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Added on the 17/01/2016 22:45:52 - Copyright : Reuters EN
Nigeriens on have welcomed the lifting of some of the sanctions that were imposed on the country by West Africa's regional bloc following last year's coup. 'For us, it's like a celebration,' says a local tradesman. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) suspended trade and imposed tough sanctions last July, after Niger's president, Mohamed Bazoum, was ousted in a military coup. SOUNDBITE
In the 4th century BC, the ancient Sanskrit treatise, the Arthashastra, said 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend.' According to Business Insider, Iran and Venezuela may be taking that to heart as their relationship grows ever closer. While the nations are US President Donald Trump's most frequent foreign-policy targets, Iran has been sending oil tankers directly to Venezuela. In September, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the US would place more sanctions on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Pompeo accused Maduro's government of working with Tehran 'to flout the UN arms embargo.' US officials say intervening to stop Iranian tankers from reaching Venezuela was an option, raising concerns Trump may seek a confrontation before the election.
Nigeria's ex-president Goodluck Jonathan, mediating in the Mali crisis for the West Africa bloc ECOWAS, says the organisation would probably decide on Friday whether it would lift economic sanctions against the country. Speaking in Mali's capital Bamako on Wednesday, Jonathan called the post-coup measures imposed on the country by the 15-nation bloc "unfortunate". SOUNDBITE
The US government imposes sanctions on an Iranian government minister and senior law enforcement and military officials over human rights abuses. "We have reason to believe that he [Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli] is the individual who gave orders in November 2019 authorizing Iranian police forces to use lethal force on peaceful protesters," says Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. SOUNDBITE
The United States slaps sanctions on five Iranian officials in charge of vetting candidates for this week's parliamentary elections, in which thousands have been barred from running. "The five officials being designated today have denied the Iranian people free and fair parliamentary elections," says the US special representative for Iran, Brian Hook. SOUNDBITE
The first official budget figures since Britain voted to leave the EU show a smaller-than-expected budget surplus. As post-referendum data continues to trickle in, attention is turning to what sort of access Britain will seek with its main trading partners in the EU. Kirsty Basset reports.
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