NATO should engage in dialogue with Russia but the US-led military bloc ought not to stand for Moscow telling its members what to do, Germany’s new defense minister declared on Sunday, during a visit to Lithuania. Christine Lambrecht made the statement during a press conference with her Lithuanian counterpart, Arvydas …
Read More »Monthly Archives: December 2021
Chile: Voters head to polls in divisive presidential runoff
Voters in Chile will choose between two candidates with polar opposite views. Recent opinion polls show left-wing candidate Gabriel Boric leading right-wing populist Jose Antonio Kast. Chileans are casting their ballots Sunday in a hotly contested runoff between two candidates offering starkly divergent visions of the country’s future on a …
Read More »French Cup match between Paris FC and Lyon suspended after fan violence
Football violence has broken out for the second time this season in France. Crowd trouble forced the French Cup last-64 tie between Lyon and host Paris FC to be called off after half-time on Friday. During the break, flares were thrown back and forth between home and visiting fans in …
Read More »Joe Manchin slams door on Biden’s $1.75 trillion investment bill
U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, a moderate Democrat who is key to President Joe Biden’s hopes of passing a $1.75 trillion domestic investment bill, said on Sunday he would not support the package. “I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation,” Manchin said during an interview with the “Fox …
Read More »Over 130 miners being evacuated after fire at Russian mine -TASS
A fire broke out on Sunday at a Siberian coal mine, Russia’s TASS news agency cited the emergency services as saying, with operations underway to bring 139 miners to the surface, weeks after a blast at a mine in the same region killed 51 people. There were conflicting reports of …
Read More »Islamic countries pledge fund to stave off Afghanistan ‘chaos’
Islamic countries pledged on Sunday to set up a humanitarian trust fund for Afghanistan as, with millions facing hunger and a harsh winter setting in, Pakistan’s prime minister warned of chaos if the worsening emergency was not urgently addressed. The crisis is causing mounting alarm but the international response has …
Read More »Hundreds of thousands march to Sudan presidential palace in protest against coup
Hundreds of thousands of people marched to the presidential palace in Sudan’s capital Khartoum on Sunday in protest at the Oct. 25 military coup, drawing volleys of tear gas and stun grenades from security forces, Reuters witnesses said. The outpouring of protest marked the third anniversary of demonstrations that touched …
Read More »China & Russia are ready to end US dominance of global finance
Russian President Vladimir Putin held extensive talks with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, earlier this week, with the two world leaders agreeing on plans to establish a new shared international financial framework. China and Russia have been gradually moving towards such an arrangement since the Global Financial Crisis of 2008 …
Read More »UK reveals whether it will send troops to Ukraine
UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace has admitted it’s unlikely that the UK will send military forces to help defend Ukraine in the event of a conflict with Russia. He disclosed that Kiev is aware of the situation. “It’s a fact [that Ukraine is] not a member of NATO, so it …
Read More »IED explosion targets a convoy of the US-led Coalition in al-Anbar
A blast from a roadside bomb reportedly hit a convoy of the US-led Global Coalition in al-Anbar today. Earlier today, Iraqi security forces thwarted an attempt to target a supply convoy by two explosive devices in babel, south of Iraq. A security source siad that a joint force from the …
Read More »Iraqi security forces destroy ISIS hideouts and tunnels in Al-Anbar desert
Iraq’s Security Media Cell announced the destruction of ISIS tunnels and hideouts in the Al-Anbar desert on Friday. In a statement, the Cell said that a joint security force carried out a military operation in two consecutive days in the Al-Anbar desert, searching for ISIS remnants. According to the statement, …
Read More »Leading cause of death among 18-45yo Americans revealed, and it is not Covid-19
Fentanyl overdoses have become the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18 to 45, according to a new report which shows deaths related to the drug overtaking Covid-19 and suicide. Between 2020 and 2021, 78,795 adults in the age bracket died from the drug, with 2021 deaths rising by …
Read More »London declares ‘major incident’ over Omicron
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has announced a ‘major incident’ in the UK capital over the quickly deteriorating epidemiological situation prompted by the fast-spreading Omicron variant. “Today I have declared a major incident in London because of the serious threat of Covid-19 to our city. This will help us avoid …
Read More »Thousands displaced by floods in Malaysia
Torrential rains in Malaysia have caused flooding that has driven more than 11,000 people from their homes, closed dozens of roads, and disrupted shipping, authorities said on Saturday. More than 66,000 personnel from the police, army, and fire department have been mobilised nationwide to help rescue people stranded by floodwaters …
Read More »Afghan Taliban leaders appeal for help as migrant crisis looms
Senior Taliban officials appealed on Saturday for international help to combat a deepening economic crisis that has fuelled fears of another refugee exodus from Afghanistan. The comments, at a special meeting to mark the U.N.’s international migrants day, underlined the new Islamist Taliban government’s push to engage with the world …
Read More »Russia formally quits Open Skies Treaty after US withdrawal
Russia has officially left the Open Skies arms control treaty following the United States’ unilateral exit from the pact last year, saying Washington bears “full responsibility” for the post-Cold War accord’s demise. In a statement issued on Saturday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said the decision to withdraw from the treaty, …
Read More »Iraqi army and PMF thwart an ISIS attack in Diyala
A security source in Diyala reported that an ISIS attack targeting the Iraqi army and al-Hashed al-Shaabi (PMF), on the outskirts of al-Muqdadiyah district. The source said that ISIS snipers attacked a joint security point of the Iraqi army and the PMF in Abou Moussa village, in al-Muqdadiyah. The source …
Read More »UK PM Johnson’s Conservatives suffer shock by-election defeat
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party has suffered a stunning defeat in a parliamentary by-election that was a referendum on his government. His ruling Tories had held the seat in North Shropshire, central England, by a massive majority just two years ago, but saw that wiped out by the …
Read More »France wants EU to start legal case against UK
The French government has said it will call on the EU to open legal proceedings against the UK over London’s alleged withholding of fishing licenses. Paris says 73 licenses are now outstanding. Speaking on Friday, Minister for European Affairs Clement Beaune told reporters that France had obtained 93% of the …
Read More »Israeli forces detain 10 Palestinians, injure dozens across West Bank
Israeli forces have detained 10 Palestinians in multiple raids across the occupied West Bank and injured dozens of others in anti-settlement protests in the occupied Palestinian territory. Palestine’s official Wafa news agency said heavily-armed Israeli police on Friday rounded up five Palestinians, including three brothers, after forcibly entering their houses …
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