Germany's new defence minister Boris Pistorius confirmed on Monday that Berlin could pull its troops out of Mali before a tentative May 2024 withdrawal date.. Berlin had said late last year that German forces would only stay in Mali until 2024 if the junta allows them to operate freely -- including carrying out drone missions -- and elections are held.
Dissident artist Ai Weiwei on Monday said the Chinese state's razing of his studios still fails to make "any sense" to him, as he launched his first design-focused exhibition, due to open in London in April.. "Still it doesn't make any sense why they have to do it... they just wanted to do something to punish me," he told the launch of his Making Sense exhibition in a pre-recorded interview from his studio in Portugal.
A South African judge presiding over Jacob Zuma's arms corruption trial recused himself on Monday, in a move likely to add further delay in an affair already dating back more than two decades.. On Monday Koen announced he had decided "to recuse myself from the trial" to avoid any risk of compromising the perception of justice.
Deadly protests have gripped Peru since Congress threw out the country's first working-class president, Pedro Castillo, in December after he tried to dissolve parliament and rule by decree.. On December 7 he attempts to dissolve Congress before it can debate a third impeachment motion against him and says he will form an emergency government and rule by decree.
A 64-year-old Ukrainian art dealer went on trial in France on Monday, accused of stealing masterpieces worth millions from museums and auction houses in 2017 and 2018.. Huzhva is also accused of stealing a rare book of Russian gouaches, and works by artists Eugene Boudin, Giorgio De Chirico, Eugene Galien-Laloue and Auguste Renoir from museums or auction houses across France.
The mother of a 13-year-old boy who killed himself in eastern France this month said Monday she believed homophobic bullying by classmates had "triggered" his suicide.. "For me, the bullying was the element that triggered it," the 35-year-old mother who identified herself only as Severine told reporters in Epinal.
Finland still hopes to join NATO together with Sweden, Finland's foreign minister said Monday after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's remarks that Ankara could accept Helsinki's bid without its Nordic neighbour.. "Our strong desire in Finland has been and still is to join NATO together with Sweden," Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto told reporters in Helsinki, adding: "our position remains the same."
A Moscow proxy official said Monday that Russian forces were advancing near Vugledar, a town in the eastern Donetsk region, which is the epicentre of fighting in Ukraine, but Kyiv denied the claim.. "Our units continue advancing in the direction of Vugledar," said Denis Pushilin, the Kremlin-appointed leader of the Donetsk region.
Police in South Africa on Monday launched a manhunt after gunmen opened fire on a birthday party in the southern port city of Gqeberha, killing eight. . The birthday celebrant and house owner was among those killed, police said.
Turkey's opposition vowed on Monday to crimp the president's powers and broadly expand democratic rights if they seize power in May 14 presidential and parliamentary polls.. The opposition vowed to make Turkey's TRT national broadcaster and Anadolu state news agency abide by "the principles of independence and impartiality".
