U.S., Iran signal peace deal near as Tehran claims victory

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By Steve Holland, Parisa Hafezi and John Irish Reuters and Posted by TOE The United States and Iran signalled on Friday that an agreement to end their war was close, with a senior U.S. administration official saying both sides had agreed on a text and that Washington expects to sign an initial deal in the coming days. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said changes were still ‌possible, but the tentative agreement showed his country had emerged stronger from the conflict. “Iran is the winner of the war with the U.S.,” he said on state television. The proposed memorandum of understanding calls ‌for reopening the Strait of Hormuz and lifting the U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ports, sources on all sides of the talks said. Negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program — U.S. President Donald Trump’s stated rationale for starting the war — would take place afterward. The U.S. official, speaking on condition ​of anonymity, told reporter...
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Dozens kidnapped in northwest Nigeria after bandits invite them to talks

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By Reuters and Posted by TOE

Armed bandits in northwest Nigeria abducted dozens of villagers whom they invited to a meeting ‌about potential peace negotiations, authorities and residents said on ‌Monday, highlighting the region’s worsening security.

Police said 39 people were seized on Sunday ​when they went to a meeting in the forest near Magamin Diddi village in the Maradun municipality of northwest Zamfara State. Some local residents and officials said the number could be as ‌high as 50.

According to ⁠a Zamfara State Police Command statement, the victims were meeting relatives of a bandit leader in ⁠an attempt to broker peace and ease restrictions on movement imposed on the community.

Zamfara is at the centre of a long-running security ​crisis in ​which armed groups, locally referred ​to as bandits, carry ‌out mass kidnappings, killings and village raids. The violence has disrupted farming and displaced thousands.

Security forces have deployed personnel and intelligence assets to locate the victims, the police statement added.

Several individuals were reported by locals to have been released to convey the kidnappers’ ‌ransom demands back to the village.

Bashar ​Aliyu, a resident of Magamin Diddi, ​said the armed group ​was demanding 125 million naira ($91,880) for the release ‌of those abducted.

In many communities, residents ​have resorted ​to negotiating directly with armed groups to gain access to farmland or secure the release of abductees, a practice ​authorities have discouraged but ‌struggled to prevent.



from The Times Of Earth https://ift.tt/OICLQyh

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