News In Brief

Five arrested in Ethiopia for arson attack on mosques
Reuters, Addis Ababa
Five people suspected of burning down four mosques in Ethiopia’s Amhara region were arrested on Saturday, a regional spokesman said, as rising inter-communal and ethnic violence threatens political reforms initiated by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
“Five people who are suspected of leading and organizing the attacks have now been arrested,” Getnet Yirsaw, the Amhara state spokesman, said in a Facebook post.

US slams China, Russia veto on Syria aid as ‘shameful’
AFP, Washington
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Saturday described as “shameful” Russia and China blocking a UN Security Council resolution that would have extended for a year cross-border humanitarian aid to four million Syrians.
“The Russian Federation’s and China’s veto yesterday of a Security Council resolution that allows for humanitarian aid to reach millions of Syrians is shameful,” Mr Pompeo said in a statement.

Iran calls Mike Pompeo ‘loudspeaker for
bullying’
AFP, Tehran
Iran on Friday called US foreign policy “delusional” and its chief diplomat a “loudspeaker for bullying, deceit and disdain”, a day after Washington announced new sanctions against Tehran.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, announcing the measures against two Iranian judges on Thursday, said Washington would also restrict visas for Iranian officials.

Mali leader urges ‘respectful’ France-Sahel relationship
AFP, Bamako
Mali’s president said on Saturday the relationship between France and Sahel states should be “respectable and respectful”, following recent tension regarding the former colonial power’s role in the region. Speaking to French television, President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita said the G5 Sahel military alliance – comprising Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Mauritania and Chad – would deliver the message at a meeting in France on January 13.