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Pope Francis seen in file photo.
Pope ‘authorized hundreds of thousands’ to pay ransom for kidnapped nun
VATICAN CITY — A second high-ranking Holy See official told a Vatican court on Friday that Pope Francis had authorized spending hundreds of thousands of euros in ransom payments to try to free a nun who was kidnapped by Al-Qaida-linked militants in Mali.Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra, the Holy See’s third most senior Vatican figure, told the tribunal that he had sought, and received Francis’ approval to wire the money soon after he took up his duties as the “substitute” in the secretariat of state in late 2018.Pena Parra was answering questions for a second day Friday after being called by defense attorneys representing the ten people on trial for a host of alleged financial crimes.One tangent of the Vatican trial concerns €575,000 wired from the Vatican’s Swiss Bank account to...
March 18, 2023

Pope ‘authorized hundreds of thousands’ to pay ransom for kidnapped nun

A man (top) walks past a pile of garbage bags that have been piling up since waste collectors went on strike. — AFP
10,000 tons of uncollected trash in Paris as unions call for more action against pension reforms
PARIS — There’s an estimated 10,000 tons of uncollected trash piling up on the streets of the French capital, as unions call for more weekend protests and strike action against controversial pension reforms.Hundreds of people have been arrested in Paris after two nights of protests, according to the Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, while demonstrations spread to Rennes, Nantes, Lyon and Marseille after President Emmanuel Macron used a legislative loophole to force through reforms of French pension laws which would see the retirement age raised to 64.French opposition parties have now submitted a no-confidence motion in an attempt to topple Macron’s government over his pension reform. Unions have called for more localized protests over the weekend with strikes are already planned...
March 18, 2023

10,000 tons of uncollected trash in Paris as unions call for more action against pension reforms

FIle photo of WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
COVID-19 could become ‘just like flu’ says WHO chief
GENEVA — The World Health Organization (WHO) says the COVID-19 pandemic could settle down this year to a point where it poses a threat similar to flu.The UN health agency earlier voiced confidence that it will be able to declare an end to the emergency sometime in 2023, saying it was increasingly hopeful about the pandemic phase of the virus coming to a close.Last weekend marked three years since the WHO first described the situation as a ‘pandemic’ although the organization’s chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, insists countries should have acted several weeks beforehand.“I think we’re coming to that point where we can look at COVID-19 in the same way we look at seasonal influenza,” WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan told a press conference.“A threat to health, a virus...
March 18, 2023

COVID-19 could become ‘just like flu’ says WHO chief


Two Polish Air Force Russian made MiG 29’s fly above and below two Polish Air Force US made F-16’s fighter jets during the Air Show in Radom, Poland, on Aug. 27, 2011. — courtesy AP
Poland and Slovakia become first NATO countries sending MiG-29 jets to Ukraine
WARSAW — Poland and Slovakia are the first NATO countries to say they’ll send fighter jets to Ukraine.Poland will deliver a first batch of four MiG-29 fighter-bombers, Polish President Andrzej Duda announced Thursday.Meanwhile Slovakia’s government has approved a plan to give Ukraine its fleet of 13 Soviet-era MiG-29s.Prime Minister Eduard Heger announced the unanimous decision of his government on Friday. Slovakia grounded its fleet last year and no longer uses the jets.Kyiv has repeatedly asked its Western allies to send it modern fighter-bombers, hoping to get American F-16s.The Polish decision “does not change” the US refusal to do the same, White House spokesman John Kirby said Thursday, following the Polish announcement.“It does not change our analysis. (...) It’s not...
March 18, 2023

Poland and Slovakia become first NATO countries sending MiG-29 jets to Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Maria Lvova-Belova, Russian children's rights commissioner, at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence, outside Moscow, on February 16, 2023. (Photo by Mikhail METZEL / SPUTNIK / AFP) (Photo by MIKHAIL METZEL/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images)
ICC issues war crimes arrest warrant for Putin
THE HAGUE — The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, a member of Putin's government, it announced in a news release Friday.Lvova-Belova is the official at the center of the alleged scheme to forcibly deport thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia.The ICC said both Putin and Lvova-Belova are “allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation."Some key background: According to the US and several European governments, Putin's administration has carried out a scheme to forcibly deport thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia, often to a...
March 17, 2023

ICC issues war crimes arrest warrant for Putin

Finland's president (R) welcomed Erdogan's decision as very good news
Turkey's Erdogan seals deal on Finland joining Nato
ANKARA — It has taken months, but Finland's bid to join Nato has finally secured the backing of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after a ceremony with his Finnish counterpart in Ankara.Praising Finland's "authentic and concrete steps" on Turkish security, he said a vote would go to parliament.The blue carpet was rolled out for Sauli Niinisto as he arrived at the presidential palace in pouring rain.The Finnish leader said it was very good to hear Erdogan's decision.Finland applied with Sweden to join the West's defensive alliance last May. But Sweden's bid has become held up by Turkish objections and Finland decided to push ahead alone.President Erdogan's hostility to Sweden was clear during a press conference with Niinisto. He told reporters in...
March 17, 2023

Turkey's Erdogan seals deal on Finland joining Nato

Poland pledged four MiG-29 jets on Thursday
Kremlin threatens to destroy Ukraine jets after Poland and Slovakia pledges
LONDON/KYIV — The Kremlin has threatened to destroy any fighter jets given to Ukraine by its allies, after two countries promised Soviet-era planes.Slovakia became the second Nato country to pledge Kyiv some MiG-29 aircraft on Friday, a day after Poland.Slovakia's fleet was grounded last year and it no longer uses the jets.Ukraine has asked Western countries for modern jets, but because of long training times, these are seen only as long-term options.It sees extra aircraft as important for its defenses and possible counter-attacks, a year into Russia's invasion.Other Nato countries are considering sending Soviet-era planes such as the MiG, which Ukrainian pilots are trained to fly.This is a positive move for Ukraine - which has more pilots than planes - but will not make a...
March 17, 2023

Kremlin threatens to destroy Ukraine jets after Poland and Slovakia pledges

Green League candidate Ozan Yanar holding campaign leaflets in Helsinki, March 2023
Outcry as Finland election campaign hit by 'racist' advertising
HELSINKI — Finnish voters go to the polls at the beginning of April, in a closely-fought campaign that sees Prime Minister Sanna Marin's Social Democrats in a tight three-way race against the conservative National Coalition Party, and the the far-right populist Finns Party.This week a Finns Party candidate sparked a backlash from other politicians and voters alike, for an advert branded as "racist."Laura Jokela, who is standing in Helsinki, uploaded the image to her social media accounts and said she would also distribute the picture on a flyer to prospective supporters.On the left hand side it shows a picture of half her face with the words "You know why" in Finnish, above a Finns Party logo.On the right hand side it shows Jokela's face apparently covered in...
March 17, 2023

Outcry as Finland election campaign hit by 'racist' advertising

Police dislodge garbage collectors who are refusing to work at the Ivry-sur-Seine incinerator near Paris on Friday.
Hundreds detained in fiery protests after French government forces through pension reforms
PARIS — At least 310 people have been detained across France as the embattled government faces backlash for forcing through pension reforms that will see the country’s retirement age raised by two years.Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told French radio RTL that most of the arrests made on Thursday night – 258 – were in Paris. Although calm had returned to the capital’s streets by Friday morning, government ministers were on the defensive following Thursday night’s impromptu protests.The French government on Thursday forced through controversial plans to raise the country’s retirement age from 62 to 64, a move that has inflamed the country’s weeks-long protest movement.Government spokesperson Olivier Veran and Budget Minister Gabriel Attal both repeated President Emmanuel...
March 17, 2023

Hundreds detained in fiery protests after French government forces through pension reforms

Russian President Vladimir Putin with Chinese President Xi Jinping (File photo)
China's Xi to meet Putin in Moscow next week
LONDON — China's President Xi Jinping will travel to Moscow next week to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, officials say.The Kremlin said they would discuss a "comprehensive partnership and strategic co-operation".The visit comes as Beijing, an ally of Russia, has offered proposals to end the war in Ukraine, to which the West has given a lukewarm reception.Western countries have warned Beijing against supplying Moscow with weapons.Beijing's foreign ministry said Mr Xi will be in Russia from 20 to 22 March at the invitation of Mr Putin.A number of "important bilateral documents" are expected to be signed.In a message posted on Twitter on Friday, ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said it will be a trip "for friendship and...
March 17, 2023

China's Xi to meet Putin in Moscow next week

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