Kampala, July 27 (IANS) Norway has officially closed its embassy in Uganda, marking the end of 19 years of diplomatic presence in the east African country.

The embassy posted on its official handle on X, formerly Twitter, Friday, saying that the country’s flag had been formerly lowered.

“It is with mixed emotions as we lower the Norwegian flag for the last time. The Embassy is now closed, but Norway remains engaged in Uganda,” the embassy posted. The lowered flag was handed to Norwegian Ambassador to Uganda Kristin Hermansen.

According to the embassy, the flag was raised in Uganda in 2005.

At an earlier function, Uganda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Odongo Jeje Abubakher emphasised the “strength and tangible results of the Uganda-Norway relationship over the years, expressing Uganda’s deep appreciation for this partnership”, Xinhua news agency reported.

“He acknowledged Norway’s sovereign decision to close its embassy in Kampala while welcoming the assurance that bilateral relations will persist and flourish,” an embassy statement posted on X said.

Norway shut down five missions in 2022. The closure of its embassy in Uganda, which was also overseeing Rwanda and Burundi, was first announced last October, signalling that several changes were underway in the country’s diplomatic presence abroad.

Norway supports a variety of projects in Uganda, including education, health, agriculture, and assistance to refugees.

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Washington, July 27 (IANS) Former US President Donald Trump on Friday pledged to bring peace to West Asia if re-elected to the White House and that he will stop the spread of anti-Semitism in America.

In a statement released by the Trump campaign after his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the former President also expressed solidarity with Israel on the “heinous” October 7 attack. The former President pledged that “when he returns to the White House, he will make every effort to bring peace to the Middle East and combat anti-Semitism from spreading throughout college campuses across the United States”.

The Trump campaign said the Israeli Prime Minister “thanked President Trump and his Administration for working to promote stability in the region through, among many historic achievements, the Abraham Accords, moving the United States Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, eliminating Qasem Soleimani, ending the horrific Iran Nuclear Deal, as well as combating anti-Semitism in America and abroad”. Soleimani was the head of Iran’s Quds Force who was killed in a US drone strike in 2020.

Trump welcomed Netanyahu and his wife Sara Netanyahu warmly at his Mar-a-Lago in Florida, a video of which was posted on Truth Social, a social media platform he owns.

Trump and Netanyahu had shared a close bond going back to the former President’s first term, when he had moved the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, in recognition of a long-standing Israeli demand for the world to consider Jerusalem as the capital, despite its status as a city party claimed by the Palestinians. Trump had also recognised Golan Heights as a part of Israel, which had captured the territory from Syria in the 1967 war. The former President had capped his tight embrace of Israel by brokering the Abraham Accords that paved the way for the normalization of ties between Israel and Bahrain and Israel and the UAE.

They fell out in early 2021 when Netanyahu became one of the first world leaders to call and congratulate President Joe Biden, whose election Trump has continued to dispute to this day.

Netanyahu is a close observer of US elections and has inserted himself into US politics several times over the years. He has recently quarrelled with Biden over military supplies for Israel and could be preparing himself for Trump’s return to the White House, a possibility that is being considered in capitals around the world.

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Washington, July 26 (IANS) Former US President Donald Trump welcomed Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, calling out “Come on in, come on in”.

Netanyahu was accompanied by his wife Sara Netanyahu, who were both greeted warmly by Trump, in a video the former President posted on Truth Social, a social media platform he owns.

Trump and Netanyahu had shared a close bond going back to the former President’s first term, when he had moved the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, in recognition of a long-standing Israeli demand for the world to consider Jerusalem as the capital, despite its status as a city party claimed by the Palestinians.

Trump had also recognised Golan Heights as a part of Israel, which had captured the area from Syria in the 1967 war.

The former President had capped his tight embrace of Israel by brokering the Abrahamic Accords that paved the way to the normalisation of ties between Israel and Bahrain and Israel and the UAE. They fell out in early 2021 when Netanyahu became one of the first world leaders to call and congratulate President Joe Biden, whose election Trump has continued to dispute to this day.

No details were available at this time of the meeting on Friday.

Netanyahu is a close observer of US elections and has inserted himself into US politics several times over the years. He has recently quarrelled with Biden over military supplies for Israel and could be preparing himself for Trump’s return to the White House, a possibility that is being considered in capitals around the world.

The Israeli Prime Minister addressed a joint meeting of the US Congress on Wednesday and met President Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris in the White House on Thursday.

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Yangon, July 26 (IANS) Water level of major rivers in Myanmar has exceeded the warning mark in 12 towns across the country, Myanmar’s weather agency reported on Friday.

Myanmar’s Department of Meteorology and Hydrology said that the water level of the rivers, including Ayeyarwady river, Sittaung river and Ngawun river, has risen above the warning mark.

The weather agency has urged residents living near riverbanks and in low-lying areas to take precautionary measures, Xinhua news agency reported.

Heavy rains have been hitting parts of the Southeast Asian country in recent days, causing floods in many areas.

July and August are the middle of the rainy season in Myanmar, and heavy rains are typical during the period.

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Conakry, July 26 (IANS) The date of December 31, 2024, will not mark the end of the transition that began in Guinea after the army seized power on September 5, 2021, Amara Camara, secretary general of the Guinean presidency, said Thursday.

Camara told a press conference here that the “dynamic compromise” reached with the member countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) consists of “readjusting the transition schedule at each stage.”

“At each stage reached, we will sit down with ECOWAS to reassess and make readjustments,” Camara said, Xinhua news agency reported.

He noted that the elections that are supposed to end the transition must be organized in peace, social tranquility, and harmony. “We will compete to ensure that this peace is guaranteed so that today’s transition process is not interrupted.”

Ousmane Gaoual Diallo, the government spokesperson, said the Guinean government intends to organize a referendum “before the end of this year to provide the country with a constitution” as a prelude to organizing the elections.

In an interview on March 12, Prime Minister Bah Oury estimated that there was still “a lot to do” to complete the transition schedule, and he thought that 2025 was “a good time to crown the whole process.”

The National Committee of Reconciliation and Development, the ruling military junta of Guinea, announced as soon as it took office on September 5, 2021, that it would hand over power on December 31, 2024.

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