International
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Jan- 2023 -23 January
Germany would not block Poland sending tanks to Ukraine: Minister
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock says Germany ‘would not stand in the way’ if Poland sends Leopard tanks to Ukraine. Germany is ready to authorise Poland to send German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine to help Kyiv fight the Russian invasion if Warsaw makes such a request, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Sunday. “If we are asked the question, then we will not stand in the way,” Baerbock told LCI television on Sunday after a Franco-German summit meeting in Paris. “We know how important these tanks are and this is why we are discussing this now with our partners. We need to make sure people’s lives are saved and Ukraine’s territory liberated.” The comments appeared to signal that Berlin was ready to…
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23 January
Tens of thousands of Afghans waiting to hear if they will be relocated to UK – 17 months after Taliban takeover
Tens of thousands of Afghans are still waiting to hear if they will be relocated to Britain, 17 months after the Taliban takeover. New figures from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) show that there are still 71,149 applications waiting to be processed under the Afghan relocations and assistance policy (ARAP). The scheme was designed for Afghan citizens who worked for or with the UK government in the country. A recent wave of revenge attacks in Afghanistan has left many of them in further fear for their lives. Charities have warned that people who helped deliver UK-funded programmes are falling through the cracks in the government’s resettlement schemes. Afghans are also in danger while they wait for months for a decision on their ARAP applications, they say. In response…
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23 January
China told to back off from Dalai Lama’s succession
In a sharp message to China to back off from interfering in the succession process of the next Dalai Lama, the Japanese Buddhist Conference for World Federation has placed on record its position that the Tibetan people must decide the successor of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama on the basis of Tibetan culture and history, and not China. The Japan Buddhist Conference for World Federation is an umbrella organisation that brings together a number of sects of Japanese Buddhism. “His Holiness, Dalai Lama, the 14th turned 87 years on July 6, 2022. The issue of his future successor is gradually gaining attention all over the world. We the monks of Japan believe that Tibetan people must decide upon the next successor based on…
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23 January
Poland hits out at Germany in row over sending Leopard tanks to Ukraine
Poland is waiting for a “clear statement” from Berlin on whether countries that have German-made tanks can provide them to Ukraine, the country’s Prime Minister has said. German officials claimed last week that they had not received requests to do so, despite reports suggesting at least one country had asked for permission. Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has reacted furiously to Germany’s apparent unwillingness to join its allies in providing weaponry to Ukraine, calling its stance “unacceptable”. The country announced it is ready to deliver 14 German-made Leopard tanks to Kyiv and said it is ready to set up a “small coalition of countries” to donate equipment if Berlin is unwilling. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said his country will support Ukraine for…
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23 January
Boris stuns as he makes surprise visit to Kyiv for unofficial Zelensky talks without Sunak
Boris Johnson has made a surprise and unannounced visit to Ukraine on Sunday. The former Prime minister said he had been invited by Ukraine’s President Zelensky. Mr Johnson visited both Bucha and Borodianka, where Russian troops committed atrocities during their short-lived occupation of the two towns, which lie to the north of Kyiv. © Getty While in Bucha, Mr Johnson went inside a church and was accompanied by police. Later he met for informal talks with President Zelensky and several ministers in government buildings in central Kyiv. In a video posted by the President’s office, Mr Johnson can be heard telling his host about the “appalling” destruction he had seen. He said: “It’s still going on every day. I will do whatever I…
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23 January
London hospital doctor reveals patient spent his final 12 hours in a waiting room before dying of a blood clot
The NHS is facing the worst winter for A&E waits on record, as hospitals are being stung by bed shortages and staff strikes. Capacity is thought to have reached an all time high as cash-strapped nurses and ambulance crews take to the picket lines and winter infections stretch the health service. Dr Milan Chand, an A&E medicine consultant at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich, has described the situation as ‘on a knife-edge’ with wait times closer to “days and not hours”. He shared one recent horror story from the hospital, where an 80-year-old man was forced to spend his final hours waiting to be seen by a doctor. He explained that a fortnight ago the man arrived alongside his wife at Queen Elizabeth’s…
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22 January
Suspect at large after shooting near LA kills 10
Summary At least 10 people have died following a shooting at a ballroom dance studio in the Californian city of Monterey Park And 10 others at least have been injured – some of those are in critical condition, police say Monterey Park – which is about eight miles (13km) east of Los Angeles – is home to a large Asian community Thousands of people had earlier gathered for the Monterey Park Lunar New Year festival The suspect in last night’s shooting is male – preliminary information suggests he is Asian, police say He fled the scene and remains at large, police say Officers say it’s “too early” to know the suspect’s motivation LA mass shooting kills ten with gunman still…
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22 January
Over 550 global companies, many Europeans, are still doing business in Russia
WASHINGTON — More than 550 international companies, many from Europe, are still doing business in Russia to a lesser or greater extent, defying public pressure to pull out of the country following the invasion of Ukraine, according to a new report by Yale University.Out of these, 223 companies are considered to be operating “business as usual,” including prominent firms from Italy (Boggi, Benetton, Calzedonia), France (Clarins, Etam, Lacoste), Germany (Siemens Healthineers, B. Braun), and the Netherlands (Philips).The “business as usual” list also features some well-known American firms, like Tom Ford, Tupperware and TGI Friday’s, as well as numerous Chinese enterprises, like Alibaba, Tencent and ZTE, and air passenger carries, like Emirates Airlines, Egyptair, Qatar Airways and Turkish AirlinesThe numbers are compiled…
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22 January
Macron announces major boost to French defense budget amid Ukraine war
PARIS — France will increase its military spending by over a third in coming years, President Emmanuel Macron announced on Friday, unveiling his goal to equip the French army to tackle this century’s great “perils”.The budget for the period will stand at €413 billion, a significant increase from the €295 billion allotted to 2019-2025. According to this plan, by 2030, France’s military budget would have doubled since he took power in 2017, Macron said.The French leader acknowledged the end of the “peace dividend” following the Cold War, and said the planned 2024-2030 budget would adapt the military to the possibility of high-intensity conflicts, made all the more urgent by Russia’s ongoing aggression in Ukraine.“As war is changing, France has and will…
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22 January
Canada says it will repatriate 23 of its citizens from Syria
Move comes after the citizens, currently detained in camps for ISIL family members in Syria, challenged Ottawa in court. Canada is set to repatriate 23 of its citizens currently detained in camps for ISIL (ISIS) family members in northeastern Syria, according to officials and lawyers representing the citizens. The repatriation, which represents the largest group of ISIL family members repatriated to Canada at one, was determined in two actions on Friday. First, the foreign ministry said it had decided to repatriate six Canadian women and 13 infants who had been living in the locked camps. Later, a federal court ruled that four men seeking repatriation as part of that group must also be sent back to Canada. “I’ve spoken to the parents…
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