GERMANY
Zelenskiy to meet leaders
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy arrived in Berlin early yesterday for talks with leaders about further arms deliveries to help his country fend off the Russian invasion and rebuild what has been destroyed by more than a year of devastating conflict. A Luftwaffe jet flew Zelenskiy to the German capital from Rome. On the eve of his arrival — which was taking place amid tight security — Berlin announced a new package of military aid for Ukraine worth more than 2.7 billion euros (US$3 billion), including tanks, anti-aircraft systems and ammunition. “Already in Berlin. Weapons. Powerful package. Air defense. Reconstruction. EU. NATO. Security,” Zelenskiy wrote on Twitter yesterday, in an apparent reference to the key priorities of his trip. Announcing the new arms package, Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius said Berlin would help Ukraine for “as long as it takes.”
PAKISTAN
Imran Khan calls for protests
Former prime minister Imran Khan yesterday called for nationwide “freedom” protests, after his brief arrest and detention this week triggered deadly unrest. The one-time cricket superstar — who has been tied up in dozens of legal cases since being ousted from power in April last year — was on Friday freed on bail after his detention was declared unlawful by the Supreme Court. Enraged by the arrest, supporters set fire to government buildings, blocked roads and damaged property belonging to the military, which they blame for Khan’s downfall. “Freedom does not come easily. You have to snatch it. You have to sacrifice for it,” he said in an address broadcast on YouTube on Saturday night. He called for supporters to hold protests “at the end of your streets and villages” across the country yesterday evening for one hour starting at 5:30pm. Yesterday morning was quiet, but Khan has pledged to return to campaigning on Wednesday for immediate elections.
BURKINA FASO
Shooters kill 33 civilians
At least 33 people were killed when assailants on motorcycles opened fire on vegetable farmers, Boucle du Mouhoun Governor Babo Pierre Bassinga said on Saturday, as the country struggles to stem an Islamist insurgency. A state of emergency has been in force in eight of the country’s 13 regions since March, including in western Boucle du Mouhoun. The attack on the farmers happened on Thursday at about 5pm, Bassinga said in a statement. “The village of Youlou in the department of Cheriba, Mouhoun province suffered a cowardly and barbaric terrorist attack,” he said. “The gunmen targeted peaceful civilians” who were farming along the river, he said.
SOMALIA
Flooding displaces 200,000
About 200,000 people have been displaced due to flash flooding in the country’s central region, a regional official said on Saturday, as the Shabelle River burst its banks and submerged roads. Inhabitants of Beledweyne town in the Hiran region were forced out of their homes as heavy rainfall caused water levels to rise sharply, with residents carrying their belongings on top of their heads as they waded through flooded streets in search of refuge. “Some 200,000 people are now displaced due to the Shabelle River flash floods in Beledweyne town and the number may increase any time. It is a preliminary figure now,” Hiran Deputy Governor for Social Affairs Ali Osman Hussein said. Hiran Deputy Governor Hassan Ibrahim Abdulle said on Friday that “three people were killed by the floods.”
A beauty queen who pulled out of the Miss South Africa competition when her nationality was questioned has said she wants to relocate to Nigeria, after coming second in the Miss Universe pageant while representing the West African country. Chidimma Adetshina, whose father is Nigerian, was crowned Miss Universe Africa and Oceania and was runner-up to Denmark’s Victoria Kjar Theilvig in Mexico on Saturday night. The 23-year-old law student withdrew from the Miss South Africa competition in August, saying that she needed to protect herself and her family after the government alleged that her mother had stolen the identity of a South
BELT-TIGHTENING: Chinese investments in Cambodia are projected to drop to US$35 million in 2026 from more than US$420 million in 2021 At a ceremony in August, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet knelt to receive blessings from saffron-robed monks as fireworks and balloons heralded the breaking of ground for a canal he hoped would transform his country’s economic fortunes. Addressing hundreds of people waving the Cambodian flag, Hun Manet said China would contribute 49 percent to the funding of the Funan Techo Canal that would link the Mekong River to the Gulf of Thailand and reduce Cambodia’s shipping reliance on Vietnam. Cambodia’s government estimates the strategic, if contentious, infrastructure project would cost US$1.7 billion, nearly 4 percent of the nation’s annual GDP. However, months later,
Texas’ education board on Friday voted to allow Bible-infused teachings in elementary schools, joining other Republican-led US states that pushed this year to give religion a larger presence in public classrooms. The curriculum adopted by the Texas State Board of Education, which is controlled by elected Republicans, is optional for schools to adopt, but they would receive additional funding if they do so. The materials could appear in classrooms as early as next school year. Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott has voiced support for the lesson plans, which were provided by the state’s education agency that oversees the more than
Ireland, the UK and France faced travel chaos on Saturday and one person died as a winter storm battered northwest Europe with strong winds, heavy rain, snow and ice. Hampshire Police in southern England said a man died after a tree fell onto a car on a major road near Winchester early in the day. Police in West Yorkshire said they were probing whether a second death from a traffic incident was linked to the storm. It is understood the road was not icy at the time of the incident. Storm Bert left at least 60,000 properties in Ireland without power, and closed
RSS