Congress increased pressure on the Biden administration over the humanitarian situation in the Tigray region of Ethiopia this week, urging it to move more forcefully and impose sanctions on the involved parties, including Addis Ababa.
A letter from Gregory Meeks, Democratic chairman of the House foreign affairs committee, and Republican member Michael McCaul was sent on Tuesday to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Treasury Janet Yellen.
The two called for sanctions to be imposed on those fuelling the fighting in Tigray.
Fighting since November between Ethiopian troops and the Tigray People's Liberation Front has killed more than 50,000 and displaced hundreds of thousands, Ethiopia's three opposition parties say.
The UN estimated on Tuesday that 2.2 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance, while human rights organisations have reported atrocities including rape and extrajudicial killings.
Last week, Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed admitted to the presence of Eritrean troops in Tigray fighting on the side of his government and committed to withdraw them from the region. This has yet to happen.
Congress is urging the Biden administration to do more to end the fighting.
“We condemn in the strongest possible terms reported atrocities and gross violations of human rights committed against civilians, including rape, torture, forced displacements and disappearances, acts of ethnic cleansing, extrajudicial killings, the looting and destruction of medical facilities and restricted access to aid,” Mr Meeks and Mr McCaul wrote.
“We urge the administration to utilise all available tools, including Global Magnitsky authorities and other targeted sanctions, to hold parties accountable for their actions and bring an end to this crisis."
Sanctions can be used to punish human rights abuses under the Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act passed by Congress in 2012.
The letter implicates all sides in the abuses and says “additional targeted accountability measures cannot wait”.
It also threatens problems for the future of relations between the US and Ethiopia if the situation did not improve.
“While we remain committed to the important bilateral relationship between the United States and Ethiopia, this conflict jeopardises shared political, economic and security priorities,” Mr Meeks and Mr McCaul wrote.
In February, the Biden administration unlinked a suspension of $272 million in aid to Ethiopia for the Nile dam crisis and tied it instead to current "developments", including the Tigray conflict.
Speaking to Congress in March, Mr Blinken described the situation in Tigray as “ethnic cleansing”.
On Tuesday he made reference to sexual assaults and continued killings in the region.
“The report we’re releasing today shows that the trend lines on human rights continue to move in the wrong direction," Mr Blinken said at the launch of the State Department's annual human rights report.
"We see it in the killings, sexual assaults and other atrocities credibly reported in Ethiopia’s Tigray region."
Cameron Hudson, a senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Africa Centre, said Washington was following a gradual approach in increasing pressure on Ethiopia.
“We [the US] have already suspended our development assistance and our security assistance," Mr Hudson said.
"Those moves seem to have very little impact in changing [Addis Ababa's] approach to the conflict in Tigray. The next level of pressure is clearly going to be direct punitive measures."
The letter is an indication of possible sanctions by the departments of State and Treasury.
“This likely will translate into sanctions unless Washington starts to see greater movement on the key issues it is asking for changes on, namely the withdrawal of Eritrean and Amhara [ethnic group] forces, the launch of the international human rights investigation, unhindered humanitarian access and some sort of domestic political dialogue,” Mr Hudson said.
He saw the possibility of the US Treasury delaying or denying third-party aid to Ethiopia.
“The Treasury does two big things that affect US policy on Ethiopia," Mr Hudson said.
"It administers US sanctions and it controls the US vote at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
"The US has leverage in denying or delaying Ethiopia multilateral financing and assistance and not just bilateral assistance.”
In its report on Tuesday, the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs said about “1.3 million children need protective services and safe education in Tigray and neighbouring areas”.
The UN agency expressed concern over reports of rape and other breaches of human rights in the Tigray region.
“There are more than 500 self-reported rape cases so far,” it said.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
The team
Videographer: Jear Velasquez
Photography: Romeo Perez
Fashion director: Sarah Maisey
Make-up: Gulum Erzincan at Art Factory
Models: Meti and Clinton at MMG
Video assistant: Zanong Maget
Social media: Fatima Al Mahmoud
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BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
The biog
Born: Kuwait in 1986
Family: She is the youngest of seven siblings
Time in the UAE: 10 years
Hobbies: audiobooks and fitness: she works out every day, enjoying kickboxing and basketball
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Barbie
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India team for Sri Lanka series
Test squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Priyank Panchal, Mayank Agarwal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Shubhman Gill, Rishabh Pant (wk), KS Bharath (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Sourabh Kumar, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah.
T20 squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Surya Kumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Deepak Hooda, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Avesh Khan
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
THE%20SPECS
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In The Heights
Directed by: Jon M. Chu
Stars: Anthony Ramos, Lin-Manual Miranda
Rating: ****
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
The biog
Favourite films: Casablanca and Lawrence of Arabia
Favourite books: Start with Why by Simon Sinek and Good to be Great by Jim Collins
Favourite dish: Grilled fish
Inspiration: Sheikh Zayed's visionary leadership taught me to embrace new challenges.
FROM%20THE%20ASHES
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What is Diwali?
The Hindu festival is at once a celebration of the autumn harvest and the triumph of good over evil, as outlined in the Ramayana.
According to the Sanskrit epic, penned by the sage Valmiki, Diwali marks the time that the exiled king Rama – a mortal with superhuman powers – returned home to the city of Ayodhya with his wife Sita and brother Lakshman, after vanquishing the 10-headed demon Ravana and conquering his kingdom of Lanka. The people of Ayodhya are believed to have lit thousands of earthen lamps to illuminate the city and to guide the royal family home.
In its current iteration, Diwali is celebrated with a puja to welcome the goodness of prosperity Lakshmi (an incarnation of Sita) into the home, which is decorated with diyas (oil lamps) or fairy lights and rangoli designs with coloured powder. Fireworks light up the sky in some parts of the word, and sweetmeats are made (or bought) by most households. It is customary to get new clothes stitched, and visit friends and family to exchange gifts and greetings.
The specs: 2018 Nissan Altima
Price, base / as tested: Dh78,000 / Dh97,650
Engine: 2.5-litre in-line four-cylinder
Power: 182hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 244Nm @ 4,000rpm
Transmission: Continuously variable tranmission
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.6L / 100km
SCHEDULE FOR SHOW COURTS
Centre Court - from 4pm (UAE time)
Angelique Kerber (1) v Irina Falconi
Martin Klizan v Novak Djokovic (2)
Alexandr Dolgopolov v Roger Federer (3)
Court One - from 4pm
Milos Raonic (6) v Jan-Lennard Struff
Karolina Pliskova (3) v Evgeniya Rodina
Dominic Thiem (8) v Vasek Pospisil
Court Two - from 2.30pm
Juan Martin Del Potro (29) v Thanasi Kokkinakis
Agnieszka Radwanska (9) v Jelena Jankovic
Jeremy Chardy v Tomas Berdych (11)
Ons Jabeur v Svetlana Kuznetsova (7)
Sam Smith
Where: du Arena, Abu Dhabi
When: Saturday November 24
Rating: 4/5
