Month: January 2022

Russian Troops Deploy to Timbuktu in Mali After French Withdrawal

Russian soldiers have deployed to Timbuktu in northern Mali to train Malian forces at a base vacated by French troops last month, Mali’s army spokesperson said Thursday.  Mali’s government said last month that “Russian trainers” had arrived in the country, but Bamako and Moscow have so far provided few details on the deployment, including how many soldiers are involved or the Russian troops’ precise mission.  The Russians’ arrival has generated sharp criticism from Western countries, led by former colonial power France. They say the forces include contractors from the mercenary Wagner Group, which they accuse of human rights abuses in …

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Paris Attacks Trial Resumes With Main Suspect Back in Court 

A marathon trial of suspects in the November 2015 Paris attack resumed Thursday after a negative COVID-19 test allowed the main suspect to attend.  Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the 10 assailants, had not appeared in court since November 25 and tested positive at the end of December.  He is set to take the stand for questioning next Thursday and Friday, an event long awaited by families of the 130 people killed on November 13, 2015.  In the meantime, there was a tense standoff between the presiding judge and another defendant.  Osama Krayem, 29, a Swedish national, informed the court …

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WHO Says New Coronavirus Variant in France Not a Threat – Yet

The World Health Organization says a new coronavirus variant recently detected in France is nothing to be concerned about right now. Scientists at the IHU Mediterranee Infection Foundation in the city of Marseille say they discovered the new B.1.640.2 variant in December in 12 patients living near Marseille, with the first patient testing positive after traveling to the central African nation of Cameroon. The researchers said they have identified 46 mutations in the new variant, which they labeled “IHU” after the institute, that could make it more resistant to vaccines and more infectious than the original coronavirus.  The French team …

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Pope Francis Marks Epiphany, Traditional Catholic Feast

Pope Francis Thursday marked the Catholic feast day of Epiphany, the day traditionally observed to commemorate the three wise men — or Magi — visiting the baby Jesus, by urging people to “follow their dreams.” During a Mass celebrated at the Vatican’s St. Peter’s Basilica, the pope recalled the journey of the Magi, who, according to Scripture, followed a star to Bethlehem where the baby Jesus was born in a manger. He said the three had a sort of “healthy restlessness” driven by a desire to see the Christ child. Francis said, “They were not content to plod through life, …

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US Sanctions Bosnian Serb Leader for Secessionist Efforts

The United States on Wednesday announced sanctions on Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik and current and former officials, adding pressure against their secessionist efforts threatening Bosnia-Herzegovina’s fragile union. In its statement, the U.S. Treasury Department accused Dodik of corruption and threatening Bosnia-Herzegovina’s stability and territorial integrity. “Milorad Dodik’s destabilizing corrupt activities and attempts to dismantle the Dayton Peace Accords, motivated by his own self-interest, threaten the stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the entire region,” said Brian Nelson, undersecretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, who was quoted in the statement. The department also imposed sanctions on Banja …

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Taiwan to Set Up $200 Million Fund to Invest in Lithuania Amid Dispute With China

Taiwan said on Wednesday it would create a $200 million fund to invest in Lithuanian industries and boost bilateral trade as it tries to fend off diplomatic pressure on the Baltic state from China. The Lithuanian government, meanwhile, ordered the state-owned railway company not to sign a contract with a China-owned Spanish bridge builder, citing “national security interests,” the prime minister’s spokesperson told the Baltic News Service. Lithuania is under pressure from China, which claims democratically ruled Taiwan as its own territory, to reverse a decision last year to allow the island to open a de facto embassy in Vilnius …

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With Salty Language, Macron Berates France’s Unvaccinated

French President Emmanuel Macron burst into the presidential race with an explosive remark about the country’s minority of unvaccinated people — in an apparent effort to win support from mainstream voters but at the risk of widening divisions over the issue.  Macron used a vulgarity to describe his strategy for pressuring vaccine refusers to get coronavirus jabs. In an interview published by Le Parisien newspaper late Tuesday, he used a word meaning to rile or to bug. His salty language dominated news broadcasts on Wednesday.  “The unvaccinated, I really want to bug them. And so we will continue doing so, to the end. That’s the strategy,” he said in …

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US, Germany to ‘Respond Swiftly’ if Russian Aggression Against Ukraine Escalates

The United States and Germany reaffirmed their steadfast support for Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity on Wednesday, warning of “massive” and “severe consequences” if Russia invades neighboring Ukraine. The renewed warning comes days ahead of scheduled U.S.-Russia talks in Geneva next week.  “Both Germany and the United States see Russia’s actions toward Ukraine as an immediate and urgent challenge to peace and stability in Europe,” said U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a press conference with visiting German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. “We condemn Russia’s military buildup on Ukraine’s borders as well as Moscow’s increasingly harsh rhetoric.” Blinken later added: “If Russia nonetheless chooses to escalate, we will respond swiftly.” During her first trip to Washington as Germany’s foreign minister, Baerbock warned further Russian actions …

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Poland’s President Tests Positive for COVID-19, Top Aide Says 

Polish President Andrzej Duda has tested positive for coronavirus, a top aide tweeted on Wednesday, after several people around him were infected.    “The President feels good, is not seriously ill and is under constant medical supervision,” top aide Pawel Szrot said in a tweet. He said the president was in isolation.    Duda also caught coronavirus in October 2020.    Poland has reported a lower number of new COVID-19 infections in recent days, but reporting is likely to have been influenced by a reduction in testing over the holidays.    The Omicron variant has yet to gain a foothold in Poland. The Ministry …

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UK Vows Crackdown on Threats Against Women

Britain’s justice secretary said Wednesday he wanted to put the “fear of God” into those who threaten women and that restoring women’s faith in the legal system was his “top priority” following a string of high-profile murders in London. Dominic Raab said he was “shocked and horrified” by the recent killings of several women, including one who was murdered by a serving police officer, calling the scale of violence “sickening”. “For many, the fear of being out alone after dark, or that they may be beaten in their own home, is a grim everyday reality,” he wrote in the Daily …

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