Gazette 03-18-14

Tuesday March 18th 2014

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Crimea always part of Russia - Putin

President Vladimir Putin has told Russia's parliament that Crimea has "always been part of Russia".

Mr Putin was speaking at the Kremlin, where he announced new laws for Crimea to join the Russian Federation and asked MPs to back the move.
Mr Putin and Crimea's leaders then signed an agreement formalising the region's absorption into Russia.
Crimea declared independence from Ukraine on Monday after a widely condemned referendum.
Crimean officials say 97% of voters backed splitting from Ukraine, but the EU and US have declared the vote illegal and imposed sanctions. The government in Kiev described the vote as a "circus" held at gunpoint.
Crimea was taken over by pro-Russian forces in late February after Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovych fled to Russia following months of street protests.
The EU and US have declared the vote illegal and imposed sanctions in response.
Travel bans and asset freezes have been imposed on government officials and other figures in Russia, Crimea and Ukraine, but these have been largely dismissed as ineffectual in Russia.
'More than convincing' Mr Putin earlier on Tuesday recognised Crimea as a sovereign state and approved a draft bill on the accession.

French Foreign Minister says Russia suspended from G-8

France's foreign minister says that leaders of the Group of Eight world powers have suspended Russia's participation in the club amid tensions over Ukraine and Russia's incursion into Crimea.

The other seven members of the group had already suspended preparations for a G-8 summit that Russia is scheduled to host in June in Sochi.
France's Laurent Fabius went further Tuesday, saying on Europe-1 radio that "concerning the G-8 ... we decided to suspend Russia's participation, and it is envisaged that all the other countries, the seven leading countries, will unite without Russia."
Fabius did not give further details.
The U.S. and European Union on Tuesday announced new sanctions against Russia over its actions in the Crimean Peninsula.
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Missing Malaysia flight's path reportedly diverted through computer system
The mysterious turn that diverted the missing Malaysia Airlines flight off of its scheduled route to Beijing was programmed into a computer system on board, the New York Times reported Monday, meaning it was not executed manually by one of the pilots at the controls.
The revelation lends more credence to a theory by investigators searching for the jet that the Boeing 777 was deliberately diverted. The Times reports it is unclear if the change in course was reprogrammed before or after the plane took off, but the change was likely made by someone in the cockpit with knowledge of airplane systems.
The search for Flight 370, which vanished early March 8 while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board, has now been expanded deep into the northern and southern hemispheres. Australian vessels scoured the southern Indian Ocean and China offered 21 of its satellites to help Malaysia in the unprecedented hunt, but no trace of the plane has been found.
Investigators say the jet flew off-course for hours. They haven't ruled out hijacking, sabotage, or pilot suicide, and are checking the backgrounds of the 227 passengers and 12 crew members -- as well as the ground crew -- for personal problems, psychological issues or links to terrorists. 
China's state news agency reported Tuesday that background checks on all its nationals on board the missing Malaysian jetliner uncovered no links to terrorism. Xinhua said the Chinese ambassador to Malaysia made the announcement to media in Kuala Lumpur.
There has been some speculation that Uighur separatists in far western Xinjiang province might have been involved with the flight's disappearance. The statement will lessen that speculation.

Afghanistan Suicide Bombing Claims 15 Lives; Just The Latest Attack Before Presidential Elections

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A suicide bomber riding a rickshaw blew himself up outside a checkpoint near a market in northern Afghanistan on Tuesday, killing at least 15 civilians, officials said, in the latest attack in the countdown to next month's presidential elections.
Nobody immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in the capital of Faryab province, but it happened in an area where the Taliban and allied militant groups are active. The Taliban have threatened a campaign of violence to disrupt the April 5 vote, which will choose a new president to lead the country as foreign troops prepare to end their combat mission by the end of the year.
The attacker was approaching a checkpoint where cars were being searched on a road leading to the governor's compound in Maymana, the Faryab provincial capital, when he detonated his explosives hidden in the rickshaw, the officials said.
However, most of the victims were vendors peddling fresh bread and other people at the busy roadside market area.
Deputy Governor Abdul Satar Barez said 15 people were killed and 46 people were wounded — 27 of them seriously — in the explosion that struck some 200 meters (yards) away from the governor's compound.
Women, children and employees of the nearby electricity department were among the casualties, Barez said but he couldn't provide an immediate breakdown.
"They killed innocent people in a place where locals were just trying to earn 10 Afghanis (about 20 cents) to buy a piece of bread. Most of the casualties were either selling bread or buying it," he said.

Egypt police convicted over detainee tear-gas deaths

A court in Cairo has convicted four Egyptian policemen over the deaths of 37 Islamist detainees last August.

Deputy chief of Heliopolis police station Lt Col Amr Farouk was sentenced to 10 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter and extreme negligence.
The other three officers were given one-year suspended sentences.
The detainees died as a result of asphyxiation when tear gas was fired into the back of a vehicle transporting 45 of them to a prison outside Cairo.
Security officials initially said the detainees had rioted and captured a guard while en route to Abu Zabal prison on 18 August, causing the officers to respond by firing tear gas into the vehicle.
However, prosecutors found no evidence to support the claim and that the vehicle transporting them was designed to carry only 24 detainees.
Crowd-control experts said at the time that the detainees would have died in agony, gasping for air and incapable of resisting the guards.
 
'Unjust'
 
The BBC's Orla Guerin, who was outside the court on Tuesday, says there was an angry and emotional reaction to the verdict from relatives of some of the dead.
One weeping father said he was concerned that the 10-year sentence handed down to Col Farouk might be reduced on appeal.
He said his son was an innocent man who had died a terrible death, and that he and his wife had effectively died with him. 

 
Human rights campaigners say Egypt's police operate in a climate of immunity and are rarely punished for abuses, our correspondent adds.

Syria War Criminals Identified By UN Panel

GENEVA (AP) — A U.N. panel investigating human rights abuses in Syria has identified those responsible for crimes including hostage-taking, torture and executions and has put their names on a list of people who should eventually be held accountable for their actions, the head of the panel said Tuesday.
Brazilian diplomat Paulo Sergio Pinheiro said the "perpetrators list" includes the heads of intelligence branches and detention facilities where torture occurs; military commanders who target civilians; officials overseeing airports from where barrel bomb attacks are planned and executed; and leaders of armed groups involved in attacking civilians.
His comments provided the most specific information so far about the identities of suspected criminals on the list. The panel was established by the U.N.'s Human Rights Council to investigate all alleged violations of international human rights law since March 2011 in Syria and, whenever possible, to identify those responsible so that they can be prosecuted.
"We have an enormous volume of testimony — over 2700 interviews, as well as a wealth of documentary material," Pinheiro told the council. "We do not lack information on crimes or on perpetrators. What we lack is a means by which to achieve justice and accountability."
In December, the U.N.'s top human rights official, Navi Pillay, said a growing body of evidence points to the involvement of senior Syrian officials, including President Bashar Assad, in crimes against humanity and war crimes. But she was careful to say she hadn't singled him out as a suspect in Syria's conflict, now entering its fourth year, that has killed more than 140,000 people.

Suicide bomber, gunmen attack hotel in central Somalia frequented by African Union troops

A Somali military official says the country's al-Qaida-linked group attacked a hotel in a central Somalia town with a suicide car bomb and gunmen, killing at least five people.

Col. Ahmed Ali said a suicide car bomber blew himself up Tuesday in the town of Bulo-burte, paving the way for a gunfight between troops and al-Shabab militants who tried to break through a hotel's defenses. The hotel is frequented by Somali and African Union officials.
The African Union and Somali troops seized the town last week. Officials said it was serving as a training and supply center for militants.
It's the second attack in two days. A military official in Mogadishu said a car bomber tried to attack an African Union convoy on Monday but missed and killed only himself.

World powers and Iran start nuclear talks

Talks between Iran and six world powers aimed at agreeing a lasting nuclear deal have resumed in Vienna.  The two sides hope to reach an agreement by July that trims Iran's nuclear activities in exchange for an end to sanctions choking Tehran's economy. Tuesday's negotiations are the second in monthly meetings on a comprehensive deal. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohamad Javad Zarif is leading his country's delegation, while EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton negotiates at least formally on behalf of the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany. Iranian media said Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had cancelled a customary pre-talks dinner with Ashton on Monday evening. The official IRNA news agency quoted sources as saying it was because of Ashton's "undiplomatic" behaviour, an apparent reference to her meeting Iranian human rights activists during her first visit to Tehran 10 days ago. Iran has long denied accusations from Western powers and Israel that it has sought to develop the capability to produce atomic weapons under the cover of its declared civilian nuclear energy programme. In November, Iran and the six powers struck an interim deal under which Tehran has since shelved higher-grade uranium enrichment - a potential path to atomic bombs - and obtained modest relief from punitive economic sanctions in return. That six-month pact was designed to buy time for hammering out a final settlement by a July deadline, under which the West wants Iran to significantly scale back its nuclear programme to deny it the capability to devise a nuclear weapon any time soon.

Zarif, who will lead Tehran's delegation, said he expects a trickier round of talks this week than the previous meeting in mid-February as the two sides try to iron out details such as Iran's Arak heavy water reactor and levels of uranium enrichment.

Explosive device detonated near IDF jeep on Syria border; 3 soldiers wounded  An IDF jeep traveling on the Golan Heights near the Syrian border came under attack Tuesday, when an explosive device was detonated in its vicinity. Three soldiers sustained light-to-moderate injuries. The incident came after an IDF convoy traveling in the Har Dov (Shaba Farms) area, on the border with Lebanon, was the target of a bomb set off by Hezbollah on Friday night. One of the armored vehicles was directly hit by the explosion, but there were no injuries among soldiers. The IDF concluded within minutes of the attack that Hezbollah was behind the explosion. In response, IDF tanks fired on and struck a Hezbollah post in the village of Kafr Kileh, Lebanon, close to the Israeli border. An Artillery Corps unit stationed on the border, near the area of the attack, opened fire as well.  Two arrested for driving car full of explosives in Kenya MOMBASA: Kenyan police on Monday said that they arrested two men who were driving a vehicle packed with explosives in the Indian Ocean resort city of Mombasa. "We have not established where the target was, but we have detained two terror suspects who were in the vehicle," said Henry Ondiek of the Mombasa criminal investigation department. According to police, two homemade bombs were found in the vehicle, along with a mobile phone, which could have been used as a detonator. "We were tipped off that the two were headed for an attack on an unspecified place and we laid an ambush and got them," Ondiek said. Another police source, requesting anonymity, said the two men were of Somali origin. The vehicle was taken to Mombasa's main police station and placed under tight security. Kenya has suffered a string of attacks blamed on the al-Shabaab Islamist group based in Somalia, including the September 2013 massacre in Nairobi's Westgate mall in which at least 67 people were killed. Kenya's top security chiefs warned last month of "increased threats of radicalization" from homegrown Islamists, singling out Mombasa's Musa mosque as a specific centre encouraging extremism, along with two others. China working on new anti-satellite weapon, says researcher Brian Weeden Washington: A detailed analysis of satellite imagery provides additional evidence that a Chinese rocket launch in May 2013 billed as a research mission was actually a test of a new anti-satellite weapon based on a road-mobile ballistic missile. Former US Air Force space analyst Brian Weeden published a 47-page analysis on the website of the Space Review on Monday, which he said showed that China appeared to be testing a kinetic interceptor launched by a new rocket that could reach geostationary orbit about 36,000 kilometres above the earth. "If true, this would represent a significant development in China's anti-satellite [ASAT] capabilities," wrote Mr Weeden, a technical adviser for Secure World Foundation, a non-profit organisation focused on secure and peaceful uses of outer space. "No other country has tested a direct ascent ASAT weapon system that has the potential to reach deep space satellites in medium earth orbit, highly elliptical orbit or geostationary orbit," he wrote, referring to orbital paths that are more than 2000 kilometres over the earth. Advertisement The article includes a previously undisclosed satellite image taken by DigitalGlobe that shows a mobile missile launcher, or "transporter-erector-launcher" (TEL) at China's Xichang missile launch site. A transporter-erector-launcher is used for mobile ground launches of ballistic missiles instead of a fixed pad. Mr Weeden said there was "substantial evidence" that China was developing a second anti-satellite weapon in addition to the previously known system designated as SC-19 by US agencies. He said the new system may use one of China's new Kuaizhou rockets. Mr Weeden renewed his call for the US to release more information about the Chinese weapons development program, arguing that more public dialogue was needed about efforts to develop and test anti-satellite weapons around the world. "Remaining silent risks sending the message to China and other countries that developing and testing hit-to-kill ASAT capabilities is considered responsible behaviour as long as it does not create long-lived orbital debris," Mr Weeden said. - US government set to give up net oversight powers The US government has declared it wants to stop being in charge of how the internet is run. The US Commerce Department has announced its "intent" to hand control over to the wider net community. It has asked net overseer Icann to work out how to shift control from the US government to an alternative body. It said it wants the successor controlling body to be made up of both private companies and government representatives. 'Critical' time The way the internet came about meant the US retained ultimate control over how the network was operated. The process of stepping back from that began in 1998 with the creation of Icann (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). Under contract from the US government, Icann oversees the net's addressing system that underlies everything people do online. Now it wants to go further and let Icann run that addressing system without any US interference. In a statement setting out its plan, assistant secretary of commerce Lawrence Strickling said the handover must "support and enhance the multistakeholder model" for the governing of the net as well as maintain its openness. Dr Stephen Crocker, chairman of Icann's board, said the day the net would be free of US oversight had been "long envisioned". "We have all long known the destination," he said in a statement. "Now it is up to our global stakeholder community to determine the best route to get us there." He said Icann had issued invitations to governments, companies, net organisations and civil groups to help it work out how the transfer of power should be accomplished. Icann said the new body should be in place by September 2015 when its current contract with the US government expires. GOP bill would cut civilian defense jobs, shift cash to military Several House Republicans have introduced legislation that would reduce the civilian defense workforce by 15 percent in six years and use the savings from the cuts to boost military readiness and support active-duty personnel. The Rebalance for an Effective Defense Uniform and Civilian Employees, or REDUCE, Act would cut nearly 115,000 jobs from the Defense Department, from the current 770,00-person workforce down to roughly 655,000, GovExec.com reported. Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Calif., who introduced the legislation, said his proposal would require the Pentagon to make civilian workforce reductions in a "systematic manner" without compromising the nation's ability to maintain a strong national defense.  “The growth of the civilian workforce within the DOD continues to create a significant budgetary burden but, more importantly, if left unchecked it will negatively impact our men and women in uniform,” Calvert said in a statement.   “[Secretary of Defense Chuck] Hagel's recently announced military reduction plan trims the wrong side of the DOD. It would negatively impact our troops, compromise our national security, while failing to make the tough but necessary decisions needed to trim the civilian workforce at the DOD." The proposal was met with immediate resistance from the American Federation of Government Employees, the nation's largest federal employee union, which says Calvert's bill would boost costs to taxpayers by increasing the Pentagon's overreliance on expensive contractors. Cruz Makes Another Trip to Iowa Sen. Ted Cruz (R-IA) "is making his fourth trip to Iowa in eight months, logging serious face-time before most other potential 2016 White House hopefuls in the state that kicks off presidential voting," the AP reports. "That's more Iowa trips than any of the other Republicans mentioned as possible presidential contenders, except for fellow tea party-backed U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky. But Cruz's brand of social conservatism may excite much of the party's base more easily than Paul's Libertarian ideals." Des Moines Register: "He'd never stepped foot in Iowa in his life until he came last summer to get acquainted with Iowa Christian conservative ministers at an event in Des Moines." Republicans seize edge in fight for the Senate The Senate playing field has shifted in Republicans' favor over the last several weeks thanks to recruiting successes in Colorado and New Hampshire, as well as a national political environment that looks increasingly treacherous for Democrats. That shifting has led to rising confidence among Republican strategists about the party's chances of retaking the six seats the party needs to regain the Senate majority in 2014. “After the last two Senate elections, this will be the year Charlie Brown finally gets to kick the football," predicted prominent Republican pollster Glen Bolger. "Republicans have more opportunities than they have in the past, the terrible candidates are not catching the better general-election candidates napping like they did in cases like Christine O’Donnell and Richard Mourdock, and the [National Republican Senatorial Committee] is doing a good job ensuring candidates have a stronger digital presence than GOPers have had in the past.  And yes, in this analogy, Harry Reid is Lucy, crabby as ever.” Even Democrats have begun to acknowledge the problems in the fight for the Senate -- albeit privately. "There is no doubt that the Senate outlook has deteriorated significantly in the past six weeks," admitted a prominent Democratic strategist. "Between the map and the [Affordable Care Act's] unpopularity in the states on the map, it has gone from being a jump ball to advantage Republicans." Ex-Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards launches comeback bid for Congress He has served in prison, starred in a short-lived reality TV show and delivered enough quotable quips to fill a bookshelf in the public library. Now, in his latest exhibition of life as political performance art, Edwin Edwards — former Louisiana governor, convicted racketeer, celebrated womanizer and, at age 86, new father — announced Monday he would be a candidate for Congress. "I've given a great deal of thought to this ... and I acknowledge that there are good reasons why I should not run ... but there are better reasons why I should," Edwards told reporters in Baton Rouge, La. "I am positive I can run, and I am confident I can win." When last seen on the national stage, Edwards was co-starring in "The Governor’s Wife," an A&E series focused on his pen-pal-turned-bride No. 3, Trina Scott. Their son, Eli, was born in August, and Edwards, accompanied by his wife, arrived at Monday’s announcement pushing the boy in a stroller. The former four-term Democratic governor served more than eight years in federal prison for fraud, racketeering and extortion in connection with the state's licensing of riverboat casinos. He left prison in 2011 and has steadily maintained his innocence — though he pointed out Monday that nothing in the Constitution prevents a convicted felon from being elected to Congress. Part of a long line of populist, picaresque Louisiana governors, Edwards himself made a reference to his checkered past. "I haven't had this much attention since the trial," he told reporters in making his announcement. He said improving accessibility to healthcare would be a centerpiece of his congressional campaign. He criticized the state’s Republican governor, Bobby Jindal, for refusing to accept expanded Medicaid coverage under the federal Affordable Care Act, more widely known as Obamacare.

Kevin Trudeau jailed for 10 years over weight loss book claims

Best-selling American author Kevin Trudeau, whose name became synonymous with late-night TV pitches, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for swindling consumers through infomercials for his book about weight loss.
As he imposed the sentence prosecutors had requested, district judge Ronald Guzman portrayed 50-year-old Trudeau as a habitual fraudster from early adulthood. So brazen was Trudeau, the judge said, he once even used his own mother's social security number during a scam.
"Since his 20s, he has steadfastly attempted to cheat others for his own gain," Guzman said, adding that Trudeau was "deceitful to the very core".
Trudeau showed little emotion as the sentence was handed down at a hearing in Chicago.
Addressing the judge in a 10-minute statement, Trudeau apologised and said he had become a changed man. He had meditated, prayed and read self-help books, he said, while locked up at Chicago's Metropolitan Correctional Center.
"I have truly had a significant reawakening," said Trudeau, who was dressed in orange jail clothes. "If I ever do an infomercial again … I promise: no embellishments, no puffery, no lies."
Jurors convicted Trudeau of criminal contempt in November for defying a 2004 court order barring him from running false ads about the weight-loss book, The Weight Loss Cure 'They' Don't Want You to Know About. Despite the order, he aired the infomercials at least 32,000 times, according to prosecutors.
He sold more than 850,000 copies of the book, generating $39 (£23m) , prosecutors said.
Asking for a sentence of less than two years for his client, the defence attorney Tom Kirsch said the harm Trudeau caused was minor compared with fraud in which people are cheated out of their life savings.

Air Canada suspends Venezuela flights over 'civil unrest'

Air Canada has suspended flights to and from Venezuela, citing concerns over security.

The airline said it would consider resuming operations once the situation in Venezuela had stabilised.
It operated three return flights between Toronto and Caracas per week.
Twenty-nine people - from both sides of the political divide - have been killed in six weeks of protests against high inflation, crime and the shortage of many staples in Venezuela.
"Due to ongoing civil unrest in Venezuela, Air Canada can no longer ensure the safety of its operation and has suspended flights to Caracas until further notice," says the Canadian airline in a statement.

It says customers who have not begun their travel "may obtain refunds". Others may be rebooked on other airlines.

Retaliation Several international airlines have reduced operations in recent weeks in Venezuela, but their main grievance has been the government's tight currency controls.
International airlines say the government of Nicolas Maduro owes them more than $3bn (£1.8bn).
Tough foreign currency controls make it difficult for foreign airlines to repatriate money obtained from ticket sales in Venezuela.
In January, Ecuadorean airline Tame suspended flights to Venezuela, demanding $43m (£26m) - one third of the company's yearly revenue - in overdue payments for tickets.

Afghanistan mission: Stephen Harper welcomes troops home

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is expected to announce a national commemoration of Canada's mission in Afghanistan this morning as he meets with the last group of soldiers returning home in Ottawa. 
The troops, escorted by CF-18 fighter jets, are due to arrive at the Ottawa airport where they will be greeted with a welcome ceremony that includes Governor General David Johnston, Defence Minister Rob Nicholson and Defence Chief General Thomas Lawson. 
It marks the formal conclusion of Canada's twelve-year mission in Afghanistan.

First Nations On Quebec Sovereignty: We Decide Our Own Future

MONTREAL - A First Nations leader has a message for anyone talking up the issue of Quebec independence during the province's election campaign: don't forget about us.
Ghislain Picard, chief of the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador, says First Nations have the right to determine their own future and aren't bound to the result of another referendum vote.
It's useless to consider Quebec sovereignty while there's still uncertainty about the place of aboriginal peoples, Picard said.
"We have the right to self-determination and this right is not negotiable," Picard said in a statement.
If the Parti Quebecois succeeds in getting a majority in the April 7 vote and works toward calling another referendum, Picard says First Nations will take steps to protect the interests of their members.
"Let us be even more clear: Quebec can decide what it wants in terms of its culture, its identity and its development, but it cannot claim sovereignty over a territory which is still, fundamentally, First Nation."
Similar concerns were raised in the lead up to the last referendum in 1995.

Alison Redford’s hold on power slips as associate minister Donna Kennedy-Glans defects from PC caucus

ANALYSIS
Alberta Premier Alison Redford’s hold on power slipped a little more on Monday, after an associate minister defected from caucus saying the government’s problems go well beyond the premier’s spending habits.

This is about way more than just leadership

Donna Kennedy-Glans, the associate minister for electricity and renewable energy who held senior roles with large oil and gas firms before entering politics in 2012, said the Progressive Conservative government doesn’t seem to be able to gel, or to make good on its promises. She said she had concerns with fiscal management, and the government’s sense of entitlement.
“I think this is about way more than just leadership,” she said, alluding to the spending scandals that have swirled around Ms. Redford for months.
“I think it’s our response to these leadership situations. I listen to my constituents all the time and they’re focused on the kinds of change they’re looking for and we just don’t seem to be able to deliver it.”
Ms. Redford has been trying to quell a caucus uprising since last week. The first Tory MLA defected on Thursday, shortly after the premier said she would cover the costs of a controversial $45,000 trip to South Africa herself. A group of 10 disgruntled MLAs met in Edmonton Sunday night to consider their next steps, and by one estimate, up to 25 Tories are contemplating leaving caucus in a bid to force the premier out.
In the Alberta legislature on Monday, with Ms. Redford’s daughter watching question period as part of a Grade 6 class trip, the premier was asked point blank if she still had the support to be leader. The response was a standing ovation from her Progressive Conservative caucus — and from the Opposition Wildrose party too.
You can see why they would want Ms. Redford to stay: An Angus Reid poll Monday suggested 46% of voters would opt for the Wildrose, compared to 23% for the PCs.
It all has the feeling of a death spiral, according to political analyst David Taras, a professor at Mount Royal University in Calgary.
“Remember that Monty Python episode where they cut off the right arm of the Black Knight and he says ‘Oh, I’m fine.’ Then they cut off the leg and he says ‘Ah, I’m fine.

Canada quietly drops African country from foreign-aid priority list

Canada has quietly dropped Sudan from its list of priority countries for foreign aid, a new report from the Department of Foreign Affairs shows, just as the United Nations warns of a resurgence of violence in the country’s conflict-torn Darfur region.
The department’s annual report on plans and priorities, published this month, makes no mention of the African country in a list describing Canada’s top 20 destinations for foreign aid. South Sudan, which split from its northern neighbour in 2011, remains on the list and the other 19 priority countries are unchanged.
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