumni continues. “His process of maturation can be seen on many layers — be it social, cultural, religious or political — that are present in his country and, by extension, in the Arab world.”
Here, Mater discusses five pieces from his show, which runs until August 22.
‘The Book of Magnetism’
This is a new artwork that I wanted to introduce in this exhibition. It is a continuation of an earlier magnet artwork I made, on a small scale, of the Ka’aba in Makkah. For me, “The Book of Magnetism” is important because it tells the story of knowledge and how it shapes our life and culture. The oldest invention known to mankind is the book. I presented this book in a way that emanates the holiness of religious books.
‘Desert of Pharan’
This is one of the pieces in my “Desert of Pharan” series, a project related to Makkah, where I put hundreds of found objects, photographs and video art about the city into a single room. This photograph is called “Nature Morte.” The project as a whole tells the story of Islamic Makkah, one of the most visited cities on Earth, as well as showing a study of urban planning in the city. I’m showing how new urban phenomena has changed the city, and how Makkah will influence the future of Islamic cities around the world.
‘Ashab Al-Lal’
This project is based on the idea of the mirage. It’s a project I’m creating for Wadi AlFann in AlUla. In the London exhibition, I’m showing this sculptural maquette of this upcoming artwork. It’s a form of public art. It’s a very environmental piece, connected to the land. I usually work with the ideas of exposure, the body and photography. This piece, using mirrors, reflects our bodies to the sky, like a real mirage. The idea is that you go inside a place in the desert, and when you are in the middle of this artwork, our bodies will reflect for other people to see. There is something theatrical about it too.
‘Lightning Land’
“Lightning Land” is a photograph that has a very nice landscape with lightning happening in the middle. I took this photograph on the way to Dammam in Saudi Arabia. I was actually just taking a picture of the oil refinery and tent that you see in the image. On that afternoon, it was stormy and dusty, and I wanted to this take a picture for a dramatic effect. I didn’t edit anything. I kept it as it was. When the lightning happened, it felt like a good gift. It’s an image that says a lot. The image is poetic evidence of the transformation that is happening in Saudi Arabia.
‘Our Mother House’
This is an old, patterned artwork that the curator Dr. Ridha found in my studio and decided to show in the exhibition. It’s not my painting, but my mother’s. She is a mural painter of ‘Al-qatt al-Asiri’ — painting on the walls of homes, which women do in the southern part of the Kingdom. It’s very symbolic and decorative. Each mural elegantly tells the story of a family and its social background.
Saudi TV personality Sara Murad launches her own fragrance brand
The Saudi TV personality branches out into entrepreneurship
Updated 24 min 57 sec ago
Shyama Krishna Kumar
DUBAI: Saudi media personality Sara Murad has been a mainstay in Arab households for more than a decade, most recently as the presenter of MBC morning show “Sabah Alkhair Ya Arab.”
“When someone tells me that I made a change in their life, it feels so rewarding and makes me want to give more,” Murad tells Arab News.
As part of that effort to ‘give more,’ Murad decided last year to launch her own fragrance brand, By Sara Murad.
The first fragrance from her brand is Black Oud. (Supplied)
“I’ve always wanted to be a businesswoman; I just never had the time or the right team to take the step. Putting everything together feels so exciting and gave me the drive to launch a brand,” Murad, who is now a Dubai resident, says.
“Everyone loves fragrance, it’s embedded in our culture. And I have always been passionate about collecting them. But with By Sara Murad, I wanted to create something that would showcase our culture with a modern twist that could reach the world. And I wanted to create something with my name that I’ve been working on for so long,” she added.
The first fragrance from her brand — Black Oud — is “a harmonious melding of French elegance and the pride of Saudi Arabia,” according to the publicity blurb, “blending notes of Oud, amber, wood and leather.”
“Saudi Arabia is all the inspiration — including the change, the openness and invitation to the world, the inspiration that the country is giving to the youth and the empowerment that is giving us as women,” she says. “To see the Kingdom’s growth has been fascinating and makes me so proud. To see the opportunity that’s been given to women and men… it’s definitely a chance for the young to grow.”
When she was a young adult, Murad would have never imagined she would find a career as a TV presenter. She graduated as a graphic designer and was interested primarily in advertising and production work.
“I never thought of (trying to get) a job in front of the camera. I believe everyone gets an opportunity but sometimes it is so out of our comfort zone that we reject it,” she says. “When I got offered the job, I challenged myself to try it, thinking that I had nothing to lose and that it would be an experience. And here I am,12 years later.”
Her success was hard-won. “Honestly, it’s not a field where you meet people who want to help you grow, so I counted on myself and learned a lot — most of it the hard way,” she says.
In the beginning, there were people who were surprised to learn that she was a Saudi woman. “But now the whole world knows what a Saudi woman is capable of,” she adds.
Juggling a full-time job with a new business is, of course, no mean feat, and Murad makes it work by being organized at all times.
“My days are never (the same). My schedule is always changing. There is always something new happening, whether it is the show I’m presenting, or a photo shoot, or working on a new fragrance. There is nothing typical about my life. But I try to manage as far as I can to give everything my full attention. So, I’m very, very organized. And working with a great team also helps a lot to reach my goals,” she says.
“When it comes to de-stressing, I try to take it easy. I shut down work. I mean, I never shut down, who am I kidding? But I play the piano — that helps,” she continues. “I like to read, that also helps. And I like to travel a lot and change scenery as well, even if it’s for work.”
Israel sends Mossad chief to Qatar for Gaza hostage negotiations
Netanyahu called a meeting of his security cabinet late Thursday to discuss new Hamas proposals sent through Qatari and Egyptian mediators
Israel believes dozens of hostages are still alive and both sides face mounting pressure to reach a deal as the war takes increasing human toll
Updated 54 min 57 sec ago
AFP
JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday ordered his spy chief to Qatar for talks with mediators on a Gaza war ceasefire that could see Hamas militants release hostages seized in the October 7 attacks, sources said.
Amidst new optimism over a possible breakthrough, Netanyahu called a meeting of his security cabinet for late Thursday to discuss new Hamas proposals sent through Qatari and Egyptian mediators, reports said.
Israel believes dozens of hostages are still alive in Gaza and with the war taking an increasing human toll in the devastated Palestinian territory both sides face mounting international pressure to reach a deal.
Mossad chief David Barnea was to lead an Israeli delegation to Qatar that has spent months trying to bring the enemies to the negotiating table, according to a source with knowledge of the talks. He was expected in Doha on Friday and was to meet the Gulf state’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
Barnea’s delegation “is traveling to Qatar in a continuation of talks on a ceasefire and hostage deal.
“He will meet with the Qatari prime minister for discussions aiming to bring the parties closer to a deal in Gaza,” the source said on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of talks.
US President Joe Biden praised the decision to send a delegation in a telephone conversation with Netanyahu, the White House said. Biden welcomed the decision to have Israeli negotiators “engage” with mediators in a bid “to close out the deal.”
The United States believes Israel and Hamas have a “pretty significant opening” to reach an agreement on a ceasefire and the release of hostages, a senior US official said.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Hamas proposal “moves the process forward and may provide the basis for closing the deal,” while stressing it does not mean an agreement was likely in coming days, and that “significant work” remains.
Hamas had demanded an end to the war and an Israeli withdrawal as a prelude to any hostage deal.
Israel has countered that there can be no end to the war without the release of hostages. Netanyahu has also repeatedly vowed that the Gaza campaign will not end until Hamas’s military and government capabilities have been destroyed.
Hamas said late Wednesday that it had sent new “ideas” for a potential deal and Netanyahu’s office said the government was “evaluating” them.
Qatar, Egypt and the United States have been mediating between the two sides and sources close to their efforts said they have been pushing for several weeks to bridge the “gaps” between the foes.
Biden announced a pathway to a truce deal in May which he said had been proposed by Israel. This included a six-week truce to allow for talks, the release of hostages and eventually a program to rebuild devastated Gaza.
“There are important developments in the latest proposals with positive options for both sides,” said a diplomat briefed on the latest proposals. “This time the Americans are very serious about this.”
The war started with the October 7 attack on southern Israel that resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
Hamas militants also seized 251 hostages, 116 of whom remain in Gaza including 42 the army says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 38,011 people, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
